12/03/2012 BBC News at Six


12/03/2012

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Hosepipe bans are to come into force as soon as next month across

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south and eastern England. Two unusually dry winters have left

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reservoirs and rivers far below normal levels. Five water companies

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will bring in the bans in the first week of April - millions of

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households will be affected. If we looked at February 1976, the ground

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water levels now on lower than they were then and the reservoir levels

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and river flows are lower than then so it is quite serious.

:00:32.:00:35.

Also on tonight's programme: A man wins his right for the High

:00:35.:00:38.

Court to decide whether he can ask his doctor to kill him with his

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consent. In an ideal world he would like me to give him a sedative so

:00:45.:00:49.

that we can be with him and he would go to sleep and then a doctor

:00:49.:00:53.

to come and end his life. A boost to the housing market -

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new-build homes that can be bought with just a 5% deposit.

:00:56.:00:59.

And plans to help elderly drivers to make sure they're still safe

:00:59.:01:09.
:01:09.:01:33.

Good evening and welcome to the BBC News at Six.

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Hosepipe bans are to be brought in across south and eastern England.

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Some areas are experiencing the worst conditions for over 30 years

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after two unusually dry winters have left reservoirs well below

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normal levels and land cracked and parched. Seven water companies will

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introduce water restrictions, five of them from April 5th. And the

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Environment Agency is warning the drought could spread as far north

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as East Yorkshire and as far west as the Hampshire/Wiltshire border

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if the dry weather continues this spring. Jeremy Cooke is at Rutland

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Water. Jeremy, the water level looks very

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low there. Very low here. In some places we are told the water levels

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in the ground far as low as they were in the infamous drought year

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of 1976. We simply have not had enough rain in the east and the

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south-east of England. That made today's announcement of hosepipe

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bans pretty much inevitable and so for millions of customers, the bans

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will begin on April 5th and they are likely to continue all summer

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long. Early spring. The reservoirs should

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be full. Instead, two exceptionally dry winters have left many regions

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high and dry. Seven of them have confirmed hosepipe bans from next

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month. We are asking customers to think about water efficiency across

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the piece. Think about what they are doing and take every

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opportunity to save water. A hosepipe ban signals this is pretty

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significant and important. So which water companies are imposing

:03:08.:03:18.
:03:18.:03:23.

restrictions? They range from I've never seen our soil so dry.

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Water restrictions were not only affect gardeners. Farmers like

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Andrew are already struggling. He is putting less crops in the ground

:03:32.:03:38.

this year, a direct response to the lack of water. We only had 60% of

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our rainfall here last year and the problem has been getting bigger and

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bigger and it is a big concern for us and any farmer, particularly in

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East Anglia. Monitoring it, the Environment Agency, which says that

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unless this area has rain soon, the drought area could extend as far as

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East Yorkshire, Wiltshire and Shropshire. Across huge swathes of

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England, and rivers are now worryingly low. At this time of

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year we should be seeing maximum flows. Instead we are looking at

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levels more likely to be seen in the middle of a dry summer. Half of

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England now is either at drought or at high risk of drought and that is

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why we are working closely with farmers and water companies to make

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sure we balance the needs. The wisest way to use water is

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important and we need to protect the environment. Of course, large

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parts of the country have plenty of water. Scotland, north-west England

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and here, North Wales. Could it be moved to the drought Sohn? Maybe,

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but it would be difficult and potentially very expensive.

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These kind of droughts in the south of England may become regular. What

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are the long-term solutions? I've been speaking to industry leaders

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and they've been saying this notion of building a giant pipeline from

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the north-west to the south-east is frankly a non-starter. It would be

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10 times more expensive than creating a giant desalination plant

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in the south-east. Instead they are looking at the possibility of

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linking up networks which already exist within water regions. They

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quite often move water around and it might not be a massive

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engineering job to connect these different work and passionate works

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and move water around the country that way. In the long term, the

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solution may well be to build more reservoirs, more underground

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storage so that when the rain finally arrives, more can be

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captured so it can be used later. Thank you.

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A severely disabled man who wants a doctor legally to be able to kill

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him has won the right to have his case heard in the High Court. Tony

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Nicklinson has "locked-in syndrome" following a stroke in 2005 and has

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described his life as "miserable, undignified and intolerable." He

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wants legal protection for any doctor who agrees to end his life

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for him. Our medical correspondent, His mind is intact, but Tony

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Nicklinson can't talk. He has paralysed from the neck down. He

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communicates with his wife Jane by head movements and blinking. Today

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a judge ruled the court should hear his plea that a doctor be allowed

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to kill him when he so wishes. says I'm delighted that the issues

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surrounded assisted dying art to be aired in court. Politicians can

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hardly complain about the courts provided a forum for debate if the

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politicians continue to ignore a debate. It is no longer acceptable

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for 21st century medicine to be governed by 20th century attitudes

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to death. This case takes the law on assisted dying way beyond

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current boundaries. The Ministry of Justice says it is Parliament and

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not the courts which should decide on such fundamental issues. At

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present, any doctor who gave a lethal dose, even with the aim of

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ending suffering, it would be charged with murder. It is that law

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which Mr Nicklinson is challenging. The judge said the courts would be

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asked to cross the Rubicon on which separates the care of patients on

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one side and euthanasia on the other. The courts have intervened

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in end of life decisions before. Tony Bland, crushed in the

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Hillsborough disaster and left in a vegetative state, was allowed to

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die after judges ruled it was in his best interests. The courts

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ordered conjoined twins at Great Ormond Street Hospital to be

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separated despite knowing it would mean one would die. But this doctor,

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who specialises in the care of terminally ill patients, is deeply

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worried about this attempt to permit euthanasia. My concern is

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that by setting a precedent it will fundamentally change the

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relationship between patients and doctors and an expectation that we

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are able to deliver something that, the within the law we can't deliver,

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namely to actively kill patients. The law on assisted dying was

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successfully challenged by Debbie Purdy, who has multiple sclerosis,

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and wanted protection for her husband if he took her to us with

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suicide organisation. Tony Nicklinson has even fewer options

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and could take his own love life only by refusing food. Starvation

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is a whole -- horrible way to go at and Switzerland is not what he

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wants so this is his only way out. At the judge said Tony Nicklinson's

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case raised questions of great social, ethical and religious

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significance which will now be fully aired in court.

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A 17-year-old male has admitted killing a pensioner who was trying

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to put out a fire during last year's summer riots. The youth, who

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can't be named because of his age, punched Richard Mannington Bowes in

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Ealing, London, knocking him to the ground. He banged his head and died

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in hospital three days later. The teenager admitted manslaughter when

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he appeared today in court. The brother of a former EastEnders

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actress has appeared in court charged with her murder. Gemma

:09:24.:09:28.

McCluskie's torso was discovered in a canal in east London last week.

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The actress, who was 29, played Kerry Skinner in more than 30

:09:31.:09:35.

episodes of the BBC soap in 2001. Tony McCluskie, who's 35, was

:09:36.:09:41.

remanded in custody. In Syria, there are fresh reports

:09:41.:09:44.

of a massacre by government troops in the city of Homs last night.

:09:45.:09:49.

Activists say 47 people, including children, were tortured and killed.

:09:49.:09:53.

The Syrian government has blamed "armed terrorists" for the deaths.

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Foreign ministers meeting at the UN Security Council in New York have

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once again appealed for an end to the violence.

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There's growing pressure in Afghanistan for the US soldier who

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killed 16 civilians yesterday, including nine children, to be

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tried in an Afghan court. The country's parliament has passed a

:10:11.:10:13.

resolution saying people had 'lost patience' with the actions of

:10:13.:10:18.

foreign troops. Reports say the gunman was a 38-year-old army staff

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sergeant on his first tour of duty in Afghanistan. From Kabul, Quentin

:10:21.:10:31.
:10:31.:10:34.

This is the aftermath of a massacre. Investigators arrived in Kandahar

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today trying to piece together a rampage that left 16 dead. The

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bodies of the victims, including nine children, have now been buried.

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If he did it deliberately, he should be punished with death,

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otherwise it will raise many questions and it will help the

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Taliban to benefit from this and become stronger, this man said.

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common in Fidel went to the House of Muslims and massacred children

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and women? I personally feel very sad. Even I am ready to go to the

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side of the Taliban to fight against these foreigners. We know

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that the killer was a regular soldier, but was working with

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special forces. 11 years in the army, he was fully armed and

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wearing night-vision goggles when he carried out the attack. He was a

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guard at the base, making it easier for him to come and go from the

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combat out pursed in Kandahar. He left the base at 3am local time. He

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walked to the nearby villages and there he travelled from door-to-

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door, some were locked. But he made his way inside one home. There, he

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gathered together the family and killed all 11 with a single bullet

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each. Then five more in another two houses. The children were mostly

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toddlers. President Obama was shocked and saddened by the

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killings, which he said were not representative of US military

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forces. In a quarter President Karzai he promised a full

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investigation. This will not affect the mission in Afghanistan, says

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the US. What will not happen is that the mission will suffer as a

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result. It is tragic, it is a very tragic incident, but it would be a

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far greater tragedy for this to affect what we are doing at large

:12:22.:12:26.

in the country. But in Kabul, others are more sceptical.

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President Karzai called the killings unforgivable. Many are

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already talking but the long-term damage to relations with America.

:12:34.:12:38.

The questions occupying senior officers in Kabul tonight far, was

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his attack pre-planned, did others know of this order's intentions?

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The Afghan people are asking for an even simpler question. Why did a

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long serving American soldier, an ally of Afghanistan, commit such a

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bloody act? This is clearly and unsurprisingly

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causing real anger in Afghanistan. That's right, but the surprise

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today match was that we did not see a continuation of some of the

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protests we saw earlier, yesterday. Afghanistan was fairly quiet today.

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We have been speaking to some of the village elders in Kandahar and

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they say that as long as they believe justice is done, this

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soldier will be properly tried and will face the full penalty of law,

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they will not feel the need to protest. The Taliban has been

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capitalising on this event, they were in the village today,

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encouraging people to protest and take action against what they

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called Savage Americans and their brutality. As you mentioned in your

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introduction, the Afghan parliament is insisting that this soldier is

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tried in an Afghan Court, an open Afghan court, and faces the Afghan

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public. There is any agreement between the US and Afghanistan that

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means he will face the US tribunal. As far as we are hearing from the

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international mission in Afghanistan, that agreement still

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stands. Thank you. Our top story tonight:

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Drought conditions in southern and eastern England have left millions

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facing a hosepipe ban from next month.

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Coming up: Game, the latest retailer

:14:16.:14:26.
:14:26.:14:27.

struggling on the high street, goes Later on BBC News, finance

:14:27.:14:30.

ministers from the eurozone at meet to discuss Greece's bail out and

:14:30.:14:35.

Spain's deficit. Game over? Struggling retailer Game

:14:35.:14:45.
:14:45.:14:50.

groups confirm suppliers of The plans to make it easier to buy

:14:50.:14:54.

a newly built home in England have been unveiled. They are offering

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people the chance to buy a home valued up to �500,000 with a

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deposit of 5%. The scheme has been criticised as a death at measure

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which would do little to boost the housing market. -- desperate

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measure. Since the credit crunch the housing market has stalled, and

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it never really restarted. Sales have halved. 800,000 low were a

:15:17.:15:23.

year. 40% fewer homes are being built. Deposits for first-time

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buyers have doubled to 20%. David Cameron was at a development in

:15:32.:15:37.

London to launch one way of kick- starting the market, lenders except

:15:37.:15:42.

5% deposits, in exchange for a guarantee which limits any losses.

:15:42.:15:46.

We have got lenders to one not lending to the builders cannot

:15:46.:15:51.

build and the buyers cannot buy. It needs the government to help step

:15:51.:15:56.

in and unlock the market. guarantee is welcome news for 20-

:15:56.:15:59.

year-old Harley Angus in Cambridge, along with one million other

:15:59.:16:04.

householders you couldn't afford the deposit per 5% would do nicely.

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Absolutely fantastic. It means we could buy eight this year with the

:16:08.:16:16.

percentage they want, it will really help. The government says

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100,000 more homes could go up. The idea is buyers will find it easy to

:16:22.:16:26.

buy, so builders will be able to build more new homes, but how much

:16:26.:16:31.

difference that will make to the overall housing market where most

:16:31.:16:37.

people are purchasing of homes is not clear. Only one in 10 mortgages

:16:37.:16:40.

is for newly built homes so other buyers simply would not get his

:16:40.:16:47.

help. He will not help people who want to mortgage or buy it is

:16:47.:16:50.

second-hand property, and it will not mean there is total mortgage

:16:50.:16:57.

funding available. 28,000 have already registered to say they are

:16:57.:17:02.

interested, but Labour is concerned it is not enough. It is right we

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help those who want to buy to be able to realise their dream, the

:17:07.:17:11.

question is, will the scheme work, and crucially, will ordinary

:17:11.:17:17.

families be able to get a mortgage at a price they can afford? Some

:17:17.:17:21.

MPs have been asking whether the taxpayer it really should guarantee

:17:21.:17:27.

mortgages, warning the tactic could fuel another housing bubble.

:17:27.:17:31.

The high street retailer Game has admitted it is in danger of

:17:31.:17:36.

collapse after several suppliers failed to provide new stock. Shares

:17:36.:17:41.

lost two-thirds of their value. It employs 6,000 people in 600 stores

:17:41.:17:47.

across the country. It has been one of the most eagerly

:17:48.:17:55.

awaited releases of the year. One place where you would hope to buy

:17:55.:18:00.

it is facing a battle of its own. Some suppliers are withholding new

:18:00.:18:06.

blockbuster titles to the retailer Game and its future is in doubt.

:18:06.:18:10.

The most important thing for gamers is to have the newest games and if

:18:10.:18:13.

they cannot stop them they will lose out on millions of pounds of

:18:13.:18:17.

revenues. Supermarkets are doing it cheaper and online specialists

:18:17.:18:21.

doing it better -- better. blames his trouble on a lack of new

:18:21.:18:26.

consoles and a lack of consumer spending. It said it was working to

:18:26.:18:31.

resolve the supply issue but want a solution was uncertain. Shares may

:18:31.:18:37.

become worthless. Game has 600 UK stores and employs 6,000 people. It

:18:37.:18:42.

is not the only specialist retailer that is struggling. You don't have

:18:42.:18:46.

to go far along the High Street to find another household name that

:18:46.:18:52.

has had more than its fair share of troubles. HMV is also finding it

:18:52.:18:56.

difficult to compete. The question is, it can these niche chains

:18:56.:19:02.

survive? It will be incredibly difficult. The fundamentals of how

:19:02.:19:06.

we shop have changed. They have been changing for a long time. If

:19:06.:19:10.

you look back, most of the music and video really perk -- retailers

:19:10.:19:15.

we knew 10 years ago have disappeared. There is only really

:19:15.:19:19.

HMV and Game remaining and there are question marks over the future

:19:19.:19:26.

of both of those remaining. Gamers are still prepared to queue for

:19:26.:19:30.

hours to get the blockbusters. This retailer badly needs some new hits

:19:30.:19:36.

to sell. It has got a big rent bill looming. It is not game over just

:19:36.:19:43.

yet, but the pressure is on. The MP Eric Joyce has resigned as a

:19:43.:19:46.

member of the Labour Party and apologised to colleagues for a

:19:46.:19:50.

brawl in a parliamentary poll. He told the House of Commons he had a

:19:50.:19:54.

number of personal issues to address. Last week a court fined

:19:54.:19:58.

him �3,000 for assault and banned him from pubs for three months. He

:19:58.:20:04.

will continue as an independent MP. Steve McFadden, best known for

:20:04.:20:07.

playing the character of Phil Mitchell in EastEnders, has won

:20:07.:20:13.

undisclosed libel charges from News of the World. In 2010 it published

:20:13.:20:18.

its stories suggesting he had harassed a former girlfriend. News

:20:18.:20:24.

Group Newspapers has apologised. They have been calls for George

:20:24.:20:28.

Osborne to cut tax relief. The party -- the Labour Party said it

:20:28.:20:32.

would raise money which could be spent helping people on low and

:20:32.:20:40.

middle incomes. This is presumably Labour's pre-emptive strike ahead

:20:40.:20:44.

of the Budget. The budget is almost upon us. So

:20:44.:20:47.

far speculation has focused on the debate between Conservative and

:20:47.:20:51.

Liberal Democrat ministers about which taxes should go up and down.

:20:51.:20:54.

That has been continued at the highest levels of government this

:20:54.:20:58.

afternoon. Today Labour joined the debate and they said the top rate

:20:58.:21:05.

taxpayers should pay some more tax. At the moment if you earn �150,000

:21:05.:21:10.

or more pay D8 you get 50% tax relief on all your pension

:21:10.:21:14.

contributions. Labour say that is too high, it should be reduced to

:21:14.:21:21.

26%. The party's leader it says �1.2 billion could be saved from

:21:21.:21:26.

this and should be used to scrap a planned cut in tax credits that is

:21:26.:21:30.

due to comment. The priority must be to reverse the

:21:30.:21:36.

damaging cuts to tax credits. The cuts which mean for working people

:21:36.:21:43.

the work stops becoming worthwhile, the cuts mean for working women,

:21:43.:21:46.

affordable tell care, gets further out of reach, and the cuts that

:21:46.:21:50.

mean a message is been sent to working families, you're on your

:21:50.:21:54.

rain. The message is it is attempting to

:21:54.:21:57.

get its message across before the Budget because it reckons its

:21:57.:22:02.

message to be similar to the Government's, namely that is --

:22:02.:22:06.

that the better off in society should lose some pension relief,

:22:06.:22:10.

and instead some of that money should be used to help those people

:22:10.:22:15.

feeling the squeeze in these austere times. Perhaps by cutting

:22:15.:22:21.

their income tax. These plans have met a barrage of opposition. It had

:22:21.:22:25.

been said these would discourage saving, discourage Britain's

:22:25.:22:29.

reputation as being a place that can attract talented businessman,

:22:29.:22:33.

the Institute of Directors said this would persecute success and

:22:33.:22:37.

discouraged and stifle growth. The Conservatives said the figures were

:22:37.:22:40.

based on phoney statistics and said there is no way this Packs hike

:22:40.:22:49.

would raise the amount Labour project. -- this price hike. --

:22:49.:22:54.

this tax hike. One of Britain's most famous race

:22:54.:22:56.

horses, Kauto Star, is fit to race in the Cheltenham Gold Cup on

:22:56.:23:03.

Friday. Its trainer said it had been given the green light after a

:23:03.:23:09.

fall earlier in the year. It has won the Gold Cup twice before.

:23:09.:23:13.

There are nearly 4 million people aged 70 and over driving on our

:23:13.:23:17.

roads, compared with less than a million in 1975. A group of MPs has

:23:17.:23:22.

been looking at how to make sure the older generation can keep the

:23:22.:23:26.

Independent the card gives them, but yet remained safe behind the

:23:26.:23:31.

wheel. -- a card gives them. Everybody wants to stay mobile as

:23:31.:23:36.

they get older, but is there a point at which you should accept

:23:36.:23:40.

the years have overtaken you and leave your car in the driveway?

:23:40.:23:44.

Donald is 91 and still off happy behind the wheel.

:23:44.:23:50.

As long as it once site is good there is no limit to the age the

:23:50.:23:56.

individuals can drive -- as long as your eyesight is good. Once you hit

:23:56.:23:58.

70 all you need to renew your licence is declare yourself fit to

:23:58.:24:02.

drive but the report calls for a National course to help older

:24:02.:24:07.

people improve their skills. Not a compulsory test, just a refresher.

:24:07.:24:10.

If we are talking about an assessment, not pass or fail,

:24:10.:24:15.

somebody sitting with you and saying what are you doing, are you

:24:15.:24:19.

enjoying this Germany, do you think you could do it in a different way,

:24:19.:24:25.

-- did -- are you enjoying this journey?

:24:25.:24:30.

And this is what it might look like. Rosemary is 78 and was recently

:24:30.:24:34.

caught speeding twice. She has gone back to the classroom at Aston

:24:34.:24:37.

University to help get her confidence back.

:24:37.:24:41.

I don't know whether my driving has improved immediately but I think I

:24:41.:24:45.

have paid more attention to things. It has reminded me of things. It

:24:45.:24:50.

might be a good idea to have certain little tests you could put

:24:50.:24:57.

all the people through -- older people. We are desperate not to

:24:57.:25:01.

lose our licensees. The number of people over the age

:25:02.:25:06.

of 70 driving on the rate has accelerated fast. In the mid-70s

:25:06.:25:11.

15% of people held a licence. That number has quadrupled. Today's

:25:11.:25:16.

figure is nearly 60%. That works out as nearly 4 million drivers. A

:25:16.:25:21.

number that is only set to increase in the future. This report says

:25:21.:25:27.

getting out and about is one of the key factors in a happy life. It is

:25:27.:25:32.

calling on the government to make it easier and safer for older

:25:32.:25:42.
:25:42.:25:43.

people in the future. Is there likely to be a change in

:25:43.:25:47.

this dry spell we have been having? We need a couple of seasons of

:25:47.:25:50.

above average rainfall and at the moment the signs are we might not

:25:50.:25:55.

achieve that, certainly in the short term it is looking dry. We

:25:55.:25:59.

are off the back of a couple of very dry winters.

:25:59.:26:03.

It has not been the same everywhere, part of Scotland have had their

:26:03.:26:08.

wettest year on record and during winter had 120% of their average

:26:08.:26:13.

rainfall. Compare that to East Anglia which saw and 75% of what

:26:13.:26:17.

would normally fall. The crucial thing is it is over a length of

:26:17.:26:21.

time, month after month of below average rainfall so we need a lot

:26:21.:26:25.

more to come and it will come over a long spell of time. During spring

:26:26.:26:33.

and summer, not a great time to see it. It is the winter months that

:26:33.:26:37.

are crucial. We are coming out of them at the moment and whilst today

:26:37.:26:42.

we saw quite a bit of cloud, not much of that was rain Bering, just

:26:42.:26:47.

a bit of drizzle. Good gaps in the cloud where we saw the sunshine.

:26:48.:26:52.

That made all the difference to the way your day went. In the south-

:26:52.:26:58.

east, temperatures peaked at 18 degrees. On the coast a market it

:26:58.:27:08.
:27:08.:27:09.

was only eight in the mist and low cloud -- on the coast at Margate.

:27:09.:27:13.

On the chart you can see the cloud shadows starting to increase in

:27:13.:27:18.

size. That will have a consequence, probably not as cold tonight as

:27:18.:27:28.
:27:28.:27:28.

some of you last night. For most a grey start. Light rain and drizzle.

:27:28.:27:36.

A damper date in north-west Scotland. -- day. Eastern Scotland,

:27:37.:27:46.

Calder, -- it will be colder. It will be the higher ground of Wales

:27:46.:27:50.

and south-west England where we see some sunshine first thing. For most

:27:50.:27:57.

people, Gray, Miss D, some fog around. -- it will be grey, and

:27:57.:28:06.

misty. Today we saw some good gaps in the

:28:06.:28:10.

cloud. We will see brighter conditions in the east of Wales,

:28:10.:28:20.
:28:20.:28:20.

eastern Scotland. More cloud. Temperatures might struggle.

:28:20.:28:26.

Wednesday and Thursday, not a huge amount will change. If anything, a

:28:26.:28:34.

bit more sunshine in eastern areas. Temperatures will start to leap up

:28:34.:28:39.

again. We could see some rainfall by the weekend. For the time being

:28:39.:28:44.

it looks very dry. A reminder of the main news.

:28:44.:28:48.

Drier conditions in southern and eastern England have left millions

:28:48.:28:50.

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