31/01/2014 BBC News at One


31/01/2014

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student Meredith Kercher say they are still on a journey to the truth.

:00:11.:00:15.

Raffaele Sollecito is now in custody after the murder verdicts against

:00:16.:00:20.

him and Amanda Knox were reinstated. I'm going to fight this until the

:00:21.:00:26.

very end and it's not right and it's not fair. Why bring the other

:00:27.:00:30.

stories making the headlines this lunchtime. Why are some police

:00:31.:00:53.

forces are so bad at dealing with allegations of rape. No meeting of

:00:54.:01:01.

minds at the UK from summit on changing Britain's relationship with

:01:02.:01:06.

the EU. And six Nations Rugby returns to Wales at the weekend. Can

:01:07.:01:09.

they make it an historic three championships at the role? Five men

:01:10.:01:17.

who stabbed a teenager to death in Pimlico are being sentenced at the

:01:18.:01:21.

Old Bailey. And figures suggest a rise in new homes being built in

:01:22.:01:23.

London but is it enough? A very good afternoon and welcome to

:01:24.:01:49.

the BBC News that one. The sister of Meredith Kercher has said the family

:01:50.:01:54.

still on a journey to the truth, following the reinstatement of

:01:55.:01:58.

guilty verdicts against Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito for the

:01:59.:02:01.

student's murder. An Italian court has ruled that Knox should serve an

:02:02.:02:04.

increased sentence of 28 years for the killing in Perugia in 2007. Ms

:02:05.:02:10.

Knox, who refused to leave America to appear in court, can launch an

:02:11.:02:14.

appeal against the sentence. She said she was saddened and frightened

:02:15.:02:18.

by the verdicts. Her co-defendant, Raffaele Riva Sollecito, is already

:02:19.:02:25.

in custody. Luisa Baldini reports. They have done this twice before,

:02:26.:02:30.

after the previous two trials and once again today Meredith Kercher's

:02:31.:02:34.

brother and sister faced the media in Italy to give their reaction to

:02:35.:02:38.

last night's verdicts. We are still on the journey to the truth and it

:02:39.:02:46.

may be the fact we don't ever really know what happened that night, which

:02:47.:02:50.

is obviously something that we will have to come to terms with and as

:02:51.:02:54.

you asked before about the repetition and the length that is

:02:55.:03:00.

also hard to deal with. Meredith's brother has now called on the

:03:01.:03:03.

American authorities to extradite Amanda Knox, who has been in the

:03:04.:03:07.

United States since her acquittal two years ago. If an extradition

:03:08.:03:13.

Lurex this -- exists, and I don't see why it wouldn't, I imagine it is

:03:14.:03:16.

a difficult president of the United States since her acquittal two years

:03:17.:03:19.

ago. If an extradition Lurex this -- exists, and I don't see why it

:03:20.:03:21.

wouldn't, I imagine it is a difficult president if a country

:03:22.:03:24.

such as the US did not when extraditing convicted criminals.

:03:25.:03:28.

Within the last half an hour, Knox has spoken live on American

:03:29.:03:32.

breakfast television. She has reiterated that she would have to be

:03:33.:03:35.

caught and taken the King and screaming back to prison in Italy. I

:03:36.:03:46.

will never go willingly back to the place where... I'm going to fight

:03:47.:03:53.

this until the very end and it's not right and it's not fair and I'm

:03:54.:04:00.

going to do everything I can. Granted, I need a lot of help. I

:04:01.:04:07.

can't do this on my own and I can't help people understand this on my

:04:08.:04:11.

own. She also spoke about Meredith's family of their ordeal.

:04:12.:04:16.

Just the very fact that they don't know what happened is horrible. Her

:04:17.:04:25.

co-accused, Raffaele Sollecito, who was in court before but not during

:04:26.:04:29.

the verdicts, is considered a flight risk and has had his passport and

:04:30.:04:33.

driving licence confiscated. The verdicts uphold the -- the original

:04:34.:04:38.

convictions from the first trial. They were found guilty in 2009,

:04:39.:04:43.

after prosecutors said Knox, Sollecito and a third man, Rudy

:04:44.:04:47.

Guede, who is still in prison for the murder, tried to involve

:04:48.:04:50.

Meredith Kercher in a sex game. Meredith had been in Italy for just

:04:51.:04:55.

two months when she was sexually assaulted and stabbed in her own

:04:56.:05:00.

bedroom in November 2007. When Amanda and Raffaele Sollecito were

:05:01.:05:03.

seen kissing within hours of her body being found it was deemed

:05:04.:05:06.

suspicious and they became the focus of attention. At first Knox

:05:07.:05:10.

implicated an innocent local barkeep and said she had covered her ears

:05:11.:05:16.

while him murdered Meredith, but she changed her story and said she was

:05:17.:05:21.

then with her boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito. The prosecution said her

:05:22.:05:25.

DNA was on the knife they believed to be the murder weapon and

:05:26.:05:29.

Sollecito's DNA was on Meredith's bra clasp, though that DNA evidence

:05:30.:05:34.

was highly contested. Now the Kerchers, Knox and Sollecito have to

:05:35.:05:39.

await a report which will be published in 90 days to find out the

:05:40.:05:43.

exact reasons for the judge's decision. They will bent almost

:05:44.:05:49.

certainly be an appeal. You can find background information

:05:50.:05:53.

on the trial and in-depth analysis on the BBC website. Storm battered

:05:54.:06:03.

parts of Britain bade -- bracing themselves for another pounding as

:06:04.:06:06.

more rain, high winds and high tides of that to hit the south and west.

:06:07.:06:11.

The Met office is warning of heavy rain in southern England including

:06:12.:06:14.

the already flooded Somerset Levels as well as South Wales and parts of

:06:15.:06:19.

Northern Ireland. The Environment Agency has issued numerous flood

:06:20.:06:22.

warnings and says that many coastal areas will be affected by high tides

:06:23.:06:26.

in the coming days. In a minute we will get the latest on the situation

:06:27.:06:30.

in Wales. First, to Clare Marshall, who is in Somerset for us.

:06:31.:06:35.

You can see what it is like here. It had been looking better a couple of

:06:36.:06:40.

hours ago. The river levels were dropping. The Environment Agency

:06:41.:06:43.

said we are pumping out the water as fast as we can, then about an hour

:06:44.:06:47.

ago the weather front started moving in. It is relentless here. The

:06:48.:06:53.

people are tired of it all. The wettest winter here in a century

:06:54.:06:57.

and the effort to shift well over 1 million tonnes of water goes on.

:06:58.:07:03.

Now, more urgent than ever. We have got more pumps operating than we

:07:04.:07:07.

have before. Pumping the equivalent of an Olympic swimming pool every 90

:07:08.:07:11.

seconds. Even with no rain it would take weeks? Even with no rain it

:07:12.:07:16.

would take weeks and that was the experience in 2012. These could be

:07:17.:07:21.

coming in handy, bales of used tyres. This company just down the

:07:22.:07:26.

road is in urgent talks with the local council. They can be laid out

:07:27.:07:29.

to make a road which normal cars can drive on. No more tractors and

:07:30.:07:33.

boats. Imagine we are in the flood waters here, how come these help?

:07:34.:07:39.

These are about one metre high and they will lift the access about over

:07:40.:07:45.

the water level and have track way on top so that people can access

:07:46.:07:49.

their homes. So you can drive on top of these? Drive straight over them

:07:50.:07:54.

with access track on top and they free draining so the road will dry.

:07:55.:08:00.

As the government calls get more emergency COBRA meetings, those

:08:01.:08:03.

living on the saturated Somerset Levels wait to see what the weather

:08:04.:08:06.

does next. The flood waters have been sitting here for about a month

:08:07.:08:11.

now and they are stagnant and horrible. Just look at the kind of

:08:12.:08:15.

things washed up. The pumps are pumping and they are doing what they

:08:16.:08:19.

can, but the rain is starting to fall again. There is a spring tide

:08:20.:08:23.

coming this weekend. The wind is picking up. The army is on stand-by.

:08:24.:08:29.

You can see those differences here. They are a lot higher than the last

:08:30.:08:33.

time this was flooded, so they are better prepared, but the people here

:08:34.:08:36.

are fed up the reaction has been too little, too late. Over the last hour

:08:37.:08:41.

the BBC understands the government now says that it will grab this

:08:42.:08:45.

problem by the scruff of the neck. Whatever that means, people here are

:08:46.:08:50.

waiting to see. Now over to Aberystwyth.

:08:51.:08:55.

Yes, whether winds have really started to pick up in the last few

:08:56.:08:59.

minutes and while it is low tide and we can be on the beach safely at the

:09:00.:09:02.

moment the concern is over what the elements will bring tonight at high

:09:03.:09:06.

tide and tomorrow through the weekend. You may remember a few

:09:07.:09:09.

weeks ago Aberystwyth took a real battering. There is still a hole in

:09:10.:09:16.

the sea on the beach. They have been trying to rebuild the historic

:09:17.:09:19.

front. There is work ongoing. But there is fear that while they have

:09:20.:09:23.

to spend thousands and thousands of pounds making repairs, that work may

:09:24.:09:28.

be undone by the conditions yet to come. Already pre-emptive action has

:09:29.:09:32.

taken place this morning. We have seen around 600 students being

:09:33.:09:38.

moved, with the student halls being evacuated and some 400 or so being

:09:39.:09:43.

moved other locations. 200 have taken up the very generous offer of

:09:44.:09:48.

a free Thame ticket -- freak train ticket home to see their parents and

:09:49.:09:52.

relatives, as long as they are safe and dry out of these conditions.

:09:53.:09:58.

Both of you, thanks very much indeed. There is much more on the

:09:59.:10:03.

latest storm to hit the UK throughout the afternoon on the BBC

:10:04.:10:06.

News channel. You can keep up-to-date with events in your area

:10:07.:10:12.

on BBC local radio. New figures show wide variations in

:10:13.:10:16.

the way that police record and classify rape allegations in England

:10:17.:10:19.

and Wales. The Inspectorate of Constabulary said in some areas,

:10:20.:10:22.

where the number of recorded rapes is far lower than average, as

:10:23.:10:26.

victims may be unwilling to come forward because they feel they will

:10:27.:10:30.

not be believed. Our home affairs correspondent Matt Prodger reports.

:10:31.:10:36.

A specialist medical Centre, where victims of rape can find help before

:10:37.:10:40.

they decide to report the crime to police. But what happens after

:10:41.:10:47.

police get involved varies widely from force to force across England

:10:48.:10:51.

and Wales. The number of recorded rapes of adults is below average in

:10:52.:10:56.

29 out of 43 Constabulary is. Depending on where you live, as few

:10:57.:11:03.

as 3%, or as many as 33% of reported rapes are later designated as no

:11:04.:11:08.

crime by the police. And in some forces there may be a culture of

:11:09.:11:13.

disbelief of rape allegations. It does cause me are concerned there

:11:14.:11:16.

are inconsistencies because my priority is picked in confidence to

:11:17.:11:20.

come forward and report of the police and those inconsistencies

:11:21.:11:25.

could have victims causing concerns. There is increasing doubt about

:11:26.:11:29.

crime figures. A whistle-blower told MPs that forces were fiddling them

:11:30.:11:33.

to meet targets. This would finish up with trying to persuade a victim

:11:34.:11:37.

they were not raped, for example? Effectively, yes. You are nodding at

:11:38.:11:43.

this. The UK Statistics Authority questioned the numbers recorded by

:11:44.:11:47.

police. Campaigners are particularly concerned about how many rape

:11:48.:11:51.

allegations are being struck off the recorded figures. The no crime

:11:52.:11:55.

levels have been an issue for some time now. Previous reports have

:11:56.:11:59.

highlighted this as an issue. When we know that's oof -- so few

:12:00.:12:03.

survivors of sexual violence report to the police, we know -- we need

:12:04.:12:09.

some reassurance these figures will be scrutinised and investigated.

:12:10.:12:15.

Morph people are reporting rape allegations to the police. The

:12:16.:12:17.

government says the assumption in every case should be that the crime

:12:18.:12:21.

has been committed until proven otherwise.

:12:22.:12:27.

The United Nations mediator leading the Syrian peace talks in Geneva

:12:28.:12:31.

says they made a modest beginning towards ending the conflict,

:12:32.:12:34.

provided both sides have the political will to do so. Speaking on

:12:35.:12:39.

the final day of the first round of negotiations Lakhdar Brahimi

:12:40.:12:41.

announced they were expected to resume on February the tense.

:12:42.:12:47.

Differences have emerged between David Cameron and the French

:12:48.:12:50.

President Francois Hollande about the future of the European Union.

:12:51.:12:55.

The two men have been holding talks at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.

:12:56.:12:58.

Mr Hollande citywide -- while he wanted improvements in the wake of

:12:59.:13:03.

the EU was run, he couldn't see the need to revise the treaty is at

:13:04.:13:05.

present, but Mr Cameron said he would achieve in -- he said he would

:13:06.:13:10.

achieve a change in Britain's relationship with the EU. Carole

:13:11.:13:16.

Walker reports. It was an occasional or official escort is only though

:13:17.:13:18.

President Hollande must have known there would be no escaping the

:13:19.:13:22.

questions over his split from the former First Lady. The relationship

:13:23.:13:25.

with David Cameron is not exactly easy either but the socialist

:13:26.:13:29.

president and Conservative Prime Minister know how important it is to

:13:30.:13:35.

ensure the Entente remains cordiale. So they have released -- reached new

:13:36.:13:39.

deals to cooperate on defence, nuclear power and space, a two-year

:13:40.:13:44.

project to develop a new armed drone, joint military exercises and

:13:45.:13:48.

investment in new nuclear reactors. David Cameron is under real pressure

:13:49.:13:53.

from many of his own MPs to win back significant powers from Europe

:13:54.:13:56.

before the referendum he has promised by the end of 2017. Bids to

:13:57.:14:01.

do that he needs the help of big players, like the French, but the

:14:02.:14:07.

last thing they want is to open up EU treaties for renegotiation

:14:08.:14:09.

allowing other member states to come up with all the demands and leading

:14:10.:14:13.

to a lengthy wrangling over the way the EU is run. At their joint news

:14:14.:14:17.

conference the differences were stark.

:14:18.:14:21.

TRANSLATION: Fans would like the eurozone to be

:14:22.:14:28.

better coordinated, better integrated. And if there are going

:14:29.:14:39.

to be amendments to the text, we don't feel that for the time being

:14:40.:14:44.

they are urgent. We feel that revising the treaty is not a

:14:45.:14:53.

priority for the time being. We want to see that renegotiation which will

:14:54.:14:56.

involve elements of treaty change. And then there will be a referendum

:14:57.:15:02.

in Britain before the end of 2017. That is an in out referendum. What

:15:03.:15:08.

about other big issue? The British press don't share the French

:15:09.:15:11.

reluctance to pry? Do you think your private life has made France an

:15:12.:15:15.

international joke? Are you still having an affair and do you wish she

:15:16.:15:19.

was here? TRANSLATION: In regard to your last

:15:20.:15:22.

question, I decline to answer. There were lots of warm words sharing

:15:23.:15:27.

their belief in a more competitive Europe when it comes to achieving

:15:28.:15:36.

that, there is a difference. Norman Smith is at Brize Norton for us. I

:15:37.:15:41.

think they are going to a pub lunch now but I don't figure will be

:15:42.:15:44.

easier to get agreement over this whole reform of the European Union?

:15:45.:15:50.

John, it's clear both men came here desperate to avoid a public falling

:15:51.:15:55.

out over Europe so initially it was all first names, praising each

:15:56.:16:00.

other, and there were deals on defence and energy policy, but as

:16:01.:16:05.

soon as Europe came up, the gulf became clear with Mr Holland saying

:16:06.:16:09.

David Cameron's plans for renegotiation when not urgent, not

:16:10.:16:16.

urgent, the dramatic speak for a no-no. David Cameron says we want to

:16:17.:16:24.

happen. It underlines the scale of the challenge Mr Cameron faces in

:16:25.:16:28.

convincing key EU partners to hand back powers. One rather suspects Mr

:16:29.:16:36.

Holland's lack of interest in this wasn't helped by the question about

:16:37.:16:41.

his rather crowded home life. Mr Cameron has taken throb pub lunch

:16:42.:16:46.

now. I think it will take more than a pint and a packet of salt and

:16:47.:16:51.

vinegar to win Mr Holland over to Mr Cameron's approach to Europe. That

:16:52.:16:56.

would be quite a picture to see them eating salt and bigger crisps

:16:57.:16:59.

together. Some breaking news now. The BBC understands that the England

:17:00.:17:02.

coach Andy Flower has stood down following England's disastrous Ashes

:17:03.:17:04.

tour. Our Sports Correspondent Andy Swiss has more. Tell us what we

:17:05.:17:12.

know. Andy Flower 's's position has been under scrutiny ever since that

:17:13.:17:17.

Ashes whitewash in Australia. It wasn't just the result but the man

:17:18.:17:21.

of the defeat, as well, with England showing no real sign of fight. This

:17:22.:17:24.

was a series they went into as red-hot favourites, remember. There

:17:25.:17:28.

were problems off the pitch, too, with players returning home and talk

:17:29.:17:32.

of a rift between Andy Flower and Kevin Peterson. After the series,

:17:33.:17:38.

Andy Flower said he wanted to continue as England coach, he still

:17:39.:17:41.

had the appetite, but he did have to have this curtains, he said, with a

:17:42.:17:45.

new header dangerous cricket, Paul Downton, and it seems as though

:17:46.:17:49.

those discussions have ended with Andy Flower losing his job as coach

:17:50.:17:53.

although we are still waiting for official confirmation from England

:17:54.:17:56.

and Wales Cricket board, but it is the end, it will at the end of one

:17:57.:18:00.

of the most successful ever the cricket history. He took over in

:18:01.:18:04.

2009, guided England to three Ashes victories, guided them to number one

:18:05.:18:08.

in the world ranking. Ultimately, it seems that he may have paid the

:18:09.:18:12.

price for the disastrous performance in Australia. OK, Andy, thank you

:18:13.:18:18.

very much for that update. Our top story this lunchtime. After murder

:18:19.:18:20.

convictions are reinstated against Raffaele Sollecito and Amanda Knox,

:18:21.:18:23.

the family of Meredith Kercher say all they want is the truth. And

:18:24.:18:31.

still to come. Let the battle commence. Six Nations rugby returns

:18:32.:18:35.

to Wales at the weekend amidst fears it risks being torn apart by

:18:36.:18:43.

disputes. Later on BBC London, we meet the capital's rugby captains

:18:44.:18:46.

trying to lead their countries to Nations glory. And Russell Toby

:18:47.:18:51.

tells about his latest stage role playing a celebrity footballer

:18:52.:18:52.

struggling to keep a secret. Six Nations rugby returns at the

:18:53.:19:04.

weekend with Wales trying to win the championship for the third year in a

:19:05.:19:07.

row. Something that has never happened before. But rugby union in

:19:08.:19:11.

Wales, the national game, risks being torn apart by division and

:19:12.:19:14.

dispute, with deep concern for the future and talent draining away from

:19:15.:19:18.

Wales to France where the big money is. Our Sports Correspondent Joe

:19:19.:19:28.

Wilson has more. Is this flattering to deceive? On the face of it,

:19:29.:19:31.

Cardiff Castle seems just the right symbol of strength for Welsh rugby.

:19:32.:19:38.

Six Nations champions for the last two seasons, rock-solid am a

:19:39.:19:43.

dominant. So why then would a player tried to escape? Leigh Halfpenny was

:19:44.:19:47.

the man of the tournament last year, match-winning talent, a star,

:19:48.:19:52.

and now off to earn big money Lane club rugby in France. Other Welsh

:19:53.:19:57.

have already relocated. It hurts enormously. We want our icons, our

:19:58.:20:05.

ambassadors, our role models, metaphors for a modern world, to be

:20:06.:20:07.

walking around our villages and towns and cities, and that's why the

:20:08.:20:12.

heart of Welsh rugby union's ambition in our discussions with our

:20:13.:20:16.

partners is to say how do we retain our talent in Wales? The partners of

:20:17.:20:21.

a four professional club teams in Wales, the regions, who feel they

:20:22.:20:25.

must secure a better future somewhere. The red bee media has

:20:26.:20:30.

overflowed with tales of Civil War. The four regions openly exploring

:20:31.:20:33.

previously unthinkable notions like joining the English league. There's

:20:34.:20:40.

professional rugby share, but the issue, basically, is money. I guess

:20:41.:20:45.

the reality is our core product is rugby, rugby on the field, and right

:20:46.:20:53.

now, we don't know who we are playing. When we're playing. And by

:20:54.:20:57.

how much. In just five months time, beyond May. So, the reality is we

:20:58.:21:03.

have absolutely no certainty of our revenues at all as a business.

:21:04.:21:08.

Meanwhile, the captain stands alone. Sam Robertson, the first

:21:09.:21:11.

player who will be paid directly by the governing body, the Welsh union,

:21:12.:21:17.

to stay in Wales. I think most players would consider those

:21:18.:21:20.

options. I certainly considered the options of moving away. I stressed

:21:21.:21:26.

from day one, preference would be to stay home. Worrying about those

:21:27.:21:29.

external things won't help is so everybody is very focused on the job

:21:30.:21:32.

ahead. Everyone in Wales expect Wales to beat every other country.

:21:33.:21:39.

That seems like a simple bit. A British man accused of murdering his

:21:40.:21:43.

wife while they were on honeymoon in Cape Town has lost his High Court

:21:44.:21:46.

attempt to block his extradition to South Africa. Shrien Dewani claimed

:21:47.:21:49.

he was unfit to stand trial because of his mental health problems. His

:21:50.:21:53.

wife, Anni, was shot while in the back of a taxi in November 2010.

:21:54.:21:57.

Angus Crawford has been following the case. Newlyweds, they seemed the

:21:58.:22:07.

perfect couple. With an extravagant wedding, and the glittering future.

:22:08.:22:14.

The days after this was taken, Anni was dead. Her body found in this car

:22:15.:22:20.

on the outskirts of Cape Town. Their honeymoon was at a luxury hotel in

:22:21.:22:23.

the city. They seemed relaxed and happy. But late at night, on the way

:22:24.:22:29.

back from a restaurant, their taxi was hijacked. Anni was shot dead.

:22:30.:22:35.

The South African police became suspicious when CCTV showed Shrien

:22:36.:22:40.

Dewani meeting a taxi driver a couple of days later. Shrien Dewani

:22:41.:22:43.

said he was giving him money for driving. But the taxi driver told

:22:44.:22:48.

the court he was paid for arranging the killing. He has been jailed for

:22:49.:22:56.

18 years. The South Africans have been trying to extradite Shrien

:22:57.:23:01.

Dewani ever since. His lawyers say he has severe depression and is too

:23:02.:23:05.

ill. But today, the High Court decided he could be extradited. But

:23:06.:23:10.

only if Victoria agrees to send him back after a year if he is still too

:23:11.:23:17.

unwell to face trial. The South African authorities have two weeks

:23:18.:23:20.

to make such an undertaking. And then, in theory, seven days after

:23:21.:23:24.

that, Shrien Dewani could be on a plane to Cape Town. His legal team,

:23:25.:23:29.

though, still have an option of an appeal to the Supreme Court. Members

:23:30.:23:36.

of Anni's family were in court to hear the ruling today and gave a

:23:37.:23:40.

cautious welcome. We have been waiting three years for this and it

:23:41.:23:43.

just seems like we are a step closer to getting the extradition process

:23:44.:23:47.

finalised, and getting justice for Anni, really. But all we wanted.

:23:48.:23:51.

Another small step on a legal journey which is far from over. The

:23:52.:23:57.

number of people applying for university places has increased 4%

:23:58.:24:00.

this year, and school leavers in England are now more likely to apply

:24:01.:24:02.

for higher education than ever before. But the university

:24:03.:24:06.

admissions service UCAS warns that young men are becoming a

:24:07.:24:08.

disadvantaged group as they are far less likely to apply for courses

:24:09.:24:11.

than women. Our Education Correspondent Gillian Hargreaves

:24:12.:24:22.

joins me now. Just take through some of the statistics that stand out

:24:23.:24:25.

from the support. Record numbers of people are now applying to

:24:26.:24:30.

university, even though they are paying up to ?9,000 a year for an

:24:31.:24:35.

undergraduate course. 580,000 applications so far this year. As

:24:36.:24:40.

you said, that is a 4% rise on last year, so I think it shows people are

:24:41.:24:44.

not being deterred by higher fees, they do think it's worth going and

:24:45.:24:48.

getting a university degree, because their lifelong work prospects are so

:24:49.:24:51.

much better. The other interesting thing is we are seeing a big gap

:24:52.:24:55.

emerging between men and women applying to university. Many more

:24:56.:25:00.

women, 87,000 more women have applied, this year than men. That is

:25:01.:25:08.

a 7000 rise on last year. It is particularly acute in some

:25:09.:25:10.

communities for the white working-class boys and black and

:25:11.:25:14.

ethnic minority boys are not applying in the same sorts of

:25:15.:25:16.

numbers that their female counterparts are. Why? Well, girls

:25:17.:25:22.

have outperformed boys since the 1990s at GCSE and A-level is, doing

:25:23.:25:27.

much better in most subjects, and I think they have got much more

:25:28.:25:31.

confidence to apply for university. OK, Gillian, thank you very much.

:25:32.:25:34.

Now, with just hours to go until the football transfer deadline closes,

:25:35.:25:36.

the Premier League has already beaten last year's spending record.

:25:37.:25:41.

With ten hours still to go, the combined transfer sum has already

:25:42.:25:43.

passed the ?700 million mark for the first time, with spending currently

:25:44.:25:50.

at a cool ?725 million. Let's cross to our Sports Correspondent Natalie

:25:51.:26:00.

Pirks who's at Arsenal. Natalie, what a beanie eye-catching deals so

:26:01.:26:05.

far? What are we expecting to come in these last few hours? Well, there

:26:06.:26:10.

are no jaw-dropping deals, it has to be said, but is under ten hours to

:26:11.:26:15.

go. Anything can happen, it often does. Arsene Wenger's handers been

:26:16.:26:20.

forced due to injuries and suspensions to key personnel and he

:26:21.:26:22.

said this morning he needs to bring a body in and we believe it to be

:26:23.:26:30.

31-year-old Swedish midfielder Kim Kelstrum. He is already in London

:26:31.:26:36.

trying to get that deal finished. Manchester United, they have loaned

:26:37.:26:44.

back to Cardiff their deal from last January's transfer window, Wilfried

:26:45.:26:50.

Zaha, and no one else is coming in. They have done the big deal of

:26:51.:26:54.

January transfer window so far last weekend, club record ?37.1 million

:26:55.:27:00.

spent on Juan Mata, so the is therefore clubs. It just seems,

:27:01.:27:05.

whatever the circumstances and the state of the economy, these Premier

:27:06.:27:10.

League clubs have money to spend. They always seem to find the money,

:27:11.:27:14.

don't they? 100 million spent in January. That is an increase on this

:27:15.:27:19.

time last year where 120 was eventually spent in January, the

:27:20.:27:22.

fourth biggest January window of all time. This window was loved by fans

:27:23.:27:27.

for the drama but loathed by managers. Arsene Wenger reiterating

:27:28.:27:31.

he just wants it to stop, they don't feel bad value for money but some of

:27:32.:27:34.

the Premier League Mac boss biggest players like Luis Suarez have come

:27:35.:27:39.

in in January and the teams know the players brought in by 11 o'clock

:27:40.:27:42.

today, could make all the difference in May. OK, thank you. Time now for

:27:43.:27:52.

a look at the weather. Those isobars looked very tightly packed.

:27:53.:27:56.

I'm afraid we've been here before. This is something special. A very

:27:57.:28:07.

deep area of low pressure. Sunbury Strong wind with some already, and

:28:08.:28:11.

more to come on Saturday. We have an amber warning in place. Across the

:28:12.:28:16.

Somerset levels, we could have 40 million litres distinctive possible

:28:17.:28:21.

across the high ground of Wales and the south-west. Very unwelcome news

:28:22.:28:27.

indeed. Cold air further north which has implications. Perhaps you are

:28:28.:28:33.

travelling later on today across the high-level routes, the top end of

:28:34.:28:36.

the Pennines, southern parts of Scotland, north of the central belt,

:28:37.:28:41.

there is a risk that rain converting into snowfall at higher levels. Best

:28:42.:28:45.

to check if you're travelling later on today into the first part of the

:28:46.:28:49.

evening and then later on tonight 's separate features away from the main

:28:50.:28:52.

rain band which may drag that snow level down to quite low levels. You

:28:53.:28:58.

could wake up to snow in the heart of Belfast and the heart of Glasgow.

:28:59.:29:03.

Again, best to check before you travel. The skies clear overnight

:29:04.:29:07.

and then we have a widespread ice problem across central and northern

:29:08.:29:10.

and western parts of the British Isles on untreated surfaces. I'm

:29:11.:29:14.

going to show the high tides. It's not something we tend to do but they

:29:15.:29:20.

are -not as high as they were in the first part of January, but when you

:29:21.:29:24.

combine it with this amount of wind, and the large waves it would

:29:25.:29:28.

generate, there will be a problem around the channel and Irish Sea

:29:29.:29:33.

coasts, with some localised flooding. So check that one.

:29:34.:29:38.

Saturday, a blustery sort of day with the showers gathering together

:29:39.:29:41.

to give rain across northern and western parts of the British Isles

:29:42.:29:44.

and a little bit of sheltered towards East. And then, thankfully,

:29:45.:29:49.

we get a Sunday, which is a brighter, drier day for many. The

:29:50.:29:52.

wind coming from the south-west. Still quite a bit of it but nowhere

:29:53.:29:57.

near the levels of Saturday, I suspect, so that'll be a quieter

:29:58.:30:01.

day. Temporary relief, I have to say. Overnight, and the startling,

:30:02.:30:06.

there could be a problem with snow in parts of Scotland and Northern

:30:07.:30:10.

Ireland. And then, on Saturday, very strong wind, and in the southwestern

:30:11.:30:16.

quarter we have those high tides, as well. A lot going on, of course. The

:30:17.:30:20.

BBC weather website has the weather warnings and flood warnings to keep

:30:21.:30:23.

you up-to-date through the rest of today and of course through the

:30:24.:30:24.

weekend. Thank you very much indeed. Now a

:30:25.:30:31.

reminder of our top story this lunchtime. After murder convictions

:30:32.:30:33.

are reinstated against Raffaele Sollecito and Amanda Knox, the

:30:34.:30:36.

family of Meredith Kercher say all they want is the truth. I'm going to

:30:37.:30:47.

fight this until the very end, and it's not right. And it's not fair.

:30:48.:30:53.

Flood had parts of Britain are bracing themselves for a fresh

:30:54.:30:56.

onslaught as another storm sweeps in from the Atlantic. In the last few

:30:57.:31:03.

minutes, the BBC has learned Andy Flower will stand down as the

:31:04.:31:05.

England cricket coach after their disastrous Ashes tour. That's all

:31:06.:31:08.

from us. Now on BBC One it's time for the

:31:09.:31:10.

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