hello, you're watching afternoon live — i'm simon mccoy. today at 2. keeping it in the family — the queen says — when the time comes — she wants prince charles to take overfrom her as head of the commonwealth. it is my sincere wish that the commonwealth will continue to offer stability and continuity for future generations and we'll decide that one day the prince of wales will continue the important work started by my father in 1949. she was speaking at the commonwealth conference — where the uk government announced plans to ban billions of plastic straws, cotton buds and drinks stirrers. how we support our most vulnerable member states as we tackle climate change and improve the health of our oceans, creating a more sustainable commonwealth. i'm ben brown — live at buckingham palace — from where i'll have all the latest from the summit throughout the day. the windrush scandal — calls for an investigation into who authorised thousands

of landing cards to be destroyed. left off. — — left off. -- liftoff. to boldly go... on a mission to find thousands of new worlds. nasa's planet—hunting satellite lifts off from cape canaveral. coming up on afternoon live all the sport. good afternoon, more on the news that the ecb would like to introduce 100 balls format to their new 8—team city —based competition which begins in 2020 and we have the news that supporters in the world cup will see those decisive reviews and replays being made on a big screen inside the stadiums. some good news regarding the weather? according to the met office it is the warmest april day since 1919, 20 7.9 at northolt. how long will the heat

last? until the weekend 7 northolt. how long will the heat last? untilthe weekend? i northolt. how long will the heat last? until the weekend? i will tell you in half an hour. last? until the weekend? i will tell you in halfan hour. —— last? until the weekend? i will tell you in half an hour. —— 20 7.9. thanks. also coming up. we'll be hearing some of the tributes to dale winton — the television and radio presenter who died at his home last night at the age of 62. hello everyone — this is afternoon live. when the queen says it's her ‘sincere wish‘ that something should happen — it would be a brave person — world leader or not — who would argue against her. so when she told representatives from the 53 countries that make up the commonwealth that she would like prince charles to take over as head of the organisation one day — well, you wouldn't bet against it. let's go to ben brown who's at buckingham palace for us now. glorious day here where we had the

formal opening ceremony of the summitfor formal opening ceremony of the summit for the commonwealth earlier today, and the question of who should be head of the commonwealth is not set in stone, it is not hereditary. it has been a subject of debate in the summit and in the beginning of the summit, in fact, the labour leaderjeremy corbyn suggesting it could be rotated amongst the different member states of the commonwealth. the queen made it clear in buckingham palace at the opening ceremony that she was having none of it. she said it was her wish that the prince of wales, should carry on with what she called the important work started by her father king george vi, in 1919. it is expected that the commonwealth leaders tomorrow will indicate that thatis leaders tomorrow will indicate that that is their wish, that the prince of wales should be the head of the commonwealth when the time comes but many other important issues to be decided and debated. not least climate change, cleaning up the

oceans, and also cyber warfare and cyber attacks, how to fight them, and trade, significantly for britain after brexit, whether they can increase trade with all of the member states of the commonwealth. our correspondent reports. it has its origins in the days of the empire and there was an echo of imperial grandeur in the welcome london laid on for the leaders of today's commonwealth of nations. the prime minister of the united kingdom. in the ballroom of buckingham palace where empire transitioned to commonwealth nearly 70 years ago with the signing of the london declaration, the leaders of 53 nations gathered to witness another future transition. from elizabeth, head of the commonwealth throughout her long reign, to charles who's been hoping to be endorsed in the role for some time. commonwealth leaders are keenly

aware of the queen's commitment. the commonwealth has been her passion. they are aware that this will almost certainly be the last conference over which she will preside. change is coming. and charles reminded the commonwealth of his long—standing involvement in their affairs. for my part, the commonwealth has been a fundamental feature of my life for as long as i can remember. i pray that this commonwealth heads of government meeting will not only revitalise the bonds between our countries, but will also give the commonwealth a renewed relevance to all its citizens. from britain's prime minister, theresa may, a reminder of the incredible opportunities offered by the commonwealth, important of course in the post—brexit world, but then to the topic that bound them all emotionally today, a tribute to the queen. you have seen us through some

of our most serious challenges and we commit to sustaining this commonwealth which you have so carefully nurtured. and then it was the turn of the queen to speak. she had committed her life to the commonwealth at the age of 21, now two days from her 92nd birthday, she was keen to prepare the ground for the leadership of the commonwealth after her death. it is my sincere wish that the commonwealth will continue to offer stability and continuity forfuture generations. and will decide that one day the prince of wales should carry on the important work started by my father in 1919. by continuing to treasure and reinvigorate our associations and activities, i believe we will secure a safer, more prosperous and sustainable world for those who follow us. commonwealth leaders have big

issues for discussion, preserving the oceans, security, democracy and trade, but the significance of today was that for the first time publicly, through the medium of the commonwealth, elizabeth ii referred to the time after her reign is over. we can talk to lord marlon, the chair of the commonwealth enterprise and investment counsel. in the post—brexit world, from our perspective, smooth relations with the commonwealth countries are crucial original we will want to trade more with countries like australia and new zealand, india and pakistan? i think we should be doing that, anyway, and i don't think the commonwealth is a replacement for europe, but we have incredibly

strong ties with these countries anyway. there is huge potential to increase it. several things, as you probably know, there's a 19% advantage trading into commonwealth, advantage trading into commonwealth, a dimension of figure, and we all speak the same language —— demonstrate the figure. you don't need a translator to explain it, we also have a similar sense of humour. you can interchange. underpinned by english, british rule of law, so you don't have to deal with chinese rule of law or south american rule of law. the platform is there for a real springboard. the commonwealth is extraordinary and that it is huge countries like india and tiny countries like india and tiny countries like india and tiny countries like the seychelles, in terms of trade by a not equally important, but it is important for

britain to reach out to all these countries in the post—brexit world? yes, it is. we have had a meeting with one of the smallest landlocked countries surrounded by south africa, we have helped facilitate a new £500 million investment and that isa new £500 million investment and that is a huge game changerfor new £500 million investment and that is a huge game changer for that country and it is a very big deal. there are many things going on. determination to invest more in nigeria, as welcomerfor determination to invest more in nigeria, as welcomer for example, determination to invest more in nigeria, as welcomerfor example, so there are different measures —— as well. what is interesting in the commonwealth from a business perspective is the responsibility of the bigger nations towards the smaller nations and how they feel sympathetic especially regarding the climate change issues which is a major issue for commonwealth nations. it is really, we must not judge these things by the size of the deal, but the importance to the

country with which the deal is done. it isa country with which the deal is done. it is a unique group of countries, some people say, what is the commonwealth? it is not military or economic, so what is it? it is a block which shares the same language and has had cross—fertilisation over many years and it shares the same rule of law and the same sense of humourand so rule of law and the same sense of humour and so much sport as well as we have seen from the commonwealth games. thanks forjoining us. the chair of the commonwealth enterprise and investment counsel, there. commonwealth is controversial, some people say it is a ageing relic from the days of the british empire, but others are very supportive and believe it is a family of nations, big and small, as we were just discussing. some of the smaller

countries get a voice that they would otherwise not have, we would talking to the president of the seychelles, he believes the commonwealth really gives his country and important platform on the global stage. especially at a time of real challenge when it comes to the environment and climate change, countries like the seychelles, low—lying countries that feel threatened by rising sea levels, they feel that the commonwealth is something that can really help. what would you outline as the key environmental challenges for the commonwealth? climate change is an existential threat to island nations and we would not be able to support human populations unless climate change is checked, just think of last year's hurricane season. think of last year's hurricane season. we had some hurricanes which really affected countries badly. so

the changes that are coming, i think some of our nations might not exist if we don't tackle them. the british government is trying to set a lead with its consultation with a ban on plastic stores, for example, how important is that? —— plastic stores. the state of the ocean is very important. climate change is a bigger problem, more serious, but slower moving, but the situation in the oceans is extremely dangerous, and all of us depend on the oceans and all of us depend on the oceans and to have turned it into a garbage dump, a sewage place, i think is a crime. i was very glad at the commonwealth people's forum, to see the plastic wail, and i hope countries will follow. we don't have the budgets for proper waste management. but do you have the desire to tackle climate change and

environmental issues, do all the member states have that desire? environmental issues, do all the member states have that desire7m is for people like me, activists, who have to hold these intentions that are stated at conferences like this, we have got to hold their feet to the fire and say, this is what you said, now what are you going to do about it? very interesting to talk to you, the founder of the jamaican environment trust. this is one of the big issues being discussed here, the environment, and we will be covering the summit further here today and tomorrow. and now back to the studio. studio: thanks forjoining us. one of the big issues being discussed by the commonwealth heads of government this week is plastic pollution. here the government has announced plans to ban the sale of billions of plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds in england to try to cut global marine pollution.

the environment secretary michael gove said the ban would come in by the end of the year. here's our science correspondent victoria gill. this cheap ubiquitous throwaway material has become a visible scourge on our marine environment. the bbc series blue planet shocked viewers with scenes showing how ocean wildlife has to share its world with this debris. and among the marine litter, single use straws and sticks, that the government says it now wants to ban. there are environmentally friendly alternatives that we can all use and of course there is more we need to do. getting rid of straws and cotton buds is one aspect of making sure we all use less plastic. before any ban can happen, a consultation to explore alternatives and any exceptions has to be carried out which will begin later this year, and any new measures would only apply in england. the government says it is part of a mission to protect our

oceans from plastic. it's already banned plastic micro beads in personal care products and recently announced a deposit return scheme to encourage recycling of plastic bottles. in samples of mud from a uk riverbed, i saw myself how plastic, even when it breaks down, can remain in the environment as microscopic pieces small enough to enter the food chain. environmentalists say the government is lagging behind. the deposit return scheme just announced has been in place in many other countries for a number of years. the uk government acting for england was well behind the curve on introducing charges for plastic bags for example. it is welcomer what is happening now. but it's not ground—breaking, in fact they are playing catch up. evidence of the harm caused by plastic is still emerging but this proposal will aim to stop it being thrown away in such high volumes, to prevent it floating into our rivers and oceans. let's talk now to

doctor sharon george — a materials scientist at keele university. also i'm joined by dr malcolm hudson associate professor in environmental science director— university of southampton marine plastic pollution group. the government seem to be reacting to this now? we have seen a big rise in action which is long overdue. we have seen a recent banning plastic, the charge on plastic bags, the increase in activity around micro beads which is long overdue and now we are seeing this, but i still think we have a long way to go. we are producing way too much plastic and we need to deal with this. there is no such thing as a way, this ends

up is no such thing as a way, this ends up in our environment and we are producing it faster than we can get rid of it at the moment. cotton buds, steroids, plastic ten one, these are a real —— stirrers, plastic straws, these are real problems? yes, it is. plastic is an amazing material and some of it can be very well used, but this we are using once and then throwing away. it is madness to keep doing the things we are doing and we need to look for alternatives and we need to look for alternatives and we need to look for alternatives to the single use plastic especially, because that is such a big problem and it is something we need to deal with. i'm sure you agree with that sentiment, but at the moment this is just a consultation. that's right. my

concern is that this will take time. we had a similar situation with the micro beads ban where we were promised swift action but that was derailed by brexit and then derailed by the election. it took much longer thanit by the election. it took much longer than it should have. the government are making the right noises and i welcome that but they're in environment —— there in environment strategy has 25 years to run and they have given them that long to eliminate single use plastic from the uk. since 1994 plastic waste in the uk. since 1994 plastic waste in the oceans has increased by 190% of it is growing every year. we are going to see more than twice as much as there is now. we all appreciate the urgency, but we haven't got unlimited time to sort this out. no, we haven't. we already seeing the impact of these plastics. we have

seen impact of these plastics. we have seen the pictures on tv, but we are kidding ourselves if we are thinking this isn't affecting us right now. there's a recent study in belgium that showed if you eat fish in britain you are highly likely to be ingesting fragments of plastic, something like 100 —— hundreds of fragments each year. if we continue and keep piling this stuff into our environment it will get worse for the we have got to do something now. we haven't got time. interesting that this has been raised with the commonwealth heads in the same place because many of them know first—hand how big a problem this is. that is right. it is a global problem and the developing countries are finding themselves on the sharp end because their consumption habits have modernised very quickly and effectively they have adopted first world approaches but they still have developing world waste management systems. the governments gone into a

partnership with some commonwealth countries to address this, like sri lanka, they had major problems last year with a landslide in a landfill site that killed over 30 people and also caused serious flooding into cities. they are seeing this first—hand cities. they are seeing this first— hand but they cities. they are seeing this first—hand but they don't have the infrastructure and the waste management capacity in place to do it. i welcome the fact the government is putting money into this to support developing countries to do this but it even has to go beyond the commonwealth, although it isa beyond the commonwealth, although it is a useful network. we are globally connected in this problem and when plastic waste ends up in the sea we are all likely to receive it so waste that is lost in the usa could end up here and waste that is lost in sri lanka could end up in india or china. it is going to be out there for hundreds of thousands of years and become more hazardous because of the chemicals it is likely to absorb as it breaks down.

out of ten, how much would you give the government announcement this morning question —— this morning? five and a half, i'm pleased, but this is only one small aspect and we need a long—term and whole approach and a global approach so we did everybody pulling on the same rope in the same direction. sharon? marks out of ten? probably five. it is a good start. it is all the right noises but we need an approach where we deal with the waste and the use and we are an innovative country and we could be developing alternative materials and that is going to need funding at our uk universities. to both of you, thanks forjoining us. some breaking news from cuba. they have confirmed raul castro will be

replaced as president by the person who was in fact the only candidate. the result was announced in the last few minutes and he is expected to pass the presidency. raul castro will stay on as head of the communist party until its next congress. these are the pitches of the national assembly passing the motion. —— pictures. a moment of history into the life of

cuba, the nomination of the new president of cuba. that announcement in the last few minutes, that the next president of cuba will be miguel diaz—canel. you're watching afternoon live, these are our headlines. the queen makes it clear she'd like prince charles to succeed her as head of the commonwealth, as dignitaries from around the world gather for a heads of government meeting in london. the government has proposed a ban on plastic drinking straws, cotton buds and drinks stirrers in an effort to cut the billions of items that are thrown away each year. leaked home office documents show that the government was warned about the potential impact of stricter immigration laws on members of the windrush generation. the england and wales cricket board wa nts to the england and wales cricket board wants to introduce any levity100 balls war into its new 8—team city —based tournament which begins in

2020 -- a —based tournament which begins in 2020 —— a new 100 balls format. insta nt 2020 —— a new 100 balls format. instant replays and reviews will be shown on big screens at the world cup in russia and the draw has been made for the first round of the snooker world championship. tricky draw from ronnie o'sullivan, it ta kes draw from ronnie o'sullivan, it takes on stephen maguire. —— 41 —— for ronnie o'sullivan, he takes on stephen maguire. we have morejust after half past. a former head of the civil service, lord kersla ke, has called for an investigation into the destruction of thousands of documents, which may have helped commonwealth citizens prove their right to remain in the uk. it's thought dozens of people from the caribbean, who've lived here for decades, have been threatened with deportation. our home affairs correspondent leila nathoo reports. unlike his favourite reggae singer, jamaica was never home for winston. he came to the uk as a baby more than 50 years ago, but like many others who also arrived from commonwealth countries, he is now struggling to prove he's in the country legally. it was frightening, very

frightening, because i've been schooled here and educated, i've worked here, i have had the same national insurance number since i was 16. then to suddenly find that you don't exist, it's completely overwhelming. some of those from the so—called windrush generation have been caught out by changes to immigration rules in recent years. with a crack down on illegal immigration, many couldn't produce the paperwork that showed how long they'd been here and some were told they would be deported. the government has apologised but critics say the policies put in place were too blunt. you created an environment in which action was going to be taken and there was a risk, it was obvious to everyone, that you would take the rough with the smooth. i think it would be quite wrong

to land this on the civil service, basically. this was a conscious policy in order to hold onto a strong policy position that was proving very difficult to implement. it's also emerged that the landing cards which registered the arrival of thousands of windrush migrants were destroyed in 2010 by the uk border agency. there are now calls for an investigation into who authorised the decision but some say the documents are not that crucial for people trying to prove their status. they may be no more than a note on a back of a bit of paper with a name which might not be right, the date of birth may be. all of this blame culture about whether these landing cards would have made a difference is a complete red herring to me. it's about being able to talk to people sensibly with a degree of expertise and come to a sensible conclusion. the home office says 113 people have now called a helpline set up for those in difficulty,

people like winston who remain in limbo in the country they settled in long ago. tributes have been paid to the television and radio presenter dale winton, who's died at the age of 62. he found fame in the 90s as the host of the daytime game show "supermarket sweep", before going on to present the national lottery show, "in it to win it". the comedian, david walliams, said he was heartbroken to hear of the death of his friend. the tv presenter davina mccall described him as a "kind and generous soul". police say his death is unexplained, but they're not treating it as suspicious. here's our entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba. and here's the star of the show... dale winton! thank you, thank you... the shows weren't highbrow but for millions of viewers... hello, gorgeous shoppers. .,..the entertainment factor was huge. dale winton was one of the reasons for that popularity. the aim of the game...

supermarket sweep burst onto our screens 25 years ago and gave us a new tv star. it's pets win prizes and here's everyone's cuddly companion, dale winton. .. dale winton had the gift of making the unlikeliest concepts unmissable viewing. so paul is a flying beetle because it has wings. pets win prizes, which he presented for two series, saw owners competing in games involving their pets. release your beetles. and he was rarely off our screens for the next two decades. i can't believe they're so easily pleased. he was such a lively man, using jois de vivre, he adored life. he liked whizzing round london

and in an open topped sports car, sitting and holding court in the west end cost epiphany fans came up to him he could not have been more thrilled. his close friend david walliams said: he has spoken about the lows of his life. i should have taken myself off the tv, but i didn't and actually i was going to the studio, coming home... listen, there are worse things in the world but i had health issues and have depression. he was last seen on tv in familiar territory. as i used to say, let's check them out. i've got tea bag, marmalade... in a channel 5 show that saw him leaving the uk to explore america. his easy—going charm still as evident as ever. a presenter who will be remembered for being funny, friendly and fabulous.

dale winton, who died yesterday, at the age of 62. time for a look at the weather. fopp top temperature it is the warmest april day of our lives. yes, even yours! it is the warmest april day since 1949. so even mine is right. fairly comfortably. we have temperatures of 28.3 in london. that is exceptional for temperatures of 28.3 in london. that is exceptionalfor april temperatures of 28.3 in london. that is exceptional for april and in other places, it is widespread. sheffield is a nice example. this picture from a weather watcher, lovely blue sky and temperatures around 26 degrees. rewind to this time last week. what do you think the temperature was last week? five? 0h, the temperature was last week? five?

oh, that ruined it. i thought i would have to click one more time! it was five this time last week, although i spoilt the surprise it is such a change in a week. it shows how spring weather can change drastically. it is all to do with where we are in the world, sometimes we bring in cool airfrom the north, sometimes we bring in this warm air from the near continent. the reason we are getting that warm area is an area of low pressure that is drawing the warm airup area of low pressure that is drawing the warm air up from the south—west, but this throws a fly in the ointment for scotland and northern ireland. somebody in the isle of man said it was chilly. not all of us getting the sunshine. but for most of us, orat getting the sunshine. but for most of us, or at least the majority, it is like this beautiful picture from south west wales. how long is this

going to last? i have spoken to people who have plans for the weekend with barbecues. you may want to listen to the next two and a half minutes. things look like they're going to change. things can change drastically at this time of year. so make the most of it if you have the sunshine. temperatures i top 28 degrees. northern ireland and scotland, more cloud. the odd shower in north—west scotland and cooler conditions as well. as we go through this evening a lovely end to the day in england and wales. more cloud for scotla nd in england and wales. more cloud for scotland and northern ireland. where we keep the clear skies in the south, it could fill in with some mist and fog. not as mild as it was last night. but holding up into double digits in the big towns and cities. tomorrow, some mist and fog patches. but essentially another

glorious day with blue skies and sunshine. more cloud in northern ireland and scotland. it is not a com plete ireland and scotland. it is not a complete write off. some showers in western scotland. but i remember i showed you our air was coming from the south. well it starts s to come from the west tomorrow and that will drop temperatures in western areas. for the midlands, east anglia and the south—east another very warm day with highs of 27 degrees. that could be enough to spark off the odd late day shower in the south. for the vast majority a fine end to friday. but you know what is coming next — a change for the weekend. high pressure trying to hold on, but the big question is how quickly this will area of low pressure push in from the west and spoil the party. most of us should start fine and dry on saturday. but these heavy and perhaps thundery showers will push up perhaps thundery showers will push up from the south—west. still some warmth to be had, specially in the south. something cooler and fresher

further north. for sunday more of us get into that cooler weather with a front pushing south and east. you can barely see it by the time of the afternoon. but behind that things will strt to turn cooler, heavy showers in the north—west. 13 degrees in belfast and 12 in edinburgh. so as we go into the weekend, a change. it will turn less warm and there is the risk of some thunder storms. this is bbc news — our latest headlines. the queen has used her opening speech at the commonwealth heads of government meeting to signal her hope that her son, the prince of wales, will succeed her as head of the organisation. it is my sincere wish that the common wealth will continue to offer stability and continuity for future generations. and i will decide one pay the prince of wales should continue the work started by my

father in 1949. no more plastic straws, cotton buds or drinks stirrers — that's the proposal being put forward by the government. a new consultation was launched today into cutting plastic waste. miguel diaz—canel has been sworn in as the new president of cuba. he replaces 86—year—old raul castro who is stepping down as head of state of the communist—ruled island. a row over the treatment of windrush migrants intensifies, as leaked home office documents show the government was warned about the possible impact of stricter immigration rules on them. let's return now to the commonwealth summit taking place in london today. the queen officially opened proceedings earlier today and now the heads of government from the commonwealth's 53 states are meeting. ben brown has more from buckingham palace. thank you, we are going to pick up on the story about the windrush migrants, in the run up to this common wealth summit, that apology from theresa may to children of the

windrush generation, who came here in 1948 to help rebuild britain. the prime minister apologising to them for threat that they felt they were going to be deported from this country back to the caribbean. we are going to talk to two high commissioners who are also delegates at the summit. guy hewitt and kevin isaac. news hot off the press, you have been in talks today with the home secretary, amber rudd at the home secretary, amber rudd at the home office. has she given you... some cause for optimism on this windrush issue? there is a lot of cause for optimism. today's meeting was really more like a partnership meeting than one of adversaries. it came together and reflects the spirit of common wealth of coming together and co—operating and we get the real sense that the home secretary is aware of the issues and

is willing to address them with urgency and compassion. we have heard apology prs the prime minister and the government for the anxiety and the government for the anxiety and stress caused. do you think they have done enough now to end all that stress and anxiety? no, i think it isa stress and anxiety? no, i think it is a work in progress. the apology is a work in progress. the apology isa is a work in progress. the apology is a good start, a recognition that there is a problem, it needs to be addressed with urgency and come passion, i think we are heading in the right direction and it is now a partnership, a joint effort to make sure that the high commissions and the home office and the uk government can work together to bring relief to people who have been distressed by this. do your knowledge are there a number of people who have been very distressed by this? yes, if you can imagine people who came here 40, 50 years ago, made this their home, established families, have children,

grandchildren and all of a sudden find themselves threatened by the possibility of deportation or detention or being shut out of the system. but that we believe is behind us. the home office has given assurances, they have set up a web—site and put together a dedicated team, have given us the assurances that everybody now who has a problem orfeels assurances that everybody now who has a problem or feels that they are challenged by the situation, should contact them and i would encourage to do that, because we believe they have the intention of making this work and solving this once and for all. this was compounded by the revelation the home office has destroyed the landing cards of the windrush generation, the documentary evidence that could have helped show who they were. yes, that is an unnecessary complications, especially because the burden placed on these individuals that they have to find documents to prove they are

in fact pre—1973 migrants and had the home office simply referred to its files it would have made it easier for people and alleviated the stress they have been going through. but as he has said, we have gone past that, there is a new partnership and a commitment and i sense today with the home secretary, an urgency and a genuine interest in making sure this is put right. thank you for your time. i will let you get back. i know you're very busy. with that news, they were bringing us with that news, they were bringing us they have had talks with the home secretary earlier on and they have received assurances that for the time being satisfy them on the whole issue of the windrush migrants. back you. thank you. sport now on afternoon live with will perry. the england and wales cricket board is looking to be innovative with it's new city—based tournament. yes, the cynics will say if it ain't

broke don't fix it. but the ecb want a new 100 balls tournament into a city tournament. that is what 20 balls short of traditional t20 fixture. it is to attract new audiences. it was presented by the ecb to the chair men and the mcc earlier, southampton, london, leeds, cardiff, have been selected as venues. the five—week competition started in 2020. lords will host newly created team and will take place alongside the t20 blast. but they have got to have something new to market this and that is what they are going down, a count down from

100 balls. you're not convinced. not entirely, but i'm used to being proved wrong. and replays of incidents reviewed by video assistant referees will be shown on big screens at the 2018 world cup. finally somebody has seen sense and it is fifa. for the first time, var will be used at a world cup, despite the criticism of its use. but one issue has been that fans haven't been table to see the same replays the referees use to make their decision. it has led to confusion. this summer the crowd will be told when a decision is being reviewed high that decision has been reached. cup semi final against southampton. the spaniard's been given a three match ban for violent conduct for his tackle on southampton striker shane long. it means he'll also miss

tonight's premier league game against burnley and the trip to swansea next week. alonso denied the charge after the fa took retrospective action, with the officials failing to see the incident. tonight's other matchs sees struggling southampton go to leicester. with his side in the bottom three, manager mark hughes is desperate for the points. a win this evening would leave them just two from safety with four games to play. you have to get them in a positive frame of mind and focussed on what they need to do. i have to say, last... two performances have been really good. we have made mistakes, clearly a nd really good. we have made mistakes, clearly and that's been prevalent not only in my time, but previous to me coming here. but for the most part, the intention and the application of the group has been really good. arsenal boss arsene wenger has given his 100% backing to safe standing proposals at football stadiums in england. the government says there are no plans to change the all seater policy though, after a pilot was rejected. and the premier league has said more evidence is needed before safe standing can be allowed at top flight stadiums. the closer you are to the position

ofa the closer you are to the position of a player, the more supportive you are, you know? and you imagine if people were lying in a bed and watching the game, they could fall asleep sometimes. so it is better they stand up. i any as well it's a tradition of english football to have that. over all i must say it's much better. there is safety reasons why they don't do it, and i can understand that. but if the safety‘s right, it has my 100% backing. fifa has dismissed a complaint by england of racial abuse during last year's under 17 world cup final due to a "lack of sufficient evidence". liverpool striker rhian brewster claimed in december that wolves‘ morgan gibbs white was racially abused during england's five two win over spain. fifa said any sanction could be imposed only "on the basis of clear evidence". five times winner and favourite ronnie o'sullivan faces a difficult first round match against stephen maguire at

the world championship in sheffield. the draw was made earlier today. o'sullivan is chasing a record sixth ranking title of the season, his match against maguire is the standout tie of the opening round. defending champion mark selby plastoe perry. china's ding junhui is up against fellow countryman xiao guodong. you can see the full draw on the bbc sport website. that's all the sport for now. a new era of planet—hunting is underway. the us space agency has just launched its tess telescope from cape canaveral in florida. it's mission — to find thousands of new worlds beyond our solar system. the telescope will monitor the stars closest to earth. scientists are hoping to catch the dips in brightness that occur when orbiting planets cross their surfaces. our science correspondent pallab ghosh reports from florida. all set and ready to go.

nasa's new mission to discover whether the stars we see at night have planets around them. on board this falcon nine rocket is a space telescope that will study the stars closest to the earth and find out whether in orbit around them are planets capable of supporting life. lift off. the spacex falcon nine... once in space the test spacecraft will start scanning nearly the entire sky. as it looks for stars it will also detect any tiny decrease in the light that comes from them. that small dip is a sign that there is a planet in orbit. the big question is whether there are any like ourown earth and support life. 25 years ago we looked at a star in the sky and wondered if it had planets around it. today, we look at a star in the sky, it would be crazy if it didn't have a planet around it and we're wondering whether life indeed exists on these planets. the space telescope will spend the next two years searching for stars to find thousands of new worlds, and when we look up at the night sky we'll know which ones have planets around them,

and those that might be home to life. pallab ghosh, bbc news, at the kennedy space centre in florida. in a moment the business news with jamie robertson. first a look at the headlines on afternoon live. dignitaries from around the globe have gathered in london for the commonwealth heads of government meeting the government has proposed a ban on plastic drinking straws and cotton buds in an effort to cut the billions of items that are thrown away each year. a former head of the civil service calls for an investigation into the destruction of thousands of documents which could have helped commonwealth citizens prove their right to stay in the uk. here's your business headlines on afternoon live a collapse in profits a the department store debenhams — down over 80% over the last six

months to march — it's blamed february's freezing weather and a tough retail market. and in an unexpected announcement the firm's chief financial officer matt smith is to leaving, to take up a post as finance boss at selfridges. debenhams is not alone. overall retail sales saw their biggest quarterly fall in a year during the three months to march. again the bad weather was a lot to blame. people stayed at home — fuel sales fell, but the office for national statistics that gathers the data said there was some evidence to show online shopping increased. simon: so we're talking debenhams? jamie: that's right — because... the retailer debenhams has reported a big slide in its half year pre—tax profits — they're down by 84 %. sales were hit across the retail sector by freezing weather keeping shoppers away. the beast from the east forced debenhams to close temporarily a hundred stores in the uk. there is evidence of people shifting

to online. former sainsbury boss, justin king, told the today programme online retailing was being subsidised by bricks and mortar retailers: "the reality is business rates are a massive burden borne only by high street retailers so—called bricks and mortar retailers and yet the services that business rates pay for all retailers use. here's our economics correspondent andy verity. who'd moan about the weather on a day like today? retailers would — that's who. the thermometer may have been rising recently, but last month the beast from the east took a bite out of their sales as both shoppers and staff stayed away. debenhams shut 100 stores as its customers' children made their snow angels. there's no doubt the cold weather hit debenhams' sales hard, just like it hit other retailers, but debenhams' problems run deeper

and go back further than a few snowy days in march. while retail sales overall were down by 1.2% in march, debenhams' were down over six months by 2.2% and its profits dropped over the same time by 84%. the department store warned injanuary it wouldn't make as much money as had been expected after poor christmas sales. in february it announced job cuts, and today, it warned again of weak profits in the coming months. i'm afraid that retail is an incredibly tough environment to trade in at the moment and debenhams are particularly suffering. they sit in the middle market, where we've seen a lot of brands reporting on really challenging times, and that's born out of the fact that people are either buying discount or at the niche and more luxury side of the equation. unfortunately that middle market tends to be where the prices aren't as good, there's no excitement around the retail, the pace of it isn't as fast, and consumers just want so much more these days.

debenhams says it's investing heavily to turn itself around, revamping its stores to try and draw the shoppers inside, but analysts say it's been trying to compete too hard on price without keeping a healthy profit margin. they remain to be convinced that the turnaround plan isn't too little, too late. andy verity, bbc news. in the us — netflix may be buying cinemas according to the la times— why‘s that? netflix considering buying actual movie theatres in us. we know they have been looking at it. what is the reason? maybe they wa nt to it. what is the reason? maybe they want to win more oscars. the reason being because they're direct competition with the theatres, obviously everything goes on streaming, the theatres don't allow them to put the stuff into the theatres and if they don't get into theatres and if they don't get into the theatres, it is considered by the theatres, it is considered by the voters in the oscars that they aren't really in the oscars race and

should be in the emmies for tv. didn't they win any oscars? they one. they were nominated. yes, they're up there, but they don't get much in the way of gold as it were. joining us now is our north america business correspondent, joe miller. ist is t all to do with the oscars or for commercial reasons? it is a bit of both. the first reason is getting into theatres gives netflix the chance to have two bites of cherry. amazon does that with its productions and releases them in the cinema first and then online. so people pay for it either twice or people pay for it either twice or people who don't sign up for amazon pay for it in the cinema. netflix wa nts to pay for it in the cinema. netflix wants to do the same and release

something in theatres early and then on the site as well. there is one other reason as well, which is the awards ceremonies, interestingly netflix isn't going to cannes, because it is not allowing their films to be considered. so having a cinema chain is important to them. talking about amazon, there a letter to shareholders, an important one each year? it is very important. this year's letter is as bonkers as ever with tips on how to hand stand. but it says amazon has a hundred million prime members. that is the subscription service and you get free delivery and access to video and tv. it has a hundred million

members. it is $99 a year. that is a lot in their revenue column and the members bought five billion packages last year. and there is more good news in that letter for investors, amazon is the fastest growing market place in india, its hard ware is flying off the shelves and it has quite a strong line up for its video service next year, including steven spielberg production and a lord of the rings tv series. so happy reading for investors. thank you. is a netflix production a time for tv? they are what nay are. but they're not available in cannes! you give it to me. i'll set you up. i'll knock them down! ftse is up nothing.

talktalk shares... it is the most complained about of all the broadband providers. just over 30 people in every 100,000 customers complain. too many of these companies care about their customer service? it is bad publicity. if you're trying to flog your broadband... i have a nightmare, when ever i ring it is a nightmare. you spend ages and when they answer they can't answer. there spent time vie trying to verify who you are.|j have had the same experience. vie trying to verify who you are.|j have had the same experiencem drives me potty. good. that turned into a personal chat. thank you. new research in australia suggests that a marine heatwave that bleached large parts of the great barrier reef two years ago was so severe it "cooked"

vast swathes of coral. scientists from queensland say millions of coral in northern parts of the reef were killed by the rise in sea temperatures. they say australia's greatest natural treasure is threatened with ecological collapse. time for a look at the weather. here's ben rich. it isa it is a sparkling spring day for many. i say spripg, in places it feels more like summer. this is how it looked in liverpool earlier on with why skies. there was more cloud around to the knot and west. in scotla nd around to the knot and west. in scotland the temperature have been lower. but as we head into the evening temperatures in the south—east holding up around 26 or 27 degrees. some late sunshine here. as we go through this evening the south will see a mixture of clear spells and mist and fog patches. more cloud in northern ireland and

scotland. some showers in the north—west of scotland and cooler thanit north—west of scotland and cooler than it was last night in places. but still around 13 degrees in the centre of london. early mist and fog towards the central and southern parts of uk. it may hang around for a while tomorrow. but it should clear to give some long spells of sunshine once again. always more cloud into northern ireland and scotla nd cloud into northern ireland and scotland and with this westerly flow, the winds off the atlantic, we will see things cooler in some areas tomorrow. still eastern scotland up tomorrow. still eastern scotland up to 18 degrees. and some decent warm weather in northern ireland. but western fringes will be less warm than they have been today. down to the south east though the temperatures still around 27 degrees. that could spark the odd ice lated shower —— isolated shower. we move into the weekend and there isa we move into the weekend and there is a bit ofa we move into the weekend and there is a bit of a change. if you were hoping the fine weather would hold on, well this area of low pressure

may smoil the party. —— spoil the party. most places will start fine and dry. but we will see these down pours moving in. temperatures still high in the south—east at 23 degrees. but coolerfurther high in the south—east at 23 degrees. but cooler further north and west and cooler still on sunday in the north—west. this front will push in with some rain and cooler air following push in with some rain and cooler airfollowing on. so in edinburgh on sunday afternoon highs of around 12 degrees. still in the low 20s towards the south—east. as we head towards the south—east. as we head towards the south—east. as we head towards the weekend, things will turn less warm, with the risk of some down pours and thunder storms. hello, you're watching afternoon live. today at 3. keeping it in the family — the queen says — when the time comes — she wants prince charles to take overfrom her as head of the commonwealth. it is my sincere wish that the commonwealth will continue to offer stability and continuity for future generations and will decide that one day

the prince of wales will continue the important work started by my father in 1949. she was speaking at the commonwealth conference — where the uk government announced plans to ban billions of plastic straws, cotton buds and drinks stirrers. how we support our most vulnerable member states as we tackle climate change and improve the health of our oceans, creating a more sustainable commonwealth. i'm ben brown — live at buckingham palace — from where i'll have all the latest from the summit throughout the day. the windrush scandal — calls for an investigation into who authorised thousands of landing cards to be destroyed. liftoff! to boldly go... on a mission to find thousands of new worlds. nasa's planet—hunting satellite lifts off from cape canaveral. coming up on afternoon live all the sport — will perry. good afternoon.

more on the news that the ecb would like to introduce a new 100 balls format to their new 8—team city—based competition which begins in 2020. and we will show you action from the world toad in the hole championships but no sausages or yorkshire puddings involved. you have left me speechless. thanks, will. ben rich has all the weather. according to the met office it is the warmest april day since 1949, temperatures as high as 28. how long will it last? until the weekend? i will tell you later thanks, ben. also coming up. we'll be hearing some of the tributes to dale winton — the television and radio presenter who died at his home last night at the age of 62. hello everyone —

this is afternoon live. when the queen says it‘s her ‘sincere wish‘ that something should happen — it would be a brave person — world leader or not — who would argue against her. so when she told representatives from the 53 nations that make up the commonwealth that she would like prince charles to take over as head of the organisation one day — well, you wouldn‘t bet against it. let‘s go to ben brown who‘s at buckingham palace for us now. absolutely glorious weather here where we have the opening ceremony, the formalities of the opening in the formalities of the opening in the ballroom of buckingham palace, attended by the queen and the prime minister amongst others. 53 member nations, here. the question of

succession is very interesting because this is not a hereditary position, who should be head of the commonwealth, and jeremy corbyn suggested it could be rotated amongst member nations. the queen was having none of that, in her remarks. she said it was her sincere wish that her son the prince of wales prince charles should carry on the important work started by her father king george vi, in 1949. in other words, when the time comes he should be the next head of the commonwealth. the leaders will meet and decide that we are expecting a result tomorrow and we think they will agree with what the queen has said. many other crucial issues being discussed here at this summit, climate change is one of them, cyber warfare, how to counterattack cyber attacks, trade is crucial of course in the post—brexit world, trading relationships with members of the commonwealth, very important for the

uk. this is a report from our royal correspondent. it has its origins in the days of the empire and there was an echo of imperial grandeur in the welcome london laid on for the leaders of today‘s commonwealth of nations. the prime minister of the united kingdom. in the ballroom of buckingham palace where empire transitioned to commonwealth nearly 70 years ago with the signing of the london declaration, the leaders of 53 nations gathered to witness another future transition. from elizabeth, head of the commonwealth throughout her long reign, to charles who‘s been hoping to be endorsed in the role for some time. commonwealth leaders are keenly aware of the queen‘s commitment. the commonwealth has been her passion. they are aware that this will almost certainly be the last conference over which she will preside.

change is coming. and charles reminded the commonwealth of his long—standing involvement in their affairs. for my part, the commonwealth has been a fundamental feature of my life for as long as i can remember. i pray that this commonwealth heads of government meeting will not only revitalise the bonds between our countries, but will also give the commonwealth a renewed relevance to all its citizens. from britain‘s prime minister, theresa may, a reminder of the incredible opportunities offered by the commonwealth, important of course in the post—brexit world, but then to the topic that bound them all emotionally today, a tribute to the queen. you have seen us through some of our most serious challenges and we commit to sustaining this commonwealth which you have so carefully nurtured. and then it was the turn of the queen to speak. she had committed her life

to the commonwealth at the age of 21, now two days from her 92nd birthday, she was keen to prepare the ground for the leadership of the commonwealth after her death. it is my sincere wish that the commonwealth will continue to offer stability and continuity forfuture generations. and will decide that one day the prince of wales should carry on the important work started by my father in 1949. by continuing to treasure and reinvigorate our associations and activities, i believe we will secure a safer, more prosperous and sustainable world for those who follow us. commonwealth leaders have big issues for discussion, preserving the oceans, security, democracy and trade, but the significance of today was that for the first time publicly, through the medium of the commonwealth,

elizabeth i! referred to the time after her reign is over. i‘m joined by the high commissioner for cyprus. i hope i have pronounce your name correctly. what does the commonwealth mean to a country like cyprus? we talk about the collection of 53 nations, do you feel part of a family? absolutely, otherwise we would not be part of it. it is an organisation which is voluntary, depending on their foreign organisation which is voluntary, depending on theirforeign policy priorities for the we are old school. we know what the commonwealth has been and what it has given us. sometimes things are not as they should be, of course, in any organisation. you will be an

interesting position because you remember of the commonwealth and the commonwealth but soon britain went to be in the commonwealth, but you will still be in both, what short perspective on that? —— is your. brexit or now brexit, the commonwealth has got to reinvent itself and the united nations has also reinvented itself, the eu has reinvented itself, as well. it is sad, and we had an opinion, although we did not have a say on brexit and it is sad it is taking place from oui’ it is sad it is taking place from our perspective. when brexit happens less tha n our perspective. when brexit happens less than a year from now it means cyprus and malta will be the only two countries that have this experience, we are both eu and commonwealth. you said the commonwealth. you said the commonwealth needs to reinvented so,

how should it do that? —— reinvent itself at up it has to become more releva nt itself at up it has to become more relevant for the commonwealth citizens, it must step up to the mark. it is not the british commonwealth. that died in 1949. it has to become more relevant visibly on the international stage through different activities like the united nations in geneva but much more importantly to give it tangible releva nce importantly to give it tangible relevance it has to go to the citizen himself on herself, empowering women and children, and you have children which have been devastated by hurricanes, for example, and the commonwealth has got to be there for them. the queen wishes that the prince of wales will become the new head of the commonwealth. would you agree?” become the new head of the commonwealth. would you agree? i do

not want to pre—empt what the heads will say in windsor but i‘m sure there will be a solution that will be acceptable to everyone but allowed me —— allow me to not answer this question at this stage will stop it is up to the heads of state. euripides, thanks forjoining us. of course, the commonwealth is controversial, some people think it isa controversial, some people think it is a ancient relic dating back to the days of the empire, but others think it can be a force for good. it isn‘t military or economic like the eu or nato, but it is a family of these 53 countries, and on something like climate change can harness the machine of those 53 nations and be a force for good. our guest is from the institute of commonwealth

studies. is it relevant today in 2018, this commonwealth of nations? i think 2018, this commonwealth of nations? ithink so, 2018, this commonwealth of nations? i think so, but it depends who it is releva nt to. i think so, but it depends who it is relevant to. for the smaller island states it‘s a relevant organisation because it provides them with a voice and platform and they can approach large estates and get the attention and support that they do indeed need. —— larger states. the commonwealth has the capacity to coalesce and support important contemporary issues like climate change going forward, to the paris clu b change going forward, to the paris club change summit, in 2015, that was eight manifestation of the commonwealth really working well —— climate change. and the windrush issue has become a diplomatic issue as well as a domestic issue and so this was a way in which this was dealt with within the commonwealth.

st barbara waite under robert mugabe was not in the commonwealth, and was thrown out, but now he has gone, do you expect to see them back? —— zimbabwe under robert mugabe. you expect to see them back? —— zimbabwe under robert mugabem fa ct zimbabwe under robert mugabem fact they withdrew under robert mugabe but i imagine zimbabwe will re—engage with the commonwealth and i think that will happen after the elections this year. there is a lot riding on the elections because zimbabwe has to demonstrate that it has institutions of governance and that it has institutions of governance and thatitis has institutions of governance and that it is governed by the norms of democracy. the foreign minister is going to have a meeting with the st barbara —— st barbara —— st barbara way. the queen has said pretty publicly

that the prince of wales, prince charles, her son, should be the new head of the commonwealth when the time comes. the prime minister joseph muscat also made reference to prince charles and what he has to offer as a successor prince charles and what he has to offer as a successor to prince charles and what he has to offer as a successor to the queen. this was a pretty emphatic history of what the queen would like but it will be up to the heads as to who they choose for the they would disagree? i doubt it, but it depends on the form of words as to whether this will be reached and the set in stone. this might depend on how long the queen continues as the acting head. thanks forjoining us. doctors sue onslow from the institute of commonwealth studies. —— doctor. we have at the formal opening ceremony here today and tomorrow the whole

summit road show moves to windsor and it will end up tomorrow night with a press conference with theresa may amongst others and we will be covering it all on the bbc news channel. studio: thanks forjoining us. one of the big issues being discussed by the commonwealth heads of government this week is plastic pollution. here the government has announced plans to ban the sale of billions of plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds in england to try to cut global marine pollution. the environment secretary michael gove said the ban would come in by the end of the year. here‘s our science correspondent victoria gill. this cheap ubiquitous throwaway material has become a visible scourge on our marine environment. the bbc series blue planet shocked viewers with scenes showing how ocean wildlife now has to share its world with this debris. and among the marine litter, single use straws and sticks, that the government says it now wants to ban. there are environmentally friendly alternatives that we can all use

and of course there is more we need to do. getting rid of straws, stirrers and cotton buds is one aspect of making sure we all use less plastic. before any ban can happen, a consultation to explore alternatives and any exceptions has to be carried out which will begin later this year, and any new measures would only apply in england. the government says this is part of a mission to protect our oceans from plastic. it‘s already banned plastic micro beads in personal care products and recently announced a deposit return scheme to encourage recycling of plastic bottles. in samples of mud from a uk riverbed, i saw for myself how plastic, even when it breaks down, can remain in the environment as microscopic pieces small enough to enter the food chain. and environmentalists say the government is lagging behind. the deposit return scheme just announced has been in place in many other countries for a number of years. the uk government acting for england was well behind the curve on introducing charges for plastic

bags for example. it is welcome, what is happening now. but it‘s not ground—breaking — in fact they are playing catch up. evidence of the harm caused by plastic is still emerging but this proposal will aim to stop it being thrown away in such high volumes, to prevent it floating into our rivers and oceans. you‘re watching afternoon live, these are our headlines. dignitaries from around the globe have gathered in london for the commonwealth heads of government meeting. the government has proposed a ban on plastic drinking straws and cotton buds in an effort to cut the billions of items that are thrown away each year. a former head of the civil service calls for an investigation into the destruction of thousands of documents which could have helped commonwealth citizens prove their right to stay in the uk. the ecb wants ginger dos and innovative 100 ball format into its

8—team city —based format in 2020 —— wa nts to 8—team city —based format in 2020 —— wants to introduce an innovative. replays and decisive reviews will be replayed on the big screen at the world cup for spectators. and the first round draw for the stoical watchjumping first round draw for the stoical watch jumping ship will see one o‘sullivan taking on stephen maguire —— for the snooker world championship will see ronnie o‘sullivan taking on stephen maguire. a former head of the civil service, lord kersla ke, has called for an investigation into the destruction of thousands of documents, which may have helped commonwealth citizens prove their right to remain in the uk. it‘s thought dozens of people from the caribbean, who‘ve lived here for decades, have been threatened with deportation. our home affairs correspondent leila nathoo reports. unlike his favourite reggae singer, jamaica was never home for winston walker. he came to the uk as a baby more than 50 years ago,

but like many others who also arrived from commonwealth countries, he is now struggling to prove he‘s in the country legally. it was frightening, very frightening, because i‘ve been schooled here and educated, i‘ve worked here, i have had the same national insurance number since i was 16. then to suddenly find that you don‘t exist, it‘s completely overwhelming. some of those from the so—called windrush generation have been caught out by changes to immigration rules in recent years. with a crack down on illegal immigration, many couldn‘t produce the paperwork that showed how long they‘d been here and some were told they would be deported. the government has apologised but critics say the policies put in place were too blunt.

you created an environment in which action was going to be taken and there was a risk, it was obvious to everyone, that you would take the rough with the smooth. i think it would be quite wrong to land this on the civil service, basically. this was a conscious policy in order to hold onto a strong policy position that was proving very difficult to implement. it‘s also emerged that the landing cards which registered the arrival of thousands of windrush migrants were destroyed in 2010 by the uk border agency. there are now calls for an investigation into who authorised the decision but some say the documents are not that crucial for people trying to prove their status. they may be no more than a note on a back of a bit of paper with a name which might not be right, the date of birth may be. but all of this blame culture about whether these landing cards would have made a difference is a complete red herring to me. it‘s about being able to talk to people sensibly with a degree of expertise and come to a sensible conclusion.

the home office says 113 people have now called a helpline set up for those in difficulty, people like winston who remain in limbo in the country they settled in long ago. in the past hour the national assembly of cuba have elected a new president. miguel diaz—canel — who is the current vice president — has now been sworn in. he will replace the current president raul castro, whose family have lead cuba since the 1959 revolution. our correspondent will grantjoins us now live from havana. the name may change but they want to push a sense of continuity. they do. that is key, miguel diaz—canel himself, the new president, mentioned that at the top of his new speech, you spoke about the fact there would be political continuity in the revolution and he thanked fidel castro and raul castro for

their contributions in building the single state communist cuba that is in place today. nevertheless, the country has a new president and the president will have some wiggle room to implement his own policies but we don‘t know exactly to what extent he isa don‘t know exactly to what extent he is a reformer or a moderniser or if he is as hardline as fidel castro. someone did not play ball by voting for him! years, so long cast a dissenting voice, but we don‘t know why —— yes, someone cast. my feeding it is someone who might be on the very hardline of the party —— my feeling. it is hard to know. these are the secrets behind the curtain of the cu ban are the secrets behind the curtain of the cuban communist party. but you have the one vote that matters above all others, raul castro. he had been groomed for this position

and has now been put in place in order to carry the legacy forward and he won‘t meddle with the things that you can‘t touch, free health ca re that you can‘t touch, free health care and free education and subsidised food, but how can you pay for it in an economy which is stagnating or the time. the economy in trouble and a population, many young people, but that poses a challenge? it does. they want change and they want for example more access to the internet and they want to be able to travel more freely. if you are getting an extension of the castro family but wearing a suit thatis castro family but wearing a suit that is not the change they are calling for, because they want perhaps more flexibility for the private sector in the country, and so private sector in the country, and so the next 3—5 years will be absent or the crucial, about where cuba positions itself. will it be more likely an arm, allowing private business? will it close to a more

closed communist system ? business? will it close to a more closed communist system? —— will it be more like vietnam? well, thanks for joining be more like vietnam? well, thanks forjoining us. a powerful cross party group of mps is to force a vote on a customs union next week in the house of commons. the liaison committee, made up of labour, conservative and snp select committee chairs, has tabled a debate for next week calling for ‘an effective customs union‘. theresa may has pledged to leave the current customs union as we depart the eu. our chief political correspondent vicki young is in westminster and sent us this update. hot on the heels of a defeat at the hands of the house of lords last night, a cross—party group of mps is trying to force this issue of britain staying in a customs union after brexit, and one of those is the labour chair the home affairs what is the point of doing this? we have had a defeat in the house of lords, but this next week would not

be binding? this is the chance for the house of commons do have a say and to steer the negotiations before it's too late, rather than waiting for the end of the process we think the commons should have a voice at the commons should have a voice at the beginning and be able to say what is important. i think a customs union is about mao factoring and industry across the country, it makes a massive difference, and also about northern ireland peace —— manufacturing. but there's no chance parliament at the moment to have that as a proper debate and express its view in a boat and that is what we want to make sure can happen. —— vote. how confident are you that enough conservative mps agree with this? this is being tabled as part of the backbench debate process and this is a chance for backbenchers of all parties to have their say and express their views and i do hope that if conservative backbenchers who very often have industry in their constituency, very often feel

strongly about the importance of the northern ireland peace process, will use this as an opportunity to vote in favour of a customs union being pa rt of in favour of a customs union being part of the government's objectives, a chance to send a signal to the government about what they should be doing. the government has ruled out the idea and they said it would mean that britain ends up still having to ta ke that britain ends up still having to take rules and stick to the rules of the eu and we could not forge our own trade deals, effectively we would be staying in the eu. the evidence shows it is trade with the countries that are closest to you especially for manufacturing which matters most, that's where we are more likely to be getting ingredients and components and that is where we are more likely to be selling our goods, therefore it is those trade deals with the countries close by, we have a much bigger impact with them on our trade and manufacturing than any potential future deal which could take years

to negotiate and might only make a small difference to the overall level of trade we have and that is why we think the customs union is so important. yvette cooper, thanks for joining us. the vote coming next thursday, so theresa may under some fresh and conservative mps will be under a different pressure from party managers to support the prime minister. tributes have been paid to the television and radio presenter dale winton, who‘s died at the age of 62. he found fame in the nineties as the host of the daytime game show "supermarket sweep", before going on to present the national lottery show, "in it to win it". the comedian, david walliams, said he was heartbroken to hear of the death of his friend. the tv presenter davina mccall described him as a ‘kind and generous soul‘. police say his death is unexplained, but they‘re not treating it as suspicious. here‘s our entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba. and here's the star of the show... dale winton! thank you, thank you... the shows weren‘t highbrow but for millions of viewers... hello, gorgeous shoppers. .,..the entertainment factor was huge. dale winton was one of the reasons for that popularity. hello, dale!

the aim of the game is to shop smart... supermarket sweep burst onto our screens 25 years ago and gave us a new tv star. it's pets win prizes and here's everyone's cuddly companion, dale winton. .. dale winton had the gift of making the unlikeliest concepts unmissable viewing. so paul is a flying beetle because he has wings. pets win prizes, which he presented for two series, saw owners competing in games involving their pets. release your beetles. and he was rarely off our screens for the next two decades. i can‘t believe they‘re so easily pleased. he was such a lively man, oozing jois de vivre, he adored life. he liked whizzing round london in an open topped sports car, sitting and holding court

in west end cafes. if any fans came up to him he could not have been more thrilled. his close friend david walliams said: he had spoken about the lows of his life. i should have taken myself off the tv, but i didn‘t. and actually i was going to the studio, coming home... listen, there are worse things in the world but i had health issues and i have depression. he was last seen on tv in familiar territory. as i used to say, let‘s check them out. so i‘ve got tea bags, marmalade... in a channel 5 show that saw him leaving the uk to explore america. his easy—going charm still as evident as ever. a presenter who will be remembered for being funny, friendly and fabulous. the us space agency has just

launched its tess telescope from cape canaveral in florida. a new era of planet—hunting is underway. it‘s mission — to find thousands of new worlds beyond our solar system. the telescope will monitor the stars closest to earth. scientists are hoping to catch the dips in brightness that occur when orbiting planets cross their surfaces. our science correspondent pallab ghosh reports from florida. all set and ready to go. nasa‘s new mission to discover whether the stars we see at night have planets around them. on board this falcon nine rocket is a space telescope that will study the stars closest to the earth and find out whether in orbit around them are planets capable of supporting life. lift off. the spacex falcon nine... once in space the test

spacecraft will start scanning nearly the entire sky. as it looks for stars it will also detect any tiny decrease in the light that comes from them. that small dip is a sign that there is a planet in orbit. the big question is whether there are any like ourown earth and support life. 25 years ago we looked at a star in the sky and wondered if it had planets around it. today, we look at a star in the sky, it would be crazy if it didn‘t have a planet around it and we‘re wondering whether life indeed exists on these planets. the space telescope will spend the next two years searching for stars to find thousands of new worlds, and when we look up at the night sky we‘ll know which ones have planets around them, and those that might be home to life. pallab ghosh, bbc news, at the kennedy space centre in florida. time for the weather with ben rich.

good afternoon, it has turned into a sparkling spring day for many. it actually feels more like summer. the warmth that‘s developed will continue into the first part of the evening, south—east areas up to the mid to high 20s. cooler in northern ireland and scotland. more cloud here through the day and we will see some patchy cloud here. down to the south, we will see a mixture of clear spells and some mist and fog. not as mild as it was last night, but still double digits in the centre of our big towns and cities in the south. tomorrow, a murky start in central areas. but then some sunshine. for the north—west more cloud. some showers in the north—west of scotland. and cooler here. but down to the south—east, the temperatures holding up around 26 or 27 degrees. as we go into the weekend, things will turn less warm

with the risk of some thunder storms breaking out. this is bbc news — our latest headlines. the queen has appealed to commonwealth leaders to appoint her son, prince charles, to succeed her as their head. she spoke at the opening of the commonwealth heads of government meeting, in london (sot next) it is my sincere wish that the commonwealth will continue to offer stability and continuity for future generations. i will decide that one day the prince of wales should carry on the important work started by my father in 1949. h a row over the treatment of windrush migrants intensifies, as leaked home office documents show the government was warned about the possible impact of stricter immigration rules on them. the government proposes a ban on plastic straws and cotton buds in england. it launched a consultation today into cutting plastic waste — calling it "one of the greatest environmental challenges facing the world".

an historic day for cuba — as miguel diaz—canel is sworn in as the country‘s new president. the castros — raul and before him fidel — had ruled the island for nearly 60 years. temperatures have reached 28.3 degrees celcius in london, making it the warmest april day for nearly 70 years. the unusually warm weather is the result of low pressure over the atlantic and high pressure over western europe — drawing in warm air. sport now on afternoon live with will perry. the ecb have come up with a new format for their city—based tournament. 100 balls. i canjust about see 100 balls. i can just about see that weather out side. i'm in a basement. that is where you belong! . the ecb want to introduce a new ‘100 balls‘ format into this eight team, city based tournament. an innings would consist of 15

traditional six ball overs, and a final ten ball over. 20 balls shorter than your traditional t20 matches. the idea is to attract new audiences and be popular with broadcasters. it was presented by the ecb to the chairmen and chief executives of the first class counties and mcc earlier today. southampton, birmingham, leeds, london, manchester, cardiff and nottingham have been selected as venues for the five week competition, which starts in 2020. both lord‘s and the oval will host newly created teams. it will take place alongside the existing t20 blast. not sure what they will do about the name, a hundred balls doesn‘t sound too catchy. lord's looked well today. russia and the world cup. big screens will help that var? yes. it is about time someone loic fifa said you know we‘re going to put screens inside the stadium. we have so many

confusing moments. replays of incidents reviewed by video assistant referees will be shown on big screens at this summer‘s world cup in russia. it‘s the first time that var will be used at a world cup and comes despite criticism of its use in domestic competition. one issue has been that fans haven‘t been able to see the same replays on tv that referees use to make their decision, leading to confusion. but this summer the crowd will also be told when a decision is being reviewed and why a decision has been reached. chelsea defender marcos alonso will miss sunday‘s fa cup semi final against southampton. the spaniard‘s been given a three match ban for violent conduct for his tackle on southampton striker shane long. it means he‘ll also miss tonight‘s premier league game against burnley and the trip to swansea next week. alonso denied the charge after the fa took retrospective action, with the officials failing to see the incident. tonight‘s other matchs sees struggling southampton go to leicester. with his side in the bottom three, manager mark hughes is desperate for the points. a win this evening would leave them just two from safety with four games to play. arsenal boss arsene wenger has

given his 100% backing to safe standing proposals at football stadiums in england. the government says there are no plans to change the all seater policy though, after a pilot was rejected. and the premier league has said more evidence is needed before safe standing can be allowed at top flight stadiums. the closer you are to the position of a player, the more supportive you are, you know? and you imagine if people were lying in a bed and watching the game, they could fall asleep sometimes. so it is better they stand up. i think as well it's a tradition of english football to have that. over all i must say it's much better. there is safety reasons why they don't do it, and i can understand that. but if the safety's right, it has my 100% backing. novak djokovic has been knocked out of the monte carlo masters. he won

the first set on a tie—break. but thiem took the remaining sets. thiem could face rafael nadal next. five times winner and favourite ronnie o‘sullivan faces a difficult first round match against stephen maguire at the world championship in sheffield. the draw was made earlier today. o‘sullivan is chasing a record sixth ranking title of the season, his match against maguire is the standout tie of the opening round. defending champion mark selby plastoe perry. china‘s ding junhui is up against fellow countryman xiao guodong. you can see the full draw on the bbc sport website. and the action from the 2018 toad—in—the—hole championship. each player throws four toads on the

board. you are allowed to stamp! this guy scored deck, i know that because the producer says that is his landlord of the local pub! look at the celebrations. that is the winning team from the black horse toad club. i have finally found a sport you can get involved in. and you will be my wing back. we will have a bbc news team. we can play it in your basement. is it still sunny? the blinds are down yes. that is to stop people seeing you! thank you. a woman has gone on trial charged with the murder of herformer partner. mark van dongen was paralysed from the neck down and left almost blind after sulphuric acid was thrown at him in 2015. he died 15 months later. 48—year—old berlinah wallace is accused of carrying out the alleged attack. she denies all the charges. jon kay reports. mark van dongen

and berlinah wallace. he was an engineer from holland. she was a fashion student from south africa. they were together for five years, living in this bristol flat. the prosecution claims that in september 2015, she bought sulphuric acid on the internet and threw it over him while he was sleeping in just a pair of shorts. the jury was told that she laughed and said, "if i can‘t have you, no one else will." she was said to be unhappy that their relationship had broken down and that mark van dongen had a new partner. berlinah wallace wiped her eyes as the case against her was outlined. the jury was told that she denies murder and throwing a corrosive fluid, and claims she thought the liquid was a glass of water. the court heard that mark van dongen was taken to southmead hospital in bristol, where his injuries were described as horrific and catastrophic. he was said to have been grotesquely scarred by the acid.

he lost an eye, was paralysed from the neck down, and for a long time the only thing he could move was his tongue. the prosecution said that 15 months after the incident, mark van dongen decided he could take it no longer, and after being repatriated to be near his family in belgium, he asked a euthanasia clinic there to help end his life. three doctors assessed him and judged his physical and psychological suffering to be unbearable. he died on the 2nd of january last year. a woman in her nineties has died, after a van crashed into the side of a house in clevedon near bristol. the vehicle caused significant damage when it struck the property just before half—past—eight yesterday evening. neighbours were evacuated from their homes by police over fears a gas pipe was damaged. a man and woman who were inside the van were arrested. the pilot of a vintage jet which killed eleven people, after it crashed on to a dual carriageway during the shoreham

airshow, has appeared at court. 54—year—old andrew hill has been charged with manslaughter and endangering an aircraft. tom symonds has been following events at westminster magistrates court. andrew hill was flying a popular regular at air shows. the hawker hunter has a top speed of more than 600mph. he was attempting to finish a loop. but the plane was too low and too slow to pull out of loop. it crashed in a fireball on the a26, the shoreham bypass, which was busy at the time. there was cars passing and people had gathered on the verges of the road to watch the airshow from outside the airport. most of the victims were in cars or they were onlookers. andrew hill,

faces 54 charges of manslaughter and a charge of recklessly endangering an aircraft. he denies all the charges. the hearing today was his first appearance in the criminal process. he will next appear at the old bailey on 17th may. president trump says he‘s prepared to walk out of planned talks with the north korean leader, kim jong—un, if they don‘t go well. he said maximum pressure must be maintained on pyongyang over the issue of nuclear disarmament. donald trump was speaking after talks with the japanese prime minister at his presidential retreat. barbara plett usher reports from florida. the president of the united states and the prime minister ofjapan. president trump emerged from his two—day retreat with japan‘s prime minister optimistic about prospects for a north korea summit. we‘ve never been in a position like this with that regime, whether it‘s father, grandfather or son. he seemed confident the north koreans are serious, confirming that his cia director

mike pompeo has secretly sounded out kim jong—un‘s willingness to negotiate away his nuclear weapons, but the president made clear he is still ready to walk away from the plan. if i think that it‘s a meeting that is not going to be fruitful, we‘re not going to go. if the meeting when i‘m there is not fruitful, i will respectfully leave the meeting. shinzo abe has invested a lot in what he thought was a fruitful relationship. after staking out a hawkish position on north korea, he wanted to make sure japan would not lose out if the americans sit down with pyongyang. and trump delivered — he promised to raise the issue of kidnapped japanese citizens and to hold a tough line throughout any negotiations. translation: just because north korea is responding to dialogue, there should be no reward. maximum pressure should be maintained and actual

implementation of concrete actions will be demanded. this firm policy has been completely shared between us. president trump went to some lengths to reassure shinzo abe that japan would not be sidelined by this burst of diplomacy over north korea, to convey that the us would look out for its interests and remains committed to its security. but when it came to disagreements over trade, mr trump didn‘t give any ground. despite a charming round of golf, trump didn‘t give the japanese prime minister the tariff exemptions he was looking for, bargaining instead for reductions in the trade deficit. but abe is well aware that trump‘s big diplomatic adventure with north korea would also reshape regional relations and for that, he needs to secure a place at the table. barbara plett usher, bbc news, west palm beach, florida. in a moment the business news with jamie robertson. first a look at the headlines

on afternoon live. dignitaries from around the globe have gathered in london for the commonwealth heads of government meeting. the government has proposed a ban on plastic drinking straws and cotton buds in an effort to cut the billions of items that are thrown away each year. a former head of the civil service calls for an investigation into the destruction of thousands of documents which could have helped commonwealth citizens prove their right to stay in the uk. here‘s your business headlines on afternoon live a collapse in profits a the department store debenhams — down over 80% over the last six months to march — it‘s blamed february‘s freezing weather and a tough retail market. and in an unexpected announcement the firm‘s chief financial officer matt smith is to leaving, to take up a post as finance boss at selfridges. the multi—national pharmaceutical shire has turned down a £44m take—over bid from japan‘s biggest drugs company takeda. shire is listed on the london stock exchange. the two are still talking and if it does go ahead it will be the biggest

ever overseas ta ke—over by a japanese company. and a committee of mps is calling for greater protection for the vulnerable tenants, including protection from eviction, rent rises and harassment by landlords. in its report on the private housing sector, the committee says local authorities should be given the power to confiscate properties from those committing the worst offences. so debenhams. they‘re blaming the weather? i think it is more than that. the retailer debenhams has reported a big slide in its half year pre—tax profits — they‘re down by 84%. they have problems if you don‘t fit

a specific market, you‘re in trouble. we sent out our business correspondent out to look at this and put it in the context of general retail sales. who‘d moan about the weather on a day like today? retailers would — that‘s who. the thermometer may have been rising recently, but last month the beast from the east took a bite out of their sales as both shoppers and staff stayed away. debenhams shut 100 stores as its customers‘ children made their snow angels. there‘s no doubt the cold weather hit debenhams‘ sales hard, just like it hit other retailers, but debenhams‘ problems run deeper and go back further than a few snowy days in march. while retail sales overall were down by 1.2% in march, debenhams‘ were down over six months by 2.2% and its profits dropped over the same time by 84%. the department store warned injanuary it wouldn‘t make as much money as had been expected after poor christmas sales. in february it announced job cuts, and today, it warned again of weak

profits in the coming months. i‘m afraid that retail is an incredibly tough environment to trade in at the moment and debenhams are particularly suffering. they sit in the middle market, where we‘ve seen a lot of brands reporting on really challenging times, and that‘s born out of the fact that people are either buying discount or at the niche and more luxury side of the equation. unfortunately that middle market tends to be where the prices aren‘t as good, there‘s no excitement around the retail, the pace of it isn‘t as fast, and consumers just want so much more these days. debenhams says it‘s investing heavily to turn itself around, revamping its stores to try and draw the shoppers inside, but analysts say it‘s been trying to compete too hard on price without keeping a healthy profit margin. they remain to be convinced that the turnaround plan isn‘t too little, too late. andy verity, bbc news. so, does shape matter, that is the question... yes, what are you talking about?

yes, what are you talking abounm is kit kat. a long—running case about whether the shape of kitkat can be trademarked has reached a significant milestone. the european court ofjustice says that the european union intellectual property office must re—examine whether the "four—fingers" shape can be trademarked. there has been a battle going on for 12 years between nestle and cadburys. it is interesting, should a shape be trade—marked? is it that distinctive. they say the shape is functional and not essential to be recognised throughout the eu. how does that work with things like

toblerone. well that shape fits in with the branding, because it is shaped like a mountain. is it? i never knew that! but it is both. it is functional as well, because it is easy to click the things off. no it isn‘t. easy to click the things off. no it isn't. you have to bejust reasonable strength. joining us is clare jackman, member of the chartered institute of trade mark attorneys. what is the difference between toblerone and kit kat won‘t get a trade mark? it is absolutely, the basic premise is that shapes can be registered as trade marks, but shapes do confer, well a trade mark can confer valuable monopoly rights, because of the value of that

protection, it is important that the trade mark meets the criteria, and it must be sufficiently distinctive and there is various shape exclusions which determine whether certain shapes can be registered or not. in the interest of free market competition, not all shapes will be registered and other shapes could be protected by other forms of protection such as patents. here, the four—fingered bar kit kat is a plain rectangular with three grooves if there is a four fingers and those are designed for ultimate snapability as i like to think of it. there is a technical function to the grooves and a rectangular slap is not particularly original. so actually, if this ruling goes ahead, which it looks like it probably

will, do you think then, could i make a chocolate that looks almost like a kit kat as sell it as robertson‘s chocolate and not worry about the shape? that is potentially correct, if nestle fail in their effort to protect the trade mark. it was protected as an eu trade mark, but that will be invalidated if the court does follow the advocate general‘s opinion. and it won‘t be the fist. if you copy the overall idea of the four—fingered bar, it has been done before by other competitors. briefly, on, why was cadburys keen to stop them getting the trade mark? well, i think that probably goes to the monopoly rights and the valuable rights it conferes.

—— conferes. this is a fast—moving consumer brand and the market place has fierce competition and everyone is striving for a niche in the market place and to be able to protect and defend that niche. what one aspect i enjoy about myjob is advising clients who say, look, you know, please look at my brand, look at elements that are sufficiently distinctive to protect the trade mark, they‘re seeking to push the boundaries. if they get that protection, they get monopoly rights and that could last forever and with that they can keep their competitors out of market. thank you. you we could start up a company. debenhams

having problems. talktalk having complaints, 30 out of every 100,000 condition souper —— consumers complain. thank you. the dramatic growth in tourism is putting a strain on some the world‘s most popular destinations, forcing governments to put in place measures to protect them. like the president of the philippines who has now ordered the most popular holiday island, boracay, to be closed to tourists for six months. our south east asia correspondent jonathan head reports. boracay has it all... white sand, warm, clear water and balmy weather. the first tourists, 50 years ago, described a miraculously untouched beach resort. but they were followed by hundreds and then thousands more. today, over two million visit this narrow palm fringed strip of land every year... causing an unplanned building boom and traffic jams. and, most worrying of all,

serious pollution from inadequate sewage treatment. so president duterte has come up with a characteristically dramatic response — immediate closure. boracay isn‘t alone in its environmental difficulties. in fact, right across this region beaches, in particular, are being swamped by a growing tidal wave of tourists, but nowhere else has the government taken such drastic action as shutting down an entire resort island. necessary, says president duterte, but it has stunned the people who live and work here. more than 30,000 people live on boracay, many migrants from other parts of the country, drawn tojobs here. this beach masseur is worrying how she will pay her son‘s college fees when the tourists leave. but if that‘s the president‘s choice, she said, there is nothing we can do.

so, can a six—month hibernation restore boracay to its former pristine beauty? the government is promising some basic infrastructure work during the break and tougher planning rules, but there‘s also talk of building huge new resorts and casinos here. this will not be a return to the quiet, tropical idyll of days gone by. jonathan head, bbc news, boracay, the philippines. now the weather. and remind you if you have pets, don‘t put them in car. a lot of pets have been talking about the weather. this is the twitter feed of paddington bear. about the weather. this is the twitterfeed of paddington bear. he said, iwas twitterfeed of paddington bear. he said, i was wondering if i was duffle coat would ever be dry again do weeks ago, today i‘m wondering if i will ever need my duffle coat again. there is another tweet about

ra pits. we —— rabbits, we will do that in the next hour. no the weather. it has been a sparkling spring day. it feels more like summer. spring day. it feels more like summer. the warmth that‘s developed will continue into the first part of the evening. the south—east up to the evening. the south—east up to the mid to high 20s. cooler in northern ireland and scotland. we will see some patchy cloud here as the night wears on. down to the south, a mixture of clear spells and some mist and fog patches. not as mild as last night but still in double digits in towns and cities in the south. tomorrow, a murky start in some central and southern areas. but then england and wales and eastern scotland will see sunshine, for north western areas more cloud. some showers in the north—west of scotland. and cooler here. but down to the south—east, the temperatures holding up around 26 or 27 degrees. as we go into the weekend, things

will turn less warm, with a risk of some thunder storms breaking out. hello, you‘re watching afternoon live. today at 4. keeping it in the family — the queen says when the time comes — she wants prince charles to take overfrom her as head of the commonwealth. it is my sincere wish that the commonwealth will continue to offer stability and continuity for future generations and will decide that one day the prince of wales will continue the important work started by my father in 1949. she was speaking at the commonwealth conference — where the uk government announced plans to ban billions of plastic straws, cotton buds and drinks stirrers. how we support our most vulnerable member states as we tackle climate change and improve the health of our oceans, creating a more sustainable commonwealth. i‘m ben brown — live at buckingham palace —

from where i‘ll have all the latest from the summit throughout the day. liftoff! to boldly go on a mission to find thousands of new worlds. nasa‘s planet—hunting satellite lifts off from cape canaveral. coming up on afternoon live all the sport. more on the ecb‘s plan to shorten the former self gully —— format of 2020 cricket to 100 balls for their new 8—team city —based competition. and we have the rest of the sport, as well. the weather forecast? over 28 degrees at the moment, in london, the warmest april day we have had

since 1949, but will it last until the weekend? i will tell you now.|j know what that means, autumn is coming already! also coming up. we‘ll be hearing some of the tributes to dale winton — the television and radio presenter who died at his home last night at the age of 62. hello everyone — this is afternoon live. when the queen says it‘s her ‘sincere wish‘ that something should happen — it would be a brave person — world leader or not — who would argue against her. so when she told representatives from the 53 countries that make up the commonwealth that she would like prince charles to take over as head of the organisation one day — well, you wouldn‘t bet against it. let‘s go to ben brown who‘s at buckingham palace for us now. it isa

it is a strange thing, it isn‘t set in stone at who should be the commonwealth, and when the time comes, it is not a hereditary position. there‘s been some debate about this the run up to this commonwealth summit and jeremy corbyn suggested the position as the head could be rotated amongst the member countries, but the queen was having none of that and she made it clear that when the time comes she believes her son the prince of wales, prince charles, should be the head of the commonwealth, and she said it was her sincere wish that he should carry on what is the important work started by her father king george vi. we are expecting to hear a decision on this tomorrow, but many other things being discussed. climate change, how to fight cyber attacks around the planet, and trade, very important in

the post—brexit world for britain in particular. this report from our royal correspondent. it has its origins in the days of the empire and there was an echo of imperial grandeur in the welcome london laid on for the leaders of today‘s commonwealth of nations. the prime minister of the united kingdom. in the ballroom of buckingham palace where empire transitioned to commonwealth nearly 70 years ago with the signing of the london declaration, the leaders of 53 nations gathered to witness another future transition. from elizabeth, head of the commonwealth throughout her long reign, to charles who‘s been hoping to be endorsed in the role for some time. commonwealth leaders are keenly aware of the queen‘s commitment. the commonwealth has been her passion. they are aware that this will almost certainly be the last conference

over which she will preside. change is coming. and charles reminded the commonwealth of his long—standing involvement in their affairs. for my part, the commonwealth has been a fundamental feature of my life for as long as i can remember. i pray that this commonwealth heads of government meeting will not only revitalise the bonds between our countries, but will also give the commonwealth a renewed relevance to all its citizens. from britain‘s prime minister, theresa may, a reminder of the incredible opportunities offered by the commonwealth, important of course in the post—brexit world, but then to the topic that bound them all emotionally today, a tribute to the queen. you have seen us through some of our most serious challenges and we commit to sustaining this commonwealth which you have so carefully nurtured. and then it was the turn

of the queen to speak. she had committed her life to the commonwealth at the age of 21, now two days from her 92nd birthday, she was keen to prepare the ground for the leadership of the commonwealth after her death. it is my sincere wish that the commonwealth will continue to offer stability and continuity forfuture generations. and will decide that one day the prince of wales should carry on the important work started by my father in 1949. by continuing to treasure and reinvigorate our associations and activities, i believe we will secure a safer, more prosperous and sustainable world for those who follow us. commonwealth leaders have big issues for discussion, preserving the oceans, security, democracy and trade,

but the significance of today was that for the first time publicly, through the medium of the commonwealth, elizabeth i! referred to the time after her reign is over. supporters of the commonwealth said isafamily supporters of the commonwealth said is a family of nations which can achieve a lot but opponents said is more like a relic of the british empire and it needs to be modernised or stop —— say it‘s more like. peter tatchell is concerned about the number of states where, sexuality is still a crime, more than 30 countries within the member nations of the commonwealth, that is still a crime? ——, sexuality. —— homosexuality. that is right, not countries have —— nine countries

have a sentencing of life imprisonment and a few other countries have the sentencing of death. this must surely something that must not fit in with how the commonwealth is deemed to be for the this is not on the agenda? yes, over 60 years the leaders of commonwealth have refused to discuss lgbt rights and this year they have said it will be on the agenda and some countries have threatened to walk out if the issue is put on the agenda so it's shocking that in the 21st—century there are countries that won't even discuss the human rights of 100 million lgbt people who live in commonwealth countries where being

95v commonwealth countries where being gay is a crime. so you think britain is -- gay is a crime. so you think britain is —— should be leading on this? gay is a crime. so you think britain is -- should be leading on this? no, this is a collective responsibility for the commonwealth. but many countries do not want to talk about it. there are non-western countries do not want to talk about it. there are non—western countries that do support the right of lgbt, mozambique, the seychelles, last week to know that and tobago, they ditched their anti—gay laws which we re ditched their anti—gay laws which were imposed upon them by britain in the 19th—century —— last week trinidad and tobago for the. i think this has got to come from within, rather than from an britain, and we think those countries who have made these changes, they should bring this to the summit. this is something the commonwealth needs to do if it it was going to be relevant

in the modern world? —— if it is going to be relevant for the 60% of the commonwealth population is under the commonwealth population is under the age of 30. commonwealth leaders need to recognise we're not them to approve of homosexuality but we are asking them to stop the persecution and to recognise that persecuting lg bt and to recognise that persecuting lgbt people is very bad for their economies and is undermining their financial position. because lgbt people won't go on holiday and spend tourist money in these countries, and also because lgbt people in countries like uganda and jamaica and pakistan, they leave and these are often highly educated people with great skills, they come to seek refuge in a country like britain or canada because life is intolerable for them, canada because life is intolerable forthem, and canada because life is intolerable for them, and that means there is a skills loss in these countries. and

big international companies are deterred from investing in homophobic commonwealth countries because they don't want to put their staff at risk of arrest and imprisonment so it really is a no—brainer. the persecution of homosexuals is bad for business and bad for the economies of the commonwealth, and it makes economic sense to decriminalise. peter tatchell, banks macro. the commonwealth summit is now under way —— thanks for joining commonwealth summit is now under way —— thanks forjoining us. there is more tomorrow at windsor, that is where the commonwealth road show moves tomorrow, and it ends with a big news conference tomorrow evening which we will bring you live with the prime minister theresa may giving some of the results of the summit. and now back to you in the studio. as ben mentioned, theresa may is announcing proposals for a ban on straws, stirrers and cotton buds in england as part of efforts to tackle plastic waste. every year, more than 8 billion plastic straws

are thrown away in the uk. 44 billion plastic stirrers and 13 billion cotton buds are also discarded, as our science correspondent, victoria gill, reports. this cheap ubiquitous throwaway material has become a visible this cheap ubiquitous throwaway material has become a visible scourge on our marine environment. the bbc series blue planet shocked viewers with scenes showing how ocean wildlife now has to share its world with this debris. and among the marine litter, single use straws and sticks, that the government says it now wants to ban. there are environmentally friendly alternatives that we can all use and of course there is more we need to do. getting rid of straws, stirrers and cotton buds is one aspect of making sure we all use less plastic. before any ban can happen, a consultation to explore alternatives and any exemptions has to be carried out which will begin later this year, and any

new measures would only apply in england. the government says this is part of a mission to protect our oceans from plastic. it‘s already banned plastic micro beads in personal care products and recently announced a deposit return scheme to encourage recycling of plastic bottles. in samples of mud from a uk riverbed, i saw for myself how plastic, even when it breaks down, can remain in the environment as microscopic pieces small enough to enter the food chain. and environmentalists say the government is lagging behind. the deposit return scheme just announced has been in place in many other countries for a number of years. the uk government acting for england was well behind the curve on introducing charges for plastic bags for example. it is welcome, what‘s happening now. but it‘s not ground—breaking — in fact they‘re playing catch up. evidence of the harm caused by plastic is still emerging but this proposal will aim to stop it being thrown away in such high volumes, to prevent it floating into our rivers and oceans. let‘s talk now to professor kevin hiscock, an environmental scientist

at the university of east anglia. i‘m expecting you to say that you welcome any move like this, but cotton buds and plastic straws, are they the main culprits? when we look at the amount of plastic on our reaches, cotton buds and plastic straws, they often turn up, they also get into our sewage system where they can often enter the river environment and breakdown under uv light, you might be shocked to hear there are almost 5 trillion pieces of micro plastics in our world ocea ns of micro plastics in our world oceans and this stems from what we throw away, the poor recycling, and on the global scale we need to change our behaviour and cut down on the amount of plastic being produced and then thrown away in the my remit. —— in the environment. and then thrown away in the my remit. -- in the environment. with figures like that you have just

said, we need to stop it? with any kind of pollution you have got to tackle the source first and we know there is in the river and ocean sediments there is the legacy of plastic waste but we need to tackle the course and i‘m pleased to see this agenda being raised today, especially with the commonwealth countries meeting to tackle this, because we need to tackle and act together as a global community of we are going to stop this pollution which is moored insidious —— if we are going to stop this pollution which is more insidious than we realise. if we cut out the plastics we can cut out other pathways for organic pollutants. when you say you are pleased to see this at the commonwealth summit, is that because some of the governments are dealing with this first—hand or —— and are

countries which are not best placed to deal with this? when you travel around the world you see river channels where rubbish has been thrown, and so there are problems in the developing part of the world where we need much better handling of the waste for top in the uk we recycle a nd of the waste for top in the uk we recycle and contain our waste. but cotton buds get through the filter at the sewage works so we have got to think about our behaviour as well as changing the types of materials we use to make our plastic straws and cotton buds. this is only a consultation, let‘s face it. and cotton buds. this is only a consultation, let's face it. yes. we have heard the criticism in the piece before about the lack of ambition on the part of the government but at least it‘s a move in the right direction. i‘m sure we can act locally to improve the

global agenda for ourselves. professor, thanks for joining global agenda for ourselves. professor, thanks forjoining us. you‘re watching afternoon live, these are our headlines. dignitaries from around the globe have gathered in london for the commonwealth heads of government meeting. the government has proposed a ban on plastic drinking straws and cotton buds in an effort to cut the billions of items that are thrown away each year. a former head of the civil service calls for an investigation into the destruction of thousands of documents which could have helped commonwealth citizens prove their right to stay in the uk. the england and wales cricket board would like to introduce an innovative 100 ball format into their new eight team city —based format. replays of incidents will be shown on big screens at the world cup in russia this summer and novak djokovic is out of the monte carlo masters at the last 16 stage after losing to the austrian dominic thiem. much morejust after half

past. a former head of the civil service, lord kersla ke, has called for an investigation into the destruction of thousands of documents, which may have helped commonwealth citizens prove their right to remain in the uk. it‘s thought dozens of people from the caribbean, who‘ve lived here for decades, have been threatened with deportation. our home affairs correspondent leila nathoo reports. unlike his favourite reggae singer, jamaica was never home for winston walker. he came to the uk as a baby more than 50 years ago, but like many others who also arrived from commonwealth countries, he‘s now struggling to prove he‘s in the country legally. it was frightening, very frightening, because i‘ve been schooled here and educated, i‘ve worked here, i‘ve had the same national insurance number since i was 16. then to suddenly find that you don‘t exist,

it‘s completely overwhelming. some of those from the so—called windrush generation have been caught out by changes to immigration rules in recent years. with a crack down on illegal immigration, many couldn‘t produce the paperwork that showed how long they‘d been here and some were told they would be deported. the government has apologised but critics say the policies put in place were too blunt. you created an environment in which action was going to be taken and there was a risk, it was obvious to everyone, that you would take the rough with the smooth. i think it would be quite wrong to land this on the civil service, basically. this was a conscious policy in order to hold onto a strong policy position that was proving very difficult to implement. it‘s also emerged that the landing cards which registered the arrival of thousands of windrush migrants

were destroyed in 2010 by the uk border agency. there are now calls for an investigation into who authorised the decision but some say the documents are not that crucial for people trying to prove their status. they may be no more than a note on a back of a bit of paper with a name which might not be right, the date of birth may be. but all of this blame culture about whether these landing cards would have made a difference is a complete red herring to me. it‘s about being able to talk to people sensibly with a degree of expertise and come to a sensible conclusion. the home office says 113 people have now called a helpline set up for those in difficulty, people like winston who remain in limbo in the country they settled in long ago. a bbc reporter who broke the story about sir cliff richard‘s home being searched by police has defended the media‘s right to report the early stages of investigations. danjohnson told a high courtjudge that "the story" had not been about the singer being "guilty"

following an allegation of child sex assault — but about him being "investigated." let‘s speak to helena lee who‘s at the high court and has been following the case. danjohnson dan johnson at continuing danjohnson at continuing his evidence at the high court, this is the six—day of sir cliff richard‘s privity case against the bbc in terms of its coverage over the raid on his house —— privacy case. his apartment in sunningdale. dan johnson of being cross—examined by the barrister for sir cliff richard. he defended the right of the media to broadcast and report on the early stages of a police investigation. he also brought up the issue of privacy which was put to him, and he said he was aware that there were privacy issues in connection with the story

about sir cliff richard and the way it was going to be covered, but he says, those decisions and considerations were being made by people above him, senior bbc news managers and editors, those kind of issues were not of concern to him. he was also talked to in court about the allegation in itself that had been made by sir cliff richard. the barrister for sir cliff richard said in court to him," you don‘t have to be sherlock holmes to conclude that this looks potentially like a pretty flimsy complaint, "and danjohnson said in reply, i‘m not sherlock holmes, i‘m not the police, that‘s theirjob. dan holmes, i‘m not the police, that‘s their job. dan johnson holmes, i‘m not the police, that‘s theirjob. danjohnson is continuing his evidence this afternoon and he may well go into tomorrow morning as well to continue that evidence and

then we expect to hear more from bbc news editors and news managers in court who will give their evidence later on this week. thanks for joining us. the national assembly of cuba have elected a new president. miguel diaz—canel — who is the current vice president — has now been sworn in. he will replace the current president raul castro, whose family have lead cuba since the 1959 revolution. mr diaz—canel is only the third person to lead cuba since the revolution — following raul, who himself took overfrom his brother, the revolutionary leader fidel castro. a powerful cross party group of mps is to force a vote on a customs union next week in the house of commons. the liaison committee, made up of labour, conservative and snp select committee chairs, has tabled a debate for next week calling for ‘an effective customs union‘. theresa may has pledged to leave the current customs union as we depart the eu. our chief political correspondent vicki young

is in westminster and sent us this update. hot on the heels of a defeat at the hands of the house of lords last night, a cross—party group of mps is trying to force this issue of britain staying in a customs union after brexit, and one of those is the labour chair of the home affairs select committee, yvette cooper. what is the point of doing this? we have had a defeat in the house of lords, but this vote next week would not be binding? this is the chance for the house of commons to have a say and to steer the negotiations before it's too late. rather than waiting for the end of the process we think the commons should have a voice at the beginning and to be able to say this is what's important. i think a customs union is about manufacturing and industry. across the country it makes a massive difference, and also about northern ireland peace. but there's no chance for parliament at the moment to have that as a proper debate

and express its view in a vote, and that's what we want to make sure can happen. it has become official labour policy. how confident are you that enough conservative mps agree with this? this debate is being tabled as part of the backbench debate process and this is a chance for backbenchers of all parties to have their say and express their views. i do hope that if conservative backbenchers, who very often have manufacturing industry in their constituency, who very often feel strongly about the importance of the northern ireland peace process, will use this as an opportunity to vote in favour of a customs union being part of the government's objectives — it's a chance to send a signal to the government about what they should be doing. the government has ruled out this idea and they said it would mean that britain ends up still having to take rules and stick to the rules of the eu. and we could not forge our own trade deals — effectively we would be staying in the eu, some say. all the evidence shows it's trade

with the countries that are closest to you, especially for manufacturing, which matters most. that's where we are more likely to be getting ingredients or components and that is where we are more likely to be selling our goods. therefore it is those trade deals with the countries close by, that have a much bigger impact on our trade and manufacturing than any potential future deal which could take years to negotiate and might only make a small difference to the overall level of trade we have. and that's why we think the customs union is so important. yvette cooper, thanks forjoining us. that vote coming next thursday. so theresa may under some fresh and conservative mps will be under a different pressure from party managers to support the prime minister. tributes have been paid to the television and radio presenter dale winton, who‘s died at the age of 62. he found fame in the 90s as the host of the daytime game show "supermarket sweep",

before going on to present the national lottery show, "in it to win it". police say his death is unexplained, but they‘re not treating it as suspicious. here‘s our entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba. and here's the star of the show... dale winton! thank you, thank you... the shows weren‘t highbrow but for millions of viewers... hello, gorgeous shoppers. hello, dale! ...their entertainment factor was huge. dale winton was one of the reasons for that popularity. the aim of the game is to shop smart... supermarket sweep burst onto our screens 25 years ago and gave us a new tv star. it's pets win prizes and here's everyone's cuddly companion, dale winton. .. dale winton had the gift of making the unlikeliest concepts unmissable viewing. so paul is a flying beetle

because he‘s with wings. pets win prizes, which he presented for two series, saw owners competing in games involving their pets. release your beetles. and he was rarely off our screens for the next two decades. i can‘t believe they‘re so easily pleased. he was such a lively man, oozing jois de vivre, he adored life. he liked whizzing round london in an open topped sports car, sitting and holding court in west end cafes. if any fans came up to him he couldn't have been more thrilled. his close friend david walliams said: he had spoken about the lows of his life. i should have taken myself off the tv, but i didn‘t. and actually i was going to the studio, coming home... listen, there are worse things

in the world but i had health issues and i have depression. he was last seen on tv in familiar territory. as i used to say, let‘s check them out. so i‘ve got tea bags, marmalade... in a channel 5 show that saw him leaving the uk to explore america. his easy—going charm still as evident as ever. a presenter who will be remembered for being funny, friendly and fabulous. the television and radio presenter dale winton, who‘s died at the age of 62. lots of people talking about the weather out there. for most people it has been a scorching day. weather out there. for most people it has been a scorching daym really has. this is like the summer, we have at temperatures well above where they should be, this is a

sparkling view from one of our weather watchers across the capital where temperatures have reached nearly 29, which is the warmest april day since 1949. the warmest of our lives. yes, even at your life! —— even of your life! it is notjust london. many places have been involved, eastern england, sheffield, 26, exceptionally warm. a week ago, we were stuck on the cloud. i think it was 5 degrees. yes, this time last week, they did not get above five. this is all very well, but someone on twitter said they were in the isle of man and it is horrible. yes, that is right. they have probably switched off now, to be honest. no, they haven't. oh,

blimey. .. the warmth is being brought to us is due to the area of low pressure. that is the problem. you can see the cloud showing up on the satellite picture. this is what it looked like in douglas earlier on. he was not wrong. if you are saying this is summer, that means autumn by the weekend? probably not autumn but people probably planning barbecues and thinking about the weekend. yesterday we were saying it is going to be very, very hot. it will be warm for is we could get low 20s for the london marathon. could be higher than that. we‘ll probably be one of the warmest on record. whether it is 21 or 2031 the warmest on record. whether it is 21 or 203! would not want to be

running it in that temperature. you had better give us the forecast. changes on the way as we hinted. most of us will close out the day with blue skies and sunshine. a couple more hours of sunshine to go. if you have been stuck in the office all day and have the chance to get out soon, there are still some sunshine to enjoy. temperatures will not drop away quickly. probably 26 degrees in the capital. we have mentioned the slightly cooler deal in the north and west with more in the of cloud. through tonight, it will be in the isle of man at times. under clear skies we will see mist and fog patches developing. temperatures not as mild as last night. dropping in to single digits. a lot of sunshine across england and

wales went early mist and fog has cleared. a bit of patchy cloud around. a slight change in wind direction. i showed you a moment ago we have been bringing up southerly winds. it switches more to a westerly wind tomorrow. notice, aberdeen is still doing well. many central and eastern areas of still seeing a lot of warmth. as we move into friday night, there isjust a the warmth in the south—east could spawn the odd, isolated shower. most of us and friday on a final note. we did hint at change. this is the culprit, an area of low pressure as we go into the weekend. a bit of uncertainty about the timing. we start saturday‘s fine and dry with sunshine. you can see what is coming up sunshine. you can see what is coming up from the south—west with this clump of heavy and downpours. still a lot of warmth to drive the

downpours were ill be cooler in the north. the cooler and fresher weather becomes more widespread as he go on into sunday. not much rain by the time it gets into the south—east. behind it we will bring something cooler and pressure into the mix. for the london marathon, still 20, 201 degrees. to sum it up, into the weekend, slowly it will turn less warmth and the chance of some thunderstorms. that is all for now. goodbye. this is bbc news. our latest headlines... the queen has told leaders at the commonwealth heads of government meeting that she hopes her son prince charles will take over at the organisation "one day". according to number 10, the 53 leaders are to make a decision on the succession — which is not hereditary — this friday. environmental reforms proposed by the government include a ban on plastic straws and cotton buds. a consultation launched today will look into new ways to cut plastic waste. after almost 60 years, the

leadership of the castro ‘s has come to an end. an historic day for cuba, as miguel diaz—canel is sworn in as the country‘s new president. the scandal over the treatment of windrush migrants intensifies. the government was warned about the impact of stricter immigration rules on them. temperatures have reached 28.3 celsius in london, making it the warmest april day for nearly 70 years. the unusually warm weather is the result of low pressure over the atlantic and high pressure over western europe — drawing in warm air. sport now on afternoon live with will perry. we are talking about the new proposal from the ecb, we are talking about the new proposalfrom the ecb, 100 balls. if

you called it the 99, you would have a catchy phrase. i thought we would have a think tank. we have got centuries but i like that, the 99er. it might as we are going to a strange fan of putting in a bit of chocolate, that is something we can work on. the ecb want to brand their competition. today they have announced the 100 balls. this format, it is the eight teams, city —based tournament. there will be six ball overs with the final either trying to be more dramatic than in 2020 cricket. this will be attending all over. the idea is to attract new audiences and keep broadcasters happy. those presented to the ecb by chairman and chief executives of the

first—class counties and mcc today. they have been selected as the news of the five—week competition which sta rts of the five—week competition which starts in 2020. the lords and the oval will host newly created teams to ta ke oval will host newly created teams to take place alongside bt 20 blast. that will be interesting for that they will not overlap the schedules. —— the they will not overlap the schedules. -- the t20 they will not overlap the schedules. —— the t20 blast. ill be interesting to see that continues in the fashion it has done so because it is very successful, isn‘t it? the debate has been going on. we heard earlier in the week from the chairman to have safe standing at football grounds like celtic have in scotland. arsene wenger is giving his 100% backing to proposals. the governor and says there will be no plans to change the

all—seater policy for that you can see celtic park. that is what is in place at the moment that this is after a pilot was rejected. the premier league says more evidence is needed before safe standing is allowed top flight stadiums. the closer you are to a position of a player, the more supportive you are. imagine if people were lying in a bed and watching a game, they could fall asleep sometimes. it is better they stand up. i think as well, it isa they stand up. i think as well, it is a tradition of english football to have that. overall, i must say, it is much better. there are safety reasons why they didn't do and i can understand that. if the safety is right, my 100% backing. the safe standing debate will go on and on as well that the —— var debate. it will

be used at the world cup in russia. that comes despite criticism of its use in domestic competition. one issue has been the fans have not been able to see the same replays on television that the referees have. this summer, the crowd will be told when a decision is being reviewed and why the decision has been reached. marcus alonzo will miss the fa cup semifinal on sunday against southampton. he has been given a three match ban for his tackle on shane long. he will miss tonight‘s premier league game against burnley and a trip to swansea next week. he denied the charge and the fa took retrospective action with the officials failing to see the incident at the time. see struggling southampton go to leicester tonight. mark hughes is desperate for the points this evening. a win would leave them two points from safety. novak djokovic is out of the monte

carlo masters at the last 16 stage. the former world number one took the first set on a tie—break. thiem fought back. he could face rafael nadal if he beats his russian opponent. that match is under way. just a rugby union story to bring you. jonathanjoseph just a rugby union story to bring you. jonathan joseph is set just a rugby union story to bring you. jonathanjoseph is set to miss england prospect summer tour of south africa. more sports news in the next hour. see you then. now on afternoon live, let‘s go nationwide, and see what‘s happening around the country in our daily visit to the bbc newsrooms around the uk. mary rhodesjoins us from birmingham, where west midlanders are counting down the hours to the royal wedding at windsor. as we allare, as we all are, mary. oh, yes.

and, in cambridge... finding a parking space could be a lot easier in the future, thanks to the arrival of the world‘s most advanced parking machine. janine machin is here to tell us more. she is standing in a car park by the way. no expense spared. nothing spent at all. mary, some people are quite excited because they have that she got an invitation to this wedding. they have. many of them have actually never met either prince harry or megan marko. that is kind of the point. invitations have gone out to about 1200, what you would call ordinary people. they have all done extraordinary things. they have made life better for people less fortunate than themselves. one man is from coventry. he set up the positive youth foundation, which helped many young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to achieve their potential. he has never met the royal couple but he has met the

elder brother, the duke of cambridge, on a visit to coventry. two other ladies who were very excited here in the west midlands when the envelope dropped through their doors are tessa hinch and haley ash. they did something pretty special a few years ago. take a look at this, some pictures of a lunch party they organise. it was a christmas lunch they organise for 50 people who otherwise would have been on their own brand about christmas time. what they did was go around and borrowed and begged for food and decorations and made a day to rememberfor 50 people. decorations and made a day to remember for 50 people. i decorations and made a day to rememberfor 50 people. ithink decorations and made a day to rememberfor 50 people. i think that is probably why they got the royal wedding invitation. what was their reaction when it dropped on that matter? surprise, and i think more questions followed. perhaps not surprisingly the details of the day area surprisingly the details of the day are a little bit sketchy, probably for security reasons. one thing they have been told, rather intriguingly, perhaps they might like to take a picnic with them to windsor castle. wedding catering is was slightly

tricky. perhaps that was a solution. in recognition of their work, tessa and hayley have already had one will invitation to a garden party at buckingham palace and then another envelope dropped through the door, but this time it was a wedding invitation. we don't have very much information, so it is really difficult to picture it. our imagination has run wild in terms what to expect when we get there. there will be so many people there. to be able to do celeb spotting in seeing him is that we might recognise and just being so close to it all as well, it could so much fun. they clearly are very excited. let‘s hope for their sake it does not rain if they are choosing to wear that head gear. prince harry and twenty20 had been up and down the country visiting some very excited people. they were in birmingham and we had a lot of viewers saying how excited they were

at meeting. —— prince harry and meghan markle. they really enjoyed the common touch, being with ordinary and everyday people. perhaps it is not surprising that they are breaking with tradition and inviting 1200 people on the 19th of may tojoin in inviting 1200 people on the 19th of may to join in the celebrations in the grounds of windsor castle. may to join in the celebrations in the grounds of windsor castlem may to join in the celebrations in the grounds of windsor castle. it is marked in my diary, that is for sure. mary, thank you very much. no need for you to laugh as well. let‘s talk about parking, it is everybody‘s nightmare. the company thinks they may have cracked this.|j thinks they may have cracked this.” do not think anything could take the stress out of parking at bbc cambridge. this system does seem to have potential. technology has been helping us to find parking spaces for a long time. you will see big matrix boards around telling us how many spaces are free at each car park in the city centre. this is very different full study claims to be the world's first smart car park.

it tells you how many spaces and where they are. it is as if somebody is looking at all of the spaces in the car park and they tell you where to go. in this case there is no human being involved. how does it work? i am human being involved. how does it work? lam no human being involved. how does it work? i am no expert but this company, cambridge consulting, they are using their pictures from their existing security cameras which overlook parking bays and they have made software to analyse those pictures, decide whether the spaces are and direct staff towards them. they used b, digital boards at the entrance to the car park with all the information on them. it is artificial intelligence and may have had to design an algorithm to allow the computer to think for itself as it has had to learn to recognise different vehicles and how to spot the picture has changed when the space becomes free and that kind of thing. the programme is here. it is

called deep learning. one expert said that has crept into many parts of our lives now. in cases where we wa nt of our lives now. in cases where we want a of our lives now. in cases where we wanta human of our lives now. in cases where we want a human life judgment like a medical diagnosis or product recommendation. anyway you think an expert would be good at it and so far machines have struggled to do the same. basically, machines can tell us where to park how to park, drive your car and park it for you. for me, what they cannot do yet is create more parking spaces. when they can do that, they have my vote. it would be great if they could pay for it as well. thank you very much. mary rhodes, thank you very much indeed, both of you. if you would like to see more on any

of those stories you can access them via the bbc i play. we go live here at 4:30pm every day. a new era of planet—hunting is under way. the us space agency has just launched its tess telescope from cape canaveral in florida. its mission — to find thousands of new worlds beyond our solar system. the telescope will monitor the stars closest to earth. scientists are hoping to catch the dips in brightness that occur when orbiting planets cross their surfaces. our science correspondent pallab ghosh reports from florida. all set and ready to go. nasa‘s new mission to discover whether the stars we see at night have planets around them. list of. the spacex falcon nine... once in space the test spacecraft will start scanning nearly the entire sky. as it looks for stars it will also detect any tiny decrease in the light that comes from them.

that small dip is a sign that there is a planet in orbit. the big question is whether there are any like ourown earth and support life. the space telescope will spend the next two years searching for stars to find thousands of new worlds, and when we look up at the night sky we‘ll know which ones have planets around them, and those that might be home to life. they will be the right distance away from their star to be capable of supporting life. we looked at the start in the sky and wondered if there were planets around it. today we look at the start in the sky and it would be crazy to have no planet around it. this spacecraft will spend the next two years searching the stars to find thousands of new worlds. when we look up at the night sky we will know which ones have

planets around them and those which might be home to life will stop —— home to life. pallab ghosh, bbc news, at the kennedy space centre in florida. in a moment, the business news with jamie robertson. first a look at the headlines on afternoon live. dignitaries from around the globe have gathered in london for the commonwealth heads of government meeting. the government has proposed a ban on plastic drinking straws and cotton buds in an effort to cut the billions of items that are thrown away each year. a former head of the civil service calls for an investigation into the destruction of thousands of documents which could have helped commonwealth citizens prove their right to stay in the uk. here‘s your business headlines on afternoon live. a collapse in profits at the department store debenhams — down over 80% over the last six months to march. it‘s blamed february‘s freezing weather and a tough retail market. and, in an unexpected announcement, the firm‘s chief financial officer, matt smith, is to be leaving, to take up a post as finance boss at selfridges.

the multi—national pharmaceutical, shire, has turned down a £44 million take—over bid from japan‘s biggest drugs company takeda. shire is listed on the london stock exchange. the two are still talking and if it does go ahead it will be the biggest ever overseas ta ke—over by a japanese company. the number of complaints about the mis—selling of pp! insurance has risen by 40% injust six months, according to the financial conduct authority. 1.55 million is the highest figure in four years. the period coincided with the start of an fca advertising campaign, involving arnold schwarzenegger. he hasjust had a heart he has just had a heart operation, hasn‘t he? let‘s not go there. neither of us knows what we are talking about.

that‘s talk about debenhams. knows what we are talking about. that's talk about debenhams. the figures are dire. they are blaming the snow. that did obviously have an effect. everyone seems to have stayed at home. other figures are out which came from the office of national statistics which show generally retail sales were down to in the last three months but debenhams figures are six months. they were saying a lot of people would just staying at home. fuel sales were down for the people were not filling up their cards are not going anywhere. a lot of them were at home doing online shopping. organisations like debenhams, only not the only ones, we have had a lot of stories showing that they are not cracking the online market. in a way, their position has to be both in the bricks and mortar market and in the bricks and mortar market and in the online market together. if they are not struggling those two markets, they are beginning to have trouble. joining us now is alpesh patel,

ceo of praefinium partners. tell me about debenhams. what do you reckon? do you think they will have to reinvent themselves as they are going to see profits coming back? over the last five years, the share price has dropped from 100 down to about 22, which is what is now. this is not to do with the beast from the east. they already had a profits warning out for them if you track them against someone like m and s, they underperform you have to be, as management at debenhams attending your hair out because they are a profitable company. we think they are more likely to go up by 50% stand drop 50%. on a valuation basis, for a profitable company, they are undervalued as things stand. would you say they do not have that much of a distinctive

presence on the high street or online? they are profitable, so someone online? they are profitable, so someone wants their products but not as much. i think they have been oversold and making money. in retail, not many are making money full study also got hit by the fall in the pound was that they are importing a lot of their stuff and selling it in the uk. back at their margins. that is not their fault. somebody does want their products, which is why they are profitable. what about the shire bid? it is is like a polite takeover. gkn had a hostile takeover. they seem to be sitting down and talking about it. the japanese are incredibly polite when it comes to takeovers in the corporate world. for that reason, given the share price of shire is down 20% from the peak in the last 12 months, i think there is about

another 10% to go. the management have already said this is not high enough, this aid. the shareholders in shire will think to themselves, we have another 10% to extract out of those. still money to come. the japanese are incredibly polite and will probably go up another 10% on their bid. oil is soaring, isn't it? i was going to put it on there. about year ago, it was 55 dollars a barrel. it is looking pretty strong. the last time it was at this level was 2014. filling up at the pumps is expensive annual oil bills are expensive. the dow is veryjumpy, down about a third of a percent. the ftse has not moved very much was at the pound was weaker this morning. a lot of people are looking at higher

interest rates. that is what is pushing the pound at the moment we think we will have higher interest rates next month but we will not guarantee it. it‘s the warmest april day for nearly 70 years. temperatures have hit 28.3 celsius at st james‘s park in central london. the average maximum temperature for the uk in april isjust 11.9 degrees. let‘sjoin our news correspondent, alison freeman, now in hyde park. last time i spoke to you live, there was a car crash behind you. i dread to think what will happen today. what is everybody doing? talking of crashes, we hope the pedder lows will be fine. it has been a terrible job out here, as you can imagine. it has been gloriously people on the serpentine. they are sunbathing and sitting in deck chairs. ice cream sales must be through the roof. it is the first glimpse of some warm weather we have had. everyone is making the most of it. top

temperature recorded today in london, 28.8 degrees, making it the hottest april day for almost 70 yea rs. as hottest april day for almost 70 years. as you are saying, between 11 and 12 degrees normally at this time of year we would be expecting, so this has been extremely welcome. there are even people summing in the swimming area. reports are it is a little icy and a bit of a fresh and if you go in. people having a really nice time after the epically cold winter we have been having. that looks really cold actually.” winter we have been having. that looks really cold actually. i heard someone looks really cold actually. i heard someone saying it is about 14 degrees in the water, so that does not sound too cold air temperature, but it is pretty chilly. we have heard lots of sharp intakes of breath as people have popped in there. refreshing is the term i think we should be using. alison, on

the toughest assignment of the day. thank you very much. that is about it. now for the weather. it feels like summer today. the warmth will develop in the first pa rt warmth will develop in the first part of the evening. eastern areas maintaining the 20s in temperature. we will see patchy cloud as the night wears on foot in the south we will see a mixture of clear spells and some mist and fog patches will develop. temperatures holding up in double digits in towns and cities in the south. tomorrow, perhaps a murky start in central and southern areas. the north—western areas was a bit more in the way of cloud and some showers across the north west of

scotla nd showers across the north west of scotland under bit cooler here. in the south—east, temperatures holding up the south—east, temperatures holding up around 26,20 seven. is he going to the weekend things will turn a little less warm with the risk of thunderstorms breaking out. today at 5 — the queen tells dozens of world leaders that she‘d like prince charles to succeed her as head of the commonwealth. her majesty was welcoming commonwealth heads of government to buckingham palace for their biennial conference, and she spoke of her honour at serving the commonwealth as she looked to the future. it is my sincere wish that the commonwealth will continue to offer stability and continuity forfuture generations. and will decide that one day the prince of wales should carry on the important work started by my father in 1949. the 53 leaders will make that decision about the succession tomorrow — and consider issues such as ocean conservation, cyber security, and trade.