this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. the headlines at 8pm: after the suspected gas attack in douma, the bbc learns that theresa may looks ready to join military action against syria, without the approval of parliament. it comes as donald trump warns russia to "get ready" for missile strikes in syria following that attack. the facebook boss mark zuckerberg tells congress that he was among the millions whose data was shared as he apologises for the scandal. we didn't take a broad enough view of our responsibility, and that was a big mistake. it was my mistake, and i'm sorry. and south africa remembers winnie mandela. thousands attend a memorial service for the anti—apartheid activist in soweto. she'll receive a state funeral on saturday. and every little helps. the uk's biggest supermarket, tesco, reveals a big rise

profits of 1.3 billion pounds. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the bbc has learnt that the prime minister, theresa may, is ready to join the us in a military response to the suspected chemical weapon attack in syria. she's said to believe urgent action is necessary to prevent it happening again, and is prepared to go ahead without first seeking pa rliament‘s approval. our deputy political editor john pienaar is at westminster. john, just give us some context for the decision—making that theresa may appears to have been reaching. theresa may is, as we know, cautious by instinct. she likes to chew heavily on sensitive clinical

decisions before swallowing. but of course the pace of the response to that apparent chemical attack in syria is being set not by dundas street but the oval office in the white house in washington. theresa may mayjoin in in a response to that response to the apparent chemical attack and, if so, will she consult parliament first? she is joining in such action and she is perfectly compared to contemplate, i understand, doing so without getting prior approvalfrom understand, doing so without getting prior approval from parliament. she sees action as urgent, necessarily urgent to report any —— avoid any repetition of any other chemical attack. she's also, i'm told, relu cta nt to attack. she's also, i'm told, reluctant to ask president trump to hold off while she consults and peace opinions here and its consent in the british parliament. the scene it seems is set for eight parliament

to have its say later and not before. we've been here before, four and a half years ago, when red lines we re and a half years ago, when red lines were crossed in president obama's view. the british parliament voted and david cameron was defeated. do you think that president waits on mrs may's mind? when david cameron sought approval after another chemical attack, that memory burns for many conservatives. they would not wish to repeat that. it doesn't look like if she is going to run that risk on the plans that are being drawn up. the urgency of the situation, the fact that there is no constitutional or legal strict requirements on the government to seek parliamentary approval before taking military action. yes, it was a precedent that was set by david cameron but a convention is not the

same as a constitutional obligation. president tim as you know, in politics is really about what last happened. theresa may is going to write her own loss on this one and stick to the letter of the law of the constitution and the law. president emmanuel macron has made it clear he is going to go along with whatever president trump does. is there a sense that number ten fears it make it almost squeezed out of the international coalition if it is not prepared to act immediately and if he tries to hold back a bit? yes, i think the thinking on the strategic matters operate on many levels. even to respond to a chemical attack in syria. it illegal, is it requires a response from up behind that, there is... it

would not have been lost on the conscience of the british ministers that president macron seems to be forcing the pace, taking a very hawkish mind, and in the foreign office in government, they would not wa nt to office in government, they would not want to be seen as taking a back—seat to this while the president of france takes on the voice and the strongman of europe, leading the european response at a time of crisis. yes, i think that way on the british ministers minds at this time. it is all part of the mix. all of this means we should come to expect action sooner rather than later, and then the argument carries on from there. but the argument in retrospect, as far as british politicians are concerned. john pr, our deputy political editor. thank you for breaking the news for us and reporting with us in westminster this evening. it comes after a day of strong words from president trump.

on twitter, the us president warned russia to "get ready" for missile strikes against syria. senior russian figures have threatened to meet any us action with a response. our middle east editor jeremy bowen has more. syrians who have survived the last days at the syrians who have survived the last days at the eastern ghouta enclave are being burst out of the ruins and into the new lives, which will not be easy. these people's top priorities were food and shelter for theirfamilies, and only then, their recollections of what they saw. translation: we lived through very difficult times in eastern ghouta, especially the final three days in douma, when the regime carried when the regime carried out its attacks on civilian neighbourhoods and used chlorine gas, which caused suffocation amongst civilians. but in washington, president trump's morning tweet was particularly incendiary. he told the russians to get ready for nice, new and smart missiles in syria, adding they "shouldn't be partners with a gas killing animal." he meant president assad. in moscow, president putin didn't

respond, publicly anyway, and he didn't echo earlier, more threatening comments from his diplomats. translation: the situation in the world is becoming more and more chaotic. nonetheless, we hope all the same that good sense will, in the end, prevail. with so much hardship in syria, the russians also said providing aid should be the priority, not the west versus the assad regime. all the indications are that the syrian regime was responsible, and we will be working with our closest allies on how we can ensure that those who are responsible are held to account and how we can prevent and deter the humanitarian catastrophe that comes from the use of chemical weapons in the future. the war of words and the response to the attack in douma has heated up. donald trump is tweeting more fiercely than ever. we should take his threat seriously, because he is the president of the united states and he's angry about election conspiracy of the united states and he's angry

about an alleged conspiracy against him at home. and will the us and its allies be able to bomb with potentially two sets of international investigators in syria ? chemical weapons inspectors want to visit the site of the attack, and so does the world health organisation. according to our health partners, more than 500 people presented themselves last saturday to health facilities with symptoms that are consistent to symptoms of exposure to toxic chemicals. a generation of syrians knows only war. western leaders need to work out whether bombing will make the lives of syrians better or worse. using force in as complicated a place as syria was never going to be easy or clean. jeremy bowen, bbc news. let me bring you some breaking news

that's just come into us here at bbc. the foreign office says yulia skripal, the russian woman poisoned with her father in salisbury last month, has refused to meet russian officials. a spokesman said they had passed on the russian embassy‘s offer of consular support to ms skripal, who is believed to have been taken to a secure location. herfather, sergei, a former russian spy, remains in hospital. moscow denies poisoning the pair and has demanded access to ms skripal as a russian citizen. and was actually only here visiting her father and was actually only here visiting herfather on and was actually only here visiting her father on holiday. with me is our correspondent simonjones. we've actually got words now from yulia herself. it's a statement that comes to us from the met, and we knew that yulia was released from

the hospital earlier this week and she thanked the hospital, she thinks people in salisbury who came to her aid. she says she's left her father in hospital. he remains seriously ill. she says she too is still suffering with the effects of the poisoning on her. she says her life that was totally different in the ordinary life she leftjust over a month ago. she says she's with specially trained officers who are available to her, who are taking ca re of available to her, who are taking care of her and explaining the various options to her, and one of those options would be to have contact with the russian authorities. we know for the past few weeks that the russian embassy are saying they should be allowed to have access to her because she is of course a russian citizen, and she saysin course a russian citizen, and she says in this statement she has been given details of people she can contact at the russian embassy but the key things she says is i do not wish to avail myself of their services at this time. but if she changes her mind, she will know how to co nta ct changes her mind, she will know how to contact them. she goes on to say she's safe, she's not yet strong enough to give a full interview to

the media. and another interesting thing. she says, she stresses that no one speaks for herself or her first other but the two of them —— and for her father. she also talks about her cousin, victoria. over the last few days, victoria has been making a statement to the media. she was a person who had apparently recorded eight conversation with yulia and the hospital. he was not com pletely yulia and the hospital. he was not completely authentic, and victoria has been trying to come over here and geta has been trying to come over here and get a visa, and that was turned down by the foreign office. yulia is saying and i have asked my cousin victoria not to visit me or contacting for the time being. her opinions and assertions are not mine and they're opinions and assertions are not mine and they‘ re not opinions and assertions are not mine and they're not my fathers. and it just to be clear about this. as far as what we know, her father is getting better and the hospital is saying he will be discharge at some point in the foreseeable future. presumably then, is a question, of

what happens to her? she was only visiting on holiday. obviously, normal circumstances, she would have gone back to russia. sheet remains a russian citizen, but she is still in the production of neck protection... the reaction from russia has always been, show us proof of this. russia has said before if yulia was given a new identity or taken to a new country, in the eyes of the russian authorities, that would amount to an abduction that she is a russian citizen. we've heard from her today. the option very much a bear to speak to the russian authorities, but she does not want it. simon jones, our correspondent, thank you very much. the facebook founder, mark zuckerberg, has revealed his personal data was among the millions harvested by the british firm cambridge analytica. he made the disclosure during his second day of questioning by politicians in washington. mark zuckerberg has just stopped testifying in the past few minutes. our technology correspondent

rory—cellan—jones has been watching. zuckerberg is absurd! outside, a sceptical welcoming party for facebook‘s founder. inside, after his five—hour session yesterday, a new set of american politicians trying to land a blow on mark zuckerberg. congressman, we try to collect and give people the ability...|j congressman, we try to collect and give people the ability... i like you to answer yes or no come if you could. will you make the commitment to change all the user default settings to minimise to the greatest extent possible, the collection and use of people's data? i don't know if that is hard for you to say yes to unless i am missing something. congressman, this is a complex issue that i think deserves more than a i—word answer. that i think deserves more than a 1-word answer. and then a surprise stop guess whose data had been taking. was your data taken, your

personal data? yes. the scandal started... was facebook planning to sue him or the university? what we have found now is very whole programme associated with the... to our current knowledge, he's the only person who sold the data to gammage and iloka. there are another number of researchers putting a similar app so we need to understand if there something going on at carriage university overall that will require a stronger reaction from us. one cove rs a stronger reaction from us. one covers woman zeroed in... you are collecting medical data on people that are on the internet whether they are facebook users are not. yes, we collect some data. and you watch where we go? facebook also gathers that data about where we travel, is that correct?

congresswoman, everyone has control. i'm going to get to that, but yes, you are. can you just acknowledge it? that's the business you are in for gathering data and aggregating the data. congresswoman, i disagree with the characterisation. that's mark zuckerberg speaking earlier on capitol hill just that's mark zuckerberg speaking earlier on capitol hilljust after he ended his two—day session. the university of cambridge has released a statement in response to the comments made by mr zuckerberg. it says... let's speak now to dr anders awslund, an economist and senior fellow at the us foreign affairs think—tank, the atlantic council. he's in our washington studio. thank you very much for being with us thank you very much for being with us this evening. let me ask you

first of all, what do you think we learned as a result of mark zuckerberg's appearances on capitol hill? i think that the big conclusion from the piece you just sounded is that facebook doesn't know what is going on on their own platform, and therefore needs to be regulated and i would guess that the congress will draw that conclusion. what did you make of the quality of questioning? some observers here have suggested that we learned more about the endurance of older politicians in the internet age about how facebook and other platforms of this kind work than we did about facebook itself operates? yeah, but i think that's also quite important that people deal with facebook and they don't fully understand what it is, and therefore facebook needs to come clean. my big

thing is that facebook and other social networks need to establish transparency. it should not be easier to open an account on a social network than to open a bank account. and everything should be transparent. one should not be subject to anonymous bots or force a fight -- subject to anonymous bots or force a fight —— falsified names on facebook orany fight —— falsified names on facebook or any other social network. it should all come clean and be transparent. what most usefully can regulators do that would create something close to a level playing field for companies to operate in? because presumably, one of the problems here is that no individual company problems here is that no individual com pa ny wa nts to problems here is that no individual company wants to give up the potential advantage it might have over its peers and therefore into the regulators step in, it has that to have that rather old—fashioned

jargon, sense of the wild west about it sometimes. indeed. what you just suggested is that there must be, first of all, legislation. it cannot be self—regulation, which mark zuckerberg suggested. and we cannot consider social networks as just internet platforms. they must be considered publications with an editorial responsibility, and a lot of things following from that. for example, you cannot have particular ads that are unregulated. we are coming intoa ads that are unregulated. we are coming into a situation where there will be legislation on clear roads and there must be the proper regulator for these. you think that a common approach could be developed internationally? i would presume that there will be one eu regulation. i don't know about the

uk after brexit and that there will be one us rule. i cannot see with the traced to mr in washington that there would be much international cooperation. dr anders aslund from the atlantic council, thank you so much for being with us this evening. let's ta ke much for being with us this evening. let's take a look at the headlines now. yulia skripal, released from hospital after being poisoned in salisbury, has rejected help from the russian embassy, she says she does not want any contact with her cousin viktoria. after the suspected gas attack in douma, the bbc learns that theresa may looks ready tojoin military action against syria, without the approval of parliament. it comes as donald trump warns russia to get ready for missile strikes in syria following the attack. sport now. and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's hugh.

a very good evening to it's a very important night in the champions league. the report will soon know who isjoining them in the semifinals draw. real madrid at a healthy 3—0 lead in their second leg againstjuventus. mario healthy 3—0 lead in their second leg against juventus. mario mandzukic putting the italian giant ahead in under 90 seconds. it could have been to as well forjuventus. gonzalo higuain's close range effort was kept out by kayla navas in the real goal. juventus still trailing 3—1 on aggregate. in the other quarterfinal second leg games, german champions bayern munich hosting sevilla, having beaten them to— one in spain last week. that is still goalie is —— goalless. in the championship,

wolves will move into the automatic promotion spots to premier league if they win tonight. they took the lead inside six minutes. with more than half an hour gone, it is still i— 02 wolves. at the commonwealth games... a gold—medal for david mcmath wolves. at the commonwealth games... a gold—medalfor david mcmath in wolves. at the commonwealth games... a gold—medal for david mcmath in the men's shooting took them over the 13 mark. the isle of man earned their first medal of the games. and there was another gold for england. it came in the diving. theirfirst of this year's games. jack baugh retained his one metre springboard title that he won in glasgow four yea rs title that he won in glasgow four years ago. he finished 25 points ahead of the australian james conner, easy to victory after qualifying in first place. it's been

a really bad you're so far with injuries, but to be fair, to come here for my first international competition committee, way with a championship title, it is amazing. i'm obviously over the moon. i'm obviously really upset with my injuries but working through with our fizzy is, doctors, injuries but working through with ourfizzy is, doctors, everyone was trying to get me in as good shape as possible. the man who took bronze behind him was scotland's james heatley. in doing so, he became scotland's first commonwealth games diving medallist since his late grandfather, who won gold 60 years ago. he called him and inspiration, the 20—year—old also saying he was the 20—year—old also saying he was the reason that he is diving for scotland. he also added that he was feeling quite emotional after he collected his bronze. wales have clinched the bronze medal... a dramatic finish. the match went to

sudden death. the welsh skipper produced an audacious shot in the last end. scotland had previously fought back after trailing wales for ten ends. england's heather knight, and to others, among the five cricketers of the year. they beat india to win the 2017 world cup for england. she becomes the first woman to feature on the cover of the publication. it means a huge amount to me, personally, but the thing after the most about it is it such a great reflection where women's cricket is that also big, important how much that world cup when, i guess, really captured the nation. you could have put any number of

women in cricket on the front cover and would have at the same impact. hopefully, this is the first of many and there will be plenty of other female cricketers on the front cove rs female cricketers on the front covers in yea rs female cricketers on the front covers in years to come. that's all the sport for now, but before we go, the sport for now, but before we go, the shock is on at the bernabeu. real madrid naturallyjuventus the shock is on at the bernabeu. real madrid naturally juventus by two goals. —— now trailjuventus. you never know. we will have the latest in sportsday at 10:30pm. a military aircraft has crashed in algeria, killing more than 200 people on board. state television reported that the plane came down shortly after taking off from a military airport near the capital algiers. sophie long reports. the burnt—out fuselage of the ilyushin military transport plane that had been carrying more than 250 people. it had been bound for bechar, a town in southwest algeria close to the border with morocco. but shortly after take—off, something caused it to plummet and to crash into a field. translation: we heard a big

explosion, and then me and my neighbour drove here by car. there was very heavy smoke, and then we realised it was an aeroplane accident. when we arrived at the spot itself, we found piles of bodies. it is a disaster, an absolute disaster. among those who lost their lives were the plane's ten crew. most of the passengers were military personnel, but algeria's defence ministry said some of the soldiers' families had been travelling with them. there have been no reports of any survivors. algeria's army chief has ordered an urgent investigation to find out what happened, what caused this military plane to crash with such catastrophic consequences. sophie long, bbc news. a date to withdraw life support for a seriously ill toddler, at the centre of a legal battle, has been set by a judge. in february the high court ruled liverpool's alder hey hospital could stop treating 23—month—old

alfie evans, who has brain damage from a progressive neurological condition. the details of when it will happen cannot be reported for legal reasons. alfie's parents, family and friends have been fighting the decision. scotland yard says its run out of leads in the investigation into the murder of stephen lawrence. the teenager was stabbed to death by a gang of white youths in a racist assault in south—east london in 1993. two men, gary dobson and david norris, are serving life sentences for his killing. there have been no other successful prosecutions. the health regulator says it's found that nearly a third of private hospitals in england require improvement. the care quality commission said most private hospitals provide high quality care, but its inspectors identified concerns about the safety and leadership of some services. the nhs partners network, which represents private providers, says more than half had improved their ratings after follow—up inspections. a memorial service has taken

place in south africa for the anti—apartheid campaigner winnie mandela, who died earlier this month at the age of 81. she was one of the leaders in the fight against white minority rule, when her husband nelson mandela was in prison. a state funeral will be held on saturday. nomsa maseko reports from the orlando stadium in soweto. a sendoff fit for the mother of the nation. hundreds gathered here at orlando stadium in soweto for the woman known to many simply as mamma winnie. she was the best. she tried and she was a great fighter. we all loved her. her grandson, bambatha mandela, lambasted those he said were dragging his grandmother's name through the mud. the people are angry, we are hurt. and we will not tolerate your defamatory messages or disrespect. many have described her

as a fearless woman who took the apartheid system head—on. rita ndzanga, who was jailed with mamma winnie, said the anti—apartheid activist gave the best years of her life for the freedom of black south africans. as people gather to honour mamma winnie, her death has provided a platform for south africans to ask hard questions about her true legacy. she was often labelled a controversial and divisive figure who called for violence. but people here say that she was the victim of the apartheid government's propaganda machine. now things are coming out. i mean, what must we do about that? in terms of our culture, you don't talk about her or him, you know. she made sure that we understood the role of women. especially when it comes to the emancipation of women. and in the mobilisation,

organising and uniting south african women. she showed she is the mother of the nation and that she loved us all. mrs madikizela—mandela was never afraid to stick her head above the parapet. in one of her last interviews with the bbc, she criticised the direction her party, the governing anc, was taking the country. the country is in crisis. i never thought i would live to see my country relegated to junk status. a state funeral has been declared for mrs madikizela—mandela on saturday, a final opportunity for south africans to say goodbye. nomsa maseko, bbc news, soweto. of course, the coverage on bbc news

of the state funeral. time for a look at the weather with tomasz schafernaker. this evening for the him most of us, the weather is behaving. it very to the weather is behaving. it very to the neck area so much from one place to the other, but he sort of common theme is there is a lot of dry weather. some areas will have clear skies. many will be under cloudy skies, maybe a few spots of rain but thatis skies, maybe a few spots of rain but that is pretty much it. as far as tomorrow is concerned, it's really a case of cloudy weather cost was of the uk. it will be some sunshine across some areas. the thinking is a little later on in the afternoon, some heavy showers will drift out, possibly reached southeastern england. these could be downpours for a time england. these could be downpours fora time and england. these could be downpours for a time and there could be some thunderstorms around as well, so a little change there and are wondering pattern as we head into friday as well. friday, a pretty cloudy with some rain in the northwest. about

this is bbc news. our latest headlines: yulia skripal, released from hospital after being poisoned in salisbury, rejects help from the russian embassy, and says she does not want any contact with her cousin viktoria. after the suspected gas attack in douma, the bbc learns that theresa may looks ready tojoin military action against syria, without the approval of parliament. it comes as donald trump warns russia to ‘get ready‘ for missile strikes in syria — following the attack. the facebook boss mark zuckerberg tells congress that he was among the millions whose data was shared as he apologises for the scandal. we didn't take a broad enough view of our responsibility. and that was a big mistake. it was my mistake. and i am sorry. more now on our top story. the bbc has learnt that the prime

minister, theresa may, is ready tojoin in an international military response to the suspected chemical weapon attack in syria. she's said the uk is prepared to go ahead without first seeking pa rliament‘s approval. well, it comes as the us president warned russia to ‘get ready‘ for missile strikes against syria. our middle east correspondent lina sinjab has been following developments from neighbouring lebanon and she spoke how the tensions between russia and the us could affect matters on the ground. there is a world was going on over syria. the worry is that it will escalate. president trump told russia to be ready for the smart missiles that would hit syria. that is after russia threatened to respond to any military operation. president trump has determined this time to put an end to president assad's atrocities after the chemical attack on the marlatt saturday. but many are sceptical.

last year, president trump also responded but with a very small and symbolic attack over a military base. however, many others are saying this time it will be different. it's going to be a large military operation that will cripple the military power of president assad. this every in government, although they deny any involvement in any chemical attack, they are worried. support element report suggesting a relocating personnel for military bases and security bases especially in central damascus and around the mosque is. inside syria, people are put between two views, some are very worried about the life and what is going to happen if they are targeted. —— around damascus. but the opposition are holding their breath and wondering if president trump is going to be serious this time. and our correspondent, steve rosenberg, is following developments in moscow. the kremlin has made it clear we did

not do diplomacy via twitter. it is important the kremlin said that nothing is done to harm an already fragile situation. that is with the kremlin is saying but i think there are two main messages coming at a moscow. the first is that there was no chemical weapons attack by the syrian government and the reports of such an attack, moscow says, is a provocation in a fabrication by the syrian rebels. the second message is that, a warning, and wanted to donald trump, and wanted to america, and to the west, warning printed in russian government newspaper and went like this, russia reserves the right to shoot down planes and sink ships, active aggressively in syria. in other words, america, keep your new smart missiles to yourself. don't launch a strike on syria. moscow or washington do not want the war to spot a consultant to a war between russia and america, but the problem is when you have this surface of rattling and rhetoric on

both sides, a complete deficit in trust, that is a very dangerous combination. a retired catholic priest has been jailed for nine years, for sexually abusing children as young as five. father paul moore who's 82, committed the crimes in various locations in ayrshire in the 1970's and mid 90s. he was found guilty last month at the high court in glasgow, and today a judge described his behaviour, as ‘a gross breach of trust'. our scotland correspondent lorna gordon reports. father paul moore — confronted by the bbc in 2015 over allegations he had abused young boys. they say they are victims of abuse at your hands. no, no. are you saying that they're lying? i absolutely... are you saying they're lying? no, they're not lying, they think, they think that that's what it is. paul smyth was one of moore's victims, he has though the evidence proved he had

abused his position. i is assaulted by him when he was 11 years old and has waived his anonymity to speak out. i still remember it very clearly, the first incident. very clear, as if it was yesterday. it has cost me years of anxiety. years of anger which shouldn't have been there. more abuses victims while they were at primary school. at a leisure centre at the local beach. the youngest of those he attacked with just five. thejudge youngest of those he attacked with just five. the judge insisted youngest of those he attacked with just five. thejudge insisted and said these were despicable crimes, she said moore had failed to acknowledge responsibility for his actions. in carrying out these crimes, you take advantage of your position as a minister of religion, which he did was a gross breach of trust. more's victims have waited for decades to see the 82 dear old

face injustice. they were praising, forwarded to give evidence come on today, urged other victims of sexual abuse to do the same. he was sentenced to nine years injail, the judge said he has shown no remorse for his crimes. a court in myanmar has refused to release two reuters journalists who were arrested in december while investigating crimes by the burmese army against rohingya muslims. yesterday, seven soldiers were found guilty of extrajudicial killings in a village in rakhine state. our myanmar correspondent, nick beake has more from yangon. there were high hopes of money when the two quarters journalist were barred him from prison, they were taken through the corridor and ha ndcuffs taken through the corridor and handcuffs towards the court room. one of the men turned 32 today and his friends and family and brought him a cake and it was clear that they were really hoping that he would be released so that he can celebrate with him this evening. but

as they got into the courtroom at her with thejudge had as they got into the courtroom at her with the judge had to say, those hopes were dashed, he said that the prosecution case at this point was stronger than the defence case. people were hopeful that they may be released, these two, because it emerged yesterday that seven burmese army officials had been found guilty of the murder of ten page man and this was the very same sorry that the two reuters daedalus were investigating when they were arrested and they've always claimed is because of the investigations on the story that they have been targeted in this way. what happens next, we spoke to the lawyer for the two men, he said he remains optimistic that they will be released at some point, but in terms ofa released at some point, but in terms of a happy ending today on the 32nd birthday of one of the men, that is not happened. after the short hearing, both men were taken away back to their prison cells. paul ryan — the speaker of the us house of representatives — has announced that he will not run for re—election in november. mr ryan is the most senior republican in the us congress.

speaking at a news conference, mr ryan said he'll retire injanuary and intends to spend more time with his family. you all know i did not seek this shop. i take it reluctantly. but i have given this chop everything that i have. and i have no regrets whatsoever for having accepted this responsibility. when i realised is that if i am here for my term, my kids will only have ever known me as a weekend dad. ijust can't let that happen. asa as a surprise to republicans. not serving a full term. it will be a big blow to the us republican party according to ron christie, a former adviser. i spoke to every senior member of the house of the leadership and they

are worried. they are worried that his exit will have a lot of impact on people who are sitting on the fence up i run for reelection or retire, what us or do. this could force a wave of republicans to leave. the democrats don't need many seeds, somewhere in the ballpark of low 20s to flip the chamber from your to have over 30 republicans who announced her retirement, what happens is that number gets to 40s or 50s? it could be a big problem politically in the house of republicans. the uk's biggest supermarket, tesco, has announced a big rise in its full—year profits, reporting a pre—tax profit of one point three billion pounds. it says figures have been boosted by the sale of fresh food. the group has completed a three—year reform programme, after a series of disappointing results. our business correspondent emma simpson reports. it was hard when the boys went off to college. i used to love cooking sunday roasts... tesco also served up something tasty with its annual results today, a big turnaround in profits.

breaking through the billion pounds mark for the first time since 2014. that's an increase of 795% on last year. it has been a long road to recovery. it started with a massive accounting scandal, which cost tesco dear. here in the aisles, it was also losing shoppers but the business has been rebuilt. just getting the basics of retail right, getting stuff onto the shelves, making sure prices aren't out of line with the rest of the market. getting staff back on the shop floor to improve service and standards as well. they've also introduced stuff like the farm brands, which enables them to sell produce and meat at prices similar to those found in aldi and lidl. and, on the flip side, there's been quite significant cost—cutting as well, which sadly has meant some big job losses. so, what now for the supermarket tesco? well, it's just taken control of this business. you may not have heard of it, but booker is britain's biggest wholesaler, supplying thousands of corner shops.

everything here is super—sized, that's because booker supplies lots of restaurants, pubs and cafes as well and tesco wants a piece of this market. this tie—up will give tesco even greater buying power and scale, a deal which has plenty of critics, but some think it could transform the tesco's fortunes — if it pays off. tesco is unlikely to return to its glory days when it made billions in the pounds in profits, but at least for now, it is back on the right track. emma simpson, bbc news. nearly 2000 jobs are at risk in greater manchester, after the online retailer shop direct, said it would close three sites in the area from 2020. the firm which owns the fashion website very, as well as littlewoods, says it's to build a new automated warehouse in the east midlands. shop direct‘s boss derek harding called it a ‘tough day‘. every day thousands of people

in england who are living with learning disabilities or autism are given medication they don‘t need, to control their behaviour. that‘s in spite of an nhs pledge to stop the misuse of such treatment, known as psycho—tropics. the campaign is now being extended — but charities representing people most at risk say progress is slow. jayne mccubbin reports. most of the times i see stephen, he‘s totally catatonic. he‘s dribbling. no life in his eyes. leo describes the impact of psychotropic drugs on her son. drugs designed to treat specific conditions, but too often given to people with autism and learning disabilities who don‘t have those conditions. drugs often referred to as the chemical cosh. that‘s not a life. stephen lives a six—hour round trip away from his family. while here, he has had his collarbone broken in an incident investigated by police.

a carer was sacked. ever since, stephen has increasingly self harmed and tried to harm others. in response, he has faced more restraint and more medication. no one seems to be understanding that it is his way of showing how hurt he is. i‘m anxious, i‘m sad. he‘s scared? i‘m scared. and when i see him crying, he will scream "mummy, no go! mummy, no go!" it absolutely breaks my heart. the priory group tell us restraint is always a last resort and they always aim to reduce medications to the lowest possible doses to keep people safe. two years ago, a study found as many as 35,000 people with learning disabilities were being given psychotropic medication every day. in response, nhs england launched stomp, a campaign to stop over—medication. someone with a learning disability

can‘t always express what‘s going on for them. and what might happen will come out in their behaviour and then the response that is needed is understanding. the campaign extends later this month. they are also collecting new data on those being medicated. but charities have raised concerns. they say progress is too slow and the data being gathered is nowhere near wide enough. and that is an area that does need addressing. and you would like to see this data collection for all people with learning disabilities? that would be fantastic. yes. but charities warn of a workforce crisis. there has been nearly a 40% fall in specialist learning disabilities nurses since 2010. over a 70% fall in community support. just as nhs england tries to reduce over—medication by raising awareness, the fear is this landscape will mean more drugs are used in the place of good support. jane mccubbin, bbc news.

let‘s ta ke take a look at the headlines on bbc news. yulia skripal, released from hospital after being poisoned in salisbury, rejects help from the russian embassy, and says she does not want any contact with her cousin viktoria. after the suspected gas attack in douma — sources tell the bbc theresa may is prepared tojoin military action against syria, without the approval of parliament. it comes as donald trump warns russia to ‘get ready‘ for missile strikes in syria following the attack. a pint of milk delivered to the doorstep was a staple for most families until the 1980s. but after decades of decline, dairies are reporting an increase in glass bottle deliveries. it‘s attributed to increased awareness about the cost to the environment of plastic. our business and consumer correspondent nina warhurst reports.

all is quiet in the village of markse in redcar. arriving at eileen‘s ian has the birds and his bottles keeping him company. a milkman for 28 years, ian has witnessed a steady decline in doorstep deliveries. we have seen some redundancies, good friends lost their jobs, but it seems to be picking up again. keeping you busy, then. keeping me busy, exactly, yeah. since january, ian‘s dairy has been delivering 4,000 more glass milk bottles a week. and out of 20 dairies we spoke to, 17 said they had also seen a rise. this is the first year we have actually seen a rise in sales and production, which i think is on the back of people being more aware of the environmental impact plastic has. not bad news for you, either.

no, definitely not. the morning clink on the doorstep became a post—war staple, and by the late ‘70s, 90% of britain‘s milk was delivered to homes. but despite popular advertising, then came deregulation and the rise of the supermarket, triggering a decline to just 3% of the current market. but it survived. eileen likes knowing that her bottles are reused, and she likes her milkman. how long have you known ian? about 12 years. 12 years! in the winter, it was brilliant. poor ian, i was opening the door, and it was deep snow, the bottles just plonked in. poor soul. a pint of eileen‘s milk costs 65p, so four of them is more than £2.50. but less than half a mile up the road is a major supermarket, where the same volume of milk costs less than half the price, so eileen‘s next door neighbours are not keen to convert. living near the sea,

jill has been horrified by images of plastic waste, and yet... does that tempt you to move to glass? i‘d like to think i would, but no, i wouldn‘t. it‘s cheaper, and that‘s the bottom line. waste charity wrap told us that because of the environmental impact of cleaning and delivering, glass bottles must be used 20 times to beat plastic. ian‘s bottles are used around 50 times, so he‘s hoping more customers will see them as the green option for the white stuff. if you like getting lost in a good whodunnit you‘re not the only one, crime fiction‘s now the most popular genre in the uk. we bought more than 18 million crime and thriller books last year. but what‘s behind their rising popularity? graham satchell investigates. dramatic music

a violent murder, a devastated family, an investigation begins. a truly great crime novel hooks you in and plays with time. the suspense can make the world race by. at its most harrowing, it can slow time to a stop. they take us to the darkest, most traumatic areas of people‘s lives. someone being chased through an alleyway or a knock at the door and the police are telling you that your child isn‘t coming home. those are just huge and very human situations. cath staincliffe is an award—winning writer. her latest book tells the story of the murder of a transgender girl. her novels are notjust whodunnits, but a way to make sense of the world. whether it‘s trafficking or violence in the street or transphobia, you know, it‘s a way of looking at those sort of issues and humanising them,

and testing out my own fears and nightmares, as well. for the first time, crime novels are now more popular than any other form of fiction. 18.7 million crime and thriller novels were sold last year, up 19% on 2015. what's going on? why is that person being secretive? what is that person hiding? it does make you question people in reality a little bit more. so why has crime become the most popular form of fiction? i love the mystery element of it, of the suspense, and the idea of a puzzle that is waiting to be solved. modern crime books, a lot of the time now, the women are the people who are the detectives. i imagine that what it's done is it has encouraged a lot more women to pick up the book and stop reading what's been seen as traditional female literature. things aren‘t politically maybe as calm as it has been over previous

years, and i think when you see a kind of politically unstable situation, maybe, you get a rise in things like crime novels, like horrorfilms, where you‘re trying to contain that fear in something that‘s a bit more safe. whatever the reason, more and more of us it seems are lost in the pages of dark worlds, hoping perhaps for truth, justice, redemption. graham satchell, bbc news, manchester. a significant shift in the system of ocean currents that helps keep parts of europe warm could send temperatures in the uk lower. scientists say the atlantic ocean circulation system is weaker now than it has been for more than 1,000 years. the study, in the journal nature, says it may be a response to increased melting ice and is likely to continue. iam nowjoined by dr david thornalley, lead researcher of the study and senior lecturer at the ucl.

thank you for being with us. we better start at the very beginning, what is the circulation system and why does it have such an impact? this is the circulation of the atla ntic this is the circulation of the atlantic ocean and a key part of this is that you have warm waters at the surface and then they. boards. it is that transport of heat that plays a big role in helping to keep the uk slightly warmer than what would be an transfer thinking around the earth. what then is the potentially going to affect those temperatures, what is going to cost of the change? we think about things getting warmer but you are suggesting for us think should get a little cooler. possibly it depends on how much circulation will weaken. things that can affect ocean circulation are things like the melting of ice sheets, like the green dye sheet or more rain precipitation at high latitudes. over the arctic ocean. that stops as

they bought their being formed in water they‘re sinking and basically puts the spanner in the work of this conveyor like circulation. this big watcher is actually what kind is helping to warm it up? no, it'sjust the water... it is that flowed northwards of the warm water. we have got to warm up to come again. the water will not be flowing to the same degree. exactly. you say may do, how uncertain is this area of research? this has been one of the big questions of science for a while. models predict that in the future, this circulation system may weekend but what we do not know if it is already happening come on if it is already happening come on if it is, how much of a we can in the future. our study has really shown that the wii may have already happened, we looked at circulation in the past and we show that today we re in the past and we show that today were at the weakest state we been at for at least thousand years or more. so potentially, the circulation is a

slowdown that much compared to the past? but as you said you don‘t know what it might accelerate again come on we don‘t know exactly how big a difference this will make in terms of how many degrees temperatures it will drop. our study in the companion study also nigab sound thatis companion study also nigab sound that is already weakened by about 15, maybe 20%. a significant amount. —— are also setting. the question is how much in the future. climate models suggest maybe ten to 30% but there is uncertainty in those estimates and we are concerned what if we are underestimating it. and the question about what will happen to the uk‘s climate depends on whether there is a severe we getting over the ocean and we lose quite a lot of this heat transport or only very moderate, then the uk climate will stay warm and probably get warmer. because of the other thing going on in the climate. i suppose one can imagine it being a little

bit chilly going through a dip in the summer. are there more direct impacts, we could cope with this as humans, we are adaptable with something like this, other species, could have affect. some of the work is part of this a larger project. will it get the effect of atlantic circulation on marine ecosystem. because this ocean circulation moves different, water methods around, warm and cold water in different places, that impact the organisms that live in the ocean and so for example, lobster that live off of the american east coast, they don‘t like warm waters and walmart is building up there so they been migrating. species like cod off the uk waters, very temperature sensitive. what changes circulation we may see a change those patterns. were trying to understand exactly what the uk system response will be to these big changes. maybe good news for all of the lost their fishermen off the north. why no from

my childhood abuse get a lot of laughs are a lot of lobster and complained they were getting as many. maybe they will come back. thank you for coming again in this funny that to us. the cup is all planned seamlessly, we go to who else but thomas for a more immediate forecast. tell us. good evening. gloucester. anyway in the short—term. the weather forecast is lot less complicated than the future climate. having said that we don‘t get it completely right because the clouds are being given us a headache forecasting the details of it in the last few days. it breaks up in some places than others it is persistent. do tonight and tomorrow, the majority of the uk is underneath the clouds, a few spots around here and there but some of us have blue skies. in the southwest, the skies will brighten up during the day and also what‘s in the northern scotland will have some sunshine but for many of us as a case of cloudy weather and also some spells of rain there for a time maybe later in the day

and also in the southeast during the course of tomorrow, and also at the friday week could see heavy showers, maybe even a rumble of thunder. the end of the working week is looking something like this. broadening up in the south. still chilly on the north coast. only around seven tonight. this is outside source. president trump warns russia to get ready for missile strikes against syria, after an alleged chemical attack near damascus at the weekend. yulia skripal says she‘s still suffering from the effects of the nerve gas used against her and her father, and doesn‘t want help from the russian embassy. a military plane crash in algeria kills more than 250 people. more questions for facebook‘s mark zuckerberg as he admits he was also among the millions of users whose data was improperly shared with cambridge analytica.