06/03/2016 BBC Weekend News

One of the big six energy suppliers - Npower -

is to cut a fifth of its UK workforce

Thank you for your love and being you.

Nancy Reagan has died at the age of 94.

Boris Johnson says British sovereignty is not possible

within the EU and calls a leave vote a "golden opportunity".

More misery on the Medittereanean as dozens drown off the coast

Five years on after first protests in Syria. We chart the war and

peace. Sir Bradley Wiggins

and Mark Cavendish win Gold at the World

Cycling Championships. The energy giant Npower has

announced plans to cut 2,500 jobs, It's one of Britain's biggest gas

and electricity suppliers, with nearly five million customers,

but has been hit by losses at its parent company and fines

over its customer service. Our business correspondent

Joe Lynam reports. We're standing up for

customers, at Npower. It's been a torrid year

for all energy companies, now one of the so-called

big six firms, Npower s We spoke to one telesales

employee in County Durham. He was told unofficially three

months ago his job was on the line. He didn't wish to be identified

and his words are voiced The trade union which represents

some Npower employees blames Most of our members spend their days

working very hard serving customers, but without the right systems

and investment in place, and the right back-up,

it is a very difficult job to do. They try to do it really hard

and have been kicked Npower is a company

with a lot of its plate. It posted losses of ?48 million

for the first nine months of last year and also lost 200,000 customers

in that time to rivals and it was fined a record

?26 million by the energy regulator Ofgem for not treating

customers fairly. It's also struggled to keep up

with nimble, smaller competitors. What it does show is a further

significant change in the way that the energy market

is running in the UK. Over the last year or two,

we have seen a huge increase in the number of independent

suppliers coming into the market and their market share of customers

has moved from 5% a year or two ago This could be an indication of how

the big six are having to react to this emergence of smaller players

in the market. These job cuts come

as the competition and markets authority are set to announce

a major shake-up of the entire That should make things far more

transparent for consumers and enable All energy companies have

been suffering of late, as oil prices have plunged by 70%

over the past year-and-a-half. Showers in Npower's

German parent company. It will tell us on Tuesday exactly

where the job losses at Npower will be and the extent

of the problems at the company. The former American First Lady Nancy

Reagan has died in California She was at the side of Ronald Reagan

throughout his two terms in the White House and devoted

to him over the course Our correspondent James Cook

looks back on her life. She'd been my First Lady since long

before the White House. It was a marriage made

for the silver screen. The American President

and his adoring wife. What are you going to

do after the war... The romance began in Hollywood

where the pair met as minor actors, even appearing

together in this film. But by the time her husband became

President, Nancy Regan was ready At first, she was unpopular,

criticised for her extravagant taste, accused of interfering

in staff matters and ridiculed for consulting an astrologer

after her husband was shot. But she championed down-to-earth

causes, most notably with a campaign against illegal drug use,

"just say no", she urged Drugs take away the dream from every

child's heart and replace it And it's time we in America stand up

and replace those dreams. At times, it felt like Nancy Regan

was writing the script for her husband like this prompt

when he lost his way When it turned out that

Ronald Regan's memory loss was due to illness,

sinking into Alzheimer's, the nation Each day brings another reminder

of this very long goodbye. And so, after the heartbreak

of her husband's death, Nancy Regan embraced a new cause,

arguing in favour of using embryos It put her at odds with many

in the Republican Party, but when President Obama changed

the law, she insisted countless The former First Lady will be

buried next to her husband here at the Ronald Regan

presidential library in California. Nancy, said her step-son, is once

again with the man she loved. At least 47 people have been killed

in a suicide attack at a crowded checkpoint in the Iraqi

city of Hilla. So-called Islamic State has

claimed responsibility Iraqi police officers and civilians

were among the dead - The Conservative Mayor of London,

Boris Johnson, has said he decided to campaign to leave

the EU because the Prime Minister's reforms did not return sovereignty

from Brussels to the UK. He said he had considered supporting

a reform deal that included this, but that Government lawyers

said it was unworkable. Our Political Correspondent,

Alex Forsyth, reports. Two weeks ago he grabbed headlines

by saying he wanted out of the EU. One of the few politicians

with reach beyond Westminster, Boris Johnson's endorsement

was a boost to the leave campaign. Today, in his first full

broadcast interview since, he shed more light on why he's

opposing colleagues, We were told we were going

to get wholesale changes. Anybody looking at the agreement

that we have before us now, will be in no doubt that it is not

fundamental reform. David Cameron spent months

negotiating changes to the EU Among other things, he won the right

for countries to club together and block EU ideas and the UK isn't

committed to further integration. But for Boris Johnson,

this doesn't address his concern He claims a deal, which would have

curbed the power of European Finally we had some language

that seemed to have some We went back to the Government

lawyers and it blew up. They are due to deliver plans

to boost sovereignty soon. They say leave campaigners,

like Boris Johnson, are just trying to dodge questions on what out

would look like and its impact on things like the single

market, designed to ease Tell me, are we going to be in it

or not in it and if we are not going to be in it, are we going

to negotiate a similar kind of deal? We're going to have our own British

arrangements that will give us But some big EU players warn the UK

can't have it all if it of the single market

but they still have to pay into the budget of the community

and they have to accept the free So, actually they have

all the disadvantages of the common market

and they are not involved So far this campaign has been

dominated by claim and counterclaim. Boris Johnson's role is closely

watched because he is a big personality but also due

to his rivalry with the Prime The consequences of this referendum

will be felt by the country, but also by the Conservative Party

and the Government. And Alex is with me now

because we've had news in the last half hour that John Longworth,

former director general of the British Chambers

of Commerce, has resigned. That' right. The British Chambers of

Commerce have taken a neutral stance on this referendum because the

opinion of its members is split. However last week its

Director-General, John Longworth publicly expressed his views that

the that the Britain was better off outside the EU There had been

pressure put on the BCC by those campaigning for the UK to stay in

the Eu there were allegations. Number ten has denied it but there

was a row and in the last half an hour we have had confirmation that

he resigned. A statement from the President of the British Chambers of

Commerce, and they say "No politician or any interest group had

any interest in the decision to suspend Mr #1k57 longworth and his

resignation was mutually agreed." -- Five years ago this month

protests against the regime of Bashar Al Assad began

in the southern Syrian The regime soon responded

with violence, triggering an escalation into the civil war

that has now cost the lives More than 11 million others have

been forced from their homes. All this week, the five year

milestone will be amrked by BBC News - beginning tonight with our

Chief International Correspondent, We are in Damascus in a country

where an informal truce a cessation of hostilities, they call t came

into force about nine days ago. Ever since then, almost every day,

violations have been reported by every side. And it doesn't include

extremist groups like the so-called Islamic State. But, however partial

and imperfect this truce is, these last nine days have been the

quietest that moster issians have seen in years.

In Damascus now, the day dawns with something new.

Gone, the rumble of warplanes heading to rebel-held suburbs,

gone the thud of mortars landing here.

And spring arrives just in time for this rare moment of quiet.

Syrians savour it, as fragile as it is.

The parks fill with picnics and play.

I'm also relieved when Syrians in other cities aren't being shelled.

We have two hands, he explains, if both are fine,

Just ten miles away in a rebel stronghold, the respite

The bombing has largely stopped and they seize this moment.

"Go Bashar go", they shout, telling the President to leave.

Videos posted on social media show how they turned out last Friday

in their thousands in opposition areas, just like they did five years

This truce is making a difference and Syrians feel it.

But the only reason why it's happening at all is because world

powers, most of all, Russia and the United States,

decided to put significant pressure on their Syrian allies

But even with this new pressure, it's still not enough.

But aid is finally entering some areas under siege.

But this convoy took days of negotiations.

And last-minute hitches delayed it until night fall.

Aid hasn't reached people in this rebel-held town for two years.

Half a million Syrians live in besieged areas.

Many still aren't getting any help at all.

It's not just a war, it's a collective failure

on the part of the international community to detect,

to contain and let alone to resolve conflicts like this.

I hope Syria, with all the viciousness of the fighting

that we see here and the suffering, I hope it will be the wake-up call

This truce is very fragile and partial.

There's still fighting in some areas, but if this doesn't work,

Syria's brutal war will get even worse.

The next test comes this week when the warring sides are expected to

show up in Geneva for indirect talks immediataited by the United Nations.

Their allies again will put pressure on them to show up. But in the end,

the decision to talk will have to be taken by Syrians aand the reality

now is that the opposition doesn't want to President Bashar's officials

and they don't want to talk to them. All this week, we'll be looking

at the effect five years of the Syrian conflict

have had on the country, the region and the

international community. Thousands of Syrians continue

to attempt the dangerous journey At least 25 people died after a boat

carrying migrants capsized while crossing from Turkey to

Greece. The latest deaths come as EU leaders

prepare for a major summit tomorrow, focusing on how to deal

with the crisis. Midway between Turkey

and the Greek islands, the coastguard is picking people

up from small boats. 338 migrants from many

different nations. We didn't eat no food

for two days, two nights. The fate of these people is once

again going to be discussed One suggestion is to only let

Syrians proceed from here. So that could mean that

in the near future these people Syrians will be allowed

some sort of refuge, but everyone else will be sent back

across the water to Turkey, on a journey they've just

risked their lives on. The migrants in this hilltop camp

nearby are non-Syrian. Desperate people, making

desperate threats. If they try to make you go back

to Turkey, what do you think I will jump in the sea

or I will hang myself with a tree. If they force me to go back

to Turkey, even Pakistan, I will not go back because it is

a matter of my life. Off the coast of Turkey today,

a migrant boat sank, There were a few survivors

but the death toll in the sea has It has been perilous,

not just this year where over 400 people have lost their lives

but last year alone in the Mediterranean,

3,700 drowned or went missing. Back on Lesbos this afternoon,

we found another raft arriving. Doctors and other aid workers

were quickly on the scene to help. For now, they are ashore and safe

in Europe but for how long? The overtures from Brussels

are all about somehow sending many of them back to Turkey

and closing down these routes. Let's get more on that meeting

in Brussels tomorrow. Our Europe editor,

Katya Adler is there. They have tried and failed before.

What hope is there that this time the EU will come up with something

that will really tackle this? Well, this is an important summit. The

etch U knows that its reputation is in tatters over the migrant crisis.

-- the EU knows. Germany is key for a result. Angela Merkel's political

future hangs in the balance. Those scenes of chaos, with dinghies full

of refugees landing in krooes Greece, with borders being shut that

have proudly been open for decades. Tomorrow is when the etch U hopes to

get the situation under control. How? Well the key is Turkey. -- the

EU hopes to get the situation under control. That's where most people

are risk their lives to enter Europe, through the Greek islands.

The Turkish Prime Minister will be here at the summit. It is hoped his

Government will crackdown on the people smugglers and accept back

from the EU those judged to be irregular migrants, not refugees.

But of course Turkey won't do this for nothing and trust between the

two sides is not strong. Something else the EU wants to stop

immediately is that refugees and others inside Europe decide for

themselves which country they go to. They want to declare the migrant

route north from Greece shut and instead bring nan unpopular plan

where EU countries accept a quota of migrants from Greece and some

refugees directly from Turkey. It is a tall order. Human rights' groups

are sounding the alarm that the etch U may be sending back people to

Turkey who should have their asylum claims heard here under

international humanitarian law. With all the sport, here's

Lizzie Greenwood-Hughes at the BBC Great Britain play Serbia

in the quarter-finals of the Davis The defending champions knocked-out

Japan in Birmingham this weekend. But as our correspondent,

Andy Swiss reports, star player Andy Murray had to dig deep

to beat Kay Nishikori. If the entrance felt more boxing

than tennis, it was entirely apt. This was as bruising as it was

brilliant. Two top-ten heavy weights slugging it out. When Murray edged

the first two sets. It seemed game over but how national insurance

national insurance responded. He levelled it up and the decider

proved dazzling. -- Nishikori levelled it up.

Finally it was Nishikori's nerve that cracked

Finally it was Nishikori's nerve spell-binding hours, it was over.

Victory for Britain then and for their new dad, the chance for family

time. This is Kim's first Mother's Day, so...

APPLAUSE So nice to hopefully get to see her

this evening. I will try to get back for bath time and try to put

this evening. I will try to get back sleep - not Kim, the baby.

By the way, though, another memorable day for Murray.

Exhausting, but ultimately exhilarating.

Match of the Day follows the news, unless you're in Scotland when it's

after Sportscene, so if you don't want to know the results,

West Brom beat a 10-man Manchester United at home

in the league for the first time in 32 years.

Elswhere Liverpool won 2-1 at Crystal Palace.

And Celtic beat Morton in the Scottish Cup to set-up a tie

with old-firm rivals Rangers in the semi-finals.

Either Hibs or Inverness face Dundee United in the other semi.

Great Britain's cyclists have topped the medal table at the track

Golden girl Laura Trott claimed her 2nd title

of the week in the Omnium, comfortably winning the multi-race

event at the same velodrome where she became

And there was also a very special victory for Sir Bradley Wiggins

and Mark Cavendish who triumphed in the final event, the Madison.

Thank you very much. A first look at tomorrow's papers

coming up shortly on the BBC News Channel. That's all