you're watching beyond 100 days. the south korean president says pyongyang is committed to denuclearisation without conditions. but donald trump says the campaign of maximum pressure will continue until north korea gives up its nuclear weapons. the president also says if kim jong—un doesn't seem serious, he will cancel next month's historic meeting. if the meeting, when i'm there, is not fruitful, i will respectfully leave the meeting. the queen tells world leaders she wants prince charles to succeed her as head of the commonwealth when the time is right. it is my sincere wish that the commonwealth will continue to offer stability and continuity for future generations also on the programme: james comey speaks to the bbc. the former director of the fbi says he would think twice about sharing intelligence with mr trump. you'd have to think about it in a way you probably wouldn't have with other presidents.

throwing his hat, into the ring, the former clown who's running for congress. i am sure plenty of you will have something to say on the appropriatness of that. the hashtag is #beyond1000ays hello and welcome. i'm katty kay in washington and christian fraser is in london. there is a palpable mix of hope and concern here in washington about the upcoming summit between donald trump and kim jong—un. even his critics accept the president's unconventional threats may have produced a breakthrough. the downside is that if this doesn't work, diplomacy will have nowhere else to go. the stated goal, says the white house, is "irreversible denuclearisation". but on what timescale? and how will it be verified? aware of the pitfalls, mr trump says he's prepared to abandon the talks if they aren't working. if i think it's a meeting that's not going to be fruitful, we're not going to go.

if the meeting, when i'm there, is not fruitful, i will respectively leave the meeting and will continue what we're doing or whatever it is that will continue, but something will happen. lets speak to our north america editor, jon sopel. the stakes could not be any higher, but the president seemingly quite bullish. but as he think he can accomplish? it seems there are two phases do this. the first stage is to get the meeting to happen. you almost get the slight sense that that has been such a preoccupation that has been such a preoccupation that when you get to the meeting has been thought about rather less. given that it was just six months ago that donald trump was calling him little rocket man and that temp two was calling him a mentally to range coulthard, two was calling him a mentally to

range coultha rd, you two was calling him a mentally to range coulthard, you would have to say it is significant progress and incredible but they are perhaps eminently about to agree to these talks. but then, what is the detail? presumably mike pompeo's visit to north korea was to the ground work. in normal circumstances, and they know we use that phrase is quite a lot when it comes to donald trump, in normal circumstances due would have teams of civil servants, experts going out there to do the d raft experts going out there to do the draft communique so that when donald trump turns up it is broadly shake hands and end you release what was agreed. i suspect that will not be like that because nothing is like that. part of the problem is that there aren't those teams have sherpas, there still isn't as us ambassador in south korea, so the benches and there. what is the concern that you're hearing that the president could get in there and kim jong—un could say something unexpected, make an unexpected

offer, and how does president trump responded and get out of there were about america giving away something they don't want to give away? the president is fascinated by the psychology of this. he believes eyeball to psychology of this. he believes eye ball to eye ball, we psychology of this. he believes eyeball to eyeball, we can sit down and hammer something out. i can get into a position where he will agree. there are agreements like this, they are incredibly complex. there needs to bea are incredibly complex. there needs to be a whole verification procedure. you have to do something but you can save these are the steps we will put in place to prove that happens. i don't think it is like shaking hands on a property deal and to leave the room and your lawyers clean up the loose ends afterwards. it is an enormously high—stakes gamble. the dodger said the meeting wouldn't happen. i think it will happen. now the doubters are saying we need to be organised, clear about the strategy. at the moment, i would say the strategy is not that clear.

thank you forjoining us. a short while ago i spoke to former state department official vali nasr, now dean of thejohns hopkins school of advanced and international studies. vali nasr, what do you rate the chances of success for any potential summit between donald some trump and kimjong—un? i think it depends on the definition of success. if the president thinks that he is going to come out and be able to declare some grand solution to the north korea problem, the chances of that are not very high. but if he goes there with the spirit that you can get the north koreans engaged in some kind of a serious diplomatic negotiation during which they will accept to freeze their activity and that there is some clear parameters around these negotiations, then actually that is a considerable success. say donald trump says to kim jong—un, right, you have to stop any attempts to miniaturise your warheads, which is something they are having trouble doing, how would we actually know and what experience does iran,

for example, give us on this, that they were doing what they were saying? would we have international inspectors full time on the ground in north korea who had access to what was really happening, and would we trust that? well, ultimately, any successful nuclear deal needs intrusive inspections. right. so the iranians agreed to that. there were intrusive inspection capabilities. the north koreans have to agree to that. but even getting to that is not going to happen in the first meeting that the president has with kim jong—un. the best could come out of that is that kim jong—un would agree to talk about that very issue. for countries to even submit to accepting the principle of intrusive inspection is already viewed by them as a concession. at the same time that donald trump is talking about some kind of deal to oversee the denuclearisation of north korea, he is talking about cutting up the deal, throwing out the deal that agreed

to denuclearisation in iran. what message does that send north korea? i think it sends a very negative message because, ultimately, no country wants to sign a treaty, give away a massive asset like a nuclear programme, only for the next president to undo it. i think the one thing that might hold the president's hands from derailing the nuclear deal on 12th may is north korea. above anything else, that has to do with iran itself because the administration is going to understand the importance of linkage, that what you do in one area of the world will directly impact what you are trying to achieve in another area of the world. but we cannot have credibility in our diplomacy if we don't essentially show that the deals that we sign are valid, are going to continue, we're going to stick with them, otherwise we are never going to persuade someone to sign another deal with us. vali nasr, thanks for coming in. thank you. just after i'd finished that

interview, he was saying that the iranians are always asking about north korea, the north koreans are wrong was asking about iran. one thing that kim jong—un does like wrong was asking about iran. one thing that kimjong—un does like is the symbolism of meeting with a world leader like donald trump. this is what the north koreans have just released, a new stamp commemorating kim jong—un‘s meeting with the chinese president. imagine how much she would like to have donald trump standing next to him in the new footer gravity could release. i don't know of that photograph will ever happen, if they would allow that photograph to be released or even taken. kim jong—un would love to it. it is an important week next week. the implication is that the iran deal has on the north korean deal, you start to think about this meeting that emmanuel macron will be

having with the president next week. can he persuade him to stick with the around deal? that will be really important. a lot of people on the side are starting to say, look, emmanuel macron has invested a lot of time on this relationship, but what currency has a habit of it? angela merkel will also be in washington. that is a much more awkward relationship. the last time they had a conversation was on the ist of march about syria and russia, before that they have not spoken for five months. do you know who else is watching the french—american relationship at the moment? the british. they do not like the way he is muscling in on the american government. the queen has appealed to commonwealth leaders to appoint her son prince charles as the next head of the organisation. the role is not hereditary so won't pass automatically to the prince on the queen's death. the leaders of the 53

states who gathered today at buckingham palace for the opening of the biennial summit will make a decision on the succession on friday. the meeting opened with a 53—gun salute, after which the leaders were addressed by the prime minister and the queen. over many decades, this organisation has brought together nations young and old, large and small to celebrate our common bonds and to work to our mutual benefit. there have been difficulties, successes, controversies, but i believe wholeheartedly in the good that the commonwealth can do and, this week, as young people from our many nations gather and contribute their views, our responsibility as leaders is to ensure their voices are heard and to build a commonwealth that we can be proud to hand on to the next generation. 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 carry on the important work started by my father in 1949. dr sue onslow, deputy director of the insitute of commonwealth studiesjoins me now. that was quite an uncharacteristic intervention from the green, wasn't it? and explicit request for prince charles had to take over. there was quite as free shone in the room when she made that comment. the outgoing chair in office had similarly expressed his support for the idea of the prince of wales acting as successof of the prince of wales acting as successor when the queen is no longer with us, which i thought was remarkably choreographed. yes, this

isa remarkably choreographed. yes, this is a discussion which has been going on in the commonwealth for a couple of decades. there have been suggestions that the head should rotate, that the commonwealth doesn't need the visibility of the british monarch as its head. i would say that the general balance of opinion as articulated byjustin trudeau, is that i would expect them to agree that this will be decided. there is a lot of reform coming. a lot of talk about that reform today, because in a post—brexit world becomes more relevant to the uk. if it will reform and become more releva nt, it will reform and become more relevant, what is it have to do? the commonwealth has to keep its visibility up. it has to make sure it is visible and relevant to young people, but not simply to commonwealth youth, which comprise the majority of the populations across the vast commonwealth. it certainly has to emphasise that it

has a clearly identified strategy and are bogus, which are used to having the struggle against apartheid south africa and in supporting development for newly independent states. it needs a clarity of purpose, but it also needs to emphasise its great strengths are not simply at head level or networks of officials, it is the networks between the professionals and broader peoples of the commonwealth which really showed that it the commonwealth which really showed thatitis the commonwealth which really showed that it is an extraordinary tapestry of connectivity and where there are opportunities to work together, and there are silos of excellence. this is where the small intimate —— intergovernmental organisation should draw on that excellence. you we re should draw on that excellence. you were there in attendance. there is the queen with prince charles. it is almost hard to imagine that particular organisation applied her. she is so much a part of it. she has been there for nearly all of its life. what happens to you provide

queen elizabeth? you are right to say that she has known over 180 prime ministers, heads of state from commonwealth realms and innumerable people within the wider organisation. it seems bizarre thought to conceive the commonwealth about her leadership. the commonwealth benefits from the visibility that comes with having the british monarch as its head. the hospitality, the nonpolitical role she has played, and also her careful interventions and genuine interest and validation and support from all of which have been enormously appreciated by heads of government. the other aspect is the knowledge network and a genuine interest she has shown that individual commonwealth countries and their particular difficulties. i think there is a symbiotic relationship between the queen and the commonwealth, but i do believe that the commonwealth can benefit from

the commonwealth can benefit from the british monarch continuing to be at ted, although there is the problem that in some people's mount it continues to identify with the british royalfamily, it continues to identify with the british royal family, and it continues to identify with the british royalfamily, and it is not the british commonwealth. really good to see you, thank you for coming in. the indian prime minister has been much more involved uglier than the commonwealth. some indians are indifferent to the organisation, but maybe it is important for the indians to be involved and maybe it is just indians to be involved and maybe it isjust one indians to be involved and maybe it is just one organisation for the indians were they don't have the interference of the chinese or the russians or the big powers. it could bea russians or the big powers. it could be a big power broker in the commonwealth. i was looking at the family photograph today. look at how many women are in this group, talking about reform? the queen, baroness scotland, the secretary general, and then the prime minister has a significant role. the new

zealand prime minister is also there and there are two other leaders that they are mutually identified, but i ee, they are mutually identified, but i agree, the gender disparity is striking. a lot of middle-aged men there, they're? more than middle—aged, yeah. maybe bringing prince harry along and giving him some kind of role do something for their 60% of inhabitants of the commonwealth you are under 30. the fired director of the fbi jim comey says he'd think twice about sharing sensitive information with donald trump if he were still in the job. mr comey has an axe to grind, but it is still a pretty stunning remark. since the release of his memoir, the man the president calls a "slimeball" has been on a publicity tour that is part personal attack on mr trump and part justification for this own role in getting mr trump elected. mr comey sat down for an exclusive interview with emily maitliss of bbc‘s newsnight programme. if you were still the director of the fbi, would you be saying there is stuff that i do not want to share with the us president right now because he will leak it and that is too dangerous

for our national security? potentially. you'd to be very careful about that because you have an obligation under our constitution and the structure of our government to make sure the president has the information the president needs and so you'd have to... it's hard to answer that in the abstract, but you'd have to think about it in a way you probably wouldn't have with other presidents. with us now is ron christie, former advisor to george w bush. can you imagine any leader of the fbi saying they would not sure sensitive information with the president? that is going a bit far on his part. it is extraordinary. having classified information, you ta ke having classified information, you take on an obligation and certainly if you are a ahead of the fbi, his comment, i it shocking. there has been won two departures of late on the inner circle at the white house, people concerned about who is advising the president. he was asked

about the people around him. i wake up some mornings and read the president is demanding the jailing of private citizens, occasionally me, and so that's one of the reasons i'm confident the answer is there are not adequate people around him to stop impulsive behaviour. and we've actually become numb to it in the united states — our president calling for the imprisonment of private citizens. does he have the power to direct the attorney general or thejustice department to open a case against james comey? he could make a strong case. he could go to somebody in the justice department and say i want you as head of the executive branch to looking to see whether or not temp three has committed crimes. i do agree with mr comey, it is unsettling to have the president to mention him, hillary clinton, other private citizens should be

investigated for potential criminal activity. james comey has been out for about a week now that his book and television appearances. he has some legitimate concerns about the president asking for his loyalty, potentially asking him in a way that was inappropriate to get rid of the investigation into michael flynn, there is some concern that james comey has there. at the fact that he seems to take this incredibly personally. there is a sense in which this book is an attack on the president's personality. this book is nothing more than an axe to grind by the former director of the fbi against the president. james comey love being head of the fbi. he did not want to get fired and he took it personally. this is a man who has never lost hisjob before in public service and he wanted to go after the man that took the job away from him. clearly the white house and rnc had a strategy to take onjames

comey. do you think they still think they need to do that?” comey. do you think they still think they need to do that? i think there isa certain they need to do that? i think there is a certain level, not only on security, but i think they are quite worried about these potential investigations and the one that we have talked about before is what is going on in the southern district of new york. this is an investigation that has nothing to do with russia, it is independent from the special counsel and there are a number of people in the white house, particularly the president, who are worried about where it will go. ron sent me an excellent article in the national review that explains all of this. even i've a few minutes understood it! iwould recommend it. the national review article in what is happening in these investigations. thank you very much, ron christie. international inspectors are yet to enter the syrian town of douma to investigate the suspected chemical weapons attack. the mission was postponed on tuesday after a un security team was shot at. the us defence secretary is suggesting the syrian regime may

have brought about the delays on purpose, to tamper with evidence. the us federal aviation administration has ordered inspections on 220 jet engines that are the same model involved in a blast on a southwest airlines flight which shattered a window, killing a passenger. investigators say a broken fan blade was a possible cause. prosecutors say there is not enough evidence to bring criminal charges against anyone over the death of pop star prince. it follows an investigation into the singer's death from an opioid overdose two years ago. he was found dead at his paisley park complex near minneapolis. the official cause of death was a self—administered overdose of the painkiller fentanyl, but no prescriptions were found. washington is sometimes compared to a circus, so who better to run for congress than a professional clown? after three decades under the big top, that's exactly what steve lough is doing in south carolina.

the democrat may have an uphill battle but he certainly has the experience to juggle the demands of the us capitol. recently he told us why he wants to make this rather unusual career shift. my campaign motto is, ‘aim high, vote lough!'. and for that ‘aim high‘, i'm talking about single—parent health care. let's aim high. let's raise our expectations. and the ‘vote lough‘ is, vote for me, steve lough. the democratic party has become a joke, literally. they are running clowns for congress. i have been a professional circus clown for about 30 years. now i am running for congress because i want to try and make a difference in people's lives. juggling should be a pre—requisite for entering congress, but clown make—up? i hope that i can use my ability from working in the circus to make

people feel at ease so we can come to some agreement. the two biggest issues for me, number one — gun violence. our children are afraid to go to school. we've got to do something. the other big issue for me is single—parent health care. people should not be terrified to go to the doctor because they can't pay for it, right? # i'm proud to be an american where at least i know i'm free #. i think in a kind of sea change moments in america, right? those parkland kids are protesting. people are googling what other countries do all around the world and people are tired of the same old same old. he has got a lot of work to do to

with the job is really about and what congress really does. you take the time term decline and they will say he is a client, you can vote for a clown. i don't think it really matters that he is a client. i would say that is what we have got now! we don't need a clown running for congress, we don't need to be made a joke i did and that is exactly what would happen. so there may be critics out there that say this is some sort of anti—kauffmann style publicity stunt. i will say, no, some sort of anti—kauffmann style publicity stunt. iwill say, no, it is not a publicity stunt. whatever i can do, if i can make you laugh, use any of those skills and you still pay attention to doing something about gun violence and single parent health care and raising the minimum wage for working people, then i win. i think ithink so, i think so, to excavation work everybody loves a clown. do you have

any client pounds you want to share? i was assuming you had about five. it is no small feat. small feat running for congress. it gets pretty intense. this is beyond 100 days from the bbc. coming up for viewers on the bbc news channel and bbc world news: all change in cuba — the country once run exclusively by the castros now has a new leader. we'll be live in havana. a young insider's take on life inside obama's white house — think the west wing meets the office. that's still to come. good evening. for many parts of

england and wales, temperatures have been around five or 10 degrees above what they should be for this time of yea rs, what they should be for this time of years, making of the warmest april day since 1919. st james's years, making of the warmest april day since 1919. stjames's park years, making of the warmest april day since 1919. st james's park saw temperatures above 29 celsius, well into the warmest april day since 1949. st into the warmest april day since 19119. st james's park into the warmest april day since 19119. stjames's park saw temperatures above 29 celsius, well into dvds in fahrenheit. we did have some low cloud around the isle of man, for example, early in the day and that is courtesy of this weather front, albeit a rather weak one. it will still be around as you go through this evening and overnight, so through this evening and overnight, so it does contaminate the picture a little bit, the clear sky picture. orwe do little bit, the clear sky picture. or we do have clear skies temperatures will fall away and we will see seven or 8 degrees in the countryside. more showers in the north—west and low cloud, some mist and fog for the morning rush—hour in the south and east. the main concern

is this sea breeze is developing in southern areas tomorrow, that could drag some of that though cloud onshore. further north there is a greater risk of showers across the scottish highlands and islands. it will be a cooler day across much of scotla nd will be a cooler day across much of scotland temperatures have been into the low 20s today. northern ireland had noticeably cooler feel. the low 20s today. northern ireland had noticeably coolerfeel. we the low 20s today. northern ireland had noticeably cooler feel. we will hold onto the heat, that intense heat. even with the lord tebbit jurors, the sun isjust heat. even with the lord tebbit jurors, the sun is just as strong. there is a strong duty sun index for the day tomorrow. through friday evening and into saturday morning the mist and fog returns. you can see the weather system in the atlantic. this is the troublemaker for the weekend. it will bring to an end the unbroken dry and sunny weather. for many parts there will be showers. it should already be getting going in the south—west with some showers. there will be a lot of dry and warm weather, but as that

blue gets closer in the chances the showers will start to turn heavier, so showers will start to turn heavier, so the potential for some thunder and slow moving downpours through saturday night in the sunday as the weather front finally starts to introduce the pressure air across the country. it will take on the lift in the day in southern and eastern areas. this is beyond 100 days, with me katty kay in washington. christian fraser's in london. our top stories: us president donald trump says that if his planned talks with north korean leader kimjong—un are not fruitful he will walk out. here, queen elizabeth publicly states that she would like her son, prince charles, to succeed her as the head of the commonwealth. coming up in the next half hour: cuba has a new president, and for the first time in over a0 years, his last name is not castro. the war on plastic continues — now straws and cotton buds are to be banned in england to try to reduce marine pollution. let us know your thoughts by using #beyond100days. after 60 years of rule

by the castros, cuba has a new man in charge. the castro brothers have played an outsize role in the struggle between communism and the west, particularly in its struggle with america. as the guard changed on the island today, president trump flew into key west, the closest bit of us territory to cuba. on touchdown, a journalist threw him a question about the changes in havana — which mr trump seems to welcome. in his first speech as president, cuba's new leader, miguel diaz—canel, made a point of reaffirming his commitment both to the communist revolution and to economic reform. the white house will be watching to see which is his real priority. let's cross to will grant, who is live for us in havana. and and historic day in cuba, much

ofa and and historic day in cuba, much of a change does it really mean in terms of policy and relations with the us? well, it is historic. i mean, obviously, any moment in which the castro brothers are no longer in the castro brothers are no longer in the presidency of a country that has relied on them, has had them in that position for almost 60 years is going to be hugely important symbolically. but it might not translate, at least initially, into much change politically in terms of policy. in his acceptance speech, as it were, they sort of confirmation speech, if you like, miguel diaz—canel underlined the direction that the country was set and that he was a guardian of the castro legacy, if you like. so we will not see anything move there, but economically, as you know, there are a series of important questions facing cuba at the moment, and given time he will have to tackle them, with or without raul castro by his side. will, president obama broke many of the taboos when it came to

cuba, he demolished a psychological barrier that they would talk to cuba, but the current president, president trump, has started to roll back some of the work that was done. what sort of relationship do you think cuba and the united states will have going forward? well, in its current place, it is extremely rocky. so miguel diaz—canel inherits an island that is so far removed on one level than the place that was in a very good relationship between president obama and raul castro. that has almost been forgotten now, it is so rocky. we know that the embassy here has been all but closed. it is still open, there are still diplomatic ties, but virtually unstacked. there was this strange episode with 20 or so us diplomats with various ailments that they say are attacks that may or may not have been carried out by the cubans, who roundly denied that. things are at a

very low ebb. what we do know is that president trump made reference to the new president when he was asked about, and we said, we love cuba and want to help them. what exactly that means, we dodge no of course, and quite what mr diaz—canel wa nts to course, and quite what mr diaz—canel wants to do with washington is also very murky still. 0k, thank you very much indeed. many of us take our identity for granted. but what if you don't have the paperwork to prove who you are? this week we've learned of caribbean born britons who arrived in the uk without the right documents and have since been denied jobs and services and even threatened with deportation. the so called windrush case affects a few thousand people. but worldwide, millions of people face similar anxieties. one person who knows all about that is mariemejam. we interviewed her a few months ago. marieme was trafficked from senegal to paris and into prostitution with no documentation to prove her identity. she's been speaking to young people from the commonwealth. welcome back. thank you, thank you

so welcome back. thank you, thank you so much. if you have no formal identity no basic rights, what was that like is a little girl growing up that like is a little girl growing up in paris? it was very hard, and i think it was really difficult not to have an identity, and millions of young girls right now are going through a process where we don't have an identity, it is easy to get traffic. so we didn't have birth certificates, so we were taken from senegal without anybody knowing. so we are not part of the census data, it is terrible. so then what happened is you are in the hands of the traffickers, the people who really don't care about you, so when icame to really don't care about you, so when i came to the uk, you know, i had french citizenship thanks to jacques chirac, but millions of people, refugees, young girls growing up across the world who don't have id cards, and if you don't have them, you can't get a mortgage, you can't pay bills, you can't do anything.

this was the dreadful situation we are facing right now. and we have seen are facing right now. and we have seen its post recently in bangladesh and india, women who have gone across the border with no papers. i saw it when africans were coming across the mediterranean to europe, and the system almost encourages them to get rid of their paperwork, because if they have it, they get sent back to the country they came from. my twin brother now lives in germany, he had a different identity we re germany, he had a different identity were to myself, because we were not recognised by our parents. now he is in germany, he hasn't got a german passport, but it is terrible, you can't do anything, you can't get a mortgage, you can't do nothing, it is terrible that we are not looking at these details, but not having id, at these details, but not having id, a paper which says your name, your birth, everything, it is really terrible, you know. marieme, neither you know your brothers had identity

papers, did it affect you in the same way? is it different for boys and fourgirls, not same way? is it different for boys and four girls, not having the right documentation? it is totally different, boys, for example, most of the refugees can marry, they get married to european women, for example, if they have a chance, but for people like us, we are taken into prostitution, there is nothing we can do, we can't getjobs, so people abuse women in the black market, many people... for example, when i came to the uk, i saw all the people who, for example, had to get cash money, because you don't have id cards, you can't pay your taxes, you don't have anyjust documentation, so it is really difficult. it is a big industry at there, and one of the things we need to think about is dignity. you mentioned that you didn't have

identity papers because you didn't have a birth certificate, why didn't you have a birth certificate? is that common in sunny goal. in the 19705 and 19805, the senegalese government, many african governments did not have, it was not mandatory, and some of the families have like four, five children, and it is very expensive, so four, five children, and it is very expensive, so our four, five children, and it is very expensive, so our parents abandoned us, but many young people in senegal are not part of the system, and when igo are not part of the system, and when i go back to senegal, my mother's domestic gave us our name, that is how i got a passport. for many years, ididn't how i got a passport. for many years, i didn't have something that i could call myself, call my name, have id in my hand. the situation needs to be resolved, and all these people in the uk without having the identity. marieme, thank you very much indeed forjoining us once again. a line of breaking news, sir alan

parker has resigned as international chairman of save the children and stepped down from the boards of save the children's associations. he was criticised, you might rememberfor his handling of the safeguarding issues, and there had been reports of the mishandling of sexual harassment cases, and so he has stepped down after calls from within the organisation for him to do so, siralan the organisation for him to do so, sir alan parker resigning as the international chair. the us senate has voted unanimously to let babies onto the floor of the chamber for the first time ever. the historic change was led by democratic senator for ilinois, tammy duckworth, who's just given birth to her second child. she is the first us senator to have a baby in office. it was pretty clear some senators had reservations about this new policy. among the the questions asked by ms duckworth‘s fellow senators, "will there be an infant dress code?" "can't duckworth just vote from the senate cloakroom, while holding her baby?" a bunch of babies, they shouldn't

even be allowed on the floor if they are saying a bunch of babies at the are saying a bunch of babies at the a bunch of ducklings! ms duckworth appears to be taking their concerns in good humour. here's a tweet she sent out this morning. we should just say that she is the most extraordinary person as well, she lost both her legs, she was an army helicopter pilot, and she is

the first senator, as we said, to have a baby. can ijust say, for the benefit of the uk that we allowed babies into the chamber, a lib dem empey was allowed a baby in the chamber and through the voting lobby four years before the senate! let's go quickly to the senate floor, i think we can go to capitol hill, because tammy duckworth is there at the moment! that is not her! here is a bunch of elderly white guys, probably the same ones who raised the question is about a bunch of babies! do we know the baby is in there? if we had more female senators, we only have 21, these questions would not arise, and there would indeed be a bunch of babies on the senate floor. moving on, i am told! now, we have spent three—quarters of an hour, and we have not christian won't rest unless we talk about it. it was a scorcher here in the uk,

the hottest april day for 70 years. 29.1 degrees here in the capital, 84.1; fahrenheit, hotter than athens. the last time it was this hot, 19118, pee wee hunt were top of the uk charts with twelfth street rag. are you serious?! ragtime music plays that was at number one for seven

weeks, quite right too! i went to see chris fawkes from the weather team, he says there is this high pressure over the uk that is sucking in weather from the continent, hot weather from germany, and in weather from the continent, hot weatherfrom germany, and a downward pressure on the air which heats it up. isaid, pressure on the air which heats it up. i said, is pressure on the air which heats it up. isaid, is it pressure on the air which heats it up. i said, is it going to last through the weekend ? up. i said, is it going to last through the weekend? next week, he said, it is changeable, which is weather team speak for rubbish. it is going to rain, april showers, he says. you are such a nerd when it comes to things like weather.|j says. you are such a nerd when it comes to things like weather. i have got a pink ticket this weekend, i am away with the aladdin wales, the best weekend of the year, how about that?! -- best weekend of the year, how about that?! —— with the lads in wales. best weekend of the year, how about that?! —— with the lads in waleslj think we have a photograph of the view from my window, april in washington should be hot and sunny, it is pouring with rain and freezing cold, iam it is pouring with rain and freezing cold, i am still getting out my woolly coats. it is so unfair, we

will never do a weather story again, until i have better weather than you do! this is beyond 100 days. still to come, from not knowing what potus means to almost killing america's first dog by accident, we hear from a former obama staffer about life inside the white house. here in the uk, 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, hosting shows like supermarket sweep and pets win prizes, 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. our entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba looks back at his life. and here's the star of the show... dale winton! thank you, thank you... the shows weren't highbrow, but for millions of viewers... their entertainment factor was huge. hello, gorgeous shoppers. supermarket sweep burst onto our screens 25 years ago

and gave us a new tv star. dale winton had the gift of making the unlikeliest concepts unmissable viewing. and he was rarely off our screens for the next two decades. he was such a lively man, oozing joie 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. 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. in a channel 5 show that saw him leaving the uk to explore america, his easy—going charm still as evident as ever. dale winton — funny, friendly and fabulous. plastic straws, drinks stirrers and cotton buds could be banned from sale in england by the end of the year. announcing a consultation on the possible ban, the government said 8.5 billion plastic straws were thrown away in the uk annually. one of the aims of today's move is to cut global marine pollution so our science editor, david shukman, has been to indonesia to see the scale of the plastics problem. soldiers hack away at a dense mass of plastic waste.

it's hard to believe, but this is actually a river, and they're trying to clear it up. you can just see the water, underneath all the bags, containers and bottles. this is bandung, one of many indonesian cities choking on so much waste that the army has been called in. for the military, plastic is a new and strange kind of enemy. this looks like a rubbish dump, it certainly smells like one, but what's striking is that this massive accumulation of plastic is happening on indonesia's rivers, despite the country making a huge effort — for several years now — to tackle it. itjust shows you the staggering scale of the problem. all the time that the soldiers are at work, the flow of the river brings yet more more plastic waste. it's a constant struggle for the officials in charge. do you think you are winning this battle against the plastic? i think so.

yeah, we have to win. if not it is dangerous for our lives. but how long will it take you? i'm sure within ten years. within ten years you could clear everything up? yes. while we are filming, the soldiers realise they don't have enough trucks to carry away the waste, so they use a diggerjust to push it downstream. it's not exactly a long—term solution, and the plastic floats away to become someone else's problem. and part of that problem is that this landfill site is the only one bandung has. people rush to be first to search the rubbish. it's incredibly risky — dodging an excavator.

someone died here recently, but ironically they are after the very things that most people want to get rid of — a plastic bottle. little by little, the message is spreading that recycling can create an income. in a village outside the city, the scheme is tiny, but it's one of many. and separating the different types of plastic earns a higher price. experts say that a culture ofjust throwing things away is now changing. i think particularly the young people here are very much aware of that they don't want to be part of this problem, and they want to have a future that is at least in a plastic free environment. they are working hard for that. but a view from the air reveals just how massive the challenge is. plastic dumped close to the river soon finds its way into the water and then downstream.

and down at the coast, a fishing village looks like it's drowning in plastic. the children here are growing up surrounded by the stuff. it's depressing evidence of just how much still needs to be done to clear it up. so what begins as a local problem of failing to handle waste turns into a global one as the oceans fill with plastic. david shukman, bbc news, indonesia. those pictures are staggering, there are countries around the world that are countries around the world that are taken to ban plastic bags, i know that we have had this conversation before, a big issue in the uk, getting a lot of attention. sometimes there are issues where the cultural gap between europe and america really strikes me, europe seems to be had on certain issues, it was in the early 2000s on global warming, and! it was in the early 2000s on global warming, and i think it is a head of america on plastics, there is no

similar drive there that i am hearing being talked about amongst friends, in supermarkets, banning cotton buds. the recycling efforts here, domestically, are pretty limited, pretty marginal, it is not something that is a big topic of conversation. i expect it will get there. adam whitty cotton buds are used in the uk each year? 13.2 billion, more than any european country. —— how many. we have the clea nest yea rs! we all know that working in the white house can be both one of the most stressful and rewarding jobs there is. but like any other workplace, it comes with its fair share of humour and yes, of course, the drama. pat cunnane spent six years in the obama white house, working his way up the ranks to become one of the president's senior writers and a deputy director of messaging. he shares his tales in the new book west winging it and is with us now from new york. thank you forjoining us, i love the

book, your parentsjoin thank you forjoining us, i love the book, your parents join you thank you forjoining us, i love the book, your parentsjoin you on thank you forjoining us, i love the book, your parents join you on your falls to day at the white house, i would do the same! how was it compared to what you expected? —— joined you on your first day. well, i... it was weird, when i first started in the west wing, it is much smaller than you think, much less grand, the hallways are cramped, and i kind ofjust didn't know what to think and! i kind ofjust didn't know what to think and i made a fool out of myself over and over. i thought, this is not going to last! and then somehow i ended up staying until the end of his term. you know, beer and a half ago. i have to jump straight in there, you almost killed dog. did you?! welcome to defend myself, yes, we had, you know, these chocolate snacks that we would get from the

white house mess, and i made the mistake of throwing it and my desk, and bo got a little bit too close for comfort, i really did not want to be the person to kill america's first dog, my book would have been significantly different, yeah. it was a close call. what about the language of the west wing? did the acronyms confuse you? yes! that made for arguably one of my most embarrassing moments, on my very first day, i had heard an acronym thrown around over and over, and i was reeling from already embarrassing myself, because i had accidentally clicked on a justin bieber pop—up add on my computer, and he was singing throughout the office, so i wanted to prove to the team that i was engaged and thoughtful and there to learn. so there was this term, and i could have googled it, maybe in hindsight i should have, but instead i turned

to my boss and said, hey, what is a potus? and the room just went silent. no! and in that moment, i knew that stupid questions do exist andl knew that stupid questions do exist and ijust asked one on my first day at the white house. of course, potus stands for president of the united states, yes. can you tell me a secret? i have only seen obama wa nts, secret? i have only seen obama wants, he is very laid back, does he ever get door kicking, decibel screaming mad, really mad? so i never saw anything like that. i... what was interesting to me, part of the reason i wanted to write a book, i got to know him first like everybody else, from 1000 miles away as the most famous man in the world, this wonderful rhetorically gifted speaker, then i got thrust into the we st speaker, then i got thrust into the west wing and sat at this little table about 30 feet from the oval office and 30 feet from the briefing room, so office and 30 feet from the briefing room , so you office and 30 feet from the briefing room, so you got to see a very different side of him. it is so easy

to forget that he is a human, a normal guy behind the scenes, just working to get stuff done. i saw him get frustrated, but not often. he used to get knocked for being like spock, unemotional, but most of the time he wasjust spock, unemotional, but most of the time he was just focus.|j spock, unemotional, but most of the time he wasjust focus. i am tempted to ask how on earth you hang on to thejob, to ask how on earth you hang on to the job, because so far you have just given us things that probably would have got you fired!m just given us things that probably would have got you fired! it is a good question! we will get into that offline! you talk about how it is a humbling experience, but you think people are lying about that? so this is something i write about towards the end of the book, everybody says that walking into the white house is the most humbling thing you can do. and that is, frankly, not true. walking into the white house is this huge ego boost that pumps you up. but the thing that was crucial to me, and the way i ended the book, is

the truth is that walking out of the white house is really humbling. you walk out and you suddenly realise that you are not allowed to walk back into those iron gates on pennsylvania avenue, you may never be allowed to do again, and it is a reminderof the be allowed to do again, and it is a reminder of the unique and singular privilege that it is to work at the white house, from a low—level like me, all the way up to my bosses and ultimately to the president behind the desk. so it is truly a very humbling experience, walking out of the white house. good to talk to, best of luck with the book, it is called west winging it, i like the title! i am going to write my memoirs with that title, christian winging it! and he will talk about how humbling it is working on this programme! first chapter! see unix week. —— see you next week. good evening. for many parts of england and wales, temperatures have been around five or 10 degrees above what they should be for this time of years, making it the warmest

april day since 1919. st james's park saw temperatures above 29 celsius, into the 80s in fahrenheit. we did have some low cloud around the isle of man, for example, early in the day, and that is courtesy of this weather front, albeit a rather weak one. it will still be around as you go through this evening and overnight, so it does contaminate the picture a little bit, the clear sky picture. we do have clear skies, temperatures will fall away and we will see seven or 8 degrees in the countryside. more showers in the north—west and low cloud, some mist and fog for the morning rush—hour in the south and east. the main concern is this sea breeze is developing in southern areas tomorrow, that could drag some of that low cloud onshore. further north there is a greater risk of showers across the scottish highlands and islands.

it will be a cooler day across much of scotland, temperatures have been into the low 20s today. northern ireland had a noticeably cooler feel. we will hold onto the heat, that intense heat. even with the lower temperatures, the sun is just as strong. there is a strong uv index for the day tomorrow. through friday evening and into saturday morning the mist and fog returns. you can see the weather system in the atlantic. this is the troublemaker for the weekend. it will bring to an end the unbroken dry and sunny weather. for many parts, there will be showers. it should already be getting going in the south—west with some showers. there will be a lot of dry and warm weather, but as that blue gets closer in, the showers will start to turn heavier, so the potential for some thunder and slow moving downpours through saturday night into sunday as the weather front finally starts

to introduce the fresher air across the country. it will take until late in the day in southern and eastern areas. this is bbc news. i'm rebecca jones. the headlines at 8pm. the queen tells dozens of world leaders, that she'd like prince charles to succeed 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 should carry on the important work started by my father in 19119. an attempt to clean up plastic pollution, as the government sets out plans to ban billions of plastic straws, cotton buds and drinks stirrers. the home office say they're now looking into more than 200 windrush cases.

debenhams says that the recent cold weather is to blame for a decline in sales and a steep fall in profits.