:00:00. > :00:00.Labour claim they've "hung on" and there's triumph for the SNP
:00:07. > :00:13.elections across the UK. on politicians in
:00:14. > :00:16.The SNP have won a third term in Scotland though are just short
:00:17. > :00:25.The Conservatives celebrate unexpected success in Scotland ,
:00:26. > :00:32.Labour failed to make any headway in England,
:00:33. > :00:38.though it held onto most of its seats.
:00:39. > :00:43.We were getting predictions that Labour would lose councils, we
:00:44. > :00:48.didn't, we hung on and grew support in a lot of places.
:00:49. > :00:49.But in London, Labour's candidate looks certain
:00:50. > :00:52.to beat his conservative rival to become the capital's
:00:53. > :01:01.We'll be looking at the latest results across the UK ,
:01:02. > :01:02.and where they've left the political parties.
:01:03. > :01:05.The Government climbs down from its controversial plans
:01:06. > :01:08.to force all schools in England to become academies.
:01:09. > :01:10.Escaping the wildfires burning out of control in Canada -
:01:11. > :01:13.some flee in their cars, others have to be airlifted out.
:01:14. > :01:16.And voyage to the bottom of the sea - the new discoveries lighting up
:01:17. > :01:23.the deepest and darkest place on earth.
:01:24. > :01:28.And in Sportsday on BBC News, Andy Murray beets Tomas Berdych in the
:01:29. > :01:30.quarters of the Madrid Masters, to set up a semi-final with Rafael
:01:31. > :01:50.Nadal. It's been the biggest test
:01:51. > :01:53.of political opinion since the general election -
:01:54. > :01:55.and the national and local polls have delivered
:01:56. > :01:57.some surprising results. The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn
:01:58. > :02:00.said his party had "hung on" - but its share of the vote collapsed
:02:01. > :02:03.in its former heartland of Scotland - where the SNP won
:02:04. > :02:06.a third term in government though A resurgent Scottish Conservative
:02:07. > :02:10.party unexpectedly beat There's been better news
:02:11. > :02:14.for Labour in London - where the party's candidate
:02:15. > :02:21.Sadiq Khan defeated his Conservative rival Zac Goldsmith -
:02:22. > :02:24.to become the capital's first muslim In the big test across England's
:02:25. > :02:27.councils there was little change. And while Labour has
:02:28. > :02:32.the most councillors, it wasn't enough to silence some
:02:33. > :02:35.MP's criticism of their leader. In Wales Labour remain in government
:02:36. > :02:37.- but the most notable change was for UKIP -
:02:38. > :02:40.which gained its first seats Our Political Editor,
:02:41. > :02:45.Laura Kuenssberg reports on a day that's raised big questions
:02:46. > :02:53.for all the parties. This report contains
:02:54. > :02:56.flash photography. The more things change,
:02:57. > :02:58.the more they stay the same. Nicola Sturgeon reigns
:02:59. > :03:02.still in Scotland. Tory divisions don't seem
:03:03. > :03:05.to trouble their vote too much and Labour clings on,
:03:06. > :03:08.maybe inching forwards. All across England last night
:03:09. > :03:13.we were getting predictions that We didn't, we hung on and we grew
:03:14. > :03:20.support in a lot of places. Because our party is standing up,
:03:21. > :03:27.standing up for the steel industry, standing up against the cuts
:03:28. > :03:32.in disability payments made by this government,
:03:33. > :03:35.standing up against the grotesque But it is almost impossible for him
:03:36. > :03:50.to win the country with this. Heartbreak as they were pushed
:03:51. > :03:57.to third in what was home. You will not have seen a Tory grin
:03:58. > :04:04.like this here for decades. I promise that I will serve
:04:05. > :04:10.to the very best of my ability, And the SNP with a touch fewer seats
:04:11. > :04:20.but very much in charge. We are the very first party
:04:21. > :04:23.in the era of devolution to poll more than 1 million
:04:24. > :04:26.votes in constituencies The result of the
:04:27. > :04:31.election was emphatic. The people of Scotland once again
:04:32. > :04:37.placed their trust in the SNP We won a clear and
:04:38. > :04:45.unequivocal mandate. For the
:04:46. > :04:47.Westminster government's moments but despite the Tories'
:04:48. > :04:53.splits and spats over Europe, Enough for the Prime Minister to be
:04:54. > :05:03.able to keep his bounce. Six years into government, of course
:05:04. > :05:06.we don't get everything right, of course we can make mistakes
:05:07. > :05:09.and sometimes things go wrong but I think people look at the big
:05:10. > :05:13.picture and they want us to go on delivering what we
:05:14. > :05:20.promised in our manifesto. But Labour dug in to keep
:05:21. > :05:23.all but one of its councils, In areas in the south and around
:05:24. > :05:29.England where they had feared But the challenge, as many party
:05:30. > :05:37.members and MPs know all too well, is that they have to show they can
:05:38. > :05:39.take back territory, But in London, Labour's Sadiq Khan
:05:40. > :05:47.is on his way to do just that, on track to snatch City Hall
:05:48. > :05:49.from the Conservatives' A big win for Labour but a powerful
:05:50. > :05:56.perch for a man who has avoided The Lib Dem leader rushed
:05:57. > :06:07.to his party's pockets of success. Even these baby steps
:06:08. > :06:16.are worth popping corks for. Last year we had a terrible result
:06:17. > :06:20.and the result of that outcome was that we had to roll
:06:21. > :06:23.up our sleeves and fight back and we have done that
:06:24. > :06:25.with that traditional Why not if you are Ukip
:06:26. > :06:35.with new seats in Wales They squeezed Labour and the Tories
:06:36. > :06:42.almost everywhere but their success Where Labour held on to power
:06:43. > :06:49.but suffered pain and surprise as the Welsh valleys fell
:06:50. > :06:52.to the Plaid Cymru leader. A new dawn is about
:06:53. > :06:55.to break in Wales. Here in the Rhondda a new dawn has
:06:56. > :07:01.already broken over the Valleys. There are layer upon layer
:07:02. > :07:04.upon layer of results but underneath all that at the core
:07:05. > :07:07.there was most pressure on Jeremy Labour has avoided a disaster
:07:08. > :07:15.and on one measure they are even ahead of the Conservatives but this
:07:16. > :07:18.is not a good set of If they are to have a real shot
:07:19. > :07:22.at returning to power, they need to be piling on hundreds
:07:23. > :07:25.and hundreds of seats It is not just Jeremy Corbyn's
:07:26. > :07:36.enemies who are warning the party Tonight one of his powerful
:07:37. > :07:39.union backers put him We are at the stage where we should
:07:40. > :07:45.be winning hundreds of seats but I don't think that's
:07:46. > :07:47.just about Corbyn. People will not vote for a divided
:07:48. > :07:49.Labour Party and those on the right or place them
:07:50. > :07:52.where you like who are pushing against Corbyn, they are not doing
:07:53. > :07:55.themselves a service and certainly not doing the party a service and,
:07:56. > :07:57.most importantly from the GMB union's perspective,
:07:58. > :07:59.they are not doing working It is about time they rallied behind
:08:00. > :08:03.Corbyn and let's give it We do nearly know that these boxes
:08:04. > :08:11.contain a Labour victory in London, an important victory for the party,
:08:12. > :08:14.but politics is not just about piling up votes
:08:15. > :08:17.where you know you can win, but persuading others
:08:18. > :08:18.where you don't yet dare. Laura Kuenssberg, BBC News,
:08:19. > :08:27.Westminster. As we've seen it was a good night
:08:28. > :08:30.for the SNP in Scotland, with a third term as the largest
:08:31. > :08:32.party. They won 63 of 129 seats
:08:33. > :08:35.in the Hollyrood parliament just two short of an overall
:08:36. > :08:36.majority. The Conservatives are celebrating
:08:37. > :08:41.coming second with 31 a gain of 16 seats, far more
:08:42. > :08:43.than many had expected. Labour, for so long
:08:44. > :08:46.the dominant force in Scotland, were left in third place
:08:47. > :08:49.after they lost 13 seats. Our Scotland Editor, Sarah Smith,
:08:50. > :08:52.is at Holyrood for us now. Sarah, what's your assessment
:08:53. > :09:03.of the result? We learned something very important
:09:04. > :09:07.about Scottish politics last night, Fiona. That nearly two years after
:09:08. > :09:13.the referendum, it is still all about independence. The parties
:09:14. > :09:17.argued about tax, health, education but still, mostly, yes, voters voted
:09:18. > :09:22.for the SNP, returning them to government, and in very large
:09:23. > :09:26.numbers, no voters voted for the Tories, who campaigned to say that
:09:27. > :09:31.they were the true defenders of the union. It was the Tories that
:09:32. > :09:32.delivered a real shock to the political system.
:09:33. > :09:35.Good morning it is 6.00am it is Friday morning,
:09:36. > :09:37.welcome to a special election edition of Good Morning
:09:38. > :09:46.And Ruth Davidson Conservatives look to be the new
:09:47. > :09:47.official opposition in the Scottish Parliament.
:09:48. > :09:50.Scots awoke this morning to news many thought they would never hear -
:09:51. > :10:01.Labour, once so dominant, beaten into third place by the Tories.
:10:02. > :10:03.Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Tory leader, barely mentioned in her
:10:04. > :10:05.campaign, that she is a Conservative, promising simply to
:10:06. > :10:08.stand up to the SNP and against a second
:10:09. > :10:12.I know that there are thousands who voted for me last night,
:10:13. > :10:14.who are not natural Conservative, and probably
:10:15. > :10:16.surprised that they considered voting Conservative, but they did as
:10:17. > :10:21.They wanted somebody to stand up to the SNP to say
:10:22. > :10:23.you cannot ignore our voice, you cannot ignore the
:10:24. > :10:27.decision we made as a country and try to drag us back to a second
:10:28. > :10:33.A working class kick-boxing, openly gay woman, always game for a
:10:34. > :10:35.She can talk to voters, other Conservatives,
:10:36. > :10:42.Scotland Street now has a Tory MSP for the first time.
:10:43. > :10:44.One of their remarkable gains across Scotland.
:10:45. > :10:50.A couple of days ago, Ruth Davidson, who won this constituency, told me
:10:51. > :10:52.she didn't think she had a chance of taking it.
:10:53. > :10:53.But the voters in
:10:54. > :10:57.Edinburgh Central, responded to a very effective campaign.
:10:58. > :11:00.I think Ruth Davidson went out in the last few months, campaigning,
:11:01. > :11:02.going for the fact that they could do a good opposition.
:11:03. > :11:05.Whoever set up that strategy hit the nail on the
:11:06. > :11:19.What could they say, do you think, to recover in Scotland?
:11:20. > :11:21.Oh, I don't know what happens with Labour.
:11:22. > :11:26.Traditionally, it used to be Labour everybody in Scotland.
:11:27. > :11:28.Traditionally, it used to be Labour everywhere in Scotland.
:11:29. > :11:30.It is just funny now that they just don't seem
:11:31. > :11:34.What can the Scottish Labour leader say about being bludgeoned into
:11:35. > :11:37.How do you explain Labour's losses last night?
:11:38. > :11:39.What we saw in Scotland last night was the
:11:40. > :11:41.referendum arguments of the past being re-run again.
:11:42. > :11:43.So strong support from the SNP from those that
:11:44. > :11:46.voted "yes" and the cities that voted "yes" and strong support for
:11:47. > :11:48.the Tories in the area that they dominantly know.
:11:49. > :11:59.I thought Scotland would be interested in moving on from the
:12:00. > :12:01.arguments of the past, that has not happened overnight.
:12:02. > :12:04.If Scottish voters don't move on, Labour will struggle to find a
:12:05. > :12:06.Whilst Nicola Sturgeon, SNP, increased the
:12:07. > :12:09.vote, denied an overall majority but ready to roll and still dreaming
:12:10. > :12:15.Labour have claimed victory in the London Mayoral election
:12:16. > :12:17.with Sadiq Khan looking certain to end eight years of Conservative
:12:18. > :12:21.He will be the capital's first Muslim mayor.
:12:22. > :12:29.Let's talk to our Deputy Political Editor, John Pienaar who's at City
:12:30. > :12:37.The official result isn't yet in but Sadiq Khan is set
:12:38. > :12:52.There has been a technical hold-up but no doubt, Sadiq Khan will be
:12:53. > :12:55.declared the Labour new Lord Mayor. Celebrating a personal victory,
:12:56. > :13:01.after a very personal and ugly campaign. Why? Well, Zac Goldsmith,
:13:02. > :13:08.backed up by David Cameron, has worked hard to accuse Sadiq Khan of
:13:09. > :13:14.sharing platform with Islamic extremists and the like. Even though
:13:15. > :13:20.there is no suggestion that Sadiq is an extremist himself. There has been
:13:21. > :13:28.a backlash. Condemned by Zac Goldsmith own
:13:29. > :13:33.sister, Jemima Khan and others. A significant win for Sadiq Khan and
:13:34. > :13:36.for Labour. Now to leave a rather bitter aftertaste.
:13:37. > :13:41.What does the win, to be confirmed, what does it mean for Labour? After
:13:42. > :13:48.the win is about to be confirmed in a couple of hours or so, well those
:13:49. > :13:50.Labour members, the ordinary card-carrying members, loyal to
:13:51. > :13:55.Jeremy Corbyn will stay that way. That means in Westminster among the
:13:56. > :13:59.MPs, the idea of a challenge to Jeremy Corbyn's leadership by the
:14:00. > :14:04.strong hardline dissidents is on hold. Two Labour MPs, senior one, I
:14:05. > :14:08.know were ready and willing to go for it, to declare themselves
:14:09. > :14:14.candidates in a leadership contest and a senior member of the shadow
:14:15. > :14:19.candidate, and Jeremy Corbyn has won extra time. There is a party planned
:14:20. > :14:24.for Sadiq Khan. Jeremy Corbyn has been invited. Maybe now with the
:14:25. > :14:29.victory, he is not so sensitive about who he is seen with. But the
:14:30. > :14:36.victory party is taking place in a secret location.
:14:37. > :14:38.Well in Wales, Labour is likely to continue governing
:14:39. > :14:41.on its own even though it fell just short of an overall majority
:14:42. > :14:44.Labour are on 29, Plaid Cymru on 12, the Conservatives 11.
:14:45. > :14:47.And for the first time Ukip won seven seats.
:14:48. > :14:49.Our Wales Correspondent Hywel Griffith is in Treorchy
:14:50. > :14:56.Hywel some comfort for Labour but Ukip are celebrating.
:14:57. > :15:05.Yes, Ukip have been called many things during the election campaign.
:15:06. > :15:10.Outsiders, insurgent, new kids on the block but now elected officials
:15:11. > :15:15.and all of the trappings that brings to give them a proper power base in
:15:16. > :15:20.Wales ahead of the EU referendum. Adding to the opposition against the
:15:21. > :15:24.biggest party here, Labour, who have come through, after a difficult
:15:25. > :15:25.night but face new challenges in the five years ahead.
:15:26. > :15:34.For a fifth term in a row, Labour is the National
:15:35. > :15:36.of the vote is down, rows in the party are
:15:37. > :15:38.I do wish sometimes that the politicians in London
:15:39. > :15:43.would remember there is an election in Wales and an election in Scotland
:15:44. > :15:46.and I have made my views clear as to what I thought of it.
:15:47. > :15:49.I don't think it affected the result, if I am honest with you,
:15:50. > :15:52.but certainly, on occasion, people were raising it with us,
:15:53. > :15:59.The results did bring a change in the landscape.
:16:00. > :16:00.In the Rhondda, a Labour heartland, Plaid Cymru
:16:01. > :16:05.Ukip, the party promising to break the cosy consensus
:16:06. > :16:08.of Welsh politics, now have Assembly members too.
:16:09. > :16:15.So why are voters changing their allegiance?
:16:16. > :16:17.The first time ever I voted Plaid Cymru.
:16:18. > :16:19.I've always been Labour, I just don't think they are doing
:16:20. > :16:23.As for Ukip, it is on everybody's lips, isn't it.
:16:24. > :16:33.One person out of a job is the Welsh Lib Dem leader,
:16:34. > :16:35.Kirstie Williams, who resigned after she became the party's only
:16:36. > :16:43.The shape of the opposition parties in Wales helps Labour.
:16:44. > :16:46.We have the opposition to Labour, the non-Labour parties spread,
:16:47. > :16:49.so whilst they make some challenges to Labour,
:16:50. > :16:52.they cannot capture those constituency seats.
:16:53. > :16:54.Labour must now decide how to negotiate the next five years
:16:55. > :17:03.In Northern Ireland the first results are beginning to come
:17:04. > :17:05.in though the final outcome isn't expected until tomorrow.
:17:06. > :17:07.Let's talk to our Ireland correspondent Chris Buckler who's
:17:08. > :17:11.at a count in Belfast - what sense can you get of the way
:17:12. > :17:22.With over half the seat now filled at Stormont it is clear that today
:17:23. > :17:26.marks a good day for the DUP. Its leader, Arlene Foster, arrived a
:17:27. > :17:31.short while ago and she said she was elated by the scale of a victory for
:17:32. > :17:35.them and she will now be returned to Stormont as First Minister. It has
:17:36. > :17:39.also been pretty good for Sinn Fein although they have faced some
:17:40. > :17:45.challenges, not least in their traditional heartland of West
:17:46. > :17:50.Belfast where they lost a seat to the People Before Profit Alliance
:17:51. > :17:54.which actually topped the poll. But looking at the new Stormont, it is
:17:55. > :17:57.clear it will be dominated once again by the DUP and Sinn Fein at
:17:58. > :18:03.the expense of the Ulster Unionists and the SDLP. Thank you.
:18:04. > :18:05.Let's go back to our Political Editor, Laura Kuenssberg,
:18:06. > :18:12.What message do you think the voters are sending the political
:18:13. > :18:14.parties with these results, and where does it leave
:18:15. > :18:22.When the rosettes have been packed away and the balloons from the
:18:23. > :18:26.celebrations have shrivelled down, what are we left with? In a set of
:18:27. > :18:33.elections where not much power actually changed hands, there are
:18:34. > :18:37.still two dramatic lessons from Scotland in particular. For Labour,
:18:38. > :18:41.a very serious setback, worrying for the party around the UK not just
:18:42. > :18:44.because they need Labour vote if they have a hope of winning a
:18:45. > :18:49.general election but also because even though the campaign was not run
:18:50. > :18:53.by Jeremy Corbyn, it adopted the kind of ideas that are more
:18:54. > :18:57.comfortable to his kind of politics. The party tacked left and voters in
:18:58. > :19:03.Scotland roundly rejected it and that has got to be a concern for
:19:04. > :19:07.Labour across the UK. But also a lesson for the Conservatives, if
:19:08. > :19:12.they are willing to listen. Their freshfaced, modern, daredevil
:19:13. > :19:17.candidate Ruth Davidson pulled off something unachievable a few months
:19:18. > :19:21.ago in Scotland whereas in contrast, an old-fashioned, nasty campaign in
:19:22. > :19:26.London looks like it has actually lost city hall and that has been won
:19:27. > :19:30.by Labour instead and that is a lesson cover the contrast between
:19:31. > :19:32.the modern face of the Tory party and old-fashioned campaigning that
:19:33. > :19:37.some people in the party are already pointing to. Generally, the
:19:38. > :19:43.Conservatives slipped rather than fell away, they don't have much they
:19:44. > :19:47.think they need to panic about. But for the Labour Party, even though
:19:48. > :19:51.Jeremy Corbyn's team are pleased with the results, they feel the
:19:52. > :19:54.immediate threats to his leadership has abated. The fundamental anxiety
:19:55. > :19:58.in many parts of the party about him is still there and it is the same
:19:59. > :20:04.anxiety that was there from the date in which he won the election. Can he
:20:05. > :20:08.showed that he can reach out to voters in the middle, beyond the
:20:09. > :20:12.party's base, the members and those who would always vote for the party?
:20:13. > :20:15.He has not so far been able to answer that question and that is a
:20:16. > :20:21.significant concern that will not disappear in the weeks and months to
:20:22. > :20:23.come. A big health warning, these elections are intriguing and
:20:24. > :20:28.important but they don't translate directly into the next general
:20:29. > :20:33.election but nonetheless, they are important clues and signals about
:20:34. > :20:35.what might lie ahead for all of the political parties. Thank you.
:20:36. > :20:38.And there's lots more detail and analysis on our website,
:20:39. > :20:40.and details of the elections for Police and Crime Commissioners.
:20:41. > :20:49.The government has made a U-turn on its controversial plans to force
:20:50. > :20:53.all schools in England to become academies.
:20:54. > :20:55.After strong opposition from teaching unions,
:20:56. > :20:58.councils and Conservative MPs, the Education Secretary,
:20:59. > :21:01.Nicky Morgan, now says the proposal is only an "aspiration".
:21:02. > :21:04.It's the latest in a series of government policy climbdowns.
:21:05. > :21:10.Our Education Editor, Branwen Jeffreys, has the story.
:21:11. > :21:12.In the middle of the North Yorkshire moors, a village school
:21:13. > :21:18.Now just nine pupils, it feared being forced
:21:19. > :21:24.It was schools like this that galvanised a Tory revolt.
:21:25. > :21:28.Today, the Education Secretary gave way.
:21:29. > :21:30.Where schools are good and outstanding, they can make
:21:31. > :21:37.We are convinced that becoming academies does lift standards
:21:38. > :21:41.but they can do the right thing for them.
:21:42. > :21:45.So what does this academies climbdown mean?
:21:46. > :21:47.Good schools will not be forced to become academies,
:21:48. > :21:53.But schools will become academies in areas where councils
:21:54. > :22:03.And councils will have an equal say over the future of small,
:22:04. > :22:05.rural schools, so they can't close without local agreement.
:22:06. > :22:10.So I asked Nicky Morgan, how badly did they miscalculate?
:22:11. > :22:13.There is a huge appetite amongst parliamentary colleagues
:22:14. > :22:16.on the Conservative benches for schools to become academies...
:22:17. > :22:19.But not to be forced to become academies?
:22:20. > :22:26.We don't think it's necessary for there to be a blanket provision
:22:27. > :22:29.for schools to convert to become academies.
:22:30. > :22:35.You put forward the plans you defended them.
:22:36. > :22:37.Doesn't this undermine your own authority as Education Secretary?
:22:38. > :22:40.All government has to be about listening to Members
:22:41. > :22:44.of Parliament, as Secretary of State for Education, listening
:22:45. > :22:47.to the profession, listening to those working in education.
:22:48. > :22:52.George Osborne put these plans at the centre of his Budget.
:22:53. > :22:55.We are going to complete the task of setting schools free from local
:22:56. > :22:58.education bureaucracy and we are going to do it in this
:22:59. > :23:01.A flagship policy and a massive climbdown on a busy day
:23:02. > :23:08.This is a bad policy that nobody wanted and nobody needed.
:23:09. > :23:10.But there's no question, it is a major U-turn
:23:11. > :23:12.and a humiliating one for the government.
:23:13. > :23:14.But I'm pleased that schools can now concentrate
:23:15. > :23:23.The lesson for the government, don't take your own MPs for granted.
:23:24. > :23:28.They are behind the drastic rewriting of these draft plans.
:23:29. > :23:30.It allows for proper discussion, proper debate, it allows some
:23:31. > :23:33.of the problems to be found before you end up with legislation
:23:34. > :23:37.So I really welcome the process we have gone through,
:23:38. > :23:40.it helps to us get to the right place and the best
:23:41. > :23:45.Scratch the surface and the end result may still be many
:23:46. > :23:47.more academies but good schools will be coaxed,
:23:48. > :24:04.In Canada, some of the 90,000 people forced by raging wildfires to
:24:05. > :24:08.abandon an entire city in the province of Alberta are having to be
:24:09. > :24:12.evacuated again as they find themselves once more endangered by
:24:13. > :24:14.the flames burning out of control. Some have
:24:15. > :24:18.the flames burning out of control. journey in convoys of cars, others
:24:19. > :24:19.are having to be airlifted to safety. Our correspondent James Cook
:24:20. > :24:21.reports from Alberta. It is mid afternoon
:24:22. > :24:28.on a bright, sunny Tuesday. But darkness has descended
:24:29. > :24:31.on Fort McMurray and 80,000 people Those are burning embers flying
:24:32. > :24:40.through the air, and people further on are being chased
:24:41. > :24:58.by the monster fire. The view from inside the ruined
:24:59. > :25:09.city. Police say a handful of people may have stayed here and survived.
:25:10. > :25:12.Three days on, the fires are still raging out of control. Police say
:25:13. > :25:16.flames of the 200 feet high on both sides of the road have forced them
:25:17. > :25:19.to the -- suspend the convoy and they are also worried about the risk
:25:20. > :25:26.of an explosion at a nearby oil facility. With the amount of
:25:27. > :25:32.material there you are looking at about 814: to blast radius so it is
:25:33. > :25:35.a pretty substantial area. For some families, sheltering five hours to
:25:36. > :25:41.the south of unsure if their homes have survived, the wait is grim.
:25:42. > :25:46.Around 150 helicopters are still fighting this fire, the challenge
:25:47. > :25:50.for the pilots and more than 1000 firefighters on the ground is clear
:25:51. > :26:02.from the air. The extent of the fire is breathtaking. And the power of it
:26:03. > :26:08.is truly awesome. Just look at it. This is what the firefighters are
:26:09. > :26:12.having to deal with, this has just erupted in the last 20 minutes and
:26:13. > :26:17.has taken hold quickly and the flames are being fanned by Gary
:26:18. > :26:21.Strong winds. As if that wasn't bad enough, temperatures tomorrow are
:26:22. > :26:26.forecast to soar -- very strong winds.
:26:27. > :26:28.The BBC has learned that eight police forces -
:26:29. > :26:30.including Greater Manchester Police - are investigating election
:26:31. > :26:33.expenses for some Conservative MPs during last year's General Election.
:26:34. > :26:36.The allegations centre on hotel costs for party
:26:37. > :26:39.activists bussed in to help in marginal constituencies.
:26:40. > :26:44.Filing incorrect election expenses is a criminal offence.
:26:45. > :26:47.North Korea, one of the world's most secretive and authoritarian states,
:26:48. > :26:50.is holding a rare Workers Party Congress.
:26:51. > :26:52.The event - the country's most powerful political gathering
:26:53. > :26:58.involving more than 3000 delegates - hasn't been convened since 1980.
:26:59. > :27:01.Our correspondent John Sudworth is one of a group of
:27:02. > :27:03.foreign journalists - operating under heavy surveillance
:27:04. > :27:09.and control in Pyongyang - invited in to witness the occasion.
:27:10. > :27:13.It's the kind of welcome you would expect for the leader of the world's
:27:14. > :27:25.But Kim Jong-un is young and just four years into the job and he may
:27:26. > :27:35.not yet be totally secure in his position.
:27:36. > :27:37.TRANSLATION: In this year of the seventh Party Congress,
:27:38. > :27:40.the military and the people have accomplished great success
:27:41. > :27:41.in the first hydrogen bomb test and the launch
:27:42. > :27:49.But, away from the conference, our government minders have been
:27:50. > :27:56.keen to show off a different side of Pyongyang.
:27:57. > :28:03.Commerce, once a rare sight in this rigid socialist system,
:28:04. > :28:10.And here is something else they are keen to show off
:28:11. > :28:13.and something you don't normally associate with North Korea,
:28:14. > :28:16.a football training academy, the brainchild, we are told, of
:28:17. > :28:26.Our guides hope it shows a modern, dynamic, outward
:28:27. > :28:29.And yet it also highlights a massive problem.
:28:30. > :28:32.The development of the academy, like the rest of the economy,
:28:33. > :28:40.Some people would say that if North Korea stopped its nuclear
:28:41. > :28:43.programme and its nuclear ambitions, the sanctions would be lifted.
:28:44. > :28:45.A wolf is just looking at you, in front of you.
:28:46. > :28:47.He wants to eat you, with nuclear weapons.
:28:48. > :28:55.Do I have to put down the gun and wait with nothing in my hand
:28:56. > :29:02.There may be hints of economic reform but in North Korea everything
:29:03. > :29:07.The real purpose of this Workers Party Congress
:29:08. > :29:10.is consolidating this man's hold on power.
:29:11. > :29:17.John Sudworth, BBC News, Pyongyang.
:29:18. > :29:19.It's the deepest place on Earth, around seven miles beneath
:29:20. > :29:24.Now scientists from America's oceans research agency are getting a rare
:29:25. > :29:30.glimpse of just what inhabits the depths of the Mariana Trench.
:29:31. > :29:32.And the video taken by remote submersibles is being broadcast live
:29:33. > :29:38.Our Science Editor, David Shukman, has been taking a look.
:29:39. > :29:45.An alien world being explored right now by a robot submarine.
:29:46. > :29:49.One of the strangest and most spectacular sights,
:29:50. > :29:52.a luminous jellyfish, pulsing its way through
:29:53. > :29:53.the Mariana Trench, the darkest, deepest waters anywhere
:29:54. > :30:00.Scientists up on the surface are amazed.
:30:01. > :30:08.A sea cucumber, luridly coloured, twisting in light it
:30:09. > :30:15.An image that wasn't only filmed but was also relayed live.
:30:16. > :30:17.The revelations can be watched by anyone with access
:30:18. > :30:22.It's part of a new age of exploration with marine
:30:23. > :30:24.researchers onboard the expedition ship sharing their discoveries
:30:25. > :30:34.The deep sea, it really is a place of wonder and beauty.
:30:35. > :30:37.And quite often, yes, we will have the chance to go
:30:38. > :30:39.through and make sense of it as scientists later.
:30:40. > :30:42.But the colours, the delicate life forms down there,
:30:43. > :30:43.it's just astounding, the intricate wonders
:30:44. > :30:54.But some of the discoveries are depressing.
:30:55. > :30:57.There is litter even in the abyss, rubbish that has drifted down
:30:58. > :31:00.through several miles to the ocean floor.
:31:01. > :31:03.It's a new threat to the creatures here.
:31:04. > :31:06.They have already had to adapt to the extremes of pressure.
:31:07. > :31:11.This is what is known as a ghost shark.
:31:12. > :31:13.It's always said that we know more about the moon
:31:14. > :31:22.This expedition and others that will follow are changing that.
:31:23. > :31:25.That's all from us,now on BBC1, its time for the news where you are.