21/02/2013 BBC News at One


21/02/2013

Similar Content

Browse content similar to 21/02/2013. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

Three men are found guilty of a plot to explode rucksack bombs in

:00:12.:00:16.

the UK. Police believe these men were central in the attacks that

:00:16.:00:20.

could have been bigger than the atrocities in July 2005. The

:00:20.:00:23.

detective leading the case against Oscar Pistorius could be removed,

:00:23.:00:28.

as it's emerged he's facing seven attempted murder charges.

:00:28.:00:34.

David Cameron says more of the UK's aid budget could be spent on

:00:34.:00:37.

peacekeeping missions overseas. Critics call the plan outrageous.

:00:37.:00:42.

Better news for the UK's finances - more tax revenue helped boost last

:00:42.:00:46.

month's borrowing figures. An attack on Tottenham Hotspur fans

:00:46.:00:52.

in France ahead of their team's Europa League tie in Lyon.

:00:52.:00:57.

Voyage to the bottom of the sea - a special report on the strange

:00:57.:00:59.

creatures surviving in the depths of the ocean.

:00:59.:01:04.

Later on BBC London: Thank you for this miracle right

:01:04.:01:10.

now over your life. The satellite TV that promises to kill life-

:01:10.:01:12.

threatening illnesses over the phone. Health charities condemn the

:01:12.:01:22.
:01:22.:01:31.

practise. Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC News at One. In

:01:31.:01:37.

the past few minutes three men have been found guilty of leading a

:01:37.:01:39.

terrorist bomb plot police believe could have been bigger than the

:01:39.:01:44.

attacks of July 7, 2005. Irfan Naseer, Irfan Khalid and Ashik Ali

:01:44.:01:51.

were described as central figures in a plot to set off up to eight

:01:51.:01:53.

rucksack bombs in crowded areas. Our Home Affairs Correspondent June

:01:53.:01:55.

Kelly is outside Woolwich Crown Court.

:01:55.:02:00.

Well, by blowing themselves up, these men intended to cause mass

:02:00.:02:03.

deaths and casualties on the streets of the UK. That is what the

:02:03.:02:08.

court was told. The jury also heard they hadn't decided on specific

:02:08.:02:12.

targets on occasion, but one of them said they had talked about

:02:12.:02:16.

killing British soldiers. The ringleader had tried to recruit

:02:16.:02:20.

other young men to join this plot, and this is a plot that was

:02:20.:02:25.

thwarted as the result of a joint operation involving the Security

:02:25.:02:31.

Service MI5 and West Midlands Police Counterterrorism Unit. The

:02:31.:02:37.

climax to a massive counterterrorism investigation -

:02:37.:02:40.

late night in Birmingham, and the police are about to arrest three

:02:40.:02:45.

men involved in a plot to become suicide bombers and commit mass

:02:45.:02:55.
:02:55.:02:57.

murder on the streets of Britain. First out of the car, Ashik Ali,

:02:57.:03:03.

then Irfan Khalid and finally the key figure in this terrorist cell,

:03:03.:03:09.

Irfan Naseer. Birmingham is the hometown to all

:03:09.:03:13.

three, but although they have been born and brought up here, the jury

:03:13.:03:18.

heard they had come to despise the British. Irfan Naseer, the

:03:18.:03:24.

mastermind of this plot, had attacked the 7/7 London bombers for

:03:24.:03:27.

not causing enough carnage. Irfan Khalid, his right-hand man, was

:03:27.:03:31.

with him at every stage of the plot, and Ashik Ali described how they

:03:31.:03:35.

talked about donning suicide vests and using guns and bombs to

:03:35.:03:40.

slaughter British soldiers. These men were the real deal. They

:03:40.:03:44.

were committed, passionate extremists. They had a real stated

:03:44.:03:47.

intention of killing and maiming as many people as they possibly could.

:03:47.:03:52.

The plot leader, Irfan Naseer, went from popular schoolboy to jihadist.

:03:52.:03:57.

He was planning to put his pharmacy degree to use as the bomb maker in

:03:58.:04:02.

this terrorist cell. Some who knew him kept their distance because of

:04:02.:04:08.

his radical views. He was very open about his support for jihadists in

:04:08.:04:17.

Afghanistan. He was very open about his approval and admiration for the

:04:17.:04:23.

Taliban, even within the extremist fold, he was extreme. The men were

:04:23.:04:25.

under the influence of radical Islam. Although the plot was

:04:25.:04:31.

hatched in Birmingham, Naseer and Khalid travelled thousands of miles

:04:31.:04:37.

to the tribal areas of Pakistan for terrorist training with Al-Qaeda.

:04:37.:04:40.

The pair revered Osama Bin Laden and recorded suicide videos to be

:04:40.:04:44.

released after their deaths. These haven't been found. But from the

:04:44.:04:48.

time they landed back in the UK, they were under surveillance. They

:04:48.:04:53.

were being monitored by the police and the Security Service MI5. Bugs

:04:53.:04:58.

were planted in their cars, and they were heard planning to

:04:58.:05:03.

detonate up to eight rucksack bombs. To finance the plot, they pretended

:05:03.:05:07.

to be collecting money for charity, raking in thousands of pounds

:05:07.:05:14.

during the holy month of Ram Dan. But the charity Muslim Aid was

:05:14.:05:18.

cheated out of cash by the men. Inside their home they started

:05:18.:05:24.

gathering components to make a bomb. On a noteS in a ear had sketched

:05:24.:05:31.

out a plot to make the device. Concerned for safety, MI5 decided

:05:31.:05:37.

to make arrests. These men achieved notoriety by blowing themselves up.

:05:37.:05:43.

They may be infamous, but they'll be behind bars for years.

:05:43.:05:46.

Six associates of these men had already pleaded guilty to terrorism

:05:47.:05:50.

charges. In the case of four of them, they had been sent to

:05:51.:05:54.

Pakistan for terrorism training by the ringleader, Irfan Naseer, but

:05:54.:05:57.

they didn't actually go through with the training. They were

:05:57.:06:03.

ordered home by relatives. As I said in the piece, these men

:06:03.:06:07.

defrauded their own community by pretending to be collecting for the

:06:07.:06:11.

charity Muslim Aid. Muslim Aid has put out a statement saying these

:06:12.:06:16.

too were victims of fraud in all of this. The next stage for the men is

:06:16.:06:19.

sentencing. That won't happen today, but the judge has told them that

:06:20.:06:28.

they should expect life terms. June Kelly, thank you very much.

:06:28.:06:31.

There's been another twist in the Oscar Pistorius murder inquiry -

:06:31.:06:33.

the South African police officer leading the investigation is

:06:33.:06:36.

himself facing seven charges of attempted murder. Detective Hilton

:06:36.:06:38.

Botha, who faced fierce questioning at the athlete's bail hearing

:06:38.:06:41.

yesterday, was allegedly involved in a shooting two years ago. There

:06:41.:06:44.

are calls for him to be dropped from the case. Oscar Pistorius

:06:44.:06:46.

denies the premeditated murder of his girlfriend. Our correspondent

:06:46.:06:55.

Peter Biles has just sent this report. Each day at this bail

:06:55.:06:59.

hearing in Pretoria brings surprises, and the process is

:06:59.:07:03.

taking longer than expected. As Oscar Pistorius was brought back to

:07:03.:07:06.

court this morning, it was revealed that yesterday's key witness, the

:07:06.:07:09.

investigating officer for the police, is facing charges of

:07:09.:07:15.

attempted murder. Hilton Botha is alleged to have been involved in an

:07:15.:07:21.

incident two years ago in which he and fellow officers opened fire on

:07:21.:07:24.

a minibus taxi carrying seven people. Charges had been dropped,

:07:24.:07:30.

but after further investigations, they were reinstated earlier this

:07:30.:07:33.

month. They have handled it clumsily. Surely, they should have

:07:33.:07:41.

been prepared and aware of the fact that the - was going to be

:07:41.:07:45.

reinstated. I would assume they would have dealt with it in a more

:07:45.:07:48.

professional manner in at least mentioning it or bringing it up,

:07:49.:07:53.

just not dealing with it as a spice. It's just a week since Oscar

:07:53.:07:57.

Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, and

:07:57.:08:01.

South Africans remain shocked by what's happened and bewildered by

:08:01.:08:05.

the way in which events continue to unfold. The amount of detail that's

:08:05.:08:09.

come out of the early stage of this murder investigation is unusual,

:08:09.:08:13.

but that's because Oscar Pistorius' lawyers have to make a very

:08:13.:08:15.

convincing argument to the magistrate if there's to be any

:08:15.:08:19.

hope of bay. The court has been shown, for example, the floor plan

:08:19.:08:24.

of Oscar Pistorius' house in Pretoria. From the postmortem

:08:24.:08:28.

evidence it was found that Reeva Steenkamp's bladder was empty. This

:08:28.:08:31.

was said to be consistent with going to the bathroom in the middle

:08:31.:08:34.

of the night. There were no other injuries apart from the gunshot

:08:35.:08:38.

wounds that she sustained. It was confirmed that four shots had been

:08:38.:08:43.

fired through the toilet door. A full trial is still many months

:08:43.:08:47.

away. Much of this evidence will be heard again then. For now, the

:08:47.:08:51.

issue is a simple one - should Oscar Pistorius be granted bail or

:08:51.:09:01.

Our Africa correspondent Andrew Harding spent the morning in court.

:09:01.:09:04.

You have the bail issue, but with this extraordinary turn of events

:09:04.:09:07.

with the detective, what impact could that development have on the

:09:07.:09:11.

case? Well, it was quite extraordinary.

:09:11.:09:14.

The magistrates summoned the detective to court. He hadn't

:09:14.:09:18.

appeared this morning, so there was a short delay, and it was confirmed

:09:18.:09:22.

that he is facing seven counts of attempted murder. After that,

:09:22.:09:26.

frankly the issue was dropped. It seemed clear that the magistrate

:09:26.:09:30.

and the defence did not want to make a big deal about that that it

:09:30.:09:33.

happened two years ago, and they'd much rather focus on the evidence

:09:33.:09:36.

concerning Oscar Pistorius, and it was that that the prosecution and

:09:37.:09:42.

the defence focused in on now. So what is likely to happen next,

:09:42.:09:46.

Andrew? Well, the defence is just wrapping up. Essentially, they were

:09:46.:09:51.

going through, again, yesterday's evidence and saying this Detective

:09:51.:09:56.

Botha had been biased, selective and that essentially the state had

:09:56.:10:00.

no case of premeditated or simply murder against Oscar Pistorius and

:10:00.:10:03.

he should be granted bail. The defence is expected to wrap up any

:10:03.:10:07.

moment now. Then it will be the prosecution's turn to begin its

:10:07.:10:12.

arguments in favour of keeping Oscar Pistorius in jail. It's

:10:12.:10:15.

likely because of the delays we have had today that a decision

:10:15.:10:20.

won't be announced now until tomorrow. Andrew, thank you. Andrew

:10:20.:10:23.

Harding there. You can follow all the latest developments from the

:10:23.:10:31.

courtroom on the BBC News Live web page. That's bbc.co.uk/news.

:10:31.:10:34.

David Cameron has indicated he wants to use the UK's aid budget to

:10:34.:10:36.

fund peace-keeping and other defence-related operations around

:10:36.:10:39.

the world. The Prime Minister said that security and stability were

:10:39.:10:41.

often needed before development could go ahead. He's been under

:10:41.:10:44.

pressure from his backbenchers to cut the aid budget, which he'd

:10:44.:10:47.

promised to protect but there has been criticism from some aid

:10:47.:10:57.
:10:57.:10:57.

charities, as our political correspondent Ross Hawkins has more.

:10:58.:11:02.

David Cameron has long been committed to spending 0.7% of the

:11:02.:11:05.

aid of Britain's income on aid. That is a lot trickier when cuts

:11:05.:11:10.

are being made at home, as you mentioned. It's caused tensions in

:11:10.:11:14.

the Conservative Party as well. He's sticking by that target, but

:11:14.:11:17.

he's dropped a strong hint that some of that money could be shared

:11:17.:11:21.

a bit more widely. Spending on aid and food rations

:11:21.:11:24.

like these is going up, while spending on defence is being

:11:25.:11:28.

squeezed. In the past, that's made some Conservatives furious, but a

:11:28.:11:32.

change could be on its way, and some of the Prime Minister's

:11:32.:11:36.

backbench critics are very pleased. I congratulate the leader of my

:11:37.:11:42.

country for actually making a very sensible and pragmatic decision.

:11:42.:11:47.

Aid should be delivered properly. If aid is delivered properly, you

:11:47.:11:54.

require security. But outside his party, they warn what makes

:11:54.:11:56.

Conservative backbenchers happy won't necessarily meet targets for

:11:56.:12:00.

aid spending. I think David Cameron is obviously concerned that some

:12:00.:12:03.

critics feel that the defence budget has been cut while the aid

:12:03.:12:08.

budget has been expanded, but the idea that you can simply switch

:12:08.:12:12.

development assistance money into defence and achieve the target is

:12:12.:12:16.

not possible. What's happening? An existing pot of money called the

:12:16.:12:21.

conflict pool already helps pay for peacekeeping. It's run by three

:12:21.:12:23.

Government departments - the Ministry of Defence, the Foreign

:12:23.:12:27.

Office and the Department for International Development. It could

:12:27.:12:31.

be significantly increased with more development money going in, so

:12:31.:12:35.

extra aid cash could be spent on the military, and for some, that's

:12:35.:12:39.

troubling news. We're very worried about any of the aid budget degree

:12:39.:12:43.

diverted to military spending. Aid is to help fight poverty. That's

:12:43.:12:47.

why millions of people across the UK support it. We need to see it

:12:47.:12:51.

spent on schools not soldiers. Government says it will stick to

:12:51.:12:59.

rules that stop aid spending being spent for purely military purposes.

:12:59.:13:02.

In Westminster, Government departments are fighting over how

:13:02.:13:06.

much money they'll each have after 2015. Necessary plans are part of

:13:06.:13:10.

that debate. We'll need to wait until the budgets are published to

:13:10.:13:20.
:13:20.:13:21.

find out if this is a big change in the way aid spending works.

:13:21.:13:25.

We'll find out in the first half of this year just what the departments

:13:25.:13:28.

get to spend from 2015. People will be watching the defence budget

:13:28.:13:33.

closely, particularly Conservatives who simply observe Britain has new

:13:33.:13:36.

military commitments in West Africa at a time of cuts at home.

:13:36.:13:43.

Indeed. Ross, thank you. Official figures show the Government

:13:43.:13:45.

received more money than it spent last month helping to reduce its

:13:46.:13:50.

borrowing for the year. January's figure is usually in credit but

:13:50.:13:55.

Ministers say the surplus was larger than expected. Hugh Pym is

:13:55.:13:59.

with us, as you can see. How much larger was it? Yes, the money comes

:14:00.:14:05.

flooding into the give's coffers in January usually because of the

:14:05.:14:09.

self-assessment tax deadline, this much as ever. Let's have look at

:14:09.:14:15.

that figure - a pretty chunky number, quite a lot higher than

:14:15.:14:17.

last year, but there was money moving over from the Bank of

:14:17.:14:21.

England and so on. So let's look at the underlying picture for the

:14:21.:14:26.

first ten months of the financial year, and that shows Us the

:14:26.:14:30.

Government was borrowing �897.6 billion for ten months, quite a bit

:14:30.:14:34.

higher than the previous year once you have stripped out these figures

:14:34.:14:40.

- that was �92.3 billion at the same stage. The Chancellor's aiming

:14:40.:14:44.

for �120 billion. It's going to be touch and go whether he maip makes

:14:44.:14:48.

it or not. The Treasury's response is what? They're saying even

:14:48.:14:53.

stripping out the factors it was quite good. You shouldn't read too

:14:53.:14:58.

much into these figures. Theses are volatile. You can get subsequent

:14:58.:15:02.

revisions. Last year was revised down a lot after a few months had

:15:02.:15:08.

passed. Labour is saying this is a flatlining economy and that the

:15:08.:15:12.

Government is failing in its aim of reducing the deficit. Three

:15:12.:15:15.

Tottenham Hotspur fans have been attacked and injured in the French

:15:15.:15:18.

city of Lyon on the eve of their team's Europa League cup tie.

:15:18.:15:24.

Around 150 supporters of the club were gathered in a bar when up to

:15:24.:15:26.

fifty masked people confronted them, throwing chairs and smashing

:15:26.:15:36.

Mobile phone footage of a surprise attack showing boar stools and

:15:36.:15:40.

tables flying through the air. Tottenham Hotspur fans inside this

:15:40.:15:45.

pub say they were subject to an onslaught by around 20 men dressed

:15:45.:15:51.

in balaclavas. Dozens of Spurs fans had gathered in this pub in the

:15:51.:15:54.

centre of Lyon when suddenly, they say, people tried to smash their

:15:54.:16:01.

way in, using tables and chairs from a nearby bar as missiles. Fans

:16:01.:16:05.

reported after, the men had given Nazi salutes outside the pub before

:16:05.:16:11.

launching their attack. I've witnessed violence before, but only

:16:11.:16:17.

football vie lepbls. That was racism. That was nothing to do with

:16:17.:16:21.

football. There have been football fans walking round town all day.

:16:21.:16:27.

No-one was touched. There are similarities to a violent clash in

:16:27.:16:32.

Rome last November when ten Spurs fans were hospitalised about a

:16:32.:16:36.

group carrying iron bars and knives. Fans then said some of the

:16:36.:16:40.

attackers were wearing balaclavas and reported hearing anti-Semitic

:16:40.:16:45.

chanting during the attack. Tottenham Hotspur, with its roots

:16:45.:16:51.

in North London, have long had a large Jewish following. Last night

:16:51.:16:56.

attacks have left many fans worried about travel ago broad. The club

:16:56.:17:02.

says extra stewards are on hand now ahead of the game.

:17:02.:17:05.

An inquest has opened into the deaths of two British servicemen

:17:05.:17:11.

who were killed in an attack by a rogue Afghan soldier. Sergeant Luke

:17:11.:17:18.

Taylor of the Royal Marines and lance corporate rat Michael Foley

:17:18.:17:21.

of the Adjutant General's Corps were killed in Afghanistan last

:17:21.:17:28.

March. This was believed to have been a so-called green or blue

:17:28.:17:35.

attack? Yes, there was a dramatic rise in those insider attacks last

:17:35.:17:38.

year. 14 British soldiers died last year in these kind of attacks.

:17:38.:17:43.

That's a quarter of all the British casualties last year in Afghanistan.

:17:43.:17:47.

We've been hearing in court the details of that event on the 26th

:17:47.:17:54.

of March, the first of these kind of attacks last year at the main

:17:54.:17:57.

operating base in Lashkar Gah. It was at the maybe entrance of that

:17:57.:18:00.

base, we've heard from a number of soldiers on guard, two of them

:18:00.:18:05.

breaking down, recalling the events of the day. They described how two

:18:05.:18:11.

Afghan vehicles with troops arrived at main entrance. They asked to be

:18:11.:18:15.

allowed in. They were turned away. They became aye rate. They stayed

:18:15.:18:20.

there. The situation, we are told, was calm. Then we understand Lance

:18:20.:18:24.

Corporal Michael Foley opened the gate to allow somebody in. Then one

:18:24.:18:31.

of the Afghans burst in shot Lance Corporal Michael Foley and in that

:18:31.:18:34.

firefight, sergeant Luke Taylor was killed. We don't know what the

:18:34.:18:38.

motive for this attack was. Whether this was an insurgent attack, what

:18:38.:18:43.

we do know is that security at the base has been tightened since.

:18:43.:18:48.

We're expecting the Coroner to return a verdict later today.

:18:48.:18:54.

It is coming up to 1.19pm. Our top story: Three men have been found

:18:54.:18:58.

guilty of a suicide bomb plot that could have been bigger than the

:18:58.:19:04.

attacks of 7/7. This robotic submarine has been

:19:04.:19:08.

investigating some of the strangest features of the deep ocean. I'll

:19:08.:19:13.

have a special report on its latest discoverries.

:19:13.:19:18.

The man accused of killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend the week

:19:18.:19:24.

before their child was due. And the organ at the royal Festival

:19:24.:19:34.
:19:34.:19:35.

Hall being restored to its former The came pain for Eastleigh the

:19:36.:19:38.

former seat of the ex-Liberal Democrat minister Chris Huhne has

:19:38.:19:42.

been called the most colourful by- election in recent memory. 14

:19:42.:19:45.

candidates are in the race with the coalition partners, the

:19:45.:19:48.

Conservatives and Lib Dems, at the heart of the battle. Our political

:19:48.:19:52.

correspondent, Robin Brant, has been to see how voters are feeling

:19:52.:19:58.

ahead of the poll a week today. The River Hamble on the edge of

:19:58.:20:03.

Eastleigh, you'd be hard pushed to find a more tranquil place. But

:20:03.:20:08.

upstream, on the road into town, there are signs of the major scrap

:20:08.:20:13.

taking place here. It's set the two sides of the coalition against each

:20:13.:20:16.

other. The Liberal Democrats have been stuffing leaflets through

:20:16.:20:20.

doors since they won back in 1994. There's no question about their

:20:20.:20:25.

enemy in this room. Let's cut to the chase, you're campaigning to

:20:25.:20:28.

succeed a lying, disgraced Liberal Democrat, how's that going? It's

:20:28.:20:32.

not a problem on the doors at all. We're looking at taking this

:20:32.:20:35.

forward. The reputation I've got locally, that the Liberal Democrats

:20:35.:20:40.

have locally are providing tax cuts for local people, investment and

:20:40.:20:44.

jobs. That's what we'll do if we go on to win. The Conservatives are

:20:44.:20:49.

deploying their big guns to stop that happening. The Mayor of London

:20:49.:20:54.

draws a following. But parts of Eastleigh were atough -- a tough

:20:54.:20:58.

call for Boris. Some couldn't even bring themselves to shake hands.

:20:58.:21:03.

Sorry. But it's not all about personalities. It's about the fact

:21:03.:21:07.

that they need as soon as possible to elect an MP that can be

:21:07.:21:10.

trustworthy here who has worked with local people across the

:21:10.:21:15.

constituency, working on projects and campaigns they truly are behind,

:21:15.:21:19.

the fight to save our green field spaces here in Eastleigh. This part

:21:19.:21:26.

of the country, like many suburban areas, needs new homes. There are

:21:26.:21:30.

controversial plans to pave over every fairway u, bunker and green

:21:30.:21:34.

of a local golf course. It's not just about local politics. For the

:21:34.:21:38.

Liberal Democrats if they can't retain this seat ai, strong hold,

:21:38.:21:41.

some inside the party could get gloomy about their leader Nick

:21:41.:21:44.

Clegg and the years ahead. For the Tories, if they're to think about

:21:44.:21:47.

moving beyond coalition, David Cameron's got to prove he can win

:21:47.:21:54.

in places like this. I've voted by postal vote. This is not a two-

:21:54.:21:59.

horse race though. The UK Independence Party is on the march.

:21:59.:22:04.

They're trying to take votes off all sides. I don't see us as the

:22:04.:22:08.

protest party. I think increasingly and you've only got to look at the

:22:08.:22:13.

media over the last few years, more and more people are waking up and

:22:13.:22:17.

feeling very, very dissatisfied with what the EU is causing for UK

:22:17.:22:22.

citizens on a day-to-day basis. Then there's Labour in Eastleigh,

:22:22.:22:26.

is Ed Miliband's message punching through in the south? Can I leave

:22:26.:22:31.

that with you? Yeah, but I don't vote. They've chosen a writer, a

:22:31.:22:36.

non-politician to get over that. There is a certain amount of

:22:36.:22:40.

disillusionment with politicians, boring men in grey suits, he said.

:22:40.:22:43.

The problem is that people with feeling that all politicians are

:22:43.:22:46.

the same and they say one thing and do another. I don't mind being

:22:46.:22:50.

slightly off message for the Labour Party. This is a genuinely high-

:22:50.:22:53.

stakes race. All the party leaders are visiting. Each would love to

:22:53.:23:03.
:23:03.:23:04.

The by-election takes place on February 28. That's a list there of

:23:04.:23:07.

all the candidates. You can also all the candidates. You can also

:23:07.:23:16.

find that on the BBC website. The Conservative peer Lord McAlpine

:23:16.:23:21.

is dropping defamation claims against some Twitter users, who

:23:21.:23:24.

wrongly named him as a paedophile. Instead he's asked them to donate

:23:24.:23:29.

�25 each to the BBC's Children In Need.. He was falsely implicated as

:23:29.:23:34.

a result of an investigation bit BBC's Newsnight programme.

:23:34.:23:37.

At least 30 people are reported to have been killed in a car bomb

:23:37.:23:42.

attack in the centre of the Syrian capital Damascus. It's believed the

:23:42.:23:45.

head quarter of the ruling Ba'ath Party was the target. A political

:23:45.:23:49.

solution to the crisis in the country is still being sought. The

:23:49.:23:53.

opposition is holding a two-day meeting in Cairo to discuss ways to

:23:53.:23:58.

try to reach a peace deal. A businessman, suspected of

:23:59.:24:03.

murdering a family of four in their home two years ago, has appeared

:24:03.:24:08.

before magistrates. The Ding family was stabbed to death in Wootton in

:24:08.:24:11.

Northampton. Anxiang Du was extradited back to the UK yesterday.

:24:11.:24:18.

Our correspondent, Jo Black, is at Northampton Magistrates' Court.

:24:18.:24:22.

Du was brought back onto British soil yesterday afternoon on a

:24:22.:24:27.

flight from Casablanca. This morning he was brought here to

:24:27.:24:30.

Northampton magistrates in an unmarked police car. It's almost

:24:30.:24:34.

two years since the death ftz Ding family. This morning this case

:24:34.:24:39.

brings to an end the global search for Anxiang Du.

:24:39.:24:44.

On April 29th, 2011, as most of the country watched the Royal Wedding,

:24:45.:24:50.

a family of four were murdered in their own home. Geoff Ding, his

:24:50.:24:55.

wife Helen and their two daughters were all stabbed to death. Two days

:24:55.:25:00.

later detectives took the unusual step of naming a suss peck. The

:25:00.:25:06.

family's former business associate Anxiang Du. These pictures show Mr

:25:07.:25:09.

Du arriving in Northampton by train on the day of the murders.

:25:09.:25:13.

Detectives drew a blank. He was nowhere to be found. They appealed

:25:13.:25:17.

internationally through Interpol to over 180 countries. Then in July

:25:17.:25:24.

last year, 15 months later, Mr Du was recognised, spotted on a

:25:24.:25:30.

building site in Tangiers. He was working as a night watchman. He was

:25:30.:25:34.

arrested. The UK has no extradition treaty with Morocco. It's taken

:25:34.:25:36.

seven months to bring him back. This morning he was blaut to court

:25:36.:25:43.

where he now faces four murder charges. This morning's hearing at

:25:43.:25:48.

Northampton magistrates was relatively short. It only lasted a

:25:48.:25:50.

few minutes. Through an interpreter Mr Du told the court his name and

:25:50.:25:56.

address. The case has been referred to the Crown Court.

:25:56.:25:59.

British scientists have been exploring some of the most hostile

:25:59.:26:03.

conditions in the seas of the Caribbean. They've discovered vents

:26:03.:26:09.

which blast out some of the hottest water on the planet, 400 degrees

:26:09.:26:12.

centigrade. Our science editor, David Shukman, sent this report

:26:12.:26:19.

from the James Cook research vessel. This is the Caribbean and I'm on a

:26:19.:26:23.

research ship called the James Cook, which is investigating the ocean

:26:23.:26:27.

floor three miles down below us. They've been deploying a robotic

:26:27.:26:31.

submarine to look down there. The images it's produced are quite

:26:31.:26:39.

extraordinary. Hide ra thermal vents are belching out what likes

:26:39.:26:43.

like black smoke, but it's hot water. The chief scientist on the

:26:43.:26:46.

skpe Titian is Dr Jon Copley from the National Oceanography Centre.

:26:46.:26:49.

What is the key thing that you have discovered so far? We've been

:26:49.:26:55.

exploring the world's deepest undersea volcanic vents, where new

:26:56.:27:01.

crust of the earth is being created. Our submarine is about to come back.

:27:01.:27:07.

It's got samples of the hot fluid here, 400 degrees C when we

:27:07.:27:13.

collected it. We're hoping for specimens of new creatures. As an

:27:13.:27:17.

extraordinary landscape down there, rather eerie actually. What is

:27:17.:27:21.

significant scientifically about it? This is a world which sz -- has

:27:21.:27:28.

been hidding from us for all of human history, until now. Know with

:27:28.:27:31.

ke explore the world under our world. For the first time we're

:27:31.:27:34.

seeing what the face of our planet is really like. What that means for

:27:34.:27:39.

the geological force that's shape our world, the patterns of life in

:27:39.:27:44.

the ocean that we're kocted to. When you sent the submarine down

:27:44.:27:49.

you were expected to find vents, but you stumbled on an entirely new

:27:49.:27:54.

set. We stumbled on a new set of underwater vents. We saw we were

:27:54.:27:59.

seeing the ones we had seen before. But we were in a different location,

:27:59.:28:02.

completely unexpected to us. This is common place as we explore the

:28:02.:28:06.

deep ocean. Every visit we make new discoverries. It's often said that

:28:06.:28:09.

we know more about the surface of the moon or Mars than about the

:28:09.:28:13.

surface of the deep ocean, is that actual lit case? It is the case

:28:13.:28:17.

that we know more about the surface of other planets because our own

:28:17.:28:22.

world has this watery veil. It blocks the kind of things we use to

:28:22.:28:25.

look at the surface of planets from satellites. We can't do that in the

:28:26.:28:29.

ocean. The only way to understand the deep ocean is to get down there

:28:29.:28:35.

and actually see it close up. is genuine discovery, Dr Jon Copley,

:28:35.:28:39.

thank you very much. The dives of the submarine will continue. The

:28:39.:28:44.

basic message is that the more they look, the more they find.

:28:44.:28:46.

Absolutely fascinating there. Our science editor, David Shukman,

:28:46.:28:51.

there. You can see more on that on tonight's BBC News at Six. Now,

:28:51.:28:56.

time for the weather. How are we time for the weather. How are we

:28:56.:28:59.

looking? Pretty cold. I hope you have a nice

:28:59.:29:04.

scarf because it's looking on the chimy side. I still have goose

:29:04.:29:08.

bumps from coming into work, such is the bitter wind that creeps up

:29:08.:29:15.

behind you. Here's the wind, this is the graphic which shows the air

:29:15.:29:18.

from continental Europe, where it's colder now. Because the winds are

:29:19.:29:22.

from the east it's cold across the UK as well. This is what the

:29:22.:29:25.

temperatures are today, two or three degrees. When you add the

:29:25.:29:29.

wind it feels like it's minus two or minus three degrees. That's not

:29:29.:29:32.

that bad, but it's cold enough I suppose for some of us. This is the

:29:32.:29:36.

cloud then across the UK right now. There is a bit of sunshine around,

:29:36.:29:39.

it's not dull and grey everywhere. There is some lovely weather across

:29:39.:29:43.

the UK. If you're sheltered from the wind, it feels like a

:29:43.:29:46.

reasonable day. It's these western fringes where we have a bit of

:29:46.:29:52.

sunshine. For the rest of the us, especially the eastern areas, it's

:29:52.:29:56.

the beanies an ber yays and all. That make sure you have your gloves

:29:56.:30:00.

as well if you're outside. Temperatures plus one or two

:30:00.:30:05.

degrees. There might even be one little flurry of snow off the North

:30:05.:30:08.

Sea through the afternoon. Notice the south, we have breaks in the

:30:08.:30:12.

cloud as well. Then across the south-west of the country, plus

:30:12.:30:17.

five degrees. The air is very dry across the UK today. So that's why

:30:17.:30:21.

it also feels pretty cold. Dry air feels very chilly when the wind is

:30:22.:30:25.

blowing. Western parts of Wales a bit of sunshine. Also across

:30:25.:30:28.

Northern Ireland. The sunny spells will be coming and going, then

:30:28.:30:33.

coming back again. Around two or three degrees. This evening and the

:30:33.:30:37.

wind blows from the east once more. The map turns blue. There's a frost

:30:37.:30:41.

on the way. Temperatures will dip down to around minus one, minus two.

:30:41.:30:49.

Last night in Scotland we had mine is seven. This coming night we

:30:49.:30:52.

could see temperatures down to minus ten. Tomorrow morning, we

:30:52.:30:58.

could be waking up to a bit of snow across the south-east, Kent, Sussex

:30:58.:31:02.

those sorts of areas. And the weather, we do it all over again.

:31:02.:31:08.

This is what it looks like, down to around minus two, even minus four

:31:08.:31:12.

on the Norfolk coast with that biting wind, the beast from the

:31:12.:31:17.

east. Saturday, we could see more substantial snow flurries across

:31:17.:31:21.

the East Midlands and Sunday it's copy-cat conditions again, it's

:31:21.:31:24.

chilly winds out of the east and temperatures around about two to

:31:24.:31:28.

five degrees. So, it's certainly looking chilly. Are you ready?

:31:28.:31:34.

I am! Thank very much. Now then a reminder of our main story. Three

:31:34.:31:37.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS