let's go back now to lucy williamson, who is in paris, andju5t back now to lucy williamson, who is inoks like there will be very little that is saved of notre dame. yes, and i think that is beginning to sink in here in paris, or late afternoon and into this evening a real sense of 5hock, into this evening a real sense of shock, of sadness here, but what really struck me was the silence and the feeling from people that this was a loss really beyond words. we have had the mayor of paris, anne hidalgo, saying there are no words are strong enough to express the pain of watching notre dame burn. the prime minister talking about grief beyond words. and you mentioned the vatican, they expre55ed mentioned the vatican, they expressed their disbelief at what has happened. the image that is really going to stay with me tonight i5 really going to stay with me tonight is of ordinary people in the streets around notre dame gathering together 5inging around notre dame gathering together singing and praying. lucy williamson with the latest from paris, thank you. newsnight is getting under way on bbc

i'm joined by our paris correspondent, lucy williamson.

our first report is from our paris correspondent, lucy williamson. words were hard to find last night to describe this loss, to absorb this scene. what burned with notre dame, high above the paris skyline, was 800 years of history. for some, the physical anchor of paris, the cultural soul of france. it took 23 minutes to confirm the fire alert and send emergency crews to the scene. the fire was spreading quickly, oak rafters that had held the roof

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.an idea of how quickly the blaze took hold last night. the first reports of smoke came just before 7 o'clock local time after the cathedral had closed to the public. in a little over an hour, the 19th century spire had gone. by 10 o'clock, officials were saying they may not be able the save the cathedral. but in that crucial window of time, just 15 to 30 minutes, firefighters finally managed to contain the flames, so that by 11 o'clock, the city's fire chief was able to declare that the cathedral‘s stone structure was safe afterall. saved too, were a large number of priceless artefacts, carried out of the cathedral as the fires burned above. 0ur arts correspondent david sillito reports on what's been saved and how much can be restored. there was a moment when you wondered if anything could survive this. however, the great rose window, tonight, it's rather battered and charred, but still largely intact. as pieces of roof crashed to the ground, a human chain helped remove more than 1,000

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.f how quickly the blaze took hold last night. the first reports of smoke came just before 7pm local time, after the cathedral had closed to the public. in a little over an hour, the i9th—century spire had collapsed. by 10pm, officials were saying they may not be able the save the cathedral. but, in that crucial window of time, just 15 to 30 minutes, firefighters finally managed to contain the fire so that, by "pm, the city's fire chief was able to declare that the cathedral‘s stone structure was safe. saved too were a large number of priceless artefacts, carried out of the cathedral as the fires burned above. 0ur arts correspondent, david sillito, reports on what's been saved and how much can be restored. there was a moment when you wondered if anything could survive this. however, the great rose window, tonight, it's rather battered and charred, still largely intact. as pieces of roof crashed to the ground, a human chain helped remove more than 1,000 years of religious history. amongs

lucy, many thanks, lucy williamson in paris., these cross— party is in westminster, ben, these cross—party talks are going on now, no outcome from them yet, and signs that ministers are starting to go off piste. well, theresa may has not had a cheery good look away from her fellow tory mps and ministers as she heads off to the continent macro today, in fact the various voices from within her own party have exposed deep divisions and acrimony that still swirled around here, you know, from liam fox saying that any compromise around a customs union would be a betrayal of brexit through to andrea leadsom saying that the whole withdrawal agreement should be reopened. you heard mark francois, a leading brexiteer, saying that britain should just leave on friday, even though the prime minister is insisting that would be very damaging for the economy. so the political arguments that have been dominating westminster for months dragged on, but the prime minister has made a chance, she has decided she cannot get the withdrawal agreement thr

correspondentwers -- parisresponded lucy williamson. words were hard to find it absorbribe this loss, to this scene. what burned with notre dame high above the paris skyline was 800 years of history.so fo, the physical anchor of paris, the cultural soul of france. it took 23 minutes to confirm the fire alert and send emergency crews to the scene. the fire was spreadickly. oak rafters that held the roof for centuries turning to ash in the evening sky. the central spire holding out against its own destruction til the very last moment bell hanging clear and still in the flames. to tackle the blaze, fire crews scaled the main towers. this is the firstf glimpse what they facedam. the fl lapping across the night skies. inside, burning embers were still falling when the first ews made their way in. been where people have waiting for mass now covered with smoldering rubble. the empty spacbylit from above blaze of fire where the roof had been. >> we saved the crown of thorns. st. louis tonight. -- tunic. i think we were able to save some chalices

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.let's take a quick look now at other news from around the world. esa man has been ad after walking into new york's st. patrick's cathedral carrying petrol cans, lighter fluid, and lighters. police say a security guard confronted the man as he entered the church. he spilled petrol on the ground, and officers took him into custody. millions of people have been voting in the second week of a's mammoth general election. there are security concerns. an election official was ambushed and shot dead by militants as she traveled to supervise pollinse the second pof voting will finish on the 19th of may, with results due four days later. facebook says it unintentionally uploaded the email contacts 1.5 million new users. without knowledge oronsent. in a statement, the company says the data was not shared with anyone and is being deleted, and ders will beount h notified. more than 200 people have been killed inus libya and tds have been forced to flee their homes following two weeks of fighting on

firefighters have been telling their story, as our paris correspondent lucy williamson reports. notre dame today is a cathedral divided the fire. marks of tragedy surrounded by tranquility. this video given exclusively to the bbc shows stained-glass intact under a jagged hole where the roof used to be. polished pews behind charred mber. that so much survived is extraordinary. the local mayor said there was a moment that night when fire crews told president macron they weren't sure if notre dame could be saved. >> it is very difficult. they could not get up there, the normal scales are not large, not tall enough. they had to use other devices to get into the building, they had to check that the buildi safe. they went up there and they did not have 100% certainty they would be able to get down and out. lucy: this is what firefighters faced that nig. today, one of them spoke publicly for the first time. >> i went up into the towers. it was only when i got to the top that i saw how daunting it was. it was extremely hot, and whad to keep moving back, moving back. it was spreadinvery q

lucy williamson on how it unfolded. it was, said the president, a part of france that burned today, a part that stood for 800 years through war, revolution, and religious unrest. engulfed within an hour by flames. towers, begins for resident -- ancient tower beacons for residents a tourists, crumbling into the blaze. its current guardian watched through tears. s is a national disaster i'm very upset. this cathedral is 850 years old. to see the building fall to pieces, the spire falling down as we were renating it, all i can do is pray. lucy: 400 firefighters circled the cathedral to tackle the blaze. the crane stretching to reach the soaring roof. a complicated and fragile operation. tsimply dousing medieval structure with water was not an fts-n fro, press two rescue exp said, because the building could collapse. to tackle the flames inside the building, firefighters had to climb up the tower nothing else could reach. the flames are beginning to subside now. the damage is beginning to veal itself. the destruction of this

our first report is from paris correspondent lucy williamson.t was, said the president, a part of france that burned today, a part that stood here for 800 years, through war, revolution and religious unrest. engulfed within an hour by flames. its ancient towers, beacons for both residents and tourists, crumbling into the blaze. as its current guardian watched through tears. translation: this is a national disaster, i'm very upset. this cathedral is 850 years old and to see the building fall to pieces, the spire to fall down just as we were renovating it, all i can do is pray. firefighters circled the cathedral to tackle the blaze. their cranes stretching to reach its soaring roof, a complicated and fragile operation, simply dousing the medieval structure with water was not an option, rescue experts said, because the building could collapse. to tackle the flames inside the building, firefighters had to climb up the towers. nothing else could reach. president macron arriving at the cathedral with france's prime minister, his face upturned in disbe

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.re was a crucial time window of barely half an hour that made all the difference to saving so much of the cathedral and its treasures. the firefighters were working to a practised plan, but so many people have been talking of the courage it took to do what those fire crews did. earlier, i spoke with gregg favre — a firefighter of 20 years experience — who watched the blaze unfold on social media. i saw it relatively quick on twitter and even the initial images as a firefighter who works, in an urban area, as a firefighter who used to work in a district with its own cathedral, i'm not only familiar with the type of building structure, and what i was seeing initially was so deeply concerning, the fire went about as expected. save for the fact that the paris fire brigade did an incrediblejob in the back half of the fire, of managing to wrangle some of the control back and obviously save large portions of that building. it was a monumental effort that they put forth and even among firefigh

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.agency, including two journalists jailed in myanmar, has won the pulitzer prize for their reporting on the murder of rohingya muslims by the burmese military. the prize, seen as the most prestigious injournalism, is the latest given to wa lone and kyaw soe oo, who are serving seven years in prison for their investigation into the 2017 killing of ten unarmed men. their wives spoke about their pride in the pair. translation: sent we got married he was always telling me about the pulitzer prize and he dreamt about receiving the highest prize. translation: i am so proud of my husband. i hope it will be taken into consideration towards the release and their family will be reunited. his daughter will surely be proud of her father. egypt's parliament has approved a constitutional change that would lengthen president abdel fattah al—sisi's term in office and give him greater power over the judiciary. the changes, which would make it possible for him to stay in power until 2030, will now be put

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.of illegal climate protests in london. campaigners from the group extinction rebellion are continuing to block sites including oxford circus. the protestors have been warned they'll face the "full force of the law" if they target heathrow airport on friday. our correspondent, tom symonds is at waterloo bridge, one of the main protest sites. the police attempted to raise the pace of their attempts to clear these protest camps today. this afternoon, about 20 people were arrested and then about 30 protesters took their place and as you can see, the bridge is still closed and this man has been playing a cello where the traffic would normally be. it's a problem for the police. they say they can only use reasonable force to clear these protests but this is a peaceful protest so all they can do is remove the protesters one by one. there have been some messages going around today, a fairly well worked—out plan to raise the bar and close down heathrow tomorrow. we can't be sure that that will h

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. you're watching newsday on the bbc. sticks, climate protesters glue themselves to the roof of a train in london's financial district — on a third day of direct action. also on the programme: we meet the so—called bat lady who's trying to save the flying foxes from australia's extreme heat. pol pot, one of the century's greatest mass murderers, is reported to have died of natural causes. he and the khmer rouge movement he led were responsible for the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million cambodians. there have been violent protests in indonesia, where playboy has gone on sale for the first time. traditionalist muslim leaders have expressed disgust. the magazine's offices have been attacked and its editorial staff have gone into hiding. it was clear that paula's only contest was with the clock, and as for her sporting legacy, paula radcliffe's competitors will be chasing her new world best time for years to come. quite quietly, but quicker and quicker, she seemed just to slide away under the surface and disappear. this is ne

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.le who try to view pornography online will have to verify that they are over eighteen years old. checks will include submitting id such as credit cards or passports. but as our media editor amol rajan reports, there could be ways round the new checks. like so many industries, porn has shifted online in recent years, dragging with it concerns about who is using it. these changes are significant, but is there any prospect of them actually working? drew? hello mate, lovely to meet you. good to see you. drew wylie uses pornography. at 23, he belongs to a generation for whom porn has always been instantly accessible. everyone can basically now has access that from a very, very early age, so i think that the level of exposure is much more extreme. do you think that is dangerous? i mean, do you think a lot of young people are seeing stuff online they shouldn't have? i do. it's dangerous, because young people are learning about sex through pornography, which isn't — i don't feel that's how you

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. let's hear the latest from paris.eaguejoins us let's hear the latest from paris. my colleague joins us now. let's hear the latest from paris. my colleaguejoins us now. can let's hear the latest from paris. my colleague joins us now. can you bring us up—to—date with where we are now? you can probably see behind me that notre dame cathedral, that miracle of mediaeval architecture and engineering, the basic structure, the shape of it as we recognise it is still visible against the dark skyline here. you may be able to make out that water is still being poured in. thejob of the firefighters now is to make sure that the fire cannot re—establish itself somewhere in the depths of the building and to bring down the very high temperature of the stone and the woodwork inside. tomorrow comes the work of establishing what caused the fire and the first assessment of how long it will take to repair the damage and how much it will cost. it is worth bearing in mind the nature of these buildings. notre dame took nearly 200 years to bu

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.r they were removed from the body. the research at yale university could raise ethical questions about what it means to be alive and conscious. 0ur medical correspondent fergus walsh explains. the brain is the most complex organ in the body. it was always assumed it gets irreversibly damaged within minutes of blood flow stopping. now, a remarkable study in the journal nature challenges that view. the scientists at yale school of medicine used brains from farm animals bred for pork. in all, 32 brains were collected from an abbatoir. four hours after death, the organs were placed in specially designed tanks and synthetic blood was pumped round at body temperature for six hours. remarkably, despite being dead for hours, cells within the brain started to function. there was activity in synapses. some brain circuits started to work. the brains began to use energy and oxygen, and blood flow was restored. this video shows some of the blood vessels of the partially revived organs. but there wa

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. earlier this month to much acclaim. but dramatic scenes in part two which show walruses falling to their deaths from russian cliffs have been horrifying many viewers. we can show you some stills from the clip now, and be warned, it is graphic. the walruses are falling due to exhaustion, after having had to swim long distances to find places to rest because the ice where they would usually sleep on has melted. the netflix series, produced in partnership with the wwf and silverback films, wants us to think about the impact global warming has on the world's habitats. peter winsor is director of wwf‘s arctic programme. earlier he told me global warming ia problem that needed tobe earlier he told me global warming is a problem that needed tobe addressed decades ago. we are definitely behind the curve on the climate change issue, especially the arctic ocean which is basically ground zero for climate change. the arctic ocean has been warming up at a rate three times the global average and wi

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris., including two journalists jailed in myanmar, has won the pulitzer prize for their reporting on the murder of rohingya muslims by the burmese military. the prize, seen as the most prestigious injournalism, is the latest given to wa lone and kyaw soe oo, who are serving seven years in prison for their investigation into the 2017 killing of ten unarmed men. egypt's parliament has approved a constitutional change that would lengthen president abdel fattah al—sisi's term in office and give him greater power over the judiciary. the changes, which would make it possible for him to stay in power until 2030, will now be put to a referendum. polls have opened in indonesia for what is being called the world's most complicated election. 193 million voters are casting their ballots in presidential, parliamentary and regional elections. 0ur asia business correspondent karishma vaswani is at a polling staion injakarta. is at a polling station injakarta. what are the key issues as they cast their vo

from paris, lucy williamson reports. with notre—dame, high above the paris skyline, was 800 years of history. for some, the physical anchor of paris, the cultural soul of france. it took 23 minutes to confirm the fire alert and send emergency crews to the scene. the fire was spreading quickly, oak rafters that had held the roof for centuries turning to ash in the evening sky. this was the first glimpse of what they faced, footage of the building filmed from above, the flames mapping a cross against the night sky. inside, burning embers were still falling when the first crews made their way in. the pews where people had been waiting for mass that afternoon now covered with smouldering rubble. the empty space lit from above by a blaze of fire where the roof had been. tonight president macron addressed the nation. translation: we found that what we thought was indestructible can be damaged. everything that makes france is alive and therefore fragile. and yes, we will rebuild the notre—dame cathedral and it will be more beau

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.nd the capital since monday. the extinction rebellion group are demanding that the uk government reduces carbon emissions to zero by 2025. the group say it plans to target heathrow on good friday —— one of its busiest days of the year. the bbc‘s tom symonds is at waterloo bridge. the police attempted to raise the pace of their attempts to clear these protest camps today. this afternoon about 20 people were arrested within about 30 protesters took their place and as you can see, the bridge is still closed and this man has been playing a cello whether traffic would normally be. it's a problem for the police. they say they can only use reasonable force to clear these protests but this is a peaceful protest so all they can do is remove the protesters one by one. there have been some messages going around today, a fairly well worked out plan to raise the bar and close down heathrow tomorrow. we can't be sure that that will happen but the mayor of london has said if it does, that will be dan

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.great masters of the italian renaissance, has finally made his debut in the united states. some of the enormous works now on display at the national gallery of art in washington have left venice for the first time, to help celebrate the anniversary of the artist's birth. jane o'brien went for a look. this year scale of tintoretto's canvases is overwhelming. some couldn't be included in this show because they wouldn't fit through the gallery doors. those that did are a storyteller‘s paradise. scenes from the bible and classical mythology brought to life in dramatic brushstrokes. tintoretto worked on an enormous scale, and the really big paintings behind me are actually only middle—sized tintorettos. he really had this ambition to cover every wall of his native town. he was born in venice 500 years ago, and he really thought big. for him, a way of conveying urgency was to do things on a really colossal scale. tintoretto was a pioneer in the new medium of oil paint on canvas, and he used

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.comes to terms with what has happened to notre dame, let's look at some of the first images coming in from inside this 850—year—old interior cathedral. these are the first images that we have received here at the bbc newsroom and we can see that the devastation, the fire that was raging in the roof of this particular part of the cathedral, although it looks absolutely dramatic we saw the flames coming up on the outside, the devastation within the insiders at fully looking not as bad as initially had been feared. the firefighters were able to keep the walls wet and so the fire did not spread as much as it had initially been feared. the investigation teams will come in in the morning to assess the situation and water is still continually being doused but you can see the devastation right now is... it does not look too dreadful. of course it isa not look too dreadful. of course it is a terrible situation but it is salvageable and the stone is secure, we are being told. many of the relic,

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.has been speaking in the last half hour pledging to try to rebuild the structure and it is hoped that the stone towers of the cathedral will now survive. is hoped that the stone towers of the cathedral will now survivem did look perilous for a while but thatis did look perilous for a while but that is the current pope. notre dame sits in the heart of paris. on the ile de la cite, an island in the middle of the river seine. tonight the city — and the whole of france — is mourning a cultural and historical loss previously thought unimaginable. fergal keane reports now on the damage done to france's cultural fabric. in paris, the most desolate of skies, smoke and ruin and history billowing into the air. fire crews from across paris have come here to save whatever they possibly can, and the striking thing, standing among the crowds on the banks of the seine, isjust the silence, the quiet of people stunned by the destruction of notjust a great french cultural artefact but of one that belong

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.had been due to open in december last year. bbc news has been told that none of the new stations have been finished, and there are concerns about the signalling system. a ukip candidate at the european elections has refused to apologise for comments he made online to the labour mp jess phillips. carl benjamin, seen here standing on the left, posted on twitter that he "wouldn't even rape" the mp. at a news conference today, he said he wouldn't apologise for what he called his "crimes against political correctness". more pupils may be being deliberately moved off their books by secondary schools than previously thought, according to new research. the education policy institute says it found more than 50,000 moves from secondary schools in england that it couldn't explain. it's not known how many are because schools want to get rid of pupils not expected to get good grades. the government has written to schools warning this is illegal. bra nwen jeffreys reports. this is bailey. he went mi

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. more on that for you on the bbc website.wednesday was a perfectly acceptable day for many parts of the british isles, but it may well be put in the shade by what we are expecting to see quite widely across the british isles on saturday. the temperatures could peak around london at 25 degrees. for those of you who have opted for the stay—cation for this particular holiday weekend, well, you're certainly beating those who have decided to head down anywhere really, from iberia right across to the eastern mediterranean. the reason for our settled spell of weather is that the jet stream, as we move through the weekend and into the start of next week, should be well away from the british isles. we're trapped on its warmer side. you'll notice there is a pocket of somewhat cooler air not a million miles to the west of us as we start the new week. more on that in just a second. thursday starts off rather cloudy across eastern scotland and the eastern side of the pennines, but as the day gets going that cloud dissipates. a little bit

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. bus crash on the island of madeira. the bus, which was reported to be carrying german tourists, plunged off a road and overturned. there were around 50 people on board. the bus crashed just outside the capital city, funchal. it's feared pedestrians may also be among the dead. ben ando has more. the coach, which was carrying german holiday—makers, came to rest on its on its side after apparently coming off the road on a tight curve and rolling down the mountain. exactly how it happened isn't clear. the bus is badly damaged, with most of its windows broken. it seems many of the victims were thrown onto the ground in the crash. local people quickly gathered, some assisting the emergency services as they helped injured survivors get clear of the wreckage. 55 people were on board the bus when it crashed in the early evening in the city of canico, east of the island's capital, funchal. madeira is one of a small group of islands off the coast of north africa that are part of the republic of

here is this report from lucy williamson. y france saw the faces of its heroes, the firefighters who on monday night pitted their bravery against the vast inferno and won. now in the gilded rooms of the police a elise a palace, the second cathedral of france. >> the firefighters are a humble and discrete unit, and we are here as a community to honor the individuaefand collective rts of my comments. lucy: one firefighter describes emerging eating the roof engulfed -- seeing the roof engulfed n "it was only later that we saw the risks were taking," she said. "we were so small compared to it." forensic teams have begun to gather evidence at the site. the structure of notre dame is still fragile, damaged bhethe fire andperation to save it. the threat to notre dame did not .die with the fire several areas of the building have been badly weakened. some of begin polls have already been given extra sport. scaffolding has been brought in to secure the stonework, and a tarpaulin is urgently needed to protect the vaulte ceiling from rain

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. this is the scene tonight.n hour ago at the church not far from where we are broadcasting from. a visual of song, and prayer. and a tribute to this magnificent cathedral in the heart of the city that means so much to this city. a slow and solemn march towards the cathedral, a cathedral thatis towards the cathedral, a cathedral that is broken tonight, but still stands so beautifully on the banks of the river seine. as it has done for nearly nine centuries. before the vigil began, the president of france addressed the people of paris and far beyond. he said everyone had played their part, from the fire to bring to the security officials come to the citizens he said, everybody did what they could to save this magnificent building. we will turn to him he said, a catastrophe into our unity. let's hear some of what he had to say: translation: each and every person sacrificed, gave what he had. the firefighters have fought with heroism. the police and security forces where there as always, the parisians were reassured

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. of the key foreign policy initiatives of president trump's administration looks sha key. north korea has threatened to end nuclear talks with the united states unless secretary of state mike pompeo is removed as negotiator. pyongyang has accused mr pompeo of "talking nonsense" — of being "reckless" — they've asked that he be replaced by someone "more careful". the statement came just as north korea said it had tested a new tactical guided weapon — the first test since a failed summit between kimjong un and us president donald trump in vietnam in february. i can't ican't imagine i can't imagine donald trump paid much attention to this today. he was in bullish mood after the publication of the mueller report. i would have thought he headed down to mara largo its resort in florida for the weekend with a spring in his step. i would have thought he would have a nice break away from all of this politics and perhaps only start engaging on the north korea thought process when he returns from

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. at least 28 people have died in a bus crash on the portuguesesland of madeira. the s which was carrying german tourists plunged off a road a overturned. there were around 55 people on board. threporter: coach which was carrying german holidaymakers came to rest on its side after anparently coming off the road on a tight curvrolling down the mountain. exactly how it happened isn't clear. the bus is badly damaged with most of the windows broken. it seems many of the victwns were thronto the ground in the crash. local people quickly gathered, some assisting emergency services as they helped survivors get clear of the wreckage. 55 people were on board the bus when it crashed in the early evening in the city of caniÇo, east of the island's capital. madeira is one of a small group of islandoff the coast of north africa that are part of the republic of portugal. it is a popular destination for those seeking early-season sun. tonigh work at the scene goes on. ign office says they are standing

a few moments ago, our paris correspondent lucy williamson sent us this update.l, visible across paris, the smell of the cathedral burning. it's only been going about an houror so but burning. it's only been going about an hour or so but already the flame seemed to have completely engulfed the roof wrapping themselves around the roof wrapping themselves around the terrorists at the back care. we are not quite sure yet what has caused this. —— around the terrace. some think it might be linked to renovation work being carried out here was that we are told president macron is now on his way here to address the firefighters. this cathedral has been damaged so many times and this history, it's been here almost 1000 years. but never anything like this. lucy williamson, our correspondent in paris as we bring you a special programme which is focusing entirely on what is obvious here come a catastrophic fire at one of the worlds most iconic, most famous, most visited buildings among the notre dame cathedral in the heart of paris. which has been on a fire now for at least

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.. david sillito reports. are you threatening to kick me out of the band? in almost never, the story of a fictional group, girls here first, she was mya. here's the deal. we get to be in girls here first and still have lives. mya—lecia naylor was only 16 but already a tv veteran. there we go, lie down. her first appearance on prime—time was as a baby in absolutely fabulous. and it was as fran in millie inbetween that she became one of the faces of cbbc. it's unknown how she died but there are reports of a sudden collapse. the head of the bbc‘s children services, alice webb, said she was hugely popular with the audience, a very talented actress, dancer and singer, and a real role model for her young fans. i'm tati, welcome to tati's hotel. a generation had watched her grow up on screen, and only a few days before her death she'd been interviewed, talking excitedly about her plans for the future. now it's time for a look at the weather with mel. good evening our weather has gone under a t

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. she's the head of brexit policy for the british irish chamber of commerce. sylvia is in paris and deputy director of a french is for international and strategic affairs. i'm alsojoined by pauline come a general list for the new statesman in brussels. good to see you all. thank you for being with us. if i can thank you for being with us. if i ca n start thank you for being with us. if i can start with you in dublin, katie, we heard the meeting between emmanuel macron today and they both made it clear that if there was going to be any kind of extension to article 50, which we now know theresa may wants, there has to be a plan, a credible plan to back up that extension. do you see anything in what theresa may said tonight that amounts to a credible plan? i suppose she hasn't really put forward much detail in what she will look for in talks with jeremy corbyn and the labour party but i think it is a step in the right direction. businesses across both ireland and member of the iris chamber

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. ahead mason, heather, thank you very much for being with us on bbc news this evening. when you look at what you see, what immediately leaps out at you, what makes you hopeful, or perhaps pessimistic about this project? well, both hopeful, because i think the devastation could have been far more total, it could've been far more total, it could've been a lot worse, but i think there's a lot of trepidation in that the task ahead is enormous. and really i don't think anyone who's in a position to estimate the cost or anything just yet, because it will have to be a very prolonged period of investigation to have a look at it, almost done by stone, and assess the condition of the building. help us if you can to get an idea of what sort of damage done to stonework by fire, because you know, as an ignorant outsider, i kind of think well, it stone, it's going to be pretty durable in the heat, but clearly that's not the case. no, not in these sort of temperatures that would've been achieved ther

but first, here's our paris correspondent lucy williamson. words were hard to find last night.his loss. to absorb this scene. what burned with notre—dame high above the paris skyline was 800 years of history. for some, the physical anchor of paris. the cultural soul of france. it took 23 minutes to confirm the fire alert and send emergency crews to the scene. the fire was spreading quickly. oak rafters has held the roof for centuries turning to ash in the evening sky. 400 firefighters circled the cathedral, their cranes just stretching to reach the roof. the risk that water would damage whatever the fire had left behind. along the banks of the seine and surrounding streets people watched, barely speaking. their all familiar to pilgrims throughout the century, not their grief. they watched the fire engulf the cathedral's central spire. its bell hanging clear and still in the slippery flames. and then this. from the street it looked as if the building had erupted. the falling debris setting the interior alight. to tackle the blaze inside the cathedral, fire crews had to climb up

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.which scientists thought was being lost to evolution, seems to be making a comeback. researchers at imperial college london say the fabella is now three times more common in the human body than in 1918. their study also found people with arthritis appeared to be more likely to have one. more than 500 people have now been arrested following days of illegal climate protests in london. campaigners from the group extinction rebellion are continuing to block sites including oxford circus and parliament square. to block sites including oxford circus and parliament square. the protestors have been warned they'll face the full force of the law if they target heathrow airport on friday. our correspondent, tom symonds is at waterloo bridge, one of the main protest sites. the police attempted to raise the pace of their attempts to clear these protest camps today. this afternoon, about 20 people were arrested but then about 30 protesters took their place and, as you can see, the bridge is still cl

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.ing of a transformation just in time for the bank holiday. some reached highs of 23 celsius, the warmest day of the year so far. we still have high pressure in charge so it is a settled story and we are drawing warmerair settled story and we are drawing warmer air from settled story and we are drawing warmer airfrom central settled story and we are drawing warmer air from central europe. settled story and we are drawing warmer airfrom central europe. we may start good friday with low cloud, missed and filed an event we are doing in for a lovely day. lighter winds for the north sea and channel coast. seabreeze may develop and temperatures reaching highs of 20- 22 and temperatures reaching highs of 20— 22 celsius. and temperatures reaching highs of 20- 22 celsius. we could see 23 in some spots. a fine and to the day. a weather front edging closer to northern ireland and western fringes of scotla nd northern ireland and western fringes of scotland before the night is over. some spots hang

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris. newsnight is getting under way on bbc two.ndon news with me, louisa preston. hello and welcome to sportsday — i'm hugh. 0ur our main headlines this evening. chelsea and arsenal make it into the europa league semi finals but it's not all plain sailing at stamford bridge. leaving scotland again — manager alex mcleish is out of a job after their poor start to the euro qualifying campaign. jarell miller insists he's done nothing wrong and will appeal the decision to deny him a licence to face anthonyjoshua. good evening. for the first time in 35 years four english sides will play in european semi finals this season. after liverpool and tottenham's champions league exploits. both chelsea and arsenal have made it past the quarterfinals of the europa league, with second leg winds tonight. chelsea shared an eventful match with slavia prague at stamford bridge — winning 4—3 on the night. to go through 5—3 on aggregate, nick parrott has more. slob via prague came to stanford bridge with their coach hoping to be chelsea's strongest side,

a little earlier, a ceremony took place outside notre dame — here's the bbc‘s lucy williamson.atitude to the fire brigade, by risking your lives, you've saved part of ours. after the service, the crowd walked down to notre dame, just as thousands did on monday night. standing with the cathedral in its hour of need, the mayor explained, as notre dame has for centuries stood with us. let's look some more at the mueller report which was made available to the public today. it is online, you can read it now, 448 pa g es it is online, you can read it now, 448 pages of it. the whole thing took 23 months, it involved 2300 subpoenas and 500 search warrants. we still haven't seen the whole thing, because some of it is redacted. here's us attorney general william barr. the report contains limited reactions limited to four categories of information. those categories are grandjury of information. those categories are grand jury material, information that the ice believes, would disclose sources and methods, information that would impair the investigation and prosecution of other cases that

i'm joined by our paris correspondent, lucy williamson.sense today that the french president was just softening a little in some of the rhetoric. yes, he has been very tough on the conditions that might be needed for an extension. this is the uk's problem to solve. any extension is going to need a really concrete reason, a really credible plan. but i think there has been some movement coalescing around the other 26 members of the eu to push for an extension and today, what we really have been hearing is that those conditions from the french side are being expanded. president macron is expected to call tomorrow for a real credible plan from theresa may but also commitments that the uk if it does get a longer extension will not use that membership to try and leveraged the eu over brexit. there has been this frustration on the french part that brexit is dragging on and if it drags on into the new parliamentary session, it is going to in some way hold back the reform programme, the discussions over the budget. he wants some assurance the uk is

and in the forecourt, my colleague, lucy williamson is therefore us, keeping an ion things.ow long do you think before theresa may arrives? she is due here any minute now. we arejust watching to see when the big gates open at the entrance to the courtyard and certainly, i think she is going to be expecting a slightly tougher conversation here than she had in berlin. france has long been seen as had in berlin. france has long been seen as the bad cop in the brexit process , seen as the bad cop in the brexit process, the one to lay down stringent content —— conditions for any extension. president macron says he does not want to see the eu held hostage to the uk's practical crisis. sources here today have also said when it comes to the summit, he is going to be pushing for political commitments from the uk to stay out of any votes on the eu's future, thatis of any votes on the eu's future, that is in return for extension. yes, just some of the dynamics around the decision—making, lucy. what kind of say do you think president macron will have tomorrow as opposed to chancellor me

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.ht, bells rang out in solidarity with notre—dame. the sound of continuity after a crisis that lets all of paris know they are not alone. let's talk to the french commentator anne—elisabeth moutet, who's in paris. good evening to you. we heard at the top of the programme the bells ringing out, the national bell—ringing 48 hours after the fire started. i wonder what the symbolism of that is for the country? bells ring in churches to sound the alarm, to call to mass, to markjoyous occasions and to mark death and desolation. these were wrong in remembrance and in solidarity. they started at 6:59pm, which is when the fire started on monday, and they started today at that very time and they ran for one hour. is it possible to talk about a national mood across the country? 0r possible to talk about a national mood across the country? or are primarily, is this mood focused on paris itself? 0h, primarily, is this mood focused on paris itself? oh, no, it is the entire country. you only have to s

lucy williamson, bbc news, paris.d spoke to heather newton, head of conservation at canterbury cathedral and a former head mason there. she told me it would be a complex restoration project. i don't think they will have any problem in recruiting skills. i'm in, there are enormous numbers of people who are highly skilled in every discipline one would need for a project like that. you're going to need project managers, you're going to need engineers, you're going to need architects. consultants. there are very skilled craftsmen. is notjoss stone, it is timber, it is glass, it is metalwork, and textiles as well. as yet we have no idea of the damage that was caused to the interior of the cathedral and there will be losses there that will have to be replaced or at least conserved so that things that can be damaged can be put back into use and will be a record of what has happened to. are there techniques, materials, things that modern mason work can do that your forebears back that modern mason work can do that yourforebea