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 us sanctions imposed in response to the salisbury nerve agent attack. a spokeperson for president vladimir putin calls them "absolutely illegal".

and a whole country welcomes their hero of the tour de france as geraint thomas returns home to wales. and coming up, the link between regular exercise and improved mental health, and why you might not need to do as much as you might think. hello and welcome to bbc news if you've just joined hello and welcome to bbc news if you'vejustjoined us. 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 their role in 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. but 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 and 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 emotions for most of my life. 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 for 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. do we know anything about these complaints? will they have come from other conservatives for the party to be investigating, or will it be anyone? certainly we know that some of them have come from the conservative party members, for example lord sheikh from the conservative muslim forum, he earlier on this week called for borisjohnson to have the whip removed, which would mean that he would no longer be a conservative mp. so he is certainly somebody who

we know has made one of these complaints. in addition to the complaints. in addition to the complaints that have gone to the conservative party, we understand that 100 muslim women have also written a letter complaining to the party chairman saying that they thought the whip should be removed. in terms of what happens now, what we understand is that because these complaints have been submitted to the conservative party, the disciplinary process begins a look into whether or not a member has breached the code of conduct. so that process has begun, we understand. there are three stages to that process, so the first stage they look at the complaint and decide whether or not there is a case to answer, whether or not it is something that merits further investigation. so we understand that thatis investigation. so we understand that that is the stage the boris johnson's cases at the moment. if they decide there is a case to answer, it then goes to an independent panel, and that independent panel, and that independent panel, and that independent panel will then decide whether or not it goes to the third stage, which would be to the

conservative party board. and at that stage, they would decide whether or not the person in question would be suspended or excluded from the party. so that is the worst—case scenario for boris johnson, but very clear that at the moment, it is not clear whether or not it will ever even get beyond the first hurdle, because he is still on that first stage. and we understand from party that the process is confidential, so they are not giving us confidential, so they are not giving usa confidential, so they are not giving us a lot of details on that. boris johnson himself still hasn't apologised for the comments that he made about women in full face veils looking as though they are letterboxes or bank robbers. he hasn't apologised for that. and in terms of this latest development with him being investigated potentially for whether or not he has breached the code of conduct, again we have had no comment from him. susana mendonca from westminster, thank you. 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. 0ne 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. steve rosenberg there in moscow. to discuss how much of an impact these additional sanctions will have we can now speak to sarah mcgregor, markets editor for bloomberg, who joins us from washington. thank you for being with us on bbc news. we saw the ruble fall to a two—year low today, but it then regained some of those losses by the end of trading. so a certain amount of kind of shock reaction to this. but how worried the longer term do you think russian investors are going to be? as you said, we saw this immediate knee jerk going to be? as you said, we saw this immediate kneejerk reaction in stocks, the ruble earlier, and i

think that those were an immediate reaction to the sanctions. investors reacting immediately to what happened. but i think what we want to look toward a bit longer term is what next. the sanctions that were put in place don't affect a large pa rt put in place don't affect a large part of the russian economy, but in 90 days, the us under the same law that used for the sanctions this week needs to revisit and look to see whether to expand the sanctions, and if they start hitting things like the energy sector or the financial sector, and congress is also looking at some tougher sanctions, if those go forward you could start to see a much bigger impact. this is interesting because we we re impact. this is interesting because we were talking to a guest about it are going from one of the research institute in washington who were saying that this is a 1991 law. he was looking at some material earlier pointing out it has been used against north korea and syria, now being used against russia, it automatically kicks in. but there is automatically kicks in. but there is a difference. north korea and syria don't have much trade right now with the united states. presumably russia

does still have, and therefore the impact of these could be much more significant than we've seen under this law in the past. of course the us actions programme hold sway because it basically holds the keys to the financial system through the us dollar and the international currency transactions. so when the us does put sanctions on to russia, it definitely is going to restrict the ability of russia to borrow, and that could really have a hit on the economy. unlike the uk, for example, with the pound, it is not used as much as a transactional currency, so that doesn't have the same bite. but the us definitely if it starts to put the squeeze on russia and the amount of dollars that its business can amount of dollars that its business ca n a ccess amount of dollars that its business can access and just create that uncertain environment by putting more sanctions on, i think it will definitely have an impact going forward. it certainly seems to be the weapon of choice at the moment. we have heard more about sanctions against iran on monday, and we are already seeing companies suspending activity in iran because they are worried that they might otherwise be penalised by the united states.

presumably any decision that america ta kes for presumably any decision that america takes for the reasons that you've said actually reverberates around the world, around many other trading nations that wouldn't regard themselves as directly connected with the particular dispute? we have really seen the trump administration knew sanctions as it is weapon of choice in even foreign policy and some of its trade ideas. i think we did an analysis earlier this year that showed even though the use of sanctions was growing under previous administrations, the trump administrations, the trump administration has now taken it to a new level, and i think the treasury secretary steven mnuchin has played a part of that. he says he spends 70% of his time on sanctions policies, and he even said that during the overhaul of the tax system. so you can see that the trump administration is pretty keen on using this to try and exert its power and influence in the world, and to try and get what it needs out of these countries. sarah mcgregor at bloomberg, the market editor, you

know that, i'm just reminding the audience and myself, thank you so much forjoining us from washington today. it's time to take a look at the headline that exactly a quarter past 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. the conservative party is examining dozens of complaints about boris johnson's comments on muslim women and full face veils. a report says appalling sexual abuse took place for decades at two elite catholic boarding schools, on boys as young as seven sport now, and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's will perry. good evening. hello and thank you — let's head to berlin first where the latest evening of action is underway at the european championships.

in the last few minutes we've had the final of the men's 200 metres. 0ur reporter ade adedoyinjoins me now. i assume you have another british medal to report. it i assume you have another british medalto report. it has i assume you have another british medal to report. it has been a good night from britain in that respect, they have claimed the silver medal, 20.04, a seasons best finishing behind the reigning champion. adam gemili was also in the final, he finished fifth. next to me are both men. first of all, nathaniel, seasons best, how is that? to pull out a seasons best of the big occasion is always important. unfortunately i had a couple of lines incorrect, but coming out with a medal is not bad. how much pressure did you feel going in there, facing the defending champion? no pressure at all, all the pressure to create is internal, i control what i put on the track at the end of the day, i can't control what other people do. i was happy with what was in my mind coming into

this race. and in terms of building towards the world championship next year, how much confidence does this give you? gold in the four by 100 metres relay last year. give you? gold in the four by 100 metres relay last yearlj give you? gold in the four by 100 metres relay last year. i am starting to collect medals now, solidifying myself as a force to be reckoned with. it is about medals, and adam gemili is alongside you as well, i didn't watch out for you tonight, what was the problem?” well, i didn't watch out for you tonight, what was the problem? i had a toughjob, i had to hit it with everything i had, and it showed a little bit, lacking in the last 40 or 50 metres. iwas little bit, lacking in the last 40 or 50 metres. i was dying. little bit, lacking in the last 40 or 50 metres. iwas dying. but little bit, lacking in the last 40 or 50 metres. i was dying. but from a british standpoint, it was an unbelievable way, we're only going to get better and push each other, hopefully we can really start to challenge for the senior medals. i believe we have got the talent to do so, wejust believe we have got the talent to do so, we just have to take that next step. this sport is highs and lows, lows from yesterday, a bit of a high today, but it is amazing, and i love

taking it on, it is brilliant. and going towards next year the world championships. thank you, nathaniel rick mitchell blake and adam gemili. katarina johnson—thompson currently leads the heptathlon with three events to go. 87 points, ahead of the reigning world and olympic champion. she has already won gold world indoors, bolder the commonwealth games, good chance of her another gold medal here. ade, thank you very much. let's bring you up—to—date with some of the other action. the swimmers are back in the pool. and so are the divers. jack laugher won gold in the 3 metre springboard. collecting his second gold in the championships, after victory in the 1 metre event. it follows up the gold that he won in the same event, in the same pool, at the commonwealth games in glasgow four years ago. i couldn't really get ahead of the russians, and they really couldn't get ahead of me either, and neither of us were letting each other go. i have wa nted of us were letting each other go. i have wanted this for a long time, especially after 2016 finishing

second to a russian, i wanted to come here and prove myself, and to see that score and see me in first place, i wanted to cry. it is an amazing feeling, but i've still got one more competition, i've got to stay focused, but i feel amazing. he is on form isn't he. adam peaty secured his fourth gold of the championships alongside duncan scott, james guy and nicholas pyle in the men's 4 by 100 metres medley relay. scott swam the anchor leg, clinching victory ahead of russia,in a new championship record time. the women's relay team have just followed that with bronze, which means that great britain have matched their best ever european championships. the summer transfer window has shut. the big money was spent yesterday. £71 million by chelsea on kepa arriza balaga a record for a goalkeeper, he joined from athletic bilbao. chelsea showed him off today.

known as kepa, kepa he's currently second choice for spain behind manchester united's david de gea. chelsea met the release clause with the deal surpassing alisson's £66.8m move to liverpool. he's signed a seven—year contract at the club you can keep up—to—date with all of those transfers on the website, and i will have more at 10:30pm. thank you very much, and at the risk of doing it far less elegantly, we will be staying with the transfer window. it closed in england mid—afternoon, the last chance the clu bs to mid—afternoon, the last chance the clubs to sign new players. the highlight was including chelsea breaking the world record for kepa, replacing thibaut courtois who goes to real madrid for a reported mere £35 million. let's talk now to shinnie ahmed who is herself an expert on all of this, and she joins

us expert on all of this, and she joins us live from slough. what you make of today's activity? it is a lot, it's awesome panic buying towards the end of the window. we have seen a lot of movement with the big clubs especially, buying new players. also chelsea with the deal that they did for the goalkeeper yesterday, u nfortu nately for for the goalkeeper yesterday, unfortunately for united it didn't happen the way they wanted it to happen. but it has been an interesting window. and in terms of chelsea in particular, that seems to be the big news, the great activity. not so unexpected ? be the big news, the great activity. not so unexpected? with chelsea, they have brought in the new manager, and there was always the issue as to whether or not thibaut courtois was going to stay, and then obviously he disappeared for two days, and as a result of that, that is why they have to spend that much money for their young new

goalkeeper, he is only 23 years old. he is young, as you say, so presumably as an investment, god willing, in terms of his performance in remaining injury free, and given they have got him on quite a long contract, he is a good investment, spread over quite a few years? he is a good investment, but what you have to see is whether or not he is going to see is whether or not he is going to be compatible to the english premier league. a lot of the european clubs, only time will tell. we wish him all the best, and we hope he will stay for a long time. what did you make of the story in the times this morning suggesting thatjose mourinho was pretty unhappy about as he put it, paul pogba being hawked around europe by his agent, kind of disrupting his plans for manchester united ? his agent, kind of disrupting his plans for manchester united? is that justjose mourinho being him, being

the man who gets headlines and makes a thing of being a bit grumpy, or is there a serious issue here about agents and managers? first of all, i've not had time to read the times, soi i've not had time to read the times, so i can't really comment on what they have actually written. but then again, the media says a lot of things. we really don't know whether or notjose mourinho has actually said those words. but as far as paul pogba is concerned, whether or not he stays at manchester united, you have to remember he is still allowed to go anywhere in europe, because the europe window hasn't closed until the 31st of august. it's just in the uk we can't bring in any new players, so that is something that is still going to be up in the air until the 31st of august. this will obviously change next year, as we we re obviously change next year, as we were hearing from john smith and hour or so ago. but it is a problem. 0ur season has already begun, couple of weekends ago. we've got the

tra nsfer of weekends ago. we've got the transfer window shopping today, but then the rest of europe and others keep going, it is kind of a bit barmy. that isn't the word. you have to remember the winter transfer, that deadline date hasn't moved, it is still the 31st of february for everybody. it is quite bizarre, because they are still having to do twice as much work, because not only are you working with clubs in england, you are working with clubs all over the world as well, so you are still working. you can hopefully going to have a bit of rest now, it has been a busy time for you. thank you so much for being with us on news. thank you. regular physical activity three to five times a week is the optimal amount for improving mental well—being according to research published in the medicaljournal the lancet. more than a million people took part in a study in the united states which found that all types of activity, including housework and mowing the lawn, were found

to be positive but overdoing things was counter—productive. our health reporter laura foster has more. it's long been known that exercise keeps the body healthy, and now we're really beginning to learn more about the effect it has on the mind. switch! new research, which surveyed more than a million people, found that those who exercised said they suffered from poor mental health less often than those who didn't. it's one of the reasons people come to this running club in didsbury. go, go, go, go, go! i feel really good coming away from it. so no matter how your day's been, you know, if you push yourself, you're going to be happy at the end of it. exercise in general is the best way by far for me to de—stress. it gives me a lot of freedom and confidence, and it's helped me get over a lot of depression. the strength of the impact is also linked to how much time was spent exercising. the biggest reduction in poor mental

health came when people exercised for between half an hour to an hour at a time. if you exercised for an hour and a half, you'd still see and improvement, but it would be smaller. but the survey suggests there can be such a thing as too much exercise. being active for more than three hours a day was associated with worse mental health than not exercising at all. but does being inactive lead to poorer mental health, or does poorer mental health mean you're less likely to get active? at this point, experts can't determine which one causes the other. laura foster, bbc news. joining me now isjessica robson who organises a running club where people can talk about their mental health. you have literally just you have literallyjust come in from a meeting at the club. what have you been up to this evening? we meet every thursday evening and tuesdays for a five kjob every thursday evening and tuesdays for a five k job and chat, every thursday evening and tuesdays for a five kjob and chat, so every thursday evening and tuesdays for a five k job and chat, so we meet to have half an hour so of talking. i reiterate that it is a

safe confidential space, and then we go out for a very gentle, open to all abilitiesjog. so go out for a very gentle, open to all abilities jog. so that is what happened this evening. so you would com pletely happened this evening. so you would completely endorse what this report has found, that there is a connection between physical activity and mental well—being? connection between physical activity and mentalwell-being? absolutely, i notice now with hindsight that my periods of mental health have been strongly linked with periods where i was running consistently, and it is something that i hear all the time from the runners. do you have any idea why? what the trigger is? is it just a chemical thing in the body, or what? there is the instant runners‘ hi, and there is a lot to be said for endorphins, but i think it is more a long—term benefit that we get from exercising consistently,

improved self—esteem, the believe that you can actually see things through, it is really under estimated how these small acts every week builds better mental health rather than just one run. which is a brief high but not enough to get you through the long week where there may be lots of other things that are pressing down on you. from your own experience, setting up this group, run talk run, was that from your own experience? i set it up almost for selfish reasons to begin with, because running was my outlet, running was my space where i could open up. i was really resistant therapy, i found it open up. i was really resistant therapy, ifound it very intimidating. so from my perspective, i wanted to create a space that was less intimidating, more relaxed, and peer—to—peer support. and running just facilitated in the best way. there are people who would find group

activity quite intimidating. how‘d you overcome that? this report says there are lots of things you can do, you do your housework, you walk around, you do lots of stuff. it doesn‘t have to involve running. but for those who don‘t know if they wa nt to for those who don‘t know if they want to be with a group of people and open up in this way, what would you say? i would say i think we are probably the most beginner friendly clu b probably the most beginner friendly club in london, purely because we do a lot of, there is the focus on the talking, we are slower. we are more ofa talking, we are slower. we are more of a walk, jog, take things easy group. i often meet runners one—to—one before they come if they are unsure about joining one—to—one before they come if they are unsure aboutjoining the group and meeting everyone. i know how intimidating that is, and running groups especially are intimidating. you can imagine all those alpha people try to show their best, but this is not what your group is about? are other people doing this

about? are other people doing this about the country, is this starting to grow? yes. we have a run talk run starting in peterborough next week. as far as starting in peterborough next week. as faras i‘m starting in peterborough next week. as far as i‘m aware, there is no other group around the country which have the focus on mental health like we do, but there are other social running groups. jessica, thank you so much, pleasure to talk to you, and it really is food for thought, thank you. we have had some welcome rain across pa rt we have had some welcome rain across part of eastern england today. welcome for the gardens and for the farmers, although we did have 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. the rest of the evening, rain and strong winds were clear away, becoming dry everywhere overnight, bar and some showers.

starry skies, in the north it will be quite chilly, down to force levels virtually any north of scotland, 11 or 12 or be more co mforta ble scotland, 11 or 12 or be more comfortable in the south and east. the day dawns and a bright note, showers getting going, flipping through quite quickly on a brisk breeze. heavy ones around. in the sunshine at this time of year the high teens and low 20s will feel pleasant. showers do plenty easily to asa pleasant. showers do plenty easily to as a ridge of high pressure builds. for the weekend it looks like there is more rain in store. i will have more detail for you a little later. hello, this is bbc news. i‘m shaun ley. the headlines at 8:30: 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. russia condemns new us sanctions imposed in response to the salisbury nerve agent attack — a spokeperson for vladimir putin calls them "absolutely illegal". and a whole country welcomes their hero of the tour de france, as geraint thomas returns to cardiff. 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 24 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. 0ther 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. an 0scar 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. 0livia 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 0scars‘ 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. 0scars organisers plan to achieve this by placing some of the academy‘s 24 award hand—outs during commercial breaks. let‘s get more on this with larry hackett — he‘s the former editor of people magazine and is in our new york studio. it is great to speak to you. what is your verdict on what the oscars organisers are trying to do for the coming years? they are trying to

save this programme, both the oscars and abc as your story pointed out, they have it for another ten years, and the viewership is going down. they need to do something to say that. the problem is that hollywood is no logger makes the movies that are both popular and artistic. if you look at movies over the past 25 yea rs, you look at movies over the past 25 years, silence of the lambs, platoon, driving miss daisy, and these were pictures that people wa nted these were pictures that people wanted to see and buy worthy of the 0scar. what you have now was hollywood making cartoon movies from the one hand and then come september, october, november they released the smaller more artistic movies that are worthy and that horrific films but very few people see them. what happens there is no stars coming to the show and people do not tune in to see what a starlet on man may have worn to the oscars. that is the problem. the distinction is gone, middle ground no longer there. when we do editing people,

worthy picture spread still basically glamorous stars on the catwalk? lingo, and now you have people who make these movies and pa rt people who make these movies and part of these movies but they are not exactly the kind of people that sell covers of magazines. we stopped putting the oscars on the cover in large part because the stars were not that big and people did not care. they could get it on their phone and it would get it immediately and we as a magazine did not have the power be easterhouse, thatis not have the power be easterhouse, that is part and parcel of what is going on and wireless people are watching it. they tune in the fashion parade beforehand as opposed to the show. abc somehow has got to the audiences back will start it is going to shorten the ceremony, have it slightly earlier in the year, new category of outstanding popular film, and some of the craft award will be put in during the advert breaks. maybe a montage somewhere in the show but they are not going to

be part of the big tv audience part. that package together, is that enough to save the oscars as the premier entertainment event in the world ? premier entertainment event in the world? i think it remains to be seen. world? i think it remains to be seen. it all depends on who people think i‘m going to come. the competition between these popular movies, let‘s say depending on the nominations it is between black panther versus mission impossible, thatis panther versus mission impossible, that is the race and competition that is the race and competition that a lot of people might find more interesting than art film k versus art film b. it is an effort, a worthy one, there is a two hour desert in between best supporting actress and best picture that tests anybody‘s patients. actress and best picture that tests anybody's patients. even one of the winners, i was talking to paulj franklin who is a uthappa last night about this, he won four inception, best visual effects, i have to accept, he said, people watching me giving me my speech was not big box

office, he was staggering about it. some of the problem with film is not a new problem. i am trying to remember what was the winner and didn‘t backjust remember what was the winner and didn‘t back just before remember what was the winner and didn‘t backjust before the second world war. was it gone with the wind? people say that is classic comedy critics say one thing but the punters like a different thing. wasn‘t always that way? punters like a different thing. wasn't always that way? essentially, a tension in the oscars, it is after a tension in the oscars, it is after a global worldwide event versus a trade show of people who work in the industry. if you are in hollywood, these guys who are key grips and lighting experts want to put their tuxedos on and sit next to movie stars and they shoot. they should be honoured like that. that does not mean the world have to watch it. thank for your insight and being with us. 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. the number of people waiting more than a year for non—urgent surgery in england has risen sharply to more than 3,500, 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. 0ur 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. —— would be too late. hugh pym, bbc news. 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. i was talking larry from new york about how green was my valley, that actually was the winner at the academy awards best picture in 1942. what did not win was citizen kane, thatis what did not win was citizen kane, that is what the row was about. 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. a damning report says appalling sexual abuse took place

for decades at two elite catholic boarding schools, on boys as young as seven. the conservative party is examining dozens of complaints about boris johnson‘s comments on muslim women and full face veils. 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. earlier i spoke to mike penrose from unicef, i started off by asking him what we know about the situation so far. a school bus or a bus containing

children was hit in northern yemen, and we know of 20 confirmed deaths, but the official figure be expected be higher. you said a school bus or aus be higher. you said a school bus or a us with children on it, it sounds like the saudi led coalition which is fighting the rebels in this part are in control of this part of yemen come they seem to be the dominant force on the ground, they are saying the rebels use children as human shields are in some cases as soldiers. what we know it that some people are —— a lot of children have been recruited by all belligerent parties. what we also know here is that a number ofjohnson had died and we need an independent investigation into best to ascertain exactly what has happened. the saudi led coalition have it in the

interest surely, because if it goes uninvestigated this will be a huge propaganda to let nothing else for the rebels and those who are fighting. any attack on children is horrific, and an intentional attack on children as a crime, so it is within the interest of all parties to allow two things, and in pdg manicuring access to begin getting the most vulnerable, and an independent investigations and can ascertain is and what has happened. we have been told that the ports reopened, germanic terry and supplies getting end, has that worsened? we have supplies getting into bradley. it is the ebbs and flows m ea n into bradley. it is the ebbs and flows mean that we get them when they can, newport has been shot for periods, but supplies are getting in sporadically. there was a straightforward security issue, you cannot bridge people on the ground at risk if you think there is any danger of them being attacked on the convoys they are operating on. we have a lot of very brave workers on the ground, very difficult to know whether they will be attacked, a lot

of them are doing this at considerable risk to themselves. this is why we want unimpeded germanic terry and access on all sides. what is the un security council doing about it? we hope that the will be debating it quickly. britain has the chairmanship, so it should be down to the british ambassador to call for an emergency meeting of the security council of the biggest of them thought it was appropriate. security council of the biggest of them thought it was appropriatelj them thought it was appropriate.” think all of the parties who are belligerent in this conflict and also the parties who have influence over them need to work together to make sure we have a dialogue around it and we find a solution. it seems to bea it and we find a solution. it seems to be a huge problem, because originally the military intervention from saudi was supposed to it seems to bea from saudi was supposed to it seems to be a huge problem, because originally the military intervention from saudi was supposed to bring order of some kind of restoration. that doesn‘t seem to have happened. it is ongoing, we know that 3500 children have lost a licence to thousand 15. the imperative is there

for all parties to get. that doesn‘t seem for all parties to get. that doesn‘t seem to have happened. it is ongoing, we know that 3500 children have lost a licence to thousand 15. the imperative is there for all parties to get together and try 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 a 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. mehulika sitepu, bbc news, lombok. 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. 0ur 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 battled throughout,

thomas thanking him from the podium. 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 cyclists 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 thomas‘ 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 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 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. ——paths. 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. emma vardy, bbc news, at the giant‘s causeway. one, there is no stronger reviewed

the papers with me now it‘s time for a look at the weather with helen. joan joa n ba kewell joan ba kewell and joan bakewell and john stapleton reviewed the papers with me later. 10-5010-50 reviewed the papers with me later. 10—5010—50 millimetres of is rain in the forecasting the next few days, it is in the form of showers, senators guaranteed. eastern england, although there is rain in the forecasting the next few days, it is in the form of showers, senators guaranteed this is the massive cloud that brought today‘s rain, spilling its way across the east have quite a lot of cloud we have quite a lot of bit of a headache for the details on the weekend. at the moment we are in a cooler pool of weather, september to zaib kept away and by night, more co mforta ble zaib kept away and by night, more comfortable than it has been for a while tropical air and there, a bit ofa while tropical air and there, a bit of a headache for the details on the weekend. at the moment we are in a cooler pool of whether, september to resign depth away and by night, more co mforta ble resign depth away and by night, more comfortable than it has been for a

while the wind either parts of the east of england, but the north sea will see gales for a time before it sta rts will see gales for a time before it starts to quite strong to parts of the east of england, but the north sea was the east of england, but the north sea was the gales for a time before it starts to north. say goodbye to the low showers dieback and the coast, so it is quite chilly england, southampton ten or 11, close to ground force levels in the north. say goodbye to the into the atla ntic north. say goodbye to the into the atlantic with this but between them behind to the westerly whether france into the weekend, but between them behind to the. anywhere could see a shower, quite heavy lactic airflow with lots of showers for the day on friday. anywhere could see a shower, quite heavy just day on friday. anywhere could see a shower, quite heavyjust not guaranteed. temperatures doing quite well between no showers, not as warm as it spells of sunshine as we will see across northern ireland. easing in the west later, every it apply pressure building ahead of what is heading in for the weekend. you can see through friday evening, quite pleasant, plenty of sunshine, friday night will be quite but 16 for aberdeen, warmer in glasgow and edinburgh, but between the showers will be great spells of sunshine as we will see across northern ireland.

easing in the west later, if it apply pressure building ahead of what is heading in for the weekend. you can see through friday evening, quite pleasant, plenty of sunshine, friday night will be temperatures in single figures out of the rural saturday. it looks like a very pleasa nt start saturday. it looks like a very pleasant start on saturday. however, we troublemaker in the atlantic to bring us in some rain, and the uncertainty has exactly how far north and west that rain will be a troublemaker in the atlantic to bring us in some rain, and the uncertainty has exactly how far north and west that rate will further north and west this time yesterday, so the uncertainty is there. most areas will have cloud, fairly strong wind and remaining in the low 20s, or log outbreaks of rain. it will be usable of rain because it is coming on a weather front. temperatures remaining in the low hello, i‘m karin giannone, this is 0utside source.

dozens of children killed and wounded in yemen after a saudi—led coalition air strike wipes out their school bus. russia says it‘ll retaliate against new us sanctions over its alleged role in a nerve agent attack on a former spy. there‘s panic in lombok as a major aftershockjolts the indonesian island just four days after a larger quake killed over 250 people. and could we be about to see an arms race in outer space, as the us sets a goal of 2020 to create a new space force as the sixth branch of the military.