11/03/2018 BBC Weekend News

Up to 500 people in Salisbury

are being advised to wash their

clothes and possessions

after last week's nerve agent attack

on a former Russian spy.

As police continue

their investigations,

it's confirmed traces of the poison

have been found in a local

pub and restaurant.

Wash clothing you haven't already,

ideally in the washing machine.

Any items which cannot be washed

and would normally be dry cleaned

should be double bagged in plastic

until further information

is available.

But questions have been raised

as to why it's taken a week

to issue the advice.

Also tonight,

China's Parliament gives President

Xi the right to rule for life.

At the Winter Paralympics,

Millie Knight and Brett Wild

win their second silver medal,

in the women's downhill super-G

for the visually impaired.

And a symbol of defiance and pride.

Why more people are choosing

to wear Afro hairstyles.

Good evening.

There's a public health warning

for hundreds of people

in Salisbury tonight

who went to the same premises

visited by the Russian spy

Sergei Skripal

the day he came into contact with

a deadly nerve agent.

They're being advised to wash

their clothes and possessions,

after traces of the poison,

were found in an Italian

restaurant and a pub.

England's Chief Medical officer has

stressed the risk is extremely low,

and no one should be alarmed.

But questions have been raised,

as to why it's taken seven days

to issue the advice.

Our Home Affairs Correspondent

Daniel Sandford reports.

More surreal and extraordinary

scenes in Salisbury this afternoon,

wearing gas masks and protective

clothing, military personnel

loading potentially

contaminated cars onto trucks.

The vehicles, some but not

all of them with police markings,

were being recovered from a

pay-and-display car park behind a

behind a church not far

from the city centre.

It was the attack on Yulia

and Sergei Skripal,

with a with a rare and lethal nerve

agent last Sunday, which led

to this huge operation,

called Operation Morlop.

Today, police confirmed that traces

of the nerve agent were found

in the Mill Pub as well as the Zizzi

restaurant where the BBC understand

that the table used by this couple

was so contaminated it had

to be destroyed.

Today the Chief Medical Officer gave

this advice to people

who were in the pub and restaurant

on Sunday afternoon and Monday.

Wash clothing you haven't already,

ideally, in the washing machine,

any items which cannot be washed,

and would normally be dry cleaned,

should be double bag

in plastic until further

information is available.

Wipe personal items such

as phones and handbags

and other electronic items,

with baby wipes, and dispose of them

in plastic bags in the bin.

Wash hard items such as jewellery

and spectacles which cannot go

in the washing machine with warm

water and detergent.

Steve Cooper was in the pub

on Sunday, at exactly the same time

as the Skripals and told me that

he's getting worried.

They have not revealed

what the nerve agent was,

and actually what the effect,

long-term effect on everyone's

health could be, so I would

like to know more about that,

I would like to know what courses

I can personally take.

Rather than just washing my clothes.

Having potentially already been

exposed,

what long-term

affects for me and my wife,

and then using baby wipes

to wash my phone and my watch...

I don't really think is going to get

rid of a nerve agent!

So did the police and other

emergency services respond fast

enough to last Sunday's events?

Are you satisfied that you escalated

this incident quickly enough

at the beginning of last week?

The machinery, the support,

the national advice,

the capability and expertise

of both national and local partners

was mobilised by Monday.

For this ancient medieval city,

it has been a bizarre and at times

frightening seven days.

The Bishop of Salisbury said this

afternoon that what he called

"the shocking attack" had

violated their community.

But if suspicion is proved right,

what happened here, the use

of a chemical weapon,

a nerve agent, to attack two people,

is likely to have huge

implications for Britain's

relationship with Russia.

Bring us up to date with the

progress of the investigation so

far.

Clive, one week on from this

unprecedented nerve agent attack on

UK soil, police clearly have made

some progress, they have identified

an air of ageing used in the attack,

though they have not made that

public, they have named two public

venues where they found traces of

the nerve agent, that can give us

some idea that they are having some

success in following the trail back

to where Sergei and Yulia Skripal

may have been attacked, the amount

of nerve agent found on the table

where they sat suggests that by that

time, they got it all over their

hands, and that is obviously a

useful clue. Detectives have

recovered the car of Sergei Skripal,

and they have spent several days at

his house, but they have not said

how much progress they are making at

identifying those who carried out

the attack or crucially, the

involvement of the Russian state, if

any. The national security council

of ministers and officials will

tomorrow be meeting, they will be

giving an update on the progress in

the investigation and meanwhile,

troops spending an awful amount of

time recovering vehicles and other

object which may have become

contaminated. Some objects, for

instance, the table where Yulia and

Sergei Skripal sat, have been

destroyed. A lot of work still going

on, one of the focus is tonight is

The Mill pub just around the corner,

a lot of work going on there this

evening, we think that is likely to

be decontamination work.

China's parliament has voted

to abolish the two-term limit

for the Presidency.

The constitutional change,

which was passed almost unanimously,

could see the current leader,

Xi Jinping, rule for life.

Our China correspondent,

John Sudworth reports from Beijing.

China's parliament was preparing to

hand unlimited power to its

president. And there could be no

doubting the outcome.

Should Xi Jinping

rule for life, I ask.

Of course, they answer.

Please don't say that it is for

life, it is just that there is not a

limit for the number of terms.

But

whatever you call it, the change

means that he can rule China for as

long as he wants. He was the first

to cast his ballot. The applause

further proof of the inevitability

of the result.

of the result. At almost 3000

delegates, only two voted against.

Past, the announcer says, and this

man's hold on power now becomes both

complete and indefinite. -- passed.

The cost of opposition to the rule

of Xi Jinping can be high. I am

shown papers left behind by a

husband, a lawyer, who recently

wrote an open letter calling for

democratic elections. He is now

being detained for subversion.

TRANSLATION:

He did everything

within the boundaries of the law,

and yet, it is not allowed here.

Now, many people are afraid of

speaking up.

What has been the

effect on you and your 13-year-old

son?

My son loves his father, this

situation is a huge blow for him.

All public discussion of the

constitutional change is being

tightly controlled and censored. The

2-term limit solve a problem facing

all undemocratic authoritarian

states, it helped China ensure

orderly and regular leadership

succession is. What has happened

here today is highly significant, a

choreographed, compliant,

rubber-stamped Parliament has

removed the last limitation on

Sheedy Peng pot power. As the

delegates left, they may have

glanced at this, Chairman Mao's

portrait, a stark reminder of the

risks of lifetime role. -- Xi

Jinping.

Tell us what this constitutional

change means for ordinary Chinese

citizens.

You can sometimes tell how

significant a story is in China by

how little coverage it gets and that

is certainly the case here, the

constitutional change is being given

very scant mention bike coming as

controlled news sources, alongside

massive and heavy censorship of

social media, where China to hold

the debate, they would argue that Xi

Jinping is no Chairman Mao, that the

country is lastly different, more

sophisticated, more wealthy, and the

public would never tolerate his

level of terror and tyranny. Critics

would point out that this is now the

second largest economy in the world,

governments decisions are highly

complex, and the concentration of

power on this scale in the hands of

just one man is fraught with danger.

Both for the country and for him.

The Chancellor Philip Hammond,

has rejected calls to announce

the end of austerity.

Speaking two days before he delivers

his Spring Economic Statement,

he said the country was still

heavily in debt, but there was

"light at the end of the tunnel".

Labour has accused the government,

of holding back growth.

Our Political Correspondent

Chris Mason has more.

The Chancellor suggested today that

after years of gloom,

the public finances might,

just might, be getting closer

to emerging into the sunlight.

There is light at the end

of the tunnel,

because what we're about to see,

is debt starting to fall

after it's been growing

for 17 continuous years.

That's a very important

moment for us.

But we are still in

the tunnel at the moment.

We have to get debt down.

We have all sorts of other

things we want to do.

We have taken a balanced approach.

That debt the Chancellor talked

about looks like this,

big by historic standards.

But, forecasts suggest

the amount the UK owes,

relative to the size of the economy,

could have peaked.

Labour, gathering this weekend

in Dundee for their Scottish

conference, claim there is little

to celebrate, and want to turn

on the spending taps.

Lives have been destroyed and

millions have been left in despair.

And it is thanks to

the failed economic dogma

of neoliberalism and austerity.

Austerity, I will keep repeating

time and time again,

austerity was a political choice,

it is not an economic necessity.

We choose socialism.

We choose socialism.

On Thursday, a report highlighted

the pressure on many councils

in England with squeezed budgets

and reduced services,

after cuts in central

government funding.

Philip Hammond is already under

pressure for extra spending

on defence and the health service.

But, Tuesday's spring statement

will be a low-key affair.

He won't appear on the step

there for instance,

brandishing his red box.

Significant changes

will instead be reserved

for the Budget in the autumn.

But, today's political skirmishes

serve as a reminder

of just how different instincts

are

of the Conservatives

and Labour over the economy.

Chris Mason, BBC News,

in Downing Street.

Demonstrators have caused delays

and serious disruption

at two of Britain's

busiest railway stations.

Kings Cross in London had to be

closed earlier this evening,

as police held back protesters,

opposed to Turkey's military

offensives against Kurds in Syria.

Earlier, campaigners

at Manchester Piccadilly station

made their way from the concourse

on to the tracks.

The station was closed for three

hours, causing long delays.

The Liberal Democrat leader

Vince Cable

says too many older people

who voted for Brexit

were "driven by nostalgia" for

a world where "faces were white."

He was speaking at his party's

spring conference in Southport.

His comments have been

criticised by, among others,

the cabinet minister Sajid Javid,

who said Mr Cable was "wrong

and disrespectful."

There've been extraordinary

scenes tonight

at the conclusion

of the Crufts dog show.

Shortly after the whippet,

Colloonney Tartan Tease,

was named as best in show,

a man appeared to run

onto the arena floor.

The show's organisers,

the Kennel Club, says it can't

confirm, if it was a protest of some

kind but added they are,

"looking into the incident".

With all the sport, here's

Olly Foster at the BBC Sport Centre.

In one of the great Old Firm

matches, Celtic came from behind

twice against Rangers and also had

a man sent off before

winning 3-2 at Ibrox.

Their Premiership lead

is now nine points.

Here's our Scotland football

correspondent Chris McLaughlin.

A familiar noise and the usual

colour but for the first time in

years, a resurgent Rangers fancied

their chances. With fewer than three

minutes gone, they showed why, Josh

Windass, 1-0, cue the mayhem. When

the equaliser came though, it was

special, Tom Rogic with a reminder

of Celtic's quality. Rangers came

again, Daniel Candelas, 2-1, but

Mousa Dembele cancelled it out to

round off a breathless first half.

Was this a red card? Resistant

certainly

certainly felt so, Simunovic off. On

came the champions with a titanic

struggle and they got their reward,

a double fist pump, drama to come

after the goal from Eduard. It was

not to be for the home side, and

Celtic edged closer to seven in

aerobic. -- Edouard. -- edged closer

to seven in

a row.

There were eight goals

in the Premier League today,

they are all on Match of the Day 2

after the news, but if you'd

like to know the two results

then here they come.

Tottenham are up to third in the

table after they came from behind

to win 4-1 at Bournemouth.

Heung-Min Son scored twice

but Harry Kane was substituted

with an ankle injury.

Petr Cech saved his first penalty

for Arsenal almost three years

after joining the club and kept his

200th Premier League clean sheet.

They beat Watford 3-0.

There have been more British

medals on the second day

of the Winter Paralympics

in South Korea including a second

silver for teenager Millie Knight.

Kate Grey reports from Pyeongchang.

No time to celebrate yesterday's all

the medal, Millie Knight and died

were first on the slopes today, this

time in the super-G, more technical

course to test them, but the

standard was set, good team-mates do

any

better?

Yesterday they

crashed out of the

downhill but there was no sign of

holding back in their favourite

event, already super G World Cup

champions, this was their best medal

chance. And they delivered, not

quite enough to beat Millie Knight

but a podium finish nonetheless. The

winner of yesterday's race followed

them down the hill and again

outperformed the Brits, so it was a

silver and bronze.

Massive dream

come true for both of us. And I am

just so glad we have done it

together is

Elsewhere on the snow,

first representative in Nordic

skiing for 20 years, went in the 15

kilometre cross-country, a gruelling

course, and he finished a long way

down the field, in 17th place. With

day to, done and dusted, tomorrow

the attention turns to the

snowboarding and for the first time

ever, Great Britain have athletes

taking part. -- Day two. All three

going for gold.

Ireland won the Six Nations

Championship yesterday but Wales

are up to second in the table

after a bonus point win

against Italy in Cardiff.

George North scored two of their

five tries in the 38-14 win.

They face France

on the final weekend.

Italy will win the wooden spoon

for the third year in a row.

The BBC Sport website has highlights

of all the weekends Six Nations

rugby,

but that's all the sport

for now, Clive.

It's been a symbol of

defiance and empowerment.

Well, now, more black

people are choosing

to wear Afro hairstyles.

A photo exhibition of young girls

in Atlanta, in the United States,

has attracted lots of attention,

and the creative team

behind the pictures,

is now looking for children

in the UK, to be part

of their next project.

Our correspondent Elaine

Dunkley has the story.

It's a celebration of

the beauty of black girls,

the Afro, a symbol of pride.

The collection is called Afro Art,

but it's more than that,

it's about the acceptance

of who you are.

Awesome.

Chin up, there we go, perfect.

Little girls who don't need to use

chemical relaxers

or have straightened hair

to feel that they too are

naturally beautiful.

In this time I think it is very

important when you see beautiful

African-American kids with natural

hair and their real selves in that

art, it's very inspiring to see

for young kids these days,

to see that they are beautiful

and their natural hair is beautiful

and their culture is beautiful,

and they don't have to put any extra

effort into being who they are.

What's the look you are going for?

Today we are going for

Harlem Renaissance.

I love the Harlem Renaissance

period, I think it was a period

where African-Americans

were really powerful.

The portraits have gone viral,

young black girls in classical

poses, regal, elegant,

depicted in the way that

history often didn't allow.

Others show the Afro as futuristic,

a promise of things to come.

To see them with their hairstyle

this way, with this type of clothing

in these types of periods,

it's something that hasn't been seen

before, it's been a journey

for society to see us as beautiful,

a lot of girls in the past,

they have been sent home for wearing

braids or wearing their hair

in an Afro, and over time,

we have wanted to wear our own hair

that grows out of our head.

The politics of black hair

is deeply rooted in history.

The reason for it, you might say,

is like a new awareness among black

people that their own natural

appearances, physical appearance,

is beautiful, for so many years,

we were told that only white

people were beautiful.

In the 1960s, the Afro emerged

during the civil rights movement

as a symbol of rebellion,

pride and empowerment.

Once again, the natural hair

movement is growing.

But there has been controversy,

with black stars like Solange

having their natural hair airbrushed

from the covers of magazines.

Portraits have stirred conversations

around the world, in this salon,

in Lewisham, in London,

the need for positive images

in childhood resonates.

Where I grew up I was always the odd

one out because everyone

around me was white,

I never saw anyone who had similar

hair to mind, it was quite hard.

And I really hated my hair.

It took such a long time just

to have a black Disney Princess,

so I've never grown up seeing images

like that when I was a child.

Once you start seeing positive

images of yourself, it will help you

as you grow up to love yourself

more.

On social media, these

youngsters have become stars, icons

of the Afro. Doing what they do

best, being themselves.

That's it.

You can see more on all of today's

stories on the BBC News Channel.