today at five: millions of americans are voting in the us mid term elections being seen by many as a verdict on donald trump's presidency so far. mr trump is hoping his republican party will keep control of congress. this is the scene live at one polling station right now — opinion polls show the democrats could take control in the house of representatives. we'll have the latest our correspondents in the united states the other main stories on bbc news at 5. new research shows a sharp rise in the number of vulnerable children needing protection over the last ten years senior ministers are told theresa may is still confident of reaching a brexit deal but that it must "not be done at any cost" and how did they build the pyramids? researchers discover what they believe may be the remains of a ramp which could unlock one of the great mysteries of the ancient world

it's five o'clock. our main story. the polls have opened in the united states for the 2018 mid term elections, which many believe will be a verdict on president trump's first two years in office. let's go straight to washington where my colleague is waiting. hello, a very warm welcome to this special mid—term election coverage on bbc news. i'm here in washington, dc. the outcome of today's vote is widely being viewed as some sort of referendum on president trump's time in office so far. it will determine whether he can get things done in

the remaining two years of his presidency. as the republican party loses control of even one of the two houses are to have a huge impact on his agenda from immigration to trade. it could also expose the president to a new level of congressional scrutiny. early indications from polling stations suggest that americans are turning out in higher numbers than in previous mid—term elections. these live pictures from arlington, virginia. pollsters reckon that if current trends continue the turnout could reach close to 50%. which, in american terms, for midterms, is remarkably high. let's get our first report from our north american correspondent. 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. as we speak, democrats are encouraging millions of illegal aliens to violate our laws and break into our country. another man who's not on the ballot is this former president, but he's still the closest thing the democrats have to star quality. and he's focusing 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. about who we are, and what kind of country we want to be. 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. this is our leadership, and i could not be more proud. one of those senate races that attracting most attention is in texas. democrats haven't won a state—wide office here for a quarter of a century, but the party believes this man is the future. he has raised record funding and was engaging young supporters in this music venue. we will win this election, tuesday night. let's go out there and do this! senator ted cruz! despite losing a bruising battle with donald trump for the presidential nomination, ted cruz is in lockstep with him now.

i've been proud to work with the president and the administration, repealing job—killing regulations and cutting taxes, and the economy in texas is booming. if the polls are to be believed, then 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. as gary says, the stakes in this collection are very, very high. president trump has been accused of using hostile language directed at, amongst others, immigrants. and the press during this campaign. in a

recent interview he was asked whether or not he had any regrets over his first two years in office, and he said, just perhaps, he could have softened his tone. they would be certain things. i'm not sure i want to reveal all of them, but tone. i would like to have a softer tone. i feel that i have them, but tone. i would like to have a softer tone. ifeel that i have no choice, to a certain extent. maybe i could have been softer, but i want to get things done. there you go, president donald trump reflecting on his style as the campaign comes to an end and voters go to the polls. i'm joined now from a polling station in alexandria, virginia. barbara, you've been there for hours now, can you draw any conclusions about enthusiasm amongst voters on the nature of the turnout? ican voters on the nature of the turnout? i can certainly give you some observations. there was a real morning rush which has died down a

bit, but it was significant because the presiding officer said they were processing 250 people an hour, in 2014 it was 100 people an hour. i spoke to a number of voters who said they were amazed by the line—ups here. it looked like a presidential election. the other observation is this is a democratic constituency, so this is a democratic constituency, so quite a few people, i think, were motivated by the opposition to president trump and his policies. a lot of people i spoke to talked about his divisiveness, and his policies on immigration, they talked about hate downside it was important to come out this time. for some of them it was their first time, including a 17—year—old woman motivated by her opposition to donald trump. 0ne young man told me my america is not donald trump's america, and another woman told me we've got to get the crazy people

out of power. that's not how everybody feels. especially in the more rural constituencies. 0ne conservative voter told me he was worried about the high turnout, because he hoped it did not signify a blue democratic wave. barbara, where should we be looking for the states, and the particular districts, that could decide the outcome of this election? are there particular places you recommend we ta ke particular places you recommend we take a closer look at? well, the houseis take a closer look at? well, the house is going to be decided by a couple of dozen constituencies, which could go either way. those are the districts that you want to keep an eye on as the results come in. that should start at around 7pm our time, some midnight gmt. those tasks at leeds, there are five of them, they will be coming in at around

midnight, georgia, virginia, and one in florida. you want to be looking at those. in this area people are going to be looking at the virginian suburbs of dc, the republican candidate, will she be able to hold her seat, or will the democrats be able to flip it? president trump has able to flip it? president trump has a problem with college—educated women in the suburbs, so this could bea women in the suburbs, so this could be a tough sell. you are looking at some toss up seats in ohio and north carolina, then by 8pm online pm you have 21 of these toss—up seats, and will get more of an indication of where things are moving. thank you very much, i know you'll stay there for a while longer. we'll be back to you as today unfolds. as she said, the first polls will close in six hours from now on the east coast of the usa. already, tensions are rising, amongst politicians and their advisers. their consultants

and strategists. let's speak no to a democratic political analyst. she has advised grassroots campaigns, and worked on john has advised grassroots campaigns, and worked onjohn kerry's democratic party senate campaign. shejoins me from new democratic party senate campaign. she joins me from new york. democratic party senate campaign. shejoins me from new york. the democratic party, does it want to see this mid—term election couched in terms of, in effect, a referendum on donald trump? there is no question, it is a referendum on donald trump. it is women who have led that opposition, from two years ago this week when they realised it was donald trump going to the white house and not hillary clinton. for democrats to prevail the road map goes to the suburbs, with women voters and women candidates who are turning out in their droves. you have 235 women on the ballot, running for congress today, exactly the number of republicans in the house today. you have 22 women on the ballot for

the united states senate. when you look at the ballot, there is a gender gap of 30%. we saw women voting in huge numbers in early voting, we saw margins of 13%. every one of those signs a good sign for democrats, especially tonight. maryanne, you talk about bad gender gap, isn't there a danger that the democratic party overestimates support amongst women? i saw poll yesterday which suggests that amongst non—college—educated women in america today, donald still commands a small, but a real majority. and they were with him during the presidential campaign as well. women aren't monolithic voters, just as man aren't. you are starting to see women and voters of colour taking on donald trump. that's why you see the changes in this past year alone.

when you look at the results tonight, when you look at the turnout today, and when you add the fa cts turnout today, and when you add the facts together it is women driving a selection, that's why the democrats have a great shot at winning the house tonight. they will do better in the senate than people think. when you look at the overall politics of donald trump, which has been very divisive, based on there, women have looked at how he has acted towards them throughout the campaign, fill the kavanagh hearings and many have had enough. this is why you see african—american women are the ones who put stud jones from alabama in the united states senate. that's why you see conservative women supporting 0'rourke. there's a lot going on there and i think will be amazed by the results tonight. you are resonating confidence, but speculation is dangerous at this point. what would represent successful the democrats? if, as

many polls suggest you seize control of the house of representatives but do not win the us senate, would that bea do not win the us senate, would that be a real success? it would be a partial and substantial victory. we, as the democrats, have one chamber. remember, when it comes to the senate, the closer that is the tougher it is for the senate to approvejudges like tougher it is for the senate to approve judges like cavanagh, because there are people who voted against him. it all will depend on the numbers. my only concern about the numbers. my only concern about the election today, just the one, is the election today, just the one, is the voting machines and wrote security and suppression. we have seen security and suppression. we have seen for all the record voting, we have seen suppression and concerns about infrastructure. we haven't seen about infrastructure. we haven't seen things like this since the 19505 seen things like this since the 1950s and 1960s. 0n seen things like this since the 1950s and 1960s. on a security side we all know what happened in 2016, russia, china, others, no one went away. they are still there. that is

my only concern, free and fair elections is what make our democracy. thank you very much for joining me. we continue to watch the voting unfolds, as it will for the next several hours here across the united states of america. that was my colleague there in washington. just to say, we've got a us election special at midnight tonight. we will be bringing you all the very latest results throughout the night. you are watching bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... millions of americans are voting in the us mid term elections — being seen by many as a verdict on donald trump's presidency so far new research shows a sharp rise in the number of vulnerable children needing protection over the last ten years. senior ministers are told theresa may is still confident of reaching a brexit deal but that it must "not be done at any cost". liverpool kick off within the hour

against red star belgrade in serbia. they know victory will keep them top of group c, tottenham need a result at wembley to avoid exiting the group stages. wayne rooney won't captain england, where the number ten shirt, or start the match when he makes his final international appearance against the usa later this month. and ben folkes saves the day for england. he's 87 not out as they recover on the first day of the first test against sri lanka to finish 320148. i'll be back with more of those stories after 5:30pm. see you then. there's been a sharp rise in the number of vulnerable children needing protection over the last ten years, according to new research. the association of directors of children's services says domestic violence, addiction and mental health issues

are contributing to rising pressures that are increasingly unsustainable. it comes at a time of huge financial pressure for councils as their budgets are cut. 0ur social affairs correspondent alison holt has been to liverpool to meet the people working to protect vulnerable children. i've been working with this young kids since november now. the issues are, his mum's ability to keep him safe. she an alcoholic. gary is a family support worker, and he's on his way to ta ke support worker, and he's on his way to take a child into care. to protect the boy's identity, we are calling him to him. he's obviously upset by what has happened. gary has spent months working with the mother, but social workers have decided the risks to tim are too great.

it's actually going to be heartbreaking. as gary emerges from mum's house, carrying her son's belongings there isa carrying her son's belongings there is a phone call saying relatives will let the boys stay with them. it's a distressing day for him and his mum. she is tearful and crying. you are trying to take as many positives from what's happening, but at the end of the day, it's still her baby being removed from her. liverpool has seen a significant rise in children going into care. a sign of what this new report says are huge pressures felt by councils across the country. nationally, the french door of the ca re system nationally, the french door of the care system calls from people worried about children have nearly doubled. in liverpool, the social work team manager is dealing with another urgent case. a strategy meeting is called involving social

workers, police and other agencies. there are fears a man who has attacked one person may target a mother and her small child next. we can't be in it, because of the level of confidential information being discussed, but they are trying to draw upa discussed, but they are trying to draw up a plan which will mean the child is protected. do you feel you are getting more of these serious cases? i do. there is a huge demand for social care. in the last year alone we've had 71,000 contacted children alone. can i just we've had 71,000 contacted children alone. can ijust take this call, sorry. hello, careline. into many of the homes they visit they find domestic violence, mental health problems and addiction. complicated ha rd to problems and addiction. complicated hard to reach families like maria's. i hide it. i hard to reach families like maria's. i hide it. lam scared hard to reach families like maria's. i hide it. i am scared that they can ta ke i hide it. i am scared that they can take my children. heroin addiction nearly cost maria her children. for more than a year

she tried to avoid social workers worried by the neglected children faced. it was very, very little food in the cupboard. pauline represented maria's last chance. the children regarded and unhappy, and very sad. pauline visited c or four times a week, sometimes twice a day. finally, marie admitted her addiction. i had to say to her, i will speak to social services, but have you been honest with us? now we can help you? how different are the children? they are happy, they are smiling. they go into the shop and they say, you buy too much food. step forward from maria, but social workers have many others needing help. he punches and kicks on a daily basis. poverty plays its part. in some homes, unfortunately, there

are no form of stimulation for the children. there are no beds for the children. there are no beds for the children to sleep in, no clean bedding, no furniture. so the basics are missing. a very basic needs, yes. these pressures mean a £5 million overspend this year alone. most of the north—west authorities are also facing overspending, some greater than ours. it's the same as the national picture. the local government association are talking about a £2 billion gap in children's social care funding. a hard reality for services that shape lives like tim's. he eventually moved to a children's home. the government says extra money is being put into ease pressures . the prime minister has told her cabinet that there are a "number of issues" that still need to be worked through on the northern ireland backstop —

including a "mechanism" to ensure that the uk can't be held in an arrangement indefinitely. she told colleagues that while 95% of the withdrawal agreement has been concluded and that she is "confident" of reaching a deal it would not be done "at any cost". well, let's get the latest now from our political correspondent, jessica parker. so, jessica, the cabinet met today, do we know any more about what was said about a brexit deal?” do we know any more about what was said about a brexit deal? i think when it comes to discussing brexit today, it's interesting, because with this ongoing issue of the irish border and how to prevent a hard border and how to prevent a hard border there, another bit of brexit terminology has emerged. as we mentioned there, it's this idea of some kind of mechanism to allow the uk to lead the backstop should it come to that. that was discussed

this morning with theresa may leading discussions. she highlighted that as far as she's concerned 95% of the withdrawal agreement is there. the issue of the irish backstop remains. so what is this review mechanism as some people have been describing it? well, in the event that the uk and eu don't have a trade agreement in place by the end of the transition period there is concern about how to prevent any kind of tracks appearing on the irish border. that's where the backstop idea comes in. the uk could stay temporarily aligned to the eu customs rules. brexit supporters nervous about that and worried we could end up staying permanently aligned with those rules, there's been talk of some kind of unilateral exit with the uk could walk away when it wanted. the eu made it clear that wouldn't be acceptable, so now there is this talk of a review mechanism whereby they could be some kind of agreement but when the right time came the uk could depart those arrangements. but this whole idea

isn't exactly fleshed out yet. there's a lot of intensive work to be done. thank you, jessica parker political correspondent at westminster. a pro brexit campaign group, and an insurance company owned by the controversial businessman arron banks are to be fined £135,000 by the uk data watchdog. the information commissioner's office said both organisations had committed "serious breaches" of the law after they used the personal data of each other‘s customers without their consent. it comes as mr banks faces a criminal inquiry over the source of funds for his leave.eu group during the referendum two years ago. rory cellanjones reports. 2016 — and in the eu referendum campaign, data is a key weapon for both sides. but britain's data regulator has been looking at whether the information gathered on millions of voters was misused. this is the bristol call centre of a motor insurance business owned by the leave campaigner arron banks. it was also used for the referendum campaign.

this morning, the information commissioner told mps data from both activities had been mixed — and that broke the law. we have found that it does indicate a failure to keep separate the data of insurance clients of eldon and marketing and messaging to potential supporters and voters, and leave.eu data. arron banks' eldon insurance and the leave.eu campaign now face fines of £135,000, in what are described as serious breaches of the law. he tweeted in response... mr banks is also under separate investigation by the national crime agency over the source of the funds he gave to leave.eu. the electoral commission explained to mps why the nca was called in. we suspect that the true details of those financial transactions were concealed from us by mr banks

and others involved in those companies, and that as a consequence of this we suspect that a number of criminal offences may have been committed. the information commissioner is also examining how the remain campaign handled personal data, including the claim that liberal democrats sold the data of its party members to the britain stronger in europe group. the party denied that personal information had been sold. rory cellanjones, bbc news. in the last few minutes a sixth man has been arrested on suspicion of a public order offence after a video was posted showing a cardboard model of g re nfell tower was posted showing a cardboard model of grenfell tower being burned on a bonfire. five men handed themselves in to the police station in south london last night. scotland yard now say they are that a 19—year—old man

has also been arrested. 0ur say they are that a 19—year—old man has also been arrested. our legal correspondent has the latest. under what offence are the men you being held? in addition to that 19—year—old man who has been arrested, five men handed themselves in. they are raged between 19 and 55 and handed themselves in at a south london police station about 10pm yesterday. they were arrested on suspicion of a public order offence, they have been questioned during the course of the day. police have carried out searches of a property in south london, south norwood. they we re in south london, south norwood. they were there for around two hours and police officers were seen leaving with bags full of items. the offence they are being held under is section four a of the public order act. it's is all about insulting, threatening call or abusive words or behaviour that are intended, those are the

keywords, intended to cause harassment, alarm or distress. this isa harassment, alarm or distress. this is a public order offence, so it can't be committed by someone within a drowning. if the words or behaviour are used within a drowning, within a home, and the person whom they are directed is also within a home. it's an offence that can be tried in a magistrates' court where it carries a six—month penalty, but if they decide it is racially aggravated, it can be tried in the crown court in front of a judge and jury, and carries a maximum prison sentence of two yea rs. maximum prison sentence of two years. thank you. home care services for thousands of elderly people in england could be disrupted after questions were raised over the future of allied healthcare. the care quality commission says the company can only confirm it has funding in place until the end of this month. a 16 year old boy has died after a stabbing in tulse hill in south london last night.

this latest fatality means five people have died in knife attacks in the capital in a week. nobody has been arrested in connection with last night's incident. russian authorities have criticised a group of girls for "not behaving appropriately" after they caused valuable artworks to be damaged at an international arts centre. footage has been released showing a dali and a goya being knocked over as the group of girls tried to take a selfie last month. 0h, oh, dear. time for a look at the weather now. matt has the latest. mild across the uk and that continues into tonight. temperatures are around where they should be for the daytime. you can see the rain taking us into the evening. it's been raining most of the afternoon in northern ireland. still across wales and the

south—west it will nudge northwards and eastwards, turning showery as it goes. tonight sees the wettest of the weather. as i said, and mild night, temperatures in double figures. in northern ireland, the rain clears and frog will form. some foggy patches on the rain clears and frog will form. some f09gy patches on the morning's commute tomorrow. 0utbrea ks f09gy patches on the morning's commute tomorrow. outbreaks of and grow a cross commute tomorrow. outbreaks of and grow across many parts of scotland, england and wales. brightening up in the east, but in the west the macbrayne merges into longer spells. particularly in western scotland —— in the west the rain merges into longer spells. dry away from the irish coast on thursday, but friday isa irish coast on thursday, but friday is a particularly stormy. this is bbc news.

the headlines... millions of americans are voting in the us mid term elections, being seen by many as a verdict on donald trump's presidency so far. new research shows a sharp rise in the number of vulnerable children needing protection over the last ten years. senior ministers are told theresa may is still confident of reaching a brexit deal but she tells them that it must not come "at any cost". sport now with sarah. good afternoon.

not long until the games kick—off. liverpool are going forward but spurs are a failing. their bidding to qualify for the knockout stage, he replaces roberto who drops to the bench also coming inforjoe, as, who drops to the bench also coming in forjoe, as, a win for klopp's team would consolidate their position at the top of group c, you can keep it right across the action and commentary of that game, and following that, tottenham must win game on radio five game tonight you can listen to both matches along the final square graphics click on the final square graphics click on the final score on the eye player, bebe sport app or your red button. rooney won't start when he makes a farewell

appearance later this month, they announced this weekend that the game will be called the wayne rooney foundation international. its is to honour his charity and he will win his one 20th cup as a second—half substitute and won't captain the side or wear his old number ten shirt whose inclusion has brought some criticism but he was back today by the former manchester united team—mate phillip. by the former manchester united team-mate phillip. when you talk about greats you talk about all these players, rooney scored more goals than any other male footballer in england. and i think that something worth celebrating and i think it's something that's worth respecting and i think for those who are questioning it it's those who need to question themselves not those who made the decision for the game. they will be without two players for the women's friendly‘s this week, she is scored in the recent game against brazil and

australia and being nominated for the ballon d'or award, they picked up the ballon d'or award, they picked up knocks in their league games over the weekend. they come in as replacements. then the folks saved the day for the cricketers in sri la nka the day for the cricketers in sri lanka scoring half a century on his test debut, first match of the series started broadly for the tourists, the captain out for 35, from when ben stokes went forjust seven england lost five wickets before lunch. but the folks steadied things, he batted out the day to finish on 87 not out so england were 321 for eight. i found out yesterday, during training it came to me yesterday i was shocked to be honest i did not think i would place a lovely surprise and i'm very proud

i think when you're there you don't know what it is, you just nervous in your head and i was just thinking about grinding and when i got off the mark obviously, that settled me down a bit. the flanker will miss the rest of the nationals, he limped off the wind over south africa last weekend and has a severe ankle injury but better news is for the head coach, two substitutes are available for the set —— test on saturday. 0lympic available for the set —— test on saturday. olympic champion allen could risk missing the championship next year he opts to take part in a new competition says that controversial new swimming league is exactly what the sport needs but the swimming governing bodies say all new events must seek approval from them six months before they go ahead and has warned that only —— any swimmer opting to race next month

risks a banner from the olympic world championship. that's all the sport for now, remember you can find more details on the stories on our website. that's it from me. some of the biggest names in british entertainment have handed a letter to downing street, calling for tax relief to help boost diversity in tv and film production. stars including meera syal and dame emma thompson are backing the campaign for more women, ethnic minorities and disabled people to be employed behind the camera. the campaign is led by sir lenny henry, who is hopeful that the letter will help bring about change. we are not politicians and we do not write policy, but the people who do these things can actually make something work as they did with the british film institute. they designed a three tick policy that would allow the industry to grow and to include programmes and films with british content. we think they should add diversity

and representation into that and give a tax break for that. and these things have already worked in illinois, in california and newjersey and also they have introduced something in france whereby if you have female centric content people behind the scenes like directors and heads of production and cinematographers get up to a 15% tax break for that and that can work for diversity as well and help grow the industry. ade adepitan is a paralympic athlete and journalist, and was one of the signatories of the letter. ade is here with me now. yes, we started the ball rolling i think it's the beginning of something we hope will really implement change and as lenny said, we wa nt implement change and as lenny said, we want our tv industry to look more

like the uk streets, to represent the people and have more diversity. and we're talking as mentioned before, not just on and we're talking as mentioned before, notjust on camera and the actors and so on but the people behind the camera, so directors producers technical staff the writers. i think it's true because they will give a true representation and they will reflect more of society and so often in my career when i've worked in the tv industry, you look behind the scenes and everybody there is rarely any wonder from the disabled background or any other act but it's still not enough, the figures arejust other act but it's still not enough, the figures are just embarrassingly low. what are the figures give us a rough idea. well in the film industry is about 3% of employed people who are from aba and need background and 13. 6% people who are from aba and need background and 13.6% of working directors are women and .3% of the

workforce are disabled. when you think of the population in the uk, 13.9 million people have a disability. and it's only .3%? you think offering tax break as an incentive is really the way to encourage greater diversity?” incentive is really the way to encourage greater diversity? i think so, think it's born out of frustration because there has been many schemes over the years which have talked about increasing diversity, in the industry, but you look at the figures and nothing is changed. we think, oh this incentive will encourage companies to think well, you know what if we are more diverse a look more like society we come from, then we get this incentive and we can also create better tv. it has worked in other areas, and other parts of the industry were tax breaks have been brought in, and employment levels have increased 5%. i mean,

inevitably people as they hide you measure are you going to quote is how do you measure who gets a tax breakfor how do you measure who gets a tax break for example adding the letter says 50% of the staff behind the camera art e—mail, or 14% are bame or 18% are disabled staff, people say well how do you arrive to those of figures? i get what you mean, it does it dazzle you with stats, but what we really wanted to do was get the ball rolling, start the conversation and over a period of time we will thresh out these figures to work out what we want to be, because the current level right now, if we do not change anything and we let things progress as they are, it'll take over 40 years for us to have an industry that reflects the country we live in. of course we're talking about tv and film, but really they should be replicated across all of british business and

industry. of course, that's what wa nt industry. of course, that's what want and what is the point in having a country that so diverse? that's the strength of the uk. we have people from all over who live here it was so much talent and they can add it to industry and for me, the key m essa g e add it to industry and for me, the key message is do you want your children to grow up in a society where they can look at and in the industry and think i can get a job there, regardless of what i look like or where i come from, i can get a job. thank you so much, like or where i come from, i can get ajob. thank you so much, great like or where i come from, i can get a job. thank you so much, great to talk to you. many thanks. almost 850 jobs are to go in dundee, where the mitchelin tyre factory is be closed down the year after next. the french firm said the site is "unsuitable" given current market conditions. union leaders have described it as a ‘hammer blow‘ for dundee and a betrayal of the workforce. james shaw reports. they've been making tyres here for almost 50 years.

the michelin plant is dundee's largest industrial employer, workers read about the closure in their local paper. we were never told this was going to happen. in the courier last night was the first i'd ever heard of it. it's a disgrace. yes, the way it came out. it shouldn't have come out like that. did you expect something might happen then? we had an idea that something was going to happen. but not as bad as this. managers here say the factory has fallen victim to economic realities, beyond their control. there's been a major structural change to the uk car tyre market, which has been driven by asian imports, and a growing demand for bigger tyres. those two things have suppressed the demand for 16 inch tyres, which is unfortunately what we make here in dundee. workers here have been sent home for the day, having had it confirmed by their managers that this place will close in 2020. they are back at work on thursday, but with the knowledge

that as things stand, this factory has no long—term future. the company has promised to help its workers retrained for future careers, but the unite union says it will try to find ways to save as manyjobs as possible. obviously, the first thing we need to do is remain positive, and focus on saving the plant. i met the minister this morning, and what he is saying is very positive, he wants to work with the unions and the company to find a solution to this issue. until this announcement dundee's future was looking positive, a new design museum and waterfront developments offered a vision to replace years of industrial decline. now, the old spectre of redundancies and shutdowns looks set to blight the city's future as well as its past. james shaw, bbc news, dundee. we may be a step closer to solving the mystery of how exactly

the pyramids were built, after a team of archaeologists made a chance discovery in an ancient egyptian quarry. scientists researching ancient egyptian inscriptions discovered a ramp with stairways and what seem to be postholes, suggesting that hauling the huge blocks of stone used to build the pyramids may have been completed faster than had been thought possible. roland enmarch is a senior lecturer in egyptology at the university of liverpool and the co—director of the hatnub survey, the project that made the discovery. he's in our 0xford studio. thank you for being with us, it's a wonderful mystery how exactly the pyramids were built, anyone who has been there well have marveled at their construction thousands of yea rs their construction thousands of years ago what exactly is it that you think you've unlocked? well, in

our archaeological work we have located a ramp that leads up out of an opencast quarry for the stone alabaster. and we have been able to date the ramp to the rain of the builder of the great peer amid, one of the seven wonders of ancient world and by looking at the technology we can restrict reconstruct from the map looking at the post holes, if we can identify what they were doing in his lifetime, we can infer similar technology would have been available in the construction of the great pyramid itself, and as you say, we have located post holes were there are racially would have been wooden beams which have long perished and they would have been ropes last around the beams and you would have had a people pulling directly on the sledge at which the stone would have sat, pulling upwards above it, but you also would have had people pulling in opposite direction below it and bear ropes would be nice to a wooden so it would have two groups

of people pushing different directions but the forces exerted in one direction pulling the stone up out of the quarry. and this allows a greater number people to exert force ina very greater number people to exert force in a very cramped and physically constrained space, which would allow the stone to be extracted more quickly. the actual steepness of the mmp quickly. the actual steepness of the ramp is much greater than we have previously expected the ramps to become a previous reconstruction has adjusted maybe five or 10% and our mmp adjusted maybe five or 10% and our ramp is 20% in other words if they won in five ramp, and ramp is 20% in other words if they won infive ramp, and if you ramp is 20% in other words if they won in five ramp, and if you have ramp is 20% in other words if they won infive ramp, and if you have a steeper ramp, you don't have to have a long ramp and one of the long—term objections to the single ramp is the volume is such a ramp would be so huge it would be unseasonably large cook it would be larger than the peer amid itself and that assumes a lower degree of the steepness, if you have a 20% ramp as we discovered, you have a smaller ramp

and it's feasible that in fact that's how it would have been constructed. you have any idea how many people would have been involved in constructing the pier mids and over what sort of time span would they have taken to make the pyramid? the great pyramid must‘ve been constructed around his lifetime, his exact rain like this debated but we are looking at something like 20—25 yea rs, are looking at something like 20—25 years, and that total work first that would have been involved in the whole project time span that would deal with about tens of thousands of people but how many were on—site at any one time as a matter of ongoing debate. just a reminder for those of us debate. just a reminder for those of us who are not experts on the pyramid, what were they for, when we re pyramid, what were they for, when were they built and what and why are they such wonderful wonders of the world ? they such wonderful wonders of the world? egyptian pier mids are tombs, there are places where bodies of deceased pharaohs are kings were

placed and they were structured to designed to help the spirit of the dead king transition into the afterlife and they began to be constructed around 2650 bc in egypt and they carry out being constructed down to around 1550 bc, the great pyramid is around 2550 bc. great to talk to you, it's so fascinating, makes me want to go see them again actually. roland their senior lecturer, thank you for your time. the first world war ended after four years of heavy 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 has been near the french city of arras, at the thiepval memorial. we are coming north from the city of amiens to one of the most moving

and most beautiful spots in this part of france in the centre of what was the somme battlefield. this is the hilltop at thiepval and on its stand the thiepval memorial, an extraordinary landmark and on its panels are carved the names of over 72,000 british and south african soldiers who died in the terrible battles of 1916. we've come here to look at one name in particular carved into a panel here at the foot of the memorial. it's the name of corporal george smith from the durham light infantry and corporal smith's story takes us back to the uk to county durham, and a family and a village who have particularly powerful reasons for remembering the armistice and centenary. music plays: "abide with me".

0ne county durham family, five 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.

i found out that he had brothers. i said, "what happened to them?" he wouldn't talk much. "they died," and that was it. if it hadn't have happened, if they hadn't have brought him home, then none of us here, the family now, would be here to tell the tale, and nobody would ever have known about it. 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. oh, 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? in a moment i'm going to tell you about the next stop

in our journey, but first i would like you to hear an extraordinary piece of sound. during the first world war, troops plotted the position of any begun by measuring the gap between the flash of the gun they could see and the sound of the gun, which they recorded using microphones. and those measurements were plotted on a graph in a series of spikes. the imperial war museum have the measurement from the minutes leading up to the armistice on the 11th of november 1918 and they've asked engineers to recreate the actual sounds using the measurements. this is what they came up with. gun fire and explosions. for me, listening to that was a particularly powerful experience

because a relation of mine, my grandfather's cousin, actually died, he was fighting northumberland frusiliers and fell fot the northumberland frusiliers and fell down the hill from where i'm standing here. tomorrow, we move on further north to tell the story of what has been termed the forgotten army, the troops from south asia who travelled around the world to fight for the empire in europe, in the middle east and in africa. for now, from thiepval, back to you. robin reporting and the time is eight minutes to six, you're watching bbc news. 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. doctor rebecca richmond is in our glasgow studio, she is one of the researchers behind the study. thank you for being with us, first of all could you differentiate what morning people i think they‘re known as larks and evening people are owls, what‘s the key difference? this research was based on the simple question, two women who participated in the study, and they we re participated in the study, and they were asked whether they perceive themselves to be morning people or evening people, and this has got this from biological bone and the loss of social and societal factors that impact whether an individual perceives himself to be a morning or evening person. it‘s quite interesting we are able to find

relatively robust findings suggesting that individuals who are more likely to be active in the morning and consider themselves to be morning people actually reduced risk of breast cancer in the large study. what you think maybe a causal link in the scientific explanation as why? the research is really an early stages so presenting it here today at this conference in glasgow, and at the moment it‘s a first step to implicating the importance of hours sleep a daily rhythm in relation to breast cancer. however at the moment, mechanisms are quite uncertain and so previous studies have hypothesized about the importance of natural light versus artificial night—light which is a risk factorfor hormonal artificial night—light which is a risk factor for hormonal disruption and breast cancer risk. although, further validation is required as we we re further validation is required as we were not able to directly look at this and our study. obviously as

with any study about cancer, people are looking to see whether it means they should change their lifestyle whether there is advice that could be offered, is it too early for you in terms of research and to be offering advice on this?|j in terms of research and to be offering advice on this? i think so, at the it‘s too early to say per example women you‘re naturally evening people may be set their alarm earlier and as i say we need to do more in delving into mechanisms of sleep and how that can bea mechanisms of sleep and how that can be a risk factor, it‘s really important to also besides there are well established risk factors with breast cancer which women can do something about this is about maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking and not drinking excessively, and sleep may be another important modifiable risk factor, but as i say, the research is not quite there yet. thank you very much for bringing us up—to—date on what you have been able to find with your research so far. best doctor rebecca, one of the researchers on the project. time for a look at the weather.

here‘s matt taylor with the forecast. how is a looking? incredibly mild maybe november we had —7 last week but not that near, temperatures have been sorry not to steer the uk, but also across other parts of europe, let‘s ta ke also across other parts of europe, let‘s take a look because we is the temperatures of switzerland the war and extending through scandinavia and extending through scandinavia and it‘s because we have a huge area of low pressure in the northwest at the moment spiralling around ringing southern wind and also during wind this way soggy at the moment in the west it slowly nudging north and east. evening rush hour east of england dry and tonight few showers going north, farther east should be avoided, a few across eastern england avoiding wet weather and later on northern ireland turns driving here we see temperatures drop to single pictures and dense

areas of fog. morning rush hour, rain is hit or miss post but heavier bursts southwest with some thunder and light patchy areas and a murky star, brightness west midlands, east wales parts of somerset, heading further north, rain is back for eastern parts of northern ireland, the fog lingering in the west breaks of rain through russian parts of aunt —— scotland and heavier up north, sims showers few and far. through the day we see them reach north eastern parts of scotland, for more showers at times, but more focused to the west, west of wales in southwest england, laimbeer burst of rain with thunder and southern england, as they go to the southeast on the breeze a mild day but the breeze will be stronger than it has been today so temperatures not quite as high as they have been through this afternoon, but still temperatures are 13—14d above where

they should be for the time of year around four or they should be for the time of year around fouror5 they should be for the time of year around four or 5 degrees. let‘s take us around four or 5 degrees. let‘s take us through wednesday night and thursday, showers had used, things turn dry and clearfor a time, could be some mist and fog around to start the day on thursday, while we see some western areas and eastern are staying dry with sunshine, and between from southwest england through parts of wales towards northern england and southern scotla nd northern england and southern scotland this‘ll be the real focus, for further showers and a longer burst of rain as well. particularly around the irish sea coast cooler for scotland and northern ireland, temperatures and 14—15 in the southeast. take us through to the end of the week and friday, we start dry but they are of low pressure moves its way in, and we are set to see some stronger wind to push across the country here comes again, and we see wind top 60 miles an hour in the west to push the wet weather through friday night and the start of the weekend. their latest bulletin is next, see you soon. a sharp rise in vulnerable children needing protection over the past decade according to new research. the number of children at risk

of serious harm has more than doubled to nearly 200,000 in a decade. more and more are being taken into care. its obviously going to be a heartbreaking time for the parents, and stuff, but, you know, we always try to look for the positives, the mother —— we always try to look for the positives and support mum. we‘ve been given rare access to children‘s services in liverpool to see the growing pressures that staff are under. also tonight: the cabinet agrees there needs to be a brexit deal this month amid warnings from brussels that a solution to the irish border is still missing.