we'll discuss whether the tax will work. also this lunchtime: russia accuses the uk of playing with fire, in a heated meeting at the un about the salisbury nerve agent attack. another seven people are stabbed overnight in the capital — the police ask communities to mobilise against knife crime. mixed martial arts fighter conor mcgregor is charged with assault in new york after an attack on a bus carrying sporting rivals. and, welsh gold down under — weightlifter gareth evans triumphs at the commonwealth games. coming up in sport later in the hour on bbc news, a close look at all today's action at the commonwealth games, including joy for wales in the weightlifting. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one.

a new tax of up to 2a pence a litre is added from today on soft drinks with a high sugar content. it's part of an initiative by the government to try to tackle obesity and tooth decay. the treasury says food and drink manufacturers have already reduced the amount of sugar in more than half their products — which means the levy is unlikely to bring in as much revenue as had been forecast. our health correspondent james gallagher reports. they are some of our favourite drinks but the sugar tax means they are now more expensive, or the recipe has been changed. the sugar content of ribena and lucozade has been more than halved, artificial sweeteners are being used instead. but pepsi is sticking to its sweet recipe, and will now cost more. as is coca—cola, although it will come in

smaller, more expensive 1.5 litre bottles. so how big is the tax? drinks that are more than around 5% sugar will be taxed at 18p per litre. those that are more than 8% sugar will be taxed at 24p per litre. the amount of the treasury expects to has already fallen from 500 million a year to 240 million, so many soft drinks have been redesigned. changes to irn—bru led to an online campaign and even people stockpiling stop scotland's other national drink. this tax is not universally popular. rather than addressing the cause of the problem it's just taxing people that can probably not afford to pay more for it anyway. i want to discourage my children from being able to go out and buy a fizzy drink so all the better as far as i'm concerned. i don't think it will make a difference, really. they're just making it more expensive for us. as long as it is going to be more

healthy to children or even grown—ups, i think that makes a difference. the aim of taxing the white stuff in our drinks is to help combat the obesity epidemic. only a handful of other countries including mexico, norway and france have tried it. these are products that the industry have created demand for. so it is also their responsibility to change them, particularly now that we have such strong evidence that levels of sugar in children are so high, and they do have an impact on their health. so if we are concerned about children's health and we are, then we need to look at how we can improve this. some commentators question whether the tax will be effective. our consumption of soft drinks is prolific. we need hydration, but on the other hand from a calorie point of view, there is such an easy availability of calories. there are more products and portion sizes are getting bigger all the time. soft drinks is a drop in the ocean compared with the overall obesity problem. the soft drink style in our supermarkets is changing.

but it will take some time to see how the sugar tax affects businesses, our shopping habits and our health. our health editor hugh pym is here. will it go further? will we see more measures like this? it does seem as if this is not the end of the anti—obesity strategy. from the government point of view, that is what ministers are making clear. one thing that could happen in the short—term is extending this levy from whole range of drinks to milk —based drinks with high sugar content —based drinks with high sugar co nte nt — —based drinks with high sugar content — milkshakes and that sort of thing, flavoured milk — which currently is exempt. that was called for by the former chancellor george osborne, who introduced the sugar levy back in 2016. he said he would have extended it, and he thinks it will happen, so that is one possible short—term measure. also, the government is looking at other measures. for example, restrictions on advertising of fast food in

family tv programming. currently, it is restricted and barred for children's programming, but it could be extended. restrictions on promotions of sugary products in supermarkets, a lot of measures that we re supermarkets, a lot of measures that were considered two years ago and not adopted when theresa may became prime minister. it looks as if a childhood obesity strategy will be republished, updated, if you like, this summer, with more measures being talked about. there is also a sugary formulation plan to get companies to cut sugar in all sorts of products like cakes, yoghurt and biscuits, not covered by this levy. cynics will say, actually, we need to see what effect this will have on obesity. that will take time to work out, and whether consumers will respond, as many predict they will, by cutting back on their sugar consumption. thank you, you pin. -- hugh pym. a cousin of yulia skripal,

who was poisoned in the nerve agent attack in salisbury, has told the bbc the phone call recording released yesterday is genuine. viktoria skripal, who lives in moscow, recorded the conversation which was later broadcast on russian state television. last night, there were angry exchanges at a meeting of the united nations security council, in which russia accused the uk of "playing with fire" in relation to the poisoning. here's our diplomatic correspondent james landale. the former russian intelligence officer sergei skripal may remain critically ill, but his 33—year—old daughter yulia says she is recovering. so attention is focusing on what she knows about the nerve—agent attack that left them both fighting for their lives in salisbury. for now, ms skripal has refused to see russian diplomats. but russian television claimed she had spoken to her cousin viktoria by phone. she's been offered help by the russian authorities to travel to britain to see yulia skripal — if she is granted a visa. but she told newsnight of her concerns. at the united nations, the diplomatic confrontation continued, with britain again insisting that it was highly likely that russia was behind the attack, and russia denying it had ever made novichok nerve agent —

let alone used it. translation: we have told our british colleagues that you're playing with fire and you will be sorry. i think the metaphor that i find most apt is that of an arsonist turned firefighter. but in this particular instance, the arsonist wishes to investigate his own fire. for now, despite all the kremlin‘s protestations, the uk continues to retain the support of its allies, both at the un and the european union — allies who are prepared to say so in public. spain has shown full solidarity with our british friends and allies. we were, you know, satisfied with the explanation that they provided us with both directly and in brussels. the focus now will turn to the investigation by the international chemical weapons watchdog into the nerve agent used in salisbury. it's expected to complete

its work next week. james landale, bbc news. police in london have held a community meeting this morning about the recent series of knife crimes and killings in london. there were seven stabbings in the capital yesterday, with a number of teenagers wounded. john mcmanus is at scotland yard. what more are the police saying, john? the police help this meeting with community leaders to try to get a grip on the fatal knife attacks across the capital this year. we knew that there were 52 deaths from a combination of knife and gun attacks since the start of the year, attacks since the start of the year, a leading involving teenagers. four people have died this week, three of them teenagers, and this morning, them teenagers, and this morning, the metropolitan police confirmed that there have been seven stabbing attacks, luckily none of them fatal. compared to stabbing figures for the year ending march 2017, which were

on average 12 a day, seven is much fewer about police are concerned about the fatality rate and what might happen during the rest of the year. they help this meeting this morning with community leaders. we already knew that the metropolitan police commissioner has said that she is going to enforce a new unit of 120 officers to tackle the issue, use more intelligence led stop and search operations as well, but this morning at the end of the meeting, the police issued a statement saying that they have been absolutely clear from the start that they cannot tackle knife crime alone, and that they cannot enforce their way out of this problem. they said they will do all they can, but they need to mobilise communities across the capital to get behind them and help them to stop this knife crime problem. john, thank you. john mcmanus at scotla nd john, thank you. john mcmanus at scotland yard. the former president of south korea park geun—hye has been found guilty of abuse of power, bribery and coercion. a court in seoul ruled that while in office she had forced companies to donate the equivalent of more than £50 million to two foundations

controlled by a close friend. she resigned as president when the allegations emerged last year. our correspondent laura bicker is in seoul. this is the culmination of a scandal that has rocked the political elite and engulfed some of south korea's biggest corporations and companies. it has seen the former president is due to be now imprisoned. and others, including leaders of some of the largest companies, such as samsung, have also fallen foul of the law. however, people here want more changes to come. i was outside the court as the verdict was read aloud. she shouts in korean defiant, supporters of the former president scream her name. the protest grows louder as the verdict at a nearby courtroom is declared. 2a years in prison and a near $17 million fine.

a bitter blow for a right—wing leader who fashioned herself as the daughter of the nation. we don't accept it, the charges are crazy. translation: this is an act that violates global human rights. we cannot accept the result at all. there is nojustice in south korea. despite these protests in support of president park, the majority of south koreans hope today's verdict marks a turning point, the severing of ties between presidential power and the biggest companies in south korea. and also a clean break from authoritarian rule. park geun—hye was the daughter of park chung—hee, who seized power in a coup in 1961. he ruled for 18 years, until he was gunned down in 1979. she entered the political arena just after the global financial crisis in 2008. a worried older generation saw her as a saviour.

she won the presidency by a slim margin of 51%. her close childhood friend and adviser, choi soon—sil, was the first to be caught up in a web of corruption charges. together, they used their presidential privileges to pressure huge corporations for millions of dollars in donations. week after week, the streets of seoul were bathed in candlelight as the list of allegations grew. protesters gathered in their millions to overthrow a leader they saw as corrupt. today, they watched as the verdict was heard on live television. translation: i think the verdict was generous, i think she should be sentenced to life. park geun—hye will appeal, but it will be watched closely by those who have hoped and fought for justice. the powers of the presidency and

those of the large conglomerate have been so long interlinked that it's going to be very difficult to untangle that web. but the new leader here in seoul has promised to unleash new laws, anti—corru ption laws, to try to tackle this. what is clear from the protest that you have seen is that ousted president park is that people here will no longer put up with corruption. and if they see it in people in power, well, they are prepared to help remove them. jane. conor mcgregor, one of the world's most famous martial arts fighters, has been arrested in new york and charged with three counts of assault. the irish former two—weight champion in the ultimate fighting championship — a sport which uses mixed martial arts — was one of a group of men alleged to have vandalised a bus containing rivalfighters. richard conway reports.

even ina even in a sport where hype comes as standard, conor mcgregor may have overplayed his hand. as the ufc held a media promotion day in new york, mcgregor and his entourage stormed the backstage area, attacking a coach containing other fighters. the backstage area, attacking a coach containing otherfighters. you mike? video appears to show mcgregor attempting to throw a barrier and a range of other objects towards the vehicle. a number of those on board are believed to have been injured by glass fragments. the irishman, who turned himself into police, is now in custody and is due to appear in court later today. a star of usc, he was seemingly incensed that being stripped of his title, but his long—term future in the sport now appears to be a majorjeopardy. you wa nt to

appears to be a majorjeopardy. you want to grab 30 expletive friends and come down here and do what you did today. it's disgusting, and i don't think anybody is going to be, you know, huge conor mcgregorfans after this. ufc is a sport that uses after this. ufc is a sport that uses a brutal mix of martial arts. but mcgregor turned to boxing last year, fighting a losing to floyd mayweatherjr in one of the most lucrative bouts in history. having not returned to ufc since then, the decision was made to remove his championship belt. an agent provocateur, he revels in courting controversy and being outspoken. provocateur, he revels in courting controversy and being outspokenlj will controversy and being outspoken.” will reign supreme and there will be a new king. that's it, there will be a new king. that's it, there will be a new king. all publicity is said to be good publicity, especially for a man who has forged a career as a fla m boya nt man who has forged a career as a flamboyant outsider. but any criminal conviction could yet see conor mcgregor lose his right to fight in america. richard conway, bbc news. thousands of palestinians are taking part in a second

friday of protests along the israel—gaza border. at least 20 people have been shot dead there by israeli security well, palestinians here have set fire to a big pile of tyres, that is the black smoke that you can see billowing across into israel. there are similar scenes, another four protest ca m ps are similar scenes, another four protest camps along the a0 miles of the israel—gaza border. the palestinians are trying to use these asa palestinians are trying to use these as a smoke screen, because they know there are as are the soldiers waiting on the other side of the border, close to where you see that sand embankment, and that there are snipers among them. so far what we have seen several people being injured, we have seen the israelis using tear gas against them, but the israeli military has been very clear that it has not changed its rules — if it sees palestinians approaching the fence, trying to damage it, trying to cross illegally into

israel, then it will open fire. it is very worried about a mass ilbo trajan into israel, added accuses the hamas leaders in gaza are trying to stirup the hamas leaders in gaza are trying to stir up trouble is along the border. —— a mass infiltration. palestinians, though, when you speak to people here, they are very clear that they are here because of the right to return for palestinian refugees, it is an issue that people really care about, it is nearly 70 yea rs really care about, it is nearly 70 years ago that the state of israel was created, and that is when hundreds of thousands of palestinians were false to leave their homes, orforced palestinians were false to leave their homes, or forced to flee. israel, of course, completely reject any claim of theirs to go back to that land and to their home villages. yolande, thank you, yolande knell on the border. our top story this lunchtime: a sugar tax comes into force, increasing the price of many soft drinks, as part of a government drive to tackle obesity. and coming up — tributes are paid to the five times world darts champion eric bristow, who's died at the age of 60. coming up in sport on bbc news

in the next 15 minutes, a masters meltdown for the reigning champion, garcia's hopes of successfully defending his title are sunk on the 15th. it's been another good day for the home nations on the second day of the commonwealth games in australia. england's charlie ta nfield won track—cycling gold in the men's a000 metres individual pursuit. scotland's john archibald took the silver in the same event, and his sister katie won the gold in the women's 3000 individual pursuit. weightlifter gareth evans also earned wales its first gold of the games. jo lynskey has more. the welsh way in sport is strength of mind and strength of body. gareth evans is a weightlifter with a fly half's turn of speed. all the strain was for his country —

and for his family. evans has had to fight for funding just to make his third games. but all he'd come for was the gold. he earned it in his own way. we done it! it's been 20 years in the making. and i knew i could do it. best day of your life? i can never take that away from my little girl, she's... i can't wait to show her this, i can't wait to see her with it around her neck. it's not often katie archibald takes the limelight on her own. she's olympic team pursuit champion — this was for solo gold. at one stage, she was half a second behind her australian opponent, but over 3000 metres it's who copes with pain the best. this means so much. you sometimes feel embarrassed about overegging the pride of the scotland jersey or individual versus team and those kind of things, i feel uncomfortable with it, but with this event, it really means so much. this was a busy night for the archibald family. katie's brotherjohn went for gold soon after,

but he was beaten into silver by england's rising star charlie tanfield, a man who has a smile to match the talent. to be fair, john put up a really good fight there, at one point, i was like, "can i hang on for the end?" but i managed to take it home, so i'm just really happy with that, to be honest. in the pool, it's england who have set the early pace. even before adam peaty‘s finals, other lions have come forward. for 21—year—old sarah vasey, any medal would have done, but with one good sprint, gold can be in touching distance. sarah vasey has got it, ithink she has, she has! gold medal to sarah vasey of england! it's pretty mental, like this time last year i got my first british title, and now i'm commonwealth champion. crazy! alice tai already holds the world record in s9 backstroke — gold always looked certain on the commonwealth stage. while away from home, the man to watch is chad le clos. you might remember his father. chad will always be my beautiful boy! le clos arrived at the olympics,

but it could be the commonwealths where he is truly remembered. he took his first step to becoming these games' most decorated athlete in the 50 metres butterfly. for bert‘s beautiful boy, this could become a beautiful games. jo lynskey, bbc news. and our sports correspondent mike bushell is on the gold coast. nice to have some good news, mike! it is, it has been a fantastic night, despite the heavy rain on the gold coast this evening, especially affecting the swimming pool, not the athletes, just the fans. despite that great success by the likes of england in the pool and the velodrome, katie archibald in the velodrome, katie archibald in the velodrome as well, and wales weightlifting gold, it has been australia's night overall, they have won the last relay race of the day with england second and scotland third in the pool, and it means

australia now lead england in the medals table by a couple of gold medals. still a decent day, as you say, for the home teams, lots to gear, wejust hope say, for the home teams, lots to gear, we just hope that northern ireland's boxers and bowlers can get them on the medals table soon. to them on the medals table soon. to the south of here, thankfully, much better weather for the debut of beach volleyball at the commonwealth games, and what a contrast for these goblins team, because all winter they have been training on a freezing or chilli beach in edinburgh. —— for the scotland team. when it has been too cold, they have been an a—bomb's barn, but it seems they are reaping a rich harvest in they are reaping a rich harvest in the australian autumn, because they have won, the men have beaten sri la nka have won, the men have beaten sri lanka today, and the women have beaten grenada, so lots of progress for the scottish beach volleyball team. and one face that has been all over the australian tv networks todayis over the australian tv networks today is 11—year—old hannah has a in the table tennis, we mentioned her last night, but they are really seating up and taking notice of her on all the tv networks, saying she

is one of the stars of the games, and she has helped wales to reach the quarterfinals of the table tennis. she may have lost her singles match budget won doubles, and it will be some assembly when she goes back to schools, she has just started secondary schools, when they go back to easter. my goodness, what a story! mike bushell, thank you very much. the former south african president jacob zuma has appeared in court to face corruption charges. they relate to an arms deal in the 1990s. mr zuma, who was forced out of office in february, is accused of fraud, racketeering and money laundering but denies any wrongdoing. our correspondent andrew harding is outside the high court in durban. andrew. yes, what a difference two months makes. jacob zuma seemed untouchable backin makes. jacob zuma seemed untouchable back in february, he had been wrestling for years with sleaze allegations of corruption piling up against him, but it wasn't until he was pushed out of power that

everything changed, and now we find ourselves at the high court in durban, where jacob zuma is facing 16 counts of corruption. as you say, they relate to a scandal from the 19905, they relate to a scandal from the 1990s, one that has basically been known as these on the case, because it never quite dies and has been brought back to life now. —— the zombie case. although this was a brief appearance and the trial will go on stages in the months and possibly years ahead, it was a symbolic moment for south africa. andrew harding in durban, thank you. about nine million people have to pay more into their pension from today, as the minimum contribution for workers rises from 1% to 3% of income. the government says the increase will boost retirement incomes, but one accountancy firm is warning that pay packets could suffer. our personal finance correspondent simon gompertz is with me. explain a little bit more, simon.” think people will find it tricky to

deal with, not just the think people will find it tricky to deal with, notjust the increase from 1% to 3% of your pay going into the pension, next year there will be another increase of up to 5%, so quite a big one, and just to give you an idea of the impact, someone on the national living wage working full—time, for instance, up until now they have been paying about £6 a month, which goes into their pension, that is what they are missing from their monthly pay packet. this week or this month, it is going up to around £20 a month, soa is going up to around £20 a month, so a substantial increase, something they will notice. and then next year, it will go up to around £3a a month that they will be missing from their pay packet. so a significant amount, and there is obviously a reason — you are saving for a pension, getting a contribution from the government in the form of tax only banned from your employers as well, and you will get thousands of pounds in pension hopefully by the time you retire. on the other hand, i have spoken to workers who say they may think twice about putting money in, they might opt out.

although you automatically enrolled, you have the right to opt out, so there is a lot of concern that there will be more opt outs as a result of this. some people will be getting a pay rise from april this year, a lot of them kicking in from that point, so the blow might be softened, and eve ryo ne so the blow might be softened, and everyone will benefit from the government's increase in the personal allowance, the amount you can earn before tax kicks in. so many people might not feel it, for quite a lot they will feel it, and it will be painful. simon, thank you, simon gompertz. the number of prisoners in england and wales has dropped to its lowest level for more than seven years. the ministry ofjustice says there are more than 83,000 people currently in prison — that's down 2000 in the past four months. at the same time, the number of offenders released early on electronic tags has been rising rapidly, passing the 3000 mark. prince harry and meghan markle are in bath to watch the uk team trials for the invictus games,

which will take place in sydney later this year. prince harry founded the games, which for wounded, injured or sick armed forces personnel and veterans. the first tournament was stained in in 201a. -- the first tournament was stained in in 201a. —— staged in london in 201a. eric bristow, the five—time world darts champion, has died at the age of 60. his huge success in the 19805 helped the game to win a mass audience. eric bristow had a heart attack in liverpool last night. the crowd at a tournament there chanted his name when his death was announced. our sports correspondent olly foster looks back at his life. # there's only one... eric bristow! # thousands of darts fans chanted his name last night. many of them had met eric bristow just a few hours earlier in liverpool at a hospitality event, before he was suddenly taken ill. the "crafty cockney" was king of the oche, a poster boy who helped

drag the sport out of the pubs and gave it public recognition. i think he took it to a different level, i mean, i knew eric when he was 17 years old, used to go around different clubs and pubs paying for money, tournaments. he was a good dart player, and copy, really cocky! that was eric, that was the way he came over. he was quite good at it. the first of bristow‘s five world titles came in 1980. rivalries with bobby george, john lowe, jocky wilson marked his dynasty — a boom time for darts. but he was the best. when i finish playing darts, my name is in the re cord playing darts, my name is in the record books, iwant playing darts, my name is in the record books, i want to set up such a high standard by the time i finish, luckily enough i am a young fella as well and i have got plenty more years in front of me, that when some other youngster comes along, we

will see how good he is. he was bettered by phil taylor, the man he mentors, who was to become the greatest of all time. his influence on the sport was huge. he lost his job as a television pundit 18 months ago following social media comments about the victims of barry bennell and the football abuse scandal — something he apologised for. the darts family were always going to forgive him, one of their legends and still such a popular figure on the circuit. there were tears last night — and tributes. there'll be many more. eric bristow, who died last night at the age of 60. time for a look at the weather, here's ben rich. well, after the glorious sunshine of yesterday, today was always go to struggle to match up, more cloud around generally, particularly in the west, some of it quite impressive, a lenticular cloud there from a weather