t£1 “ni fi£1§iifli “£121 will be usable rain. temperatures still remain into the low 20s so pleasa nt still remain into the low 20s so pleasant if you see some sunshine. this is bbc news. the court hears evidence from then stokes about his trial for affray. i will explain to you why you have been arrested. a quy you why you have been arrested. a guy over there is covered in blood andi guy over there is covered in blood and i have been told you punched him. because he was abusing mighty macro friends, who were gay. damning report says appalling sexual abuse on boys as young as seven took place at two elite catholic boarding schools. bryce johnson place at two elite catholic boarding schools. brycejohnson is facing a investigation into the conservative code of conduct following his comments about women who wear lace veils and workers. a spokesperson

for president vladimir putin calls them absolutely illegal, the sanctions. irate thomas returns home to wales. coming up later... hollywood hits back at proposed changes to the oscars, which include the introduction of a new, popularfilm category. the england cricketer ben stokes, says he was defending himself and others, during a fight outside a nightclub

in bristol last year. taking the stand for the first time in his trial on a charge of affray, he told the jury he intervened after hearing homophobic abuse, being shouted at two men. earlier there were claims the cricketer ‘could have killed' a man during the incident. stokes, and one other defendent deny affray, while charges against a third man have been dropped. jon kay reports from bristol crown court. sorry. do you mind just loosening the right one on my wrist? handcuffed in the back of a police car, this is the moment and stokes was arrested in september last year. it was shot on a police body camera, following the alleged incident in the clifton area of bristol. just yards from the vehicle where the england cricketer was being detained, another man lay injured on the ground. right, the reason... i will explain to you why you have been arrested as well. yeah. it's because there's a guy over there who's covered with blood... yep. and i've been told you punched him. because he was... abusing my two friends for being gay. that's what i'm being told at the moment. that's why i've arrested you on suspicion of assault. the footage was shown to the jury yesterday as part of the

prosecution case. today, ben stokes came to court to give his account of what happened. he denies the charge of affray. standing in the witness box, he was played video footage shot by a witness on the night of the alleged incident. the 27—year—old cricketer said he had stepped in to defend two gay men. he denied mimicking them or making any homophobic comments himself. he insisted he was not drunk or enraged and acted entirely in self defence. he told the jury that injuries to his right hand, which had been shown to the court, were due to playing cricket years earlier, and were not the result of what happened on that september night. the jury has also been shown this footage of injuries suffered by 28—year—old ryan ali. he is also charged with affray and denies the count. ryan... this afternoon, a third man, ryan hale, was cleared. the court was told the former soldier felt he was an innocent bystander, who had feared he was going to be killed. the judge said there was no case for him to answer and he was found

not guilty of affray. i'm happy. that's all. i'm happy for myself. just got to see what happens now with the rest of the case. i won't comment until then. after giving evidence for three hours, the england all—rounder left court with his wife this evening. ben stokes is due to return tomorrow for a fifth day, as this trial continues. jon kay, bbc news, bristol crown court. an independent report into sexual abuse at two leading catholic schools, says the attacks on children, were likely to be more widespread than previously thought. it found "appalling" abuse which occurred over four decades at ampleforth in north yorkshire, and at downside in somerset. it also says both institutions tried to cover up numerous allegations. ten people have been convicted or cautioned for the abuse. our religion editor, martin bashir, reports. downside school in somerset, like ampleforth in north yorkshire, described as resembling a harry potter world

of beguiling charm. within these golden monastic buildings, from the 1960s onwards, predatory teachers sexually abused children as young as seven. piers grant—ferris, a former officer in the irish guards, was described as a sadistic and violent abuser at ampleforth's prep school from 1965 to 1975. in 2006, he was found guilty on 20 counts of indecent assault. he was one of ten staff at the schools to have been convicted or cautioned in the last 50 years. but today's report said the true scale of abuse at ampleforth and downside is likely to have been much higher. this is a very hard—hitting, very serious report. as i say, over many years it showed that the reputation of individuals have the reputation of the institution itself was far more important to people than the safety

and protection of children. one former student at ampleforth described the impact of being repeatedly abused as a child. my biggest problem has been having a shutdown of the motions for most of my life. —— of emotions. i had to, otherwise i wouldn't have been able to deal with school. i've had issues. this charity has provided a helpline for those abused and is working with ampleforth on improving its safeguarding. the only natural step for them is outside regulation. that's the only thing which will really solve this issue. and the safeguarding and organisations need to be externally regulated. the catholic church back in 2001 published its own review of safeguarding, which contained 83 recommendations but, according to today's report, ampleforth and downside paid no more than lip service to them. and it concludes with the disturbing pastoral observation that, outside of the current independent enquiry, no public apology has

been made to the victims and their families. martin bashir, bbc news, at westminster cathedral. borisjohnson could face an investigation, into whether he breached the conservative party's code of conduct, with his comments about muslim women wearing full face veils. it's understood dozens of complaints have been made. our political correspondent, susana mendonca, is in westminster. what form is any investigation likely to take? what we understand is that these complaints have been made and so the conservative party's discipline process goes into play. what happens is there are three stages. at the moment we understand boris johnson's case stages. at the moment we understand borisjohnson‘s case is that the first stage, where the party is looking into the complaints, it is being assessed and mrjohnson has an opportunity to respond to the

complaints made against him. if they decide that it goes to the next stage, that is what happens. otherwise, if they decide the case has no merit, it could be thrown out at this stage. if it does go to the second stage, that is an independent panel that assesses whether or not mrjohnson broke the code of conduct and if they do it goes to a third stage where the party board would look after and the party board is chaired by the chairman of the conservative party. they would have the power to either suspend an mp or remove an mp from the party altogether. what is very clear is, at the moment it is at the very early stages. there is no clarity as to whether it will progress to later stages. in terms of the code of conduct, what it says is elected representatives must lead by example to encourage and foster respect and tolerance. that is what the code says. they have to go through these

processes . says. they have to go through these processes. the party has said the processes. the party has said the process is to be confidential. so fara process is to be confidential. so far a source close to mr boris johnson has not responded. we have no more from him. he has not apologised. a lot of people have been calling on him to do that. thank you very much. let's speak now to katy balls, a political commentator at the spectator. one advantage of this process is it kind of parks the row for now but it leaves theresa may in a rather awkward position. what do you do about boris johnson if awkward position. what do you do about borisjohnson if he says he is not going to apologise, you have said he should? definitely. we have already seen several tory mps take to social media. the new medium for these new political protests, to say this investigation is too far, theresa may has gone too far by giving permission for this. where will it lead? an investigation could, in theory correctly to two

suspension or expulsion. that will sit very badly with the party. i do not think the problem is going away. today you are seeing a more divided party of this decision. the question at the heart of this, leaving aside the substance of the issue itself, is kind of what motivated boris johnson to use this language? there seem johnson to use this language? there seem to be very different views on this. either that he was being, a late—nightjoke this. either that he was being, a late—night joke in his this. either that he was being, a late—nightjoke in his own mind that somehow ends up on paper, or that it isa somehow ends up on paper, or that it is a very deliberate use of provocative language, some who may not like muslim women in bales and may want to mock them or it is an expression of the personality of borisjohnson? expression of the personality of boris johnson? what is expression of the personality of borisjohnson? what is your take on it? some have said it may be to woo ha rd it? some have said it may be to woo hard right supporters. given the whole aim of the peace at the end

argument was that he'd disagreed with the burke abandon —— the burke banned, that seems unlikely. is trying to make the liberal point but the language has seemed very offensive to a number of people.- the conservative party conference last day he talked about a town in libya would be a nice place once they had cleared the bodies out of they had cleared the bodies out of the way. provocative language as pa rt the way. provocative language as part of the boris brand. ulysses is an eye—catching phrase. the words used againstjeremy corbyn was bandied about in the press for several days during the election campaign. do not think the boris campaign. do not think the boris camp would anticipate it would have caught fire this match. that there would be an investigation by his own party. he would have been aware

would have courted some controversy but i do not think he would think it would be at this level. is there any virtue for him, having said he won't apologise, in seeking to clarify to give some sense that he realises the offence he has caused? it is tricky. although he has not said anything, all the things we're hearing from people around him, from his allies in the conservative party, he has doubled down on it and has no plans to apologise. his whole point was, to apologise. his whole point was, to live in a liberal democracy you tolerate things you do not personally agree with you do not tell people what to do "aside. it is ha rd to tell people what to do "aside. it is hard to see an apology, unless it is a clarification. it would have to be very carefully worded for it not to bea very carefully worded for it not to be a u—turn. very carefully worded for it not to be a u-turn. i wonder what he will publish in his next article. thank you very much. a county council facing a funding

shortfall of around £70 million has approved a plan for major cuts to jobs and services. the conservative—run northamptonshire county council, backed the proposals at a crisis meeting. campaigners against the cuts say they'll hit services for children and vulnerable adults. from northampton, our social affairs correspondent alison holt reports it is people like roxanne, who relies on 2a hour a day care paid for by northamptonshire county council and families like the bakers, who will feel the pain of the action plan approved by councillors today. well done. good thinking. the baker children all have disabilities. their mum fears the £70 million of council cuts will mean important help will not be there when needed. these families did not ask for these battles and yet that is what they face day in and day out. they have enough difficulties managing behaviours and managing medical routines day to day. to add a lack of service on top of that is just pushing families over the edge. and it is the uncertainty that

really worries 34—year—old roxanne and her mum. roxanne has a neurological condition and feels she needs more support, not less. my fear is that... my fear is that the county council is... just going to tell me that... they are sorry but they don't have the money. the county council cannot continue to spend money it does not have. today's meeting started with another warning for the conservative—run authority from its financial officer. councillors promised to protect the most vulnerable but voted through the plans for radical reductions in services despite some opposition. northamptonshire is not alone. many county councils say they are facing financial difficulties and warn that reducing services to a minimum

could soon become the norm. other tory—run councils like surrey and east sussex have also said they face tough financial decisions. they blamed significant cuts to the grant they get from central government. and you're looking forward to getting back home if possible? the leader of kent county council heads the organisation representing county authorities that provide services like this care centre. there are a number of other local authorities, four or five that i know of, that are teetering very near the cliff edge and, all of us are struggling to balance our budgets next year without making draconian cuts in front line services. the government has promised to reform councilfunding but many authorities say more money is needed now. alison holt, bbc news, northampton. joining me now is tony travers who specialises

in local government issues. thank you for being with us. it is a mixed tory situation in northamptonshire. is it enough to say it is all down to mismanagement or is it more complicated? it is not only mismanagement. dave hunter chair has a particular problem in that it has not been able to balance its budget this year or last year. —— northamptonshire. as paul carter from the county council has make cleared is now, all of local government has faced substantial reductions in its spending, particularly with cuts to government gra nts particularly with cuts to government grants over the last eight years. what is happening in northamptonshire, it has got to the press first. it is clear that other councils are moving in that direction, particularly county council for whom social care spending is a significant part of

what they do and i like the nhs, demand is growing all the time. the shortfall of up to £70 million sounds extraordinary, even for a cou nty sounds extraordinary, even for a county authority. a liberal democrat councillor said this morning, the report into what went wrong was that the council had knowingly adopted an achievable savings. does that open councillors and officials potentially up to criminal action, or at least civil action if they have knowingly done something when they do not have the money to pay for it? so-called section 144 process , for it? so-called section 144 process, whether chief finance officer tells councillors they are not going to balance the budget is therefore they to do something, it is in therefore they to do something, it isina therefore they to do something, it is in a sense the process that is there in law to stop a local authority ending up spending more than the income it has within years. certainly in terms of day—to—day spending. providing they address

these matters and get their budgets back... squeeze it back, into matching the amount of income they have,in matching the amount of income they have, ina matching the amount of income they have, in a sense they will not end up have, in a sense they will not end up with the problem you have just described. the question now is, how much pay will be taken by the services that for the people who use those services as they get very quickly down to what the income will allow them to spend? there is a fair amount of grumbling locally. we do not know the answer to this but councillor dennis meredith claimed at the meeting at £1500 a day is being paid to pay for the two commissioners that central government has imposed on northamptonshire county council to sort out and, in addition to the government has said the county council should be split into two macro unitary authorities, a popular model in whitehall. in a sense, whitehall is getting its way but a lot of local people will feel they are paying the price for them. whitehall has sent in these

commissioners. they are not running the whole council. we have seen today meeting of the whole council which is empowering difficult decisions that have to be made under the beady eye of the commissioners. with that in mind, central government can stand back from all of this, despite the fact that central government has, in an attempt to balance the national books, but while protecting some items of national public expenditure like the nhs, we have a triple lock on state pensions, international development spending is going up. all of these things are protected. as the government tries to manage the national finances it has as the government tries to manage the nationalfinances it has had as the government tries to manage the national finances it has had to cut local gutmann far more than anything else. that is why —— local government far more than anything else. that is why this particular authority has been author of some of its own problems, a significant amount of its own problems, so far.

the truth is other councils, according to the national audit office, an independent body that reports to parliament has made it clear it is not only northamptonshire emmy for this difficulty in the longer term. the government cannot step back completely. as we are moving forward toa completely. as we are moving forward to a spending review which will begin this autumn, two —— to chart out public spending in the future, while they are trying to find money for other matters like the nhs and defensible example. northamptonshire could end up as a canary in this particular coalmine. the headlines on bbc news... a court hears evidence from the england cricketer ben stokes, at his trial for affray — he says he stepped in after homophobic abuse was shouted at two men. boris johnson faces a possible investigation into breaches of the conservative party code of conduct, following his comments about muslim women who wear burqas a damning report says appalling sexual abuse took place for decades at two elite catholic boarding schools, on boys as young as seven.

the foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, has thanked the united states for ‘standing firm' with the uk, after washington introduced new sanctions on russia following the salisbury nerve agent attack. the former russian spy, sergei skripal, and his daughter yulia, were poisoned in the city in march. the us state department says russia violated international law by using chemical or biological weapons. in a moment, we'll get more from washington, but first, here's our moscow correspondent steve rosenberg on how the sanctions are being received there. the reaction here was predictably negative. one russian senator said america was behaving like a police state dispensing justice in the worst traditions of a lynch mob. the language from the kremlin today a little less colourful but it made the same point. president putin's spokesman said the us sanctions were absolutely illegal and categorically unacceptable, and he insisted there was no connection between the russian state

and the salisbury poisoning, but the kremlin sounds increasingly confused by the mixed signals coming out of washington, the fact that on the one hand there is a us president who says he wants better relations with moscow yet at the same time the list of us sanctions against russia grows longer and longer, and all this is notjust getting the kremlin down but dragging down the national currency. the ruble fell to its lowest level against the dollar for two years. we can now get the perspective of brian whitmore, from the washington based think—tank the centre for european policy analysis which focuses on eastern euope and russia. thank you very much for being with us on thank you very much for being with us on bbc news. thank you for having me. how awkward it is this in policy terms for the donald trump

administration were given the latest sanctions almost appear to kind of have been triggered automatically rather than because of the conscious decision taken by the administration? i think the us foreign policy establishment is simply doing its job. foreign policy establishment is simply doing itsjob. there is a law in place, 1991 law, that mandates sanctions in the event of a country using chemical and biological weapons if the —— it is determined to have done so. this is a natural process. this is just to have done so. this is a natural process. this isjust one to have done so. this is a natural process. this is just one step to have done so. this is a natural process. this isjust one step in to have done so. this is a natural process. this is just one step in a whole series of sanctions that have been imposed on russia over time. these need not to be looked at in isolation but we need to look at the whole mosaic. isn't it legitimate for moscow to say we are getting very mixed signals here? one of them

is triggered by a law introduced into congress in 1991. the law of the united states had to respond to it. the trump administration is conscious of saying we want to improve relations with moscow and opened up the possibility of a visit from president putin at some point although that now looks rather remote. if you think about it can even during the darkest days of the cold war, we were having a dialogue with the soviet union. it is impossible to avoid. at the same time, the russian federation needs to be punished for its actions. using a weapon of mass destruction on the territory of one of its closest allies was not what difference have measures taken in the immediate aftermath of the salisbury poisoning, what impact they had? i think we are seeing, in some estimates it says the russian economy has lost 1.8% of gdp. research we have recently done it against the russian economy has lost

1.8% of its gdp. that is due to sanctions. this is hypothetically where the economy would be had there not been sanctions. we are seeing that the rouble fell precipitously today. aeroflot stocks dropped 4.6% last i checked. the sanctions come in two macro steps. in three months it is possible that aeroflot could lose its landing rights in the states and the stock has responded to that. they are unlikely to make a promise to not do this again because that would be an admission they had donein that would be an admission they had done in the first place, which they denied. presumably those sanctions we re denied. presumably those sanctions were cut in. one would think so. we have to bear in mind here, and your right to say, the russian behaviour will not change. the regime is waging an all out non—kinetic war against the west and west and introduce and is —— institutions. it

is not the first time they used a weapon of mass destruction in the united kingdom. the successful assassination of alexander litvinenko, we should have been paying attention there. it has weaponised cyber and energy of the west needs more than sanctions now. it needs a doctrine, a full on multilateral government response to this. at stake is nothing short of our democratic institutions. until now the putin regime has been able to have it both ways, reaping the benefits of the law —based western system by sending their kids to school here, storing many here, taking vacations in the south of france, while, at the same time, flouting the laws and rules of the western system and attempting to undermine it. the days when they can

haveit undermine it. the days when they can have it both ways are coming to an end and that is a good sign. thank you so much for being with us on bbc news. the number of people waiting more than a year for non—urgent surgery in england, has risen sharply, to more than three and half thousand, the highest level in more than six years. that's despite a pledge in 2014 by the previous health secretary to end "unacceptable" waiting times. the latest figures also show that the number of people who used a&e departments in england, was at a record high injuly. our health editor hugh pym has more. richard has learned to live with parkinson's, but it's the constant pain in his knee which he finds the most difficult to cope with. he's waited well over a year for a knee replacement, what should be routine surgery, but there have been four cancellations. he says if he'd had it done a year ago, it would have made a big difference. hopefully i would have been able to walk without having to use a walking frame, or walking sticks. i would have been able to get out more. but i feel like a prisoner

in a room, because i can't get out, no matter how hard i try. richard is one of a growing number in england who have been waiting more than 12 months for operations. four years ago, the then health secretary, jeremy hunt, said such waits were unacceptable, and called for them to be eliminated. then there were about 570 waiting that time, now it is more than 3,500. we know over winter this year, unfortunately, the pressures on the nhs were such that we had to cancel routine operations for a couple of months. what that meant is not that patients didn't need those operations, it meant they had to wait longer for them, and i think that's reflected in the increase in waiting times we're seeing today. with emergency care there's continuing pressure on the nhs. last month saw a record number of people going into a&e units in england. underlying the point that

with the nhs, there is no let up, whether it is winter or summer. nhs england said that in soaring temperatures there had been an unprecedented summer surge, but others in the health service argued it was part of a long running trend. generally, demand for nhs services is going up and up and up. we are trying to grapple with that extra demand at a point when we have real workforce shortages and where to be frank we have been in the middle of a very long and prolonged financial squeeze on the nhs, so trusts are finding it really difficult to cope with that extra demand. i feel like i've been left behind. i feel very disgruntled that they haven't put me on a priority list. richard has now been given a new date for his operation later this month. his local hospital said they were very sorry, but they had a significant backlog of cases. richard's hope is it won't be too long to ease the pain and make a difference to his life. hugh pym, bbc news. a bit more of a picture of change on

the weather map. helen has the details. we had some welcome rain across parts of eastern england to date although we had quite a good deal of sunny weather across parts of northern england, wales the south—west and a scattering of showers for scotland and northern ireland. this evening it becomes dry virtually everywhere bar a few showers but under the starry skies it will be quite chilly, 11 or 12 in the south and east. the day dawns on a bright note but it doesn't take long for the showers to get going, they will come through prickly but there will be some heavy ones around in the sunshine, high teens were low

20s will feel pleasant and showers tend to ease off late in the day but for the weekend it looks like there is more rain in store. i will have more detailfor you is more rain in store. i will have more detail for you shortly. hello. this is bbc news with shaun ley. the headlines... a court hears evidence from the england cricketer ben stokes, at his trial for affray. he says he stepped in after homophobic abuse was shouted at two men. a damning report says appalling sexual abuse, on boys as young as seven, took place for decades at two elite catholic boarding schools. boris johnson faces a possible investigation into breaches of the conservative party code of conduct, following his comments about muslim women who wear burqas. russia condemns new us sanctions imposed in response to the salisbury nerve agent attack — a spokeperson for vladimir putin calls them "absolutely illegal" ‘s and a whole country

welcomes their hero of the tour de france, as geraint thomas, returns to cardiff. dozens of children have been killed by an air strike on a school bus in yemen. it was carried out by the saudi—led coalition that's fighting the houthi rebels. the latest pictures from the scene are distressing. the red cross say more than 40 people died, and most of the victims are under the age of ten. the saudi—led coalition has insisted the air strike conformed to international and humanitarian laws, saying they were ta rgetting missile launchers. they have accused houthi rebels of using children as human shields. mike penrose from unicef joins me now. first we should see your charity has people on the ground in yemen so this isn't the first incident you have scenes of violence in which

children have died. what do you know? we know a bus containing children was hit in northern yemen with 20 confirmed deaths but we expect the actual figure to be much higher. a school bus, it sounds like the saudi led coalition which is fighting the houthi rebels who are in control of this part of yemen, they seem to be the dominant force on the ground, they are saying the rebels used children either as human shields or as child soldiers. we know a lot of children have been killed in this conflict and a lot of children are being recruited by all bodies in this conflict. we know here a number of children have died and we need an independent investigation to ascertain what happened. and presumably it's in the

saudi led coalition's into rats to have an investigation because this will be a propaganda coup for the rebels. an intentional attack on children is a crime so within the interests of all parties to allow unimpeded humanitarian access to the most vulnerable and an independent un investigation. we were told by couple of months ago that the ports we re couple of months ago that the ports were reopened and humanitarian supplies are getting in. they are getting in sporadically, in this conflict there were ebbs and flows, supplies are getting in when we can. and presumably you cannot put your people on the ground at risk if there is a danger of them being attacked. we have a lot of very brave workers on the ground. a lot ofjewish them are doing this at

considerable risk and this is why we wa nt considerable risk and this is why we want unimpeded access. what is the un security council doing now? we hope they will be debating quickly. britain has the charm so it would be down to the british ambassador to call an emergency meeting. all the parties who are belligerent in this conflict and have influence over them need to work together to make sure we have a dialogue and find a solution. this question of a solution. this question of a solution seems to be a huge problem because the military intervention was meant to bring order in yemen but that doesn't seem to have happened. the conflict is ongoing, we know 3500 children have lost their lives since 20 fifteenths so their lives since 20 fifteenths so the imperative is there for all parties to get together. mike

penrose, thank you. the number of people killed in last week's earthquake on the indonesian island of lombok has more than doubled. officials say at least 250 people are now known to have died. since the 6.9—magnitude quake struck on sunday, more than 150,000 people have been left homeless. mehulika sitepu reports from lombok. more than 350 aftershocks have been struck since the quake on sunday, but this one was different. this was my reaction, after my hotel was hit. i'm saying, "i'm still shaking because i had to run from my hotel room on the third floor." the ceiling was collapsing, glasses shattered, walls cracked, but all guests were safe. their fear was clearly visible. sturdy buildings like my hotel, 13 kilometres away from the epicentre in the north of lombok, can withstand the shock.

but ricketty houses where most islanders live cannot. that is why tens of thousands of people are now left homeless. these tents are now their homes. many are concerned of what will now become of them and their families. translation: i'm scared to leave. the only way is to stay. i hope the government tends to our needs, and helps us to fix our homes. officials say creating temporary shelter has been a priority, as has the continuing search for survivors. promises have been made to rebuild esuring the future of every islander. an oscar may still be the film award to win — but the tv audiences for this cinematic showpiece have been dwindling. so the organisers are creating a new award to honour box office hits which don't always rate

with the critics. olivia crellin reports. chances are if you're a movie lover you've seen or at least heard about one of these films in the last couple of months. avengers: infinity war from the marvel franchise and the latest instalment in the mission: impossible series, mission: impossible — fallout were box office hits, bringing in billions of dollars worldwide. but they're not usually the type of film to take home one of these — an oscar. that might be all set to change with the academy awards announcing on wednesday a brand—new category for popular movies. it might increase the chances of stars like chadwick boseman and lupita nyong'o, who starred in this year's hit black panther, a film that broke several records, including the highest—grossing solo superhero film. but some are concerned it could keep so—called popularfilms, like get out, nominated for best picture this year,

from winning in the more prestigious category. the change is a sign that the oscars are under pressure to increase their appeal. this year's ceremony was watched by a us television audience of just 26.5 million viewers, the smallest in the oscars' 90—year history. disney, which owns abc, which broadcasts the show here, and the academy, they're all worried about people just drifting away from this telecast. part of wednesday's announcement included setting a limit to the annual televised ceremony ofjust three hours. oscars organisers plan to achieve this by placing some of the academy's 24 award hand—outs during commercial breaks. let's speak to our correspondent in los angeles, peter bowes. you have followed every twist and turn off the oscars for many years.

how worried are they about the decline in audiences?” how worried are they about the decline in audiences? i think the worry is coming from the tv network that broadcasts the oscars in the us, abc, who stand to benefit if more people watch the oscars, the advertising costs more and they make more money so there is concern about falling audience. the academy has also been under pressure to make the oscars more relevant and reflect the tent pole movies that earn a huge amount of money and fill cinemas and they haven't been doing that recently and this year's audience reflected that. there were some great art house movies in contention but it didn't necessarily reflect what people are seeing. and a mismatch between the academy, whose

members are in the film business, are members are in the film business, a re interested members are in the film business, are interested in and what audiences are interested in and what audiences a re interested are interested in and what audiences are interested in. that's not good news for movie—making. are interested in. that's not good news for movie-making. clearly it's not good for the industry if people who make the films are thinking in a different way from those who are watching them but it has always been the case that those in hollywood see those big blockbusters, action film epics as not as great in terms of the craft of making film, perhaps they don't like the dialogue, and they don't like the dialogue, and they believe a strong film worthy of best picture should be good in terms of cinematography, dialogue and they don't reach the mark, then again you could say perhaps they need to move with the times in these days when you can watch a film in different areas, there is a sense the academy

needs to move with the times. peter, thank you. the itv television presenter ant mcpartlin says he'll take a break from presenting, until next year. he'll miss the next series of i'm a celebrity, get me out of here, and ant and dec‘s saturday night takeaway. in april, he was banned from the road for 20 months and fined £86,000, after admitting driving while more than twice the legal limit. rya nair says it will cancel about one in six of its flights tomorrow because of a strike by pilots in several european countries. the industrial action is part of an ongoing row about pay and conditions. 400 flights are currently affected, including more than 200 between germany and the uk. the football transfer window has closed in england. it was the last chance for clubs to sign players before the new season gets under way. among today's highlights was chelsea breaking the world record for a goalkeeper. £71 million for 23—year—old spaniard kepa arrizabalaga. he replaces thibaut courtouis,

who's signed for the european champions real madrid, for a reported £35 million. well, joining me now is the doyen of football agents, jon smith, who's managed everyone from ruud gullit tojohn barnes. he joins us live via webcam from his car in bermondsey in south london. not driving, i hope, someone else is doing the driving but thank you for being with us. you're welcome, and by the way your pronunciation of the spanish goalkeeper was par excellence. i was breached in advance because i couldn't afford the libel bill if i'd got it wrong. for people outside the business it seems crazy, this run—up to the deadline. it was a little less crazy this year the cars this window in england shuts tonight, it shot at

5pm, three weeks ahead of the rest of the world's window so traditionally the prices come down a fraction in the last week and you see this mad scramble, it wasn't really a scramble this time. coverage and closed three big deals today, west ham a couple more but the prices stayed up in europe because they are open for three more weeks so we kind of tested the water by putting both our feet in the water at the same time. next year the fifa regulation will change again, we will all change at the end of the first week in august. that will make it more manageable and in some ways more transferable. and there will be a new system next year, there will be a new system next yea r, every there will be a new system next year, every transfer will be on the tra nsfer year, every transfer will be on the transfer matching system with all agents and representatives notified

through a clearing bank in switzerland, so the system is getting better. one club that was busy today was chelsea. the unpronounceable goalkeeper who i will call kepa, i thought chelsea did well because they paid the right price for him, they signed him on a seven year deal so chelsea will look goodin seven year deal so chelsea will look good in those seven days. —— seven yea rs. good in those seven days. —— seven years. it's stressfulfor good in those seven days. —— seven years. it's stressful for agents like you and for some managers. we saw reports of jose like you and for some managers. we saw reports ofjose mourinho grumpy about one agent's behaviour. it's a difficult relationship. i lovejose mourinho, he's been great for our game but he doesn't need to be so grumpy. he's a big success and he

should smile more because he has been good for all of us. but you have different priorities as agents and managers trying to get the best tea m and managers trying to get the best team at the best price. all parts of the game should work together. the agenfs the game should work together. the agent's world has been a big mess since deregulation, in fact today the fans agency was launched, football fa ns the fans agency was launched, football fans who i am working with, who are setting up there own agency with help from my team, so for the first time football agents will be on that hallowed turf representing players and can say, instead of god, he's on 200 grand a week, i got him that and i'm on 15 grand a week because of that. you're opening up a

promise for a better tomorrow! thank you. geraint thomas has received a welcome fit for a champion on the streets of cardiff, after his triumphant victory in the tour de france. the team sky rider stepped out of chris froome's shadow last month to achieve a sixth win in seven years for british cyclists. our correspondent tomos morgan is in cardiff. never before has the welsh capital celebrated a cycling victory like this. thousands gathered across cardiff as the country celebrates the first welshman to win the tour de france. as he rides through the city centre, he's accompanied by youngsters from cycling clubs across the whole of wales and the hope is that his success will inspire the next generation. journey's end at cardiff's iconic castle. thomas thanking the crowd for their overwhelming support. it is incredible. i want to thank everyone for coming out. the support has been insane, so, thanks a lot. his win on alpe d'huez was where the march to victory began. he and his team—mate chris froome battle throughout.

triumphant thomas, the winner of cycling's most prestigious race. proud to say he's a cardiff boy and i cried for... because... you know, amazing isn't it, all the sort of children, the aspiring cyclist out there and hopefully a bit of road safety awareness. it means a lot. it brings a lot to wales and cardiff. after following the tour de france the least we can do is show up for him. the debate has begun as to whether his victory is the greatest achievement in welsh sporting history, nevertheless today is a day to remember not only for wales but also for thomas himself. the headlines on bbc news: a court hears evidence from the england cricketer

ben stokes, at his trial for affray. he says he stepped in after homophobic abuse was shouted at two men. boris johnson faces a possible investigation into breaches of the conservative party code of conduct, following his comments about muslim women who wear burqas. a damning report says appalling sexual abuse took place for decades at two elite catholic boarding schools, on boys as young as seven. the dramatic giant's causeway is northern ireland's most popular tourist atraction, and one ofjust four natural world heritage sites in the uk. now, it's at the centre of a row about whether tourists are being charged to see it. the national trust disputes claims that its signs surrounding the tourist hotspot are misleading, as our ireland correspondent emma vardy reports. this geological wonder attracted more than1 million visitors last year. legend has it the causeway was once the domain of warring giants. today it is the focus of a different battle.

the site is managed by the national trust, although to walk down and see the giant's causeway is free. but some people believe the national trust's signage is designed to make people think they have to pay. they are trying to mislead people into thinking that they have to go into the visitors' centre here to see the giant's causeway. the giant's causeway is free, it belongs to the people of northern ireland, it's part of our heritage. there are no signs saying, "giant's causeway this way", which is through the tunnel behind me here, which is free. but there are plenty of signs here telling you to go through the visitor centre, where at the moment you have to pay £11.50 to go into what is basically a cafe and a gift shop. signs to the visitor centre advertise the cost of guided tours. it's not immediately obvious where to go if you just want to take the public footpath. and it's small print like this that's got some people even more annoyed. this says access onto the giant's causeway stones is by permission of the national trust. we just came down here, but we wouldn't have

known it was for free, it looks like you have to have a guided tedium. —— a guided tour. we were told that we had to have tickets, and to be able to show those tickets when we came down, and it was worth it. signage at the entrance to the giant's causeway tells the public that they are using these paths with the permission of the national trust. if an investigation establishes that all of the parts must be asserted as public rights of way, this signage must be removed. the national trust denies that the signs on the way down here are misleading. it says it's made sure that the public right of way is formally noted on the public register. despite some suspicions, the trust says there are no intentions to start charging for access to the giant's causeway in future. we're all about access as a conservation charity, and currently we allow people to access the whole site anyway. but if you want to come and enjoy the site using the visitor experience charge, then that's the best way to do it, we would argue. you get a guided tour, you get the audio tour, if you want to take that.

the national trust says profits go back into maintaining the site and others on the north coast which also attract many visitors. the council wants the national trust signs to be made clearer and is determined to fight to get legal certainty so that visitors will be able to continue following in the footsteps of giants for free. now, while yesterday's centenary ceremony for the world war one battle of amiens was a largely solemn and profound occassion, a few us haven't been able to help ourselves having a slight chuckle at theresa may's "unconventional" curtsy technique. let's take a look. various applications, including her audience with her majesty the queen there, and we have a couple more images to show as well. there is the

prime minister meeting prince harry, thatis prime minister meeting prince harry, that is yesterday, and it gives you up that is yesterday, and it gives you up flavour. it's a challenge not least with the weather, never mind whatever the prime minister is wearing. i certainly couldn't do it. a person who can and knows all about it is lives. —— is liz brewer. a person who can and knows all about it is lives. —— is liz brewerlj it is lives. —— is liz brewer.” couldn't get that low, they say how low ca n couldn't get that low, they say how low can you go but that is that traditional curtsy and we still have a queen, she is traditional and therefore what our prime minister is doing is continuing that tradition. it's a shame were concentrating on

her curtsy and not the matter in hand, honouring the troops. we talked about that yesterday, there has been interest in the photos as they appeared and social media. is it still the case that all women are expected to cu rtsy it still the case that all women are expected to curtsy or could date bob or both? it's a question of showing respect. if the arab british and they meet a member of the royal family, it's traditional to curtsy or bowl. men nod their heads, women cu rtsy. or bowl. men nod their heads, women curtsy. the older you are, the lower the curtsy because that originally what it was. so the older the person you were curtsying to or the older you were curtsying to or the older you are? when i was taught to curtsy it was pretty low. but it's not easy! it's not quite kowtowing to

the old chinese emperors and throwing yourselves on the floor but could you give us a demonstration? of course, pretending you're the prince. i will make the most of it. the left leg is forward so i put my left leg forward, right leg back and then i go low and then i go up. i get a bit shaky if i go that low. if you have support you could just do that. so in some ways to raise a's problem is that she has been wearing quite revealing skirts, nothing wrong with that... she has good legs! so you can see where her legs aren't going more than if it was in aren't going more than if it was in a long dress. where does the curtsy

come from? it goes back to when we started having royalty and it was a question of bowing in respect to whoever was king or queen. but it is traditional, i don't know if they do within other countries, they probably do, if people from overseas come to ask, they don't have to do because they're not british but out of respect to work queen, they would. and we have seen incidents with heads of state from other countries, when they meet the queen, it's quite challenging. briefly, for men, the bio? men nowadays do that, traditionally they would go further forward that meant sort of do that.

ifi forward that meant sort of do that. if i ever, it's not likely but you never know, it's in the head now. now a look at the weather prospects with helen willetts. some of us all a little rain today and although there is some more in the forecast, it's not guaranteed. this is the cloud that brought the day's rain, still spilling its way across the east of england, out in the atlantic we have cloud and tropical air so at the moment we are in this cooler pool of weather so temperatures have dipped by day and by night and it's more comfortable than it has been for a while. this evening and through the night the winds ease away, they have been quite strong through the east of england but it all starts to ease and overnight showers die back and it turns chilly

inland, even in the south we are down to 10 or 11 and it will be close to grouund frost levels in the north. we are looking out into the atlantic for this amalgamation of weather fronts heading into the weekend but until then we are heading into this westerly atlantic air flow. lots of showers around on friday. it will be quite heavy so this will bring some usable rain but it's not guaranteed. temperatures will do quite well between the showers, not as warm as it has been. 16 for aberdeen, a little bit warmer for glasgow and edinburgh. between the showers there will be some sunshine across northern ireland and they will ease in the west later as high pressure builds ahead of the weekend. friday evening it should be quite pleasant, plenty of sunshine and then friday night will be chilly again with temperatures in single figures quite widely in rural areas, it looks like a pleasant start to saturday but we do have a troublemaker in the

atlantic to bring us in some rain and the uncertainty of how far north and west that rain will be, some areas in fact most will have areas of cloud, strong winds and showers, or longer outbreaks of rain and it will be usable rain. because it's coming on a weather front. temperatures still remain into the low 20s so pleasant if you see some sunshine. this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. the headlines at eight. a court hears evidence from the england cricketer ben stokes at his trial for affray. he says he stepped in after homophobic abuse was shouted at two men. a damning report says appalling sexual abuse on boys as young

as seven took place for decades at two elite catholic boarding schools. the conservative party is examining dozens of complaints about boris johnson's comments on muslim women and full face veils. and russia has condemned a new