19/04/2014 BBC Weekend News

Good afternoon. The captain of the South Korean ferry which capsized

with hundreds of school students on board has been explaining his

decision not to order everyone to leave the ship at once. The captain,

who's under arrest said he'd feared that the strong currents in the sea

made evacuation too great a risk. Efforts to recover more bodies from

the ship are continuing. 270 passengers are still missing. At

least 32 bodies have been recovered so far. Martin Patience reports. For

four days now, waiting the good news that has never come. Some relatives

are quiet. Others are distraught. Knowing the chances of finding

anyone alive are now remote. A few take out and on rescue officials,

such is their despair. The families watch live pictures of the operation

at sea. Battling strong currents, divers continue the search for the

hundreds of students trapped inside the ferry. The captain, now under

arrest, has explained what he didn't order an immediate evacuation.

TRANSLATION: At the time, the current was very strong. The

temperature of the ocean water was cold and I thought that if people

left the ferry without proper judgement, if they were not wearing

a life jacket, and even if they were, they would drift away and face

many other difficulties. One father can't forget the last phone call

from his daughter. She told him water was pouring in. TRANSLATION: I

just said, keep calm. Because of her stupid father... If I had told to

jump out of the boat, she would have survived. But I told her to keep

calm. Because of me, she is out there. This is a reminder of the

scale of this disaster. The authorities have brought in dozens

of ambulances down to the port side for win more bodies are brought in.

They have also set up a huge white tent over my shoulder which will act

as a temporary morgue. Some still pray that survivors will be found.

But others are coming to terms with their loss. It is darkness now in

gender. As we saw in your report, hope turning to anger among many

relatives. All that while more bodies are brought off the wreck.

Yes, officially this remains a search and rescue operation but it

is day four of the disaster. For many families there is a growing

realisation that their sons and daughters and other relatives will

not be coming home. In the last half an hour, the Coast Guard has brought

ashore three more bodies, and that is likely to be a pattern that will

continue over the coming days. What more do we know about what actually

caused his wreck? More details are emerging. It was a junior officer

who was at the helm of the ferry and prosecutors say they are

investigating whether a sharp turn made by the ferry may have caused it

to capsize. Others are suggesting that perhaps cargo loosened and that

made the ship list beyond the point of no return. There are also

suggestions that the ferry may have hit a rock or reef but until now

there has been no official confirmation on the cause of the

crash. Thank you. Police in Northern Ireland have

arrested a 26-year-old man in connection with the murder of a

former dissident republican leader in Belfast. It's understood that

Tommy Crossan was shot several times. He was once a senior figure

in the Continuity IRA, but had received death threats after

disagreements with other members of the organisation.

A seven year old boy who was badly burned in an Aberdeen street has

been moved to a specialist hospital unit where he is in a critical

condition. Preston Flores was found by neighbours "on fire" at two

o'clock yesterday afternoon. Police are investigating whether petrol

could have been involved but say there is "no evidence so far of any

deliberate act". Teachers are expected to back fresh

walk-outs in the summer if progress is not made in resolving the dispute

over pay, pensions and conditions. Delegates at the NUT annual

conference will debate further industrial action this afternoon.

Our Education Correspondent, Reeta Chakrabarti, is at the Conference in

Brighton for us now. Yes, delegates will vote on further strike action

to be carried out in June, they will vote on that this afternoon. The NUT

went out on strike last month in its continuing dispute with the

government over pay, pensions and workload and say they could be

further strike action if there is no progress in its talk with the

government. Meanwhile, at the conference taking place at the same

time in Birmingham, the Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt

has linked allegations that Muslim hardliners seeking to take over some

of Birmingham's schools where the government's academies programme. He

condemned what he called narrow religious motives and said academy

's, which are independent of local authority control, should be

overseen at a local level. It is unclear how many of the schools is

being investigated are academies. There are several enquiries going on

to try and establish the truth of the allegations.

The England cricket team has a new coach. He's Peter Moores - and takes

charge of a squad battered by last year's disastrous Ashes series. But

Moores is no stranger to the job, having coached the team previously.

Our Sports Correspondent Ben Smith is at Lords. How big a challenge

ahead? It's a huge challenge, after a winter that English cricket is

doing its best to forget. You mention the human elation at the

hands of Australia in the Ashes, there was also embarrassment at the

hands of lowly Holland in Bangladesh. But here at Lord's there

was a hope and belief that maybe this is the start of a new era,

chance to wipe the slate clean up so much disappointment. I started by

speaking to the new coach Peter Moores and asked how he would lift

the spirits of the English players after that winter. To play for

England is very special, if it's not, you shouldn't be playing for

England. If it ever becomes a normal day, we have picked the wrong

person. I don't see it as my response ability to lift them, it is

their responsibility to be lifted, it is the job of the coach and

captain to connect them to make sure we are part of something together

because then we can be a force. One player who went been bold is Kevin

Pietersen. His name was on the lips of everyone today but it was clear

both from Peter Moores and from the managing director of the ECB that

Kevin Pietersen will no longer play for England, that message couldn't

have been clearer. England are looking to the future and hope this

is the start of the new dawn. A family's outing to Longleat Safari

Park took a dramatic turn when their car caught fire in the lion

enclosure. Witnesses captured the moment yesterday when the car

overheated and burst into flames. Rangers rescued a woman and two

children from the car, after clearing the lions from the

enclosure. A spokesman from the park said the blaze was put out quickly,

and that no people - or lions - were hurt.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have paid tribute to Australia's air

force during the latest leg of their tour of the country. William and

Kate both took to the cockpit of a fighter jet while visiting an air

base in Brisbane. From there, our Royal Correspondent Nicholas

Witchell reports. They are the Royal Australian air

force and their loyalty is to the Crown, just as it has been for

generations. 100 years ago Australian servicemen fought in the

First World War in the name of William's great-great-grandfather

George V and within Australia... Defence forces, the link to the

Crown is still strong. William and Catherine were given a ceremonial

welcome to a huge Royal Australian Air Force Base near Brisbane in

Queensland. Temperatures were in the 80s, light-coloured summer dress was

Kate's choice, ideal for the heat. Not such a good choice, you might

think, for climbing into the cockpit of a jet fighter, but somehow she

managed it. In the memorial garden, the couple planted a tree in

remembrance of the limbs of the Australian air forces fought

alongside Britain and had given their lives, another reminder of

heritage that has been shared. Then the other side of a royal visit, the

walkabout and the public fascination with this couple. Several thousand

had enjoyed a long wait in the sun in central Brisbane. In truth, the

area of the walkabout was just a few hundred metres, not much space but

plenty of enthusiasm. The latest on the royal tour there.

That's all from me. The next news on BBC One is at 6.40pm, but there's

more throughout the day on the BBC News Channel. Goodbye.

A lot of dry weather out there which won't disappoint for this is to

weekend but I suspect the feel of the weather might disappoint one or

two. Some sunny spells around but a breeze coming in off the North Sea,

bear that in mind if you are