this is bbc news, and these are the top stories developing at 11am. a convoy leaves the russian embassy in london as the deadline approaches for 23 russian diplomats and their families to leave the uk. the information commissioner is to apply for a warrant to search the offices of london—based political consulting firm, cambridge analytica. we need to get to the bottom of what happened with this personal data affecting citizens across the world and we are going to proceed with a warrant to be able to search the servers on the premises. a two—year—old girl has died after being recovered from a car found in a river in cardigan in wales. inflation fell to 2.7% last month, because of falling petrol prices and a slower rise in the cost of food. 45—year—old saddam ‘s death only to

species alive in the world. problem potholes. it could take 1a yea rs problem potholes. it could take 1a years to clear a backlog of repairs. good morning. it's tuesday 20th march. i'm annita mcveigh. welcome to bbc newsroom live. the government will decide today whether to take further action against russia after moscow's expulsion of british diplomats on saturday. both sides have ordered 23 diplomats to leave following the nerve agent attack in salisbury. russia has also closed the british consulate in st petersburg and the british council in moscow. the russian embassy says its diplomats

and their families — about 80 people — will leave london today. our assistant political editor norman smith is in westminster. what sort of action is the government considering? the government considering? the government has already lined up a series of measures. alongside the expulsion of these 23 diplomats, spiders and their families, expulsion of these 23 diplomats, spiders and theirfamilies, the government is also looking at fresh anti—espionage legislation. to see whether amber rudd needed additional powers. legislation which would make it easierfor british powers. legislation which would make it easier for british border guards to stop suspects coming into the uk. they are looking at getting more information on people coming in on flights. they are going to introduce amendments to money—laundering legislation. there are already a

range of additional measures which the government has flagged up which are in the pipeline. the question is whether ministers decide whether they have to go even further because russia has escalated its response by, as well as expelling the 23 british diplomats, also closing down the british consulate in russia and the british consulate in russia and the consulate in st petersburg. but might be regarded as relatively low— key might be regarded as relatively low—key escalations and it is possible that the government will decide to hold its fire for the time being. it is absolutely clear that the war of words has shown no sign in using. boris johnson the war of words has shown no sign in using. borisjohnson wrote this morning in the newspapers in effect accusing the russians of repeatedly lying in response to the salisbury attack. the russians conceded it was

developed during the soviet years then destroyed all that stockpiles and suggesting it somehow... boris johnson said getting the truth from russia is like getting a needle in a haystack. he also pointed out that the way in which they had been attacked had been deliberate. he said the message is clear, we will hunt you down, we will find you and we will kill you. although we will deny our guilt... although maybe ministers are more circumspect. what

happens next? is there a period of waiting to see how the investigation proceeds, whether russia says anything more? i think certainly one of the key elements will be from the british government's point of view is seeing whether that other countries are also seeking to impose measures on russia. france, other allies, whether they decide to press in. at the same time in westminster that has been controversy over further remarks by jeremy that has been controversy over further remarks byjeremy corbyn to mature four where he again raised doubts about his beliefs the evidence. raising question marks about whether russia is responsible. if we are dealing with something so serious

as this i don't think we need people shooting from the hip. we need people to recognise the danger, recognise the seriousness and ask the very hard questions, which is what i did last week. and ever since i ask those questions, yes, the chemical weapons convention team are here, yes, the russians are here, yes, those questions are now being put, and the material that is used is being analysed. when asked he said he could do business with president putin but he made a point that you have to deal with regimes that you do not approve of. mr corbyn seems to be at odds with, not just large of. mr corbyn seems to be at odds with, notjust large sections of his party, the shadow defence secretary, but also some of his closest allies such asjohn mcdonnell who at the weekend accused russia of

sanctioning state—sponsored executions. does that strike you as odd? orthe executions. does that strike you as odd? or the jeremy corbyn executions. does that strike you as odd? or thejeremy corbyn may think it would be pragmatic to have some sort of working relationship with russia, at the moment to be in disagreement with his closest colleagues, does not strike you as odd? yes and no. for most normal politicians you seek to avoid any suggestion of splits and differences with your allies are sharper shadow cabinet. no, in the sense that he has been remarkably consistent, not just in the last week, but in his long—term views on how you handle foreign aggression. his argument has always been dialogue and contact is the to resolve conflict, not to square up and go down the road of

retaliation and that has been mr corbyn's view in successive conflicts, in iraq, the falklands, northern ireland. those happy in his views for the past 30 years so a lot of the anger at him by fellow labour mps they shouldn't really be surprised because that is his long—held conviction. a british company, accused of misusing personal data belonging to 50 million facebook users to influence the us election, is being investigated by the information watchdog. the uk's information commissioner says she will seek a warrant to look at databases and servers hosted by cambridge analytica. both cambridge analytica and facebook deny any wrongdoing. keith doyle reports. cambridge analytica is a british company normally behind the headlines, not in them. executives

from the company were secretly filmed by channel 4 news seeming to suggest using underhand tactics to discredit politicians. the company has rejected the claims, saying it was misrepresented. before the transmission of the report, the chief executive spoke to bbc newsnight. i have a huge amount of regret about the fact that we undertook this meeting and spoke with a certain amount of hyperbole. the company ‘s problems do not end there. cambridge analytica and may

be responsible for a major breach of ordinary people's data. it has been accused of using personal data of 50 million this book users to type with voters and encourage them to back donald trump in the 2016 us general election. it is claimed that personality test on facebook were used as a way to mine the data, allowing that to be as may be a breach of privacy laws. that is cause the information commissioner to seek a warrant to search the company's to seek a warrant to search the compa ny‘s computers and to seek a warrant to search the company's computers and servers after she says they failed to cooperate. we need to get to the bottom of what happened with this personal data. we are going to proceed with a warrant to be able to search the servers on the premises. facebook has denied it has done anything wrong. it has suspended cambridge analytica. .. cambridge

analytica says it has deleted all that information and denies any wrongdoing. he said that they need to answer questions about cambridge analytica. we had a hearing with facebook representatives in america last month. we discussed with them directly there relationship with cambridge analytica, the way facebook data is used by themselves and third parties and how they seek to recover if there is a problem. we weren't able to get clear answers to those questions. and that is why today i will be writing to mark zuckerberg asking him to come in front of the committee. it kind for the most senior people in the company whose job it is to know every detail of what is going on to front up and answer questions about what is going on at facebook, because the users around the world who are following this story, many of them will never have heard of cambridge analytica, their principal concern will be about facebook itself and how their data is taken from the site and how it is used.

news is coming in about another bombing in the us in texas. a package containing nails and shrapnel said the authorities as exploded at a parcel distributional warehouse. we understand that one person has been injured as a result of that explosion. that is according to the san antonio fire department. they are saying that the package was bound for the city of austin and exploded at a facility in the nearby town of... you may be aware that this is the latest in a number of bombs which have gone off in austin that have killed two people so far and injured six mark in what police are warning appears to be the work ofa are warning appears to be the work of a serial bomber. police did not

immediately say if this latest explosion appeared to be linked to the four previous blasts. the first labour parcel bombs in front of homes in austin. with a fourth was it tripwire device in the west of the city on sunday. another explosion in the us. the authorities are investigating. we are going to return to our coverage of the cambridge analytica facebook story. they are accused of misusing personal data to influence the us election. we can cross now to our westminster studio and talk to the former conservative attorney general, dominic grieve. thank you very much forjoining us. you have listened to what the information commissioner has had to say. she says she is using the legal tools that she has at her disposal

but, do you think that is not enough? certainly i think the legal tools that we have at the moment and not adequate. i think that when we passed the first data protection act, there was very little understanding of the way in which this was going to be so important. i think she may well need tougher tools. the government, in the latest data protection bill, is seeking to do some of that. i think that as the bill goes through parliament, they will need to consider whether greater powers may not be needed. will need to consider whether greater powers may not be neededm it closing the stable door after it is bolted? it closing the stable door after it is bolted ? you it closing the stable door after it is bolted? you need swift action after something like this. she is saying that she is applying for a warrant, but facebook has already being into the cambridge analytica offices. they know that information is being sought. all sorts of things

potentially could happen to that information, couldn't it? that is possible but we need to distinguish between two things. first, we have a regime which regulates properly and deters organisations from misusing data. that means adequate powers of investigation for the regulator, the information commissioner and adequate sanctions for transgression. if you have those in place, then we would hope that the sort of anxiety which people have that data is being misused could be reduced. obviously, if data is misused then there must be proper investigative powers. before we get carried away, the information you should not suggest she was unable to investigate. it seems to me that this matter highlighted a wider problem and the need for greater powers and greater sanctions. so in the first instance, and if you look

at how you have separated this, you think that if the potential sanctions are much tougher, then companies that use data like this would automatically be more careful about how they use that information. the current rules made quite clear that data is required, the circulated shed without permission. that is the basic rule of data protection. criminality, many people sign away their data quite cheerfully online to be used for a multiplicity of purposes. we are coming to appoint that the usage that can be made of data is in danger of undermining public confidence in the democratic process so confidence in the democratic process soi confidence in the democratic process so i think we need to spend some time and information on mac attention to all of this. the process which people sign away their data, and secondly, the way data is

used in a knot transparent way in order to provide influence potentially for political reasons. we need to make sure that the right powers are in place to address this. on that issue of individual responsibility and signing permission and greater use data, do you think people do that because they believe the social media giants will look after that data, or do they do it because they don't fully understand what they are signing away? it may be a mixture of both. in some cases people may not be very concerned about personal data. but i think what we are now seeing is, even by legitimate organisations, and ability to crunch data, to look at it and to use it in ways that some people would find very unexpected and brilliant. i think we need a public education campaign about this as well but also a

regulatory framework which makes quite clear where the boundaries are. thank you very much for your thoughts. a two—year—old girl has died after being rescued from a car found in a river in wales. kiara moore was recovered from a silver mini in the river teifi in cardigan. on monday afternoon, numerous facebook posts claimed the car been stolen. officers say they are continuing to investigate and appealed for witnesses who may have seen the vehicle enter the river. our correspondent nicola smith is in cardiff. an absolute tragedy. what more police saying about the circumstances? as you say, an absolute tragedy and details are still emerging about exactly how this awful chain of events unfolded yesterday. what we do know is that two—year—old kiara moore who was due to turn three next week, died in

hospital in cardiff last night. she had been airlifted here by ambulance from the river teifi after being rescued by a car in cardigan, two hours away from here. that followed a huge two hour operation to try to find the car, involving police, fire services and the coast guard. last night, on social media herfather posted... he said a mega thank you to the officers who jumped in the river and the best of the emergency services. unfortunately, she had a amazing but short—lived. he has paid tribute to his daughter as an incredible, happy young girl who tried all sorts of activities for her age and made his family very happy. he has also given his sense

of what he thought had happened yesterday. i should also add that the deputy chief constable used social media to pass on his condolences to the family and to pay tribute to what he described as the incredible bravery and selflessness shown by the officers who entered the water and rescued the child. nicola, thank you for that update. the headlines on bbc newsroom live. it convoy leaves london. the information commissioner is to apply for a warrant to search the offices of cambridge analytica. as you just have been hearing, it—year—old girl has died after being pulled from a car found has died after being pulled from a carfound ina has died after being pulled from a carfound in a river in cardigan in wales. in sport, serena williams world ranking. james blake thinks so

and describes the current ceiling rose as punishment for women at return to tennis after having a baby. roger federer will lose his number one ranking if he fails to reach the quarterfinals of the miami open. the 36—year—old has been in impressive form this year. the scallops have signed south african international for next season to replace the departing scotland captain. i will be back with more stories just after half past. the government's latest figures show that the uk's inflation rate has fallen to 2.7% in february, from 3.0% in january inflation figures are calculated by tracking the prices we pay for hundreds of things we commonly spend money on including groceries. the government's

target for cpi is 2%. the drop was due to lower petrol prices. the former french president, nicolas sarkozy, is being held in police custody in connection with an investigation into campaignfunding. police are investigating alleged irregularities over the financing of his 2007 presidential campaign. he is being questioned over allegations that he received funding from the late libyan leader colonel gaddafi. our correspondent hugh schofield is in paris. tell us more about these allegations. they may sound very far—fetched and they are extraordinary but they are taking sufficiently seriously for there to be an investigation five years ago now, in which police are looking into these claims which originate in various members of the gaddafi regime. various middlemen that, in

2007, nicola sacco is a benefited from several millions of euros in cash delivered from gaddafi. a lot of people said that is ludicrous. he said, how can you trust these former associates of colonel gaddafi who have all sorts of other interests at heart and i quite liable to make up this information which will discredit me. but nonetheless, gradually, the police who are running this investigation have clearly amassed enough evidence to make them feel that he needs to be questioned. he has been brought into custody and is right now having to a nswer custody and is right now having to answer detailed questions from them. at the end of all this we will have two c. one possibility is that it will go to a hill new level. replacing itjudicial investigation

and facing trial. we will have two c. the very he has said these allegations of findings by the libyans are allegations of findings by the libya ns are completely allegations of findings by the libyans are completely untrue. if 49—year—old woman was hit as she crossed the street in arizona. while surviving has been involved in several crashes, this is the first fatal collision. police are urging members of the public to help them prevent terror attacks in the uk, as part of a new drive to encourage people to report suspicious behaviour or activity. detectives have revealed that one in five reports made to counter—terrorism police last year contained useful intelligence. here's our home affairs correspondent, danny shaw. the police need the public‘s help to tackle terrorism. they want people to become their ears and eyes, to be on the lookout for unusual activity or behaviour and report it.

the message is, trust your instincts. just as officers trust there's trust theirs when they spot something that doesn't feel right. i may see someone paying attention to security operations, um, a car going past the same location numerous times, a person with no direction or purpose, but the list is not exhaustive. it's very much what is suspicious to that person. as part of the police campaign, there is a short film to show people the kind of things they should report. we have long said that every police officer should be counterterrorism police officer. counterterrorism police say they received more than 6000 useful tipoffs last year out of almost 31,000 calls and messages and they want the information

to keep on coming. danny shaw, bbc news. the world's last surviving male northern white rhino has died after months of ill health, according to his carers in kenya. 45—year—old sudan was put to sleep on monday after age—related complications worsened significantly. his death leaves only two females — his daughter and granddaughter — of the subspecies alive in the world. hope for preserving the northern white rhino now lies in developing ivf techniques. richard vine runs the conservancy where sudan lived, and spoke to the bbc a little earlier about this sad news. he was here last remaining white rhino, male white china on the planet. for a long time there has

only been three left of that particular species. some people argue it is a sub species but that is inconsequential. the fact is that this species has been hunted to extinction and the chances of recovering this species are remote all the possibilities through artificial reproductive techniques still exist. it is a sad moment. he has been brothers for approximately eight years. has become a good friend but he was a very old rhino and it was inevitable that this day would come. simonjones is the founder and chief executive of ‘helping rhinos' and joins me from our studio in brighton. thank you forjoining us. you knew sudan while. you must be incredibly sad at this news is only was an old man in vinyl terms. yes it is very sad. i saw saddam in recent years

and have known him for a number of yea rs. and have known him for a number of years. it is very sad. it is not really sad for saddam himself. he was 45 years old which is over 100 yea rs was 45 years old which is over 100 years in human years. he was last of this species we have now lost the last mail of his species. that is the situation that is really sad. we just sort a photograph of you and sedan and we're now looking at some images of him. according to the world wildlife fund, there were 2000 of these northern white rhinos back in 1960 of these northern white rhinos back in1960 and of these northern white rhinos back in 1960 and now today we just have two. saddam's daughter and granddaughter. what has caused this drop in the population? the northern white rhinos come from the central area of africa like south sudan and

the republic of congo. that area has a lot of civil unrest which makes it difficult to have effective conservation operations. it has made poaching of these rhinos much easier for the armies that are out there. they sell the homes on the black market and use that to fund terrorist activities. because of that lack of effective conservation operations, we have effectively wipe them out in their natural habitat. u nfortu nately, them out in their natural habitat. unfortunately, as i understand it, neither saddam's daughter granddaughter are capable of carrying a calf to full term but it is hoped that ivf techniques using seaman connected from mail rhinos and expected from either his daughter or granddaughter could be carried by a summit at, a southern white rhino. how realistic is it

that this technique could preserve this subspecies for a little longer at least? we have some of the best scientific name is looking at the process now and we have made some good progress over recent years. we have to have hope that we can make progress in that and that one day we can use silence to create northern white rhino and see that they are giving birth again. some people will spend the amount of money to make that happen and we need money elsewhere in conservation. the reality is if we want hope of returning northern lights back to their natural habitat, we need to preserve some of that northern white jeans that we can use. my argument is that the likes of saddam, we are then that too to traffic and do all

we can to preserve his species because the cars this in the first place. that would be a wonderful legacy. simon, thank you for talking to us. the beatles drummer ringo starr has received a knighthood. he was honoured by the duke of cambridge and buckingham palace today. it was announced he would be recognised in this year's new honours list, andy has been knighted for services to music and charity. the second member of the band to be given the honour, 52 years after receiving his mbe. now the weather. hopefully the snow is clearing from most places. simon king can tell us that. hello, simon. it is the first day of astronomical spring today. after the cold spell things might feel like spring this week because temperatures are rising. this morning in shropshire

it looks like spring with blue sky and daffodils out. lots of sunshine across scotland, northern ireland, it will stay sunny into the afternoon. sunshine developing in the south—east of england and bright skies and sunshine in northern england and across wales. cloud in between with one or two spots of rain. temperatures getting up to about seven or 9 degrees. more cloud spilling into scotland overnight, northern ireland, rain moving in. temperatures mostly above freezing but elsewhere widespread and hard frost in places, across central areas. temperatures could be down to -5 areas. temperatures could be down to —5 or minus six celsius on wednesday morning. a bright and cold start for england and wales. cloud building from the north and west. rain in western scotland and northern ireland. maximum temperature is up again bya ireland. maximum temperature is up again by a couple of degrees. goodbye. —— maximum temperatures are up goodbye. —— maximum temperatures are up again. this is bbc news. our latest headlines: a convoy has left the russian

embassy in london as the deadline approaches for 23 russian diplomats and their families to leave the uk. theresa may is considering further action against russia over the nerve agent attack in salisbury. the information commissioner is seeking a warrant to search the offices of the london—based political consulting firm, cambridge analytica. the company is accused of using the personal data of 50 million facebook members to influence the us presidential election in 2016. a two—year—old has died after being recovered from a carfound in a river. kiara moore was taken to the university hospital of wales in cardiff but later died. she would have celebrated her third birthday next tuesday. inflation fell sharply last month, from three to 2.7%. reduced petrol prices and a slower rise in the cost of food has contributed to the drop. in the last few minutes, the former beatles drummer ringo starr has been knighted for his services to music. and also charity. it has been

described by sir tim rice has the most overdue knighthood of all time. in a moment... once reserved for the super rich we'll take a look at the fleet of helicopter taxis aiming to shake up the transport system of one of the world's most congested cities. but before that it is time for sport. jessica has got that for us. thank you. rugby first. england scrum—half danny care admitted the tea m scrum—half danny care admitted the team let the fans down in their dismal six nations campaign. england finished fifth in the table after they lost their final three matches. compounded at twickenham on saturday when ireland won the grand slam. pundits have called for widespread change in the england setup. speaking on five live, danny care said the situation is a positive wake—up call for the team. said the situation is a positive wake-up call for the team. we know we have been disappointing. we know

we have been disappointing. we know we have been disappointing. we know we have let ourselves down and let the fans down. but we think hopefully it is going to be the best thing for us. this could be the boost that we need to go and do what we want to do in 2019. if we had one another six nations and won all of the games maybe we would be in this kind of clout where everything is great and spoiled with the winds in the manner of the wins. now we have to look at ourselves and work out how we get better. a former top tennis player has described the seeding rules in women's tennis as punishment for people like serena williams who returned to the sport after she had a baby. rating has dropped to 491 during her leave. james blake, the current tournament director of the miami open, said williams needs to be protected. williams needs to be protected. williams will play in the first round in miami this evening and because of her low ranking, she cannot be seeded and will pay a tougher opponent earlier in the tournament. blake said it is not like she left because of injury and lost her passion for the game. she

had a kid, which we should be celebrating. so when she comes back... meanwhile the women's tennis association have said the rules could be further reviewed. also in miami roger federer will lose his world number one ranking if he doesn't reach the quarterfinals. he said he will continue his strategy of being selected over the tournaments he plays. the 36—year—old missed most of the clay—court season last year to preserve longevity. he has been in great form this year, only losing his first match on sunday. the generational tennis is much more taxing, more intense and more brutal. i do not know how much more i have got left but i am enjoying my time right now at the top. i cannot believe i am back to world number one. i have had anotherfabulous start to the year. we will see what the year brings but i have to be selective in what tournaments i can and should play. some british

players have already played in miami. katie bolt, liam broady and cameron norrie all winning in the first round of qualifying. but naomi broady unfortunately first round of qualifying. but naomi broady u nfortu nately lost. first round of qualifying. but naomi broady unfortunately lost. cricket next. craig overton has told the bbc he is fit and ready to play in the first test match against new zealand on thursday. england are waiting on the fitness of ben stokes. he has struggled with his back injury. he was not able to bowl in the warm up match in hamilton last week. overton is keen to add to his two test match caps. - be is keen to add to his two test match caps. £1531 to i is keen to add to his two test match caps. £1531 to e332"; be ‘for ready for the first game of the call—up comes. yes, i am fit. there are two days when i had a sore quad. it was unfortunate. but i am back andi it was unfortunate. but i am back and i played those laws two days and it has been good since then. finally south africa's who's a cut scene said he is looking forward to the next chapter in his rugby career after he signed for the scarlets

next season. the scotland captain john barclay is leaving to join edinburgh. he willjoin from club cheaters and will play as number eight. the head coach has described him asa eight. the head coach has described him as a dynamic player. i will be with you in the next hour. —— cheetahs. let's return to news that the information commissioner, elizabeth denham, is seeking a warrant to search the offices of the london—based political consulting firm, cambridge analytica. a former employee has claimed the company was handed the personal data of 50 million facebook users and exploited that to influence the american presidential election. it raises questions for social media users, of course. our technology correspondent zoe kleinman is here... good morning to you. the former attorney general said minutes ago that many people when using social media quite happily sign away a lot of information about themselves. but

i wonder how clear we are as individuals when we sign up to facebook or other social media giants about what it is we are signing away. this story has been a huge moment of enlightenment for many people who have been sleepwalking into this for a long time. facebook, twitter, many telephone applications, when you you had to give them download you had to give them permission for many things on your device and permission to store your data. it is not a free service. they are doing it because they want to make money. what is coming out now is people have suddenly realised actually how much space they are handing over. and what is happening to it afterwards. that is what there are increasing calls upon facebook to explain. in terms of facebook, using that as an example, there are obviously various levels of privacy settings. will people start to look at those more closely now? a lot of

people have started looking at it more closely. you need to keep your eyes on them. facebook changes privacy policies. it is a bit of a chore reading it, they are legally worded and they are not page turners. but it is worth reading. they have done a lot to simplify the terms. there are boxes you can take or not. and there are scary messages, if you do not have this activated you cannot liaise with any other applications on facebook. you have to decide how important it is against how much you want to protect your rent data. it is worth noting that if you go to general settings and go down to the bottom, you can download a copy of the data about you facebook has got. if your laptop or devices are not secure, you might end up with an insecure copy of the data. but at least you can see what it has got on you. we have seen the impact on share prices for facebook in the wake of this. has mark clattenberg said much? the man who would like to keep us all talking has been remarkably quiet! —— mark

za rco has been remarkably quiet! —— mark zarco burke. facebook has important —— appointed its own analysis firm and they have said they will wait and they have said they will wait and see what the uk authorities decide. word is being sought today by the information commissioner to look at it. there are rumours there might bea look at it. there are rumours there might be a big facebook meeting later today uk time, when san francisco wakes up. more might come from that. facebook is being rather quiet now apart from saying that it takes any abuse of data seriously and will aggressively make sure its policies are followed. zoe, thank you. time now to catch up with the latest business news. i'm rachel horne — in the business news... inflation in the uk has fallen. consumer price inflation fell from 3% to 2.7% in february. that's the lowest figure since july 2017. inflation jumped after britain voted

to leave the european union in 2016 — hitting a six—year high of 3.1% in last november. fathers wanting to take an equal share of looking after young children are being failed by workplace policies. that was a warning to the government from the women and equalities committee. they say the right to request flexible working and the government's flagship shared parental leave scheme are not working for most fathers. as you've been hearing britain's annual inflation rate slowed in february as the cost of items, including food and transport rose by less than they did a year ago. the consumer prices index or cpi came in at 2.7% in february down from 3% in january 2018. let's talk to sarah hewin, senior economist at standard chartered. sarah, thank you forjoining us. lots of economists predicted a fall down to 2.8%. it is 2.7%. what is

your reaction? it is lower than expected. it is indicating a gradual decline in inflation, which will continue in the coming months. some positive news there. especially as we see inflation now likely to be below wage rises in the next few months. people will start to feel the benefit of stronger wages in an environment of low inflation. you mentioned wage growth figures. we are expecting them tomorrow. the most are expecting them tomorrow. the m ost rece nt are expecting them tomorrow. the most recent ones we have at the moment are at 2.5%. if wages are growing at 2.5 and inflation at 2.7, the squeeze on income is reducing. at what point should people start to feel the pressure easing? at what point should people start to feelthe pressure easing? certainly in the coming months we would expect wage growth picking up a little bit more. and inflation declining a bit further. in the last year we have had inflation going at well above

wage growth. that will be reversing now. people should feel the benefit of that by the spring and summer.m was expected the bank of england would increase interest rates this spring, in may. will these lower than expected inflation figures impact upon that? normally when inflation is falling it is a signal for the central bank to keep interest rates low, or even cut them. what is important here is the bank of england still sees inflation well above the 2% target. they are concerned that what we are seeing now is growing domestic pressure on inflation. the need is to remove policy accommodation, raise interest rates a little bit higher, it looks likely they will take a step either in may or august this year. what is it which has caused inflation to fall a little bit? is it because things are falling or sterling is

rising? it is a number of factors. last year we have had strong increases in food and energy prices globally. that impact was even greater for the globally. that impact was even greaterfor the uk globally. that impact was even greater for the uk because globally. that impact was even greaterfor the uk because of globally. that impact was even greater for the uk because of the fall in the value of the pound, which raised the cost of import. all of those factors are now fading. the inflation we see today is more being driven by rising domestic cost. 0k, sarah, thank you for your time. taxi hailing company uber has suspended all tests of self—driving cars, after a woman in arizona was killed in a collision. she was crossing the road with a bicycle when she was struck by the vehicle which was running in ‘autonomous mode', although there was an operator at the wheel. it is the first time a pedestrian has died in an accident involving a self—driving car. a group of us retail giants including walmart, target and costco has asked us president donald trump to reconsider imposing tariffs against china, saying they could hurt american families. reports say the us is preparing to put annual tariffs worth more than £112 billion on chinese imports.

and as much as a third of the weight of an easter egg is still the cardboard and plastic packaging it comes in, according to research by which? but the consumer group added that manufacturers have made big strides to make sure such packaging can be recycled. let's have a look at what the markets have been up to. the pound has fallen slightly, housebuilder bellway has reported a double—digit rise in profits after selling more homes at a higher price. accardo suffering a little bit from the winter storms in february, affecting some of their deliveries. share price down by one and one third of 1%. studio: thank you, rachel. if britain abolishes all tariffs there could be changes in rates. the

institute for fiscal studies... the independent report has warned any gains would be small and costs linked to new trade barriers in the eu could hit consumers. i am joined by the director of the institute for fiscal studies. it is good too happy with us, as ever. prices fall by up toi.2%, with us, as ever. prices fall by up to1.2%, but, and with us, as ever. prices fall by up to 1.2%, but, and it is a big but, isn't it? price is thought to come down if we get rid of all the terrace. i think the chances of that are almost zero because there are reasons tariffs are there. almost no country in the world gets rid of all tariffs. even if you got rid of all of them the effect is relatively small. because on average, goods coming into the eu have got a tariff of less tha n coming into the eu have got a tariff of less than 3% on them. that is a small fraction of what we buy, hence the effect of owning around 1% at most. there is some potential benefit but there are costs. one of the big business costs is it is more

1 to do with $65.55. 1; $33?" e'e’f‘éfi 35“? $55; the union 36633333 13 33’ 75333333 3533 333 the union if rest of the european union if you are putting up barriers in what is currently a customs union. the greater expense would be reflected in the prices we consumers would pat’- in the prices we consumers would pay. are you saying as consumers it would not make much difference to the price, at least in terms of the 1.296 the price, at least in terms of the 1.2% fall and actually we are not going to see a big difference in the prize as we pay for goods? coming out of a customs union really makes, most importantly business to business trade more expensive. if you are moving pieces of a car between germany, the uk and spain, it becomes much more difficult and may result in producing cars, changing and certainly increasing the price of those produced in the uk, depending on a kind of trade. it will make us worse off and in the long run probably worse off by more than any benefit we may get if we reduced tariffs. we probably do not wa nt to reduced tariffs. we probably do not want to reduce them immediately

anyway, because we want them as bargaining chips when we try to get free trade agreements people talk about with other countries. will it make us worse off in the long run? coming out of a customs union clearly does. it makes trade, by far our richest and closest trading partner, it becomes more expensive. if we got rid of most of our terrace, would it not be an economic benefit in the longer term? -- tariffs. if we had a completely free trade policy, getting rid of all tariffs, you can see benefit. frankly it would wipe out parts of british industry and in particular agriculture and at the moment the help of some is in the long—term it will be replaced with more productive industry. but the short run dislocation, by which i mean quite a long period, will be substantial. if you got rid of all the tariffs on agricultural goods, we would clearly have a much smaller farming sector. in the long run, very long run... how long? decades?

0k. it very long run... how long? decades? ok. it might be helpful in the long run. but the short—term costs are very large. pauljohnson, thank you again. nothing enrages road users as much as potholes. essential maintenance is needed in the next year according to the asphalt industry aligned. experts say it would take 1a years to get local roads back to a reasonable state for motorists and cyclists. jane mccubbin reports. that is a problem we are talking about. so many. they are everywhere. everyday i feel like my tyres will be completely ruin. they are pretty much everywhere. atrocious. the roads. they are everywhere. it really needs some investment. the problem irritates motorists but it can be lethal for cyclists. simon and tom are part of

a club cycling around 10,000 miles per year. both have recently been injured. there was nowhere to go with the cars on the right. i hit a pothole. it took one by hands away from the bars and i went down quite hard. probably doing more than 26 mph. i have had injections and fluid put into my shoulders and my hands. cortisone injections. it has been quite an ongoing thing. and the trauma has stayed with you because you are not out there cycling competitively. it really knocks your confidence. just really aware. the road surface. and being pushed out into the traffic because of the state of the broken road. tom has been flawed four times in as many weeks. every single time because of potholes. pretty much, yes. potholes or poorly maintained roads. and we know that the big thaw is likely to make a big problem even bigger.

today a report from the people who will help to look after the six says this... they filled in 24% fewer potholes last year compared to five yea rs potholes last year compared to five years ago and it will take 1a years to clear up the current road repair backlog. local authorities are telling us there are more than 24,000 telling us there are more than 211,000 miles of road which need to be urgently addressed in 12 months. that is like driving around the world. one in five roads got less than five years of life left in them. compare that to last year when we said one in six. the scale of the problem is escalating. roads are getting worse. not always dreamt up to highlight the problem but the local government association said councils are making progress in filling in the holes properly but need more funding from central government. central government say they have given almost £300 million to help deal with the job. they have given almost £300 million to help deal with thejob. simon they have given almost £300 million to help deal with the job. simon was offered £18,000 from the council in compensation. all of this costs. the

report today said nowhere near enough is being spent to tackle decades of underinvestment. the brazilian city of sao paulo is one of the most congested cities in the world. with more than eight million cars, travelling just the shortest distances to and from work can take hours. but there's a new taxi service designed to cut all the congestion. our south america correspondent katy watson has more. these are usually the preserve of the mega rich, but sao paulo's newest cab service wants to shake up the city's skies. richard cameron's giving it a shot. he's only going a few kilometres, from the domestic airport to his office, but it's a journey that on bad days could take over an hour. order the chopper on your mobile app and then head to your nearest helipad, easy. you have that option of taking a flight, taking a helicopter from a helipad right next to your office, and in five minutes be in the airport, or let's say in 15

minutes be in the international airport. it's just a huge advantage and it just saves a lot of time and you can spend more time either at home with your family or in the office and have a productive meeting. so, you know, that's extremely valuable. in this city, said to have the biggest fleet of helicopters in the world, there's plenty of choice. the city of sao paulo has 400 helicopters and 200 helipads, but the recent economic crisis in this country has been tough on the industry. people have less money and the demand for helicopters has fallen, which is why using helicopters more like taxis is seen by operators as one way to boost the industry once again. the helicopters nowadays stay a lot of time on the ground, and when you have less time flying, so he is making less time money than expected, the helicopter, the pilot, the air hangar, in this way that we are looking to reduce the price and create a new kind of transportation

for our population. the aim is to make helicopters a viable alternative to road transport. forjust over $100, you could fly to the international airport — twice the cost of a taxi, but as little as a tenth of thejourney time. for those with the money, it's tempting, but they're still a minority. this woman spends as much as six hours a day commuting across the city. first a bus, then a metro, and the another bus, —— first a bus, then a metro, and another bus, the same on the way home. translation: it would be marvellous, no? in five minutes, i'd be here. i wouldn't have to wake up so early. i've have far more time to do lots more things. people joke that the thing that tires people out the most is the commuting, not the actualjob. for most of this deeply unequal city of 19 million people, travelling to work on a helicopter is still pie in the sky. katie watson, bbc news, in sao paulo.

the headlines are coming up in a moment. we will say goodbye to viewers on bbc two but before that we will have a look at the weather forecast. viewers on bbc two but before that we will have a look at the weather forecast. simon viewers on bbc two but before that we will have a look at the weather forecast. simon king viewers on bbc two but before that we will have a look at the weather forecast. simon king has viewers on bbc two but before that we will have a look at the weather forecast. simon king has the viewers on bbc two but before that we will have a look at the weather forecast. simon king has the latest. hello. it is the spring equinox today and for some of us it is going today and for some of us it is going to feel like spring this week. temperatures gradually rising. this morning and actually across many parts, some lovely sunshine. it looks a bit like spring. these daffodils out in shropshire with the blue skies. however, in some places it doesn't look like spring. it still looks like winter. this is in the south—west. a bit of lying snow on high ground. as for today, you can see from the satellite, lots of sunshine across the uk. a bit of cloud from the north sea into the central areas. either side we continue sunshine

into the afternoon. looking better across the south—east. lots of blue skies and sunshine in northern ireland and into scotland. with light winds and a fairly strong march sunshine, temperatures between seven and nine celsius. i guess it will not feel too bad. tonight, cloud moving away from england and wales. some clear spells here. turning cold quite quickly. further north west, some cloud moving in and maybe some rain. that. temperatures falling too far. elsewhere a hard frost. —— that will stop damage is falling too far. this is in east wales in central and southern areas of england. cold and frosty to start in england and wales on wednesday but lots of sunshine. sunshine gradually disappears as cloud streams in from the north west. rain in the west of scotland and some shells drifting east. temperatures are bya shells drifting east. temperatures are by a couple of degrees compared to today. —— showers drifting east.

on thursday, even more mild. you can see with the orange colours, milder air is streaming in from the south—west. the more typical direction for the uk. and this orange influencing the uk. temperatures again up into double figures on thursday. some breaks in the cloud and sunny spells for many. thicker cloud further north and west and with that some rain. some could be heavy across western scotland and the east of northern ireland. but temperatures again, 11, 12, maybe even 13. by the end of the week, things get a bit colder again going into the weekend. mostly dry with just a fume showers. but increasingly sunny, especially going into sunday. more details of course on the website. but for now enjoy the nice weather out there. goodbye. this is bbc news, and these are the top stories developing at midday. the information commissioner

is to apply for a warrant to search the offices of london—based political consulting firm, cambridge analytica. we need to get to the bottom of what happened with this personal data affecting citizens across the world and we are going to proceed with a warrant to be able to search the servers and the premises. a convoy leaves the russian embassy in london as the deadline approaches for 23 russian diplomats and their families to leave the uk. a two—year—old girl has died after being rescued from a car found in a river in cardigan in wales. the fbi investigates whether a parcel which exploded at a distribution warehouse in texas is related to four other blasts in the state in recent weeks. also the world's last surviving male northern white rhino has died in kenya.

45—year—old sudan's death leaves only two females of the subspecies — his daughter and granddaughter — alive in the world. described as the most overdue knighthood of all time. and ringo starr receives his knighthood from prince william ringo starr receives his knighthood from prince william for services to music. good afternoon. welcome to bbc newsroom live. the company is accused of using data

to influence the us election in 2016. cambridge analytica is a british company normally behind the headlines, not in them. executives from the company were secretly filmed by channel 4 news seeming to suggest using underhand tactics to discredit politicians. the company has rejected the claims, saying it was misrepresented. before the transmission of the report, the chief executive spoke to bbc newsnight. i have a huge amount of regret about the fact that we undertook this meeting and spoke with a certain amount of hyperbole.

the compa ny‘s problems do not end there. cambridge analytica may be responsible for a major breach of ordinary people's data. it has been accused of using personal data of 50 million facebook users to type with voters and encourage them to back donald trump in the 2016 us general election. it is claimed that personality test on facebook were used as a way to mine the data, allowing that to be as may be a breach of privacy laws. that has caused the information commissioner to seek a warrant to search the company's computers and servers after she says they failed to cooperate. we need to get to the bottom of what happened with this personal data. we are going to proceed with a warrant to be able to search the servers on the premises. facebook has denied it has

done anything wrong. it has suspended cambridge analytica. .. cambridge analytica says it has deleted all that information and denies any wrongdoing. dominic grieve told me earlier that stronger data use is needed. when we passed the first data protection act, there was very little understanding to the extent of this whole area was going to become so important. she may well need tougher tools. the government is certainly seeking to do some of that. as the bill goes through parliament, we are going to need to consider very carefully whether in fact greater powers will not be needed. this is

closing the stable door after it has bolted. you need swift action. the commission is saying that she is applying for a warrant. they are being to the cambridge analytica offices. cambridge analytica knows information is being sought. all sorts of things could potentially happen to that information. that means adequate powers of investigation and adequate sanctions for transgression. if you have those in place then one would hope, that the sort of anxiety which people have that data is being misused could be reduced. obviously, if data

is being misused then there must be proper investigative powers. the information commissioner did not suggest that she was unable to investigate this matter. it seems to me that this matter highlights a wider problem of the need for greater powers and greater sanctions. three buses have been seen leaving the russian embassy in london. last week theresa may gave the officials a week to leave in retaliation for the nerve agent attack in salisbury. theresa may is due to chaira attack in salisbury. theresa may is due to chair a meeting to decide whether to take further action against russia which denies involvement in the poisoning of sergei skripal and his daughter. let's talk to our correspondent who was outside the russian embassy in london. that activity have you seen there so far today? there have been

various comings and goings. embassy staff ca m e various comings and goings. embassy staff came out and waved goodbye to those leaving. there have been removal vans. the russian ambassador to the uk confirmed that the 23 diplomats and their families were leaving today, about 80 in total. he said the 23 make up about 40% of the embassy said the 23 make up about 40% of the e m bassy staff said the 23 make up about 40% of the embassy staff and he and lee denied that they were undeclared intelligent officers. he said this was nonsense and the british claims that russia was responsible for this nerve agent attack are untrue. a colossal provocation. the russians have even suggested that the british actually produced the nerve agent themselves, saying that russian scientists have defected to the west

end may have helped various security agencies. on saturday the russians announced that they were expelling 23 british diplomats from russia and that they were also going to close down the british consulate in st petersburg and the british council. theresa may and her ministers will shortly hold a national security council meeting in which they will decide what they are going to do next. they can either escalate it, and there will be a kit for tax response, we have seen that, or they can do nothing and some might say, they might seem weak, they might wait for the results from the organisation for the public the production of chemical weapons. we have been told there will be a minimum of two weeks before we get results. they could decide to do something once we know those results and then hope for... they already

have concerted support from nato, the eu and hope that there will be some kind ofjoint action. thank you very much. let's go to our correspondent in moscow. richard, when they arrive back will it be with much fanfare? the a lot of discussion of the russian officials expelled from the uk? certainly the kremlin have said that vladimir putin will not be holding any reception for them immediately. but if we look at past presidents. if we remember the sleeper agents in the united states, after that they

we re the united states, after that they were treated as heroes. they did have a reception in the kremlin. there were given medals and some of them went on to have very prominent careerfor example, them went on to have very prominent career for example, anna chapman. she went on to the modelling, she had her own tv show and she wept in the youth wing of the kremlin political party here. another of them said he went on to work alongside the head of russia's huge oil company. it looks like they are well looked after. the britishjudge said... he was made a member of parliament. it doesn't look like they are generally looked after. parliament. it doesn't look like they are generally looked afterlj think it is not known yet, when the staff from the british consulate in saint petersburg will be leaving

russia, but do you expect any other official announcements from the kremlin about what is going on? no, not at the moment. as for the british council, it is only actually the head of the council who is a british national. the best our local staff. there has been some state m e nts staff. there has been some statements from the foreign ministry here saying that the head of the british council would not have to leave the country. we're not sure about that. the still time to fathom out what is going on. as for the british diplomats, still we don't know when exactly that is going to happen or whether some have already left. they have a deadline of saturday for them to get out of russia and go back home. thank you very much. the government's latest figures show that the uk's inflation rate has fallen sharply , from 3.0% in january

to 2.7% in february. inflation figures are calculated by tracking the prices we pay for hundreds of things we commonly spend money on, including groceries. the government's target for consumer prices index is 2%. the drop was due to lower petrol prices and a slower rise in the cost of food. the government has been welcoming the news. that will be taking pressure off the consumer. at the recent spring statement they said we can expect real wages to start rising in april throughout the forecast period. this improving outlook will help to drive that. a two—year—old girl has died after being rescued from a car found in a river in wales. kiara moore was pulled from a silver mini in the river teifi in cardigan.

on monday afternoon, numerous facebook posts claimed the car been stolen. officers say they are continuing to investigate and appealed for witnesses who may have seen the vehicle enter the river. earlier we spoke to our correspondent nicola smith as you say, an absolute tragedy and details are still emerging about exactly how this awful chain of events unfolded yesterday. what we do know is that two—year—old kiara moore who was due to turn three next week, died in hospital in cardiff last night. she had been airlifted here by ambulance from the river teifi after being rescued from a car in cardigan, two hours away from here. that followed a huge two hour operation to try to find the car, involving police, fire services and the coast guard. last night on social media her

father posted, thank you for all the help. he said a mega thank you to the officers who jumped in the river and the best of the emergency services. unfortunately, she had a amazing but short life. he has paid tribute to his daughter as an incredible, happy young girl who tried all sorts of activities for her age and made his family very happy. he has also given his sense of what he thought had happened yesterday. i should also add that the deputy chief constable used social media to pass on his condolences to the family and to pay tribute to what he described as the incredible bravery and selflessness shown by the officers who entered the water and rescued the child. the headlines on bbc newsroom live. the information mission is to apply

for a warrant to search the offices of consultant firm, cambridge analytica. russian diplomats and theirfamilies analytica. russian diplomats and their families leave the london embassy. they have been expelled by the prime minister over the nerve agent attack in salisbury. it too—year—old girl has died after being rescued from a car found too—year—old girl has died after being rescued from a carfound in a river in cardigan in wales. it is time now for sport. england scrum—half has admitted they had let the fans down. england finish fifth in the table after losing their final three matches. ireland when the grandson. pundits have called for widespread changes within the england setup. he said the situation is it to did wake up call for the

team. we know we're been disappointing and let the fans down but we still think hopefully this will be the best thing for us and be the boost that we need to go on and do what we want to do in 2019. if we had when another six nations, maybe we would still be in this cloud where everything is great and spelt with the winds and now we have to look at an ourselves. if former top tennis player has described the rules as punishment for players like serena williams. her ranking dropped to 491 and james blake the tournament director says a she needs tournament director says a she needs to be protected. she will play in the first round in miami and u2 are low ranking, she can be seeded and will play a tougher opponent later

in —— earlier in the tournament. readjustment to move on to cricket. england bowler craig overton has said he is fit and ready to play in the first test against new zealand. they are still waiting on the fitness of ben stokes. he was unable to bowl in last week's warm up match in hamilton. he is keen to add two test ca ps. in hamilton. he is keen to add two test caps. ijust need to put in the preparation to be ready. there are two days. it was unfortunate and it has been really good since then. that is on the spot for now. the corporation says this is common

across the media industry. our media correspondent david sillito is here. a lot of the people you see and listen to every day on the bbc are not actually employed by the bbc. they may be paid by them, but for yea rs they may be paid by them, but for years they were freelancers. a lot of them out on every day and the tax authorities have said, hold on a second, these people are unemployed. they are essentially employing people but they don't pay holiday pay, sick pay, maternity pay, pension arrangements. there seems to have been all sorts of issues around tax. today, mps have been hearing from presenters saying they had been

stressed, suicidal, facing tax demands, double amounts of tax. some people have not been paid for months. it seems to be wide—ranging. the only hearing from today? months. it seems to be wide—ranging. the only hearing from today7m anyone listens to radio 4, paul lewis from money box who has tried to work out why similar things have gone wrong. kirsty lang. she said she has felt very upset that some of this has appeared in the press. the bbc may have to pay some of this tax back and pay twice. she is feeling very aggrieved about it.|j back and pay twice. she is feeling very aggrieved about it. i totally believe in the bbc but i really feel

strongly that they have... my picture has ended up under headlines about overpaid tax dodging employees and the licence payer has to pay their tax bills. that is not fair. i am the last person... who do i work for? i work for the person who asked to pay £150 per year. i work for them. for me, that is really upsetting and my colleagues and it isa upsetting and my colleagues and it is a tragedy that this mismanagement will lead to millions of pounds, possibly, being taken out of the coffers to rightfully compensate people who have been through hell to the point of nearly taking their own life or been loaded with a tax bill.

it is not something i want to be a poster girl for to take the money off the licence payer. i really resent that because none of that is about... what has been the response from bbc management? an acceptance that there is a problem. they say they are going to appoint a independent conflict resolution team who will look into these individual cases. the national audit office will look into see whether or not the bbc are doing what they should be doing. there is a lot of questioning about how much is down to the bbc and how to the tax authorities changing the rules. they say they want and industrywide examination of this. thank you very much. ringo star has received a knighthood

for services to charity and music. 52 years after he received an mbe. our correspondent is at buckingham palace. it means a lot. musically and in life. i was really pleased to accept this award. where does it rank compared to your other career achievements? you mean our first number one? it is way up there. and it's going to close the box. this is not the first time you have been to buckingham palace. in 1965 uk for an mbe. compare and contrast today with that. that was a long time ago. for lads straight out of liverpool. we have seen a bit of the world since then and this is another honour. we had a lot of fun because there were

four of us. apparently in 1965 uso nervous, you snuck off to the toilet and had a cigarette. who said that? i don't know. i'm not keeping that rumour going. you also where you are on the cover of sergeant pepper ‘s. brea kfast. on the cover of sergeant pepper ‘s. breakfast. one more question. on the cover of sergeant pepper ‘s. breakfast. one more questionm on the cover of sergeant pepper ‘s. breakfast. one more question. it is freezing. how much will you choose the title? i don't know it yet. today, it is new. i don't know how you use it properly, but i expect you use it properly, but i expect you to use it. so ringo starr sir richard starkey? it says beverly hills. that is where i live now. how much is this an award for liverpool? it all started in liverpool. last week paul and i had dinner in los

angeles together and we were talking about liverpool to hear. it is like mad. he got a knighthood as well. did he give you advice? he said keep smiling. congratulations to him talking to our correspondent. the taxi hailing service over as suspended testing of its driverless ca rs suspended testing of its driverless cars after a fatal accident. the 49—year—old woman was hit as she walked her bike across the street. while self driving cars have been involved in crashes, it is the first time one of them hasn't been involved in a fatal collision. a new guide to encourage people to support suspicious behaviour or activity. detectives have revealed that one in five reports contained useful intelligence. the police need the

public ‘s help to tackle terrorism. they want the public to be their ea rs they want the public to be their ears and eyes and look out for unusual activity and behaviour. the message is, trust your instincts. just as officers dispersed to spot something that does not feel right. a cargoing something that does not feel right. a car going past the same location numerous times, a person with no direction or purpose. the list is not exhaustive except what is suspicious to that person. as part of the police campaign, there is a short film. to show people the kind of things they should report. we have long said that every good police officer should be a counterterrorism officer. and want

every citizen to be the same. counterterror police said they have received more than 6000 useful to boston last year out of almost 31,000 calls and messages and the information to on coming. the world's last surviving male northern white rhino has died after months of ill health, according to his carers in kenya. 45—year—old sudan was put to sleep on monday after age—related complications worsened significantly. his death leaves only two females — his daughter and granddaughter — of the subspecies alive in the world. hope for preserving the northern white rhino now lies in developing ivf techniques. richard vine runs the conservancy where sudan lived, and spoke to the bbc a little earlier about this sad news. he was the last remaining white rhino, male white rhino on the

planet. for a long time there has only been three left of that particular species. some people argue it is a sub species but that is inconsequential. the fact is that this species has been hunted to extinction and the chances of recovering this species are remote although possibilities through artificial reproductive techniques still exist. it is a sad moment. he has been with us for approximately eight years. has become a good friend but he was a very old rhino and it was inevitable that this day would come. earlier, i got more reaction to this awful news from simonjones, the founder and chief executive of charity ‘helping rhinos‘. yes it is very sad. i saw sudan injanuary and have known him for a number of yea rs.

it is very sad. it is not really sad for sudan himself. he was 45 years old which is over 100 years in human years. he was last of this species we have now lost the last male of his species. that is the situation that is really sad. we just saw a photograph of you and sudan and we‘re now looking at some images of him. according to the world wildlife fund, there were 2000 of these northern white rhinos back in 1960 and now today we just have two. sudan‘s daughter and granddaughter. what has caused this drop in the population? the northern white rhinos come from the central area of africa like south sudan and the republic of congo. that area has a lot of civil unrest which makes it difficult to have effective conservation operations. it has made poaching of these rhinos much easier

for the armies that are out there. they sell the horns on the black market and use that to fund terrorist activities. because of that lack of effective conservation operations, we have effectively wiped them out in their natural habitat. unfortunately, as i understand it, neither sudan‘s daughter or granddaughter are capable of carrying a calf to full term but it is hoped that ivf techniques using semen collected from male rhinos and expected from either his daughter or granddaughter could be carried by a surrogate, a southern white rhino. how realistic is it that this technique could preserve this subspecies for a little longer at least?

we have some of the best scientific brains looking at the process now and we have made some good progress over recent years. we have to have hope that we can make progress in that and that one day we can use science to create northern white rhino embryos and see that they are giving birth again. some people will question spending the amount of money to make that happen and we need money elsewhere in conservation. the reality is if we want hope of returning northern lights back to their natural habitat, we need to preserve some of that northern white gene that we can use. my argument is that the likes of sudan, we are then that too to traffic and do all we can to preserve his species

because the cars this in the first place. now time for the weather forecast. and the weather is looking pretty good for most of us in the next few days. a little bit of rain around. still a bit of a nip days. a little bit of rain around. stilla bit ofa nip in days. a little bit of rain around. still a bit of a nip in the air. pretty cold out there. you can see from the motion of the clouds coming from the motion of the clouds coming from the motion of the clouds coming from the north and north—east. these weather systems in the atlantic will come in our direction. that is the key here. the south—westerly will set in and bring in milder weather. and just in time, because today, the 20th of march, is technically the first day of astronomical spring. we have moved from still officially winter yesterday into spring today. wednesday, the middle part of the week, you can see the westerly

setting across scotland. some rain around, as well. for many of us it should be relatively bright. we will start to feel things improving a little bit. a little bit of rain towards the end of the week. but on balance i think it is not bad. this is bbc newsroom live. our latest headlines: the information commissioner is seeking a warrant to search the offices of the london—based political consulting firm, cambridge analytica. the company is accused of using the personal data of 50 million facebook members to influence the us presidential election in 2016. a convoy has left the russian embassy in london as the deadline approaches for 23 russian diplomats and their families to leave the uk. theresa may is considering further action against russia over the nerve agent attack in salisbury. a two—year—old has died after being pulled from a car found in a river.

kiara moore was taken to hospital in cardiff but later died. it would have been her third birthday next tuesday. us authorities are investigating whether a parcel bomb that exploded at a fedex depot in texas is connected to a suspected serial bomber. the incident took place this morning, south of austin, where four bombs have killed two people in recent weeks. the world‘s last surviving male northern white rhino has died after months of ill health. 45—year—old sudan‘s death leaves only two females of the subspecies alive in the world. the former beatles drummer ringo starr has been knighted for his services to music. it‘s been described as the "most overdue knighthood of all time" by musical writer sir tim rice. in a moment... once reserved for the super rich, we‘ll take a look at the fleet of helicopter taxis aiming to shake up the transport system of one of the world‘s

most congested cities. a two—year—old girl has died after she was pulled from a car found a two—year—old girl has died after she was pulled from a carfound in a two—year—old girl has died after she was pulled from a car found in a river in wales. we can and talk to thomas morgan. —— we can go to cardigan. she was supposed to be three years old next week. next tuesday, in fact. what we know about the circumstances leading to her death? it is understood powys police received a call at around half past three yesterday afternoon. they had been contacted by the family, who could not find their car after parking behind the family business on the other side of the river here. a search was then under way. and

later at around five o‘clock the car was found in the riverjust here in cardigan in west wales. about 30 emergency service personnel were involved in the search and rescue operation. the two—year—old was found in the car. she was taken directly by air ambulance to the cardiff university hospital of wales, where doctors did their best to revive her. but unfortunately she died. herfather has to revive her. but unfortunately she died. her father has written on facebook today. he has said he‘s very thankfulfor facebook today. he has said he‘s very thankful for the work the emergency services which they put in to try to revive his young daughter. he paid tribute to the young toddler who died yesterday. it is still not clear how exactly this car came to be in the river yesterday afternoon. thomas, thank you very much. thomas morgan there for us. there‘s a warning that a fifth

of roads in england and wales are in a poor condition because councils don‘t have enough money to tackle potholes. the study, by the asphalt industry alliance, is based on information from local authorities. it says maintenance funding has fallen short for many years and some roads are now becoming unsafe. jayne mccubbin reports. that is a problem we are talking about. so many. they‘re everywhere. every day i feel like my tyres will be completely ruined. they are pretty much everywhere. atrocious. the roads. they‘re everywhere now. it really needs some investment. the problem irritates motorists, but it can be lethal for cyclists. simon and tom are part of a club cycling around 10,000 miles per year. both have recently been injured. there was nowhere to go with the cars on the right. i hit a pothole. it took one of my hands away from the bars and i went down quite hard. probably doing more than 26 mph.

i have had injections and fluid put into my shoulders and my hands. cortisone injections. it has been quite an ongoing thing. and the trauma has stayed with you because you‘re not out there cycling competitively. it really knocks your confidence. just really aware. of the road surface. and being pushed out into the traffic because of the state of the broken road. tom has been floored four times in as many weeks. every single time because of potholes. pretty much, yes. potholes or poorly maintained roads. and we know that the big thaw is likely to make a big problem even bigger. today a report from the people who will help to look after the fix says this... the councils filled in 24% fewer potholes last year compared to five years ago and it will take 1a years to clear up the current road repair backlog.

local authorities are telling us there are more than 211,000 miles of road which need to be urgently addressed in 12 months. that is like driving around the world. one in five roads have got less than five years of life left in them. compare that to last year when we said one in six. the scale of the problem is escalating. roads are getting worse. novel ways are dreamt up to highlight the problem but the local government association said councils are making progress in filling in the holes properly but need more funding from central government. central government say they have given almost £300 million to help deal with the job. simon was offered £18,000 from the council in compensation. all of this costs. the report today said nowhere near enough is being spent to tackle decades of underinvestment. joining me now is amanda stretton. she‘s a former racing driver who‘s now the motoring editor of confused.com. amanda, good to have you with us.

you do not have to travel very fast, not racing driver speed, to notice some of the road conditions. presumably bad road conditions and potholes will be exacerbated by the recent bad weather. absolutely. the number of breakdown is reported to the rac after the beast from the east doubled the week after. potholes are such an issue for motorists. one third of motorists we have spoken to have had car damaged by potholes, as well. and if you claim on your insurance for it you lose your no claims bonus. it is considered at fault as a clam. it is a problem for motorists who feel com pletely a problem for motorists who feel completely squeezed and between a rock and a hard place. where do motorists look for some kind of redress ? motorists look for some kind of redress? do they make claims against local authorities? motorists should be doing that. it is their responsibility to maintain the road. there is a guide on our website on

how to make your claim and who to make it to, depending on the road you travel on. motorists need to get some evidence, take photographs, maybe get a scale of the pothole by putting an object to it, some witnesses and of course their repair claims. we heard from the local government association the week before last about how their budgets, as we know, are being drastically squeezed and spending on repairing roads is getting pushed further down the list of priorities. where does the list of priorities. where does the answer lie? do you have any sympathy is with local authorities when they say we have to spend so much on social care, and education and so on and we do not have the money to spend on roads?” and so on and we do not have the money to spend on roads? i think everybody has sympathy but we have got to solve this problem. look at other figures out today. 10% of uk roads need urgent repair and 20% need repair in the next five years. this problem is not going to go away with a quick fix. everybody has seen

potholes repaired one day and almost come back the next day and if you recycle it and you hit a pothole the consequences can be devastating. it is not only damage to your current wheels you are talking about. i think everyone has sympathy but essentially this problem needs to be properly addressed to make roads safer for everybody. you referred to the asphalt industry alliance survey, says 20% of the uk roads have less than five years of life left in them. that is really shocking. is that an overstatement? i don‘t think it is. if you live in rural areas like i do, the roads around me are shocking. and i see the council is making little patch repairs on one hole and they seem to leave another one just a few hundred yards further down the road. the way they prioritise is who has made a claim and various depths and widths. it does not solve the fundamental problem of roads in a shocking state

of repair. something must be done about it, as proved by the figures. but without the money there is no obvious answer. you just have to keep making claims. amanda, thank you for talking to us, amanda stretton. we are going to go to the house of commons. we have had an urgent question on fisheries and what happens with brexit. the mp for orkney and shetland is speaking now. urgent question, alistair carmichael. thank you for allowing this urgent question and for giving our fishing communities a voice this urgent question and for giving ourfishing communities a voice in the chamber today. i would like to ask the secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs for a statement on the progress in negotiating related to the future fisheries management arrangements after the uk leads the european union. —— leaves. after the uk leads the european union. -- leaves. thank you and i thank him for the opportunity to update the house. can i begin by

paying tribute to the hard work of the ministers and especially the civil servants of our country‘s negotiating team ? civil servants of our country‘s negotiating team? they have concluded an agreement on the nature and length of the implementation period to help us prepare for life after brexit. task force 50 on the heart of the eu and are civil serva nts heart of the eu and are civil servants have secured a text which will go to the council of the european union and after that council at the end of this week the prime minister will update the house on monday. the house will be aware there are important legal and technical questions related to fishery management, meaning an optimised special position in negotiation. the eu and our negotiators were always clear specific arrangements must be agreed forfisheries. our proposal was during the implementation period we would sit alongside other coastal states as a third country and equal partner in annual quit negotiations. in making that case we did that after full consultation with

representatives of the fisheries industry. we pressed hard to secure the outcome. we are disappointed eu we re the outcome. we are disappointed eu were not willing to move on it. but it is the case that thanks to the ha rd it is the case that thanks to the hard work of our negotiating team thatis hard work of our negotiating team that is the text was amended from the original proposal and the commission have agreed to amendments to the text which provide for additional reassurance. the revised text clarifies the uk quota share will not change in the fermentation period and the uk can attend international negotiations. it concludes an obligation on both sides to act in good faith throughout the implementation. any attempt by the eu to operate in a way which would harm the fishing industry would breach the obligation. these arrangements will only apply to negotiations in december 2019. we‘re at the table as a full member state in december 2018

and in december 2020 we will be negotiating fishing opportunities as a third country and independent coastal state, deciding who has access to our waters, on what terms, for the first time in over a0 years will stop it is important we use a transition period to make sure we can negotiate as a third country in 2020 to maximise the benefits for coastal communities, to make sure we control who has access to our waters, on what terms and to make sure we manage our resources sustainably. we are already looking at considerations for future fishing opportunities, including the nature of catches and stocks, in the uk, with an exclusive economic zone. there is a significant prize at the end of the milling plantation —— implementation. it is important that in every area it is a necessary step towards securing the prize for our coastal communities. it is an

opportunity to revive economic lead. for the marine environment is an opportunity to be managed sustainably. it is critical in the interests of the whole nation we keep our eyes on the prize. alistair carmichael. i thank the secretary of state for the answer. but as recently as two weeks ago the prime minister did not see this step as necessary at that point. i must tell him that if he does not already know, the mood in fishing communities today is one of palpable angen communities today is one of palpable anger. this is not what they were promised. the basic question the secretary of state has to answer todayis secretary of state has to answer today is this... if they can let us down like this over the deal for a transitional period, how do we know it will not do it again when it comes to the final deal? when it comes to the final deal? when it comes down to it will they trade away a ccess comes down to it will they trade away access for waters to access for markets or anything else? the house

also needs to hear today how this bizarre arrangement is going to work in practice. the eu norway deal in mackerel expires at the end of the year. we thought it would be rolled overfor 12 months. if that‘s year. we thought it would be rolled over for 12 months. if that‘s still the case? what barrier will there be to the commission agreeing another bad dealfor ourfleet? with regard toa bad dealfor ourfleet? with regard to a disco band, the secretary of state should know british boats have a particular problem with cake as a choke species. that is a problem for our fleet and nobody else. does choke species. that is a problem for ourfleet and nobody else. does he expect the other 27 member countries will come up with a solution to something which is a problem only for us and not them? it was reported the government chief whip today, or yesterday, told his backbenchers, it

is not like the fishermen are going to vote labour. if that is true it does betray a certain attitude. the secretary of state must not be complacent. we should not take it for granted in the future that they will be voting tory either.|j for granted in the future that they will be voting tory either. i am grateful to the honourable gentleman for his fairand grateful to the honourable gentleman for his fair and detailed comments. i happily acknowledge there is disappointment in the fishing communities. i know has somebody whose father was a fish merchant and whose father was a fish merchant and whose grandparents went to sea fishing, i understand how fishing communities feel about the situation andi communities feel about the situation and i share their disappointment. secondly, the honourable gentleman asked about future negotiations and the role we will play. there is a unique 12—month period leading up to next year, at the end of the year in the december council the eu will argue on behalf of the uk, but the uk will be there as part of a

co nsulta nt uk will be there as part of a consultant delegation to make sure all the legitimate interests he has raised are represented fairly. he raises the question of a disco band... studio: michael gove responding to the liberal democrat mpfor responding to the liberal democrat mp for orkney and shetland, alistair carmichael, who had an urgent question about future fishery management after the uk leads the european union. —— leaves. news now ofa european union. —— leaves. news now of a shooting at a school in the us state of maryland will stop this was confirmed by the school ——. this has been confirmed by the school and also the local sheriff‘s office. the school we are told is on lockdown and the sheriff‘s office is on the scene. they described the event as contained. some outlets have reported multiple injuries. this is

the website of the st mary‘s county public school, confirming in the yellow pa rt public school, confirming in the yellow part of the screen, there has been a shooting at the great mills high school. a number of outlets reporting multiple injuries. it is only a few days before the national march for our lives, inspired by the shooting at the marjory stoneman douglas high school in florida. which you will remember from just a few weeks ago. in which 17 people we re few weeks ago. in which 17 people were killed. now we are getting reports confirmed by the local sheriff ‘s office, confirmed by the school, about a shooting at the great mills high school in st mary‘s cou nty great mills high school in st mary‘s county in maryland. police are on the scene. this is a twitter message. . . the scene. this is a twitter message... we are trying to get you a message on twitter from the sheriff‘s office. we will bring it to you if we can. let me tell you

what the sheriff‘s office is saying. they are saying officers are on the scene and the school is on lockdown. you can see the tweet. they are appealing to parents not to go to the school but to report to another high school. they say the school is on lockdown. they are describing the event as contained. but a number of outlets are reporting multiple injuries in this latest school shooting in the united states. we will bring you more about that on the bbc news throughout the day. that is a developing story. consumers could see prices falling by up consumers could see prices falling by up to1.2% consumers could see prices falling by up to 1.2% if britain abolishes all tariffs when it leaves the european union. the findings are in a report by the financial think tank institute for fiscal studies. the report has also warned any gains would be small and costs linked to

new trade barriers could hit consumers. pauljohnson is the director of the institute for fiscal to the and has told me more about the report prices all to come down if we get rid of all of the terrace. the chances are almost zero because there are reasons tariffs are there. almost no country in the world gets rid of all tariffs. even if you get rid of all tariffs. even if you get rid of all of them the effect is relatively small. on average, goods coming into the eu have a tariff of less tha n coming into the eu have a tariff of less than 3% and that is quite a small fraction of what we buy, hence the effect of owning around 1% at most. there is some potential benefit but there are costs. one of the big business costs is it becomes more expensive to do business with the rest of the european union if you are putting up barriers in what is currently a customs union. that greater expense would presumably be reflected in the prices we as

consumers would pay. are you saying as consumers it would not make much difference to the price? at least in terms of the 1.2% fall, actually we will not see a huge difference in prices we pay for goods. coming out ofa prices we pay for goods. coming out of a customs union makes first of all and most importantly business to business trade more expensive. if you are moving parts of a car between germany, the uk and spain and back to the uk, it is much more difficult and may result in producing cars, changing and increasing the price of those produced in the uk, the pentagon that kind of trade. it will make us worse off and in the long—term by more than benefit we might get if we reduced tariffs. —— depending on that kind of trade. we would not wa nt to that kind of trade. we would not want to reduce tariffs immediately anyway, because we want to use them as bargaining chips when we try to get free trade agreements with other countries. did you say worse off in the long run? coming out of the

customs union clearly does because it makes trade, which is with our biggest trading partner, more expensive. if the uk got rid of ta riffs expensive. if the uk got rid of tariffs all most of them, would that not be economic league and official in the longer term? —— would that not be an economic benefit.“ in the longer term? —— would that not be an economic benefit. if we had a policy getting rid of all ta riffs had a policy getting rid of all tariffs you can see benefits. frankly it would wipe out parts of british industry and in particular agriculture and the hope of some would be in the long term they would be replaced with more productive industries. but clearly the short—term dislocation, by which i mean quite a long period, would be very substantial. if you got rid of all the tariffs on agricultural goods, we would clearly have a much smaller farming sector. goods, we would clearly have a much smallerfarming sector. in goods, we would clearly have a much smaller farming sector. in the long run... how long is the very long run? decades? ok. that might be helped in the long run but the costs are helped in the long run but the costs a re clearly helped in the long run but the costs are clearly very large. pauljohnson

at the institute for fiscal studies talking to me earlier. a tweet has been sent by damian collins, the chairman of the digital culture media and sport select committee. he has said he has today written... he has said he has today written... he has written to the ceo of facebook, calling on him to give evidence to the commons culture media select committee after recent reports in the guardian and new york times. he would like to talk to mike zucker berg about allegations that data from millions of facebook users has been used in ways other than they might have expected, including allegations that the company cambridge analytica might have used data from millions of facebook users

to influence the last us presidential election. in a moment we have the news at one o‘clock with jane hill but first, the weather forecast. in the last 24 hours we have had a change. we have moved from astronomical winter into astronomical spring. today, the 20th of march, marks the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere. and what is the first day of spring bringing us? a lot of fine weather, actually. there has been a shift in wind direction. we still have wind for a time coming from the north and north—east, especially across eastern areas but increasingly these weather systems and wind will be coming from the atlantic, so we will have marked change to how things feel outside. as far as the evening is concerned, still pretty cold out there. you can see the north—easterly wind affecting some parts of the country. the winners

will be light, the skies will be clear, temperatures dropping away. we are in for a pretty sharp frost tonight. in towns and cities temperatures will be below freezing. in the atlantic, the weather front is lining up, thicker cloud, south—westerly wind. by about wednesday and thursday, particularly, we will start to feel milder air. moving across the uk on thursday and then colder air coming towards the end of the week. a lot of blue here but believe me the key is the direction in the wind. rather than cold air sweeping out of the east, anything from the northwest atla ntic east, anything from the northwest atlantic is not going to be anywhere near as cold. on wednesday we have a westerly across scotland, bringing cloud and rain. we see widely temperatures at eight or 9 degrees. 10 degrees in london with sunshine. not a bad day for most of us. thursday‘s weather forecast... a

not a bad day for most of us. thursday‘s weatherforecast... a bit of snow in the continent. that is the cold air sweeping away. the south—westerly wind will not only eventually engulf the british isles, you can see a bit of rain here on thursday, but milder air reaching other parts of the continent. 12 degrees in london. that will feel balmy compared to what we have had. low pressure on friday. these atla ntic low pressure on friday. these atlantic weather systems are winning. pushing through and bringing milder conditions but still feeling fairly chilly because of showers rattling in on a strong breeze. that is it from me. goodbye. the information commissioner applies for a warrant to search the offices of the consulting firm accused of misusing data from facebook. a former employee claims cambridge analytica harvested the personal information of 50 million facebook users. it denies any wrongdoing we need to get to the bottom of what happened with this personal data, affecting citizens across the world, and we are going to proceed with a warrant to be able to search the servers and the premises.

we will have the latest. also this lunchtime... 23 russian diplomats pull out of london — ordered to leave by the prime minister in the wake of the salisbury poisoning. a two—year—old girl dies after being pulled from a car in a river in cardigan in wales.