hello, this is breakfast, with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. the search begins for two british tourists kidnapped at gunpoint in the democratic republic of congo. they were taken while they were visiting a national park — a park ranger who was with them was killed. good morning, it's saturday 12th may. also this morning. more than 50 mps call for urgent action to improve mobile phone coverage in the countryside. a horse abandoned in a grandmother's back yard. campaigners say it highlights a growing problem of neglect and abuse by irresponsible owners. in sport, kyle edmund's winning run on clay is over, he's knocked out of the madrid masters, by denis shapovalov, but will still be in the world's top 20 for the first time come monday. and i'll be trying out the sport the needs a good suit of armour and a brave heart — but please don't try this at home. this is how it's looking

in shrophire this morning. balloon festival happening there today. more of this later on. how is it looking for the rest of the uk? how is it looking for the rest of the uk? and stav has the weather for all of us. compared to last weekend's weather, this weekend is looking a lot cooler, unsettled, there will be some rain but some sunshine, join me later for the some rain but some sunshine, join me laterfor the details. good morning. first, our main story. british diplomats say they're working with authorities in the democratic republic of congo, after two british tourists were kidnapped at gunpoint in the east of the country. the pair were among three people who were taken by armed men at the virunga national park conservation area. the director of the park said a ranger who was in a vehicle with the tourists was killed. the bbc‘s louise dewast is in the congolese capital, kinshasa, what's the latest on this incident? good morning, so we understand this

morning that the hostages are still in captivity so it is a very serious situation, the attack happened just north of goma inside the national park which is a world heritage site known for its mountain gorilla, there are armed groups round the park, we are learning this morning that the driver of the car might have been released alive, we are hearing this from local sources so it is still unconfirmed at this stage, the situation is still very fluid, in the area. it is not the first kind of incident that has taken place in this area, that has happened? that is right. this is a very complex area of the country, conflict is rife in the country but in this region in particular, it is estimated there are about 70 armed groups operating in eastern congressional loan. the national

army is present in the area where the hostages are taken, they are fighted against armed groups so they are, most likely responding to the situation right now as we speak and kidnappings have happened before, and experts, human rights groups estimate about half of the kidnappings are for ransom, so again, very fluid situation, right here in congo today. thank you very much. america says it will help north korea to rebuild its economy, if it agrees to give up its nuclear weapons. the us secretary of state mike pompeo made the remarks after meeting his south korean counterpart. president trump and kim jong un are due to meet for talks next month. rajini vaydya nathan reports. another step towards the historic summit between america and north korea as us secretary of state mike pompeo welcomed his south korean counterpart to washington. both countries have a shared goal of what they want from pyongyang. if north korea takes bold action,

the united states is prepared to work with north korea to achieve prosperity on a par with our south korean friends. it's been a whirlwind week for mr pompeo. on monday night, he flew to north korea where he met with kim jong—un. he returned on thursday with three americans who had been detained by pyongyang. his boss, president trump, was there to welcome the freed prisoners back to american soil. for a president whose style of diplomacy isn't to everyone's taste, it's been quite a turnaround. the north korean leader, once the pariah, now the recipient of praise. kim jong—un did a great service to himself, to his country by doing this. and remember, it's only been eight months since he described him as "little rocket man".

speaking to a crowd in indiana, the president was full of optimism for the planned summit. the two men will come face to face in a months time in singapore and for president trump, the stakes couldn't be higher. rajini vaydyanathan, bbc news. countryside campaigners are calling for action on what they say is an "appalling lack of progress" in improving mobile phone coverage in rural areas. they've been backed by more than 50 mps, who've accused mobile operators of failing to put up new masts, despite help from government. jon donnison reports. these days, life without your mobile, for many, seems almost unimaginable. but in some parts of rural britain, it remains a reality. the communications regulator 0fcom says only 57% of people living in premises in rural areas are able to make phone calls on all four mobile networks. that compares to 90% in urban areas. now 50 rural mps have written to the secretary of state

for digital culture, media and sport, matt hancock, calling for urgent action to change that. they want legally binding targets to force mobile operators to improve coverage. we know where you have people walking, driving in country areas it is important they have a mobile signal so if they need emergency services help particularly they can get hold of them. but the operators say they are investing millions of pounds in rural areas but that planning applications for new mobile phone masts are often rejected by local people. the government says mobile phone coverage is improving but that it is already changed planning laws to make it easier to put up new masts. it says the mobile companies now need to respond to those changes and act fast to increase coverage in rural areas. jon donnison, bbc news. downing street says

the prime minister has re—iterated to donald trump that the uk remains committed to the iran nuclear deal. in a telephone conversation last night, theresa may said the agreement remained the best way to stop tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. earlier this week, mr trump said the us would withdraw from the agreement. the rspca says the abandoning of a horse in a back yard in stoke—on—trent has highlighted a growing animal cruelty problem. the pony was delivered after a 13—year—old girl answered an online advert, appealing for someone to save it from being put to sleep. a few hours later it was delivered to her grandmother's house. it has now been rehomed. campaigners says the numbers of abandoned horses is rising. the story contains two worrying things, obviously. the 13—year—old girl was on the internet looking at free ads and she saw this ad which said "unless you take this horse i am going to kill it", so she said "ok, bring it over to me". so that's the first problem, people buying and selling animals such as horses on the internet, which the rspca is very concerned is about, and we need tighter regulations. the other issue is it shows there is a problem

here of a horse crisis. the rspca last year had something like 80,000 horses that it came out to investigate, and last year horses were our second highest number of animals that we had to prosecute for cruelty. we have seen, over the last two years, a huge increase in the number of calls we are getting for horses, and the number of horses we have to take in, and frankly the rspca is full up at the moment, as are other animal welfare charities, and we just need to address this problem. situation right now time is8 time is 8 minutes past nine. if you're waiting for a stem cell transplant and you're from a white, northern european background — your chances of finding a donor match is quite high, at around 60—percent. but if you're from a black, asian, and minority ethnic background, your chances are halved — because the pool of donors isn't large enough. it's an issue facing five—year—old kaiya patel‘s family, after she was diagnosed with leukaemia six weeks ago. with leukaemia six weeks ago. kaiya's dad ruchitjoins us now,

alongside rebecca pritchard from blood cancer charity anthony nolan. good morning to you both. tell us how your daughter is doing she has had five or six weeks now of fairly significant chemo therapy, steroids and other drugs to try to address some of her cells. the diagnosis came very suddenly, what happened? yes, we were, it was six weeks' ago, we we re yes, we were, it was six weeks' ago, we were a normal family, living unbelievably happily with a girl who was going to school, loving her, you know, her gymnastics and swimming, just a normal five—year—old know, her gymnastics and swimming, just a normalfive—year—old girl, but she develops spontaneous bruising on her legs and that was, it was a bit odd, we spoke to the school, the school said she hadn't

knocked herself or fallen over, that was unusual and a concern, so, we we re was unusual and a concern, so, we were due to fly away before we flew, were due to fly away before we flew, we wa nted were due to fly away before we flew, we wanted to go and get her checked for peace of mind, i wept there thinking it was going to be nothing, bruising on legs she used to tell me daddy i'm like you, ifall over all the time, i am clumsy, and all of a sudden we went to hospital, they did a blood test and our world was turned upside down. so, your family is going through a real ordeal at the moment, but you are on a very swift learning curve and the problems about donors. tell us what you have learned, what your found out? so when you hear these words leukaemia and cancer of the bone marrow you think it is all over, thatis marrow you think it is all over, that is the starting position, and then you learn a bit more and you he realise childhood lee keep gla is one of the most treatable illnesses, it has been a success story, so you

are up again, but then unfortunately we found out that her type of leukaemia is very rare, great 0rmond street where we are being treated by amazing doctors, had only seen one of these cases in the last ten year, it is very rare, very agassi, it a lwa ys it is very rare, very agassi, it always comes back so then you are down again and you are searching. i mean, everyone has different coping mechanism, mine was to talk to eve ryo ne mechanism, mine was to talk to everyone i knew, read every medical journal i could, you know, speak to doctors round the world to find ray of light, to find a way to fix her and the only way we found, the only possible route is with a stem cell transplant. you hold on to that with everything you have got and your family's entire network holds on to the idea that she needs a transplant and quickly. then you hear again

that the chances of finding a match are low, as a starting point. tell us are low, as a starting point. tell usa are low, as a starting point. tell us a bit about that, so, we will come to you in a second, it is is compelling to hear the story, what about that search? that is, that is just really upsetting, when you, you know, as you said before, people from ethnic minorities have a worse chance of finding a stem cell donor, partner who can give them a second life, and that is really tough, because we, you know, it is difficult to comprehend that our daughter has a worse chance of fighting this cancer than other five—year—olds, that feels wrong. why is this chance lower? we match patient on tissue type which is determined by ethnicity, unfortunately... sorry to break it down. it is not the simple as being the same blood type, it is more

complex, so issue type is determined biest necessaryty, there is hundreds of thousands of tissue types all over the world, and they can be diverse, sometimes it is like finding a needle in a hay tack, liked you say for a patient like this to have a 20% chance of finding a match, it is vital for us to encourage people from as many backgrounds as possible. what is the problem in the sense, we said that statistics, if you are white european, you are, have a 60% chance, and it is significantly lower if you are from black or ethnic origin? yes, that is the sad fa ct. ethnic origin? yes, that is the sad fact. why is that? is because not enough are donating? it a lack of awareness in all community, a lot of misconceptions of what is it. it is a more simple process than people think, we, 90% of the time we get it

from the bloodstream so there is a lack of awareness. a lot of the larger registers are in america or germany where the population is mostly white european. what has your reaction been to in? i mean we, that has been really difficult for us to comprehend, and you know, the actions of a desperate father and desperate family has been to try and address the situation as quickly as possible, with the hope of saving our daughter. certainly, with the hope of helping others in the situation as well, so we have tried to use social media and other venues to use social media and other venues to try and spread the message that this is... what do you think the problem is? because it sounds painful? blood donation people are aware but stem cell donation, your immediate thought is large needles, invasive, explain. i don't know. i think it isjust invasive, explain. i don't know. i think it is just a misunderstanding of what is involved. because stem

cells sound like they are deep down in your body and difficult to extra ct, in your body and difficult to extract, but as rebecca will tell you it is pretty straight forward. what is involved ? you it is pretty straight forward. what is involved? if you want to join the register, if you are 16—30 you can order a swab kit online, we will send it in the post. once you have done it and filled in details we will put you on the register every time a patient will need a transplant we will search the register, and if you are that person who is a match, potential life saver, we will call you up and ask you to donate stem cell, that is a process through the bloodstream, and it takes about four to five hours in hospital. donors tell us it is painless but boring, but it is a really amazing thing to do, and simple way to potentially save someone's life. thank you so much. we wish you and your family the very

best, and yeah, thank you so much for coming in and talking to us. it is not the easiest thing to talk about in public. thank you. let us talk to stav, find out about the weather. it will be a decent weekend for many isn't it? yes, a mixture, not wall—to—wall sunshine like last weekend but lovely spells of sunshine round this morning, some rain though is going to push up from the south. i think this will affect the south. i think this will affect the eastern side of the country tonight and into tomorrow morning, so tonight and into tomorrow morning, soi tonight and into tomorrow morning, so i will have the details for that ina so i will have the details for that in a moment. so some of your pictures coming through of this gorgeous sunny morning like this in herefordshire, the skies are turning cloudier in southern counties like this picture shows in east sussex, that because we are looking at an area of rain moving out of northern france, it is pushing into the south—east there. meanwhile, in the north east of scotland we are looking at the back edge of that rain which is almost cleared away

now from the north east mainland, it will clear the northern isles and then we will see a pleasant afternoon for much of scotland, northern ireland some sunshine, one or two shower, for england and wales central and northern areas seeing the best of the weather. in the south—east there will be rain. there will be sunny spells in east anglia and temperature—wise mid to high teens celsius at best. this rain peps up to become heavier and more widespread in the evening an overnight. it moves northwards into much of eastern england and then into eastern scotland and it becomes much why spread. uncertainty to how far westwards it will move. we are thinking a bit of the midland although much of northern and western scotland, northern ireland, western scotland, northern ireland, western side of england and wales should be dry with clear spell, it means a should be dry with clear spell, it meansa grim should be dry with clear spell, it means a grim start in the eastern side for tomorrow morning, a lot of spray side for tomorrow morning, a lot of spray on the roads if you are heading out early. that rain will

continue to push northwards into eastern scotland, it will feel cool here throughout the day, but an improvement further south and the south—east and elsewhere it should be dry with sunny spells for your sunday afternoon. maybe the odd shower and temperatures round 15—17 or 18 degrees. it calms down into next week, a big ridge of high pressure m oves next week, a big ridge of high pressure moves in, certainly for monday and tuesday it is looking good. this is the picture for monday, a bit of a cool start, lots of sunshine from the word go. a bit of sunshine from the word go. a bit of cloud pushing into northern ireland, and into the hebrides of scotland. otherwise a nice fine afternoon, a warmer i9, 20 or 21, maybe warmer than that in places, on tuesday. so it is looking god to start next week, thanks to high pressure, warm start but then it turns cooler from wednesday on wards ad as we pick up northerly wind, but it is looking good. back to you two. self—employed people are being warned they could lose

thousands of pounds under new benefits rules. they're being told that the changes could reduce their income, and threaten the viability of their business. paul lewis from radio 4's money box programme can tell us more. morning paul, what is going on? this isa morning paul, what is going on? this is a report from a committee of mps and they are warning that it is a new benefit called universal credit, under the present system, tax credits, self—employed people are assessed over a whole year, which of course suits self employment, and also, if their income is very low, a few thousand pounds they still get benefits to top that up. under universal credit they will have to report their income every month and that will be a very fluctuating income in many cases, asjobs and expenditure arise, and secondly, that i will always by a seemed to earn the minimum wage which is about say £14,000 a year. if they earn less tha n say £14,000 a year. if they earn less than that, it is 14,00 pounds thatis less than that, it is 14,00 pounds that is counted as their income, so the amount they get on top of that will be much less than they are used to. this could cost businesses two,

3 thousand pounds a year. what can be done about this? the mps want this first of all there is an initial period for a businesses of one year, starting period, when this rule doesn't apply, the mps want that to be extended to two, three yea rs that to be extended to two, three years in some cases but they say small businesses take a while to get going, and if people want to get themselves off benefits by starting a business, they should be given that chance. and secondly they think the minimum income floor, assuming they will always earn the minimum wage every month is unrealistic and there should be more flexibility and an annual assessment of their income rather than a monthly one, but at the moment, there is not much indication that the government is going to change its mind. 0k, indication that the government is going to change its mind. ok, so it is not giving any offer of hope in that sense. not at the moment. when a select committee makes a report the government is obliged to respond but it will take possibly a few

months to do that, and what the government says is that the purpose of these rules is to encourage self—employed people either to get a job, if that would be more worthwhile, to increase their income, or if they don't want to do that or can't do that, then, they will have to cope o on less money. it says there are work coacheser as it calls them in thejob centres to help them do that. —— coaches. there are concerns by self—employed organisation and one farmer i spoke to said it would threaten the viability of his organic vegetable box business because of the fluctuations in his income with the seasons, so as people are moved on the universal credit they will suffer problems and i suppose the a nswer suffer problems and i suppose the answer is, make sure your work coach and everyone on years versele credit will have one, make sure they understand the issues for self—employed people. —— universal. frustrating for me many. thank you.

more on monday box on radio 4 at midday. thank you paul. thank you paul. you're watching breakfast from bbc news, it's time now for a look at the newspapers. writer and broadcaster paul vallely is here to tell us what's caught his eye. the first thin is an interview with dominic grievy who is one of the anti—brexiteers or he wants a more retrained form of brexit, what is interesting about that is he is a normally understated kind of speaker but he is calling for borisjohnson to resign as foreign secretary, he says he is undermining the democratic governance by destroying cabinet collective responsibility, he says she shouldn't, boris shouldn't be denouncing theresa may's proposal for a customs partnership as crazy, if you don't

like a policy you should leave the government. that was never going to be the case if you have a mixture of cabinet ministers, theresa may said she wanted to have that balance to ta ke she wanted to have that balance to take us through brexit. absolutely. what is interesting about this interview, is the way it reveals a kind of split between pragmatists and ideologues in the cabinet and he talks about it being a fantasy we will have untrammelled national sovereignty, he says people go on about the european course ofjustice but there are 800 international tribunals which britain is subject to and nobody is getting het up about that. he says it is impractical if in the read world. you have to put aside some of these more fantastic notions of national sovereignty and be more realistic.|j am intrigued about these pictures, do you think he always has the union

jackin do you think he always has the union jack in front of his desk? do you think he always has the union jack in front of his desk? yes i think he probably does. does. the interview says he looks like your classic tory, a man who has never picked up a placard in his life. classic tory, a man who has never picked up a placard in his lifelj can't imagine someone would ask for the union flag to be put on their desk for a photo. we are told a lot aren't we, that smarter innings can save us money. aren't we, that smarter innings can save us money. we aren't we, that smarter innings can save us money. we can “— aren't we, that smarter innings can save us money. we can —— meter, we can control the way our energy is used, etc, but there are a couple of pieces you have picked out says they are not so smart. this one in the daily mirror i thought sounded good. the smart meter, when you read it it isa the smart meter, when you read it it is a puff for a company called smart energy gb, it says promotional feature, it is trying to make out

that smart meters are an a good thing. you look in the telegraph at the top of their money page and it says half the smart meters in this country don't work, and that when people switch from one supplier to another, you, the smartness of the meter start stops working, if you look at detail it says you can save about between 30—47 a year with a smart meter but by switching you can, the average consumer can save £263 a year, so switching seems to make more sense, and the, the academic that, they have quoted who has a marvellous name that reflects hisjob, says smart has a marvellous name that reflects his job, says smart meters were supposed to reduce energy usage but only by £30 a year. do you have one?

no, i don't fancy the idea of switching it off to put a new meter in. switching makes more sense. you have pulled together a number of papers, a lot of people are indulging a bit in various ways. the sun have a great countdown, there is a story about how meghan's dad has dropped off flourers at his ex—wife's house as a peace offering. a third of britains feel more patriotic if there is a royal wedding going on and a lovely will story about how the queen has had the civil aviation authority a ban on drones over windsor castle on the day. so exactly a week today? it is. we will be there. the other thing that is worth pointing out is the daily

mail have reprinted their souvenir edition of charles and diana's wedding, which is an odd thing to do given how it ended, but they have this fantastic piece on how to make a royal wedding cake, and you need thatters ice—cream cones to make the spires, and hundreds and thousands and glimpsery pearls. it has been designed by the woman whos that made kate and williams cake, she says it looks more difficult to make than it is. do you know who might give it a go? paul. matt. he is doing saturday kitchen, i bet it is all about pink hundreds and thousand, loads of light fairy sponges, and glitter. yes, do you remember when delia had that famous

christmas mousse and she mentioned liquid gelatine, and they sold out. we should find out. are you worried matt about the stock levels of hundreds an thousands? not particularly, that is not my kind of thing. are you surprised by that? do i look like a hundred and thousands type of guy? if the cap fits matt. i liked your first story about that girl who took over that horse. that is quite sad. she was really nice girl, to take it home but the horse was abandoned. not a nice story. girl, to take it home but the horse was abandoned. not a nice storylj thought it was special, the little girl brought a horse home. moving on, right, now ourspecial guest today and you know him very well is 0re. today and you know him very well is ore. hi guy, love you, miss you. they are probably not listening. we are here! we are here.

you are here to face eheaven and hell, what is your idea of food heaven i am a big meat eeater, especially slowly cooked, something that will fall off the bone. i have had pork about four times this week, so had pork about four times this week, so add another pork into the mix and i will be happy. so a slow cooked pork would be incredible. hell, hell, oh hell, so my wife is a huge fan of liver, kidney and olives, i hate them. i absolutely hate them. and put them all together, what have you got? you have got an absolute hellish dish. ufrn awful and olives. it is actually called offal. it is awful. the proof is in the awfulness. you clearly hate them. please just help me out guys. not

today. we have two great chefs, sabrina. this morning to contrast your massive pork intake i am going to do three meatless dishes, halloumi and pine nut stuffed mushrooms, a sticky sweet and sharp aubergine salad and a lovely green bean stew with tomato spices and peanuts. i haven't eaten anything. this is good. i am expecting four meals for breakfast. iam doing i am doing a dish is by buy a place i have ever been, a gumbo. we will be having some wine, beer and possibly some cocktails. you are in charge whether the face of heaven or hell. go to the website for more

details. we will see you at 10am. can we just decide that now? you can't decide that! stay with us, headlines coming up. hello, this is breakfast with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. coming up before 10am, we'll get the weather from stav. but first at 9.32am, a summary of this morning's main news british diplomats say they're working with authorities in the democratic republic of congo after two british tourists were kidnapped at gunpoint in the east of the country.

the pair were among three people who were taken by armed men at the virunga national park, a vast conservation area known for its endangered mountain gorillas. the director of the park said a ranger, who was in a vehicle with the tourists, was killed. america says it will help north korea to rebuild its economy, if it agrees to give up its nuclear weapons. the us secretary of state mike pompeo made the remarks after meeting his south korean counterpart. he also said he was confident that washington and pyongyang had a shared understanding of their objectives. president trump and kim jong—un are due to meet for talks next month countryside campaigners are calling for action on what they say is an "appalling lack of progress" in improving mobile phone coverage in rural areas. they've been backed by more than 50 mps who've accused mobile operators of failing to put up new masts. the government says 91% of the uk now has mobile coverage. phone companies say they often face opposition when they want to put up masts on green spaces.

most of the masts now, even in the peak district national park, are enabling as much as they can, because we know where you have people walking, driving in country areas, it is important they have a mobile signal so if they need emergency services help particularly they can get hold of them. downing street says the prime minister has reiterated to donald trump that the uk remains committed to the iran nuclear deal. in a telephone conversation last night, theresa may said the agreement remained the best way to stop tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. earlier this week, mr trump said the us would withdraw from the agreement. real wages are still below where they were before the financial crisis, according to a new report. the trades union congress says workers in britain are experiencing the longest squeeze in real incomes in modern history. the government says inflation is falling and unemployment is at a 40—year low. nasa is sending a helicopter that's not much bigger than a tennis ball to mars.

the rovercopter is designed for the planet's ultra—thin atmosphere and will be launched in two years. its four blades will spin ten times faster than a standard helicopter. i have decided officially it will be known as the dd copter because it is this big! —— diddy copter. that's a great name. the sort of thing i would travel in. talking of someone growing in stature is kyle edmund. what a fantastic week. he can build on this now. when you beat the likes of novak djokovic and david goffin. kyle edmund says he will take plenty of positives from the madrid 0pen,

even though his brilliant run is over. the british number one lost in straight sets to the canadian teenager, denis shapovalov, despite saving a match point in the second set. however, the quaterfinals, was the furthest edmund had gone in madrid and so will break into the world's top 20 next week. and, do not adjust your sets. rafael nadal has lost a match on clay. dominic thiem beat him in straight sets, ending a winning streak which stretches back 50 sets. it means roger federer will replace nadal as the world number one. now to the the teams chasing the biggest price in football, a place in the premier league, and it's advantage derby in the first semifinal, in the championship playoffs. they beat fulham 1—0

in the first leg at pride park thanks to cameronjerome's first half header. the second leg is at craven cottage on monday. middlesborough play aston villa tonight in the first leg of the second championship semifinal. livingston are a game away from being promoted to the top division of scottish football. a 1—1 draw at home to dundee united last night saw them progress 4—3 on aggregate. alan lithgow‘s goal put the home side on their way. they'll now face the team finishing second bottom, in the scottish premiership. it's european finals weekend, in rugby union. leinster play racing 92 later in the final of the champions cup, but last night cardiff blues, snatched the second tier european challenge cup from the hands of gloucester, with a last—minute penalty. patrick gearey reports. the sun—dappled land of the basque country is, for this weekend, rugby country. new turf for an old rivalry. gloucester v cardiff is 134 years of history and, after eight minutes, got a few seconds of timeless beauty. billy burns to henry trinder, one for the ages. mark atkinson scored again. cardiff blues were chasing this, 14 points down at the break. desperate for a change

of direction, here it was. the ball bounced for thomas williams, ricochet rugby. garyn smith then put them in the lead. gloucester had a problem, time for pragmatism and for power. a wrestle for the line, james hanson over and ahead. into the final minutes, cardiff were desperate now. one more pass, one more sprint. blaine scully‘s try, but gareth anscombe needed the conversion to level the scores. the first kick missed in the match at the worst possible time, but there would be one last chance. cardiff penalty, very last minute — anscombe again. a moment of blue steel had stolen the silver. rory mcilroy has missed the cut, at the players‘ championship in florida, the tournament dubbed the fifth major. the course at sawgrass is built on the site of an old swamp, and there's water all around. and mclroy found it annoyingly for him. that left him one over par which

doesn't sound too bad until you realised that the runaway leader webb simpson is 16 shots ahead of him. the american also found that water on the 17th but still finished 15 under par for the tournament lewis hamilton edged ahead of red bull's daniel riccardo and max verstappen, to top second practice, ahead of tomorrow's spanish grand prix. there were some high—profile spins in barcelona, including verstappen, while his red bull teammate riccardo came second to hamilton. britain's simon yates still has the overall lead at the giro d'italia after stage 7. ireland's sam bennett won the stage, his first win in this, one of road cycling's big three tours. second—tier leigh have knocked super league side salford out of rugby league's challenge cup. promotion—chasing leigh claimed a 22—10 sixth—round victory, at the sports village. leeds and huddersfield also won. the weather got in the way, of what should have been a historic day for ireland's cricketers. they were all ready to play pakistan in their first ever test match and then it started raining in malahide. it didn't stop, so play was abandoned for the day. they're hoping to get under way at 11 o'clock this morning. 0ver

over 500 nights of fighting in the world's biggest ever medieval combat competition. from across the known world, they came hither. ye old, and not quite so old. ye brave, and not quite as brave. the bo.d, and not quite as bold! a force like never before. the chance to keep alive the conflict and culture of a time gone by. but this is no re—enactment, it's a recognised sport

with 31 countries here. hello! we are from canada! we are obviously re—enacting a period of time in history but we are doing it as a sport. this is full contact sport. this is mma in armour. most things are allowed. there are certain things you shouldn't hit. you shouldn't hit the groin for good reasons, you shouldn't hit the back of the knees and you shouldn't twist limbs in an unnatural action, we don't want bone breaks. we get a few injuries but it's not that bad. 0ther full contact sports, like hockey, rugby, that's same level of injuries. we do have them but they're not that common. watching scotland against the not so evil usa, it is amazing there aren't more injuries. but it's that thick, and helmets that protect you. it was beautiful. beautiful. it was brutal. i can't even watch ufc boxing, i find it too violent. but you do this. but this is ok. you have protection everywhere. yes. and you can kick. 0k. argh. psychologically it can be hard to take the hit. the main thing is to stay on your feet because people who win, the team that wins will be the one that has the last person standing. how many times have you been hurt? i've never been hurt, no. just a bruise.

usually from the armour pinching than the actual hit. it feels worse than it is. after being reassured, it was time for me to fight, with my trusty red shield. and the tactic was to give them a runaround until quebec's tallest gladiator put a chink in my armour. but i had a cunning plan. hold onto dear life. in the end, a non—contest with andrew from quebec victorious. that wasn't your hardest fight, sir. ah, it was fun, though. some fights go on a lot longer. this outnumbered australian stood his ground against the odds to force a draw against england. and it looks like we got off lightly, a reminder why you shouldn't try this at home. a crestfallen fighter from finland carted off by ye old paramedics. luckily a preof caution and he's ready to fight another day. come on! some fights go on a lot longer.

this outnumbered australian stood his ground against the odds to force a draw against england. and it looks like we got off lightly, a reminder why you shouldn't try this at home. a crestfallen fighter from finland carted off by ye old paramedics. luckily a precaution and he's ready to fight another day. come on! a fantastic spectacle. a favourite events is them all in the ring, and the last person standing. fa ncy the last person standing. fancy seeing something a bit more relaxing? some lovely blooms in the sunshine? there you go, that is nice, in shropshire. telford is

marking its 50th anniversary, 50 yea rs marking its 50th anniversary, 50 years ago it was a collection of villages. today, it's a town that 150 thousand people call home. to celebrate its half century, residents are taking to the skies with hot air balloons and flying giant kites. 0ur reporter fiona lamdin will be there throughout the morning. 20 have been up this morning to wish telford a happy birthday, we have kept one here to show you. they are really struggling because the wind is picking up, they have had to tether it. they are staying here for us. tether it. they are staying here for us. before we speak to them, we are going to come over to richard 0verton to hear about what is so special about telford. telford is a brilliant place, the birthplace of the industrial revolution thanks to ironbridge. captain webb swum the english

channel. we are celebrating its 50th year, telford. tell us why it was even created? to cope with the overspill from the west midlands conurbation, to create houses and jobs. the communities have come together to help make telford the success together to help make telford the success it is today. we wish you a very happy birthday. thank you for joining us. let us meet the flight director mark darbyshire, you are doing a brilliant job director mark darbyshire, you are doing a brilliantjob with the balloon. just making it safe with the three ropes in a tripod fashion, it will be ok in these conditions. it is rare for telford to see so many balloons in the skies. yes. it

is really nice to come back and flight is really nice to come back and flight in telford, i am from telford originally and we don't usually see a lot of balloons over telford, mainly passenger rides. to get these is nice. i am getting feedback all morning, heading towards costs could, bridgnorth into the beautiful valleys, it is offering some really nice countryside to us.|j valleys, it is offering some really nice countryside to us. i have met pilots from all over the country who say it is a beautiful place to fly. we must show you these kites. telford, 50, kites in the sky all today. and the balloon glow later this evening. taking to the skype to wish this town is very happy 50th birthday. thank you. you can see the kite, ready to take off. there is a little

shadow cast by the balloon, it looks like a lovely day. good morning. it is looking pretty good this weekend. compared to last weekend, nowhere near as warm and sunny. but we will hold on to the sunshine. rain in the forecast will affect the eastern side of the country tonight and tomorrow. some gorgeous weather watcher pictures of lovely sunrisers. the cloud is thickening up across the south east. we are looking at an area of rain pushing northwards out of france. meanwhile, the rain across the north—east of scotland is clearing. some showery bursts in the south west of england. southern areas will see more cloud, showery rain in the south east. elsewhere, central and northern areas will see

the best of the weather. temperatures reaching 18 celsius. the rain in the south east will pep up the rain in the south east will pep up this evening and overnight, becoming heavier than east anglia and the south east. it moves northwards into the eastern side of england. add a little further east of london. the computer models have been chopping and changing, there has been a lot of uncertainty. it looks like the eastern side will see most of the rain. sunday morning, a bright start across western areas, more cloud across western areas, more cloud across the east with outbreaks of rain. for much of eastern england, it should dry up in the afternoon. the rain confined to the north—east of scotland. a better afternoon. maybe cooler because of the cloud and rain through the morning, 17 celsius at

best. monday, this weather front eventually cleared away from central, southern and south—eastern parts, high pressure builds in. we could see the odd shower. that should clear away. most of the country should be dry and sunny. a little bit of cloud for the hebrides. feeling warmer, more sunshine, maybe 21 celsius. into tuesday, even warmer. a nice start into next week thanks to high—pressure, mainly dry, lighter winds, lots of sunshine and feeling warmer. thank you, enjoy the rest of your weekend. it's the eurovision song contest tonight. and your party is going to be mad? there will be mad parties. it is a bit loopy but it is fun. and increasingly its about more than just the music.

the performances these days are increasingly spectacular, and for many artists it's a life—changing experience, as our arts correspondent david sillito has been finding out. good evening, europe! and good morning, australia! hello to the rest of the world! and if there are any submarines passing by. all: hellooo! eurovision. it's a world all of its own and whatever you think of the songs, it certainly knows how to do spectacle these days. # cos i'm way up and i ain't coming down. # keep taking me higher. and this is where it's all going to be happening tonight and what gets you about this is how big it has become. it has grown like topsy over the years. but at the heart of all of this are very personal stories of many artists who never, ever thought they'd get a chance to be on such a stage. # i'm not your toy. the song, a rallying cry of female empowerment.

butjust getting here has been life—changing for her. i didn't expect to win. i expected to get recognition, to get some gigs to afford my rent. you know, i had a — i had a hard time being me as a child. i was fat. i am fat. sorry, i'm still the same girl. and i was thinking, "how can i be this skinny star?" i have to be skinny if i want to be a star. it needs to happen. i will be beautiful when i grow up, i will be skinny and i will perform everywhere. and looking back then — me looking back — and i'm realising i'm the same girl. i look exactly the same. and this is big. this is absolutely — this is big. i feel sexy, i feel pretty, ifeel me. i feel myself.

# storms don't last forever. # forever. # give all you've got! of course, it's been 20 years since israel last won. and for the uk, it's 21. # give all you got. # hold your head up. # through the storm. this year, the bookies have the uk's surie at 200:1. but this is a place for outsiders and for netta, whatever happens on the night, just being here is already a victory. david sillito, bbc news. what a nice way to end, with a hug. we should end the programme like that! we're going to talk now about an animal you've probably never heard of, or seen, the pangolin.

it's believed to be the most hunted animal in the world, more so than the tiger, elephant, or rhino. here's why. pangolins are the world's only truly scaly animals. their scales, just like human fingernails, are made from keratin. but this remarkable natural armour is the cause of their destruction. in the last 20 years, the demand for pangolins scales for use in traditional asian medicines has decimated their numbers worldwide. we're joined by harriet lawrence and victoria bromley who worked on the programme to be shown on bbc two this tuesday good morning to you both. you are doing the filming, victoria, explain to us, i think the mum was given a

name, maria. maria was a human being, she is a conservationist. she is working in the maybe, an incredible woman. pangolins have been very little studied and there are very few people who have kept them in captivity, maria is one of a handful who has reared them. the reason she has is because... she came from the illegal trade, the baby was brought in with her mother. pangolins are naturally protective of their babies. her mother was very traumatised and eventually abandon the baby so maria was left to rear hub. harriet, they are not conventionally cute, but they are cute, they are quirky, the way they walk, everything about them is quite extraordinary. one of those weird animals, when you look at them,

there is something so endearing and weird, the way they hold their little hands together. they're cute little hands together. they're cute little beady eyes. we see the scales on their back, why are they like that? the way they walk seemed so odd. it walks on its back legs. pangolins also walk on all four, into the trees, climbing. they are the world's only truly scaly animal, made of keratin. we can see a close—up of the scales and take a look. because of how they groom their scales as well. intricate, something completely different. this is why they have been attracted to poachers. they are hunted for their

scales primarily used into additional asian medicines, this hunting has decimated the asian publishers of pangolins and that trade is now moving into africa which is where our story begins with maria. how do they protect themselves normally in the wild? those scales are incredible armour. lyons cannot get through them. they com pletely lyons cannot get through them. they completely rolled into a ball to protect all of their soft tummy and their head. it is completely useless against people because they will be ina tight against people because they will be in a tight ball which can be picked up in a tight ball which can be picked up and transported. what is their natural habitat? in the jungles, up and transported. what is their natural habitat? in thejungles, in asia and india. this species is in bushland, desert. how are they in relation to the cameras? i am guessing these sequences are very close. this is an unusual situation, prior to this the bbc had filmed

much with pangolins. the situation here is, because she has an amazing bond with maria, that allows us the first time to show these animals.|j wonder, because of this illegal trade for the flesh and scales, what is the danger, what do you think about when you show a quirky, stunning animal like this, hand reared, for reasons that are great, but nevertheless you see this bond, this lovely animal, that it gives people ideas, there is a risk. this money we have been talking about people irresponsibly abandoning animals. pangolins have notoriously been difficult to keep in captivity, very few people have done this successfully sent it is unlikely you would encounter a light pangolins and take it in as a pet, the bigger threat is people killing them for their meat and scales. what work is

being done, harrett, to highlight this illegal trade and educate those cultures which are using the scales for medicine? it is an international effort under way to protect the pangolins. they are found in a wide spread of countries, africa and asia. it is a joint effort between lots of organisations, some rehabilitating them. with maria, we see another organisation in vietnam's working on a bigger scale. alongside that, there are charities and campaigns and celebrities backing the cause, some of whom are included in the programme. when you see how fascinating they are, we don't know more about them. they are so don't know more about them. they are so difficult to approach and film, they are very shy of humans. so

there's very little research. are a lot of myths. we are really starting to get the sites. how big is it in a ball? honeybun, she would be about this big. 30 centimetres in a ball. like a football. amazing creatures. thank you. you can watch pangolins: the world's most wanted animal on tuesday 15th may, at 8pm, on bbc two that's it from us this morning. if you are partying with eurovision, enjoy it tonight. this is bbc news. the headlines at ten. two british tourists are among three people kidnapped at gunpoint in a democratic republic of congo national park. voting is under way in iraq's first parliamentary election since the country declared victory over so—called islamic state. the worst wage crisis in modern history, the tuc says workers are still feeling the effects of the financial crisis. mps and campaigners criticise

a "lack of progress" on mobile also in the next hour, we'll hear about a novel plan to regenerate the high street in dumfries. a community group is leading the fight against decline in the town's centre, with hopes of drawing the crowds back to the shops. and in 30 minutes, the travel show is in the philippines, braving public transport in the traffic chaos of manila.