:00:00. > :00:08.The UN's humanitarian chief expresses "extreme concern"
:00:09. > :00:11.at what she calls the dire situation in Gaza - describing
:00:12. > :00:18.More than 700 Palestinians and 35 Israelis have been killed -
:00:19. > :00:22.and Baroness Amos says residents in Gaza are running out of food.
:00:23. > :00:31.The Foreign Secretary says both sides must stop.
:00:32. > :00:38.Israel has the right to defend itself and its citizens, but we are
:00:39. > :00:48.gravely concerned by the ongoing heavy level of civilian casualties.
:00:49. > :00:50.We'll have the latest from Gaza and from Jerusalem.
:00:51. > :00:54.Calls for tighter security at the Air Malaysia crash site -
:00:55. > :00:56.as more victims are flown to Holland, eyewitnesses describe
:00:57. > :01:00.They went too far - the undercover police who spied on
:01:01. > :01:03.the families of 18 bereaved families - including Stephen Lawrence, Ricky
:01:04. > :01:07.I'm here in Glasgow as the Commonwealth Games are
:01:08. > :01:15.Shock for Team England as Olympic star Mo Farah pulls out of the Games
:01:16. > :01:23.- after failing to recover from a recent illness.
:01:24. > :01:36.And Jodie Stimpson has just won gold in the women's triathlon.
:01:37. > :01:44.Alleged child rapes in the capital rise - a report finds police
:01:45. > :01:49.And the company responsible for this waste mountain says that if it's
:01:50. > :02:08.Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC News at One.
:02:09. > :02:11.The United Nations says it's struggling to cope with the
:02:12. > :02:15.increasingly desperate situation faced by Palestinian civilians
:02:16. > :02:19.in Gaza as Israel's offensive against militants there continues.
:02:20. > :02:23.The UN's humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said that
:02:24. > :02:25.in the last couple of days the equivalent of one Palestinian
:02:26. > :02:31.At a meeting with Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond the Israeli Prime
:02:32. > :02:35.Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he regretted civilian casualties -
:02:36. > :02:38.but that it was grotesque that Israel had been condemned by the
:02:39. > :02:49.Our correspondent Yolande Knell sent this report.
:02:50. > :02:56.Trying to feel at home in a school. These are the faces of Gaza's
:02:57. > :03:03.growing humanitarian crisis. Most families here have seen their homes
:03:04. > :03:08.partly or fully destroyed. This woman and her family lived near the
:03:09. > :03:13.eastern border. Their house was flattened by Israeli tanks. They
:03:14. > :03:21.left with no money and just the clothes on their backs. I don't know
:03:22. > :03:29.what to do, she tells me. When there is a cease-fire, where will we go?
:03:30. > :03:33.There are 17 others, including little kids. Nobody can accommodate
:03:34. > :03:40.us all. More than 1000 people who fled the fighting off staying at
:03:41. > :03:46.this school. It is one of dozens of UN buildings across the Gaza Strip
:03:47. > :03:52.that is being used as a shelter and the UN says it is struggling to cope
:03:53. > :03:56.with so many displaced families. Officials say the priority should be
:03:57. > :04:00.protecting the most vulnerable. We have over 118,000 people sheltering
:04:01. > :04:06.in UN schools. We have schools unable to be used for education.
:04:07. > :04:12.People are running out of food. But there was no end to the violence.
:04:13. > :04:15.These residential areas were hit by the latest Israeli air strikes.
:04:16. > :04:19.Israel says its soldiers are targeting Palestinian militants who
:04:20. > :04:23.try to attack its civilians. Today, the Foreign Secretary was in
:04:24. > :04:27.Jerusalem for talks with Israeli officials. Britain has been very
:04:28. > :04:33.clear that Israel has the right to defend itself and its citizens. But
:04:34. > :04:38.we are greatly -- we are gravely concerned by the ongoing heavy level
:04:39. > :04:42.of civilian casualties. We want to see a cease-fire quickly agreed. So
:04:43. > :04:46.far, international diplomacy has not come up with a cease-fire
:04:47. > :04:50.arrangement that satisfies both sides in this conflict. For ordinary
:04:51. > :04:56.people suffering here, each day makes a deal more urgent. We can
:04:57. > :05:01.speak to our correspondent, Quentin Sommerville, who is in Tel Aviv.
:05:02. > :05:06.Listening to the Israeli Prime Minister, he was very angry? That is
:05:07. > :05:13.right. The rockets from Gaza continue to fall here in Israel.
:05:14. > :05:17.Here at about 11 o'clock there was another barrage of rockets came
:05:18. > :05:22.over. Most of them were intercepted. Israel has said from the beginning
:05:23. > :05:27.they will match quiet with quiet, but the cease-fire efforts have
:05:28. > :05:32.stalled in the past. The longer this goes on and the higher the body
:05:33. > :05:37.count and Palestinians are certainly bearing the brunt in those terms,
:05:38. > :05:43.the more difficult it becomes for both sides to pull back. There is a
:05:44. > :05:48.momentum building that says, if we have lost so many lives, either on
:05:49. > :05:50.the Palestinian side or among Israeli soldiers, something has to
:05:51. > :06:06.be won here to make that worthwhile. More victims of the
:06:07. > :06:08.Malaysia Airlines disaster in Ukraine are being flown to
:06:09. > :06:11.the Netherlands this afternoon. About two thirds of
:06:12. > :06:13.the 298 people who died were Dutch. At the crash site itself there are
:06:14. > :06:17.renewed calls for tighter security - after some reports it had been left
:06:18. > :06:19.abandoned. The Ukrainian president,
:06:20. > :06:20.Petro Poroshenko, has declared a 25-mile radius
:06:21. > :06:31.ceasefire to protect the area. Another Dutch military transport
:06:32. > :06:37.plane leaves with more remains. It is expected more than 70 bodies will
:06:38. > :06:41.be brought here today to be flowing to Holland and formally identified.
:06:42. > :06:46.But there are increasing concerns a significant number of bodies have
:06:47. > :06:52.yet to be found. The crash site in the Donetsk region, which is rebel
:06:53. > :06:56.held territory, is wide open. No one protecting it, no sign of any
:06:57. > :07:00.investigation getting under way. This morning, the BBC saw human
:07:01. > :07:05.remains still lying near the road. The Australian Prime Minister Tony
:07:06. > :07:11.Abbott has announced he has sent 50 police officers to London, ready to
:07:12. > :07:15.go to Ukraine to secure the site, so there can be a proper search.
:07:16. > :07:20.Exactly under what circumstances Australian police will be deployed
:07:21. > :07:25.is yet to be determined, but the police are pre-deployed to London.
:07:26. > :07:32.They are ready to go into Ukraine. We want them to go into Ukraine as
:07:33. > :07:38.part of an international team. Under the authority of the United Nations,
:07:39. > :07:42.to do this vital job, to ensure that operation bring them home is
:07:43. > :07:47.successfully concluded. But at the moment it is not clear how the
:07:48. > :07:51.pro-Russian rebels would react if foreign police officers arrived
:07:52. > :07:57.here, and whether they would need to be armed. Details have yet to be
:07:58. > :08:03.worked out. The bodies that have been found so far have been brought
:08:04. > :08:08.to the Dutch city of Hilversum. For relatives now in mourning over the
:08:09. > :08:14.loss of loved ones, there could be an agonising wait before finding out
:08:15. > :08:18.if there remains have been found. We can speak to our correspondent in
:08:19. > :08:26.Eindhoven, Anna Holligan. The agony for the families goes on.
:08:27. > :08:30.Absolutely. In just a few hours' time, those military planes are
:08:31. > :08:34.expected to land here at Eindhoven airbase. Just like the first 40
:08:35. > :08:39.officers arrived here yesterday, these 70 will receive the same
:08:40. > :08:44.ceremonial homecoming. The planes will come to a standstill beside
:08:45. > :08:51.each other, a bugler will pay the last post -- play the last post and
:08:52. > :08:58.there will be a minute's silence. We are expecting the relatives of many
:08:59. > :09:04.of those 298 passengers who were on board the Malaysia as light to be
:09:05. > :09:10.here, to watch, as coughing after coughing is placed -- was coffin
:09:11. > :09:25.after coffin is placed here and identification can take place.
:09:26. > :09:27.Algeria's national airline, Air Algerie, says it has lost
:09:28. > :09:31.Early reports suggested that the plane, an MD83, disappeared
:09:32. > :09:34.There are reports of severe weather in the region.
:09:35. > :09:41.With me is our correspondent, Richard Lister.
:09:42. > :09:52.It was flying to waggler Dudu to Algiers, and was supposed to arrive
:09:53. > :09:59.at five o'clock this morning. Contact appears to have been lost
:10:00. > :10:06.over northern Mali. The BBC has been told by a senior military source on
:10:07. > :10:11.the ground in Mali that the plane came down between the north-eastern
:10:12. > :10:17.towns in Mali, although a search and rescue operation is now under way.
:10:18. > :10:22.The fate of the aircraft is unclear. The question is what brought it
:10:23. > :10:27.down. There will be speculation in the wake of the shooting down of the
:10:28. > :10:31.Malaysian Airlines plane over Ukraine that may the jihadists in
:10:32. > :10:36.northern Mali were involved. It seems unlikely, given that they are
:10:37. > :10:42.not thought to have that kind of weaponry that could bring a plane
:10:43. > :10:46.down. A far bigger threat is almost certainly the weather. There were
:10:47. > :10:51.reports of a sandstorm overnight and reports that the pilot asked air
:10:52. > :10:55.traffic control to divert his route shortly before the wreck -- shortly
:10:56. > :11:01.before before the plane vanished from the radar screens. We do not
:11:02. > :11:07.know who was on board. The French Foreign Ministry has said a number
:11:08. > :11:14.of French nationals are likely to be on board, but this is early days.
:11:15. > :11:20.The plane has not been found. The search goes on.
:11:21. > :11:22.A report has revealed undercover police officers at Scotland Yard
:11:23. > :11:24.gathered information on 18 bereaved families campaigning for justice.
:11:25. > :11:26.The cases included the high-profile campaigns surrounding the deaths
:11:27. > :11:29.of Stephen Lawrence, Ricky Reel and Jean Charles de Menezes -
:11:30. > :11:33.who was shot dead by police who mistook him for a suicide bomber.
:11:34. > :11:39.These were deaths in police custody is all murders, and information from
:11:40. > :11:44.the families was covered by undercover officers working for a
:11:45. > :11:49.unit known as the Special Demonstration Squad. Or the FTS. It
:11:50. > :11:53.was part of Special Branch at Scotland Yard and has been
:11:54. > :11:56.disbanded. This report makes no criticism of the individual
:11:57. > :12:01.officers, but it is blistering about the management. It says there was a
:12:02. > :12:06.complete failure to manage this squad. A senior officer said here
:12:07. > :12:12.said he regretted enormously what had happened to these families.
:12:13. > :12:18.This week saw the ninth anniversary of the death of Jean Charles de
:12:19. > :12:22.Menezes. He was the young Brazilian electrician shot dead by police
:12:23. > :12:27.after being mistaken for a suicide bomber. The day before police killed
:12:28. > :12:31.him there had been a failed terrorist attack on the London
:12:32. > :12:36.transport system. It was two weeks after 7/7 and the atmosphere was
:12:37. > :12:39.free trial. John Charles's parents came from Brazil to London and
:12:40. > :12:44.visited the underground station where their son died. His death
:12:45. > :12:49.provoked a massive campaign, which involved some of his relatives
:12:50. > :12:53.living in the UK. Now it has emerged that intelligence was gathered on
:12:54. > :12:59.his family by undercover police. The family feel it distressed and upset
:13:00. > :13:05.to hear they have been spied upon full stop it feels like a violation
:13:06. > :13:11.of privacy at a time when they were seeking answers to find out what
:13:12. > :13:16.happened after the death of a loved one. They want to know why the
:13:17. > :13:20.police were doing this, what information was being gathered and
:13:21. > :13:25.our lawyers will take this forward. Many years before, Ricky Reel, a
:13:26. > :13:30.young Asian student was found dead in the River Thames. His parents
:13:31. > :13:35.wanted the police to investigate his death as murder. Officers said it
:13:36. > :13:38.was probably accidental. His family were also targeted by undercover
:13:39. > :13:42.officers, they gathered intelligence on his mother. If someone follows
:13:43. > :13:47.someone, it is spying. My understanding is police officers spy
:13:48. > :13:53.on criminals, right? I am thinking, what crime did I commit? It was the
:13:54. > :13:57.revelation that the family of the murdered black teenager Stephen
:13:58. > :14:02.Lawrence had been spied on by the police which led to the catalogue of
:14:03. > :14:07.Revelations. Once again, Scotland Yard is in dock over its behaviour
:14:08. > :14:10.towards bereaved families who had committed no crime.
:14:11. > :14:17.On that point, what emerged this morning was that the SDF was such a
:14:18. > :14:23.secret unit that even some of the top brass did not know it existed.
:14:24. > :14:28.What was said here this morning was that if those officers were still
:14:29. > :14:32.serving and these are very senior officers, they could be facing the
:14:33. > :14:34.misconduct hearings because they had behaved negligently and with
:14:35. > :14:41.complacency. The UN's humanitarian chief
:14:42. > :14:44.expresses 'extreme concern' at what she calls the 'dire' situation in
:14:45. > :14:47.Gaza - describing a ceasefire there Still to come: Better news for power
:14:48. > :15:04.customers, compensation is going up. The housing expert calling
:15:05. > :15:08.for older people to move into flats And the iconic image
:15:09. > :15:12.of the 2012 Olympic games is going After the excitement of last night's
:15:13. > :15:19.opening ceremony when the Queen declared the Commonwealth Games open
:15:20. > :15:23.in front of a 40,000 strong crowd - actual competition got underway this
:15:24. > :15:38.morning with the gold of the games going to England's Jodie Stimpson
:15:39. > :15:40.in the women's triathlon. But Team England has suffered
:15:41. > :15:44.a blow with Mo Farah, who won gold in the 5,000 and 10,000 metres
:15:45. > :15:46.at the London Olympics, pulling out of the competition,
:15:47. > :15:49.saying he needs more time to For more on that -
:15:50. > :15:56.and the other day's events here's Welcome to Strathclyde Country Park
:15:57. > :15:58.just outside Glasgow where the Commonwealth Games have well and
:15:59. > :16:02.truly got underway this morning. In total there are 20 gold medals up
:16:03. > :16:05.for grabs and just a short time ago England's Jodie Stimpson won the
:16:06. > :16:10.first gold of these games in a thrilling finish in the women's
:16:11. > :16:14.triathlon. We will have more on that in a moment but as you say there was
:16:15. > :16:18.huge shock and disappointment as Mo Farah, the Olympic champion,
:16:19. > :16:26.announced this morning that he was pulling out of Glasgow 2014. Andy
:16:27. > :16:30.Swiss reports. He was meant to be one of the star attractions of these
:16:31. > :16:35.games. Mo Farah, the double Olympic champion a double world champion,
:16:36. > :16:39.aiming for two more titles. A fortnight ago Mo Farah was taken ill
:16:40. > :16:41.with stomach pains. He had hoped to recover but today he took what he
:16:42. > :16:48.called the tough decision to withdraw from the games. Another
:16:49. > :16:59.incredible performance! In a statement Mo Farah said:
:17:00. > :17:08.It is incredibly disappointing for Mo and for the event as well. He is
:17:09. > :17:13.one of the big stars and he will be a big miss that it is a big miss for
:17:14. > :17:17.him. The Commonwealth Games is a massive competition for him. And
:17:18. > :17:19.athletes in their careers look to win the Olympics, the World
:17:20. > :17:26.Championships and the Commonwealth Games. But as one big-name withdrew
:17:27. > :17:29.another name made his entrance, Sir Bradley Wiggins back on the track
:17:30. > :17:34.for the first time in six years in the team pursuit. Wiggins has never
:17:35. > :17:37.won a Commonwealth gold for England and his presence seemed to inspire
:17:38. > :17:41.his team. Guaranteed at least a silver they will race for gold this
:17:42. > :17:48.afternoon. The most powerful unit possible! And the hosts had plenty
:17:49. > :17:51.to cheer as para- cycling made its Commonwealth baby. Aidan McGlynn and
:17:52. > :18:00.Louise Haston one of the fastest qualifiers in sprint tandem. For the
:18:01. > :18:06.fans here it is still flourishing. -- Commonwealth debut. Great
:18:07. > :18:09.excitement and tears for England's Jodie Stimpson in the last few
:18:10. > :18:15.minutes as she won the first gold in the women's triathlon at Strathclyde
:18:16. > :18:18.Country Park. It is a great setting, great weather and huge crowds but
:18:19. > :18:26.even more people are expected this afternoon when the roundly brothers
:18:27. > :18:29.compete in the men's triathlon. The opening ceremony may have been
:18:30. > :18:34.quintessentially Scottish but the first medal race of the games had a
:18:35. > :18:39.cosmopolitan feel. Sport plus sunshine equals happy customers.
:18:40. > :18:44.Just loving the Scottish sunshine here and looking forward to the
:18:45. > :18:50.race. And the hospitality. Fantastic. Scotland is always like
:18:51. > :18:54.this. Strathclyde Park had an issue before the Games, high levels of
:18:55. > :18:57.blue green algae were given or NISAs headaches ahead of the 1500 metre
:18:58. > :19:02.swim that there were no slippery issues in the calm waters for
:19:03. > :19:06.England's Lucy Hall and Jodie Stimpson who were in the first pack
:19:07. > :19:09.out of the water. This area is called transition as the athletes
:19:10. > :19:13.jump out of the lock and onto their bikes. The clock keeps on ticking.
:19:14. > :19:17.There are a number of rules they have to follow so speed is of the
:19:18. > :19:22.essence but remembering those rules is crucial. The 40 kilometre bike
:19:23. > :19:26.ride is a tough test of injuries, and in some cases the pain
:19:27. > :19:31.threshold. Goodness me! We have got one down followed by another! With
:19:32. > :19:36.Wales missing two key medal hopes England went into battle in front
:19:37. > :19:41.pack of ten but tactics were in play and no one was willing to make the
:19:42. > :19:45.break on the unforgiving hills. That was until Lucy Hall decided to go
:19:46. > :19:48.and the gap was yawning. But her lead was not enough and in the ten
:19:49. > :19:53.kilometre run Jodie Stimpson made her move. The highest ranked athlete
:19:54. > :19:56.in the field was controlling the pace. Team-mate Vicky Holland,
:19:57. > :19:59.though, sticking with her all the way but when Stimpson kicked it
:20:00. > :20:04.became clear she would win the first gold of the games with Holland
:20:05. > :20:07.taking bronze. Their compatriots, the Brownlee Brothers, will hope for
:20:08. > :20:14.similar success when they race this afternoon.
:20:15. > :20:20.In the pool there are big hopes for Scotland today with the poster boy
:20:21. > :20:24.Michael Jamieson and Anna Miley both competing and have both been in
:20:25. > :20:32.action already today and arc respondent Chris McLauchlan is
:20:33. > :20:34.there. How are they doing? Here at Tollcross Team Scotland are hoping
:20:35. > :20:38.their summers can provide them with a golden start of these games. It
:20:39. > :20:41.has been an interesting morning as you can see in the build-up. All of
:20:42. > :20:46.the attention has been on the 200 metres breaststroke performer
:20:47. > :20:53.Reichel Jamieson. 200 metres breaststroke semifinal, silver medal
:20:54. > :20:57.sorry, at London 2012 and he hopes to go one better here in Glasgow. He
:20:58. > :21:02.says it will be the most important race of his career. Our stash
:21:03. > :21:05.Michael Jamieson. Earlier on in the heat he came second to Ross
:21:06. > :21:09.Murdoch, his countryman, who set a new games record in the pool and
:21:10. > :21:15.also setting a new games record Hannah Miley, his fellow Scot, in
:21:16. > :21:18.the 400 metres medley. He will be up against England's Aimee Willmott
:21:19. > :21:23.later this evening -- she will be. We will also see Liam Tang clock,
:21:24. > :21:27.Robbie Renwick. But given some of the times we have seen so far in the
:21:28. > :21:33.pool this morning you would not bet against world records going. The
:21:34. > :21:37.hopes will be on home boy Michael Jamieson. He learned to swim here at
:21:38. > :21:44.Tollcross earlier in his career and all of the attention will be on him
:21:45. > :21:48.at 9pm this evening. It is a great atmosphere at Strathclyde Park.
:21:49. > :21:53.Colours about the atmosphere there. We saw Hannah Miley tweet about the
:21:54. > :21:58.amazing support she was getting there. I spoke to her after her race
:21:59. > :22:02.and she described the atmosphere as awesome. Her father is her coach and
:22:03. > :22:08.he told me earlier in the week that she is in the best condition of her
:22:09. > :22:11.career. You should have heard the atmosphere when Michael Jamieson
:22:12. > :22:15.took to the stage and when Hannah Miley took to the stage as well. We
:22:16. > :22:17.are expecting something special at Tollcross this evening. Thank you
:22:18. > :22:20.for joining us. Well with is Andy Hunt the former
:22:21. > :22:29.chef de mission of Team GB at the London Olympics and now ivolved
:22:30. > :22:40.with England's Commonwealth team. What has happened to Mo Farah? It is
:22:41. > :22:45.hugely disappointing for Mo Farah given he has had this illness. It
:22:46. > :22:48.has been all over the media, in terms of the disappointment for him
:22:49. > :22:51.and for the team. That is the nature of sport. People drop out just
:22:52. > :22:55.before competition whether it is through injury or illness and I'm
:22:56. > :22:59.sure Mo Farah was coming here to win. If he felt he couldn't win he
:23:00. > :23:03.had a difficult decision to make. Great scenes you saw a short time
:23:04. > :23:06.ago at Strathclyde Park with Jodie Stimpson crossing the finish line
:23:07. > :23:11.first and she dissolved into tears as she did so. What an achievement
:23:12. > :23:20.for the 25-year-old. An amazing achievement for Jodie and Vicky
:23:21. > :23:25.Holland. You cannot get a better start. I remember being there at
:23:26. > :23:29.2012 for the first medal, such an important moment, it is the
:23:30. > :23:31.beginning and the start of everything and beginning to Runrig
:23:32. > :23:35.are fast as people chase those medals. There are some big names
:23:36. > :23:42.like Mo Farah who sadly will not be here. There are lots of people who
:23:43. > :23:47.really come through at events like these. It is disappointing when big
:23:48. > :23:52.names go out but the Commonwealth Games is full of great athletes and
:23:53. > :23:57.some that we don't know about yet but will go on and perform for Team
:23:58. > :24:01.GB in Rio in 2016. There are tonnes of them. There are the Brownlee
:24:02. > :24:06.brothers this afternoon who I'm sure will make us very proud in this
:24:07. > :24:11.country. We have got Michael Jamieson tonight. We have got all
:24:12. > :24:18.kinds, Sir Bradley Wiggins, adding Jimmy Lee, gosh, we have got the
:24:19. > :24:23.England netball team, the England rugby sevens team. I could go on and
:24:24. > :24:27.on, Laura Trott. Plenty of sports that don't get the Olympic limelight
:24:28. > :24:32.like squash for example and lawn bowls which is getting a lot of
:24:33. > :24:35.attention. For certain sports like netball and squash this is a real
:24:36. > :24:39.pinnacle and very important. People talk about them being the friendly
:24:40. > :24:44.games but I will tell you what, the athletes are here to win. You
:24:45. > :24:48.experienced London 2012 and you were at the heart of it. You are getting
:24:49. > :24:52.your first taste of Glasgow 2014. It is a hard act for Glasgow to follow
:24:53. > :24:56.in many ways but they seem to be doing an incredible job. I'm so
:24:57. > :24:59.impressed at the quality of what they are delivering here. The
:25:00. > :25:03.athlete experience and the spectator experience, I hope that is coming
:25:04. > :25:08.across four people viewing this from afar but it is amazing what they
:25:09. > :25:11.have put on. The opening ceremony did Scotland and Glasgow crowd last
:25:12. > :25:14.night and we are going to season really top-quality sport over the
:25:15. > :25:20.next ten days. Let's hope so. Andy Hunt, thank you for joining me. That
:25:21. > :25:22.is all from us at Strathclyde Park. Plenty more action and excitement
:25:23. > :25:29.this afternoon when the Brownlee brothers compete later on. But for
:25:30. > :25:32.now, back to you, Simon. After last year's storms more than 1 million
:25:33. > :25:35.people were left without power and many customers were frustrated at
:25:36. > :25:36.the length of time it took to get reconnected and at the level of
:25:37. > :25:41.compensation they received. Well, now the energy regulator,
:25:42. > :25:43.Ofgem, says it's more than doubling the minimum payment
:25:44. > :25:52.for consumers who lose power Our business correspondent
:25:53. > :25:56.John Moylan has the details. Cutting down trees in the summer to prevent
:25:57. > :26:01.power cuts in the winter. In Hampshire this week the energy giant
:26:02. > :26:07.SSE has dozens of teams out clearing trees away from overhead lines. It
:26:08. > :26:11.is spending almost ?30 million to try and prevent blackouts across its
:26:12. > :26:15.network. In order to be able to work safely here today they have had to
:26:16. > :26:19.cut off the power in the high-voltage line. There is a
:26:20. > :26:23.consequence of that, about 100 local households and businesses will today
:26:24. > :26:27.we be without power for a few hours but that is a lot better than the
:26:28. > :26:35.much longer power outages that some households experienced last winter.
:26:36. > :26:39.As storms battered Britain over Christmas almost 1 million homes
:26:40. > :26:44.were left without electricity. For some, the power cuts lasted days
:26:45. > :26:50.leading to intense criticism of the network firms. Today SSE and UK
:26:51. > :26:53.power networks agreed payments of ?8 million for failing to reconnect
:26:54. > :26:58.customers and keep them informed. We want them to be better prepared. We
:26:59. > :27:01.want them to communicate more with their customers about what is
:27:02. > :27:04.happening, get more staff trained and get social media strategies
:27:05. > :27:08.working and get their websites up-to-date so customers know when
:27:09. > :27:13.they can be reconnected. This pub in Kent lost power on December 23. It
:27:14. > :27:18.did not come back until Boxing Day evening. We were off for three days
:27:19. > :27:21.and some parts of the village will offer five days and other parts were
:27:22. > :27:24.off for a few hours. UK power networks should have known as soon
:27:25. > :27:29.as it became daylight that the power was not going to be restored
:27:30. > :27:33.quickly. In the aftermath of the firms were hauled in front of MPs.
:27:34. > :27:38.Today one of the companies that faced the grilling said that it had
:27:39. > :27:41.overhauled its operations. I'm proud of the way we dealt with it but
:27:42. > :27:45.recognise this had a major impact on customers, and we have to learn and
:27:46. > :27:49.we have to move forward and we are making improvements for the future.
:27:50. > :27:53.The higher compensation pay-outs should ensure the firms are better
:27:54. > :28:00.prepared. The Rhyl test will come later this year. -- the real test.
:28:01. > :28:13.Time for a look at the weather. Those storms seem a long time ago.
:28:14. > :28:21.Temperatures heading towards 24, 20 5 degrees in Glasgow. That is the
:28:22. > :28:23.case are much much -- across much of the UK. A bit of cloud here and
:28:24. > :28:23.there, case are much much -- across much of
:28:24. > :28:26.the UK. A bit of cloud here most notably across eastern Scotland and
:28:27. > :28:30.North East England but even here it is thinning out. In the south-west
:28:31. > :28:34.it is a bit different to recent days, we have some cloud producing
:28:35. > :28:37.one or two showers. They are offshore at the moment but will
:28:38. > :28:40.drift in across parts of Devon and Cornwall this afternoon, so one or
:28:41. > :28:44.two heavy downpours possible but temperatures still getting up to the
:28:45. > :28:48.mid to high 20s between those. That is the story across most other
:28:49. > :28:51.areas. Nice breeze coming in across East Anglia and southern England
:28:52. > :28:56.tempering the heat a little bit but once things get up to 30 degrees and
:28:57. > :28:58.maybe the odd shower in western parts of Northern Ireland but look
:28:59. > :29:03.at the contrast across Scotland. We're getting close to 30 in the
:29:04. > :29:06.north-west Highlands, the mid-teens in the north-east coast where the
:29:07. > :29:09.mist is lingering. They will spread inland across eastern Scotland and
:29:10. > :29:13.eastern parts of England as the night wears on. Otherwise we have
:29:14. > :29:17.clear skies. Air temperatures looking like this, the mid-to high
:29:18. > :29:20.teens but your house is probably still warmer than that. The heat has
:29:21. > :29:23.been building up over the last few days which is why it feels rather
:29:24. > :29:28.uncomfortable for sleeping. Tomorrow we go through the same process, mist
:29:29. > :29:31.and low cloud burning back to the coasts in the east, otherwise a dry
:29:32. > :29:36.day or most everywhere and long spells of hot sunshine. Temperatures
:29:37. > :29:40.much the same as they have been in the last few days, made to high 20s
:29:41. > :29:44.but again in the north-east that little bit cooler with that mist and
:29:45. > :29:47.low cloud coming off the sea. That is a trend we will all seek over
:29:48. > :29:51.this coming weekend. There will be some sunshine and a scattering of
:29:52. > :29:54.showers turning up, but gradually it will turn cooler from the
:29:55. > :29:58.north-west. We start to see the change coming in across north-west
:29:59. > :30:02.Scotland and Northern Ireland during Saturday. Some outbreaks of rain
:30:03. > :30:04.heading in. Ahead of that another hot day and southern Scotland and
:30:05. > :30:09.particularly England and Wales with similar temperatures to recent days.
:30:10. > :30:11.The change coming across all areas as we go into the second part of the
:30:12. > :30:15.weekend with a north-westerly breeze, a few showers around most
:30:16. > :30:19.notably in the north-west but southern parts could see a few
:30:20. > :30:22.showers but still plenty of dry weather in between those.
:30:23. > :30:24.Temperatures across Scotland and Northern Ireland are about 10
:30:25. > :30:27.degrees down on what we have at the moment so you will feel the
:30:28. > :30:30.difference here and a fresher feel to things further south as well,
:30:31. > :30:34.which should continue into next week. If you are not a fan of the
:30:35. > :30:41.weather the heat is on its way out to some extent but still decent
:30:42. > :30:47.weather around into next week. Our top story this lunch time:
:30:48. > :30:50.The UN's humanitarian chief expresses 'extreme concern' at what