today at 5 — russia summons western ambassadors. russia summons western ambassadors. london is told to cut its diplomatic contingent in moscow, in the escalating row following the salisbury nerve agent attack. it's important to bear in mind why this crisis has arisen, use of a chemical weapon on the streets of the united kingdom, which has threatened the lives of a number of people in my country. we'll have the latest. the other main stories on bbc news at 5: at least nine palestinians have been killed by israeli gunfire, as thousands mass on the border ahead of a major protest. new bail rules are leading to thousands of crime suspects — some involving murder and rape — being released without any conditions. over a0 labour mps and peers call onjeremy corbyn to suspend a senior official at the centre of the latest row about anti—semitism. are you willing to fight?

a gamer and his friends race to save a virtual world in ready player one. we'll get mark kermode‘s thoughts in the film review. it's 5pm. we will talk now about our main story injust a we will talk now about our main story in just a moment. we will talk now about our main story injust a moment. before we will talk now about our main story in just a moment. before that, some news that come through in the last few minutes from the ministry of defence, issuing a statement in the last few moments saying that it is with regret that we must confirm

that a member of uk armed forces was killed by an improvised explosive device yesterday in syria. the mod telling us that the individual was embedded with us forces on a counter daesh operation, and anti—islamic state operation, when the incident occurred. the ministry saying that the family of the person killed has been notified, and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time. the mod saying it won't issue further details at the moment, but confirming that a member of british armed forces was killed by an improvised explosive device in syria. if we get any more details, we'll bring those to you. russia has told the uk it must further reduce its diplomatic contingent in the country within a month — the latest turn in an escalating row over the poisoning of a former spy, sergei skripal, and his daughter yulia. moscow says the british mission in russia must be the same size as russia's mission in the uk.

it has also ordered tit—for—tat expulsions of diplomats from western countries that acted in support of britain. the uk foreign office described moscow's latest move as "regrettable". helena lee reports. today, at the foreign ministry in russia, ambassadors were summoned over the salisbury spy fallout. they were told to reduce their diplomatic presence in the country, a further escalation of the ongoing tension. the uk has been ordered to send some more of its staff home from russia, and both countries have already expelled 23 staff. it's important to bear in mind why this crisis has arrived in the first place, the use of a chemical weapon on the streets of the united kingdom which has threatened the lives of a number of people in my country. other countries have also been told today to send diplomats home from russia. among them, ukraine, germany, finland and spain.

but the kremlin insists that russia remains open towards repairing friendly relations. earlier this week the us expelled 60 russian diplomats. in retaliation, russia kicked out the same number of us officials. earlier today in salisbury, the home secretary amber rudd attended an easter service at salisbury cathedral. she was there as a sign of solidarity with the city. the condition of yulia skripal, the daughter of the former russian spy, is now improving. she's no longer in a critical condition and the bbc understands she is conscious and talking. herfather, sergei skripal, is still in a critical but stable condition. yulia is much younger than her father and the younger you are, whether you're poisoned or you have burns or you break bones, the more likely you are to make a quicker recovery. it's also quite possible she had a smaller dose than her father and the dose is very important.

forensics tests have shown the highest concentration of the nerve agent was found on the front door of the former spy‘s home. how it got there is what detectives are still trying to work out. our correspondent paul adams is in moscow, where the russian foreign ministry is continuing its tit—for—tat expulsions of western diplomats that acted in support of britain. it's been a steady procession of ambassadors at the foreign ministry and, as each one has come and gone, we've heard in the subsequent hours that, indeed, one ortwo we've heard in the subsequent hours that, indeed, one or two or three or, in some cases, four diplomats have been told to leave, very much in line with what we were expecting to see, and pretty much matching diplomat for diplomat expansions we

saw earlier in the week, the expulsions of russian diplomats. one additional feature has been expulsions of russian diplomats. one additionalfeature has been the recording of the british ambassador to the foreign ministry, and this additional instruction that britain is to reduce the size of its diplomatic presence in russia to the equivalent of the russian presence in the uk. we are not quite sure what that means in practice, but it was described as a response to britain's provocative actions which, according to russia, had led to other countries following suit and expelling russian diplomats. so i think there is a sense that britain needed to be singled out for additional punishment. let's go to salisbury and talk to our correspondent, simonjones. salisbury and talk to our correspondent, simon jones. the salisbury and talk to our correspondent, simonjones. the home secretary made what i think was a surprise visit to the city earlier. a surprise visit and partly a low— key a surprise visit and partly a low—key visit. it was a service

designed for children. she didn't make public comment, but she is no doubt being kept abreast of the latest developments, as is the government, particularly with the latest expulsions from russia. today, i think we've seen the community trying to come together after that visit from the home secretary. hundreds of people from local churches gathered outside salisbury cathedral and took part in a procession through the city. that would normally take place at easter anyway, but what made it different today was that people taking part we re very today was that people taking part were very keen to say prayers and remember the skripals, who remain in hospital. one speaker at the end of the procession said that he felt very much it was a city trying to get over a trauma, and those words have really been echoed by the bishop salisbury, who says he feels the city has been violated, but he says out of bad events like this there has to be hope, and that is

what he is hoping for over the easter period. the local council hearsay that ultimately they would like people to return to the city, because takings have been down in some of the shops near the areas cordoned off, like this one, by around 80% in the worst cases, so they are encouraging people back here. we have also heard today that the chief constable of wiltshire police have visited the police officer who was hospitalised after the attack here. he has now returned home. his name is nick bailey and he has returned home. he was visited by the chief constable, who described his family as amazing. he also took with him a handwritten card from number ten downing street, expressing the prime minister's thanks to him for the action he took, and many cards and wishes of good luck and recovery from people in the city. thank you, simon jones,

in salisbury. to bring you some news that was just coming through in the last few moments from colleagues in our glasgow newsroom, we are hearing that a 90—year—old woman has died after she was knocked down by a bin lorry in edinburgh. this happened this morning, we are told, and the road was closed for a long time, because there were investigations that have to be carried out. i think this news therefore onlyjust filtering through, but confirming, the emergency services confirming that a 90—year—old woman was knocked down by a bin lorry in edinburgh and sadly has died. those are the only details we have at this stage, but we'll bring you more if we get it. in the last few minutes, a furtherfive names have been added to the 39 labour mps and peers who have signed a letter urging jeremy corbyn to suspend a senior official over her handling of a complaint about anti—semitism.

christine shawcroft stood down as head of the party's disputes panel after calling for the reinstatement of a council candidate accused of denying the holocaust. but she remains a member of labour's national executive committee. earlier our political correspondent iain watson the details earlier. the number of people signing this letter has been going up, the pressure onjeremy corbyn is increasing, a week on from when labour was criticised on that facebook post from 2025 —— 2012 which was apparently depicting an anti—semitic image. a week on, the issueis anti—semitic image. a week on, the issue is still dominating. effectively, these mps and peers are asking ina effectively, these mps and peers are asking in a letterfor christine shaw cropped to be off the national executive committee, but the argument they are making is that

jeremy corbyn should put his final words of the past week into action, issuing a message and video saying he'd be an ally for the struggle against and he'd be an ally for the struggle againstand —— he'd be an ally for the struggle against and —— struggle against anti—semitism. they are saying, if you are an ally, why not express your displeasure and at least urge christine shaw cropped to go? the person who organised the letter, told us this. links, jeremy corbyn didn't say she should stand down, it wouldn't happen? nobody does that this is about action. we've had enough letters and words to paper nelson's column. if people are going to believe us as a party, we need to start following through and doing things. what was also interesting is the person questioned, christine shawcroft, as posted on facebook

twice today, initially making it clear that she was making clear she didn't support holocaust deniers, but it efficiently suggesting that these accusations have been cooked up these accusations have been cooked up the fight againstjeremy corbyn. she reposted on facebook, and that reference had been deleted, but still arguing strongly that she herself hasn't done anything which is offensive. she said she made a mistake by not looking at evidence. secondly, she was making it clear she intends to stand down from the national executive committee in due course. that was something she intended to do before all of this blew up, so i think that is why opponents are saying this isn't good enough. iain watson, talking to my colleague about the continuing row about anti—semitism and the associated arguments within the labour party. thousands of suspects under investigation for violent and sexual offences have been released from police custody without any bail conditions attached, according to research by the bbc.

new rules were introduced in england and wales a year ago, designed to prevent people being kept on bailfor months and, in some cases, years. the charity women's aid said the figures were shocking, and would worry victims of domestic violence. our home affairs correspondent, danny shaw, reports. and last year a 28—day limit was imposed. if police want to bail suspects for longer, they need approval from a senior officer or magistrate. as a result, the number of suspects bailed has dropped dramatically, by about two thirds. it means thousands don't have to report back to police and face no

restrictions on who they contact or where they go. bbc news obtained figures from 12 forces about people suspected of violent and sexual offences. more than 3,100 were released under investigation without conditions, between april and june last year. the number included 31 murder suspects and 768 people suspected of rape, all still subject to police investigation. we are contacted by survivors all the time who are telling us about their worries about their safety. the failure to use bail conditions in many cases means the victim can be vulnerable to being contacted, to being stalked, harassed or even suffering further violence from a dangerous abuser. the home office said a large drop in the use of bail should not affect the way police respond to incidents of domestic abuse, but it said ministers had asked forces to ensure that those who should be on bail are not being released without conditions.

danny shaw, bbc news. this is bbc news at 5. the headlines: russia summons western ambassadors. london is told to cut its diplomatic contingent in moscow, in the escalating row following the salisbury nerve agent attack. at least nine palestinians have been killed by israeli forces and hundreds wounded, during clashes along the border with israel. new bail rules are leading to thousands of crime suspects — some involving murder and rape — being released without any conditions. and in sport, anthonyjoshua cuts a lean figure as he weighs in for britain's first heavyweight unification fight. the ibf and wba world champion will be nearly a stone lighter than his last title defence when he takes onjoseph parker in cardiff tomorrow night. jonny bairstow helps england recover from another very poor start in the second and final test against new zealand.

he is on the verge of a half—century. england will begin the second day in christchurch 290—8. and hull fc win rugby league's hull derby, despite having a player sent off for most of the match. i'll be back with more on those stories after half—past. at least nine palestinians have been killed in clashes near the israeli border in gaza, where thousands are demonstrating at the start of a six—week protest. palestinian officials say more than 350 people have been injured in the confrontations near the borderfence — some by israeli gunfire. our correspondent yolande knell is in jerusalem. less tha n

less than 500 metres between us here on the israeli side of the fence and the palestinian side over there. we can see a lot of people amassing on that site. people have been coming here since this morning, but the numbers have increased following friday prayers. the israelis have deployed their forces along this area, and they've declared the area, the whole area is a closed military zone, which means that anyone in this area will be a target. the organisers of this march have maintained that they wanted it to be peaceful and non—violent. however, a number of confrontations have taken place. palestinian sources spoke about the israelis using stun grenades and tear gas to disperse the crowd. the israelis have repeatedly warned that anyone who comes closer to the fence will be a target of israeli fire. that was the bbc‘s correspondent.

apologies for that, but that is the latest in those continuing clashes, and it's just the start of a large series of protests the palestinians are planning, and at the moment it seems at least nine people have been killed. a teachers‘ union is claiming ofsted chief inspector amanda spielman risks splitting communities after backing headteachers who want to ban the hijab. speaking at the national education union's annual conference in brighton, general secretary kevin courtney said she overstepped her remit when she backed an east london head who tried to stop pupils wearing the muslim headscarf. our education correspondent, marc ashdown, is in brighton. explain what more has been said here. it seems it's been a big topic of discussion. it has, and the row

started small. it was a single primary school in east london, st stephens, where the headteacher at the start of the year, for her own reasons, decided she wanted to ban young girls as young as eight from wearing a hijab, the headscarf muslim girls usually wear when they reach puberty for cultural and religious regions. that prompted a furious backlash from some parents and factions of the community, and eventually she backed down and overturned the ban. in an unusual move, the chief inspector of schools, amanda spielman, intervened, warning in a major speech of the dangers of those who use religion to actively preferred education. she said it should be up to every school if they wanted to impose such a ban. she called on all leaders to use muscular liberalism to defend themselves. the national education union has been asked to debate a motion which says, ofsted has gone beyond its three meat. ——

it's remit. they said there was no evidence that clothing has an impact ona evidence that clothing has an impact on a child's education. they say the commons have run a cake —— ramifications beyond school gate and must be seen in the context of attacks on muslims in the community. they will be asked to debate this over the weekend and it could lead to them being at odds with ofsted. we have been speaking to the joint secretary of the union, kevin cawley, and here is what he had to say. one concern is that ofsted is getting outside the area should be looking at, which is standards, and the second is that amanda spielman is suggesting she knows why muslim girls wear the headscarf, and she is suggesting it is because they are being sexualised, and i think the vast majority wear it because their sister or mother wears it. it is pa rt of sister or mother wears it. it is part of their expression of religious faith. and they want to live together in this world, which means respecting one another's

religious faiths. what is the ofsted response?‘ spokesman says these comments are disappointing. they say that heads need to be able to take uniform decisions on the basis of safeguarding and community cohesion, and they say they will always support them in doing that. while you are with us, a lot in the news, and people might be aware, a lot of criticism are merging about some salaries at academies what has been said about that? the backdrop to all of this is the pay deal with the nhs recently, so the feeling here is that teachers might be in line for something similar, but headteachers have been saying for years that school budgets are under increased pressure, and they are struggling to balance the books and pay for basic resources , balance the books and pay for basic resources, so the message to government is, if they want to end pay restraint, they will have to find additional funding. a pay restraint, they will have to find additionalfunding. a timely report from the public accounts

committee today, which scrutinises public spending, criticising academy salaries, saying there were 100 heads of academies who are now paid over £150,000. even the government has written to academies, questioning whether that is value for money. we are accepting a debate on recruitment and retention and stress and workload. at the last general election, school funding became a hot topic on doorsteps. the local elections are round the corner, so teachers know that their voices will never be louder. thank you. an imam has been charged with assaulting two boys at a mosque in rochdale. our correspondent fiona trott is following the story for us. greater manchester police have told us greater manchester police have told us that 51—year—old abdul rauf from rochdale has been charged with two

assaults against boys aged ten and 12. they are section a7, relating to actual bodily harm. he has also been charged with 19 other assaults against other children. it's understood that these incidents happened at mosque on crawford street in rochdale over the past year. abdul rauf is due to appear at manchester crown court next month. in the meantime, police are asking anybody with information to come forward. parts of stansted airport have been evacuated after a fire broke out on a car park shuttle bus. fire crews in attendance say the bus is positioned outside the main terminal entrance. passengers have been told to evacuate the airport forecourt, including parts of the terminal building. the airport says it's investigating the cause of the fire. the mayor of greater manchester, andy burnham, has written an open letter to firefighters in the city, saying they should not be ashamed of their response to the bombing at the arena last may. a report commissioned by mr burnham

found that following established procedures and poor communication meant no fire crews arrived on the scene for around two hours. the comedy actor bill maynard has died at the age of 89, his family has confirmed. maynard first made his name in the itv comedy oh no, it's selwyn froggatt in the 1970s, before starring in the popular drama heartbeat in the 1990s. the nobel peace prize winner malala yousafzai has been speaking to the bbc about her return to pakistan, for the first time since she was shot by taliban militants in 2012. malala, who is now 20 and a student at oxford university, was shot in the head because she was campaigning for girls‘ education. details of her trip to pakistan were kept secret, because of fears that she might be targeted again. however, malala told the bbc that the vast majority

of the country is behind her. this is not the whole pakistan. this does not reflect that image of pakistan, it is completely wrong. we should not make a conclusion by looking at what is on social media, television. 200 million people and i know 99%, more than that, stand with me in support. they believe in education, their daughters, and i know so many parents who have sent their daughters to school because they have heard my story. so many parents have named their daughters after me. believing in their daughters. i think there is a change coming. anyone who is against me or wants to say something should just come and talk to me. the prince of wales has recorded an easter message in support of persecuted christians and other faiths around the world. in the video, prince charles describes how moved he's been while meeting christians who have had to flee from persecution. he also expresses sympathy

for anyone being persecuted because of their faith. here's our royal correspondent, nick witchell. there's some flash photography in his report. anda particular concern communities in the middle east. in the past, prince charles has spoken out about the destruction of christian churches in syria, iraq and elsewhere. and so, from the prince on this good friday, an easter message calling for greater understanding between the three abrahamic faiths — christianity, judaism and islam — and a sharp condemnation of those who use violence in the name of religion. all three abrahamic faiths have known and continue to know the bitterness of persecution, when religion has fallen into the barbaric grip of those who distort and misrepresent faith. so, this easter, i want to salute

the fortitude of all those who, whatever their faith, are persecuted for remaining faithful to the true essence of their beliefs. one day, when he is britain's king, he knows his freedom to speak out will be curtailed. until then, the prince feels an obligation to raise awareness about predominantly christian communities who are suffering because of their beliefs. nicholas witchell, bbc news. time for a look at the weather. here's ben rich. i wish i'd been there today! this was the west of cornwall, and i

suspect a lot of people like you are quite envious, because it certainly wasn't like that everywhere. most of us wasn't like that everywhere. most of us got stuck with a lot of cloud, outbreaks of rain. that was more typical in—line breaches. for the rest of the weekend, pretty mixed, with rain at times, some snow on monday, and some spells of sunshine in the team. sunshine has been... some wintry weather over high ground tonight, wintry showers in eastern scotland, northern scotland seeing some clearer spells, with a touch of frost. mostly dry for northern ireland. into tomorrow, it's a process of this showery rain tending to fizzle away, becoming increasingly liked and patchy. still something wintry over high ground in northern england and scotland. a breezy and chilly day. easter sunday, mainly dry, but monday could

cause travel problems, because there is the risk of some snow. this is bbc news — the headlines. moscow has ordered the uk to further cut its russian diplomatic staff — it follows a series of tit—for—tat expulsions of officials from countries that have acted in support of britain over the salisbury nerve agent attack. nine palestinians have been killed and hundreds wounded by israeli forces, according to the palestinian health ministry — protesters and troops have clashed during mass demonstrations at the border between gaza and israel. a member of the uk armed services embedded with united states forces has been killed in syria. tighter rules on police bail have led to thousands of suspects sometimes for violent and sexual offences, being released without conditions — new regulations on pre—charge bail came into effect in england and wales last year.

a group of labour mps and peers has urged jeremy corbyn to suspend former disputes panel chair christine shawcroft from the party's national executive committee, as the row over anti—semitism much more to come, and the film review is coming up. time for the sport with lizzie greenwood—hughes. anthonyjoshua cut anthony joshua cut and anthonyjoshua cut and lean figure weighing in for his title clash with joshua parker tomorrow, joshua, the wb eight and the ibf champion is almost one stone lighter than his previous defence, and 17 stones and £a, parker weighed in £a lighter weighing 16 stone £12. the first timea weighing 16 stone £12. the first time a heavyweight unification bout has been held on british soil. in cricket england's top order batting

isa cricket england's top order batting is a very poor in the second test against new zealand, at 1.90 a—5, jonny bairstow and mark wood that a comeback, jonny bairstow and beating just short of the century. but another below par performance for england as they resume day two tonight on 290—8. as a mild reports. after cricket week of scandal, the hadley oval pitch perfect place to rediscover the game is more beautiful side. dismal performance in the first test, england like the sport needs to recover but this is not the way to go about it. alastair cook gone, a fragility to readily exposed, england's top batsmen the game falling in quick succession, root, milan and then stoneman, a painful collapse given only a temporary halt when jonny painful collapse given only a temporary halt whenjonny bairstow came to the wicket offering england away to repair the damage. others simply intent on causing more. stuart broad, the seventh to go.

jonny bairstow once more left to pick up the pieces. he passed 50 in fine fashion supported by mark wood who also reached his half—century. jonny bairstow finished the day three short of three figures, recovery of sorts. but after a difficult week there remains a long way to go. adam wide bbc news. as the fallout continues from the ball tampering scandal australia have been back in action in south africa in the fourth and final test. the search for a new head coach begins when darren lehmann steps down after the game. current pakistan coach mickey arthur believes the culture of the australian team hasn't been right for some time. it was disappointing to set what has happened. i'm really upset for the players. and i'm disappointed for the knock australian cricket is taking at the moment, and world cricket in general. i've been disappointed in the behaviour of the australian team in the last couple of years to be honest. i think they have felt they are almost above eve ryo ne have felt they are almost above

everyone else. that has been disappointing because they are good enough team, skilled enough to win games without resorting to the kind of tactics that they have. this is the scorecard from that match. australia having to play without captain steve smith, david warner and cameron bancroft, although african have batted, aiden markram making 152, they finished the day of 313-6. making 152, they finished the day of 313—6. super league leaders st helens beat wigan in a dramatic 21-18 helens beat wigan in a dramatic 21—18 win, with the scores level at 14-14 21—18 win, with the scores level at 1a-1a with 21—18 win, with the scores level at 1a—1a with only five minutes to go. 21—year—old regan gray scored the winning try. saints have now extended their lead over wigan at the top of the table to four points. hull fc on the home derby beating hull fc on the home derby beating hull kingston rovers, two first—half tries of the visitors won despite having one player sent off in the first half after this high challenge. in the day's other games

huddersfield due with leeds and no home wins for waddington against widnes and salford red devils against catalans dragons. cardiff have narrowed the gap on championship leaders wolves to three points by beating burton, wolves are just kicking off at middlesbrough now. full beat norwich to remain seven points behind cardiff. struggling barnsley denied victory bya struggling barnsley denied victory by a last—gasp bristol city equaliser. the edge one point clear at the bottom three, full details of these matches and league1 at the bottom three, full details of these matches and league 1 and league 2 games on the bbc sport website. finally, an extraordinary win for non—league macclesfield, striker tyrone marshall thought he'd scored the winner, and if the ball to get stuck in the mud while he was celebrating. luckily his team—mate danny whitehead poked it in. he would have looked very silly if that ball hadn't crossed the line. more for you later on bbc news, for now,

goodbye. thank you lizzie. the weather causing problems for everyone! back to one of our main stories. home secretary amber red attended an easter service in salisbury as a show of solidarity with the city. sergei skripal‘s daughter yulia is said to be doing a little better in hospital at the moment. let's get some more on the condition of the former russian spy sergei skripal and his daughter yulia. simonjones is in salisbury and has been speaking to dr richard guthrie, who's an independent chemical weapons expert. yulia is of course much younger than her father, and the younger you are, if you are poisoned and you have burns or if you break bones, the more likely a quicker recovery. it's also quite possible she had a smaller dose than her father and the dose is very important. how vital is it going to be for the police investigation for them to be able to speak to her? because we understand she is in

the process of being able to communicate. well a lot will depend first of all on how fit she is at this point, as to whether she is fit enough to be interviewed. but also how much she remembers and what it is she can actually tell them. so if for example it is the material that was painted on the front door, as has been the suggestion of recent days, then there may be very little she can indicate other than what the sequence of events was. if however the true poisonous object was something that was brought into the house, and the contamination on the door came from that, she might be able to provide some very useful information. we've been hearing recently about some more expulsions of british diplomats from russia, these tit—for—tat expulsions, but russia is continuing to say it had nothing to do with this. in your assessment, how plausible is that? i think the most plausible of all the scenarios in front of us at the moment is that it was the russians. there was a lot of very good evidence. it is still falling short of what i think would be proof in an english court of law

but the investigation is ongoing, the evidence so far is extremely strong. we are standing in the centre of salisbury, police cordons are still in place, but the council here trying to encourage people to return to the city because there has been a big drop in footfall, particularly during the week. but for people outside, how safe would you say this is, given what's happened ? i feel very safe here. i'm standing here, after we finish this interview i shall go off and sit in the cafe and i shall do some work. i feel thoroughly safe. i think there's a very, very tiny risk but that risk is so small, it's not really of concern. because we are hearing that even once the police have handed over, this hour, they've still got to be decontaminated, and that could take potentially months. decontamination is a very complicated process. and one of the problems of some of the nerve agents is that they can reside in the environment for quite a while. but the novichoks, like the organophosphorus nerve agents, do

react with water, and they go through a reaction called hydrolysis. it's sometimes relatively slow but with the amount of water we've got around here, anything out in the open will hydrolyse relatively quickly. from your assessment, where are we with this investigation? because obviously it's being looked at internationally. it's been a while since we've had an update, particularly after it was identified. what's going on? these are very complex investigations because you're trying to establish everybody‘s movements, you are trying to establish how material moved from one place to another. i was going back through other poisoning investigations that have been carried out on high—profile figures in particular and many of those took months before they came to some conclusions. so this is really quite in line with other similar investigations around the world in comparable situations. doctor richard guthrie speaking in salisbury to our correspondent simon jones. some of the other stories in

the news tonight. councils with high numbers of rough sleepers are to receive a share of a £30 million fund to tackle the problem. a rough sleeping task force, made up of experts from government departments and agencies will provide services to try to reduce the numbers of homeless people in england and wales. labour called the initiative "a pitiful response to a national crisis". two men in theirfifties have been arrested in connection with the death of a restaurant owner in ayr more than 2a years ago. ansar shah was stabbed to death in a seafront car park in the town in october 1993. the government has called for an inquiry into the costs of fuel at the country's motorway service stations. the transport secretary chris grayling says fuel at motorway service stations costs up to 19 pence per litre more than elsewhere — he's asked the competition and markets authority to find out why. there are more than a5,000 deaf children living in the uk — but how important is it for them to be able to use sign language? the recent oscar winning

film the silent child — tells the story of a girl whose life is transformed after being taught to sign. the film is being shown tonight on bbc one. but over the years there's been debate over whether learning to sign at an early age can hold a deaf child back from developing speech. sima kotecha reports. this school is different from most. all of its children are profoundly deaf, and all of its children use british sign language to communicate. why is sign language so important? because i signed language before i used to hear, so i heard some words and it linked my sign language, so i matched, and i can communicate with my friends and teachers. there are just a few schools in the country that have only deaf pupils.

some of the children wear cochlear implants. there's been debate over whether early use of sign language can hold deaf children back from learning to speak. here, they believe that's not the case. we were told that sign language wasn't important and, if we did start to try and sign, it would delay speech. we went against that because it was only implanted at 16 months, so we'd already missed out on 16 months of spoken language, so we were signing with him from a very early age, and he's now coming up to five and he's bilingual because of that, and he's very confident to sign and to speak. many deaf children don't solely depend on sign language. at this deaf unit in a primary school, they are bilingual and can write and speak english too. sign language is very important to communicate. the oscar—winning film the silent child has raised

awareness about the issues facing deaf children, and the important role that sign language can play in their lives. its creators recently visited some schools here in the midlands. this is heavy and i love it. it shone a huge, much—needed light on this subject. it's raised the profile of deafness in general, which largely isn't talked about, and we just feel incredibly proud and, hopefully, we can continue doing that. some deaf people argue society must learn that sign language is not their only option when young, and that they, too, can learn to speak, just like those who can hear. sima kotecha, bbc news. an unmanned chinese space station weighing more than eight tonnes is expected to crash back to earth this weekend . experts aren't sure exactly where or when tiangong—1 will come down as our science correspondent jonathan amos reports.

a memorable day in space. this was astronaut wang yaping giving a lecture on life in space to millions of schoolchildren across china but now her laboratory and classroom in the sky is heading down to earth. tiangong has been abandoned and engineers on the ground have lost contact with it. quite where it will come in is uncertain but its flight path means it can only be in this pink band around the equator. the experts say no—one should be alarmed, however. my estimate is that the probability to be injured by one of these fragments is similar to the probability of being hit by lightning twice in the same year. there is a huge burst. as with previous returning spacecraft, the chances are that with the earth mostly covered by ocean, any tiangong debris will hit water. and as for china, it's pressing

on with its space ambitions. it's putting up more modules and hopes to have a bigger and more permanent manned space station built in a decade. jonathan amos, bbc news. this is bbc news at 5 — the headlines: russia summons western ambassadors. london is told to cut its diplomatic contingent in moscow, in the escalating row following the salisbury nerve agent attack. at least nine palestinians have been killed by israeli gunfire, as thousands mass on the border ahead of a major protest. a member of the uk armed services has been killed in syria — they were embedded with united states forces. the film review coming up in a moment, first look at the sports coverage tonight. coming up, anthony joshua weighing in for britain's first heavyweight unification fight,