at a cost of around £10,000,000. when they were built, hardhats were optional. hankies the alternative. in 50 years the hated eyesore has become a much loved local landmark. the man who took these pictures has chronicled their existence. when those towers were built people would have been absolutely appalled by the thought that those four towers were going to be built in the gorge. but once they were built, it probably took a few years, but people got used to them and slowly got to like them and some people even claim to love them. when the dust settles, the work will start to make way for new houses and the view that generations have known will fade into memory. phil mackie, bbc news, ironbridge.

time for a look at the weather. we have some strong winds on the way for the uk but before that we have seen damp conditions for many of us and the worst of the rain is clearing eastwards followed by heavy showers, the heaviest across north—east england and wales. showers, the heaviest across north-east england and wales. hefty downpours around. the winds are starting to turn north—westerly dragging in coolerairand starting to turn north—westerly dragging in cooler air and otherwise it isa dragging in cooler air and otherwise it is a mild afternoon. overnight we will continue with breezy weather and a few showers. some patchy cloud as well. it will not be the coldest of nights. we are going to see some big developments taking place in the atlantic. looking at the jet stream which makes our areas of low pressure, it is going to get strong

over the next 2a hours, reaching winds of 180 miles per hour. an area of low pressure form is just here and start spinning around the north atla ntic and start spinning around the north atlantic and will come into the western side of the british isles during the second half of the first storm. saturday rainy and windy and stormy conditions for some of us as we head through the latter part of sunday with very windy weather and a mixture of sunshine and showers. the weekend starts off with patchy cloud and a few isolated showers and for many of us it is dry. we will see the clouds thicken with outbreaks of rain getting into western scotland. still relatively mild for most of us but cool air across the north—east of scotland. the second half of the weekend we will see the winds pick

up weekend we will see the winds pick up and it could get quite windy for northern ireland. sunshine and showers for many of us. it is late in the day we will start to see the winds pick up across wales and west in england when around the coast we could get gusts of 70 mph through sunday night and on monday we will have windy conditions across the uk when those winds are going to feel pretty cold. the first named storm to hit the british isles with severe gales and possible disruption on the way on sunday and into monday. a reminder of our top story: a man described by police as one of the most dangerous sex offenders ever seen in the uk has been found guilty of a string of charges. that's all from the bbc news at one, so it's goodbye from me and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are.

time now on bbc news for some sport, and we start with some breaking news. leicester city have announced that manager, brendan rodgers, hasjust signed a new five—year contract with the club, which will take him to 2025. rodgers was appointed leicester's manager in february since then, they've won 17 of 26 premier league matches and currently sit second in the table,

equalling a 56—year old club record of seven consecutive victories in the top flight. rodgers, of course, has been linked recently with the manager's role at arsenal after the gunners sacked unai emery. but it seems he's going nowhere for now. there'll be more on this through the afternoon. chelsea will be able to buy players injanuary after their transfer ban was reduced by the court of arbitration for sport. it'll be a huge relief for frank lampard, who hasn't yet been able to bring any new players in since taking charge. our football reporter, simon stone, has more. they basically heard an appeal by chelsea against the fifa punishment for signing underage players. cas have gone through the case and decided that only a third of the cases brought forward by the far actually stand up, therefore, they have reduced the punishment by half, effectively, the number of transfer

windows that chelsea were not allowed to sign players. it is still significant that they have also reduced by half the fine that chelsea were levied, from 600,000 swiss francs to 300,000 swiss francs, around 230,000 pounds, basically, the punishment has been halved. manchester united manager ole gunnar solskjaer has added his voice to the criticism surrounding the headline in an italian newspaper ahead of the serie a match tonight between inter milan and roma. the front page of the corriere dello sport newspaper headlined their coverage as "black friday", showing photographs of inter milan forward romelu lukaku and roma defender chris smalling. both players have themselves criticised the newspaper and the manager of their former club, manchester united, said he was shocked to see it. when you see that paper, you say, wow, really, is that possible? it is the worst front page i have ever

seen. of course, we have been in touch with chrisjust seen. of course, we have been in touch with chris just so he knows that we will back him and support him, roma do as well. but, yeah... i don't work in your line of business but wow, that is incredible. at least we do not see that here, you see least we do not see that here, you see lots of different things but we don't see that. that has to be stamped out. we're counting down to the big world title fight between british boxer anthonyjoshua and andy ruiz junior. the fight — which is a rematch of course — takes place tomorrow at the diriyah arena in saudi arabia. this lunchtime the weight in is taking place and these are the live pictures. the undercard the underca rd fighters the undercard fighters are going through their away end at the moment. you can of course follow this and see much more over the course of the next few hours. the fight itself will be live on radio 5

live, and boxing expert have been telling us how different the athletes may appear to us and help the contrasting look may affect that fight. he isjust one of those sporting freaks that can look like he sat on the sofa, watching bot sect after boxer, ordering pizza after pizza, downing cans of the cheapest laggard. it turns out he is a sporting freak, he can do all sorts of things, setting all sorts of sporting records. joshua has lost a bit of bulk across his shoulders, as he said in an interview, he said something along the lines of, ijust think that you have to be able to squat press a house, get out, this is boxing, it's the sweet science. that is why he has shifted that muscle he bulk, hasn't lost weight, he isn't moving it around. —— he is

moving it around. that's all the sport for now. president trump has hit back at democrats in the house of representatives, who've announced they'll move ahead with plans to impeach him. mr trump said they were crazy and that he would win a trial in the senate, which is republican—controlled. the leading democrat, nancy pelosi, said her party had been left with no choice but to act. peter bowes has the latest. lighting the national christmas tree, a long—time tradition in washington for the president and the first lady. five, four, three two, one! but it's a presidential duty that if the democrats get their way, donald trump will never perform again. despite the cheery scene, festive spirit it in short supply in the nation's capital. behind the scenes, impeachment is the order of

the day, he said, by the democrats to have abused the power of office for personal political gain, withholding military aid while trying to win a favour from president zelensky of ukraine to investigatejoe biden, who could be mr trump's opponent at the next election. sadly, but with confidence and humility, with allegiance to our founders, and a heart full of love for america, today i am asking our chairman to proceed with articles of impeachment. motion to table's adopted, we will now proceed... the process is moving fast. on wednesday, four legal scholars appeared before a house of representatives committee to explain the legal and historic implications of impeaching a president. jonathan turley, who is also a bbc news contributor, was a lone voice casting doubts on the democrat's mission to remove the president from office. he says that the evidence does not add up. well, this is a case almost designed to fail.

what i was trying to say yesterday was that you can impeach a president for abuse of power, you can impeach him for obstruction. it'sjust, you can't do it on this record, the record is very thin. but the line everyone is beginning to accept is that donald trump will be impeached by christmas. in the new year, he will face a trial in the senate, where the republicans are in charge, and just waiting to declare the president not guilty on all charges. the prime minister is out on the campaign trail in kent ahead of tonight's televised head—to—head debate withjeremy corbyn. he's out and about in rochester. let's go to our political corresponding, waiting for boris johnson. this last tv debate, last

direct head—to—head between mr johnson and mr corbyn could be pretty crucial? it certainly occurred. it will be the last time the two contenders for number 10 it will meet before polling day. boris johnson knows he is going into this debate it seems a pretty comfortable lead in at the pills at the moment. i don't think there is any complacency within the tory campaign, they know these elections can change quite dramatically in the final days, they are desperate to avoid any mistakes. that absolutely applies to how they are approaching the debate tonight. it feels the tory campaign is picking up pace a bit, borisjohnson tory campaign is picking up pace a bit, boris johnson cramming tory campaign is picking up pace a bit, borisjohnson cramming some visits in before that debate. we now expect some sort of public appearance. throughout this campaign, he has tended to speak to tory activist, now, it seems is out and about a bit more. facing some tricky questions, firstly, john major has said in three seats, he

doesn't want people to vote for the official conservative candidate. he thinks they should back the former tory candidates standing as independents. john major thinks brexit is a disaster, he clearly doesn't want mrjohnson to finish the selection with a thumping conservative majority. mrjohnson said earlier that he thought these we re said earlier that he thought these were sad comments, quite out of date. very awkward intervention from a very successful, electorally, former conservative prime minister. just a few days to go now, less than a week, to what extent do the parties change their strategy in the last few days, in the run—up to polling, all our campaigning, longer campaigning? i think it depends how the party feels their campaign is going. for the conservatives, they feel they are ahead, that there is a

wind in theirsails, feel they are ahead, that there is a wind in their sails, they will not be deviating at all from their core message, get brexit done. they want a new parliament, a conservative majority, borisjohnson argues that is the only way to move beyond brexit. if the uk leaves at the end of january next year, the second phase begins and negotiates with the eu resumes, both sides try to do a trade deal. there is no way he will deviate from that message, he has shot will be hammering at it consistently over the next six days. this the german chancellor, angela merkel, has made herfirst visit to the site of the nazi concentration camp at auschwitz in poland. the trip follows an increase in anti—semitism in germany. more than a million people, the vast majority of them jewish, were murdered there during the second world war. here's angela merkel, speaking a little earlier about the importance of remembering and honouring those killed.

translation: officially, this place — as part of unesco world cultural heritage — is called today as she was auscwitx—bercha nau german nazi concentration and extermination camp, 19110 to 19115. this full name is important. it is on polish territory. but in october 1939, auschwitz was annexed as part of the german reich, it was a german extermination camp operated by germans. and i place value on stressing this fact, it is important that we clearly identify the perpetrators. we germans owe this to the victims and we owe it to ourselves. to keep alive the memory of the crimes committed, to identify the perpetrators, and to commemorate victims in a dignified manner — that is our enduring responsibility. it is not open to any negotiation, and it is an integral part,

and will forever be an integral part, of our country. german chancellor, angela merkel. the most powerful single political group in lebanon is hezbollah ? the ally and protege of iran. it fought in syria on the side of the assad regime, and is with iran at the top of israel s list of enemies. britain and the us and others regard it as a terror group. but its influence is key to bringing an end to the protests that have swept iran in recent weeks. the organisation gives very few interviews, but our middle east editor, jeremy bowen, was able to talk to its deputy leader, naim qassem, in beirut, and get a rare chance to hear hezbollah s view of the middle east. demonstrations started in lebanon on the 17th of october as months of economic crisis turned towards collapse. they echoed complaints heard across the middle east, against corruption and unemployment

and demanding reform. these men are from hezbollah, the most important shia muslim group here and a close ally of iran. it didn't take long for a fight to start when they arrived at the demonstration. hezbollah claims that they were just responding to curses, most people think that they were trying, and failing, to break up protests that oppose the sectarian power structure in lebanon that hezbollah dominates. the protests continue as hezbollah trys to sound reformist, even though it's deeply implicated in lebanon's mess, as it has been the most powerful force in the land for years. thank you very much for seeing us, i appreciate it. the bbc was offered a rare interview with naim qassem, hezbollah‘s second—in—command. how serious a crisis is this for lebanon? what are the stakes

for lebanon at the moment? translation: of course, the situation in lebanon is very dangerous. consequently, you can see how the economic situation, the financial situation, is collapsing. you can see how people are suffering from the devaluation of the lebanese currency. we cannot accept things to continue like this. so, for this reason, we said very clearly that the government has to be formed in order to put an end to this collapse and decline. unfortunately there are some who are trying to cause damage to lebanon, especially the united states. every two or three days, secretary pompeo makes statements and says he doesn't want to see hezbollah in the government does not want to see hezbollah participate in lebanese politics. hezbollah is part of the people. so let america put a stop to its meddling. secretary pompeo in the us,

like the british government, regard your organisation as a terrorist organisation, that is why he says the things that he says. translation: what concerns us is how our people view us. we, as hezbollah, in the minds of our people, we are a resistance that liberated the land. this resistance, which indeed represent the people, a party which serves the interest of the people, and also, serves for a betterfuture for the people. because america and britain support israel, which is an occupying power, a power of aggression, a criminal power, they are taking political stance against hezbollah. if they label us as terrorists, this doesn't mean that their designation is right. we consider america to be the leading terrorist entity because it does not serve the interests of the people. the same goes for britain as well. you are part of a coalition

led by iran that faces off off against israel and, by implication, against the united states as well. iran is in real trouble at the moment, there are anti—iran demonstrations in iraq, there is feeling against iran in this country, and there have been big demonstrations inside iran itself. your friends in iran are in trouble, aren't they? translation: first of all, we do not deny that we are part of an axis led by iran, because iran advocates the causes of the people's rights and also supports the resistance. it believes in justice, it believes in the liberation of palestine. now, when it comes to problems within iran because of the decision to increase the price of gasoline, this is a domestic matter related to iran. with your allies in iran, you have amassed an enormous arsenal of rockets and missiles, including guided missiles, that presumably you would use in a war with israel.

under what circumstances would you use that arsenal of weapons? translation: we are a resistance and we are defending. if israel were to launch an aggression or attack us, we will respond. so, we don't have any plans when it comes to initiating any confrontation with israel. but we are determined to respond to israel if it were to attack. israel understands this language only, it will not be deterred except if we are strong. what if israel or the us attacked iran, its nuclear facilities, what if israel or the us attacked iran, its nuclearfacilities, would you then use your weapons against israel? translation: i don't know what could happen. i do know that any initiation of the school would

ignite the whole region to stop those who would undertake the aggression we take a big responsibility, also responsibility for very large scale reactions. that sounds like a threat to me? you can interpret it as you wish, but it is not about a threat or lack of, we have the right to defend ourselves in confronting israel. that was hezbolla's deputy leader, naim qassem speaking to my colleaguejeremy bowen. if you're travelling on the west coast main line over the next few days, you may notice some changes. virgin trains, a familiar sight on the route between london and glasgow, is disappearing after more than 20 years, to make way for a new operator. remember those days? tony blair in no 10 and the spice girls were the biggest

band in the world. that year, virgin won one of the first franchises to come out of the privatisation of the railways. it promised more trains in and out of london, faster speed and tilting trains, all designed to get more of us off the road and onto the railway. but did it work? well, virgin trains say the passenger numbers have more than doubled on this line but passengerjourneys across the whole of britain have also doubled since 1997. true, the faster services have been cut between london and manchester by half—an—hour. the rail regulator says that virgin trains are less punctual than the national average. also, the average distance of operators says it is down to network rail. so what is the verdict from passengers? for you, does it represent

good value for money? if i book a month in advance, yes. then you can get a half peak or on peak ticket and that is value for money. but if i am going to go a few days beforehand, not really. they charge £60. ticket prices are extortionate. it is ridiculous. i don't know where they get the figures from. it changes so much. how easy do you find it to get a seat on the train? it depends. in rush—hour it is more difficult but it is often easy to get one on a train outside of peak period. how do you rate them? are some services better than others? the early trains are often crowded but afternoon once a pretty good and reasonable value for money. from sunday, the service switches over to firstgroup and the main italian train operator, trenitalia. they promise faster services,

better food and wi—fi. in 12 years time, will we still be talking about ava nti when their franchise ends? a six—year—old girl who survived a brain tumour has beaten the rapper stormzy to the top spot in a music download chart. lyra cole has recorded a cover of the christmas song when a child is born, to raise money for charity. fiona lamdin has been to meet her. lyra cole was diagnosed with a brain tumour at five months old. she became quite poorly and did not have much of an appetite. so we went to the doctors and got sent on to the hospital and then they sent her onto a scan and that is when it came back she had a brain tumour. she underwent 11 hours of emergency surgery to remove the growth the size of an orange. it was heartbreaking. i don't know how we got through it. i think you shutoff you just have to get through it. after the operation, lyra spent one month in intensive care.

six months later, herfamily decided to raise awareness of brain tumours, which kill more people under the age of a0 than any other cancer. i like singing and acting. and so lyra recorded the song which was a christmas number one back in 1976. # when a child is born. # ooh, when a child is born.# at school, all my friends ask my teachers they would always ask for my song to be played, they say it is so cute and they want to hear it. and her family cannot believe how well it is doing. lyra's cover is already beating artists like stormzy and mariah carey on the download charts. it would be amazing to get

christmas number one. something we would never have thought of at the start. if they can get a song about sausage rolls to number one, hopefully this one can get there as well. # this comes to pass # when a child is born.# lyra says all her dreams are now coming true. she has always wanted a puppy, and a few weeks ago, benji arrived. this family take nothing for granted and while they would love a christmas number one, they say the best christmas is having a healthy daughter. fiona lamdin, bbc news. now it's time for a look at the weather with chris fawkes. let me tell you some breaking news coming into ours, concerning the case of baby p. baby p's mother has

been denied parole, she was jailed in 209 after admitting causing or allowing the death of her one—year old son. she was let out on licence in 2013, return to prison after reaching her parole conditions, refused parole reaching her parole conditions, refused pa role two reaching her parole conditions, refused parole two years later. the pa role refused parole two years later. the parole board confirmed that she has been denied release again and will have to wait up to two years before there is another review. that is the mother of baby p, peter connelly, being denied parole and will have to wait a couple of years before a further review or. let's check out the weather with chris fox. for the rest of the day, rain easing into sunshine and showers. they will be most frequent across the

north—western areas, heavy at times. temperatures will start to fall across the north and west, 8 in stornoway, mad for england and wales, 10 to 12 celsius. tonight stays cloudy and breezy, further showers across stays cloudy and breezy, further s howe rs a cross coasts stays cloudy and breezy, further showers across coasts and hills, particularly of western areas. not a cold night, 47 celsius overnight. saturday for many of us will be a bright and fairly windy day, a lot of dry weather also. the exception being the north—west, stripping winds and thickening cloud will bring outbreaks of rain, the heavies of which heads into western areas of scotland, perhaps also cumbria. the second half of the week will bring some very windy weather to part of the british isles.

hello, you're watching afternoon live — i'm martine croxall. today at 2pm... a man who carried out a string of attacks on women and children has been found guilty of a 37 offences, including rape, false imprisonment and kidnap. justice mccann is a horrendously dangerous individual, who has shown com plete co ntem pt dangerous individual, who has shown complete contempt for his back dems. he is clearly one of the most dangerous exact offenders i think we have ever seen in this country. there are questions for the justice system, as it emerges mccann had been mistakenly released from prison three months before he began carrying out the attacks. the former conservative prime minister sirjohn major calls on voters in some areas not to back the tories. i think 30 is wrong and i think that he represents a view that is