donald trump says he's willing to let a partial government shutdown last for months or even years unless he's given five billion dollars to build a border wall. the shutdown has left hundreds of thousands of federal workers without pay. talks between the two sides aimed at resolving the standoff were described as ‘contentious‘ by democrats — mr trump said they were ‘productive‘. the uk has warned russia not to use people as diplomatic pawns, after moscow charged paul whelan, a former us marine with joint british and us citizenship with spying. britain's foreign secretary said the uk had offered consular assistance. an unusually powerful tropical storm has hit south—eastern thailand in the peak tourism season. tropical storm pabuk, with 75 kilometre an hour winds and lashing rain, is the worst storm to hit the region in 30 years. thousands of people had to flee the area. now, what a great way to start the new year, matching 7 numbers and finding yourself nearly £115 million richer! that's what happened to frances

and patrick connolly, from county down in northern ireland, who say they've drawn up a list of 50 people whom they intend to share their euromillions win with. here's chris page — there are some flashing images in his report. it's the time of year when lifestyle changes do happen. but they are very rarely as dramatic or unexpected as this. on new year's day, frances connelly was knitting a jumper at home when her husband patrick looked up the lotto results online. checked my numbers and they all were ticked and i thought, does that mean we have won? i went on the bbc website, i checked the numbers there, again a match. i then went on a third website and i checked again and they matched, so i turned the computer to frances and i said, "i think i've got some good news for you." and i said some things i shouldn't

have said and accused him of lying to me and he said, no, i wouldn't make a joke about something like that. he was shaking by this stage. welcome to tonight's special euromillions draw. frances and patrick were not dreaming. this machine had bestowed sudden and sumptuous wealth on the couple from the village of moira. it is the fourth biggest lottery prize ever won in the uk. how different do you think life will feel like for you? we are fairly well grounded. we are notjoining the jet set life, you know? we want to help people, share the money, and when we've had a bit of fun and had a bit of travel we'll come back and we'll do some good. but at their news conference, one reporter asked if they had new worries about personal security. i've never met anybody i wouldn't take down myself,

to be fair. laughter. they have become fabulously rich in just a few seconds, but what the connellys are most looking forward to is giving away money, and making some more millionaires. now on bbc news: the team from radio 1's newsbeat travel to malawi to join bush patrols as they work to stop a practice which has long threatened many animals across africa. the poacher hunters contains some scenes you may find upsetting. it is 50-50, it is 50—50, whether to stand back oi’ it is 50—50, whether to stand back or whether to charge. you have to be sought of looking around the place is you can go just sought of looking around the place is you can gojust in sought of looking around the place is you can go just in case they decide to charge. it is pretty dangerous. it is coming.

your mission, patrol the park, be prepared to arrest poachers, and be prepared to arrest poachers, and be prepared to arrest poachers, and be prepared to assist with casualties. no matter where you are and what they think you are not losing the fight, is that the situation is not good. fuelled by greed, a matter what the cost. —— no matter. it is a problem with no easy fix. most jobs out here don't pay well, whereas if they get a rhino horn, it is a pretty big payday. this is where poaching happens on the ground, but above us is a whole network of

syndicates and cartels. i've never seena syndicates and cartels. i've never seen a rhino up close before. a kilogram of rhino horn would go for £100,000. now the british army has got involved in malawi, in trying to protect one of the world ‘s most threatened species. what is important for us is making sure our ranges on the ground are trained to be in the best position is to protect the area. when we leave the patrols are we celebrate that we have come back alive. we are going to attack the enemy. needs to be stopped. two types patrol we are engaged in here, one is strict long patrol where the soldiers will go out with two ranges and worked through mentor in them on various skills. either left or

right. if he moves right... the others move left... he is now the poacher, stop firing. we have a bit where we are trying to learn as much as we can of these guys, we attach the trackers, they are proper bush men, their craft is phenomenal, they are tracking rhino. black rhino are not docile, they are shortsighted, badtempered and they are territorial and they don't like things in their area. they know what human smell like and they don't like the smell of humans. you need to get close enough to them, stay down wind and get close enough to take a picture. i want you to check the ammunition stakes, casualties and equipment. 0k? stakes, casualties and equipment. ok? that is one of the things we are

emphasising, improving communication, for clear reporting, for antipoaching purposes. gunshot, india, gunshot wound. they are extremely enthusiastic, across—the—board, but extremely enthusiastic, across—the—boa rd, but particularly medical. hello, can you hear me. if they don't respond, you can test the response to your voice. here, pressing, hold my hand? he is able to respond to this. there are 14 british soldiers in all, this section in the majete reserve in the south of malawi. the situation is, it is the end of the month, we are nearly close to payday, we will expect an increased demand for bush meat, so we go into this area and

wait it out. there are in mind that out this way there were two lions released this week, lion encounters in the north, those to release here are males, so the lion risk is very alive during this patrol. one of the jobs, joining the experienced malawian rhino trackers. we are expecting to encounter poachers, looking for the rhino, so always we will be ready. these black rhino are some of the 2000 animals relocated here since 2003. we have to be armed because there are poachers in the area. but also, as a last resort, as an immediate threat to life through dangerous game. they are also not that keen on humans. point of the patrol is to check the

rhinos' health, see their general behaviour. the device around their neck tells the trackers what direction they are in and how far away they are. it is within about 400 metres, but the problem is we are picking up the signal from 400 metres, but the problem is we are picking up the signalfrom an elephant just to the are picking up the signalfrom an elephantjust to the north, and the elephantjust to the north, and the elephant is known to charge. as soon as it smells human. so we have to watch out as well. rhino trackers, they know the rhinos and they can telljust by looking at them if they are healthy or not. wind is a massive factor in this. you have always got to be going against the wind. and the wind can change pretty quickly. very subtly as well, without realising, so you get close to the rhino, and the wind changes. it's coming. slowly, slowly. it is

50-50 it's coming. slowly, slowly. it is 50—50 whether they will turn back and run away or charge straight at you. you have always got to be looking around for places you can go this in case they decide to charge. so it is pretty dangerous. it is. couple of months ago and inexperienced rhino expert was killed after being charged by one in nearby rwanda. we have a clear visual. now he is going to get a photo. if he charge, we get up in the trees around here, for example, that one there is a good tree to climb. this one is also a good tree to climb. trees that have got a lot of branches, yeah. avoid to step on the... he is coming.

what he said is we should not shakeup, just stand still. just stand still, not shaking like this, don't shake. thenifs then it's time to get out of the way, quickly. asa

as a young boy i was wanted to work with animals, the generic and of work. then when i was —— veterinarian. then when i was growing up, there was a project with lions. after i saw the lions and what is like out in the bush, ijust really, really bit into it and as soon as i came really, really bit into it and as soon as i came across really, really bit into it and as soon as i came across the army, i took it straightaway. on the patrol that last days, chad trains the ranges on the skills of being a soldier. we communicate mostly with hand signals, we try to minimise talking as much as possible. when we do end up talking it is a soft whisper, as a close unit. in turn the ranges show him how best to find

the ranges show him how best to find the animals under threat by lion, elephant and rhinos, the animals under threat by lion, elephantand rhinos, in the animals under threat by lion, elephant and rhinos, in what is a challenging environment. you really have time to think. most of the time you are concentrating on the environment itself. constantly looking, watching for dangerous game, anything that might sneak up on you. at the moment, there is not that many incursions into the park, but from what i understand, there has been a couple of incursions into the park, people walking in with dogs, there has been a couple of spears, which they use after they taste the animal, with the dogs, they come in with snares, traps, they come in with snares, traps, they lay them along the animal trails, the waterholes. you put your footin trails, the waterholes. you put your foot in their and it probably not going to get it back. —— and you are probably not going to get it back.

they also come in with muzzle loaders, that isn't improvised weapon, normandy made of metal plumbing parts, elastic names, anything they can get their hands on. “— anything they can get their hands on. —— normally. they come into the park with those in shoot the animals, and if need be they can shoot us as well. if i was to come across a poacher in the community andi across a poacher in the community and i was introduced to him, i would ask his reasons for doing it, and what. .. what he ask his reasons for doing it, and what... what he thinks the consequences will be if he does get caught. it is a matter of if he gets caught, it's a matter of when he gets caught. and he will go to jail. that is the hope, at least. the illegal wildlife trade is a big business, without a £17 billion a year. take rhino horn. —— worth up to. it is more expensive than heroin or gold. in the past few years black

rhinos have dropped from 70,000 to 5500. the competent —— the country's elephant population has halved from 400019805 elephant population has halved from 4000 19805 to 2000 2015. more than that, malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world. historically people have poached to make a bit of moneyjust to people have poached to make a bit of money just to eat. people have poached to make a bit of moneyjust to eat. translation: i became a poacher in 1995. we used to make guns so we would go into the game reserve with our traditionally made guns and kill the animals. but there were different kinds of animals, which would include the heck, the antelopes, and some hilux is. -- heck, the antelopes, and some hilux is. —— hare. we had so many challenges, we did have food in our homes —— did not have food in our homes. so the only option was to go

and poach into the game reserve. after we do that, after we kill the animals, bring it here, we sell at that we get a little income and from there we could find is to eat. so that made us go and do poaching. we faced a lot of problems when we were caught, they would be cut severely and they didn't consider whether you we re and they didn't consider whether you were old, small, or very old. they would beat you and then if you survive, it is your luck. if you die, that is your fate. pray kay is in charge of the majete reserve which is run by an organisation called african parks, it has three of them in malawi. in majete in particular, the poaching is low and on sustainable

levels. majete, we haven't lost a writer or elephant to poaching since africa started managing majete, the partnership with the malawi government. in prior days, when it was still a lot of illegal activities and availability of firearms in mozambique, the threats may come from the west. and we deploy our ranges strategically and around the reserve randomly so that there is none. —— rhinos. we hear are rarely tell that really on the ground level, so we know this is where poaching happens, on the ground, but above us is a whole network of syndicates and cartels and, you know, a whole trader wildlife, and, you know, that's essentially what's driving the business. what is important for us is to make sure that our rangers on the ground are fully equipped and trained and in the best position to fulfil their duties to protect the area. populations in africa are, you

know, rapidly growing. i think malawi's population growth is about 396 malawi's population growth is about 3% per year. i think they say the population doubled from 70 million, in about 2030 it should double in malawi, so there are clear signs that there is already an immense pressure on the environment and, you know, with double those numbers it's going to be even more the case. so, you know, even more the reason to make sure that we protect these areas, so that, you know, those people in 2030 have, you know, a natural heritage to enjoy and be pa rt natural heritage to enjoy and be part of. craig talks about a new threat, which has been completed to climate change, disease and weapons of mass destruction. international organised crime. powered by an wealthy black market mostly in asian countries like china and vietnam. for thousands of years some believed the body parts from animals like

tigers and rhinoceroses helped do things like cure cancer and improve your sex drive. it has never been psychiatric —— scientifically backed up psychiatric —— scientifically backed up and then there is the illegal ivory trade as well. my majete looks totally wild. it is very controlled. the armed ranges and the electric fence means most people have to pay to get in. however, because of that there been no rhinos or elephant poacherfor there been no rhinos or elephant poacher for 15 years. but it's not a lwa ys poacher for 15 years. but it's not always been like this. quite terrible here. i can assure you that we lost a few ranges, who were shot at in cold blood, in the line of duty, and i think that wasn't pleasa nt duty, and i think that wasn't pleasant at all. i think our families always, when we leave for patrols, when we come back they will celebrate that we come back alive, you know. and that was the kind of situation that was in most of the parks in malawi. you've seen communities coming here, you seem that there is no —— you have seen

that there is no —— you have seen that there is no —— you have seen that there is no poaching, you have seen that there is some infrastructure, some business enterprises. this is where we wanted the park to be. the idea is that, other than people sitting out there expecting to harvest from the park, then they have alternatives of generating income. conservation has to have a holistic approach, and not only protecting wildlife for the sake of it, but there has to be a utility component in it. i think some models have been tried and they haven't worked. and this one basically, to us, is a model, is a model that is working. there is no doubt poachers are being put off by these patrols, along with tougher sentences. yes, the money coming in through tourism is changing attitudes, although in zimbabwe and

mozambique poor communities still do like that more cash goes into protecting the reserve wealthy white tourists instead of them. the is very serious. are they losing the fight, not losing the fight? i think that, you know, it's hard to say. what do we base that on? but i think one thing we do need to think about is not simply about how many numbers of elephants or rhinos are being lost, or how many poachers are being caught and arrested, but the broader picture of what this poaching conflict means for conservation in these areas, both in ecological and social sense. i think training and capacity building and building the skills of ranges is a great thing. i'm quite sceptical of the use of the military in training ranges, a specially the use of a foreign military. that doesn't necessarily know the context in which they're operating, and that is not training in conservation. at the beginning,

you don't really know what to expect. i've never seen a rhino up close before. it's strange to see how big they are, and how fast they can move towards you as well. it's quite... quite frightening to start off with. where we are doing the dense tracking, it is normally pretty dense and the grass is quite high, which is a problem. if you start breaking twigs and making noise, they will come towards it. and also you only wanted to come towards you on your terms. —— come towards you on your terms. —— come towards you. —— and also you only wa nt towards you. —— and also you only want them to come towards you on your terms. the rhino did in charge this time, so it's safe to come down. crucially, though, they got their peak. the relationship is great with the ranges. they are the experts out here in the bush. you can spend as much time—out here as you like, but they have lived here all their lives. —— pick. you like, but they have lived here

alltheir lives. —— pick. it was just here, just there, looking at me and matthews was in a tree in behind, and he slipped and came running off, he can really close. you can get unstuck quite quickly out here if you don't really know what you're doing. yes, yeah, we have to take pictures. this one. yeah, ithink have to take pictures. this one. yeah, i think that's really successful, yeah. got everything we needed. we've seen two riders —— rhinos today, both in really good health. yeah, ithink rhinos today, both in really good health. yeah, i think is really successful. —— it's really successful. these areas, they're actually really important to me. and i think they

should be important to everyone for the future generations. killing animals... what's going to be left for future generations? just a bunch of peaches in a book. these british soldiers have been welcomed here, and the rangers say they have benefited. they are only here for a few months, though, so what about when they are gone? people don't understand how under threat they are. the first threat is to understand we don't lose more protected areas. the big worry is that organised crime could corrupt some of the key people fighting against them. people were relocated

from the park, so that caused a bit of controversy. people were sort of unhappy that they left the land of their ancestors. i have a real concern that the future of conservation in africa is going to not take a step back to that hard, fortress conservation model, but is going to bring that model forward and intensify it. uk ministers have praised the armed forces for playing their part against what they've called a sickening and illegal industry. at times you just want to be with your family industry. at times you just want to be with yourfamily and... industry. at times you just want to be with your family and... sometimes you just can't. be with your family and... sometimes youjust can't. but be with your family and... sometimes you just can't. but poaching is a problem farfrom being you just can't. but poaching is a problem far from being solved. and we can be asking, does the british military have the background and the skills it self to train ranges beyond that hardline antipoaching? hello, once again. just because a big area of high pressure is dominating the weather

across many parts of the british isles, and it's dry for many, it doesn't mean to say that we're all in the same boat. as we see here, quite a transformation in the day, once the cloud peeled away to reveal those gloriously blue skies. but if you kept the cloud right throughout the day, well, then it was pretty leaden fair, despite the fact, as i say, it was dry for the most part. and here we are, many of us through the course of the weekend, again, largely dry, often cloudy, and that's because there's quite a lot of moisture trapped in the lower levels of the atmosphere under the influence of the high pressure there. the frontal system will eventually show its hand across the north—western quarter of the british isles. we'll talk more about that in just a second. so, that cloud shield isn't complete by any means at all, and if it breaks for any length of time into the first part saturday, you will end up with a chilly start to your day, although there will be some sunshine to compensate. that could well be the case across parts of wales, down into the south—west. but i think as the morning proceeds, so perhaps some of those gaps willfill in, again, much of england and wales will be cloudy but dry, the best of the sunshine perhaps

to the eastern side of the pennines, up into the eastern side of scotland. temperatures nothing to write home about for the time of year, pretty average, four to around seven, the exception the western isles of scotland, but here late in the day the cloud thickens all the while, so too into northern ireland, and you eventually end up with a wee bit of rain. i don't think it will amount to very much at all. it's tied into that when the front, which, as we move saturday into sunday, will tumble its way through the area of high pressure, of high pressure, tending to lose what little potency it had. and you will notice that one portion was away towards the continent, another eventually flicks back towards northern ireland, so maybe some brightness here for a time, but then cloud comes back later in the day. enough about the cloud for there to be the odd spot of rain perhaps across the heart of england and wales. the best of the sunshine in the day further north across the greater part of mainland scotland. temperatures may be up a touch or two across particularly the south—western quarter, just picking up on more of a south—westerly flow, but as i take you from sunday into monday, the eyecatcher

is a vigorous area of low pressure passing very close by to the northern portions of britain, before it dives through the north sea and off towards denmark. while that's around, and with so many isobars on the charts, it's no great surprise that when i show you the gust values on monday and tuesday for a number of locations across northern and north—eastern britain, well, 50, 60, possibly even 70mph. not everyone will see that, by any means at all. come a little bit further south and west, a quieter couple of days in prospect. hello and welcome to bbc news. i'm ben bland. president trump says he is prepared for the partial shutdown of the us

government, which is now entering its third week, to last years. he was speaking after meeting congressional leaders in the white house. mr trump has said he'll reject any new budget that doesn't provide funding for his proposed us—mexico border wall. but the democrats seem in no mood to provide the money. our north america correspondent aleem maqbool is at the white house. looking in, it might appear to be business as usual at the white house, but it is far from it. for two weeks, government has been shut down. the democrats won't agree to sign off on $5.6 billion for a wall along