10/03/2018 BBC Weekend News

Good afternoon.

The Home Secretary, Amber Rudd,

is to chair a second meeting

of the government's emergency

committee, Cobra, as

the investigation into the poisoning

of a former Russian spy continues.

Specialist soldiers,

trained in chemical warfare,

have been sent to Salisbury

in Wiltshire, where Sergei

and Yulia Skripal were

exposed to a nerve agent.

Both remain in a serious

condition in hospital.

Sarah Corker reports.

Nearly 200 military personnel have

been drafted in to help recover and

gather evidence in Salisbury.

Some of the soldiers specially

trained in chemical warfare.

There has been a flurry

of activity at the cemetery

where Sergei Skripal's

wife is buried.

Full protective suits and gas masks

an unnerving sight here.

A police car is among the vehicles

that have been taken away

by the Army for decontamination.

And we're learning more

about the Skripal family.

This is the voice of Irina Petrova,

a childhood friend of Yulia

Skripal, who knew her family well.

She talked to the BBC.

TRANSLATION:

She always had the best

grades at school in everything.

She was perfect.

That's why she so easily adjusted

to Britain, she speaks

brilliant English.

Better than an English person.

I can only say good things

about Yulia Skripal.

She hasn't done anything

to deserve to die like this.

I hope everything

will be good with her.

I will be praying and will

be going to church.

The former Russian spy

and his daughter remains

critically ill in intensive care.

Detective Sergeant Nick

Bailey was the first

on the scene on Sunday

and

is in a serious

but stable condition.

This investigation is becoming part

of daily life here in Salisbury.

Sites around the city centre

remained cordoned off

as investigators tried to piece

together a timeline of events,

the places that Sergei Skripal

and his daughter, Yulia,

visited, before they were found

in this park on Sunday unresponsive.

After her visit to the city

yesterday, the Home Secretary,

Amber Rudd, will chair an emergency

Cobra meeting later,

the second in a week,

to review the progress

of the investigation.

Major questions remain.

Where the chemical agent came from,

who administered it and why.

Sarah Corker, BBC News, in

Salisbury.

Our Home Affairs Correspondent

Dominic Casciani is in Salisbury.

The military was very much a visible

presence yesterday and throughout

last night. What has the picture

being this morning?

You may ask,

actually, that's a question on

everybody's lips in Salisbury. Where

is the military but not one joker in

the market this morning said they

must be in stealth uniform because

they couldn't be seen. We had a

presence at the hospital last night

to remove the first police car. We

are told they will remove other

items such as ambulances that could

be potentially contaminated as part

of the incident, and other objects

relevant to the investigation,

perhaps the park bench behind me

where the Skripals collapsed last

Sunday. But none of that seems to be

going on in public bust up not

perhaps surprising when you think

about the bigger picture. In an

investigation like this you have a

lot of public activity early on but

very quickly the whole thing moves

behind closed doors as the

investigative detectives start to

use all the electronic tools to try

to chase whoever is behind this.

Dominic Casciani, thank you.

The Education Secretary says

he wants to resolve a recruitment

crisis in England's schools,

by cutting teachers' workloads.

Damian Hinds told a head teachers'

conference in Birmingham

that the government would "strip

away" pointless tasks

to allow teachers to "focus

on what actually matters".

Elaine Dunkley reports.

This is Passmores Academy in Essex.

And like so many schools,

it's struggling to recruit teachers.

Classrooms around the country

are now relying on agency supply

teachers to cover permanent

vacancies.

The government keeps missing

targets about recruitment

into the profession.

We have 4000 less

teachers than we need.

And especially in the shortage

subjects, key subjects

in the curriculum, English,

maths, science, all

those sorts of things.

The issue isn't just

about recruiting new staff,

but stopping existing teachers

from leaving the profession.

Over the next five years in England,

pupil numbers are expected

to increase, along with pressures

and demands on teachers.

Jake Rusby left the profession

after three years.

I would work 65 or 70-hour weeks.

With planning, marking,

the assessments you're doing.

The actual teaching part

probably took up the least

time of everything!

So that was one major factor,

but for me, I got out

of the education system thinking

and feeling that the whole thing

needed to be turned on its head.

Today at a conference

for headteachers, the government

promised to address these issues.

For the rest of this Parliament,

there will be no new additional

statutory tests or assessments

for primary schools.

No further changes to the national

curriculum, and no more reform

of GCSEs and A-levels.

Stability in schools

was the message.

The government accepting it needed

to work harder to relieve

pressures in the classroom.

Elaine Dunkley, BBC News.

The nephew of the actress Liz Hurley

has been stabbed repeatedly

in a street in South London

by a group of men.

Miles Hurley - a 21-year-old model -

was one of two men injured

in the knife attack on Thursday.

He remains in hospital,

but police say his condition

is not life-threatening.

Talks are going on in Brussels

between the EU and US trade

representatives about

President Trump's plans

to introduce import tariffs

on steel and aluminium.

President Trump has suggested US

allies might not be affected

by the move and Britain has said it

will seek an exemption.

Our Europe Correspondent Adam

Fleming is in Brussels.

These meetings are ongoing. What do

we expect to hear later?

This is

described as an meeting rather than

the meeting. I think it may not be

described as conclusive. Talks

between the EU trade commissioner,

had Japanese counterpart and the US

trader sensitive has taken on added

significance. The EU wants to know

if it will escape potential tariffs

like Canada and Mexico appear to be

doing. If they don't escape than the

European Commission is planning its

own levies on iconic American

products like Harley-Davidsons and

Florida orange juice. If they do

escape, they will still be pretty

worried about what all this means

for the future of the global trading

system.

The National Rifle Association

is suing the state of Florida,

after it passed a gun control law

in the wake of a school shooting

last month that left 17 people dead.

The bill raises the legal age

for buying rifles in the state

to 21, and also allows training

and arming of some school staff.

But the NRA says it's a violation

of the US Constitution.

And the right to bear arms.

With all the sport,

here's Mike Bushell

at the BBC Sport Centre.

With news of the UK's first medal at

the Winter Paralympics.

Great Britain have their first

medal of the Winter

Paralympics in Pyeongchang,

and it's gone to the visually

imparied skier Millie Knight,

who only last year wondered,

if she'd be fit, in time

to make the Games.

Kate Grey reports from South Korea.

The opening run of the Paralympics.

Their moment in the spotlight didn't

last long, the unpredictable adhere

of the downhill proving too much,

and they crashed out on the first

bend. Luckily, no harm done. Over to

the reigning world champions. Millie

Knight, who only has 5% vision, and

her guide Brett Wild, have had their

own experience of crashing on the

Pyeongchang slopes last year. But

those demons were clearly put to

rest today as they negotiated the

course and safely cross the line to

win silver, Britain's first medal of

these games.

We're just so excited

to have a Paralympic medal under our

belts. It's also our best results

this season, so we are peaking at

the right time.

You have a busy

programme, the super G tomorrow.

We

are back up tomorrow at 4am to go

again. So we will be leaving the

celebrating until the last evening.

The British action wasn't just

confined to the snow. As we moved

into the afternoon, there was a

fiercely contested match on the ice

on folding with the wheelchair

curling team. Up against the world

champions, Norway, it was no easy

task. Just over an hour of play, and

it all came down to the final stone.

Norway had to score two points to

take it to a deciding end.

It's not

good enough.

Britain's curling

campaign off to a winning start.

Kate Gray, BBC News, Pyeongchang.

There's a huge day ahead

in the Six Nations Championship,

with Ireland, England and Scotland

all in with a chance

of taking the title.

Our sports correspondent,

Joe Wilson, is in Dublin,

where Ireland take on Scotland.

And Joe, both teams have reason

to feel confident, don't they?

I think so. At this stage on

Saturday it's tempting to delve into

these statistics to see what will

happen. Ireland have such a strong

record in Dublin and looking for

their 11th consecutive victory. What

has been so impressive from them is

the way they have brought in new

players to the team but have still

retained the know-how and ability to

get over the line in games. We saw

that especially against France.

Scotland, in contrast, with a dismal

record away from home anywhere

except Italy. But what do they have?

The memory of what they did against

England, the knowledge they can play

their style of rugby and beat a big

team. If they do go that fast and

loose style of rugby again today, I

think it will open up the

possibility of Ireland scoring tries

as well. Who knows how crucial a

bonus point might be by the end of

the day.

And whatever goes on in

Dublin will have a big knock on

effect for England in Paris. How

would you rate their confidence?

If

you look at what Eddie Jones has

done in the build-up to this game,

making big changes in the team, you

would suggest there is a sudden lack

of confidence in at him.

Interestingly, the players he hasn't

changed, especially in the back row

and forwards, people some wanted

changing. Owen Farrell the captain

with the injury to Dylan Hartley.

It'll be interesting to see how he

goes about that, especially how he

reacts to the referee. Owen Farrell

likes to play on the edge. Eddie

Jones has said he wants leadership

in every kind of position, to change

the style of play if the referees

officiating in a certain way and if

the game is not going to plan.

Fascinating to see how England get

on in Paris today. It wouldn't

surprise me to be speaking here at

around 7pm this evening reflecting

on Ireland being six Nations

champions.

And there would be some

party there, I'm sure if that were

the case.

Jonny Bairstow hit a century

as England beat New Zealand by seven

wickets in Christchurch,

to win the series 3-2.

There were three wickets

apiece for Chris Woakes

and Adil Rashid as New Zealand,

were bowled out for 223, before

England cruised to their target.

And back in form Marcus Rashford has

scored twice for Manchester United

in their Premier League

match against Liverpool.

It's approaching half

time at Old Trafford -

2-0 still the score.

41 minutes played. Marcus Rashford

with both goals. All over Liverpool

like a rash!

You can see more on all of today's

stories on the BBC News Channel.

The next news on BBC

One is at 7:00pm.

Bye for now.