this is bbc news. the headlines: fed up with the brexit deadlock, senior conservatives call for unity after the party suffers its worst results in english local elections for nearly 25 years. we need to be listening to these results from these local elections, which, as i say, are about deliver brexit, but it wasn't deliver this particular form of brexit. cyclone fani causes destruction in india and bangladesh, bringing torrential rain and winds of up to 125 miles per hour. here, rail passengers face disruption to theirjourneys this weekend, as bank holiday engineering work gets underway. thailand's new king is crowned at bangkok's grand palace, marking his official accession to the throne. and in half an hour, the dateline london team asks,

should chinese telecoms giant huawei be allowed an integral role in the sg networks of other countries? senior cabinet ministers have urged the conservative party to unite after it suffered its worst english local election results for 25 years. more than 1,300 tories councillors lost their seats in thursday's vote — prompting further calls for theresa may to step down as prime minister. the labour party also suffered losses, but there were big gains for the lib dems, the greens and many independents. our political correspondent nick eardley gave us his assessment of these election losses for the conservatives.

the scale of the conservative losses was considerably more than many thought. we had heard predictions up toa thought. we had heard predictions up to a 1000, it went considerably beyond that to 1300, and i think they are bruised this morning. they are desperate to try and find something that avoids another kicking in the european elections which happen in just kicking in the european elections which happen injust three kicking in the european elections which happen in just three weeks‘ time. the big question for the conservatives is how they find a solution to the brexit impasse. that has what they are blaming for this result, this is what the prime minister said yesterday, and also the labour leadership seems to agree that people are punishing the conservatives and the labour party for failing conservatives and the labour party forfailing to deliver on conservatives and the labour party for failing to deliver on brexit. talks between the two to try to find some solution will continue next week, and this morning we heard from the health secretary about what he thinks needs to happen. i think the prime minister's deal is a better arrangement than a

permanent customs union, but i think we need to be in the mood for compromise. we need to be listening to these results from these local elections, which is i say are about delivering brexit, but not about living this particular form of brexit, there was no door that i knocked on whether person opened and said, i would like a slight change to paragraph five of the agreement in this particular way. that is not the mood of the nation. it is get on, deliver brexit and then move on. the mood of the labour party, they might have expected to have a good night. that last time the seats were thought was in 2015. not as good as a result is they were expecting. they were many in the labour party who thought they would be fairly substantial gains, some predicting

up substantial gains, some predicting up to 400, quite the opposite, the party suffered a net loss which at this stage of the conservative government, nine years in, a fairly unpopular government at the moment, the labour party would be expecting to do far better. again there are many on the labour benches, though not all, who are saying that is a result of the phage the party has been pursuing on brexit. the fact that they do not have a clear enough policy, many believe, to take to voters. we have heard some saying that now they need to get on with it and come to an agreement with the government so that this can get over the line. some in northern seats are saying that for the party to regain trust it needs to be seen to be delivering brexit, the wigan mp this morning saying not delivering it would be the ultimate betrayal. 0n the other side there are many mps, my phone has been buzzing this morning, who are saying the opposite. that if you look at where

the gains came from the 40 liberal democrats, the green party, two parties that want another referendum, staying in the european union, they argue that is where labour can union, they argue that is where labourcan do union, they argue that is where labour can do well. this is what the lib dem leader had to say in his assessment this morning. what had happened is that we had had a couple of bad general elections, 2015, 2017, people had written us off prematurely. i think they have now been proved wrong and we are clearly a major force. we will in the coming european elections demonstrate that again. we are very clearly the leading remain party, and be expected do well on the basis of that. so i expected the base of a where the parties go in the next few days will continue, but it does feel like in the leaderships of both the conservative and labour party there isa conservative and labour party there is a feeling that there is an impetus to get on with these talks

and try and deliver something. how many times are free said there might be an impetus, but solutions are much harder to find? still they seem to be labour and conservatives inching towards some kind of agreement if they can get it, or at least he talks of kept going over a number of weeks. but presumably any agreement will meet the problem of theresa may‘s agreement, not enough votes available to get it through. the big issue is customs. the customs relationship we have with european union after we leave. labour want a closer relationship, it seems like the conservatives are prepared to move some way towards that if not completely. the question that if not completely. the question that that then poses for the two parties is, what does it do to party discipline? if the primers to moves closely towards labour‘s petition, it will infuriate some tories who just will refuse to get on board with anything that looks like a

customs union. likewise on the labour side, if the leadership was to agree to a deal that did not include another referendum, there would be fury from one wing of the labour party, so there are huge party management issues, even if the government and the labour party leadership can come to some sort of compromise, getting it through their parties will not be easy. there are some who predict that even if they did reach that agreement, it might not get through parliament. there is a long way to go. jeremy hunt has said, the glimmer of hope we have in this situation is that both conservative court photos and labour core voters who want brexit sorted. he says that is one of the lessons of yesterday‘s local election results. he told the press association, if we can find a solution that delivers the benefits

of the customs union without signing up of the customs union without signing up to the current arrangements, then i think there will be potential for a deal. that isjeremy hunt speaking to the press association about the possibility of an agreement with labour over the current withdrawal agreement proposed by theresa may for getting out of the european union. meanwhile, counting continues after local elections in northern ireland where 462 seats are being contested in 11 council areas. results so far have been similar to those in england with smaller parties making gains. our correspondent in belfast, john campbell gave this update. in some respects, nothing is really going to change. dup will still be the largest unionist party, sinn fein will still be the largest nationalist party, and no councils will change hands. but beneath the surface there are some interesting things happening. we have seen a big surge for the alliance party, it is a cross surge for the alliance party, it is a cross community party which does not identify as either nationalist

01’ not identify as either nationalist or unionist. it has done very well in greater belfast, and perhaps even more importantly for that party it is picking up seats in areas where it has no real presence in years, it will have a councillor in derry city for the first time in almost 40 yea rs. we for the first time in almost 40 years. we also see the green party doing well in belfast, picking up seats where they have never won before. and the socialist people 0ver profit party picking up seats in belfast. belfast, the biggest council, is going to be a more plural council. speaking of pluralism, we also see the dup returning their first ever openly 93v returning their first ever openly gay councillor. this is a woman called alice in bennington, she was elected in greater belfast. ed most parts of the uk, having an openly 93v parts of the uk, having an openly gay councillor is just not an issue. it is barely a news story. here it is, because the dup is a party with very conservative religious fundamentalist roots. it has not i was been friendly to gay people. the fa ct was been friendly to gay people. the

fact that they have a gay councillor is being seen as significant. cyclone fani, which battered parts of the eastern indian coastline has significantly weakened as it moves north towards bangladesh. the cyclone was one of the strongest to hit india in years, killing at least 12 people and bringing torrential rain and winds of up to 125 mph along the country‘s coastline. richard forrest sent us this report. as cyclone fani bowed up india‘s east coast, towns and cities further north were preparing for it to hit. —— barrelled up. in west bengal, trains were chained to the tracks as the state‘s rail network was closed down, causing travel misery for thousands. and at kolkata‘s airport, everyone hoping to travel was out of luck with every flight cancelled. i‘m going to ranchi. so now our flight has been cancelled so we have to stay here with two children. i need to go to delhi and start my preparations for my exams but i'm not able

to catch flight today and even i'm not able to book flight for tomorrow, day after tomorrow and 3—4 days ahead. fani, one of the biggest storms to come out of the bay of bengal in the past decade, made landfall in puri before heading north—east towards kolkata and moving on to bangladesh. more than a million people were evacuated from the low—lying coastal areas. and this is why. winds of 200km/h have ripped down trees and torn roofs of buildings. electricity poles have been toppled and windows blown out. weather forecasters say fani is weakening but still poses a major threat as it heads to bangladesh. officials in india say their mass evacuation efforts appear to have been successful and now their attention will turn to assessing the true scale of the damage in rural areas. richard forrest, bbc news.

well, as we have been explaining, the storm is moving north—eastwards into bangladesh, from the place where it made landfall at puri, a small town on india‘s east coast. earlier i spoke to our correspondent yogita limaye in bangladesh. she told me more about the damage caused by the storm. even before it entered bangladesh, what we are told as it had weakened. the indian retailer logical department said it had a weekend, gone from being a cyclone in storm toa gone from being a cyclone in storm to a deep depression, which essentially means wind speeds reduced significantly and also there was north as much rainfall. this is the place where it entered bangladesh from. we are very close to the border with india, very close to the border with india, very close to the border with india, very close to the state of west bengal. it passed through here before coming here. there were gusty wins and heavy rainfall, but significantly reduce the wind speed, so while we have been driving here, we have not

seen any evidence of their being any large—scale devastation, the kind that we have seen in the indian state of the ratio. what we know is that this country‘s meteorological department as saying that the worst seems to be over, it is now going from a deep depression to a depression, which would mean rainfall as it moves further north. all of the areas that it was meant to pass through and is passing through, densely populated areas, so there was a big fear that they would be damaged here as well. hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated and put on cyclone shelters. bradley data also has a bay coastline and there were also fears of storm surges, which means ways of around five feet higher than they normally are where expected along the coastline. we know that some areas by the coast there seems to have been destruction but not something ofa been destruction but not something of a mass scale. as far as this country is concerned, bangladesh, i

think the worst fears have not materialised. what about the prospects of the clean—up operation? will this be extensive? here in bangladesh, so far we do not know, no official has said anything about a mass level of destruction. people have been moved to shelters, the government will have to decide when it is safe for them to go back. they are also told fishermen not to go out to l to life as normal. palestinian militants in gaza have launched dozens of rockets into neighbouring southern israel. the israeli military say more than 90 missiles were fired, and that it has been hitting back — targeting positions of the hamas organisation in gaza. there have been no reports yet

of deaths or serious injuries on either side. the exchanges followed a heightening of tension on friday, when two israeli soldiers on gaza‘s border were injured by gunfire. two members of the hamas militant group were then killed in what the israelis said was a retaliatory strike. a passenger plane with more than 100 people on board has slipped off the runway into a river next to jacksonville airport in florida. the local mayor says that everyone on board the boeing 737 is "alive and accounted for", and that the plane was not submerged. boeing say they‘re "aware of the incident" and are gathering information. the headlines on bbc news: senior conservatives call for the party to pull together after it suffers its worst results in english local elections for almost 25 years. there‘s further calls for theresa may to step down as prime minister. cyclone fani hits bangladesh after leaving a trail of destruction in india. more than 1.5 million

people are evacuated. train passengers warned to expect disruption, as network rail carries out engineering work. parts of the west coast main line will be closed, as will london euston station. thailand‘s king maha vajiralongkorn has been crowned in an elaborate ceremony to mark his ascendancy to the throne. today is the first of three days of coronation rites for the king who inherited the throne in 2016 when his father died. this is the scene live now in bangkok, where those ceremonies are continuing. a very colourful expression of the king‘s new status, notjust i a monarch but also something approaching a god. 0ur correspondent laura

bicker is in bangkok. thailand has strict laws, which ban criticism of the monarchy. this is the most powerful monarchy in the world, and the pictures that you have just seen are of the king visiting the temple of the emerald buda, where he will become the official royal patron of the buddhist faith. 18 monks are chanting prayers of reverence. earlier he was both bathed in sacred water and anointed in sacred water as he was officially crowned king. the crown itself is very weighty, weighs about seven kilograms, as it was placed on his head. this isjust the start of three days of elaborate ceremonies and rituals which have their basis in both the buddhist and hindu faith. the hindu faith says that the power of the king has been

handed down from the gods, and the buddhist rituals represent also the good deeds and actions that a king should perform. they say here in thailand that it is the balance of the two that make the king. when it comes to the king‘s royal command, he said a his first few words as king today, and he said he would act for the righteousness of the thai people. echoing the words of his father, many people here and social media in thailand welcomed theirs, because this has been a king that has been a little more remote than his well loved, well revered father. he spent a lot of time in munich with his 13—year—old son, and here he is today in thailand being crowned monarch. it will and go his place in the thai dynasty, a dynasty that has played such an important pa rt that has played such an important part in shaping modern thailand.

we will have more from the ceremonies in bangkok during the course of the day here on bbc news. unless urgent action is taken, the rare and varied wildlife of madagascar could soon be lost forever. that‘s the warning from an international team of scientists. they‘re concerned at the ongoing loss of natural habitats in the region. 0ur science correspondent, victoria gill has been to see what‘s being done now to help save the animal population, much of which exists nowhere else on earth. a tropical sanctuary. home to wildlife that lives nowhere else on earth. but all this biodiversity, the life that thrives in this forest of madagascar is under threat. lemurs depend on primary old—growth forest like this. but across madagascar, 80% of the habitat has been cut down. the driver of that is agriculture. slash and burn. burning forests to produce a plot of fertile soil. but here there is a farming revolution going on.

with the help of a malagasy charity, teenagers here are learning to grow food in a new and sustainable way. these lessons in weeding, pruning and maintaining the soil using compost and crop rotation to keep the same plot. translation: it is difficult with the traditional farming techniques because you move from one field to another and cut and burn trees. with the new method you stay in one place and it is much easier. translation: if the forest continues to be destroyed there will be less water to drink and there will be a loss of habitat for the wildlife. lemurs will disappear or die out. today, the community is celebrating the newest group of recruits who will sign up to learn these new skills. and a training scheme will soon be brought to other villages in the region because as well as protecting the forest, this way of farming is producing higher yields. critical in a community that relies

entirely on what people can grow. sport, and time for a full roundup from the bbc sport centre. good morning. it‘s always a key date in the diary for women‘s football, but today‘s fa cup final is set to break records. more than 50,000 tickets have been sold for the fixture between west ham and manchester city at wembley. the hammers, who moved up to the women‘s super league from the third tier last summer, beat reading on penalties, in the semifinal. meanwhile, 2017 champions city won the league cup in february and are yet to lose a domestic game this season — although they did miss out on the title, which was clinched by arsenal last sunday with a game to spare. i have been on two sides of being a favourite, being the underdog. we will not take them for granted, definitely not. i respect west ham for their journey definitely not. i respect west ham for theirjourney this definitely not. i respect west ham for their journey this season definitely not. i respect west ham for theirjourney this season as the players they have as part of their squad. for me as a captain, for the

rest of the experience and the rest of the squads, we have to make sure that we are ordered and give our best performance that we can. it is a special feeling for me to be able to lead the girls out, and it isjust a great achievement overall for this club and our first year being pro, to make the fa cup final. probably no one really thought we would have got there either, so it makes it even more special. it is a great, it will bea more special. it is a great, it will be a great occasion for this club as well. coverage starts on bbc one from 5:10pm and the red button from 5:15, and you can also listen live on bbc 5 live from 5:30pm and follow via the bbc sport website and app. celtic should be celebrating their eighth scottish premiership title on the trot later this afternoon — they need just a point at aberdeen, in the lunchtime kick off to win it yetr again. and the champions have won on their last five visits to pittodrie. aberdeen though, need the points to hold onto third spot and secure european football next season. the double olympic champion

caster semenya says "no human can stop her from running", after victory in the 800 metres at the diamond league meeting, in doha. it comes just two days after the south african lost a landmark case against athletics‘ governing body over plans to limit testosterone levels in female runners. the doha meet was semenya‘s final race before the iaaf‘s new rules come into force. iamgo iam go to i am go to view point doing what i do best, which is running. willl see you here? red of course, i will be here. will you be running eight, five? at the moment it doesn't matter. with a situation like this, you can never tell the future. the only thing that you know is that you will be running. meanwhile, britain‘s dina asher—smith, began her season with an impressive win in the women‘s 200 metres. the european sprint—double champion, stormed to victory, in a world—leading time of 22.26 seconds. by the end of this evening, we should know the identity of the finalists for this year‘s world snooker championship.

david gilbert leads john higgins 13 frames to 11. the scot, though, is battling to make it to an eighth final at the crucible, and he had a bit of luck along the way. higgins also showed some of the old magic, with a break of 143. the scot won the final frame of the session, and it promises to be an exciting contest when it resumes at 2:30. meanwhile, lets go to live pictures in the other semifinal. the underdog, gary wilson, is tryiing to stopjudd trump. he doesn‘t seem to be doing that so well today. trump has started really well, taking the first two frames of the session and he stretches his lead to 11—8, the first to 17 frames wednesday match. —— wins the match. and you can follow the action on bbc2, the bbc sport website and app. (pres)that‘s all the sport for now. with the bank holiday weekend upon

us, the weather is looking mixed over the next few days although things are turning colder. sunshine out there to be enjoyed. this is the view, beautiful bluebells taken by one of our weather watchers. the rest of the weekend, although we have a rest of the weekend, although we havea dip rest of the weekend, although we have a dip in temperature on the way, it will be a mix of sunny spells and scattered showers. the brisk wins that we have out there today will be gradually easing through sunday and interbank holiday monday. most of the showers today are in the east, so for central and eastern parts of england, heavy showers, eastern and southern scotla nd showers, eastern and southern scotland also seeing some showers, which are falling as snow every highest ground. sunshine returning to northern scotland as we move into the afternoon. winds will be gusting over 45—50 mph, especially strong around these exposed eastern coast where we have heavy showers mixed with blustery hail, the odd rumble of thunder. it is quite blustery out there, the south—west of england, wales and northern ireland, you should avoid the bulk of the heavy

showers. the wind but not be quite as strong but it is not too wet anywhere, especially if you are exposed to the brisk northerly wind. 0ne exposed to the brisk northerly wind. one or two continuing tonight along the east coast, more cloud working infour the east coast, more cloud working in four parts of northern ireland and the north—west of scotland with and the north—west of scotland with a view showers around, but clear skies elsewhere, a cold night ahead and we are expecting a touch of grass rose first thing tomorrow. through the day, we have high pressure tomorrow, nudging in from the west, that should mean fewer showers than today and it will not be quite as windy. plenty more cloud to mow across northern ireland and scotland, a fusion was falling as snow over the highest ground. further south, not a bad day, looking largely dry, not as cold as today, 9—13dc, we will have lost the winter chill. thank holiday monday, still a few showers, putting further south through northern ireland, northern england, down towards east anglia. either side of that kind of showers, drier weather with a bit of

sunshine breaking through. temperatures not great, 9—12dc, much colder than it was last year for the early may bank holiday. low pressure approaching from the atlantic, and thatis approaching from the atlantic, and that is going to bring us a different spell of weather, things turning more unsettled and wet and windy of the course of next week.

hello, and welcome to dateline london. i‘m carrie gracie. this week... when you cower in the middle of the road on the biggest existential crisis for generations, you get squashed. the verdict of british labour mp ben bradshaw on his party‘s poor showing in local elections. this month voters across the eu get to deliver their verdict on the politicians. what‘s their existential question

and who will they squash? and talking of existential questions — who do you want to control your internet of things and should you care about their politics? behind a sensational westminster sacking drama lie questions for mobile phone users across the planet. my guests today, political commentator alex deanegreg katz of the associated press, portuguese writer eunice goes and irish broadcaster brian 0‘connell. let‘s tackle the huawei question first. british defence secretary gavin williamson was sacked on wednesday in relation to the leak of a national security council discussion to a newspaper. he says he didn‘t do it. but the sacking row masks the strategic debate underway in capitals across the world. should chinese telecoms giant huawei be allowed an integral role in the 5g networks of other countries? the united states says no and is putting pressure on its allies to say the same.

greg, take us away on this. is the us position one of politics or of security? i think it is one of commerce. they want technology to prevail, they want to see this commercial advantage over china increase and not decrease. they are masking —— there are masking and security concerns, but it is pretty impossible like a layman like myself to know how serious they are. the squash was the verb you were using, they are caught between these two superpowers. it‘s not like you can say the chinese will spy on us and the americans won‘t. anyone will