:00:09. > :00:12.The fragile ceasefire in Syria tonight for the first time after
:00:12. > :00:17.months of bloodshed. There have been reports of some violations on
:00:17. > :00:26.both sides, but the UN secretary general said that the truce appears
:00:26. > :00:31.to be holding. The world is watching, however, with sceptical
:00:31. > :00:36.eyes since many promises previously made by the Government of Syria
:00:36. > :00:40.have not been capped. All so on the programme: Policies
:00:40. > :00:49.breached and boundaries blurred. The Met Police is heavily
:00:49. > :00:52.criticised for employing a former News of the World employee as a PR
:00:52. > :00:55.consultant. Hundreds of patients are sent home
:00:55. > :00:59.in the early hours of the morning. She could not get a lift home and
:00:59. > :01:05.the taxi arrived and took her to a cash machine and made her withdraw
:01:05. > :01:10.�60 before he would take care. What will London 2012 leave behind?
:01:10. > :01:14.We will report from Barcelona on the next Olympic legacy. There is
:01:14. > :01:18.no question that the Olympics help to regenerate Barcelona, turning it
:01:18. > :01:22.into one of the most vibrant and popular cities in the world. But up
:01:22. > :01:28.here, where most of the sport actually happened, that is a very
:01:28. > :01:30.different story. I will have Sportsday later on the
:01:30. > :01:40.BBC News Channel, including the best action from Aintree at the
:01:40. > :01:56.
:01:56. > :02:00.Good evening and welcome to the BBC News At Six. A fragile ceasefire in
:02:00. > :02:04.Syria seems to be holding 12 hours after it came into force. Reports
:02:04. > :02:08.suggest there has been a drop in violence despite both sides
:02:08. > :02:11.reporting violations of the truce during the day. Anti-government
:02:11. > :02:16.activists claim they have seen no sign of President Assad pulling his
:02:16. > :02:19.forces away from opposition strongholds like Homs. Tens of
:02:19. > :02:26.thousands of Syrian civilians who fled the violence are living in
:02:26. > :02:30.refugee camps on the Turkish-Syrian border. We report from there.
:02:30. > :02:36.After months of violence, it did seem a very different kind of dough.
:02:36. > :02:40.Not so much peace, but the absence of large-scale conflict. -- kind of
:02:40. > :02:46.day. Activists recorded these pictures of Government tanks on the
:02:46. > :02:51.mood. In Aleppo, they were able to film a sniper position. And in the
:02:51. > :02:57.same city, students came out to form a chain bearing the words SOS.
:02:57. > :03:01.Both sides accuse each other of violations. In this Damascus suburb,
:03:01. > :03:04.a activists said they filmed shelling by the army. For its part,
:03:04. > :03:13.the Government accused the opposition of a lethal roadside
:03:13. > :03:17.bomb attack. The Secretary-General of the UN spoke for many with a
:03:17. > :03:25.wary response. At the moment the situation looks calm. The world is
:03:25. > :03:27.watching, however, with us -- sceptical eyes because many
:03:27. > :03:32.promises previously made by the Government of Syria have not been
:03:32. > :03:36.kept. In Damascus, among supporters of the regime, there was a welcome
:03:36. > :03:40.for the ceasefire but also for the Government's threat to retaliate if
:03:40. > :03:44.attacked. We are against the withdrawal of the army and
:03:44. > :03:50.especially in the hot stones. We are seeking stability for the
:03:50. > :03:54.country. -- hot zones. Syrians are supporting the ceasefire because we
:03:54. > :04:00.are tired of this mess and the events taking place. What is meant
:04:00. > :04:08.to happen now? Under the plan, the Government's heavy weapons, tanks
:04:08. > :04:12.and troops are supposed to be withdrawn. UN monitors are meant to
:04:12. > :04:15.report on compliance with the plan. And both sides are meant to meet
:04:15. > :04:20.with an intermediary. But this evening there was a blunt rejection
:04:20. > :04:26.of this from the command of the rebel army. This regime has already
:04:26. > :04:30.violated the ceasefire, from the first minute. It will not honour it
:04:30. > :04:36.or its pledges. We cannot enter into dialogue with a criminal
:04:36. > :04:44.regime. We believe that this regime is illegitimate. The Refugees that
:04:44. > :04:47.dream of returning home, today's news present the possibility. This
:04:47. > :04:51.woman is in her 70s and was separated from her children and
:04:51. > :04:55.grandchildren when they tried to escape serious. When everything is
:04:55. > :04:59.peaceful I will go home to my children. Every day I am crying and
:04:59. > :05:03.thinking about them. The news from across the board is confused.
:05:04. > :05:08.Generally quiet but with reports from some areas of violations. The
:05:08. > :05:12.Kofi Annan, the problem is that the political crisis that caused the
:05:13. > :05:17.violence is not resolved. The opposition will not accept any
:05:17. > :05:21.solution that keeps President Assad in power. After thousands of deaths,
:05:21. > :05:28.tens of thousands driven into exile, the bitterness and mistrust in the
:05:28. > :05:35.way of real peace is immense. It is telling perhaps I did not meet any
:05:35. > :05:38.Refugees today who believed they would be going home soon.
:05:38. > :05:42.Our diplomatic correspondent is with me now. The ceasefire holds
:05:42. > :05:46.for now. But there are plenty of people that are pretty sceptical
:05:46. > :05:50.about whether it can last. That is right and possibly with good reason.
:05:50. > :05:54.There have been peace plans before. The Arab League had one and look
:05:54. > :06:01.what happened there, with observers going in a just lead to more
:06:01. > :06:07.violence. The verdict from the UN so far seems to be cautiously
:06:07. > :06:13.hopeful. Ban Ki-Moon said that it looked, and Kofi Annan said there
:06:13. > :06:17.was a rare moment of calm for Syria. But behind the scenes, he seemed to
:06:17. > :06:20.be tougher. He has called on them to demand collectively that
:06:20. > :06:24.President Assad should withdraw those troops and heavy weaponry is
:06:24. > :06:28.from built up areas. Presumably the heavy lifting will be done by
:06:28. > :06:33.Russia and China, part of this peace plan. In before they were not
:06:33. > :06:38.in concert with the rest of the UN. It looks like Kofi Annan wants to
:06:38. > :06:42.move swiftly. They want a small observer team, possibly of 30
:06:42. > :06:46.people, possibly in the next two days, to be put in to test the
:06:46. > :06:50.waters before sending in a bigger team. But before that, there could
:06:50. > :06:54.be a moment when the ceasefire is tested and that comes tomorrow,
:06:55. > :06:58.after Friday prayers. If tens of thousands of people take to the
:06:58. > :07:02.streets, according to the peace plan they should be able to
:07:02. > :07:08.peacefully demonstrate. Will that be allowed? Will this fragile truce
:07:08. > :07:11.collapse into more violence? Thank you.
:07:11. > :07:14.Senior staff at Scotland Yard have been criticised for poor judgement
:07:14. > :07:21.over their decision to hire a former News of the World executive
:07:21. > :07:22.as a PR consultant. The police watchdog the IPCC said that
:07:22. > :07:30.Scotland Yard had blurred professional boundaries when they
:07:30. > :07:35.employed Neil Wallis in 2009. Yes, the phone hacking scandal
:07:35. > :07:38.reignited just over a year ago. In the intervening time, the doors at
:07:39. > :07:43.Scotland Yard have been revolving nearly as much as the famous sign,
:07:43. > :07:47.with the departure of senior staff. The affair has also left a number
:07:47. > :07:51.of investigations on-going with the Independent Police Complaints
:07:51. > :07:56.Commission. The final report on those have been published today.
:07:56. > :08:00.The police and the press. Since the phone hacking affair reignited last
:08:00. > :08:05.year, it has been claimed that senior Met Police staff were just
:08:05. > :08:08.too close to the News of the World. In particular, Assistant
:08:08. > :08:13.Commissioner John Yates and the communications chief at the police,
:08:13. > :08:17.Dick Fedorcio. Today the police watchdog gave its final verdict.
:08:17. > :08:21.Why did you give this to the man who was the deputy editor of the
:08:21. > :08:26.News of the World? Dick Fedorcio has faced repeated questions about
:08:26. > :08:33.his relationship with News of the World journalists and executives.
:08:33. > :08:37.Today's report focuses on one decision that he made in 2009. As
:08:37. > :08:43.Director of Public Affairs at the Met Police, he employed Neil Wallis,
:08:43. > :08:48.freelance public-relations consultant as a media adviser. But
:08:48. > :08:51.he is the former deputy editor of the News of the World. The IPCC's
:08:52. > :08:56.report says that Dick Fedorcio compromise the competitive process
:08:56. > :09:00.by signing him up before signing a proper contract. Policies were
:09:00. > :09:06.breached. And Dick Fedorcio could be guilty of misconduct. Senior
:09:06. > :09:09.people appear to be oblivious to the perception of conflict. It is
:09:09. > :09:14.clear to me that professional boundaries became blurred.
:09:14. > :09:19.Imprudent decisions were taken and poor judgment was shown by a senior
:09:19. > :09:23.Metropolitan Police personnel. IPCC also reported on the link
:09:23. > :09:29.between former newspaperman Neil Wallis and former senior policeman
:09:29. > :09:31.John Yates. He passed the CV of Neil Wallis's daughter to the Met
:09:31. > :09:36.Police personnel department, displaying poor judgment according
:09:36. > :09:41.to the IPCC, because it created the expectation that she would be found
:09:42. > :09:46.a job. The commission did not conclude that he or Dick Fedorcio
:09:46. > :09:51.acted corruptly. But both men have now resigned. Dick Fedorcio only
:09:51. > :09:53.went about two weeks ago, shortly before, it is thought, the
:09:53. > :09:58.Metropolitan Police were about to begin disciplinary proceedings
:09:58. > :10:01.against him. The IPCC have said that his departure before
:10:01. > :10:05.disciplinary action is hugely damaging for public confidence in
:10:05. > :10:09.the Met Police. The Government is facing growing
:10:09. > :10:12.pressure tonight to alter its planned changes to the tax system,
:10:12. > :10:16.following concerns that wealthy people could be deterred from
:10:16. > :10:21.giving to charities. The Chancellor wants to cap the relief on
:10:21. > :10:25.donations to cut down on tax avoidance. Liam Watts and has the
:10:25. > :10:31.latest. David Cameron says that he believes
:10:31. > :10:34.in the Big Society because the state has to make savings, so
:10:34. > :10:37.charities and voluntary groups should do more. But charities are
:10:38. > :10:42.warning that changes to the tax laws could cost those and those
:10:42. > :10:46.that depend on them dearly. believe that if this tax change
:10:46. > :10:51.proceeds as is currently proposed, that it will be the poorest and
:10:51. > :10:55.most vulnerable children paying the price of that. They could pay that
:10:55. > :11:00.price with their lives. Some charities say they rely heavily on
:11:00. > :11:04.wealthy individuals. Millionaires are responsible for as much as �750
:11:04. > :11:09.million worth of donations. There are fears that the attempts to cut
:11:09. > :11:13.down on tax avoidance could hit charities in the pocket. At the
:11:13. > :11:17.moment, someone earning �4 million a year could give �2 million to
:11:17. > :11:21.charity before any income tax is deducted. They would then pay tax
:11:21. > :11:25.only on the remaining �2 million. But from April next year, the
:11:25. > :11:30.proposal is that someone earning �4 million would be limited to giving
:11:30. > :11:34.a maximum of �1 million, or quarter of their income, to charity before
:11:34. > :11:37.tax is deducted. They would then have to pay income tax on the
:11:38. > :11:43.remaining �3 million. They could still give more money to charity,
:11:43. > :11:48.but it would not be tax free. Through the use of various tax
:11:48. > :11:54.reliefs, very wealthy individuals are able to reduce their income tax
:11:54. > :12:03.rate, not to the 45, 40, 20% that people generally pay, but down to
:12:03. > :12:07.very low numbers indeed. Possibly not paying any income tax at all.
:12:07. > :12:11.Some coalition MPs are drumming up opposition here. Vince Cable is
:12:11. > :12:16.calling for a rethink so that charges do not suffer from wider
:12:16. > :12:20.moves to tackle tax avoidance. Some Conservative ministers say they
:12:20. > :12:27.were not consulted on the policy and even more and charitably, a
:12:27. > :12:33.former Conservative minister has told the BBC that this must be
:12:33. > :12:37.reversed. -- uncharitably. Labour have accused them of incompetence.
:12:37. > :12:41.Only this Government could be so out of touch, and so failing to
:12:42. > :12:46.realise that we are all in it together, that they cut taxes for
:12:46. > :12:50.the most affluent people in our society, at the top 1%, except for
:12:50. > :12:54.those that do the right thing. Except for those that want to give
:12:54. > :12:59.money to charity. The Government could pay an unexpected political
:12:59. > :13:03.price for tackling tax avoidance. A 90 year-old woman with dementia
:13:03. > :13:07.sent home from hospital at 4 o'clock in the morning. A 94 year-
:13:07. > :13:12.old man put in a taxi on his own in the middle of the night. Another
:13:12. > :13:14.patient discharged without any shoes at 4:30am. These are some of
:13:15. > :13:18.the distressing stories that have emerged from the research which
:13:18. > :13:25.reveals that almost a quarter of a million patients in England have
:13:25. > :13:28.been discharged from hospital overnight in the past year.
:13:28. > :13:32.When a patient leaves hospital, they expect to be well enough to go
:13:32. > :13:35.home and to be able to get there. But many are being discharged in
:13:35. > :13:39.the middle of the night when families and care homes are not
:13:40. > :13:43.expecting them. They sent me home in a taxi. I could not get into the
:13:43. > :13:48.house because the front door was locked from the inside. We were
:13:48. > :13:53.extremely surprised that she was in and out so quickly. Residents
:13:53. > :13:59.returned late at night with a flimsy nightdress and of that will
:13:59. > :14:08.like it. Lisa Smurf's elderly mother and law was sent home at 11
:14:08. > :14:13.o'clock. -- and a hospital blanket. They phoned her a taxi because they
:14:13. > :14:17.would not give her a lift home. The taxi took her to a cash machine and
:14:17. > :14:20.made to withdraw �60 before he would take her home. Figures
:14:21. > :14:25.obtained by the Times newspaper from nearly two-thirds of hospital
:14:25. > :14:28.trusts in England found that a quarter of a million patients were
:14:28. > :14:32.discharged between 11 o'clock at night and 6 o'clock in the morning.
:14:32. > :14:37.Those figures are not straightforward. University
:14:37. > :14:41.Hospitals of Leicester discharged 9000 patients overnight, but that
:14:41. > :14:46.includes 7200 patients who died during the night, were on a
:14:46. > :14:50.maternity ward, or went home voluntarily. Derby hospitals have
:14:50. > :14:53.the highest rate of overnight discharges but they say that
:14:53. > :14:58.includes discharged patients moved to different wards and when they
:14:58. > :15:01.run short of beds they sometimes have no alternative. Clearly
:15:01. > :15:09.discharging people in the middle of the light, for that particular
:15:09. > :15:13.patient, it is not ideal and it is not going to be ideal. But when you
:15:13. > :15:17.look at the needs of a desperately sick person in casualty, it is
:15:17. > :15:22.often balancing those needs. Some fear that growing pressures on
:15:22. > :15:26.health service could make this a growing problem, and ministers say
:15:26. > :15:30.that must not happen. It is a particular problem for elderly and
:15:30. > :15:35.vulnerable patients to be sent home at a time of day that is not safe
:15:35. > :15:39.or convenient. The Government has promised to investigate and says
:15:39. > :15:45.that hospitals must only ever send patients home when it is safe for
:15:45. > :15:48.Our top story tonight: A fragile ceasefire is holding
:15:48. > :15:53.across much of Syria, though there have been reports of sporadic
:15:53. > :15:56.violence on both sides. And coming up - Munch's Scream on
:15:56. > :16:01.public display, and on course to become the world's most valuable
:16:01. > :16:11.work of art. It's a portrait of torment, anxiety and despair - how
:16:11. > :16:14.
:16:14. > :16:20.many tens of millions of pounds is Later, more than 1,000 jobs at risk
:16:20. > :16:30.as British Airways reveals its plans for BMI. Struggling retail at
:16:30. > :16:35.
:16:35. > :16:38.Mothercare is to close over 100 of In just five months' time, after
:16:38. > :16:42.all the years of planning and hard work, the London 2012 Olympics will
:16:42. > :16:45.be over - the athletes and crowds will have been and gone. So what
:16:45. > :16:48.will be left behind? In the second of our series from former host
:16:48. > :16:51.cities, our sports editor, David Bond, has been to Barcelona, which
:16:51. > :17:00.hosted the games 20 years ago, to find out what the legacy has been
:17:00. > :17:03.for that city. Take a boat along Barcelona's
:17:03. > :17:11.waterfront, and it is easy to see the legacy the Olympics left here.
:17:11. > :17:14.20 years ago, this city had its back turned to the sea. Now it is
:17:14. > :17:19.the perfect spot for a bit of sport, or maybe something a little less
:17:19. > :17:23.taxing. It is hard to imagine, but before the Games, this long stretch
:17:24. > :17:27.of sandy beach was an industrial dumping ground. Maria and her
:17:27. > :17:37.friends have been meeting here for years. They remember what it was
:17:37. > :17:55.
:17:56. > :18:00.But it wasn't only about spending billions on redevelopment projects.
:18:00. > :18:03.The global profile of the game's transformed the city's image. Now
:18:03. > :18:08.it is one of the hottest tourist destinations in the world, with the
:18:09. > :18:12.number of visitors doubling in the decade which followed. There is no
:18:12. > :18:18.question the Olympics help to regenerate Barcelona, turning it
:18:19. > :18:23.into one of the most vibrant and popular cities in the world. But up
:18:23. > :18:31.here, where most of the sport actually happened, that is a
:18:31. > :18:35.Build many of its Olympic venues, including the diving, on Montjuic.
:18:35. > :18:44.While they had stunning views, they were not all developed with long-
:18:44. > :18:48.When we visited the diving Centre, it was in a shocking state. Only
:18:48. > :18:53.used in high summer, it has been largely neglected. So does the
:18:53. > :19:00.iconic then you have a future? let's say, the economic turnaround
:19:00. > :19:05.comes, and the City has money, it is a facility to invest and make it
:19:05. > :19:08.Indore. But it is true that it hasn't been a big demand.
:19:08. > :19:13.Olympic Stadium has been well looked after, and still attracts a
:19:13. > :19:17.lot of visitors. The only problem is there is not a lot to see.
:19:17. > :19:24.Football club Espanyol moved out three years ago, leaving it without
:19:24. > :19:29.an anchor tenant. 20 years ago, the stadium was packed to see Sally
:19:29. > :19:33.Gunnell win gold for Great Britain. Such a shame... Back at the scene
:19:33. > :19:37.of her greatest triumph, she told me she hoped London would take note
:19:37. > :19:42.of the experience here. A great stadium, it has got a fantastic
:19:42. > :19:46.surface. OK, maybe it doesn't work so well for football, but there is
:19:46. > :19:50.no reason why we can't see athletics on here. I think we have
:19:50. > :19:56.to learn from this. I hope they learn from what we can do back in
:19:56. > :20:00.London. Away from the flagship venues, most of the smaller
:20:00. > :20:05.stadiums, like the velodrome, continue to have community use.
:20:05. > :20:10.Although even here, the lack of a roof means it can't host big
:20:10. > :20:15.competitions. Few did more to bring the Games to Barcelona than the
:20:15. > :20:20.late IOC president, Juan Antonio Samaranch. His son says his
:20:20. > :20:24.father's legacy goes way beyond infrastructure. You look at
:20:24. > :20:30.basketball, football, handball, team sports, tennis, where ever you
:20:30. > :20:33.look, you have very competitive Spanish sports men and women who
:20:33. > :20:41.are doing very well. That all started over there in that stadium,
:20:41. > :20:44.20 years ago, yes. Maybe so, but Barcelona's Olympic achievement was
:20:44. > :20:54.to prioritise urban renewal of the sporting legacy. London is
:20:54. > :20:56.
:20:56. > :20:58.promising both. The Welsh Conservative Party has
:20:58. > :21:01.launched its manifesto for next month's local elections, saying
:21:01. > :21:04.Tory-run councils would prioritise cleaning up litter and dog mess,
:21:04. > :21:14.and repairing roads. The party is defending around 160 seats on May
:21:14. > :21:15.
:21:15. > :21:18.3rd. For decades it's been a port of
:21:18. > :21:21.call for mums and parents-to-be. But today, Mothercare announced
:21:21. > :21:24.it's to close more than 100 of its outlets over the next three years.
:21:24. > :21:27.The majority will be Early Learning Centres. The company announced more
:21:27. > :21:31.than 700 redundancies, but said it hoped some of those who'll lose
:21:31. > :21:37.their jobs can be redeployed. Shopping for a baby is always a bit
:21:37. > :21:40.special, but Mothercare has lost its shine. UK sales are continuing
:21:40. > :21:47.to fall. A household name that has struggled to keep up with the
:21:47. > :21:50.competition. In the past, it was all about how many stores you had.
:21:50. > :21:54.Accessibility for retailers was number of stores. Now accessibility
:21:54. > :21:57.is about the internet, you don't need as many stores. The stores
:21:57. > :22:02.that you have have to work harder. If someone is going to visit a
:22:02. > :22:07.store, they want a really positive experience. Neither Mothercare, not
:22:07. > :22:15.only learning centre, have kept up with that. -- nor Early Learning
:22:16. > :22:20.Centre. No surprise that more closures are on the way. 730 jobs
:22:20. > :22:25.will be affected. Closing underperforming stores is all part
:22:25. > :22:30.of Mothercare's plans to revive its UK business. The going may be tough
:22:31. > :22:36.at home, but it is a different story overseas. International sales
:22:36. > :22:41.are growing. Mother can now has more than 1,000 stores in 58
:22:41. > :22:47.countries -- Mothercare now has. Like here in Saudi Arabia. Success
:22:47. > :22:50.that is based on an historic brand. In the old days, Mothercare was the
:22:50. > :22:54.one stop mother and baby shop. Attracting families today is much
:22:54. > :23:02.harder. Obviously a lot to do with internet shopping, people's habits
:23:02. > :23:09.have changed. People used clothes from supermarkets, but yes, the big
:23:09. > :23:13.online monster will soldier on. company says the fightback has
:23:13. > :23:21.begun with a leaner, more competitive business in future.
:23:21. > :23:24.Getting there, though, won't be It's one the most recognisable and
:23:24. > :23:26.highly-valued works of art in the world. The Scream - by the
:23:27. > :23:29.Norwegian, Edvard Munch - is a haunting depiction of man's
:23:29. > :23:33.alienation. Today, the only version of the painting in private hands
:23:33. > :23:36.went on display at Sotheby's in London. It's to be sold in New York
:23:36. > :23:46.next month and is expected to fetch around �50 million. Our arts
:23:46. > :23:46.
:23:46. > :23:51.correspondent, David Sillito, has The Scream is for sale. It is a
:23:51. > :23:57.phase of torment, despair and magazines, posters, cartoons, book
:23:57. > :24:02.covers. It has been reproduced in a million cartoons and films, fridge
:24:02. > :24:05.magnets, inflatable toys. It has a sort of double life, as both in
:24:05. > :24:09.fine art, one of the defining images of the Expressionist
:24:09. > :24:13.movement, but's also an image that is recognisable around the world.
:24:13. > :24:19.So this is not just another painting going on display before a
:24:19. > :24:22.sale. It is a global icon of despair, inspired by a walk by the
:24:22. > :24:26.sea in Norway. Edvard Munch wrote that he was with some friends when
:24:27. > :24:31.he suffered a sudden attack of anxiety, a scream passing through
:24:31. > :24:36.nature. He painted three other versions, but they are all in
:24:36. > :24:42.museums. This one was acquired by a neighbour, and it is his family who
:24:42. > :24:46.are putting it up for sale. It is the only version of The Scream to
:24:46. > :24:50.be in private hands, and this image is one of the most famous in the
:24:50. > :24:57.whole of art history. So how do you put a price on it? The estimate,
:24:57. > :25:01.�50 million, puts it on a par with this painting by Renoir, and this
:25:01. > :25:05.one by Van Gogh, which were in their time record breaking prices.
:25:05. > :25:10.Then came the shock of this painting by Cezanne, rumoured to
:25:10. > :25:16.have been sold privately for �160 million. With such work, normal
:25:16. > :25:19.rules do not apply. This is going to be the only The Scream in
:25:19. > :25:25.private hands and that is the most extraordinary opportunity for
:25:25. > :25:31.someone. You set the price and you set the value. It is the paradox of
:25:31. > :25:35.the market. From advertisers to art thieves, The Scream is undoubtedly
:25:35. > :25:41.popular. The question now is, what is that worth in the auction room
:25:41. > :25:45.Let's have a look at the weather now.
:25:45. > :25:48.From one disturbing picture to another. Things have got very
:25:48. > :25:53.lively over the last few hours, torrential thunderstorms across
:25:53. > :25:57.parts of England and Wales, hail, gusty wind, and his band is
:25:57. > :26:02.bringing heavy rain to the south coast. This photo was taken in
:26:02. > :26:05.Littlehampton, symptomatic of the storms which will rumble on but
:26:06. > :26:11.gradually eased down through the evening. One or two will linger.
:26:11. > :26:16.Just like last night, it will turn mighty cold in rural areas, perhaps
:26:16. > :26:20.a touch of frost. The showers turning increasingly wintry, to
:26:20. > :26:24.lower and lower levels by the time we reach tomorrow. That is the
:26:24. > :26:28.theme, turning colder across is part of the world. Once more, the
:26:28. > :26:31.showers will develop. No two days are the same, that has been the
:26:31. > :26:36.case through this week. It looks like the heaviest of the showers
:26:36. > :26:39.will be across southern areas, further north they will be lighter.
:26:39. > :26:44.One or two showers for Northern Ireland, northern England, but not
:26:44. > :26:49.as heavy or as widespread as they have been recently. The southern
:26:49. > :26:54.half of the UK will catch the heavy ones. Maybe the odd thundery one to
:26:54. > :26:59.the South East and more showers today in the south-west of England.
:26:59. > :27:04.We concentrate on these powers -- areas because we could see pronged
:27:04. > :27:08.areas -- prolonged showers for a time. Elsewhere, cold wind
:27:08. > :27:12.spreading down. For many, brightness around, one or two
:27:12. > :27:15.showers, fewer than we have seen recently. That is good news for the
:27:15. > :27:19.Grand National. I am hopeful it will be dry and bright through
:27:19. > :27:23.Saturday at Aintree. Looking ahead to Sunday, after a very frosty
:27:23. > :27:33.start, most places are again dry with a chilly wind. Temperatures
:27:33. > :27:35.
:27:35. > :27:38.A reminder of tonight's main news: After over a year of bloodshed, a