07/03/2014 Reporting Scotland


07/03/2014

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away. That's all from the BBC News at Six. On BBC One, we now join the

:00:00.:00:00.

BBC's Tonight, on Reporting Scotland...

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Pensions and the pound. Independence campaigners welcome

:00:14.:00:16.

moves to make changes to pension rules, but the row over a currency

:00:17.:00:18.

union continues. A mother avoids jail after falsely

:00:19.:00:22.

claiming tens of thousands of pounds from the NHS in taxi fares to take

:00:23.:00:27.

her children to hospital. Catwalk for the Clydesiders - the

:00:28.:00:30.

uniforms for the Commonwealth Games volunteers are unveiled.

:00:31.:00:37.

After her series of slip-ups at the Winter Olympics, Scotland's

:00:38.:00:39.

speed-skating star Elise Christie says she could find it hard to stay

:00:40.:00:51.

motivated. I have got to the point where I wondered whether I could do

:00:52.:00:55.

it again. Also on the programme, daring to

:00:56.:00:58.

dream - the fans with high hopes ahead of the quarterfinal stage of

:00:59.:01:00.

the Scottish Cup. Good evening. The cost and security

:01:01.:01:18.

of pensions is one of the most important matters for voters in the

:01:19.:01:21.

referendum on Scottish independence and, today, it became a focus of the

:01:22.:01:26.

debate. The Treasury claims a vote for independence will create huge

:01:27.:01:29.

problems for pensions in Scotland, but today it emerged that proposed

:01:30.:01:32.

changes to European laws could make it cheaper to run pension schemes

:01:33.:01:44.

across more than one member state. Getting your head around pensions is

:01:45.:01:49.

not child's play, but it is not just something for the elderly to think

:01:50.:01:57.

about. Any change to private pensions will have the biggest

:01:58.:01:59.

impact on those at work at the moment. Danny Alexander said people

:02:00.:02:05.

may not get as much back from the pension and an independent Scotland.

:02:06.:02:11.

This will affect the likes of pension funds from the government,

:02:12.:02:15.

you would need separate pension protection. These things that people

:02:16.:02:21.

whose life savings are wrapped up in pension funds in Scotland, this

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could be a team of real uncertainty. One extra cost is that most patients

:02:28.:02:35.

would become cross-border pensions, which are under much tighter

:02:36.:02:37.

European Union legislation. It would mean higher contributions from both

:02:38.:02:44.

employers and workers. Private pensions would cost more, but things

:02:45.:02:48.

could be about to change. We have heard the commotion and the

:02:49.:02:53.

regulator and you up responsible for the sea that they want to encourage

:02:54.:02:58.

cross-border activity in pensions and in that context, moving away

:02:59.:03:04.

from this requirement for funding at all times for cross-border is what

:03:05.:03:11.

most people think will happen quite shortly. That would have big

:03:12.:03:15.

implications of their was a yes vote in Scotland? Yes, that would be the

:03:16.:03:23.

case. It is one of the issues. That is something the Scottish government

:03:24.:03:31.

is pleased to hear. Moves from the European Union to stimulate the next

:03:32.:03:35.

directive are very helpful. It is quite clearly we we could address

:03:36.:03:39.

the issue of pension provision in the of Scotland becoming an

:03:40.:03:44.

independent country. But pensions experts think there are more hurdles

:03:45.:03:47.

to overcome. Our Business and Economy editor

:03:48.:03:50.

Douglas Fraser is here to sum up perhaps a confusing week for voters,

:03:51.:03:54.

with a few large companies having their say. Yes, another finance from

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today, Alliance trust in the DC they are registering headquarters in

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England so they would be able to transfer earlier. We have also had

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from the city that there is nothing implausible about Scotland being

:04:23.:04:27.

independent. They see it is unlikely that a deal on currency could not be

:04:28.:04:32.

found. It says it is astonishing that we have reached this with so

:04:33.:04:37.

little certainty in the debate. That is why the two parties become more

:04:38.:04:44.

entrenched today. The United Kingdom Independence party saying there is

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no way Scotland will get the pound and the independence campaign seen

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the tip makes common sense for that to happen. There is also the talk

:04:55.:05:01.

about the amount of British state that in independent Scotland take

:05:02.:05:02.

on. Where does this busy week leave the

:05:03.:05:10.

campaign for both sides? We have on the set had a lot about the risk

:05:11.:05:15.

from large companies. They have two set out these types of risk because

:05:16.:05:18.

they have to publish annual accounts. Some of them have not said

:05:19.:05:27.

anything. The likes of Aviva have said the remaining neutral on the

:05:28.:05:35.

situation. What will voters make of it all? On one hand, the media about

:05:36.:05:40.

risk and associate that with independence, but healing captains

:05:41.:05:49.

of industry saying that these people got us into a wholly economic mess,

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so why should we be listening to them now?

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A mother who falsely claimed nearly ?40,000 worth of taxi fares for

:05:56.:05:58.

taking her sick children to hospital has narrowly avoided jail. Kathleen

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Duncan admitted forging the signatures of drivers and NHS staff

:06:02.:06:04.

claiming they were for journeys for her two children, who have a rare

:06:05.:06:16.

genetic condition. Arriving for sentencing, having admitted the

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carefully planned and executed fraud, EV genetic condition means

:06:23.:06:27.

that two of the children Kathleen Duncan of travel from Kirkcaldy to

:06:28.:06:38.

Glasgow for treatment, by taxi. Some of these were legitimate, but others

:06:39.:06:43.

were not. She was claiming up to ?65 for drama Germany which did not

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happen. She obtained signatures from the taxi drivers to maintain the

:06:50.:06:56.

fraud. It amounted to ?40,000. The Sheriff was told he faced a dilemma

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as regards whether to hand out a custodial sentence. He said he was

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obliged to consider the impact on children. He imposed a payback order

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over to years and a community service order. With fraud within the

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NHS having increased in the last five years, investigators say this

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should serve as a warning to others. She diverted a large amount of money

:07:27.:07:35.

intended for the NHS away from the NHS. This is not a victimless crime.

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The money should have gone to the treatment and care of other people.

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As a result of the case, the fraud team say they will make

:07:49.:07:53.

recommendations to NHS boards to close loopholes and prevent any

:07:54.:07:57.

repeat. Tennis player Elena Baltacha, who

:07:58.:08:00.

was the number one ranked player in Britain, says she is battling

:08:01.:08:04.

cancer. The 30-year-old retired from tennis last November after a career

:08:05.:08:10.

where she won eleven titles. In a statement, Ms Baltacha says she has

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been diagnosed with cancer of the liver and is fighting the illness

:08:14.:08:17.

with everything she has. You are watching Reporting Scotland

:08:18.:08:20.

from the BBC. Still to come on tonight's programme...

:08:21.:08:25.

Unveiling a memorial to the men and women who occupied their factory

:08:26.:08:28.

after US management threatened it with closure.

:08:29.:08:32.

And coming up in sport, it is a massive weekend in football and

:08:33.:08:35.

rugby, plus two weeks after her nightmare in Sochi, Scottish speed

:08:36.:08:38.

skater Elise Christie reflects on her disappointment at the Winter

:08:39.:08:39.

Olympics. For the thousands of volunteers and

:08:40.:08:51.

staff who will be involved in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games today was

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not so much a dress rehearsal as the real thing, in that they got to see

:08:56.:09:00.

the outfits they will be wearing. As befits an event held in a Scottish

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summer, rainwear is very much part of the kit.

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The Clydeside are certainly took centre stage today. The highlight

:09:17.:09:25.

was the unveiling of the outfit they will be wearing during the

:09:26.:09:35.

Commonwealth Games. The red colour here is a reflection of the

:09:36.:09:38.

personality of the staff and volunteers. Vicky is more of a nod

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to the architecture of Glasgow. What we have got is four seasons in one

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day, which we thought would be appropriate for the Scottish

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weather. We have got the jacket, the poor shot, the trousers and the

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cagoule, the hat and an umbrella. The uniform was unveiled at the

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first of four volunteer induction sessions. There was plenty of noise,

:10:06.:10:11.

some impressive noise, not to mention some famous faces getting

:10:12.:10:23.

involved. Scotland gets the gold. Today was all about the volunteers,

:10:24.:10:26.

but you know all about that, because you were one yourself. Yes, it was

:10:27.:10:34.

over 40 years ago, for the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in

:10:35.:10:42.

1970. It is a very special occasion. Really proud of Glasgow for money

:10:43.:10:50.

the games and we will be hoping to help the spectators and athletes and

:10:51.:10:54.

that will be a big is for us. I am really looking forward to it. So,

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they are ready and will be looking the part.

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The Commonwealth Games Federation says there is no prospect of Ugandan

:11:03.:11:06.

officials being banned from this summer's Games in Glasgow, because

:11:07.:11:09.

it is their right to attend. Former world cycling champion Graham Obree

:11:10.:11:12.

has launched an online petition calling for organisers to withdraw

:11:13.:11:14.

invitations to any Ugandan officials involved in their controversial bill

:11:15.:11:21.

on homosexuality. The Federation says all heads of state have a right

:11:22.:11:25.

to attend and there are no exceptions.

:11:26.:11:30.

The number of crimes in Scotland, and the perception of crime, have

:11:31.:11:35.

fallen in the past four years. The survey, based on face-to-face

:11:36.:11:37.

interviews, suggests one in six adults was the victim of crime in

:11:38.:11:43.

the year to the end of last March. But the number of crimes is 22%

:11:44.:11:47.

lower than it was four years ago. When asked about perceptions of

:11:48.:11:50.

crime, 76% of people thought it had gone down or was the same in the

:11:51.:11:55.

past two years. Let us take a look at some of the

:11:56.:11:59.

other stories around Scotland this Friday.

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Network Rail has offered a "full and unreserved apology" to families

:12:03.:12:05.

bereaved by accidents at level crossings. You can just It follows

:12:06.:12:11.

severe criticism by a group of MPs about the organisation's treatment

:12:12.:12:14.

of people affected by such collisions. A man who won

:12:15.:12:16.

compensation after his parents and uncle were killed in a crash at an

:12:17.:12:20.

open crossing in the Highlands in 2009 says the rail company's

:12:21.:12:27.

attitude towards victims is callous. Outstanding indifference would be

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the frieze which comes to mind. They just do not give a monkeys. They

:12:34.:12:40.

just do not care. To them, we are just an annoying nuisance. They wish

:12:41.:12:45.

we would go away, but we want. Ukrainians in Scotland have gathered

:12:46.:12:48.

outside the Russian Consulate in Edinburgh. Around 40 people joined

:12:49.:12:51.

the protest against what they described as President Putin's

:12:52.:12:55.

"invasion of Crimea". Work is to begin on the first

:12:56.:12:57.

sub-sea electricity link our demands are that he should be

:12:58.:13:06.

respecting the cheeky si signed up to, especially the Budapest to

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take, the nonproliferation act. More than 250 miles of high voltage cable

:13:15.:13:17.

will be run from Scotland's west coast to Wales's north coast. The

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Western Link, as it is to be known, is expected to supply enough power

:13:25.:13:27.

for more than four million homes each year.

:13:28.:13:34.

Rats have caused almost ?5,000 worth of damage to underground fibre optic

:13:35.:13:37.

cabling in Inverness' CCTV network. Highland Council said the rodents

:13:38.:13:40.

were sharpening their teeth on the outer casing of the cable. Repairs

:13:41.:13:43.

have been carried out and measures will be taken to seal off the cables

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from rats. Orkney will welcome a record number

:13:49.:13:51.

of cruise ship passengers to the islands this year. Up to 65,000

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visitors are expected to arrive on board 76 vessels. The first liner of

:13:55.:13:58.

2014 is due to anchor in just over a month. In It was a workers' sit-in

:13:59.:14:12.

that lasted 103 days in a desperate attempt to save their jobs.

:14:13.:14:15.

The industrial action back in 1987, at the Caterpillar plant in

:14:16.:14:18.

Uddingston in South Lanarkshire, made headlines worldwide. Today,

:14:19.:14:21.

workers unveiled a memorial to the men and women who fought to keep the

:14:22.:14:36.

plant open. Catriona Renton reports. 27 years after it closed,

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Caterpillar workers still remember their struggle. Today, many of them

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came together to see the new memorial to the plan. Caterpillar's

:14:45.:14:51.

type tractors were synonymous with manufacturing in Lanarkshire, but in

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1987, the workers were told their factory was to close. They decided

:14:58.:15:04.

to stand up to the might of the multinational in an occupation that

:15:05.:15:09.

lasted 103 days. They were watched from around the world. Their

:15:10.:15:14.

campaign mascot was a tractor dubbed the Pink Panther. They went back to

:15:15.:15:21.

work in April and the fact finally closed in November of that year. It

:15:22.:15:29.

is with sadness and regret we were not successful. Today, John Brannan

:15:30.:15:37.

spoke up for the workers again. It brings back great memories. The

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people who helped us during the campaign and the factory itself stop

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the three pillars represent the three months the workers occupied

:15:51.:15:53.

the Caterpillar factory. The coloured squares, there are 103 to

:15:54.:16:00.

represent every day they spent inside. At night, this will all

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write up stop you have to fight for what you believe in. I was here all

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the time. We fought for 103 days and we are proud of that.

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It could be described as divine intervention. Discarded furniture

:16:31.:16:34.

from churches is being used by an Edinburgh project to provide

:16:35.:16:37.

training and hope to homeless people. Their latest work is

:16:38.:16:39.

transforming unwanted fixtures from the General Assembly into bespoke

:16:40.:16:42.

furniture. Elizabeth Quigley has more.

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These pencil marks need to come off. Unwanted furniture is given a

:16:50.:16:53.

new lease of life will stop old church furniture is turned into

:16:54.:16:58.

bespoke pieces of furniture, but this is about much more than

:16:59.:17:04.

creating top of the range items, it is about turning lives around. I was

:17:05.:17:10.

homeless for seven months and I was sleeping rough just north of Dundee.

:17:11.:17:16.

I came back to Edinburgh. I need a purpose in life and this has given

:17:17.:17:24.

me a purpose, to get up in the morning and do some work and

:17:25.:17:29.

feelings you are achieving something, moving on with your

:17:30.:17:36.

life. Originally aimed at helping the homeless, this project reaches

:17:37.:17:42.

out to everybody who feels brushed aside. There is lots of talent

:17:43.:17:50.

within these vulnerable people, so by giving them the opportunity and

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teasing out the skills they already have and sometimes didn't realise

:17:58.:18:01.

they had, you can really change peoples lives, and we do people 's

:18:02.:18:11.

lives. This is now a very successful social enterprise, providing

:18:12.:18:15.

support, training and hope. I have been homeless quite a bit, I have

:18:16.:18:20.

been homeless in Edinburgh for three months. I got somewhere which he

:18:21.:18:29.

quickly. I was sitting enjoys doing nothing and getting depressed, so

:18:30.:18:33.

coming here gives me something to do. This is all about

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transformations, from furniture like this to people 's lives.

:18:42.:18:54.

No news of a busy weekend in sport. -- now news.

:18:55.:18:59.

With Celtic already out, it's the most open Scottish Cup in years.

:19:00.:19:02.

We're at the quarter final stage - or the sixth round if you prefer.

:19:03.:19:06.

There are sides from all four of the Scottish divisions still in the

:19:07.:19:09.

competition. And as Brian Mclauchlin reports, this weekend even the likes

:19:10.:19:16.

of Albion Rovers can dare to dream. There are all still involved and

:19:17.:19:24.

dreaming of cup success. Two good teams, two teams we now are capable

:19:25.:19:30.

of beating each other. May the best team win. I want to go down as one

:19:31.:19:40.

of those players who defied all odds and finally won a trophy. This is a

:19:41.:19:51.

club that deserves it. I heard someone say it is sometimes easier

:19:52.:19:59.

playing a team in your league. This is the romantic tie of the

:20:00.:20:05.

round, the might of Rangers taking on the minnows from Coatbridge .

:20:06.:20:16.

Rangers will meet to play to their level to beat us stop if they're not

:20:17.:20:24.

up to that level on the day, I will make sure our boys are ready to take

:20:25.:20:32.

advantage of any weaknesses. And the Scottish Cup is well and

:20:33.:20:35.

truly covered this weekend. Tomorrow there's Sportscene Results plus

:20:36.:20:38.

Saturday night highlights. And on Sunday Sportscene has live coverage

:20:39.:20:40.

of Inverness Caley Thistle versus Dundee United, plus highlights of

:20:41.:20:43.

all the weekend matches at 10:25. Add to that Sportsound on radio, and

:20:44.:20:48.

it's all there for you. It's another big weekend in the RBS Six Nations

:20:49.:20:52.

and the Scotland coach Scott Johnson says his side has more than enough

:20:53.:20:55.

muscle to deal with the French at Murrayfield tomorrow. Scotland go

:20:56.:20:59.

into the match having lost their first two matches, but they beat the

:21:00.:21:03.

Italians in Rome last time out. And Johnson won't countenance any

:21:04.:21:06.

negativity about the size of the Scottish pack. We are a big pack of

:21:07.:21:16.

foreign words, so size has nothing to do with that. We are a vague

:21:17.:21:25.

pack. Scotland's speed-skating star Elise Christie admits she might find

:21:26.:21:29.

it hard to stay motivated after the triple disappointment of the Winter

:21:30.:21:31.

Olympics. She was disqualified from two events and penalised in another.

:21:32.:21:34.

The Livingston skater also endured abuse on social media. She's now

:21:35.:21:38.

heading to Montreal for next week's world championships. Kheredine

:21:39.:21:44.

Idessane has more. Back having fun in training, but is

:21:45.:21:52.

Elise skating on thin ice? It all went sour at the Winter Olympics.

:21:53.:22:03.

Crashing out in two events and being disqualified in another after

:22:04.:22:09.

skating inside the finish line. Her dreams of a medal shattered. It has

:22:10.:22:17.

been hard, obviously. I gave my life up for this sport and I still will,

:22:18.:22:23.

but everything I do is waste around this sport. I didn't expect to have

:22:24.:22:39.

problems on all three events. She was also targeted by social media

:22:40.:22:46.

Elise. I think mentally it is going to be hard to get back out and

:22:47.:22:53.

race. It is easy to say about training, but the competition is a

:22:54.:22:58.

different matter. My goal is to get out and used by performance to win a

:22:59.:23:04.

medal. Now she's going to get out, pick

:23:05.:23:08.

yourself up and hope for much better in Canada.

:23:09.:23:14.

Time now for a quick sporting hit of what else has been happening today

:23:15.:23:19.

around Scotland. Disappointment for Scotland's Laura knew as she failed

:23:20.:23:24.

to reach the finals in Poland. The stumble didn't help stop it was a

:23:25.:23:36.

breezy day out for the Brownlie Brothers trading at Strathclyde

:23:37.:23:44.

Park. It will be interesting to see how it is laid out. I am looking

:23:45.:23:55.

forward to it. Scotland will play Nigeria at a friendly. They hope to

:23:56.:24:03.

extend Scotland's un-beaten break-out. We have been on a decent

:24:04.:24:12.

wreckage. Andy Murray says he completely disagrees that men's

:24:13.:24:19.

tennis should be reduced from five to three sets. There are more sports

:24:20.:24:33.

stories plus news on our website. Let's get your weekend weather now.

:24:34.:24:36.

Hello, Gillian. Anything to look forward to?

:24:37.:24:42.

A mixed bag over the weekend, but next week is looking pretty good.

:24:43.:24:55.

Some sunshine, but strong winds. Tonight, high-pressure building and

:24:56.:25:01.

that will settle things down. It will dampen down those showers,

:25:02.:25:12.

which will be confined to the farmer north west. Before morning, more

:25:13.:25:20.

rain and hail pushes in. Temperatures, two degrees or three

:25:21.:25:24.

Celsius for most of us and some frost sheltered spot . Some of the

:25:25.:25:38.

rain will be heavy, especially over the West Highlands and later in

:25:39.:25:44.

Shetland, but in the afternoon, something of an improvement. Still

:25:45.:25:54.

strong winds, touching gale force and patchy rain for the high ground.

:25:55.:26:01.

Persistent rain in the western isles, but some bright as. It will

:26:02.:26:11.

be mild. Gale force winds over the isles to and across the hills, we

:26:12.:26:17.

could see ghosts of 80 to 100 miles per hour. Snow will turn back to

:26:18.:26:27.

rein in the afternoon. Into the rest of tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow

:26:28.:26:31.

evening, we will keep bits and pieces of patchy rain blowing across

:26:32.:26:38.

the mainland. Into Sunday, it is an improving picture. That weather

:26:39.:26:44.

front pulls away. You can see a slackening in the wind flow.

:26:45.:26:55.

Elsewhere, much lighter winds stop for the afternoon, it becomes drier,

:26:56.:27:01.

still fairly cloudy and the South of Scotland holds onto fairly damp

:27:02.:27:07.

conditions. Next week, high-pressure starts to dominate. The emphasis on

:27:08.:27:13.

dry and bright weather spells of sunshine.

:27:14.:27:18.

Now, a reminder of tonight's main news. Senior Russian politicians

:27:19.:27:22.

have pledged support to Crimea in its bid to break away from Ukraine

:27:23.:27:25.

and become part of Russia. Independence campaigners have

:27:26.:27:27.

welcomed potential changes to pension rules It's emerged that

:27:28.:27:30.

proposed changes to European laws could make it cheaper to run schemes

:27:31.:27:33.

across more than one member state. And that's Reporting Scotland. Our

:27:34.:27:36.

next main bulletin is at 10.25. Until then, from everyone on the

:27:37.:27:40.

team - across the country - have a good evening.

:27:41.:27:47.

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