:00:10. > :00:15.Jailed for arson - the man who set fire to a furniture store in London
:00:15. > :00:18.during last summer's riots. A symbol of the mindless violence -
:00:18. > :00:21.the House of Reeves store, which had survived the blitz, was finally
:00:21. > :00:29.destroyed by this man, Gordon Thompson, who set fire to one of
:00:29. > :00:31.their sofas. He's done so much tremendous harm for everybody, and
:00:31. > :00:36.we have to fight back, and that's what we'll do.
:00:36. > :00:39.Also on tonight's programme: panic in Indonesia as a powerful
:00:39. > :00:46.earthquake spark a tsunami alert across the Pacific region bringing
:00:46. > :00:50.back vivid memories of the Boxing Coming clean about their best deals
:00:50. > :00:54.- how the big six energy companies will be helping you save money on
:00:54. > :00:56.your fuel bills. And the wonders of the universe,
:00:56. > :01:02.but mostly hidden from view - stargazers call for councils to
:01:02. > :01:09.tackle unnecessary lighting. I'll be here with Sportsday later
:01:09. > :01:19.in the hour on the BBC News channel including Bahrain in the balance -
:01:19. > :01:27.
:01:27. > :01:30.four Formula One teams wait to hear Good evening, and welcome to the
:01:30. > :01:36.BBC News at 6.00pm. The judge called it a "wilful act of shocking,
:01:36. > :01:39.dangerous vandalism". "wifull It was one of the defining images of
:01:39. > :01:42.last summer's riots - the huge blaze in south London which
:01:42. > :01:50.destroyed a family-run furniture store that had stood on the site
:01:50. > :01:55.for more than 140 years. The fire also spread to nearby flats,
:01:55. > :01:57.forcing people to flee their homes. Today the man who started it,
:01:57. > :02:00.Gordon Thompson, a 34-year-old painter and decorator, was
:02:00. > :02:04.sentenced to 11-and-a-half years in prison. Sangita Myska is in Croydon
:02:04. > :02:10.for us now. This is what's left of the site
:02:10. > :02:14.that once housed five generations of a family business - the owners
:02:14. > :02:18.of that business have described its loss as a bereavement, and they say
:02:18. > :02:22.they hope today's sentence, the longest to be handed out in
:02:22. > :02:26.relation to last summer's riots, will act as a mindful message to
:02:26. > :02:32.those thinking of doing the same again.
:02:32. > :02:35.It was this huge fire deliberately started at Reeve's of Croydon that
:02:36. > :02:41.gave rise to some of the most memorable images from the worst
:02:41. > :02:45.night of the London riots. For 144 years this historic building had
:02:45. > :02:50.housed five generations of a family business. Today, the man who
:02:50. > :02:58.destroyed it, Gordon Thompson, a painter and decorator and father of
:02:58. > :03:01.two, was sentenced to 11-and-a-half years in prison. Father and son
:03:01. > :03:06.Maurice and Trevor Reeve showed me around where the building once
:03:06. > :03:09.stood. What was left has been demolished. The cost to the
:03:09. > :03:13.business will eventually be covered by insurance, but the emotional
:03:13. > :03:18.burden still remains. It was like losing a member of the family. This
:03:18. > :03:23.has been here all my memorable life. I was - I played in here as a child.
:03:23. > :03:30.I lived above here as a young man. I worked here as an adult, and this
:03:30. > :03:34.was the place that Maurice made his own when he took over the company
:03:34. > :03:39.from my grandfather in the early '80s. Thompson's crime was caught
:03:39. > :03:44.on CCTV. You can see him at the top of the screen approaching the shop.
:03:44. > :03:48.There's something burning in his hand. He touches it to a sofa,
:03:48. > :03:54.which catches fire. The shop was soon engulfed in flames, the fire
:03:54. > :04:00.so ferocious it set the buildings opposite it alight. It was at this
:04:00. > :04:04.moment shop assistant Monika Concheck was forced to jump for her
:04:04. > :04:08.life into the arms of a fireman. "Members of the public both in
:04:08. > :04:13.Croydon and elsewhere were shocked at the television footage which
:04:13. > :04:19.showed the extent of the damage caused by Thompson's actions. When
:04:19. > :04:24.faced with the strength of the case against him, Thompson pleaded
:04:24. > :04:27.guilty, which meant many witnesses did not have to relive distressing
:04:27. > :04:31.memories about what happened that night." Thank you.
:04:31. > :04:36.From the rubble, the Reeves have begun building their business back
:04:36. > :04:42.up at a site across the road. They say they hope today's sentence will
:04:42. > :04:46.be enough to deter others bent on wanton vandalism. Now, it's
:04:46. > :04:49.expected that Thompson will serve about half of that 11-and-a-half-
:04:49. > :04:53.year sentence. The Reeves say that nevertheless, they believe that
:04:53. > :04:58.this is fair, and they hope that that'll be enough time for Thompson,
:04:58. > :05:07.who has become known as a serial reoffender, to rehabilitate.
:05:07. > :05:10.Thank you very much. Two powerful earthquakes in the
:05:10. > :05:13.Indian Ocean triggered tsunami warnings today. There were scenes
:05:13. > :05:16.of panic in some coastal areas as the quake hit, followed soon after
:05:16. > :05:19.by a powerful aftershock. People fled to higher ground fearing a
:05:19. > :05:22.repeat of the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004 in which hundreds of thousands
:05:22. > :05:26.of people died. The epicentre of today's quake - which measured 8.6
:05:26. > :05:32.- was close to the region in Indonesia that was worst hit in
:05:32. > :05:34.2004. Amazingly, there've been no reports so far of serious injuries
:05:34. > :05:39.or damage. Rachel Harvey reports from Thailand.
:05:39. > :05:46.The terror on their faces speaks volumes. They know all too well
:05:46. > :05:49.what an earthquake can do. In 2004, the Aceh earthquake isn't ancient
:05:49. > :05:53.history. The memories are still fresh, still painful. You don't
:05:53. > :06:00.forget the loss of more than 200,000 lives, and today the earth
:06:00. > :06:03.issued another powerful reminder of this region's volatile foundations.
:06:03. > :06:09.The response, visceral fear. But this time, there was purpose within
:06:09. > :06:15.the panic - a mass movement to higher ground and the safety of a
:06:15. > :06:20.mosque, one of the few buildings to survive the tsunami seven years ago
:06:20. > :06:24.- local knowledge learned from bitter experience.
:06:24. > :06:28.The same reaction in Phuket on Thailand's west coast, locals
:06:28. > :06:33.guiding holiday makers to safety. They heard the siren, followed the
:06:33. > :06:39.signs, knew what to do. Lessons have been learned. Today's
:06:39. > :06:44.earthquake was hugely powerful, felt as far away as Bangkok and
:06:44. > :06:49.southern India. So why no tsunami this time? In 2004, the one
:06:49. > :06:54.tectonic plate slipped beneath another, displacing a huge volume
:06:54. > :06:57.of water. Today's earthquake was lateral, two plates rubbing against
:06:57. > :07:01.each other violently but less likely to spawn huge waves.
:07:01. > :07:04.Nevertheless, experts say the decision to issue an alert was
:07:04. > :07:08.justified. When they give the warning, they have no idea what
:07:08. > :07:12.kind of earthquake it is. We found this out quite recently. This is
:07:12. > :07:16.when you analyse the data arriving all over the world. You can find
:07:16. > :07:21.out what kind of earthquake it was, what the mechanism was, but when
:07:21. > :07:27.they send their warnings out, they have no idea of that. No room for
:07:27. > :07:30.complacency and no sign of it in Aceh - just help for those who
:07:30. > :07:40.couldn't help themselves increasingly urgent warnings, a
:07:40. > :07:42.desperate prayer and - this time - tragedy avoided.
:07:42. > :07:45.The annual number of applications to take children into care in
:07:45. > :07:54.England has exceeded 10,000 for the first time. The Courts Advisory
:07:54. > :07:57.Service says the figure is 10% up on last year. It's thought the
:07:57. > :07:59.publicity given to the death of Baby Peter in north London has
:07:59. > :08:02.contributed to the sharp rise in new applications.
:08:02. > :08:05.The big six energy companies in Britain have agreed to write to
:08:05. > :08:08.their customers every year to let them know which are the best
:08:08. > :08:11.tariffs available and how to get them. The move, agreed with the
:08:11. > :08:18.Government, could save some households up to �100 a year. Our
:08:18. > :08:22.business correspondent John Moylan reports.
:08:22. > :08:26.Energy share, energy smart - there are more than a hundred tariffs and
:08:26. > :08:30.deals out there, so how are you expected to choose? Now the
:08:30. > :08:34.Government says the suppliers will have to send out letters detailing
:08:34. > :08:39.which one might be most suitable for you. To help everyone with
:08:39. > :08:43.their bills, to get more people switched on to the energy they use,
:08:43. > :08:49.I can announce today that we have secured a landmark deal with the
:08:49. > :08:53.six big energy companies who cover 99% of customers, to give customers
:08:53. > :08:57.a guaranteed offer of the best tariff for them. That matters
:08:58. > :09:03.because according to the Government, as many as 70% of customers are on
:09:03. > :09:06.the wrong tariff. It believes households could save up to �100 by
:09:06. > :09:12.shopping around. The problem is three-quarters of us don't tend to
:09:12. > :09:15.switch. The companies say it's not their
:09:15. > :09:19.fault since last autumn's energy summit. They have been working with
:09:19. > :09:24.the Government to make tariffs and bills simpler. Today some
:09:24. > :09:29.downplayed the significance of it all. In reality, the Government's
:09:29. > :09:33.announcement isn't that different to industry has been doing. We have
:09:33. > :09:39.been reaching out in different forms for a long while now. We're
:09:39. > :09:42.trying to reach out in a more consistent form, a new norm to
:09:42. > :09:46.approach customers. We all want to cut our electricity and gas bills,
:09:46. > :09:50.but receiving a letter is just the start. You then have to contact
:09:50. > :09:54.your energy company and agree upon a new tariff, and of course, you
:09:54. > :09:58.won't be told if another supplier has a better deal. However,
:09:58. > :10:02.consumer groups have welcomed the announcement, but they warn the
:10:02. > :10:05.customers will end up paying for the cost of this mass mail shot,
:10:05. > :10:09.and they point out that many people will still not have access to the
:10:09. > :10:12.best offers. The cheapest deals in the energy market are for those
:10:13. > :10:18.people who are online and have direct debit facilities. That's the
:10:18. > :10:21.way it is. If you don't have access to that, if that's difficult for
:10:21. > :10:26.you, you'll not get the cheapest deals. Labour fanned the flames
:10:26. > :10:29.today, dismissing the plan and saying the over-75s should be
:10:29. > :10:32.automatically offered the best tariffs, and it will only work if
:10:32. > :10:36.more of us switch, and that's something which even Nick Clegg
:10:36. > :10:39.says he struggles to do. The BBC has learned that several
:10:39. > :10:42.Formula One teams expect this month's Bahrain Grand Prix to be
:10:42. > :10:44.cancelled. Unrest in the country meant that the race was removed
:10:44. > :10:54.from last year's Formula One calendar, but organisers had
:10:54. > :10:55.
:10:55. > :11:02.thought next weekend's race would go ahead. We can speak now to Dan
:11:02. > :11:07.Roan. What's the latest. A sense of deja vu surrounds the Bahrain Grand
:11:07. > :11:12.Prix. Last year's race was cancelled by the tiny kingdom. Now
:11:12. > :11:15.with that unrest continuing, there are fresh calls by human rights
:11:15. > :11:21.groups for it to be boycotted. There are safety concerns
:11:21. > :11:24.surrounding the event. The negotiations and manoeuvrings are
:11:24. > :11:28.continuing behind the scenes. They're intensifying as to who
:11:28. > :11:33.makes this decision. There is a huge decision at stake with
:11:33. > :11:41.contracts to be honoured by the Bahrain Government as well. They
:11:41. > :11:48.see this event as an opportunity to show days sport. Bernie Ecclestone
:11:48. > :11:53.told me they had overnight. Now several teams expect the race to be
:11:53. > :11:56.cancelled. They have concerns. Time is running out. They'll gather
:11:56. > :12:02.ahead of the Grand Prix this weekend. A decision has to be made
:12:02. > :12:03.soon, but whichever way it goes, it shows sport and politics do collide,
:12:03. > :12:06.especially in this most political of sports.
:12:06. > :12:09.Thank you very much. David Cameron has been defending
:12:09. > :12:12.the government's plans to limit charitable donations. But he says
:12:12. > :12:15.he will look sympathetically at the concerns of leading charities who
:12:15. > :12:18.claim their funding will be hit. He made the comments in Indonesia
:12:18. > :12:21.during the second day of his tour of Asia where there was good news
:12:21. > :12:23.for British jobs. The national airline, Garuda, signed an order
:12:23. > :12:26.for eleven Airbus passenger jets, which will safeguard hundreds of
:12:26. > :12:34.jobs in the UK. James Landale is travelling with the Prime Minister
:12:35. > :12:39.and has just sent this report. A new country, a different President,
:12:39. > :12:43.another guard of honour, but from David Cameron, the same message. He
:12:43. > :12:48.wants British business to get their hands on some of Indonesia's huge
:12:48. > :12:52.and growing markets, maybe even sell them some of our weapons. In
:12:52. > :12:57.the economy that is growing at an extraordinary 6% a year is one, he
:12:57. > :13:01.said that Britain cannot ignore. This is an economy of 240 million
:13:01. > :13:04.people. It's going to be a top ten economy in the next few decades.
:13:04. > :13:09.Britain should be investing here, selling here, and that's why I'm
:13:09. > :13:12.pleased to get on a plane with a bunch of business people, go to the
:13:12. > :13:16.fastest growing parts of the world and drum up British business
:13:16. > :13:20.because it means jobs back at home. It doesn't matter how many thousand
:13:20. > :13:24.miles away I am from Great Britain. The only thought I have in my mind
:13:24. > :13:27.is what are we going to do to get British jobs, to get our economy
:13:27. > :13:30.going? Some of the people travelling with you are defence
:13:30. > :13:33.contractors. You're here in part to promote defence sales. How do you
:13:33. > :13:37.avoid getting caught out and some of these weapons being used by the
:13:38. > :13:42.wrong people at the wrong time? have strict controls in Britain and
:13:42. > :13:44.a strict licensing system for who we're able to sell these things to.
:13:44. > :13:48.Britain has strong defence industries that employ thousands of
:13:48. > :13:51.people in our country, and in a country like Indonesia that is now
:13:51. > :13:54.a democracy, that is a responsible player on the world stage, that has
:13:54. > :13:57.a right to defend itself, I think it is acceptable under the right
:13:57. > :14:02.conditions to sell them some of or goods. David Cameron left Britain
:14:02. > :14:06.with his Government on the back foot after a self-inflicted fuel
:14:06. > :14:10.shortage, coalition tensions over security and an unpopular Budget
:14:10. > :14:14.he's still being forced to defend, including plans to concern tax
:14:14. > :14:18.relief for big charitable donors. What do you say to charitys who say
:14:18. > :14:21.this is just going to cause their donations the try up? Let's be
:14:21. > :14:25.clear about what we're proposing. We're saying individuals should be
:14:25. > :14:28.able to have �50,000 worth of tax allowances or a quarter of their
:14:28. > :14:32.salary, however high their salary is, going in tax allowances, but
:14:32. > :14:37.we've got to put an end to the abuse that some people have been
:14:37. > :14:43.using tax allowances to get their effective income tax rate not at
:14:43. > :14:46.50p, not at 40p, sometimes as low as 20p or 10p. There is abuse going
:14:46. > :14:51.on. We need to deal with that to make sure that the rich pay their
:14:51. > :14:55.share of income tax. But it's his decision to cut the 50p top rate of
:14:55. > :14:59.income tax that critics say has lost him so much trust. Politics
:14:59. > :15:04.has to be about doing the right thing about the long-term health of
:15:04. > :15:07.your economy and country. Having a top rate of tax that makes you
:15:07. > :15:11.uncompetitive with countries like Italy can't be sensible. Do you
:15:11. > :15:14.still say we're in this together? Absolutely, I do. Can you say the
:15:14. > :15:18.words? We're all in it together. The tour of South-East Asia
:15:18. > :15:22.continues. David Cameron is clearly at ease walking the world stage.
:15:22. > :15:30.His officials insist these trips do boost exports, don't solve his
:15:30. > :15:35.Our top story: The man who set fire to a furniture store in London
:15:35. > :15:40.during last summer's riots has been jailed for Len and a half half
:15:40. > :15:43.years. Coming up: I will be reporting live from Jordell Bank in
:15:43. > :15:51.Cheshire as a report suggests half the population can't see many stars
:15:51. > :15:56.at night because of light pollution. And I will be here with Sportsday
:15:56. > :16:06.later on the news channel. Bahrain in the balance. Formula One teams
:16:06. > :16:07.
:16:07. > :16:09.wait to hear if this month's race Security forces in Syria have
:16:09. > :16:14.continued shelling opposition held areas using tank and artillery fire
:16:14. > :16:17.today. The latest violence comes despite the looming deadline for a
:16:17. > :16:23.ceasefire, which has been proposed by the former UN Secretary General
:16:23. > :16:26.Kofi Annan. It's due to start at 6.00am tomorrow morning. Opposition
:16:26. > :16:33.leaders who have taken refuge across the border in Turkey say
:16:33. > :16:35.they'll have to fight on, if the regime continues its attacks. Our
:16:35. > :16:41.special correspondent Fergal Keane has sent this report from Rehanli
:16:41. > :16:46.on the border. Waiting for news from the country
:16:46. > :16:50.they fled, this is Rehanli where new arrivals from Syria are
:16:50. > :16:55.processed before being sent on to other camps. We didn't meet anybody
:16:55. > :16:58.who expressed optimism. But a few at least were willing to give the
:16:58. > :17:05.Annan mission the benefit of the doubt. Do you think there is going
:17:05. > :17:09.to be be peace? I hope for that, sea says, but they have talked
:17:09. > :17:14.before and it's come to nothing. I do just hope for peace.
:17:14. > :17:21.From here you can see Syria. It's calm, but other parts of the border
:17:21. > :17:25.region have become precarious in the past few days.
:17:25. > :17:30.Syrian forces have fired across, hitting refugees.
:17:30. > :17:38.And here, shooting to stop soldiers from defecting to the Free Syrian
:17:38. > :17:45.Army. GUNFIRE.
:17:45. > :17:49.Inside Syria the last days have seen furious fighting. In Homs,
:17:49. > :17:52.troops have pounded opposition districts with tank fire and
:17:52. > :17:58.mortars. No sign here of any military withdrawal.
:17:58. > :18:03.In parts of the city there's little left to fight over.
:18:03. > :18:08.Gunfire. The activist filming this burning shopping centre calls out
:18:08. > :18:12."are you watching, Kofi Annan, where is the international
:18:12. > :18:15.community?" such words and such images have
:18:15. > :18:18.accompanied Kofi Annan throughout his mission but he is still
:18:18. > :18:25.insisting on the possibility of a ceasefire.
:18:25. > :18:31.If everyone respects it, I think by 6.00 on Thursday 12th, 6.00am on
:18:31. > :18:36.Thursday 12th we should see much improved situation on the ground.
:18:36. > :18:39.As tanks were on the move in Homs, Kofi Annan could only hope in the
:18:39. > :18:43.assurances he had been given. But this evening the Government
:18:43. > :18:49.insisted it would stop fighting tomorrow, though it reserved the
:18:49. > :18:54.right to retaliate if attacked. am confident my Government is fully
:18:54. > :18:58.committed to Mr Annan's plan, but in the same time since the violence
:18:58. > :19:02.is mutual you can only guarantee our side. I cannot guarantee the
:19:02. > :19:07.violence from the armed group and those countries harbouring them.
:19:07. > :19:11.But the Free Syrian Army refuses to believe anything the Government
:19:11. > :19:17.says. Will your forces stop shooting when the deadline expires
:19:18. > :19:21.tomorrow morning? TRANSLATION: I don't believe our forces will
:19:21. > :19:25.stop shooting because the other side won't stop. If the other side
:19:25. > :19:28.stops, the Syrian people would march on the President's Palace on
:19:28. > :19:32.the same day. This means the regime won't stop.
:19:32. > :19:36.It is possible that the violence across the border might die down
:19:36. > :19:40.when the deadline runs out tomorrow morning, but there's no likelihood
:19:40. > :19:44.of a permanent cessation. Both the regime and the opposition now
:19:44. > :19:53.believe this is a fight to the finish. That is the logic that's
:19:53. > :19:56.undermined the Annan mission from the very start.
:19:56. > :19:58.Plaid Cymru has launched its local election campaign saying that Wales
:19:58. > :20:02.needs strong and sustainable communities as a step towards
:20:02. > :20:05.independence. The party, under its new leader Leanne Wood, will be
:20:05. > :20:12.defending more than 200 seats on 3rd May. She said Plaid's campaign
:20:12. > :20:16.would centre on protecting public services from spending cuts.
:20:16. > :20:20.I think that there is sa great potential for us to offer an
:20:20. > :20:22.alternative to the austerity policies that are coming from the
:20:22. > :20:25.Westminster Government in London. People are finding it really
:20:25. > :20:30.difficult at the moment and people are very worried about their
:20:30. > :20:37.futures and I hope that we can offer an alternative to the
:20:37. > :20:40.downward spiral that's being offered by the British parties.
:20:40. > :20:42.The technology giant Apple and several major book publishers in
:20:42. > :20:45.America, including Penguin and Harper Collins, have been accused
:20:45. > :20:48.by the US government of fixing the price of e-books. The arrangement
:20:48. > :20:51.allegedly forced customers in the States to pay tens of millions of
:20:51. > :20:54.dollars more for books than they would otherwise have spent. Joining
:20:54. > :20:56.us from Washington is our correspondent Steve Kingstone. This
:20:56. > :21:02.applies specifically to the American market but explain more
:21:02. > :21:05.about what they're being accused of. Well, this relates to what the US
:21:05. > :21:10.Justice Department is calling the revolution in publishing, the fact
:21:10. > :21:14.more of us are downloading books rather than buying in print in
:21:14. > :21:19.shops and when that revolution began five years ago the market was
:21:19. > :21:23.quickly cornered byam a-- Amazon which offered books at discounted
:21:23. > :21:30.prices and this lawsuit alleges five of those publishers came
:21:30. > :21:33.together with Steve Jobs and conspired to fix prices, to bring
:21:34. > :21:38.them up by Apple selling books to customers using the iPad, at prices
:21:38. > :21:42.set by the publishers with Apple taking a 30% commission. It's
:21:42. > :21:47.alleged that Apple boosted this was a martial arts move against Amazon
:21:47. > :21:51.which caused prices to go up, and cost consumers tens of millions
:21:51. > :21:54.says the Government. Three of the five publishers have settled with
:21:54. > :22:01.the US Government, the other two and Apple have not, so those cases
:22:01. > :22:04.will go to court. Thank you very much.
:22:04. > :22:07.Now with the clear skies we've had lately you may well have noticed
:22:07. > :22:09.the stars and planets like Venus and Mars shining particularly
:22:09. > :22:13.brightly. But according to the Campaign To Protect Rural England
:22:13. > :22:15.we should be able to see far more of them. They say Britain's night
:22:15. > :22:19.sky is still saturated by light pollution, mainly unnecessary
:22:19. > :22:22.street lighting. So what can be done to clear the view? Danny
:22:23. > :22:28.Savage is at the Jodrell Bank Observatory.
:22:28. > :22:32.Well, earlier this year about 1,000 star-gazers were asked to go out on
:22:32. > :22:37.a clear night and see how many stars they could count in the
:22:37. > :22:42.Constellation of Orion, most of them managed to count a handful of
:22:42. > :22:45.stars. They said this was down to light pollution.
:22:45. > :22:48.In modern times this is what a map of Britain's lights would appear
:22:48. > :22:53.like. The red areas are the brightest lit
:22:53. > :22:58.towns and cities, the very dark blue is where there are virtually
:22:58. > :23:03.no lights. According to figures out today, more than half of the UK's
:23:03. > :23:06.population can't see the night sky, because of light pollution.
:23:06. > :23:13.Campaigners say it blurs the distinction between town and
:23:13. > :23:18.country. I am 31 and can't think of the last time I saw the Milky Way,
:23:18. > :23:22.if I ever did and lots of children will grow up never having seen the
:23:22. > :23:28.Milky Way. So for most people the only way they can see the full
:23:28. > :23:32.wonder of the night sky is to visit somewhere like Jodrell Bank to get
:23:32. > :23:39.an idea of what's above us. We have been to places where there was no
:23:39. > :23:43.light pollution, so, for example, last year we went to Tenerife, we
:23:43. > :23:48.could see the stars. You can't see here, what did we think of them?
:23:48. > :23:52.Amazing, weren't they? I prefer it when there's no light, like street
:23:52. > :23:56.lights or anything. I like it when it's just stars.
:23:56. > :24:02.And experts say we shouldn't underestimate the value of being
:24:02. > :24:07.able to see the Constellations. think astronomy has been shown to
:24:07. > :24:11.be an inspiration for young people, they get into science and
:24:11. > :24:14.technology through an interest in astronomy. If you are not able to
:24:14. > :24:19.see what is up there above your heads, how do you draw people into
:24:19. > :24:24.it? That's something to worry about. But there are concerns that
:24:24. > :24:27.creating conditions to see the stars will cause its own problems.
:24:27. > :24:32.Most people appreciate the merits of trying to turn off street lights
:24:32. > :24:35.wherever possible, but we know from research that most accidents and
:24:35. > :24:39.breakdowns happen in areas where there is poor visibility and poor
:24:39. > :24:44.lighting. We need to think about the effect of that, in particularly
:24:44. > :24:47.well build-up areas. Coincidentally guidance has been issued to local
:24:47. > :24:51.authorities to reduce light pollution through better design,
:24:51. > :24:55.some areas have switched off at night. But it's not always a
:24:55. > :25:00.popular idea with residents. But what all sides in this
:25:00. > :25:03.discussion agree is that public safety has to come first. Although
:25:03. > :25:12.the Campaign to Protect Rural England say that poor excuses for
:25:12. > :25:14.bad or excessive lighting are still being heard too often.
:25:14. > :25:18.Residents of a Southern California neighbourhood were told to stay
:25:18. > :25:20.indoors when they were paid a visit by a huge black bear. The animal,
:25:20. > :25:24.thought to weigh around 42 stone, strolled through back gardens,
:25:24. > :25:28.scaled fences and even climbed on top of cars as it searched for food
:25:28. > :25:34.in La Crescenta, California. It was eventually cornered and shot
:25:34. > :25:42.with a tranquilliser dart before being released back into the wild.
:25:42. > :25:49.That would give you a fright! Let's Grizzly weather too!
:25:49. > :25:53.Do not adjust your set, this is not snow, but hail taken earlier on in
:25:53. > :25:57.Hampshire. Violent storms around, hail, thunder and torrential rain.
:25:57. > :26:01.The storms easing away this evening, some places have had a lovely day.
:26:01. > :26:06.A day of contrast. One or two showers will linger tonight. Most
:26:06. > :26:10.of us will become dry. Where the sky is clear it will turn chilly,
:26:10. > :26:14.certainly in the suburbs and rural areas close to freezing with a
:26:14. > :26:18.touch of frost and one or two mist patches. Tomorrow starts bright and
:26:18. > :26:21.chilly for many, but like today the showers will bubble up and they'll
:26:21. > :26:26.flourish across the more central and eastern parts of England and
:26:26. > :26:29.Wales, in particular. Very hit and miss. Other parts of the UK will
:26:29. > :26:36.fare better. Regional variation, but if you are across the heart of
:26:36. > :26:40.England don't be surprised if you encounter lively storms again. Some
:26:40. > :26:43.places avoiding the showers entirely, and across the south-west
:26:43. > :26:49.of England here any showers will be isolated and by the afternoon most
:26:49. > :26:52.of us will be bright and sunny. For west Wales, too, where it's further
:26:52. > :26:56.east there will be lively downpours. Across the Irish sea into Northern
:26:56. > :26:59.Ireland, I am hopeful bar the odd isolated shower it should be dry
:26:59. > :27:03.and bright with sunshine throughout much of the day. The showers across
:27:03. > :27:07.Scotland will be rather lighter than further south and many places,
:27:07. > :27:10.particularly across the Highlands, should stay fine. A cold wind
:27:10. > :27:14.developing across the north-east of Scotland, spreading southwards on
:27:14. > :27:20.Friday. The showers turning wintry across Scotland over the higher
:27:20. > :27:24.ground, and that cold air, and winds out. A chilly feel through
:27:24. > :27:29.the weekend and many showers this weekend will be turning wintry.