Transcripts For BBCNEWS Breakfast 20170331

Are into the last four of the Champions League. Lucy bronze scores to book citys place in the semi finals after a 2 0 Aggregate Win over danish side Fortuna Hjorring. After the most challenging Railway Repair ever, today the Settle Carlisle train line reopens to customers. And matt has the weather. Good morning. Grey skies and rain might greet the day for many of you but things will brighten up quite nicely i have details coming up and a full weekend broadcast. Good morning. First, our main story. Patients will have to wait longer for routine operations, such as hip and knee replacements, as a trade off so improvements can be made in other areas, like a e. Thats according to the head of nhs england, simon stevens, who is today setting out a new strategy for the next two years. Alexandra mackenzie has more. How have you been feeling . Not too bad, thank you. Iris ram is 96 and is recovering from a recent illness. Youre doing really well. Her gp called a local nhs Service Based in nottinghamshire to give her the right care and the right place. And for iris that was her home. The treatment at home has been absolutely wonderful. Iris is well cared for, a priority for the nhs, but its acknowledged the system is under pressure, and tough financial choices are needed. Today nhs england leaders are taking stock of progress. Since their five year plan was published in 2014. Aims set out in the new strategy include improving cancer survival rates, increased access to Mental Health therapies and recruitment of more gps. But with limited resources its likely to mean longer Waiting Times for non urgent operations and fewer people being referred to hospital in the first place. The problem is made worse by a shortage of beds. There are a significant proportion of people who dont need to be there, who dont want to be there, and if we could get them out, that would free up Something Like 2000 to 3000 beds in the nhs, which could be used more effectively for providing quicker elective surgery. Today is about setting out what is possible with the money allocated by the government to the Nhs In England but, at a time of increased demand, what is not addressed is the extra funding that is needed. Well be speaking to guests about this throughout the morning, including the president of the Royal College of surgeons, clare marx, just after 7am. A group of mps have said its unacceptable that residents who pay their own fees at care homes in england are charged on average 43 more than those funded by the state. The communities and local Government Committee blames a lack of funding, which it says is threatening the viability of Adult Social Care providers. The government says its already given councils an extra £2 billion. The president of the European Council, donald tusk, will issue Draft Guidelines this morning, setting out how the eu wants to handle the brexit negotiations. The proposals will then be debated by the leaders of the 27 eu Member States at a summit next month, as marta newman reports. First there was the latter. First there was the latterli first there was the latter. I choose to believe in britain and that our best days of my head. Then the repeal bill. As we ex at the eu and seek addae partnership with the eu we will be doing so from a position where we have the same standards and rules. But it will also ensure that it will deliver on the promise to end the Supremacy Of Eu Law In The Uk as we exit. And nowjust two days after the Prime Minister fired the starting gun for brexit, we will hear how the president of the European Council wants negotiations to go. There has already been disagreement over whether discussions about trade can take place at the same time as the discussions about divorce. Translation in the negotiations we first have to sort out how we can on tangle ourselves from one another. 0nly tangle ourselves from one another. Only when that has been settled hopefully soon after we can speak about our future relationship. Donald tusk will issue his guidelines today before they get debated by the 27 remaining Member States. Setting the tone for two yea rs of states. Setting the tone for two years of tough negotiation and effo rts years of tough negotiation and efforts to finalise the deal. The document wont be finalised until the end of april at a special summit of eu leaders. Scotlands first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has signed a letter to theresa may, formally requesting a second independence referendum. In it, she reiterates her call for a vote within the next two years. The Prime Minister has already said it wont happen before brexit is complete. There are warnings today of a Recruitment Crisis if brexit leads to immigration being severely restricted. In the first Major Business intervention since theresa may began the process of britains divorce from the eu, the British Hospitality Association has said the industry faces a shortfall of 60,000 workers a year. 0ur Industry Correspondent john moylan has more. Here we go. They are gearing up for the summer here we go. They are gearing up for the summer season. Here we go. They are gearing up for the summer season. Around 4096 of staff are from outside the uk. The boss says they face a Recruitment Crisis if brexit causes the supply of workers to be cut off. If the tapie is turned off straightaway that would be very difficult. We are where we are at the moment. We rely ona where we are at the moment. We rely on a third of the workplace from european employees. To be able to turn a straight off and replace it straight off would be very difficult. We are in the hospitality industry, the service industry. You have to employ people who like to serve people. Tourism and hospitality accounts for around 10 of the economy. Now a new report is reporting that restrictions on Foreign Labour could hit it harder than any other sector. The uks Hospitality Sector employs around 3 million workers but it is highly reliant on overseas staff. 24 of the workforce are eu migrants. It could face a shortfall of 60,000 workers a year if immigration is tightly controlled. The Industry Wa Nts to tightly controlled. The industry wants to reduce its dependence on eu workers. Its new 10 year strategy includes recruiting more unemployed and all the workers in the uk. The government says that while it will End Free Movement as it is now it will design and new Immigration System that is in the national interest. President trumps former National Security adviser has offered to give evidence about possible links between the Trump Campaign and russia, if hes given protection from what has been caled unfair prosecution. General Michael Flynn was forced to resign in february after he misled the Vice President over Phone Conversations he had with the russian ambassador. His lawyer says he has a story to tell. Israel has announced its to build the first new settlement in the occupied west bank in more than 20 years. Palestinian officials have condemned the plan and have called for international intervention. Half of chinas existing legal ivory processing factories and stores will be permanently shut down today with the rest closed by the end of the year. The news has been welcomed by conservationists in their ongoing battle against the illegal trade in ivory. Despite a global ban on International Sales, a surge in demand has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of African Elephants. And we are going to speak with a campaigner on that subject later in the programme. Fa ncy Fancy Buying A Second Hand space rocket . Ive got one. 0h, youve got one already . Well, you could do. A Californian Company has made history by launching rocket back into space for a second time. This is the ultimate in recycling. Rockets are traditionally used only once before being scrapped but spacex has developed a way of landing its boosters safely on earth, allowing them to be recycled. Its been described as One Small Step for the company, but a giant leap in the search for cheaper Space Exploration. Which we have all been looking for. Oh, which we have all been looking for. 0h, every day. Greg dawson reports. You are looking at a rocket with a difference. Unlike the rest, its fitted with a booster that has been used before. Lift off, falcon 9. And now history, as its successfully relaunched back into space. Boosters cost tens of millions of dollars, and are normally discarded and destroyed during an ascent. But the private californian Aerospace Company spacex has found a way to eject them safely back to earth. After the successful launch, another key moment in the flight, to see if the Second Hand Booster can safely detach and fly back to its landing pad in the atlantic. Cheering and applause. Rapturous cheers from the mission crew tell you its a success. Minutes later, its back on earth, an unprecedented double achievement of launching a reusable rocket, and recovering it for a possible third mission. This is gonna be, ultimately, a huge revolution in spaceflight. Its the difference between if you had aeroplanes where you threw away an aeroplane after every flight, versus you can reuse them multiple times. It represents a new era in the space race, where private enterprises compete against each other, instead of countries. This success will be a boost for a company with much more ambitious long term goals, that includes sending two unidentified Space Tourists to the moon next year. Greg dawson, bbc news. Fa ncy fancy that next holiday . A reusable rocket, why not . Never gonna happens. Lets check in with the sport. Morning, the Manchester City revolution continues. It is great to see, it was an amazing night for them. For the womens team of specially and we know how much money has been pumped in over the years into Manchester City and it is certainly paying off with the womens team, reaching the semifinals of the Champions League, Laying Fortuna Semifinals of the Champions League, Laying Fortu Na Hjorring semifinals of the Champions League, laying Fortuna Hjorring from denmark, winning i 0, so it is looking quite rosy after the double last year. They are firing at the moment. Lets show you how they did it. Ai 0 win. Lucy bronze heading home. It follows their victory over the danish side in the first leg. A tough match to come, though, where they face the holders lyon. We knew the Fifa World Cup was to be expanded from 32 teams to 48 in 2026. But we now know how those additional places will be filled. Europe will have 16 spots at the finals, up from 13 nations. In a new move, two teams will have to qualify via a six team Play Off Tournament. Johanna kontas Incredible Run continues. She beat Venus Williams overnight to reach the final at the miami 0pen. Amazing to think she was just six years old when venus won this tournament 19 years ago. It is an Incredible Run that she is on at the moment. Englands charley hull is well in contention at the first womens major of the year, the Ana Inspiration in california. Shot of the day though came from south korean teenage amateur seong eun jeong. She made a hole in one at the fifth. And you know your luck is in, dont you, if you are producing shots like that. I love that, she looked more shocked than anyone, it was amazing. Mouth wide open. Watchers havent . Yes. Thank you very much indeed. Is it golfing weather, matt . Good morning, not quite. It will be later on. One thing to note, this morning it is incredibly mild for march. Temperatures in dover i4 it is incredibly mild for march. Temperatures in dover 14 degrees, close to record breaking. I dont think we will break records but it is very near. The downside i suppose is very near. The downside i suppose is it is cloudy and bled for many of you. On the radar chart the heaviest rain in the Northern Ireland and western scotland parts, thoroughly warm. Rainyfor western scotland parts, thoroughly warm. Rainy for the devon areas and cornwall, Clearing Away, Skies Brightening before showers gather later on, so enjoy the dry morning commute, different on the way home. Rain will spread across the midlands and South East England though it should be dry for Eastern England at the start of the day. 0utbreaks should be dry for Eastern England at the start of the day. Outbreaks of rain in wales mainly in the west, North West England too but Northern Ireland and western and South Western Scotland have wettest conditions at the moment. The rain will remain across scotland for a good part of the day. It will ease away from Northern Ireland around the morning onwards. We will see the rain across england and wales depart for a rain across england and wales depart fora time, rain across england and wales depart for a time, sunderland will come out. One or two showers in Eastern England in the afternoon and then showers return for devon, cornwall and western wales and Northern Ireland. A Breeze Blowing across the country from the south west but still temperatures not as high as yesterday but warm enough at 13 still temperatures not as high as yesterday but warm enough at i3 17 degrees with the sunshine in central, Eastern England and South East Scotland this afternoon. Into the night the windfall is a little bit lighter, we will see showers around, though, mainly in the west, Eastern Areas will be dry and cooler than in the last few nights with temperatures in most areas dropping to single figures. That will give us a chilly start to the weekend compared to this morning. As for the weekend forecast it isa morning. As for the weekend forecast it is a new month, quite aptly, april showers on saturday, chilly to ta ke april showers on saturday, chilly to take us on through the night but sunday not looking too bad. Details on that showers from the start of the day for the country, well scattered, some heavy with hail and plunder, slow moving, sunshine in between, so some will have a largely dry day around some of the coastal areas tomorrow. Temperatures not quite as high as today. And showers gradually depart through the evening and into the night. I pressure builds in, that means a chilly start on Sunday Morning, even A Touch Of Frost around for one or two sheltered spots, but soni for most. Showers few and far between, most will have a fun and dry day with some good, long sunny spells sunny. We will talk to you again soon sunny. We will talk to you again soon sunny. We will talk to you again soon it has been a lovely couple of days. It is sweaty and boiling this morning. Really . Youre watching breakfast from bbc news. The main stories this morning patients will have to wait longer for routine operations such as hip and knee replacements in what the head of the Nhs In England says is a trade off so improvements can be made elsewhere in the system. Details on how the eu plans to negotiate brexit will be released later today by the president of the European Council, donald tusk. Lets have a look at the papers this friday. We are joined lets have a look at the papers this friday. We arejoined by ben. Good morning. And john with the sports papers. The front pages and then we will talk to you guys . Lots of papers talking about the story we just mentioned, changes in the nhs, the guardians front page says the nhs will axe a commitment to 18 week target for operations as we return to quicker and better diagnosis for cancer. The daily mirror also has the nhs story. The new Government Plan to be revealed today which will include even longer Waiting Times and notan include even longer Waiting Times and not an extra penny to be invested. We a re and not an extra penny to be invested. We are talking Waiting Times later this morning and how that will affect people waiting a long time for a knee replacement, hit replacement, that sort of thing. Weve reported a lot over the last few weeks about the impact of nhs delays on social care and the daily mailfront page refers delays on social care and the daily mail front page refers to that, how ca re mail front page refers to that, how care homes hit the middle classes, that figure we mentioned about people paying for their own social ca re people paying for their own social care in Residential Homes are charged significantly more than those being paid for in the same homes and sometimes by the council. The front page of the times has a different story, about a funding shortfall, they say military chiefs have begun a review to find at least £1 billion in savings per year in addition to the savings they are already making over the next decade. And that picture, you may not recognise her but you might know her name, karen millen, she used to own a huge chain of retailers on the high street, she has gone bankrupt, her receiving her 0bes here many yea rs her receiving her 0bes here many years ago, but hit by a £6 million tax bill. Her 0bes. The Daily Telegraph looking at the brexit negotiations, well, they have really started, but theyre cut the red tape campaign, with the uk retraining the power to deport. And a picture or Nicola Sturgeon in edinburgh last night. Very relaxed. This is the letter about a second independence referendum, they are comparing it with this picture of Margaret Thatcher on her sofa in Downing Street two or three decades ago penning a similar letter, similar pose. A lot of Letter Writing going on at the moment. Good days to be a postman exactly ben, what ben, what have you got . L days to be a postman exactly ben, what ben, what have you got . A lot of scrutiny over the way the pens are being used. It was an american companys pen, a parker. A lot of concern about that. Its very important, the details lets pick up important, the details lets pick up on brexit, another word for our dictionaries, brexodus, Jp Morgan Chase overseas ball where it might base its offices and they are suggesting dublin, frankfurt or paris for. Lloyds of london, this story at the bottom, will set up a Subsidiary Office in brussels. It is easy to think of this as the big banks getting a bit sniffy about brexit, but in jp banks getting a bit sniffy about brexit, but injp morgans case, they employ 16,000 in the uk, the Largest Investment Bank in europe, they make a third of their money overin they make a third of their money over in europe. They say it is crucial for them to have an office there. I want to pick up on this, its interesting which paper you read, the Lloyds Of London story in the telegraph, making a point that tens of employees are moving to brussels in the case of Lloyds Of London, so therefore not a huge move overseas but nonetheless important as the banks try to work out the future. John, what have you got . The Daily Telegraph have campaigned into research between the link between footballers suffering dementia. There you go. The fa have said it will set aside some money for research. Hopefully it is something they have been campaigning for. Basically heavy footballs through the 60s and the damage it has done to their brains. It looks like the fa will set aside money for that research. And the pfa have been involved . Yes. Remember we talked about this statue, turns out the guy that made it said Cristiano Ronaldo likes it. Of course he does. People said it looked nothing like him, apparently he likes it. He would like anything that shows him in this kind of vain youre not wrong there let me bring you this about mapping, my favourite thing to do. Having a little nap in the day, a short one, makes you a happier person. Napping. How long does it have to be . I know that more than an hour is bad, 30 minutes they are saying, you have to be disciplined to get up after 30 minutes. Then you are ina to get up after 30 minutes. Then you are in a deep sleep and then there is no coming back. You wake up and you dont know who you are all where youve been apparently there are half a million more cats in the uk than a year ago. Or. Do you know why . Because single men are buying cats. The idea of a little old Lady Buying A Cat is untrue. Is that because they are lonely and they wa nt because they are lonely and they want a bit of company . Single men are fuelling the rise. That is a cute picture. Have you got a cat . No, not yet, im never home enough. That is very cute. A little bit of trivia from inside as well, which i know you all love a few stats theyre known as educations hidden army, but bbc breakfast has been hearing how eeaching assistants are facing challenges as a result of growing financial pressures across the Education System. Unions also say Teacher Shortages and budget cuts mean too many are being left to teach classes on their own. Though the Department For Education says savings can be made without having to cut posts. Breakfasts Jayne Mccubbin has been speaking to support staff to hear their stories. John, not his real name, is not a real teacher, but he is frequently called in to cover a class when a real teacher is off. Originally it was only meant to be a few days. What it turned into what month after month. He said he is used as a cheap alternative to a Substitute Teacher with no qualification and no authority. Mis behaviour meant you spend your time firefighting, thats what youre doing, youre controlling behaviour, youre not teaching. It can happen as well when the kids will have me looking after them in one lesson and in another lesson theyll have another unqualified member of staff from a different subject, so they could have two or three hours of this in the same date. Im not dubious at the same date. Im not dubious at the head teacher, the budgetsjust not there. In scotland, only a qualified teacher can lead a class. In english and welsh state schools, its at the discretion of the head and all heads are facing financial pressures. And all heads are facing financial pressures. Here in burnage they value tas more than most, because many students and speak english as a foreign language, many have special Educational Needs but even here they are increasingly used to full gaps. That added pressure is taken away from the role they have to do, which is incredibly valuable. It has the Domino Effect of one child is not understanding something, they then feel they cant cope within that situation, it then affects other children, it then affects the teacher, the whole environment is not one for learning. In other schools, financial pressures are more intense. Hilton primary is £120,000 in the red. Tas Likejill Angejust filling £120,000 in the red. Tas likejill ange just filling gaps, £120,000 in the red. Tas Likejill Angejust filling gaps, they £120,000 in the red. Tas likejill ange just filling gaps, they are being axed. A third of the 40 employed here have just received a redundancy notice. Arentjust. It is very upsetting. The plastic now is as far as it is going to stretch. Losing these tas is a disaster, it really is a disaster elastic. Three years ago seven yea rs elastic. Three years ago seven years ago three in school. With a further £3 billion of cuts ahead, that will get worse. The Department For Education told me they believe efficiencies can be made without having to cut staff without an impact on education. There was a time when we didnt have Teaching Assistants. Yes, in years gone by we had one teacher to teach a class full of pupils but now we expect more from our Educational System and we are going to let a generation of pupils down if we dont provide this support for them. Parents expectations might be for more, but in terms of funding, the reality is less. Head teachers will have to find how to strike a balance. Jayne mccubbin, bbc news. Dont be surprised if people seem a bit more friendly than usual today. Its National Kindness day. I hadnt noticed anything so far thanks, thats really kind and a campaigns being launched for us all to do at least one Random Act Of Kindness. Thats not kind, what youre doing whether its paying for someones bus ticket or buying a stranger a coffee. It can be anything. And weve been to find out what good deeds people have done. Gone to the theatre and i saw there we re gone to the theatre and i saw there were some chaps wanting coffees and things, they wanted money really, i just thought, you know what, for the sake of another £20 i would rather get them summing to eat. |j sake of another £20 i would rather get them summing to eat. I went to a random Homeless Person and got them something. There was this lady carrying large luggage, so i carried her bag until she got down the stairs. A Homeless Person was sat outside blackpool or station and we we re outside blackpool or station and we were getting off the train blackpool or. All that kindness. Blackpool north. They are all very kind things i am going to let you read the next big this is what john was going to say next bit. You can e mail us at bbcbrea kfast bbc. Co. Uk or share your thoughts with other viewers on our facebook page. And you can tweet about todays stories using bbcbreakfast or follow us for the latest from the programme. Shall i keep going . Let us know. I would like some ideas. What can i do forjohn and what can john do ideas. What can i do forjohn and what canjohn do for me . Ideas. What can i do forjohn and what can john do for me . You can get me another coffee, as many as you like weve got a break now so maybe i will time now to get the news, travel and weather where you are. Good morning from bbc london news, im alice salfield. One of the capitals leading surgeons is calling for all young people to be taught First Aid Skills because of the recent rise in knife crime. Duncan bew works at Kings College hospital. He says given the severity of the injuries hes treated all young people should be prepared. We know that in Time Critical situations, both in medical emergency is and in trauma, that First Responders can make an enormous difference to patient survival. And what better education could you have four children to teach them in an age appropriate way to be able to save somebody elses life . Meanwhile, the parents of Quamari Barnes who was stabbed to Death Outside his school in kensal green two months ago have spoken to bbc london about the impact of their sons death. I happened to be at home, my daughter called me, she told me not to panic. She had just had a course in that quamari had been stabbed. A lot of the time people say its not affecting me, its not someone i know, but its getting closer and closer. You can hear that interview in full on Bbc Radio London from 7am. And you might want to listen to their Travel Bulletins as well this morning because there are lots of problems on the tubes. The central line has severe delays. The District Line is part suspended. The Hammersmith City line has no service between aldgate east and edgware road. 0n the 0verground theres no service between surrey quays and new cross and between surrey quays and clapham junction. That disruption is expected to last until 8 30am this morning. And the Piccadilly Line is suspended between hammersmith and heathrow terminals and uxbridge. Moving onto the roads, the M25 Clockwise has three lanes closed atjunction 16 for the m40 due to an overturned vehicle. Thats all the travel. Time for a look now at he weather with elizabeth rizzini. Good morning. With temperatures peaking at just good morning. With temperatures peaking atjust over 22 celsius yesterday in gravesend in kent, it was the warmest day of the year so farand was the warmest day of the year so far and the warmest march day for five years. Now, it will be feeling a bit fresher today certainly by the afternoon and also some sunny spells and a few showers. Now, an exceptionally mild start to the day, plenty of cloud around this morning. Thickening possibly through the late morning, we may catch one or two showers and more sunny spells emerging into the afternoon and the cooler feel to things as well. The South Westerly Wind will freshen, top temperatures, 16 or 17, so feeling a bit fresher by the end of the day and cooler too overnight with temperatures dropping back into single figures but most staying dry and it will probably be a fairly bright start to the weekend. A weekend of two halves really, sunny spells and some showers on saturday, some of those could be quite heavy in places but pleasant enough in the sunshine. Top temperatures, 16. Cooler nights over the weekend. Sunday should be dry, a ridge of High Pressure digging in, so sunshine at times, again, why is of 16. Im back with the latest from the bbc london newsroom in half an hour. Now, though, its back to sally and jon. Bye for now. Hello, this is breakfast, with sally nugent and jon kay. Its 6 30am. Well bring you all the latest news and sport in a moment. Also on breakfast this morning an estimated 100 elephants are killed everyday for their tusks. Well find out why chinas ivory ban could be a monumental move in animal protection. Its full steam ahead for the settle to Carlisle Railway as it reopens to the public, after whats been described as the most challenging rail repair ever. And before the end of the programme, well travel into the future, to 2000 ad in fact. As we meetjohn higgins, the man behind one of the most iconic characters in british comic books. I didnt know we could do that. Yeah, we can do anything here. All that still to come. But now a summary of this mornings main news. Patients will have to wait longer for routine operations, such as hip and knee replacements, as a trade off so improvements can be made in other areas, like a e. Thats according to the head of nhs england, simon stevens, who is today setting out a new strategy for the next two years. Alexandra mackenzie has more. How have you been feeling . Not too bad, thank you. Iris is 96 and is recovering from a recent illness. Youre doing really well. Her gp called a local nhs Service Based in nottinghamshire to give her the right care and the right place. And, for iris, that was her home. The treatment at home has been absolutely wonderful. Iris is well cared for, a priority for the nhs, but its acknowledged the system is under pressure, and tough financial choices are needed. Today nhs england leaders are taking stock of progress since their five year plan was published in 2014. Aims set out in the new strategy include improving cancer survival rates, increased access to Mental Health therapies and recruitment of more gps. But with limited resources its likely to mean longer Waiting Times for non urgent operations and fewer people being referred to hospital in the first place. The problem is made worse by a shortage of beds. There are a significant proportion of people who dont need to be there, who dont want to be there, and if we could get them out, that would free up Something Like 2000 to 3000 beds in the nhs, which could be used more effectively for providing quicker elective surgery. Today is about setting out what is possible with the money allocated by the government to the Nhs In England but, at a time of increased demand, what is not addressed is the extra funding that is needed. Well be speaking to guests about this throughout the morning, including the president of the Royal College of surgeons, just after 7am. A group of mps have said its unacceptable that residents who pay their own fees at care homes in england are charged on average 43 more than those funded by the state. The communities and local Government Committee blames a lack of funding, which it says is threatening the viability of Adult Social Care providers. The government says its already given councils an extra £2 billion. The president of the European Council, donald tusk, will issue Draft Guidelines this morning, setting out how the eu wants to handle the brexit negotiations. The proposals will be sent to the governments of the 27 Member States and will help set the tone for the next two years of talks. Its thought mr tusk will try to break negotiations down into three phases the terms of separation, a Future Trade Partnership and the transition to a new relationship between britain and the eu. Scotlands first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has signed a letter to theresa may, formally requesting a second independence referendum. In it, she reiterates her call for a vote within the next two years. The Prime Minister has already said it wont happen before brexit is complete. Hotels, restaurants and Tourist Attractions have warned ministers of the possible consequences of restricting the movement of labour after brexit. The British Hospitality Association predicts a shortfall of 60,000 workers a year if immigration is limited from the eu. The government says it will design a new Immigration System that is in the national interest. President trumps former National Security adviser has offered to give evidence about possible links between the Trump Campaign and russia, if hes given protection from what has been called unfair prosecution. General Michael Flynn was forced to resign in february after he misled the Vice President over Phone Conversations he had with the russian ambassador. His lawyer says he has a story to tell. Israel has announced its to build the first new settlement in the occupied west bank in more than 20 years. Palestinian officials have condemned the plan and have called for international intervention. China will close almost half of its official Ivory Carving factories and shops today, with the rest due to close by the end of the year. The news has been welcomed by conservationists in their ongoing battle against the illegal trade in ivory. Despite a global ban on International Sales, a surge in demand has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of African Elephants in recent years. A Californian Company has made history by launching rocket back into space for a second time. How do you do that . Rockets, of course, traditionally used just once and then they are scrapped. But spacex has developed a way of landing its boosters safely on earth, allowing them to be recycled. This is going to be ultimately a huge revolution in spaceflight. It is the difference between if you have aeroplanes where you through a way an aeroplane after every flight, versus you could reuse them multiple times. That is a whole new level of recycling. It makes it cheaper, so anything is possible. |j recycling. It makes it cheaper, so anything is possible. I still dont think it is a bargain. Talking of which, Manchester City. It continues for the womens team especially at the moment, with a great run of form, a domestic double last season, and now the semi final of the Champions League. This isjust what the club wants as they look to build themselves as a sort of Football Superpower and they are certainly doing that at the moment as they reached the semifinals last night. Lucy bronze scored the only goal in last nights second leg to seal a 2 0 Aggregate Win over danish side Fortuna Hjorring. Next up for them, the holders, lyon, in the semi finals. We dont stop here. We are excited to move onto the semi final. We know that lyon are a very experienced team, and they have got a team full of world class individuals. But so have we. It is going to be an exciting game for sure. Stoke city striker Saido Berahino says the eight week drugs ban he served earlier this season came after his drink was spiked in a nightclub. Berahino didnt play for former Club West Brom between september and january. For me to get banned for something that you really havent done is hard to take. So it was spiked . Yes, definitely. Because if i was going together high, like talking about whether you wanted to get higher, maybe the numbers would have came higher, if it was found in my system. But it was really, really low, so why would you want to take something and not get a buzz off it . And that was the question. But because i am in the premier league, the fa have to have zero tolerance. He believes there was such a small amount in his system he thinks it is clear that it wasnt intentional. And you can watch the full interview on Football Focus On Bbc One on saturday from 12 00pm. Fifa have announced how the places will be allocated for the new larger world cup in 2026. Itll feature 48 teams and there will be a six Team Tournament to confirm the final two spots. Theyll be more chance of seeing another european nation lift the trophy like germany did in 2014 too, as theyll be 16 European Countries instead of the current 13. The proposals are expected to be confirmed by the fifa council on nine may. Joanna konta has become the first british woman to reach the miami 0pen final. Konta beat Venus Wiliams for the third successive time to set up a meeting with caroline wozniacki. Konta was just six years old when williams first won this tournament 19 years ago. Williams is one of kontas all time heroes but there was no room for sentiment last night with konta winning 6 4, 7 5. Englands charley hull is two under after seven holes at the first womens major of the year, the Ana Inspiration in california. Hull and scotlands Catriona Matthew were still out on the course when high winds stopped play. Shot of the day, though, came from south korean teenage amateur seong eun jeong. She made a hole in one at the fifth. And look at the surprise as well on herface. Amazing. And look at the surprise as well on her face. Amazing. What and look at the surprise as well on herface. Amazing. What a and look at the surprise as well on her face. Amazing. What a feeling that must be. Salford red devils continued their impressive start to the season with a 22 14 win over st helens to move joint top of super league. This is the try that sealed it for salford, four minutes from time, ryan morgans mistake was capitalised on by Michael Dobson, to claim his second try of the night and put the game beyond saints. The red devils have now won four of their last five matches. And going well. World number one mark selby is into the quarter finals at snookers china open in beijing. The defending champion edged out a tense final frame decider against andrew higginson. Next up is stephen mcguire. Judd trump and ding junhui are also through. No ronnie 0sullivan, though, who has been knocked out. So, there we are. Manchester city women going well at the moment. How long is it going to be before Manchester United have a womens team . Yes, that is a surprise, isnt it . What are they thinking, maybe there are plans on foot . You would wonder, surely. The success of Manchester Citys women, come on, that rivalry. More less likely, i am come on, that rivalry. More less likely, iam not come on, that rivalry. More less likely, i am not sure. Good question, they should settle it on the pitch. So you later. Hundreds of African Elephants are killed every year at the hands of poachers who feed asias insatiable appetite for ivory. China accounts for 70 of the market. But, in a move welcomed by conservationists, the country says it will close half of its Ivory Factories and shops today, with a total ban by the end of the year. Well discuss this in more detail in a moment, but first lets get a sense of the scale of the problem. Some of the figures. Lets speak now to heather sohl, the chief advisor on wildlife at the World Wildlife fund. Morning, thank you for looking and joining us today. Some of those figures i think will surprise people a lot, that the Global Statistics are a lot, that the Global Statistics a re pretty a lot, that the Global Statistics are pretty shocking. How much difference will this change in china today, the closing of half of the Ivory Factories and workshops, how much difference will it make . As you mentioned in your introduction, china is the country with the Worlds Largest ivory market, that is where we see the greatest demand. So this change is going to make a real difference for African Elephants. If we can reduce that demand, all law abiding citizens will not be buying the ivory and that means people also wont be buying ivory for investment purposes, and that means that criminals who have this high demand wont be able to use these legal markets in order to launder the illegal ivory they are taking from the poaching of elephants. That assumes this ban is going to work, isnt it, so there is a risk it could be pushed underground and create a black market. Absolutely, they are not going to solve this problem. What we need to see is effective Law Enforcement to make sure that the officials are in shoring that there isnt going to be a growing Underground Trade because it is being driven away from the legal markets. So that is why it is important to have effective Law Enforcement, and also wwf and our Partner Organisation traffic are working in china to make sure the public are educated about the ban, so public are educated about the ban, so they are not looking to purchase the ivory and also to make sure we understand the reasons why people wa nt to understand the reasons why people want to conceal ivory and take the ivory and by the ivory and addressing those motivations and encouraging people to change behaviour and not seek out ivory any more. If that doesnt happen, if there is not an overall change, is there is not an overall change, is there a genuine risk elephants might disappearfrom there a genuine risk elephants might disappear from the planet. There a genuine risk elephants might disappearfrom the planet. We have seen disappearfrom the planet. We have seen the gorgeous pictures, is it a real risk . In the last decade we have lost 1011 African Elephants, so that dropped the population down to 415,000 elephants. The area where we have the greatest concern is central africa, where it is haemorrhaging ivory from the poaching of elephants. So if we continue down this road and the trends in poaching continue, we could see the extension of elephants in africa within our lifeline. We taught about china and what they are doing and what needs to be done in africa, what about here in the uk, what you think charities and government can do in Great Britain . Well, looking at the ivory trade, here in the uk, while we are not a major contributor to the illegal market globally, there is some laundering of the illegal modern day ivory as antiques, which currently a re modern day ivory as antiques, which currently are legal to trade here in the uk. And there is some illegal trade of ivory from the uk to markets in asia, and so wwf and other organisations and other high profile people are calling for a ban on the ivory trade here in the uk in orderto a ban on the ivory trade here in the uk in order to ensure that we have absolutely no involvement in illegal ivory trade at the global level. Even when we talk about things that might be hundreds of years old, antiques, you know, those elephants we re antiques, you know, those elephants were poached many years ago. Yes, well, there is evidence that buyers from asia are coming to the uk, coming to eu markets in order to buy this legal antique, these legal antique items, then taking them back to china. Sometimes the larger pieces that are made completely from ivory are actually even reworked into different carvings and those are sought after in asian markets as high status symbols, they are given as Business Gifts to show that you have the wealth to be able to afford these items. Ok, thank you for joining us on breakfast is morning. Bye for now. Lots of schools are no breakup today, some are next week. We have a bit of holiday time coming up, what does that mean for the weather . Next week not looking too bad for many, sally and john, a lot of dry weather to come, a bit of rain, not as much as this morning, though, not as much as this morning, though, not a great start to friday but it is a very mild one, warmest at the moment is dover in the south east, but even as far as aberdeen, temperatures unusually high for this stage in march and this could be a day when we see sky is bright and. Brightening already to the south west of a cloudy and wet night skies brightened. The same area of rain pushing across the midlands to the south east and east anglia but before it arrives in the south east, Morning Brightness for your commute, a few showers later, a wet start to the north and west of wales, wet in Northern Ireland, parts of North West England and the south and west of scotland, rain for the morning commute. Some of that will be heavy. Blasting longest in scotland, The Rain Clearing from Northern Ireland by around mid to late morning lasting. Skies brightening in england and wales later, showers in eastern districts by the afternoon and then showers in cornwall, west wales and Northern Ireland later in the date. Wettest of in the far north of scotland later in the day. 13 7 team expected. Tonight, showers in western areas, drying out in 0rkney, shetland and the hebrides 13 17. Cooler than last night, temperatures into single figures as we start saturday morning. A cooler start to tomorrow compare to the past few mornings, a bit of sunshine here and there, especially in Eastern Areas but as we start the day, a scattering of showers around, most parts will see one shower through the day, some in england and wales will be slow moving, heavy and thundery. The coasts should stay dry and temperatures down on today, but not bad, 13 6 team. With High Pressure building in, we clear the showers saturday evening and dry to ta ke showers saturday evening and dry to take us into Sunday Morning 13 16. Sunday the better day of the weekend with dry and sunny weather dominating, showers few and far between with temperatures around 116 between with temperatures around 11 6 team. A weekend of two halves, the start of april, april showers coming our way the start of april, april showers coming ourway the start of april, april showers coming our way 11 16. The best of the weather on sunday. For those starting your easter break heading into europe this weekend, what can you expect . Dry and sunny for Eastern Areas, not looking great for italy, corsica, the balearics, but lovely in some parts of spain and portugal. Test whether this weekend will be the canaries and im free if you need me to carry your bags best weather. Lets book that flight that is just mean showing us those temperatures it will be all right the next couple of here, though couple of days. Britains lowest paid staff should get a pay rise this weekend. But is it enough . From tomorrow the minimum wage goes up. The main one affecting all over 25 goes up from £7. 20 an hour to £7. 50 an hour and thats equivalent to £281. 25 for a full time 37. 5 hours a week. 0r £14,625 a year. Its what the government calls the National Living wage. All businesses have to pay it or face a fine. But can businesses, especially small firms, really afford to pay it . Imjanine, i am a Company Director ata imjanine, i am a Company Director at a nursery. We currently employ 68 full time members of staff. For the staff, the staff are very valued and theyre worth every penny and they deserve a pay rise and they deserve the money. We worked out figures yesterday and its going to cost us an extra £26,000 this year in the increases in wages alone, and thats without all the other increases coming in, like Business Rates and Everything Else thats coming our way as well. So its going to have to come back on the families that we actually serve. Could be tough for businesses, but what about staff . If you look at the increase as a percentage its a 4. 2 payrise. Over the last year, the Cost Of Living has risen by 3. 2 . So thatjump in the minimum wage for over 25s is still higher than the rising Cost Of Living. But, as ever, its not quite that simple. Campaigners say the living wage needs to be much higher. They base their sums on actual living costs and say it should be at least £8. 45. So what would that mean back in south wales . Asa as a Working Parent with two small children, every little penny helps going towards childcare and everyday living expenses. It means you dont live on the breadline, day to day living, sort of, without living outside of our means and maybe be able to go on holidays as well. The rise in the National Living wage would help me greatly, would help me pay for things like holidays, things like that. Help me out with my bills. Recently ive bought my own house so it would help with that. An extra £500 a year would make a big difference with household bills, holidays, a bit of luxury money then. Its also worth bearing in mind that change only affects those over the age of 25. If youre between 21 and 24 your wage will go up by 10p to £7. 05 per hour. For those aged between 18 and 20, you get a 5p increase to £5. 60 an hour. And the same applies to those under 18 years old, taking it to £4. 05. So there really is a difference depending on how old you are. Apprentices get a 10p per hour pay rise to £3. 50. Very different depending on your age and whatjob you are in. And remember, those pay rates are your basic rights. So if you dont get the increase from tomorrow its against the law and you should contact her majestys revenue and customs. See you then. Great, thanks to much. We need to get out for some fresh air its friday, you had to think about that, didnt you . It runs through some of the countrys most stunning scenery, along the Yorkshire Dales and cumbrian fells. But last year, a section of the time now to get the news, was forced to shut when 500,000 tons of earth gave way beneath the tracks. The landslide caused so much damage, network rail has described the lines repair as one of the Biggest Challenges its ever faced. But today, the route is finally reopening and are reporter Allison Freeman boarded this mornings service. You have been on the train, you were on the very first one . Thats right, sally. Good morning. The sun isjust coming up here and wevejust sally. Good morning. The sun isjust coming up here and weve just got off that very first train to travel from carlisle to appleby fear in the Beautiful Eden Valley since it shut just over a year ago here in. It was another victim of storm desmond, those heavy rains really destabilised what was already a slightly unstable bit of track and it meant network rail had to undertake one of the biggest repair jobs they have ever done. Joining me to tell me more is martin frobisher, he is from network rail. Martin, tell me, this was a expensive drop, how much did it cost to get it all going . £23 million to repair the track. It was an incredibly complicated job. When we first looked at it we had half million tons of earth slipping down a gorge into the eden valley on a Moped Hillside in cumbria. Its beautiful countryside here but that brings challenges. Remote. What kind of challenges. Remote. What kind of challenges did you go through to clear the area before you got started . Clear the area before you got started . We had to clear the area but then to derided we needed to drill down steel piles into the bedrock of the eden gorge them to drive it. Then we built the railway abrupt. Them to drive it. Railway above abrupt. Them to drive it. Railway above then to. Abrupt. Them to drive it. Railway above then to. A few passengers, why is it so exciting for people to have this line backer open for people to have this line backer o e for people to have this line backer open again . This is such an important artery for the region. Leinbach open. It supports tourism. Line back open. It is an important freight railway, it carries aggregate, coal and all sorts of Freight Services around the country. It is vitally important. Tell me about the celebrations, theres a special visitor today . Absolutely, we have the Flying Scotsman Locomotive bringing a train across the line carlisle at lunchtime today. Thats a really special occasion. Word . . D lunchtime today. Thats a really special occasion. Word . . D elword its taken a year but we can well and truly. Its taken a year but we can well and truly say that the carlisle to line is back on track excuse line is back on track excuse the pun carlisle to settle line. Carlisle to settle time now carlisle to to get the news, travel and weather where you are. Good morning from bbc london news, im alice salfield. One of the capitals leading surgeons is calling for all young people to be taught First Aid Skills because of the recent rise in knife crime. Duncan bew works at Kings College hospital. He says given the severity of the injuries hes treated all young people should be prepared. We know that in Time Critical situations, both in medical emergency is and in trauma, that First Responders can make an enormous difference to patient survival. And what better education could you have for children to teach them in an age appropriate way to be able to save somebody elses life . Meanwhile, the parents of Quamari Barnes who was stabbed to Death Outside his school in kensal green two months ago have spoken to bbc london about the impact of their sons death. I happened to be at home, my daughter called me, she told me not to panic. She had just had a call saying that quamari had been stabbed. A lot of the times people dismiss things as its not affecting me, its no one i know, but its getting closer and closer. You can hear that interview in full on Bbc Radio London from 7am. And you might want to listen to their Travel Bulletins as well this morning because there are lots of problems on the tubes. The central and District Lines are both part suspended. There are minor delays on the circle, and severe delays on the Hammersmith City line. 0n the 0verground theres no service between surrey quays and new cross. And the Piccadilly Line is suspended between hammersmith and heathrow and uxbridge. Moving onto the roads, the M25 Clockwise has three lanes closed atjunction 16 for the m40 due to an overturned vehicle. And in euston, Hampstead Road is closed northbound between euston road and Drummond Street because of an accident. Thats all the travel. Time for a look now at he weather with elizabeth rizzini. Good morning. With temperatures peaking atjust over 22 celsius yesterday in gravesend in kent, it was the warmest day of the year so far and the warmest march day for five years. Now, it will be feeling a bit fresher today certainly by the afternoon and also some sunny spells and a few showers. Now, an exceptionally mild start to the day, plenty of cloud around this morning. Now, an exceptionally mild start to the day, plenty of cloud around this morning. Thickening possibly through the late morning, we may catch one or two showers and more sunny spells emerging into the afternoon and a cooler feel to things as well. The South Westerly Wind will freshen, top temperatures, 16 or 17, so feeling a bit fresher by the end of the day and cooler too overnight with temperatures dropping back into single figures but most of us staying dry and it will probably be a fairly bright start to the weekend. A weekend of two halves really, sunny spells and some showers on saturday, some of those could be quite heavy in places but pleasant enough in the sunshine. Top temperatures, 16. Cooler nights over the weekend. Sunday should be dry, a ridge of High Pressure digging in, so sunshine at times, again, highs of 16. Im back with the latest from the bbc london newsroom in half an hour. Plenty more on our website at the usual address. Bye for now. Hello, this is breakfast, with sally nugent and jon kay. Longer waits for Hospital Operations in england, as the Health Service is forced to make a tough trade off. The head of nhs england says treatment is no longer guaranteed in the 18 week target time, but in return, there would be quicker Cancer Diagnosis and Emergency Care. Good morning, it is friday 31 of march. Also this morning as britain prepares for brexit, today the eu will set out its guidelines for two years of negotiation. The private spaceflight company Spacex Has Made History by successfully flying a rocket that has already been to space. In sport Manchester Citys women reach the semi finals of the Champions League. Lucy bronze with the goal, as city reach the last four, after 2 0 Aggregate Win over danish side Fortuna Hjorring will you be doing a good deed today . A Homeless Person was sat outside Blackpool North station, and i had a jacket, so gave it to him. 0n National Kindness day, we will hear about plans to make the country kinder. And matt has the weather. My my idea of kindness is to offer you brighter skies later on. Wet for some of you, mild out there, but the weekend forecast does show some promise. I will have all the details in15 promise. I will have all the details in 15 minutes. Patients will have to wait longer for routine operations such as hip and knee replacements, as a trade off for improvements in other areas, including a e. That is according to the head of nhs england, simon stevens, who is today setting out a strategy for the next few years. Lets join our Health Correspondent Sophie Hutchinson, who is outside st thomass hospital in central london. Sophie, what does the report say . Well, as you say, it is two years since this Transformation Plan was launched by the nhs. It is a five year plan. Today we have had an update on the progress that they are making. The Chief Executive, simon stevens, has described it as an honest assessment, but he wouldnt comment on whether he felt the nhs had been given enough money to carry out the full plan. What he said they are working towards is quicker diagnosis for cancer care, extending gp opening times, and also speeding up gp opening times, and also speeding up weights at a e. But he said there had to be a trade off somewhere, and he said that could mean longer waits, more patients waiting longer than 18 weeks for non urgent operations. Now, those are things like cataracts, hip and knee replacements. He also said that gps would be asked to review the number of patients that they are referring on for treatment in hospitals, and they would be asked to look instead for some of those at things like physiotherapy, so patients instead of going to hospital for treatment might geta of going to hospital for treatment might get a treatment outside hospital instead. Well, as you can imagine, there has been some positive comments for some parts of the plans, but concerns from organisations about the more negative side of the plans. The Royal College of surgeons has said todays announcement means patients will wait longer and in more pain before planned surgery. It said we risk returning to the days of unacceptably long waits for elective surgical treatment. And the British Medical Association said achieving one delivery promise by missing another one is a Textbook Example of rationing access to care. Thank you very much indeed. We will be speaking to guests about this throughout the morning, including the president of the Royal College of surgeons, just after 7 10am. A group of mps have said it is unacceptable that residents who pay their own fees at care homes in england are charged on average 43 more than those funded by the state. The communities and local Government Committee blames a lack of funding, which it says is threatening the viability of Adult Social Care providers. The government says it has already given councils an extra £2 billion. The president of the European Council, donald tusk, will issue Draft Guidelines this morning, setting out how the eu wants to handle the brexit negotiations. The proposals will then be debated by the leaders of the 27 eu Member States at a summit next month. Danjohnson is in brussels. Dan, it is all quite procedural today, isnt it . I guess we begin to get a glimpse of where the eu wants this to head. Yes, that is what we should get later today but the rules matter here in brussels and the diplomats and politicians who are leading the negotiation from this side think it is very important that they are stuck to and that the process plays out. Today the focus will be on donald tusk, he is one of the main players in the european union, the president of the council. He represents the other leaders around europe, the 27 member nations, and he has to co ordinate what they want to be the important priorities in this negotiation. So today he will send them a letter saying what he thinks the right guidelines should be the best negotiation. Now, he is not publishing that letter, we will not publishing that letter, we will not see the full detail, he will give a Press Conference so we should get some idea about what he thinks is the best way forward and what the priorities will be. The bbc understands that he is going to suggest that they should first be a phase which talks about how britain should leave the eu, then another phase of talks which deals with a Trade Relationship in the future, then a third phase which deals with exactly what the transitional arrangements would be as Britain Leaves and six that new relationship. That is different from what the British Government wants, so what the British Government wants, so already we can see that there are going to be disagreement even about the best way to start those talks. Not the only brexit related story, you will be surprised to hear. Not too much, dont want to put everybody off. Scotlands first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has signed a letter to theresa may formally requesting a second independence referendum. In it, she reiterates her call for a vote within the next two years. The Prime Minister has already said it wont happen before brexit is complete. There are warnings today of a Recruitment Crisis if brexit leads to immigration being severely restricted. In the first Major Business intervention since theresa may began the process of britains divorce from the eu, the British Hospitality Association has said the industry faces a shortfall of 60,000 workers a year. 0ur Industry Correspondent john moylan has more. Here we go. They are gearing up for the summer season. Around 40 of staff here are from outside the uk, and the boss says they face a Recruitment Crisis if brexit causes that supply of workers to be cut off. If the tap was just turned off, straightaway that would be very difficult. We are where we are at the moment. We rely on a third of the workplace from european employees. To be able to turn that straight off, and replace it straight off, would be very difficult. Were in the hospitality industry, the service industry. You actually have to employ people who like to serve people. Tourism and hospitality accounts for around 10 of the economy. Now, a new report is reporting that restrictions on Foreign Labour could hit it harder than any other sector. The uks Hospitality Sector employs around 3 million workers but it is highly reliant on overseas staff. 24 of the workforce are eu migrants. It could face a shortfall of 60,000 workers a year if immigration is tightly controlled. The industry wants to reduce its dependence on eu workers. Its new Ten Year Strategy includes recruiting more unemployed and Older Workers in the uk. The government says that, while it will End Free Movement as it is now, it will design a new Immigration System that is in the national interest. President trumps former National Security adviser has offered to give evidence about possible links between the Trump Campaign and russia, if he is given protection from what has been called unfair prosecution. General Michael Flynn was forced to resign in february after he misled the Vice President over Phone Conversations he had with the russian ambassador. His lawyer says he has a story to tell. China will close almost half of its official Ivory Carving factories and shops today, with the rest due to close by the end of the year. The news has been welcomed by conservationists in their ongoing battle against the illegal trade in ivory. Despite a global ban on International Sales, a surge in demand has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of African Elephants in recent years. A Californian Company has made history by launching a rocket back into space for a second time. Rockets are traditionally used only once, before being scrapped. But spacex has developed a way of landing its boosters safely on earth, allowing them to be recycled. It has been described as One Small Step for the company, but a giant leap in the search for cheaper Space Exploration, as greg dawson reports. You are looking at a rocket with a difference. Unlike the rest, it is fitted with a booster that has been used before. Lift off, falcon 9. And now history, as it is successfully relaunched back into space. Boosters cost tens of millions of dollars, and are normally discarded and destroyed during an ascent. But the private californian Aerospace Company spacex has found a way to eject them safely back to earth. After the successful launch, another key moment in the flight, to see if the Second Hand Booster can safely detach and fly back to its landing pad in the atlantic. Cheering and applause. Rapturous cheers from the mission crew tell you its a success. Minutes later, it is back on earth, an unprecedented double achievement of launching a reusable rocket, and recovering it for a possible third mission. This is gonna be, ultimately, a huge revolution in spaceflight. Its the difference between if you had aeroplanes where you threw away an aeroplane after every flight, versus you could reuse them multiple times. It represents a new era in the space race, where private enterprises compete against each other, instead of countries. This success will be a boost for a company with much more ambitious long term goals, that include sending two unidentified Space Tourists to the moon next year. Greg dawson, bbc news. Lets return to our top story, and patients in england are being told they will have to wait longer for some routine operations, such as hip replacements, as part of a trade off for improvements in other areas, like a e. The boss of nhs england, simon stevens, is today setting out his strategy for the nhs for the next two years. Lets get the thoughts on this of clare marx, who is president of the Royal College of surgeons in england. Good morning to you. Good morning, sally. First of all, your initial reaction to what he is going to say today . We understand nhs england have some difficult is because we know that demand for healthcare has gone up and up in the resource we have in terms of money and staff has not kept pace with that. So there are some good things in this report, andi are some good things in this report, and i am very pleased that we are going to be able to look at the way we can provide plant care for surgery more effectively in the centres which specialise in planned care. But clearly, from the publics point of view, they are going to be wondering what exactly this means and how it will impact on their ability to get planned surgery when they need it. Sorry to interrupt, but what is life like for people who are on a waiting list, perhaps waiting for hip or need surgery . Well, patients waiting for the poor knee surgery are a great deal of discomfort, usually. But our concern is not only for hip and knee surgery patients, but patients who perhaps i waiting for heart surgery. And for them, sometimes waiting for surgery may be part of the pathway where they may have a heart attack while they may have a heart attack while they are waiting, or maybe they are waiting for brain surgery, or maybe they are waiting for gallbladder surgery, and all of these are extremely serious matters, and still fall within the whole remit of plant surgical care. So for hip and knee replacement, very painful, very demoralising, and after many years of waiting to get into planned surgery, there are people clearly who dont want to have to wait more than 18 weeks. But as we all know, cuts are coming, and more cuts are coming down the line. The nhs has to prioritise. Are you suggesting they have got their priorities wrong here . I dont think we should really be setting any particular group of patients against another group of patients, but i think this is a wake up call for the public in general. People are going to have to realise that they will take more ca re of realise that they will take more care of themselves. There are things people can do to try and prevent the need for heart surgery, like not smoking and not being overweight, and unless people are willing to ta ke and unless people are willing to take more active part in their own care, that is going to present us with an increasing stream of people wanting to have this sort of surgery. There are things that we can do to try and streamline the process is in the Health Service, and there are things we can do in the community to try and make sure that every bed that we have in hospitals is occupied in the way we wish to be occupied, by people who either have Emergency Care or need planned care, rather than people who should be in the community. But i think this particular report tells us think this particular report tells us very clearly that we can no longer expect there to be an ever increasing amount of money and resource within the Health Service. Be. Be done differently . We need to make the best of every penny weve got and the public need a good debate with the politicians about what it is they want from their health what should be done differently . We need to make the best of every penny weve got and the public need a good debate with the public need a good debate with the politicians about what it is they want from their Health Service what should be done differently . Clearly this is not something that we can cure with a the more staff on putting more staff on the frontline. Things are really laudable aims and i welcome all of all of those things are really laudable aims and i welcome all of them. Are facing is a clear what we are facing is a clear message who are facing is a clear message who are having who are having an honest account and people. It is an honest account and people have what that means. Can be associated with increased death rates. So it is very important that people understand the importance of not completing planned surgery within an 18 week target. We have done fantastically well over the last ten years. We have had huge investment, and it is a real tribute to the Health Service that we have managed to deliver so much in such an efficient way. I am sorry to interrupt, but would you admit, we are talking about Waiting Times being basically the idea of a definitive and to Waiting Times at this point being thrown out the window. But in fact the practical Waiting Times are nowhere near as bad as they were ten years ago. Absolutely the Waiting Times are not as bad as they were ten years ago, when 60 of people managed to get their surgery within 18 weeks, and now we are looking at about 90 . But in some branches of surgery, like neurosurgery, it is 85 . And we have seen a neurosurgery, it is 85 . And we have seen a deterioration in that level of Waiting Times for people over the last few months, and that is a 1 way process. So we know that people are going to start seeing a deterioration in the amount of time that they have to wait on waiting list, and that is obviously going to be extremely concerning for those people who are already in the system and needing surgery. We are not talking about frivolous surgery, we are talking about serious surgery for long term conditions such as hips, and arthritis, where people are markedly affected in their quality of life. We are talking about serious surgery for heart operations, where peoples life is being impacted by not been able to get that surgery. I am sorry to interrupt you, we are very much out of time there. Clare marx, president of time there. Clare marx, president of the Royal College of surgeons, talking to us from our london studio this morning. Youre watching breakfast from bbc news. The main stories this morning patients will have to wait longer for routine operations such as hip and knee replacements in what the head of the Nhs In England says is a trade off so improvements can be made elsewhere in the system. Details on how the eu plans to negotiate brexit will be released later today by the president of the European Council, donald tusk. Quite a lot of schools breaking up for easter today, still a couple of weeks away, but lets see what matt has got, nice blue skies . Not quite they will be on the way and this weekend not looking too bad, although a few showers on saturday. Today, skies like this for a few, quite wet at the moment but if youre stepping out, not cold. The warmest, preston, 13, even as far north as edinburgh and belfast, double figures. The rain Clearing Away from devon and cornwall from overnight, soon returning to the Isles Of Scilly later, Brightening Up Isles Of Scilly later, Brightening Up quickly along the channel islands. Quieter in the western half and middle part of england, spreading eastwards, patchy rain, Eastern England dry and brighterfor the morning rush hour. Wales, cloudy, wet in the isle of man and the north west of england, Northern Ireland particularly damp with outbreaks of rain and thats the case in many western parts of scotland. The north east should start dry. The rain is going north, Clearing Away from Northern Ireland for a time before showers return later. Rain eases away from Northern England, Brightening Up by lunchtime and much of england and wales will see sunny spells into the afternoon, as will scotland, but Northern Ireland, west wales and cornwall will the showers returning. 13 to 17 degrees this time of year is above where it should be, feeling pleasant in the sunshine and out of the breeze. Tonight, temperatures dropping further than last night. Showers throughout in western areas, Eastern Areas should start dry but into the weekend, a bit cooler to start with than weve had over the past few days. What about the weekend . A past few days. What about the weekend . A new past few days. What about the weekend . A new month and with it a change to april showers, in fact we will see heavy and thundery showers around. Chilly conditions to take us into what will be a drier and brighter sunday, so sunday is the better of your two days. Lets look at saturday, sunshine around, especially in Eastern Areas. Showers becoming widespread, heavy and in places thundery with hail, slow in eastern wales. 0ne places thundery with hail, slow in eastern wales. One or two will avoid showers altogether, some coastal districts best favoured for that, so you should do well if youre heading to the coast. Showers baiting through the evening, High Pressure builds then on sunday and with that temperatures could drop down to produce A Touch Of Frost early in the morning but most places will have a fine day with sunny spells and temperatures of around ten to 16 degrees. If youre heading further afield and starting your easter break this weekend, some of the best places to go are the likes of dubai and mexico but even in mexico, a few showers on sunday and in new york, warming up after what has been quite a chilly few days. Good news, matt. We end with greatness but a lovely picture he keeps teasing us with holidays not fair theyre known as educations hidden army, but bbc breakfast has been hearing how Teaching Assistants are facing challenges as a result of growing financial pressures across the Education System. Unions also say Teacher Shortages and budget cuts mean too many are being left to teach classes on their own. Though the Department For Education says savings can be made without having to cut posts. Breakfasts Jayne Mccubbin has been speaking to support staff to hear their stories. John, not his real name, is not a real teacher, but hes frequently called in to cover a class when a real teacher is off. 0riginally it was only meant to be a few days. What it turned into was month after month. He said hes used as a cheap alternative to a Substitute Teacher with no qualification and no authority. Mis behaviour meant you spent your time firefighting, thats what youre doing, youre controlling behaviour, youre not teaching. It can happen as well when the kids will have me looking after them in one lesson and in another lesson theyll have another unqualified member of staff in a different subject, so they could have two or three hours of this in the same day. Im not furious at the head teacher, the budgets just not there. In scotland, only a qualified teacher can lead a class. In english and welsh state schools, its at the discretion of the head and all heads are facing financial pressures. Here in burnage they value tas more than most because many students speak english as a foreign language, many have special Educational Needs but even here they are increasingly used to fill gaps. That added pressure is taken away from the role that we have to do, which is incredibly valuable. It has the Domino Effect of one child is not understanding something, they then feel they cant cope within that situation, it then affects other children, it then affects the teacher, the whole environment there is not one for learning. In other schools, financial pressures are more intense. Hilton primary is £120,000 in the red. Tas like jill arent just filling gaps, they are being axed. A third of the 40 employed here have just received a redundancy notice. Its very upsetting. Very, very upsetting. The elastic now is as far as it is going to stretch. Losing these tias is a disaster, it really is a disaster. Seven years ago, three in ten secondary schools were in deficit in england. Now the National Audit office say its more than six in ten. And with a further £3 billion in cuts ahead, that will get worse. The Department For Education told me they believe efficiencies can be made without having to cut staff without an impact on education. There was a time when we didnt have Teaching Assistants. Yes, in years gone by we had one teacher to teach a class full of pupils but now we expect more from our Education System and were going to let a generation of pupils down if we dont provide this support for them. Parents expectations might be for more, but in terms of funding, the reality is less. Head teachers will have to decide how they strike a balance. Jayne mccubbin, bbc news. Tricky, isnt it . We are talking about one particular thing today. Kindness. Why . When you leave the house today you might find people being more generous and nicer to you, it is National Kindness day, people have been getting in touch with us to tell us about what they have experienced. What have you got . Alex said my eight year old daughter one easter eggs in the school raffle, she gave one away to her classmate that didnt win anything, a lovely thing to do, we are very proud. Nancy was going to ben nevis, wanting to go to the summit, parked the car, didnt have money for the parking metre, asked for some change and two or three people helped her, paid her £5 and she got to the summitfor paid her £5 and she got to the summit for free. Lovely. This is from melanie, today im buying a bunch of flowers and leaving them in a random spot with a Happiness Kindness Card and a pass it forward message, hopefully that will encourage someone to message, hopefully that will encourage someone to do the same. Janet, if youre going to the supermarket today you want to be there at the same time as her, if she has a trolley and someone elses nearby with a few items, she always lets them go first. Always, janet, really . This is my favourite from martin, a lady gave Me 5p For A Bag In Tesco Last year. Which is kind, U Nless In Tesco Last year. Which is kind, unless martin works behind the checkout and that is just his job and he was just paying for it let us and he was just paying for it let us know what you have done and what kindness you have received on National Kindness day. Im going to makejohn National Kindness day. Im going to make john a tea. Know youre not. Ok, milk, make john a tea. Know youre not. 0k, milk, no sugar. Time now to get the news, travel and weather where you are. Good morning from bbc london news, im alice salfield. One of the capitals leading surgeons is calling for all young people to be taught First Aid Skills because of the recent rise in knife crime. Duncan bew works at Kings College hospital. He says given the severity of the injuries hes treated all young people should be prepared. We know that in Time Critical situations, both in medical emergency is and in trauma, that First Responders can make an enormous difference to patient survival. And what better education could you have for children to teach them in an age appropriate way to be able to save somebody elses life . Meanwhile, the parents of Quamari Barnes who was stabbed to Death Outside his school in kensal green two months ago have spoken to bbc london about the impact of their sons death. I happened to be at home, my daughter called me, she told me not to panic. She had just had a call saying that quamari had been stabbed. A lot of the times people dismiss things as its not affecting me, its no one i know, but its getting closer and closer. Almost one high rise a week began construction in the capital last year. The London Tall Buildings survey looks at how many buildings over 20 storeys high are being built or are in the pipeline. There are currently more than four 100 and 50 in the planning stages. There are currently more than 450 in the planning stages. There are lots of problems on the tubes. There are minor delays on the central and District Lines with severe delays on the circle, Hammersmith City, and Piccadilly Lines. And theres no service on the 0verground between surrey quays and new cross. Moving onto the roads, the M25 Clockwise has three lanes closed atjunction 16 for the m40 due to an overturned vehicle. There are queues half way back to junction 15. Thats all the travel. Time for a look now at he weather with elizabeth rizzini. Good morning. With temperatures peaking atjust over 22 celsius yesterday in gravesend in kent, it was the warmest day of the year so far and the warmest march day for five years. Now, it will be feeling a bit fresher today certainly by the afternoon and also some sunny spells and a few showers. Now, an exceptionally mild start to the day, plenty of cloud around this morning. Thickening possibly through the late morning, we may catch one or two showers and more sunny spells emerging into the afternoon and a cooler feel to things as well. The South Westerly Wind will freshen, top temperatures, 16 or 17, so feeling a bit fresher by the end of the day and cooler too overnight with temperatures dropping back into single figures but most of us staying dry and it will probably be a fairly bright start to the weekend. A weekend of two halves really, sunny spells and some showers on saturday, some of those could be quite heavy in places but pleasant enough in the sunshine. Top temperatures, 16. Cooler nights over the weekend. Sunday should be dry, a ridge of High Pressure digging in, so sunshine at times, again, highs of 16. Im back with the latest from the bbc london newsroom in half an hour. Plenty more on our website at the usual address. Now, though, its back to sally and jon. Bye for now. Hello, this is breakfast, with sally nugent and jon kay. Waiting times will be longer for routine operations, such as hip and knee replacements, as a trade off for improvements in other areas, including a e. That is according to nhs england, which will today set out a strategy for the next few years. The body says increasing Patient Demand and the growth in new treatments mean choices have to be made. Clare marx from the Royal College of surgeons told breakfast she was cautious about the changes. People are going to have to realise that they will have to take more care of themselves. There are things people can do to try and prevent the need for heart surgery, like not smoking and not being overweight, and unless people are willing to take more active part in their own care, that is going to present us with an increasing stream of people wanting to have this sort of surgery. A group of mps have said it is unacceptable that residents who pay their own fees at care homes in england are charged on average 43 more than those funded by the state. The communities and local Government Committee blames a lack of funding, which it says is threatening the viability of Adult Social Care providers. The government says it has already given councils an extra £2 billion. The president of the European Council, donald tusk, will today issue Draft Guidelines on how the eu intends to negotiate brexit. The proposals will be sent to the governments of the 27 Member States, and will help set the tone for the next two years of talks. It is thought mr tusk will try to break negotiations down into three phases, the terms of separation, a Future Trade Partnership, and the transition to a new relationship between britain and the eu. Scotlands first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has signed a letter to theresa may formally requesting a second independence referendum. In it, she reiterates her call for a vote within the next two years. The Prime Minister has already said it wont happen before brexit is complete. Hotels, restaurants and Tourist Attractions have warned ministers of the possible consequences of restricting the movement of labour after brexit. The British Hospitality Association predicts a shortfall of 60,000 workers a year if immigration is limited from the eu. The government says it will design a new Immigration System that is in the national interest. All president trumps former National Security adviser has offered to give evidence about possible links between the Trump Campaign and russia, if he is given protection from what has been called unfair prosecution. General Michael Flynn was forced to resign in february, after he misled the Vice President over Phone Conversations he had with the russian ambassador. His lawyer says he has a story to tell. Israel has announced it is to build the first new settlement in the occupied west bank in more than 20 years. Palestinian officials have condemned the plan, and have called for international intervention. China will close almost half of its official Ivory Carving factories and shops today, with the rest due to close by the end of the year. The news has been welcomed by conservationists in their ongoing battle against the illegal trade in ivory. Despite a global ban on International Sales, a surge in demand has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of African Elephants in recent years. A Californian Company has made history by launching rocket back into space for a second time. Rockets are traditionally used only once before being scrapped, but spacex has developed a way of landing its boosters safely on earth, allowing them to be recycled. This is going to be, ultimately, a huge revolution in spaceflight. Its the difference between if you had aeroplanes where you threw away an aeroplane after every flight, versus you could reuse them multiple times. Is there a lot of interesting reused rockets, second hand rockets . Is there a lot of interesting reused rockets, second hand rockets . M means we all have a chance of doing to space. No, it doesnt. It means one rocket is going to be used again. I dont think it is a great idea. John is here with the sport, and big celebrations at Manchester City. Yes, they look to turn themselves into a Football Superpower, and the womens team benefiting from all that investment. They have assembled a fantastic team, with ca rli they have assembled a fantastic team, with carli lloyd, and now they are into the semifinals of the Champions League after domestic double last season. This is how they did it. Lucy bronze scored the only goal in last nights second leg, 1 0 the final score. And that follows their victory in the first leg. Tough match to come, though. They face the holders, lyon, in the semi finals, and their captain, steph horton, is clearly excited by the challenge. We dont stop here. We are excited to move onto the semi final. We know that lyon are a very experienced team, and they have got a team full of world class individuals. But so have we. It is going to be an exciting game for sure. The stoke city striker Saido Berahino served an eight week doping ban earlier this season, and he says it was because his drink was spiked in a club. He didnt play for his former side, west brom, between september and january, as he served his suspension. But he says there was such a small amount in his system, it proves he couldnt have taken the drug intentionally. For me to get banned for something that you really havent done is hard to take. So it was spiked . Yes, definitely. Because if i was going to get high, like talking about whether you wanted to get high, maybe the numbers would have came higher, if it was found in my system. But it was really, really low, so why would you want to take something and not get a buzz off it . And that was the question. But because i am in the premier league, the fa have to have zero tolerance. And you can watch the full interview on Football Focus On Bbc One, on saturday from 12 00. We know how a larger world cup in 2026 is going to look. It will feature 48 teams, up from 32. And there will be more chance of seeing another european nation lift the trophy, as germany did in 2014, too, as there will be 16 European Countries, instead of the current 13. And there is going to be a new six team Play Off Tournament to decide two other nations. What a Runjohanna Konta is on. She has become the first british woman to reach the miami 0pen final. She beat Venus Williams, and that means she will play caroline wozniacki. Amazing to think konta was just six years old when williams first won this tournament, 19 years ago. Konta has said she is one of her all time heroes. No room for sentiment, though, last night, as the british number one won in straight sets. Englands charley hull is well placed at the first womens major of the year, the Ana Inspiration, in california. She is three shots off the lead. No doubt what the shot of the day was. Have a look at this from south korean teenage amateur seong eun jeong. She made a hole in one at the fifth. When you are producing shots like that you know your luck is in. What a turnaround for Super League Club salford red devils. They only just avoided relegation last season. This season, they are joint top of the table, after ten games. They beat st helens 22 14. This is the try that sealed it. A poor bit of defending, as st helens lost the ball. And salford were in, Michael Dobson receiving this pass to claim his second try of the night. The red devils have now won four of their last five matches. World number one mark selby is into the quarter finals at snookers china open, in beijing. The defending champion edged out a tense final frame decider against andrew higginson. Next up is stephen maguire. Judd trump and ding junhui are also through. No ronnie 0sullivan, he was knocked out in the early rounds. Great to see Manchester City women doing well. They are benefiting from all that investment, the incredible facilities they have on the site, the success of the mens and womens teams, and as i say, carli lloyd, two time player of the year in their ranks, and they are reaping the benefits, into the semifinals of the Champions League. I tell you what, go out there now, so back and relax and put your feet up. You deserve it. Thank you so much for the sport, it. Thank you so much for the sport, it is absolutely excellent. A rare moment of being nice tojohn. If people seem friendlier today, it could be because it is National Kindness day. But, just in case you need a little more encouragement to do a good deed, a campaign is being launched with the aim of making the nation nicer. The diana award charity, set up in memory of Princess Diana, wants to inspire 20,000 acts of kindness during 2017, so we have been asking some of you to share your experiences. Going to the theatre, and obviously there were some chaps wanting coffees and things, and wanting money, really. Ijust thought, you know what, for the sake of another £20 i would rather get them summing to eat. I had a huge pot of coins once, i mean it was massive, this huge bag. Ijust went to a random Homeless Person. There was this old lady, she was carrying large luggage. There was a lift, but she couldnt see it. So i carried her bag until she got down the stairs. A Homeless Person, and he wasjust sat outside Blackpool North station. We were getting off the train, and i had a bar of chocolate so i gave it to him. Iam i am trying to think of the last timei i am trying to think of the last time i did something that night. I am struggling. I could say ten minutes ago when i made a cup of tea. And yourself a cup of the cup of tea. Joining us now from london is tessy 0jo who is the Chief Executive of the diana award. And with us here on the sofa is cafe owner simon whitter, who spends much of his time volunteering with vulnerable people. Simon made the headlines, because you made christmas dinner. Talk us through what you did. The first year we did 170 breakfasts. In the year just gone, we started off to do 300 on the day, we ended up doing 1000 across ten events. A thousand people across ten events. A thousand people across the city . Yes. And we know how grateful they will be forgetting the kind of service and food that we are showing on the pictures that you filmed, but what do you get back on return from it . What does it make you feel to help people in that way . I dont think it is about getting anything back from it. It is doing it because you can do it. I dont need anything back from it. There are people out there that do actually need. I dont know, support, that little bit of kindness. It is as simple as that, it is kindness. It changes moods, it changes so much about lives. As Chief Executive of the diana award, this is very much molk on something that the late princess of wales spoke about. There is a great quote, carry out a Random Act Of Kindness, with no expectation of reward, and the knowledge that someone might do something nice for you. It is picking up on her own words, isnt it . Absolutely, andjust picking up on her own words, isnt it . Absolutely, and just like simon said, giving and receiving a kind act has the mendis impact on both the giver and the receiver. We know either during or receiving a kind act improves your mental well being. We know that it also improves your self esteem. And Research Shows it helps reduce depression. Sojust like Princess Diana carried out lots of acts, we know that everyone has value and ever and has the potential to give back. So today is about encouraging us. We want to inspire at least 20,000 people across our country to be kinder. We are pretty kind already, arent we . We are, actually, because research we also have released today shows that as brits we are very kind people, but we can do much more. We also know from the research that unfortunately men are less likely to get random a cts men are less likely to get random acts of kindness so today is really about saying, look, we can do a bit more. There is so much more room. 0ne more. There is so much more room. One of the things that we know is that we live increasingly less connected lives. We live increasingly quite insular lives, and today is about saying be a wet, think about the person next to you, think about the person next to you, think about the person next to you, think about what servers can you give . You know, Princess Diana was all about service and compassion, and this is the 20th anniversary of her death, and therefore we are saying, if you feel connected to Princess Diana, if you want to walk in her shoes, be that little bit kinder today. But also forever. M is interesting, isnt it . Notjust today, also on every other day of the year. Well, you have got to try. Interesting that men are less likely to receive an act of kindness. Is that something you have experienced . Yes and no. I dont think. I mean, idoit yes and no. I dont think. I mean, i do it because i like doing it, i have never received a Random Act Of Kindness, as such. No one has ever given you an act of kindness . No, i dont think so. Despite all your effo rts dont think so. Despite all your efforts for other people . It is not about me, it is about other people. Today might be the day when that kindness comes back to you. That is the point, it is like a chain letter, if you like, it goes from one person to the next. Absolutely, and sad to hear that simon has never, so and sad to hear that simon has never, so i and sad to hear that simon has never, so i encourage and sad to hear that simon has never, so i encourage the public to give simon an act of kindness today. We are leading incredibly insular lives, and it is about reaching out. We could all be that little bit kinder, so we are encouraging the public, but also do an act of kindness, and we want to register your act of kindness, we want to showcase it at the end of the year and show that brits are quite cool people and they are also quite kind. Thank you very much indeed, and simon, i hope this is the day. If you see simon out on the street, help him, give him something in return after everything he has done. Thank you very much indeed. Lots of you have been in touch, gena has said yesterday a work colleague was kind and gave me a lift home, i am getting her chocolates to repay the kindness today. And says she was at the doctor s surgery, and the five door is heavy, difficult to open, and the young lady laptop and open the doorfor her. And the young lady laptop and open the door for her. It is those things we used to automatically, we didnt have a day for it, but they clearly make a difference, and she says it really her date. And one correspondent said she has a day of kindness on the first day of each month. The rest of the month, not at all youre watching breakfast from bbc news. The main stories this morning patients will have to wait longer for routine operations such as hip and knee replacements in what the head of the Nhs In England says is a trade off so improvements can be made elsewhere in the system. Details on how the eu plans to negotiate brexit will be released later today by the president of the European Council, donald tusk. As we look ahead to the weekend, matt is here to brighten our moods this morning. Arent you . Its not that bad, i promise this image from one of our weather watchers in South East Wales sums up the day, some clouds but brightness on the horizon. If youre going out shortly, you may notice that it is incredibly mild, warmest at the moment is preston in lancashire, even as far north as aberdeen we have ten at present. There are some dark clouds around, they have cleared away from the south west, sunny spells developing over the next few hours. Well see that into the south west of wales, lots of cloud in the rest of wales, outbreaks to the north, cloud spreading from the midlands to the south east, affecting cumbria, cumbria especially wet in southern areas, Eastern England dry with sunshine, wet in the isle of man, Northern Ireland, southern scotland, it will take a long time view clear that rain from western scotland. In Northern Ireland the rain should clear by mid morning. Lorraine clears from north wales, hitting other parts of Northern England until early afternoon the rain. A few showers in Eastern Areas and returning to Northern Ireland, west wales and cornwall. For most, the afternoon dry and brighter than this morning, more sunshine around. Not as warm as 22 yesterday but for this stage of the year, 13 to 17 degrees, there should be no complaints. Tonight, the showers we have in the west will develop more widely in western areas, many eastern part of scotla nd western areas, many eastern part of scotland and Eastern England will stay dry. Also tonight, a bit colder than last night, temperatures back into single figures, nowhere unusual for this stage of the year. But into saturday, we will the showers get going quickly, already in the west are to begin with, developing elsewhere in the uk, you be hard pressed elsewhere in the uk, you be ha rd pressed to completely elsewhere in the uk, you be hard pressed to completely avoid them, some slow moving, heavy and thundery, england and wales especially, but not a washout of a date, some will see more sunshine and showers and in the sunshine, feeling reasonably pleasant. Cooler to ta ke feeling reasonably pleasant. Cooler to take us into sunday, a ridge of High Pressure generally means dry weather and thats the story for sunday, a fine day for the majority. A few isolated showers, the vast majority will see good sunny spells and highs of around 11 to 16. A bit cooler than it has been recently. As sally and john have mentioned, some may start your Easter Holiday this weekend and if youre heading into europe, this is what you can expect on sunday, the driest and sunniest weather in eastern parts, not looking great in italy, though, corsica and sardinia. But if your act of kindness is to take your friendly local weatherman to southern spain, portugal, tenerife or the canary southern spain, portugal, tenerife or the ca nary islands, southern spain, portugal, tenerife or the canary islands, i wouldnt object, looking sunny and hot any of those would do and i fit into the overhead locker as well get me out of here big tax changes are on the way for your car from tomorrow. Its designed to simplify the system, but it could mean many motorists are forced to pay more. Ben has nipped outside to have a look at the changes. It looks like in this Random Act Of Kindness he has got us all a car |j should be doing a game show this morning, iam should be doing a game show this morning, i am channelling my inner used car salesman. Big changes to car tax come into force tomorrow. It is designed to make it more simple but is it . Lets go through some of the details. This only applies to new cars bought from tomorrow, not existing cars or second hand cars, keep an eye on that. First up, the easiest to remember change is that the annual tax bill falls into just three bands now. Cars emitting zero carbon, electric vehicles, will pay nothing. All other cars from gas guzzlers to a little run around pay a flat rate of £140 a year. Shall wejust be shall we just be really kind to ben and rescue him from that . Sorry, everybody, some technical problems, we might try and see if we can fix them but i know it was all going a bit wrong. We can go from all over the world, pictures from the International Space station, but outside the front door, having problems this morning. Lets see if we can go back to him. We lost you for a moment but we have got you back. Nothing like shoving a cable out of the window jim holder is with me, explain some of the changes, i was halfway through and we lost the line, it is all designed to make it more simple but its not quite that simple, is it . The fact you were struggling to explain it shows how complicated it is, we once had a system where you bought a car, you knew what you are going to pay, now you have to Pay Attention to three things, the first year rate, across 13 different bands, then the supplementary years to 6 rates, a flat £140 or most beer goals apart from hybrid and electric, then you have to be careful around the £40,000 threshold. Most vehicles. You get a proper dashboard, but if that takes you over £40,000 you are liable for a bigger tax bill . Absolutely, the tax will be worked out on the cost of the car plus options, you could take a £10 option box that puts it over £40,000 and then you could triple your tax bill, taking it from a few hundred pounds a year to over £1000 a year so you have to be careful when you are inspecting a car on the cusp of that threshold. Why now . As were told, it is meant to make it more simple and this only applies to cars that are new, bought from tomorrow, if you want to get in, do it today. You can beat the tax change by doing it today. The government has brought it in because of taxation, they want more money. The cars producing less than 100 g per kilometre of c02 were free from tax, and around a quarter of all cars were being bought at that rate so they werent earning enough. Theyve changed the rules to get more money for the larger vehicles and more expensive vehicles. What happens if you get this wrong . All of the process of the taxation should be automatic but if you have tipped yourself over the edge and bought a £41,000 car, any comeback . Not really, youre in trouble if you make a mistake. Look at the dealer, they should be able to help and advise but they arent obliged to, do your own homework, if you make a mistake youre committed to the car and you have to pay the new rate. Always good to see you, jim holder. I hope you managed to stay with us through that. Its a bit more complicated than many people would perhaps like. But big changes coming in. Whether youve got a little runaround or a bigger car, big changes in how much tax you pay, those changes come in from tomorrow. More from the later if we can get the line working thanks very much. It worked in the end, we persevered and it worked in the end how do you think we prepare for really big interviews . The Prime Minister or a tough brexit interview . Some homework . Lets see what David Dimbleby does for question time. This is what they make me do to try and get you to watch question time, if you like politics you watch question time, if you dont then you dont watch it. They are asking you to do it again. Who are . All the people online. Do you want to do it again . Lets do it one more. Look, if you have one shot all one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted, in one moment, would you capture it orjust let it slip . Play weve triggered article 50, mays why is nifty, are we going to have to be thrifty with a recession in 2050, rather than doom all gloom, the economy could boom as foxs thousands of trade deals loom. With terror threats, merkel frets and will we decide to pay our debts . Theres immigration, vexation and questions from the nation, theresa mays premiership is. What does britain think, are we on the brink of a bright new dawn or might we sink . Emceed dimbleby wrapping a bit of question time. Mc. Channelling a little bit of eminem. What his father would think of that youre watching breakfast on bbc news. Still to come this morning programme. Its full steam ahead for the settle to Carlisle Railway as it reopens following massive repairs. 0ur reporter Allison Freeman is on the route for us this morning. We were on the first train to travel along the tracks, the tracks that have been shut for well over a year between carlisle and appleby on this iconic line. They have been shut because back in December Of 2015 we have the rains and heavy storms, who could forget, which undermined the tracks and caused around 500,000 tons of earth to be a landslide and tons of earth to be a landslide and to come away. That has caused network rail to carry out what theyve described as their biggest repair job theyve described as their biggest repairjob ever, its cost them £23 million to build what has been described to me as an underground viaduct. Later on to celebrate the reopening of the line were going to see the flying scotsman coming along this stretch of track. More on that much later on. But now its time for the news, travel and weather where you are. Good morning from bbc london news, im alice salfield. All young people should be taught First Aid Skills because of the recent rise in knife crime. Thats the message from one of the capitals top trauma surgeons. He says given the severity of the injuries hes treated, all young people should be prepared. We know that in Time Critical situations, both in medical emergencies and in trauma, that First Responders can make an enormous difference to patient survival. And what better education could you have for children to teach them in an age appropriate way to be able to save somebody elses life . Meanwhile, the parents of Quamari Barnes who was stabbed to Death Outside his school in kensal green two months ago have spoken to bbc london about the impact of their sons death. I happened to be at home, my daughter called me, she told me not to panic. She had just had a call saying that quamari had been stabbed. A lot of the times people dismiss things as its not affecting me, its no one i know, but its getting closer and closer. Time for a check on the travel now and lots of problems of the tubes earlier, some have now cleared. But we still have minor delays on the circle line, severe delays on the Hammersmith City, and Piccadilly Lines. And theres a part suspension on the 0verground just between surrey quays and new cross. But there are severe delays elsewhere on the line. Moving onto the roads, the M25 Clockwise has three lanes closed atjunction 16 for the m40 due to an overturned vehicle. There are queues half way back to junction 15. In poplar, one lane is blocked on limehouse link tunnel westbound before butcher row. Thats because of a broken down van and queues are to prestons road. And in euston, Hampstead Road is closed northbound between euston road and Drummond Street because of an accident. Thats all the travel. Time for a look now at he weather with elizabeth rizzini. Good morning. With temperatures peaking atjust over 22 celsius yesterday in gravesend in kent, it was the warmest day of the year so far and the warmest march day for five years. Now, it will be feeling a bit fresher today certainly by the afternoon and also some sunny spells and a few showers. Now, an exceptionally mild start to the day, plenty of cloud around this morning. Thickening possibly through the late morning, we may catch one or two showers and more sunny spells emerging into the afternoon and a cooler feel to things as well. The South Westerly Wind will freshen, top temperatures, 16 or 17, so feeling a bit fresher by the end of the day and cooler too overnight with temperatures dropping back into single figures but most of us staying dry and it will probably be a fairly bright start to the weekend. A weekend of two halves really, sunny spells and some showers on saturday, some of those could be quite heavy in places but pleasant enough in the sunshine. Top temperatures, 16. Cooler nights over the weekend. Sunday should be dry, a ridge of High Pressure digging in, so sunshine at times, again, highs of 16. Im back with the latest from the bbc london newsroom in half an hour. Plenty more on our website at the usual address. Bye for now. Hello, this is breakfast, with sally nugent and jon kay. Longer waits for Hospital Operations in england as the Health Service is forced to make a tough trade off. The head of nhs england says treatment is no longer guaranteed in the 18 week target time, but in return there would be quicker Cancer Diagnosis and Emergency Care. Good morning, its friday, 31st march. Also this morning as britain prepares for brexit, today the eu will set out its guidelines for two years of negotiation. Trying to save the African Elephant well hear how theyre cared for in nairobi, and speak to campaigner Hugh Fearnley whittingstall. Inaudible. In sport, Manchester Citys women reach the semi finals of the Champions League, lucy bronze with the goal as city reach the last four after a 2 0 Aggregate Win over danish side Fortuna Hjorring. The private spaceflight company Spacex Has Made History by successfully flying a rocket that has already been to space. And matt has the weather. Grey skies and rain may greet the day for some of you, but it will be getting better, brighter skies later and a weekend forecast that does contain a and a weekend forecast that does containafair and a weekend forecast that does contain a fair bit of sunshine as well. Details in the next 15 minutes. Patients will have to wait longer for routine operations, such as hip and knee replacements, as a trade off for improvements in other areas including a e. Thats according to the head of nhs england, simon stevens, who is today setting out a strategy for the next few years. 0ur Health Correspondent Sophie Hutchinson is outside one london hospitalfor us this morning. You have been looking at the plans, the strategy, what does it mean for us as the strategy, what does it mean for us as patients . It is two years since the nhs began a five year Transformation Plan. This is the progress update, if you like, and the Chief Executive of the nhs, simon stevens, described it as an honest assessment, though he would not go into details about whether he felt the nhs had enough money to carry out the plans. But he did say, given the limited resources , did say, given the limited resources, there needed to be some trade offs, one of those, he said, would be around the 18 week target for non urgent operations. He said that some patients would wait longer, that is for things like ca ta ra cts longer, that is for things like cataracts or hip and knee surgery. In addition, he said the other trade off would be around gps, that they would be asked to look at the numbers of patients they were referring to hospitals for treatment, and instead of referring them on to possibly look at other solutions such as physiotherapy instead. He said that was important for them to make progress in other areas, for example to extend gb oh pounds, to speed up Cancer Diagnosis, and also to make it quickerfor patients diagnosis, and also to make it quicker for patients when they come to a e, so he said they were necessary trade offs to improve the system in other ways. Interest to those, the positive aspects, they have been full of praise but there are concerns about the more negative aspects. The Royal College of surgeons said it means more patients will make longer and in more pain before surgery, we risk returning to the days of unacceptably long waits for elective treatment. The British Medical Association said achieving one delivery promise only by missing another is a Textbook Example of rationing access to care. Ok, for now, thank you very much indeed. Weve been talking about this story all morning, and after 8. 30am well get the thoughts of niall dixon from the nhs confederation. A group of mps have said its unacceptable that residents who pay their own fees at care homes in england are charged on average 43 more than those funded by the state. The communities and local Government Committee blames a lack of funding, which it says is threatening the viability of Adult Social Care providers. The government says its already given councils an extra £2 billion. The president of the European Council, donald tusk, will issue Draft Guidelines today setting out how the eu wants to handle the brexit negotiations. The proposals will then be debated by the leaders of the 27 eu Member States at a summit next month. Chris morris is in malta, where european leaders have been meeting. I know mr tusk is due to hold a press co nfe re nce i know mr tusk is due to hold a Press Conference shortly and when we have seen him speak over the last couple of days about brexit he was actually quite emotional, wasnt he . He was, i suspect we will see a more businesslike persona this morning. He is due to have sent the Draft Guidelines in the last couple of minutes to the 27 other national capitals, and they will set the tone for the two years of tough negotiations and deal making ahead. In the next hour he will be coming to the building behind us, the Prime Ministers office in malta, and he will have a Press Conference in which some of the details will be released. I understand the guidelines will be six or seven pages, starting with general principles. A lot of them will set out the way the eu thinks the negotiation should be structured, which means starting off with trying to get some agreement on the terms of divorce, and only then moving on to talk about a future trade agreement. The uk wants to talk about trade straightaway because those future trading relationships are absolutely critical, but if the other 27 countries agree with these guidelines it will be difficult for the uk to change their minds. That is one of the big things that has changed this week. Until theresa may triggered article 50 on wednesday, she was in control of the timing and the process. Now a lot of that control passes to brussels. Chris, thank you very much indeed. That press Conference Due to happen in the next 35, 40 minutes, we will bring you the latest if anything arises. Scotlands first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has written to theresa may, formally requesting a second independence referendum. Here she is signing the letter, in which she reiterates her call for a vote within the next two years. The Prime Minister has already said it wont happen before brexit is complete. There are warnings today of a Recruitment Crisis if brexit leads to immigration being severely restricted. In the first Major Business intervention since theresa may began the process of britains divorce from the eu, the British Hospitality Association has said the industry faces a shortfall of 60,000 workers a year. 0ur Industry Correspondent john moylan has more. Here we go at butlins in bognor regis, they are gearing up for the summer season. Around 40 of staff here are from outside the uk, and the boss says theyd face a Recruitment Crisis if brexit causes that supply of workers to be cut off. If the tap was just turned off, straightaway that would be very difficult. We are where we are at the moment. We rely on a third of our workplace from european employees. To be able to turn that straight off, and replace it straight off, would be very difficult. Were in the hospitality industry, the service industry. You actually have to employ people who like to serve people. Tourism and hospitality accounts for around 10 of the economy. Now, a new report is warning that restrictions on Foreign Labour could hit it harder than any other sector. The uks Hospitality Sector employs around 3 million workers, but its highly reliant upon overseas staff. 24 of the workforce are eu migrants. It could face a shortfall of 60,000 workers a year if immigration is tightly controlled. The industry wants to reduce its dependence on eu workers. Its new Ten Year Strategy includes recruiting more unemployed and Older Workers in the uk. The government says that, while it will End Free Movement as it is now, it will design a new Immigration System that is in the national interest. President trumps former National Security adviser has offered to give evidence about possible links between the Trump Campaign and russia, if hes given protection from what has been called unfair prosecution. General Michael Flynn was forced to resign in february after he misled the Vice President over Phone Conversations he had with the russian ambassador. His lawyer says he has a story to tell. Australian authorities have ordered 40,000 people to evacuate to Higher Ground as flash flooding in the aftermath of cyclone debbie worsens. The storm hit queenslands most populous region on yesterday after pummelling the north east coast for two days. The states capital, brisbane, was hit with 20 centimetres of rain in two hours. More than 2,000 schools have been forced to close as tens of thousands of people remain without power. A Californian Company has made history by launching a rocket back into space for a second time. Rockets are traditionally used only once, before being scrapped. But spacex has developed a way of landing its boosters safely on earth, allowing them to be recycled. Its been described as One Small Step for the company, but a giant leap in the search for cheaper Space Exploration as greg dawson reports. You are looking at a rocket with a difference. Unlike the rest, it is fitted with a booster that has been used before. Lift off, falcon 9. And now history, as it is successfully relaunched back into space. Boosters cost tens of millions of dollars, and are normally discarded and destroyed during an ascent. But the private californian Aerospace Company spacex has found a way to eject them safely back to earth. After the successful launch, another key moment in the flight, to see if the Second Hand Booster can safely detach and fly back to its landing pad in the atlantic. Cheering and applause. Rapturous cheers from the mission crew tell you its a success. Minutes later, its back on earth, an unprecedented double achievement of launching a reusable rocket, and recovering it for a possible third mission. This is gonna be, ultimately, a huge revolution in spaceflight. Its the difference between if you had aeroplanes where you threw away an aeroplane after every flight, versus you could reuse them multiple times. It represents a new era in the space race, where private enterprises compete against each other, instead of countries. The success will be a boost for a company with much more ambitious long term goals, that include sending two unidentified Space Tourists to the moon next year. Greg dawson, bbc news. They are looking for two Space Tourists . Shall we do it . Not for me what about you . Im busy. We would be terrible its estimated there are fewer than half a million elephants left in africa, and poaching remains the biggest threat to their existence. But now, in whats been described by conservationists as a Game Changing move, the ivory trades biggest market, china, is calling a halt to the practice. By the end of today, almost half of the countrys government approved factories and shops dealing with ivory will have closed their doors for good, with a total ban by the end of the year. A global ban on International Sales is already in place, but does this go far enough in tackling the problem . Lets get the thoughts of chef Hugh Fearnley whittingstall, who presented a bbc documentary about the ivory trade, and also kirsty smith, who joins us from the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in kenya. Good morning to you both. Kirsty, i will continue first of all, can you first of all described where you are and the work that goes on with the elephants that are with you now . Im at the Nairobi Nursery of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in kenya. You can see some of the elephants behind me, someone whom are victims of poaching, their mothers killed for their ivory. It is a bright sunny day here in nairobi. Can you tell me what a difference the news from china will make on the ground where you are . It is going to make a colossal difference, china are the biggest importers of ivory and already theyre biggest importers of ivory and already they re commendable biggest importers of ivory and already theyre commendable work has made a difference so far. We have seen made a difference so far. We have seen the price of ivory dropped more than two thirds since 2014, which is brilliant, but it is a step in the right direction but many other countries can now follow suit. Even the uk, who used to be at the forefront of combating wildlife crime, china is at the forefront now and many other countries can learn a lesson from this and take this forward. We will come back to you in a moment, letsjust go forward. We will come back to you in a moment, lets just go to forward. We will come back to you in a moment, letsjust go to hugh in bristol, you dont have any elephants behind you under the clifton suspension bridge, but you have seen this trade up close for a bbc documentary. Remind us what you uncovered . What we uncovered was the classic route of ivory, one of the biggest problem places in the world at the moment is mozambique, which is where we started our story. We saw the ivory going up across the border into tanzania, up to the port of mombasa. We found out that mombasa is a pretty lee kee port and ivory is regularly getting out of there, often in shipments of tea. Unfortunately the poaching levels are still sky high right now. What is happening in china is, as we just heard, fantastic news, but it wont be enough on its own. What is needed is concerted global effort and the uk definitely has to play its part in that, and a big part of our investigation was to try and find out what contribution, either knowingly or unwittingly, the uk ivory trade is making to the problem, and unfortunately it is considerable. A lot of uk ivory pieces are being exported to china, other countries in asia, where the market remains robust. China is great news, but vietnam and laos still have robust markets. We have had a promise from the government now for two election manifestos in a row to shut down the uk ivory trade, we need to see it delivered. It is great in countries where the trade has been so historic and massive they are taking action, but we should not forget we were probably the worst culprits for, between 1860 and 1920 we imported to the uk the ivory of over 1. 2 million elephants. But a lot of people will say that is history, that goes back over a century, and we are talking today about maybe antiques being tackled and banned, people asking on social media, is that really relevant in 2017, does it make a difference . Yes, because we know for a fact that many of those antiques are being systematically brought a pencil to asian dealers and exported. Over 2000 people. Pieces of uk ivory arrived in hong kong in 2014, border force made 150 seizures last year. 0ne packet destined for china had over 22 kilos of carved ivory pieces from the uk. These uk pieces go to prop up from the uk. These uk pieces go to prop up the market in asia, they perpetuate the desirability of ivory. China has taken an incredible step in the last human is to say we no longer want to value carved ivory as an object, but it is no good just the Asian Countries doing it if we will perpetuate the sense in the uk that carved ivory is something to be cherished with real value, something you can sell and profit from. It is absolutely the wrong message globally and we have to step in line. If we want to call ourselves leaders in global conservation, we have to do it. Kirsty, you deal with lots of tourists, what is the prevailing attitude of people who come to your camp about the ivory trade . Most to visit the orphanage are obviously very shocked, but not are obviously very shocked, but not a lot of people understand the full consequences of it yet. They always come away extremely emotional. 0bviously come away extremely emotional. Obviously we do our best to put across the message of the damage of the ivory trade on the elephant population, africa is losing 80 elephants a day to poaching. Through our foster and 0ften programme we try to spread the word through social media pages, just to put awareness out there and help people to spread the word. Through our foster a n to spread the word. Through our foster an 0rphan programme. People cant believe how many orphans we have, we have rescued 12 this year. Due to poaching and other matters, human wildlife conflict, the drought that kenya currently faces, the shortage of water. There are many issues to be dealt with. Our boots on the ground, as hughes said, they are not feeling the effects of this great change yet but we hope to in the future, it is a step in the right direction, but boots on the ground and strict penalties towards poachers and anyone breaking the law in regards to the ivory trade and rhino horn. Kirsty, if you would not mind, could you tilt down your la ptop mind, could you tilt down your laptop screen and moving to the side so we can see where you are. Laptop screen and moving to the side so we can see where you are. It is not often that we get a view like this. There we go. That is fantastic. These are with their keepers, theyre human family who are now replacing the motherly role that these elephants have lost. Can you see them . Really clearly, that isa you see them . Really clearly, that is a fantastic view and done a pretty miserable, grey morning in the uk that is a fantastic site to enjoy and see behind you. We see those lovely pictures, hugh, i know elephants excite and intrigue everybody. Could you see a time in our lifetime that they could potentially be extinct, is that a realistic threat . Extinct is a very finite and depressing concept. I think there is a real danger that if we do not take action the populations will be tiny pockets scattered in a very few safe zones around africa. As a truly wild species with its own dynamic on the planet, that is not far off extinct. We are heading in that direction. The replacement birth rate does not make upfor the replacement birth rate does not make up for poaching and we need to reverse this, we need to do it collectively, a global movement. The uk dont have a great deal to do next step to step up to a pledge that they made some time ago. Except to step up to. Lets see a turnaround in the fortune of the African Elephant. Thank you very much hugh, and big thank you to ki rsty much hugh, and big thank you to kirsty smith from the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and the baby orphan elephant nursery. Thank you to kirsty and her guests. They are gorgeous. Thank you. A beautiful sunny morning and blue skies in nairobi. What is the weekend have in store in the uk, matt . What does . Grey skies and cloudy conditions for many, like here in aberdeenshire. The temperatures are high for the time of year, about ten in aberdeenshire, 13 bahai in preston in lancashire. London is not too far behind. Some rain across some areas. 13 behind. Some rain across some areas. 13 is the high in preston. Lots of gloating north wales, outbreaks of gloating north wales, outbreaks of rain. Light and patchy rain in the midlands, heading towards Eastern England. It will not affect eve ryo ne Eastern England. It will not affect everyone but it will take away some of the sunshine. Wet in cumbria and the isle of man, in the next few hours the rain should clear away for fermanagh in the south west of Northern Ireland. It has been very wet in Northern Ireland. In scotland arejust wet in Northern Ireland. In scotland are just turns wetter, rain heavily foremost through the morning, dry in the north east corner. It will linger across the hebrides, the highlands into the afternoon. Parts of scotla nd highlands into the afternoon. Parts of scotland will brighten up, most places see sunny spells for a time. Isolated showers in Eastern England, showers in the afternoon, returning to Northern Ireland after dry spells. Not quite as warm as yesterday but highs of 13 to 17, pleasa nt yesterday but highs of 13 to 17, pleasant enough for the time of year. It should be a fine evening across many Eastern Areas but tonight the shallots become more abundant in the west, some of those abundant in the west, some of those a little heavy. Compared to recent nights, a bit cooler. Some sunshine on saturday times, Eastern Areas and elsewhere. We will see shell is developing quite widely, some slow moving, heavier century. Typical april showers for the newman. The showers arts loi was moving across the heart of england and wales, here they last the longest. The sunshine is still pleasa nt longest. The sunshine is still pleasant at 13 to 16 degrees. A ridge of High Pressure builds, we move off the showers and brings Cool Conditions to start sunday. For most, sunday should be dry with sunny spells and feeling pleasant enough, even if a bit cooler than of late. With the start of the Easter Holidays for some, not all, some of you may be heading further revealed. Looking great in the canaries, dubai and parts of mexico. New york much like ourselves, we are probably a bit warmer. I wish you would stop doing that, it is not helping our mood never mind the weather, do you like a steam train . We will be talking about the most incredible railway across the Yorkshire Dales and the cumbrian fells. The 73 mile long historic settle to Carlisle Railway line was forced to haltjourneys on its tracks more than a year ago due to a 500,000 tonne landslide. Network rail has described it as one of the biggest repair challenges they have ever faced. And today, after much anticipation, the line has reopened. 0ur reporter Alison Freeman boarded the inaugural service at 5 50 this morning, and joins us now from appleby railway station. 0n time or not . On time or not . We were on time, the second train to come along it, about an hourorso ago, second train to come along it, about an hour or so ago, also one time. Things are going well. Also on time. This is an iconic track which ta kes time. This is an iconic track which takes in the Beautiful Eden Valley in cumbria, travelling through to North Yorkshire over the ribblehead viaduct, people will surely recognise it, its iconic arches. Last month it had a tornado travel across it just in last month it had a tornado travel across itjust in preparation for the fact that this day was coming, the fact that this day was coming, the carlisle to settle line was going to fully reopen once again after a year or so of closure. Back in December 2015 we had all the heavy rain, those terrible storms. The railway line was yet another casualty. Around half 1 the railway line was yet another casualty. Around half1 Million Tonnes of earth was part of landslides beneath the line. Network rail had a mammoth task of trying to repair that. They have created what has been described to me as an underground viaduct it. Concrete pillars which will keep the railway line standing even if the rest of it falls away. We have some 23 it cost £23 million. But today everybody got back on the first train at 5 50am, i chatted to some of the excited passengers. Apart from the ungodly hour, it is really quite exciting because, for the first time in 13 months, we have a direct train from carlisle through to leeds. It is a great engineering feats and i wanted to be on the first train that passes over this structure. I was on one of the trains on the la st i was on one of the trains on the last day of august in 1970, so i felt it was appropriate to be at the reopening. It is the most spectacular train ride in england. I like railways anyway but it is an historic roots, an iconic route and it is nice to let last see the railway line reopened. As pa rt of railway line reopened. As part of the celebrations there will be a very special visitor today, it will be the flying scotsman travelling at around lunchtime. A little train fact, do you see those pump on the left . That would be used to develop the scotsmans Water Supplies if it was travelling on that side of the trucks would be used to fill up. For People Living in the area it is fantastic for them that they will get this line back onto the first time in over 30 months. Alison, it looks beautiful. Lucky allison. 13 months is a long time to wait for a train, i think i have done that in the past. More news on the bbc news channel through the morning. All the weather and sports coming up and developments from europe on eno negotiations. But first the news, travel and weather where you are. Good morning to you. It is not going to be quite as one today compared to what we had yesterday, 22 degrees, one of the warmest march days on record. Today, we will get some sunshine but there is a bit of rain to talk about as well, not all that great in Cross Western but particularly North Western areas of the uk early today and into lunchtime, rain falling across scotla nd lunchtime, rain falling across scotland and then again a few showers will return to some of these western areas. But overall not a bad day and of the showers will escape. The best of the sunshine across central and Eastern Areas, still a respectable 17 in london, low or mid teens further north. This evening and overnight, some of the showers will return to the west, cornwall, devon, into wales, and again North West England, perhaps some showers here to Eastern Areas, in some areas it could be as cold as 5 degrees tonight after a mild night that we just had. 0n 5 degrees tonight after a mild night that we just had. On saturday, it is a mixture of sunshine and showers, the showers will be brewing mostly inland, it will be quite a fresh day for most of us but i will point out that coastal areas will probably stay sunny through most of saturday and into sunday as well, so if you are heading to the coast it is looking good, not desperately warm but good enough. Sunday is the better day, we lose the showers even inland and it looks like a sunny day on the way on sunday for most of us. Lets summarise all of this, we expect april showers on saturday, ta ke expect april showers on saturday, take a brollyjust in case, then a chilly night on saturday night, then on sunday it should be absolutely fine. This is business live from bbc news with rachel horne and aaron heslehurst. European Council President donald tusk will shortly issue Draft Guidelines on how the eu intends to negotiate the uks departure from the bloc. Live from london, thats our top story on friday 31st march. Terms of disengagement the eu sets out its stall on brexit. Well hear live from donald tusk shortly. And the bank with half a billion customers five banks are to merge with indias largest bank to create a super bank. And the markets in europe have opened, it is a bit muted,