how is the strike affecting you? are you working from home? did you have a trickyjourney to work? do you support the strikes? we d like to hear your thoughts. get in touch with me on twitter @annitabbc and use the hashtag #bbcyourquestions. in other news, a senior ukrainian official says russian forces have almost captured the strategic city of severodonetsk, with ukrainian forces holding on to just one factory. a russian nobel peace laureate auctions his medal for £81; million to raise funds for children displaced by the war in ukraine. and to mark his 40th birthday, new photos are released of prince william selling the big issue we look back at his four decades in the spotlight. good morning. the biggest rail strike in 30 years is under way, with an almost total shutdown of the network in england, scotland and wales. members of the rail, maritime and transport workers union are staging the first of this week s three 24 hour walk outs due to an ongoing dispute over pay, p
this is bbc news. i m annita mcveigh. the headlines at 9am. the biggest rail strike in three decades is under way the first of three affecting england, scotland and wales. fewer than 20% of trains are expected to run today. with last ditch negotations failing, the prime minister accuses the unions of harming the very people they claim to be helping. the unions say the government blocked negotiations. the government could have made a move to settle this dispute but instead they are escalating. the lies they are telling about railway workers and the railway industry are outrageous. 90% of trains cancelled here in scotland, with no services outside the central belt.
but in scotland and northern ireland, more like 12 to about 18. through this evening and overnight there ll be a lot of clearer skies around. low cloud, mist and murk moving in across the north and west of scotland and into northern ireland, some patchy mist as well, which will melt away quite quickly tomorrow morning and our overnight lows nine to about 12 or 13 degrees. so the mist clearing, a lot of sunshine around. still this low cloud, mist and murk plaguing parts of the north west of scotland and the north coast of northern ireland, but it will be largely dry, a little bit warmer with temperatures 22 in aberdeen and 27 in the south. hello this is bbc news. the headlines: the biggest rail strike in three decades is under way the first of three affecting england, scotland and wales. fewer than 20% of trains are expected to run today. with last ditch negotations failing, the prime minister accuses the unions of harming the very people they claim to be helping. the unions say the