rail chaos across the south of england and wales — people are being advised not to travel long distance or into london. thousands of services have been cancelled in and out of london paddington, after power cables were brought down last night. bottlenecks have built up at other stations, including reading. network rail says the disruption is expected to last all day. they are saying the alternative is going from here to waterloo, waterloo to reading, then reading to parkway, that will take another hour, 30 minutes on top of the journey. we'll have the latest live from our correspondents. also this lunchtime: are you confident of a brussels breakthrough? the prime minister is heading to brussels to address european leaders at a crucial summit about brexit. the us secretary of state meets the turkish president to discuss the fate of the saudi journalist last seen two weeks ago. shops in canada start selling cannabis legally —

it's become only the second country in the world to allow its sale for recreational use. and, a particularly warm welcome for the duke and duchess of sussex in australia, the five—year—old boy who appears to be their biggest fan. and coming up in the sport later in the hour on bbc news: touring in monsoon season — england's cricket series against sri lanka is disrupted again. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. tens of thousands of rail passengers are facing disruption across the south of england and wales, after the cancellation of services

into and out of london paddington. great western railway is advising people not to travel on long distance routes, or towards the capital, after a hitachi test train brought down overhead power cables last night. —— great western railway is advising people not to travel on long distance routes, or towards the capital, after overhead electric cables were "severely" damaged on tuesday night. some services have resumed but network rail says the disruption will continue all day. our correspondent simon jones is at paddington: this is one of london's busiest railway stations, throughout much of the day it has been eerily quiet, people are asking how 500 metres of overhead cable coming down has caused disruption to such a large pa rt caused disruption to such a large part of the network. they are starting to load the first trains out of here but the warning is it will be a difficult afternoon ahead. trains going nowhere. and passengers desperate for information. many turned up at paddington this morning unaware of the problems,

even though trains first ground to a halt last night. it has been a battle to get to work or to heathrow airport to catch flights on time. they told me there is an alternative route. you have to go from here to waterloo, from waterloo to reading and from reading then to parkway, which will take us about another hour and 30 minutes on top of ourjourney. the heathrow express was cancelled, that was the start. we said, is there any coach organised 7 they said, no, you must get the ordinary transport into london and up to paddington or get a taxi costing £70. trying to get the airport, got to catch a flight and i'm going to try and find an uber. are you worried about getting there on time? yes, that is why i should probably run! here at paddington station the departure board tells the story. it is empty because nothing is coming and going. some passengers are playing the waiting game, they have been told they can try alternate routes but the reality is, there are no easy options. at reading, passengers complained of overcrowding on the platforms.

network rail is blaming the chaos on extensive damage to the overhead power lines near ealing. some passengers had to be evacuated from stranded trains by the emergency services last night. the manufacturer hitachi said the problems were caused by one of its test trains like this one. but it may need up to two days to definitively identify what happened. there was a test trains on the network that ran into some difficulty, and that damaged the overhead line equipment on all four of the lines in and out of paddington and for a distance of about 500 metres, half a kilometre. it is a lot of damage. the lines affected run from paddington to slough and to heathrow airport. around 800 trains arrive and depart from the station each day, they carry around 90,000 passengers. passengers on the great western railway from here to thames valley, west of england, south wales have been incredibly patient as the electrification project

has run years late. new trains haven't come in when they were supposed to and the whole thing is way over budget. for some of them, this might be the final straw. great western railway and network rail are apologising to passengers but the warning is there will be no quick fix to the problems. we have just seen a heathrow express train arrived at the station and great western managed to send in its first train from reading in the last half hour but make no mistake, things are not back to normal, this is still a reduced service and the rail company is advising passengers not to travel at all today if they can avoid it. it is possible disruption will continue into tomorrow. let's also go to swindon, one of the stations very badly affected. andrew plant is there.

for thousands of commuters from the west side of england, paddington is the gateway to london. the message warning people not to travel did get through, reduced passenger numbers this morning and a reduced service but seats still available, from bristol temple meads, for instance, rather than to trains an hour, it was one, terminating at reading and then swapping, you could take the journey but it is taking longer. that is not to say there was not some pretty horrendous commuter stories, trying to get here from paddington last night, said no information at the help desk at paddington, ended up in a taxi, that cost him almost £150. i am told it is all to do with a small piece of metal on top of a train which takes electricity from the over overhead power line into the train, the pantographs. power line into the train, the pa ntographs. the wrong power line into the train, the pantographs. the wrong part was touching the wrong part of the wire and that is what caused all the damage, people here hoping everything is sorted out by tomorrow

morning. the prime minister has insisted her plan for the uk's relationship with the eu after brexit is not dead as she sets off for a crucial european summit. theresa may will meet fellow leaders in brussels later as she attempts to get a potential deal back on track — with talks deadlocked because of the issue of the irish border. our political correspondent alex forsyth has the latest. are you confident of a brussels breakthrough? the prime minister once again today heading into battle over brexit, herfirst once again today heading into battle over brexit, her first stop, parliament, to face mps against a backdrop of possible compromise and storming negotiations. order, questions to the prime minister. that was a gift to her critics. the prime minister and that was a gift to her critics. the prime ministerand her that was a gift to her critics. the prime minister and her government are prime minister and her government a re clearly prime minister and her government are clearly too weak and too divided to protect people'sjobs or our

economy, or ensure there is no hard border in northern ireland. prime minister asked again and again, defended her brexit plan. frictionless trade across our borders is exactly what lies at the heart of the free trade deal that is proposed, in the government plan put forward after the chequers meeting injuly. that forward after the chequers meeting in july. that is forward after the chequers meeting injuly. that is what we are working to deliver, for people in this country, we want to deliver a brexit that delivers on the vote of the british people and ensures we protect jobs and british people and ensures we protectjobs and security. british people and ensures we protect jobs and security. members of the cabinet are supporting the prime minister's efforts so far, despite the sale made. -- despite the stalemate. does she have the support of the cabinet? absolutely. backing her efforts to get talks moving. it is being executed in good faith. who will budge? those involved in the talks say there has been real progress but the sticking point is still, how to avoid a hard irish border no matter what else

happens. you try to solve that, negotiators have discussed the possibility of extending the transition, the period after the uk officially leaves the eu, when not much changes, to try to allow more time to put trains arrangements in place. —— trade arrangements. time to put trains arrangements in place. -- trade arrangements. what has been indicated very clearly by michel barnier is that the eu side is willing to allow more time in the transition period to agree an alternative solution to a backstop. never too late to stop brexit! the government says it has not asked for any extension to the current brexit timetable, there would be plenty of tracks to a slow process. this has gone on long enough, everyone is fed up gone on long enough, everyone is fed up with it, just get on with it, thatis up with it, just get on with it, that is what any business says. here in brussels, the prime minister will address eu leaders later, the hope is not for a major breakthrough —— the hope is today for a major

breakthrough to get talks going hoping down the line there can be a deal. in a moment we'll speak to our europe correspondent damian grammaticas who is at the european summit in brussels, but first lets talk to our assistant political editor norman smith in westminster. what is your reading of the prime minister's mood and chances? expectations for this summit are subterranean, in a way, exemplified by pmqs, when we had a whole shed load of questions about brexit, frankly, i am load of questions about brexit, frankly, iam blown load of questions about brexit, frankly, i am blown if i heard anyone with anything new to say, just going round and around like a scratched record, the danger is the eu have made very clear that they wa nt eu have made very clear that they want her to come forward to brussels tonight with new thinking, new proposals, creative ideas to break the deadlock and it is ready clear that she is going to go there, pete afamiliar that she is going to go there, pete a familiar argument, and the familiar objections to the eu's proposals on the northern ireland

backstop, the danger then is that they decide, there is no point in having another summit in november, in fact, we may as well make it a no deal summit. in fact, we may as well make it a no dealsummit. in in fact, we may as well make it a no deal summit. in the absence of a new idea or a visible plan b, it seems that theresa may's team are hoping the eu will in effect crack, either through sympathy for theresa may's political predicament, or, because of naked self—interest, they want to avoid no deal, orjust through sheer grey faced with rain is with the whole process, that they eventually decide, we willjust have to give her what she wants. but i have to say, at the moment, there is no sign of that. give us your sense of what people are saying in brussels. as norman was saying, very little optimism, that is what donald tusk, chairing the summit, has said, we know that she will sit with him and

with the irish prime minister, and the other 27 leaders but in alex's report you heard the irish deputy prime minister said to repeat to the uk, theresa may, has already agreed, as long ago as december, that there must be this irish backstop, this insurance bolasie, that it would be envisaging northern ireland saying under eu rules, and that the uk has two sign up to it, that is the bottom line for the eu. they will not budge on that. some creative ideas, the eu side starting to put out, the idea of a longer transition period, that comes after brexit date, does not solve the irish problem but gives theresa may something that she can take back and sell, to say, this helps everyone to smooth things along. the leaders here will be saying, as is pointed

out, new ideas are needed to break the deadlock, otherwise, you have two agree to something that is on the table otherwise negotiations will not proceed. we are hearing they are unlikely even to agree a next summit date, saying they have to see progress from the uk before leaders will agree that it is worth their while sitting down to try to sign any deal off. the ball is back in the uk's court. for the moment, thank you. if you're unsure about the various terms surrounding brexit then you can go to the bbc news website and look for the brexitjargon—buster, your key guide to all the key terms. the us secretary of state mike pompeo has held talks with the turkish president recep tayyip erdogan about the fate of the saudi journalist jamal khashoggi, who's not been seen since he entered the saudi consulate in istanbul two weeks ago. turkish officials believe mr khashoggi was murdered by the saudis,

who deny any involvement. martin patience has the latest from ankara. it's the latest stop of his diplomatic clean—up tour. mike pompeo arriving in the turkish capital trying to find a solution to a growing crisis. but the turkish president is driving a hard bargain. it is what happened 15 days ago to this saudi journalist that has provoked this extraordinary turn of events. jamal khashoggi entered the saudi consulate in istanbul and hasn't been seen since. unnamed turkish officials say he was brutally killed, his body dismembered by a team of specialists flown in for the operation. one of them reportedly used a bone saw. mr khashoggi was a high—profile journalist who once worked as an adviser to the saudi royal family. but fearing for his life, he fled to exile in america where he became a critic of the saudi crown prince, accused by many to have been

involved in this killing. us president donald trump dispatched his secretary of state to hold talks in saudi arabia, including with the crown prince mohammed bin salman. the saudis say they had nothing to do with the killing and are committed to the investigation. they said it would be a thorough, complete and transparent investigation. we will all see the results of that. they made a commitment that they would show the entire world the results of their investigation. they also indicated they would get this done quickly. this case is nominally about a journalist, but it has now taken on global significance. and turkey appears to be using it to gain leverage on regional issues ranging from syria as well as its relationship with saudi arabia. and the fear is that with all these twists and turns, what exactly happened to jamal khashoggi

inside that consulate may never be known. martin patience, bbc news, ankara. russian officials say 18 people have been killed in an explosion at a technical couege in the crimean city of kerch. anti—terrorism officials told state media that the blast was caused by a home—made explosive device. fifty people are reported to be injured. russia annexed the crimea peninsula from ukraine in 2014. prices are rising more slowly than expected, according to the official figures out today. the office for national statistics says the main inflation figure — the consumer prices index — rose by 2.45% in the year to september, compared to the previous figure of 2.7%. our economics correspondent andrew verity is here. you have been looking at the figures. what is driving this? immediate cause was arrested in food

and non—alcoholic drink prices and that was helpful. energy bills are still going up but the offset effect of the lover food prices, that produced the number you just mentioned of 2.4% for the consumer prices index. the contrast is how that compares to what we are earning and the most recent data up until the end of august was a 3.1% average pay rise. so compared to 2.4%, and that inflation stays low and earnings keep up then we are pulling away and getting a greater gap between earnings and prices and that means that we are getting a real—time pay increase which has to be good news is certainly if you are working. but look at what is happening to the temple at 4 million households, many of them working, who received benefits. the government policy is to freeze working age benefits of the moment. pensions will still go up but the

government is saving £i.6 pensions will still go up but the government is saving £1.6 billion from this policy and that money has to come from the pockets of those households who would have got an inflation linked rise and that is how much these households are losing according to the institute for fiscal studies in the coming year. £150 worse off their household than otherwise they would have been. one otherwise they would have been. one other upside to this news, less pressure on the bank of england to raise interest rates any time soon. market traders are now betting that will not happen until may of next year at the earliest. thank you. three anti—fracking activists — who were sent to prison for causing a public nuisance at a protest against the energy company, caudrilla, are to be freed after a decision at the court of appeal. simon blevins and richard roberts had both beenjailed for 16 months, while rich loizou was sentenced to 15 months. jenny kumah is at the court of appeal in central london. what has happened today? this is a

significant victory for the three men. they had beenjailed, this is highly unusual for a sentence to be passed in this case and their lawyers argued but they had shown no violence and no damage in the protest which lasted for four days. there was widespread disruption but they said the sentence was excessive. giving their verdict today the lawyers agreed, the judge said the sentence had been ma nifestly said the sentence had been manifestly excessive. he said that the more appropriate sentence would have been a community order. the significant amount of paid work and a conditional discharge for two yea rs. a conditional discharge for two years. it is unusual for people to be jailed in this case, the last time was almost 90 years ago and that was during the gender scout master trust bass. we understand arrangements are now being made for

the men to be released. they appeared on video link during the hearing and we understand that arrangements are being made for them to be released from prison later today. our top story this lunchtime. rail chaos across the south of england and wales — people are being advised not to travel long distance, or into london. and still to come... a warm welcome for the duke and duchess of sussex in australia from the five—year—old boy who's their biggest fan. coming up in the sport in the next 15 minutes on bbc news. bback to work for arsene wenger, the former arsenal manager he says he's had plenty of offers and he'll have a newjob in the new year. canada has today become only the second country in the world to allow shops to legally sell cannabis, for recreational use. it follows uruguay, which has allowed this since 2013.

today's move has been questioned by some medical professionals and police, but welcomed by growers and investors. samira hussain has the story. doob, ganj, weed, bud. call it whatever you want, the fact is, canada's cannabis industry is coming into bloom. this is no ordinary grow, it's a high—tech operation that produces a staggering amount of legal marijuana. we are kind of like a tech company that produces cannabis. it was about the idea that this had to be done and probably was more about tech. inside this vault is where they keep the stuff that is ready to ship. security is tight, unsurprisingly, considering the half a billion dollars worth of marijuana that line these shelves. this is bay street, toronto, ca nada's financial district.

the country's early adoption of cannabis as a legitimate business is allowing it to dominate the industry. just ask investor, paul rosen. this has become the hub of the global cannabis industry. toronto specifically is where most of the global cannabis companies are coming to raise their capital. most of the well—known us companies are coming to canada to list on the canadian securities exchange because they can't list on the nasdaq or the nyse. in this classroom, students are learning to cultivate marijuana on an industrial scale. the goal is to get them into cannabis companies fast to start running their production operations. there is also the added benefit of giving some of these students more legitimate or legal experience. it hasn't been a professional industry so the technologies have stayed quite minimal in order to keep it under the radar. does that mean you have a lot of illegitimate experience? yes. i do. ijust told you my name and i don't think i should have done that!

canada is the first country in the g20 to legalise recreational marijuana. whatever happens here will be closely watched by people around the world, both for the risks and for the potential rewards. a jury at the old bailey have heard that a man — accused of murdering two nine—year—old girls 32 years ago — was "play—acting" when he appeared grief—stricken at their deaths. russell bishop was among the first to find the bodies of nicola fellows and karen hadaway in brighton. bishop, who denies murder, is facing a second trial over the deaths. daniela relph is at the old bailey. what more is the court being told today? it has been a difficult and distressing morning" this morning especially for a mothers of nicola fellows a nd especially for a mothers of nicola fellows and karen hadaway who were

sitting alongside each other in court how holding hands with other members of their families. the prosecution has focused on the discovery of their bodies in october 1986. the court heard that they were found huddled together in undergrowth in wild bar in brighton and that russian ship, the man accused of murdering them, was part of one of the first search parties to find the bodies. the court heard that he was prevented from getting too close by other members of the search party but later that day in what misstatement to the police he gave a great amount of detail about what he had found at the scene. prosecution saved there is no way he could have known that level of details the the prosecutor told the jurors that he was able to describe what he did because that is how he left both to browse, having killed them. the court also heard that a neighbour of russell bishop described him as being with stricken after finding the bodies. described him as being with stricken afterfinding the bodies. again described him as being with stricken after finding the bodies. again the prosecution told the jurors that was simply reacting on his part. thank

you. there's been a sharp rise in the number of british victims of modern slavery, according to figures seen by the bbc. the salvation army, which runs safe houses on behalf of the government, says the number of british people it looked after almost doubled in the last year. charlotte wright has this report. the footage could be straight from a television drama. but raids like this are happening in villages, towns, and cities across the country as hundreds of people forced into working for little or no money in appalling conditions are rescued. they would throw you out of cars. sometimes they would take your clothes from you. and then just leave you in a place, so you didn't have any clothes. on one occasion they put petrol and threatened to set me alight. jenny, whose name we have changed, was groomed at the age of 11 and passed around the country

as a sex slave for ten years. it is like you're not really alive. it is only after you're out of it that then the emotion hits you. these are really dangerous, well—organised, quite violent criminal syndicates who are buying and selling human beings for profit. thousands of people are identified as victims of modern slavery each year and that number has been growing. often they have come from abroad, places like albania and romania. butjenny is a british survivor, born and bred here. and she isn't alone. last year, 86 british victims were supported by the salvation army, which has the government contract to provide a safe house once they are rescued. that is nearly double the year before and significantly more than the number of those referred to the charity seven years ago. and it is widely believed that this is just the tip of the iceberg. the organised crime groups that operate within this area are very clever in how they move around.

so although we are aware of the potential victims when they come into our service, there will be many who will still be hidden away and won't have a voice. for many police forces across the country, tackling the issue is already a priority. we are setting up our own bond slavery, human trafficking team next year to focus on the complex cases. we are still promoting it to the forces, to the staff and pcos, right through to the senior management, of how to tackle it. but in order for the authorities to get a true grip on the problem, the public need to take action. the salvation army operates a 2k hour confidential referral helpline and is asking people to report anything that seems suspicious. charlotte wright, bbc news. and viewers in the south east region can see more on that story after this programme on bbc one and viewers

in the rest of the country can see it on the iplayer. the duke and duchess of sussex have received another warm welcome on the second day of their tour of australia. they faced torrential rain as they visited the outback town of dubbo — which had been suffering a prelonged drought. but it was a five—year—old boy who stole the show, as our royal correspondentjonny dymond reports. in small—town australia, excitement at a big visit. as harry and meghan met local schoolchildren, some got a little up close and personal. this little boy just this little boyjust could not get enough of the royal couple. on a local farm there was one topic. drought. there has been hardly any rain here for two years, and the earth is parched.

the duke and duchess heard how pretty much everyone has been affected. at a community barbecue, thousands turned out to see the couple. some had travelled hundreds of miles to be here. the duke successfully mastered canine country pursuits. but the weather was beginning to turn. as the rain began, there was a chance to enjoy indigenous australian culture. and then from the duke, praise for what he called the backbone of australia. you have just lived through two years of drought. and despite recent welcome rain, it is going to take a lot more and a long time to recover. the duke and duchess came to dubbo to show that their tour was more thanjust the big cities.

and also to show support for a drought hit region. instead they brought with them pouring rain. one thing is for certain, their visit will never be forgotten. they are so gorgeous, so beautiful. they are special. and he spoke so beautifully about the farmers. that was really, really nice because quite a lot of us are farmers. we have all travelled on buses to come. excited, really excited. yes. they are keeping the royal family alive. they have brought it back again. it is wonderful. harry, you couldn't meet a nicer aussie! he should have been an aussie! he should have been an aussie. dubbo has seen nothing like it for decades. one day, you feel sure, the duke and duchess will return. jonny dymond, bbc news, dubbo.