:00:12. > :00:17.A royal day here at Broadcasting House as the Queen officially opens
:00:17. > :00:20.the BBC's new headquarters. Her Majesty had been due to be
:00:20. > :00:24.accompanied by her husband, but the Duke was admitted to hospital to
:00:24. > :00:29.undergo an exploratory operation. Broadcasting has enriched our lives
:00:29. > :00:39.in so many ways. I hope this new building will serve you well for
:00:39. > :00:43.the future, and I'm delighted to declare it open today. We'll be
:00:43. > :00:46.having more on the Queen's vizit and the condition of the Duke later
:00:46. > :00:50.in the programme. Coronation Street actor Bill Roache
:00:50. > :00:53.appears in court charged with indecently assaulting four girls in
:00:53. > :00:57.the 1960s. A new blood test for Down's
:00:57. > :01:01.Syndrome is developed. Researchers say it will dramatically reduce the
:01:01. > :01:04.need for invasive procedures. The United Nations launches the
:01:04. > :01:09.biggest appeal in its history to help those affected by Syria's
:01:09. > :01:13.bloody civil war. "Do svadaniya" - Vladimir Putin
:01:13. > :01:17.says goodbye to his wife on Russian TV as they announce they're getting
:01:17. > :01:22.divorced. On BBC London, a security Minister sees first hand the
:01:22. > :01:27.destruction caused by a fire at the Islamic Centre in Muswell Hill. A
:01:27. > :01:37.smash and grab at we feel ridge's right in front of shoppers. Police
:01:37. > :01:49.
:01:49. > :01:52.Good afternoon, and welcome to the BBC News at 1.00pm.
:01:52. > :01:55.The Queen has spent the morning here at New Broadcasting House in
:01:55. > :01:58.Central London to open officially the BBC's new headquarters. She had
:01:58. > :02:02.been due to do this accompanied by her husband the Duke of Edinburgh,
:02:02. > :02:05.but he is in hospital less than half a mile away at the London
:02:05. > :02:11.Clinic where he is undergoing exploratory surgery on his abdomen.
:02:11. > :02:14.The Queen visited Radio One and toured the BBC newsroom. But it was
:02:14. > :02:16.from the studio of Radio Four's Today programme that she declared
:02:16. > :02:26.the building open. Our royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell
:02:26. > :02:28.
:02:28. > :02:34.It was a morning when you might imagine she would have preferred to
:02:34. > :02:39.remain away from the news media. Instead of which, as her husband
:02:39. > :02:45.faced surgery, the Queen carried on without him with a visit to the
:02:45. > :02:47.biggest media organisation in the country, the BBC, to open its new
:02:47. > :02:53.headquarters at New Broadcasting House. The chairman of the BBC
:02:53. > :02:57.Trust, Lord Patten, and the BBC's recently appointed director general,
:02:57. > :03:00.Tony Hall, greeted her. Whatever the green's private concerns about
:03:00. > :03:04.her husband, they were precisely that, private. This was an
:03:04. > :03:08.engagement which had been in her diary for more than six months, and
:03:08. > :03:12.it was being fulfilled. Little more than half a mile away
:03:12. > :03:20.from the BBC building at the private London Clinic, doctors were
:03:20. > :03:25.assessing the Duke with a view to surgery.
:03:25. > :03:28.At the BBC, the Queen's broadcasting adventure had begun in
:03:28. > :03:34.the studios of Radio One with a song.
:03:34. > :03:38.# I - I would be Queen # Not necessarily quite her thing,
:03:38. > :03:45.but after 60 years of doing this sort of thing, she's used to just
:03:45. > :03:50.about anything. And then into the news area, home to all the BBC's
:03:50. > :03:54.domestic and worldwide programmes on television and radio. John
:03:54. > :03:59.Humphries asked her how the Duke was. The Queen said she had no
:03:59. > :04:04.information. She was taken into a studio which
:04:04. > :04:08.was broadcasting live on BBC Radio Four and around the world on the
:04:08. > :04:11.BBC World Service, where she was invited to open the building by the
:04:11. > :04:16.BBC's director general. Your majesty, as you've seen so far
:04:16. > :04:18.walking around this building, it gives us all enormous pleasure to
:04:18. > :04:22.welcome you to New Broadcasting House, and particularly so in the
:04:22. > :04:27.week in which we are celebrating the 60th anniversary of your
:04:27. > :04:31.coronation. We are all only sorry that His Royal Highness, the Duke
:04:31. > :04:36.of Edinburgh, has been unable to come with you today, and all of us
:04:36. > :04:41.wish him a speedy recovery. Thank you, Director-General. It is a
:04:41. > :04:45.great pleasure to visit the BBC today and to see it in its new home.
:04:45. > :04:50.I remember first coming to New Broadcasting House with my father,
:04:50. > :04:56.the King, and my mother and sister shortly before the war. I came
:04:57. > :05:02.again with the Duke of Edinburgh just before the coronation in 1953.
:05:02. > :05:09.I was struck then, as I am now, by the sheer pace of change which has
:05:09. > :05:14.transformed your industry over the past 60 years, years during which
:05:14. > :05:18.broadcasting has enriched our lives in so many ways. I hope this new
:05:18. > :05:25.building will serve you well for the future, and I'm delighted to
:05:25. > :05:30.declare it open today. APPLAUSE
:05:30. > :05:33.The main BBC newsroom is said to be the biggest in Europe, a hub of
:05:33. > :05:38.supposedly hard-nosed newsmen and women. It has to be said that that
:05:38. > :05:42.wasn't how it was when the Queen came to visit. For a few minutes,
:05:42. > :05:47.the hub was abandoned, as hundreds of BBC staff jostled for the best
:05:47. > :05:52.position from which to see her. She gazed in at one of the new studios
:05:52. > :05:56.broadcasting on the BBC News Channel, and the news channel gazed
:05:56. > :06:00.back at her. Her Majesty, the Queen, to the heart of BBC New
:06:00. > :06:03.Broadcasting House and our live newsroom. It's a view we share with
:06:03. > :06:10.our live audience every day, but today a unique moment with a very
:06:10. > :06:14.special Royal guest. But the Queen's thoughts on what
:06:14. > :06:20.she was seeing and who she was meeting, there were any number of
:06:20. > :06:23.familiar faces to have a word with. At the London Clinic, we know the
:06:23. > :06:26.Duke of Edinburgh will be there for up to two weeks. He's already
:06:26. > :06:29.receiving good wishes, including those of the Prime Minister.
:06:29. > :06:33.Duke of Edinburgh is held in the highest esteem by people right
:06:33. > :06:37.across our country. He's an extraordinary -- extraordinarily
:06:37. > :06:39.dedicated public servant and such an enormous support for our
:06:39. > :06:44.sovereign that I know the whole country will be thinking about him,
:06:44. > :06:48.thinking about the family and wishing him well. The Queen left
:06:48. > :06:55.the BBC without revealing anything about her husband's health. She,
:06:56. > :06:58.like many others, will be waiting for news from the hospital.
:06:59. > :07:01.As we've heard, the Duke of Edinburgh is due to undergo an
:07:01. > :07:05.exploratory operation on his abdomen after spending the night in
:07:05. > :07:07.hospital. Prince Philip, who is 92 on Monday, was admitted to the
:07:08. > :07:16.London Clinic yesterday and is expected to stay in hospital for
:07:16. > :07:21.about two weeks. Daniela Relph has the latest.
:07:21. > :07:24.No obvious sign of a problem - no hint that surgery and a stay in
:07:24. > :07:27.hospital were imminent - at a Buckingham Palace garden party
:07:27. > :07:32.yesterday afternoon, it was business as usual from the Duke of
:07:32. > :07:37.Edinburgh. But as soon as the garden party was over, the Duke was
:07:37. > :07:42.on his way here to hospital in central London where today's explor
:07:43. > :07:46.more reatory surgery on his abdomen will take place under general
:07:46. > :07:51.anaesthetic. The important factors in dealing with older surgical
:07:51. > :07:56.patients is to make sure that you have prompt decision making done by
:07:56. > :08:01.senior medical professionals and, in the case of older patients
:08:01. > :08:06.having general surgery, it's best that they are nursed on high
:08:06. > :08:10.dependency units. This is the Duke's third stay in hospital in a
:08:10. > :08:16.year after the rigours of the Jubilee celebrations last summer.
:08:16. > :08:19.Prince Philip was twice admitted with a bladder infection, and at
:08:19. > :08:22.Christmas 2011 there was a more serious heart problem. That
:08:22. > :08:26.required emergency surgery on a blocked artery. This current
:08:26. > :08:29.hospital stay will mean the Duke has to scale back some of his
:08:29. > :08:32.public engagements. He was at the Queen's side for this week's
:08:32. > :08:37.service at Westminster Abbey marking 60 years since the
:08:37. > :08:41.Coronation, but Trooping the Colour next weekend and then Royal Ascot
:08:41. > :08:45.may now be off the agenda. The Duke of Edinburgh could stay here in
:08:45. > :08:51.hospital for up to two weeks. It would give him a chance to recover
:08:51. > :09:00.from the surgery and force him to rest.
:09:00. > :09:03.And there will be more on this story at the end of the programme.
:09:03. > :09:06.The Coronation Street actor Bill Roache has appeared in court in
:09:06. > :09:09.Preston charged with five counts of indecent assault, alleged to have
:09:09. > :09:13.taken place in the 1960s. The charges involve four girls who were
:09:13. > :09:17.aged between 11 or 12 and 16 at the time. Judith Moritz is at Preston
:09:17. > :09:21.Magistrates Court. Bill Roache came to court to face new allegations of
:09:21. > :09:25.child sexual abuse. He was arrested yesterday when he went to a police
:09:25. > :09:29.station in Lancashire. His lawyer spoke on his behalf before today's
:09:30. > :09:32.hearing. During two lengthy police interviews, Mr Roache has fully
:09:32. > :09:37.cooperated with all the questions that the police have had for him in
:09:37. > :09:41.relation to these matters. We expect that later this year or
:09:41. > :09:46.possibly earlier next year a jury will be asked to consider whether
:09:46. > :09:51.Mr Roache is guilty or not guilty of those charges. Mr Roache looks
:09:51. > :09:57.forward to standing before that jury where he will vigorously
:09:57. > :10:02.protest his innocence against what he regards as deeply upsetting
:10:02. > :10:07.allegations made against him. Roache is charged with five counts
:10:07. > :10:12.of indecent assault against four girls in Manchester in 1965 and
:10:12. > :10:17.1968. Now 81, the actor was in his 30s at the time. The alleged
:10:17. > :10:22.victims were between 11 or 12 and 16. They can't be identified for
:10:22. > :10:26.legal reasons. I'm make an anniversary D... Bill Roache is
:10:26. > :10:30.known to millions as Ken Barlow, the longest serving cast member of
:10:30. > :10:36.Coronation Street. He's appeared in the soap since its
:10:36. > :10:42.first episode in 1960. The soap star was arrested at his home last
:10:42. > :10:45.month and charged with raping a 15- year-old girl on two occasions in
:10:45. > :10:49.1967. Today's allegations involving different girls were made national
:10:49. > :10:54.wake of those rape charges. Bill Roache left court on bail. He'll
:10:54. > :11:00.appear here at Preston Magistrates' Court on Monday.
:11:00. > :11:04.Judith Moritz reporting there. A leading cancer charity has
:11:04. > :11:07.forecast that by 2020 nearly half the population can expect to get
:11:07. > :11:13.cancer in their lifetime. Macmillan Cancer Support says the figure has
:11:13. > :11:16.gone up by more than a third in the past two decades. It says those who
:11:16. > :11:21.do develop the disease will be less likely to die. Our health
:11:21. > :11:26.correspondent explains. Frank is a cancer survivor. It's
:11:26. > :11:31.more than ten years since doctors discovered a cancer tumour in his
:11:31. > :11:33.brain. Extensive treatment, including chemotherapy and
:11:34. > :11:37.radiotherapy successfully shrank the tumour. He's grateful to be
:11:37. > :11:45.alive, but he's been left with serious health problems. You have
:11:45. > :11:54.to come to terms with, in my case, a left-sided weakness in my arm and
:11:55. > :11:59.my leg, balance problems, endless fatigue...
:11:59. > :12:02.I'm sorry. We seem to have a problem with that report. We'll try
:12:02. > :12:05.to sort out the technical problem there.
:12:05. > :12:14.A new method of screening for Down's Syndrome has been developed,
:12:14. > :12:17.which trials suggest is more than 99% accurate. Researchers say it
:12:17. > :12:20.could dramatically reduce the need for pregnant women to have invasive
:12:20. > :12:22.procedures that can lead to miscarriage. The test analyses the
:12:22. > :12:24.mother's blood, which carries fragments of the baby's DNA.
:12:24. > :12:26.Our medical correspondent Fergus Walsh is here.
:12:26. > :12:30.This sounds very promising. How significant is this? I really think
:12:30. > :12:35.this is a major advance in screening. A trial of a thousand
:12:35. > :12:40.women at King's College Hospital in London - it was, as you said, more
:12:40. > :12:45.than 99% accurate, and it gives parents a pretty definitive answer.
:12:45. > :12:49.We saw today our film today with our lady called Lucy Brazier, 12
:12:49. > :12:55.weeks pregnant. She went there for her first scan, and she was told
:12:55. > :13:00.from the scan she had a one in 270 chance of having a baby affected by
:13:00. > :13:04.Down's, but two weeks before at ten weeks, she'd had a blood test, and
:13:04. > :13:12.that reduced that risk to less than one in 10,000, so what it will do -
:13:12. > :13:19.it will cut out lots of unnecessary invasive follow-up tests -
:13:19. > :13:22.amniosentesis or others which carry a small risk of miscarriage. Every
:13:22. > :13:27.year 300 healthy babies miscarry as a result of unnecessary checks.
:13:27. > :13:33.am sure a lot of mothers-to-be listening will think, when might
:13:33. > :13:38.this be available on the NHS? is another big trial starting next
:13:38. > :13:43.month. 20,000 women - that'll take two years. The test costs will need
:13:43. > :13:48.to fall. It's �400, but I've got very little doubt that in a few
:13:48. > :13:51.years' time, this will be standard across the MHS. Presumably, great
:13:51. > :13:59.excitement in the medical community that this development has come?
:13:59. > :14:07.Absolutely, and it's come from this figure of a man who more than 20
:14:07. > :14:13.years ago at King's College Hospital pioneered and invented the
:14:13. > :14:17.scan which is more than 90% accurate, very good. I really think
:14:17. > :14:20.it's a very positive day for screening. OK, Fergus, very
:14:20. > :14:25.interesting stuff. Thank you very much indeed for that.
:14:25. > :14:30.The time now - it's 1.14pm. Our top story this lunch time:
:14:30. > :14:34.The Queen has officially opened the BBC's new headquarters. She was due
:14:34. > :14:36.to be accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh but he is in hospital due
:14:36. > :14:40.to undergo an operation. And still to come, from the
:14:40. > :14:44.battlefield to the classroom - the former soldiers offered a fast
:14:44. > :14:48.track into teaching. Later on BBC London: homelessness
:14:48. > :14:52.in London has risen by 16% in the past year, the highest increase in
:14:52. > :14:56.the country, and experts warn that the capital's trees are under
:14:56. > :15:06.threat from the spread of disease. That's all to come in 15 minutes'
:15:06. > :15:10.
:15:10. > :15:15.biggest appeal in its history in response to the ongoing crisis in
:15:15. > :15:18.Syria. Aiming to raise more than �3 billion to help refugees. 1.6
:15:18. > :15:26.million people have now fits the rear and are staying in camps around
:15:26. > :15:36.the country. 6.8 million people are thought to be in need. That is
:15:36. > :16:13.
:16:13. > :16:18.almost one third of the total The physical destruction of the
:16:18. > :16:23.country and the progressive collapse of a state. This is why so
:16:23. > :16:28.many flee - fierce fighting in this town this week has left it in ruins.
:16:28. > :16:33.A recent UN report said children are witnessing acts of brutality as
:16:33. > :16:38.Syria tears itself apart. This week fighting in the Golan Heights
:16:38. > :16:42.nudged up against Israeli territory, a sign the three-year conflict is
:16:42. > :16:52.barely contained within Syria's borders. Already some 80,000 have
:16:52. > :16:53.
:16:53. > :16:57.died. Life is increasingly and children are disproportionately
:16:57. > :17:01.affected. The organisation admits it can barely keep up with demand.
:17:01. > :17:04.Every month we are having 50,000 people crossing the border over to
:17:04. > :17:08.Lebanon, coming from Syria, and every month we are increasing our
:17:08. > :17:12.capacity to meet the needs of these people. For us, food is the highest
:17:12. > :17:17.priority for these people at the moment. We are able to cope but it
:17:17. > :17:21.is getting more and more difficult. Part of the problem has been
:17:21. > :17:24.countries pledging money in the past and not paying up, but the bigger
:17:24. > :17:28.problem is the continued fighting that drives people to flee. With no
:17:28. > :17:33.political solution in sight, camps like this are unlikely to shrink
:17:33. > :17:40.soon. In fact, the UN wants this latest appeal will only cover its
:17:40. > :17:42.works until the end of this year. If you would like to find out more
:17:43. > :17:51.about the appeal and the latest on what is happening in Syria, there
:17:51. > :17:54.are more details on our website, bbc.co.uk/news.
:17:54. > :17:58.Former Armed Forces personnel without degrees will be fast tracked
:17:58. > :18:02.into teaching in England under a new government programme. The Troops To
:18:02. > :18:06.Teachers scheme will help ex-servicemen and women retrain over
:18:06. > :18:08.at two year period. Ministers say the recruits will inspire young
:18:08. > :18:10.people but teaching unions have warmed to teachers scheme will help
:18:10. > :18:12.ex-servicemen and women retrain over at two year period. Ministers say
:18:12. > :18:14.the recruits will inspire young people but teaching unions have
:18:14. > :18:16.walked the proposals could threaten standards. Our education
:18:16. > :18:19.correspondent Luke Walton has more. From frontline to the front of
:18:19. > :18:23.class. Irfan Khan was a rifleman in the Royal Green Jackets including
:18:23. > :18:27.spells in Northern Ireland and Sierra Leone before switching to
:18:27. > :18:32.teaching. He says his time in the military helped build the skills and
:18:32. > :18:39.confidence he needed for his new profession. In the Armed Forces I
:18:39. > :18:43.picked up the willingness to do more and transferring that over the kids
:18:43. > :18:46.now makes them enthusiastic about education. Kids do see me as a role
:18:46. > :18:52.model generally because I am a teacher but being in the Army, they
:18:52. > :18:59.like to ask questions, asking what was it like in the army? Under the
:19:00. > :19:03.--. Under the scheme, ex-service men and women without degrees can
:19:03. > :19:07.qualify as teachers in two years, half the current time, and there
:19:07. > :19:12.will be salaries for both graduate and non-graduate trainees was a
:19:13. > :19:16.military background. This teacher has made a successful transition
:19:16. > :19:21.from the Armed Forces, but there are some who question the wisdom of
:19:21. > :19:25.giving ex-military personnel are fast track into the classroom.
:19:25. > :19:29.Teaching unions fear the training will cut corners. We believe there
:19:29. > :19:32.will be some people who have spent some time in the army who will be
:19:32. > :19:36.excellent, and in the nature of things there will be some people who
:19:36. > :19:40.will not. The question is what the routers and whether they are
:19:40. > :19:45.actually being appropriately trained and prepared for teaching and this
:19:45. > :19:48.scheme does not look as if it will do that. The Government insists
:19:48. > :19:51.selection for the courses will be rigorous and that successful
:19:51. > :19:56.candidates are likely to have high levels of technical skills as well
:19:56. > :20:00.as experience of men touring or teaching within the Armed Forces.
:20:00. > :20:07.Even so, the idea of giving them an unique accelerated path into schools
:20:07. > :20:11.will remain contentious. A study has found that speed cameras
:20:11. > :20:14.cut the number of serious road accidents by an average of more than
:20:14. > :20:19.one quarter in areas they are placed. The research by the RAC
:20:19. > :20:22.Foundation looked at more than 500 cameras in nine different locations
:20:22. > :20:30.across England. At 21 cites the number of accidents actually
:20:30. > :20:34.increased. Lifesaver or moneyspinner? Speed
:20:34. > :20:38.cameras have been controversial since they were first rolled out 20
:20:38. > :20:46.years ago. Now this latest study suggests that most of them make the
:20:46. > :20:50.roads safer. This research looked at 551 different fixed camera cites
:20:50. > :20:55.across England and it found once that camera had gone in the number
:20:55. > :21:01.of fatal and serious accidents fell by more than one quarter and the
:21:01. > :21:07.number of injuries overall fell by 15%. But there were some exceptions.
:21:07. > :21:11.This is one of the exceptions here. The camera just outside the village
:21:11. > :21:18.of Woodhurst in Cambridge. Since it has been there, serious accidents
:21:18. > :21:22.have gone down but minor accidents have gone up. In fact, there are 21
:21:22. > :21:26.cameras where the numbers but the trend and no one knows why. It may
:21:26. > :21:29.be the road surface needs improving. It may be that there has been a new
:21:29. > :21:34.housing estate in the neighbourhood and that has caused more traffic, or
:21:34. > :21:40.more children, to be around. Those sorts of reasons we don't know but
:21:40. > :21:43.the point is there is responsible held account by the public to make
:21:43. > :21:48.sure the cameras are doing the job they should be doing. A few years
:21:48. > :21:52.ago the town Swindon ditched its fixed speed cameras. What do people
:21:52. > :21:58.there think? I think they cause more problems. People slow down for them
:21:58. > :22:02.when there is no need to. If they kept to a continuous speed, traffic
:22:02. > :22:05.would flow better. In the country where there is a speed camera, they
:22:06. > :22:14.have been dangerous accidents so even if they do not snap Hewitt is a
:22:14. > :22:18.reminder it is a dangerous piece of road. Green bobbin if you know there
:22:18. > :22:21.is a speed camera, you are more aware of your speed. Around 2000
:22:21. > :22:24.people die on Britain's roads each year. The government recently cut
:22:24. > :22:34.funding for speed cameras, saying they were overused and there are
:22:34. > :22:34.
:22:34. > :22:38.better ways of saving lives. She may have only just 13 -- turned
:22:38. > :22:43.13 but she has an IQ rivalling the greatest minds that ever lived. Neha
:22:43. > :22:49.Ramu from Surrey has joined Mensa, the society for people with high I
:22:49. > :22:57.queues, having achieved a score of 162, the highest possible for
:22:57. > :23:01.someone under 18. Like many girls her age, Neha Ramu
:23:01. > :23:05.likes nothing better than sitting down with one of her favourite books
:23:05. > :23:11.but when it comes to her intelligence she is not your typical
:23:11. > :23:18.13-year-old. I was really excited but when I found out that I got such
:23:18. > :23:24.a high score, I was disbelieving because it was so amazing and
:23:24. > :23:30.unexpected actually. An IQ of 140 is considered to be the score for a
:23:30. > :23:34.genius. A result of 162 has led to her being compared to some of the
:23:34. > :23:39.world's greatest minds. Stephen Hawking, Albert Einstein, they have
:23:39. > :23:43.achieved so much that I could not dream of achieving. So it is like
:23:43. > :23:49.not right to compare me to them. If I do not put in effort and make use
:23:49. > :23:52.of my IQ, then there is no point in having it. She does it without
:23:52. > :23:58.putting in much effort. There is no extra effort she puts in. She makes
:23:58. > :24:01.sure she has enough time for TV, swimming, fun time with friends.
:24:01. > :24:10.the future, Neha Ramu says she was to be an urologist but for the time
:24:10. > :24:15.being she is trying to play down expectations.
:24:15. > :24:18.The Russian President Vladimir Putin and his wife Lydumila divorcing
:24:18. > :24:22.after 30 years together. The couple told state television it was a
:24:22. > :24:24.civilised divorce, saying they hardly saw each other any more. The
:24:24. > :24:30.announcement ends years of speculation about their relationship
:24:30. > :24:33.but it has come as a shock to Russians as Steven Rosenberg
:24:33. > :24:38.reports. This was the moment the private
:24:38. > :24:41.problems of Russia's president became very public. There are
:24:41. > :24:51.rumours that you are no longer living together, says the nervous
:24:51. > :24:51.
:24:51. > :24:56.interviewer, off camera. Is that true? It is true, replies President
:24:56. > :25:05.Putin. My work involves being in the public eye all the time. Some people
:25:05. > :25:14.like this, some people don't. It was our joint decision, she says, our
:25:14. > :25:17.marriage is over because we hardly see each other. Vladimir
:25:17. > :25:23.Vladimirovich is fully emerged and his work. I don't like being in the
:25:23. > :25:27.public eye. That is why Russians have seen less and less of their
:25:28. > :25:33.First Lady, sparking more and more speculation about the marriage. Read
:25:33. > :25:37.joint appearances like this one did not help. Vladimir looked more at at
:25:37. > :25:41.ease here with his pet Labrador, Koni. For several years there have
:25:41. > :25:45.been rumours of marital strife here in the Kremlin but this official
:25:45. > :25:50.announcement has come as a shock to Russians. After all, the last time a
:25:50. > :25:57.Russian leader divorced his wife was more than 300 years ago. It was
:25:57. > :26:02.Peter the Great, who then dispatched his spouse to a nunnery. Putin is
:26:02. > :26:06.only human, Lydia says. He has the right to make his own decisions. Our
:26:06. > :26:11.leaders should not get divorced, says this man. If they are having
:26:11. > :26:19.problems, what hope for us? But the Putins have pledged to stay on good
:26:20. > :26:24.terms. They are calling it a civilised divorce.
:26:24. > :26:27.Let's return to our top story, that the Queen has fulfilled an
:26:27. > :26:30.engagement to open the BBC headquarters alone after the Duke of
:26:30. > :26:34.Edinburgh's admission to hospital. Let's speak to our royal
:26:34. > :26:39.correspondent, Niklas Witchell. What have we learned or heard today about
:26:39. > :26:47.what is happening with the Duke? can assume the doctors have been or
:26:47. > :26:51.perhaps RSS link went to carry out this exploratory operation. --
:26:51. > :26:54.assessing. That exploratory operation may have taken pace, maybe
:26:54. > :26:59.taking place now. I don't think we will hear anything further from
:26:59. > :27:05.Buckingham Palace until that operation has taken place, until
:27:05. > :27:09.they are in a position to report on how he is. It is worth perhaps just
:27:09. > :27:15.recapping what we do know. Routine tests, abdominal investigations, as
:27:15. > :27:20.a result of what the doctors found during those investigations. They
:27:20. > :27:24.fare felt this operation was necessary. The Queen coming to the
:27:24. > :27:27.BBC, what can we read into this? The fact that she came, as far as one
:27:27. > :27:33.could tell she looked very relaxed, she looked quite happy, that could
:27:33. > :27:37.be taken to mean that within the family at this point there is no
:27:37. > :27:41.undue concern, but it is dangerous to read too much into that. She will
:27:41. > :27:45.be waiting, as everybody is waiting, for the bulletins from the hospital.
:27:45. > :27:49.At one point she was asked about the Duke's health. She clearly did not
:27:49. > :27:56.want to talk about it. She was clearly uncomfortable being asked
:27:56. > :28:02.about it, but that she confirmed she had no information. Some have taken
:28:02. > :28:08.the phrase exploratory operation to assume it is routine but there is
:28:08. > :28:09.nothing routine. It is not routine, if you are having to go in for an
:28:09. > :28:14.exploratory operation after an investigation of the abdomen. The
:28:14. > :28:18.purpose of this is to find out whatever it is that has given rise
:28:18. > :28:24.to clearly the concern that the Royal doctors are feeling. The other
:28:24. > :28:28.concern of course is the fact that he is on Monday 92 years old.
:28:28. > :28:38.you. Time to look at the weekend whether head and Helen Witts has it
:28:38. > :28:42.
:28:42. > :28:46.Celsius in Porthmadog and Wales. There are some notable exceptions
:28:46. > :28:52.today. You have woken up to cloudy skies across many southern areas and
:28:52. > :28:54.here comes some showery rain, even the odd rumble of thunder. It is
:28:54. > :28:59.slowly meandering northwards and westwards as you can see but for
:28:59. > :29:04.most it is lovely afternoon. But the temperatures are rising, so lots of
:29:04. > :29:08.heat in the atmosphere which could generate some intense thundery
:29:08. > :29:15.downpours across potentially Dawn Warr -- Cornwall and Devon, even
:29:15. > :29:19.flooding rains. To watch for the south-western quadrant of the UK
:29:19. > :29:23.considering it has been so glorious of late. Elsewhere it continues
:29:23. > :29:27.lovely. Plenty of sunshine. Always a little cooler but plenty of
:29:27. > :29:32.sunshine. Rogue showers across the Cumbrian fells and Scottish
:29:32. > :29:35.mountains. Fewer than yesterday. Very pleasant well -- whether to be
:29:35. > :29:40.found across the vast majority of the UK, including Northern Ireland
:29:40. > :29:43.where there will be fewer showers than yesterday. The sunshine came
:29:43. > :29:47.out for the Welsh Marches. The risk of heavy showers does extend into
:29:47. > :29:50.the south of Wales into this evening, as you have seen from the
:29:50. > :29:55.satellite picture. When we do see the showers they will tend to linger
:29:55. > :29:58.through this evening and into the night. Elsewhere, fairly quiet.
:29:58. > :30:02.Missed and low cloud will roll backing of the North Sea tonight,
:30:02. > :30:06.holding the temperatures up and giving a great start to tomorrow
:30:06. > :30:13.morning even as far westwards as Edgbaston. I am hoping there will be
:30:13. > :30:17.no interruptions to play. Catch the coverage on BBC Radio 15 live sports
:30:17. > :30:21.extra. Tomorrow, perhaps a little fresh breeze in southern areas and
:30:21. > :30:25.not quite as warm as it has been but still plenty of warm sunshine to be
:30:25. > :30:32.found getting to work on the low cloud, burning it back to the North
:30:32. > :30:35.Sea coast. Dry for southern and western areas. 22 or 23 Celsius
:30:35. > :30:39.potentially but even around the coast the UV levels of sun are just
:30:39. > :30:43.as strong. It is not temperature dependent. A similar story on
:30:43. > :30:47.Sunday. The threat of a shower in the Channel Islands later on. A
:30:47. > :30:56.great start for North Sea coastal counties hanging onto cloud for
:30:56. > :30:58.longer and cool here but inland, glorious sunshine. Great news, --
:30:58. > :31:08.not great news, high levels of pollen at the moment. Lovely weather
:31:08. > :31:10.
:31:10. > :31:13.to be found, just potential for Queen has officially opened the
:31:13. > :31:18.BBC's new headquarters. She was due to be accompanied by the Duke of
:31:18. > :31:25.Edinburgh but he is in hospital due to undergo an operation. Today, a
:31:25. > :31:28.unique moment with a very special royal guest. And her Majesty became