14/03/2016 BBC News at Six

The number of people killed in last night's Turkish terror attack

Families mourn the dead and wait to hear about the injured.

The attack is blamed on separatist rebels.

Suicide bombers hit the heart of the Turkish capital -

All I could see was red. People were screaming.

The ground was covered with broken glass.

We'll be looking at why instability in Turkey matters to Britain

The family of PC Phillips face the man accused of killing him

Desperate refugees who've found another way out of Greece

An apology from the new Top Gear team for filming a stunt

And coming up in the sport on BBC News.

Joe Marler may miss England's Six Nations finale

He's been cited for hitting an opponent during the win

Good evening and welcome to the BBC News at Six.

The Turkish government has made a number of arrests after the latest

terror attack on its capital, Ankara.

It's blaming separatist Kurdish rebels for the explosion in which 37

At least a dozen are in a serious condition.

Across Europe, there are concerns about what instability in Turkey

More on that in a moment, but first here's Mark Lowen

on a second attack within a month.

After the horror, the Greece. At Ankara's Mork today, families learn

the identities of those inside killed in yesterday's car bomb.

Loved ones whose worst fears were confirmed. The blast struck near a

transport hub on a busy Sunday evening. So powerful it's as though

the sky was set alight. At the local hospital, the list of the dead, 37

names so far. This man was lucky. He sustained head injuries, but little

more. The scene he describes is like a vision from hell.

TRANSLATION: Was like Armageddon. All I could see was read. People

were screaming. The ground was covered with broken glass. It was

just like an earthquake. I saw a girl's body torn into. It is the

third attack in Ankara in five months. This was October. Suicide

bombings killed over 100, blamed on the Islamic state group. Last month,

another car bomb in the capital, killing almost 30. Kurdish militants

said they carried it out. What is happening to Turkey? A Nato member

and EU hopeful stuck in a cycle of attack. The nation nervous but

defiant. TRANSLATION: Even

now, my voice is shaking. I left university earlier today because my

parents are afraid. I'm afraid. It's not just the bombers who are to

blame, but those who allowed it to happen. I am not afraid. Two

attackers have been identified, those allegedly members of the PKK

Kurdish gorillas. At the scene, a single tribute resisted the

downpour. Turkey is getting worryingly used to such attacks.

There is anger at the government for a perceived lack of security, which

has led Turkey into such a vulnerable position. There is fear

over when the next strike will come, and the chaos into which this

country is sliding. Yet again, Turks are burying their own. The worry is

when I'm not is, these scenes will be repeated.

In a dramatic development in the five-year Syrian war,

the Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his military to start

Speaking in the last half hour, Mr Putin said the Russian

military intervention, which began last September,

Our Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen is with me now.

This literally happened more less when we came into the studio. It is

quite significant. We don't know yet which forces are leaving and what

they will continue to do once they have left, if anything. From

President Putin's point of view, it is a good moment for him to declare

victory and go home. There was a lot of fear he might be putting Russian

forces into a Syrian quagmire and he is now trying to extricate them. It

is connected to the Syrian peace talks opening up in Geneva, and the

hopes they may yield something. Putin is playing a bigger game here.

It is not just about trying to shore up President Assad, but about

Russia's geopolitical position, giving them a global role again. He

has calculated he is pushed a bit there, and for the time being, he

will push back a bit. But just for the time being. Thank you.

Clayton Williams, the teenager accused of using a stolen vehicle

to murder PC Dave Phillips in Merseyside last October,

claims to have been smoking cannabis since the age of six.

He was giving evidence at Manchester Crown Court today,

coming face to face with PC Phillips' family for the first time.

We are outside the court. Clayton Williams spoke, to be -- confidently

in court. He admitted he had only been out of prison three weeks when

he hit PC Phillips. He admitted he had a cannabis habit, but to the

jewellers he denied murder. He said he had no idea the officer was in

the road. The widow and family of PC Dave Phillips have already heard how

the officer suffered a violent death with no chance of survival.

In court, they have seen CCTV of the father of two's final moments

before he was run over by a stolen car.

Today, for the first time, they heard from the teenager

Clayton Williams told jurors he did not see PC Phillips,

The 19-year-old told the court it was an accident, saying:.

Clayton Williams admits burgling this shop before stealing the keys

What happened next was a police chase

He reached speeds of 80mph before hitting PC

The teenager says he can't remember exactly what happened

That, Clayton Williams said, was down to his

He said he had been smoking it since he was six,

In the dock, Clayton Williams was asked, "Why didn't you stop

He said he panicked and rang his grandmother,

Clayton Williams denied what happened here was murder.

He told the jury, "I did not intend to kill.

The deaths of twin boys at their home in Dalgety Bay in Fife

is being investigated by the Health and Safety Executive.

Rhys and Shaun Scott, who were two, were found in a garden

It's understood that the family rented the home from a man

who formerly ran a business there, selling koi carp.

The HSE has the power to prosecute landlords if they put tenants

Just days before EU leaders are due to finalise plans to send refugees

and migrants in Greece back to Turkey, hundreds of them have

managed to cross into Macedonia - and that's despite border closures.

Around 14,000 people have been stranded at the Idomeni refugee camp

This morning, around 1,000 of them left the camp and started walking

across a river near the town of Hamilo.

On the march with nothing to lose. Thousands of migrants walking

towards a border they are not allowed to cross. They've had enough

of waiting. For weeks, they've been stuck in Greece. They are aiming to

get to Germany, but all the ball can border gates between here and there

have slammed shut. But they've what this far, and they are not giving

up. The borders, very problem. They keep everybody going to Macedonia.

The march sparks alarm among the Macedonian authority, who monitor

them. But on the Greek side, they are not stopped. The migrants are

undeterred by the obstacles in their path. At least three people drowned

near here last night, but they are prepared to take the risk. Desperate

people will do desperate things. They've become disillusioned with

the conditions in this border camp. It turned into a swamp after days of

rain. An bearable. Anywhere is better than this, they thought,

which is why they set off en masse from here this morning. When many

hundreds did eventually cross the frontier, they were rounded up and

retained. Their ambitions on hold once again. The path ahead isn't

easy, and full of risks, but it's not putting them of trying.

Well, the migrant crisis appears to have had an impact on regional

elections in Germany over the weekend.

The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, saw her party lose

ground to the anti-immigration Alternative for Deutschland.

It had campaigned against what it called Chancellor Merkel's

"catastrophic" decision to welcome 1 million migrants

There is flash photography in Jenny Hill's report.

Germany's political landscape is changing.

But don't expect Angela Merkel to alter her course.

This is the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt,

where one in four voters backed the anti-Merkel,

anti-migrant party, Alternative fur Deutschland.

I voted for AfD, Laura tells us, because

I don't particularly like the AfD people,

but they are the only party that wants

Germany's political right have found a public voice.

Its leader recently suggested border guards shoot at illegal immigrants.

Angela Merkel had dismissed them as a small fringe party.

This afternoon, she admitted it's been a tough day at the office.

We want to reduce the number of refugees arriving.

We need to tackle the source of migration, and seek

A controversial stance from this most divisive of leaders.

Should Mrs Merkel stay on as Chancellor, I ask?

I used to think a lot of her, but not any more.

This man says, I don't agree with the rest of her policies,

These elections have been bruising and

humiliating for Angela Merkel, but the sense here is

First of all, no one's calling for her resignation.

Secondly, approval ratings, while they have dipped,

are still the envy of other European leaders.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly of all, there is no

heavyweight political opponent waiting in the wings to snatch

Mrs Merkel might just have got away with it.

The time is 30 minutes past six. -- 13.

The death toll in yesterday's Turkish terror attack has risen

to 37 - raising questions about the government's ability

Lift-off - a 300 million mile journey to find out if there's ever

It's his first match in charge of Newcastle United.

Will Rafa Benitez help them pull themselves clear of the relegation

zone tonight against league leaders Leicester?

"unreservedly" after scenes for his new series were filmed

Veterans' groups have called the stunts "gravely

Our entertainment correspondent Lizo Mzimba reports.

It is a show already under the media microscope and that was before

footage taken this weekend by onlookers showed a car performing

stunts close enough to the Cenotaph to cause widespread offence. Top

Gear presenter Chris Evans said he was mortified. The images are

terrible, they look so disrespectful. There are mitigating

circumstances but absolutely, no, unreservedly apologise. Westminster

City Council has said the BBC did not fully inform them about what was

to be filmed, saying, "There was no discussion between BBC producers and

Westminster City Council about wheel spins and a doughnut and permission

would not have been given to do so". The BBC says it has the utmost

respect for the Cenotaph and insisted that:.

The decision to film so close to a memorial that means so much to so

many has led to a situation where the show is not being talked about

for what happens on-screen but is once again being overshadowed by

controversy. It is a uniquely popular programme because of its

ability to generate headlines and get is wondering what will happen

next to create controversy. However, what it can't do is fall into

perhaps the same traps as Jeremy Clarkson and coded last year. The

rest of the show's filming has passed mostly without incident but

it is still not clear whether the scenes filmed close to the war

memorial will ever be seen. The BBC has emphasised the Cenotaph was

never intended to be featured and therefore would not appear in the

final film. Chris Evans said if it was up to him, that particular scene

should not be shown. Weeks before it airs, yet again, Top Gear has been

making headlines for the wrong reasons. Lizo Mzimba, BBC News.

The SNP says it plans to halve air passenger duty on flights

from Scottish airports, if the party wins elections in May.

Control of the tax is being devolved to Holyrood

SNP ministers argue that cutting the tax by 50% would have economic

benefits for Scotland, but airports in England say

they would be left at a competitive disadvantage.

Lorna Gordon is at Edinburgh Airport now.

Yes, George, this is Scotland's busiest airport and they have

welcomed the move to cut air passenger duty. But others have

concerns. Labour in Scotland believe the money set aside would be better

spent elsewhere. As you say, there's been complaints from some airports

in England that their business could suffer as a result.

Two airports, Edinburgh and Newcastle, just over 100 miles

between them and what could be a potentially bigger divide on the

way. Control over the tax people pay on their flight is about to be

devolved to Scotland. The SNP government here is committed to

cutting it in half. What the Scottish allotment wants to do is

reduce air passenger duty with the specific objective of improving the

economic performance of Scotland, improving our competitiveness and

creating employment in Scotland. From next month, anyone flying

economy will pay ?13 on a short-haul flight departing from a UK airport.

?73 if they are going long haul. And more if they are flying business

class. That means a family of four with two children over 16 flying

economy would pay close to ?300 in taxes if they are heading to

somewhere like Florida. There are already some exceptions, children

under 16 are exempt from the tax, as are some passengers flying from

Northern Ireland and the Highlands and Islands. Unsurprisingly,

passengers in Edinburgh like rosemary, who -- and Morris, who

often visit there is an elite, welcomed any move to reduce the cost

of flying. If the price is better, then everything is better, I have

found! We fly regularly so it would be great. Airports elsewhere like

Newcastle warned that the move could place them at a competitive

disadvantage, potentially tempting passengers and airlines north to

Scotland. Everyone will go to Scotland to fly from there. While

they are up there, you go shopping. If it is cheaper for me, that is

where I will be boarding my flight from and then I will do away with

Newcastle. We will find out on Wednesday whether the Chancellor is

planning to act on calls from other airports for a change in the level

of duty passengers pay when they take to the air. Lorna Gordon, BBC

News, Edinburgh airport. A brief look at some

of the day's other news stories. A 300 foot mineshaft has

opened up in Cornwall, just yards away from

the back door of a house. The gaping sinkhole was discovered

when surveyors were checking the site for the sale of the empty

property in the village of Scorrier. It is thought to be a remnant

of Cornwall's tin mining industry in the 18th century and will be

recapped with concrete. Northern Ireland's First Minister

and Deputy First Minister are visiting the USA to promote

a lower rate of corporation tax Arlene Foster and Martin McGuinness

began their programme today The Northern Ireland Executive has

committed to reducing the rate of corporation tax to

12.5% from April 2018. On Wednesday, the Chancellor

will deliver his first Budget George Osborne has indicated that

a worsening global economic climate means that he'll be announcing cuts

"equivalent to 50p in every ?100" But after years of austerities, what

difference have the cuts made? Are political editor Laura Kuenssberg

talks to some of those affected. Balancing the books does not turn

politicians into rock stars. But his government's mission has always been

sorting the economy out after the crash. Visiting London girls school

today, ahead of the budget, David Cameron appear to have a lot of

bands. But did he get the hard bit? George Osborne promised he'd fix the

deficit in five years but at budget after budget, progress has been

slow. By 2015, he said we were heading out of the red and back into

the black. But paying off the costs of the crash? We are only around

half way through. When he's back out here on Wednesday, the tone will

have changed again. Don't expect much talk of sunshine. Since the

Chancellor's last big Day out, money worries in markets right around the

world have emerged so there's less cash flowing into government

coffers. Even after six years of cuts, he will squeeze public

spending again. Lord Kerslake was the head of the civil service, one

of the most senior officials hunting for cuts in the first five years. I

think the choices are quite difficult, because the Chancellor

said he does not want to raise more taxes. The obvious efficiency

savings have come through, I guess, in the early period. His choices

around welfare reform now, given what happened on the tax credits, I

think are quite difficult as well. It is hard to see where the easy

choices are now. None of it is easy. There are likely to be more cuts to

welfare, possibly a rise in fuel tax, and an expected extra ?4

billion of savings every year by 2020. But even in Tory controlled

Kent, the leader of the council believes they have gone far enough.

Next year's budget is going to be a really tough budget, where we are

having to dig into our reserves. But it is going to be extraordinarily

tough. The tank is now empty. We cannot take any more cuts in the

scale that we have endured in the last five years. In some public

services, the pressure to cut costs as produced good news as well as

bad. Paul is blind and has learning difficulties. He used to get 20

hours of care per week. As part of a trial in Kent, Paul was taught to

order his weekly shop online and now receives only two hours of council

help. But he says it is better for him. I set up an online shopping

account with a supermarket. And I practised that each week with my

supporter. Once I got better, I was able to do it on my own. Tough times

can present opportunities, too, but with pressure from the European

referendum bearing down, George Osborne need smart moves this week.

Laura Kuenssberg, BBC News, Westminster.

Europe and Russia have launched their first joint mission

to the Red Planet to try to find signs of life.

This rocket blasted off from Kazakhstan

this morning at the start of a seven-month, 300

On board is a probe which will orbit Mars and look for methane

That is a possible sign of bacterial life.

Later, it'll be followed by a robot rover which will explore the surface

Our science correspondent Pallab Ghosh reports.

On its way to search for life on another world.

The spacecraft begins its 300 million mile journey.

When it arrives at Mars in October, it will analyse traces of a gas

called methane, that could have been created by living organisms.

Where we thought previously it was a barren and

sterile planet and there was nothing to be found there,

everything has become more and more likely to lean

towards the fact that actually, there could still be life there.

The first views of the Martian landscape, taken in the 1970s,

But images taken from space over the past 20 years showed

that there was water frozen under the surface.

And last year, the most remarkable pictures yet.

Channels recently carved by flowing water.

And where there is water, there may be life.

It is here at this Mars mock-up in Stevenage that the rover that

will search for that life is being designed and tested.

This is a prototype of the rover Europe will be sending to Mars

It will be the first able to drill deep into the Martian surface.

Now that's important because if there is life on Mars,

it is going to be found several metres underground.

Life is more likely to exist under the Martian surface

because it is shielded from the radiation from space that

A British team is developing the rover's camera.

It will be using a series of filters to find the most likely place

It's a very exciting time for Mars exploration.

We are perhaps on the brink of discovering whether

there is or was life on Mars and these two missions are perfectly

By the end of the decade, we might have the answer

to the question, is there, or was there

If they do find life, it is likely that it is commonplace

Scientists will then know that we're not alone in the universe.

Humphries and Galloway got the lion's share of the sunshine and the

temperatures today with a beautiful spring afternoon. Highs of 16

degrees in south-west Scotland and not too bad in Northern Ireland. A

different story in the east, this picture shows lots of sunshine in

Norfolk but a nagging easterly winds and temperatures struggling to

around 7 degrees. The wind continues through tonight, driving more cloud

from the North Sea and potential for the odd spot of drizzle and some

mist and fog as well. Further west, under clearer skies, that is where

we see the lowest values, a touch of Frost with temperatures down to

minus two degrees but I suspect we will get photographs like this

tomorrow, lots of low cloud and a rather murky start but hopefully an

improving picture. West will certainly be best again. Hopefully

we will start to see some more brightness developing across East

Anglia and Lincolnshire. In the afternoon, ten or 11 degrees across

south-west England and Wales. Not bad after the chilly start, lots of

sunshine. Don't hold me to it but hopefully East Anglia and

Lincolnshire might get the cloud breaking up with some sun. Under

cloud, disappointingly cool and grey but sheltered western areas against

seeing a very promising afternoon with temperatures possibly 16 or 17,

60 three Fahrenheit. As we move out of Tuesday and Wednesday, weather

fronts moving in from the near continent, unusually, they normally

come from the Atlantic. But they will bring a fair amount of cloud

and a spot or two of drizzle. But behind it in the south-east, more

sunshine coming through. The south-east and the north-west, the

best for sunshine as we go through Wednesday. Through the cloud, it

could stay grey and drug. Mostly dry this week, variable cloud and where

it remains clear, some chilly nights.

The death toll in yesterday's Turkish terror attack has risen

to 37, raising questions about the government's ability

And while we were on air, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered

the main part of his military to start withdrawing from Syria

tomorrow. There's more on that on the BBC News Channel.

On BBC One, we now join the BBC's news teams where you are.