this is bbc news. the headlines: four years of war in the yemen has left half the population in acute need. un officials and aid workers say the country is in the grip of the world's worst humanitarian crisis, and things are getting worse. fighting is thought to have killed nearly 7,000 civilians. thousands more have died from malnutrition, disease and poor health. a jury in california has awarded more than $2 billion to a couple who said the weedkiller roundup was responsible for their cancer. it ims the third time that bayer, the german company who bought the maker of roundup, monsanto, last year, has been ordered to pay damages over the product. an american explorer has discovered plastic waste on the seabed while breaking the record for the deepest ever dive. a plastic bag and sweet wrappers were found at the bottom of the pacific 0cean's mariana trench.

now on bbc news, monday in parliament. hello and welcome to monday in parliament. the headlines tonight... mps welcomed government plans to make english local authorities legally bound to support victims of domestic abuse. if we promised them safety, and do not deliver it, we will not deserve forgiveness. there are fears the us could be heading towards conflict with iran as the nuclear agreement starts to crumble. things are extremely dangerous. and a hint of more action to prevent developers putting nets over trees and hedge rows to stop birds nesting. nets should protect birds, not profits.

that first, the housing secretary says the government has a moral duty to protect victims of domestic abuse, as he set out plans to make english local authorities legally bound to provide safe accommodation for victims of domestic violence and abuse. theresa may was out and about visiting a domestic abuse charity in london to launch the plan to end the huge variation across england on the kind of support that is available to people fleeing abusive relationships. last year, the government earmarked £22 million to provide more than 2000 new beds and safe accommodation but ministers agreed that more was needed. james brokenshire described the scale of the offence. domestic abuse is a devastating crime experienced by over 2 million adults a year. with women twice as likely to be victims. this is completely unacceptable. and we have much more to do if we are to reach a point where no family lives with a threat of domestic abuse.

county and metropolitan councils would have to set up a board for local, domestic abuse services. the board will be required to assess needs for domestic abuse services, develop domestic abuse strategies, commission services to meet the support needs of victims and their children and report progress to my department. there is now a very clear moral duty on this government to see this through. not just for the sake of keeping promises made, not just for the sake of the campaigners and survivors who have pushed for this change for years, but for the sake of those people who are trapped now in abusive relationships. she spoke for many mps concerned about how the new measures would be paid for. unless we provide for the funding to make this work, we are setting the local authorities up to fail. the secretary of state has estimated today that the new legal duty could cost £90 million. given the councils in england are facing an overall funding gap of £8 billion by 2025, and home office numbers estimate that domestic abuse costs

the economy £66 billion injust one year, does the secretary of state really think that funding will be enough? it is a question of ensuring that local government does receive the appropriate financial support given that this would be a new and additional requirement that is being placed on local government as a consequence of that. that is why i have said all i said about the need to ensure this is properly addressed in the spending review and indeed this is informed by the consultation itself. could he say more about what assessment he has made of the impact on other local services? because councils do inevitably raid important other budgets to subsidize new statutory services if they are not properly funded and indeed ring—fenced. clearly there is so much more to do

that in terms of the number of available bed spaces, it has risen since 2010, but again, i want to see there is proper support to meet needs that are there, which is what the statutory duty is all about. ever since the first women's refuge was created in 1971, women's refugees have been precarious financially from year to year, hand to mouth, never knowing what their financial situation will be and i think the reason why this is a very important statement and moment today is it marks the point at which it is recognised that this not just an optional issue dependent on which locality you are in. but it's actually a national public policy imperative and i think we should recognise the really serious step forward that is being made in this. the commissioning of high quality services for victims and their children living in their own homes isjust as important to those living as refugees. and alongside that, we must make sure there is access to specially trained and qualified mental

health professionals. sometimes people will need to move to a different area because of the risk they face in order to make sure they are safe. will he ensure that the review that he is doing recognises that need for areas to work together and also would he consider our specific recommendation that there should be a ring—fenced fund to ensure that this capacity gap is met and nobody ends up unable to find a safe place to be? i think she makes a very valid, a very fair point around this issue of cooperation and working together. within areas and also between areas. we did have problems previously which we have given firm and clearer guidance on. in terms of the ability of people to access services, even though they didn't live in that area. and somehow that was a barrier which it should not have been.

the issue of so many women in prison, which has now shown through substantial academic research have had acquired brain injuries prior to their offending behaviour. so it looks as if we at we are doing, because we do not provide proper neuro support to those women. and that violence is coming from that domestic relationship. we are not providing that support in the end up in the criminal justice system so the victim ends up becoming the criminal. i think he makes an important point. my friend just referenced £2 million that is being that is being provided on a work around female offenders. and i think that is really important and how we recognise the needs and support in different contexts in different ways.

and therefore, i think responding in that much more holistically as to where it's needed is and indeed understanding properly the balance between how somebody has became an offender but also they can very firmly be a victim. the housing secretary james brokenshire. a labour peer has warned that the situation with iran is extremely dangerous and there's a risk of conflict happening by accident. last week, iran announced that it'd suspended two commitments under the 2015 nuclear agreement in response to economic sanctions reimposed last year by the united states. america has sent a patriot missile defence system to the middle east amid escalating tensions. the us said the move was a response to a possible threat to its forces in the region. tehran dismissed the claim as nonsense, describing the deployments as "psychological warfare" aimed at intimidating the country.

the former first sea lord, lord west, was worried the situation would spiral out of control. there is no doubt there are powerful factions within israel, saudi arabia, and the us that feel an attack on iran would be a good thing, believe it or not. they think they will be able to quickly suppress the enemy capability, and then there will be a regime change. they are wrong. it would be an absolute catastrophe. it would be a catastrophe, the problematic passage of any shipping through the straits for weeks, there would be outbreaks of terrorist attacks throughout the region, possibly some missile attacks. i agree with the noble lord also. the last thing that region needs right now is a conflict of the major which at the moment is developing on the horizon, my friend, the former secretary, said it would further destabilise the region. and we are working hard to ensure

that it is not the case. three things which the government might say to the united states. the first is that belligerents will not bring iran to heel. if anything, it is stiffening the resolve of its leaders. secondly, if america's objective is regime change, then drawing on our own recent experience, we are not in support of that. and finally, whatever they do, do not listen to mr netanyahu. would the noble lord the minister recognise that one of the factors that will weigh most heavily with iran is the attitude of china and russia? copartners with us and them in thejcpoa. what steps are we taking to concert with those two countries in ways to discourage the iranians from reneging and breaking out from their commitments and does he not find it a little bit rich that somebody in the entourage of the american secretary of state refered to the iranian statement last week as black mail?

on his final point, that is very much a matter for the united states administration, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the entourage of the secretary of state. on his wider point, i agree with them. it is imperative that all parties to the jcpoa and he names china and russia and i assure him we are working with all parties and we continue to implore on both russia and china to use their influence that iran does stay on the table and that the jcpoa agreement does stay. as i have said a number of times, it is notjust important for iran, it is notjust important for the region, it is important for the whole of the world. the foreign office minister, lord ahmad there. you're watching monday in parliament with me, mandy baker. don't forget if you miss any of our programmes

or you want to watch us on the go, you can find all of them on the bbc iplayer. and if you want to know what's going on in parliament without the pictures there's always our sister programme today in parliament on bbc radio 4 and bbc sounds. the government's been told to "wake up" and prioritise tackling child poverty. the call came from the shadow work and pensions secretary at question time. margaret greenwood quoted recent research into levels of poverty. new research from the children's commissioner found the introduction of universal credit, the two child limit, and the benefit cap combined will mean the number of children and familes struggling to make ends meet will almost double in some areas. the trust or food to nearly six out of the emergency food parcels to children last year. so when will the government wake up and make tackling child poverty the priority should be once again? it is absolutely a priority of this government. which is why we are so focused on ensuring that universal credit supports people into work as well as providing the necessary safety net.

last week, i made a speech about ensuring there is additional support for people when they are on low income, finding new ways of getting better access to different skilled work. the exchanges came as mps once again called for changes to the new benefit universal credit, which combines six working age benefits into one. since the roll—out of universal credit last november, i am seeing an increasing flow of people into my office in crisis and desperation like the new mother who was receiving income support with tax credit but on transition to universal credit, has lost nearly £400 a month, including milk tokens. universal credit is not working. it is hitting the poorest people the hardest. when will she do the right thing and fix this mess before more people are pushed into poverty? i would ask the honourable lady to work with us on universal credit and with herjob centre. the national audit office recently commented that it is the right thing to continue with the universal credit. i understand that it is often difficult for individuals who are concerned about moving from the previous benefits onto one benefit. but in my experience, when you talk to people, even though they were concerned

about it, once they are on it, they almost exclusively say that it is a better system than the one previously. last week amber rudd announced that the maximum time claimants can have their benefits cut, for failing to meet conditions such as attending job centre meetings, is to be reduced to six months. last week, the secretary of state kept her name in the tory leadership fray by admitting that social security sanctions can undermine the aim to help people into work and reduce the longer sanctions from three years to six months, which we welcome. but will her review of sanctions increas the possibility of scrapping them altogether? and if not, can she really make a name for herself by explaining how anyone is expected to live on fresh air for six months? i thank the honourable gentleman for his cautious welcome of the announcement that i made last week about making sure there will be no sanctions of more than six months, but as my honourable friend on this bench has already pointed out, those sanctions are usually no more than 30 days. i have had many conversations

with the work cultures who have these conversations with the individuals. and they are re—assuring me that they only use sanctions as a very much a last resort. but they are also very clear and i would be interested if he has had a different experience to this, but the work coaches who provide this support also tell me that the sanctions are an important part of the tools they have as well. a conservative was keen to praise what the government had achieved. against the background of record levels of employment in the constituency of kettering, can the secretary of state confirm whether you are male or female, young or old, abled or disabled, the employment prospects in kettering have never been brighter? i can confirm to my honourable friend that employment prospects have never been brighter in kettering, particularly with the strong advocacy of such an excellent member of parliament. amber rudd, charming conservative backbenchers. i wonder why that is?

over in the lords, peers have called for the government to get on with producing its consultation document on social care. ministers promised there'd be what's called a green paper in the summer of 2017. delays and postponements followed and despite official guidance that it would appear last year, the paper remains unfinished and under wraps in whitehall. in the lords, labour claimed that in 2017 the government said "we cannot wait any longer and need to get on with this..." the estimates over the past 26 months show there have been over half a million delayed transfers of people affected by dementia and nearly 3 billion hours of unpaid care provided and at one point,

dementia in england received no help from social or family carers. emergency cash and is, changing eligibility criteria or help people plan for future care needs, when we finally get the green paper, candy minister promise that we will address these issues and provide the major immediate and long—term funding as urgently needed ? the future reforms must be aligned and that is why the social care green paper have been considered alongside each other and some important examples within in the long—term plan have begun helping. the new model will ensure links between primary care networks and care homes and the model for personalised care which will put the individual at the centre of services. we will not be able to address this important issue unless we are able to get a degree of consensus between the opposition and the government. would not be a good idea for the opposition to take a constructive approach when the green paper is actually published? in 2009, there was a proposal

that we should all work together cross—party for social care started by the then—labour government and all three major parties signed up to it and one party withdrew making it unbelievable, it was neither the labour party or the liberal democrats. i'm sure the noble lady will agree that this has become an embarrassingly long running saga. i am sure the whole house will agree is thas the people who depend upon these services, the most vulnerable in our society. they had such high—dependency needs that they ought to have the security of knowing that their well— being and safety is being properly attended to. could be noble lady use all of her influence to make sure that these people get the security and peace of mind that they deserve? well i thank the noble lord

for his question and i am delighted to offer him my assurance that we will be working as hard as we can to deliver the most effective and most deliverable green paper that we can. he is absolutely right that the most notable people within our society do depend on the effectiveness not only on social care services but the integration of the social care services with our public health services and long—term plan and that is why it is encouraging that social care sat right at the heart of the long—term plan. it was well integrated with the other commitments within the long—term plan to improve outcomes for major diseases and which included measures to support older people through more personalised care and strong community and primary care services which will improve the outcomes and decrease the demand on social care which is the holistic approach that we want to see. the health minister, lady blackwood. the government has said a powerful new way of identifying brain cancer is to be rolled out across england.

the 5—ala liquid, known as the ‘pink drink‘, makes it much easier for neurosurgeons to spot tumours and remove them without damaging healthy parts of the brain. the treatment was the subject of a high profile campaign by the late tessa jowell, lady jowell, who died from an agressive form of brain cancer last year. the health secretary made the announcement in a statement to mps. mr speaker, brain cancer is the most common cause of cancer —related death in children and young people under 19. the baroness called for all patients to benefit from 5—ala, or a pink drink as it is otherwise known, a dye that makes cancerous cells glow under ultraviolet light, therefore making it easier for surgeons to target the right areas. trials have shown that when the dye is used, they can successfully remove a whole tumour in 70% of cases. we have rolled out this groundbreaking treatment aid across england with a potential

to save the lives of 2,000 patients every year. all part of the £33.9 billion extra that we are putting into the nhs and the nhs long—term plan. this procedure will now be expanded to every neurological centre in england and it is a fitting testament to her memory. he recalled how tessa jowell had pursued her campaign in the final months of her life. and herfinal speech in the other place last january, she said i am not afraid, i am fearful that this new and important approach may be put in the box but i also have such great hope and not hope was an inspiration to us all and we will rise to the challenge as she left us and we must not waver in that task. i commend this statement to the house. live it is an extraordinary testament to her bravery

that the final harrowing month of her life that when faced with a highly aggressive and very difficult to treat cancer and full knowledge of the life expectancy associated with such a devastating cancer, she led from the front, campaigning for better brain cancer treatment for others. she spoke with extraordinary courage and brought the then secretary of state and myself together and convinced ministers to shift policy — not by garnering sympathy — understandable, though it would have been, but by persuasion based on facts and policy argument. that was typical of her. may i say on the behalf of my constituents that she represented for 23 years, how proud we are of her legacy on brain cancer and the difference her work would make for thousands of people for generations to come. throughout her time and 23

years in parliament, she was a tireless champion of kings college hospital which is currently in a very challenged financial position. can i encourage the secretary of state in continuing his commitment to £33.9 billion of additional funding, to look at how this national support may also be marshalled to secure her tessa's legacy at local level as well. the statement was concluded by the speaker, john bercow. we have huge respect for the courage, stoicism and unrelenting to determination to make progress on the subject which in extreme adversity she exhibited at all times. john bercow. finally, more than 350,000 people have signed an online parliamentary petition calling for it to be made a criminal offence to place nets around hedgerows to deter nesting bids. the issue was debated by mps who all had reports of developers putting nets around sites used by birds, often to ensure building work could go ahead without flouting bird protection laws. examples have been

reported far and wide. the labour mp who moved the motion explained. there are plenty of examples up and down the country where the netting of hedgerows and trees has occurred. in my own constituency, a handrail was recently covered in green netting on behalf of developers seeking planning commission for it new homes on adjoining land, workers started to remove the netting and put down they had which does not require planning commission. shall we not at the very least ban netting during the breeding season? the honourable member makes an important point because the height of the debate is the netting goes on ahead of the nesting season, which is the whole point of the netting as far as i can derive. so it is timely and very important.

we should do something about roosting sites, which are not mentioned in the current legislation. in my constituency, thousands of starlings have been having murmurations for the last two years and developers want to knock down the hedges where they are building new houses which are, which have become the resting sites of these new starlings. 0ne conservative already strongly opposed to the hs2 railway found another reason for the line to be scrapped. constructing a railway line with the land taking the equivalent of a four—lane motorway will have a devastating effect on the environment. wildlife sites in the first stage alone will be affected including ten sites of special scientific interest in an area of outstanding natural beauty and that is in my backyard.

netting should never be used to hinder their natural cycle of nest—building, nurturing and feeding the young birds. nets should protect bird, not profits. the disturbance of nests is clear, the animal welfare act of 2006 means that prosecutions can be brought if someone causes unnecessary suffering to a bird by act or failure to act, especially if the person concerned knew or ought to have reasonably known. the communities minister, heather wheeler. that's all for now. tuesday will begin with foreign office questions and later there'll be a debate on prison and the probation services. do join david cornock at the same time tomorrow for a round up of all that and more. but for now from me, mandy baker, goodbye.

the pressure has been sky—high today, in excess of 140 millibars was a very high indeed. settled weather conditions, unchanging for a few days. the weather is looking fine, staying warm and sunny this week. white mark by mid week top temperatures will be in scotland. winless, calm sunny conditions will cause these conditions will cause these conditions to hit the mid 20s —— windless. the high—pressure system will wobble around a little bit as high—pressure systems often do. winds will be coming from slightly different directions over the coming days. on tuesday it looks like this portion of the uk, so the north—east of scotla nd portion of the uk, so the north—east of scotland and northern england, hardly any wind at all. clear sky throughout the uk, that means also

pretty nippy because temperatures tend to drop off clear skies, but in the centre that is probably where we will get the highest temperatures. 0n will get the highest temperatures. on tuesday afternoon top damages are expected across parts of scotland, yorkshire, maybe into wales, whereas these eastern coasts with that breeze coming off the thames estuary, it is good b—17 in london compared to —— it could be in london compared to —— it could be in london compared to —— it could be in london compared to 20—21 in other parts of the uk. these wind shifts will mean the uk. these wind shifts will mean the temperatures, the highest temperatures, will be distributed in slightly different bases as we go through the week. 2a degrees as i said in parts of scotland on wednesday, whereas the east anglia coast with the wind blowing out to the sea, around 15 or so. at the end of the week there is a change expected. i noticed some cloud and

rain across the eastern and central parts of europe, that is going to drift in our direction as this high—pressure retreats to the north. so there is a change on the way. i think on friday, just basically means at this stage a little bit of cloud. notice the winds are blowing out of the east, that means the temperatures will is a little bit, only 1a in newcastle and maybe about 16 or 17 only 1a in newcastle and maybe about 16 or17 in only 1a in newcastle and maybe about 16 or 17 in the south, but still mostly dry.

welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name is mike embley. our top stories: half of yemen's population in acute need after years of war. we report from a hospital at the heart of the world's worst humanitarian crisis. translation: you can see the front line from here. it's dangerous, but we have to carry on providing services, even if it's basic, because the people here desperately need it. cancer and the world's best—selling weedkiller. a california court awards compensation of more than $2 billion. hitting the depths. a record—breaking dive in the pacific discovers plastic pollution on the seabed.

# que sera, sera...