this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. the headlines at eight: the british company accused of influencing the presidential election by using facebook data, suspends its ceo, meanwhile mps have requested a face to face with facebook, calling on founder mark zuckerberg to answer their questions. an raf engineer has died after a red arrows hawkjet crashed in anglessey. the pilot survived and is receiving medical care. heading home — 23 russian diplomats leave their embassy, ordered out of the uk in the wake of the salisbury poisoning. also in the next hour: the northern white rhino on the brink of extinction. the last surviving male has died. the survival of the subspecies will now have to rely on ivf. six months after hurricane maria ripped a path of destruction through puerto rico, we visit the island still struggling to recover.

good evening and welcome to bbc news. the london based company cambridge analytica has suspended its chief executive alexander nix as the row over use of facebook data deepens. it follows allegations from a whistleblower that information about 50 million facebook subscriberrs has been harvested from the site and used by cambridge analytica for political purposes. facebook‘s boss, mark zuckerberg, has been ordered to appear before mps to answer allegations. our business editor simonjack reports. in the information age, personal data is the new currency and we spend it liberally on social

media platforms; how old we are, whether we're in a relationship, what are our political leanings, this could be gathered and used. cambridge analytica is a company which does exactly that, and it's at the centre of a storm that has rocked some of the biggest companies in the world. it started with an app designed by a british academic, which invited facebook users to do a personality test. 270,000 people downloaded it. it collected personal information on them, theirfriends, their friends‘ friends and so on, until it had info on 50 million facebook users. that data was passed to cambridge analytica, which allegedly used it to influence the presidential election in the us using highly targeted messages, a charge denied by the company. the uk's data watchdog said she'd concerns about the company for some time. these allegations are very serious, they came to the attention of our office some months ago. and on the 7th march, i issued a demand for information to cambridge. they did not comply with that, so now i'm moving ahead to seek

a warrant, so i can search premises and data. separately, cambridge analytica executives were secretly filmed by channel 4, seeming to offer on advice on how to influence politicians. cambridge analytica says it has been grossly misrepresented. whether this tiny consultancy was really involved in influencing the us presidential election, there's an old adage in digital marketing which says that if the services you're getting are free, then you are the product, served up to advertisers who are convinced that highly targeted messages constructed around detailed personal information really work. since the scandal broke, facebook has seen £50 billion wiped off its value and the pressure on the company was cranked up today, when the federal trade commission

announced it will investigate its handling of customer data. it has the power to levy enormous fines. facebook denies any wrongdoing. so, could this be a moment of reckoning for the way our personal data is used 7 i think for the first time, things that people suspected have surfaced, thanks to the testimony of whistle—blowers. now we're finally seeing the that leaders of these companies are being called to testify in front of parliaments, they're being held to account in the media, analysts in the financial industry are dumping their stock as a vote of no confidence. this is a real moment where it's going to incentivise change. the facts of our lives have value. facebook founder mark zuckerberg has built a fortune out of them. he'll have the chance to tell mps just how safely that information is kept. simon jack, bbc news. has this story made us rethink

information we share online. dr libby bishop, is an expert on data at the uk data archive at the university of essex, and the gesis—leibniz institute for social sciences in cologne, from where shejoins me now. thank you for being with us. do you think people will now have second thoughts about the way they use social media sites like facebook? thank you very much for having me on tonight, and i was but by clarifying tonight, and i was but by clarifying to make sure i am speaking in my personal capacity and not with my institutional affiliations to night. i hope it will make people reconsider and make them aware of the extent of data collection, and i think people may be aware of that to some extent, and it is the onward use of data, the passing on of data from the original point, whether it is used for facebook or other platforms. but it is the further

selling of that data onto third parties that i think most people are quite unaware of. some people might be reasonably 0k quite unaware of. some people might be reasonably ok with it being used for commercial purposes, for advertising or what ever, or even market research. but when it comes to politics, they might be more queasy. well, yes, of course. applications for the us election, russian interference and so on are quite relevant. more generally, the problem arises any time the data is collected in one context, whether thatis collected in one context, whether that is for research, for marketing, and then move on to another context, different from the original one. people i think have a right to understand under what emissions data can be passed on, and what the potential new uses might be. what are the key questions now for facebook do you think? and facebook

are they aware of all abuses of their information am perhaps?” don't know. it is a company, in general, based on what i am reading, there is a problem with a bubble effect the silicon valley. i think too many of the people working there, executives there, believe they are doing good work, but they don't get input from the rest of the world. what questions should they be asking? you can come back to fundamental questions about ethical questions in any domain, whether it is data or anything else. there are different perspectives one can use, but there are questions about justice, is what you are doing fed? does it have an equal effects or impacts on some people than others? justice is one. most people know it

as do no harm, but understand the consequences for damage my how much harm can certain kinds of data do? and the third principle is respect. this to me is absolutely fundamental. it has to do with the idea of respecting people's autonomy and not treating them as means to other ends. 0nce and not treating them as means to other ends. once you see people solely as a tool for marketing, something to commercialise, dated to be sold to increase profits, you have violated a quite fundamental ethical principle about respecting people's autonomy. do you think in some ways, people have been naive about the way they put their lives on facebook, but other social media, two, twitter, instagram, and will this now, this whole episode, will it change the way people use social media? there is a fair bit of research on what is called the privacy paradox, people claim to be concerned about privacy, and yet,

they don't take the most stringent actions to control privacy, to change default settings, to not put up change default settings, to not put up data in the first place. it is a mixed picture. iwill mixed picture. i will say i think there is room for many to take more responsibility in this area. but i don't believe it should fall on the shoulders of individuals to make detailed decisions on every instance, to ensure their data is safe. this is quite a strong movement in the us. to think about a quick comparison, any time i plug in an electric appliance into the grid, i don't panic about whether or not i'm going to be electrocuted, because there are standards in place that say that will be a safe thing to do. i don't test my water from every ta b to do. i don't test my water from every tab in my home, thinking that from one tap it might be said, from

another one it could be dangerous. the internet ought to be something like that. the default assumption should be that you're not going to be targeted or harmed for your participation in what is increasingly an essential mode of communication and interaction in our world. i think we are going to need far more extensive government regulation to bring that kind of world about. all right, very good to talk to you. thank you for your thoughts and analysis. dr libby bishop there, a data specialist. dave lee is outside facebook‘s headquarters in san francisco. dave, a lot of questions suddenly for facebook to answer. a lot of questions, and they haven't really begun answering them. there has been a meeting at facebook today. it was billed as an open meeting, and it seems like one of

the compa ny‘s top meeting, and it seems like one of the company's top lawyers addressed employees about what is going on. crucially, and importantly, not at the meeting was mark zuckerberg, nor his number two in command, sheryl sandberg. we haven't heard from either of them since this news broke on friday night here. that is increasing the pressure on the company to get on top of this. we know that tomorrow facebook is sending representatives to washington to address congress. that is the first thing it has to do. it is the first thing it has to do. it is becoming a world tour for the company in facing committees and investigations and they are trying to get to the bottom of how this interference, potentially, could have been able to happen on facebook. clearly, potentially a lot of reputational damage, but also at the moment, damage on the stock markets as well for facebook. not insignificant damage. the last time i checked before i came on air to talk to you is the company's value

since the news broke, it has dropped by $60 billion. an incredible amount. it shows the seriousness investors see this crisis with. they are certainly concerned that this is something that gets to the very core of facebook‘s business model, its ability to have all this data and run advertising and targeted campaigns against it. if they are curtailed in doing that with new radiation, which is where many people think this is heading, new rules to govern facebook, that could really, really hit their bottom line. this is a company where the product is personal data. as well as affecting facebook, it is worth saying other technology companies in a similar space, such as twitter, for its offer, have seen a drop in shares as a result of the crisis happening here. —— for example. dave leave therefore us in san francisco. and we'll find out how this story, and many others, are covered

in tomorrow's front pages at 10:40 this evening in the papers. our guests joining me tonight are former trade minister, lord digbyjones and broadcaster and campaigner, henry bonsu. 0ther other news at 8:13. an raf engineer died when a red arrows hawkjet crashed following an incident at raf valley in north wales. the jet‘s pilot survived the incident. the commander of raf valley confirmed the death. the royal air force can confirm the death of an engineer from the royal air force aerobatics team the red arrows in a tragic accident today. the engineer's family have been informed and have asked for a 2k hour period of grace before further details are released. the pilot of the aircraft survived the incident and is currently receiving medical care. thank you. well our correspondent roger pinney is at raf valley —

and earlier he gave me this update. well, we know when the accident happened. it was sometime late this morning. at the moment, we do know that the investigation is under way on the runwayjust behind me. emergency services remained on the site here and a vehicle is blocking the runway. presumably, allowing these investigators to get on with their work. it's no surprise that whilst based in lincolnshire, the red arrows should come here to valley. they, the red arrows, fly hawk trainers for their aerobatics and this is the home of the hawk trainerfor the raf. the hawk trainer is the principal fast jet trainer and this is where fast jet training carries on. and so, the red arrows pilots come here to use these simulators here at valley. we've seen a little bit of activity late this afternoon. vehicles moving up and down the runway close to the crash site. presumably that will be part of the investigation. raf valley has said this evening

this is a very sad day for them and it will be a very sad day for them. but, beyond the welfare of the surviving pilot, i think of paramount importance for the raf now will be to discover exactly what happened and why. and from eyewitnesses who have been giving their descriptions of what they saw, it does seem that the pilot did manage to eject and certainly one eyewitness saw a parachute landing from the plane. yes, eyewitnesses have been consistent about that. we have certainly had a number of them saying that they saw at least one parachute. we had heard reports of two being seen, but we have also heard conflicting reports that the engineer didn't manage to eject. 0ne eyewitness told me that he saw the aircraft appear to wobble in the air and come in at a strange angle. people round here are very familiar with jets landing

and taking off at valley. they know what to expect, and this witness told me that what happened was unexpected, the plane was coming in strangely, and it was just around that time that he saw a parachute and, shortly afterwards, the aircraft hitting the ground close to the runway and exploding into flames and then a pall of smoke that was seen for miles around here. the head of the raf, air chief marshall sir stephen hillier gave this statement: the headlines on bbc news: the british company accused of influencing the us presidential election by using facebook data,

suspends its ceo and an raf engineer has died after a red arrows hawkjet crashed in anglesey. the pilot survived and is in hospital. 23 russian diplomats leave the uk, after they were expelled by the prime minister in the wake of the salisbury poisoning attack. let's check out all the day's sports news so let's check out all the day's sports news so far. jose mourinho will be enjoying the fact this week's about international football with a difficult few days that preceded it. first, an astonishing reaction to manchester united going out of the champions league, and then after their fa cup win at the weekend, he reserved his strongest criticism for united left back luke shaw. it's led to some questioning whether his management style is out of date. but one of shaw's teammates ashley young has backed his manager's handling of the club's turbulent week. i won't comment on the luke shaw

situation. it obviously between the manager and the player. but for me, likewise, the manager has been successful at every club he has been out. i don't think he'd be successful if he didn't know how to handle players. when he wants us to work, and as players, you know and you go out on the pitch to train ha rd you go out on the pitch to train hard and work hard in games. when you can laugh and joke, it eke a laugh and joke. he has both sides to him. meanwhile, another left back ryan bertrand has withdrawn from the england squad for their two friendlies against the against the netherlands and italy. the southampton defender has a back problem. professor richard mclaren — the author of the key report into russian state—sponsored doping — believes theraputic use exemptions shouldn't be scrapped in sport. but in an exclusive interview with the bbc our correspondent david 0rnstein professor mclaren did say that tues‘s are being abused. i wouldn't necessarily go and say it

isa i wouldn't necessarily go and say it is a crisis, but it is an area that needs address. the gesis—leibniz institute system works differently in different parts of the world as well. —— tue. wada has a regulatory control, because they can reject the issuing of a tue, but they don't do that very often. in fact, the system is too big and there are too many tues. heather watson is out of the miami 0pen tennis after losing in the first round. the british number two was beaten by brazil's beatriz haddad maia who's ranked eight places higher than watson in the world rankings in straight sets. defending championjohanna konta has a bye into round two. england scrum half danny care admits the team "let the fans down"

in their dismal six nations campaign. england finished fifth in the table after losing their final three matches, compounded at twickenham on saturday as ireland won the grand slam. pundits have called for widespread changes within the england setup, but speaking on 5 live's rugby union weekly, care said the situation is a positive wake up call for the team. if we had won another 6—nation and won another game, we would be on a cloud and think everything is great. it has been a tough last eight weeks. we have trained incredibly hard, and not to see the results we have been seeing, we have been spoilt with the wings and the manner of winds we have had. in the last couple of use, decisions have gone oui’ couple of use, decisions have gone our way, bounces off the ball had gone oui’ our way, bounces off the ball had gone our way, and this year for whatever reason, it didn't. now we have to look at ourselves and work out how to get better, but the one thing we have do is stick together. billyjoe saunders' wbo middleweight title defence against fellow englishman martin murray has been postponed until june. champion saunders injured his hand while training.

the fight — which was scheduled for 14 april at london's 02 arena — is now set to take place on 23june at the same venue. after a false start last year, is looks likely that baseball will be coming to london next summer. the new york yankees and boston red sox are "very close" to agreeing a deal to play two regular season major league games at the london stadium, west ham's home ground. plans to host 2019 cricket world cup matches there won't be affected. that is all your sport for now. more coming up at10:30. 23 russian diplomats and theirfamilies have now left the uk after being expelled by the british government over the salisbury nerve agent attack on a former spy. they left on a plane bound

for moscow this afternoon as the prime minister theresa may chaired a meeting with the national security council to decide if further sanctions should be imposed on russia. 0ur diplomatic correspondent, james landale reports. it was dubbed ‘expulsion day‘ — the moment russian diplomats and their families began the long journey home from their embassy in london, sent packing after their government was blamed by britain for the nerve agent attack in salisbury. those staying behind gathered outside to hug their colleagues, wave goodbye and, yes, shed the odd tear, as the long cavalcade of coaches and cars left for the airport. the embassy released pictures of a reception last friday, in honour of the 23 departing officials accused by britain of being undeclared intelligence officers, forced to swap the attractions of london diplomacy for a new and perhaps different life in moscow. at stanstead, the russian ambassador shook the hands of the departing officials, spouses and children, as they boarded the aircraft home. his embassy said in all, about 80 people were leaving, in what is the biggest expulsion of russian diplomats from britain since the cold war. in a tweet, he bade

farewell to his colleagues, after what he called ‘the hostile move of the uk government'. morning! what's our next move against the russians? today, ministers gathered to decide what britain should do next. russia's already announced that 23 british diplomats must leave moscow by the weekend. and the decision was to impose no further sanctions on russia — at least, for now. the government clearly wants to keep up international pressure and not get sucked into a bilateral tit—for—tat row with moscow. today, the foreign secretary, borisjohnson, confirmed that the former russian intelligence officer sergei skripal and his daughter, yulia, have been in a coma since they were poisoned two weeks ago. this afternoon, the russian plane carrying its diplomatic cargo finally took off from moscow. this weekend, british diplomats will travel in the opposite direction. james landale, bbc news. scottish conservative mps took their concerns over post—brexit

fishing rights to no 10 today. they're angry that a deal between the uk and the eu means rights will continue to be controlled by brussels during the brexit transition period. the scottish government said the deal was shaping up to be a massive sell—out of scotland's fishing industry. bbc scotland's political correspondent nick eardley has this report. harder to sell than a cold pint of sick — that's how one tory mp described this week's agreement and fishing. some haven't hidden their anger at what the uk government signed up to. what's your message to the pm on fishing? it's time to get the best possible deal for our uk fishermen. today, they met the prime minister to make those frustrations clear. are you worried the prime minister's going to sell out scottish fishermen? no. a reminder of what's caused the anger. the uk government had said when the uk left the eu it would leave the common fisheries policy. that's been hated by fishermen

for years because europe sets the rules on access to scottish waters. but a deal agreed in brussels yesterday means that until the end of 2020, will continue to apply those rules. and the uk won't be at the table for annual negotiations next year, though it will be consulted. and in parliament this afternoon, a sense of the fury. the mood in fishing communities today is one of palpable anger. this is not what they were promised. far from, to use his own words, a sea of opportunity, all this deal does is underline like the heath, thatcher and major governments that preceded this, that the tories are happy to throw scotland's fishing industry over the side. the environment secretary said he shared the disappointment. critically, in december 2020, we will be negotiating fishing opportunities as a third country and independent coastal state, deciding who can access our waters and on what turns for first time

in over a0 years. but at holyrood, the scottish government isn't convinced. the tories have sold out the scottish fishing industry once again and ruth davidson should be shame—faced for her fastest broken brexit promise yet. the fear some have is that the transition has set a precedent. their deal has been made for access to waters and that could happen again. the fishing lobby has now turned its attention to the long—term arrangements and the final brexit deal. after their talks with the prime minister, some did say they had been reassured. but others know europe wants guaranteed access in the future and there are still tough talks to come. the job of the government now is to ensure that the expectations of me and my colleagues are met, and also just as importantly, more importantly, those of the fishing industry are met in the final brexit deal. did the prime minister offer you any guarantees that those would be met? she understands very clearly the outcomes we are seeking.

mps from fishing communities are adamant — there's no more room for compromise on who can catch this stuff. whether that's enough won't be clear for months to come. 0ur political correspondent eleanor garnier is in westminster. how tricky and issue is the question of fishing rights for the government for the prime minister, do you think? but what is more significant is that a number of conservative mps are not happy, telling the prime minister, telling the environment secretary, they cannot sell this deal back to those fishing communities that they represent. and there has been anxiety from cornwall right up to scotla nd anxiety from cornwall right up to scotland for some time about whether the rights to uk waters might be traded away in the negotiations by the british government in exchange for something else. and of course,

that's why the primaries the met some of those conservative mps today, to try to reassure them. that's what is so interesting about this. it wasn't just that's what is so interesting about this. it wasn'tjust opposition mps, it was conservative mps voicing concern in the house of commons in front of the environment secretary today. he said he understood their disappointment, that he, too, was disappointed. he told mps of his history, he came from a family connected to the fishing industry. he said, look, i knew the fishing community was going to be frustrated and disappointed, but he said, "focus on the fact that the brexit negotiations are a long game, and what really matters is the final deal at the end of negotiations, what our final relationship will be." he said that is what we should be." he said that is what we should be focusing on. the labour, lib dems and snp, too, one of the main accusations has been from them to

michael gove, one of the leading brexiteers, and other brexiteers, too, that so much was promised in the referendum, and now the reality of the negotiations with brussels don't seem as easy to get all that through, to get what was promised during the referendum. to that, michael gove says to the liberal democrats and the snp, for example, who want to see inside the eu, meaning staying inside the common fisheries policy, "if you had your way and you were in charge, we wouldn't take back control at all." thank you very much indeed. time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. another cold night on the way. most places seeing frost. in the north, the frost will be early in the night before cloud increases across scotla nd before cloud increases across scotland and northern ireland. temperature is not as low as last night. rain into the hebrides by dawn. cloud will break up. clear

skies. parts of the midlands and wales could be between “11 and —6 tomorrow morning. england wales will see the best of the sunshine to begin with after a cold start. some sunny breaks, the best in the south. in some parts, cloud in western scotland. rain further east and into parts of northern england by the end of the afternoon. 12 degrees potentially in aberdeenshire. could notch up a few degrees further as we go into thursday. mild airfrom notch up a few degrees further as we go into thursday. mild air from the atla ntic go into thursday. mild air from the atlantic but with it more cloud. this is bbc news. our latest headlines. the british company accused of influencing the us presidential election by using facebook data suspends its ceo.

an raf engineer has died after a red arrows hawkjet crashed in anglesey. the pilot survived and is receiving medical care. 23 russian diplomats leave the uk, after they were expelled by the prime minister in the wake of the salisbury poisoning. in africa, the last male northern white rhino has died. ivf is now the only hope of saving the subspecies. more on our top story — and the london based company cambridge analytica has suspended its chief executive, alexander nix, as the row over use of facebook data deepens. it follows allegations from a whistleblower that information about 50 million facebook users was used by by cambridge analytica for political

purposes i'm joined now by steve kuncewicz, a lawyer who specialises in he's a lawyer specialising in intellectual property and social media, and sits on the law society council. what are the rights of people on social media when they use that social media when they use that social media site? the rights of anyone using facebook, anyone disclosing personal data to a third party is to be informed as to what happens with the data. cambridge analytica might say they used a small number of people but when they had friends commenting on the surveys , had friends commenting on the surveys, they ended up with over 50 million people and it is hard to say they knew how the data would be used once disclosed. are people not aware if they are on social media, their data is either used for commercial purposes, market research, conceivably political purposes as well? you could say they are aware of their data being used by facebook

but that is the issue, they were not aware of the research going on behind it and the fact data found its way into the hands of a third party. you might say the public should do more to be aware of the fa ct should do more to be aware of the fact they are sharing personal data, how the data is used needs to be made clearer. should it be clearer? how does it work with the terms and conditions? they tend to be complex and people do not always read them and people do not always read them and that is part of the issue. data protection law is changing after the 25th of may. that protection is all about choices and rights of an individual, the person who hands data over. normally that is predicated on them giving consent on how it is used that there is an argument if you cannot say how the data is used you can never really

give consent, no matter how terms and conditions suggest otherwise. could you users sue facebook for misuse of data? it is a possibility and we saw a case against google over tracking software in safari and there is a possibility we could see civil claims a regulatory action given the information commissioner has a warrant. the big issue we have, the big uncertainty, we do not know where it is likely to end. facebook is based in the us, would people in this country have legal claims over a company based in america? potentially. it is difficult but not impossible as google found. we need to find a connection to the uk and convince the courts to take jurisdiction. do you think the episode means there

will be legal clarification over social media and the use of personal data? this happens at the time when the information commissioner is investigating generally. a lot of lawyers talk about the data tipping point and it is conceivable this might be it. given how the data was used. awareness of protection and privacy is low but the more we see incidents like this, data breaches that affect the public and have wider effects potentially, we will see an opinion change. thank you. tonight channel 4 news has broadcast more from its secret filming of cambridge analytica in which alexander nix spoke about the

influence the company had on the american presidential election campaign. have you met mr trump? many times. we ran the digital campaign. we have had from the board of cambridge analytica the news it suspended chief executive alexander nix pending an investigation. the company released a statement... that is the statement. we were

talking to our correspondent in san francisco at facebook headquarters about mark zuckerberg, the boss of facebook. there is a statement from facebook. there is a statement from facebook in relation to mark zuckerberg not showing up at the company meeting today. it says that mark and their teams are working round the clock to get the facts and ta ke round the clock to get the facts and take appropriate action because they understand the seriousness of this issue. facebook said the entire company is outraged, we were deceived and are committed to enforcing policies to protect information and we will take whatever steps required to see that this happens. that is a statement from facebook saying the entire company is outraged they were deceived. more on that story throughout the evening. a two—year—old girl has died after the car she was in plunged

into a river in wales. kiara moore was pulled from the vehicle in the river in cardigan. police officers say they're investigating the incident and have appealed for witnesses. from cardigan, tomos morgan reports. kiara moore, just two years old. had it not been for the tragic events of yesterday afternoon, she would have been celebrating her third birthday a week today. it's understood that two—year—old kiara was left in the silver mini while a family member went into offices nearby. by the time the family member returned, the car had disappeared. the police were contacted and a search was under way. they believed the car had been stolen. it later transpired that the car was in the river teifl, just yards away. the toddler was airlifted to the university hospital of wales in cardiff, but doctors were unable to revive her. young families in the town today have been paying their own tributes by laying flowers by the river. she was a very lively little girl.

very smiley. a cheeky little smile she had all the time. she... her and her mum were always together, always fun days out. and, she had a happy little life. a short life, but a happy little life. commenting on facebook, kiara's father, jet moore, thanked the work of the emergency services, whilst also paying tribute to his daughter saying she had "an amazing but short life." it's unclear as to how the mini came to be in the river teifl. to be in the river teifi. as family and friends mourn the loss of young kiara, the investigation into exactly what happened continues. tomos morgan, bbc news, cardigan. a 45—year—old male northern white rhino has died in kenya — he was the last of his kind in the world. sudan was in poor health and was put down on monday after his condition worsened significantly.

his daughter and granddaughter are the only female northern white rhinos left, which means that species is now on the brink of extinction. from kenya — alistair leithead reports. and then there were two — the last remaining northern white rhinos on earth, now that the last male, sudan, has died of old age. a subspecies of rhino ever closer to extinction. one is najin, 27 years old, sudan's daughter, the other is fatu, his teenage granddaughter. the last of what was once a great species that roamed central africa. this was sudan and for the last few years scientists and conservationists have been trying to get him to mate. they even put the 45—year—old on tinder as part of a publicity campaign. there was no other animal quite like him. it highlights first and foremost the fact that human greed

and sometimes human activities that are not controlled can drive species to extinction. the last wild northern white rhinos were seen here in garamba national park, in the northern democratic republic of congo, but that was many years ago. they became extinct in the wild in 2008. well, fatu and najin are now the last two remaining northern white rhinos, and obviously they're both females. they are here under armed guard 24—hours a day, such is the continuing threat to these animals from poachers. they are now incredibly rare. there are only 30,000 rhinos left on the planet and sudan was unusual for his kind, in that he died of old age. now it's up to the scientists and a never before tried fertility treatment in a last gasp effort to save these animals from extinction. alastair leithead, bbc news, in northern kenya. joining me now from west sussex

is markjones, who is co—chair of the species survival network's rhino working group and also a representative for born free on the cites rhino working group. what has been the cause of the near extinction? this is a sad day for rhinos and a reminder we cannot continue to use and abuse while species without serious consequences. rhinos are under pressure because of shrinking habitats as more land is converted for agriculture and other human uses but the main threat recently has been poaching for their horns, controlled by criminal gangs and their activities devastate wild animals, and populations, and we

have seen the consequence for the northern white rhino, but they have social and political consequences for communities. they are serious problems we need to get on top of for the sake of wildlife and people. we have seen there are just two females left. is there hope of using ivf? that might be a possibility. what we need to focus on, northern white rhinos have effectively been gone for years because their numbers have been low and they have not been breeding. today's tragic news the last mail has gone and we are left with two females has been inevitable for sometime. they are not the only rhino species to all but disappear. we lost the west of the subspecies of black rhinos ten years ago and the last rhinos in vietnam. ivf is a

possibility to bring back some of these animals but what we need to focus on is to learn from this awful experience and make sure it does not happen to the other five species, three of which are critically endangered. what is needed to stop this happening not only to this species but to lots of others in africa? if we are to avoid condemning the rest of the rhinos and as your reporter said there are only 29,000 left in the world and three of the five species are critically endangered, alongside many other species impacted by poaching and habitat loss and many other human induced threats, to the same fate as the northern white. more needs to be done to protect, enhance and extend wildlife habitats and choke off demand for wildlife

products and close down illegal wildlife markets. thank you. the headlines on bbc news: the british company accused of influencing the us presidential election by using facebook data suspends its ceo. an raf engineer has died after a red arrows hawkjet crashed in anglesey. the pilot survived and is receiving medical care. 23 russian diplomats leave the uk, after they were expelled by the prime minister in the wake of the salisbury poisoning. an update on the markets for you — here's how london's and frankfurt ended the day. and in the the united states this is how the dow and the nasdaq are getting on. they are all up. the rate of inflation drop sharply

last month to 2.7%. mixing in a new ingredient, after over a year of rising inflation, today better news, a fall, as food costs ease and fuel costs drop. inflation can often start here, firms that make the stuff we buy. if their costs are cut, then prices for us often go the same way. there's not many costs that are coming down down, but the two things we have identified are distribution costs for us. we've definitely seen those ease off, but also in digital and technology. a bit more upbeat maybe. were people in east london though feeling the effects quite yet? all the necessities you need to live, nothing's cheap — gas, electric. you spend more day—to—day on things that are going up than what you go to buy that's going down. for millions of people, today's fall in inflation brings into sharp focus

one of the most important issues facing the uk economy. that income squeeze, prices rising faster than wages, leaving people worse off month by month. today, a glimmer of hope. with inflation easing and wage rises strengthening, could that income squeeze be coming to an end this year? before 2017 wages were rising faster than prices, meaning that people were slightly better off each month. then last year that reversed, inflation rose quickly following the brexit referendum, which saw a fall in the value of the pound and an increase in the price of imports. now the pound is stronger, inflation is falling and wages are catching up. could those lines cross in 2018. the impact of the fall in the pound of course meant that imported inflation was quite high. thate effect is fading.

that effect is fading. increasingly now we're seeing inflation coming from domestic sources. so higher wage growth in particular is driving up costs. inflation risk has not drained away and wage growth will keep mind focused at the bank. its signalled that it will raise interest rates in the next few months to control any future price rises. kamal ahmed, bbc news. future price rises. the television and radio personality, katie boyle, has died aged 91. 0ur our first 0urfirst model is our first model is reg 0urfirst model is reg and he is wearing a navy blue suit and peaked cap. she appeared in a number of tv shows — but was perhaps best known for presenting the eurovision song contest for the uk during the ‘60s and ‘70s. the beatles legend ringo starr has been knighted at buckingham palace for his services to music. his knighthood follows the mbe awarded to each band member in 1965.

speaking after the ceremony, starr, who's real name is richard starkey , told colin paterson he was delighted to receive the new honour. the ashes of professor stephen hawking will be interred at westminster abbey near the grave of sir isaac newton during a thanksgiving service later this year. the world—renowned scientist died last week at the age of 76. a private funeral will take place at great st mary's, cambridge university's church on easter saturday. it has been six months since hurricane maria struck the us territory of puerto rico and the people on the island are still suffering. hundreds of thousands have yet to get their power restored and need help with rebuilding their homes. the us government has been criticised for a lack of urgency and its response. aleem maqbool reports. there are sights in puerto rico that make it look like the hurricane

struck just yesterday. everyone has a tale of trauma still fresh in the mind. "we grabbed what we could and ran out," she says. "but everywhere was blocked. we managed to get up there and we heard the noise. the house just came away and colla psed." the problem is, in six months, little has moved on for her. she and herfamily run pipes from a nearby spring to get water to the abandoned building where they have been living. and there is still no power. so what help have they had from the american agencies? "we applied to help but we were told we weren't entitled to any," she says, "we put in an appeal, but we are still waiting for an answer." puerto ricans are american citizens.

they can go backwards and forwards to the us mainland as they please and, crucially, they are entitled to the same disaster response from washington as any other americans. you will find very few here who believe that is what they got. the family of rauljimenez think he could still be alive if there had been a more urgent response. after the storm, the clinic where he got dialysis was without electricity. it meant patients would have to miss treatments or wait hours hoping to be seen. he was in the wheelchair, quiet. he died. died in the line waiting for treatment? died in the line. any true count of the number who were killed by the hurricane will include people like raul. but, until now, the official figure doesn't. the government wants to show some kind of numbers. but it is not the reality. they want us to believe that all is ok. under pressure, the government has ordered a recount of those killed by hurricane maria. some estimate the new number could be nearly 20 times

the original figure and, all the while, for so many, the suffering continues. the parents of a six—year—old boy with a rare form of epilepsy, who have been campaigning for him to be allowed to use medicinal cannabis, have been told they will be granted a licence on compassionate grounds. alfie dingley wasjoined by his family and the actor sir patrick stewart as they handed in a petition at downing street earlier today. his parents say cannabis oil, which is illegal even for medical use in the uk, will help control his seizures. we presented our petition at no 10 downing street this afternoon. we were asked in, which we did not know was going to happen, so that was wonderful. we met with minister hurd and our own mp, jeremy wright, and the prime minister also came in to say hello, which was very nice of her to make

the time off her diary. this is very positive. there is still a lot of work to be done. the home office is saying they are happy to accept an application from our medical team and, once that's done, they will expedite it. they are not saying the outcome of that licence application, because they can't, because there is a process to be done. but we are very positive that they are willing to accept this application. they are encouraging us to do that because they want this to be resolved as quickly as possible. what have you observed with this cannabis oil, how do you know it will work for him? we went to holland for five months. we saw our doctor and mp over a year ago to ask them how to do this. we found a doctor in holland, a paediatric neurologist at a children's hospital, who was willing to treat alfie with medical cannabis. we had to do a trial. that was the only way we could prove it would work and he went from having almost 150 seizures a month, being blue—lighted by ambulance into a&e every week and having lots

and lots of pharmaceutical medication. he went from that to having one seizure a month. with the addition of thc. when we added in the thc he had one seizure a month. his life was just transformed and so was our ours. and when you apply for this specific special medical licence, presumably you can use that evidence that you gathered for five months and present that to the board? yes, our doctors will look at the evidence we gathered in holland and speak to our doctor there. they will make the application. i don't understand what needs to be done for the application. i am alfie's mum. i don't know the ins and outs of it. that application will be made to the home office and we are hoping, because they are now saying they recognise the compassionate grounds that alfie needs this medication, the home office are saying that, we are hoping this will be resolved very quickly. sir patrick stewart, i should say, was with you today in support

because he uses medicinal cannabis to treat his arthritis. yes, he showed me his hands today. he had had eight injections of steroids into his fingers for arthritis, but he is actually registered in california for medicinal cannabis. he said when he is in california, he can use it legally. but when he is here, he has to have very painful steroid injections into his hands because he is not allowed to legally use it here. so he is very passionate about being able to use it and that is why he is supporting alfie and us in this campaign. it works for him, it works for alfie. presumably, your ambition is for all children to be able to use it? my ambition is to keep my son safe and to keep him alive and to keep him away from steroids as much as possible, because they can cause psychosis. myjob at the moment is not to advocate for everyone in the country. i can't do that. my child is what is important for me at the moment. going forward, i think there are a lot of people who would think this would be a positive thing for other people,

but that is not my fight. my fight is for my child at the moment. good evening, the headlines at nine but before we get there, let's look at the weather across the uk. today the astronomical start to spring on what a day in scotland and northern ireland with blue skies. not quite the same everywhere but dry in northampton, cloudy. we will swap the conditions tomorrow because clear skies will migrate southwards. and an atlantic airflow will establish across the uk, spreading into northern ireland and western scotla nd into northern ireland and western scotland night and later across the hebrides and it might bring some rain. the rest of the country, clear skies into the morning and for many a widespread frost. some of the

cold est a widespread frost. some of the coldest conditions will be found in the midlands, wales, maybe north—west england. that will lead to the odd freezing fog patch. cold and frosty. sunny overhead. staying dry in the south. further north, while many start dry, western scotla nd while many start dry, western scotland sees rain and northern ireland occasional rain. and also in the north and north—east of scotland. then sunny spells in the afternoon with temperatures up to 12, 13. maybe some afternoon with temperatures up to 12,13. maybe some rain in afternoon with temperatures up to 12, 13. maybe some rain in northern england and the far north of wales by the end of the day. sunshine in the south—east. milder air with us as we go through wednesday night into thursday. we always maintain a westerly airflow towards the end of the week so we will not go back to the week so we will not go back to

the cold weather we have had. 0n thursday, hazy sunshine across eastern areas, boosting temperatures. many will stay dry, with strong to at times gale force winds bringing rain to western scotland, northern ireland and western wales. 0n scotland, northern ireland and western wales. on friday, southern and eastern parts seeing sunshine and eastern parts seeing sunshine and showers. some of the showers could be heavy with hail and thunder. it could turn to sleep over the hills. most of you sticking with milder weather. will it last till the weekend, find out on the weather for the week ahead just before 10pm. this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. the headlines at nine: the british company accused of influencing the us presidential election by using facebook data, suspends its ceo. meanwhile, mps have requested a face

to face with facebook, calling on founder mark zuckerberg to answer questions about the use of its data. an raf engineer has died after a red arrows hawkjet crashed in anglesey. the pilot survived and is in hospital. heading home — 23 russian diplomats leave their embassy,