this is bbc news. i'm ben brown. these are the top stories developing at 11am... mps call for rules around e—cigarettes to be relaxed so they can be more widely used and accepted in society. new plans to improve security and conditions at some of england's worstjails — the prisons minister says he'll resign if things don't improve. i will quit if i haven't succeeded in 12 months in reducing the level of drugs and violence in those prisons. house of fraser, which was bought last week, has cancelled all online orders after a dispute with its warehouse operator investigations continue into the genoa bridge collapse. the italian government is now formally looking into the private company that ran the motorway bridge. at least 38 people died after it suddenly collapsed on tuesday. and research finds a low—carb diet could shorten life expectancy by up to four years. good morning.

it's friday the 17th of august. welcome to bbc newsroom live. the nhs should do more to promote e—cigarettes as a way of helping people stop smoking, according to a group of mps. the report by the science and technology committee also calls on the government to make it easier for people to vape in public places. but the recommendations have been criticised by some health experts who say the report relies solely on accounts by "e—cig champions". catherine burns reports. while cigarettes burn tobacco to release smoke, e—cigarettes heat flavoured nicotine directly to make

an inhalable vapour. experts say e—cigarettes are at least 95% less harmful than smoking, but others worry we still do not know enough about the long—term effects. today, a committee of mps is calling smoking a national health crisis, and say e—cigarettes are a golden opportunity to save lives. almost three million people in the uk use e—cigarettes, and, each year, thousands of them successfully quit smoking. i gave it a try and my chest stopped wheezing. it works for me and eventually i got myself off it. i wanted to start smoking again so instead of smoking i started vaping. i was on a good couple of cigarettes a day, ten to 15, this was six years ago when i first started. electric cigarettes came out then, i thought i would give it a try, from there an age cut me down on cigarettes and eventually off. the report says that e—cigarettes should be medically licence,

and to ease regulations so that company should be allowed to advertise them as a less harmful option. my message to the nhs is to take this issue far more seriously. we cannot tolerate the continued death toll of 79,000 people in england alone every single yearfrom smoking. vaping is one route to help problem smokers give up. we should doing far more to help encourage it. the committee says the risks from inhaling second—hand vapours are negligible, but vaping is relatively new. it has been in the uk forjust 11 years. experts say there needs to be more research into the effects of using e—cigarettes in the long—term. catherine burns, bbc news. john is the board director and spokesperson for the uk vaping industry association and gave

evidence to the committee. what do you make of what the mps are saying? i think it is extremely positive. we are very lucky in this country to have a government and a health community that really embraces vaping as a positive thing. ido embraces vaping as a positive thing. i do have to put to you that some people will say that vaping is not without its risks and not without its dangers and the jury is still out on the dangers. i disagree that thejury is out on the dangers. i disagree that the jury is still out but i don't think there is anybody saying that vaping is 100% safe. public health england and most of the medical community in the uk are quite confident that when you compare vaping to cigarette smoking, it is at least 95% safer than smoking. what is your response to the recent research of the university of birmingham where they said that

vaping can damage vital unit system cells and may be more harmful than previously thought. they found that e—cigarettes vapour damage important immune cells in the lungs and boosts information. what do you say to that? these reports come out from time to time. we will see if they stand up to the critiques under peer review. normally they do not. the study is also a very small study and doesn't really compare the effects to vaping. there is no way to calibrate that effect. they also said that if you are going to do anything then you should take up vaping rather than continue smoking so even vaping rather than continue smoking so even they agree that it is a better alternative. do you accept that much more research needs to be done into the health effects of vaping? there is an awful lot of research on the short—term effects but as you said on your report it is only about 11 years old so the

really hasn't been any studies on long—term effects. we will continue to monitor that and we do so on a yearly basis. so you accept there needs to be more research but you are denying the assertion that i made earlier that the jury is still out. i disagree that the jury is still out. we know it is 95% safer. what we do know is that if smokers continue to smoke than the majority of those will die. if you're going to do something you might as well do something that is much healthierfor you which is vaping. good to talk to. john dunn there from the institute of vaping association. earlier this week, researchers at birmingham university warned that e—cigarettes might not be as safe as people think. dr dhruv parekh who is a clinical lecturer in respiratory medicine at the university worked on that study. we just discussing with the representative of the uk vaping industry association the dangers or

otherwise and he was denying that thejury is otherwise and he was denying that the jury is still out on the dangers of vaping. would you say the jury is still out? absolutely. what we are saying is that we're not saying there isn't a potential role for e—cigarettes but it is still too early to maintain these sweeping statements that they are much more harmless than normal cigarette smoking. actually, this 90 5% statistic that has been pulled out is based on very weak evidence. —— 95% statistic. it was published in 2014 and i do not agree with that statistic and it was not validated in good clinical trials. just some up in good clinical trials. just some upfor us in in good clinical trials. just some up for us in layman terms if you can what your research found in terms of vaping and the health effects of it. i think he summarise did very well. what we found is that vaporised e—cigarettes liquid on living long

cells causes worsening information, reduced functioning of these cells which are important effects in patients who are smokers. if we were to take the same cells from smokers would see the same effect. this is very important and we won't really know how vaping affects these patients until 15 or 20 years' time. putting aside the potential carcinogenic or cancer affects, there is potentially an effect there. there needs to be caution and a very positive report of the select committee i think is too strong and encouraging this to be deregulated in the way they are suggesting is very premature and irresponsible.

except what they are saying is that e—cigarettes have a huge role to play in bringing down smoking rates and bringing down the smoking cigarettes which is of course much more harmful. surely from that point of view, vaping and e—cigarettes are very beneficial. there was a real nuance here because i think there is a place for them but there are other nicotine replacement therapies and other ways of giving up smoking and the biggest thing we have noticed over the last four years is that there is less health care professional involvement in smoking, it is left to the smoker to give up smoking and there needs to be more investment back into that and evidence does show that own a contact point is very important. there are other modes and motoring e—cigarettes as being the best way is irresponsible. thank you for your time. a clinical lecturer in the

respiratory medicine at the university of birmingham. body scanners and sniffer dogs are to be brought in to ten of england's worst prisons as part of a £10million plan to tackle drugs and violence. the government says it also wants to improve the leadership of those jails by sending the prison governors to military—style colleges. the bbc has been given exclusive access to 0akwood prison, near wolverhampton — it used to be referred to as "jokewood" — but after changes were made by those in charge a recent inspection called it an impressive institution. our home affairs correspondent, danny shaw, has been inside. i do it because i feel it's my way of giving back to society. ben has got a job in prison. he is nearing the end of a 19—year sentence for plotting to supply cocaine. he's been at 0akwood for five years and has become a mentor, a middleman between prison officers and prisoners. i'm basically dealing with problems and tensions in the society.

a lot of these guys are coming with a vengeance against authority. a lot of it has to be empathy, shared experiences, relieving your own experiences to the individual. it is about connecting with the individual. and not making anyjudgement. and it's about treating prisoners with respect. 0akwood was one of the first prisons to have cell telephones so inmates could keep in touch with theirfamilies. some prisoners can wear their own clothes. and staff are encouraged to diffuse tension through dialogue. they do not carry batons. batons are weapons as i see it. i have no time for them myself. that is my own personal choice. i would rather have people engaging with each other and finding solutions than resorting to drawing a baton to resolve an issue. my prison operates without batons very very successfully. but after 0akwood opened six years ago, staff

struggled to keep control. prisoners staged a rooftop protest in 2013, and a year later, there was a riot, one of britain's biggest and newest prisons was a laughing stock. now there is a positive mood at the jail reflected in a glowing inspection report which praised the way inmates are consulted and involved in decision—making. for a man to have gone through working with one of our mentors and come through the other side, it gives us that level of assurance that actually these projects are working and that we are actually providing a place where prisoners in here can develop and they can grow as men and hopefully be released into the community as men with something to offer. and that means being employable. in this workshop, prisoners are assembling parts for a private company, learning skills and getting experience that will help them on the outside. but 0akwood still has a long way to go.

like many prisons, violence has increased, illicit drugs are readily available and incidents of self harm remain high. i'll try and get in touch with them and they should help you with that. ben, though, is showing that there is hope. prisoners can take the initiative, help each other to get through their sentence and stay on the right side of the tracks. speaking earlier the prisons minister rory stewart said he'll resign if standards don't improve within a year. i will quit if i haven't succeeded in 12 months in reducing the level of drugs and violence in those prisons. i want to make a measurable difference and that is what this investment is about. i believe in the prison service. i believe in our prison officers. i believe that this can be turned around and i want you tojudge me on those results and i will resign if i don't succeed. that is the prisons minister.

we can speak now to dave todd who is the national vice chair of the prison officers association. the prisons minister making a promise to quit within one year if standards haven't improved. what is your reaction to that? it is a very bold statement went for the past three years violence in prisons has been at an all—time high. the past two years there have been underreporting. it is a very bold statement and i'm sure that my union will be reminding him of his statement in 12 months' time in the violence hasn't come down. not often you hear a government minister make that sort of promise to quit within a certain timespan is something hasn't been achieved. he has made that promise. he also promised to improve the ten worst reasons. is that enough in your view? any investment is welcome. we have been

crying out for investment. there is a concept called benchmarking which devastates establishments, took out all the experienced staff and replaced them with new staff, which in itself has stability issues, being able to do the job instantly is difficult, you need experience. there is also an idea for prison governors to go on a military style course in order to improve leadership of prisons. what do you make of that? there are some good governors out there. there are some bad governors that do not understand the basics of management in man management. that is something rory can further explain for me. it is

about the grassroots and how my members are... fundamentally what do you think needs to be done? i know this is a huge subject but i'm asking you to sum it up. what needs to be done to improve our prisons because we know a lot of them are in a lamentable state. i think that is a lamentable state. i think that is a very difficult question to answer. there are so many different strands at work. for me that is one of the fundamental issues. my members need to go to work feeling safe and not worrying about what will happen to them inside a prison. equally, prisoners need to go to prison and feel safe. until that happens it will be very difficult to be successful in rehabilitation. well, thank you so much for being with us. the national vice chair of the prisons association there. the headlines on bbc news... mps are calling for a new approach

to e—cigarettes, making it easier for people to vape in public places. the prisons minister says he'll quit if he can't get drugs and violence down in ten of england's most challenging prisons in the next year. house of fraser, which was bought last week, has cancelled all online orders after a dispute with its warehouse operator. and in sport... danny cipriani says he is "truly sorry" for the incident that put his england future in doubt — but his old boss at sale rugby club says coach eddie jones should stick by him. we're waiting to hear whether ben stokes will play in england's third test against india, which starts tomorrow — he's back in training with the squad but head coach trevory bayliss says that's for his own well—being and he'll asses him before making a decision. steven gerrard is now unbeaten in eight matches as rangers manager — they're through to the last play—off for a place in the europa league, after a goalless draw with maribor. burnley are also through. i'll be back with more on those stories

at half past eleven. the department store chain house of fraser has cancelled all its online orders, because of a dispute with its warehouse operator. the retailer was bought out of administration by sports direct a week ago. it says it has wiped all orders that hadn't been sent to customers and would be issuing refunds. our business correspondent emma simpson is here. what is going on, emma? things have moved quite quickly since that extraordinary announcement. this time last week that mike ashley had swooped to pick up house of fraser. it clearly has not been plain sailing. it is getting a bit messy. the logistics company that fulfils all of its online orders is in a dispute with mike ashley and sports direct about payment. they've

stopped processing orders add to distribution centres meaning nothing is going in or coming out. the website stopped working on wednesday and is now house of fraser is saying they are having to counsel all orders and are in the process of issuing refunds. —— cancel all orders. they also apologising to customers. 0n social media customers are expressing frustration and anger and we understand there are thousands of customers with sales totalling millions of pounds. messy as you say. is there any prospect that this dispute might be resolved any time soon? sports direct feel that they are being held to ransom. we have not had any comment from the logistics company. to be fair to mike ashley, when he bought this company out of administration, legally he didn't need to pay the debts owed to suppliers because the

harsh reality is when you pick up a business in this administration the debts are written off. but there is a lot of anger and frustration from suppliers. it is notjust as logistics company. but given the importance of online sales, you have to think this is not sustainable. there has got to be a compromise reached. there are talks under way today we understand but you would have two imagine that something will get sorted out soon. there is a bit ofa get sorted out soon. there is a bit of a stand—off but a compromise has to be reached because you can't operate in today's environment without a great website. emma, thank you very much for the moment. let's bring you up—to—date with the latest on the bridge collapse in general. —— genoa. the italian government has begun an investigation into the private operator of the motorway bridge that collapsed in genoa on tuesday, killing at least 38 people. another 20 are still missing.

people living near the bridge have been moved from their homes because of safety fears and have been told their homes may be demolished. a state funeral for the victims is due to be held on saturday, but some families are boycotting the event to hold their own private services, as a sign of protest against what they say was negligence that caused the bridge to collapse. 0ur correspondent dan johnson is in genoa. i suppose if that does turn out to be the case, a boycott of state funeral, it is just a symptom of the huge anger that is being felt there in italy. yes, it is a sign of some of the reaction here has been. we know that some burials will start today, partly because this is an international disaster, there are some french families that have to bury their dead who were crossing the bridge on tuesday when it collapsed and you can understand why

they might not want to be part of an italian state funeral but also italian state funeral but also italian families saying that it is not for them. fingers are being pointed in different directions with regards to who is to blame for this. there is a suggestion that some politicians are being too quick to jump politicians are being too quick to jump to conclusions about this and may be trying to deflect blame on themselves by focusing on the company that was in charge of the motorway network. some families have decided they do not want to be part of the big state funeral event that will take part here tomorrow. that is why some burials will start today. but there are still families waiting for news and some people missing. the recovery workers still going on. they're still drilling away through those blocks of concrete making sure they have got it all the different parts of the buildings that were crushed when the bridge came down to try and check where everybody is to try and account everyone who was still missing. the death toll is still officially at 38 but as you say up to 20 missing so it could be potentially nearer 60. yes. quite

right. the rescue workers are saying it will take a few more days yet before they can get right through all the rubble because there isjust so all the rubble because there isjust so much of it and it is taking so much time to move it. there have been more diggers and trucks going in and more trucks coming out. it is painstaking work. they have been moving some of the trucks and cars on what remains of the bridge. it is not just the rubble on what remains of the bridge. it is notjust the rubble of on what remains of the bridge. it is not just the rubble of the on what remains of the bridge. it is notjust the rubble of the collapse that has to be dealt with here. they have to work out what to do with that remaining structure and how to make it safe and take it down. there are make it safe and take it down. there a re calls make it safe and take it down. there are calls for the motorway company to pay for a replacement bridge. they want them to take all the cost of this for people who have to be removed from their homes. there is a lot to consider here. it will take a lot to consider here. it will take a lot of time to deal with. everything they have to manage debts and working out what caused this bridge to collapse. sister sledge and the reverend jesse jackson are among the latest

celebrities to pay tribute to aretha franklin. known as the queen of soul, known for hits like respect and think, the singer died yesterday in detroit at the age of 76. let's speak to our cbs correspondent john schiumo in new york. so many tributes from so many people in the world of music, entertainment, politics as well for aretha franklin will stop yes. and she certainly deserves all the praise. 18 grammys. sir paul mccartney called her the queen of our souls who inspired us all. diana ross spoke of her golden spirit. the original soul man said that he first heard aretha seeing inside a church. he said he sat back and thought,

"0h, he said he sat back and thought, "oh, my god." she had quite an effect on a lot of people. she certainly did. some amazing tributes from a lot of powerful people as well, former presidents like bill clinton and barack 0bama who she performed in front of and the current president. she played over many decades. she played for many presidents and also the pope when he visited in 2015. it is more about the connection she had with the everyday person. her songs. about heartbreak and strength. seeing people playing her music now from hollywood's all the way to the east coast, coast—to—coast here in america. she will be sorely missed. thank you very much indeed. a boy is in a critical condition and another is seriously ill after four teenagers were stabbed on a south london housing estate. it happened last night in camberwell. police say the victims are between 15 and 16 years old.

six boys have been arrested. misconduct hearings — most of which collapsed — against teachers accused in the so—called trojan horse inquiry in birmingham, cost more than £1.2 million. the affair stemmed from a letter which said hard—line muslims could replace headteachers and governors in schools in birmingham — with people who would teach more conservative islamic principles. that turned out to be a hoax. former cricket star, imran khan, is expected to be confirmed as pakistan's next prime minister today. however, his appointment is likely to face stern opposition from the previous party of government which claimed last month's elections were rigged. new research indicates that the average gp now works less than 3.5 days a week — and just one in 20 trainee doctors intends to do the job full time. patients' groups say that the situation could become alarming, fuelling longer waits for an appointment. the study was carried

out by the king's fund, a think—tank specialising in health care policy. it is almost 11:30am. now it's time for a look at the weather. we have a north west south east split in the uk for the weather. it is rather cloudy in the north—west but down towards the south east it is beautiful weather. lots of sunshine. check out this photo in derbyshire. holding onto a bit of sunshine there. in derbyshire and other north—west regions of england and wales cloud and rain will increase. more persistent in northern ireland and western scotland. gusty winds as well, especially around the coasts and the north—west of scotland. where you

have that sunshine across the south east it will feel quite pleasant during this afternoon with highs after 21 to 23 degrees. tonight we'll see some patchy continuing in northern ireland is and the far north of england and southern scotland. that takes it into the weekend where you will see rain continuing in those areas. by sunday, heavy rain spreads in from the atlantic with gusty winds and temperatures on the rise. it will feel quite warm and humid for many of us. e—cigarettes should be given out on prescription to help people stop smoking, according to a group of mps. they're urging a rethink of government policy. as £10 million in funding is announced to tackle drugs and violence in england's worst prisons , prisons minister rory stewart says he will resign in a year if things don't get better. house of fraser is cancelling all online orders and refunding customers. it comes after a dispute with its warehouse operator meant deliveries were delayed. italy's transport ministry has begun investigating the private operator of the motorway bridge that collapsed in genoa on tuesday, killing at least 38 people.

20 people are still missing. eating a low—carb diet could shorten your life by up to four years. that's the conclusion of a study by scientists in the states. coming up, we'll be hearing from leading actor emma thompson about her film ‘the children's act', which tackles the life and death decisions made in a family courtroom. sport now. we're waiting to hear whether ben stokes will play in england's third test against india, which starts tomorrow — he's back in training with the squad but head coach trevory bayliss says that's for his own well—being and he'll assessing him before making a decision.

he may yet face sanctions from the ecb. there is a lot of work being done with the team culture and that will be ongoing. we have had to make one 01’ will be ongoing. we have had to make one or two changes obviously with cu rfews and that one or two changes obviously with curfews and that type of thing. but asi curfews and that type of thing. but as i said, there will be an ongoing work done on team culture and what it means to actually play for england. he was banned for nine months after admitting to ball tampering. there is flash photography coming up. he was part of the scandal that shook the sport with the captain also suspended. he has admitted to using sandpaper on the ball in a game south africa. his match with somerset was cancelled.

he willjoin durham next year. former pakistan opener has been banned for ten years for his part in the scandal which tainted the super league. he had already been given a one—year suspension for his failure to cooperate with investigation into the beer and the pakistan cricket board said that he the linchpin. kate cross has opened up about her battles with anxiety and depression. she was one of the first female players to receive a professional contract but she missed out on competing for two years after suffering a breakdown. competing for two years after suffering a breakdownlj competing for two years after suffering a breakdown. i went downstairs to get food and go to the toilet, i didn't shower, i didn't do anything for three days. ijust slept and cried and my dad came in and opened my blinds and i would shut them straightaway. it was obviously my way of trying to hide from the world. cipriani has

received support from the rugby world which put his england future in doubt. his old boss has urged the england head coach to stick by him as his side gloucester has done. he said it would be too harsh and it ended his international career. he said he was truly sorry and has been found £2000 said he was truly sorry and has been found e2000 and he has to play pay compensation to the police officer. he said it was a massive badge of honour to be in the european competition. they will face the greek side and rangers... the second leg finished with out goals. they go 3-1 leg finished with out goals. they go 3—1 of all. steven gerrard is still after being taken over by rangers manager. serena williams has

revealed that minutes before her biggest game as month the man who killed her sister had been released from prison. she said as she lost the game that she couldn't get it out of her mind. her elder sister was shot dead 15 years ago. that is all the sport for now. i will have more preview in the next hour. american researchers have warned that low—carbohydrate diets could be shortening people's lives. the study followed 15 thousand people for 25 years, and found that those getting half their energy from carbs lived the longest, while people who cut them to less than a third of their diet had their life expectancy reduced by four years. well, i'm joined by nutritonist rhiannon lambert now, rhiannon what do you make of the study? do these kind it surprise you. that

a low carb diet is bad for you?” don't think it's surprising. i see a lot of people in my clinic taking... the best diet out there is the one that works do you start digging out a whole food group may not be beneficial, especially carbohydrates. you they can come contribute to mood and it can contribute to mood and it can contribute to mood and it can contribute to energy which is the body ‘s third source of energy. low—carbon diets have become more fashionable, whichjuicy? yes. why is that? there is a lot in the media about people following these diets, and people following a low carb diet tend to have the same results as a low—fat diet. it is overall energy inta ke low—fat diet. it is overall energy intake that it comes down to. cutting out carbohydrates

superficially could make you feel better or slimmer? if you make any change to your diet and you take something out, you will see a difference. the problem is consistency and long—term diets. and the type of carbohydrates, carbohydrates are also found in vegeta bles carbohydrates are also found in vegetables and fruit and people forget about that. what is the ideal diet? does that include carbohydrates? what are the good carbohydrates? what are the good carbohydrates that we should be eating and in what amounts?” recommend, think about the quality and quantity. the quality of carbohydrates like brown rice, whole grain bread, lots of greens. and portion sizes. i would also see the most heavily researched diet is the mediterranean diet. we all wish we could live in italy and enjoy vegeta bles could live in italy and enjoy vegetables and fish and beans and pulses. plant —based protein isjust

as good as animal —based protein. it is good to have been mixed. what are the bad carbohydrates that you should avoid? instead of thing bad carbohydrates we are talking about having smaller amounts. white bread, track and have brown bread. we all love some past that, but we need to look at the portion and how often we are having it. do not have white pasta every single day. get more variety. do you think people are following that? having a balanced dietand following that? having a balanced diet and eating in moderation? 0r are we getting it wrong? it is confusing for people. magazines and tv shows and social media, people are pedal pushing special diets. low carbohydrate diets, and therefore we see people achieving something with one type of diet and we all think we should try it and it will work from me too. they are faddy diets. you'll

act i don't think the message is getting out. thank you very much for your analysis and advice. thank you for your time. it's exam results season, and while pupils are still celebrating their a—levels, it's emerged more than 86 thousand young people in england had to resit their maths or english gcse last summer, that's according to figures seen exclusively by the bbc. four years ago the government decided that students should keep retaking the exams until they achieved a good pass in the two core subjects — or in equivalent skills. but the stats show some are resitting up to four times. john maguire reports. name a skill or a subject and they're bound to teach it here at barking & dagenham college in east london. these painting and decorating apprentices are among the 12,500 students, post—16 as well as older learners, from sports to science, arts to accountancy,

they do it all. and since the government in england decided students over 16 should achieve a good pass in maths and english gcses, or an equivalent skill, there's been a sixfold increase in the numbers retaking those subjects here. you need to look at what happened in school maybe didn't work so we tried to make it real life and link it to real—life situations so they can actually see where they will use it and a way to remember it and the relevance behind it. at leyton sixth form college i need three students who been through resits more than once. everyone has different ways of learning so i think there should be better ways of trying to help students achieve the grades they deserve. i took it but i didn't get the grades i wanted because university you need a higher grade, so i retook it. you can get quite under pressure from family and friends, like some friends have passed exams and you're there thinking i've tried so hard and it's

not working out for me. and they're far from alone. the social equality charity impetus has analysed the department for education figures and found in england last summer more than 86,000 students rhys at maths or english, and among those almost 5,700 were taking their exams for the fourth time. these qualifications are so important and we know employers and universities and colleges put so much weight on maths and english gcse that i don't think it's right if you don't get them the first time you don't get a proper second chance. at the moment it isn't a second chance to succeed, it is a second chance, a third chance, a fourth chance to fail because it's not been done properly and seriously. so what's the answer? colleges say they're underfunded and there needs to be a new approach. we have to recognise the fact students at 16, 17, 18 are different from those students studying those qualifications at school and we need to make those qualifications relevant

and responsive to their needs as they get older, as they become adults and as they start to envisage their life beyond education. the government said it committed an extra £50 million to improve the maths teaching last year, and £4.5 million a year to professional development for teachers in both subjects. of course, education is supposed to open doors. but for thousands of students, it seems some remain closed. john maguire, bbc news, east london. more than 160 people have died as a result of the worst monsoon rains in the indian state of kerela for a—hundred years. many of the dead were crushed in landslides. widespread flooding has forced one—hundred—and—fifty—thousand people out of their homes. thousands of people are still believed to be marooned by the floodwaters and more heavy rain is expected. yogita limaye reports. pushed out of their homes

by the flood, people are walking miles to safety. beyond this surging water, there are tens of thousands who are stuck, waiting to be rescued. the monsoon always brings heavy rainfall to kerala, but locals say this year is different. translation: after 36 years, it is the first time that such flooding is happening here. it is a disaster for the whole population. shelters have been set up wherever possible. locals are volunteering, cooking food and distributing supplies to people who have been left homeless. the airport, the busiest in kerala, is unrecognisable. its runway resembles a river. rescue teams are being dispatched from other airports. these teams are engaged in basically rescue and evacuation works,

medical first response and they are tackling the situations arising out of landslides and building collapse. and assisting the state administration in distributing relief materials. river levels are rising. the government has been forced to open dam gates. and there is more rainfall expected in the coming days. in a moment we'll have all the business news, mps are calling for a new approach to e—cigarettes, making it easier for people to vape in public places. the prisons minister says he'll quit if he can't get drugs and violence down in ten of england's most challenging prisons in the next year. i'm jamie robertson.

in the business news: house of fraser cancels all its online orders after a dispute with its warehouse operator. the retailer has decided to refund orders after angry customers complained about not receiving goods they ordered online. house of fraser also announced its like—for—like sales fell by 7.7% in the 13 weeks to 28 april. the war of words between the united states and turkey continues — with washington threatening more economic sanctions, unless turkey frees a detained american pastor. the lira has plummeted in the past week, leading to some investors pulling their funds out of emerging markets. and elon musk says he wasn't high on cannabis when he made the contraversial tweet about taking tesla private. the electric car—maker's founder has faced intense scrutiny after he tweeted that he might take

the company private at a price of $420 a share. 420 is slang, more commonly used in the us, for cannabis. last year was a record yearfor tourism — the latest numbers have been released by the government statistics office, the 0ns — and more people came to the uk on holiday and more people went abroad on holiday than ever before. there were 39 million visits by overseas residents to the uk in 2017, up 4%. they spent £25 billion on their visit, an increase of 9%. as for us, we made 73 million visits abroad, an increase of 3%. and we spent £45 billion going abroad which was 2% more than in 2016. all these numbers are tourists on holidays. if your wondering about business travel — there were fewer trips by both visitors to the uk and by uk

business travellers going abroad. the numbers were four and 5% down respectively. we're nowjoined by kurtjanson, who's the director at tourism alliance. my my first question was going to be it is all to do with the pound. but since we have got more people going abroad from the uk, holidays are more expensive if you have a weak pound. while the weak pound is helping people come to the uk, what we're finding is that the uk residence, because they have very low interest rates at the moment is based on their mortgage, are more able to take overseas holidays. so they are not borrowing to go on holiday? some will be borrowing but basically, it is lower costs of living. if you are of a certain age group. how easy is it for people from countries outside the european union to come to the uk? these hours

and stuff like that? these hours at the moment, we have a reasonable bees that regime but as we approach brexit we will have to look to the future and re—evaluate our visa regime so it is more in line with a pivot away from europe and towards the emerging markets such as india and china. our visa the emerging markets such as india and china. 0urvisa regime the emerging markets such as india and china. our visa regime has improved significantly but there is still a lot of work to be done china, i know has been a problem in the past. the chinese find it very difficult. what i read in two genes that? the government hasjust finished a two—year trial of a two—year low cost visitor visa to come to the uk. the indications are that it has proved incredibly successful and what the government has promised in the past as if it we re has promised in the past as if it were successful, we could then moved to the 10—year low cost these that

for chinese visitors and that would bea for chinese visitors and that would be a real change for that market. what about post—brexit? people i wondering if they will need a visa to go to the continent after march. it would be unlikely that you would need a visa to go to europe or for europeans to come here. if a visa regime was introduced basically the airports would close down overnight. you could not process people through them. what it does highlight is two thirds of our visitors coming from europe is that we need a kind of brexit deal that maintains as much of the status quo to facilitate the movement of visitors in and out of the country as we have at the moment. briefly, you sound as though you are not certain yet that there will be a deal on these? is it up in the air? i would love to know with certainty what the government ‘s plans are for allowing two arrests in and out of the country at the

moment. as we get told there is no deal and tell everything is finalised but we need clarity of what is happening in the future because at the moment, the tour operators are trying to package for 2020, not just 2019 operators are trying to package for 2020, notjust 2019 and the need certainty about what the arrangements are going to be so they can put together packages so that we can put together packages so that we can get people and the benefits to the uk economy. thank you very much. hundreds of google employees have written to the company to protest against plans to launch a "censored search engine" in china. they said the project raised "urgent moral and ethical questions" and urged the firm to be more transparent. google has not commented. a consortium led by construction and services firm interserve has won a £105 million contract to finance, design, build and operate two new colleges at durham university. as well as an accommodation block with 1,000 new bed spaces — there will also be a new banquet hall, sports and music facilities. and the world's biggest pork producer — china's wh group — has been told to shut down a major

slaughterhouse following a second outbreak of swine flu in two weeks. chinese authorities have ordered a temporary six—week closure of the slaughterhouse after 30 pig hogs died of the highly contagious illness on thursday. markets fairly relaxed. europe against the pound, europe is not looking terribly strong but the pound is not strong either. pound against the dollar a little bit above 127. t above 127. that's all the business news. the film ‘the children's act‘ tackles the life and death decisions made in a family courtroom. leading actor emma thompson says spending time in court to prepare for her role as a judge was a privelige. she's been speaking about the film to my colleague charlie stayt. my lady, they are ready for you. court rise. fi, shall we talk? excuse me. long day.

there is no escaping the fact, this is a heavy water. it is grown—up. yes. isn't it? we are so used to being fed quite a lot of formulaic stuff. i always think of bill bailey's line, "it will "disappear like a strand of saffron in a vindaloo." and that's what i think about independent films that are grown up. in the kind of vindaloo films that are around, it is very difficult... you have to really present your film and say, look, this is an adult film with very adult themes but i think that my nephew that are 18 and 21, i think that they would love it. so i don't want to put people off by saying this is a very serious, make—you—cry film. it is not, actually. but it is one of those things that afterwards, you're going to have a lot to talk about. the applicant has leukaemia. however, the boy's parents are jehovah's witnesses and it is contrary to their faith to accept blood into the system. decisions are made byjudges about life or death. all the time.

and we have watched some of those more recently. indeed. all of those decisions about, particularly about babies in situations where there is treatment they can have or can't have, those kinds of decisions, can you imagine having to make them? that, i think, was the most impressive thing to me about these women who i watched when i was researching this. womenjudges in the high court and the family court that i met are some of the most impressive people that i have ever met. and very few women, of course, have that level of power. very few women walk in the corridors of power. so they're kind of extraordinary. i can get some opera tickets for saturday night. no. i'm dutyjudge all weekend. you can't switch it? two judgments for monday. mm. what? nothing, it'sjust like last weekend and the 50 weekends before that. that is how it is. and what amazes of course in the film is that people who make these extraordinary decisions, well researched and thought

through have lives themselves. and that is where the film happens on that kind of very rocky boundary between her private life which has suddenly had a grenade thrown into it really, an emotional grenade and her public life, you know her life as a public servant. what have we got? you have the child abducted in morocco, hague convention, some routine maintenance pending suits and an ex—wife's application to exclude a husband from a matrimonial home. and this jehovah's witness boy. this is tomorrow. as requested. i mean, everybody knows about work sometimes making it very difficult for you to see the wood for the trees in your private life. but this is kind of different. because her work is so important so of course you can understand that she just hasn't been listening to her husband. it is one of those really big questions that people periodically ask themselves, isn't it? whether work has got too big in their lives. but there are other things in their life have got left to one side.

you work too much, it's no good. we've learnt that the hard way. we don't work too much. have you managed to square that up in your own, you know, work—life thing? you think, now, you have? yes. you have? oh, yes. i mean, i am very lucky now because i can choose much more. so i can choose when to work a little bit more than i used to be able to, but definitely, we are always looking at that. most workers believe they are being watched by their boss amid increasing surveillance methods, according to a new study. research by the tuc showed that two out of three employees believe the trend fuels distrust and discrimination and could be used to set unfair targets. a third of those polled believe their social media activity is being "snooped on" when they are not at work. astronomers says they have identified some of the oldest galaxies in the universe —

and they are right on our cosmic doorstep. scientists at the universities of durham and harvard analysed different galaxies and found that one group of stars and planets, near the milky way, appeared different from the rest. using computer simulations like this one, they believe it was one of the first galaxies formed after the big bang, around 13 billion years ago. the research is published in the astrophysicaljournal. it is notjust human hay fever sufferers who have struggled with pollen this summer — two of the polar bears at yorkshire wildlife park have been affected too. a team were on hand when 98 stone victor needed to be given an allergy test. staff suspected it was caused by an allergic reaction to pollen after moving from concrete bear pit enclosures to the more natural setting at the

attraction near doncaster. the test results of will be known in the coming days. the headlines are coming up on bbc newschannel. in a moment we'll say goodbye to viewers on bbc two — first we leave you with a look at the weather. thank you very much indeed. we have had a lovely start to the day across many central and eastern parts of england this morning. lots of sunshine out there. further north and west a different story. we have got some clothes and outbreaks of rain. if you're in the south—east, a lovely setting the, of course the red arrows there this afternoon. in the north and west you can see that we have got lots more cloud moving its way in and beneath area of cloud there are some outbreaks of rain as well. in aberdeenshire, seems more like this rather than blue skies in the south—east. thank you to our weather watcher in aberdeen. the rain will continue across northern

ireland across western scotland. patchy rain moving its way into north—west england, north and west wales as well. further south and east it is going to remain dry and there will be some cloud increasing but still some sunny spells. the black arrows at the gusts of wind. it looks very windy up to the north—west, up to 30 or 40 miles an hour. temperature 16 or 17 celsius. in the south, the sunshine quite pleasa nt in the south, the sunshine quite pleasant through the afternoon. tonight, it will stay cloudy in this zone from northern ireland, southern scotland, northern england, some outbreaks of rain for the start of the weekend. elsewhere, variable amounts of cloud and temperatures down to 14 or 16 degrees. for the weekend, saturday will be the dry day of the weekend. there will be sunny spells but also some rain, particularly on sunday. saturday the rain is confined to northern ireland

and parts of scotland, the far north of england. 0ne and parts of scotland, the far north of england. one or two showers elsewhere but much of england and wales dry and feeling quite humid on saturday. temperatures up to 24 or 25 celsius and pressure further north in scotland. there is a tropical storm across the mid atla ntic tropical storm across the mid atlantic which is going to move its way, weakening as it moves towards the uk, only remnants of rain which could spread its way during sunday morning across wales and northern ireland and central and southern parts of scotland. pushing north and east words. during the afternoon on sunday a little bit drier but still quite warm and humid. 24 or 25 celsius. this is bbc news i'm ben brown. these are the top stories

developing at midday. mps call for rules around e—cigarettes to be relaxed so they can be more widely used and accepted in society. new plans to improve security and conditions at some of england's worstjails — the prisons minister says he'll resign if things don't improve. i will quit, if i haven't succeeded in 12 months in reducing the level of drugs and violence in those prisons. house of fraser, which was bought last week, has cancelled all online orders after a dispute with its warehouse operator. a formal investigation gets under way into the genoa bridge collapse in which at least 38 people died and 20 are missing. some families say they're boycotting the italian state funerals being held tomorrow. at protest in what they say is the

negligence that caused the disaster. and research finds a low—carb diet could shorten life expectancy by up to four years. good afternoon. it is friday 17th of august, i am ben brown. welcome to bbc newsroom live. the nhs should do more to promote e—cigarettes as a way of helping people stop smoking, according to a group of mps. the report by the science and technology committee also calls on the government to make it easier for people to vape in public places. but the recommendations have been criticised by some health experts who say the report relies solely on accounts by "e—cig champions". catherine burns reports. while cigarettes burn tobacco to release smoke, e—cigarettes heat flavoured nicotine directly to make

an inhalable vapour. experts say e—cigarettes are at least 95% less harmful than smoking, but others worry we still don't know enough about the long—term effects. today, a committee of mps is calling smoking a national health crisis and say e—cigarettes are a golden opportunity to save lives. almost 3 million people in the uk use e—cigarettes and every year, thousands of them successfully quit smoking. i gave it a try and me chest stopped wheezing. so, it worked for me. and eventually i got myself off it. i wanted to start smoking again, so instead of smoking i started vaping. i was on a good couple of cigarettes a day. like, 15, ten to 15. this was six years ago, when i first started. electronic cigarettes came out with the pen styles, i thought i would give it a try. from then on, it slowly cut me down from cigarettes and

eventually off. the report says e—cigarettes should be medically licensed and also calls for regulations to ease up so companies could advertise e—cigarettes as the less harmful option. my message to the nhs is take this issue far more seriously. we cannot tolerate the continued death toll of 79,000 people in england alone every single year from smoking. vaping is one route to help problem smokers give up and we should be doing far more to encourage it. the committee says the risks from inhaling second—hand vapours are negligible but vaping is still relatively new. it's been in the uk forjust 11 years. experts say there needs to be more research into the effects of using e—cigarettes in the long—term. catherine burns, bbc news. well i spoke tojohn dunne who is the board director and spokesperson for the uk vaping industry association and gave evidence to the committee.

i asked him what he made of the mps report. we're very lucky in this country to have a government and health community that really embraces vaping asa community that really embraces vaping as a positive thing.” community that really embraces vaping as a positive thing. i have to put to you what some people will say which is that vaping is not without its risks, not without its dangers. and that the jury is still out on the dangers of vaping.” disagree that the jury is still out but i don't think that anyone is saying vaping is 100% safe. public health england and most of the medical community are confident that vaping, competitive cigarette smoke, is at least 95% safer than smoking. what is your response to the recent research from the university of birmingham, where they said that

vaping can damage vital immune system cells and it may be more harmful than previously thought? they found that e—cigarette vapour disables important immune cells in the long and boosts inflammation, what do you say to all of that? these reports, from time to time and we will see under peer review if they stand up to the critiques. normally they don't. this study was very small and doesn't really compare effects to vaping. there's no way to calibrate that effect. in fa ct, no way to calibrate that effect. in fact, they also said that if you're going to do anything that you should ta ke going to do anything that you should take up vaping, rather than to continue smoking. even they agree that vaping is a better alternative. but would you accept that more research, maybe much more research, needs to be done into the health effects of vaping ? needs to be done into the health effects of vaping? well, of course, there is an awful lot of research on there is an awful lot of research on the short—term effects of vaping. as you said in your report, vaping is about 11 years old. there really

hasn't been or could there be long—term studies? we will continue to monitor that. we will do so on a yearly basis. you accent there needs to be more research. you are denying that assertion that i made earlier that assertion that i made earlier that the jury is still out?” disagree that it is still out, we know it is 95% safer. we know that if smokers continue to smoke that the majority of those will die. therefore, if you're going to do something you might as well do something you might as well do something that is much healthierfor you, which is vaping. i also spoke to dr dhruv parek, a lecturer at birmingham university who worked on a study about the safety of e—cigarettes. i started by asking him if the jury is still out. absolutely. i mean, the jury is absolutely out. what we're saying is that we're not saying there isn't a potential role for vaping and e—cigarettes

in smoking cessation but it's still too early to maintain these sweeping statements that they are much more harmless than normal cigarette smoking. actually, this 95% statistic that's been pulled out is based on very, very weak evidence, which was published in 2014. i don't agree with that statistic. that's not validated in good, clinical trials comparing the two modes of smoking versus e—cigarettes. just sum up for us in layman's terms, what your research found in terms of vaping and the health effects of it. i think you summarised it very well. what we found is that vaporised e—cigarette's liquid on living lung cells causes a worsening inflammation. it causes reduced functioning of these cells, which are importantly similar effects that we would see in patients who are smokers and smoking effects. so if we were to take the same cells from smokers, we would see the same effect.

i think this is really important. we won't really know how vaping affects these patients until ten, 15, maybe 20 years' time. so, putting aside the potential carcinogenic or cancer affects, in terms of damaging the lung and causing emphysema and copd there is potentially effects. that is what we are saying. there needs to be caution. the very positive report of the select committee i think is too strong and encouraging this to be... deregulated in the way that they are suggesting i think is very premature and irresponsible. except that what they're saying really is that e—cigarettes have a huge role to play in bringing down smoking rates, bringing down the smoking of cigarettes, which, of course, is much, much more harmful. surely, from that point of view, vaping, e—cigarettes, are very beneficial? it's the "very",

there is a real nuance. i think there is a place for them. there are other nicotine replacement therapies and other ways of giving up smoking. the biggest thing that we've noticed over the last four or five years is that there is less health care professional involvement in smoking. this has been left very much to the smoker, to give up smoking. i think there needs to be more investment back into that. evidence does show that the contact and motivation from having a contact point in giving up smoking is very, very helpful. there are other modes. i think promoting e—cigarettes as being the best way is irresponsible. that was a lecturer in respiratory medicine at birmingham university and one of the authors of that study about the safety or otherwise of e—cigarettes. body scanners and sniffer dogs are to be brought in to ten of england's worst prisons as part of a £10 million plan to tackle drugs and violence.

the government says it also wants to improve the leadership of those jails by sending the prison governors to military—style colleges. the bbc has been given exclusive access to 0akwood prison, near wolverhampton — it used to be referred to as "jokewood", but after changes were made by those in charge a recent inspection called it an "impressive" institution. our home affairs correspondent, danny shaw, has been inside. i do it because i feel like it's on my way of giving back to society. ben has got a job in prison. he is nearing the end of a 19—year sentence for plotting to supply cocaine. he's been at 0akwood for five years and has become a mentor, a middleman between prison officers and prisoners. basically, dealing with the problems, tensions in this society. a lot of guys come in with a vengeance against authority. a lot of it has to be empathy, shared experiences,

relieving your own experiences to the individual. it's about connecting with the individual. and not making anyjudgment. and it's about treating prisoners with respect. 0akwood was one of the first prisons to have in—cell telephones so inmates could keep in touch with families. some prisoners can wear their own clothes and staff are encouraged to defuse tension through dialogue, they do not carry batons. batons are weapons, as i see it, i have no time for them myself, that's my own personal choice. i would rather have people engaging with each other and finding solutions than resorting to drawing a baton to resolve an issue. my prison operates without batons very successfully. but after 0akwood opened six years ago, staff struggled to keep control. prisoners staged a rooftop protest in 2013 and a year later, there was a riot. one of britain's biggest and newest

prisons was a laughing stock. now, there's a positive mood at the jail, reflected in the glowing inspection report, which praised the way inmates are consulted and involved in decision—making. for a man to have gone through working with one of our mentors and come through the other side, it gives us that level of assurance that actually these projects are working and that will actually providing a place where prisoners in here can develop and they can grow as men. and hopefully be released into the community as men with something to offer. and that means being employable. in this workshop, prisoners are assembling parts for a private company, learning skills and getting experience that will help them on the outside. but 0akwood still has a long way to go. like many prisons, violence has increased, illicit drugs are readily available and incidents of self harm remain high. i try and get in touch with them.

ben, though, is showing that there's hope. prisoners can take the initiative, help each other to get through their sentence and stay on the right side of the tracks. the italian government has begun a formal investigation into the private operator of the motorway bridge that collapsed in genoa on tuesday, killing at least 38 people. another 20 are still missing. people living near the bridge have been moved from their homes because of safety fears and have been told their homes may be demolished. a state funeral for the victims is due to be held on saturday, but some families are boycotting the event to hold their own private services, as a sign of protest against what they say was negligence that caused the bridge to collapse. 0ur correspondent dan johnson is in genoa. i suppose that idea of a boycott of

this state funeral is an indication of the raw grief and anger that there is in italy at the moment. yes. intense bitterness, notjust about what happened here but also the political response to it. some of italy's top politicians right up to the prime minister have been very quick tojump to to the prime minister have been very quick to jump to the conclusion that the company that runs the motorway network, autostrada is responsible for a failure of maintenance on this bridge and that is what led to this collapse. the company says that its maintenance record is good and it is too quick to reach conclusions about what caused this bridge to fall down. they haven't been able to begin proper investigation work. the politicians have accused the eu of not providing enough funding to italy to maintain its infrastructure and local people are saying that it is the politicians for not prioritising infrastructure project and not providing an alternative bridge that was proposed many years ago as an alternative to take the pressure off the road crossing this bridge. a complicated political

debate going on with fingers being pointed in different directions. some of the families feeling that they are caught up when it is a time of intense brief. more funeral is tomorrow as part of an official state funeral which will be held in the city. there are still people missing bust of that is why the recovery work is going on. chipping away at slabs of concrete. they are trying to dig down to get to the bottom of the rubble to satisfy themselves that everyone has been accounted for. that is low painstaking work expected to carry on for two or three days yet. the official death toll is still 38 but clearly, there are still many people unaccounted for that the likelihood is that that will rise. yes. the authority say as many as 20 people are still missing. there are believed to be more cars still crushed under slabs of concrete that they haven't reached yet. the

likelihood is that as they carry on the recovery work, the death toll will increase further and it underlines how devastating this bridge collapse was and what a catastrophic failure of the infrastructure occurred on tuesday afternoon. that is why there will have to be such an intense investigation of why there are so many questions being asked. the criminal investigation is under way. as they move any bits of the rubble year, it is being photographed as evidence so they can try and build a picture of what went wrong. certainly, there is a call for accountability and for people to be held responsible and some of italy's political leaders think that needs to ta ke political leaders think that needs to take place at the top of autostrada, the private company that ru ns autostrada, the private company that runs the roads. they have called for the management to resign and they have called for contracts to be laid bare so that people can see how that company was operating and there will be an investigation into the maintenance record of that company. it will take a long time for things to be made safe because they have certainly difficult and dangerous

structures to deal with a long time before some people will be able to return to their homes. they may have to be re—homed permanently because of the danger these structures now pose. it is knock a hand will be dealt with. many thanks. -- it is not clear how that will be dealt with. the headlines on bbc news... mps are calling for a new approach to e—cigarettes, making it easier for people to vape in public places. the prisons minister says he'll quit if he can't get drugs and violence down in ten of england's most challenging prisons in the next year. house of fraser, which was bought last week, has cancelled all online orders after a dispute with its warehouse operator. sport now, here's hugh woozencroft. good morning. manchester city's tilt on a successful title defence has taken an early blow with the news they will be without their influential midfielder keven de bruyne for around three months.

the club has confirmed that the belgium international suffered a knee ligament injury in training on wednesday. it's the same knee he injured in early 2016 that kept him out for ten weeks and although the club say he won't need surgery, he's likely to be sidelined until mid—november. burnley manager sean dyche said it was a "massive badge of honour to be in european competition , after they reached the europa league play—offs. they'll face greek side 0lympiakos, while rangers take on fc 0ohfa of russia for a place in the main draw. their second leg against maribor finished goalless — thanks in no small part to goalkeeper allan mcgregor. they go through 3—1 on aggregate, and it means steven gerrard is still unbeaten since taking over as rangers boss. hibernian and welsh side new saints went out though. we don't yet know whether ben stokes will be involved in the third test against india, which starts tomorrow at trent bridge, but he's back in training with england. stokes was recalled to the squad immediately after he was cleared of affray on tuesday —

but head coach trevor bayliss said that was for stokes's own well—being and that he'd be assessing the all—rounder before making a decision over his inclusion. stokes may yet face a disciplinary punishment from the ecb. there's a lot of work being done on teen culture with the drs captains and that will be ongoing. certainly, we've had to make one or two changes. —— a lot of team culture with the two captains. there will be an ongoing... work done on the culture of the team and what it means to play for england. over the last 24 hours, danny cipriani has received some criticism but also a fair amount of support from those in rugby, after his arrest injersey put his england future in doubt. his old boss at sale, steve diamond, has urged england head coach eddiejones to stick by him, as his club side gloucester have done. diamond said it would be "too harsh" if the incident ended his international career.

cipriani said he was "truly sorry". he's been fined £2000 and ordered to pay £250 in compensation to a police officer. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. thank you. spain's king felipe and prime minister pedro sanchez have attended a special ceremony in barcelona to remember the victims of a terror attack on the city which happened exactly a year ago. 13 people were killed when a van ploughed into pedestrians on the popular boulevard, las ramblas. one person died of their injuries later. eight hours after that attack, a woman was killed in a separate incident in the coastal town of cambrils. the department store chain house of fraser has cancelled all its online orders, because of a dispute with its warehouse operator. the retailer was bought out of administration by sports direct a week ago. it says it has wiped all orders that hadn't been sent to customers

and would be issuing refunds. earlier, our business correspondent emma simpson told me what's going on. the logistics company that fulfils all its online orders is in a dispute with mike ashley, sports direct, about payment. so it stopped processing orders to distribution centres in milton keynes and wellingborough, which means nothing is going in and nothing is coming out. the website stopped working on wednesday. and now house of fraser are saying they've had to cancel orders and in the process of issuing refunds and have apologised to customers. a lot on social media this morning, customers expressing frustration and anger. we understand that there are, obviously, thousands of customers with sales totalling millions of pounds. so, messy, as you say.

is there any prospect that this dispute might be resolved any time soon? well, sports direct feel that they are being held to ransom. we haven't had any comment from xpo, the logistics company. to be fair to mike ashley, when he bought this company out of administration, legally, he didn't need to pay the debts owed by suppliers because the harsh reality is, when you pick up a business out of administration, you know, the debts are written off. clearly, there's a lot of anger and frustration from suppliers. notjust this logistics company but given the importance of online sales, you have to think this is not sustainable, there's got to be a compromise reached. there aren't any talks under way today, we understand. but, you know, you would have to imagine that something gets sorted out soon. there's a bit of a stand—off but a compromise has to be reached because you can't operate in today's environment without a great website. a boy is in a critical condition and another is seriously ill after four teenagers were stabbed

on a south london housing estate. it happened last night in camberwell. police say the victims are between 15 and 16 years old. six boys have been arrested. misconduct hearings, most of which collapsed, against teachers accused in the so—called "trojan horse" inquiry in birmingham, cost more than £1.2 million. the affair stemmed from a letter, which said hardline muslims could replace headteachers and governors in schools in birmingham, with people who would teach more conservative islamic principles. that turned out to be a hoax. former cricket star imran khan is expected to be confirmed as pakistan's next prime minister today. however, his appointment is likely to face stern opposition from the previous party of government, which claimed last month's elections were rigged. the film the children's act tackles the life and death decisions made in a family courtroom. leading actor emma thompson says spending time in court to prepare for her role as a judge

was a privelige. she's been speaking about the film to my colleague charlie stayt. my lady, they are ready for you. court rise. fi, shall we talk? excuse me. long day. there is no escaping the fact, this is a heavy water. it's grown—up. yes. isn't it? we are so used to being fed quite a lot of formulaic stuff. i always think of bill bailey's line, "it will disappear like a strand of saffron in a vindaloo." and that's what i think about independent films that are grown up. in the kind of vindaloo of marvel films that are around, it is very difficult... you have to really present your film and say, look, this is an adult film with very adult themes but i think that my nephews who are 18 and 21, i think that they would love it. so i don't want to put people off by saying this is a very serious, make—you—cry film.

it is not, actually. but it is one of those things that afterwards, you're going to have a lot to talk about. the applicant has leukaemia. however, the boy and his parents are jehovah's witnesses and it is contrary to their faith to accept blood into the system. decisions are made byjudges about life or death. all the time. and we have watched some of those more recently. indeed. all of those decisions about, particularly about babies in situations where there's treatment they can have or can't have, those kinds of decisions, can you imagine having to make them? that, i think, was the most impressive thing to me about these women who i watched when i was researching this. the womenjudges in the high court and the family court that i met are some of the most impressive people that i have ever met. and very few women, of course, have that level of power. very few women walk in the corridors of power. so they're kind of extraordinary. i can get some opera tickets for saturday night. no. i'm dutyjudge all weekend. you can't switch it? two judgments for monday. mm. what?

nothing, it'sjust like last weekend and the 50 weekends before that. that is how it is. and what amazes of course in the film is that people who make these extraordinary decisions, well researched and thought through have lives themselves. and that is where the film happens on that kind of very rocky boundary between her private life which has suddenly had a grenade thrown into it really, an emotional grenade and her public life, you know her life as a public servant. what have we got? you have the child abducted in morocco, hague convention listed for 10am, some routine hague convention listed for10am, some routine for10am, some routine maintenance pending suits and an ex—wife's application to exclude a husband from a matrimonial home. and this jehovah's witness boy. listed for tomorrow. as requested. i mean, everybody knows about work sometimes making it very difficult for you to see the wood for the trees in your private life. but this is kind of different.

because her work is so important, so, of course, you can understand that she just hasn't been listening to her husband. it's one of those really big questions that people periodically ask themselves, isn't it? whether work has got too big in their lives. but there are other things in their life have got left to one side. you work too much, it's no good. we've learnt that the hard way. we don't work too much. have you managed to square that up in your own, you know, work—life thing? yes. you think, now, you have? you have? oh, yes. i mean, i am very lucky now because i can choose much more. so i can choose when to work a little bit more than i used to be able to, but definitely, we are always looking at that. now it's time for a look at the weather with simon king. a chilly start for many of us that

lots saw sunshine. quite a pleasant afternoon. more rain and wind for the north and west. this will ease down this evening and overnight many places will be dry apart from central southern scotland with a weather front. dry to the north and suddenly dry across england and wales and a much more than ninth and last night. it the weekend, a tale of two passed a much more miles than last night. driverfor rain a much more miles than last night. driver for rain arrives for quite a few on sunday. saturday not bad at all, lots of sunshine and variable cloud for england and wales and that weather front bringing rain to northern ireland, central and southern scotland and dried in the north with some sunshine. warm and humid especially england and wales as temperature is creep up to 25. warmer in northern ireland. —— as temperatures. sunday will be cloudy and windy and outbreaks of rain, warm and humid and we hold on the cloudy and muggy conditions into the start of next week. our latest headlines... e—cigarettes should be given out on prescription to help

people stop smoking, according to a group of mps. they're urging a rethink of government policy. as £10 million in funding is announced to tackle drugs and violence in england's worst prisons , prisons minister rory stewart says he will resign in a year if things don't get better. house of fraser is cancelling all online orders and refunding customers. it comes after a dispute with its warehouse operator which meant deliveries would be delayed. italy's transport ministry has begun investigating the private operator of the motorway bridge that collapsed in genoa on tuesday, killing at least 38 people. 20 people are still missing. eating a low—carb diet could shorten your life by up to four years. that's the conclusion of a study by scientists in the states. coming up — scientists say they have taken a significant step towards developing new strains of wheat, that will be able to cope with climate change.

we'll be taking a closer look. american researchers have warned that low—carbohydrate diets could be shortening people's lives. the study followed 15 thousand people for 25 years, and found that those getting half their energy from carbs lived the longest, while people who cut them to less than a third of their diet had their life expectancy reduced by four years. liz tucker is a nutritionist and shejoins me now from herefordshire. thank you for being with us. what do you make of this research? what is your advice about how this is nothing new to any of us in this profession. it is confirming what we already know. and as they say in the report, not all nutrients are able

so what it is saying as it is not about the protein, it is not about the carbohydrate, if it is about the source of protein and carbohydrate. if you do eat a high protein diet, then hp plant —based and if you eat carbohydrates, again, they should be non—refined, less processed carbohydrates. for example, a typical westerner meal would be stea k typical westerner meal would be steak and chips and the report is saying that stick is very high protein and carbohydrate are very poor quality. what we need to be doing is eating more plant —based types of protein and going back to eating more whole foods and a lot more vegetables. there has been a bit of a proliferation of low carb diets or no carb diets. have they been wrong? the atkins diet came out yea rs been wrong? the atkins diet came out years ago but that encourages due to

eat more protein. what i have got to stress is that we do not eat proteins and carbohydrates individually. we eat food and it is a full foot which contains fat, carbohydrate and protein. when you see a local carbohydrate diet it is never really that low. it is still 30% carbohydrates so it is still a bird of your diet. what it is stressing is that it is the types of protein and the types of carbohydrate that we should be eating which we are not eating in western diets which as i say is wholefood plant —based. western diets which as i say is wholefood plant -based. is it really a question of having a balanced diet in the end? and having everything in moderation? yes, absolutely. why people are going on high—protein diet is because they felt they could lose weight easier. but that was the type of carbohydrate they were eating. if they had a high—protein diet they cut out the kind of carbohydrate that we need to be eating which is vegetables and

probably still eating bread and things like that. it is really a case of balanced diet and that is the really important thing. these low carb diet have been very popular and quite successful or certainly people have been using them. is it because they give you the illusion of losing weight and feeling more energetic and killing better?“ of losing weight and feeling more energetic and killing better? if you cut out any type of food group you are going to lose weight. you could have a chocolate diet and because the calorie intake is low and you will lose weight. but it is not a healthy diet. a lot of these faddy diets rely on low—calorie and not the types of food which we should be eating which is wholefood plant —based food. plant —based sources of protein are much better sources of carbohydrate that are not heavily refined. thank you very much. a nutritionist topping from herefordshire. more than 160 people have died as a result of the worst monsoon

rains in the indian state of kerela for a—hundred years. many of the dead were crushed in landslides. widespread flooding has forced one—hundred—and—fifty—thousand people out of their homes. thousands of people are still believed to be marooned by the floodwaters and more heavy rain is expected. yogita limaye reports. forced out of their homes by the flood, people are walking miles to safety. beyond this surging water, there are tens of thousands who are stuck, waiting to be rescued. the monsoon always brings heavy rainfall to kerala, but locals say this year is different. translation: after 36 years, it is the first time that such flooding is happening here. it is a disaster for the whole population. shelters have been set up whereever possible. locals are volunteering, cooking food and distributing supplies to people

who have been left homeless. the airport, the busiest in kerala, is unrecognisable. its runway resembles a river. rescue teams are being dispatched from other airports. these teams are engaged in basically rescue and evacuation works, medical first response and they are tackling the situations arising out of landslides and building collapse. and assisting the state administration in distributing relief materials. river levels are rising. the government has been forced to open dam gates. and there is more rainfall expected in the coming days. astronomers says they have identified some of the oldest galaxies in the universe — and they are right on our cosmic doorstep. scientists at the

universities of durham and harvard analysed different galaxies and found that one group of stars and planets, near the milky way, appeared to be different from the others. using computer simulations like this, they believe it was one of the first galaxies formed after the big bang, around 13 billion years ago. the research is published in the astrophysicaljournal. joining me now is professor carlos frenk who is from the department of physics at durham university and is also involved in the study. thank you for being with us. it is quite difficult to get your head all around this. can you explain a little bit more what you think you have sent? it shouldn't be hard to understand. the universe is intrinsically simple. what we have found, we have identified a population of very ancient galaxies which are relics of very early days

in the evolution of our universe. these galaxies are in fact amongst the very first galaxies that formed shortly after the big bang. in cosmic terms, it means 100 billion yea rs cosmic terms, it means 100 billion years after the big bang which sounds like a lot, but when we consider that our universe is 13.7 billion years old, this is a tiny fraction of the age of the universe. it would be the human equivalent of a few hours after birth. we have identified a population of faint galaxies which were recognised because they are in orbit around the milky way galaxy and are much smaller than the milky way. they have 100,000 starters unlike the milky way which has 50 billion stars. i have given me lots of big numbers. you may think this is

complicated but it is only big numbers. the process is simple. the big bang was a very simple fees in the evolution of the universe and by processes that we are increasingly understanding using the laws of physics we can figure out how the universe became structured and how eventually after 30 billion years of evolution led to galaxies like the milky way. is that the significance of this study? your piecing together the history of everything? yes, it is... these galaxies are fascinating for two reasons. we are witnessing the very first moment of the birth of galaxies. that is exciting in its own right but it is also a lot more than that. in a way, the small galaxies are the building blocks of the rest of the universe. when they form, they set in train the whole process that has led to the universe

in which we live. these early galaxies are building blocks because it is the combination of these early galaxies, these very small ones that the larger galaxies like our own milky way eventually form. we are all beginning to piece together and it is an amazing story of how a universe that went from the big bang where there was very little, there was no structure, there were particles floating around, how the universe managed to get from that simple state to the state in which we see it today. a state which is absolutely full of structures like our own milky way galaxy. you talk about the big bang, how did these early galaxies form? the early universe, the big bang phase lasted

400,000 years and at the end of this case, the universe had cooled down enough for the first atoms to form. these first atoms where hydrogen which is the simplest element in the periodic table and they are the fuel from which the stars are formed. during this phase, just after 400,000 years, the universe was very dark because there was only hydrogen. but a few that lasted about half a million years led eventually to the hydrogen atoms collecting into clouds which collected into clumps of dark matter, it is very important in this picture that had emerged from the big bang, when they collected into clu m ps big bang, when they collected into clumps they became unstable and turned into starters. and the universe was set alight with the first light of the universe. and it is the remnants of that that we are seeing today with telescopes. the way we know this, we did was

identify that there was a population of very faint galaxies in the universe and that is by itself very interesting but it does not tell you the whole story. we know a lot about the whole story. we know a lot about the universe, how do we know these are the first galaxies? we combine the empirical evidence, astronomical observations with theoretical models based on the laws of physics that describe the evolution of the universe. in that case, over the last 20 years or so, we have developed a computer model of nothing other than the entire cosmos. it is a virtual universe, and what we did with our computer model was we interrogated it. suppose we collect this data and we make a suppose we collect this data and we makea graph suppose we collect this data and we make a graph which we had made previously with the real data, what do you think we should see? and the computer model which is based on the laws of physics returned the graph which was identify —— identical to

the graph we had made from the observations of these faint galaxies. it is piecing together empirical evidence with theoretical ideas and web computer modelling that allows us to uncover and decipher these early galaxies. it is very special in the subject. this is cosmology. cosmology is not like any other science. we cannot do experiments. we only have the universe. we need the combination of observation, theory and computer modelling. beautifully explained, thank you very much for explaining all of that to us. professor of physics at durham university. it makes my little studio feel very tiny. thank you. new research indicates that the average gp now works less than three—and—a—half days a week — and just one in 20 trainee doctors intends to do the job full time. patients' groups say that the situation could become alarming, fuelling longer waits

for an appointment. the study was carried out by the king's fund, a think—tank specialising in health care policy. my colleaguejoanna gosling spoke earlier to beccy baird from the king's fund, which carried out that research, and dr sandhesh gul—har—nay who is a gp trainee and is currently negotiating reducing his working hours. pressures that were present in hospital, along with not seeing my family, not seeing my child, these were reasons that i decided to switch over to gp where you can get a slightly better work—life balance. but as you can see from the report, once i qualify as a gp, the amount of work and pressure that is being placed upon us is quite severe. becky from the king's fund, how concerning is this? if people are switching out of hospitals because the hours are too long and then actually

being a gp is also the same? i think there's no doubt and all of our research at the king's fund shows that the intensity of a gps day is becoming more and more a working day for a gp is rarely 9—5. it's much more like 8—8 on the days that they are working, seeing patients. some gps are being pushed away, therefore, from full—time working in clinical facing general practice. they are also choosing to work in other bits of the nhs, which is of benefit to them and their skills. they might be working in out—of— hours services, in a pain clinic, in a hospice, or they might be teaching or working in research. all of that brings in and enhances their skills as a general practitioner. so it's not inherently a bad thing but we do need to think about how that is going to affect the way general practice works in future. alan on e—mail says, "0n the rare occasions i find myself needing a gp appointment, i'm unusually informed by the receptionist that i'll have to wait a week to ten days. it now appears, from your report, that the reasons could be associated with gps only working an average of 3.5 days per week. gps are well paid and therefore should provide a five—day week service to their patients. when someone becomes ill,

it is not acceptable to be told they cannot get an appointment in a reasonable time". are patients paying the price for gps going part—time? i think it's hard to say the gps are working part—time. they might be seeing patients... 3.5 days per week is... there are other ways in which they can work as a team. i think you could ask if gps were still seeing patients 9—5, five days a week, they would still be seeing the same number of patients they are seeing in three days a week. they are working very intense hours. we don't want overtired gps, seeing patients every ten minutes in sessions all day, making very complex clinical decisions. that is not sustainable for five days a week so we need to work on a health service that will really deliver the kind of care that patients need. i want to find out a bit more about the hours, how the hours could work out from our example here in the form of sandhesh. just in terms of trying to get a grip on whether three and a half days for a gp is actually misleading because it's kind of technically full—time in terms of hours being worked, as other people

would see it, or is it really a properly part—time job as other people would understand ? what sort of ours are you talking about working per week when you are negotiating? as a gp, 9—5 never happens. you're in at 8am and you do leave some time 7pm or 8pm. those are hours that are essentially free and unpaid. seeing patients is 9—5 but then i need to see the referrals, the results, i need to ensure that things that i have said to the patients end up happening. all of this has to be done in my own time, because there's not enough time in the working day because of the number of people that need to be seen. this is not unique to me. this is universal, throughout the country. gps are really struggling with this. that was a gp trainee talking to you

and also a representative of the fund. the headlines on bbc news... mps are calling for a new approach to e—cigarettes, making it easier for people to vape in public places. the prisons minister says he'll quit if he can't get drugs and violence down in ten of england's most challenging prisons in the next year. house of fraser , which was bought last week , has cancelled all online orders after a dispute with its warehouse operator. it's exam results season, and while some pupils are still celebrating their a—level results, it's emerged more than 86 thousand young people in england had to resit their maths or english gcse last summer. that's according to figures seen exclusively by the bbc. four years ago the government decided that students should keep retaking the exams until they achieved a good pass in the two core subjects — or in equivalent skills. but the stats show some are resitting up to four times.

john maguire reports. name a skill or a subject and they're bound to teach it here at barking & dagenham college in east london. these painting and decorating apprentices are among the 12,500 students, post—16 as well as older learners, from sports to science, arts to accountancy, they do it all. and since the government in england decided students over 16 should achieve a good pass in maths and english gcses, or an equivalent skill, there's been a sixfold increase in the numbers retaking those subjects here. you need to look at what happened in school maybe didn't work so we tried to make it real life and link it to real—life situations so they can actually see where they will use it and a way to remember it and the relevance behind it. at leyton sixth form college i meet three students who been through resits more than once.

everyone has different ways of learning so i think there should be better ways of trying to help students achieve the grades they deserve. i retook it but i didn't get the grades i wanted because university you need a higher grade, so i retook it. you can get quite under pressure from family and friends, like some friends have passed exams and you're there thinking i've tried so hard and it's not working out for me. and they're far from alone. the social equality charity impetus has analysed the department for education figures and found in england last summer more than 86,000 students rhys at maths or english, and among those almost 5,700 were taking their exams for the fourth time. these qualifications are so important and we know employers and universities and colleges put so much weight on maths and english gcse that i don't think it's right if you don't get them the first time you don't get a proper second chance. at the moment it isn't a second chance to succeed, it is a second chance, a third chance, a fourth chance

to fail because it not been done properly and seriously. so what's the answer? colleges say they're underfunded and there needs to be a new approach. we have to recognise the fact students at 16, 17, 18 are different from those students studying those qualifications at school and we need to make those qualifications relevant and responsive to their needs as they get older, as they become adults and as they start to envisage their life beyond education. the government said it committed an extra £50 million to improve the maths teaching last year, and £4.5 billion a year to professional development for teachers in both subjects. of course, education is supposed to open doors. but for thousands of students, it seems some remain closed. john maguire, bbc news, east london. scientists say they have taken a significant step towards the development of new strains of wheat that will be able to cope with increased demand and climate change.

an international team of researchers has produced a map of the food crops genome, made up of more than a hundred—thousand genes. 0ur science correspondent pallab ghosh has more. wheat is one of the most important food crops in the world, and it's a struggle to produce enough. researchers here are trying to increase yields by crossbreeding varieties with useful traits. it can take up to 15 years to develop a successful strain, but that time could soon be halved. an international team has decoded the dna of wheat and located the position of more than 100,000 of its genes. without having the map of the wheat genome, it's been difficult to achieve the increase in demands we are getting around her world, but now, with the wheat genome, all of a sudden we can use all of the genetic and genomic information to accelerate the breeding process and produce better varieties more quickly and feed the world in future. these plants have been given

the same amount of water, but you can see that this one hasn't coped so well. that's because this variety has genes that enable it to withstand drought conditions. the wheat genome will enable researchers to work out what they are and so develop completely new strains that are able to cope with the increased heatwaves that climate change is predicted to bring. the researcers believe that their map of genes is a vital breakthrough that was needed to boost production in areas that will be hardest hit by climate change, and so ensure that the world's growing population will continue to have food on their plates. pallab ghosh, bbc news. tributes have been paid around the world to aretha franklin known as the queen of soul, she was diagnosed with cancer eight years ago, but only retired last year. fans, fellow musicians and us

presidents have been remembering the singer as a musical icon — and a powerful advocate for the civil rights movement. peter bowes reports from los angeles. she was the queen of soul. loving her music but also as i became older i began to realise how powerful and important she was as a humanitarian activist and someone who was very involved. aretha franklin was bigger than music. she became a symbol for civil rights in the 60s. she performed at the funeral of martin

luther king. and the inauguration of america's first black president. in his tribute, barack 0bama said that she helped define the american experience. the civil rights leader jesse jackson knew this and never more than 60 years. a singer whose sense of soul souljustice, she fought for martin luther king, she fought for martin luther king, she fought for martin luther king, she fought for nelson mandela, she fought for nelson mandela, she fought for nelson mandela, she fought for barack 0bama. she had a sense of community service which was as broad as her music. her final performance last november a gala in new york for elton john performance last november a gala in new york for eltonjohn aids foundation. higher loss was a blow for everyone who loves real music. sir paul mccartney says the memory of her greatness as a musician and define fine human being would live with us for ever. the queen of soul,

respected by so many and missed by all. in a moment it's time for the one o'clock news, but first it's time for a look at the weather. it was a pretty cool start this morning, certainly for the time of year, but we saw quite a bit of sunshine for central and southern eastern areas of the country before rain moved into much of the north and the west. tonight, it looks like the rain will peter out. it will be largely dry and it won't be quite as chilly as it was last night. that's because we are starting to import some south—westerly winds and warmer and more humid air from the mid—atlantic as we head through friday night and into the weekend. much of the rain across central areas will tend to peter out overnight and it will be a largely dry one with clear spells, more cloud across western areas and still quite breezy but not as chilly as it was last night with temperatures 12—16. a warm start to saturday.

we are under the influence of high pressure for most of the country. this weather front will bring outbreaks of rain and this weather feature could bring us some rain to northern and central areas as we head through sunday. saturday not a bad looking day. a lot of dry weather around and good spells of sunshine and that waether front running thick cloud and outbreaks of rain across northern areas but for england and wales it will be largely dry. variable amounts of cloud coming and going, tending to be thickest across western hills. because of this west and south westerly wind. in the sunny spells it will feel very pleasant indeed. quite breezy but not as windy as it is going to be further north. another front bringing thicker cloud and outbreaks of rain may be to northern ireland but northern scotland staying largely dry. the wind shows it will be quite a blustery day especially across scotland, northern ireland and the far north of england. a bit warm across england and wales, mid 20s will feel very pleasant in any sunny spells.

as we head through the week ended to sunday, this feature makes inroads across our shores, containing the remnants of subtropical ernesto. it will bring some fairly humid air, particularly to england and wales. it will feel quite windy across central and southern parts. some of the rain could be quite heavy across central and northern areas. as it pushes into the north sea but the far north of scotland staying largely dry. a warmer feel right across the board with low 20s in northern ireland and mid 20s further south. we hold onto the fairly cloudy weather into next week and most of the cloud with a bit of drizzle in northern and western areas. it will feel generally on the warm side. mps say vaping is much less harmful than smoking — and e—cigarettes should be offered on prescription as a way of helping people quit. they say the government should consider relaxing the rules around vaping in public. but not all experts agree — we'll hear from both sides of the debate.

also on the programme: the collapse of the motorway bridge in genoa — the italian government begins a formal investigation of the company that ran it. house of fraser — just bought out by sports direct — cancels all online orders, in a dispute with its warehouse. the worst monsoon floods in parts of india for almost a century kill more than 160 people in kerala — more rain is on the way.