18/01/2014 BBC Weekend News

questioned tonight after the body of a child is found. News of the

discovery in woodland overnight was revealed by police.

I can confirm that we have recovered the body of a young boy in Fife.

Today families in Edinburgh and Kirkaldy have been leaving flowers

in Mikaeel's memory. Also in tonight's programme:

Tributes are paid to the former Conservative Party grandee Lord

McAlpine, who's died at the age of 71.

Two Britons are among 21 people killed in a suicide bombing in

Afghanistan. And Murray marches on. The Wimbledon

champion reaches the fourth round of the Australian Open, making a big

step up after back surgery. Hello. A very good evening to you.

Police are continuing to question the mother of three year old Mikaeel

Kular after the discovery of the body of a young boy in woodland in

Fife. Mikaeel's disappearance in Edinburgh on Thursday sparked a

massive police search. Earlier, a body was removed from woods at the

rear of a bungalow believed to belong to an aunt of the boy, in

Kirkcaldy. Our correspondent Robert Hall is in Edinburgh tonight with

more. Robert. Kate, last night a senior officer

stood on the steps to give the news that tragically the search for

Mikaeel Kular was over. Within an hour, Mikaeel's mother had been

detained. Under Scottish law, she must be charged or arrested within a

24 hour period. The police have just told us that they hope to issue an

up date within the next half-hour. In rain-soaked woodland 20 miles

from Mikaeel Kular's home in Edinburgh, the forensic teams move

carefully around the discovery which dashed the hopes of so many. The

investigation into the disappearance of Mikaeel Kular has been

wide-ranging and fast moving. As a result of these enquiries, I can

confirm that we have recovered the body of a young boy in Fife shortly

before midnight. Mikaeel's face had become familiar

to all of us, the smiling three-year-old who had reportedly

vanished from his bed. The search for him has ended on a quiet

Kirkcaldy housing estate close to a bungalow which the BBC understands

belongs to an aunt. Today, the house and its garden, containing a

child's trampoline, have been sealed off, but the police activity is

concentrated in the wood beyond the garden fence. Mikaeel's mother,

33-year-old Rosdeep Kular, has been held in police custody. The hunt for

her son began according to police officers after she told them he had

gone missing. The Kulars live in Ferry Gait Crescent in the east of

Edinburgh. Police were alerted at 7.15 on Thursday morning. By five

that evening, emergency services backed by hundreds of volunteers had

begun a search which would last for two days. As darkness fell, the

police operation moved across the Firth for the Kirkcaldy, and at ten

past one this morning, they announced that a body had been

found. I have two kids of my own. It is just so sad. The poor wee boy.

Devastating news for a community which had so wish for a positive

outcome. Throughout the day, families in Edinburgh and Kirkcaldy

have been laying flowers in Mikaeel's memory. When we heard the

news, we were just devastated that this was what has happened, so we

just wanted to come and pay our respects. I am a mother myself, and

it is absolutely heartbreaking. Heartbreaking. The community in

north Edinburgh have been praised for their efforts during the search

for Mikaeel. 15-year-old Conor Dixon was among them. Tonight he spoke at

a service held in Mikaeel's memory. The community have been amazing.

There have been so many people trying to find him. I never knew the

community was this big and so helpful. It just makes me proud to

be from this community, to be honest with you.

Investigations at Kirkcaldy and in Edinburgh are still at an early

stage. There are many questions to be answered for police and public

alike. Tonight, Scotland's first Minister joined the tributes to the

local community and the efforts they had made in trying to find Mikaeel.

He said it was a story which had moved many in Scotland and beyond.

Police Scotland say they hope to provide us with a further update on

their investigation within the next half-hour, Kate. OK Robert, thank

you for that. Senior Conservatives have been

paying tribute to Lord McAlpine, the former party treasurer who has died

at the age of 71. His family said he passed away

peacefully last night at his home in Italy. Lord McAlpine, a close

advisor to Margaret Thatcher, was recently wrongly implicated in a

child abuse scandal. Alex Forsyth reports. A towering figure who made

a huge contribution to public life. That's how Lord McAlpine has been

described in tributes today. He was a powerful force in the Conservative

party as both Deputy Chairman and Treasurer. But perhaps his most

significant role was as Margaret Thatcher's political soul mate. His

support of her was unwavering, as a loyal aide and friend. Former

colleagues remember the man as well as the politician.

He was almost a Renaissance man. He'd done many things and been good

at pretty well all of them. Industry, commerce, the arts and

politics. He was trustworthy. He was funny, Puckish almost in his manner.

And he made many good friends. Lord McAlpine's long-standing

support for the Conservative party was briefly broken when he backed

the Euro-sceptic Referendum Party, led by Sir James Goldsmith, in the

1997 general election. But he soon returned to the fold. Over the

years, his fundraising expertise raised millions for the party, and

helped bankroll three successful general elections. In 2012, he was

wrongly implicated in child sex abuse allegations by the BBC's

Newsnight programme, for which he received an apology and substantial

damages. Lord McAlpine was an art collector, property developer and

author, but it was his dedication to the Conservative party that the

Prime Minister, David Cameron, praised today. His friends praised

his character and called him a man of integrity.

Lord McAlpine, who's died at the age of 71.

There are reports tonight that a British man has been shot dead and

his wife injured after their yacht was attacked in the Caribbean. The

incident happened off the island of St Lucia. Caribbean authorities said

an investigation had been launched. Two Britons are known to be among

the 21 people killed in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan. One of those

who died was a Labour party candidate in the forthcoming

European elections. The bomb was detonated outside a busy restaurant

frequented by westerners in the capital city Kabul. From there,

Caroline Wyatt sent this report. The wreckage of what had been a

special place, for Westerners and wealthy Afghans alike. One of the

rare restaurants in this city where they could mix and relax. All that

shattered in a heartbeat by a suicide bomber and two attackers

armed with AK-47s. They went through the restaurant, shooting dead

families and colleagues out for Friday night dinner. Amongst the

dead, four of the UN staff here, as was the head of the International

Monetary Fund in Afghanistan. Today, it was confirmed that one of the

British victims was a Labour candidate for the European elections

called Del Singh. Today his friends paid tribute to him and expressed

their shock. The other Briton killed was former soldier Simon Chase, a

father of two from Liverpool. He'd settled with his fiancee in Northern

Ireland, where he worked as a doorman at a bar. The staff that

worked with him commented that he was a true gentleman, a great

friend, and had a nature that couldn't see the wrong in anyone.

Obviously they are very upset today. Here in Kabul, the clean-up began in

earnest today as many mourned the loss of friends and family. This

restaurant was one of the very few in Kabul where Westerners and others

felt safe, because security here was seen as tight. But the suicide

bomber bypassed all of that by blowing up the entrance, and with

it, the sense that anywhere in Kabul could be seen as secure. Neighbours

of the restaurant are still in shock. Nadia Ramani lives in the

house opposite. She told me what happened. All of a sudden, the blast

happened. I screamed and jumped. There was machine gun, heavy firing.

I was shaking. I hide myself behind the curtain to stay safe in a safe

place. A lot of people has passed away and got killed, and I can see

the blood outside, so that's sad. It makes me very upset. Hopefully I'm

going to get over it, but it's not easy, because I knew the owner of

the restaurant, and I knew the guards.

This year, Afghanistan faces elections, then the withdrawal of

NATO combat troops. This attack in the heart of the capital has again

shattered hopes of peace. Caroline Wyatt, BBC News, Kabul.

Syria's main political opposition group the Syrian National Coalition

has voted in favour of attending peace talks next week, aimed at

ending the country's bloody civil war. The group had been under

pressure from its Western and Arab sponsors to attend the talks in

Geneva. President Assad's regime has already confirmed its presence at

the summit. France's First Lady, Valerie

Trierweiler, has left the Paris hospital where she was admitted a

week ago following reports of an affair between President Hollande

and an actress. In her first public comments since the allegations

emerged, Valerie Trierweiler said she was very touched by all the

messages of support she had received.

Allies of the Liberal Democrat peer Lord Rennard are threatening legal

action unless he's welcomed back into the party's parliamentary group

in the Lords. Party Leader Nick Clegg has said the whip shouldn't be

restored until Lord Rennard apologises to women who claim

they've been sexually harassed him. Lord Rennard denies the allegations.

Let's get more on this from our political correspondent Iain Watson

is in Westminster. Iain, what more can you tell us? Lord Rennard is one

of the most powerful members of his party, its former chief executive,

and just a few days ago, an independent investigations that

allegations against him of sexual misconduct towards some women

members of the party couldn't be proven beyond reasonable doubt, so

on Monday, he was invited to come here and resume his seat alongside

his Liberal Democrat colleagues. But Nick Clegg says he should be barred

from doing so until he apologises to some of the women for causing

distress. He says he would like to see that happen, but the snag is

that under the party rules, he has no power to make it happen. Allies

of Lord Rennard are saying that if he so much as tries, his party could

end up being challenged in the courts. In another interesting

development, a message from Lord Rennard briefly appeared on Facebook

and was spotted by Channel 4. In it he said he had tried to apologise to

some complainants in the past and had now been rebuffed. He now can't

apologise for legal reasons, and doesn't think an apology is

justified, so that is a direct challenge to his party leader, and

really the last thing that Nick Clegg needs ahead of a difficult

year of European elections and his party conference in just a few

weeks. Thank you. The BBC journalist and broadcaster

Komla Dumor has died suddenly at his home in London. He was 41 and had

suffered a heart attack. The BBC World News presenter joined the

corporation after a decade of journalism in Ghana where he was

born. The BBC said Komla was a leading light of African journalism,

with his energy and enthusiasm shining through every story he told.

Now we turn to the sport, and you can see Katie Gornall at the BBC

Sport Centre. Premier league results coming up,

but first, Andy Murray has cruised into the fourth round of the

Australian open after beating Feliciano Lopez in straight sets. He

described the winners a big setup after undergoing back surgery.

Patrick Geary reports. It might not look it, but by Melbourne's recent

standards, this was a cold day, with temperatures half of what they had

been, much more pleasant conditions to watch and play tennis. Andy

Murray will certainly have felt more at home, although it took a while to

calibrate. When it matters, he has an uncanny ability to be in the

right place at the right time, and it earned him a first set in the

tie-break. Lopez has represented Murray's biggest challenge since

returning from injury. By the second set, he seems to know his fate. His

serve went again in the first set of the third, gulf between the players

growing as the match went on. By the end, he simply had no answer to

Murray, who has yet to lose a set in three matches. I will get tested

more and more as the tournament goes on, but today was a big step up for

me, the best one I have had since my surgery, so I'm happy with that. In

the interview room, Murray is talking down his chances of winning

this Grand Slam. On the court, he is suggesting

otherwise. Patrick Geary, BBC News. There were goals in all seven of

today's Premier league games. You can see them on Match Of The Day

which follows the news. If you don't want to know the score is, it is

time to turn away. Manchester City have become the

quickest side in Premier league history to score 100 goals in a

season after their 4-2 win over Cardiff. Eddie Dzeko brought up the

landmark with the opening goal at the Etihad.

At the other end of the table, pressure is building on West Ham

manager Sam Allardyce. His side have dropped into the relegation zone

after a 3-1 defeat at Newcastle United. Meanwhile, Arsenal held onto

their 1-point lead over magister city at the top of the table with a

2-0 over Fulham. Liverpool drew with Aston Villa, and Ryan Bennett's

laced header gave Norwich a vital 1-0 win over Hull. In a Scottish

Premiership, Danny Williamson scored his first goal for Inverness

Caledonian Thistle to give them a 1-0 win over Aberdeen. Aberdeen's

defeat means they are now 13 points adrift of leaders Celtic, who beat

Motherwell three - zero. There were wins for Saint Mirren and Ross

County, while bottom of the table hearts scrounged to late goals to

win 3-3 at Saint Johnstone. In the Heineken Cup, Saracens grabbed the

last place in the quarterfinals and country hence if fashion.

They scored 11 tries. David Strett, recently left out of England's's six

Nations squad, grabbed a hat-trick. Elsewhere, Exeter won in. Jonny

Wilkinson kicked Toulon to 15-8 win over Glasgow.

Here are all the quarterfinalists. Saracens will now play Ulster.

Leicester qualify as one of the best runners-up. There are three French

sides, but Wales is not represented. If you'd's netball is have made a

winning start to their tri- Nations campaign in London.

They beat Jamaica 46-38 in the copper box arena. England are third

in the world, and played a team ranked directly above them, New

Zealand, in the next match on Monday. And that is all the sport

for now. Back to you, Kate. Finally, a 16-year-old boy from

Bristol has set a new record by becoming the youngest person ever to

trek to the South Pole. Lewis Clarke arrived this evening after taking

almost seven weeks to complete a gruelling 700-mile journey from the

Antarctic coast in temperatures as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius.

Much more of course on all of today's stories on the BBC News

Channel. That's all from me. Goodnight.

Good evening. I thought we would start with a quick look at the

latest radar sequence, which shows how wet we have been over the last

seven or eight hours. It is wet in Northern Ireland, and this area of

rain in the West, South West, gradually moving its way eastwards.

It has been dry in the East of England over the last few hours.

Notice the south-west quadrant of the UK which tends to dry up, they

will be some clear spells, not completely dry. Temperatures drop

down to -1 or two. A little ice around, maybe one or two patches of

fog. The second part of the weekend will be much brighter than the first

part, but it will be a slow start for the day in the East of Scotland.

Maybe one or two showers still across the north and north-east of

Northern Ireland, but in northern England, a lovely start to the day.

It is cold, but a bright start to the day here. As you had further

south again, maybe one or two patches of fog. Not completely dry,

because there are one or two showers just gathering in the channel, and I

suspect they will affect the south coast. The west coast of England

Wales is also likely to see a few showers. The rain in the north-east

of Scotland will clear away into the afternoon. Not overly windy, and

temperatures around about where they should be. Monday morning starts

cold with fog and frost, which will give away to some