:00:00. > :00:09.a special report on the surge in gun violence
:00:10. > :00:15.In Chicago gun attacks have increased by nearly 50%
:00:16. > :00:17.in the past year - most of the incidents
:00:18. > :00:31.You can't make no mistakes. It can cost you your life, literally.
:00:32. > :00:33.The city's death toll from gun violence
:00:34. > :00:35.by the end of August, at more than 500,
:00:36. > :00:43.In reality most gun crime in America actually doesn't happen in the
:00:44. > :00:46.massacres that garner large scale media attention but take place in
:00:47. > :00:49.isolated spots like this, in inner-city America.
:00:50. > :00:51.We'll be asking if this surge in gun violence
:00:52. > :00:52.in President Obama's political home city
:00:53. > :00:58.The Labour MP Keith Vaz has resigned as chair of the Home
:00:59. > :01:00.Affairs Select Ccommittee, after claims that he
:01:01. > :01:07.The radical Muslim preacher, Anjem Choudary, has been jailed
:01:08. > :01:10.for five-and-a-half years for encouraging people to support
:01:11. > :01:22.In the Syrian city of Aleppo reports that government forces
:01:23. > :01:24.have used chlorine to attack rebel-held districts.
:01:25. > :01:26.And on the eve of the opening ceremony in Rio,
:01:27. > :01:32.we take a look at British hopes in the Paralympic Games.
:01:33. > :01:39.And coming up in Sportsday on BBC News. Manchester United's 18
:01:40. > :01:41.-year-old striker, Marcus Rashford hits a hat-trick for England's
:01:42. > :02:02.under-21s, just days after being overlooked for the senior side.
:02:03. > :02:07.We start tonight with evidence of a startling rise
:02:08. > :02:09.in levels of gun violence in parts of the United States,
:02:10. > :02:11.including President Obama's political home, the city
:02:12. > :02:19.known as Labor Day weekend, saw 65 shootings
:02:20. > :02:21.and 13 deaths, which means that Chicago's death toll from gun
:02:22. > :02:24.violence, by the end of August, at over 500 was more
:02:25. > :02:29.are young black men from some of the city's
:02:30. > :02:33.Our international correspondent, Ian Pannell, and cameraman
:02:34. > :02:36.Darren Conway, spent a week in Chicago and sent
:02:37. > :02:53.Bring me a wagon with a bodybag, also.
:02:54. > :03:00.Welcome to the Chicago they don't want you to see.
:03:01. > :03:04.In a city where some live in peace and prosperity, others
:03:05. > :03:11.# It was crazy growing up where I was raised.
:03:12. > :03:20.Duop is a rapper, a promoter and a gang member.
:03:21. > :03:24.He's also a father, and an Iraq war veteran.
:03:25. > :03:28.When I'm passing through certain neighbourhoods, if there's already
:03:29. > :03:32.a heightened alert of violence in that neighbourhood,
:03:33. > :03:36.you have got to hurry up and get from point A to point B.
:03:37. > :03:39.You can't just be cruising through no neighbourhood
:03:40. > :03:43.You know what I'm saying, nine times out of ten,
:03:44. > :03:46.they probably don't recognise the car you are in at a time
:03:47. > :03:49.and they could mistake you as a shooter from one
:03:50. > :03:51.of their rival gangs and they open fire on you.
:03:52. > :03:57.It would cost you your life, literally.
:03:58. > :03:59.Many in the gang are still at high school.
:04:00. > :04:14.Strict gun laws have made no difference here.
:04:15. > :04:20.The last day without a shooting or murder was February 2015.
:04:21. > :04:26.The sad fact is that for some, a life of drugs
:04:27. > :04:30.and violence has now become a way to get ahead.
:04:31. > :04:32.The real tragedy about Chicago is just how common
:04:33. > :04:38.In reality, most gun crime in America actually doesn't really
:04:39. > :04:40.happen in the massacres that garner large scale media attention.
:04:41. > :04:43.But they take place in isolated spots like this, in inner-city
:04:44. > :04:49.And more often than not, the victims are young,
:04:50. > :04:52.black and their cases are largely ignored.
:04:53. > :04:55.The violence swirls around west and southside Chicago.
:04:56. > :05:05.A few weeks ago, a six-year-old was wounded in a drive-by shooting.
:05:06. > :05:07.Some say they are forced into a life of violence.
:05:08. > :05:10.But even those who don't walk that path, like Ticara,
:05:11. > :05:13.How common is it that there is shooting around here?
:05:14. > :05:22.I tell you the truth, I'm really scared for my kids.
:05:23. > :05:25.Childhood ends early on the South Side.
:05:26. > :05:27.A party on Duop's block commemorates his best friend
:05:28. > :05:35.The residents meet to remember and also to forget.
:05:36. > :05:37.The Police Authority don't like exactly what we do
:05:38. > :05:41.We actually don't like the way that we live.
:05:42. > :05:46.But when you are pushed into a way of life, when you are forced
:05:47. > :05:58.into a way of life, how else can you live?
:05:59. > :06:01.Even though we know the hood, how sad looking in, looking
:06:02. > :06:04.like we glorify the hood, we want to be out of the hood.
:06:05. > :06:06.That's why we work so hard at showing our potential
:06:07. > :06:08.because we want to leave this place, man, for good.
:06:09. > :06:13.A place to record a music video and a place where drug addicts go
:06:14. > :06:20.In my neighbourhood they start young, man.
:06:21. > :06:24.When you read the news headlines that's the age frame
:06:25. > :06:27.they are all dying from, from gun violence.
:06:28. > :06:30.We have got to teach the kids how to defend themselves.
:06:31. > :06:33.It is senseless violence at the end of the day.
:06:34. > :06:36.But what do you do when you are caught in that moment?
:06:37. > :06:39.You rather be caught with protection, than without protection.
:06:40. > :06:44.We had a lot of guns but I have never seen so many
:06:45. > :06:50.Bodiel is a rapper from the West Side.
:06:51. > :06:54.Now the most violent part of Chicago.
:06:55. > :06:57.He's a member of the Vice Lords Gang.
:06:58. > :07:04.He's been in prison and even he is shocked by what is happening.
:07:05. > :07:08.Like somebody dropped off crates of guns in everybody's hood.
:07:09. > :07:12.It is like they were designed for the hood.
:07:13. > :07:15.But I think like a lot of guys need to die
:07:16. > :07:20.need to get killed to get them out of the way
:07:21. > :07:30.We have been stood here for like five minutes,
:07:31. > :07:32.I have seen two police cars, one ambulance go by.
:07:33. > :07:35.I mean it ain't safe over here at all.
:07:36. > :07:37.Suddenly we were told to leave the area as Bodiel
:07:38. > :08:01.Hey, what just happened, why did we have to leave so quickly?
:08:02. > :08:04.More people have been killed here since 2001
:08:05. > :08:10.than US deaths in Iraq, and Afghanistan combined.
:08:11. > :08:20.I do, to be honest, I have a son at seven and I've got
:08:21. > :08:24.I haven't taught neither one of them how to ride a bike yet.
:08:25. > :08:26.The environment they live in is not safe.
:08:27. > :08:39.I'm just trying to change the cycle and it is hard,
:08:40. > :08:43.when you don't really have help, you know what I'm saying.
:08:44. > :08:45.It's like we are put in a weird position.
:08:46. > :08:52.You know what I'm saying, because...
:08:53. > :09:10.That's why we do so many drugs because we are just
:09:11. > :09:26.We are human, we are just human, man.
:09:27. > :09:29.With so many guns and so little control, the murders will rise.
:09:30. > :09:46.The special report from Chicago by Ian Pannell. He joins us now from
:09:47. > :09:51.the city. Roughly two months until election day S there any sense of
:09:52. > :09:54.this issue of gun violence have any impact on this presidential
:09:55. > :09:58.campaign? - is there any sense? I don't think #i6 seen so many guns
:09:59. > :10:03.outside of what we would normally call a war zone. I don't know what
:10:04. > :10:09.to be more surprised of, the level of guns on the streets, the fact
:10:10. > :10:13.that a grandmother and mother were killed yesterday and barely an
:10:14. > :10:19.eyebrow was raised or that it hasn't been raised as an issue. It has been
:10:20. > :10:22.used, and the Republicans try to use it as a stick to beat the Democrats,
:10:23. > :10:27.in particular because this is President Obama's home town. Their
:10:28. > :10:30.argument is foremore tighter control over law and order in America and
:10:31. > :10:34.that gun legislation doesn't work. Overall, don't expect this to be a
:10:35. > :10:38.major political issue but do expect the level of crime and murderer in
:10:39. > :10:43.Chicago to go on, to continue to rise. Many thanks again, Ian.
:10:44. > :10:46.The senior Labour MP, Keith Vaz, one of Westminster's most
:10:47. > :10:48.high-profile politicians, has resigned as chair of the Home
:10:49. > :10:50.Affairs Select Committee, following claims that he paid
:10:51. > :10:53.for the services of two male sex workers.
:10:54. > :10:56.Mr Vaz has yet to comment in detail on the allegations
:10:57. > :10:59.but he said the work of the committee needed to be
:11:00. > :11:01.conducted without distractions and that those who held
:11:02. > :11:04.others to account, should themselves be accountable.
:11:05. > :11:09.Our deputy political editor, John Pienaar, has the story.
:11:10. > :11:13.Out of luck, out of friends and now out of one of the most prestigious
:11:14. > :11:16.jobs an MP can do outside Government.
:11:17. > :11:18.Keith Vaz, who spent years putting pressure on the powerful,
:11:19. > :11:22.left home today to give into the pressure on him,
:11:23. > :11:26.to quit over tabloid allegation abouts his sex life.
:11:27. > :11:29.The news he'd resigned was as big as the story that brought him
:11:30. > :11:33.An MP responsible for monitoring policy on prostitution,
:11:34. > :11:36.reportedly caught out using male prostitutes.
:11:37. > :11:38.No laws broken, except the unwritten ones about reputation and authority.
:11:39. > :12:12.His committee announced the penalty that he'd accepted.
:12:13. > :12:18.The committee listened, I think in sadness, to what Keith
:12:19. > :12:22.had to say and with a good deal of respect.
:12:23. > :12:28.Keith has clearly acted in the best interests
:12:29. > :12:43.of the Home Affairs Select Committee and the important work
:12:44. > :12:46.that we do and, with sadness, we all accepted that
:12:47. > :12:48.that was the appropriate course of action that he has taken
:12:49. > :12:51.and we also appreciate the many challenges facing him
:12:52. > :12:54.And there was this tribute to Mr Vaz's work.
:12:55. > :12:56.I think he has a reputation for getting the best out
:12:57. > :12:59.of witnesses, or being a robust Chair but also being
:13:00. > :13:06.Keith Vaz's cutting style in the Home Affairs committee Chair
:13:07. > :13:10.It is your judgment we are questioning.
:13:11. > :13:12.Can I say on behalf of this committee, we have found your
:13:13. > :13:19.Can I just finish my question before - I know you are eager to give
:13:20. > :13:21.evidence, but you need to just calm down.
:13:22. > :13:23.This was the story that brought Keith Vaz down,
:13:24. > :13:28.Labour's leader was keen to draw a line under it all.
:13:29. > :13:30.There has to be confidence in a democratic process
:13:31. > :13:33.and therefore confidence in politicians in what they do.
:13:34. > :13:40.Keith has made that decision to resign.
:13:41. > :13:42.I think we should respect that decision, thank him
:13:43. > :13:44.for his work in Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee
:13:45. > :13:49.Keith Vaz was elected in 1987, one of a handful of ethnic minority
:13:50. > :13:51.MPs and rose to become Europe Minister under Tony Blair
:13:52. > :13:54.but there was controversy, about the way he'd lobbied to get
:13:55. > :13:55.British passports for the billionaire Hinduja
:13:56. > :13:59.His financial dealings had been questioned.
:14:00. > :14:01.Once he was suspended for making exaggerated accusations.
:14:02. > :14:04.Finally, he took a risk in his private life and lost badly.
:14:05. > :14:11.committee's work and the safety net of colleague support
:14:12. > :14:16.People may be more forgiving about private morality than in past
:14:17. > :14:19.years but MPs are still bound by codes of conducts,
:14:20. > :14:28.harder to define, but no more forgiving than the laws they pass.
:14:29. > :14:30.Tonight Keith Vaz was in the Commons' Chamber, reduced, living
:14:31. > :14:32.testimony to the fragility of a political career.
:14:33. > :14:34.At Westminster the sympathies mostly for his family.
:14:35. > :14:36.Suddenly Keith Vaz seems a lonely figure.
:14:37. > :14:41.John Pienaar, BBC News, Westminister.
:14:42. > :14:44.The radical Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary has been sentenced
:14:45. > :14:46.to five and a half years in prison for inviting support
:14:47. > :14:50.Police said Choudhary, who's 49, had stayed just
:14:51. > :14:53.within the law for years but was arrested in 2014
:14:54. > :14:59.The judge at the Old Bailey described him as a calculating
:15:00. > :15:02.and dangerous man, who'd shown no remorse, as our home affairs
:15:03. > :15:14.They arrest you for speaking the truth!
:15:15. > :15:16.For 20 years he was Anjem Choudary hate preacher.
:15:17. > :15:18.Now he is Anjem Choudary convicted terrorist.
:15:19. > :15:19.He could have been jailed for ten years.
:15:20. > :15:22.He was given five-and-a-half because the judge said his oath
:15:23. > :15:25.of allegiance to so-called Islamic State didn't lead to any
:15:26. > :15:31.The same sentence was passed on his co-defendant and close
:15:32. > :15:36.As they were side by side in the dock, their supporters looked
:15:37. > :15:42.One shouted, allahu akbar - God is great - as the judge
:15:43. > :15:52.All the evil they've been sowing, all the evil words and dissent
:15:53. > :15:55.they've tried to sow throughout society is over.
:15:56. > :15:58.They are paying the price and they are going to jail.
:15:59. > :16:01.The dominant and dogmatic Choudary has been at the centre of a network
:16:02. > :16:09.His former right-hand man Siddhartha Dhar was originally
:16:10. > :16:13.arrested with him but fled to Syria while on bail and is now suspected
:16:14. > :16:17.Another follower was Michael Adebolajo.
:16:18. > :16:19.He and a fellow Choudary disciple were responsible for the savage
:16:20. > :16:29.street killing of fusilier Lee Rigby.
:16:30. > :16:30.Choudary's influence extended across Europe.
:16:31. > :16:33.In Belgium, many extremists linked to him have been prosecuted.
:16:34. > :16:36.We are here in the heart of Europe, in Amsterdam.
:16:37. > :16:38.This was him in Holland, just one of the countries where his toxic
:16:39. > :16:42.This academic has studied how his reach grew over two decades.
:16:43. > :16:47.Anjem Choudary has been hugely influential over the last 20 years.
:16:48. > :16:50.It's almost hard to think of a significant terrorist plot
:16:51. > :16:57.either here or abroad that's involved a British individual that
:16:58. > :16:59.hasn't in some way connected back to him or his group and particularly
:17:00. > :17:04.American Jessie Morton, once an extremist, has now reformed
:17:05. > :17:11.He spoke to Choudary online and learned how he operated.
:17:12. > :17:17.Here is a man who looks like he is living in the 7th century, who
:17:18. > :17:22.speaks the words of the prophet Mohammed and the words of the koran,
:17:23. > :17:27.he may misinterpret them but for you he is offering you something that's
:17:28. > :17:30.powerful, something to cling on to. The judge described Anjem Choudary
:17:31. > :17:36.as calculating and dangerous and said he had shown no remorse. He now
:17:37. > :17:42.follows many he once led into the prison system. At the age of 49 this
:17:43. > :17:45.is his first jail term. Anjem Choudary begins his sentence in the
:17:46. > :17:49.high security unit of Belmarsh prison. Housed with a small number
:17:50. > :17:55.of other inmates. He was taken there today knowing he could be out in a
:17:56. > :17:58.couple of years. The challenge for the authorities is to stop this arch
:17:59. > :18:04.manipulator becoming a figure of influence behind bars.
:18:05. > :18:07.In Syria, rescue workers in the rebel-held part of Aleppo say
:18:08. > :18:11.that Government forces have used chlorine gas to attack civilians.
:18:12. > :18:13.President Assad's Government has always denied using chemical
:18:14. > :18:20.Our Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen reports from Syria.
:18:21. > :18:22.Civil defence volunteers were on the scene before the dust
:18:23. > :18:30.This was on the east side of Aleppo, held by rebels.
:18:31. > :18:34.The Syrian Government controls the west side.
:18:35. > :18:36.Dozens were taken to a hospital to be treated
:18:37. > :18:43.Local reports said the reason was that Government forces had
:18:44. > :18:48.dropped bombs containing poisonous chlorine gas.
:18:49. > :18:50.There were similar reports and pictures from east
:18:51. > :18:56.The casualties were washed, decontaminated to get traces
:18:57. > :19:02.Aleppo, Syria's biggest city before the war,
:19:03. > :19:07.Rebels and government forces in Aleppo have fought
:19:08. > :19:13.The Syrian Government has always denied using chemical weapons.
:19:14. > :19:17.It was forced to give up its own chemical weapons arsenal
:19:18. > :19:20.after a deadly attack in the Damascus suburbs in 2013
:19:21. > :19:26.But since then there have been repeated reports of attacks
:19:27. > :19:34.using chlorine gas which isn't banned.
:19:35. > :19:42.Now the fighting all summer has been because the Government, Government
:19:43. > :19:46.forces backed by the Russians, have been trying to completely encircle
:19:47. > :19:51.the rebel-held eastern side of the city which has about 250,000 people
:19:52. > :19:56.in it, including 100,000 children. Now when this war started it always
:19:57. > :20:01.seemed complicated and diplomacy directed at it has up to now always
:20:02. > :20:06.failed. But it's getting much worse, much more tangled. I spoke to a
:20:07. > :20:12.senior Syrian general today and he said we are planning for a long war.
:20:13. > :20:18.I said hang on, it's already in year six. He was talking about perhaps
:20:19. > :20:22.another ten years of fighting. So we are going to be hearing a lot more
:20:23. > :20:32.over, I think, a much longer period from this country.
:20:33. > :20:37.Jeremy, thank you for the update there.
:20:38. > :20:40.The retailer Sports Direct says it will improve pay and conditions
:20:41. > :20:42.for thousands of its staff after heavy criticism by MPs.
:20:43. > :20:44.It will now offer shop staff guaranteed hours,
:20:45. > :20:46.instead of using controversial zero-hours contracts,
:20:47. > :20:48.and all warehouse staff will be paid above the National Minimum Wage.
:20:49. > :20:50.There will be a workers' representative appointed
:20:51. > :20:53.to the board, as our business correspondent Emma Simpson reports.
:20:54. > :20:55.Sports Direct's distribution centre in the Derbyshire countryside,
:20:56. > :20:58.a vast site, manned mostly by thousands of temporary
:20:59. > :21:06.A place which MPs recently likened to a Victorian workhouse.
:21:07. > :21:09.The company's own review today found serious shortcomings.
:21:10. > :21:19.Its so-called six strikes and you're out policy is being suspended.
:21:20. > :21:23.Workers will be paid above the national minimum wage
:21:24. > :21:26.and it will trial a scheme to move ten agency workers on to direct
:21:27. > :21:31.Taking ten people a month will take 28 years to get those people
:21:32. > :21:36.as they sit now into permanent, decent employment with Sports Direct
:21:37. > :21:41.and that's not good enough so we have a long way to go.
:21:42. > :21:45.In a surprise move this evening, Mike Ashley released a video
:21:46. > :21:50.statement promising a workers' representative on the board.
:21:51. > :21:54.It is very difficult sometimes when you're not involved
:21:55. > :21:56.with everything that's going on and you're therefore not
:21:57. > :22:04.That input is invaluable and I think it will be the one no-brainer future
:22:05. > :22:07.thing that Sports Direct should have been doing and,
:22:08. > :22:10.unlike zero hours, I want to leap on that opportunity now and be
:22:11. > :22:17.At the site today some workers had plenty to say.
:22:18. > :22:21.If they get rid of the strike system then this place should be OK.
:22:22. > :22:23.Until they get rid of that this place is abysmal.
:22:24. > :22:26.The conditions are not perfect, but I have worked in worst places.
:22:27. > :22:29.Away from the warehouse, there's change for thousands
:22:30. > :22:37.It's offering to move them from zero hours contracts to permanent ones
:22:38. > :22:40.which guarantee at least 12 hours' work a week.
:22:41. > :22:43.I used to go home every night and say to my girlfriend I don't
:22:44. > :22:46.know when I can next work, I don't know when I can next earn
:22:47. > :22:49.some money even though I stated to them that I am desperately
:22:50. > :22:51.willing to work as many hours as possible.
:22:52. > :22:53.Mike Ashley built Sports Direct from scratch.
:22:54. > :22:56.He still owns most of the company but the share price has been rapidly
:22:57. > :23:00.going down as the grievances pile up.
:23:01. > :23:04.This review comes just a day before Sports Direct faces the wrath
:23:05. > :23:09.of independent shareholders at its annual general meeting.
:23:10. > :23:13.Pressure from investors has been growing for changes to its top team
:23:14. > :23:22.Sports Direct is promising more work on that but will today's concessions
:23:23. > :23:25.be enough to quell tomorrow's potential shareholders rebellion?
:23:26. > :23:33.Unpublished papers suggesting the Government is considering plans
:23:34. > :23:36.for new grammar schools in England have been caught on camera
:23:37. > :23:40.The document, being carried into Number 10, says
:23:41. > :23:42.the Education Secretary, Justine Greening, wants
:23:43. > :23:44.the new grammars presented as an option.
:23:45. > :23:50.Our education editor Branwen Jeffreys is with me.
:23:51. > :23:59.I suppose the question is how realistic an option? Well, this
:24:00. > :24:01.careless slip has shown us they are looking seriously at expanding
:24:02. > :24:05.grammar provision in England, but they also know it could be tricky,
:24:06. > :24:09.it could be controversial, not least to get through parliament. So this
:24:10. > :24:14.memo suggests the first thing they would look at is to work with the
:24:15. > :24:18.existing 160-odd grammar schools in England to see if any want to
:24:19. > :24:22.expand. That was something that was in the Conservative manifesto at the
:24:23. > :24:25.last election. They've already given permission for a school in Kent to
:24:26. > :24:29.open up on a separate site ten miles down the road. So we could see a
:24:30. > :24:33.little bit more of that. Interestingly, as well, the word
:24:34. > :24:36.reform is used in here, the suggestion that perhaps grammars
:24:37. > :24:41.aren't doing as well as they should be. That's essentially code for
:24:42. > :24:45.making sure that they take pupils from every kind of background. Not
:24:46. > :24:49.all grammar schools have had a good record at making sure that poor
:24:50. > :24:54.bright children get places alongside middle class kids. So before any
:24:55. > :24:58.other moves could be imposed they would look at doing that because the
:24:59. > :25:01.next step for any new school would have to be to change the law, that's
:25:02. > :25:06.the only way that a new grammar school could be allowed. And there
:25:07. > :25:11.will be opposition from within the Conservative Party and some vocal
:25:12. > :25:14.critics outside, it's only yesterday that sir Michael Wilshaw the chief
:25:15. > :25:18.inspector said it was none cess to suggest that opening up more grammar
:25:19. > :25:21.schools could help poor bright children do well. Tonight the
:25:22. > :25:24.Government is saying it's not commenting, it's looking at options
:25:25. > :25:26.and it wants to provide opportunities for the many and not
:25:27. > :25:34.just the privileged few. Thank you.
:25:35. > :25:48.A boy and girl aged 15 have pleaded guilty to a man lawyer of a woman
:25:49. > :25:51.but denied murder. : There's been a serious breach of
:25:52. > :25:54.security at London's city airport after activists gained access to a
:25:55. > :25:58.runway there and staged a protest. Flights were stopped for six hours
:25:59. > :26:02.causing major disruption. The campaign group Black Lives Mat every
:26:03. > :26:04.said their action was to drawn attention to the environmental
:26:05. > :26:09.impact of climate change on black people.
:26:10. > :26:11.In Scotland, the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, says her Government
:26:12. > :26:13.will focus on boosting the economy, following the UK's vote
:26:14. > :26:17.She was setting out the SNP Government's legislative
:26:18. > :26:19.programme for the year ahead and promised to spend ?4 billion
:26:20. > :26:21.on infrastructure and to consult on a draft
:26:22. > :26:25.Our Scotland editor Sarah Smith reports.
:26:26. > :26:28.This is brilliant, I can't believe it's going to be a football pitch.
:26:29. > :26:31.Nothing says I'm getting on with the job better than a photo
:26:32. > :26:34.call in a high-vis jacket so Nicola Sturgeon got suitably
:26:35. > :26:38.kitted up for a visit to a new school under construction
:26:39. > :26:42.But it will feel like it's outside up here?
:26:43. > :26:45.These pictures carefully co-ordinated to deliver the message
:26:46. > :26:47.that she plans to focus on both education and increased
:26:48. > :26:54.This programme for Government demonstrates how, with an iron focus
:26:55. > :26:57.on the business of Government, we will create opportunity for all.
:26:58. > :26:59.It outlines how we will support economic growth, invest
:27:00. > :27:03.in child care and schools, improve public services
:27:04. > :27:18.As well as increased infrastructure spending, the First Minister
:27:19. > :27:20.announced ?500 million in support for private sector businesses facing
:27:21. > :27:24.Plans to send more Government funding direct to school head
:27:25. > :27:25.teachers and reduce teachers' workload.
:27:26. > :27:27.A child poverty bill which will include a baby
:27:28. > :27:29.box containing clothes, bedding and books for every
:27:30. > :27:31.child born in Scotland, and draft legislation to allow
:27:32. > :27:32.another referendum on Scottish independence
:27:33. > :27:40.The Tories are now the main opposition in the Scottish
:27:41. > :27:41.parliament, partly because of their trenchant opposition
:27:42. > :27:49.The real dividing line in this country is between the SNP,
:27:50. > :27:52.desperate to drag us back to a second independence referendum,
:27:53. > :27:56.and the rest of us who all just want to put it behind us and move on.
:27:57. > :27:58.Opposition parties accuse Nicola Sturgeon of being obsessed
:27:59. > :28:00.with Scottish independence and neglecting the day job.
:28:01. > :28:03.So it is important she's seen to be concentrating on governing
:28:04. > :28:05.Scotland while she's also considering whether to call
:28:06. > :28:12.She has to be seen to focus on those core issues that matter to voters
:28:13. > :28:15.that matter to citizens, and that need to be dealt
:28:16. > :28:18.with and if the SNP Government doesn't make a success of those
:28:19. > :28:20.within the context of devolution, then it will struggle to win
:28:21. > :28:26.the argument for further constitutional change.
:28:27. > :28:28.How well the Scottish Government use the powers they have to address
:28:29. > :28:30.voters current concerns could determine whether
:28:31. > :28:32.they will ever succeed in achieving independence.
:28:33. > :28:43.The opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games takes place
:28:44. > :28:45.tomorrow night and there are high hopes that Paralympics GB can match
:28:46. > :28:48.or even improve on the 120 medals they won at London 2012,
:28:49. > :28:51.despite having a smaller team this time.
:28:52. > :28:54.Our sports correspondent Andy Swiss is in Rio and he's been
:28:55. > :29:04.At their Brazilian training base, the British team are making
:29:05. > :29:11.their final push for Rio hoping to turn graft into gold.
:29:12. > :29:18.Today though, the first big result - equestrian star, Lee Pearson,
:29:19. > :29:20.has won 10 Paralympic titles, now he's been voted flag bearer
:29:21. > :29:26.It is the biggest honour in the whole of the world.
:29:27. > :29:32.To carry the flag would be an honour, but to be voted
:29:33. > :29:34.by my fellow Paralympic GB athletes is surreal.
:29:35. > :29:40.London 2012 forged an array of new stars, so will this be
:29:41. > :29:48.In recent Paralympics, Britain's medal tally has risen steadily.
:29:49. > :29:50.From 102 in Beijing, eight years ago, to 120 in London.
:29:51. > :29:56.Here, in Rio, their target is to go at least one better than that
:29:57. > :30:02.with what is a smaller team and, of course, no home advantage.
:30:03. > :30:04.The absence of Russia here, banned after their recent
:30:05. > :30:07.doping scandal, should help Britain's cause,
:30:08. > :30:11.but the head of the British team insists it's still a testing target.
:30:12. > :30:15.History tends to show that it's very difficult to go to your next away
:30:16. > :30:18.Games and repeat that level of performance.
:30:19. > :30:23.So it's a challenging target, but I think that the results over
:30:24. > :30:27.the last couple of seasons especially really point towards this
:30:28. > :30:32.It's a team with plenty of new faces.
:30:33. > :30:36.16-year-old Maria Lyle juggles school work with sprinting,
:30:37. > :30:38.now she's among around half the British athletes
:30:39. > :30:45.It's crazy to think, four years ago, I was watching it
:30:46. > :30:48.and now I'm like in the training camp with the whole team.
:30:49. > :30:52.But I think, even just being here, is a great achievement,
:30:53. > :30:54.I'm enjoying every moment and I'm looking forward to
:30:55. > :31:04.Of course, British athletes in Rio haven't done too badly
:31:05. > :31:07.So could there now be a second goldrush?
:31:08. > :31:11.On Copacabana, the Olympic rings have been replaced
:31:12. > :31:16.The stage is set for yet more sporting drama.
:31:17. > :31:22.Andy Swiss, BBC News, Rio.
:31:23. > :31:32.There is more talk of the Paralympics on Newsnight. On the Eve
:31:33. > :31:35.of the Paralympics we reveal confusion over the classification
:31:36. > :31:40.system used to select athletes to compete in the Games. Join me now on
:31:41. > :31:41.BBC Two. Here on