12/11/2015 BBC News at One

A billion pound deal is signed by European and African leaders to try

Trying to deter the hundreds of thousands -

the money will be used for projects in Africa ranging from training to

We are under no illusions that we can improve the situation overnight.

But we are committed to giving people an alternative

More effort will be also be put into removing illegal migrants

The number of patients stuck in hospital beds in England

because their discharge was delayed, reaches a record high.

An alleged plot to free a jihadist leader from prison, four men from

England are among 17 arrested across Europe.

India's prime minister arrives in Britain for a three-day visit,

expected to result in billions of pounds worth of trade deals.

Doctors are told to offer more women hormone replacement therapy to deal

And why George Clooney has dropped in on a sandwich shop in Edinburgh -

Hospitals say they're under pressure because patients don't have a GP -

150,000 Londoners do not have a local doctor.

And musician and Kensington resident Brian May

calls for a change in the law to regulate the building of basements.

Good Afternoon and welcome to the BBC News at One.

European Union and African leaders have agreed a deal to provide a fund

of ?1.3 billion to try to stem the flow of migrants to Europe.

A fund of ?1.3 billion will be established to improve conditions

in the African countries that many young people are leaving.

The president of the European Council, Donald Tusk said five

targets had been agreed. Among them addressing the causes of illegal

migration and fighting human traffickers. Clive Mhairi is in

Malta. It was an unprecedented gathering of

leaders here. Deals have been struck on the repatriation of illegal and

's and addressing the causes of migration flows. Just some of the

agreements made. Let's get the latest from Chris Morris.

Malta, basking in the sunshine but the European Union in a sea of

troubles. EU and African leaders gathered for a second day with

Europe offering more for more. More financial assistance and visas in

return for greater willingness in Africa to stop people migrating to

Europe in the first place and take those back whose asylum applications

fail. We are under no illusions that we can improve the situation

overnight. But we are committed to giving people an alternative to

risking their life. TRANSLATION: We must address the

issue of mobility in a different way, but together we can fight

trafficking of human beings and illegal migration.

They have signed up to a new trust front for Africa, with the European

Commission putting in 1.8 billion euros and calling on member states

to give the same amount. So far, they are falling short. There is a

demand for instant solutions but solving conflicts and reducing

poverty levels will take decades of close attention. Now EU leaders will

turn their attention to a more pressing issue, the vast number of

Syrians and others arriving from Greece and Turkey. There will be

huge pressure to provide more money and quickly to the Turkish

government, as fears grow the arrival of refugees will continue

without pause through the winter months. And the sheer number of

arrivals is stretching resources to breaking point. Sweden says it

cannot cope and is reimposing border controls temporarily. Arguments are

raging at the highest levels of the German government at what it's

asylum policy should be. And Slovenia has become the latest

country to start building fences to try to protect its territory and

maintain order. Amidst it all, one long-running flash point, Calais.

For the third night in a row migrants clashed with the French

police as frustration boils over. The migration crisis is testing

European solidarity to the limit. The Africa Europe summit might be

over, but as Chris was indicating there will still be talks among the

EU delegation of forging a common policy on illegal migration, which

is up to the task of dealing with the current and unprecedented

numbers arriving on European shores. James Reynolds is on the Serbian

border with Croatia, one of the most popular routes into western Europe

for the migrants and refugees. Serbia and Croatia have set up

their own migrant express. The service begins here

on the Serbian side of the border. The police load

passengers carefully. This man is travelling with

his wife and baby daughter. It's very good, my wife

and my children, it's good, nice. The exodus of so many refugees and

migrants has made the old enemies of They've been invited here onto

Serbian territory to work with They are here to make sure this

train's next stop across the The train begins

its hour-long journey to Croatia. Croatia has opened

a new transit camp. Some

of these people are escaping war, others have their own, individual

reasons for coming to Europe. This 25-year-old man is hoping to

get to Paris to meet the French girlfriend he's only ever spoken to

online. He might need

a more practical reason than love to convince European migration

officials to give him asylum. He, and thousands more,

now wait for the express to take The Africa Europe summit is a

triumph in one sense. The point made by the organisation which monitors

refugee flows. That is that it took place at all. Outside is now have an

understanding of the other's needs. This summer has been an important

beginning. It is not the end on the debate on migration here. Thank you.

There's more evidence today of the pressures being faced by the NHS.

Figures for September show the service missed the target to

see, treat or discharge 95% of patients within four hours in A

Let's speak to our health editor, Hugh Pym.

The pressure keeps piling on the NHS? Yes, and this is before winter

has arrived. These figures are from September for the NHS in England and

they show how much pressure the service is under. Almost all of the

key targets were missed. You mentioned the four hour wait to be

seen in accident and emergency. Target times for ambulance response

times, and cancer treatment targets. The 62 day weight from GP referral

to your treatment starting. It shows a system which is finding it

difficult to cope with what is thrown at it and NHS England said

today record numbers of patients were being seen and the majority

were getting good quality care. But they pointed to the fact the NHS

cannot be seen on its own in this. Social care is very important also.

On those figures you mentioned about transfers from hospitals was at a

record high. They couldn't get out of hospital quite possibly because

the social care package wasn't there. It is one of the debates

ahead of the spending review whether Chancellor in a couple of weeks.

There has been pressure on him to increase spending on the NHS and

pressure to hold the social care budget, which was cut in the last

Parliament. In the wake of these figures, this debate will intensify

in the weeks to come. More women should be offered hormone

replacement therapy, despite concerns over

its link to some cancers. The health spending watchdog, Nice,

says that for most women, HRT is an effective treatment

for symptoms of the menopause. But it's also been shown to increase

the risk of getting ovarian Here's our health correspondent,

Dominic Hughes. I can understand how you feel...

These two friends know how debilitating the menopause can be.

When Lynn was suffering the worst symptoms, she was offered hormone

replacement therapy, HRT, by her GP and had no hesitation. He was very

positive about it and that made me feel positive because I happens, at

that time, heard anything to the contrary. The pain stopped, my

joints felt better, I slept better and I was happier person. By the

time the menopause hit Rosemary, concerns have arisen about HRT and

the increased risk of cancer, causing her to think twice. I lost a

friend to cancer last year in her early 40s. She was similar to me in

many ways and it brought home to me the fragility of life and I didn't

want to do anything that would put me at risk. HRT prescriptions fell

more than a decade ago following studies but link to the treatment of

breast cancer and heart disease. Now doctors from Nice call on the NHS to

look at it again. They said HRT should be given to women with all

debilitating symptoms except those with a strong family link to breast

cancer. And GPs should have confidence in prescribing the drug.

The time has come to redress the balance and give GPs the confidence

to prescribe once again and give women the confidence to seek help

and not suffer in silence, which I think at the moment, a lot of them

are doing. Attitudes towards the menopause had change greatly, from

when women were expected to cope with the symptoms and doctors didn't

think it was a condition they should treat. It increases the workload and

the doctor, if he is not only dealing with diseases but taking

into account, the overall well-being, the sex life and flashes

of postmenopausal women. These guidelines don't say every woman

should use HRT, but they say they should be offered an informed

choice. Four people have been arrested

in England as part of a counter-terrorism operation led

by Italian police. The four, from Hull, Derby,

Birmingham and Sheffield, were among 17 people arrested

across five European countries. Let's speak to our world affairs

correspondent, Richard Galpin. They have been arrested in

connection with what? Essentially be a choosing this group, a group which

has routes across Europe in many different countries and they have

been working together coordinating. They are saying this group was

allegedly trying to recruit fighters to go to Syria and Iraq and fight

alongside groups like Isis. They are saying this group was planning to

overthrow the authorities in the Kurdish area of northern Iraq.

Specifically, but again this is coming from the Italian

authorities, we have not heard it from other sources, they said this

group was planning to attack footage and Norwegian diplomats in the

middle east. So that will be of concern to the authorities here and

they said they were planning to attack politicians in no way. What

we know about this group, the leader is already in prison in Norway. We

understand he was the co-founder of radicalism group in Iraq which was

connected with Al-Qaeda. Richard, thank you.

A 75 year-old man who set up a Maoist commune in south London

in the 1970s, has gone on trial accused of raping two women

Aravindan Balakrishnan is facing 16 charges, including rape,

This is Aravindan Balakrishnan. He is now 75 but is facing a string of

charges, sexual and physical assault, rape, false imprisonment

and mistreating a child over three decades. The court heard he founded

a political collective in Rick Stein. At first they work together

to overthrow what they saw as the British fascist state, but the men

drifted away leaving half a dozen women. In the years that followed,

the prosecution said they subjected some of them to mental and physical

dominance. Sexual degradation and in the case of one woman controlling

every sphere of her life, to the state she was physically and

emotionally unable to leave his influence. She is Aravindan

Balakrishnan's daughter. The court heard she was born into the collect

Viv and kept hidden for 30 years, during which he was beaten. She had

no friends, didn't go to school, didn't see a doctor and rarely left

the house. Police moved in in 2013. The house where Aravindan

Balakrishnan lived is now boarded up. He has pleaded not guilty to 16

charges. A billion pound deal is signed

by European and African leaders to And look who popped into work today

- George Clooney pays a visit to a On the 800th anniversary of the

Lord Mayor's Show, we speak to the pageant master about what it

takes to put the parade together. And we'll find out what

the weather has in store The Indian Prime Minister,

Narendra Modi, is beginning He's the first Indian Premier to

come to Britain in nearly a decade. The visit, according to

David Cameron, marks an "historic opportunity" for Britain and India

to build closer economic ties. It's thought trade deals

worth around ?10 billion will But there are expected to be

protests against the Indian leader. Some see him as an authoritarian

who's undermining Indian democracy. India's economy is flying, with

growth of around 7% a year and Britain wants a bit of that.

Narendra Modi is the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the UK for a

decade. This is the beginning of a three-day trip, which is expected to

deliver trade deals and agreements worth billions of pounds. Operations

at Parliament Square this morning for Mr Modi's first engagement, a

meeting at Downing Street with the Prime Minister. Later he will make a

speech in the House of Commons before the Prime Minister is cross

the square to pay their respects at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi, the

man who led India to independence. But Mr Modi is not universally

admired. Some have accused him of creating authoritarian government

that is suppressing freedom of religion and freedom of speech. We

are being lectured by Mr Cameron about British values of tolerance,

of equality, of justice, yet he is entertaining someone who does not

believe in this and it's absolutely hypocritical. In spite of all the

pomp, this is not a state visit. Mr Modi as India's Prime Minister, not

its president. But it is important. The United Kingdom and India have

strong historic and trade links. This trip is about reinforcing those

and building on them. Later, Mr Modi will speak to business leaders in

the city underlining the focus of this trip. Money and trade. We are

still stuck at a level of around $18 billion, which is less than 2%, I

think, for both of us come of our global trade. So obviously there is

much more that can be done. Tomorrow, Mr Modi will have lunch

with the Queen, before heading to Wembley Stadium to speak to 60,000

people from the British Indian community in an evening event

finished off with fireworks. He will also visit businesses here, like

Jaguar Land Rover, but now Indian owned. -- that are now Indian owned.

A century ago India was part of the British Empire. Now it's an economic

powerhouse on this trip is about helping both countries turn a shared

history into a future prosperity. Let's speak our Delhi correspondent,

Justin Rowlatt, What can we expect to come out

of this visit? The first thing I should say is we

are expecting Mr Modi at any minute, so he may appear behind me. The key

thing is that India is the fastest growing large economy in the world,

and David Cameron wants a piece of that action for Britain. He has said

before that India is pretty near the top of his list of foreign policy

priorities. He has visited India three times since he came to power,

including leading a huge trade delegation back in February last

year, so very enthusiastic about India. Mr Modi so far has not

reciprocated that enthusiasm. He won a landslide victory 18 months ago,

has been travelling the world to promote one of his signature

policies, made in India, but so far this is the first time he has

visited Britain. We can expect a lot of talk about deepening partnerships

and shared ambitions, a slew of trade deals between British and

Indian companies, perhaps totalling as much as ?10 billion, maybe more.

There will be talk of closer links between the City of London and the

Indian economy, perhaps the city vending some of India's grows. He is

a controversial politician, associated with a rising climate of

intolerance in India and big demonstrations are planned. There's

already a very large demonstration at the end of Downing Street,

outside the gates, on Whitehall, that will be even bigger outside the

huge rally at Wembley tomorrow. Number Ten of the British government

will be hoping that doesn't disrupt this visit to much. Justin, thank

you. It says it's part of a ten year long

modernisation programme which will see the creation

of 13 new regional centres. Our correspondent, Simon Gompertz,

is with me. This will mean job losses? Yes, you

can't close that many offices and reduced them to that view and not

have an impact on jobs. To give you an example of the sort of thing that

will happen in Yorkshire and the Humber, where there are 12 offices

closing, two in Bradford, four in Leeds and so on, they will have one

new hub regional centre in Leeds. That has been duplicated in the

nations, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and across England so the

result is what the unions are calling a devastating consequence

for jobs. They think thousands will affected. HMRC is saying that the

majority of their 58,000 employees will be able to move into these new

regional and national centres, but obviously for some it will be just

too far away and some will be surplus to requirements in the tax

office's vision of its own future as an institution based mainly on the

Internet, so not needing so may people. The other concern is about

service to customers. So many complaining about being held on the

line by HMRC for an hour or more and accountants are saying they just

won't be able to cope. Simon, thank you.

Labour has accused David Cameron of being hypocritical,

for writing to his local council in Oxfordshire to complain

In the letter, the Prime Minister says he's "disappointed"

at cuts to front line services - and instead suggests they should be

Our political correspondent Chris Mason reports.

No ifs, no buts, no children's centre cuts.

Local services under threat in Oxfordshire.

This is a story about a local MP grumbling about those cuts to this

The twist is the local MP is the Prime Minister

and it's his government that has cut council funding.

This whole row burst out in public when the Oxford Mail

The first was from the Prime Minister to the Conservative leader

And then there was the reply, from the council leader,

In his letter the Prime Minister says, I was disappointed

at the long list of suggestions to make significant cuts to front line

services, from elderly day centres to libraries, to museums.

He also suggested the cuts hadn't been that big, writing, there has

been a slight fall in government grants in cash terms, but this is

effectively being made up for another fiscal streams. The council

leader's reply is stinging. I, along with many councillors across the

country, works hard to assist you in achieving a Conservative majority,

and, he adds, I cannot accept your description of a drop in funding of

?72 million, or 37%, as a slight fall. It's like all relationships.

Sometimes you have a little bit of tension. It's always going to be

difficult at some stages. But yesterday I was at Number Ten

Downing Street and we had a very civil conversation. There's a good

relationship there. Looks like David Cameron is campaigning against cuts

in his own backyard, but is perfectly content for deep cuts to

public services in communities elsewhere across the country. It's

very hypocritical, I'm afraid. Labour also want to know if the

Prime Minister gave his local council preferential treatment by

inviting them to Downing Street, but what really matters here are local

services like these. What is affordable when money is tight and

who is to blame when cuts are made. The nurse who contracted Ebola

while working in Sierra Leone has been released from an isolation ward

at the Royal Free Hospital in Pauline Cafferkey was first treated

for the disease at the beginning of the year

and seemed to make a full recovery. But then last month she contracted

meningitis, and at one point was She'll continue to recuperate

at the Queen Elizabeth University The Russian president,

Vladimir Putin, says someone must take responsibility

for the doping scandal surrounding the country's athletes -

and that Russia must do everything Russia's sports minister said there

could be criminal cases brought against anyone suspected

of cheating. Here's our sports correspondent,

Richard Conway. In recent days the focus of the

sporting world has been on Russia. It may have been smiles all round

as President Putin met the national wrestling team in Sochi, but what of

the allegations by World Anti-Doping Agency Commission that some Russian

athletes were using banned drugs to improve performance and that

the authorities helped cover it up? We must carry out our own internal

investigation and to ensure the most open - and I want to stress

this - the most open, professional cooperation, with international

anti-doping structures. Here in Russia we must do all we

can to get rid of this problem. A blood testing laboratory in Moscow

was accused of taking bribes Its accreditation has now been

suspended and the head There's now pressure on

the government to restore confidence We can change the quality

of testing. We can move from quantity

indicators to quality indicators. We can move from direct,

common doping tests to biological passport, which practically excludes

any manipulation and immediately The Russian athletics federation

is expected to respond to the allegations, but the international

governing body for athletics, the IAAF, also has questions to answer

about its alleged involvement. The headlines of recent days have

been damaging to a nation that is Being banned from the 2016

Olympic Games would be humiliating. But will the tough words

and apparent decisive action be And finally the Hollywood actor

George Clooney dropped in to a sandwich shop in Edinburgh

today - and caused quite a stir. Kevin Keane can explain. There is

plenty of fashion photography. It felt like a royal visit but this

was a welcome the palace could only dream of. The Hollywood heart-throb

wore the crown well and this crowd was grateful. The visit was to a

coffee shop, where customers can buy a drink for themselves and leave one

for people who are disadvantaged. George, hello, BBC, why are you

here? I'm working for a charity. What do you think of what they do

there? It's amazing, I haven't seen it up close yet. I like what they

are doing, it is an important cause. The idea we can all participate in

everyone's difficulties is really important. You must be used to a

crowd like this, but we're not in Scotland. It's beautiful, really

nice. I feel bad for them, they are standing out in the cold. Inside it

was all selfies and smiles as George met some of those who work here.

Many were once homeless themselves, now offering a helping hand to those

in similar need. We knew he had his own charity based in Sudan, called

not on our watch, so we invited him to Scotland and that we helped to

fund raise for this charity and we invited him to visit our local

sandwich shops, Social Bite, soaked our absolute delight he accepted.

This small coffee shop in a config -- in a backstreet in Edinburgh is a

hive of activity, and all because one Hollywood actor came here a

sandwich. After 15 minutes, George was back out, working the crowd once

more and bringing the scent of stardom to Edinburgh's Rose Street.

We are just overwhelmed! It's great to see a Hollywood a list star in

Edinburgh, it's fantastic. You managed to see him as Jamaat and

touching, he shook our hands. A lovely man. In a flash, George

Clooney was away. No red carpet but a bit of blitz on a gloomy day.

We are getting a change on the way, there will be heavy rain at the

weekend. First of all the wind, here it is on a satellite picture as it

comes across the Atlantic, this hook of cloud already have its rival

wings are freshening. The parts of Northern Ireland and western

Scotland they are gusting at over 50 miles an hour. Winds picking up for

all, Northern Ireland and western Scotland about to get heavy rain

moving in. The driest weather across the eastern parts of England.

Southern England quite cloudy and drizzly. For one more day it is

mild. Tomorrow, it will feel different. Tonight, I have -- a band

of heavy rain and squally winds, but the strongest winds across the

Western Islands, north-west of made in Scotland into the Northern

Isles. Black circles are the wind gusts, widely 60-70 mph, that's why

does a Met Office Amber be prepared warning. Some gusts could be around

80-90 mph in places, that means disruption. Already ferry services

are being cancelled, so do check before you travel. There could be

coastal flooding with big waves. The wind and lightning from the showers

moving in could bring power cuts. Abigail's worst effects will be in

northern Scotland. For all of the UK's win back row picks up and

colder air heading in. It will feel very different tomorrow morning. In

Wales, heavy rain and squally winds could cause problems. It sweeps

across England in the morning. For the afternoon tomorrow, sunny

spells, blustery showers especially for north and west, squally winds

with these, hail, thunder and snow for the North Wales mountains

northwards. Tomorrow is colder for us all. The weather doesn't stop at

the weekend. Here comes the next system across the Atlantic. This

includes tropical moisture from a former hurricane and what that does,

it boosts the rainfall rates for some of us at the weekend. For the

weekend it is still quite windy. It turns milder from the south. Plenty

of cloud, some rain around. The heaviest, most persistent rain at

the weekend, Saturday and Sunday, is where you see the bright colours.

North Wales, north-west England and south-west Scotland, be aware now

the persistent heavy rain, 100 millimetres or more, is likely to

cause some flooding and it could bring significant problems going

into the next week in particular. Keep watching that and keep watching

the weather, wherever you are, and send us your photos. The best way to

do that is become a weather watcher. If you haven't signed up, there is

the address, do it this afternoon. Now a reminder

of our top story this lunchtime.