emma vardy reports. walked into this belfast bakery to place an order. his purchase of a cake became a bitter legal row over the extent to which businesses can refuse to promote certain views. the cake was to be iced with the message "support gay marriage". today, the supreme court ruled that the bakery‘s refusal to take that order did not amount to discrimination. this court has held that nobody should be forced or have or express a political opinion in which he does not believe. the bakery‘s owners had previously been sued for discrimination. today's decision by the uk's highest court to overturn previous rulings marks a hard —fought vindication of their views. we did not turn down this order because of the person who made it, but because of the message itself. thejudges have given a clear signal today. in fact, it couldn't be clearer. family businesses like ours are free to focus on giving all their customers the best service they can, without being forced to promote other people's campaigns. gareth l

emma vardy, bbc news.h me and some of the team on twitter, i'm @babitabbc. mike is and in 15 minutes with the rest of the news for you. now at is time to catch up with all his court news with us or to date. see you soon. hello, this is sport today live from the bbc sport centre. coming up on this programme: ronaldo returns to old trafford as hisjuventus beat manchester united 1—0 in the champions league. we'll head live to boston as the red sox get set to host the la dodgers in game one of major league baseball's world series. and defending champion caroline wozniacki gets her first win at the wta finals in singapore, beating petra kvitova. hello, and welcome to the programme, where we start with the footballing news that cristiano ronaldo's return to old trafford ended in victory for hisjuventus team over manchester united. the 33—year—old spent six years with united, winning the champions league, before moving to real madrid, which saw him win it a furtherfour times. the 1—0 victory in this game courtesy

emma vardy, bbc news.re at least half the local banks and building societies have closed. bbc anaylsis of data from the office for national statistics has found nearly 6,000 local branches have shut since 2010. the banking industry says closing a branch is only used as a last resort. david rhodes reports. this is sowerby bridge, a forgotten market town in west yorkshire. market trainer used to be very good, but you have only got to look around market trade used to be very good, but you have only got to look around now and see how empty markets are. james has been trading here for decades, but the closure of six bank branches has left him angry. business is getting very hard and it doesn't help when the likes of halifax building society close the cash machine. cash still plays a big role in this community and many others like it, but this bike shop and cafe sits opposite a former bank branch and it underlines how many bank closures impact notjust on businesses, but on real lives. cash still plays a big role

emma vardy reports.reth lee walked into this belfast bakery to place an order. his purchase of a cake became a bitter legal row over the extent to which businesses can refuse to promote certain views. the cake was to be iced with the message "support gay marriage". today, the supreme court ruled that the bakery‘s refusal to take that order did not amount to discrimination. this court has held that nobody should be forced or have or express a political opinion in which he does not believe. the bakery‘s owners had previously been sued for discrimination. today's decision by the uk's highest court to overturn previous rulings marks a hard —fought vindication of their views. we did not turn down this order because of the person who made it, but because of the message itself. thejudges have given a clear signal today. in fact, it couldn't be clearer. family businesses like ours are free to focus on giving all their customers the best service they can, without being forced to promote other people's campaigns.

emma vardy, bbc news, at the supreme court. our home editor, mark easton, is with me.ake of the potential legal implications of this ruling? well, discrimination law is about ensuring that people are not treated differently because of their race, religion or sexual orientation, it is about people, not messages, and it is not about cake, and that was the distinction the supreme court made today, between the message and the man. the distinction is important, because there are competing rights, the right of the customer to order a ca ke to right of the customer to order a cake to promote gay marriage, but also the right of the baker not to bake a cake to promote gay marriage, and human rights law actually accents explicitly that people are not obliged to manifest a belief that they do not hold, but this judgment goes beyond that. it says that the baker would have been entitled to refuse to bake a cake, whatever the message on the icing. as thejudges put whatever the message on the icing. as the judges put it, whatever the message on the icing. as thejudges put it, they wh

emma vardy has more.ce gay rights activist gareth lee walked into this belfast bakery to place an order. his purchase of a cake became a bitter legal right over the extent to which businesses can refuse to promote certain views. the cake was to be iced with the message "support gay marriage". today, the supreme court ruled that the bakery‘s refusal to take that order did not amount to discrimination. this court has held that nobody should be forced or have or express a political opinion in which he does not believe. the bakery‘s owners had previously been sued for discrimination. today's decision by the uk's highest court to overturn previous rulings marks a hard—fought vindication of their views. we did not turn down this order because of the person who made it but because of the message itself. thejudges have given a clear signal today. in fact, it couldn't be clearer. family businesses like ours are free to focus on giving all their customers the best service they can without being forced to promote ot

emma vardy, bbc news, at the supreme court. now on bbc news, sport today. hello, this is sport today, live from the bbc sport centre. coming up on this programme: olympic gold medallist simone biles speaks out about being the victim of sexual abuse. world number two roger federer survives a scare as he gets his shanghai masters title defence underway. and shane warne tells us that test cricket will be around as long as its star attractions are playing. hello and welcome to the programme, where we start with the news that four—time olympic gold medallist simone biles has told the bbc she feels empowered after speaking out about the team doctor who abused her and other young gymnasts. speaking ahead of the world championships in doha, the american gymnast says she hopes sharing her story will encourage other people to tell theirs too. our sports correspondent natalie pirks went to her hometown in texas to meet her. the final move of her olympic championships... in 2016, in the heat of rio, simone biles set the sporting world ablaze. how does she do it? five o

emma vardy, bbc news.al banks and building societies have closed. bbc anaylsis of data from the office for national statistics has found nearly 6,000 local branches have shut since 2010. the banking industry says closing a branch is only used as a last resort. david rhodes reports. this is sowerby bridge, a forgotten market town in west yorkshire. market trade used to be very good, but you have only got to look around now and see how empty markets are. james has been trading here for decades, but the closure of six bank branches has left him angry. business is getting very hard and it doesn't help when the likes of halifax building society close the cash machine. cash still plays a big role in this community and many others like it, but this bike shop and cafe sits opposite a former bank branch and it underlines how many bank closures impact notjust on businesses, but on real lives. the lloyds across the road was really busy and one of the main thing is about trying to get change and things like that when

emma vardy was in court.s activist gareth lee walked into this belfast bakery to place an order. his purchase of a cake became a bitter legal row over the extent to which businesses can refuse to promote political views. the cake was to be iced with the message "support gay marriage". today the supreme court ruled that the bakery‘s refusal to take that order did not amount to discrimination. this court has held that nobody should be forced to have or express a political opinion in which he does not believe. the bakery‘s owners had previously been sued for discrimination and had lost their subsequent appeal. the decision of the uk's highest court to overturn previous rulings marks a hard fought vindication of their views. we did not turn down this order because of the person who made it, but because of the message itself. thejudges have given a clear signal today, in fact, it couldn't be clearer, family businesses like ours are free to focus on giving all their customers the best service they can, without bein

emma vardy, bbc news.xt president, and religion is playing a significant role in how that turns out. the country, home to the world's largest catholic population, is becoming more evangelical: 6% in the 1980s, 30% today. influenced by powerful churches and with conservative family values, evangelicals are backing the far—right candidate jair bolsonaro, as julia carneiro reports from rio. a concert for a devoted audience. "who's part of the lord's army?" the singer asks. this is one of the biggest evangelical churches in rio. these people can help decide brazil's political future. winning over evangelical voters has become crucial in these presidential elections, and this means appealing both to conservative values and to a group that's been hard—hit by brazil's economic crisis. up to 70% of evangelicals are expected to vote for the leading presidential candidate, jair bolsonaro, a former army captain who praises brazil's dictatorship years. he's known for homophobic and misogynist views, and defends the tr

emma vardy, bbc news.aying it breaks eu rules on public spending. the commission has asked rome to submit a new budget within three weeks or face disciplinary action. italy's governing populist parties have vowed to push ahead with campaign promises, including a minimum income for the unemployed. elderly people suffered painful and distressing deaths due to poor care in a nursing home, according to their families who have spoken to the bbc. relatives of two women who died at a home run by bupa said their loved ones suffered terribly. the health watchdog the care quality commission says it is concerned that it's a national problem, with some care homes having staff shortages and a lack of training in end of life care. here's our health editor, hugh pym. i saw the most cruel thing that no one should ever go through. you should not have to die that way. this is a photograph of my mother in the nursing home. ingrid is haunted by the way her mother ann died last year, aged 92. she was in a private care home run

emma vardy, bbc news. the time is just gone quarter past six. our top story this evening.president calls for the men arrested in saudi arabia for the killing ofjamal khashoggi to be sent back to his country to go on trial. still to come... how the number of fast food outlets on the high street has increased by a third in a decade. coming up on sportsday on bbc news, england's heaviest ever defeat in one—day cricket as they lose to sri lanka by more than 200 runs. after a year of extreme weather farmers have a lot to contend with at the moment. but sheep farmers are facing possibly an even bigger obstacle as they put their rams in the fields this breeding season. the lambs they are planning for will be born after brexit and so decision making is unusually difficult. and the latest figures show that breeding ewes are fetching the lowest price in more than 3 years. 0ur consumer affairs correspondent colletta smith has been to talking to farmers in cumbria. on a crisp autumn day there are few places more appealing than being up on the hills with the sheep at this farm. but for

emma vardy was in court.st gareth lee walked into this belfast bakery to place an order. his purchase of a cake became a bitter legal row over the extent to which businesses can refuse to promote political views. the cake was to be iced with the message support gay marriage. today the supreme court ruled that the ba kery‘s refusal to take supreme court ruled that the bakery‘s refusal to take the order did not amount to discrimination. this court has held that nobody should be forced to have our express political opinion in which he does not believe. the bakery's connors had previously been sued for discrimination and had lost their subsequent appeal. the decision of the uk's highest court to overturn a previous rulings marks a hard part vindication of their views. we did not turn down this order because of the person who made it but because of the message itself. thejudges have given a clear signal today, in fa ct, have given a clear signal today, in fact, it could not be more clear, family businesses like ou

emma vardy was in court.hts activist gareth lee walked into this belfast bakery to place an order. his purchase of a cake became a bitter legal row over the extent to which businesses can refuse to promote political views. the cake was to be iced with the message support gay marriage. today the supreme court ruled that the bakery‘s refusal to take the order did not amount to discrimination. this court has held that nobody should be forced to have our express political opinion in which he does not believe. the bakery‘s connors had previously been sued for discrimination and had lost their subsequent appeal. the decision of the uk's highest court to overturn a previous rulings marks a hard part vindication of their views. we did not turn down this order because of the person who made it but because of the message itself. thejudges have given a clear signal today, in fact, it could not be more clear, family businesses like ours are free to focus on giving all their customers the best service they can, without be

emma vardy, bbc news.g industry says closing a branch is only used as a last resort. david rhodes reports. this is sowerby bridge, a forgotten market town in west yorkshire. market trade used to be very good, but you have only got to look around now and see how empty markets are. james has been trading here for decades, but the closure of six bank branches has left him angry. business is getting very hard and it doesn't help when the likes of halifax building society close the cash machine. cash still plays a big role in this community and many others like it, but this bike shop and cafe sits opposite a former bank branch and it underlines how many bank closures impact notjust on businesses, but on real lives. the lloyds across the road was really busy and one of the main thing is about trying to get change and things like that when you are a small business and you do not have... you are there by yourself trying to get change, the post office cannot meet demand. it is absolutely ridiculous. they are just g

emma vardy has this report. jack wasn't a fighter by any chalk of the imagination.hey came outside and they killed each other. jack holmes was 21 when he made the decision to give up his life in bournemouth and travel to syria. i said, "jack, if i was your age and i had no ties, i would probably think about doing the same thing." isaid, "but, you know, you are going there, son, you are not equipped for it." at the time, the group known as islamic state was on the rise. jack wanted to help fight them on the front lines. he made contact with other westerners who were there through facebook and arranged tojoin them. for me, it was a personal choice. i wanted to fight against isis, and i wanted to help the situation over here in iraq and syria. the group that jack and many other westerners joined are called the ypg. they are a kurdish militia who have been one of the main groups fighting is on the ground. it was the 26th of september. and they attacked behind our lines in raqqa in the morning. by his third visit to syria, jack had become part of a sniper unit with other

emma vardy is at the supreme court now. via reasons clearly laid out there but it is still a surpriseappeal. surprise today that the supreme court has overturned the judgments of the lower courts. as you heard there, this amounted to weather the bakery‘s you heard there, this amounted to weather the ba kery‘s refusal to supply this cake was about discriminating against the customer or simply about their right, their freedom to hold these beliefs. the supreme court ruled they should not have been obliged to supply a cake supplying a message with which they profoundly disagreed. but the court has pointed out that it is not about diminishing the need to protect gay rights, or support people for their views, but this is about distinguishing between discriminating against the customer based on their own political or religious beliefs and about their own freedom of expression. that is what that came down to today. this case has been watched very closely by many gay rights activists several yea rs by many gay rights activists several years ago when it first emerged, this case led to hundreds

emma vardy was in court.nesses can refuse to promote certain views. the cake was to be iced with the message "support gay marriage". to take that order did not amount to discrimination. or express a political opinion in which he does not believe. the bakery‘s owners had previously been sued for discrimination. marks a hard—fought vindication of their views. but because of the message itself. thejudges have given a clear signal today. in fact, it couldn't be clearer. to promote other people's campaigns. gareth lee spoke of his disappointment at the turnaround. i paid my money. based upon the beliefs of the business owners. and the judgment today tells me that that's ok. introduced same—sex marriage. sides of this debate. i'm so glad today that ashers has won the case and that takes a lot... i'm sure it was a lot of pressure on them. would be offended also. on their sexual orientation. but that that was not what had happened in this case. not to print a message with which they disagreed. to refuse to promote po