09/03/2012

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:00:04. > :00:09.Italy demands to know why the British Government didn't inform

:00:09. > :00:12.them about the operation to rescue two hostages in Nigeria.

:00:12. > :00:14.The Italian President says he finds it inexplicable that they weren't

:00:14. > :00:23.consulted about the rescue attempt in which a British and Italian

:00:23. > :00:26.hostage died. The Labour MP Eric Joyce keeps his

:00:26. > :00:28.job and avoids a prison sentence as he's fined for assaulting four

:00:29. > :00:33.politicians during a disturbance in a House of Commons bar.

:00:33. > :00:39.It is a matter of personal shame what happened a couple of weeks ago,

:00:39. > :00:42.I have been punished today. I have been lucky to avoid prison frankly.

:00:42. > :00:49.Barclays paid an unnamed banker �6.7 million last year, even more

:00:49. > :00:52.than the boss Bob Diamond. Speeding up the adoption process in

:00:52. > :00:55.England, the Prime Minister says absurd barriers need to be removed

:00:55. > :00:57.to make mixed race adoption easier. The energy supplier, EDF, pays

:00:57. > :01:01.70,000 of its customers �50 each after an investigation into mis-

:01:01. > :01:11.selling. And some of the extraordinary

:01:11. > :01:21.

:01:21. > :01:28.images of the Northern Lights Will the allocated budget cover

:01:28. > :01:38.Olympics security. The president extends an invitation

:01:38. > :01:40.

:01:40. > :01:43.Good afternoon welcome to the BBC News at One.

:01:43. > :01:46.Italy's President has demanded an explanation over the deaths of a

:01:46. > :01:49.Briton and an Italian who were killed in a rescue operation in

:01:49. > :01:52.Nigeria yesterday. Giorgio Napolitano said the British had

:01:52. > :01:58.failed to inform or consult with Italy about what it was planning

:01:58. > :02:01.behaviour he called "inexplicable". Chris McManus and Franco Lamolinara

:02:01. > :02:04.died when UK Special Forces and the Nigerian military were trying to

:02:04. > :02:14.free them from an Islamist group that had been holding them hostage

:02:14. > :02:15.

:02:15. > :02:19.In Italy as in Britain, there is plenty of speculation about what

:02:19. > :02:24.happened during the failed rescue mission in Nigeria. There are

:02:24. > :02:31.questions about whether the Italian authorities were informed and

:02:31. > :02:35.demands for clarification. Italy's president has called the

:02:35. > :02:38.British action inexplicable. He He wants a political and diplomatic

:02:38. > :02:44.explanation. The sense of be wilderment is exowed on streets of

:02:44. > :02:47.Rome. It is too much of a mystery, says this man.

:02:47. > :02:50.Another says there should be better international agreements and

:02:50. > :02:54.contacts between countries. In London, it is clear that

:02:55. > :02:59.decisions were taken quickly yesterday in response who what was

:02:59. > :03:03.happening on the ground in Nigeria. The Italians were only informed

:03:03. > :03:07.after the rescue attempt began. Intelligence became available that

:03:08. > :03:12.allowed them to be located. There was a decision that had to be made

:03:12. > :03:15.about whether to act or not. The decision was the best chance of

:03:15. > :03:19.rescuing them, given all the intelligence we had, was to act

:03:19. > :03:25.then. This is the house after yesterday's

:03:25. > :03:28.raid. How long the firefight lasted is not known. The order was given

:03:28. > :03:32.for British and Nigerian forces to go in when it was decided that the

:03:32. > :03:36.lives of Chris McManus and Franco Lamolinara were in danger.

:03:36. > :03:40.According to David Cameron, it later transpired that the two men

:03:40. > :03:46.had been murdered by their captors before the rescue operation began.

:03:46. > :03:50.Though it is unclear how and when they died.

:03:50. > :03:52.At Chris McManus's home in Lancashire, friends and former work

:03:52. > :03:57.colleagues respected the young engineer.

:03:57. > :04:01.My reaction was devastation. Chris was a really good individual, very

:04:01. > :04:06.good team player and we were distraught that this has happened.

:04:06. > :04:16.The company begged him not to go to work in Nigeria. They kept his job

:04:16. > :04:18.

:04:18. > :04:20.open, and his desk unused for his James Robbins joins me now. How

:04:20. > :04:25.Awkward is this for the British Government? This is a serious

:04:25. > :04:30.complaint by the Italians which will have to be answered over time,

:04:30. > :04:33.particularly because an Italian citizen is dead. It was a Nigerian

:04:33. > :04:41.and British operation and no one disputes that the Italians were

:04:41. > :04:46.only told about the the res rescue operation after it started. Part of

:04:46. > :04:51.the British explanation is they had a tiny window of opportunity to

:04:51. > :04:54.mount a rescue. They only found out where the the hostages were held

:04:54. > :04:59.and it would have been obvious therefore, that the extremists

:04:59. > :05:06.would have known that their location was probably compromised,

:05:06. > :05:09.and therefore, they wanted to act quickly and and that's why it was a

:05:09. > :05:12.daylight raid. It doesn't answer the question why they didn't

:05:12. > :05:16.consult or inform the Italians in advance of the operation and you

:05:16. > :05:18.are bound to be left wondering whether they are fearful the

:05:18. > :05:22.Italians wouldn't give their consent and say no.

:05:22. > :05:26.Because they had been in contact with the whole hostage situation

:05:26. > :05:32.since it happened last May. I suppose a lot of people will be

:05:32. > :05:34.surprised that at the crucial moment they weren't told? There was

:05:34. > :05:38.close collaboration for eleven months. They had been working

:05:38. > :05:43.closely together on this. But there is a political cultural difference

:05:43. > :05:47.between the approach of of Britain and Italy historically to kidnaps.

:05:47. > :05:51.The Italians concede they are more inclined to pay ransoms. That's not

:05:52. > :05:54.to say that British citizens aren't got out of kidnaps by ransom

:05:54. > :06:04.payments, it is true that the British Government never agrees to

:06:04. > :06:05.

:06:05. > :06:07.pay ransoms. The MP Eric Joyce has been fined

:06:07. > :06:11.�3,000 after pleading guilty to assaulting four politicians in a

:06:11. > :06:13.bar at the House of Commons. A court heard he had head butted one

:06:13. > :06:16.Tory MP, attacked two Conservative district councillors and then

:06:16. > :06:21.turned on a fellow Labour MP. A police officer told the court the

:06:21. > :06:24.MP for Falkirk had "flipped". Chris Mason is at Westminster

:06:24. > :06:28.Magistrates' Court now. Tell us more about what the court was told.

:06:28. > :06:31.Yes, Eric Joyce leaving the court in the last five minutes, a free

:06:32. > :06:37.man, but with a severely damaged reputation. The court heard this

:06:37. > :06:41.morning that he was drinking with friends in the Strangers Bar in the

:06:41. > :06:46.Houses of Parliament over a fortnight ago. At around about

:06:46. > :06:52.10.30pm and the scenes there became particularly rowdy. Eric Joyce

:06:52. > :06:57.began singing. He head butted some people within the bar. Two MPs, a

:06:58. > :07:03.Conservative MP and a Labour whip were assaulted and two Conservative

:07:03. > :07:09.activists who work for Tory MPs were also attacked. The police were

:07:09. > :07:12.called. The police arrived at 10.50pm in the evening to discover

:07:12. > :07:17.upturned tables, Eric Joyce, the court was told, told the first

:07:17. > :07:22.police officer to arrive "you can't touch me, I'm an MP." In the last

:07:22. > :07:27.couple of minutes we have heard from Eric Joyce. He gave his

:07:27. > :07:31.reaction to avoiding a jail term. It is a matter of considerable

:07:31. > :07:36.personal shame what happened a couple of weeks ago. I have been

:07:36. > :07:43.punished today. I have been lucky to avoid prison. Frankly, that's

:07:43. > :07:47.something I'm sad about and very ashamed of that, of course,

:07:47. > :07:51.particularly apologetic to the people who were badly affected, to

:07:51. > :07:56.my constituents, to my family, the court and all the other people that

:07:56. > :08:05.were involved and clearly, that's a long list and a significant litany

:08:05. > :08:11.of sins. Eric Joyce has been banned from

:08:11. > :08:15.pubs and and res rants and -- restaurants and can't leave the

:08:15. > :08:22.country until September. A weekend curfew has been imposed on Eric

:08:22. > :08:25.Joyce. He said he intends to serving for the people of Falkirk.

:08:25. > :08:32.It was His intention to serve until 2015.

:08:32. > :08:35.David Cameron has been setting out his plans to speed up the adoption

:08:35. > :08:39.process in England and remove what he says are the "absurd barriers"

:08:39. > :08:43.to mixed race adoptions. He said there was no more urgent task than

:08:43. > :08:47.to ensure every child was given the love of a stable family and that

:08:47. > :08:57.councils would be told to avoid waiting for "the perfect match".

:08:57. > :08:57.

:08:57. > :09:00.Kevani Kand describes having her own children as a healing

:09:00. > :09:05.experience. She herself was in care from the age of nine and spent her

:09:05. > :09:09.childhood from then on with Foster parents and in a home. She says

:09:09. > :09:14.adoption was never mentioned wishes she had that choice.

:09:14. > :09:17.I would have liked to have been adopted. I am not against it at all,

:09:17. > :09:23.but unfortunately it was not an option that was given to me.

:09:23. > :09:27.Looking at things now, it could be due to my age at the time I came

:09:27. > :09:30.into the care system. Government's is worried that black

:09:30. > :09:34.children are more likely to stay in care than others. Government

:09:34. > :09:37.figures show that black children take longer to be adopted than

:09:37. > :09:43.white or Asian children and they are less likely to be adopted. The

:09:43. > :09:49.Government wants to make mixed race adoption easier, saying a child or

:09:49. > :09:52.parent's race shouldn't cause delays. Francesca says she and her

:09:52. > :09:56.partner were prevented from adopting British children because

:09:56. > :10:02.of her race. She has two children adopted from Mexico, after being

:10:02. > :10:05.turned down by her local council who had ethnic minority children it

:10:06. > :10:10.wanted to place, but wouldn't consider them.

:10:10. > :10:15.Often I would walk in the street and see children from different eth

:10:15. > :10:20.nissy. I know there is two children that could have had a loving stable

:10:20. > :10:25.home for the past four years. Kevani, is not against Inter racial

:10:25. > :10:30.adoption, but warns with her own experience with white Foster

:10:30. > :10:35.parents that it is complex. Ministers Are concerned about

:10:35. > :10:39.delays in the process so a change - - changing the emphasis from

:10:39. > :10:44.finding the perfect ethnic match to speed. Social workers acknowledge

:10:44. > :10:50.the system is too slow, but says decisions need great care.

:10:50. > :10:54.Sometimes you have to various factors to to ensure if the

:10:54. > :10:58.quickest option is the best option or whether you should wait for a

:10:58. > :11:01.family that is a better match. Each case is individual. It is a

:11:01. > :11:07.complicated process. Government wants legislation to

:11:07. > :11:10.make it easier for parents in England who want to adopt to Foster

:11:10. > :11:14.those children first and they want to make council to say look

:11:14. > :11:22.nationally rather than locally for adoptive parents earlier than they

:11:22. > :11:24.Barclays has revealed how much its top earners were paid last year.

:11:24. > :11:28.The bank's Chief Executive, Bob Diamond, received �6.3 million, but

:11:28. > :11:37.two other unnamed executives received even more. Let's get more

:11:37. > :11:42.sums again? They are big sums of money. Just to be clear Barclays

:11:42. > :11:46.top executives are getting less than last year, but for most people

:11:46. > :11:52.these rewards are substantial. Hot off the press here, they are Bob

:11:52. > :11:57.Diamond getting �6.3 million in total that's a salary of �1.35

:11:57. > :12:04.million and a bonus of �2.7 million and long-term benefits, long-term

:12:04. > :12:11.rewards of �2.25 million. As you say, two unnamed executives

:12:11. > :12:17.receiving in total �6.7 million and and �6.5 million each. And then

:12:17. > :12:25.there are one, two, three, four, five, six, seven others all getting

:12:25. > :12:30.well over over �2 million. A couple getting five and others getting

:12:30. > :12:35.four. So big sums of money. This is not a very hard recession for top

:12:35. > :12:39.bankers. This is going to be in a sense, bankers bonus disclosure day

:12:39. > :12:44.because in a couple of hours we will be getting the pay rewards at

:12:44. > :12:49.the semi nationalised banks, Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland. The

:12:49. > :12:54.treasury, ministers, will be hoping their rewards will not look quite

:12:54. > :13:01.as enormous as those that Barclays are getting. I understand that the

:13:01. > :13:05.rewards those banks banks -- the rewards at those banks will be less.

:13:06. > :13:11.There will be some getting several million. Some will see them as

:13:11. > :13:14.public officials as they are semi The prospect of Greece going

:13:14. > :13:17.bankrupt has receded for the moment after the Government in Athens

:13:17. > :13:19.reached a deal with private investors who had bought government

:13:19. > :13:21.bonds. Late last night it successfully re-negotiated the

:13:21. > :13:24.terms of its repayments with lenders. It means billions of euros

:13:24. > :13:27.will be written off the country's national debt, but lenders will now

:13:27. > :13:37.get back far less on the loans they'd given to the Greek

:13:37. > :13:41.The last few months have been some of the darkest in Greece's modern

:13:41. > :13:46.history. As the recession has deepened, so has the despair and

:13:46. > :13:50.anger of the Greek people. Riot, poverty, a loss of faith in the

:13:50. > :13:53.political leaders, all pushing this country to the brink. Endless End

:13:53. > :13:59.meetings in Brussels have tried o work out a solution to break the

:13:59. > :14:05.deadlock of debt, now now a rare glint of hope, a deal struck to

:14:05. > :14:10.lessen Greece's debt burden and spare the country from default and

:14:11. > :14:13.exit from the euro. TRANSLATION: This agreement we have

:14:13. > :14:16.reached with the private sector is excellent. It is A historic day for

:14:16. > :14:24.Greece, for the Greek Parliament, for the Greek people and for the

:14:24. > :14:30.national economy. This is the largest debt

:14:30. > :14:36.restructuring ever recorded. 107 billion euros of debt will be

:14:36. > :14:40.written off as old bonds are are exchanged for new. 80% of bond

:14:40. > :14:44.holders agreed to it. Securing the deal was essential for Greece to

:14:44. > :14:49.get its next bail out, 130 billion euros, that it needs within weeks

:14:49. > :14:54.to avoid bankruptcy. Debt relief for the Government, but

:14:54. > :14:58.among ordinary Greeks, few feel relieved. Austerity pushed up

:14:58. > :15:02.unemployment to record highs. One in two young Greeks are out of work

:15:02. > :15:08.and with wages slashed, some individual bond holders say they

:15:08. > :15:13.won't accept the debt deal. It is a wrong decision? Absolutely.

:15:13. > :15:16.They have done everything they could for the banks. They have

:15:16. > :15:21.given them tax breaks and everything to them and they haven't

:15:21. > :15:24.talked to us. By agreeing to the deal, banks and

:15:24. > :15:27.other investors have given Greece vital breathing space, but the

:15:28. > :15:31.problems here remain, a lock of growth and lack of productivity and

:15:31. > :15:35.without solving them, this country will struggle to pull itself out of

:15:35. > :15:39.its worst recession since the Second World War.

:15:39. > :15:44.Once again, Greece has teetered towards the edge. Once again it has

:15:44. > :15:54.been saved, but when will the next crisis moment come and will this

:15:54. > :16:00.

:16:00. > :16:05.exhausted country have the strength Och Correspondent in Brussels is

:16:05. > :16:09.Chris Morris. Reece has been told it can get that first batch of

:16:09. > :16:13.their bail out money now? Yes, in the last few minutes we have had

:16:13. > :16:17.this statement from the eurozone finance and its ministers, which

:16:17. > :16:22.has said at the this has been successfully concluded, it will

:16:22. > :16:26.release money for the second bail- out. They still need to sign up on

:16:26. > :16:32.the international monetary fund, but it is moving in the right

:16:32. > :16:37.direction. For a long time, the Euros and tried hock to a board

:16:37. > :16:43.writing of any debt in this crisis. But more than 100 billion euros of

:16:43. > :16:49.great debt is simply disappearing. Is that going to be enough? If you

:16:49. > :16:54.look at what the markets are doing with these new Greek bombs which

:16:54. > :16:59.will be appearing. They had already suggested there will be another

:16:59. > :17:03.debt restructurings perhaps in a couple of years. And then put a

:17:03. > :17:06.problem the eurozone countries, at that stage most of the debt will be

:17:06. > :17:12.held in public hands, so the people taking the bill will be the

:17:12. > :17:14.taxpayer. Our top story this lunchtime:

:17:14. > :17:18.Italy's president demands an explanation after the failed

:17:18. > :17:28.special forces operation in which a Briton and an Italian were killed.

:17:28. > :17:32.Coming Up: The flare-up on a sum which caused these amazing Northern

:17:32. > :17:38.Lights. On BBC London, amid the speculation

:17:38. > :17:41.about Chelsea's next boss, we get a Spanish lessened the stock is it

:17:41. > :17:51.going to warm up? We will have a weather forecast in

:17:51. > :17:53.

:17:53. > :17:55.15 minutes. Three days after six soldiers were

:17:55. > :17:59.killed by a Taliban bomb in Afghanistan their comrades are

:17:59. > :18:01.getting ready to be sent to the same area where they died. Five of

:18:02. > :18:05.those who were killed were serving with the Third Battalion, The

:18:05. > :18:08.Yorkshire Regiment and had been in the country for less than a month.

:18:08. > :18:11.As news of their deaths broke, the rest of their unit were still on

:18:11. > :18:13.Salisbury Plain where they've been training this week ahead of their

:18:13. > :18:22.deployment. Our defence correspondent, Caroline Wyatt, is

:18:22. > :18:28.with them now. This has been a tough week for the

:18:28. > :18:35.brigade. They are here in its final exercises before they are deployed.

:18:35. > :18:38.But they have acted come to terms that six of their comrades who went

:18:38. > :18:42.out ahead of them on the longer with them. But they know the most

:18:42. > :18:51.important thing is to focus on the mission they are going to

:18:51. > :18:55.Afghanistan to try and achieve. These men are showing a brave face

:18:55. > :19:00.to the world, although many were friends of the men who died. Their

:19:00. > :19:05.grieving will be done in private, although nobody denies this has had

:19:05. > :19:09.an impact as they prepare to leave for Helmand. But this week with the

:19:09. > :19:15.casualties we had just had, I had just had a newborn son. Nobody

:19:15. > :19:18.wants to go but you have to do it. This has seen the final exercise of

:19:18. > :19:24.this brigade, but Gissing the minds of many months of training. They

:19:24. > :19:28.are keen to show their families they are well prepared. I had not

:19:28. > :19:34.had a chance to speak to my family yet. When I speak to them at the

:19:34. > :19:38.weekend, I know my mum is proud of me because she knows this is what I

:19:38. > :19:42.want to do. She knows the training we have done for the last nine

:19:42. > :19:48.months has made sure we are focused and able to do the job. All are

:19:48. > :19:51.well aware of the dangers that lie ahead, a few more than a medical

:19:51. > :19:56.emergency response team, also in training. The presence of these

:19:56. > :20:01.flying addicts provide reassurance to the troops, that even if they

:20:01. > :20:08.are injured, help will be at hand. It has a massive impact on troop

:20:08. > :20:12.morale. The troops on the ground know that if they are injured we

:20:12. > :20:17.will come in to rescue them, and as soon as they are on board, we will

:20:17. > :20:22.make them pain-free. We bring the hospital to the patient, rather

:20:22. > :20:27.than the patient to hospital. Defence Secretary came here in

:20:27. > :20:30.person, together with the cheek of the Defence that. An indication to

:20:30. > :20:37.reassure the public that the sacrifices made in Helmand have

:20:37. > :20:40.been worth it. Having been out there and seen the Afghan security

:20:40. > :20:44.forces slowly gaining strength, are sacrificed to put them in the right

:20:44. > :20:49.place to protect themselves is valid. History will finally judge

:20:49. > :20:54.that, but I think our mission is progressing in the right direction

:20:54. > :20:58.and the sack its eyes as delivered changes in the security environment.

:20:58. > :21:01.Leaving for Helmand now will be hard for those here and the

:21:01. > :21:05.family's back at home, in the knowledge more casualties may be

:21:05. > :21:11.suffered in the coming months. But the message from the men and women

:21:11. > :21:20.ready to go, they are as well prepared as they can be.

:21:20. > :21:24.The omission, of course, is being part of the wider NATO forces in

:21:24. > :21:29.Afghanistan so the police and forces can operate on their own

:21:29. > :21:34.once British and other NATO forces lead. That will involve the men and

:21:34. > :21:39.women here risking the lives on patrol to reassure the Afghans and

:21:39. > :21:43.make sure their Afghan counterparts are working. They all know it is a

:21:43. > :21:46.tough job, but they say their minds are focused on the mission ahead.

:21:46. > :21:49.The energy firm EDF has agreed to pay out �4.5 million after

:21:49. > :21:51.admitting its sales staff misled customers when they sold them deals.

:21:51. > :21:54.The energy regulator, Ofgem, found that people weren't given complete

:21:54. > :21:59.information during the sales process. 70,000 customers will now

:21:59. > :22:07.get �50 each in the biggest payment of its kind in the energy industry.

:22:07. > :22:12.Here's our business correspondent, John Moylan.

:22:12. > :22:17.The doorstep selling. It is an issue that has docked the energy

:22:17. > :22:21.industry since privatisation in the 90s. Now an investigation into some

:22:21. > :22:26.of our biggest firms has resulted in the largest payout from a

:22:26. > :22:30.supplier. The investigation found when EDF's door-to-door salesman

:22:30. > :22:36.knocked, they did not provide the customers with the information

:22:36. > :22:41.needed to compare deals. It also found telesales agents make claims

:22:41. > :22:47.about savings without knowing if those claims were correct.

:22:47. > :22:51.Energy had breached their obligations. They accept that. They

:22:51. > :22:57.acted promptly to put things right and they want to do right by their

:22:57. > :23:01.customers, and that is important to recognise. But EDF Energy had

:23:01. > :23:05.breached their licence obligations. What we did not find was any

:23:05. > :23:11.evidence of EDF energy condoning or ongoing the selling. The company

:23:11. > :23:15.will now pay at �4.5 million as a result of their failings. This

:23:15. > :23:22.would have gone to the Treasury, but 70,000 of its most vulnerable

:23:22. > :23:26.customers will benefit. Those households receive a refund of �50.

:23:26. > :23:31.We have been calling on Ofgem to be more in a to Vic in how it tackles

:23:31. > :23:35.these investigations and try and get the money back to people who

:23:35. > :23:41.have been affected, victims of poor behaviour in this market. It is

:23:41. > :23:45.good to see they have done that. Hopefully it will send a signal to

:23:45. > :23:55.other companies that it can reach a settlement with the regulator.

:23:55. > :24:03.

:24:03. > :24:07.Last year, a committee of MPs accused the industry of using Del

:24:07. > :24:12.Boy type sales practices. Investigations into three other

:24:12. > :24:15.major suppliers, and power, SNP and ScottishPower, continued.

:24:15. > :24:18.Oxfam is warning of a humanitarian catastrophe in West Africa, where

:24:19. > :24:21.13 million people are at risk from hunger. The governments of Burkina

:24:21. > :24:25.Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger have already declared

:24:25. > :24:28.emergencies and called for international help. Oxfam has now

:24:28. > :24:37.launched a global appeal, as our world affairs correspondent, Mike

:24:37. > :24:43.Wooldridge, now reports. Evidence of the drought is stocked

:24:43. > :24:48.in Chad. Little for these cattle to graze on, when the grass should be

:24:48. > :24:53.me high at this time. And the last heart this is it me a grim memory

:24:53. > :25:00.for these women digging into and hills to search for the grain the

:25:00. > :25:03.ants have buried. Adjitti Mahamat uses any grain she can find to feed

:25:03. > :25:08.her children. If she did not do this, she said, the children would

:25:08. > :25:13.go to sleep without eating. She says this year, the harvest was

:25:13. > :25:21.back. Oxfam says across Chad and five other countries of this region,

:25:21. > :25:26.Mahon nutrition rates are hovering between 10 and 15%. And in some

:25:26. > :25:31.places overworn million children are at risk from Severe, acute

:25:31. > :25:36.malnutrition. And the grain harvest is down by 1.4 million tonnes for

:25:36. > :25:42.the six countries, while food prices by 25-50% up on the average

:25:42. > :25:47.for the last five years and could rise even higher. A special units

:25:47. > :25:50.in Niger, the children who are so really malnourished and have a

:25:50. > :25:53.medical complications. Oxfam argues the world we took too long to

:25:53. > :25:59.respond to the emergency in East Africa last year, and the same

:25:59. > :26:05.cannot be allowed to happen now in Sahel. Meanwhile, fierce fighting

:26:05. > :26:08.is taking place in Mal -- northern Mali. Thousands of people are

:26:08. > :26:15.forced to flee their homes, adding to the challenges faced by aid

:26:15. > :26:19.workers. Building earth banks to retain any rain that falls. The

:26:19. > :26:23.cash they and helps them by food it it is available. Oxfam says a far

:26:23. > :26:27.bigger aid effort is needed across this region it's a potential

:26:27. > :26:30.catastrophe is to be avoided. Players at Rangers Football Club,

:26:30. > :26:32.which is facing liquidation, are close to agreeing to a deal under

:26:32. > :26:35.which they'd receive pay cuts but avoid redundancy. Administrators

:26:35. > :26:40.say that without an agreement, the Scottish champions may not finish

:26:40. > :26:50.the season. Colin Blane, is at Murray Park in Glasgow where

:26:50. > :26:53.

:26:53. > :26:59.players have been training this morning. What is the latest?

:26:59. > :27:06.Sorry, we cannot see him. We will leave that one.

:27:06. > :27:10.We will move on. Some spectacular images. A solar storm pounding the

:27:10. > :27:14.Earth may not have caused the destruction to communications many

:27:14. > :27:20.feared, but it has resulted in some amazing images of the Northern

:27:20. > :27:24.Lights. These photographs were taken in Finland, Russia and Sweden,

:27:24. > :27:29.and show as spectacular display caused by charged particles from

:27:29. > :27:34.the sun hitting the Earth's magnetic field at over 500 miles a

:27:34. > :27:42.second. They were thrown into space by two solar flares, the biggest of

:27:42. > :27:52.five years. Unfortunately, cloudy skies and a full moon will stop us

:27:52. > :27:56.from seeing those spectacular Cloud has been spoiling things a

:27:56. > :28:01.bit. In contrast to everything going on high up in the atmosphere,

:28:02. > :28:04.low down it is quiet. Not just the this weekend but into next week as

:28:04. > :28:10.well. Right honourable gentleman weather to come and temperatures

:28:10. > :28:16.are heading into the mild and very mild category. But there is no wall

:28:16. > :28:20.to wall Sunshine, a lot of cloud. Some brightness moving into the

:28:20. > :28:25.Midlands and northern Scotland. As we have seen in Glasgow, rain is

:28:25. > :28:29.coming across Northern Ireland, central and southern Scotland. It

:28:29. > :28:35.will be turning like but it is accompanied by gusty winds.

:28:35. > :28:39.Northern Scotland is brightening up. Damp across Cumbria, into the Lake

:28:39. > :28:44.District and blustery into northern parts of England especially. To the

:28:44. > :28:49.east of the Pennines, some breaks. In southern England, more cloud

:28:50. > :28:59.than yesterday and a pot from drizzle, it is Refuse Members'

:29:00. > :29:04.

:29:04. > :29:10.Drizzle increasing across western areas, into tonight. There will be

:29:10. > :29:16.hill fog, bridging along the coast reducing visibility. In northern

:29:16. > :29:20.Scotland the wind picks up again. Elsewhere, sadly a lot of cloud

:29:20. > :29:29.again so you are hard pressed to find the brakes but the Northern

:29:29. > :29:34.Lights. In mild start to the weekend. Cloud again to the west,

:29:34. > :29:39.giving drizzle in places, poor visibility. Patchy rain in northern

:29:39. > :29:44.Scotland where it is still windy. North and east Wales, East and

:29:44. > :29:51.Scotland, we get Sunshine breaking through and look what it does to

:29:51. > :29:57.the temperature. 16, possibly 17 degrees. We are in good shape than

:29:57. > :30:04.the next round of the Six Nations rugby in Wales. Coverage across the

:30:04. > :30:07.BBC. It will be fine de Paris on Sunday for the England game. More

:30:07. > :30:12.cloud around to the far west and drizzle in places on Sunday.

:30:12. > :30:18.Elsewhere, after a cloudy start it brightens up and does everything

:30:18. > :30:27.for the temperature. The start of next week - high-pressure Whicker's.

:30:27. > :30:30.Weather changes will be subtle. It is the weather that will get you in

:30:30. > :30:35.is the weather that will get you in a spring-like state of mind. And

:30:35. > :30:39.reminder of our top story - the Italian President has criticised

:30:39. > :30:43.Britain over a failed rescue mission in Nigeria in which a