humanitarian aid enter the country. trucks carrying food and medicines donated by the us have arrived in a colombian border town, but have been blocked from entering venezuela by soldiers. the irish prime minister leo varadkar has spoken of his determination to get a brexit agreement over the line. he's stressed a meeting with his british counterpart theresa may taking place in dublin was not for negotiations, as those must only be conducted with the european union. the king of thailand has denounced his sister's candidacy for prime minister, saying that such a move is inappropriate and unconstitutional. he said his elder sister would not be allowed to run for office because it was against tradition, even if she'd given up her official royal title. lung cancer screening trucks will be appearing in supermarket car parks under a new scheme across england. hundreds of thousands of people are to be tested in the next four years as part of an nhs drive to catch the disease early

and improve survival rates. the £70 million initiative will target areas with the highest lung cancer death rates. here's our health editor, hugh pym. maria's arriving for what they're calling an mot for her lungs and it's in the car park near some local shops. i'm going to get you to take a big breath in, in a moment. pop the tube in your mouth and then blow as hard and as fast as you can into it. keep going, keep going. there we go, that's it. i prefer this than the hospital. i don't like the whole hospital thing — i don't like going into hospital. it was easy enough to come here. i mean, i normally come shopping around here, so it's nice tojust come in here. if you've had your lung health check here and there is a potential area of concern, you don't have to wait very long or go very far. in fact, you can go straight over here and have a scan. sophisticated equipment

usually in a hospital — in this case, accessible in a retail park. once inside, the scan takes place. the results and analysis come a few weeks later. 55— to 7a—year—olds at risk of lung cancer, including smokers, are invited to come along for a screening. the early pilot schemes that we ran showed that the detection of the earliest stage lung cancer rose from about two in ten people up to about seven in ten. early detection means earlier and better treatment and ultimately leads to better survival and fewer deaths. the new investment in early detection of lung cancer has been welcomed, though some argue a lot more needs to be done to improve cancer care and survival rates. it's important because it's notjust about screening for lung cancer, it's all the other respiratory diseases that you might find. however, we have to have the right staff and the right services to be able to give patients what they need for better outcomes. the scheme will cover areas of england with most patients

at risk. it'll be the first lung health check programme of its kind in the uk. hugh pym, bbc news. now on bbc news, a special programme with one of the world's greatest sports stars. in this frank interview, billiejean king talks to the bbc‘s sue barker about her sexuality, life as an advocate for gender equality, lg bt rights, and social justice. asa as a youngster, i dreamt of playing professional tennis but that at the time didn't look possible. then all ofa time didn't look possible. then all of a sudden, it changed and it changed because of one person. on court, this unique talent won 39 grand slam titles like it's what she did off the court that will define her legacy. the women's two which i played in, was set up by her in the

19705 played in, was set up by her in the 1970s and suddenly, prizemoney, legislation and conditions improved for women like me. we had our voice. we were heard. it was a game changer. and today all sportswomen are ina changer. and today all sportswomen are in a far better place. there is are in a far better place. there is a quality, respect, the playing field is levelling out. this woman let a way to make it all happen. a champion player, a fearless pioneer, the ultimate winner in a battle of the ultimate winner in a battle of the sexes who i am proud to call a friend. she is billiejean king. cheering and applause. i first played tennis at 11, the second time i picked up a racket i knew i wanted to be the number one player in the world. it is wonderful to be celebrated and appreciated for everything that she's done. each of

us everything that she's done. each of us is an influencer, every single one of us. she deserves every accolade that she receives because she is so interested in the welfare of others and i think she really ta ke of others and i think she really take that seriously, that she has a voice, that she has a platform and that she is an advocate of causes that she is an advocate of causes that she is an advocate of causes that she believes in. let's continue to use our power of our voices, our action to inspire others. thank you so action to inspire others. thank you so much for tonight. thank you for having me. god bless you. ladies and gentlemen, the inspirational, iconic and indefatigable billie jean gentlemen, the inspirational, iconic and indefatigable billiejean king. cheering and applause. billiejean billie jean king listening billiejean king listening to your speech, it seems very humble because everything you have achieved in your life, you are game changer. everything you have achieved in your life, you are game changeri everything you have achieved in your life, you are game changer. i think i really wanted to thank people and then go through the progression of how i made it from the time i was

young and wanted to be number one and won wimbledon and when you think back at this age, you start — i'm a lwa ys back at this age, you start — i'm always thinking about all the different people who helped me because you never get their loan, ever. i listen to certain athletes oi’ ever. i listen to certain athletes or players and i think whoa! they talk just about themselves. i want to know about how did you get here? and i think it is important that people have a little bit of history. she fell in love with the game and thatis she fell in love with the game and that is truly what started her. she came home and said she wanted to be a tennis player. and how old is she? 11 years old. she started late. she wa nted 11 years old. she started late. she wanted to be number one in the world, not just longbridge, wanted to be number one in the world, notjust longbridge, the world. i actually, i don't know much about billie jean as a player. she finished playing four years before i

was born. a the mind be saying that! we forget what a great tennis player she was. she was aggressive, she goes after what she wants, she wants, she had a beautiful backhand, she was a serve and volley, only five foot four but beady as can be. she was a great athlete and she could move, she could hit the spot, she was able to analyse, she was able to really commit herself and focus and analyse a match. an attitude in a good way, the confidence, the belief, that kind of swagger that i can get thisjob done, and it carried over into life. she was a natural leader. people believed in her. she was obviously a fantastic player, one of the best of all time, but it is what she has done away from the court that has been even more impressive. he changed the whole face of women's tennis and in some ways women sported everyone looks at tennis now a sort of a blueprint of how — how would you can make things happen and

that was driven by you.|j would you can make things happen and that was driven by you. i wanted the men and women to be together and the man rejected a sense that was a really ha rd man rejected a sense that was a really hard time for me. because i still think if we were together it would be much more powerful, we could do so much more of the court to make the world a better place together. and we are all together in this world anyway. unfortunately thatis this world anyway. unfortunately that is not the way it happened so plan b was to ok, we will do it ourselves, the women. and jones, rose to go south, frank stewart and i were the first four real contract players in the modern times. because they never included women, ever. as bruce. and george michael signed us. and that was when? 68, just an open tennis were starting to happen. we wa nted tennis were starting to happen. we wanted to be professionals, we wa nted wanted to be professionals, we wanted to be professionals, we wanted to get paid, we wanted everything out in the open because you know, before that, you were getting money under the table. money came into tennis of the first time in 1968 when the associations agreed

to have what they called open tennis, where they could be prizemoney and amateurs could play against professionals. billy was thrilled, finally players were going to be able to learn a living playing tennis and i remember her telling a story of how excited she was about open tennis and then she got to wimbledon and she won wimbledon in 1968 and got £750 while rod laver one the men's singles and cots £2000. and i think she really felt that finally, tennis was open but the fight really was only beginning because the women were having, you know, less and less opportunities. and i think that was when the penny dropped that we were going to have to do something on our own, separate from the man and start the women's tennis association. macro for men. the three things we thought about in the wta when we formed that three

yea rs later the wta when we formed that three years later was the same mantra, and that was any girl if she is good enoughin that was any girl if she is good enough in this world would have a place to compete, that the women tennis player would the appreciated for publishers and notjust her looks, and number three, which for oui’ looks, and number three, which for our generation, who only made $14 and they usually in expense money, was to make a living. it must have been very difficult in the early days of the wta, and kind of taking that chance. our goal was for global, for the rest of the world. we had to get started. huge, we were going to lose out, we didn't know if we could play wimbledon again or the us open orany we could play wimbledon again or the us open or any tournament. we may be blackballed, we may never get to play again, but we felt... it was so important to do this for not only oui’ important to do this for not only our generation but for the jenga, you know, the future generations, we had to do this not only the ourselves but for the future

generations. she is obviously someone generations. she is obviously someone who stood up for what she believed end and i imagine that the time she would have taken a lot of stick, you know, and gone through a lot. but ultimately, she has changed, you know, our sport for the better by doing that.|j changed, you know, our sport for the better by doing that. i hope that the generations that have come after us the generations that have come after us really understand the risk that they talk. the path has been paved by those original nine, it is pretty easy 110w by those original nine, it is pretty easy now to make a good living, and it wasn't that way always. modern women's pro— tennis would not have occurred had one of those incredibly important people, billie jean king, not been there and done what she did. this driving force that you have seems to have been in your dna. because of my dna. because even at the age of 12 you were thinking things that most of the roles would never think. you were sitting at a tennis club and thought what?- never think. you were sitting at a tennis club and thought what? at the los angeles tennis club and i

thought everybody who plays, whether it is white shoes, white socks, white clothes, i mean, plays with white clothes, i mean, plays with white tennis balls and guess what? every body plays with white and a question at 12 was where is everybody else? and so that was a moment of my total commitment to fight for a quality and inclusion for everyone, for everyone. she always had the bigger picture in mind. ithink always had the bigger picture in mind. i think tennis did give her the platform but ironically, the match that changed everything for billie jean was the battle of the sexes in 1973 against bobby regs. but the four rigs. it has been called the battle of the sexes, the greatest tragedy and the greatest waste of money and time but whatever the title it is a tournament that has caught the imagination of millions of americans and even the harshest critics can

see the sort of publicity it is receiving or do the tennis what muhammed ali did the boxing. that match... muhammed ali did the boxing. that match. . . that muhammed ali did the boxing. that match... that batch! yes! were you aware just how important it was?m was probably the most important match at tennis, actually. everybody had a stake in it, the husband and the wives and the daughters and the sofis the wives and the daughters and the sons and it was all about equality and billie jean had a lot of pressure. i can't even imagine the pressure. i can't even imagine the pressure that she would have felt that day. everybody was like glued to the television. being a woman is not drawn back when it comes to emotional stress, strain, and we will see what will happen when we ta ke to will see what will happen when we take to the court. the man wanted be to win, he was older and 55 years old or some thing like that and billie jean was young and at the peak of their powers. they say they are not proud of body representing them but i have only heard from the ones that are not proud of him but

the ones who are, i'm sure would go talk to him instead of talking to me. i remember her running his path off. i mean, having these long rallies, lobs over his head, i mean, he was tired. the women got so much more self—confidence after that moment and the men are the ones are usually are more reflect if and tea rs usually are more reflect if and tears in their eyes and, you know, i watched that when i was 12 or 15 or 20 and now i have daughters. boy. that match really influenced me as far as how i want my daughters and sons and all genders to have equal opportunity and equal rights. so much i think at stake for women because they had been fighting so

long for except on and equality and being able to compete. you know, especially in sports. that really changed billie jean's life, and really i think gave her an opportunity to do more than just have this be about tennis, this now became about everybody in life. the next day i think more women felt like they could go out and go out and go after what they wanted. like they could go out and go out and go after what they wantedlj tell you, i was sitting at home watching the bobby regs much. you where? how old were you? not very old? i wasjust in my teens and it was like, it was my future. if you have not have won that, if you have not changed women's tennis talent was, i would not changed women's tennis talent was, iwould not not changed women's tennis talent was, i would not have been able to play tennis as a career. and i had the most magical 15 years playing tennis and then tennis has given me the other career. it is a great 1-2, both of them are great. so let me just say a huge thank you to you for

changing my life and not only my life that so many tennis players with what you had that vision, that belief, and the gut to go out and stand up and take on organisations that way you did. you changed so many people ‘s lives so thank you. wow. thank you so much, that is very touching. she has been a huge advocate for women's rights, and equal rights, thatis women's rights, and equal rights, that is obviously translated into one of those things in tennis which is not really the case at ending in any other sport that we have, pretty equal prizemoney across the men's and women's tours, and that is extremely significant. i think she was advocating for that probably 30, 40 yea rs was advocating for that probably 30, 40 years ahead of her time. everyone thinks, billie jean 40 years ahead of her time. everyone thinks, billiejean king did so much

for women's sport and for women... but it isn't, isn't it. it entertains me —— irritates me. when a woman leads, they say, thanks for trying to help women. they never say that to a man, they never say that, they never say, thanks for helping those men! when it is a male leader they obviously think it is for everyone. when it is a woman leader they think, oh, is for women, everyone. when it is a woman leader they think, oh, is forwomen, she is trying to help women. no. first of all grow trying to help women. no. first of allgrow up trying to help women. no. first of all grow up with a brother who played 12 years of professional baseball, which he had this not mean that much but it is you get home. i say oh, my younger brother paid professional baseball, and they say, what! i say his name, randall moffitt, and they say, moffitt! it is not king? i say no, that is my former husband's name. they say that is why i didn't put you guys together. you met larry your husband at college. yes, he was a biochemist

major. i love smart guys. how long we re major. i love smart guys. how long were you married? who are married about 22 years,... during the south african open i was hitting some tennis balls with my dad on one of the side courts at ellis park, and billiejean the side courts at ellis park, and billie jean walked by the side courts at ellis park, and billiejean walked by the court, she stopped, came out onto the court and heat with me for about 10—15 minutes, i remember her saying to my pa rents minutes, i remember her saying to my parents anthony, you have a lot of talent, and if you work hard, maybe you can become a tennis player. and that changed my life for all time. you can become a tennis player. and that changed my life for all timelj read a quote of yours, tell me of this is true, but you didn't actually feel comfortable in your own skin until you are about 51 yea rs own skin until you are about 51 years old. that absolutely correct. you always do your homework! that is incredibly sad. it is sad because it

stopped me from achieving some of the things i wanted. you look at a lot of lives, and no life goes perfectly. it is the people who can adapt to the ups and downs better and be resilient, and that is what sports teacher. keep bouncing back. i went to an eating disorder place, i was uncomfortable with my sexuality and the challenges i had. but there is no way in the 705 it would have worked, to come out and talk about having trouble, i don't know if i am bisexual, if i am gay, i don't know what i am. i was going to run hard time and we were just 5tarting to run hard time and we were just starting the tour, i can't talk about that in the 705, i would have been finished in one second, we would have had to —— would not have had to. because the tool was in its infa ncy had to. because the tool was in its infancy in the 70s, the sponsors told her, if you talk about your sexuality, there won't get to i think that probably was really hard

for billie do not be able to be her own authentic self and have to walk a tightrope. i had people come up to me who are close to me and say, it you cannot say one word of this we will not have a tour. those were people working on the tour. it was very ha rd people working on the tour. it was very hard because i could not do this ina very hard because i could not do this in a private way, it was very public. you are forced to come out, won't you? i was outed, but i told the truth and my lawyer and publicist did not want me to tell the truth. that was another challenge. they caved and i must say my publicist really came through, she had the whole office behind my media conference where i told the truth. larry was there, my parents we re truth. larry was there, my parents were there, my parents were homophobic, but they want me to be happy. it was really confusing. younger people today look at me like, what was the big deal? it was a big deal. every sponsor dropped her. but i just a big deal. every sponsor dropped her. but ijust remember how honest she was, and she got up there and

said "i did have an affair, it was wrong, it had nothing to do with it ina man wrong, it had nothing to do with it in a man or wrong, it had nothing to do with it ina man ora wrong, it had nothing to do with it in a man or a woman, it was wrong, i was married." and i think that honesty set her free. did your pa rents honesty set her free. did your parents see you happy, do they see you... eventually yes, because my parents came to love iman. i think guys parents came to love iman. i think guys are parents came to love iman. i think guys are great, i understand what she is saying. she is the one to me, thatis she is saying. she is the one to me, that is it. everyone has their one, and she is my one. looking back over some special moment in your life. president obama for example. residential medal of freedom, which is given to very few people. what that means you ? is given to very few people. what that means you? he spoke about what

you achieved and for his daughters. president ivana was 12 years old when he saw my match in 1973, and he said that had a huge influence on him, it helped him raise them, his daughters. he says, you don't know this, he said, but i used to watch you at high school. we lived in hawaii and obama was going to school are. i rememberthe little hawaii and obama was going to school are. i remember the little black kid standing there, i said, was there a white kid with you? and he said yes. soldo white kid with you? and he said yes. so i do remember him. we used to talk about this, muhammad ali and i are, you talk about this, muhammad ali and i are , you never talk about this, muhammad ali and i are, you never know how you are going to touch another persons life and they will touch yours. this it

that —— the summer is a big sum of sport for a lot of women sport. if there was a spot right now that building itself up, what advice would you give them? so... you never know really. it is pretty obvious with social media, you build a brand. whatever you are building, you have to build a brand. where are you have to build a brand. where are you going, you have to keep building your brand. and today, people rememberfor18 your brand. and today, people remember for 18 seconds, so you have to keep new information going. remember for 18 seconds, so you have to keep new information goingm you were to write a letter now to your young self, what advice would your young self, what advice would you give yourself? i guess i would say, i really am one of the luckiest people in the world. and you did it,

and the life i envisioned, i have had that class. and ijust think, i wa nt had that class. and ijust think, i want tennis to be a pro sport, it is a pro— sport. iwanted it to want tennis to be a pro sport, it is a pro— sport. i wanted it to be global, it is global. i want equal prizemoney at every turn and, because it is about the message, not the money. we have that now. i am not finished yet, so it is hard to me to write this letter! dishy know she is 75? because she sure does not act like it. she has so much energy andi act like it. she has so much energy and i always tease her because she said to 20 years now that she has wa nted said to 20 years now that she has wanted the slowdown, and she clearly is not slowing down. she has too many things she wants to completion. her favourite quote is "go for it", and natasha lives a life, that is the way she played her tennis, and thatis the way she played her tennis, and that is what she wrote to me when i was ten years old on her autograph will stop go for it, billiejean king. billie jean is notjust an inspiration to me, but i think lots

of athletes, she has changed our sport for the better. she stood up for what she believed in, and made very significant changes in our sport, so i think more of the fact that she spoke out about something that she spoke out about something that she spoke out about something that she believed in very strongly, is something that i would say i have learned from and will hopefully continue to do in my career. she fought to make the world a better place and to give the people without a voice voice. and the people to believe that anything is possible. there is no greater validation than having someone tell you that you made a difference, and billiejean certainly made a difference. hello there, still not done with storm erik yet, there is more wind to come, we could see some very gusty winds through the early part of this morning. storm erik passes to the north of the uk with a swathe of the 60—70 mph for southern scotland and northern england, gradually those wins will turn light into the afternoon.

this swathe of potentially damaging, destructive winds will affect the northern half of the country for a while this morning, some heavy rain and snow on the tops of the pennines and the scottish hills, further south some blustery showers, we will start the day with temp riches of 6—8d. a windy start this morning, heavy pulses of rain, but the rain eventually becomes confined to the northern isles of scotland, as it pulls away into the north sea. further south there will be sunshine, a few showers across western areas, and a good deal of dry areas. the winds gradually easing into the afternoon. temperature wise, england and wales are seeing double figures again, 10— 11 celsius, closer to 7— nine in scotland and northern ireland. a little bit fresher there. there could be some disruption from the winds, particularly early on, keep tuned in to bbc local radio for the latest updates.

store erik pushes into scandinavia, this next feature could bring whether through southern part of the country on saturday night, maybe on sunday some strong winds, but the strongest winds will be across the channel into the near continent. we could see some snow over the high ground of wales for a while, with this rain slowly easing away through sunday, it could hang back to east anglia and the south—east. colder air will be pouring south eastwards behind it, these showers across northern areas will be turning increasingly wintry as temperatures back into figures for all of us. we will have showery burst of rain through saturday into sunday night, and then we see high pressure building in which will settle things down but it will feel cold as we start monday off on a cold note. a little bit of frost around. but we have this wind of high pressure which should see a good read of dry weather, wins lighter than we have had for the past few days. temperatures 5—9d so it will feel a little chilly to how it has felt at the start of the weekend. high pressure building in next week,

things will come down considerably, dry weather and the return of chilly nights. hello and welcome to bbc news. the first trucks carrying us humanitarian aid for venezuela have arrived at the colombian border, which remains blocked by venezuelan troops. president nicolas maduro says he won't allow what he's called the "cheap show" of false humanitarian aid. but opposition leaderjuan guaido, who's declared himself interim president, is warning that many venezuelans are in danger of dying without aid. our correspondent, orla guerin, reports. a convoy that could save lives. lorries full of desperately needed humanitarian aid headed for venezuela at the request of the opposition.