you're watching bbc news at nine with me annita mcveigh — the headlines this morning. americans prepare to deliver their verdict on president trump as voting in the mid term elections gets under way. i'm not on the ballot, but in a certain way i am on the ballot, so please go out and vote. how we conduct ourselves in public life is on the line. how we treat other people is on the ballot. five men are arrested after a video emerged showing a model of grenfell tower burning on a bonfire. theresa may's cabinet meets shortly — to discuss her latest attempts to resolve the irish border issue and finalise a brexit deal. the number of patients waiting for nhs tests and scans is increasing — a bbc investigation findsi in 11 radiographer posts is vacant. uncovering stories from the trenches of the western front — we'll be live in france as we look ahead to the armistice day centenary.

and england are struggling on the first day of the first test in sri lanka. jos buttler was last to depart, when he fell for 38. good morning and welcome to the bbc news at nine — part of a new morning schedule here on the bbc news channel and bbc two. victoria derbyshire is now at 10 o'clock every weekday morning. americans deliver their verdict today on president trump's first two years in office, in what are known as the midterm elections. final campaign rallies were held last night with the president visiting indiana and missouri in a final attempt to appeal to voters.

the election will decide which party will control the two houses of congress, as our washington correspondent gary o'donoghue reports. i'm not on the ballot, but in a certain way i'm on the ballot so, please, go out and vote. go out and vote. he's not on the ballot, but these mid—term elections are allabout him. seven states, 11 rallies and that's just in the last week. his message, democrats are a socialist mob, the media are the enemy of the people and, above all else, migrants are to be feared. another man who is not on the ballot is this former president — but he's still the closest thing the democrats have to star quality. and he's focussing on donald trump's attitude to the facts. because america is at a crossroads right now. there is a contest of ideas going on right now. americans will be voting for members of both chambers of congress —

that's the house of representatives and the senate. both are currently controlled by republicans. all 435 seats in the house are up for election. 218 are needed for a majority, with republicans going into the election holding 235. in the senate, republicans hold 51 of the 100 seats. 35 are being contested. if the polls are to be believed, then the republicans are likely to lose the house but keep the senate. that would make it hard for president trump to get legislation through — and democrats would control key powerful committees that could investigate the administration. holding on to the senate would mean that the president would get approvalfor thejudges and the cabinet members he wants. all told, there is a lot to play for. gary 0'donoghue, bbc news, washington. joining us now on webcam is dr clodagh harrington — she is an associate professor

of american politics at de montfort university in leicester. good morning. donald trump is not your average president, and these are not your average midterm elections by extension. they really aren't, and almost every time there's a midterm everyone says it's a referendum on the president and these are really important, you have these are really important, you have the same lines trotted out. i think this time it's real, it genuinely is. these are midterms with so much riding on them. as your reporter just mentioned, the idea that this is... may be trumpism is on the ballot, everything this man stands for. it's more thanjust ballot, everything this man stands for. it's more than just the individual and his unconventional presidency, it's about, as we heard from 0bama, what direction of travel does the country want to take. a big

in full tilt for trumpism, are they going to rein back and say actually this was interesting slightly odd experiment and now it's going to be a bit more business as usual. is it as existential as that, in your opinion? i think it's pretty profound, to be honest. the past two yea rs has profound, to be honest. the past two years has been a roller—coaster ride by anybody‘s measure. no matter where you sit on the political spectrum, it has been unprecedented. that has obviously been hugely exciting and refreshing and invigorating for a lot of people, and actually quite terrifying for others. so, it is a midterm like none before and there's more at sta ke none before and there's more at stake than just seats, i would say. would you agree that's why there is such interest in these elections, here in the uk and right around the world, because there is a feeling that perhaps this could dictate what happens to donald trump notjust over his next two years in office

but potentially whether he runs ain? but potentially whether he runs again? yes, definitely. i can see it's very likely that he will run again in 2020. there is likely to be again in 2020. there is likely to be a catastrophe for the republicans, i would think. they might take a dressing down or lose the house, it's possible, but nonetheless i think trump now has his eye and 2020, and his supporters are so loyal and consistent. he hasn't really dropped in his supporter numbers since he was elected in 2016. it's not like he's spent two yea rs 2016. it's not like he's spent two years reaching out saying maybe we can all work together and find bipartisan middle ground, he has just given his base all the red meat they wanted. the republican party is behind him for the most part. there we re behind him for the most part. there were voices along the way,

republican voices that voiced their displeasure. but the ones that have been talking loudly the ones who aren't running again, and most of the others are pretty much signing up the others are pretty much signing up to the trump agenda because they know it's a winner. thank you. we're joined now by cbs news correspondent nikole killion — she is in washington. hello. the power goes back to the people today, these suggestions are that turnout is already well up in votes cast, even before today. is this really the biggest midterm we've had in living memory? well, i wouldn't classify it that way. it's going to be a consequential election as every election is. we certainly have seen an increase in voter turnout, early voting, which has been a growing trend in the united states, and i believe at least upwards of 30 million people have

already cast their ballot. if that's any indication, certainly we expect any indication, certainly we expect a large turnout later today and again certainly the outcome unknown. there has been a real contrast in those final appeals to voters from president trump and from barack 0bama. absolutely. president trump just got back to the white house a short time ago. he campaigned at three rallies yesterday, back—to—back. he's been making calls and has been tweeting, he's been doing interviews at the white house they say he's plans to do more phone calls and monitor the races in real time across the country. he's invited friends and family to watch the returns coming in. he seems pretty bullish about republicans' chances, both in the house and senate. although they may not

necessarily retain control of the house but certainly feel their chances are good in the senate. 0n the flip side, you have democrats equally optimistic about their chances. president 0bama, former president 0bama has been leading the charge, he was in this area in northern virginia yesterday campaigning fortim kaine. northern virginia yesterday campaigning for tim kaine. he has been trying to contrast the democratic party with the republican party in terms of policies and making issues like health care is something that is at the forefront of voters' minds and concerns. 0bviously, of voters' minds and concerns. obviously, the republicans and the president have been geeing up their base with issues like immigration. again, we'll have to see which one wins out today's. thank you. and we've got a us election special starting here on bbc news at midnight tonight — with katty kay and christian fraser bringing you all the results throughout the night. five men have been arrested on suspicion of a public order

offence, after a video was posted online showing a cardboard model of grenfell tower being burned as part of a bonfire party. the metropolitan police said the men handed themselves in at a south london police station last night. in the footage, people can be heard laughing and joking as the model is set alight. the men have been arrested under section 4a of the public order act, which covers intentional "harassment, alarm or distress" caused by "threatening, abusive or insulting" words or signs. my colleague louise minchin spoke to moyra samuels from the campaign group justice for grenfell and asked for her reaction to the footage. like most people in our community, i'm absolutely appalled by it. it's disgusting. what kind of impact does it have on the community, when they

see something like that? i think the community feel that, yet again, given everything they have endured, and given the fact they are in the middle of giving evidence at the inquiry, that this is actually incredibly hurtful — and incredibly shocking. so many people have seen this video 110w. so many people have seen this video now. what should be done now?|j think now. what should be done now?” think the law needs to take its course. the police need to investigate this appropriately, and hopefully we will have people punished under the public order act, or whatever they've been charged with. i think it's really important. a 16—year—old boy has died after a stabbing in south london last night.

this latest fatality comes after four people died in knife attacks in the capital in five days. nobody has been arrested in connection with last night's incident. the cabinet is meeting this morning to discuss the prime minister's latest attempt at finalising a brexit deal. the main sticking point is still the so—called backstop — the arrangements to avoid checks on goods at the irish border if there's no trade deal. theresa may has said she's confident a solution can be found — but this morning the eu's chief negotiator michel barrnier has said there has not been enough progress yet to call a special brexit summit this month. 0ur political correspondent alex forsyth is in westminster. theresa may thinks she's 90 plus percent of the way there, doesn't she, but nothing is done until everything is done and the backstop is the issue. can we expect any

significant progress today? the official briefing is this isn't a decision—making cabinet meeting, so we shouldn't expect any huge announcements. 0bviously, with time creeping on now, any day could be the day we get some significant movement. in the background, these talks are absolutely continuing as the uk and eu governments try to inch their way towards a deal. the sticking point of course is the backstop. the insurance policy to stop their being checks at the irish border, no matter what happens, if there is no trade agreement. we've had some signals that might be movement on the eu side. that they would consider a uk wide customs arrangement if there was no trade deal, and that they might be prepared to look at a review mechanism about how that arrangement comes to an end. they are still insisting the uk cannot unilaterally say we want out of the backstop and thatis say we want out of the backstop and that is the sticking point. the views are divided among the cabinet

ministers meeting here this morning, but michael gove spoke to reporters on his way in and said he was confident the prime minister was making progress. just looking forward to going to cabinet and i'm sure the prime minister will be making progress to make sure we get a good brexit deal for britain. how worried are you about a no deal? i think the prime minister is doing everything she can to get the right deal for britain and i'm supporting her in that. are you worried about your red lines being crossed? i'm absolutely confident the prime minister will do her very best. at what point does this process is realistically run out of time to actually get a deal? there are two schools of thought. 0ne school of thought says there has to be significant progress over the course of this weekend, if that's going to allow enough time for european leaders to arrange a summit to get together and sign off a deal so they can come back and try to get through

parliament. there are other sources briefing that there is a bit more briefing that there is a bit more briefing time, perhaps towards the end of next week if there is significant progress then. the uk government is clear that a deal could be done in december. although that would be really tough, it thinks it can have enough time to try and get it through parliament. what remains the problem is notjust the differences between the eu and the differences between the eu and the uk, but the differences between the uk, but the differences between the members of the cabinet. a group of people who supported remain, people like philip hammond and greg clark, got together last night supposedly to talk tactics ahead of this cabinet meeting. i think although we aren't expecting any major decisions, we should be watching out for any robust language, cabinet ministers once again putting their lines in the sand about where they are not prepared to budge with whatever theresa may comes back with. the headlines on bbc news...

americans prepare to vote in the mid terms elections, as they decide whether president trump's republican party should keep control of congress. five men are arrested after a video emerged showing a model of grenfell tower burning on a bonfire. the cabinet meets this morning to discuss theresa may's latest attempt to finalise a brexit deal and sort out the problem of the irish border. good morning. england's cricketers make a dreadful start to the first test against sri lanka, losing five wickets for lunch on day one. they are now 199—6. huddersfield will remember the 5th of november. they are off the bottom of the premier league table thanks to their first win of the season. and history has been made in the melbourne cup with cross counter becoming the first british trained horse to win the race. i will be back with more at

just before 9:45am. the energy regulator, 0fgem, has announced the new energy price cap that will come into effect on the 1st of january. it's thought the cap that's been set at £1,337 could help 11 million customers save an average of £76 a year. our business correspondent dominic 0'connell can tell us more. good morning. break this down for us and take us through the figure against ocular i think it's £1137. it will save the average cost £76 a year and it will save the average cost £76 a yearand in it will save the average cost £76 a year and in total £1 billion a year. this applies to 11 million people who are and what are called default standard variable tariffs. they are the ones you go onto if you're not

ona the ones you go onto if you're not on a fixed—price deal which tend to be cheaper. all of those who haven't switched four years will go on to this price cap with savings of about £1 billion a year. there is always a sting in the tail. it's going to be adjusted every six months to reflect the price of producing electricity. it's going to go up in february. we know that wholesale prices have been rising, so it's going to go up almost as soon as it's announced. so, this isn't going to persuade people who aren't prone to change supplier to do so, is it? not many people think a price cap is a good idea. theresa may made a policy pledge when she was pitching to become leader of the tories, one of the few domestic policy she talked about was a price cap. the reason people are on these things is because they don't switch supplier and it's really hard to make people switch. 0fgem say having a price cut will make people less likely to

switch. it's an odd policy, an odd result of this idea is that fewer people will switch and have even cheaper prices. it will save people some money on but clearly 0fgem is still hoping people will shop around. interestingly, 0fgem recently conducted a trial, they took 100,000 customers are least likely to switch and made it has simple as possible. they literally had to push one button to switch. 20% switched. even when it's made as easy as possible, for some reason people don't switch. there could be all sorts of reasons but often it's inertia. you can lead a horse to water, as they say... there are lots of vulnerable people out there for whom it is not easy to switch and that to this price cap is aimed at, protecting them from being exploited by standard variable tariffs which are more lucrative for the energy companies and fixed term deals.

a bbc investigation has found that one in 11 radiographer posts in the nhs is vacant, and could be a key cause of delays in patients receiving tests and scans to diagnose conditions such as cancer. more than a million people across the uk are waiting for an nhs test or scan. 0ur health correspondent, nick triggle, reports. there are more than one million patients waiting for an nhs test or scan across the uk. these are meant to be done in a matter of weeks to diagnose conditions such as cancer, heart disease, and multiple sclerosis. but growing numbers of patients are facing delays, sometimes of several months. in england, the number waiting more than the target time of six weeks has risen by 9,000 in a year, to nearly 29,000. the performance in scotland and northern ireland is even worse, with only wales seeing an improvement. figures obtained by the bbc under the freedom of information act suggest a shortage of radiographers who carry out scans and ultrasounds is a key cause. in total, 124 nhs trusts and boards across the uk responded

to the request for information — four in five of those asked. it showed there were more than 111,000 posts funded but that one in 11 of them were unfilled, at the start of this financial year. all radiographersjoin the profession and go to work every day to give the best possible service and when there are vacancies and there's extra pressure in the system, that's is felt by everyone in the service. our members are working harder, extra shifts to try and fill those gaps, but there is only so much you can get a limited number of people to do. the department of health said steps were being taken to recruit more staff and invest in new technology and equipment. nick triggle, bbc news. now some other stories making headlines today. a man has died after being attacked by a shark at a popular tourist spot in australia. it happened in the whitsunday islands

near the great barrier reef — which was also the scene of two non—fatal shark attacks in september. local police say the 33—year—old man was pulled from the water with leg and arm injuries but later died in hospital. a couple from texas have been killed when a helicopter carrying them from their own wedding crashed. the accident happened late on saturday night after the ceremony of will byler and bailee ackerman byler, who were both students at sam houston state university. the two were married forjust over an hour before their helicopter crashed on the bylerfamily‘s ranch in southern texas. researchers say women who are naturally "morning people" are less likely to develop breast cancer. the team at the university of bristol say the reasons why are still unknown, but add that the findings are important as they may affect every woman's risk of developing the disease. security forces in cameroon are searching for 79 children who were abducted from a boarding school in the north west of the country.

it's thought the institution's principal was also taken, along with two other members of staff. separatist rebels are being blamed for the attack — though they have denied responsibility. caroline rigby reports. abandoned, the scattered belongings of missing students, left behind after gunmen broke into their dormitory. in all, 79 were abducted from bamenda's presbyteries and secondary school, along with the principal and other staff members. 0ne principal and other staff members. one student described hiding under a bed in order to escape a similar fate. they took him outside, one of my friends. all i could think about was, just be quiet. 0ne boy escaped. all the big boys were rounded up and the small ones left behind. the

armed raid happened in bamenda, the capital of the english—speaking region of cameroon. the regional governor blamed the attack on separatist rebels. this isn't the first time students have been abducted in the area but it's the worst incident so far in an insurgency that has become increasingly violent. they are going to face strong, powerful reaction by the powers that be. not only in bamenda but elsewhere in the northern region. parents of the missing children are anxiously waiting for any news, a major search involving the army is now under way to find their children. caroline rigby, bbc news. let'sjoin let's join victoria derbyshire. let'sjoin victoria derbyshire. we are going to take you inside the biggest burns unit in europe which is treating the victims of acid

attacks. it is in essex and we have been given exclusive access. we filmed one young woman who four yea rs filmed one young woman who four years ago had acid thrown at her. he threw the acid and got my right hand, rightarm threw the acid and got my right hand, right arm and right part of my face. in his mind, it was attack me with acid, so no one wanted me. that's why he paid this guy to do it. it's a horrible injury that will require lots of work. it's a life changing thing. it really is a fascinating insight into the incredible work they do at that burns unit. join us for that film and the rest of the day's news at 10am. when you visit cornwall — or watch bbc one drama poldark — the region's rich history of mining is ever present. historically, the county produced huge amounts of tin, copper and even arsenic. but from today cornwall‘s geology is due to be used

for something rather different. a multi—million pound project hopes to produce renewable electricity using the hot rocks deep underground. jon kay has been to take a look. on an industrial estate just outside redruth, they are making history. this giant rig is going deeper into the uk's earth than ever before. they are drilling three miles down. to give you a sense of what that means, the shard building in london is about 300 metres high. so imagine 15 shards, all on top of one another, and then go underground to that depth. that is how deep these drills are going to go — 11,500 metres. and here is why. this promotional video shows there will be two giant holes. the first one will take cold water about halfway. the water will then trickle deeper, and be heated to nearly 200 degrees

celsius by the rocks below. then it will be pumped back up to the top through a second well. the steam it produces at the earth's surface will be used to create electricity for up to 3,000 cornish homes. it's a fantastic day for me, but it's also a — it's a huge relief, as well... ryan law is the geologist and businessman who has devoted ten years to making this a reality, and he is convinced this is just the start. you only have to look at what's been happening in germany, what's been happening in the paris basin, for example. once one project kicks off and is successful, many other projects follow. but it took £10 million of eu money to get this project under way, and after brexit, they will need private investors to fund any future expansion. in places like iceland, geothermal is already part of the renewable energy mix. the geology here means it is easier to reach the hot rocks below, and a quarter of the country's

electricity is produced this way, without the chemicals or the pressure involved in fracking. no—one is expecting cornish granite to produce anything like those quantities, but the local council is putting in £2 million as an investment for the future. if this proves itself, then we would hope that other wells will be drilled in due course, and that more of the jobs, more of the drilling facilities, etc, the money from those will go to the local cornish economy. if he is right, this landscape, rich in centuries of mining history, could be ground—breaking once again. jon kay, bbc news, cornwall. now it's time for a look at the weather with simon king good morning. we've had some fairly

thick fog across central and eastern parts of england in particular. elsewhere, mist and fog patches clearing away. some brighter skies across eastern england, the north—east of scotland and perhaps the odd shower. more showers the further west you are with prolonged spells of rain moving in later. a southerly wind, stronger than yesterday but because it's coming from the south, another mild one. temperatures 13—14 in northern areas. 15—18 across the south—east. through this evening and tonight, this area of rain will continue to spread further east. turning quite heavy across wales and the south—west into wednesday morning. another mild one with those temperatures staying in double figures for wednesday morning. during the day on wednesday, more of us during the day on wednesday, more of us seeing outbreaks of rain, a cloudy day with brighter skies in northern and eastern parts. bye—bye. hello, this is bbc news.

the headlines... americans prepare to deliver their verdict on president trump as voting in the midterm elections gets underway. five men are arrested after a video emerged showing a model of grenfell tower burning on a bonfire. theresa may's cabinet meets shortly — to discuss her latest attempts to resolve the irish border issue and finalise a brexit deal. the number of patients waiting for nhs tests and scans is increasing — a bbc investigation finds one in 11 radiographer posts is vacant. also coming up — uncovering stories from the trenches of the western front — we'll be live in france as we look ahead to the armistice day centenary. time now for the morning briefing, where we bring you up to speed with today's stories, along with the best from the bbc and beyond. let's take a look at what's

being read most on the bbc news website this morning... this is the most read story. what happened to michael — a 16—year—old from south london writes about what it is like to lose a brother to knife crime, and outlines the pressure teenagers like him growing up in london are under. and then one of the affair top stories on the most read section... lets just show that for you now if we can. british sailor admits killing wife at sea. a british man who claimed his american wife had disappeared at sea after their catamaran sank off the coast of cuba has admitted killing her. you can obviously go onto the website and take a closer look those stories. as we've been reporting this morning, five men have been arrested on suspicion of a public order offence, after a video was posted online showing an effigy

of grenfell tower being burned as part of a bonfire party. the men were taken into custody after they handed themselves into a south london police station late last night. in the footage — which we've chosen not to show — people can be heard laughing and joking as the model is set alight. campaign groupjusticeagrenfell — say that the video caused alarm and distress. bbc radio 5 live's nicky campbell spoke to the legal commentator joshua rosenberg today and asked whether, as distastful as the video is, whether it is a crime. very hard to say. the starting point is free speech, article ten of the human rights convention, the right of freedom of expression, even to say things that are offensive. and this was very, very offensive. but, as you reported, there are offences under the public order act 1986, if you look down the act this is an act to deal with violence, it starts with riot, goes to violent disorder, affray, and then it goes to a couple of slightly less serious but nevertheless criminal offences

involving harassment, alarm or distress. and if you look a little bit further down the act it deals with racial hatred and there are acts dealing with acts likely to stir up racial hatred including distributing, showing or playing a recording which is intended to stir up racial hatred and is likely to stir up racial hatred. it's the online element of this. so ifa, b, c, dand e do this in their back garden and f puts it online, are a, b, c, d and e liable? that, isuspect, is something that the crown prosecution service will be considering very, very carefully if anybody... depending on whatever statements are made by the people who are under arrest. joshua rosenberg.

in his own words, it was the stuff of dreams. welsh cyclist geraint thomas raced into the history books injuly when he became his country's first ever winner of the tour de france. he's been speaking to bbc breakfast this morning and says that at the moment, although he would like to defend his title, it still isn't confirmed what his cycling commitements are for next year. we both need to just decide what we're doing first, myself and froomey, but i can imagine that he'd wanted to go to the tour now, 100%. he wants to win the five. the record number is five wins and he is currently on four, so i can imagine he's going to want to do that. but at the same time, i'm keen to go back. i enjoyed that, wearing the yellow jersey and winning was incredible, so... but there's also the giro d'italia as well, a couple of months before. so over the next few weeks i'll just decide now what i want to do. so at this point you haven't decided whether you will go back to the tour de france, then? no. i'm pretty sure i will do, itjust depends on what shape and if i've done the giro before. right. so, yeah, that's the... tell us a little bit about the... obviously you were in

incredible shape then, all the rest of it, so have you had time to literally take your foot off the pedal is a little bit? the pedals a little bit? yeah. yeah, definitely. good. i don't feel... if you told me now i'd won the tour, i'd laugh at you, i think. just... yeah, i've definitely had a lot of time off. have you enjoyed it? yeah, definitely. but now i'm really keen to just get back going again. because you kind of miss that feeling ofjust being really in top shape and lean and doing well and everything. weight—wise, what's the difference now between where you would be at tour de france weight and weight at the moment? during the tour i was under 68 kilos. i'm not sure what that is in stone. well, to be honest, i've avoided the scales so far. good lad! we all do! maybe five or six kilos more, i wouldn't be surprised, yeah. cycling fans will be really interested in this, just you and chris froome having to decide what you want to do, does this mean that it might be the case that you can't race in the same team, and you have to go where you are number one and he'd have to go somewhere

where he can be number one? i think we can do similar to this year. 0bviously he was still ahead of me in the team, sort of leadership, but i think the way we raced, we could do that again next year. i think we were both sort of... as long we're honest and open with each other like we were this year, then, you know, as they say, let the road decide and the best guy will come out on top. from cycling to swimming now. he spent 157 days at sea, swam nearly 1,800 miles, and earned himself a place in the guiness book of records, but after swimming his way around great britain ross edgley has been telling bbc breakfast that he faces a new challenge — walking! hejoined dan and louise on the breakfast sofa and began by telling them how it felt to reach dry land as he finished his challenge yesterday morning. i was just trying to make sure i

didn't fall over. i hadn't said the tunnel under 157 days, so just a little bit wobbly. —— hadn't set foot on land. but i did not faceplant. you had slept on the vessel, you hadn't been on dry land. the arches of your feet have collapsed a bit, do you genuinely have to teach yourself how to walk ain? have to teach yourself how to walk again? you overlook these things in terms of the intrinsic small muscles, ligaments and tendons in the feat. i'm doing a lot of foot rehab, even bone density, i have almostjoined a rehab, even bone density, i have almost joined a strange rehab, even bone density, i have almostjoined a strange group of people almost like astronauts, non—weight—bearing activity. now it is literally trying to walk again. my is literally trying to walk again. my favourite story, this was the bristol channel, going from north devon to wales, aiming the whale was breaching next to me and ifreaked out at first and then it started

circling me, humming underneath me, i turned to the captain and asked if i was safe, he said i think it is a female and i think that she thinks you are an injured seal. she is basically guiding you to shallow waters. as soon as we got to wales, breached one more time and said that michael on you go. yes. adele has turned to social media to share her excitement for the upcoming spice girls reunion. the singerjoined thousands of other fans welcoming the announcement of a comeback tour online with a childhood picture which revealed her sitting in her bedroom plastered with pictures of the spice girls. it's received nearly two million likes. i feel a collaboration coming ifeel a collaboration coming on! and finally these are the most watched videos on the bbc news website this morning. here is one story many people have been watching online. a 107—year—old woman who celebrated having a sports hall named after her by shooting

some basketball hoops. eileen ash, who marked her birthday in october, officially opened the £2 million facility in norwich. eileen keeps fit with a regular yoga class. "as long as you can keep breathing, you're 0k," she says. a belated happy birthday to her. we should all do what she does! that's it for today's morning briefing. sally is waiting with the sport. i think england's cricketers could ta ke think england's cricketers could take her advice and just keep breathing? if they can keep calm and carry on, thatis if they can keep calm and carry on, that is all they need to do. england's cricketers like a bit of yoga. they have had a pretty all. this morning at the first test against sri lanka. jonathan agnew did not mince his words. he summed it up nicely with this tweet. he

says, really poor opening session for england. say what you really mean! and here's what he's talking about — two wickets went very early and england werejust rebuilding when root followed, out for 35. keatonjennings was next to go, bowled for 46. a poor shot from ben stokes ended his innings onjust seven. that was five wickets down before lunch! and another went in the second session, jos buttler out for 38 — but there is some positive news for england — ben foakes has made a half century on his test debut, as the day they got their first premier league win of the season.

they beat fulham 1—0 with what was recorded as an own goal. that was their first league goal at home since april — and it took them off the bottom of the table. and history has been made in australia, with a british—trained horse winning the melbourne cup for the first time. this is known as the race that stops a nation — and it was actually a british 1—2—3, kerrin mcevoy riding cross counter to victory ahead of marmelo and a prince of arran. winning trainer charlie appleby said it was "everybody‘s dream". that news came too late for this morning's back pages, but let's have a look at what they did go with the times picked up on the controversy over wayne rooney's comeback appearance for england — the fa say they won't be gving any of the gate receipts from the match against the united states to rooney's foundation.

the daily express are quoting manchester city's claims that they are the victims of an "organised attempt" to damaged the club, in response to more allegations that they broke financial fair play rules. and the independent have more on liverpool's decision to drop shaquiri for tonight's champions league game in serbia — jurgen klopp says there were no security reasons, it was merely to avoid any distraction in what will already be a tense atmosphere. iamjoined by i am joined by somebody who knows about making back page headlines! in his own words it was the "stuff of dreams". geraint thomas raced into the history books injuly when he became the first welsh winner of the tour de france. hejoins us today. he joins us today. you have hejoins us today. you have made a few headlines yourself over the summer, watching it from home, it was like a magical film script to watch. what is it like to be the

centre of that story and that big win? it was like a dream, everything is going right and i am win? it was like a dream, everything is going rightand i am kind of win? it was like a dream, everything is going right and i am kind of use to things going wrong, a crash or an untimely puncture. i could not have asked for more. it was strange coming back and seeing it, i was there in my own bubble, i did not know the reaction back here, which was insane. you will use two things going wrong, you say, in previous yea rs going wrong, you say, in previous years things had gone quite spectacularly wrong. —— you are used to things going wrong. what change? idid not to things going wrong. what change? i did not have much bad luck. in the tour of italy like rush because police motorbike was parked halfway through the road, that a crash. and in the tour i broke my collar bone because somebody came out in front of me. you are at the mercy of everybody else. it as circumstances. 0ther bike riders can affect your

race. i was happy it went to plan. you have written a book and there is a brilliant quote talking about the tensions between yourself and chris froome on the same team, team—mates but definitely rivals. we were watching it at the time thinking how does this dynamic work, what is it like for them to be so close and yet for things to be changing? there is a brilliant quote in your book, that isa a brilliant quote in your book, that is a bleep bleep bleep guys, could you not wait for me if there is potentially a puncture or disaster? so you were feeling it at the time? before the time trial the call was that they would not wait for anyone other than chris. if i had punctured in the first couple of k! would have had to do the 30 odd on my own and lost quite a bit of time. it was obviously frustrating to start with but you had to be in the mindset that it but you had to be in the mindset thatitis but you had to be in the mindset that it is unlikely it would happen

anyway, there is no point in holding onto that anger and getting all emotional. but is that the point where you always already more than 50 seconds ahead of him? that was stage three, froomey had lost 50 seconds on stage one. it is just one of those things, i guess, i had to put it to the back of my mind and crack on and not let it affect me, which is might have done four or five years ago, i might have been more emotional. i tried to be logical and mentally in control, as soon as you get emotional your form can go, it follows that up and down. in the book you mentioned controversy during the summer about therapeutic use exemptions, you talk about being very loyal to chris froome, he had a difficult time and was criticised in the press after his therapeutic use exemption, there

was an anomaly. how tends a time was that for you? to be honest, into the tour it did not affect me too much, other than doing the odd interview where they talked about it. are you sick of talking about it? it is not the ideal thing to talk about but i can understand why i have to. i was in my own little world, i was concentrating fully on the tour, i was in la, training camps in ten rees at —— tenerife and on my own programme. everything that happened with froomey in the press, you heard a bit but did not affect me. goods to year, but you have enjoyed your summer? certainly, iwanted to to year, but you have enjoyed your summer? certainly, i wanted to enjoy it, dave has said don't get too carried away. my boss, dave

brailsford. hejust carried away. my boss, dave brailsford. he just wanted carried away. my boss, dave brailsford. hejust wanted me carried away. my boss, dave brailsford. he just wanted me to stay on it a bit but it is not everyday you win the tour, is it? go and party, enjoy it. before i go, just a reminder of how you can listen to tonight's champions league games. there's commentary on liverpool against red star belgrade — kick—off is at five to six — and then at eight o'clock it's tottenham versus psv eindhoven. and in sportsday on the bbc news channel we'll have the latest from liverpool's game, as well as build up to tottenham's match — and reaction from the former england against sri lanka. and lots more. that is at 6:30pm. that's all from me for now, much more sports coming up throughout the day. the headlines on bbc news... americans prepare to vote in the mid terms elections, as they decide whether president trump's republican party should keep control of congress.

five men are arrested after a video emerged showing a model of grenfell tower burning on a bonfire. the cabinet meets this morning to discuss theresa may's latest attempt to finalise a brexit deal and sort out the problem of the irish border. the first world war ended after four long years of fighting on the 11th of november 1918. all this week, in the run up to the centenary of armistice day, we'll travel along the western front, uncovering the personal stories behind the great war. this morning, our correspondent, robert hall is in the french city of arras. robert? yes, good morning. we have comejust south of arras to this memorial, we are right in the centre of the somme

battlefield which on its first day saw one of the most terrible losses for the british army. i am right beside the memorial containing the names ofjust over 72,000 soldiers from britain and south africa whose remains were never found. from britain and south africa whose remains were neverfound. but from britain and south africa whose remains were never found. but i from britain and south africa whose remains were neverfound. but i have come herejust to remains were neverfound. but i have come here just to look at one name, it is ona come here just to look at one name, it is on a panel right down here at the base of the monument. he is corporal george smith from the durham light infantry and his name ta kes durham light infantry and his name takes us to the story of a family and a village in county durham who have particular reasons for remembering the centenary. band plays abide with me. two families, eight sons lost.

they were just from what they called the slums, down in bridgegate near barnard castle. their mother, she always said never have boys, because all they are is cannon fodder. and that was her, she was known for saying that. but, like she said, they've done the country proud. six smith brothers answered the call for volunteers. the first two were killed within weeks of arriving in france, three more as the war moved towards its close. with help from the local community, their desperate mother wrote to queen mary. she agreed to ask for 19—year—old wilf smith to be sent home. she mentioned that he had brothers. she said, what happened to them? they wouldn't tell much. they died, and that was it.

if that hadn't have happened, if they hadn't have brought him home, that none of us here, the family now, would be here to tell the tale, and nobody would have known about it. 30 miles east of barnard castle, anotherfamily is being remembered. george and amy bradford watched four sons leave to join the services. this new memorial in witton park marks the three who didn't return. they are very brave men, and there was many of them. i personally couldn't have done anything what they have done. the first one to die was james. james died on the operating table. roland was the cleverest of the family, and respected by his men. george was in the royal navy. he went on a suicide mission, and he was just cut down in a hail of bullets. roland and george bradford both won the victoria cross. their family's story has been told here for 100 years,

and this community has pledged to continue the tradition. we don't want to glorify war. war should never be glorified. but always we remember, lest we forget. after the armistice, barnard castle held a parade to honour its war dead. margaret smith and her surviving son were asked to lay the first wreath. it was a very brave thing. she did it for her kids, she did it for everybody‘s. sorry. i have a boy and a girl, and they both know about it. i would like them to go on and tell their family, and just keep it alive. they fought for their country, didn't they? i would like a quick word with you

salim, you are an intern here, you are finishing your time looking after the public and telling them the stories. how have you noticed attitudes to remembrance changing passed the milestone? people seem to be far more interested in family history, they want to find relatives and know their stories. it transforms them from a name on a memorial to a living person with loved ones, it has been wonderful. i want to introduce something quite extraordinary. at the end of the war, as the seconds ticked down to the armistice, the gun stopping, on the armistice, the gun stopping, on the american sector people were using microphones to plots were enemy guns were. they would listen on the microphones and match that with observations from soldiers in the trenches and produce a graph, a waveform. the imperial war museum has found that waveform and asked sound engineers to rebuild and reconstruct, recreate what it would have sounded like on armistice day as the guns finally stopped firing.

listen to this. gunfire. gunfire. silence. birdsong. it is spine tingling listening to that, the shot you can see now is a ground where my grandfather's cousin died on the first date of the somme, he was attacking up the hill to this very spot with the northumberland fusiliers, he was cut down with hundreds of others just below us.

the sound of those guns aren't that moment, difficult to imagine what it must have been like. tomorrow we are heading north for the story of a forgotten army, the soldiers from south asia who travelled thousands of miles to fight for their empire in europe and in the middle east and africa. we will bring you that story then. studio: robert, that was spine tingling, the sound of gunfire and the sound of birdsong. tell us a little more about the journey you have planned along the western front? we are, after tomorrow, travelling to ypres. this isa tomorrow, travelling to ypres. this is a world war and at the time, the battle ypres is taking place in the early stages of world war i, turkey came into the war and a whole other fronts opened up in the middle east. we all remember the story of gallipoli, we will work at how the

first world war has last —— left a lasting impact on communities in the middle east. the end of ourjourney, newport on the belgian coast, is whether flood gates were opened to flood the land to attempt to stop the germans reaching the sea and we will look at how remembrance will continue. this is 100 years, do we still talk about the battle of waterloo? the first world war will recede into history so how do new generations think we should remember as the decades roll on? thank you very much, robert hall reporting from arras. simon has the weather forecast. we started rather foggy across central and eastern england. one or two mist and fog patches elsewhere tend to clear away. in nottinghamshire this morning, the sun is trying to poke through the mist. quite a complicated weather picture, high pressure towards the west brings numerous weather fronts across western areas. it is also

bringing us this south—westerly winds right across the uk, that is the reason it is so mild this morning and this afternoon. temperatures above the average for the time of year. the odd shower across eastern parts, sunnier spells across central and eastern parts of england and eastern scotla nd eastern parts of england and eastern scotland but it is in the west that it will remain quite cloudy, we will see showers moving in, perhaps longer spells of rain moving into south—west england, west wales do the afternoon. some showers macro for the llyn peninsular, anglesey and northern ireland. turning heavier in northern ireland later this afternoon. quite breezy day, so than yesterday in the west, temperatures getting up to around 13 or 1a celsius, perhaps as high as 17 or 1a celsius, perhaps as high as 17 or 18 or 1a celsius, perhaps as high as 17 or18 in the or 1a celsius, perhaps as high as 17 or 18 in the south—east. tonight, the area of rain in the west continues to move further eastwards. it is these weather fronts bringing

us it is these weather fronts bringing us this wet weather. as it edges further eastwards, during wednesday morning many of us will see some rain. quitea morning many of us will see some rain. quite a wet start but a mild start once again, temperatures not going below double figures. as the day goes on, rain will be heavy towards western parts and towards eastern areas the rain breaks up a bit smaller, more showreel and maybe even brighter skies across eastern parts. temperatures down a little, 13 or 1a degrees. —— more showreel and maybe even brighter skies across eastern parts. weather fronts towards the west, more spreading across the uk so during thursday, likely to see rain across the western areas, it could turn heavy across wales, south west england. some sunnier spells coming through southern scotland. temperatures getting to about 11 to 14, temperatures getting to about 11 to 1a, so we keep the mild conditions for most of the week.

hello, it's tuesday, it's 10 o'clock, i'm victoria derbyshire. we've learned 500 people in england have been being hospitalised in the past five years after an acid attack. this morning we've been given exclusive access to the biggest burns unit in europe — in essex — which treats victims, including this woman, adele bellus, who's had so many operations there after an acid attack arranged by her boyfriend — she's lost count. he chucked the acid, got my right hand, my right arm and the right part of my face. in his mind it was, you know, attack me with acid so no one wanted me, so that's why he paid this guy to do it. also — five men have been arrested after images of a cardboard model of grenfell tower being burned on a bonfire were shared on social media.