:00:00. > :00:00.Oscar Pistorius tells a court about the moment he thought
:00:07. > :00:11.He describes becoming overcome with fear, but said
:00:12. > :00:21.his first thought was to protect his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
:00:22. > :00:26.Just as I left my bed, I'll is expecting Reva to get down and
:00:27. > :00:33.phoned the police. We'll have the latest
:00:34. > :00:35.on the dramatic courtroom events The Queen welcomes Ireland's
:00:36. > :00:40.President on the first formal Shrien Dewani is sent to a
:00:41. > :00:44.psychiatric hospital after appearing in court in South Africa accused
:00:45. > :00:47.of arranging his wife's murder. The unrest in Ukraine spills over
:00:48. > :00:49.into the parliament, as pro-and Just how much did this 500 year
:00:50. > :01:12.old Ming Dynasty cup sell for? Four people arrested,
:01:13. > :01:16.26 years after a 15-year-old And an east London council
:01:17. > :01:19.refunds drivers after issuing Good afternoon
:01:20. > :01:39.and welcome to the BBC News at One. Oscar Pistorius has told his murder
:01:40. > :01:42.trial about the minutes leading up to the moment he shot dead
:01:43. > :01:45.his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. He told the court that he was
:01:46. > :01:48.overcome with fear after hearing a noise from the bathroom, and that
:01:49. > :01:52.his first thought had been to arm The athlete denies deliberately
:01:53. > :01:57.shooting dead Ms Steenkamp in his He says he mistook her
:01:58. > :02:14.for an intruder. Let's hear the voice of Oscars
:02:15. > :02:21.Pistorius describing it. That is the moment everything changed. I thought
:02:22. > :02:30.there was a burglar intruding into my home. I was on the side of the
:02:31. > :02:39.room where you first had to cross the passage which leads to the
:02:40. > :02:44.bathroom. I think, initially, I just froze. I did not know what to do. I
:02:45. > :02:51.heard a noise and interpreted it as somebody climbing into the bathroom.
:02:52. > :02:55.There is no door between the bathroom and my room, it is a
:02:56. > :03:02.passageway, there is a toilet door, but there is no barrier between me
:03:03. > :03:09.and the bathroom, it is one room. I immediately thought that somebody,
:03:10. > :03:14.if they were at the window to where the entrance of the passage was,
:03:15. > :03:16.if they were at the window to where the entrance of the in three or four
:03:17. > :03:22.metres they could be there at any moment. The first thing that ran
:03:23. > :03:27.through my mind was that I needed to arm myself, I needed to protect
:03:28. > :03:34.Reeva Steenkamp and I needed to get my gun. Lets talk to our
:03:35. > :03:39.correspondence outside the court. A crucial day of evidence. Explain
:03:40. > :03:45.more about what he has been saying and its significance. It's been a
:03:46. > :03:47.dramatic and heart-wrenching moment that we have seen inside the
:03:48. > :03:54.courtroom today. Shortly before Oscar Pistorius spoke, in the
:03:55. > :03:58.moments leading up to the shooting of Reeva Steenkamp, he was asked to
:03:59. > :04:01.remove his prosthetic legs and walk towards the bullet riddled door that
:04:02. > :04:05.has been placed inside the courtroom. We saw a wobbling Oscar
:04:06. > :04:10.Pistorius walk towards the door and come back to take his seat. He was
:04:11. > :04:14.talking about the moments before the shooting of Reeva Steenkamp, and
:04:15. > :04:20.also told the court about what time the couple had dinner that night,
:04:21. > :04:26.Andy said it was between 7pm and 8pm on the evening. What is important is
:04:27. > :04:30.that the pathologist said that Reeva Steenkamp had something to eat about
:04:31. > :04:34.two hours before she died, and Oscar told the court that the couple had
:04:35. > :04:38.gone to bed at around ten p.m., so there is a contradiction there. But
:04:39. > :04:47.Oscar Pistorius is trying to sort that out. We also saw, moments
:04:48. > :04:50.before, as Oscar Pistorius has not yet told the court about the
:04:51. > :04:53.shooting, and said he went for his gun and wanted to instantly protect
:04:54. > :04:57.Reeva Steenkamp, but there was a moment in the courtroom when a
:04:58. > :05:01.photograph of Reeva Steenkamp's body was flashed onto the TV monsters and
:05:02. > :05:06.Oscar Pistorius looked to the floor as if he was about to vomit. -- the
:05:07. > :05:11.TV monitors. He was handed a bucket by a policeman, and that was the
:05:12. > :05:15.first time we saw Reeva Steenkamp's mother actually breaking down and
:05:16. > :05:18.being comforted. I can tell you that the court is now back in session,
:05:19. > :05:30.and Oscar Pistorius will continue his testimony about that night he
:05:31. > :05:34.shot Reeva Steenkamp. You can see continuing live coverage.
:05:35. > :05:37.There'll be updates throughout the day, on the BBC News Channel.
:05:38. > :05:38.Plus a special programme, each evening,
:05:39. > :05:45.Ireland's President has been welcomed to Britain by the Queen
:05:46. > :05:48.at the start of the first formal visit by an Irish Head of State.
:05:49. > :05:50.Later today, President Michael D Higgins will
:05:51. > :05:53.address parliament, and visit the Grave of the Unknown Warrior in
:05:54. > :05:55.Westminster, in advance of a state banquet, which will be attended
:05:56. > :06:14.Thank you, Jane. The word historic could be put in front of each of the
:06:15. > :06:20.event to outline, and the importance of the state visit is underlined by
:06:21. > :06:24.the pomp and ceremony we have seen at Windsor Castle this morning --
:06:25. > :06:27.you outline. The Queen and the Irish president are having lunch before he
:06:28. > :06:31.heads back to London for the historic address to both Houses of
:06:32. > :06:38.Parliament. This report from our special correspondence, Fergal
:06:39. > :06:42.Keane. It is the final gesture in a journey of reconciliation between
:06:43. > :06:50.two nations. The first state visit to Britain by an Irish president. A
:06:51. > :06:55.visit to seal a friendship that has emerged from centuries of conflict.
:06:56. > :07:05.At the Irish Embassy in London, a formal welcome from the Prince of
:07:06. > :07:11.Wales. Oh, yay! Today, here in Royal Windsor. In Windsor, where President
:07:12. > :07:14.Higgins will be the Queen's guest, final preparations were underway for
:07:15. > :07:19.the state procession. The crowds gathered from early. The young, with
:07:20. > :07:22.no memory of the past, and others who recall the days of division. For
:07:23. > :07:29.the Irish who came, there was real happiness. It's fantastic. It's a
:07:30. > :07:38.privilege to be here. Why? Because we are proud. The Irish anthem,
:07:39. > :07:43.played at Windsor, harks back to the days of revolution against the
:07:44. > :07:49.Crown. But when the Queen welcomes the Irish president, there was an
:07:50. > :07:53.atmosphere of genuine warmth. Today's welcome is all about the
:07:54. > :07:58.spectacle of a grand state occasion. But behind the symbolism is a story
:07:59. > :08:03.of real, historical significance, they changed relationship between
:08:04. > :08:11.two nations. -- of a changed relationship. In the quadrangle of
:08:12. > :08:14.Windsor Castle, President Higgins inspected a guard of honour, a
:08:15. > :08:19.reminder of military links between the two countries stretching back to
:08:20. > :08:21.the days of empire. Here he presented the Irish guards with a
:08:22. > :08:28.coat for their mascot, an Irish wolfhound called Duncan. After the
:08:29. > :08:31.event, the sovereign and the president entered the castle for a
:08:32. > :08:40.private lunch, on this, the first of four days of the state visit. Fergal
:08:41. > :08:41.is with me now. Historically is an overused word, but
:08:42. > :08:46.is with me now. Historically is an overused what about in this context?
:08:47. > :08:49.In this case, it is fair usage. We have to look at the context of the
:08:50. > :08:53.relationship between the two nations which goes back centuries, back to
:08:54. > :08:58.the 12th century when Britain came to Ireland and there was a long
:08:59. > :09:01.history of conquest and alienation. That nearly -- really is now
:09:02. > :09:05.something of the past. What this visit does, following on from the
:09:06. > :09:08.visit of the Queen to Ireland three years ago, is cement an important
:09:09. > :09:12.relationship and it is critical, above all, for one reason, but the
:09:13. > :09:19.hopes of a furthered peace in Northern Ireland. The president,
:09:20. > :09:21.before he here, said we should not suffer group amnesiac, that there
:09:22. > :09:27.are still things that need to be talked about. I think that is true.
:09:28. > :09:31.There are still 2500 unsolved murders in Northern Ireland and a
:09:32. > :09:34.great deal of bitterness, still to be dealt with. What will be
:09:35. > :09:38.happening behind-the-scenes is a reinforcing the view that the peace
:09:39. > :09:42.process is not done and dusted. He clearly feels it himself. It needs
:09:43. > :09:47.more work, and this visit is a central part of that. Fergal, thank
:09:48. > :09:48.you. Full coverage continues on the BBC News channel through the
:09:49. > :09:55.afternoon, but back to you, Jane. Shrien Dewani, who is charged with
:09:56. > :09:58.conspiring to murder his wife during their honeymoon in South Africa,
:09:59. > :10:01.has been remanded to a psychiatric hospital in South Africa after
:10:02. > :10:04.appearing in court in Cape Town. He landed in the country this
:10:05. > :10:07.morning, having lost a three-year He denies being involved
:10:08. > :10:18.in his wife's death. More than three years after leaving
:10:19. > :10:23.South Africa as a grieving husband, Shrien Dewani returned to Cape Town
:10:24. > :10:28.this morning as a murder suspect. The businessman was immediately
:10:29. > :10:30.taken to the High Court, his family following shortly afterwards to be
:10:31. > :10:38.met by a small group of women's rights protesters. Shrien Dewani is
:10:39. > :10:41.accused of paying to have his wife killed just two weeks after their
:10:42. > :10:46.wedding, an accusation he strenuously denies. Hotel security
:10:47. > :10:52.cameras show what appears to be a happy couple enjoying the honeymoon.
:10:53. > :10:57.But later that day, Anni Dewani was shot dead. Ever since, Shrien Dewani
:10:58. > :10:59.has been fighting extradition. The South African authorities have been
:11:00. > :11:07.equally determined to bring him back to face justice. Those naysayers who
:11:08. > :11:10.were peddling lies about the South African government are eating humble
:11:11. > :11:14.pie. They were sceptical that we would even get the court order to
:11:15. > :11:18.bring him here. He is not on a honeymoon, he is not on holiday, he
:11:19. > :11:25.is here to stand trial and we want to see that happen. The taxi
:11:26. > :11:29.carrying the couple through the neighbourhood was hijacked in
:11:30. > :11:33.November 2010. Shrien Dewani escaped unhurt, but his wife was murdered.
:11:34. > :11:38.Three people have been jailed in connection with her death, but the
:11:39. > :11:44.driver of the taxi claims he was paid by Shrien Dewani to arrange the
:11:45. > :11:47.whole incident. Shrien Dewani will be kept at a psychiatric hospital
:11:48. > :11:49.while doctors decide whether he is fit to stand trial for the murder of
:11:50. > :11:53.his new bride. Our correspondent Jon Kay is in
:11:54. > :12:06.Cape Town. John, added Shrien Dewani, crossing
:12:07. > :12:10.court to you? Jane, I have to say, he looked better than he did last
:12:11. > :12:14.time we saw him, which was in court in London 18 months ago during the
:12:15. > :12:18.extradition process. He stood upright, he was smartly dressed in a
:12:19. > :12:23.suit and tie, he listened intently to the judge, he was clean-shaven.
:12:24. > :12:27.Very different from the last time we saw him. Although the court heard he
:12:28. > :12:31.still has a serious mental disorder which will have to be assessed in
:12:32. > :12:35.the psychiatric hospital. No cameras were allowed in court here, unlike
:12:36. > :12:39.the other high profile South African court case going on with Oscar
:12:40. > :12:43.Pistorius, but the court room absolutely packed with media,
:12:44. > :12:48.members of Shrien Dewani's family, who travelled from Bristol in the
:12:49. > :12:52.UK, and also representatives of South African women's groups, some
:12:53. > :13:04.who held up pictures of Anni Dewani in the public gallery as some of the
:13:05. > :13:10.legal argument went on. Thank you. There is no letup on the pressure
:13:11. > :13:12.facing Maria Miller about her Parliamentary expenses. Ed Miliband
:13:13. > :13:16.said that the Prime Minister had serious questions to answer,
:13:17. > :13:23.although he stopped short of calling on Maria Miller to resign. Our
:13:24. > :13:27.political correspondence reports. Maria Miller in a rush to get out of
:13:28. > :13:30.the spotlight this morning. As she arrived for this week's Cabinet
:13:31. > :13:35.meeting. But the culture secretary has been in the headlines for six
:13:36. > :13:41.consecutive days after apologising for over claiming on her expenses.
:13:42. > :13:44.Although not calling for her to resign, this morning, the Labour
:13:45. > :13:50.leader Ed Miliband, put the pressure on the Prime Minister. I think David
:13:51. > :13:54.Cameron has some serious questions to answer. Serious questions to
:13:55. > :13:57.answer about Maria Miller's failure to cooperate with the original
:13:58. > :14:01.enquiry. He has serious questions to answer about her failure to provide
:14:02. > :14:04.more than a perfunctory apology to the House of Commons, and serious
:14:05. > :14:09.questions to answer about the fact that people in his own government
:14:10. > :14:12.don't seem to be supporting her. The row centres on her former home in
:14:13. > :14:16.South London and the mortgage payments she made. An independent
:14:17. > :14:23.investigation into Mrs Miller's expenses found she had over claimed
:14:24. > :14:30.by ?45,000, but a committee of MPs disagreed and decided she should
:14:31. > :14:35.repay just ?5,800. Yet, it was this 32 second apology that has been so
:14:36. > :14:40.heavily criticised. The committee has recommended that I apologise to
:14:41. > :14:45.the house for my attitude to the Commissioner's enquiries, and I, of
:14:46. > :14:51.course, unreservedly apologise. And now her case has not been helped by
:14:52. > :14:55.a minister from her own party. I can honestly say it would not be how I
:14:56. > :14:58.would have made an apology, but different people have different
:14:59. > :15:02.styles and do things in different ways. With pressure growing on Maria
:15:03. > :15:06.Miller and many Conservative backbenchers increasingly
:15:07. > :15:10.irritated, the focus now shifts onto the Prime Minister. Tomorrow, he
:15:11. > :15:14.will come face-to-face with his MPs at a regular party meeting. They
:15:15. > :15:16.will want to question him about his continued support for his culture
:15:17. > :15:25.secretary. Police may be over-using their power
:15:26. > :15:27.to gather people's communications That according to the first report
:15:28. > :15:31.by the new Commissioner Our security correspondent
:15:32. > :15:41.Gordon Corera is here. So what is he saying? This is a
:15:42. > :15:45.first report from the new commissioner, and he looks into the
:15:46. > :15:50.interception of Communications, when the police or intelligence agencies
:15:51. > :15:53.actually listening to what people are saying, and he also looks at the
:15:54. > :15:56.gathering of communications data, not when you listen to what some are
:15:57. > :16:02.you saying, but you understand who owns a particular bone or what
:16:03. > :16:06.address is associated with a phone -- particular bone, which phone has
:16:07. > :16:08.been talking to another one. That kind Pukki locations --
:16:09. > :16:14.communications data might be used the police. There were half a
:16:15. > :16:19.million communications interceptions, and he is concerned
:16:20. > :16:23.it is a first resort for the police to go to to try and get this data,
:16:24. > :16:29.not necessarily balancing it against the need for privacy of people.
:16:30. > :16:32.Quite strong recommendations there from the Commissioner. The police
:16:33. > :16:37.have always said that this kind of information is vital in their
:16:38. > :16:40.investigations, and the Home Secretary today also said it was
:16:41. > :16:43.vital, and the commission are looking into the allegations from
:16:44. > :16:47.Edward Snowden about mass surveillance into people's privacy
:16:48. > :16:51.and whether that takes place, he does clear GCHQ and says there is no
:16:52. > :16:55.random, mass intrusion into the overseer of ordinary people.
:16:56. > :16:58.Police say a post-mortem examination will be carried out in
:16:59. > :17:01.the next few days on Peaches Geldof who died suddenly at her home in
:17:02. > :17:06.Her father, Bob Geldof, has said his family is "beyond pain".
:17:07. > :17:09.Police say her death was 'sudden, unexplained and not suspicious.'
:17:10. > :17:19.Our correspondent Duncan Kennedy reports.
:17:20. > :17:24.Forensic experts were amongst the police teams at the secluded house
:17:25. > :17:30.of peaches Geldof today. Kent police said again that her death was
:17:31. > :17:34.unexplained, but not suspicious. There has been huge interest in your
:17:35. > :17:38.life... Disappearance on Australian TV was amongst her last interviews
:17:39. > :17:45.and she appeared content with her post-party life. What you could call
:17:46. > :17:55.my wild child period was when I was 16 years old and now I am almost 25
:17:56. > :17:57.it is a long expanse of time. It was becoming a woman, not just
:17:58. > :18:03.motherhood, but it is really fun being a mother. Across the celebrity
:18:04. > :18:28.spectrum there have been tributes paid to her. Simon Cowell said:
:18:29. > :18:33.Those tributes follow others from her father Bob Geldof who called her
:18:34. > :18:37.funny and witty, and from her husband, Tom. But there have been
:18:38. > :18:42.others from local people near her home in Kent who have also been
:18:43. > :18:45.shocked by what has happened. Just shock, really, most people think
:18:46. > :18:52.it's a tragedy. Especially after what happened to her mother 14 years
:18:53. > :18:57.ago. There is no way I am going to beat this. Last month she appeared
:18:58. > :19:03.on Sport Relief and seems to enjoy her evening of canine frivolity.
:19:04. > :19:08.Always a prolific tweeter, this was the last she posted, showing her
:19:09. > :19:12.with her late mother Paula. Peaches Geldof, party girl turned mother, a
:19:13. > :19:29.life filled in her short 25 years. Oscar Pistorius tells court about
:19:30. > :19:33.moment just before he shot dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
:19:34. > :19:35.And still to come, a recipe for a health school dinner
:19:36. > :19:57.the way the housing association has treated families.
:19:58. > :20:05.And this baby receives is implants at Saint Thomas's hospital.
:20:06. > :20:08.More than 2,700 schools in England need to improve their kitchens
:20:09. > :20:11.in order to provide free school meals for all infant pupils.
:20:12. > :20:13.Research by the BBC has found that some school kitchens
:20:14. > :20:17.The Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has pledged that children will have
:20:18. > :20:21.a hot, healthy and free lunch for their first three years at school.
:20:22. > :20:27.Our political correspondent Alex Forsyth reports.
:20:28. > :20:29.At this infant school in Dorset, most pupils bring
:20:30. > :20:33.From September, that should be replaced with a free hot meal.
:20:34. > :20:38.The kitchen and dining hall are too small and there is not
:20:39. > :20:44.The Government have given us money to buy the food.
:20:45. > :20:47.What we are missing is money to serve the food.
:20:48. > :20:50.Our experience of hot dinners is that we need three additional
:20:51. > :20:58.This is what children will get instead.
:20:59. > :21:02.It is not quite what Nick Clegg promised when he launched the
:21:03. > :21:05.Lib Dem policy for English schools last autumn.
:21:06. > :21:08.All families who have got small children at primary school in
:21:09. > :21:11.the first crucial three years when they are in infant school, we are
:21:12. > :21:17.going to give all of the children a hot healthy meal at lunchtime.
:21:18. > :21:19.To deliver that, at least 2,700 schools need to
:21:20. > :21:24.That is anything from a new oven or dishwasher to a total refurbishment.
:21:25. > :21:26.That is around a third of those assessed.
:21:27. > :21:32.Meals could be delivered by external catering companies or
:21:33. > :21:38.Some teachers say they will have to stagger sittings
:21:39. > :21:40.and extend lunchtimes to seat children in small halls.
:21:41. > :21:43.The Department for Education has provided funding for schools to
:21:44. > :21:48.upgrade facilities and enlisted catering experts to offer advice.
:21:49. > :21:51.Interim arrangements will be in place in a lot of schools, but I
:21:52. > :21:54.think the catering staff and our members are telling us they will be
:21:55. > :21:57.ready and they will deliver food to these children in September, come
:21:58. > :22:00.what may, because that is what they are used to doing.
:22:01. > :22:07.The Lib Dem Schools Minister David Laws echoed that confidence in the
:22:08. > :22:11.saying the scheme would be in place on time and on budget and would not
:22:12. > :22:16.He pointed to its benefits - not just healthy food for children,
:22:17. > :22:20.While there is broad support for the principle of the policy, critics
:22:21. > :22:30.say more thought should have been given to putting it into practice.
:22:31. > :22:33.Russia has warned Ukraine to stop any military preparations, saying
:22:34. > :22:37.Russia's warning came after the Ukrainian authorities said they'd
:22:38. > :22:41.carried out an operation during the night in which they'd arrested
:22:42. > :22:45.about 70 pro-Moscow separatists who had seized a government building
:22:46. > :22:55.Our world affairs correspondent Emily Buchanan reports.
:22:56. > :23:02.Political tension in Ukraine is on a knife edge. In Kiev's parliament,
:23:03. > :23:08.politicians traded insults. The commonest deputy was driven from the
:23:09. > :23:17.rostrum by members of the far right nationalist party. It quickly
:23:18. > :23:22.descended into a brawl. Outside the capital, the battle for control of
:23:23. > :23:25.key cities in Eastern Ukraine is intensifying. Overnight, pro-Russian
:23:26. > :23:33.protesters made another determined assault on the regional assembly in
:23:34. > :23:39.Kharkiv. In Donetsk, police have cleared protesters from the city
:23:40. > :23:48.council officers. The building is still under siege. TRANSLATION: We
:23:49. > :23:54.are here for our families, our health and all of those who have
:23:55. > :23:59.shed blood. We will not leave until we have a referendum. The referendum
:24:00. > :24:07.could be a step towards the break-up of Ukraine. Protesters have already
:24:08. > :24:10.declared Donetsk a new Republic. This whole crisis began in Crimea
:24:11. > :24:15.which was swiftly annexed by Russia. Now it is the eastern region
:24:16. > :24:20.of Ukraine which is the focus. At its heart, the city of Donetsk. Many
:24:21. > :24:24.ethnic Russians here feel anxious about the new government in the
:24:25. > :24:30.capital Kiev. Some want to break away and move closer to Moscow, even
:24:31. > :24:36.inviting Russia to send so-called peacekeeping forces. It deeply
:24:37. > :24:42.worries the rest of Ukraine and NATO countries. This would be a very
:24:43. > :24:47.serious escalation. We call on President Putin and his government
:24:48. > :24:55.to cease all efforts to destabilise Ukraine. Russia still denies it is
:24:56. > :25:01.to blame. Our American partners are attaching their own habits to it.
:25:02. > :25:03.NATO says this is the greatest challenge to Europe's security in a
:25:04. > :25:08.generation. The former Secretary General of
:25:09. > :25:11.NATO, Lord Robertson, has said that Scottish independence would have
:25:12. > :25:13.a cataclysmic impact on the world. Speaking in the United States,
:25:14. > :25:17.he said a debilitating divorce after a yes vote in September would
:25:18. > :25:20.threaten global stability. A spokesman for the First Minister
:25:21. > :25:22.Alex Salmond described the comments as crass and offensive
:25:23. > :25:25.and said that an independent Scotland would make a hugely
:25:26. > :25:28.positive contribution to the world. Here's our Scotland
:25:29. > :25:40.correspondent James Cook. This man has been battling Scottish
:25:41. > :25:44.independence for decades. Even by his standards, this was a fierce
:25:45. > :25:47.attack. Last night he said a yes vote would be a disaster for
:25:48. > :25:53.Scotland, the UK and the entire Western world. The loudest cheers
:25:54. > :25:56.for the break-up of Britain would be from our adversaries and from our
:25:57. > :26:02.enemies. For the second military power in the West to shatter this
:26:03. > :26:08.year would be cataclysmic in geopolitical terms. This is what
:26:09. > :26:13.particularly alarms Lord Robertson, Britain's nuclear weapons based on
:26:14. > :26:17.the River Clyde which an independent Scotland would almost certainly
:26:18. > :26:20.remove. The Labour peer says it could threaten world peace. These
:26:21. > :26:25.remarks will not be welcomed by all supporters of the union. Polls
:26:26. > :26:29.suggest there is a rising tide in favour of independence and some
:26:30. > :26:33.campaigners against it think this doom and gloom approach is simply
:26:34. > :26:36.not working. That is also the view of the Scottish Government which
:26:37. > :26:41.called the comments shocking, insulting and offensive. The factors
:26:42. > :26:48.Scotland is an independent country and would be an important
:26:49. > :26:54.contributor to the world. I think Lord Robertson would regret is
:26:55. > :26:59.completely ridiculous comments. Lord Robertson says a yes vote would aid
:27:00. > :27:03.the forces of darkness, his opponents say it would be a beacon
:27:04. > :27:07.of hope. Soon the voters will decide.
:27:08. > :27:10.So, how much would you pay for an antique like this?
:27:11. > :27:14.It?s more than 500 years old and was once owned
:27:15. > :27:18.Well, this morning it was bought by a Shanghai-based billionaire
:27:19. > :27:22.for a new world record for Chinese porcelain, as our arts correspondent
:27:23. > :27:38.This little moment was for a wine cup. It is eight centimetres wide,
:27:39. > :27:45.it has some chickens painted on it and it is worth, well, have a listen
:27:46. > :27:58.to the bidding. 170 million. $250 million. All done? A new world
:27:59. > :28:06.record price for the cup, 250 million dollars. The bid is on the
:28:07. > :28:09.telephone. Fair warning. Sold. It is about ?20 million. You can guess
:28:10. > :28:12.this is something very special. They were made in the 15th century and
:28:13. > :28:18.fired in the Imperial kilns. One emperor so loved the silky smooth
:28:19. > :28:24.texture he wrote a poem in praise of it. China invented porcelain. It
:28:25. > :28:29.took 1500 years of refining the process to reach this level of
:28:30. > :28:34.perfection. Six have survived, four are in private hands and until today
:28:35. > :28:42.none in China. When it returns, it will be the only genuine chicken cup
:28:43. > :28:48.in the whole of China. The pleasure is in the touch. But the price owes
:28:49. > :28:53.everything to China's economic boom and the passion to recover its
:28:54. > :28:57.cultural heritage. The thought from the experts was, why did it not go
:28:58. > :29:01.for more? You would not want to drop that! Let
:29:02. > :29:11.us catch up with the weather. It is feeling quite fresh in the
:29:12. > :29:14.brisk breeze. That stays with us through the rest of today. It has
:29:15. > :29:20.brought us sunshine as well. Plenty of that this afternoon. We started
:29:21. > :29:24.with clear skies. The cloud has been filling in to some extent as
:29:25. > :29:27.temperatures have picked up. Some of the cloud thick enough to give a few
:29:28. > :29:32.showers. Let us take you forward through the afternoon. He showers
:29:33. > :29:37.mainly across northern areas. More scattered as you come further south.
:29:38. > :29:42.Through the afternoon, northern Scotland, heavier showers. With the
:29:43. > :29:47.brisk wind, they will go through quickly. Sunshine in between. Good
:29:48. > :29:50.sunny spells across eastern Scotland. Showers dying away from
:29:51. > :29:53.Northern Ireland. Well scattered through the afternoon across much of
:29:54. > :29:57.the rest of England and Wales. Temperatures lower than recently.
:29:58. > :30:03.But these are about right for the time of year. You will need some
:30:04. > :30:06.shelter from the breeze to feel the full benefit of the sunshine.
:30:07. > :30:11.Feeling quite chilly this evening as the sun starts to go down. Clear
:30:12. > :30:15.skies across central and southern parts. The cloud thickening in the
:30:16. > :30:18.North. Painful Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern parts of
:30:19. > :30:25.England. That helps to keep the temperature is up. Rural spots could
:30:26. > :30:34.go lower, a touch of frost possible. High pressure dominating
:30:35. > :30:37.across southern areas tomorrow. The weather fronts are draped across the
:30:38. > :30:42.North and they will continue to feed in cloud and rain, fairly persistent
:30:43. > :30:45.rain. North Western parts of Scotland. More intermittent across
:30:46. > :30:52.Northern Ireland and northern England. Not as much sunshine is
:30:53. > :30:56.today. More in the way of cloud. One or two light showers across
:30:57. > :30:59.southwestern parts. Despite the cloudy skies, temperatures a little
:31:00. > :31:04.higher with the winds coming in from the milder south-westerly direction.
:31:05. > :31:09.By Thursday, we will see the weather front pushing south, drier, brighter
:31:10. > :31:14.but cooler weather. And. Fairly cloudy all swear. Relatively mild
:31:15. > :31:21.for most. -- cooler weather for Scotland. There will be sunshine
:31:22. > :31:27.around for the weekend. Largely dry. Rain in the North on Saturday.
:31:28. > :31:33.Relatively mild. Decent weather for getting out and about as we go
:31:34. > :31:35.through to the end of the week. That is all from me.