:00:04. > :00:08.Good afternoon, everyone - I'm Joe, this is Nel, and you're in the
:00:08. > :00:16.right place for today's news. Lots on today's show including:
:00:16. > :00:20.Should prisoners be allowed to vote?
:00:20. > :00:24.And I will be finding out how a big meeting in Europe will be affecting
:00:24. > :00:34.wildlife here in the UK. And find out how this internet
:00:34. > :00:46.
:00:46. > :00:49.First - should people in jail be allowed to vote in elections? Plans
:00:49. > :00:52.have been announced today which could allow people in prison to
:00:52. > :00:56.have their say. Prime Minister David Cameron doesn't want that -
:00:56. > :01:00.along with the majority of MPs. But the government's been told by
:01:00. > :01:02.the European Court of Human Rights that they must change the law. MPs
:01:02. > :01:07.will be asked to decide on different options but not everyone
:01:07. > :01:11.agrees. I've been finding out more. When someone is convicted of a
:01:11. > :01:14.crime and sent to jail in the UK, they don't just lose their freedom.
:01:14. > :01:17.They lose many other rights as well - including the right to vote in
:01:17. > :01:21.elections. In Britain, all prisoners - like those in
:01:21. > :01:31.Manchester prison behind me - are banned from voting. But since 2004
:01:31. > :01:34.
:01:34. > :01:37.that has been illegal in most of Europe. The European Court of Human
:01:37. > :01:40.Rights says that voting is a basic human right, and by taking that
:01:40. > :01:43.away; the UK government is breaking the law itself. Campaigners here
:01:43. > :01:45.think voting is an important part of introducing inmates back into
:01:45. > :01:49.society. It is important that prisoners can bird macro, because
:01:49. > :01:57.they are people, they are behind bars, but they are still people.
:01:57. > :02:02.Voting is important, it gives us a say in our communities commander
:02:02. > :02:07.would prisoners to be part of communities, not stay as criminals,
:02:07. > :02:10.but rejoin society as responsible people. The UK is one of only nine
:02:10. > :02:13.European countries where there is a total ban on prisoners voting. Many
:02:13. > :02:16.people who are against it believe that by committing a crime, you
:02:16. > :02:21.lose the right to have such an important say in how the country is
:02:21. > :02:26.run. Do you think prisoners should have the right to vote, has an ex-
:02:26. > :02:30.prisoner? I don't, I think the majority have the same opinion. The
:02:30. > :02:33.last thing you are thinking about in Britain is a boating. But it is
:02:34. > :02:38.aged human right? It is if you haven't contravened other people's
:02:38. > :02:44.human rights. Back in February last year, nearly all MPs said no to
:02:44. > :02:48.giving prisoners the vote. The worry is that if the government
:02:48. > :02:57.continues to resist, they could have to pay tens of millions of
:02:57. > :03:07.pounds to prisoners who say they human rights have been violated.
:03:07. > :03:11.
:03:11. > :03:14.You've been telling us what you think about this on the website.
:03:14. > :03:18.Next - parts of England, Scotland and Wales have been hit hard by
:03:18. > :03:21.heavy rain and winds, causing flooding in some areas. 147 flood
:03:21. > :03:24.alerts have been issued in England, with the south-west and the
:03:24. > :03:27.Midlands worst affected. Some rivers have burst their banks
:03:27. > :03:30.with water flooding streets, cars and houses. Lots of people have
:03:30. > :03:34.been forced to leave their homes. More heavy rain is forecast for the
:03:34. > :03:37.rest of today and over the weekend. Cass, who lives in the South West
:03:37. > :03:44.of England, told us it's the second time this year that her house has
:03:44. > :03:49.flooded. We got up to do the school run first thing this morning,
:03:49. > :03:53.noticed it was heavy rain, felt a bit anxious because be got flooded
:03:53. > :03:57.on 24th September as well. We have come back from the school run, and
:03:57. > :04:01.our entire house is flooded again. Next, should farmers keep getting
:04:01. > :04:04.paid to look after wildlife on their land? It's one of the issues
:04:04. > :04:06.the Prime Minister David Cameron's going to looking at in a big
:04:06. > :04:10.meeting of European leaders tonight. They're getting together to try and
:04:10. > :04:13.decide how much money the European Union - a group of countries that
:04:13. > :04:18.work together on some issues - should get to spend, as Leah's been
:04:18. > :04:21.finding out! For the last 25 years, many farmers
:04:21. > :04:26.here in the UK have become wildlife champions - helping to protect some
:04:26. > :04:30.of our most threatened species. It's all thanks to payments given
:04:30. > :04:39.to farmers to help them look after wildlife on their land. That is
:04:39. > :04:43.when it's not raining. On his farm in North Wales, Gethin uses his
:04:43. > :04:46.payments to plant hedge-rows that attract different types of birds.
:04:46. > :04:53.He's noticed a big increase in species like sky larks and
:04:53. > :04:59.starlings. The money that comes from Europe to help, it is vital,
:04:59. > :05:03.otherwise we are going to lose them up forever. A all the countries
:05:03. > :05:07.that are part of the European Union, like Britain, France and Germany,
:05:07. > :05:12.contribute some cash, and the funds are shared out to project across
:05:12. > :05:20.Europe, but with many countries experiencing big problems, the EU
:05:20. > :05:23.is under pressure to cut how much it spends. Over the next two days,
:05:23. > :05:26.David Cameron's meeting with other EU leaders in Brussels to talk
:05:26. > :05:29.about the organisation's budget. Some charities like the RSPB are
:05:29. > :05:32.worried it'll lead to things like the wildlife payments getting cut
:05:32. > :05:38.and that could put many species of birds, butterflies and other
:05:38. > :05:43.animals at risk. Farmers already do a lot in terms of looking after the
:05:43. > :05:53.environment, what is important is that they get supported in what
:05:53. > :05:55.
:05:55. > :05:58.they do best, which is produced The government department that's in
:05:58. > :06:01.charge of farming, known as DEFRA, told us that though they think the
:06:01. > :06:04.EU's spending on farming should be cut back, they're in favour helping
:06:04. > :06:06.farmers like Gethin look after wildlife. But with all sorts of
:06:06. > :06:09.people across Europe facing tough times and less money, the question
:06:09. > :06:12.for David Cameron and the EU's other leaders is whether wildlife
:06:12. > :06:15.should still be a priority. Next to a young man who's hoping to
:06:15. > :06:18.follow in the footsteps of these guys and bring home gold medals
:06:18. > :06:22.from Rio. Gymnast Courtney Tulloch just missed out on this year's
:06:22. > :06:25.Olympics because he was too young, but last night he picked up the
:06:25. > :06:27.One-to-watch award from a big sport charity in the UK. Ricky's been
:06:27. > :06:30.finding out why Courtney could be a future star.
:06:30. > :06:35.Remember the name - Courtney Tulloch. He took up gymnastics when
:06:35. > :06:45.he was just six. And ever since then he's been learning to perfect
:06:45. > :06:47.
:06:47. > :06:51.moves like this. It would have been great to go to London, obviously,
:06:51. > :06:55.but it wasn't my time, so I think Rio, I am training hard for that
:06:55. > :07:00.and pushing for a gold medal. Earlier in the year, Courtney won
:07:00. > :07:04.two gold medals at the European junior championships. Now he's been
:07:04. > :07:10.recognised by the charity Sports Aid as one of the bright hopes for
:07:11. > :07:14.future Olympics. Sports Aid helps rising stars, giving them much-
:07:14. > :07:17.needed cash to help them train in the early stages of their career.
:07:17. > :07:22.wish I could be like him, on the rings, he is amazing. I have been
:07:22. > :07:25.watching him, every day he gets better and better. When people say
:07:25. > :07:30.it's a girl sport it is like a man not really, it is one of the most
:07:30. > :07:33.dangerous sports there is. He beat off competition from nearly 2,000
:07:33. > :07:37.others to pick up last night's One- to-watch award. And the judges know
:07:37. > :07:41.talent when they see it. Tom Daley won it a few years ago. The Montale
:07:41. > :07:50.be some of the past winners, when I was told I was down to three, I
:07:50. > :07:53.couldn't believe it. Like many kids and teenagers inspired by the
:07:53. > :07:56.London 2012 Olympics, Courtney Tulloch will be hoping this is just
:07:56. > :08:03.the start of a glittering sporting career. Impressive! Do you remember
:08:03. > :08:07.Rebecca Black? De why ever!
:08:07. > :08:17.There is a new online pop sensation, and this one is sitting about
:08:17. > :08:32.
:08:32. > :08:38.Her new video has gone a viral, singing about turkey legs.
:08:38. > :08:46.So as Americans settle down, one lucky Turkey will escape, meet this