emma simpson, bbc news. this is the briefing from bbc news. captured the elder sister of abu bakr al—baghdadi, the leader of the islamic state group, who died in a us raid in syria last month. thousands of catalan separatists take to the streets of barcelona in protest at a visit by spain's king felipe. now it's time to look at the stories that are making the headlines in the media across the world. we begin with the independent, which reports that the british prime minister is being accused of a cover—up over alleged russian medalling in uk politics, after claims the government is blocking the release of a damning report. the guardian features a picture of the newly elected speaker of the house of commons, sir lindsay hoyle, who has vowed to bring a different kind of management style to the commons than, as the paper sees it, his sometimes larger—than—life predecessor. the daily mail reports on a medical breakthrough in screening for cervical cancer that could see the end of women having to endure what the paper calls the dreaded smear test.

emma simpson, bbc news. legal challenge against the metropolitan police, following the force's decision to ban the group's protests across london. lawyers for extinction rebellion say the met now faces claims for false imprisonment from potentially hundreds of protestors. daniel sandford reports. for seven days extinction rebellion protestors brought parts of london to a stand—still. stretching police resource to the limit. on the eighth day, organisers adopted a tactic from the hong kong pro—democracy movement, in which protestors are told to be like water — to flood a site and then when police arrive, quickly move on to another location, causing as much disruption as possible. at that point, the superintendent in charge banned all extinction rebellion protests in london. a decision the high court today ruled unlawful. we are delighted with today's result. it vindicates our belief that the police's blanket ban was an unprecedented, unlawful infringement on our right to protest. it also opens the way for tho

emma simpson, bbc news.ng people are going missing, from accommodation provided to support those in care. a freedom of information request, indicates the number missing from unregulated homes has more than doubled in england and wales, in the past 3 years. it's also been revealed that more than 60 children were found by councils to have been sexually assaulted or exploited once they returned. the department for education, who refused to be interviewed, say councils have a duty to provide suitable accommodation. our special correspondent ed thomas has this exclusive report. i was in a care home, at a semi—independent place, and a car come up and the driver, i didn't know who it was, a bag got put over my head, i got flung in the boot. got taken to a random house out in the country, i got flannels put over my face, got waterboarded, got stripped, got beaten. i was stabbed once in my shoulder and twice in my leg. when i got let go, i was laying on the road, dying. kidnapped while in care. he is 17 and has been

emma simpson, bbc news. our business editor, simonjack, is with me.many times the economic vulnerability of the high street so should we be that surprised by this news? frankly, no. mothercare has been in trouble for over a decade so no real surprise that it over a decade so no real surprise thatitis over a decade so no real surprise that it is down to 79 stores and now looking like it is near the end. still a shock i think for many grandparents or parents who are watching who would say, reminding their children, i bought yourfirst rattle or pram or buggy their. for many people it was a brand that was almost like a support network for young parents. but i'm reminded of when woolworths went bust over a decade ago and people said they were learnt to mean its demise, a lot of affection for the brand but at the same time admitting they had not been there for a while. that's the point, when people say what are these dark external forces doing, putting companies out of business, it is us! it is not going to the physical stores enough. the uk consumer is muc

emma simpson reporting there. the time is 1:15. our top story this lunchtime.rs of the uk workforce. and coming up — the hidden historical truth about the author of this ancient manuscript found at lambeth palace. coming up on bbc news, mo farah is back on track for the olympics. the champion announces he will defend his 10,000m crown in tokyo next year. thousands of students across the world are walking out of class today, to demand stronger governmental action on climate change. the global protests are taking place ahead of the next un climate conference which starts in chile on monday. one of the first protests was in the australia a country which recently dealing with bushfires blamed on changing weather patterns. caroline davies reports. todayit today it started in australia. weeks of damaging bushfires that have destroyed hundreds of homes, persuaded many onto the streets. earlier this year my hometown was on the front lines of the bushfires and i guess that kind of shocked me into realising this is something that is happening and it's time i do something

here's our business correspondent emma simpson. she's the celebrity who's teamed up with m&s. quickly sold out. across clothing, it didn't have enough of the right products, in the right size. yet again, so many of m&s's problems are self—inflicted. jill, i think you've got the toughestjob in the company. the per una range has had a revamp too, but two years into this latest turn around, progress is painfully slow. you're not going to turn a ship around overnight. it's going to be a process of iteration and making sure that you constantly are paying forward those learnings and getting to a better place. can m&s fashion be turned around? it can. it absolutely can. but not everyone's so sure. the fashion leaders in retail today are fast—moving, innovative and have got only a focus on fashion. marks and spencer are a bit more a generalist and that means they'll probably sell some basics quite well, but to do that they will have improve their quality and they have to make sure they start connecting with that customer once more. they are buying more m&s food though. price cuts have

our business correspondent, emma simpson has more details.70s, and mothercare had already become the go to place for all those baby essentials. including a pram, for six quid. it served generations of new parents, but over the years, this specialist retailer lost its way. talk to new mums and dads today, and they paint a very different picture of shopping for their little ones. baby's things, we probably tend to shop around, go online, get things that are more local to us, to be honest. everyone is trying to compete with each other, and the shops are getting cheaper and cheaper, and so the stores which charge a premium, unfortunately, they are being hit when people shop elsewhere. actually, when you've got a cheap option. now i'll be going and doing my shopping online, more. which is a shame, because it's a good place to go with the kids, as well. they think it's fun, there. mothercare‘s uk business has been losing money for years. today the company said it could no longer see a return to profitability and called it a day. i think the problem

emma simpson is here with me. what was the strike about and why has it been ruled unlawful?to the future direction of the business, now, the cw you secured a huge mandate for strike action, 97% voted in favour ona strike action, 97% voted in favour on a big turnout. —— cwu. the royal mail said that there was irregularities in the voting process , irregularities in the voting process, members were being pressed into opening ballot papers at work instead of at home, and encouraged to vote yes, contrary to the rules on industrial action. thejudge agreed, they said that what the cwu did was an interference with voting, a subversion of the ballot process. a damning finding from the judge, the union has said it was italy disappointed and intends to appeal. for now, strike action has been hunted, and that has the potential —— that had the potential to be hugely disruptive. —— the union has said that it was bitterly disappointed. well, as we saw earlier, the flooding may be bad in parts of england but venice has also been hit by severe flooding after the highest tide in more than 50

our business correspondent, emma simpson has more details.d already become the go to place for all those baby essentials. including a pram for six quid. it served generations of new parents, but over the years, this specialist retailer lost its way. talk to new mums and dads today, and they paint a very different picture of shopping for their little ones. baby things, we probably tend to shop around, go online, get things that are more local to us, to be honest. everyone is trying to compete with each other, and the shops are getting cheaper and cheaper, and so the stores which charge a premium, unfortunately, they are being hit when people shop elsewhere. h&m, primark, when you've got a cheap option. now i'll be going and doing my shopping online more. which is a shame, because it's a good place to go with the kids, as well. they think it's fun there. mothercare‘s uk business has been losing money for years. today the company said it could no longer see a return to profitability and called it a day. the big problem for mothercare is that eve

our business correspondent emma simpson reports.it served generations of new parents, but over the years this specialist retailer lost its way. take two of these and put them at the top stop you. everyone these and put them at the top stop everyone is trying to beat each other and the shops are getting cheaper and cheaper. and so the stores will charge a premium and unfortunately they are being hit with these things and people want to shop elsewhere. i do my shopping online more. which is a shame because it's a good place to go with the kids as well. they think it's fun there. mothercare's uk business has been losing money for years, today the company said it could no longer see a return to profitability and called it a day. at its peak in 2008 come up mothercare had a25 stores, but by last year it was down to just 79 after a major restructuring to close shops and cut costs. that did not work and now two and a half thousand jobs mostly part—time ones are at risk. the stores continue to trade as normal for now. mothercare's profitabl

here's our business correspondent emma simpson. hi everyone, it's holly willoughby here.th its denim ranges — they quickly sold out. across clothing, it didn't have enough of the right products, in the right size. yet again, so many of m&s's problems are self—inflicted. jill, i think you've got the toughestjob in the company. well, i love a challenge. meetjill stanton, new head of women's wearfor m&s. many people will find it extraordinary you're still trying to fix the basics. this is a big and complex business, but the important thing is that we have a very clear strategy in place now. we're buying less product, we're being it in more depth. we're buying it in more depth. the per una range has had a revamp too, but two years into this latest turn around, progress is painfully slow. you're not going to turn a ship around overnight. it's going to be a process of iteration and making sure that you constantly are paying forward those learnings and getting to a better place. can m&s fashion be turned around? it can. it absolutely can. but not everyone's so sure. the fashion