tonight at five, thousands of calls to a breast cancer helpline in 2a hours. public health england offered the advice service, after it emerged that hundreds of women may have died of the disease because they were not invited for a final routine check. since we opened this morning at breast cancer care we had a0 calls in the first 15 minutes and it doesn't seem to be slowing down. people are calling about are they affected, because people aren't quite clear whether they are affected or not. we'll be talking to a daughter whose mum died of breast cancer without being screened. the other main stories on bbc news at 5. a member of president trump's legal team says mr trump personally reimbursed the payment used to buy stormy daniels‘ silence, despite his earlier claim he never knew about it. two teenagers have gone on trial accused of feuding a hideout and a plot to kill peoples and teachers at a school in north yorkshire. nearly 100 people have died and scores more injured in fierce dust storms in northern india. and the largest glasshouse of its period in the world

reopens at kew gardens after a five—year restoration. good evening and welcome to the bbc news at 5, i'm jane hill. a helpline set up to address concerns about breast cancer screening has taken more than 5,000 calls in 2a hours. public health england offered the advice service after it emerged that hundreds of women may have died of the disease because they weren't invited for a final routine check. the error, dating back to 2009, has meant that around 450,000 women aged between 68 and 71 could be affected. the think—tank the ippr,

the institute for public policy research has questioned why a fall in the number of women being screened did not ring an alarm bell. here's our health correspondent catherine burns. social care... yesterday lunchtime, the health and social care secretary made the announcement. i wish to inform the house of a serious failure that has come to light. in the national breast screening programme in england. have you had a mammogram done before? 450,000 women were not invited to the final mammogram, 309,000 are still alive, some may be perfectly healthy, others may have breast cancer or be facing up to a terminal diagnosis. since we opened this morning at breast cancer care, we had a0 calls in the first 15 minutes and it is not slowing down. people are calling about, are they affected? people are not clear. other women have e—mailed the bbc about this. 0ne says she's 69 and has waited more than three years for a mammogram, even though she has had breast cancer before.

another, "i will be 70 next year and i have not received a screening call for at least eight years." there may well be good explanations for these women, but they and many others who could have been affected will be looking for answers now. so, a bit more of a stretch. women are supposed to be invited for the first mammogram sometime between their 50th birthday and turning 53. then every three years until they are 70. this error, being blamed on administrative incompetence, started in 2009 and did not come to light until earlier this year. meanwhile, the proportion of women getting screened for breast cancer was going down and it is now at a 10—year low, fallen from almost 74% to just over 71% in a decade. this could be for a number of reasons but some are asking why no one examined the data more closely. public health england should have drilled down into the data to understand what was going on and it should have noticed there were a large number of women missing from the baseline that they were analysing.

public health england says the breast cancer screening programme is world class and that they are devastated this has happened. the screening percentage, that will bea the screening percentage, that will be a percentage of the number of women who have been invited and not accepted or not come forward to actually take the screen forward. it won't include women who have not been invited. so the numbers are not comparing, they are not directly comparable. now the focus is on the women who missed invitations. public health england says 5,000 have called a hotline so far. catherine burns, bbc news. helen baczkowska's mother ann died in 2012, two years after being diagnosed with stage breast cancer. she'd not had a mammogram for several years before her diagnosis. helen's in our norwich studio.

good evening to you. hi. thank you so good evening to you. hi. thank you so much for being willing to talk to us. so much for being willing to talk to us. if i am correct your mother died when she was only 72 years old. she was 73. did she questioned whether she should have had a mammogram? was that something that she was aware of? yet. when she got her initial diagnosis, the diagnosis was actually in 2012 when she died two yea rs actually in 2012 when she died two years later. when she had the diagnosis we did have some lengthy conversations and she was saying "i haven't been called for a mammogram for quite a long time". she was waiting for it. didn't know why she hadn't been called. did she not feel able to phone up and questioned this or query this? wouldn't have occurred to her to that?”

or query this? wouldn't have occurred to her to that? i think up until that point she had done what most of us would do and put her trust in the system for somebody to contact her. we all know that when we are due for screenings or checkups, if we are expecting to be contacted, you almost don't think about it and you cannot remember was it two or three years, i cannot quite recall. and i think she was just sort of waiting. then when she had the diagnosis and we set well, wasn't this picked up earlier, she said actually, it has been a long time. i don't think i was called for that one at 70. and so when this news emerged over the last few days, when you first heard this huge failure what on earth whether your mind at that point? i think at first i couldn't quite believe it. and then as the time i started to unfold it also fell into place that she could be one of these women. i mean, she might not be, i might be wrong.

but it did feel very much like it all made some sort of sense. by the time she had her diagnosis the cancer was quite well advanced. there wasn't really that much they could do for her. that is an extraordinary difficult thing for you as our daughter to have to live with. was it something that your mother talked about at the time? yes. but of course until i heard the news last night about his problem, i hadn't really put the two and two things together. and i think when you lose somebody and when they have been terminally ill for a couple of yea rs been terminally ill for a couple of years you are so been terminally ill for a couple of years you are so caught up in all that that entails that you don't necessarily think about the bigger picture. have you thought over the last week or so about what your mother would say about a failure on this level, whether it turns out to be computers, humans, however it turns out to have happened? what

we re turns out to have happened? what were to make of it? i think she would be so annoyed that this system has let so many women down and of course all the women out there who are now wondering what on earth is going on for them. my heartjust goes out to them. it really does. going on for them. my heartjust goes out to them. it really doesm is really good of you to speak to us. is really good of you to speak to us. we wish you all the very best. it is very good of you to talk to us. it is very good of you to talk to us. thank you for your time. we appreciate that. thank you very much indeed. let's pick up on that. our health correspondent nick triggle is with me. that is one single story. it is heartbreaking to hear it. i suppose a medic would say we don't know whether helen, what the outcome might have been patchy have that earlier mammogram. but these are the sort of stories we are going to be hearing more and more now. they are peoples lives. yes. the official phone line, helpline has had over 5000 calls. is rising every minute. charities we have spoken to have their own helpline say they say they have been inundated with calls from

people who are worried, whether they have missed a screening test, whether they are due one. it's only confusion and concern at the moment. remind anyone watching if they have concerns or concerns about a relative again it is probably worth reminding people what the advice is now and what people should be doing. yes indeed. the government wants anyone who has missed a screening appointment to be offered one. women over the age of 70 can request a screening as well. they can request a mammogram even though they are not in the official age range. and the government has promised an investigation into this and they will have answers about what went wrong within six months. that is so interesting, when you say someone can request one. because the venue is into hell in there and she tells you that well, it went to her mother's mind but you don't make a fuss. and you trust the system. you expect the letter to pop onto your doormat every few years and you just expect it to work that way. you do,

and the people that said again today you don't remember exactly when you have that last check up on that mammogram. and you assume that you will get that reminder in the post. really what has happened here with this problem since 2009, some women have had received that last screening letter they should have done and were expecting to. for now, thank you very much. well this is the helpline number if you believe you've been affected: the point of this helpline is not to phone your gp. rather than calling your gp, phone the breast screening helpline on 0800169 2692. if we have any further developments on that we will keep you up—to—date with that story. but thousands of phone calls already in 2a hours reported. president trump appears to have confirmed that he personally repaid his lawyer money that he'd

given to a porn actress during the 2016 election campaign, after she alleged having a brief relationship with donald trump. the president denies an affair, and had earlier said he knew nothing about any payments. his lawyer michael cohen paid stormy daniels $130,000 as part of a non—disclosure agreement. 0ur washington correspondent chris buckler reports. thank you very much. the truth of what happened between the president and the porn star continues to be the source of much dispute. donald trump denies ever having a sexual encounter with the adult film actress stormy daniels, but there are some very contradictory messages when it comes to legal affairs about the alleged affair. did you know about the $130,000 payment to stormy daniels? on board air force one last month, donald trump insisted he knew nothing of the $130,000 payment made by his personal lawyer, michael cohen, to stormy daniels. do you know where he got the money to make a payment? no, i don't know.

he directed all questions to mr cohen whose office was raided a few weeks ago as part of a criminal investigation into his business dealings. in the meantime, donald trump has been building up a new legal team which includes a former mayor of new york, rudy giuliani. appearing on fox news last night, he seemed to contradict his client and suggested the president did know about the cash. that money was not campaign money. sorry, i'm giving you a fact now that you don't know. it's not campaign money. no campaign finance violation. so, they funnelled through a law firm? funnelled through a law firm and the president repaid it. the money intended to keep stormy daniels quiet about her claims was payed in the days just before the 2016 presidential election and the intention of this new statement seems to have been to try to dismiss claims that the payment could have broken campaign finance rules. but it has led to new questions, particularly as rudy giuliani said

it was repaid, disguised as legal fees. it is clear that donald trump is continuing to struggle with that stormy issue, a president still looking for some protection from those allegations of the past. chris chris buckler, bbc news, washington. 0ur correspondent, gary 0'donoghue is in washington. what is the latest? does anyone understand what was actually done here? well, it is a fact that stormy daniels was paid $130,000 before the general election to keep quiet. it isa general election to keep quiet. it is a fact that that was paid by president trump's arsenal lawyer michael cohen at the time. he said previously that he didn't get that money back and the president said revis lee that he didn't know anything about the payment at all. it now turns out that the president

was paying back that money via a monthly repayment plan. shall we put it like that? of $35,000 a month during last year. the reason they wa nt to during last year. the reason they want to be clear that this didn't come from the trump campaign or the trump organisation is that they want to make, shut down the idea that this could have been seen as an illegal campaign contribution at the time before the election. that is the thing they are worried about there. but it leaves open this whole idea now that the president having denied any knowledge of this money and the payment being made is not effectively through his new lawyer, rudy giuliani, saying "yeah, actually there was money paid to her and here was the way i paid it back postal. and the fact that he had denied it. for a lot of politicians that will be extraordinarily damaging. we are in a different well, aren't we, with donald trump?

we have known that for a long time. and a lot of his support factors in this kind of information about him and it factors in this idea that he is not always necessarily very straightforward with the facts. and a lot of them know that and they believe that that is ok. whether or not this sways anyone in terms of the vultures, i would very much doubt. but of course, the bigger and wider and more important point here is that the investigation that is going on by robert mueller into the collusion or the alleged collusion with russia, other criminal investigations associated with that potentially objection ofjustice that the president may have to a nswer that the president may have to answer questions on, those are going to be bigger questions. whether or not he slept with a porn star and whether or not he paid $130,000 for her to keep quiet is probably not the thing that is going to cost him the thing that is going to cost him the most trouble in the long run. for now, thank you very much. in washington. a woman accused of throwing acid over her former partner has been

describing the night of the alleged attack in court. berlinah wallace is accused of scarring mark van dongen so badly that he ended his life at a belgian clinic last year. she denies all the charges. 0ur correspondent, jon kay, is outside bristol crown court. explain what more the jury has been hearing. this is berlinah wallace' version of events of what happened that night in the flat here in bristol. she said they had and argument and mark van dongen was lying on the bed injust his boxer shorts and as the argument continued, she said she picked up a glass of what she thought was water and threw it over him. she said she didn't realise that that class actually contained sulphuric acid. she said she was so, so shocked when she saw what she thought was then smoke rising when he started complaining of the pain i might be burning into his skin. asked how

sulphuric acid could have ended up in the glass she said that mark van dongen himself had poured it into its and have been encouraging her, berlinah wallace, to drink it with her nightly medication. she said she was devastated to know that the burns that caused such terrible injuries, that he had been left there alike and partly blinded, that he'd then ended up taking his life and that euthanasia clinic in belgium two years later. she said she was so sad, she was so sorry that she had lost her best friend and that she was in love with him forever. she is then being cross examined by the prosecution who asked her why she had ought sulphuric acid specifically, searching for those words sulphuric acid on the internetjust three weeks before that night of the alleged attack. she said she wasn't sure and she couldn't remember, but she had been looking to buy something to cling the trains with. they also asked her why she hadn't called for an ambulance immediately and she said she couldn't think straight, she was shocked, her legs

had turned to jelly. she said that the blood had drained from her, she couldn't understand what was going on. she denies during the acid, she denies murder and she will continue to be cross examined here tomorrow morning. thank you at bristol crown court. this is bbc news at 5, the headlines: 5,000 calls are made to a helpline since it was revealed that a computer error led to thousands of women in england missing out on invitations to routine breast cancer screening. president trump has confirmed that he reimbursed his attorney michael cohen for buying the silence of a porn star about an alleged affair. two teenagers have gone on trial accused of using a hideout in a plot to kill pupils and teachers at a school in northallerton in north yorkshire. and in the sport arsene wenger says he wants to finish his arsenal of story well by reaching the europa league final. they are in spain tonight to take on atletico madrid

and the second leg of the semis tonight. 1—1 after the first leg. else why the full time world champion john higgins is else why the full time world championjohn higgins is making his experience count. 5—3 at the crucible. dutch writer has won the opening stage of the tour to yorkshire. the man's rage which is four stages long is also under way. —— the man's race. i will be back with more stories and the details on those later. mike, thank you very much. see you a little bit later. a report on alleged "institutional abuse" at a mental health ward in denbighshire has found no evidence to support the claims. an inquiry in 2015 was told by relatives that conditions on the tawel van ward near rhyl were like a "zoo". but a new investigation has concluded that the evidence it relied on was incomplete. tomos morgan reports. she was vibrant, she was kind, considerate. you always think your own mother is the best. for six weeks in 2012,

joyce elizabeth dickerty was cared for at the tawel van ward at glan clwyd hospital, north wales. a mental health ward with elderly dementia patients. but from the outset, her children, christine and philip, had concerns about their mother. her bed was by the door and there were lots of beds piled up on top of each other, and a curtain ripped down that was supposed to be hiding, so it was like a store room. she deteriorated quicker than expected, and joyce's family were called in one evening as they were told the mother was about to die. and their experience of what happened that evening still shocks them now, almost six years on. it was chaos. there were people outside with underpants on their head running around naked. they sat outside our door, banging the door. trying to get in. and of course we were talking about it, how bad it was, not realising at the time that my mum could probably hear all this. she was probably worried about us on her deathbed. after serious concerns were raised a year later, the ward closed and the first report

launched immediately. it detailed some of the most serious claims of mistreatment ever made within the nhs in wales. today's report by independent health consultants the health and care advisory service is the most comprehensive investigation into the tawel fan ward. it found no evidence of institutional abuse and said the previous evidence in previous reviews was misinterpreted and taken out of context. it goes on to say that overall there was a good standard of care. it does say there were problems across some services and the government at the health board prevented a robust approach to patient safety. i accept that people will find this report a challenge to read, but this whole process has been very, very difficult. but i do hope that when they have got the chance to read it in depth they will find, as i believe it to be, that this was a really well evidenced—based, substantial piece of investigation. the trust and betsi cadwaladr health

board has been damaged in the eyes of some families, like philip and christine. with others feeling that this review has been a whitewash. two teenagers have gone on trial accused of plotting to kill pupils and teachers at a school in northallerton in north yorkshire. the prosecution claim the boys were obsessed with the columbine high school massacre and wanted to recreate it in their town. we can join our correspondent dan johnson who's outside leeds crown court. bring us up—to—date with what the court has been told, dan. we just got through the prosecution opening today. the initial summary of exactly what the prosecution feels is the case against these boys, what they are actually accused of. two things that stood out from today's hearing is the ages of these defenders. 0verjust1li hearing is the ages of these defenders. 0ver just 1a at the hearing is the ages of these defenders. 0verjust1li at the time this attack was said to have been plotted. and the violent nature of

what they were actually planning to carry out. the prosecution alleges that they were obsessed with the killers behind the column by massacre which took lace at a high school in the united states back in 1999. that is before these boys were even born and yet they had researched for hours on the internet, reading about those killers and even getting hold of the same sort of clothing and dressing, that they look into the same sorts of weapons and explosives that they had used back in 1999 and that attack to kill pupil and teachers. and it said that they wanted to carry out a similar sort of attack at their school in north yorkshire. we also heard about the diary entries that one of the boys had made. he talked about everybody being filthy and deserving to be shot, including me he wrote. he put "i'll play the role of god and decide who i let live and die". "humans are a vile species which needs to die out. the human condition is a curse and a heard of. close q u ote

condition is a curse and a heard of. close quote on another page he described his life as a miserable existence. it am a cop scenes, he said "death is truly the only freedom. i am constantly at war with myself, a cold, bloody twisted war. i hate myself and want to die". the prosecution says this is all evidence of the dark thoughts that this boy was having and that he had put into planning with the other young man who was working alongside him. it is that board who eventually confided to a teacher what was being planned and that is when police got involved and actually uncover the extent of their preparations. they found a hideout where the boys had put some materials that would have helped them make a bomb. they'd also been researching exactly how to do that. one of the boys had also carved into the back of his girlfriend his name, he is also charged with wounding that girl i'm planning to harm her parents, partly so planning to harm her parents, partly so that he could get hold of her father's shotguns for part of this assault. this is a really sensitive complex case, the ages of the boys, the identities of the boys cannot be disclosed so details about their

school and the other witnesses who will have to come here to get evidence are also being protected. and the boys say that this was all just a fantasy that would never actually have been carried out. there is a lot of evidence to be heard here at leeds crown court over the next few weeks. dan johnson in leeds, thank you. polling stations across england are open for voting in local elections, in the biggest test of public opinion since the general election 11 months ago. the prime minister voted this morning in london as did labour leaderjeremy corbyn. most councils will be counting votes overnight but others will declare results during the day on friday. and you can watch coverage of the local elections results from 11pm here on the bbc news channel. police investigating the disappearance of a british toddler in germany 36 years ago are examining a river bank in the town of paderborn. katrice lee, who was two,

went missing in 1981 during a trip with her mother to the supermarket. 0ur correspondentjenny hill has sent this report from paderborn. 0n the banks of a german river, a slow, painful search begins. underthe mud, clues, perhaps, to a case which has baffled detectives for decades. katrice lee disappeared during a supermarket trip with her mother. it was her second birthday. the family lived on the nearby british army base. despite the huge search — soldiers, police volunteers — she was never found. i am 100% certain that katrice was abducted, either sold for profit to a childless couple, or taken by a childless couple, and, yes, she is quite possibly speak another language, and equally so, i could be a grandparent, i'm sat here, and i don't know it. over the years, artists' impressions of the girl growing up. detectives think it is

possible katrice is alive, although unaware of her background. this is what they think she would look like today. the police admit they made mistakes during their original investigation. they have now reanalysed old evidence and it is that, they say, which has led them right here to this spot... and to a search which opens old wounds but aims, finally, to expose the truth. jenny hill, bbc news, paderborn. it's the largest victorian glasshouse in the world. the temperate house in kew gardens is a very special place for horticulturalists. the house has been closed for the last five years for restoration, but will reopen to the public this weekend. 0ur science correspondent victoria gill reports. five years, 15,000 panes of glass, and more than 5000 litres of paint. the restoration of the world's

largest victorian glasshouse has been a labour of love. but when i had a sneak previewjust two and a half weeks ago this was still very much a building site. thanks to the inclement weather this project has been set back weeks. it is now a real race against time, but in just over a fortnight the temperate house will open to the public. it's already home to half of the 10,000 plants that will be housed here. the garden inside this vast greenhouse is a snapshot of the life that grows in temperate climates all around the world and for many of these plants this is their only refuge. we've got a real importantjob to keep these things going. some plants that are may be down to a few individuals in the wild — a wild fire, an earthquake, and they are gone. so we really need the people to understand the importance of these things. among the greenery are species that harbour natural medicines, now used to treat potentially lethal diseases, including malaria.

i nickname it the reclining buddha. in his first visit here sir david attenborough highlighted the importance of kew‘s scientific work, learning how to protect plants from which we still have so much to learn. it's here that people can study these consequences of not only diseases but invasive plants, plants that can come in and be more vigorous than some of our native plants and drive them to extinction. so that kind of ecological botanical knowledge is of extreme importance and this is one of the great centres for it. for the first time since it was opened in 1863, the house was stripped back to bare metal. every part of its structure has been examined in detail. this was a painstaking refurbishment of a national treasure. the temperate house is the largest surviving victorian glasshouse in the world. so for kew this was a hugely important project, both to bring these plants back to their home

but also to restore this building back to its beauty and its absolute architectural brilliance. open to the public once again, this great building is fulfilling its original victorian purpose — providing a home for some of the world's most precious plants. victoria gill, bbc news, kew gardens. so that opens to the public on saturday. it is a bank holiday weekend. you want to know what the weather is doing. hello, chris. the good news is you don't need to be set in a greenhouse to get warmer air. temperatures will reach in the mid—20s as we had to the second half of the weekend. today has been a decent day as well. this is what the garden looked like earlier this afternoon with a bit of high cloud coming in across the skies in hertfordshire, just making that sunshine a bit on the hazy sighted. as we go through the night—time tonight we will see a little bit more cloud spreading in across the uk. we creep some clearer skies, a

bit of milder nights. temperatures down to seven and 9 degrees for most parts, a big will across the far east of england. tomorrow, a lot of dry weather. that said there will be a few passing showers across west of scotla nd a few passing showers across west of scotland from time to time and i think enough speed and drizzle around the bristol channel for a time in the morning. the cloud will tend to come and go with some bright sunny spells but overall a bit more cloud around across england today. temperatures 19 celsius in london, not bad at it is said to get much warmer as we go not bad at it is said to get much warmer as we go to not bad at it is said to get much warmer as we go to be bank holiday weekend with highs reaching the mid—20s. that is your weather. this is bbc news — the headlines: 5,000 calls are made to a helpline since it was revealed that a computer error led to thousands of women in england missing out on invitations to routine breast cancer screening. president trump has confirmed that he reimbursed his attorney, michael cohen, for money he paid to buy the silence of a porn star

about an alleged affair. two teenagers have gone on trial accused of using a hideout in a plot to kill pupils and teachers at a school in northallerton in north yorkshire. sport now, here's mike bushell. good evening. arsene wenger is hoping for a fairy tale ending to his arsenal career. they're in spain tonight, for the second leg of their semi—final against atletico madrid. it's finely poised this one at 1—1, but wenger and arsenal know progress to the final will give him the chance to win silverware, in his final match in charge. 0ur sports correspondentjoe wilson is in the spanish capital. beneath madrid's blue skies, a passing tourist suddenly meets a bear. hunting fruit from a tree — strawberries, they say. the medieval symbol is also the badge of the city's

hungry football club, atletico. the real madrid side, for these supporters, certainly. stop for a selfie? bit busy. these atletico players took all that arsenal threw at them in london last week and drew the first leg 1—1. that creates confidence. tonight, the arsene wenger farewell tour will reach a crescendo here or fall flat. 0n the eve of this match, do you actually feel nervous? there's always a part of tension, i would say, tension, desire to win and, you know, as well, with the experience i have, an uncertainty about football. i want to finish with this love story well. over the past two decades, arsene wenger has led arsenal's supporters all over the continent, but never to a european trophy. so with this semifinal at 1—1 going into the second leg,

the question in the plaza mayor is whether those arsenal fans still believe. we believe, we believe! at the end of the day, if you are an old romantic, our name could the trophy and that could be a great way for wenger to go out and all the fans that have given him the stick, anyone would say he deserves to go out this way. i remember in my lifetime, sometimes, we were mid—table. not obviously in the premiership, division 1, but... so, for me, wenger has been a dream. composure will be crucial for visitors tonight, keep your head when others lose theirs. watch out. at their new home ground, atletico have conceded just four goals all season in the league. here, so many come hunting and find nothing. india captain, virat kohli, has agreed

a deal to play for surrey, for the month ofjune. kohli, who is ranked number two, in the test rankings, will feature in three county championship matches and at least three 0ne—day cup games. as a result, he'll miss india's test match with afghanistan. john higgins' search for a fifth world snooker title and continues at the crucible. the four—time champion, is making his experience count in his semi final against kyren wilson. he started the day well, taking a 3—0 lead, but wilson, who's taking part in his first world semi final, has reduced the arrears a little. higgins leads 5—3, with the pair resuming tomorrow. at 7pm this evening, the second semi final starts between barry hawkins and mark williams. the men's tour de yorkshire should reach its conclusion, in the next half an hour or so, but the first stage, of the women's race is over. the netherlands kirsten vild, edged this bunch sprint at the line. she was the favourite prior to the stage — from beverley to doncaster — and had too much power for everyone else. britain's alice barnes

finished third. we'll have more for you in sportsday at half past six. the bbc‘s chief international correspondent lyse doucet has made a documentary telling stories from the war in syria, if from the perspective of people who've lived through it: protestors, politicians, fighters, and world leaders. called syria: the world's war, the two—part series explores how a series of peaceful protests for change spiralled into unspeakable savagery; and how despite that president bashar al—assad has managed to survive. lyse has followed the conflict from the start — i'll be speaking to her in a moment, but first a clip from the film. syria — long celebrated for its breathtaking beauty. for centuries people of different

faiths lived here side by side. then in 2011 syrians took to these streets to protest against decades of repressive rule. and syria spiralled into one of the worst human disasters of our time. you could call it the smell of death, but it is the smell of everything bad. it is the smell of weapons and explosions. the war drew in so many foreign powers it stopped being just syria's war. it was chaotic, horrendous, catastrophic. an insult to the humanity of this planet. and lyse doucet is here with me now.

in last seven years. and in the beginning, what is extraordinary is to remember that this started with peaceful protests. i think now, so many people turn away because it is ha rd to many people turn away because it is hard to look at syria because all of the images we get now are of reported chemical attacks, of forces that are fighting, of the rise of extremism, of neighbourhoods in ruins, and a situation which seems helpless and hopeless. and it is lost in the mists of time how it all began, in those momentous events of 2011. you will remember the so—called arab spring, it then became such a misnomer. but there was this mantra about the power of the people is greater than the people in power. you saw how the peaceful protest in nessie removed an authoritarian leader and then it was egypt, libya followed but quickly turned into a wall, yemen,

and the protests were the last to ta ke and the protests were the last to take hold in syria. people wondered would syria be different. but i think there was an assumption that it would also go quickly, a matter of weeks, in syria, and it would u nfold of weeks, in syria, and it would unfold in the same way. but of course, tragically, it didn't. but let's remember how it started, with the excitement and verging on euphoria of the peaceful protesters. this is one of them. i had coffee with my mother. and i said goodbye. i went to the bus station. four guys, two of them were holding weapons. they said, "come with us." they covered my eyes and they took me to a place —

at that moment i had eight friends who were detained by the regime. and the regime tried to force me to speak against them. the guards singled out her friend. many times they would force me to listen to his voice while they were torturing him. they used many tools against detainees at that time. so you heard the screams of yourfriend? yes. and twice they forced me to watch. that is so distressing to listen to,

and then you think that that experience has been left notjust by her, by thousands and thousands of people. this is the fate of

that tfiii w§§ téfffifiifi; ijs’i—iiei—iijééi that tfiii w§§ tefffifiifi; ijs’i—iiei—iijééi the that thia waa tefffifiefi; whiahxjaaa the case. but the conflict not the case. but the conflict quickly spiralled into armed groups, and that became islamist groups backed by the states in the gulf, turkey became involved, and foreign actors then began to shape the syrian civil war so much so that within a few years the war was not asked about syria any more, it was a proxy war and now as it is in its eighth year it is a war that has had a myriad of different proxy wars or playing out. and in his documentary we have tried to see the war from all sides. from the protesters who rose up, the people who took imes, but even the government who fought back seeing this as a threat and danger, to secular syria, and there are so many danger, to secular syria, and there are so many different narratives

because syria was the first social media war, never have we seen so much information about a war, never has there been so much misinformation, misunderstanding, and more and more as social media and more and more as social media and information becomes notjust a tool but a weapon of manipulation. and i watched up what some of the politicians have been saying what can or cannot be done. but in terms of the young people in particular that you have interviewed, ordinary people whose lives have been desperate destroyed, that is incredibly brave for a lot of them to even talk to you. you must i”: to incredibly brave for a lot of them to e interviews you. you must i”: to have said no because they were too afraid. was before. 75: a that was syria before. syria was a place where people did not speak out. it was up place of great cuisine, hospitality, culture, but the political culture was very restricted, people did not speak out, so that when they did begin to raise their voices in public in 2011 it was an act of great bravery. but

it was an act of great bravery. but it was an act of great bravery. but it was also so unprecedented that it startled other syrians who were not sure what was happening, they saw pictures of the president being torn down, the statues coming down, and in the same ways that some syrians lost their fear others gained their fear because they did not know where this was going to head for syria. and we saw brieflyjohn terry there. when you spoke to world leaders, politicians, the un, what is said about international response ability, about the fact that this is still going on after 70 years? a country where half the population is gone, either dead or displaced. what are they saying to you their responsibilities? i remember so well in the last months of the brutal battle for aleppo. everyone no matter their side knew the victory would matter and change the course

of the war. it was all unfolding at a time where our institutions were at their best in terms of human rights, the information coming from the ground, satellite imagery, our understanding of international humanitarian law. but the world powers seemed unable and in some cases unwilling to start. meeting after meeting in arab capitals, you would have a world's great envoys coming out saying, this is atrocious, this is unacceptable, and yet the un security council was gridlocked with russia and china backing the president and in the european powers backing the forces of the opposition. the politics of syria meant it was the people on the ground who suffered the most. and of course aleppo ended in a victory for the government, backs to the hilt by russia and iran, so a moment of great celebration for the president

and government supporters, and a moment of great despair for those who backs the opposition, who saw this as turning point, that the president could no longer be defeated on the battlefield. syria is now torn between all of its peoples. there is a sense in which eve ryo ne peoples. there is a sense in which everyone you talk to in syria has a story, no matter their side, and there is a fear that the highest price was paid and that syria as so many knew it is no longer existing. and that is a very high price to pay when what you wanted to see was simply change in your country. and when you look at the images and the physical devastation along with the human devastation, one thinks, who is ever going to pay to rebuild this country? and some extraordinary treasures have been lost in some cities. the war isn't over in syria. even though the syrian government's victory in aleppo meant it could no longer be defeated on the battlefield. it has now moved and we hereafter the reported chemical attack in duma, that world leaders

wa nt to attack in duma, that world leaders want to move this to a diplomatic and political fields. but want to move this to a diplomatic and politicalfields. but going back and politicalfields. but going back and looking at it, we understand now and looking at it, we understand now and world leaders understand that the consequences of not intervening ina the consequences of not intervening in a conflict, are as great as consequences of intervening. so many countries bear responsibility for the tragedy of syria. britain, america, the arab states, did they misread society in calling on the president to stand down when we know now he never would have done that. i think there has been a misreading of syria that should give everyone pause for thought. thank you very much. the two—part documentary "syria: the world's war" starts tonight at 9pm on bbc two. it concludes tomorrow. it's feared over 100 people have died in powerful dust—storms sweeping across parts of northern india. most of the dead were in uttar pradesh. a senior official told

the bbc they were the most intense storms in decades. many of the dead were asleep at home when their homes collapsed after being struck by lightning and high winds. justin rowlatt reports from dehli. first came the choking dust. huge clouds of it whipped up by winds of up clouds of it whipped up by winds of up to 80 miles an hour. then came the rain. a torrential downpour. the storm swept across north india, bringing devastation. electricity pylons were cornyn down, the arcing ca bles pylons were cornyn down, the arcing cables but this fire. storms are common in india at this time of year but this one was much bigger than had been forecast. as always, it was the poorest who suffered the most. many were killed when their feeble mud and brick homes collapsed, crushing those inside. there were widespread power cuts. storm debris closed roads and railways, making it hard

for rescue teams to get to those in need. the indian met office came the country's may weather forecaster, admits the intensity of the storm to go admits the intensity of the storm to 9° by admits the intensity of the storm to go by surprise. it had a warning today, this turbulent weather is not over, more storms are on their way. the basque separatist group eta has announced that it is disbanding. the group, deemed a terrorist organisation by the european union, killed more than 800 people between 1968 and 2010. a year later, it announced a permanent ceasefire. the time is almost ten minutes to six. let's talk about a different element of the nhs and how we started our hour. everyday in the uk, the nhs treats thousands of patients — some of those moments have been captured in a new book by nurse and author christie watson —

"the language of kindness, a nurse's story." it's a series of vignettes, told movingly from a nurse who has stayed with patients as they took their last breath, —— in both the best and worst of times. and christie watson is here with me now. so you worked in the nhs for a good 20 years. particularly with children, i think. i spent 20 years. particularly with children, ithink. i spent most 20 years. particularly with children, i think. i spent most of my time in paediatric intensive care. and i suppose you have seen every gamut of human emotion. is that why you thought you wanted to turnit that why you thought you wanted to turn it into a book? it is. but i also felt like we haven't really heard from nurses. i have always loved narrative nonfiction written by doctors, and when i went to look for a nurse's voice i could not find anything in the library. so i really

wa nted anything in the library. so i really wanted to raise the profile of nurses and give them a voice about the amazing work they do day in day out. that is really interesting. and you would say that is distinct, that was a nurse does is quite distinct often from what a doctor or a co nsulta nt often from what a doctor or a consultant does and that there is therefore a different story to tell. it isa therefore a different story to tell. it is a very differentjob under very different story to tell. so i have been immensely proud to represent nurses. and what did you wa nt to represent nurses. and what did you want to focus on? is it the individual patients, family? what is it you are trying to say? i was trying to talk about humanity and a broad sense but also the actualjob of nursing. and how it is such a privilege to hold the hand of a person at the fray list, most significant and most extreme moments of life, which is thejob of significant and most extreme moments of life, which is the job of the nurse, and yet nursing is the least valued of all the professions. to think about why that might be, and just to explore the actualjob. it

isa just to explore the actualjob. it is a real mixture of the arts, sciences, philosophy, politics, chemistry, biology, maths, it is everything you can think of which it is which is why it is quite hard to get into language. we have a photo of you when you were quite new to the profession. 20 years ago? even longer. and you say that it is a profession that is undervalued. so if you look back and think about when you are a trainee and you when you on the wards, i imagine, i have a lwa ys you on the wards, i imagine, i have always thought of nursing as an extraordinarily tiring job, both emotionally and physically. if i had to assess what your job would emotionally and physically. if i had to assess what yourjob would be on a nurse's ward, i would say you must be so drained, either physically with the long hours and night shifts, but emotionally draining as well. did you think that you would

feel undervalued going into that profession? it can't have been what you aspired to. definitely not. and i think that the image of nursing has changed quite a lot over the yea rs. has changed quite a lot over the years. but actually, the fact that nurses are working harder than ever before now and they are still giving so before now and they are still giving so much of themselves in terms of kindness, care and compassion in the vast majority of cases every single day is what is astonishing and what we should be championing and celebrating. what i was trying to say, rather badly, was what has changed in those years that you have beenin changed in those years that you have been in the nhs? has it got harder, more punishing, what other reason is that? i think we have had one portrayal of nurses, which is quite negative, and of quite rare nurses not doing a good job. the think the other thing is the patient population has increased a lot, we are growing older, we are getting much more context illnesses. patients are coming into hospital

but with many things, they might have a relative at home with dementia who they are caring for, they might have mental health issues, social care issues, housing issues, social care issues, housing issues, people are very complicated. and with that, nursing numbers are dropping. we are seeing nurses leave the nhs faster than they are joining because of those pressures. and obviously lots of financial pressures on nurses. so it is the state of crisis the moment. and you must have treated so many patients ina long must have treated so many patients in a long career. are there still some patients today that you remember? that you do remember individual stories? absolutely. i have highlighted the patients i remember most in the book. there is a particular patient, betty, for example, who was in a corridor on a trolley out sword —— outside accident and emergency, elderly and alone, i held her hand, listen to

her stories, made her sandwich and a cup of tea and she said i had saved her life and of course i had done no such thing, i had just been a nurse. but how amazing where we have a country where a stranger has time to make a stranger feel less alone. that is why you clearly to is a privilege. it is a privilege, a huge honour. and it does make it exhausting. but it gives you great gifts. life is very precious and nursing reminds you of that at that time is not for ever, none of us know what is coming around the corner, and at some stage in our lives all of us will rely on the kindness of strangers and hope that there is an earth at the other end of our lives holding our hands. and despite all those difficulties, do you regret any of it? what would you wish? i don't regret any of it. i

don't regret anything. i definitely recommend the korea, even now, even with the pressures nursing is under, i think it is an amazing career and most varied career i can think of. it is lovely, i could talk to you for a long time about the remarkable story is that you have been telling, but thinking very much. —— thank you very much. time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. it is just it isjust in time it is just in time to the bank holiday, the weather is set to get a good deal warmer. looking at the picture today, we have had quite a bit of sunshine across england, some high cloud in the sky, moving across hertfordshire, making the sunshine a little hazy. that might mean across southern england it is quite a nice end to the day with a decent sunset. thick cloud at west has been

bringing a little rain, mainly showers across western scotland, a few for north—west england, the north—west of wales and one to the north—west of wales and one to the north west midlands, but otherwise quite dry. as those showers move through we had a lot of cloud,. looking overnight the showers will tend to fade away but we will be left with increasingly cloudy skies pushing right across england overnight. temperature is not as low as recently, loads of around seven to nine celsius and a few showers coming and going towards the end of the night in western scotland. those showers are all tied in with these weather fronts running close to the north—east of the country on friday. 0verall there will be quite a lot of cloud around on friday, maybe the odd bit of drizzle through the bristol channel and a few showers coming and going, breezy in the of scotland. aside from that there will be quite a lot of cloud around, some

bright sunny spells around, and temperatures high at around 19. that is the start of the warming trend. through the bank holiday weekend we have some sunshine on the way and it will be warming up because the high pressure is moving to the near continent and increasingly we will start to get our winds moving in from germany and france as well. slightly warmer direction so the warmerair slightly warmer direction so the warmer air will waft across the uk bringing a bit of a boost to the temperatures through the weekend. saturday looks like this. quite a bit of cloud, rain in the north—west of scotla nd bit of cloud, rain in the north—west of scotland on saturday and sunday. but away from the north—west winds are lighter, some sunshine, and temperatures pushing up to 23 for the south—east of england. and they will rise through the second half of the weekend through the north. more of us seeing more sunshine on sunday but still some rain, quite heavy at times, in the north—west of scotland. but look at the

temperatures, sunday sees a high of 25 celsius towards london and the south—east. that is the weather. thousands of women contact a public helpline and breast cancer charities after a failure of routine screening in england. you are through to breast cancer care's helpline... after the revelation that 450,000 women could be affected, we speak to one who says she's been completely let down. i had breast cancer, and had i had a mammogram, there's a good chance it would have been picked up, and operated on sooner. there are questions tonight about why alarm bells didn't ring earlier over the declining numbers of women turning up for screening. also tonight... the storm over stormy — president trump confirms he paid his lawyer to buy the silence of the adult film star over an alleged affair. nearly 100 people have died and scores more injured in fierce dust storms in northern india.

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