:00:00. > :00:08.Hi, Leah here with the world's biggest stories. Coming up.
:00:09. > :00:19.A heroes welcome for Great Britain's returning paralympians.
:00:20. > :00:24.And head over heels in love. First up. They're back! Britain's
:00:25. > :00:27.most successful Winter Paralympics team in 30 years returned home last
:00:28. > :00:30.night to an impressive welcome. Watch out for flashes in this one.
:00:31. > :00:33.The team flew into Heathrow Airport and were welcomed home by
:00:34. > :00:37.photographers, fans and family. There are now calls for greater
:00:38. > :00:42.funding after they won six medals in total, including their first gold.
:00:43. > :00:47.We went out there to do a task and a job, and we definitely did that. OK,
:00:48. > :00:51.we had some bad days and some good days, but the good has definitely
:00:52. > :00:54.overrode those bad days. It just shows what we were saying six or
:00:55. > :00:58.seven years ago, that visually impaired skiing, we can be up there
:00:59. > :01:02.and in the mix. We believed it and we got people to support us, and it
:01:03. > :01:05.just shows that the support has been put into us, and the investment is
:01:06. > :01:08.paying off. Next, Russia's President Vladimir
:01:09. > :01:11.Putin is expected to invite Crimea to rejoin Russia today, after he
:01:12. > :01:17.recognised the region as independent from Ukraine. It's after a vote on
:01:18. > :01:22.Sunday where 96% of people voted that they also wanted Crimea to be
:01:23. > :01:26.part of Russia again. But Europe and the US say the vote is against the
:01:27. > :01:32.law and have imposed travel bans on important figures from Russia.
:01:33. > :01:36.In exactly six months time people in Scotland will get the chance to make
:01:37. > :01:39.a big decision on the future of their country. Everyone aged 16 and
:01:40. > :01:44.over will vote on whether Scotland should stay part of the UK or become
:01:45. > :01:49.an independent country. But what exactly makes a country a country?
:01:50. > :01:52.Ricky's been finding out more. Scotland is a country of over five
:01:53. > :01:56.million people, and just like England, Wales and Northern Ireland
:01:57. > :02:01.it has a rich history and a lot of culture. But in six months time the
:02:02. > :02:06.future of the country will be decided on something called a
:02:07. > :02:12.referendum. On September 18, people here will be voting Yes or No to one
:02:13. > :02:18.big question. Should Scotland be an independent country? If the answer
:02:19. > :02:23.is Yes, these kids will become the first in 300 years to live in a
:02:24. > :02:29.Scotland that isn't part of the UK. We asked these kids what they think
:02:30. > :02:32.makes Scotland, well... Scotland. The culture, the heritage, the
:02:33. > :02:42.history. William Morris. Robert Burns. The currency, the flower. The
:02:43. > :02:45.Irn Bru, the flag. We have a national anthem as well, Flower of
:02:46. > :02:49.Scotland. As a country, Scotland already has its own flag, football
:02:50. > :02:52.team and its own parliament in Edinburgh, which makes decisions on
:02:53. > :02:55.things like school, police and transport. But it doesn't have its
:02:56. > :02:59.own army, and decisions on whether we go to war are made by the UK
:03:00. > :03:03.Parliament. One big talking point is what would happen to this money if
:03:04. > :03:07.Scotland became independent. Scotland, like everywhere in the UK,
:03:08. > :03:10.uses the pound. The only difference is that Scotland prints its own
:03:11. > :03:15.version of the banknotes, but it still is the same money. The man in
:03:16. > :03:18.charge of the UK's money, George Osborne, says if Scotland became
:03:19. > :03:20.independent they couldn't keep using the pound, but Scotland's First
:03:21. > :03:23.Minister, Alex Salmond, who wants Scotland to be independent, thinks
:03:24. > :03:30.things can stay the way they are now. So there are lots of things
:03:31. > :03:34.that go into making a country and, as the vote nears, people will be
:03:35. > :03:46.talking a lot more about what makes Scotland, Scotland.
:03:47. > :03:49.Chelsea play Galatasaray in the second leg of their last 16
:03:50. > :03:53.Champions League tie tonight. The Blues drew 1-1 in the first leg and
:03:54. > :03:57.will want to avoid being the third English team to be knocked out at
:03:58. > :04:00.this stage of the competition this year. Jose Mourhino is looking
:04:01. > :04:02.forward to coming up against former striker Didier Drogba.
:04:03. > :04:06.We all agree one of the most important players in the history of
:04:07. > :04:11.our club. Is he the same player at 36 than he was at 26? I think nobody
:04:12. > :04:25.is, but he is one of the best strikers in the world. To China and
:04:26. > :04:29.an amazing flower festival. Tourists flocked to this festival, which
:04:30. > :04:34.takes place every year and has a field full of flowers, including
:04:35. > :04:38.tulips, roses and blossoms. Beautiful.
:04:39. > :04:40.Finally, the seventh annual UK Wife Carrying Championships have been
:04:41. > :04:43.taking place in Dorking. You don't have to be married to take part and
:04:44. > :04:46.there's loads of techniques, including the piggy-back, and the
:04:47. > :04:49.fireman's carry. Rich Blake Smith and his partner Anna won and will
:04:50. > :04:53.now compete at the World Championships in Finland in July.
:04:54. > :04:55.That's all from me, Ayshah's back here with all your top stories this
:04:56. > :05:01.afternoon. Bye.