22/03/2012 World News Today


22/03/2012

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The man who had admitted killing seven people into loses shot dead

:00:18.:00:25.

after a long stand-off. A round of gunfire, the sign French police are

:00:26.:00:30.

storming Mohammed Merah's hideout. The gunman fires first, and is then

:00:30.:00:33.

killed by commandos. The Blair asking how the government claimed

:00:33.:00:39.

to have links with Belgrade or was not stopped before the killing

:00:39.:00:47.

spree. An army coup in Mali, why have troops have a friend of

:00:47.:00:50.

President due to stand down and a few weeks. Growing anger about the

:00:50.:00:54.

shooting of the 17-year-old from Florida unarmed when he died, why

:00:54.:01:01.

has the men who shot him a month ago not been arrested? -- the Man.

:01:01.:01:06.

The worst of the debt crisis is over according to the head of the

:01:06.:01:08.

European Central Bank. But try telling that to Portugal where

:01:08.:01:13.

there has been a general strike in protest at the country's austerity

:01:13.:01:23.
:01:23.:01:24.

And the hunger for the next big film franchise. Will it pick up

:01:24.:01:34.
:01:34.:01:47.

were twilight left off? -- Twilight. An intense exchange of gunfire, and

:01:47.:01:49.

Mohammed Merah, the gunman suspected of killing seven people

:01:49.:01:54.

in southern France, was dead. Holed up in his apartment in Toulouse for

:01:54.:01:57.

more than thirty hours, French police were told to take Merah

:01:57.:02:00.

alive but ended up shooting him in the head as he tried to escape.

:02:00.:02:03.

There are now questions about whether Merah worked alone and

:02:03.:02:06.

whether the intelligence services could have caught him sooner.

:02:06.:02:11.

Christian Fraser reports from the scene in Toulouse. Will act of the

:02:11.:02:14.

dramatic siege. It was thought Mohammed Merah had taken his own

:02:14.:02:17.

life in the early hours this morning but as police moved in to

:02:17.:02:27.
:02:27.:02:27.

clear the apartment they came the most intense round of gunfire. This

:02:27.:02:31.

is Mohammed Merah flailing about in his car, he was a 23 rd criminal

:02:31.:02:35.

with a string of convictions for robbery and violence. A French

:02:35.:02:42.

citizen trained in Afghanistan who claimed he had orders from Al-Qaeda.

:02:42.:02:47.

Four hours he had negotiated with police but late last night he told

:02:47.:02:50.

police it was against his conscience to surrender and

:02:50.:02:54.

communication stopped. There were attempts to break his resolve.

:02:54.:02:58.

Several times flash grenades were thrown at the apartment but with no

:02:58.:03:02.

response through the night the decision was taken to send in the

:03:02.:03:06.

elite commandos. They entered through the front, blowing off the

:03:06.:03:11.

door, and using specialist fibre optic cameras they picked their way

:03:11.:03:15.

through the apartment, trying to locate Mohammed Merah. Until they

:03:15.:03:21.

reach the balcony. Suddenly he appeared, armed with a Colt 45

:03:21.:03:25.

handgun and opening fire. Two policemen were injured. He advanced

:03:25.:03:28.

out of the bathroom and jump from the window wearing a bullet-proof

:03:28.:03:32.

vest and still firing wildly. But waiting for him was a police

:03:32.:03:37.

marksman who shot him dead. Mohammed Merah had died exactly as

:03:37.:03:43.

he wanted, in a ferocious stand-off with police, armed with a pistol.

:03:43.:03:47.

In three separate and brutal attack Mohammed Merah killed seven people.

:03:47.:03:52.

Three soldiers from a parachute regiment and a Monday three

:03:52.:03:57.

children and a rabbi at the Jewish school. -- on Monday. Police said

:03:57.:03:59.

he confessed in negotiations and that his only regret was not

:04:00.:04:03.

killing more. He had filmed as a tax, revelling in the gruesome way

:04:03.:04:09.

in which he had executed each victim. -- of his attacks. He told

:04:09.:04:13.

us he had been radicalisation prison, said the prosecutor, and it

:04:13.:04:16.

started reading the Koran, but he showed no sign of fundamentalism,

:04:16.:04:21.

although he was violent with other prisoners and had attempted suicide.

:04:21.:04:25.

He had also travelled to Afghanistan alone and later

:04:25.:04:29.

immersed himself in extremist website. He burgled houses to raise

:04:29.:04:32.

enough money to buy an extraordinary arsenal of weapons

:04:32.:04:41.

that were found in the boot of his Today Nicolas Sarkozy told the

:04:41.:04:45.

nation an inquiry is underway to find a gunman's compasses and every

:04:45.:04:49.

person who goes on website which glorify terrorism, he said, will be

:04:49.:04:54.

punished by law. Fourie president facing a battle for re-election it

:04:54.:04:57.

is a successful conclusion. Throughout the week he has been

:04:57.:05:00.

centre stage in this crisis, overseeing the biggest manhunt

:05:00.:05:04.

France has ever known. But questions have been asked today by

:05:04.:05:08.

his own Foreign Minister. How did the domestic intelligence agencies

:05:08.:05:11.

lose track of such a violent criminal who had travelled to

:05:11.:05:16.

Afghanistan and was already on their radar as a dangerous

:05:16.:05:26.
:05:26.:05:26.

Joining us now is Thomas Withington, a defence analyst and editor of the

:05:26.:05:30.

G three defence magazine who also lives near by the scene of the

:05:30.:05:40.
:05:40.:05:40.

How did the police and intelligence services allow this to happen when

:05:40.:05:50.
:05:50.:05:52.

We need to bear in mind that possibly hundreds of thousands of

:05:52.:05:56.

people are known to the intelligence services. The hard

:05:56.:06:00.

thing is predicting those people who may be odd, bizarre, may hold

:06:00.:06:06.

strange political beliefs would then be so motivated to go and

:06:06.:06:09.

carry out these kind of acts of appalling violence. That is an

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incredibly difficult thing to anticipate. To be fair to French

:06:14.:06:17.

will Dorothy's it is still early days but in my own personal opinion

:06:17.:06:20.

I feel they have acquitted themselves rather well today. This

:06:20.:06:26.

was always going to be a very difficult operation. By their

:06:26.:06:31.

nature anything involving commander special forces are complex and I

:06:31.:06:35.

think they did a very good job and a difficult job. Over the next few

:06:35.:06:41.

days and weeks I think that will be analysed in much more detail.

:06:41.:06:46.

Campaigning in the presidential election has been suspended but

:06:46.:06:49.

nevertheless we know and President Sarkozy has taken centre stage.

:06:49.:06:53.

What about the language used, he said this was the work of a monster,

:06:54.:07:02.

a fanatic, how was that playing into the presidential campaign?

:07:02.:07:08.

is interesting because the campaign prior to these terrible events had

:07:08.:07:12.

been characterised by discussions of race, national identity,

:07:12.:07:17.

religious practices. I tend to feel there is every chance this could

:07:17.:07:27.
:07:27.:07:28.

now continue or increase. Marine Le Pen, for instance, has wasted no

:07:28.:07:33.

time in capitalising on this. She said she had predicted these kind

:07:33.:07:39.

of offence would take place. -- events. But in the political

:07:39.:07:47.

landscape has changed for Sarkozy, he has to walk a tightrope. -- I

:07:47.:07:53.

think the political landscape. He needs to be careful not to be

:07:54.:07:57.

accused of capitalising on it for his own political ends. Let's not

:07:57.:08:00.

forget there are still several weeks to run in this campaign yet

:08:00.:08:04.

they say a week is a long time in politics, anything can happen. His

:08:04.:08:12.

fortunes could be reversed and it is very difficult to predict.

:08:12.:08:16.

this case tell us anything about French society and howitzer

:08:16.:08:24.

minorities are integrating -- how the minorities are integrating?

:08:24.:08:28.

There has been questions regarding that. My feeling is it does not. We

:08:28.:08:35.

have had the attacks in Madrid, London, Norway. It wasn't an

:08:35.:08:42.

Islamic Mick -- Islamic extremist. Most famously we had them in the US

:08:42.:08:45.

in 2001. They multicultural societies and for me it does not

:08:45.:08:51.

saving Dickie about the domestic landscape -- say anything about the

:08:51.:09:01.
:09:01.:09:01.

domestic landscape in France but the dangers of extremism. Troops in

:09:01.:09:04.

Mali say they've overthrown the government of President Amadou

:09:04.:09:06.

Toumani Toure. The rebels have suspended the constitution and

:09:06.:09:09.

closed all borders. The president is reported to be in an army

:09:09.:09:12.

barracks in the capital, Bamako, protected by loyal troops. The coup

:09:12.:09:15.

leaders have arrested a number of ministers and generals. Land-locked

:09:15.:09:17.

Mali is considered a relatively peaceful country, so there's been

:09:18.:09:27.
:09:28.:09:33.

some surprise at developments there, This is the group of mutinous

:09:33.:09:36.

soldiers who say they have ended the rule of the President and

:09:36.:09:40.

suspended the constitution. At 4:30pm local time this group of

:09:40.:09:44.

renegade soldiers appeared on state television to announce the end of

:09:44.:09:54.
:09:54.:09:55.

what they called an incompetent In the name of the Armed Forces and

:09:55.:10:00.

defence of Mali, in all its parts, we have decided to resume

:10:00.:10:03.

responsibilities by putting an end to the incompetent and discredited

:10:03.:10:13.

regime of Amadou Tory. This is the dramatic culmination of a traumatic

:10:13.:10:17.

24 hours in Bamako. It started when soldiers took to the streets and

:10:17.:10:23.

started exchanging fire. Translation macro we heard gunfire,

:10:23.:10:29.

people started to run. We had no idea what was happening.

:10:29.:10:32.

President himself has fled the presidential palace and his

:10:32.:10:37.

whereabouts are unclear. A8 read from his official accounts said

:10:37.:10:44.

there is no coup in Mali, but it's just a mutiny. If he succeeds this

:10:44.:10:52.

will add a new layer of insecurity to Mali, the spread of support for

:10:52.:10:56.

Al-Qaeda and a flood of weapons traffic from Libya since Mohammed

:10:57.:10:59.

Gaddafi. For weeks the army has appealed to the government for

:10:59.:11:09.
:11:09.:11:12.

better weapons to fight the event - This is the reason the soldiers

:11:12.:11:22.

have given for the ecu... -- their coup. The President had already

:11:22.:11:24.

agreed to stand down and the presidential election was due in

:11:24.:11:28.

just under any month. The Borders have been closed, the soldiers say

:11:28.:11:32.

they have arrested several ministers and top military officers.

:11:32.:11:39.

A curfew has been declared and for the people of Mali, the big

:11:39.:11:43.

question is who is in charge? The soldiers say they will hand power

:11:43.:11:46.

to a new democratically-elected government. But they have not said

:11:46.:11:56.
:11:56.:12:00.

Joining the is a veteran journalist and writer who has been covering

:12:00.:12:05.

Africa for decades. Nice to see you, Cameron. This is very unexpected to

:12:05.:12:11.

have happened in Mali, normally a trunkful -- tranquil place.

:12:11.:12:15.

extremely disturbing. A coup of mutiny is led by captain, they

:12:15.:12:17.

started to call themselves the committee for this and that. This

:12:18.:12:25.

reminds us of what happening -- what happened in Burkina Faso,

:12:25.:12:29.

junior officers. They always bring trouble. They are not united

:12:29.:12:37.

themselves, they did not have experience -- do not have

:12:37.:12:40.

experience. The President was not going to stand in those elections

:12:41.:12:46.

anyway, so why try and do this? That is what is causing the biggest

:12:47.:12:56.
:12:57.:13:06.

headache to people who want to When he came to power they said

:13:06.:13:11.

what a nice guy, they made him an ambassador. So quite an exemplary

:13:11.:13:16.

man? Absolutely. A so what is puzzling as to why they did it.

:13:16.:13:21.

They say he had not managed to stamp out the two month rebellion

:13:21.:13:25.

in the north of Mali and that the situation was getting worse. Is

:13:25.:13:33.

that just an excuse? Yes because the Tuaregs have been demanding

:13:33.:13:39.

their territory for a long time. They are opposed -- they operate in

:13:39.:13:45.

other places. They are getting more arms now? Absolutely. A lot of them

:13:45.:13:49.

went to fight for Gaddafi so they have come back and that is another

:13:49.:13:54.

subtext, we do not know if they have infiltrated the army and are

:13:54.:13:59.

using these chaps as a front so they can set up a state where X

:13:59.:14:04.

Gaddafi people could be saved. thought the day of the army coup

:14:04.:14:11.

was almost over in Africa but what you think will happen now in Mali?

:14:11.:14:16.

I weep for Mali. This is the dry season and there is no food there,

:14:16.:14:24.

no water, they already have 200,000 refugees as a result of the war. At

:14:24.:14:28.

the political confusion and you have a catastrophe of immense

:14:28.:14:33.

proportions. The economic Community of West Africa has condemned it, a

:14:33.:14:36.

United Nations and everybody is making noises but they will leave

:14:36.:14:46.
:14:46.:14:49.

the people of Mali to themselves. Let's take a look at some of it

:14:49.:14:52.

today's other main developments. A former commander of the Turkish

:14:52.:14:57.

armed forces has gone on trial. He is charged with trying to overthrow

:14:57.:15:01.

the government. He is the most senior Turkish military officer to

:15:01.:15:06.

be tried in a civilian court. If found guilty, he could face of a 20

:15:06.:15:09.

years in jail. The UN Security Council has

:15:09.:15:13.

demanded that troops be withdrawn from Syrian cities, but these

:15:13.:15:18.

latest pictures, that have not been verified, reportedly shall

:15:18.:15:25.

explosions and gunfire in Homs. In Italy, eight more bodies had

:15:25.:15:29.

been found in the wreck of the Costa Concordia cruise liner which

:15:29.:15:36.

sank in January. The ship remains half submerged. But the latest

:15:36.:15:40.

recovery brings the official death toll to 30. Two passengers remain

:15:40.:15:46.

missing. A rally a dead by the US civil

:15:46.:15:50.

rights campaign that I'll show up in it is due to take place in

:15:50.:16:00.
:16:00.:16:05.

Florida in a few years' time. -- Al Sharpton. George Zimmerman, who

:16:05.:16:09.

shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, has not been arrested. This has

:16:09.:16:12.

sparked a national debate about race relations and the right to

:16:12.:16:18.

defence. A memorial to Trayvon Martin close

:16:18.:16:23.

to the spot where he died. The 17- year-old, carrying a bag of

:16:23.:16:30.

skittles and a drink, was shot here. The gated community take security

:16:30.:16:40.
:16:40.:16:48.

seriously but what happened here a Emergency calls from residents

:16:48.:16:52.

captured the drama of the evening and left questions hang in the year.

:16:53.:16:57.

Who attacked whom and why did George them are often feel the need

:16:57.:17:03.

to shoot? -- George Zimmerman. This town's African-American community

:17:03.:17:07.

thinks it knows enough already and that this church, they have come

:17:07.:17:13.

with stories of police brutality and corruption. It is really

:17:13.:17:18.

getting out of hand. The shooting, they believe, is part of a long and

:17:18.:17:23.

dishonourable tradition. Hannibal Duncan is as angry as the next

:17:23.:17:33.
:17:33.:17:35.

person and is not impressed with this community's response. At the

:17:35.:17:42.

end of the day, we need a 21st century solution for a 21st century

:17:42.:17:49.

problem. But for now, it is mostly about sound and fury. In a land

:17:49.:17:54.

will on Wednesday, protesters carried out side this office. They

:17:54.:18:00.

want George Zimmerman's licence revoked but feel that Florida's gun

:18:00.:18:04.

laws at fault. An author and the subject believes there will getting

:18:04.:18:09.

it wrong. People were very upset about the situation and

:18:09.:18:13.

understandably so. They have a right to be, but it is not the law

:18:13.:18:19.

that is the problem in this case. It is whether George will -- George

:18:19.:18:23.

Zimmerman acted lawfully or unlawfully. For the rally was due

:18:23.:18:27.

to be held in a nearby church but organisers have moved it here

:18:27.:18:37.
:18:37.:18:45.

because they feel there will be a big turnout. Al Sharpton But

:18:45.:18:48.

emotions are all here and he may wish to tread carefully.

:18:48.:18:56.

I am joined by the Professor of Law at the University of California.

:18:56.:19:01.

Florida's law is very expansive. It says that someone does not have a

:19:01.:19:06.

duty to treat if they're confronted with danger, but goes further. They

:19:06.:19:10.

are not only allowed to stand their own ground but to protect others,

:19:11.:19:18.

even by using violence forced to prevent a burglary. Is it that

:19:18.:19:23.

badly drafted law? Is it not clear what is allowed in terms of self-

:19:23.:19:27.

defence? No problem is that where it is clear that allows too much

:19:27.:19:32.

self defence. It allows people to be vigilantes not just to defend

:19:32.:19:38.

themselves but other people and even other people's property.

:19:38.:19:43.

this go further than other laws governing self-defence in other

:19:43.:19:48.

states in America, in that it encourages vigilantes? It does.

:19:48.:19:54.

Other laws have similarly brought laws but Florida's among the most

:19:54.:19:58.

brought in the nation. Most would require you to retreat from some

:19:58.:20:01.

kind of dangerous threat and do not allow you to try to stop someone

:20:01.:20:06.

from committing a felony. When it comes to this particular case, I

:20:07.:20:10.

suppose you are limited in how far you can pronounce on it because the

:20:10.:20:15.

exact details and circumstances are not yet known. We do not know all

:20:15.:20:18.

the facts of this case but one thing that has become pretty clear

:20:18.:20:22.

is that people are out there on the state with guns more than ever in

:20:22.:20:26.

America. They may not have adequate training to know what the law

:20:26.:20:34.

allows and when they should not be using deadly force.

:20:34.:20:38.

The line is a little unstable but we heard nearly all of what he had

:20:38.:20:41.

to say. The president of the European

:20:41.:20:45.

Central Bank, Mario Draghi, says the worst of the eurozone debt

:20:45.:20:50.

crisis is over. He acknowledges issues still exist but says it is

:20:50.:20:56.

now up to national governments to deal with further problems. People

:20:56.:20:59.

and Portugal have been holding a general strike today in protest at

:20:59.:21:09.

the austerity measures imposed. The government's programme is having a

:21:09.:21:16.

profound effect on many families and Portugal.

:21:16.:21:20.

This is a middle-class suburb on the edges of Lisbon. This woman

:21:20.:21:25.

last with an 84-year-old mother and her a living year-old son. She is a

:21:25.:21:30.

civil servant. In the past few months, have already modest

:21:30.:21:34.

earnings have dropped by one quarter. She now relies on basic

:21:34.:21:43.

food handouts from her son's school. She says public sector workers like

:21:43.:21:53.

her are being hit too hard. A few doors down, we meet a teacher

:21:53.:21:57.

married to another teacher. They're both earning less following

:21:57.:22:01.

government cuts. I do not think it is right because I have less money

:22:01.:22:08.

to spend but I think it is necessary because we have left be

:22:08.:22:12.

on their capacities. Across the road, one of many small plots of

:22:12.:22:18.

land dotted around Lisbon. As tax increases, food is more expensive,

:22:18.:22:23.

and now more people grow their own. At the local school, the head

:22:23.:22:27.

teacher says family's who where not long ago the new rich are now the

:22:27.:22:37.
:22:37.:22:40.

new poor. He says violent behaviour has risen and more children now

:22:40.:22:44.

arrive in the morning without having eaten breakfast. One obvious

:22:44.:22:48.

effect of the eurozone crisis is that countries like Portugal have a

:22:48.:22:52.

shrinking public sector. While some argue that the scale of the

:22:52.:22:56.

government's cuts are starving the economy of a vital source of growth,

:22:56.:22:59.

others are seeing the crisis as an opportunity for a more efficient

:22:59.:23:03.

form of government. That is the mission of the government which was

:23:03.:23:09.

voted in last summer. Portugal is on track to get its public finances

:23:09.:23:18.

in order. If you look at our economy, we need to get our

:23:18.:23:25.

judicial system quicker, we need to get a tax system less volatile and

:23:25.:23:29.

more consistent. We are working hard to build more companies and

:23:29.:23:33.

that is the secret of economic growth. There is no magic about it.

:23:33.:23:37.

There is a new acceptance in Portugal. Many believe a short

:23:37.:23:42.

painful period of adjustment will set the scene for future growth.

:23:42.:23:52.
:23:52.:23:54.

One of the most eagerly awaited films of the Year will open in

:23:54.:23:58.

thousands of cinemas around the world on Friday. The Hunger Games

:23:58.:24:06.

is released. It is an adaptation of the best-selling dark, future young

:24:06.:24:14.

adult novel. Hollywood will hope it is a powerful new franchise.

:24:14.:24:18.

The Hunger Games is finally about to open in cinemas in some 50

:24:18.:24:22.

countries around the world. This week, fans had been camping out

:24:22.:24:28.

overnight hoping to see the stars of a film they cannot wait to see.

:24:28.:24:32.

It is so exciting and I cannot wait. I bought the tickets the minute

:24:32.:24:39.

they went on sale. I am counting down. The Hunger Games is set in a

:24:39.:24:43.

futuristic, post-apocalyptic vision of North America where children

:24:43.:24:47.

from different districts compete in a fight to the death in a televised

:24:47.:24:52.

spectacle. You're not sitting and wanting these children to fight.

:24:52.:24:55.

You are seeing a situation of child abuse were reality television has

:24:55.:25:01.

gone very bad. The Hunger Games as an adaptation of the first volume

:25:01.:25:06.

of a trilogy written by Suzanne Collins. More than 26 million The

:25:06.:25:13.

Hunger Games related titles and in a publication in America alone.

:25:13.:25:20.

With the end of the Harry Potter films and their Twilight films,

:25:20.:25:25.

there is a need for a powerful new money-making franchise. It is hoped

:25:25.:25:29.

The Hunger Games will deliver. It is a franchise with the potential

:25:29.:25:33.

to be brought, bringing not just in the target he audience but also

:25:33.:25:39.

adults drawn to the subtext. We are living in a voyeuristic culture

:25:39.:25:45.

where some time people's pain and violence as glorified for under 10

:25:45.:25:55.
:25:55.:25:55.

it. Adults to read it can perhaps see these parallels. Fans of the

:25:55.:26:00.

book won't go and see this film in droves but what about the

:26:00.:26:04.

uninitiated? To some, The Hunger Games is seen more as a triumph of

:26:04.:26:08.

hype and marketing as opposed to the art of cinema. Although it has

:26:08.:26:12.

won some strong reviews, not all critics have been engaged. There

:26:12.:26:16.

was a lot of stuff in the films which seemed like it was just in

:26:16.:26:21.

there because it was in the bricks. Whereas I, and neophyte to this

:26:21.:26:28.

whole world, was left wondering what the point of it all was.

:26:28.:26:33.

Across continents, hordes of fans and you waiting to see the film. In

:26:33.:26:37.

North America, it is expected to draw in as much as $100 million in

:26:37.:26:46.

its first weekend. Looks very exciting. Let's remind

:26:46.:26:50.

you of our menus. The death of the French gunman, Mohammed Merah, has

:26:50.:26:55.

ended the immediate drama into his. The whole affair remains -- of

:26:55.:27:04.

leaves many questions unanswered. - - Toulouse. It is still unclear

:27:04.:27:08.

what the impact of the case will be on the French presidential campaign.

:27:08.:27:13.

Tensions remain high and the Mali capital of a Mackle after a good of

:27:13.:27:16.

rebels say they seized power overnight in a military coup. That

:27:16.:27:26.
:27:26.:27:33.

is often the programme. Next is a Today in the sunshine temperatures

:27:33.:27:40.

climb to 19 Celsius. Overnight, more clout and a repeat performance

:27:40.:27:44.

tomorrow, turning warm when they get that sunshine. High pressure

:27:44.:27:49.

dominates to the east but we will see some scattered showers here.

:27:49.:27:58.

First thing on Friday, a fairly cloudy start. That will break-up

:27:58.:28:04.

and through the afternoon, sunshine and temperatures bouncing back.

:28:04.:28:07.

There is still the risk of the gentle easterly breeze bringing in

:28:07.:28:15.

some cloud but where it doesn't, as in London, we could hit 20 Celsius

:28:15.:28:20.

on Friday afternoon thanks to the sunshine. In the south-west, a much

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dire day. Wales gets off to a cracking the and stays that way

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throughout, but through the West Midlands there is the chance of

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some showers. Cloudy in sherry to start for Northern Ireland, died in

:28:36.:28:39.

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