:00:13. > :00:15.enough to end the crisis? There's anger in the Ukranian Parliament -
:00:16. > :00:25.chaos descended on the chamber as MPs try to debate the changes. The
:00:26. > :00:29.stand-off continues - with protesters vowing to stay until
:00:30. > :00:34.President Yanukovych stands down. This is the live scene in
:00:35. > :00:38.Independence Square this lunchtime. Until he goes, these demonstrations
:00:39. > :00:41.look set to go on and the anger and division in this country could
:00:42. > :00:43.continue to grow. We'll be assessing whether the President's latest offer
:00:44. > :00:45.goes far enough. Also this lunchtime: At the
:00:46. > :00:48.phone-hacking trial, Rebekah Brooks appeared close to tears, and asked
:00:49. > :00:51.for a break in proceedings, as she was questioned about her personal
:00:52. > :00:54.life. Could all this have been prevented?
:00:55. > :00:57.Environmental experts tell the Prime Minister to learn lessons from the
:00:58. > :01:07.flood crisis, to stop it happening again.
:01:08. > :01:11.?300,000 a week for the next five and a half years - Wayne Rooney's
:01:12. > :01:15.new deal with Manchester United. Just half an hour to go as Britain
:01:16. > :01:22.goes for gold in the men's curling at the Winter Olympics. The
:01:23. > :01:26.excitement is building here in Sochi. Can Team GB win their second
:01:27. > :01:29.gold medal of these games? Later on BBC London:
:01:30. > :01:32.Police appeal for witnesses after dramatic CCTV emerges of an armed
:01:33. > :01:34.raid on a convenience store in East London.
:01:35. > :01:36.And in Datchet, businesses start to return to assess the damage after
:01:37. > :01:58.weeks of flooding. Good afternoon and welcome to the
:01:59. > :02:01.BBC News at One. The President of Ukraine has announced a series of
:02:02. > :02:03.concessions in a bid to defuse the deepening crisis there. President
:02:04. > :02:06.Yanukovych has promised early presidential elections, and a
:02:07. > :02:17.coalition government will be formed to run the country. In parliament,
:02:18. > :02:21.there were angry scenes as MPs debated the changes, whilst on the
:02:22. > :02:25.streets, after the violence of the last few days, the 10th stand-off
:02:26. > :02:32.continues. Our correspondent Duncan Crawford is in Kiev for us.
:02:33. > :02:34.It has been largely calm today, certainly in comparison to yesterday
:02:35. > :02:39.when we had a running street battles. The latest death toll is
:02:40. > :02:45.that at least 77 people have died since the violence began on Tuesday.
:02:46. > :02:49.Diplomatically, though, we've had intense negotiations over night to
:02:50. > :02:55.try to bring an end to the violence and we've had this announcement made
:02:56. > :02:59.today by President Yanukovych - potentially a significant turning
:03:00. > :03:02.point in this crisis, if the opposition agree and the protest and
:03:03. > :03:10.accept this deal which he says has been made.
:03:11. > :03:12.-- the protest is accept. Reinforcements arriving at the
:03:13. > :03:17.headquarters. Even as President Yanukovych was planning to offer his
:03:18. > :03:23.biggest concessions yet to the protest was, a display of public
:03:24. > :03:30.dissent against his rule. The flags and uniforms a reminder of how these
:03:31. > :03:33.protests began in the first place. TRANSLATION: The situation in
:03:34. > :03:37.Ukraine is so bad we've come to Kenya to show our support for the
:03:38. > :03:43.protests. We all made the decision to come ourselves. TRANSLATION: We
:03:44. > :03:49.will arrive immediately with weapons and give a professional
:03:50. > :03:55.counterattack with weapons. Believe me, I can fight. I served in
:03:56. > :04:00.Afghanistan. Dozens of police on the west of the country have defected
:04:01. > :04:04.and, this morning, arrived in Independence Square to back the
:04:05. > :04:10.fight against the government. After marathon talks overnight between EU
:04:11. > :04:13.officials and the government, a possible deal has urged to try to
:04:14. > :04:17.prevent more bloodshed. The president has promised a change to
:04:18. > :04:23.the constitution with powers transferred from the presidency to
:04:24. > :04:28.the Parliament and, perhaps most significant new, early presidential
:04:29. > :04:31.elections. Protesters are cautious, though, and it's far from certain
:04:32. > :04:37.whether the men manning the barricades will accept the plan.
:04:38. > :04:42.These are petrol bombs. The protest as are clearly ready for a fight.
:04:43. > :04:45.What matters to them is whether President Yanukovych remains in
:04:46. > :04:49.power. Until he goes, these demonstrations are set to go on and
:04:50. > :04:54.the anger and division in this country could continue to grow.
:04:55. > :04:58.Those divisions are just as start in Parliament. The Thalia Klitschko,
:04:59. > :05:02.the boxer turned opposition leader and presidential hopeful, has been
:05:03. > :05:09.involved in plenty of fights. -- Vic Talib Klitschko. The government
:05:10. > :05:14.still blames the protest is for the violence. The country and the world
:05:15. > :05:20.is focused on events in Independence Square and how the people across the
:05:21. > :05:25.country react will determine the fate of Ukraine. We're still
:05:26. > :05:33.awaiting official reaction from the opposition leaders, including Vitali
:05:34. > :05:36.Klitschko, to this deal put forward by President Yanukovych, which he
:05:37. > :05:40.thinks is going to come in. We have had a reaction, though, from the
:05:41. > :05:45.Polish Foreign Minister, who was involved in these talks overnight.
:05:46. > :05:51.He has tweeted that it's a delicate situation, a delicate moment, and
:05:52. > :05:56.says, "all must remember you don't get 100% in a compromise". So it
:05:57. > :06:00.sounds as if the graduation is our continuing behind the scenes to get
:06:01. > :06:04.all sides on board with this deal. Also, reports this lunchtime but
:06:05. > :06:09.Ukraine's deputy army chief has resigned from his position because
:06:10. > :06:13.the army, he says, is being drawn into a civil conflict. We haven't
:06:14. > :06:19.had confirmation of that but that would be the latest ally of
:06:20. > :06:22.President Yanukovych to stand down after the mayor of Kiev yesterday
:06:23. > :06:27.and MPs from the ruling party. Our diplomatic correspondent Bridget
:06:28. > :06:32.Kendall is here. President Yanukovych hopes this offer is
:06:33. > :06:37.enough but can deal still done? The very fact he President Yanukovych
:06:38. > :06:40.has come out in public and said he is prepared to do this means he's
:06:41. > :06:45.the one that is now feeling on the back foot. He wants a deal, some
:06:46. > :06:48.people in the opposition say, to save his skin and gain immunity
:06:49. > :06:53.because he knows he is losing support. The problem for the EU
:06:54. > :06:57.negotiators and, if they're minded, opposition leaders, would be to say
:06:58. > :07:03.to opposition supporters, "would you be prepared to compromise with this
:07:04. > :07:06.man? " . It may now be too difficult to do that after the bloodshed
:07:07. > :07:10.yesterday and you just sense that the political balance is too big.
:07:11. > :07:14.The opposition are focused partly on Parliament. They want Parliament to
:07:15. > :07:18.have more power but they've already passed a motion calling on trips to
:07:19. > :07:24.go back to barracks. They'll be encouraged by the fact that there
:07:25. > :07:27.have been these latest resignations, most recently from the
:07:28. > :07:32.deputy chief of staff, saying he does want the Army used against the
:07:33. > :07:36.people. With Western Ukraine in open revolt and those bits of the country
:07:37. > :07:40.which traditionally were thought of as the stronghold of Mr Yanukovych,
:07:41. > :07:46.they're not rushing to Kiev to support him. It does feel as though
:07:47. > :07:50.the negotiations are bit unbalanced. What really matters is what the
:07:51. > :07:53.opposition are prepared to accept. And you can follow all the
:07:54. > :07:55.developments on the BBC News Channel across the afternoon.
:07:56. > :07:58.The former chief executive of News International Rebekah Brooks has
:07:59. > :08:00.appeared close to tears, and asked for a break in proceedings, as she
:08:01. > :08:06.was questioned about her personal life at the hacking trial. Ms Brooks
:08:07. > :08:09.has also told the Old Bailey she was not made aware of a ?92,000 annual
:08:10. > :08:15.contract the News of the World had with phone hacker Glenn Mulcaire,
:08:16. > :08:22.during her editorship of the paper. Our home affairs correspondent Tom
:08:23. > :08:26.Symonds is at the Old Bailey for us. Yes, Simon, Rebekah Brooks was asked
:08:27. > :08:31.questions on two very different subjects today. Firstly, the cold,
:08:32. > :08:36.hard facts of the way the News of the World run its accounts. And
:08:37. > :08:39.secondly, the intimate details of her personal relationships. Both,
:08:40. > :08:45.the court has been told, are important to this case.
:08:46. > :08:51.An actor, EastEnders star Ross Kemp. An editor, Andy Coulson. And a
:08:52. > :08:54.racehorse owner, Charlie Brooks. Today, Rebekah Brooks was forced to
:08:55. > :08:59.talk about her relationships with each of these men. The prosecution
:09:00. > :09:03.made it a part of this case by introducing the suggestion earlier
:09:04. > :09:07.in the trial that her closeness to Andy Coulson suggested she must have
:09:08. > :09:12.known what he knew, must have known about phone hacking and illegal
:09:13. > :09:15.payments for storing is. In the witness box, Rebekah Brooks seemed
:09:16. > :09:19.close to tears as the questioning focused on her personal life. She
:09:20. > :09:24.asked for a break but then described how she became close to Andy Coulson
:09:25. > :09:30.in 1998 and had a relationship which involved periods of intimacy. In
:09:31. > :09:35.February 2004, she wrote a letter in which she told Andy Coulson, "I tell
:09:36. > :09:38.you everything, confide in you, seek your advice". She was asked about
:09:39. > :09:49.this in court and said: But she never sent the e-mail. She
:09:50. > :10:01.told the court: She denied their affair lasted six
:10:02. > :10:05.years, as the prosecution has claimed. She has since married
:10:06. > :10:09.Charlie Brooks, who is charged with helping her conceal evidence from
:10:10. > :10:13.the police, and she described how, after years of fertility treatment,
:10:14. > :10:18.a cousin agreed to be the surrogates for her baby daughter. She was asked
:10:19. > :10:21.if she had known that phone hacker Glenn Mulcaire was being paid
:10:22. > :10:26.?92,000 by the News of the World when she was editor. It was an
:10:27. > :10:31.arrangement made by a senior journalist, the court heard, but she
:10:32. > :10:35.said it was not brought to her attention. She denies four charges
:10:36. > :10:39.against her. Rebekah Brooks is clearly a central
:10:40. > :10:43.figure in this case and the jury has been given a very full picture of
:10:44. > :10:49.her personal and professional life. She is expected to be in the witness
:10:50. > :10:51.box the days to come. -- for days to come.
:10:52. > :10:55.Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust will find out today how much
:10:56. > :10:58.it will be fined for failing to care for a woman who died in hospital in
:10:59. > :11:01.2007. The trust pleaded guilty in October to failing to ensure the
:11:02. > :11:04.safety of diabetic patient Gillian Astbury. She was one of hundreds of
:11:05. > :11:06.patients to endure what a public inquiry called terrible and
:11:07. > :11:14.unnecessary suffering at Mid Staffs. Here's our health correspondent
:11:15. > :11:19.Dominic Hughes. It has been nearly seven years since
:11:20. > :11:25.her death but friends and relatives of Gillian Astbury may finally feel
:11:26. > :11:29.justice is being done. In April 2007, staff at Stafford Hospital
:11:30. > :11:34.failed to spot that the 66-year-old was diabetic so they didn't add
:11:35. > :11:38.minister vital insulin injections. Gillian fell into a coma and died.
:11:39. > :11:43.Last year at a court hearing, the trust pleaded guilty to breaches of
:11:44. > :11:48.health and so deep legislation. Ron Street was Julian Bousquet grow long
:11:49. > :11:54.time carer. He told the BBC last year that he would like to see
:11:55. > :12:01.individual managers held to account. -- was Gillian's long-term carer. I
:12:02. > :12:04.do think there is a case for accountability of the people
:12:05. > :12:11.responsible who are no longer with the trust. The Mid Staffordshire
:12:12. > :12:15.trust is losing about ?13 million a year and is on the verge of being
:12:16. > :12:17.dissolved, having been declared no longer viable either clinically or
:12:18. > :12:22.financially. That has raised questions about the wisdom of
:12:23. > :12:28.defining an institution already on its knees. This is the slightly daft
:12:29. > :12:32.situation where we've got one public body filing and public body and the
:12:33. > :12:38.money is being recycled for no public benefit and, indeed, to the
:12:39. > :12:41.detriment of the local trust. Campaigners who fought long and hard
:12:42. > :12:43.to expose the terrible failings at Stafford Hospital have been
:12:44. > :12:50.following today's court hearing with interest. It is likely the public
:12:51. > :12:56.will be fined an awful lot of money and it will impact on patient care
:12:57. > :12:59.once again. The trust has admitted care for Gillian Astbury fell a long
:13:00. > :13:05.way short of the expected standards. Now it is waiting to see what kind
:13:06. > :13:07.of penalty it will face. There was some unexpected weakness
:13:08. > :13:11.in the public finances this month, with a lower surplus than predicted.
:13:12. > :13:13.January is usually a good month for the treasury coffers, as corporation
:13:14. > :13:16.tax and self-assessed income tax are largely paid this month. But the
:13:17. > :13:19.surplus was less than forecast and less than the previous year. Our
:13:20. > :13:28.chief economics correspondent Hugh Pym is here.
:13:29. > :13:32.As you say, the tax revenue normally comes flooding in in January, so
:13:33. > :13:37.government finances are usually in the black and they were at this
:13:38. > :13:43.time. The actual surplus, if you look at that detail, was ?4.7
:13:44. > :13:48.billion in January. That sounds good but it was less than last January
:13:49. > :13:53.when the surplus was ?6 billion. In other words, the public finances are
:13:54. > :13:57.not as good as they were. But if you look at the year-to-date - ten
:13:58. > :14:01.months of the financial year so far - you see that the government has
:14:02. > :14:05.borrowed ?90.7 billion, which sounds a lot, but is heading for the
:14:06. > :14:10.target, the forecast for the full year, which is ?111 billion. It
:14:11. > :14:15.looks as though it will come in just under that. Is this good or bad news
:14:16. > :14:19.for the Chancellor? He could have done without it ahead
:14:20. > :14:24.of the budget but the government are saying that these tax revenues are
:14:25. > :14:26.fairly volatile and people may miss the January target for
:14:27. > :14:28.self-assessment and pay in the debris.
:14:29. > :14:31.We need to look at the debris figures as well and it looks as if
:14:32. > :14:38.the deficit will come in below the forecast. -- February figures. But
:14:39. > :14:41.he is still borrowing more than he said he would couple of years ago
:14:42. > :14:47.and the public finances still remain a major challenge.
:14:48. > :14:53.This is the BBC News At One. Our top story: In the last few minutes,
:14:54. > :14:58.protesters in Kiev have accepted a draft agreement to end the crisis,
:14:59. > :15:05.according to EU negotiators. Still to come: Can Team GB's men clinch
:15:06. > :15:09.top spot in the curling at Sochi? On BBC London: A suspected crystal
:15:10. > :15:15.meth factory is found in a quiet suburban street in Ealing. And
:15:16. > :15:16.bringing back a shine to the silver screen - one of London's oldest
:15:17. > :15:27.cinemas is to be restored. The They're images that have become
:15:28. > :15:30.depressingly familiar over recent weeks - and according to the UK's
:15:31. > :15:37.leading environment and planning experts - some of this flooding
:15:38. > :15:40.misery could have been prevented. Members of the Landscape Institute
:15:41. > :15:43.say better use of water management schemes could have helped reduce the
:15:44. > :15:46.impact in parts of Southern England. The Government says they'll look at
:15:47. > :15:59.any lessons to be learned. Duncan Kennedy is in Maidenhead. 17 experts
:16:00. > :16:04.have written an open letter to David Cameron. They are apologists,
:16:05. > :16:09.engineers, landscape gardeners, you name it. They say, we are the
:16:10. > :16:14.experts, we know what we are doing, and if you listened more closely,
:16:15. > :16:21.you may have avoided some of the flooding we have seen over the past
:16:22. > :16:25.winter. The records show that there has never been a wetter winter or a
:16:26. > :16:30.more controversial one, at least when it comes to the reasons why so
:16:31. > :16:34.many people were flooded. Now a group of experts has written to the
:16:35. > :16:43.Prime Minister, saying that some of this could have been avoided if
:16:44. > :16:48.different techniques were used. They called for better flood alleviation
:16:49. > :16:52.schemes, urban drainage, and only resilient houses on flood plains
:16:53. > :16:58.should be built. We would like to see a long-term commitment through
:16:59. > :17:04.this government to actually deal with this comprehensively. There is
:17:05. > :17:07.no quick fix. The Jubilee River in Maidenhead is a good example of what
:17:08. > :17:15.can go right and wrong with flood management. It diverts water from
:17:16. > :17:19.the Thames around the town stop before this river, my house used to
:17:20. > :17:27.flood every time, and it does not any more. I think it is a good use
:17:28. > :17:36.of money and the river is a nice attraction for locals to walk down
:17:37. > :17:43.and use. It is a benefit. Ten miles downstream, they hate the river.
:17:44. > :17:48.When you pose the question... If somebody mention the Jubilee River
:17:49. > :17:56.to you, what is your reaction? Horror and concern. The floods have
:17:57. > :18:01.shown that there are winners and losers. Today's message to the Prime
:18:02. > :18:06.Minister is that it could lead more of the former and fewer of the
:18:07. > :18:11.latter. The government tell us this morning that they are spending 2.5
:18:12. > :18:15.year and pounds on flood management schemes and it has not been a knee
:18:16. > :18:21.jerk reaction to the floods. The experts are saying that this is a
:18:22. > :18:30.complex problem with many solutions and it is going to take a long time
:18:31. > :18:34.to fix. -- 2.5 million pounds. Thank you. Well, many of you have faced
:18:35. > :18:37.delayed or cancelled train journeys because of the flooding - but did
:18:38. > :18:40.you know that you're often entitled to compensation? No? Well, you're
:18:41. > :18:43.not alone. The Office of Rail Regulation says most people are
:18:44. > :18:46.unaware of their rights or how to make a claim. Train companies are
:18:47. > :18:48.now being told to do more to publicise the refunds available to
:18:49. > :18:54.passengers as Simon Gompertz reports. Serious delays, as there
:18:55. > :18:56.have been during the bad weather, and passengers can claim
:18:57. > :19:08.compensation. Who knows their rights? Not a clue. As long as they
:19:09. > :19:14.are getting money, they do not care. Sometimes you can get the
:19:15. > :19:21.whole price of a ticket back. That is quite clever! I did not know
:19:22. > :19:28.that. They do not tell you. Typically, you can get a 50% refund
:19:29. > :19:34.for a 30 minute delay and 100% for more than an hour. 75% of passengers
:19:35. > :19:44.do not know, and 74% complained about the lack of information.
:19:45. > :19:49.Online, it is easy to find the information online. Announcements on
:19:50. > :19:54.trains, information on the back of tickets, there is a lot that can be
:19:55. > :20:04.done. Only one in ten who could claim comes to do it. ?10 million a
:20:05. > :20:09.year is paid out which means that many millions each year are going
:20:10. > :20:13.begging. A common complaint is that the refunds are made in vouchers
:20:14. > :20:17.which have to be redeemed at a ticket office. More rail companies
:20:18. > :20:23.are offering cash and working harder to publicise the compensation. We
:20:24. > :20:30.are rolling out electronic tickets which tell people how to claim. We
:20:31. > :20:35.have apps which allow people to claim in real-time, and we will roll
:20:36. > :20:43.those out further. Exceptional weather can be an excuse four
:20:44. > :20:52.companies to avoid paying. Passengers who suffer delays are
:20:53. > :20:56.missing out on significant refunds. The private company which helps
:20:57. > :20:59.decide whether sick and disabled people are eligible for benefits is
:21:00. > :21:02.seeking an early exit from their Government contract, in part due to
:21:03. > :21:05.death threats and abuse received by staff. ATOS claims that each month
:21:06. > :21:08.it records approximately 163 incidents of abuse or assault on
:21:09. > :21:11.staff carrying out work capability assessments. Our Political
:21:12. > :21:20.Correspondent Iain Watson is in Westminster. What is the government
:21:21. > :21:24.reaction? You have talked about the abuse that ATOS staff have suffered.
:21:25. > :21:29.There is another scrap going on behind the scenes because the
:21:30. > :21:35.government are furious with ATOS for leaking information. They say that
:21:36. > :21:39.this information should be commercially confidential. If ATOS
:21:40. > :21:51.want to pull out early then other companies may pay less for taking
:21:52. > :21:55.the work on. There were 144 separate demonstrations at the offices of
:21:56. > :22:01.ATOS this week. There was the case of a 50-year-old man who was
:22:02. > :22:05.asthmatic but was assessed as fit for labouring jobs. Four out of ten
:22:06. > :22:12.cases that go to appeal are being upheld so ATOS are saying that these
:22:13. > :22:18.tests are outdated and blame the nature of the test themselves. The
:22:19. > :22:26.government is calling into question the performance of ATOS. There are
:22:27. > :22:30.also personal independence payments which may not be called into
:22:31. > :22:32.question at all. British holiday-makers are being advised by
:22:33. > :22:36.the Foreign Office to avoid the Egyptian region of South Sinai after
:22:37. > :22:38.an attack on a tourist bus. Four people died in the incident, which
:22:39. > :22:41.happened last weekend. The warning however doesn't include the Red Sea
:22:42. > :22:43.holiday resort of Sharm el-Sheik - from there, our Middle East
:22:44. > :22:50.correspondent Quentin Sommerville reports. Claire winter and Mike
:22:51. > :22:58.Rogers were on holiday with when a tour group was attacked by militants
:22:59. > :23:04.further north. The extra security Sharm el-Sheik has made them less
:23:05. > :23:08.than worried. We have good security in our hotel. The checkpoints, on
:23:09. > :23:15.the other hand, have a lot to answer for. There is a high presence but we
:23:16. > :23:21.were not checked, our passports or anything. We have not seen any
:23:22. > :23:25.vehicles stopped. Three tourists and their driver were killed in a recent
:23:26. > :23:35.bombing. Terror attacks are on the rise in Egypt's Sinai. The beaches
:23:36. > :23:41.would have been a lot busier here before the political turmoil.
:23:42. > :23:51.Another terror attack would not just be a disaster, it could also deal a
:23:52. > :24:00.critical blow to Egypt's struggling economy. It is still safe to visit
:24:01. > :24:06.Sharm el-Sheik, say the Foreign Office, but with terror attacks on
:24:07. > :24:15.the rise, all tourists to Egypt's need to be more cautious these days.
:24:16. > :24:18.Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is expected to sign a new
:24:19. > :24:29.contract at Manchester United as early as today. It's believed he's
:24:30. > :24:33.reached an agreement with the club for a new five and a half year deal
:24:34. > :24:36.which will see him earn around ?300,000 a week. Our sports editor
:24:37. > :24:38.David Bond is with me now. There are some startling figures around this
:24:39. > :24:44.new contract. The first is the five-year deal. That is significant.
:24:45. > :24:47.He is 28 years old and it means he will spend the rest of his career at
:24:48. > :24:53.Old Trafford and with Manchester United. The other figure that we are
:24:54. > :24:58.talking about is the wage. ?300,000 a week. That will make him the
:24:59. > :25:05.highest paid player in premiership history and the highest paid player
:25:06. > :25:13.in Britain. Wayne Rooney's contract was running out, he was within the
:25:14. > :25:20.last 18 months of it. There was interest from a big rival in
:25:21. > :25:26.Chelsea. Jose Mourinho did not hide his feelings for the big player.
:25:27. > :25:29.Manchester United stood firm and that is the reason why they needed
:25:30. > :25:36.to pay this big money to keep him at Old Trafford. He will be talking at
:25:37. > :25:42.a press conference in the next few minutes. It has been a difficult
:25:43. > :25:45.season for Manchester United and this has been a significant
:25:46. > :25:53.investment for them on and they will be hoping that Wayne Rooney is worth
:25:54. > :25:56.every penny. Now, in just a few minutes' time, Team GB will be going
:25:57. > :26:00.head to head with Canada - for gold in the final of the men's curling in
:26:01. > :26:03.Sochi. Britain are guaranteed at least a silver medal but skip David
:26:04. > :26:06.Murdoch says his side are going to "fight to the absolute last". In a
:26:07. > :26:09.moment we'll be speaking to our Scotland Correspondent Lorna Gordon,
:26:10. > :26:12.who's in David Murdoch's home town of Lockerbie. But first, our sports
:26:13. > :26:17.correspondent Andy Swiss is in Sochi. Yes, we have already had the
:26:18. > :26:24.bagpipes playing outside the curling venue. The last few fans are
:26:25. > :26:28.arriving. It has been an extraordinary journey by the men's
:26:29. > :26:34.curling team. They have struggled in the early stages but they have come
:26:35. > :26:38.good when it matters, particularly their captain, David Murdoch, who
:26:39. > :26:42.has been in stunning form in the last two matches where it came down
:26:43. > :26:48.to the last stone. David Murdoch kept his cool to get Britain through
:26:49. > :26:52.to the final. It is going to be a tough match. They are up against the
:26:53. > :26:58.reigning Olympic champions, Canada. Canada reads Britain earlier in the
:26:59. > :27:09.tournament. It is going to be tough for team GB. -- Canada beat Britain.
:27:10. > :27:17.It could get better for Team GB later on as there are more chances
:27:18. > :27:23.in the speed skating. Britain are going for gold in the 1000 metres.
:27:24. > :27:29.Over the next three hours or so, all eyes will be here on the curling
:27:30. > :27:36.centre as Britain goes for gold. My colleague is in Lockerbie. That
:27:37. > :27:41.match gets underway in a few minutes and the people of Lockerbie are
:27:42. > :27:46.very, very excited. Three of the Olympians hail from this town. The
:27:47. > :27:52.people turned out in force yesterday, and today they have come
:27:53. > :27:55.out in a great number again. I think there are 200 people here, a good
:27:56. > :28:02.number from the local secondary school. There was a huge cheer
:28:03. > :28:06.yesterday when the women won their medal and they will be watching
:28:07. > :28:12.today's match where do David Murdoch is. He started curling here on this
:28:13. > :28:20.very ring when he was ten years old. He was coached by his mother,
:28:21. > :28:24.Marian. They are confident here that the men will bring home goals, but
:28:25. > :28:32.they will be incredibly proud of him what ever they achieved. -- bold.
:28:33. > :28:40.This town, of course, is synonymous with tragedy when a plane crashed
:28:41. > :28:49.many years ago, but now it is about the sport and they will be cheering
:28:50. > :29:10.on the men's team. What does the weather have in store? He -- here is
:29:11. > :29:14.John Hammond. Four or five metres of the white stuff, but when the sun
:29:15. > :29:21.shines, it looks stunning. Rain on lower levels in Scotland. Gales will
:29:22. > :29:26.batter the western coast but in the east there will be some sunshine.
:29:27. > :29:30.Some sharp showers over England's, but as you can see, a lot of dry
:29:31. > :29:35.weather. It feels pretty pleasant but there will be only two that
:29:36. > :29:40.breeze. Temperatures around eight or nine degrees. There will be some
:29:41. > :29:49.sharp showers, hail and fund a mixed in as well. Across Wales there will
:29:50. > :29:54.be some dry spells mixed in. Hail and thunder in Northern Ireland, and
:29:55. > :29:57.very windy here. Through the evening and overnight, the strongest of the
:29:58. > :30:05.winds will be over the north of Scotland. At the other end of the
:30:06. > :30:10.UK, rain in the English Channel. In between, there is a lot of clear
:30:11. > :30:14.weather and it will be cold with a touch of frost in rural areas. A
:30:15. > :30:19.chilly start to the weekend, and this is the bigger picture. This
:30:20. > :30:23.frontal system will play a major part of our weather over the
:30:24. > :30:29.weekend. It will be dry and write for many, or some sunshine, a bit of
:30:30. > :30:34.a breeze, but most of us will see some brightness, particularly across
:30:35. > :30:37.eastern areas. Rain will head into Northern Ireland. Some dampness will
:30:38. > :30:43.turn up across north west England and North West Wales. Further south
:30:44. > :30:47.and east will hold onto brightness, and temperatures will recover quite
:30:48. > :30:52.nicely. That rain will be of some concern and will become lodged into
:30:53. > :30:57.Scotland, and we could see two inches of more across Scotland and
:30:58. > :31:03.Wales. A rapid thaw of that snow across the Highlands, and the winds
:31:04. > :31:10.will pick up to 60 or 70 mph. Further south and east, it stays
:31:11. > :31:15.dry. Technically, a mild day on Sunday at 12 or 13 degrees. A bright
:31:16. > :31:19.start for many, the winds, though, will increase through the weekend
:31:20. > :31:25.and will turn wet across many western part. Much more detail can
:31:26. > :31:29.be found online. John, thank you. A reminder of our top story this
:31:30. > :31:33.lunchtime... Protesters in Ukraine agreed to the President's
:31:34. > :31:34.concessions to end the