comedy is about, "i'm glad that didn't happen to me. look at him. he fell down that hole." chaplin knew all about it, and we laughed at chaplin because it wasn't us falling down the hole. or through a bar. or through a bar! play it nice and cool, son, nice and cool, you know what i mean? laughter. nicholas lyndhurst speaking to tim muffett. helen willetts has the weather. todayis today is a day of two hubs. you may have woken up misty, mild and grey but the sun has come out, but further west we have cloud and rain. this is how it looks in the sunshine. beautifulfor this is how it looks in the sunshine. beautiful for many parts of england and east wales, the east of england and east wales, the east of scotland. but it grabs the eye, the weather front, it has been

raining on and off for northern ireland for the last 24. it is eating from the west, moving in to the west of scotland, western fringes of england and wales. —— it is easing from the west. through the evening and overnight, the weather front continues to progress eastwards. it blankets the fall in temperature, it will not be as chilly tonight except across the south—east and east anglia by the mist and fog could return. it should be drierfor northern mist and fog could return. it should be drier for northern ireland after a rather soggy 36 hours, and tomorrow is looking drier. more cloud to marrow and when the sunshine punctuates to the cloud tomorrow we will see some fairly sharp showers across parts of scotland, eastern scotland where we have had really warm weather for the last couple of days. there might be heavy showers in central and southern england and the north—east of england. perhaps the temperatures will not be as high tomorrow is

today. tomorrow evening at overnight it progresses eastwards, then the changes to what has been billed as some really quite cold weather towards the start of the bank holiday we can take place on thursday. big showers, thunderstorms, hail, barely six or 7 degrees in the north. we have a change in air, we're getting some arctic maritime air, wind right away from the polls south across the uk just in time for the start of the bank holiday weekend. —— wind coming from the poles. lots of showers further south, temperatures barely eight or nine on the east coast, barely five or six in the north. bearing in mind it was nearly 21 celsius in inverness yesterday. feeling colder in the strong northerly wind. but we cut off the northerly wind. but we cut off the northerly wind. but we cut off the northerly wind into the bank holiday weekend, so although we will start with night—time frost on saturday

and sunday morning, by the time we cut off that northerly wind, sunshine will make it feel increasingly warm through the bank holiday weekend and for most of us it should be dry. some good and some bad. an inquiry begins hearing evidence into how thousands of patients were given contaminated blood. that's all from the bbc news at one, so it's goodbye from me, and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s good afternoon — it's 1.30pm and here's your latest sports news. it's the champions league semi final that few would have predicted last summer — but tottenham hotspur and ajax are preparing to face each other in the first leg in london this evening. ajax had to go through two rounds of qualifying, a group with bayern munich

in and then knocked out real madrid and juventus to make it to the last four. all with a young side packed with academy products. for tottenham it's a first semi final since the the 60s and mauricio pochettino is aware of the task they face. we can talk about quality, but i think it is difficult to find winners, it is a team that it deserves a lot of credit, his manager and the players, they are doing a fantasticjob. i think it is a little bit like us, no—one believed that ajax can get to the semifinal and the same with cutting. —— with tottenham. but in the end we are there because we deserve to be. and we'll be live at the tottenham hotspur stadium sampling the atmosphere and bringing you all the build up from 6:30 tonight in sportsday live

on the bbc news channel. commentary tonight on radio five live too. he the football league have confirmed that bolton wanderers match against brentford — postponed on saturday after players went on strike — will not be played this week. constant financial trouble and uncertainty over a potential takeover have left the players and coaching staff without their salaries from march and april. the efl say a decision on if and when the brentford game will be played will be taken on thursday although they are opposed to bolton fulfilling their remaining fixtures with youth players. as you might have just seen on the news at one, british speed skater elise christie has opened up about her struggles with anxiety and depression. the three—time olympian missed out on medals in high profile crashes in sochi and pyeongchang and now better, she hopes speaking out with encourage others to feel more comfortable talking about mental health. the reason behind the post and the motivation for at that date was the fact that there is a lot of other athletes going through this, a lot of normal humans,

people going through the same thing and i wanted to show that, firstly, it's ok to feel like that and to need the medication, and that was one thing i didn't want to come across as, it's fine to be on medication but also, there's points i felt like there no way out, i was never going to get of them, i was never going to feel better and here i am, you know, i feel like myself for the first time in about, i was on medication for two years, but it was probably around four years i haven't felt like me. it was a gradual deterioration and that was the first day. i felt like it had to be done that day because it was raw emotion, it was the truth, you know? and if you've been affected by any of the issues, there are a number of organisations and websites that can offer you advice and support. you can find them listed on the bbc‘s actionline website at bbc.co.uk/actionline. winning wimbledon has just got a whole lot more profitable

with the total prize fund increasing by nearly i2% for this year's championships. winners of the singles will receive £2.35 million — up a hundred thousand from 2018. the big rise is in the qualifiers and early rounds, where first round losers will get forty five thousand pounds. wimbledon‘s prize money has trebled in the last decade. there's £500,000 for the winner of the world snooker championship in sheffield and with the quarter finals under way, we've got quite a match already between ali carter and gary wilson. next carter is playing in his sixth quarterfinal at the crucible and raced into a 3—0 lead. but wilson, never beyond the first round before this year, won the next five frames, including two century breaks and this amazing shot on the blue to lead 5—3 before they continue this evening. the other quarterfinal between kyren wilson and dave gilbert is finely balanced. at the end of their first session

it's all square, at four frames all. i'll have more for you in the next hour. we can hear more now from that public inquiry into what has been called "the worst treatment scandal in the history of the nhs" has started taking evidence this morning. some 4,800 people with haemophilia were infected with hepatitis c or hiv in the 1970s and 1980s. more than 2,000 are thought to have died. thousands more may have been exposed through blood transfusions after an operation or childbirth. today, the inquiry heard from derek martindale, both he and his brother had haemophilia and were given contaminated blood in the 80s. i went at lunchtime to get the results and i was told that i was hiv positive. i was told i had about a year to live. and i was told not to tell anybody.

including, excuse me, including my family and my parents. and you were 23 years old then, i think? yes. it's a bit of a oxymoron in the sense that when you are young you are invincible. you when you are 23, you are generally fit, but then you are told you have 12 months to live. it's very hard to comprehend that. so there was the fear, it became very more prominent in the media and the government health warnings that aids was a killer and we were all going to die, but again i guess there is the confidence of youth that, i can't believe this is going to happen to me. you mentioned your

brother richard, he was also infected with hiv. yes. again as a direct result of the infected products he'd been given for his treatment for haemophilia. yes, is one of the things i have always wondered, being possibly genetically very similar, why our, why things went the way they did. but he became ill. things didn't work out for him, and he died in 1990. as a direct result of hiv having developed into aids? yes. ithink result of hiv having developed into aids? yes. i think you feel in perch are here to give evidence for richard. for richard and for everybody else who doesn't have a voice any more. he knew he was dying. he knew he had aids. and that

he didn't have long to live. and he just wanted to talk, he wanted to talk about this, talk about his fears, how scared he was. but i couldn't. it was too close to home for me. and i wasn't there for him. i wasn't there for him. and three months later he died. it's the biggest regret of my life, because he's gone and i can't do anything to make amends for that. we'll have more on that throughout the afternoon. plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars should be brought forward to 2030 according to government advisors.

the committee on climate change says the current target is too tame and electric cars will be cheaper to buy in as little as six years. our environment correspondent roger harrabin has more. this has been the way cars have looked since we started to drive them. well, more or less, anyway. from 2040 the government says all new cars will have to look like this, producing none of the emissions that fuel climate change and harm children's lungs. but the climate committee will say this week that switchover date should not be 2040 but 2030. that depends on the government improving its much criticised roll—out of charging stations, and on ample supplies of cobalt for batteries — otherwise the switchover should be 2035, not 2040. good news for car buyers, the committee expects electric cars to cost the same as petrol cars by the middle of the next decade. the government has not yet accepted the recommendation for an earlier deadline for clean cars.

but what to do about all the existing polluting vehicles on the roads? well, that's a policy for another day. roger harrabin, bbc news. rail bosses are calling for a major shake—up of the way our trains are run, including scrapping the current franchise system and taking control away from the government. in submissions made to a government—appointed review into rail, the firms also said long—distance routes should be serviced by more than one company. robert nesbit from the rail delivery group explained what the review would be looking at. the purview of the whole review is the entire rail industry, and this is the first time that a review like this has been opened up, so we think that this is a once—in—a—generation opportunity to restructure, to replumb the railway to the benefit of the customer. because we think, in the structure at the moment, the customer has kind of been lost in all of it and what we want to see is the franchising system, which we think is too rigid,

to be replaced by some more kind of agile contracts that would look at what customers in various parts of the country need with an overarching body making sure that it is properly policed. iraq is facing a water crisis. last summer the country's marshes — believed to be the original garden of eden — shrunk to a quarter of their original size. many of the quarter of million marsh arabs were forced to move. in this special report, our correspondent — martin patience — has visited these extraordinary wetlands — and reports on why they hold a warning for the rest of iraq. this is iraq's miracle in the desert — only made possible by the country's two great rivers which flood this plain. it's little wonder some believe the marshes were the original garden of eden. but saddam hussein drained the wetlands after an uprising against his rule.

a little over 15 years ago, none of this existed. the marshes had been drained. but in 2003 they were brought back to life. the threats now are very different. they are pollution, a lack of water, as well as climate change. people may have returned, but life remains tough here. families depend upon the marshes. but there have been three droughts in a decade. last year the wetlands shrunk to a quarter of their original size. and for the buffalo, that was a killer. if they can't survive, then neither can the community. this man lost 20 of his animals last summer.

translation: the water completely dried up. we had to move from one place to another in search of water, and when we found water it would then dry up. and we were forced to move again. life is fragile here. but dams and a lack of rainfall mean the marshes aren't getting the water they want to once did. jassim has dedicated his life to the marshes. he is the guardian of these waters. translation: i fear the marshes could dry up completely, that the beautiful scenery and local culture could vanish, that the buffalo breeders could be forced into different areas. we all dread the day when there isn't enough water from the tigris and the euphrates to keep the marshes alive.

the marshes have survived for millennia, but they may not last much longer. unless iraq gets to grips with its water crisis, millions could be forced to move, and a way of life could be wiped out forever. martin patience, bbc news, the arab marshes. in a moment we'll have all the business news, but first the headlines on bbc news. the worst treatment scandal in the history of the nhs, and any enquiry hears how contaminated blood is given to thousands of patients. a full police investigation is announced into the deaths of hundreds of patients at gosport war memorial hospital. victims of anti—social behaviour are suffering in silence according to a new report.

here is the business news. the owners of four seasons health care, one of the uk's biggest health care providers, has gone in to administration. two of the holding companies that own the group have been struggling with a heavy debt load and have appointed administrators. sources at the company say that residents and patients will not be affected by the administration while it seeks a buyer. four seasons has 250 care homes across the uk caring for more than 13,000 people. accounting firm kpmg has been fined £6 million, "severely reprimanded" and told to undertake an internal review over the way it audited an insurance company. the financial reporting council said it related to the 2008 and 2009 audits of equity red star, a firm based at the lloyds of london market. an independent body should oversee the rail network, according to britain's railway companies. in submissions made to a government—appointed review into rail, the firms also said long—distance routes should be serviced by more than one company. the rail delivery group added that control of commuter routes

could be handed over to local authorities. we've had the latest snapshot of the economic health of the eurozone through — and despite a very challenging period — it looks like the area will avoid being dragged into a recession. although the us—china trade war, brexit and a downturn in germany's factory sector have loomed large, today's data shows the eurozone beats forecasts with 0.4% growth. spain grew by 0.7% in last quarter and france managed 0.3%. also, today's figures out showed that unemployment across the eurozone has hit its lowest level in over a decade. the jobless rate fell to 7.7% in march. it's still significantly higher than in the uk at 3.9%, but much better than the double—digit unemployment rate recorded six years ago. lena komileva is chief economist at g+ economics. thank you for talking to us. so,

beaten the forecast but the euro zone are still lagging behind, significantly the us. absolutely. a sad relief that this dreaded acceleration we've seen since the beginning there were middle of last year seems to be taking a pause. the figures were much better than expected. they come in conjunction with other cyclicals from the worlds largest economies that suggest first water activity globally was much better than feared. there is some stabilisation and global growth which is critically feeding into the euro zone which is a uk's biggest trade partner. that is good news. it suggests some of the headwinds we've seen suggests some of the headwinds we've seenin suggests some of the headwinds we've seen in the last six months there is a slower global trade, critical concerns due to the us china trade conflict, the drag from car emissions regulations in germany, these are subsiding. however the risks have not disappeared and looking at the latest business cycle

activity looks pretty subdued. when you think about 0.4% first—quarter growth, in the context of decelerating activity since 2017, if this is as good as it gets and it's a cause for alarm for an economy in a cause for alarm for an economy in a region so dependent on growth for sustainability. take france for example, 3% growth, but dragged back in bya example, 3% growth, but dragged back in by a fall in exports. do you think it is the trade was hitting it hard? why do you think it is struggling to explore? china is critically important of the euro zone because in a world of globalised supply chains china is the buckle in the belt that connects large capital goods producers such as germany with consumers such as the us. so the us china conflict had direct effect on german manufacturers, in fact the german industry sector, the dominant business sector in the eurozone, has seen business sector in the eurozone, has seen the worst contraction since the

globalfinancial seen the worst contraction since the global financial crisis, since the great depression, recession, rather,. that tells us that germany isa rather,. that tells us that germany is a whole is extremely vulnerable to what happens. there is some hope for a china us deal to be reached in the coming weeks which would be a good thing, but there is a big risk still hanging over the eurozone manufacturers, and that is what will the us do with respect to its trade dialogue with the eu. the risk of auto tariffs on germany is clearly the shock that could tip the eurozone back into recession. and you talk about the effects of recession on unemployment, but that has come down quite markedly as well and that is another sigh of relief. very much. when the unemployment rate is coming down it basically shows us that an economy is considered to be above trend. that is very good news. however, if the

growth rate, and the eurozone are still very much on track to reach growth north of 1% this year, which is significantly down from the near 296 is significantly down from the near 2% last year, 2.5% two years ago, if this is as good as it gets, if this is the eurozone trend growth it is a real concern. it is much weaker than what we've seen in the us or china that year this year. thank you very much. britain's main index has slipped with mining shares falling following weak data from china. commodities giant glencore dropped after issuing a weak forecast. and share in premier inn owner the restaurant group whitbread have fallen back after its chief executive warned that the brexit uncertainty is hurting the hotel chain and has led

to a fall in both leisure and business bookings that's all the business news. the faroe islands are little more than a pin—prick in the north atlantic — but they are also one of europe's hidden gems. thousands of people make the trip each year — and although the visitors bring money, they can also cause environmental damage. so now, officials have come up with a possible solution called voluntourism. the bbc‘s tim allman explains. hi. nice to meet you too, welcome. thank you. the warmest of welcomes at vagar airport. arriving from all over the world, each wanting to do their bit, all these volunteers — sorry, volu ntourists — have paved their own way. here they're doing repair work, marking out a hiking trail so people won't stray from the path and cause any damage. if it takes a thief to catch a thief,

perhaps it takes a tourist to clear up another tourist‘s mess. translation: it's different but it's good. like you are doing something for the country, you left your mark here. you're helping and it feels like you're more involved in the local culture. you're notjust like looking at the nice things, you're actually helping out. far north lie 18 small islands called the faroe islands. this is a rugged, often awe—inspiring landscape, it's no surprise people want to come and see it for themselves. last year, more than 100,000 of them made the trip — that's twice the local population. plenty of potential problems but, with enough volu ntourists, there are plenty of potential solutions. translation: well, i was really surprised, i must say. but somehow it reflects a trend today that people increasingly want to leave a good mark. each voluntourist stays usually for two days, bed and board is provided, then they head home,

satisfied that in some small way they have made a difference. tim allman, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather. it was a little on the grey start for some particularly across the eastern half of england and eastern scotland. but the fog is now lifting and we are seeing some sunshine replacing it. however, further west this mass of cloud is a more definite weather front, this mass of cloud is a more definite weatherfront, it this mass of cloud is a more definite weather front, it has been bringing rain on and off to northern ireland, french and into and asian and wales and scotland and that process will continue this afternoon. for the eastern side we continue with sunshine, but for the west are very different day, the western scotland, bits and pieces of rain into wales and cornwall, but for the vast majority of england, east of england, east of scotland, it may dry up but temperatures is

limited at ten or 11. through the night the rain progresses east but all the time weakening. still some heavy bursts but it blankets the falling temperatures so the chillier spurts will be across east anglia and the south—east first thing. at least there will be some sunshine again, once the mist clears. in the afternoon as the weather front progresses eastwards there could be showers ahead of it, quite heavily potentially for the north—east of england, but on the whole quite a bit of cloud, so not as warm east of the weather front either with a bit more cloud. it looks a little drier for northern ireland. that should continue overnight, just a few showers around the weather front easing its way into the north sea. to start thursday, we start to see the change in the feel of the weather, we start to pick up a northerly breeze. head of that, we could see some really heavy showers around, some thunder, perhaps some hail, but temperatures still reaching the mid—teens except in the

north, and it is here we start to feel the influence of the arctic air late thursday into friday. it might be the end of friday before it gets to the south coast, but arctic air at this time of year is sure to bring a real chill particularly with the strength of the wind. temperature is only expected to reach 8 degrees in edinburgh on friday. some wintry showers, asp death breeze, the wintry showers mostly over the hills, but through the weekend it looks as if the weather will gradually dry up. it does look drier than most as we go into the bank holiday weekend, but it will initially be quite chilly to start. goodbye.

hello, you're watching afternoon live — i'm simon mccoy. today at 2. the worst treatment scandal in the history of the nhs — an inquiry begins hearing evidence of how thousands of patients were given contaminated blood — more than 2,000 are thought to have died. i was told i had about a year to love. i was told not to tell anybody, including my family. and my parents. police launch a new criminal investigation into the deaths of hundreds of patients — who died after being given painkillers at gosport war memorial hospital. violence on the streets — as venezuela's opposition leader says he's started the "final phase" of his plan to oust president nicolas maduro.