now it's time for meet the author with rebecca jones. career, lionel shriver scribbled in obscurity, and those are her words, not mine. then her seventh novel hit the big time. we need to talk about kevin won the orange prize for fiction in 2005 and made her name. lionel shriver‘s latest book is called the mandibles, and it's set during a financial crisis in america during the near future. at its heart are four generations of a once wealthy family who must deal with the loss of their fortune and then learn to survive as the dollar collapses, inflation soars and the economy spirals out of control. lionel shriver, you wrote the mandibles in 2015, and the picture you paint of america is pretty bleak. revisiting it now as it comes out in paperback, what are your thoughts? well, it's bleaker now! one of the striking things about revisiting this book after the release of the hardback in the spring of 2016 is obviously we now have a new president, and not the president we expected. so there's a feeling of not quite being overtaken by events, be

i'm rebecca jones. the headlines at 3pm: sex education is to be made compulsory in all schools in england. do you have boyfriends and girlfriends at this age? no. children as young as four will be taught about relationships and at an appropriate age about sex. the house of lords seems set to inflict defeat on the government over the brexit bill. some peers want ministers to guarantee the future rights of eu citizens living in britain. it comes as the president of the european commission unveils plans for a new chapter for the eu after brexit. i'm simon mccoy. in the next hour, we'll look at the new rules to tackle motorists who use their phone while driving. from today, offenders will receive double the penalty, a £200 fine and six points. the drive to shake up the game of golf. could changes to make the sport quicker go a "fairway" to improve the game. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. sex education is to become compulsory in all schools in england. the education secretary justine greening says t

i'm rebecca jones. welcome to bbc newsroom live. may has strongly attacked the snp, saying it was obsessed with independence — regardless of fact and reality. speaking at the scottish conservative conference in glasgow, the prime minister accused the snp of neglecting and mismanaging public services in scotland, and said it was the poorest and most vulnerable who benefited most from the union between scotland and the rest of the uk. while the snp continues to suggest it could call a second independence referendum soon as a result of the brexit vote, the prime minister has refused to say whether or not she would grant permission for the vote to take place. let's cross live to glasgow and are corresponding glenn campbell. independence remains the key fault line in scottish politics, the question of whether scotland should remain in the uk or become an independent country did not go away after the referendum in 2014 and, to some extent, the debate has intensified after the uk as a whole voted to leave the european union, albeit that vo

i'm rebecca jones. the headlines at apm: sex education is to be made compulsory in all schools in england. do we have need to have boyfriends and girlfriends at this age? no. no. . no. children as young as four will be taught about relationships and at an appropriate age about sex. the government is facing defeat on its brexit bill in the house of lords with peers seeking to protect the rights of eu citizens living in the uk. it comes as the president of the european commission outlines scenarios for the future of the eu after brexit. i'm simon mccoy. in the next hour, tougher punishment for drivers caught using their phone at the wheel. as penalties double, a new campaign urges motorists to put phones in the glove compartment out of temptation‘s way. and the biggest shake—up to golf rules in a generation is unveiled aimed at simplifying the game. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. sex education is to become compulsory in all schools in england. the education secretary justine greening says that ch

now its time for meet the author with rebecca jones.in won the orange prize for fiction in 2005 and made her name. lionel shriver‘s latest book is called the mandibles, and it's set during a financial crisis in america during the near future. at its heart are four generations of a once wealthy family who must deal with the loss of their fortune and then learn to survive as the dollar collapses, inflation soars and the economy spirals out of control. lionel shriver, you wrote the mandibles in 2015, and the picture you paint of america is pretty bleak. revisiting it now as it comes out in paperback, what are your thoughts? well, it's bleaker now! one of the striking things about revisiting this book after the release of the hardback in the spring of 2016 is obviously we now have a new president, and not the president we expected. so there's a feeling of not quite being overtaken by events, because what happened in the book is not happened yet. we haven't faced economic collapse. in fact, quite to the contrary, the stock market is going th

i'm rebecca jones. the headlines at four: scotland's first minister takes westminster by surprise as she announces plans to trigger another independence referendum. nicola sturgeon says a second referendum should be held between autumn next year and the spring of 2019, once the terms of the uk's exit from the eu become clear. i believe it would be wrong for scotla nd i believe it would be wrong for scotland to be taken down a path that it has no control over regardless of the consequences for oui’ regardless of the consequences for our economy, oui’ regardless of the consequences for our economy, our society, our regardless of the consequences for our economy, oursociety, our place in the world, our very sense of who we are as a country. instead of playing politics with the future of oui’ playing politics with the future of our country, the scottish government should focus on delivering good government and public services for the people of scotland. politics is not a the people of scotland. politics is

i‘m rebecca jones.of lords seems set to inflict defeat on the government over the brexit bill. some peers want ministers to guarantee the future rights of eu citizens living in britain. it comes as the president of the european commission unveils plans for a new chapter for the eu after brexit. i‘m simon mccoy. in the next hour, we‘ll look at the new rules to tackle motorists who use their phone while driving. from today, offenders will receive double the penalty, a £200 fine and six points. the drive to shake up the game of golf.

rebecca jones is in the bbc newsroom with a summary of the rest of the days news.ear that keeping scotland in the uk is a "personal priority" when she addresses the scottish conservative party conference in glasgow this morning. she has met nicola sturgeon several times since the brexit boat. mrjin maintains she has a cast mandate to hold a second ballot —— mrs sturgeon maintains. but mrs may has told the bbc that scottish voters do not want another independence vote. i think, in 2014, the people of scotland voted to stay within the united kingdom. it was described by the snp as a "once in a generation" vote that took place at that time. i don't think people want a referendum today. to me, to me politics isn't a game. to me, politics is about people's lives. it's about delivering for people on the issues that really matter to them, on a day—to—day basis, and i can't help but feel that the snp has tunnel vision about independence. actually, i think what people want is for the snp government to get on with dealing with the issues they want to see addressed, on a day—

right now, the rest of the news with rebecca jones in the newsroom.thirds of england's hospitals have been rated as adequate or needing improvement. the report, by the care quality commission, also found that four out of five trusts need to improve patient safety. but more than 90% were judged to be "good" or "outstanding" for the caring attitude of staff. here's our health editor hugh pym. it's the first wide—ranging snapshot of the state of england's major hospitals. the regulator for the care quality commission spent nearly three years carrying out inspections following the mid staffordshire patient care scandal. this is the first annual report on all of them. one of the key findings is the wide variation in the quality of services. across the major hospital trusts in england, 68% have been rated as inadequate or requiring improvement. 81% of trusts are said to need to improve safety. but 93% were rated as good or outstanding for the caring attitude of staff. there is variation between trusts, there's variation within trusts, you can get a very goo