in schools, universities and royal mail, as people protest about pay and conditions. almost every state school in scotland is shut, in the first national education strike since the 1980s. we've got a cost of living crisis and we've got a backdrop of teachers�* pay having declined to the tune of 25% since 2008, so understandably they are very, very angry. 150 universities are also affected by industrial action. and we'll have the latest on the talks between unions and the government about rail strikes. also this lunchtime... the uk's biggest ever anti—fraud operation — 70,000 possible bank scam call victims are being contacted by the police. the families in taliban—controlled afghanistan now having to make shocking decisions so they can feed their children. england captain harry kane will be

fit to play in tomorrow's world cup match against the usa. and the ancient gold coin that proves a fictional roman emperor was actually a real person. later in the hour on the bbc news channel we'll round up the latest action, hear key interviews and discuss the day's biggest talking points from here at the bbc sport centre. later in the hour on the bbc news channel we'll round up the latest action, hear key interviews and discuss the day's biggest talking points from here at the bbc sport centre.

good afternoon and welcome to the bbc lunchtime news. tens of thousands of workers are on strike in a series of walk—outs across the uk, affecting schools, universities and royal mail sorting offices. scotland is facing its first national strike by teachers for nearly a0 years — after a revised pay offer was rejected by unions as "insulting". meanwhile, lecturers and other academic staff at universities are taking industrial action over pay, pensions and contracts. we'll have more on that in a moment — first, our correspondent alexandra mackenzie has the latest on the impact on primary and secondary state schools across scotland. what do we want? 10%! they brave what do we want? 1096! they brave the cold at this picket _ what do we want? 1096! they brave the cold at this picket line _ what do we want? 1096! they brave the cold at this picket line in _ cold at this picket line in cambuslang this morning. most primary and secondary schools across the country are closed. thousands of

teachers from scotland's biggest teachers�* teachers from scotland�*s biggest teachers�* union, eis, a striking fair pay. teachers' union, eis, a striking fair -a . ,, ., ., teachers' union, eis, a striking fair -a . ,, ., . ., ., teachers' union, eis, a striking fair -a . ,, ., ., ., ., teachers' union, eis, a striking fair a. ,, ., ., ., ., , fair pay. should have had a pay rise in their bank— fair pay. should have had a pay rise in their bank accounts _ fair pay. should have had a pay rise in their bank accounts on _ fair pay. should have had a pay rise in their bank accounts on the - fair pay. should have had a pay rise in their bank accounts on the 1st - fair pay. should have had a pay rise in their bank accounts on the 1st of| in their bank accounts on the 1st of april and have received nothing, zero, we are a debtor might watch the end of november, have a cost of living crisis and a backdrop of teachers�* pay having declined to the tune of 25% since 2008 so understandably they are very, very angry. understandably they are very, very an: . understandably they are very, very an _ ., , ., understandably they are very, very an: . . , ., ., understandably they are very, very an . ., , ., ., ., , angry. the latest deal on the table would have — angry. the latest deal on the table would have the _ angry. the latest deal on the table would have the lowest _ angry. the latest deal on the table would have the lowest paid - angry. the latest deal on the table i would have the lowest paid teachers receive a rise of up to 6.5%, more than the previous 5% offer but well below the 10% increase the unions want —— they would have received the rise of up to 6.85%. the scottish government says 10% is just not affordable. we government says 1096 is 'ust not affordablafi government says 1096 is 'ust not affordable. ~ . ., , affordable. we have a fixed budget and it is already _ affordable. we have a fixed budget and it is already fully _ affordable. we have a fixed budget and it is already fully utilised - affordable. we have a fixed budget and it is already fully utilised for i and it is already fully utilised for this year so to do anything that would increase the resolution we have on this would mean that money would have to come from elsewhere so i�*m very disappointed we are moving to strike action. it�*s disruption

for our children, young people and families that we simply don�*t want to see. families that we simply don't want to see. ., ,., families that we simply don't want to see. ., , , to see. for some parents it will be difficult to find _ to see. for some parents it will be difficult to find additional- difficult to find additional childcare. this tennis camp is helping out. childcare. this tennis camp is helping out-— childcare. this tennis camp is helinu out. ~ ., , ,,,_ ., helping out. would probably rather be in school _ helping out. would probably rather be in school but _ helping out. would probably rather be in school but i _ helping out. would probably rather be in school but i do _ helping out. would probably rather be in school but i do like _ helping out. would probably rather be in school but i do like playing i be in school but i do like playing tennis — be in school but i do like playing tennis |— be in school but i do like playing tennis. ~ ,. tennis. i like writing in school so we were going — tennis. i like writing in school so we were going to _ tennis. i like writing in school so we were going to be _ tennis. i like writing in school so we were going to be doing - tennis. i like writing in school so we were going to be doing a - tennis. i like writing in school so we were going to be doing a bit| tennis. i like writing in school so i we were going to be doing a bit of comic_ we were going to be doing a bit of comic strips — we were going to be doing a bit of comic strips and _ we were going to be doing a bit of comic strips and i'm _ we were going to be doing a bit of comic strips and i'm quite - we were going to be doing a bit of comic strips and i'm quite sad - we were going to be doing a bit of comic strips and i'm quite sad i'm| comic strips and i'm quite sad i'm missing— comic strips and i'm quite sad i'm missing that _ comic strips and i'm quite sad i'm missing that. it's _ comic strips and i'm quite sad i'm missing that-— missing that. it's the first national _ missing that. it's the first national teachers' - missing that. it's the first national teachers' strike l missing that. it's the first. national teachers' strike in missing that. it's the first - national teachers' strike in almost national teachers�* strike in almost 40 national teachers�* strike in almost a0 years. all sites had hoped it could have been avoided. but without any agreement further strikes are planned for the new year. alexandra mackenzie, bbc news, cambuslang. as we�*ve heard, university staff have walked out across the country on the first of three days of strikes about pay, working conditions and pensions. 0ur education correspondent vanessa clarke reports anger and frustration on the picket line. pay issues, insecure contracts

and changes to their pension schemes have led to staff at more than 150 universities walking out in protest today. for nathan howard, who is a postgrad researcher, he believes conditions will eventually force him out of a job he loves. the workload, the pressure, the lack of any kind of fixed time off. you officially sort of have to take the low pay — that�*s, you know, worse, and it�*s getting worse with the whole cost of living crisis and everything like that. many students are backing the strikes but are worried about even more disruption to their studies following the pandemic. for a lot of students i can say it is quite frustrating, especially if you are in the beginning years of your university. as a third year myself i am able to cope with it much more and professors have given us the option of sort of, like, out of office hours and giving us extra support when needed. we turned up to university— as what we thought was a hub of sort of knowledge and empowerment, and then you learn that _ the industry's professionals aren't getting the treatment _

they deserve. it's very saddening. universities say they are disappointed by today�*s action and that the pay demands are unrealistic. we are trying to do everything we can within the environments that we�*re operating, with the funding that we�*ve got, to make sure that we are fair and transparent in the way in which we support our staff. my number one priority at the moment is to make sure that we don�*t disadvantaged students. frankly, they�*ve had a really difficult time over the past few years with covid. this is the last thing that they need. the staff here and across the uk will be back again tomorrow for the second of three days of planned strike action, but if negotiations continue to end in deadlock there may be much more disruption for students in the coming months. vanessa clark, bbc news, sheffield. well, thousands of postal workers have begun

a a8—hour strike in a long—running dispute about pay, jobs and conditions. royal mail said it had made its best and final offer to staff and accused unions of "holding christmas to ransom". unions say the offer on the table would "spell the end of royal mail as we know it." the head of the rail union the rmt, mick lynch, is having his first meeting today with the new transport secretary mark harper. earlier this week the rmt announced dates for a series of a8—hour strikes in december and january. the talks are taking place at the moment. 0ur tranport correspondent katy austin is there. what is the latest on those talks, katy? that�*s right. the transport secretary mark harper is meeting with the rmt�*s mick lynch in the building behind me. it is not part of the official negotiations in the rail dispute at mark harper also has a meeting set up with the tssa union and the leader of aslef, the train driver union. however, the meeting with mick lynch today has acquired

my significance after the rmt announced today that a fresh wave of strikes, a8 hour strikes, in december and january, and mick lynch has accused the transport secretary and the government of blocking an offer, but the government has insisted it is not holding up negotiations at mark harper has said he is not interested in blocking an offer. we don�*t expect this meeting happening right now to solve the dispute or directly lead to strikes being called off, but it will be very interesting to see afterwards what both men think in terms of whether it has actually changed anything from their perspective. katy austin, thank you. net migration to the uk has climbed to a record half a million, driven by a series of world events including the war in ukraine and the end of lockdown restrictions. new figures from the office for national statistics suggestjust over half a million more people are estimated to have moved to the uk than left in the 12 months tojune 2022 — a sharp rise on the previous year. 0ur correspondent dominic

casciani is with me. explain the context of all of this, what these numbers are telling first night, dominic. this what these numbers are telling first night. dominie— what these numbers are telling first night, dominic. this is massive, new record. in night, dominic. this is massive, new record- in the _ night, dominic. this is massive, new record. in the run-up _ night, dominic. this is massive, new record. in the run-up to _ night, dominic. this is massive, new record. in the run-up to the - night, dominic. this is massive, new record. in the run-up to the brexit . record. in the run—up to the brexit referendum — record. in the run—up to the brexit referendum we were hitting net migration records than of about 340.000 — migration records than of about 340,000 people more a year arriving in the _ 340,000 people more a year arriving in the uk _ 340,000 people more a year arriving in the uk then leaving. we have a debtor— in the uk then leaving. we have a debtor might hit more than half... 504.000 — debtor might hit more than half... 504.000 to — debtor might hit more than half... 504,000 to be exact and what that mask— 504,000 to be exact and what that mask is_ 504,000 to be exact and what that mask is overall immigration is 1.1 million — mask is overall immigration is 1.1 million. well 1.1 million have come in, million. well 1.1 million have come in. ii _ million. well 1.1 million have come in. ii million— million. well 1.1 million have come in, 1.1 million people extra, they have _ in, 1.1 million people extra, they have come — in, 1.1 million people extra, they have come into the uk and about half of them _ have come into the uk and about half of them have left. a lot of delayed travel _ of them have left. a lot of delayed travel because of the pandemic, and it looks _ travel because of the pandemic, and it looks like — travel because of the pandemic, and it looks like effectively the tap has opened on global migration because — has opened on global migration because of the lifting of travel restrictions. for instance, we have an enormous— restrictions. for instance, we have an enormous number of students coming _ an enormous number of students coming into the uk at the moment. 277,000 _ coming into the uk at the moment. 277,000 tourist visas issued, which is almost _ 277,000 tourist visas issued, which is almost a — 277,000 tourist visas issued, which is almost a doubling of what it was before _ is almost a doubling of what it was before it— is almost a doubling of what it was before. if you look at these figures, _ before. if you look at these figures, i_ before. if you look at these figures, ijust want to show you

something really interesting going on. something really interesting going on the _ something really interesting going on. the light blue, the cyan lane at the bottom, — on. the light blue, the cyan lane at the bottom, it shows net migration from _ the bottom, it shows net migration from eu _ the bottom, it shows net migration from eu citizens and that has basically— from eu citizens and that has basically been dropping off a cliff since _ basically been dropping off a cliff since the — basically been dropping off a cliff since the brexit referendum, people going _ since the brexit referendum, people going home. complicated factors there _ going home. complicated factors there and — going home. complicated factors there and some to do with the strength— there and some to do with the strength of the pound, but migration into the _ strength of the pound, but migration into the uk_ strength of the pound, but migration into the uk from non—eu countries has shot— into the uk from non—eu countries has shot up— into the uk from non—eu countries has shot up and that is mostly workers — has shot up and that is mostly workers and students but also some other— workers and students but also some other really unique factors as well. a lot _ other really unique factors as well. a lot of— other really unique factors as well. a lot of ukrainians who have been given— a lot of ukrainians who have been given visas— a lot of ukrainians who have been given visas because obviously of the war- _ given visas because obviously of the war- they— given visas because obviously of the war— they need protection. a lot of people _ war— they need protection. a lot of people coming in from hong kong who have recourse to british nationality because _ have recourse to british nationality because of— have recourse to british nationality because of the situation there, their— because of the situation there, their rates to come over here, and a lot of— their rates to come over here, and a lot of that _ their rates to come over here, and a lot of that is — their rates to come over here, and a lot of that is well been brought in. i lot of that is well been brought in. i really— lot of that is well been brought in. i really unique basket of circumstances and what some experts are saying _ circumstances and what some experts are saying is _ circumstances and what some experts are saying is while this is record it might — are saying is while this is record it might not be a long—term trend. 0ne it might not be a long—term trend. one final— it might not be a long—term trend. 0ne finaljane. none of the small to the small boats crossing. that is a separate — to the small boats crossing. that is a separate of data it is

a separate set of data and it is actually — a separate set of data and it is actually very small proportion, actually a very small proportion, this— actually a very small proportion, ’ this year so in actually a very small proportion, ’ figures. 1is year so in actually a very small proportion, figures. 1is year -sz%2 a8 hours to warn them they�*ve been victims of fraudsters trying specifically a website thought to have been used by nearly 60,000 criminals worldwide and alleged to have been run from this flat in east london.

we are all used to these one—time passwords that come to your phone, for example, and you need to somehow con somebody to give you that over the phone. that�*s the core of this. and to do that you need to impersonate perhaps being their bank. some victims had lost £10,000. 0ne, £3 million. a minute to people around the world. number of the victim, but no name or address, they�*ll say to go to

the action fraud website to register your details, but of course there�*s now a concern that scammers will send their own messages posing as the police. police raids around the uk have resulted in 120 arrests. after breaking ispoof, their message to the scammers is "we know who you are." tom symonds, bbc news. a reminder of our top story this lunchtime... tens of thousands of workers are on strike across the uk — in schools, universities and royal mail, as people protest about pay and conditions. still to come on the programme...

english rugby union governing bodies give evidence to mps following the collapse of two clubs. later and i were on the bbc news channel we will round up the latest action, were key interviews and discuss the day�*s biggest talking points from here at the bbc sport centre. —— later in the hour 0n points from here at the bbc sport centre. —— later in the hour on the bbc news channel. 15 months after the taliban took control of afghanistan, the united nations has described the humanitarian situation there as a catastrophe. the country�*s economy has collapsed, the health care system is crumbling, and six million people are on the brink of starvation. the bbc has found evidence that some families are being forced to take extreme steps, including selling their daughters into early marriage to pay forfood and medicine. 0ur afghanistan correspondent yogita limaye reports from the city of herat. just outside herat live tens

of thousands displaced by years of war and natural disasters. a second winter since the economy collapsed. in each home, a story of acute hunger. they came to us wanting to be heard. we were shocked by what they said. "our children cry because they�*re going to bed hungry so we give them tablets to put them to sleep. they�*d be better off dead," abdul rahab said. does anyone else also do the same thing? "a lot of us, all of us," they said. ghulam hazrat was carrying the tablets with him. they were tranquilisers. 0thers later also showed us antidepressants they give their children. in the market you can get five tablets for the price of one piece of bread. ghulam said he gives it

to his one—year—old. these men, their dignity broken by hunger. translation: i sold my five-year-old daughter for 1200 dollars _ and sent my teenage son to iran illegally to work. my younger sons collect rubbish everyday. "we have nothing. where should we take our children and go?," they ask. four—year—old nazia lives next door. she has been sold to be married to a boy from the southern province of kandahar. child cries. her father announced at the local mosque that he wanted to sell her because he couldn�*t afford to feed his family. at ia, nazia will be sent away. translation: | used most - of the money to buy food and some

for medicine for my son. look at him — he�*s malnourished and needs treatment. i�*d never think of selling my daughter if there was any other option. we didn�*t have to look hard to find these stories. they were behind every door we walked into. from what we�*ve seen and heard we know that there is a disaster unfolding on the ground here. hunger is a slow and silent killer and often its effects aren�*t immediately visible. but the truth is we will never know the scale of what is happening here because no one is counting. people here feel abandoned, by everyone — by the government that is currently running this country and by the whole world. this is an emergency. more than half the country needs life—saving support. millions are a step away from famine. yogita limaye, bbc news, herat. china has recorded its highest

number of daily covid cases since the start of the pandemic, nearly three years ago. that�*s despite crippling restrictions on everyday life, including snap lockdowns. tightened measures have been announced for zhengzhou, where workers at the world�*s largest iphone factory have been clashing with security forces over covid—related conditions and pay. let�*s speak to our china correspondent, stephen mcdonell. explain more about this. the streets are re explain more about this. the streets are pretty quiet _ explain more about this. the streets are pretty quiet here _ explain more about this. the streets are pretty quiet here in _ explain more about this. the streets are pretty quiet here in beijing - explain more about this. the streets are pretty quiet here in beijing at. are pretty quiet here in beijing at the moment, because of these measures in place to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus here in the chinese capital. i was locked down myself earlier today. our compound, suddenly told us we had to remain indoors until we had done a series of pcr tests and then, as you can see, i�*ve been allowed out. that�*s not the case for residents in thousands of tower blocks in

beijing, where people for at least the next few days have to remain indoors, and this is happening all across china. this country�*s strict anti—covert measures have not stopped the country today recording its highest ever number of infections and it�*s putting enormous strain on the economy here. people who follow events here will have seen the workers at the largest producer of apple iphones clashing with police and there are pressures in different places, tibet, all along, people thinking when is this going to end. if the government has an exit strategy told people what it is that this is adding to the pressure on the system, the sort of panic and frankly people�*s faith in the government and its ability to control the situation is crumbling all over the place.—

all over the place. stephen mcdonell. _ all over the place. stephen mcdonell, thank _ all over the place. stephen mcdonell, thank you. - nearly a third of ambulances arriving at hospitals in england are having to wait more than 30 minutes for their patients to be handed over to doctors and nurses. a transfer should be carried out within 15 minutes. these figures come from official data released today by nhs england. 0ur health editor hugh pym has been looking at the details. even that alone i suppose reminds us of the pressures again on the nhs. yes, this latest release from nhs england, the first of its regular winter weekly series of data publications, does underline absolutely the strains right across health and care in england and those ambulance delays really are a symptoms of log jams elsewhere. let�*s take a look at a couple of other figures announced today. first of all, that one there, 95% of beds in england in the latest week were occupied. that leaves very little

margin for other patients if hospitals are going to carry on doing what they normally do. one of the reasons for that is delays in transferring patients outside hospitals back home and into the community who are fit to leave and the latest figures show more than 13,000 were fit to leave but were still occupying hospital beds and that demonstrates issues in social care, difficulties finding placements, difficulties actually getting patients into rehab and that is one really big challenge for the nhs. i should say these pressures are being felt in every part of the uk in every area of the nhs. now, nhs leaders are saying it is very challenging this winter, it could be the most challenging winter ever. these figures show considerable pressure. they note there are more flu cases in hospitals than this time last year and they do say that they are doing all they can to invest more in call handlers and creating more beds in hospitals, but

clearly this is a very, very difficult situation, and winter is really only just difficult situation, and winter is really onlyjust beginning. hugh really only 'ust beginning. hugh . m, really onlyjust beginning. hugh pym. thank— really onlyjust beginning. hugh pym. thank you- _ english rugby union�*s governing bodies, the rfu and the english premiership, are giving evidence to mps today following the collapse of two top clubs, worcester warriors and wasps last month. they both went into administration and have been suspended and relegated from the top division of english rugby. 0ur sports news correspondent laura scott reports. it�*s been tough in many ways, obviously financially, more importantly emotionally, really. the way we were made redundant was pretty brutal. i don't think anyone saw it coming. someone putting theirl hand up would be nice. some responsibility for whoever needs to take responsibility. - this is the human impact of rugby�*s financial crisis. until last month all three were professional rugby players but when worcester warriors folded and then wasps, all lost theirjobs. murray moved his young family down from scotland last year after signing with worcester, but the warning signs started over

the summer with players paid late or not at all. i i kept thinking it will be sorted, | it will be fine, and obviously not. business isn't that easy, apparently. i more than 100 players at the two clubs lost theirjobs. elliott is one of those yet to find a new club. teams have a lot less money to spend on players and the players don�*t really want to get paid any less than we�*re already on because it�*s a tough sport. a lot of the lads get their head kicked in three times a week. meanwhile his former team—mate ben has dropped down to play in the third tier of english rugby and might leave the sport. everyone's kind of got those concerns that the bills need paying and where's that money coming from? 0ne club going under might have been viewed as an unfortunate anomaly. two clubs folding in such a short space of time has raised urgent questions about the viability of english domestic rugby union. summoned to answer questions from mps today, this was the assessment from the head of the premiership. all clubs were investing for long—term growth

and still believe in the long—term growth potential but we�*re in the situation where yes, clubs are loss—making at the moment and reliant on investors. with those in charge of the sport accused of sleepwalking into this crisis, the pressure is now on to protect other clubs from crumbling. laura scott, bbc news. now to the world cup in qatar, where the countdown is on for two very big games tomorrow. wales will be taking on iran and england will face the usa. in a moment we�*ll hear from alex howell at the england training camp, but first, let�*s talk to hywel griffith, who is at the wales team training camp in doha. how is the mood? well, here on the waterfront in — how is the mood? well, here on the waterfront in doha _ how is the mood? well, here on the waterfront in doha you _ how is the mood? well, here on the waterfront in doha you see - how is the mood? well, here on the waterfront in doha you see plenty i how is the mood? well, here on the waterfront in doha you see plenty ofj waterfront in doha you see plenty of mexican sombreros and spanish scarves but mingling between them is the welsh bucket hats and speaking to welsh fans this morning they are enjoying their moment in the sun and relishing wales�* first world cup in

6a years. wales seem to have stage fright in the first game grew into it and got a draw with the usa and that makes tomorrow�*s game with iran very important, three points tomorrow and it helps wales�* chance of going through to the next round but a draw or a loss, they might be packing their bags very early. the other thing they tell you is the culture clash they noticed here and there have been questions about how some welsh fans have been treated, particularly those who arrived at the ground with rainbow bucket hats the ground with rainbow bucket hats the other evening. it�*s something the other evening. it�*s something the faw trust say they are angry about. in terms of the players we will hear from gareth bale and welsh manager rob page later today. we are told everyone is fit and ready in training today and people will be looking towards web page�*s selection, will he start with the game changer from monday, selection, will he start with the game changerfrom monday, six kieffer moore? certainly when england played iran a big, tall striker aerial presence made a big difference. will wales go with the same plan? talking of england, let�*s

find out how they are preparing for their game against the usa tomorrow and go over to alex howell at the england camp. mil and go over to alex howell at the england camp-— and go over to alex howell at the england camp. all eyes on england trainin: england camp. all eyes on england training and _ england camp. all eyes on england training and to _ england camp. all eyes on england training and to see _ england camp. all eyes on england training and to see if— england camp. all eyes on england training and to see if harry - england camp. all eyes on england training and to see if harry kane i training and to see if harry kane was out — training and to see if harry kane was out there with the rest of the group _ was out there with the rest of the group and — was out there with the rest of the group and moving freely. the england captain— group and moving freely. the england captain went fora group and moving freely. the england captain went for a scan on that captain went fora scan on that right— captain went for a scan on that right foot _ captain went for a scan on that right foot on the injury he picked up right foot on the injury he picked up in _ right foot on the injury he picked up in that— right foot on the injury he picked up in that first game against iran inthat— up in that first game against iran in that 6- — up in that first game against iran in that 6— to win. gareth southgate has said _ in that 6— to win. gareth southgate has said the — in that 6— to win. gareth southgate has said the striker is fit and available _ has said the striker is fit and available for that game tomorrow and we'll hear— available for that game tomorrow and we'll hear more from the england manager— we'll hear more from the england manager later this evening, who i am sure will_ manager later this evening, who i am sure will give a more in—depth answer~ — sure will give a more in—depth answer. he will be joined by harry maguire, — answer. he will be joined by harry maguire, who has come through his own injury— maguire, who has come through his own injury worry. he was substituted in that— own injury worry. he was substituted in that game with an illness, but is due to _ in that game with an illness, but is due to make his 50th appearance for his countrv — due to make his 50th appearance for his country. the usa present a different— his country. the usa present a different type of challenge than iran _ different type of challenge than iran. they need a positive result going _ iran. they need a positive result going into — iran. they need a positive result going into that last group game to -ive going into that last group game to give them — going into that last group game to give them a chance of going through to the _ give them a chance of going through to the knockout stages. gareth southgate said england need to eradicate the errors and i'm sure

when _ eradicate the errors and i'm sure when he — eradicate the errors and i'm sure when he is — eradicate the errors and i'm sure when he is asked later it will be more _ when he is asked later it will be more of— when he is asked later it will be more of the same from the england manager~ _ more of the same from the england manauer. �* . , ., , manager. alex and hywel, thanks very much for now- — the queen consort has been to a barnardo�*s nursery in east london to deliver more than 1000 paddington bears. the soft toys were left outside royal residences by members of the public after the death of the queen. they�*re now being donated to barnardo�*s for their children�*s services. the queen consort was joined by some of the children supported by the charity, for what�*s been called a teddy bears picnic. a roman emperor in the third century — who was written out of history as a fictional character — really did exist, according to new research. specialists have looked again at an ancient gold coin which bears the name and portrait of emperor sponsian but was believed to have been a fake — until now. 0ur science correspondent pallab ghosh has been to the hunterian museum in glasgow, where the coin is on display.

a roman coin that has baffled historians, thought to have been a fake for hundreds of years. a close look shows pit marks. these, and its crude design, led to the experts thinking it was made by forgers in the 18th century. oh, that�*s really nice around there. can we get a higher resolution image of that? but scientist paul pearson thought they were wrong. so he began a forensic investigation. silicon, oxygen, iron. under a high—power microscope, he found scratches, which could only have been produced by rubbing together with other coins in purses. and a chemical analysis showed that it had been buried under the soil for hundreds of years. all clues that indicate that it was genuine. yeah, look at that. i think what we found is an emperor, an important historical figure in his own time, thought to have been a fake, been written off by all the experts and the historians. we�*ve found that he was real

and that he had a role in history. the coin is one ofjust four at glasgow university�*s hunterian museum. these three are of known roman emperors, but this one has been a real mystery. it has a picture of someone that the experts thought never existed at all. the coins were originally discovered in 1713 in transylvania. it was a small hoard of roman gold, and it was transported to the imperial coin collection in vienna. the detective story to discover who the mystery man was continued withjesper ericsson. well, they came here by quite an extraordinary route, really. they�*ve been laying in wooden cabinets, nearforgotten for almost 200 years. his research suggested that the face on the coin belonged to a real—life military leader, called sponsian, who ruled a province of the empire that is now transylvania, where only ruins remain

of the roman occupation. the reason our research on these coins is so important is that we feel we�*ve now proved that they are real coins and can therefore say that sponsian could be a real person and that he is legitimately, therefore, a lost roman emperor. the researchers now want to find more evidence of sponsian to see what more can be learnt about the lost roman emperor. palab ghosh, bbc news, glasgow. time for a look at the weather. darren bett has joined darren bett hasjoined me. a beautiful image behind you there. it's it�*s a good example of what the weather has been like recently. tomorrow should be dry across many parts of the country with some sunshine, not as windy as today. it's sunshine, not as windy as today. it�*s been dry so far today here in

northamptonshire but the weather is still quite unsettled today. if we