:00:00. > :00:11.Ukraine's soldiers suffer their biggest loss of life so far after an
:00:12. > :00:14.attack by pro-Russian separatists. 13 soldiers were killed, dozens more
:00:15. > :00:17.injured, at a checkpoint in the east of the country.
:00:18. > :00:20.Meanwhile, Prince Charles' reported comments likening President Putin's
:00:21. > :00:29.actions over Ukraine to those of Hitler anger the Russians.
:00:30. > :00:32.TRANSLATION: We consider the use the Western media have made of members
:00:33. > :00:36.of the British Royal Family in a propaganda campaign unacceptable,
:00:37. > :00:39.outrageous and dishonourable. We'll bring you the latest on the
:00:40. > :00:45.diplomatic spat and the worsening crisis in Ukraine. Also tonight:
:00:46. > :00:48.Royal Mail reports its first profits since privatisation but calls for an
:00:49. > :00:55.inquiry into the threat from its competitors.
:00:56. > :00:58.Figures out today show the number of people coming from the EU to live in
:00:59. > :01:04.the UK went up by over a quarter last year.
:01:05. > :01:07.SHE SPEAKS MANDARIN. And why more and more children are
:01:08. > :01:12.throwing themselves into learning Mandarin.
:01:13. > :01:14.Tonight on BBC London. Anger at the last-minute price hike
:01:15. > :01:21.making their affordable homes unaffordable.
:01:22. > :01:25.And bikers lead tribute to murdered Lee Rigby one year on from the
:01:26. > :01:43.soldier's death. Good evening and welcome to the BBC
:01:44. > :01:47.News At Six. Ukrainian soldiers have suffered the biggest loss of life so
:01:48. > :01:51.far during the crisis in the east of the country. 13 have been killed and
:01:52. > :01:54.dozens more injured in an attack by pro-Russian forces. There are just
:01:55. > :01:57.three days now until the country's presidential elections and the
:01:58. > :02:00.violence shows no sign of easing. The attack took place at a military
:02:01. > :02:03.checkpoint on the outskirts of the town of Volnovakha, 20 miles south
:02:04. > :02:08.of Donetsk. From there, our correspondent Mark Lowen reports.
:02:09. > :02:14.The attack came before dawn and with devastating effect. This was a
:02:15. > :02:19.Ukrainian army checkpoint, targeted in the deadliest assault on the
:02:20. > :02:24.military since this conflict began. At least 13 were killed and around
:02:25. > :02:29.30 injured in a well-planned strike. TRANSLATION: Three of my friends
:02:30. > :02:33.have fallen and I can't even collect their bodies. Their combat unit has
:02:34. > :02:38.been lying there in the field for 30 minutes already. Separatist groups
:02:39. > :02:42.are thought to have carried it out. They showed off their spoils, which
:02:43. > :02:45.they say they took from troops at the checkpoint. This unverified
:02:46. > :02:50.footage appears to show helicopters moving in after the incident. It is
:02:51. > :02:53.not confirmed to whom they belong to, but the video was shot in
:02:54. > :03:05.daylight and one Ukrainian soldier told us it was an operation against
:03:06. > :03:08.the separatists. At the local hospital, the dead kept coming as
:03:09. > :03:12.serious injuries proved fatal. Another body has just been taken out
:03:13. > :03:15.of his vehicle into the morgue. This is a terrible blow for the Ukrainian
:03:16. > :03:17.Armed Forces and a reminder of quite what these armed separatists are
:03:18. > :03:20.capable of doing. A Ukrainian general would talk only with his
:03:21. > :03:29.identity hidden, for fear of reprisals. They were professional
:03:30. > :03:34.killers, he told me, hired soldiers. They mowed down my men in
:03:35. > :03:38.15 minutes. They are doing it by money, not for patriotically deals.
:03:39. > :03:45.The Ukrainian government laid the blame at Moscow and its links with
:03:46. > :03:50.the armed groups in the East. TRANSLATION: This is a confirmation
:03:51. > :03:53.that Putin's words are a lie when he talks of withdrawing troops and not
:03:54. > :03:58.interfering in the internal affairs of Ukraine. In reality, Russia
:03:59. > :04:02.continues to adopt a very aggressive military activity. The attack comes
:04:03. > :04:05.three days before the Ukraine presidential elections that Kiev
:04:06. > :04:09.vows will also be held here. Separatist leaders say they will
:04:10. > :04:13.block it and the region is now independent. Could today have been a
:04:14. > :04:17.warning shot? Ukrainian forces secured the scene but in this battle
:04:18. > :04:24.for control, the volatile east is slipping further from their grasp.
:04:25. > :04:27.Prince Charles has upset Russia with comments he's reported to have made
:04:28. > :04:32.about Ukraine, in which he is said to have likened President Putin to
:04:33. > :04:36.Hitler. Moscow has called them "outrageous" and "unfit for a future
:04:37. > :04:39.monarch". Russia's Deputy Ambassador in London has been meeting with
:04:40. > :04:41.Foreign Office officials here this afternoon to seek an official
:04:42. > :04:44.explanation of the comments, which the Prince is reported to have made
:04:45. > :04:49.in private while visiting Canada. Our correspondent Frank Gardner
:04:50. > :04:53.reports. A harmless royal tour around a
:04:54. > :04:57.Canadian polar bear sanctuary, what could possibly go wrong? Well,
:04:58. > :05:02.comments made by Prince Charles during his Canadian tour have ended
:05:03. > :05:05.up touching a royal nerve in Russia. In a private, off-camera
:05:06. > :05:09.conversation in this building with a Polish born emigre, the Prince of
:05:10. > :05:14.Wales reportedly compared the actions of President Putin in the
:05:15. > :05:19.Ukraine to those of Adolf Hitler. Moscow first brushed it off, but by
:05:20. > :05:24.today, it had turned into a diplomatic row. President Putin,
:05:25. > :05:31.visiting Siberia today, as his own --lost his own brother in the Nazi
:05:32. > :05:38.invasion of Leningrad and a Russian spokesman called Prince Charles's
:05:39. > :05:43.comments outrageous. TRANSLATION: We consider the use
:05:44. > :05:48.that Western media have made of the British Royal family in a campaign
:05:49. > :05:55.against Russia on an acute international issue unacceptable,
:05:56. > :05:59.outrageous and dishonourable. The Russian Embassy in London
:06:00. > :06:03.demanded an official explanation. What was the air to the British
:06:04. > :06:07.throne doing apparently making such remarks? Russia asked for and got a
:06:08. > :06:10.meeting with the senior British diplomat. This cannot have been an
:06:11. > :06:14.easy conversation at the Foreign Office this afternoon. It started
:06:15. > :06:18.out as a complaint by the Russian deputy ambassador against Prince
:06:19. > :06:22.Charles's reported comments and developed into a much wider, robust
:06:23. > :06:25.discussion about the whole course of the events in Ukraine and Britain's
:06:26. > :06:33.dissatisfaction about Russia's activities there.
:06:34. > :06:39.Let's speak to our Diplomatic Correspondent Bridget Kendall, who's
:06:40. > :06:41.in Moscow for us this evening. These reported comments by Prince Charles,
:06:42. > :06:46.how may they aggravate the already poor relations between Russia and
:06:47. > :06:49.the West over Ukraine? We have heard from the Foreign
:06:50. > :06:53.Ministry in Russia this morning saying they would wait to see what
:06:54. > :06:57.they heard from the British Foreign Office before they decided if they
:06:58. > :06:59.should be any consequences. What we understand from the Foreign Office
:07:00. > :07:05.is that they said to the deputy ambassador that they cannot expect
:07:06. > :07:09.to comment on what our private conversations. Will Russia want to
:07:10. > :07:13.take it further? On the one hand, they have used strong language today
:07:14. > :07:17.and the other, they have blamed the British press for making too much of
:07:18. > :07:20.it. We have to remember that this isn't really about reported comments
:07:21. > :07:25.by Prince Charles, it is all about the deep rift between Russia and the
:07:26. > :07:30.UK and the rest of the West about Ukraine. There that clash in Ukraine
:07:31. > :07:34.today that amply demonstrated that, the two sides with diametrically
:07:35. > :07:38.opposed views and Kiev, backed by the West, will blame pro-Russian
:07:39. > :07:43.forces it thinks are influenced by Russia, whereas the West is
:07:44. > :07:47.worried. Russia says that while it thinks are Ukraine is carrying out a
:07:48. > :07:51.special operation against its own citizens, it can't possibly expect
:07:52. > :07:54.to have a proper election on Sunday. -year-old Bridget Kendall,
:07:55. > :07:58.thank you. Royal Mail has turned a profit in
:07:59. > :08:05.its first results since it was privatised. It's announced full year
:08:06. > :08:07.profits of ?671 million, a 12% rise. Nonetheless, it's warning its
:08:08. > :08:10.ability to fulfil the universal service obligation, its legal duty
:08:11. > :08:13.to deliver to all parts of the UK, could be under threat. It's urging
:08:14. > :08:16.the regulator Ofcom to look into the matter, saying it wants fresh
:08:17. > :08:21.measures to prevent competitors cherry-picking the most lucrative
:08:22. > :08:25.parts of the postal service. Our Business Editor Kamal Ahmed reports.
:08:26. > :08:28.This report contains some flashing images.
:08:29. > :08:31.From the north of Scotland to the tip of Cornwall, there has been a
:08:32. > :08:36.guaranteed postal service across Britain since 1839. Today, the Royal
:08:37. > :08:38.Mail said its ability to deliver that service and remain economically
:08:39. > :08:48.viable is coming under increasing strain. For those who rely on it,
:08:49. > :08:52.like the residents of Ogmore by Sea in rural Wales, a universal service
:08:53. > :08:55.is essential. A lot of older people in this community here rely on these
:08:56. > :08:59.services, a lot of people on their own. As far as I'm concerned, if
:09:00. > :09:02.they stop the mail coming to Ogmore, it would be an absolute disaster.
:09:03. > :09:05.New entrants like TNT have started delivery services in places like
:09:06. > :09:08.London, Manchester and Liverpool. With short distances and plenty of
:09:09. > :09:16.business mail, the big-city is aware there is money to be made. TNT
:09:17. > :09:19.deliver in urban areas around the country and they intend to expand
:09:20. > :09:23.that. They are increasing their market share and these are the areas
:09:24. > :09:25.that are easiest to deliver, leaving Royal Mail with its obligation to
:09:26. > :09:29.deliver six days a week everywhere in the country, including rural
:09:30. > :09:31.areas. The Government is slowly deregulating the market, encouraging
:09:32. > :09:43.competition and urging Royal Mail to cut costs. The stresses, Royal Mail
:09:44. > :09:46.says, are beginning to show. It's lucrative city centre routes like
:09:47. > :09:52.these that the Royal Mail's competitors would love to get a bite
:09:53. > :09:55.of. The Royal Mail says that without intervention by the regulator, its
:09:56. > :09:57.legal obligation to deliver to the whole of Britain could be
:09:58. > :10:00.undermined. It has to make money here to be able to support those
:10:01. > :10:04.difficult rural routes. The universal service is at the heart of
:10:05. > :10:07.the Royal Mail's business. It guarantees delivery six days a
:10:08. > :10:12.week. It includes all 29 million addresses in the UK. The Royal Mail
:10:13. > :10:18.alone delivers 13 billion letters a year. Competitors say the Royal Mail
:10:19. > :10:23.is crying wolf. This is typical Royal Mail whingeing. They have just
:10:24. > :10:26.delivered some record profits. TNT Post are delivering choice for our
:10:27. > :10:29.customers, which they want, and we are creating thousands of jobs, so
:10:30. > :10:31.we certainly no threat to the universal service and that is
:10:32. > :10:38.something the industry regulator, Ofcom, agrees with us. Royal Mail's
:10:39. > :10:43.share price fell today by nearly 10% as investors worried that increased
:10:44. > :10:46.competition could profits. -- could affect profits. After the
:10:47. > :10:48.controversy of the part privatisation last year, the
:10:49. > :10:54.business still has plenty of challenges ahead.
:10:55. > :10:59.One of the first DJs on Radio 1, Chris Denning, has been charged in
:11:00. > :11:03.connection with a series of alleged sex attacks on 22 boys, aged between
:11:04. > :11:06.nine and 16. The Crown Prosecution Service says the former DJ faces
:11:07. > :11:14.more than 40 charges, including 34 counts of indecent assault, over an
:11:15. > :11:18.18-year period until 1985. There's been a military coup in
:11:19. > :11:21.Thailand. Soldiers took control after two days of inconclusive talks
:11:22. > :11:23.between the country's rival political factions. This morning,
:11:24. > :11:26.soldiers surrounded the building where the talks were taking place
:11:27. > :11:29.and then took away the party leaders. TV broadcasting has been
:11:30. > :11:33.suspended, political gatherings are now banned and there is a nationwide
:11:34. > :11:37.curfew. It follows months of political turmoil in the country.
:11:38. > :11:50.From Bangkok, Jonathan Head sent this report.
:11:51. > :11:53.The Army club in Bangkok. Inside, rival political factions were
:11:54. > :11:59.holding reconciliation talks. Suddenly, the exits were blocked.
:12:00. > :12:05.Troops raced into position. Thailand was having another coup. The faction
:12:06. > :12:16.leaders were detained and taken away. And the man who had invited
:12:17. > :12:20.them here now runs the country. In time-honoured fashion, a new
:12:21. > :12:27.military council announced that the constitution was being suspended and
:12:28. > :12:31.a curfew imposed. General Prayut has now done what he has said many times
:12:32. > :12:35.would not solve the crisis, mounted a full military takeover, saying he
:12:36. > :12:40.has done it for peace and stability. Yet there was bound to be strong
:12:41. > :12:46.opposition. Most of all from supporters of the former Prime
:12:47. > :12:49.Minister, in what Shinawatra -- Yingluck Shinawatra, and her
:12:50. > :12:54.brother. The so-called Red Shirts. They have won every election for the
:12:55. > :12:58.past 15 years. Many of their leaders are now under arrest, but they have
:12:59. > :13:04.always said they would resist a coup, with force if necessary. The
:13:05. > :13:07.anti-government protesters, the so-called Yellow Shirts, have long
:13:08. > :13:11.been calling for military intervention. After seven months on
:13:12. > :13:21.the Bangkok streets, they can now go home. That leaves the soldiers to
:13:22. > :13:25.short -- sort out the chronically divided country. Their chances of
:13:26. > :13:29.success do not look promising. Figures out today show that the
:13:30. > :13:35.number of EU citizens moving to the UK has increased by 27% in 2013. And
:13:36. > :13:37.the Office of National Statistics also estimates that net migration -
:13:38. > :13:40.the difference between the numbers coming into the UK and the numbers
:13:41. > :13:44.leaving - has remained steady at just over 200,000. The Government's
:13:45. > :13:47.target is to bring that figure down to the tens of thousands by the next
:13:48. > :13:56.election. Reeta Chakrabarti is here to tell us more. Reeta.
:13:57. > :14:00.These figures come out every three months that they show that broadly
:14:01. > :14:05.speaking, migration in the UK remained static towards the end of
:14:06. > :14:08.last year, so net migration was 212,000 in December last year, and
:14:09. > :14:13.that remains unchanged from September. It is, however, twice as
:14:14. > :14:18.high as what the Government wants to see it at by this time next year. If
:14:19. > :14:23.you can bear the figures year on year, they also show that net
:14:24. > :14:28.migration went up by 35,000 on the previous year -- compere the
:14:29. > :14:32.figures. That is December 2012, with significantly more EU migrants
:14:33. > :14:35.coming in and proportionately fewer non-EU migrants. The focus at the
:14:36. > :14:39.moment is on Romanians and Bulgarians, when work restrictions
:14:40. > :14:44.were lifted at the beginning of this year. If you look at the figures
:14:45. > :14:49.there, they show 23,000 Romanians and Bulgarians came last year, up
:14:50. > :14:52.from 9,000 the previous year. Along with the statistics, there is
:14:53. > :14:56.another set of figures out today that show migrants applying for
:14:57. > :15:00.National Insurance numbers since the beginning of this year, so since the
:15:01. > :15:04.time the Romanians and Bulgarians have been given more freedom to
:15:05. > :15:11.work. They show the highest number of applications is from Romanians,
:15:12. > :15:14.that is 47,000 applications, up from 29,000 the previous year. And there
:15:15. > :15:19.are significant numbers of the Polish, Bulgarian and Italians
:15:20. > :15:22.applying. These are not people who are necessarily recent migrants,
:15:23. > :15:26.they may have been hipper sometime, but applying for National Insurance
:15:27. > :15:31.numbers gives them more access to work, access to benefits but means
:15:32. > :15:33.they would be paying taxes. Our top story this evening:
:15:34. > :15:38.Ukraine's soldiers suffer their biggest loss of life so far after an
:15:39. > :15:44.attack by pro-Russian separatists. Still to come: More planes join the
:15:45. > :16:11.efforts to find the missing sailors in the atlantic. We have the latest.
:16:12. > :16:14.Most patients who go to accident and emergency units do need urgent care
:16:15. > :16:19.- according to a study by A consultants. There are 14 million
:16:20. > :16:25.visits to emergency departments each year. A report for NHS England last
:16:26. > :16:29.year suggested that up to a quarter of people could have been treated
:16:30. > :16:32.elsewhere. But this latest study indicates only 15% could have been
:16:33. > :16:35.treated by their GP the following day. The difference between those
:16:36. > :16:42.two figures amounts to nearly one and a half million visits. This
:16:43. > :16:45.could affect where NHS money and resources are targeted in England as
:16:46. > :16:53.our health correspondent Dominic Hughes reports. It contains some
:16:54. > :16:58.flashing images. A across the UK are getting busier.
:16:59. > :17:01.More patients, many of them older people, are needing treatment. So
:17:02. > :17:09.how best to reduce the pressure on the services? This is the A
:17:10. > :17:14.Department... Here is an idea, trying to persuade people to think
:17:15. > :17:18.twice before turning to A, using local GPs or advice lines. But
:17:19. > :17:23.specialists argue that is not enough.
:17:24. > :17:27.Doctors saying that trying to redirect large numbers of patients
:17:28. > :17:32.away from A is not enough to release the pressure. They say that
:17:33. > :17:38.their research show that the vast majority of patients that arrive
:17:39. > :17:42.here need to be here. The A at North Manchester General is one of
:17:43. > :17:49.the busiest in the country. Here they are recruiting GPs to work as
:17:50. > :17:53.part of the emergency medicine team. We should have six consultants
:17:54. > :17:58.working, we have three. So we are adding four GPs into the mix,
:17:59. > :18:04.working at a senior doctor level will enable us to supervise the
:18:05. > :18:09.juniors and see the patients. Young children like Felix make up
:18:10. > :18:13.the biggest group of A patients that can be seen elsewhere but like
:18:14. > :18:16.many parents his mum did not hesitate to go to the hospital when
:18:17. > :18:21.he hit his head. With the kids you want to get it
:18:22. > :18:25.sorted straight away. When I have been there it is full of people with
:18:26. > :18:28.children. People want a quicker response.
:18:29. > :18:33.This is partly an argument about where the money is best-spent, in
:18:34. > :18:37.hospitals or the community services but neither option is likely to be
:18:38. > :18:42.cheap. The cost of treating patients in in
:18:43. > :18:48.a GP service is probably not that different from the A departments.
:18:49. > :18:51.But there is a practise that is suffering financially and in terms
:18:52. > :18:57.of the level demand that is being seen.
:18:58. > :19:01.NHS Patient says that a range of services can be used to help relieve
:19:02. > :19:05.the pressure. But people want fast care, that seems for most, the local
:19:06. > :19:07.A The BBC understands the Government
:19:08. > :19:10.will publish a report estimating that there are several billion
:19:11. > :19:13.barrels of oil contained in shale rocks beneath parts of Sussex,
:19:14. > :19:17.Hampshire and Kent, but only a fraction of it is likely to be
:19:18. > :19:20.recovered through fracking. That compares to around 45 billion
:19:21. > :19:23.barrels of oil that's been extracted from the North Sea over the past 40
:19:24. > :19:29.years. Our industry correspondent John Moylan is here. John, you found
:19:30. > :19:34.out about this, what more can you tell snubs There is a lot of gas in
:19:35. > :19:38.shale rocks in the north of Englandment tomorrow we learn
:19:39. > :19:42.details of a study that looks at the south of England to tell us that
:19:43. > :19:47.there are several billion barrels of oil in place across the areas you
:19:48. > :19:52.mentioned, Kent, Sussex. That is a lot of oil. Not as much as the north
:19:53. > :19:57.sea, and only fraction may be economic to get out but it is likely
:19:58. > :20:02.to be enough to attract the attention -- attention of the
:20:03. > :20:07.fracking industry. There will be a concern to environmentalists, who
:20:08. > :20:10.worry about the earth tremors and pollution but the estimate could
:20:11. > :20:13.have implications for our long-term security.
:20:14. > :20:16.Voting is underway in the European and local council elections - the
:20:17. > :20:20.final big test of public opinion before the 2015 General Election.
:20:21. > :20:24.All 73 UK seats in the European Parliament - the EU's only directly
:20:25. > :20:28.elected body - are up for grabs. The results will be announced on Sunday.
:20:29. > :20:34.Meanwhile 4,216 seats on local councils across England and Northern
:20:35. > :20:37.Ireland are also being decided. David Dimbleby will be your guide to
:20:38. > :20:41.the local council results as the votes are counted tonight. Join him
:20:42. > :20:48.and the BBC's team of experts from 11.35pm on BBC One. The search for
:20:49. > :20:51.the four sailors missing in the Atlantic since Friday has been
:20:52. > :20:54.boosted by extra air support. More planes have now joined the sea
:20:55. > :21:00.search for any sign of the men or their yacht. Earlier debris was
:21:01. > :21:04.spotted in the search area, raising hopes, but the US Coast Guard says
:21:05. > :21:07.it's unrelated to the yacht. The men were sailing back to Southampton
:21:08. > :21:10.from a regatta in Antigua last week. Contact was last made about 1,000
:21:11. > :21:19.miles off Cape Cod. Duncan Kennedy reports. These are the first
:21:20. > :21:25.pictures from the search scene in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
:21:26. > :21:31.Taken on board a private yacht that has gone to help, they show the calm
:21:32. > :21:35.conditions. Visibility is also appearing to be looking good.
:21:36. > :21:40.Exhausted and running short of supplies, it was this skipper who
:21:41. > :21:45.found the debris, near to where the men went missing. He says it
:21:46. > :21:52.includes a small piece of wood. We did see during this night some
:21:53. > :21:57.debris. I have reported it to the US coastguard with the time and the
:21:58. > :22:02.position. So there is a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel.
:22:03. > :22:08.News of the find was given to the relatives of the missing men who
:22:09. > :22:13.have been in London. First at the Foreign Office and then at the
:22:14. > :22:15.American embassy, there to get a comprehensive briefing of what is
:22:16. > :22:20.happening. At the are continuing to do what
:22:21. > :22:25.they can. They have been fantastic. It is all very reassuring.
:22:26. > :22:30.Whilst the US coastguard has cast doubt about the debris, it is still
:22:31. > :22:34.co-ordinating a huge search operation, with at least four
:22:35. > :22:38.aircraft and five boats now at the scene. The Cheeki Rafiki sent out a
:22:39. > :22:45.distress call before contact was lost.
:22:46. > :22:49.Andrew Bridge, James Male, Paul Goslin and Steve War en have been
:22:50. > :22:54.missing for almost a week. This afternoon I spoke to the skipper of
:22:55. > :22:57.another yacht that arrived at the search location, 1,000 miles off the
:22:58. > :23:01.coast of America. There are obviously a lot of
:23:02. > :23:05.families listening and watching this, what is your message to them?
:23:06. > :23:10.Have hope. That is all that we have. There are a lot of resources on out
:23:11. > :23:14.here. The US coastguard has pulled out everything. As long as there is
:23:15. > :23:18.hope, you keep it. That is why we are here. Let's hope we get a good
:23:19. > :23:22.result. These first grainy shots from the
:23:23. > :23:27.Atlantic, show exhausted crew members but conditions almost
:23:28. > :23:32.perfect for searching. 12,000 square miles have been scoured, the scale
:23:33. > :23:39.of the effort matched only by the open hopes of the families.
:23:40. > :23:45.Those pictures are the first time that the family have seen the area.
:23:46. > :23:52.They will take comfort from that. Especially with the calm seas. It is
:23:53. > :23:57.nearly a week since the men went missing, there has never been more
:23:58. > :24:02.resources dedicated to it. I am sure that they will take
:24:03. > :24:09.comfort from that as well. Now for most of us, not only does
:24:10. > :24:15.this not make sense, we would not know how to pronounce it.
:24:16. > :24:20.But many tomorrow are beginning GCSE Mandarin exams.
:24:21. > :24:26.We have been back to school... Ready for launch. A language class with a
:24:27. > :24:31.difference. By the time that these 11-year-olds
:24:32. > :24:34.leave school, China may well be the world's largest economy. They are
:24:35. > :24:39.throwing themselves into the language.
:24:40. > :24:43.I enjoy writing the characters and learning the tones. In English,
:24:44. > :24:47.there is always exceptions to the rules, in the Chinese they follow
:24:48. > :24:53.the rules, I like that. Good that they like it, as at this
:24:54. > :24:57.school in Hampshire, they are doing Mandarin emersion... The strange
:24:58. > :25:02.thing is, it is not just the Chinese that improves, they are ahead of
:25:03. > :25:07.their peers across the board. The students have to learn to
:25:08. > :25:13.concentrate hard and to be resilient and persevere. These are very
:25:14. > :25:17.important transferrable skills to use and apply to benefit other
:25:18. > :25:21.aspects of study. So, I have been trying to learn
:25:22. > :25:25.Chinese on and off for most of the past 30 years. To tell you the
:25:26. > :25:32.truth, I find it really hard it is partly the Chinese characters, and
:25:33. > :25:36.getting the tones and reproducing the redifferent sounds. But if you
:25:37. > :25:42.start at this age it comes much more easily.
:25:43. > :25:46.So, are we doing enough to talk to a country of over 1 billion? Despite a
:25:47. > :25:52.consensus amongst politicians and schools on the need, the numbers are
:25:53. > :25:57.small. Just over 3,000 sat Mandarin GCSE last year. French is almost 60
:25:58. > :26:03.times as popular. A minority of schools offer Chinese but teachers
:26:04. > :26:07.are hard to find and good marks are hard to come by. On the other side
:26:08. > :26:13.of the world, Chinese customers but British gallery and staff. Six years
:26:14. > :26:17.ago, Holly did not speak a word of Mandarin, now Beijing is her home.
:26:18. > :26:21.I would not have had the opportunities I have today if I did
:26:22. > :26:27.not speak Chinese. I know people who have come here without Chinese but
:26:28. > :26:32.it is a very different life you live if you don't speak Chinese in China!
:26:33. > :26:38.From September, language learning is compulsory for seven-year-olds in
:26:39. > :26:51.England. Perhaps some will follow in Holly's foot steps, sealing deals in
:26:52. > :26:54.the UK in China. Neil Lennon has confirmed he has
:26:55. > :26:57.left Celtic after four years as manager. Lennon played for the club
:26:58. > :27:02.for seven years before taking charge in 2010, leading them to three
:27:03. > :27:09.league titles and two Scottish Cups. Time for a look at the weather.
:27:10. > :27:14.Here's Peter Gibbs. We have had lightening striking today. There is
:27:15. > :27:19.a line of wet weather running up to the Midlands, to the area of
:27:20. > :27:23.Yorkshire, so thunder storms here. They will fade away but then the
:27:24. > :27:27.showers pushing from Wales and the south. That rain that has been
:27:28. > :27:31.plaguing Scotland is sticking around and there is a chilly wind blowing
:27:32. > :27:36.in, where the lowest temperatures will be. But a relatively mild night
:27:37. > :27:40.elsewhere. On to Friday morning. We have rain to contend with, all the
:27:41. > :27:44.way from the Channel Islands up to the south-west of England, into
:27:45. > :27:49.Wales and to the Midlands. There is a potential for heavy downpours
:27:50. > :27:53.there. Not so much rain in the east of
:27:54. > :28:00.England. But the north-east is the exception. Over Scotland and the
:28:01. > :28:05.north of England cloudy skies and the breeze. Struggling to get rid of
:28:06. > :28:11.the rain in the north of Scotland. It never quite let's up.
:28:12. > :28:15.Over the north of Wales, some heavy showers. To the east starting to
:28:16. > :28:19.brighten up, allowing sunshine to come through. Where you get the
:28:20. > :28:24.sunshine, you get up to the high teens. A chilly day, though, for the
:28:25. > :28:27.north-east of England and eastern Scotland.
:28:28. > :28:32.A bank holiday weekend is coming up. Lots of showers to start with over
:28:33. > :28:40.England and Wales. By Sunday and by the bank holiday Monday it is
:28:41. > :28:45.looking pretty good. So a showery start to the weekend, some sunshine
:28:46. > :28:47.filtering through. By Monday feeling warm for all.