:00:10. > :00:17.15 farms and 750 pharmacies could be sold off to help cover the expected
:00:18. > :00:20.?2 billion shortfall. Also this lunchtime... The troubled Mid
:00:21. > :00:23.Staffordshire NHS Trust seems set to be abolished, with services taken
:00:24. > :00:30.over by other trusts and some units closed. The Prime Minister says the
:00:31. > :00:33.actions that led to the collapse of the case against Hyde Park bombing
:00:34. > :00:37.suspect John Downey were a "dreadful mistake".
:00:38. > :00:42.A serious case review has concluded that the death of a baby girl at the
:00:43. > :00:44.hands of her father - a former soldier suffering from
:00:45. > :00:54.post-traumatic stress disorder - could have been prevented.
:00:55. > :01:05.Scientists have hailed one of the most astonishing force of
:01:06. > :01:12.discoveries of recent years, a graveyard of whales in Chile. In BBC
:01:13. > :01:13.London News, fears over the impact of HS2, as a consultation draws to a
:01:14. > :01:32.close. Good afternoon and welcome to the
:01:33. > :01:35.BBC News at One. The Co-op Group is expected to
:01:36. > :01:38.announce the biggest loss in its history next month, of around ?2
:01:39. > :01:42.billion. Much of the shortfall will come from the group's bank, which
:01:43. > :01:45.had to be bailed out by investors last year. It also says it is
:01:46. > :01:48.planning to sell its farming business, which includes 15 farms,
:01:49. > :01:50.and is considering off-loading its 750 pharmacies. Our business
:01:51. > :02:06.correspondent Emma Simpson reports. The Co-op has long been a familiar
:02:07. > :02:11.face on the high street, a business which goes back 150 years. But the
:02:12. > :02:19.group is set to report its worst results ever next month, with
:02:20. > :02:23.expected losses of more Co-op had a terrible 2013, which turned into a
:02:24. > :02:27.nightmare. The main thing which went wrong was that they found a black
:02:28. > :02:32.hole of ?1.5 billion in their bank. Sorting that out, as all of the
:02:33. > :02:37.other things wrong with the group, means they might end up making even
:02:38. > :02:40.more than ?2 billion of losses this year. You may not know it, but the
:02:41. > :02:46.Co-op is one of the biggest farmers in Britain. It has got 15 farms,
:02:47. > :02:49.like this one in Aberdeenshire. They mostly produced cereal, but the
:02:50. > :02:53.Co-op says they are no longer a core part of the business, and it wants
:02:54. > :02:57.to sell them. The Co-op may also sell its pharmacies. It has the
:02:58. > :03:03.third biggest chain, with more than 750 stores, and thousands of staff.
:03:04. > :03:08.It is exploring options as it reviews its business across the
:03:09. > :03:12.group. Britain's biggest mutual is best known for its presence here on
:03:13. > :03:16.the high street, from supermarkets to funeral parlours. It is a
:03:17. > :03:19.sprawling collection of businesses. The group has been in turmoil,
:03:20. > :03:24.thanks to the near collapse of its bank. The new management team is
:03:25. > :03:29.trying to put things right, but it will mean big changes. The boss
:03:30. > :03:35.recently gave his view on the group's troubles and on its future.
:03:36. > :03:40.Over the last five or six years, the business kind of lost its way. As a
:03:41. > :03:44.management team, we all joined last summer, and we are committed to
:03:45. > :03:48.return the Co-op to that point of difference in every local community.
:03:49. > :03:53.The trouble is here in its banking arm. It has cost the Co-op dear. A
:03:54. > :03:58.radical shake-up could eventually lead to many job losses, as this
:03:59. > :04:04.battered group tries to get back on its feet. Well, our business editor,
:04:05. > :04:08.Robert Peston, is with me. What do you think are the real reasons for
:04:09. > :04:12.these eye watering losses, if they are confirmed? Well, my
:04:13. > :04:17.understanding is that the losses will be more than ?2 billion. It was
:04:18. > :04:24.inevitable that there were going to be big losses, given the troubles of
:04:25. > :04:28.the Co-operative Bank. It was rescued at the end of last year, but
:04:29. > :04:32.in the course of being rescued, Co-op Group had to recognise that
:04:33. > :04:37.its investment in the bank had collapsed to zero. So, that is one
:04:38. > :04:40.cause of the loss. Then, the bank had to recognise that lots of the
:04:41. > :04:44.loans it had made in the past had gone bad, that is another source.
:04:45. > :04:48.And then there is something else. This was a group which was very
:04:49. > :04:53.ambitious a few years ago. Apart from the expansion of the bank,
:04:54. > :04:57.buying Britannia, it also bought the Somerfield group of supermarkets,
:04:58. > :05:00.which have also not performed quite as well as Co-op would've liked.
:05:01. > :05:07.They are going to have to write down the value of some of those stores
:05:08. > :05:10.how much will it need to change to turn this around? The new management
:05:11. > :05:16.is looking at really fundamental change. We learned today, farms, a
:05:17. > :05:21.historic business, Co-op has been in farming for more than 100 years,
:05:22. > :05:24.they are going. It is very likely that the third biggest pharmacy
:05:25. > :05:30.chain in the country, owned by the Co-op, will also be sold. But there
:05:31. > :05:35.is a fundamental assessment of the philosophy of the group. They are
:05:36. > :05:41.carrying out probably the largest survey of customer opinion ever
:05:42. > :05:46.carried out by a British company. And two things may flow from that.
:05:47. > :05:51.For example, they may stop paying the famous dividend to the members,
:05:52. > :05:55.millions of members, and they may instead use more of their profits to
:05:56. > :05:59.cut prices. But that would be a big cultural change. Similarly, they are
:06:00. > :06:03.asking members and other people, should they continue to make
:06:04. > :06:08.political contributions to note that may signal the end of the so-called
:06:09. > :06:11.Co-op Party, which would also mean the end of valuable financial
:06:12. > :06:13.support for the Labour Party and its MPs.
:06:14. > :06:18.In just over an hour's time, the plans for the future of the troubled
:06:19. > :06:21.Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust will be made known by the Health Secretary,
:06:22. > :06:24.Jeremy Hunt. He's expected to confirm that it is be the first
:06:25. > :06:27.trust to be abolished, with services taken over by other trusts - and
:06:28. > :06:30.some units closed. A public inquiry last year ruled the trust was
:06:31. > :06:32.responsible for the "unnecessary suffering of hundreds of people".
:06:33. > :06:38.Our correspondent Chris King reports.
:06:39. > :06:44.It is the name which came to symbolise everything which is wrong
:06:45. > :06:49.with the NHS. Yet despite a dramatic improvement in the standards of
:06:50. > :06:52.care, the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust could soon be no
:06:53. > :06:56.more. A report for the health regulator says the trust will not be
:06:57. > :07:00.able to clear a hole in its finances because it does not provide enough
:07:01. > :07:04.specialist services, and that could mean its struggles to maintain state
:07:05. > :07:07.staffing levels as well. The administrators brought in to decide
:07:08. > :07:12.on the future of the trust have recommended that it should be
:07:13. > :07:18.dissolved, with Stafford and Cannock hospitals being taken over by
:07:19. > :07:21.neighbouring trusts. The A department would remain closed
:07:22. > :07:25.overnight. Maternity, paediatric and critical care units would also be
:07:26. > :07:34.downgraded. That would mean some patients having to travel further
:07:35. > :07:37.for treatment. What is important is that the overall quality and safety
:07:38. > :07:41.of services is considered and explained properly to local people.
:07:42. > :07:45.There are some instances when time is of the essence, but typically,
:07:46. > :07:48.alongside that, it is about making sure that you get to the most
:07:49. > :07:55.visualised and appropriate hospital care. The report has sparked anger
:07:56. > :08:00.among local people. Last April, up to 50,000 marched through the
:08:01. > :08:06.streets, calling for services to be maintained. That is despite claims
:08:07. > :08:10.that 90% of patients will still be treated in the same place. The
:08:11. > :08:17.majority of things are not specialised. Although they say 90%
:08:18. > :08:19.of patients will still be seen here, they are predominantly outpatients,
:08:20. > :08:23.they are not the people for whom it will make a huge difference if they
:08:24. > :08:31.are away from home. And they say if today's announcement does not go
:08:32. > :08:39.their way, they could take legal action. Our correspondent Jon Brain
:08:40. > :08:43.is in Stafford. Why closure? There is something of an irony in this
:08:44. > :08:48.hospital trust being dissolved now. The reason is because it is in huge
:08:49. > :08:51.debt. The reason it is in huge debt is because, after the scandal here,
:08:52. > :08:56.resources were poured into improved services. There is now a general
:08:57. > :08:59.agreement that this hospital has turned itself around. The problem
:09:00. > :09:03.is, it is considered no longer financially viable to provide all of
:09:04. > :09:08.those services. So, the plan is to move them to bigger hospitals. That
:09:09. > :09:13.is also part of a national picture, a drive to move more services away
:09:14. > :09:17.from district hospitals like this one to bigger, specialist centres,
:09:18. > :09:21.where there is more expertise and more money. Given the criticism, why
:09:22. > :09:27.are campaigners objecting quite so strongly? Well, they're a complaint
:09:28. > :09:32.is that it is all very well downgrading services here, such as
:09:33. > :09:36.maternity and paediatrics, but then, if there are compensations, if there
:09:37. > :09:41.are no surgeons at hand when you need one, and then you have got to
:09:42. > :09:46.go 18 miles up the road to the bigger hospital, 18 Miles may not
:09:47. > :09:51.sound much, but in this case, it is along the M6, which is often subject
:09:52. > :09:52.to severe delays. And they say that could cause potential dangers to
:09:53. > :09:57.patients. The Democratic Unionist Party has
:09:58. > :10:01.said the collapse of the case against a man charged with killing
:10:02. > :10:03.four soldiers in an IRA attack in Hyde Park in London in 1982 has
:10:04. > :10:11."very serious implications for devolution" in Northern Ireland.
:10:12. > :10:15.Yesterday, it emerged that garment officials wrote a so-called letter
:10:16. > :10:18.of assurance to John Downey, seven years ago, mistakenly saying he was
:10:19. > :10:23.no longer a wanted man. In the last few minutes, Northern Ireland's
:10:24. > :10:27.First Minister has threatened to resign unless there is a judicial
:10:28. > :10:31.inquiry. In a moment we will speak to our Northern Ireland
:10:32. > :10:32.correspondent, but first, we can go to our chief political
:10:33. > :10:37.correspondent, Norman Smith, at Westminster. Is it fair to
:10:38. > :10:40.characterise this as a good deal of government anger, the letter should
:10:41. > :10:44.not have been sent, but there is nothing we can do? I think that is
:10:45. > :10:48.not far from the truth. It is certainly the case that there is
:10:49. > :10:52.huge anger in the Commons, or there was this lunchtime, at this
:10:53. > :10:55.decision, and other similar letters sent out two suspects, with
:10:56. > :10:59.suggestions that it amounted to an amnesty for terrorists, suggestions
:11:00. > :11:04.that it would undermine the judicial process, and even threaten the
:11:05. > :11:06.stability of the peace process in Northern Ireland. But the response
:11:07. > :11:10.of ministers has been fairly consistent, which is that, of
:11:11. > :11:13.course, we sympathise with the pain and suffering which these letters
:11:14. > :11:17.have caused, there will be a review and lessons learned, but no, there
:11:18. > :11:22.is not going to be any attempt to unpick or scrap these letters. The
:11:23. > :11:28.reason for that, as we heard from the Prime Minister, is because we
:11:29. > :11:31.are a country under the rule of law, as he puts it. In other words,
:11:32. > :11:35.because the previous government entered into an agreement and sent
:11:36. > :11:39.out these letters, there can now be no attempt to abolish them. We have
:11:40. > :11:43.had the Attorney-General confirming in the last few minutes that there
:11:44. > :11:46.will be no appeal against that John Downey decision. But there is
:11:47. > :11:51.another element, hard-headed politics, which comes into this. It
:11:52. > :11:55.was striking, there was no criticism of Tony Blair or the decision of his
:11:56. > :11:59.government to send out those letters in the first place. That suggests to
:12:00. > :12:01.me that within government there is a view that it would be much more
:12:02. > :12:07.damaging for the peace process to scrap these letters than to live
:12:08. > :12:12.with the consequences of them, even given the pain and hurt they have
:12:13. > :12:16.clearly caused. Norman Smith in Westminster, thank you very much. We
:12:17. > :12:20.can now speak to our Ireland correspondent, Chris Buckler, in
:12:21. > :12:22.Belfast. I guess it is the same kind of reaction, except for the
:12:23. > :12:27.conclusion - the letter should never have been sent, however, unionist
:12:28. > :12:32.politicians believing that something has to be done? Yes, I think it goes
:12:33. > :12:36.beyond just one letter, in the case of John Downey. More than 180
:12:37. > :12:40.letters were sent to other paramilitary suspects as well. As
:12:41. > :12:43.Norman mentioned, this is about the peace process, and many difficult
:12:44. > :12:47.decisions have been made as part of that process. But unionists feel
:12:48. > :12:51.they were not involved in this decision, to send out the letters,
:12:52. > :12:54.that it was all a result of a secret negotiation between Sinn Fein and
:12:55. > :12:59.the Government. They say they simply did not know about these secret
:13:00. > :13:04.letters, which they have referred to time and time again as effectively
:13:05. > :13:06.get out of this morning, the Democratic Unionist Party has been
:13:07. > :13:10.saying that they would not have gone into power-sharing with Sinn Fein if
:13:11. > :13:14.they had known about the existence of this scheme. Beyond that, they
:13:15. > :13:18.said it actually causes real problems for devolution, with
:13:19. > :13:21.potentially serious imprecations. In the last few minutes, the First
:13:22. > :13:26.Minister, Peter Robinson, has made it clear that it does have
:13:27. > :13:29.imprecations, saying that unless there is a judicial inquiry into
:13:30. > :13:33.secret letters given to those suspects, he says he will resign as
:13:34. > :13:37.the First Minister. He says that is because he is not prepared to remain
:13:38. > :13:41.in an administration which is being kept in the dark about such
:13:42. > :13:43.important matters. He is due to speak to the Northern Ireland
:13:44. > :13:51.Secretary this afternoon. I think that will be a pretty frank meeting.
:13:52. > :13:56.A serious case review has concluded that the army, doctors and social
:13:57. > :13:59.workers could have prevented the death of a baby girl at the hands of
:14:00. > :14:05.her father, a former soldier with post-traumatic stress disorder.
:14:06. > :14:08.25-year-old Liam Culverhouse was sentenced at Northampton Crown Court
:14:09. > :14:13.to six years in prison last month for causing or allowing the death of
:14:14. > :14:16.Khloe Abrams. Our defence correspondent Jonathan Beale
:14:17. > :14:21.reports. In January this year, former soldier Liam Culverhouse,
:14:22. > :14:25.wounded on duty, and still bearing the scars, was jailed for six years
:14:26. > :14:29.after admitting to causing the death of his own baby. He had survived his
:14:30. > :14:34.own injuries but he had inflicted catastrophic ones on Khloe, when she
:14:35. > :14:38.was just weeks old. No photograph of her has been released. Liam
:14:39. > :14:41.Culverhouse were described as a violent and troubled young man,
:14:42. > :14:47.whose problems became worse after he was injured in Afghanistan. This was
:14:48. > :14:50.the rescue after he was shot six times by a rogue Afghan policeman.
:14:51. > :14:56.Five of his comrades were killed in the same attack. Today's report into
:14:57. > :15:00.how Khloe died found key opportunities to intervene were
:15:01. > :15:03.missed. It found that Liam Culverhouse had warned Army doctors
:15:04. > :15:08.he might harm his child, but that was never passed on. Health
:15:09. > :15:12.professionals failed to spot serious injuries to Khloe, just days before
:15:13. > :15:16.she was admitted to hospital. The report concludes that her death was
:15:17. > :15:17.preventable, if a referable had been made and a child protection plan has
:15:18. > :15:30.been put in place. clearly, there were errors, but
:15:31. > :15:35.parts of the system could have raised questions that would have
:15:36. > :15:43.raised a greater degree of curiosity about them as a family as opposed to
:15:44. > :15:48.individuals. This is a highly and usual case, but psychiatrists
:15:49. > :15:54.studying cases of PTSD say there are important lessons to be learned. The
:15:55. > :15:58.impact of military service is not just on military personnel, but also
:15:59. > :16:06.their spouses and children. It could be emotional but also, as in this
:16:07. > :16:12.case, physical harm. There is a need to improve the sharing of
:16:13. > :16:15.information. The MoD says it says -- recognises it could have done more
:16:16. > :16:23.in this case and has already changed procedures. Our top story this
:16:24. > :16:26.lunchtime: The Co-op group is expected to announce the biggest
:16:27. > :16:28.loss in its history next month, of around ?2 billion.
:16:29. > :16:32.And still to come: Beijing is still under a thick cloud of hazardous
:16:33. > :16:37.smog, which could be deadly. Later on BBC London: The weapon that
:16:38. > :16:40.helped win the First World War - how the tank was secretly tested in the
:16:41. > :16:43.unlikely suburb of Dollis Hill. And we're in Istanbul with Chelsea,
:16:44. > :16:58.as they face Didier Drogbar's Galatasary.
:16:59. > :17:03.A new line-up of government ministers in Ukraine is due to be
:17:04. > :17:05.presented to the crowds in the capital, Kiev, this evening, even
:17:06. > :17:08.though it hasn't yet been finalised. The British Foreign Secretary,
:17:09. > :17:12.William Hague, has discussed the situation with the American
:17:13. > :17:15.Secretary of State, John Kerry. Afterwards, Mr Kerry said all
:17:16. > :17:17.nations should work together to bring about a stable and prosperous
:17:18. > :17:29.Ukraine. Well, our correspondent Duncan Crawford is in Kiev.
:17:30. > :17:34.There are so many challenges facing Ukraine. Its new leaders are trying
:17:35. > :17:38.to create a new government, they are trying to stabilise the country as
:17:39. > :17:42.well. They know it could face bankruptcy. They want to find the
:17:43. > :17:48.ousted president, Ukraine's most wanted man, President Yanukovich,
:17:49. > :17:55.and they also want to unite the country. They are trying to stop the
:17:56. > :18:00.splits from developing between the West and the Russian speaking east.
:18:01. > :18:04.So it is a lot to do for anyone, and all of this at a time when much of
:18:05. > :18:09.the country is still in mourning. Most of the men in these pictures
:18:10. > :18:13.were shot. Many of them killed by security forces who were loyal to
:18:14. > :18:19.the then president, Viktor Yanukovich. He is on the run,
:18:20. > :18:23.accused of mass murder. But the authorities today took some action
:18:24. > :18:27.against those who pulled the trigger, disbanding the Ukraine's
:18:28. > :18:34.much hated and specialist riot police. TRANSLATION: We had always
:18:35. > :18:40.wanted them to have stood down. Now people have died and they must be
:18:41. > :18:45.punished. At Parliament, attempts continue to form a new coalition
:18:46. > :18:48.government, but at the moment it is men like this you control the
:18:49. > :18:55.streets around it, convincing some to give up their new-found power may
:18:56. > :18:59.not be easy. This is Independence Square and tonight it will become
:19:00. > :19:02.the scene of a sort of political talent contest with want to be
:19:03. > :19:09.leaders appealing to the crowds for their approval. The ousted
:19:10. > :19:15.president's extravagant mansion continues to be a source of anger.
:19:16. > :19:20.Its zoo and its sonar are mocked for the levels of greed and corruption.
:19:21. > :19:26.The millions he spent on himself and now documented on a website.
:19:27. > :19:28.Meanwhile, there are still concerns a Cold War style conflict could
:19:29. > :19:37.break out between Russia and the West. Many in the international
:19:38. > :19:43.community are urging calm. This is not a West versus East game, it
:19:44. > :19:49.should not be. It is not Russia or the United States or other choices.
:19:50. > :19:55.This is about the people of Ukraine making their own choice about their
:19:56. > :20:00.future. What that future is remains uncertain. In this eastern city,
:20:01. > :20:03.pro-Russian demonstrators are in a stand-off with those who support the
:20:04. > :20:07.demonstrations in Kiev. It shows just how hard it will be for any
:20:08. > :20:16.unity government to heal the divisions in the country.
:20:17. > :20:20.Everyone here has been waiting to see how Russian President Putin will
:20:21. > :20:24.react to events in Ukraine and this lunchtime reports from Russia say he
:20:25. > :20:30.has ordered troops along the west of the country by Ukraine's border to
:20:31. > :20:35.be on alert, to test their ability to mobilise and be combat ready.
:20:36. > :20:39.This isn't an uncommon kind of test, but given the circumstances
:20:40. > :20:48.and the timing of this announcement, it is unlikely to be a coincidence.
:20:49. > :20:50.Thank you. As we've been hearing there's been tensions between rival
:20:51. > :20:53.groups in the Ukraine supporting closer links with Europe OR Russia.
:20:54. > :20:56.Our correspondent Daniel Sandford has just sent this report from the
:20:57. > :20:59.Crimea, where divisions are in danger of getting out of hand.
:21:00. > :21:06.We are seeing decades if not centuries of life blood between two
:21:07. > :21:11.groups of people. Over here, one group whose land is originally was.
:21:12. > :21:16.And over here, the Russians who took it over in the 18th-century and have
:21:17. > :21:23.controlled Crimea and the sense. But it is neither group who control the
:21:24. > :21:28.area now, it is the Ukrainian government. The new government in
:21:29. > :21:32.Kiev is supported by the first group, who feel they will get some
:21:33. > :21:36.support. And they are hated by the Russians, who fear it will undermine
:21:37. > :21:40.their way of life. We've already seen violence here today outside the
:21:41. > :21:47.parliament and there is much possibility of violence in the days
:21:48. > :21:51.and weeks to come. The Big Six energy firms will be
:21:52. > :21:53.forced to publish their wholesale power prices up to two years in
:21:54. > :21:56.advance, under proposals from the regulator Ofgem. The move is
:21:57. > :21:59.designed to make it easier for smaller suppliers to enter the
:22:00. > :22:06.market and make it work better for consumers. Our industry
:22:07. > :22:10.correspondent John Moylan reports. The big six energy firms. They
:22:11. > :22:15.supply 98% of households across Britain, but they also generate
:22:16. > :22:19.power as well. Critics say that has given them an advantage over their
:22:20. > :22:24.smaller rivals. It is also led to questions over where exactly they
:22:25. > :22:28.make their profits. So, from next month, those big firms will be
:22:29. > :22:34.forced to trade that power on a daily basis with smaller suppliers.
:22:35. > :22:37.Electricity is traded up to two years in advance and it is those
:22:38. > :22:41.longer-term products that independent suppliers really
:22:42. > :22:45.struggle to get hold of. These reforms will make sure those
:22:46. > :22:49.longer-term products are available for sale to those independent
:22:50. > :22:55.suppliers. Ofgem hopes these reforms will go a long way to help smaller
:22:56. > :22:59.suppliers compete. There will also be financial penalties if the big
:23:00. > :23:04.firms don't trade fairly. The regulator is also stepping up its
:23:05. > :23:09.scrutiny of the annual statements from the big six suppliers. They
:23:10. > :23:14.will now have to be audited. Last year, MPs grilled the energy company
:23:15. > :23:19.bosses over their profits, costs and prices. They accused of jam of
:23:20. > :23:23.failing to deliver the transparency needed to reassure consumers that
:23:24. > :23:27.high energy prices were not fuelling excessive profits. Today, Ofgem
:23:28. > :23:31.responded. Some say it is too little, too late. These are
:23:32. > :23:37.important ways of making sure the market works better, but incomes
:23:38. > :23:40.have not risen and bills are going up, people are spending more of
:23:41. > :23:44.their incomes on essentials. Much more needs to be done so people can
:23:45. > :23:48.be reassured the market is working properly and we need to take steps
:23:49. > :23:56.so that energy becomes more affordable for everything -- for
:23:57. > :24:01.everybody. In a statement, the industry body said the energy
:24:02. > :24:07.industry is committed to trading fairly so customers get a good deal
:24:08. > :24:10.and if their choice. But this lunchtime the industry regulator
:24:11. > :24:14.responded to criticism of the announcements today, saying they
:24:15. > :24:18.were just part of the sweeping and comprehensive reforms to ensure
:24:19. > :24:24.competition bears down as hard as possible on prices.
:24:25. > :24:27.The Royal College of Surgeons has raised concerns for the second time
:24:28. > :24:30.in six months about the high number of heart patients in Wales who die
:24:31. > :24:32.while waiting for operations. The College has asked Health
:24:33. > :24:36.Inspectorate Wales what has been done since it warned that patient
:24:37. > :24:39.safety was being put at risk. Health officials say steps are being taken
:24:40. > :24:47.to improve services. Let's speak to our correspondent Jordan Davies.
:24:48. > :24:54.What are the concerns of the Royal College of surgeons? Last summer, it
:24:55. > :24:59.said it was concerned about waiting times for heart surgery here. It
:25:00. > :25:05.said it was concerned about the number of heart patients dying while
:25:06. > :25:08.waiting for operations. Today, they say they are still looking for
:25:09. > :25:14.answers about those concerns. Last August, it emerged over 150 patients
:25:15. > :25:19.had died over a five-year period while waiting for heart operations
:25:20. > :25:23.in Wales. Two reviews are being carried out and the watchdog here in
:25:24. > :25:27.Wales says it will report in June course. We've just had a statement
:25:28. > :25:32.from the Welsh government. It says the quality of cardiac surgery here
:25:33. > :25:35.is good and it is looking to improve capacity. We understand the Welsh
:25:36. > :25:40.government has agreed a contract with a private provider in Bristol
:25:41. > :25:52.to carry out surgery there. We understand 80 people could be
:25:53. > :25:54.treated that way. China's biggest online face-mask
:25:55. > :25:57.sellers are reportedly running low on stock, as consumers struggle to
:25:58. > :26:00.protect themselves from smog. Large parts of northern China have been
:26:01. > :26:02.affected by air pollution, and the World Health Organisation says it
:26:03. > :26:05.has become a crisis. Our correspondent, Martin Patience, has
:26:06. > :26:17.visited a hospital in Beijing to see the impact on people's health.
:26:18. > :26:24.Beijing, crowded -- shrouded in a toxic smog. Normal life has not
:26:25. > :26:30.completely ground to a halt, but some of those dancing are taking
:26:31. > :26:33.precautions - with good reasons. At a busy Beijing hospital we will be
:26:34. > :26:39.meeting doctors on the front line when it comes to dealing with
:26:40. > :26:48.pollution. This doctor has worked in 30 years. He's never been busier,
:26:49. > :26:52.seeing up to 30 patients a day. TRANSLATION: As the air pollution
:26:53. > :26:56.gets worse, it is causing more diseases. It is linked with chronic
:26:57. > :27:04.diseases, especially lung cancer, pneumonia and bronchitis.
:27:05. > :27:09.Ironically, when the smog hits, there is not a surge in admissions
:27:10. > :27:13.as the vulnerable are warned to stay indoors. But one woman who is
:27:14. > :27:17.ventured out is suffering from asthma. Her chest is tight, she
:27:18. > :27:23.says, and she is finding it hard to breathe. The impact of China's
:27:24. > :27:29.pollution is being felt in hospitals across the country. According to a
:27:30. > :27:35.study, and pollution here contributed to more than 1 million
:27:36. > :27:38.deaths in 2010. China's economic development may have been
:27:39. > :27:47.remarkable, but it is coming at a huge cost which is proving deadly.
:27:48. > :27:51.It is one of the most astonishing fossil discoveries of recent years -
:27:52. > :27:53.a graveyard of whales found beside the Pan-American Highway in Chile.
:27:54. > :27:57.And now scientists think they can explain how so many of them came to
:27:58. > :27:59.be preserved in one location more than five million years ago. Our
:28:00. > :28:07.science correspondent Jonathan Amos reports.
:28:08. > :28:13.When a road in Chile's Atacama Desert was widened in 2011,
:28:14. > :28:18.construction workers uncovered a remarkable bounty. Rising out of the
:28:19. > :28:32.ground, wail. After Wales boss. More than 40 of them beautifully
:28:33. > :28:38.preserved. -- whale fossil after whale fossil. Scientists have
:28:39. > :28:44.concluded this rock formation is as a result of mass strandings. They
:28:45. > :28:51.suspect the animals were poisoned after eating toxic algae, they were
:28:52. > :28:55.washed ashore and then buried. This is globally important. There has
:28:56. > :28:58.never been a find of this size would have visited anywhere in the world.
:28:59. > :29:04.It is one of the special parts of the Atacama region. The graveyard
:29:05. > :29:11.has now been covered over by the road, but scientists kept a
:29:12. > :29:16.permanent record, scanning the bones using the latest techniques. It
:29:17. > :29:20.means they can cover them in plastic to study them further. It should
:29:21. > :29:25.provide unprecedented insight into the abolition of Wales on earth. --
:29:26. > :29:36.of whales. Now, a look at the weather. Some
:29:37. > :29:40.lovely pictures have been sent in but we are still in winter and I
:29:41. > :29:52.will be mentioning the word snow a couple of times. There will be some
:29:53. > :29:57.sunshine around, feeling pleasant. What we're left with this afternoon
:29:58. > :30:04.is a strip of showery rain edging further north. This is the picture
:30:05. > :30:07.at three o'clock. If you are underneath this line of rain
:30:08. > :30:11.stretching from south-west Scotland into northern England, it does still
:30:12. > :30:14.cold, but there is brighter weather away from this. It looks like a
:30:15. > :30:19.lovely afternoon in Northern Ireland. Further south, one of two
:30:20. > :30:23.showers in England and Wales, but very few and far between compared to
:30:24. > :30:28.yesterday, so you will be unlucky if you catch one. Even if you do,
:30:29. > :30:37.shower will not make day wash-out. The sun will reappear. Another
:30:38. > :30:42.Atlantic system pushes across overnight, but quickly, so not a
:30:43. > :30:46.huge amount of rain, bank Billy. Some snow in Scotland over 400
:30:47. > :30:50.metres but not as cold as it was last night, so a mild start
:30:51. > :30:55.tomorrow. Overnight clears to eastern areas and the North Sea, and
:30:56. > :30:59.the sun comes out again. But then the showers get going and will be
:31:00. > :31:03.some heavy downpours, maybe with hail and thunder. Quite a blustery
:31:04. > :31:08.day, but you showers reach eastern parts of Scotland and the northern
:31:09. > :31:11.part of England. Temperatures in single figures. And then some
:31:12. > :31:21.problems. Thursday night, this area of low pressure. We are uncertain
:31:22. > :31:24.about the exact location and any potentially disruptive when they may
:31:25. > :31:29.bring. It may bring rain where it is not needed in parts of England and
:31:30. > :31:34.Wales. There is a potential but gales on the southern flank,
:31:35. > :31:37.wherever that may be. It may look different to this, we have to
:31:38. > :31:43.confirm things and we will do that in the next day or so. But an
:31:44. > :31:46.certainty continues and to lease the start of the week in. Some showers
:31:47. > :31:51.and maybe something wetter in southern areas. At the moment, it
:31:52. > :31:52.looks like Sunday will be the better of the two days this