:00:20. > :00:23.Good evening. The leader of the Scottish National Party has said a
:00:24. > :00:28.vote for independence would be an "act of national self confidence and
:00:29. > :00:31.self belief". Alex Salmond was speaking at the SNP's party
:00:32. > :00:35.conference in Perth, with less than a year to go until the independence
:00:36. > :00:39.referendum. He also said the minimum wage in Scotland would rise at least
:00:40. > :00:51.in line with inflation if there was a "yes" vote.
:00:52. > :00:54.11 months to go, and the independence debate is hotting up.
:00:55. > :00:57.In the cake shop next to the conference, they are turning over
:00:58. > :01:05.the issues, pondering which way to vote, it will Scotland say yes or no
:01:06. > :01:10.next September? It turns out that Alex Salmond is off the cakes.
:01:11. > :01:15.Apparently, he is on a health kick. My diet is a bit like the cause of
:01:16. > :01:21.Scottish independence. We have travelled a substantial way, but we
:01:22. > :01:26.have still got a job to do. His mind is on the main course, a White Paper
:01:27. > :01:29.setting out the vision for independence will ditch will be set
:01:30. > :01:34.out in November with a challenge. Prime minister, we will publish a
:01:35. > :01:39.white paper. Then you and I must debate, prime minister to First
:01:40. > :01:42.Minister. Mr Salmond said bread and butter issues would win the
:01:43. > :01:48.referendum, so he offered a guarantee to the low paid. This
:01:49. > :01:52.guarantee will ensure that the minimum wage rises at least in line
:01:53. > :01:56.with inflation. Never again will wages of the lowest paid in Scotland
:01:57. > :02:00.failed to keep up with the cost of living. Alex Salmond knows the yes
:02:01. > :02:04.campaign is struggling in the polls, so he made his appeal to voters
:02:05. > :02:11.outside the hall. Independence is not about this party or this First
:02:12. > :02:15.Minister, but fundamental democratic choice for Scotland, the people's
:02:16. > :02:21.right to choose a government of their own. They were delighted, but
:02:22. > :02:27.they don't need convincing. Alex Salmond hopes the debate about
:02:28. > :02:31.independence is about to enter a new phase. He knows the White Paper
:02:32. > :02:35.could be crucial, and he hopes it could turn the tide.
:02:36. > :02:38.The government has defended its high-speed rail project after claims
:02:39. > :02:43.that it could lead to huge financial losses for parts of the United
:02:44. > :02:44.Kingdom. The BBC has obtained figures from a
:02:45. > :02:47.government-commissioned report suggesting that areas away from the
:02:48. > :03:01.planned line could lose hundreds of millions of pounds every year.
:03:02. > :03:05.It is the rarely line which the government boast will boost
:03:06. > :03:12.Britain's economy by ?15 billion a year. But the report in which that
:03:13. > :03:17.claim was made is facing accusations of playing down the economic impact
:03:18. > :03:22.of the line on some areas. So while the report told us the prize for the
:03:23. > :03:27.winners, like Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and Greater London,
:03:28. > :03:31.it did not tell us the cost to the losers in places like Aberdeen,
:03:32. > :03:37.Cambridge and Bristol. Campaigners say that permission shows that the
:03:38. > :03:41.report overstated the benefits of HS2. We are not surprised that the
:03:42. > :03:49.government has tried to downplay the negatives and play up the positives.
:03:50. > :03:54.But now is the time to look at the reality and cancel HS2. Ridley
:03:55. > :03:58.report's author, the accountants KPMG, save the negative impact HS2
:03:59. > :04:02.might have on some areas was reflected in maps included in the
:04:03. > :04:07.report, although without the detail revealed by these figures. Ministers
:04:08. > :04:13.say HS2 will account for just a quarter of transport investment over
:04:14. > :04:20.the five years from 2015. All of this investment, and we are looking
:04:21. > :04:24.at huge investment, is to serve the whole of the UK, to make the United
:04:25. > :04:29.Kingdom a place where we attract investment so that we get jobs from
:04:30. > :04:35.other countries into this country. The campaign against HS2 has so far
:04:36. > :04:39.been concentrated around the areas affected riots construction. But
:04:40. > :04:44.these figures could widen the opposition to parts of the country
:04:45. > :04:46.that the line will not go anywhere near.
:04:47. > :04:49.Police in Greece are trying to identify a four-year-old girl with
:04:50. > :04:52.blonde hair who they believe may have snatched from her parents. They
:04:53. > :04:56.found her in a Roma settlement last Wednesday. DNA tests show that she
:04:57. > :05:00.is not related to the couple she was living with at the camp near
:05:01. > :05:10.Farsala. Police believe the child may be a victim of abduction or
:05:11. > :05:15.child trafficking. Four years old, and possibly a bit
:05:16. > :05:18.dim of trafficking. It was her blonde hair and pale complexion that
:05:19. > :05:24.first alerted police to the girl known as Maria. She stood out in the
:05:25. > :05:27.Roma camp in central Greece where she was found during a routine
:05:28. > :05:32.police operation. The couple gaming to be her parents changed their
:05:33. > :05:36.story several times and produced papers that said they had had six
:05:37. > :05:41.children in the space of ten months. After DNA tests showed no link with
:05:42. > :05:45.Maria, they were arrested were charged with abduction. The
:05:46. > :05:52.four-year-old is being cared for by this charity. The fear is that she
:05:53. > :06:02.may have been trafficked. She was either sold at maternity, or later.
:06:03. > :06:10.Possibly for begging, or later for prostitution or even worse. Around
:06:11. > :06:14.300,000 Roma live in Greece, often in poor conditions. Authorities say
:06:15. > :06:19.several other cases of unusual looking children in settlements have
:06:20. > :06:23.now been reported. There have long been allegations of children sold
:06:24. > :06:26.into Roma communities here, but the lawyer for this couple say Maria was
:06:27. > :06:31.given to them by a woman who could not care for her, but she was not
:06:32. > :06:34.abducted and that they are now distraught at the loss of what they
:06:35. > :06:39.see as their legitimately. Did child. Kate and Gerry McCann say
:06:40. > :06:43.this case has given them hope that their daughter Matalin may be found
:06:44. > :06:48.alive, six years after she disappeared in Portugal. An
:06:49. > :06:53.international appeal about Maria has already prompted over 5000 calls
:06:54. > :06:57.here. But for now, exactly what happened to this little girl remains
:06:58. > :07:00.a mystery. A plane carrying parachutists has
:07:01. > :07:03.crashed in Belgium, killing all 11 people on board. Reports say the
:07:04. > :07:07.aircraft suddenly lost height just after take-off for coming down in a
:07:08. > :07:16.field in a village near the city of Namur.
:07:17. > :07:20.The violin played to calm passengers as the Titanic was sinking has been
:07:21. > :07:23.sold at auction in Wiltshire for ?900,000, a world record. It was
:07:24. > :07:26.reported to have been found at sea a week after the disaster in 1912,
:07:27. > :07:37.strapped to the body of the ship's bandmaster.
:07:38. > :07:42.It is the violin that was never going to go for a song. Said to be
:07:43. > :07:48.the holy grail of Titanic memorabilia. As one of the
:07:49. > :07:53.instruments that famously played on as the Titanic floundered, it became
:07:54. > :07:57.part of its enduring legacy. It belonged to Wallace Hartley, who
:07:58. > :08:01.inspired his fellow band members to carry on their music to calm the
:08:02. > :08:07.passengers. As the Titanic went down, his courage and should that he
:08:08. > :08:15.and his violin would become integral players in the ship's legend. While
:08:16. > :08:19.some have questioned the violin's authenticity, it did not take long
:08:20. > :08:22.for the numbers to start climbing. Bidders in the room were soon left
:08:23. > :08:37.trailing by those on the phone, who went up and up. Until this. 900,000.
:08:38. > :08:42.Going? A new world record, four times the previous amount paid for a
:08:43. > :08:50.single Titanic item. It is the iconic instrument everyone knows.
:08:51. > :08:57.?900,000 is a world record for any Titanic item. Even at 900 thousand
:08:58. > :09:02.pounds, this is so much more than a simple violin. Played by the man who
:09:03. > :09:11.personifies the forgotten values and morals of a bygone era, in many
:09:12. > :09:14.ways, this is the Titanic legend. In football, there were wins today
:09:15. > :09:16.in the Premier League for Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton and Swansea, while
:09:17. > :09:19.Manchester United drew 1-1 with Southampton. And in today's early
:09:20. > :09:23.match, Daniel Sturridge scored for Liverpool to deny ten-man Newcastle
:09:24. > :09:26.all three points. Liverpool trailed at St James' Park before the England
:09:27. > :09:28.international headed home a cross from Luis Suarez to make the final
:09:29. > :09:37.score 2-2. scored.
:09:38. > :09:45.That is all for now.