:00:14. > :00:16.Vladimir Putin has claimed victory in Russia's Presidential election.
:00:16. > :00:19.He has thanked thousands of cheering supporters for winning "an
:00:19. > :00:22.honest battle". Opponents have accused his party of mass
:00:22. > :00:30.intimidation and election fraud. The leader of the Catholic Church
:00:30. > :00:32.in Scotland says plans to permit gay marriage are "grotesque".
:00:32. > :00:35.Libya apologises after men armed with sledgehammers attack the war
:00:35. > :00:38.graves of more than 200 British soldiers.
:00:38. > :00:48.Another Chelsea manager gets the boot, this time after just nine
:00:48. > :01:00.
:01:00. > :01:05.Good evening. Vladimir Putin has claimed victory
:01:05. > :01:07.in Russia's presidential election. He has made a triumphant appearance
:01:07. > :01:13.outside the Kremlin tonight, telling thousands of jubilant
:01:13. > :01:17.supporters, "We won, in an open and honest battle." Early results
:01:17. > :01:20.suggest he has gained around 60% of the vote. However, opposition
:01:20. > :01:28.groups have accused Mr Putin's party of widespread intimidation
:01:28. > :01:32.and election violations. From With tears clearly visible in his
:01:32. > :01:37.eyes, Vladimir Putin appeared in front of a huge crowd crowd outside
:01:37. > :01:45.the Kremlin walls. He proclaimed an infatic victory and one that had
:01:45. > :01:55.been inevitable, even at the height of the protests.
:01:55. > :01:59.
:01:59. > :02:03.TRANSLATION: We have won in an open and honest struggle. I promised you
:02:03. > :02:08.we would win and we have won. Glory to Russia.
:02:08. > :02:14.He has been running the country for over 12 years and tonne, he has
:02:14. > :02:18.confirmed his utter dominance of Russian politics.
:02:18. > :02:22.Vladimir Putin has wielded almost absolute power. He has muscled all
:02:22. > :02:27.the credible opposition figures out of mainstream politics. As he
:02:27. > :02:32.brought his rarely seen wife back into the spotlight today, he could
:02:32. > :02:36.not avoid the concerns about the manner of his victory.
:02:36. > :02:43.Even his visit to the polling station ended with three half naked
:02:43. > :02:46.women being led away shouting, "Putin is a thief." There have been
:02:46. > :02:51.thousands of allegations of fraud including this footage apparently
:02:51. > :02:58.showing a man feeding ballot paper after ballot paper into an
:02:58. > :03:00.automatic voting machine. TRANSLATION: These have not been
:03:00. > :03:03.fair elections, but we must not relent. Honest elections should be
:03:03. > :03:10.our constant motto for years to come. People shouldn't be forced to
:03:10. > :03:13.go out into the streets. This evening, the Kremlin was
:03:13. > :03:18.surrounded by thousands of troops and riot police preparing for the
:03:18. > :03:23.mass protests expected in the days ahead. Putin has won again, but his
:03:23. > :03:33.followers are less enthusiastic than they once were and his critics
:03:33. > :03:34.
:03:34. > :03:40.What will Vladimir Putin's return to the clem lin mean for -- Kremlin
:03:40. > :03:44.mean for rush Russia and its relations with the West.
:03:44. > :03:49.For over decade, Vladimir Putin has been the most powerful man in
:03:49. > :03:53.Russia. His supporters say he has delivered stability. His opponents
:03:53. > :03:57.maintain, he dismanled democracy, but when he returns to the Kremlin,
:03:57. > :04:01.what can Russians expect from this president presidency?
:04:01. > :04:05.Certainly a more difficult relationship with the West. It is
:04:05. > :04:09.no secret that some foreign leaders feel uncomfortable dealing with
:04:09. > :04:13.Vladimir Putin and the the feeling is mutual.
:04:13. > :04:18.Mr Putin has accused the West of itching to intervene militarily in
:04:18. > :04:22.Syria and plotting regime change in Iran. He blamed America for the
:04:22. > :04:26.death of Libya's Colonel Gaddafi. He has warned that Russia will
:04:26. > :04:32.create new strike forces on its borders if it is shut out of US
:04:32. > :04:35.plans for a missile defence shield. Putin is very suspicious of the
:04:35. > :04:41.West. There is a lingering suspicion in the Kremlin that the
:04:41. > :04:47.West is out to get Russia somehow. To queez To squeeze it out of its
:04:47. > :04:50.neighbourhood, to change the regime. A return to the clem lin may see --
:04:50. > :04:57.Kremlin may see Vladimir Putin stabber rattling, but that will be
:04:58. > :05:02.the easy bit. Mr Putin will face bigger challenges closer to home.
:05:02. > :05:06.Since December, unprecedented anti- Government demonstrations in the
:05:06. > :05:08.Russian capital. Victory for Mr Putin in the election is unlikely
:05:08. > :05:13.to bring an end to the protest movement.
:05:13. > :05:17.Mr Putin should face much more different problems. Problems that
:05:17. > :05:23.he had not faced before. The problems of communication with the
:05:23. > :05:27.civil society, the problem of much low popularity and maybe some
:05:27. > :05:30.economic problems. Which is why, it is vital for
:05:30. > :05:40.Vladimir Putin that he is seen to win an election which is free and
:05:40. > :05:48.
:05:48. > :05:52.fair. He can't risk being labelled John Simpson is in Moscow. What is
:05:52. > :05:56.your assessment of Mr Putin's presidency? Well, he is going to
:05:57. > :06:00.have to find some form of relationship with the western
:06:00. > :06:05.powers. It has been useful for him, of course, over the 12 years really
:06:05. > :06:12.when he has been the most important figure either as president or Prime
:06:12. > :06:17.Minister in this country country. To be able to be labour the West,
:06:17. > :06:25.but it is something that does hold Russia back and I suspect that the
:06:25. > :06:30.top people surrounding him do understand that. His spokesman said
:06:30. > :06:34.to me today first of all, we didn't understand that Mr Putin was a
:06:34. > :06:40.liberal. Secondly, he said there was no question for instance of it
:06:40. > :06:44.changing its stance on Syria, to please the West. So it is slightly
:06:44. > :06:49.kind of contradictory the approaches here. I think really the
:06:49. > :06:52.big problem that he is going to have in the short run, this
:06:52. > :06:57.election victory has strengthened him in. In the Long Run, this
:06:57. > :07:02.country is changing. It is changing very fast politically and people
:07:02. > :07:05.are finding it more and more difficult to be pushed around
:07:05. > :07:10.politically as they have been and I think that could be his biggest
:07:10. > :07:14.problem when he comes to deal with the outside world. He has not
:07:14. > :07:21.entirely got the country behind him. John Simpson live in Moscow, thank
:07:21. > :07:24.Here, the Government's plans to change the law to allow gay
:07:24. > :07:27.marriages have been strongly criticised by the leader of the
:07:27. > :07:30.Catholic Church in Scotland. Cardinal Keith O'Brien said the
:07:30. > :07:33.proposals were "grotesque" and would shame the UK in the eyes of
:07:33. > :07:40.the world. Supporters of gay marriage said his remarks risked
:07:40. > :07:47.fuelling prejudice. Robert Pigott reports. Cardinal Keith O'Brien has
:07:47. > :07:51.set himself on a collision course with the Government. His outspoken
:07:51. > :07:54.Sunday Telegraph article reveals anger and alarm. He said of the
:07:54. > :08:02.Government, "Their attempt to redefine reality is given a polite
:08:02. > :08:10.hearingment their madness is endullged. Their proposal
:08:10. > :08:16.represents a grotesque... ". The Government says marriage should be
:08:16. > :08:20.open to couples, whatever their sexuality. David Cameron has given
:08:20. > :08:25.the policy his backing. I don't support gay marriage in
:08:25. > :08:28.spite of being a Conservative. I support gay marriage because I am a
:08:28. > :08:32.Conservative. The UK coalition and the Scottish
:08:32. > :08:37.Government are holding consultations on gay marriage, but
:08:37. > :08:43.both say they want to introduce it. It is about allowing civil marriage
:08:43. > :08:47.to take place for same sex couples, not to try and change the religious
:08:47. > :08:52.termology of marriage. And the Government has support
:08:52. > :08:56.among progressive Christians, including Catholics and Anglican
:08:56. > :09:02.groups say it is time to re-think the fundamental purpose of marriage.
:09:02. > :09:05.I wonder what the cardinal is so frightened off? Marriage is a
:09:05. > :09:08.strong institution which has been around for thousands of years and
:09:08. > :09:13.it changed over those years many times. What is marriage about? It
:09:13. > :09:15.is not about gender, it is about love and it is about the love
:09:16. > :09:21.between two people. Cardinal Keith O'Brien has
:09:21. > :09:26.determined allies among MPs. It is just really the definition. I am in
:09:26. > :09:30.favour of civil partnerships and equality, but you cannot in my view,
:09:30. > :09:33.redefine mar marriage on a whim. Cardinal Keith O'Brien has shown
:09:33. > :09:37.himself before to be ready to mobilise Catholics in what amounts
:09:37. > :09:42.to be a political battle if the stakes are high enough. His latest
:09:42. > :09:47.remarks show that he regards marriage, traditional marriage, as
:09:47. > :09:50.critical among a diminishing number of Christian pinicals and it could
:09:50. > :09:59.be one that he is prepared to take the Government to a fight to
:09:59. > :10:04.The Foreign Office says the desecration of British war graves
:10:04. > :10:07.into an attack in the Libyan city of Benghazi is appealing. The War
:10:07. > :10:11.Graves Commission says it is saddened by what happened and will
:10:11. > :10:18.do everything to repair 200 headstones. The Libyan authorities
:10:18. > :10:24.apologised and pledged to catch The attackers filmed themselves as
:10:24. > :10:28.they set to work. More than 200 headstones were
:10:29. > :10:38.damaged, smashed totted ground by a -- to the ground by a group of
:10:39. > :10:39.
:10:39. > :10:45.armed men., "Break the cross of the dogs dogs"one is heard. "there is
:10:45. > :10:48.Hebrew writing on this one." Later the men take a hammer and chisel to
:10:48. > :10:53.the Cross of Remembrance. The motive for the attack is
:10:53. > :11:01.unclear. The Foreign Office today say it did not believe that British
:11:01. > :11:07.graves were being singled out. Benghazi's war cemetery
:11:07. > :11:12.commemorates the deaths of many nations. A spokesman for the
:11:12. > :11:18.Commonwealth War Graves Commission said it was saddened by the attacks
:11:18. > :11:24.and the cemeteries would be restored to a standard befitting
:11:24. > :11:30.the sacrifice of those committed at Benghazi.
:11:30. > :11:33.These incidents highlight a problem of lawlessness here in post-
:11:33. > :11:42.revolutionary Libya. Large parts of the country are controlled by armed
:11:42. > :11:50.militia groups who operate outside of Government control.
:11:50. > :11:54.A series of massive arms explosions in the Republic of Congo has has
:11:54. > :11:58.killed at least two people. Thousands of people fled their
:11:59. > :12:08.homes. The authorities say the explosions were caused by a fire at
:12:09. > :12:12.
:12:12. > :12:15.a military depot. President Obama has tonight warned
:12:15. > :12:17.against "loose talk" of a war with Iran, ahead of a meeting tomorrow
:12:17. > :12:19.with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Addressing an
:12:19. > :12:22.influential pro-Israel lobbying group in Washington, the President
:12:22. > :12:28.pledged his support for Israel, but said international sanctions on
:12:28. > :12:35.Iran must be given more time to work. There is too much loose talk
:12:35. > :12:38.of war. Over the last few weeks, such talk has only benefited the
:12:38. > :12:43.Iranian Government by driving up the price of oil which they depend
:12:43. > :12:47.on to fund their nuclear programme. Mark Mardell is in Washington. This
:12:47. > :12:51.might have been loose talk about war with Iran, but clearly the
:12:51. > :12:54.White House is concerned? Yes, and tomorrow's meeting is the
:12:54. > :12:58.culmination of months of diplomacy where the Americans have been
:12:58. > :13:05.trying to find out what the Israelis are up to and dissuade
:13:05. > :13:09.them from attacking Iran if that is what is in their minds. You have to
:13:09. > :13:16.bear in mind the last time the two men met, it was a disaster, a train
:13:16. > :13:19.wreck of a meeting. The body bang is appalling and --ted body
:13:19. > :13:25.language is appalling and President Obama is attempting a difficult
:13:25. > :13:29.balancing act. He is using language that many Israelis would like.
:13:29. > :13:33.America could take military action. Israel should be allowed to
:13:33. > :13:36.whatever it needs, but that is wrapping up a message that will be
:13:37. > :13:46.less appealing to many of them which is stop talking about war and
:13:46. > :13:49.give sanctions a chance to work. Now with the day's big sports news
:13:49. > :13:55.including of course the sacking of Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas.
:13:55. > :13:59.Here is Karthi. That news hasn't come as a big shock, blue Chelsea's
:13:59. > :14:09.owner is looking for his eighth manager in nine years after the
:14:09. > :14:10.
:14:10. > :14:12.club parted company with Andre Villas-Boas this afternoon. The 34-
:14:12. > :14:14.year-old had been in charge for just nine months. Joe Wilson
:14:15. > :14:20.reports. Andre Villas-Boas was a project, recruited at vast expense
:14:20. > :14:24.to create a new era. So quickly it came to this.
:14:24. > :14:27.Chelsea beaten at West Bromwich Albion yesterday, fifth in the
:14:27. > :14:29.Premier League and the fire in Andre Villas-Boas's eyes
:14:29. > :14:34.extinguished. REPORTER: Will you get another
:14:34. > :14:42.chance and is three wins in 12 league games good enough? You will
:14:42. > :14:48.have to ask them. Surely he knew what the answer would be. Since
:14:49. > :14:54.Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea, he has got through three managers.
:14:54. > :15:00.Time is the precious asset. Nearly 25 years ago, a struggling manager
:15:00. > :15:09.called Ferguson was spared the sack. He has just just outlasted another
:15:09. > :15:13.rival. He is a young guy and young people need time. He is 4 He is 34
:15:13. > :15:18.years of age. When he starts up in another club, he will be fine, but
:15:18. > :15:23.Chelsea was a big ask. Andre Villas-Boas was confronted
:15:23. > :15:26.with a dressing room of established players, strong personalities, the
:15:26. > :15:31.relationship with Frank Lampard has been strained. There has been an
:15:31. > :15:38.interpretation that some of the team didn't want Andre Villas-Boas.
:15:38. > :15:46.The board and the players have to be culpable. The players at Chelsea
:15:46. > :15:49.have to realise maybe now they are not good good enough to get in the
:15:49. > :15:53.team. Jose Mourhino's most successful
:15:53. > :15:59.manager is well backed to return. London, he once said, is his
:15:59. > :16:02.Sir Alex Ferguson praised his side's performance after a 3-1
:16:02. > :16:07.defeat of Tottenham at White Hart Lane this afternoon, describing it
:16:07. > :16:10.as their "hardest away game of the season". Manchester United's
:16:10. > :16:16.victory puts them just two points behind league leaders Manchester
:16:16. > :16:18.City. Wayne Rooney scored United's first goal on the stroke of half-
:16:18. > :16:21.time taking advantage of some dreadful Tottenham defending.
:16:21. > :16:27.Ashley Young volleyed in their second before adding a stunning
:16:27. > :16:31.third goal. Jermaine Defoe scored a consolation goal for Spurs.
:16:31. > :16:34.Match of the Day Two is on BBC2 now with all of the day's goals
:16:34. > :16:37.including the five that Fulham put past Wolves, who drop into the
:16:37. > :16:40.relegation zone. Newcastle scored in injury time to draw 1-1 with
:16:40. > :16:46.Sunderland in a bad tempered match with two Sunderland players sent
:16:46. > :16:48.off. Ireland's players admitted to
:16:48. > :16:51.feeling disappointed despite ending France's Grand Slam hopes with a
:16:51. > :16:55.17-17 draw in their rearranged Six Nations Match in Paris. A great
:16:55. > :16:58.start from the Irish saw them take a half-time lead through two tries
:16:58. > :17:01.from Tommy Bow, but the French staged a comeback after the break.
:17:01. > :17:05.Wesley Fofana with the try and Morgan Parra kicking 12 points for
:17:05. > :17:09.a draw. Double Olympic champion, Rebecca
:17:09. > :17:12.Adlington was one of six swimmers to book their place at the London
:17:12. > :17:14.2012 Olympics by qualifying at the British Swimming Championships this
:17:14. > :17:17.evening. Adlington led from start to finish, winning the 400 metres
:17:17. > :17:25.freestyle ahead of her close friend, Jo Jackson, who also secured an
:17:25. > :17:30.Olympic spot at the Aquatics Centre. I can't believe that tonight me and
:17:30. > :17:35.Jo can go to sleep no we are heading for the Olympics.
:17:35. > :17:40.You don't understand how hard swimmers work. It is a hard sport.
:17:40. > :17:45.We get up at 5.15am and to know we are going to be here this this pool
:17:45. > :17:50.and with a whole of GB cheering us, it is exciting.
:17:50. > :17:55.Rory McIlroy is on course to replace Luke Donald as golf's world
:17:55. > :17:59.number one. He has a two shot lead at the Honda Classic with two holes
:17:59. > :18:02.remaining. That's all the sport for now.