:00:00. > :00:10.The UK's schools fail to make the top 20 in international tests as
:00:11. > :00:12.Shanghai tops the league. British 15-year-olds tested in maths,
:00:13. > :00:13.reading and science trailed far behind international counterparts
:00:14. > :00:29.like China, We'll be asking why and what can be
:00:30. > :00:31.done about it. Also this lunchtime. RBS apologises for an embarrassing
:00:32. > :00:35.computer failure that left customers unable to pay by card on what was
:00:36. > :00:38.the busiest online shopping day of the year. The two men accused of
:00:39. > :00:43.murdering off-duty soldier Lee Rigby. The jury is shown harrowing
:00:44. > :00:46.mobile phone footage taken by eyewitnesses. Six years in jail for
:00:47. > :00:49.one of the Bolshoi ballet's star dancers after an acid attack on the
:00:50. > :00:54.company's artistic director. And public recognition at last. Prince
:00:55. > :00:55.Charles unveils a memorial to the brave women who were secret agents
:00:56. > :01:11.during World War II. Details on how much bus fares will
:01:12. > :01:12.go up and a teenage boy stabbed in palmers Green, the second fatal
:01:13. > :01:29.stabbing in 12 hours. Good afternoon and welcome to the
:01:30. > :01:32.BBC News At One. British students are trailing behind many of their
:01:33. > :01:37.international counterparts at maths, reading and science. That's
:01:38. > :01:40.according to the latest figures. The UK failed to make the top 20 in any
:01:41. > :01:43.of those subjects, in tests which are conducted every three years by
:01:44. > :01:47.the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. And
:01:48. > :01:52.Welsh students are lagging behind the rest of the UK in all three core
:01:53. > :01:59.subjects. Our Education Correspondent Reeta Chakrabarti has
:02:00. > :02:05.the details. This is learning Korean style, testing and a fierce work
:02:06. > :02:11.ethic which sees teenagers putting up to 13 hours study a day, what
:02:12. > :02:14.British teenagers are up against. Today's ranking shows, when it comes
:02:15. > :02:19.to international competition, the UK is simply lacking behind. Our
:02:20. > :02:26.students will have to complete that compete against student globally in
:02:27. > :02:29.the future. In today's world, jobs are anywhere in the world and
:02:30. > :02:37.students need to be prepared for that so, it is concerning. Today's
:02:38. > :02:40.international league table focuses particularly on mathematics. The pop
:02:41. > :02:46.countries are all from East Asia. Shanghai, Singapore and another
:02:47. > :02:54.Chinese territory, Hong Kong, are the top. Korea is in fifth place.
:02:55. > :02:58.The UK is 26. The Education Secretary said he was introducing
:02:59. > :03:03.the sort of reforms required to improve the UK's lacklustre
:03:04. > :03:08.performance. There's an emphasis on social justice, helping child to
:03:09. > :03:12.succeed. A commitment to an aspirational curriculum for all
:03:13. > :03:17.students. A high level of autonomy from bureaucracy for teachers,
:03:18. > :03:22.accountability for performance and headteachers have a critical power
:03:23. > :03:24.to hire who they want. Labour said a newspaper article I Michael Gove
:03:25. > :03:30.attacking them for poor results was unfair. The Secretary of State
:03:31. > :03:35.cannot have it both ways. If, as he said, in the Daily Telegraph, the
:03:36. > :03:40.Labour Party should take its share of responsibility for these results,
:03:41. > :03:44.would you not agree it should also take its responsibility for, in his
:03:45. > :03:48.words, delivering the best generation of teachers this country
:03:49. > :03:53.has ever seen? The report says the UK spends more per child on
:03:54. > :03:57.education than the average in developed countries. It also reports
:03:58. > :04:01.that pupils in the UK are largely happy at school. These 15-year-olds
:04:02. > :04:05.from Birmingham where thoughtful about why the UK performed so
:04:06. > :04:09.indifferently. I think the Chinese people work harder than us and we
:04:10. > :04:13.don't appreciate our education because it's free. Here they try to
:04:14. > :04:17.make people more all rounded, you have to have a bit of work
:04:18. > :04:22.experience to make sure you are suitable for the workplace. Wales is
:04:23. > :04:25.a particular concern with its teenagers achieving lower average
:04:26. > :04:29.scores in the subjects tested, maths, science and reading, than
:04:30. > :04:36.those in the three other UK nations. As I see why it is now the subject
:04:37. > :04:39.of hot debate. Let's pick up on that subject. Our Wales correspondent
:04:40. > :04:46.Hywel Griffith is in Cardiff. We don't know why? It's a question that
:04:47. > :04:49.we have been putting two teachers, parents, politicians and it seems be
:04:50. > :04:54.one of those multiple-choice questions because, on one hand, many
:04:55. > :04:57.people point towards the decisions made in the first decade of
:04:58. > :05:03.devolution, after 1999 when the Welsh government got rid of tests,
:05:04. > :05:07.scrap league tables, so the 15-year-olds in Wales, who took
:05:08. > :05:10.those exams, that would've been first external testing. However,
:05:11. > :05:15.others say it's much simpler than that. It's the money. In the last
:05:16. > :05:20.decade, there's been a growing spending gap between England and
:05:21. > :05:24.Wales. By the end of the last decade, it was worth ?600 per pupil
:05:25. > :05:28.per year. The Welsh government says it's not all about the money because
:05:29. > :05:32.some countries which are done better than Wales, better than UK, like
:05:33. > :05:37.Vietnam, Poland, spend far less than they do here. It's going to be a
:05:38. > :05:39.difficult question for the Welsh government and the Labour Party
:05:40. > :05:44.which runs the Welsh government, not just this year, but leading up to
:05:45. > :05:48.the general election in 2015 because their record is being questioned by
:05:49. > :05:52.the coalition party and when Michael Gove wants to point towards what
:05:53. > :05:55.Labour is doing in education, he will undoubtedly point towards
:05:56. > :05:58.Wales. Thank you very much. And there's much more on this story on
:05:59. > :06:01.our website. Including an in-depth look at why Shanghai continues to
:06:02. > :06:07.out-perform the rest of the world in education. The Royal Bank of
:06:08. > :06:10.Scotland group has apologised to thousands of customers who weren't
:06:11. > :06:14.able to use their payment cards for three hours yesterday evening on one
:06:15. > :06:18.of the busiest shopping days of the year. The technical failure left
:06:19. > :06:21.some people unable to pay for their petrol. Others were forced to
:06:22. > :06:25.abandon full shopping trolleys at supermarkets. The bank says it will
:06:26. > :06:29.compensate anyone left out of pocket. Customers at RBS
:06:30. > :06:33.subsidiaries Natwest and Ulster Bank were also affected. Our personal
:06:34. > :06:41.finance correspondent Simon Gompertz reports.
:06:42. > :06:45.It was the worst time for a bank's system not to work. The end of the
:06:46. > :06:48.busiest Christmas shopping day so far with millions needing to get
:06:49. > :06:54.hold of money from RBS, NatWest and Ulster bank. In Belfast, they are
:06:55. > :06:59.still smarting from last summer's catastrophic computer failure. Now
:07:00. > :07:03.they are suffering again. Really annoyed, because I stayed with them
:07:04. > :07:07.last time. They said it would never happen again. It has, so I won't be
:07:08. > :07:17.banking with them. Overall, not too happy. It's happening so often. The
:07:18. > :07:21.past couple of years. I decided to get another account just to be
:07:22. > :07:28.safe. Customers wasted no time in venting their theory on the Internet
:07:29. > :07:32.messaging service Twitter, calves being refused in a meltdown and for
:07:33. > :07:37.many, not being able to pay for petrol. -- cards. We exist because
:07:38. > :07:43.of the customers we serve. It's only weeks since the new RBS chief
:07:44. > :07:47.executive told staff service was the priority. Today his managers were
:07:48. > :07:52.having to apologise and promise to reimburse customers. We have been
:07:53. > :07:57.clear nobody will be out of pocket as a result of this. I have had
:07:58. > :08:01.customers who have a penalty and we will refund that penalty. If anybody
:08:02. > :08:05.has got specific expenses, please get in touch and we'll make sure we
:08:06. > :08:09.put this right for you. The previous computer glitch when they extended
:08:10. > :08:12.opening hours to help customers, is still being investigated by the
:08:13. > :08:18.financial watchdog which could impose a healthy fine. There are
:08:19. > :08:26.already time to find out what happened this time. RBS taking in
:08:27. > :08:31.NatWest and Ulster bank, didn't use to many customers after last year's
:08:32. > :08:34.IT failure but now it looks like a repeat offender, the consequences in
:08:35. > :08:38.terms of people deserting the bank could be much more serious.
:08:39. > :08:41.terms of people deserting the bank could This is yet another complete
:08:42. > :08:45.shambles and the banks have to put this right quickly. And sort out,
:08:46. > :08:48.convince their customers, what they are going to do to prevent this
:08:49. > :08:53.happening in the future. They have allowed these systems to crash time
:08:54. > :08:59.after time before that if the banks can't sort it out, the regulator
:09:00. > :09:03.will have to force them to. RBS insists the problems persisted for
:09:04. > :09:06.three hours yesterday evening and then was solved. But customers
:09:07. > :09:09.report they are having trouble with online accounts today, some saying
:09:10. > :09:17.there is money missing. And Simon is here now. It couldn't have happened
:09:18. > :09:20.on the worst day, could it? It is very embarrassing. The chief
:09:21. > :09:23.executive put out a statement saying it was not acceptable because too
:09:24. > :09:28.many people suffered from it. And the reason it is unacceptable is
:09:29. > :09:31.that the two things you want from a current account in the bank, your
:09:32. > :09:36.money is safe and you can get at it when you want it. If a bank is not
:09:37. > :09:40.offering that, however big they are, they have got a problem with their
:09:41. > :09:44.customers. We have had today people saying they couldn't get online last
:09:45. > :09:47.night and now they have got online but found there is money missing
:09:48. > :09:51.from my account, even though I couldn't make those transactions.
:09:52. > :09:56.Several stories that sort, and need to get in touch with the bank to
:09:57. > :10:00.explain what the deficit is on their account and also, as you heard, if
:10:01. > :10:06.they have incurred penalties, gone into overdraft, then they should get
:10:07. > :10:09.any money they are reimbursed, but not quite so clear what would happen
:10:10. > :10:13.if you missed out on a bargain in the shops. Because you couldn't pay
:10:14. > :10:16.for them and also the frustration and embarrassment of not being able
:10:17. > :10:20.to pay for something, it's unlikely you will get money back for that but
:10:21. > :10:24.it's worth having a try. Simon, thanks very much. Despite the
:10:25. > :10:26.problems at RBS, Amazon UK says it had its busiest day of sales ever
:10:27. > :10:30.yesterday as pre-Christmas shoppers went online for Cyber Monday. The
:10:31. > :10:37.retailer says more than 4.1 million items were ordered at a rate of
:10:38. > :10:42.around 47 per second. The busiest time when sales peaked was at
:10:43. > :10:45.9.22pm. The Energy firm, NPower, is writing to all of its 3.4 million
:10:46. > :10:50.domestic customers in the UK to apologise for problems with its new
:10:51. > :10:54.billing system. Complaints to the company have risen sharply in the
:10:55. > :10:56.last year. It says some bills and statements weren't sent out, and
:10:57. > :11:03.some direct debit payments weren't set up properly. The trial of two
:11:04. > :11:06.men accused of killing Fusilier Lee Rigby has been shown mobile phone
:11:07. > :11:09.footage of one of the alleged attackers with bloodied hands
:11:10. > :11:18.speaking to passers by. The jury also heard from an armed officer who
:11:19. > :11:21.arrived at the scene. She described how she thought she was going to be
:11:22. > :11:24.killed. Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale deny murdering Lee
:11:25. > :11:27.Rigby in Woolwich in May. Just to warn you that this report from our
:11:28. > :11:29.Home Affairs Correspondent June Kelly contains some graphic details
:11:30. > :11:36.which some viewers may find distressing. Day three of this trial
:11:37. > :11:39.and as is now routine, traffic around the Old Bailey was stopped
:11:40. > :11:45.for the arrival of the convoy carrying that two men accused of Lee
:11:46. > :11:49.Rigby's murder. For Fusilier Lee Rigby's family, it's another painful
:11:50. > :11:52.day of evidence. There's also details of the kindness shown by
:11:53. > :11:56.members of the public who tried to help the young soldier. After being
:11:57. > :12:00.thrown into the air by the defendants car, he was then attacked
:12:01. > :12:05.with a meat cleaver and a knife wielded by the two men. This
:12:06. > :12:08.morning, the jury saw footage of his body being dragged into the
:12:09. > :12:13.middle-of-the-road. Then, in particularly gruesome evidence, with
:12:14. > :12:19.Lee Rigby's blood on his hands, Michael Adebolajo was delivering a
:12:20. > :12:23.message. The only reason we have killed this man today is because
:12:24. > :12:29.Muslims are dying daily by British soldiers. This British soldier is an
:12:30. > :12:33.eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Today, from the dock, Michael
:12:34. > :12:35.Adebolajo watch the video of himself on that spring afternoon, his
:12:36. > :12:41.co-defendant, Michael Adebowale, had his head down, not looking at the
:12:42. > :12:46.screen. Among those, the jury heard from was this woman, who witnessed
:12:47. > :12:51.the attack and stopped to help. At one point, during a testament, she
:12:52. > :12:54.was in tears. The men waited for the police to arrive and were shot as
:12:55. > :13:00.they ran at firearms officers. A female firearms officer described
:13:01. > :13:03.how armed with a meat cleaver one of the men ran towards her and she
:13:04. > :13:10.could see the whites of his eyes full them she said, I thought it was
:13:11. > :13:13.going to kill me. Major A departments in England are seeing a
:13:14. > :13:17.growing number of people over the age of 65. That's according to a new
:13:18. > :13:20.report. Official NHS statistics show there has been a shift as the number
:13:21. > :13:24.of older people in the population has grown. This winter, emergency
:13:25. > :13:27.departments are getting a little extra money to help cope with the
:13:28. > :13:32.demands. Our Health Correspondent Branwen Jeffreys is here with the
:13:33. > :13:37.details. Let's look first of all at the figures. How busy are A
:13:38. > :13:41.departments? What today's report shows is that accident and emergency
:13:42. > :13:48.is busy all year round now. 22 million people turning up each year
:13:49. > :13:54.in England to be seen. If you look at who's going, there's an important
:13:55. > :13:57.shift. 20% of the people who are going are now elderly people over
:13:58. > :14:02.the age of 64, who need more care, have more medical problems. If you
:14:03. > :14:10.look at how that translates into hospitals, children, only 13% go in
:14:11. > :14:13.to a hospital bed. Look at the older people. The same figure goes up to
:14:14. > :14:19.almost half of them, needing to go into hospital. And that explains why
:14:20. > :14:24.hospitals are so busy. And I have a target to meet? They have to see
:14:25. > :14:29.people within four hours. Yes, the target is overall being met. But the
:14:30. > :14:34.casualty unit are struggling with that. Interestingly, today's report
:14:35. > :14:38.shows are closely watching for our target, the more likely they are to
:14:39. > :14:42.whisk you into a hospital bed at the last moment, suggesting there are
:14:43. > :14:46.pressures there. The pressure is something we will look at something
:14:47. > :14:50.closely over the winter. We will follow it all winter. We would like
:14:51. > :14:57.people to tell us their experiences. They can do that by going to the
:14:58. > :15:03.website. Follow the link for NHS winter. Thank you very much. The
:15:04. > :15:06.Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has laid flowers at the scene of the
:15:07. > :15:09.helicopter crash in Glasgow which killed nine people. Police have now
:15:10. > :15:12.identified all of those killed at the Clutha Vaults pub. Our Scotland
:15:13. > :15:21.Correspondent Laura Bicker is in Glasgow. well, the reoperation here
:15:22. > :15:25.is now fully complete. There are still police onside as
:15:26. > :15:29.part of the investigation, but as you can see, this scene has
:15:30. > :15:33.overwhelmingly become somewhere that people come to pay their respects to
:15:34. > :15:40.those who lost their lives. Nine names that Glasgow will
:15:41. > :15:47.remember. Gary Arthur, Marco Pree, pilot David Traill, Samuel McGhee,
:15:48. > :15:53.PC Tony Collins, PC Kirsty Nelis, Robert Jenkins, Colin Gibson and
:15:54. > :15:56.poet John McGarrigle. The police helicopter at the centre of this
:15:57. > :16:03.investigation has now been taken away to Hampshire. We know there was
:16:04. > :16:07.no media -- emergency call and the helicopter made a vertical descent
:16:08. > :16:12.onto the roof of the Clutha bar. But families will want more answers.
:16:13. > :16:16.This site has become a focal point of grief for relatives, friends and
:16:17. > :16:23.those who just want to do something to help. It is an outlet for morning
:16:24. > :16:27.-- those morning. Politicians came to pay their respects and thank
:16:28. > :16:31.those who have worked tirelessly. The best of communities is revealed
:16:32. > :16:35.when the very worst happens and that is what we have seen here over the
:16:36. > :16:38.last few days in Glasgow. I think the whole country is full of
:16:39. > :16:42.admiration for the way the community here has come together. A book of
:16:43. > :16:49.condolence sits in Glasgow Cathedral for all to sign. Today's Scotland --
:16:50. > :16:53.today, Scotland's First Minister added his name. People are
:16:54. > :16:57.expressing sympathy but more than that, solidarity with those who are
:16:58. > :17:02.bereaved or injured and the city itself. There are still 11 people in
:17:03. > :17:06.hospital, three in intensive care and three in special spinal units.
:17:07. > :17:09.The remains of this bar no sits desolate on the edge of the city
:17:10. > :17:22.centre. One of the owner's says his thoughts are with the family's
:17:23. > :17:28.victims. We will see what happens, but most importantly, whatever
:17:29. > :17:33.happens, there has to be... It is still very early to discuss these
:17:34. > :17:37.things, but not a monument but certainly a memorial to those people
:17:38. > :17:41.who have died. This city ran to help those in need. It is now time for it
:17:42. > :17:46.to heal. A fund has been set-up to help those
:17:47. > :17:50.bereaved the First Minister Alex Salmond will be confirming within
:17:51. > :17:54.the next hour that public money will go into that fund. As far as the
:17:55. > :17:58.investigation goes, the helicopter is on its way to Farnborough to be
:17:59. > :18:02.examined, but it may be many months before the cause of this crash is
:18:03. > :18:07.known. The time is coming up to 1:20pm, the
:18:08. > :18:11.top story this lunchtime: International tests show teenagers
:18:12. > :18:15.in the UK are making little progress in reading, maths and science,
:18:16. > :18:17.compared with students around the world.
:18:18. > :18:20.Still to come, recognition at last for the women secret agents blown
:18:21. > :18:23.into mainland Europe from Britain during the Second World War.
:18:24. > :18:26.Later on BBC London: Almost half of Londoners say they
:18:27. > :18:29.know or suspect they know someone who is a victim of domestic
:18:30. > :18:31.violence, according to a new survey. We look at the campaign to help
:18:32. > :18:33.them. And a new breakthrough by London
:18:34. > :18:34.scientists means breast cancer patients could avoid unnecessary
:18:35. > :18:45.surgery. One of the stars of the world-famous
:18:46. > :18:48.Bolshoi ballet has been sentenced to six years in jail for his role in an
:18:49. > :18:53.acid attack that nearly blinded the company's artistic director. The
:18:54. > :18:55.judge said Pavel Dmitrichenko and his two co-defendants had
:18:56. > :19:02.intentionally caused grievous bodily harm to Sergei Filin. He suffered
:19:03. > :19:12.severe burns to his face and eyes. Here's Emily Buchanan.
:19:13. > :19:19.Moscow's world-famous Bolshoi ballet. The month-long trial has
:19:20. > :19:23.exposed the backstage atmosphere of bickering and rivalry. So poisonous,
:19:24. > :19:27.it resulted in a night-time attack against the company's artistic
:19:28. > :19:33.director. Sergei Filin was walking home last January when a man in a
:19:34. > :19:35.mask threw acid in his face. Mr Filin suffered severe facial
:19:36. > :19:42.injuries, which left him partially blind. The man who ordered the
:19:43. > :19:47.attack was the star dancer, Pavel Dmitrichenko apparently because of
:19:48. > :19:51.arguments over the allocation of the best ballet roles. He and his
:19:52. > :19:55.accomplices were led into court to hear the guilty verdict. Mister
:19:56. > :20:00.Dmitrichenko name he did not want acid to be used, but the man he
:20:01. > :20:03.hired to rough up the artistic director was a former convict, Yuri
:20:04. > :20:09.Zarutsky, who said that throwing acid was his own idea. The other
:20:10. > :20:13.defendant was his driver. It has been the biggest scandal ever to
:20:14. > :20:17.embroil the iconic ballet company and its internal politics are still
:20:18. > :20:23.fraught. Only this week, the music director suddenly designed without
:20:24. > :20:26.explanation. The Prime Minister has been
:20:27. > :20:32.defending Britain's relationship with China during a trade visit with
:20:33. > :20:37.100 British business leaders. David Cameron said the trip had delivered
:20:38. > :20:40.an export deals worth ?6 billion to the UK, with Britain getting more
:20:41. > :20:42.Chinese investment in the last 18 months than the previous 30 years.
:20:43. > :20:48.Martin Patience reports from Shanghai.
:20:49. > :20:54.The Shanghai skyline, a symbol of China's stunning development. And a
:20:55. > :20:59.postcard backdrop for the Prime Minister's visit. This was all about
:21:00. > :21:04.David Cameron connecting with the Chinese public and a short stroll
:21:05. > :21:10.certainly drew a large crowd. He had began the day by catching a cab. It
:21:11. > :21:18.may be a British icon, but the black cab is no Chinese own. Its bosses
:21:19. > :21:23.announced an ?18 million investment at a plant in Coventry. Earlier in
:21:24. > :21:29.the day, he held a business lunch with some China's most successful
:21:30. > :21:37.entrepreneurs. David Cameron was key to tout -- keen to tout British
:21:38. > :21:42.expertise. In this room, we have the expertise from Britain to start a
:21:43. > :21:46.hospital, dig an oil rig, designer city, design university and college
:21:47. > :21:49.courses, sell insurance, design the fastest car and one of the most
:21:50. > :21:54.traditional cycles. We even have people who can help you to breed a
:21:55. > :21:58.pig. We have everything a country could possibly need for its future.
:21:59. > :22:03.And he went the extra mile to charm his hosts. My own small bit of
:22:04. > :22:11.Chinese. In both sides interests. Thank you
:22:12. > :22:16.very much indeed. But but by focusing on trade,
:22:17. > :22:20.critics say the Prime Minister is selling out on human rights. In
:22:21. > :22:25.front of university students, he said the country is needed to
:22:26. > :22:28.acknowledge their differences. There are enough problems already without
:22:29. > :22:34.trying to think forward to the next set of problems, so I prefer to
:22:35. > :22:37.think that if the Britain and China partnership can grow in the way I
:22:38. > :22:41.wanted to grow, and the way I believe the Chinese wanted to grow,
:22:42. > :22:46.then when we come across obstacles in the road, we will be able to find
:22:47. > :22:50.out the best way around them. Throughout this trip, David Cameron
:22:51. > :22:53.has been stressing that this is a partnership of equals, but one
:22:54. > :22:59.Chinese newspaper has described Britain as an old European power, at
:23:00. > :23:07.only four study and travel. You get the sense that Britain is talking up
:23:08. > :23:16.this trip far more than China apt only for.
:23:17. > :23:19.A witness has told the inquest into the police shooting of Mark Duggan
:23:20. > :23:23.that he had a mobile phone in his hand when he was killed. It was his
:23:24. > :23:29.death that sparked the summer riots in England. What was said in court?
:23:30. > :23:32.Until today, the only witness accounts of the shooting of Mark
:23:33. > :23:36.Duggan had come from the police and they said he was holding a gun when
:23:37. > :23:42.he was shot dead. Today, we heard from Witness B who lived in the
:23:43. > :23:45.nearby flats and he said that Mark Duggan had a phone in his hands and
:23:46. > :23:50.he had his hands up above his shoulders near his face. There was a
:23:51. > :23:54.police officer standing in front of him and it was definitely a phone
:23:55. > :24:03.clutched in his hand. He then said a police officer standing 57 steps
:24:04. > :24:09.from Mark Duggan shot him twice. -- five or seven. Witness B said he
:24:10. > :24:13.went back to get his mobile phone to film footage. He said he had been
:24:14. > :24:16.forced to move to London as a result of the incident and said he was
:24:17. > :24:20.reluctant to give evidence to the inquest because of the controversy
:24:21. > :24:23.surrounding shooting of Mark Duggan. The Thai authorities have surprised
:24:24. > :24:25.protestors in Bangkok by taking down concrete barriers and razor wire,
:24:26. > :24:28.and inviting them into key government buildings. Demonstrators
:24:29. > :24:30.have been on the streets for days, clashing with security forces and
:24:31. > :24:38.demanding the resignation of the Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra.
:24:39. > :24:47.From Bangkok, Jonathan Head reports. An unexpected celebration. On the
:24:48. > :24:50.Prime Minister's front lawn. These are the people who have been trying
:24:51. > :24:56.to overthrow the Government. Even the entire political system. But
:24:57. > :25:01.suddenly, a truce, after the police let them in. And it seems some
:25:02. > :25:04.mediation by the army, which is there to keep things calm. Until
:25:05. > :25:11.last night, it was all very different.
:25:12. > :25:22.GUNSHOTS The protest is launched attack after
:25:23. > :25:26.attack on the police barricades guarding the building. Using
:25:27. > :25:36.whatever they could lay their hands on. -- the protests. We have seen
:25:37. > :25:40.some amazingly dramatic battles at this bridge over the last few days
:25:41. > :25:46.but this is not a victory yet. It merely made a point that they reject
:25:47. > :25:50.the elected government and it comes at a high cost to the country's
:25:51. > :25:57.reputation. This is their target. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra
:25:58. > :26:01.has shown a conciliatory figure, but the deeply divisive figure remains
:26:02. > :26:07.her brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, deposed by a clue seven years ago.
:26:08. > :26:11.This man was hit in the jaw, possibly by a rubber bullets, while
:26:12. > :26:17.protesting. So was it worth it? TRANSLATION: Well, no, but we have
:26:18. > :26:23.to do this for our country, and because we cannot accept Thaksin
:26:24. > :26:30.Shinawatra. That sentiment still burns fiercely here, despite the
:26:31. > :26:36.truce. Just as Thaksin Shinawatra's popularity burns equally fiercely in
:26:37. > :26:39.other parts of Thailand. They were the women's secret agents
:26:40. > :26:44.trained in Britain and then flown into mainland Europe to help the
:26:45. > :26:46.resistance during the Second World War. For a long time, their
:26:47. > :26:49.extraordinary stories remained secret and so their work was never
:26:50. > :26:55.publicly recognised. But today, Prince Charles has unveiled
:26:56. > :26:59.unveiled a memorial to the women. Robert Hall is at RAF Tempsford in
:27:00. > :27:05.Berkshire. Yes, great excitement here and in
:27:06. > :27:10.the view of many people, a long-awaited day. The chance to
:27:11. > :27:14.honour those who operated in so much secrecy. Nobody knew what was going
:27:15. > :27:22.on at RAF Tempsford to the war years but as we now know, it was the nerve
:27:23. > :27:26.centre for operations by the Special Operations Executive and others into
:27:27. > :27:30.occupied Europe. The monument unveiled by Prince Charles this
:27:31. > :27:34.morning honours in particular the 75 female agents who travelled across
:27:35. > :27:37.the Channel, many of whom did not return and also remembers their male
:27:38. > :27:40.colleagues and last but not least, the pilots who got them out there
:27:41. > :27:47.and flew in other dangerous circumstances to bring them back.
:27:48. > :27:51.Let me talk to Noreen, who was a trainer with Special Operations
:27:52. > :27:56.Executive. You met many of these before they set off, how would you
:27:57. > :28:00.describe their qualities? I suppose Courage comes into it but they did
:28:01. > :28:04.not think of themselves as courageous. Many were at angry,
:28:05. > :28:09.angry at what had happened to their country. One lady went in after her
:28:10. > :28:15.husband was killed and wanted to avenge his death. Others went in...
:28:16. > :28:19.I really don't know, they were individuals. They were mostly very
:28:20. > :28:23.beautiful, actually. Sometimes they left young children, which was
:28:24. > :28:28.something I never understood. It must have been so sad, so many of
:28:29. > :28:32.them, you never saw again. Unfortunately, 15 of them never came
:28:33. > :28:36.back, yes. We were all young and when you are young, you do not
:28:37. > :28:39.realise the danger, because you are immortal. It is something that
:28:40. > :28:45.happens to other people. Courage, yes, but a courage that is almost
:28:46. > :28:49.unnoticed. Noreen, thank you very much. So the village that was once
:28:50. > :28:53.such a secret place, at least the today is back in centre stage.
:28:54. > :28:57.Time now for a look at the weather with Alex. There is talk of snow.
:28:58. > :28:59.It is going to get colder, definitely. I think wind is
:29:00. > :29:02.It is going to get colder, definitely. I think wind going to be
:29:03. > :29:05.the biggest problem, the weather is going to change dramatically. The
:29:06. > :29:11.first change tomorrow, actually something brighter. We will see some
:29:12. > :29:15.sunshine but the wind is really getting lively on Thursday and
:29:16. > :29:19.severe gales could cause some problems and very cold for Friday,
:29:20. > :29:22.but a short lived cold spell. For the time being, it is another
:29:23. > :29:26.satellite picture showing the cloud smothering the UK and another drab
:29:27. > :29:30.affair. The thicker cloud above northern Scotland is providing some
:29:31. > :29:34.outbreaks of rain in northern England and for the bulk of Wales,
:29:35. > :29:39.dreary but a dry. There are one or two breaks in the cloud, a hint of
:29:40. > :29:42.sunshine but another grey affair with temperatures still in single
:29:43. > :29:46.figures. You may see a little bit of rain trickling towards Cumbria later
:29:47. > :29:50.in the day. The outbreaks of rain are continuing to push south towards
:29:51. > :29:54.Glasgow. Some of that patchy rain getting into Northern Ireland. Where
:29:55. > :29:57.it has been raining for much of the morning, brighter across northern
:29:58. > :30:01.Scotland. We will follow this band of rain south overnight. It will be
:30:02. > :30:05.damp or Northern Ireland, rain into northern England and by the morning,
:30:06. > :30:10.part of Wales and the West Midlands. Some of those areas will stay dry,
:30:11. > :30:15.it may turn foggy but further north, with clearing skies, it will turn
:30:16. > :30:18.cold, certainly in rural parts there will be a frost. But there will be
:30:19. > :30:23.also some sunshine. The wind is picking up in the far north, a few
:30:24. > :30:27.wintry showers likely. A damp start in many southern counties but the
:30:28. > :30:32.rain edges away and should move away soon after lunchtime. Then much
:30:33. > :30:35.brighter skies for tomorrow and we see some sunshine. Temperatures
:30:36. > :30:39.still in single figures but that sunshine will make a big
:30:40. > :30:43.difference. However, the big change takes place on Wednesday night and
:30:44. > :30:47.into Thursday. High pressure getting moved out of the way by a deepening
:30:48. > :30:51.low pressure. This one will whizz to the north of Scotland, spewing out
:30:52. > :30:56.isobars, really packing in and the winds getting very lively during
:30:57. > :31:00.Wednesday night and Thursday, and across northern Britain, gusts of 60
:31:01. > :31:05.or 70 mph, possibly 80 and the wind could pick up during the course of
:31:06. > :31:09.Thursday, sending a band of rain further south. So a very blustery
:31:10. > :31:14.day on Thursday, the strong wind not only causing problems but also
:31:15. > :31:17.starting to introduce cold air. Still relatively mild on Thursday
:31:18. > :31:20.across the South but that mild air will get kicked out of the way by
:31:21. > :31:24.the cold air, so it will feel chilly on Friday but, as I mentioned, it
:31:25. > :31:28.doesn't last too long and mild air will push back for the weekend.
:31:29. > :31:33.There will still be some snow showers around, there are warnings
:31:34. > :31:34.in force about that and the winds. You can see them online.
:31:35. > :31:38.showers around, there are warnings in force about that and A reminder
:31:39. > :31:42.of the top story this lunchtime: International tests showed teenagers
:31:43. > :31:45.in the UK are falling behind in reading, maths and science, compared
:31:46. > :31:47.with students around the world. That's all from the News at