17/09/2014 BBC World News

It's the final day of campaigning before Scotland's referendum

The latest polls suggest the result is too close to call.

We are and where, we are not drifting off the North Pole. You

have be I'm Lucy Hockings live in Edinburgh

with the latest. Campaigners on both sides

of Scotland's referendum debate are taking to the streets

for one final day of campaigning Campaigners on both sides

of Scotland's referendum debate are taking to the streets

for one final day of campaigning And with the future of the UK

hanging in the balance they will be doing all they can to win over those

who are still undecided. The overall poll

of polls suggests the result is While 49% say Yes to

Scotland becoming an independent country. Three polls released within

the last 12 hours by British newspapers the Daily Telegraph,

Daily Mail and Scottish newspaper The Scotsman all suggest a lead

of 52% for No to 48% with undecided Let's cross to Lucy Hockings

who is live for us What is the mood like there? It is

incredible. The tension in the air is palpable. When you speak to

people here in Edinburgh, tears come to their allies, some of them,

instantly. Such is the passion that they feel, whether it is a yes or a

no fact that it is coming down to the very last day of campaigning.

This referendum is simply too close to call. You have showed the poll

results but look at the margin of error. Things could go either way.

We still have a massive pool of undecided voters in Scotland, people

who are yet to make up their minds. They may not make up their mind

until this time tomorrow, when they head to the polling stations and

make perhaps the biggest political decision of their lives. Whether or

not Scotland should be an independent country. It is

remarkable, whether you like in a cafe where people are picking up

their morning coffees, last night at pubs and restaurants in Edinburgh,

it seems to be the only thing that anyone is talking about. Daily life

is going on but such is the import of this decision, everywhere you go,

there are flags flying, people are wearing buttons on their coats. On

the streets last night, walking through the historic heart of

Edinburgh, I saw chalk marks on the street, people writing political

messages. 16-year-olds will be voting in a referendum tomorrow.

They were walking around, late last night, handing out leaflets, trying

to convince people one way or another. The mood here is tense,

basically. I cannot think of a better word. Passions are really

running high. On Friday morning, the eyes of the

world will be on this woman. It is Mary who will deliver the result of

the Scottish referendum. It is very important in the country's history,

yes. It's an important stage. I am honoured to have a part to play in

all of that. How comfortable are you about being replayed endlessly

delivering the result on the Internet? I'm trying not to think

about that. I wouldn't be human if I didn't have lives about that but I

am focused on making sure that that of the process goes well. In the

streets, on buses, in cafes and pubs, in offices, at dinner tables,

the debate here is everywhere. Scotland is split down the middle. I

had never spoken to my family about politics before now. It used to be

that this was just my job. One of the big things falls the first poll,

which reduced a swell of attention around the UK and the world. A lot

of people thought it would be a close win for the no campaign, they

thought it was possible that the yes campaign would win. The stakes

couldn't be higher. Even at the bowling alley in Edinburgh, the talk

is of currency, oil, years of voting Labour getting Tory, social justice,

fear, hope and the end of infantilism. In a way, Scotland

needs to grow up and leave the family home in a sense. I am voting

yes because I decided that Scotland is better by itself. We don't need

to be led by Westminster. We are strong enough to do it by ourselves.

I am voting no on Thursday because I think there are too many unanswered

questions, too many cases where they are hoping and praying.

Unfortunately, I think in today's's global economic society, we cannot

afford to take that many chances. The arguments will go on forever but

it is decision time. And what is likely to be the highest turnout in

Scotland's history will determine its future.

We are expecting a turnout of 80% tomorrow. People who haven't voted

for years will be casting a ballot and those first-time voters as well.

One of the phrases that comes up quite a lot from politicians on both

side of the divide is what kind of divorce this would be, if Scotland

does indeed vote yes. The no campaign is saying it could be

bitter and acrimonious. The yes campaign saying it could be a nice

kind of separation. I want to take you back 21 years, to a divorce that

they called the velvet divorce. That was when Czechoslovakia broke up to

be two sovereign nations. Our correspondent is in Prague. He looks

at some of the lessons that can be learned from what happened in

Czechoslovakia, for those here in Scotland.

Prague, seat of Kings, emperors and presidents for ten centuries, able

rock stage set for many an historical drama and a meeting point

between East and West. But since 1993, also the capital of a much

reduced country. At the stroke of midnight on December 31, 1992,

Czechoslovakia simply ceased to exist. And astonishingly, the

decision to divide it without a referendum, had been taken just five

months earlier. Leading the talks for the Czech side was Prime

Minister, later president, fax love clouds. -- Vaclav Claus. You are

using the wrong arguments. It is very easy to defy the country. The

number of people in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic is

2-to-1. Everything is divided 2-to-1. But that simple equation

could not be applied everywhere. A temporary currency union collapsed

after just six weeks and the Slovak currency devalued massively. But in

Bratislava, despite their rocky start, the Slovaks have caught up.

In time of admission, Slovak GDP per capita was 60% of the Czech GDP.

Very recently, Slovakia has the same GDP per capita is the Czech

Republic. Today, Czechs and Slovaks regard their velvet divorce as a

success. But that doesn't mean there isn't nostalgia for Czechoslovakia.

Of course, nowadays, everybody is happy it happened that way. In the

gentle way. That there was no war. But still, there are things which

are in my mind. This was not correct in some ways. Comparisons with

Scotland? Well, unlike the Czechs and Slovaks, the voice of the

Scottish people will be heard. At the moment, those polls are

saying that this referendum is too close to call but one thing that is

certain, on Friday morning, Scotland will wake up to a very different

future and whether you vote yes or no up here, the one thing people are

unified honours the fact that they want to change, whether it is change

and having independent country or whether it is simply seeing more

powers devolved to Holyrood, the Scottish Parliament behind me. More

powers on things like tax, health care which is what the no camp as

promised. That is a certainty. Scotland is never going to be the

same again after this referendum. I suspect Scotland isn't going to be

waking up Friday because they will be up all night, along with the rest

of us! Thanks for now. And you can keep up to date

on this historic vote at There,

you'll find the referendum live page which is following every twist

and turn of the final 24 hours. Police investigating the murders

of two British tourists on a beach in Thailand say they are

now considering two other British David Miller and Hannah Witheridge

were found dead on the island of Two British tourists are now

in police custody but have not been A Chinese economist and champion

of the rights of China's Muslim Uighur minority,

is due to go on trial in Xinjiang. Ilham Tohti was detained in January

after questioning the government's role in a series

of violent confrontations between Uighurs and the dominant

Han Chinese ethnic group. He's accused

of having links to separatists. Fiji has been holding

its first parliamentary election The vote is seen as an opportunity

to restore democracy to the South Pacific nation, which has seen

four governments toppled within the past 30 years, largely because

of tensions between indigenous China's president has arrived in

India for a three-day visit which is expected to focus on closer economic

ties. He was greeted in Gujarat by India's new primers to, who made

regular visits to China when he was Gujarat's Chief Minister. He will

travel to Delhi tomorrow, on Thursday, and will hold talks,

travel to Delhi tomorrow, on focusing on trade, infrastructure

and Borders disputes. Let's speak to the BBC's Hindi service

correspondent, who was following the trip for us. Whenever I've been in

India recently, people say, gosh, look at the infrastructure. They

marvel at China and ask why cannot India do the same? What is this

visit about? You are right. It is basically

issues around economics and it is primarily going to be about trade

and investment. That has been billed as the primary issue which is going

to be discussed between the two leaders in the next three days. And

ever since the new government came into power, there has been a lot of

talk of improvement in Indian and Chinese relationships, especially on

the economic front. It is also significant because the premiere of

very recently went to Japan, where the Japanese government pledged

millions of dollars into India over the next five years. There are many

experts believe the Chinese will also, in all probability, do the

same. The fact remains that both India and China have had a

long-standing border issue and despite several rounds of

negotiations border talks over the past several decades, there has been

no resolution in sight. That is something which is of a very

delicate nature between these countries but it is only going to be

trade and investment which will be the talk of the time for the next

few days in India. Do people in India feel largely like

they have no choice but to improve their relationship with China? China

has historically been closer to Pakistan and has recently supported

from anchor, which unnerves India. Yes. The Chinese visit to Sri Lanka

was keenly watched in India. India has appeared to be taking a lot of

interest over the last decade, over the growing Chinese investment in

Sri Lanka, which has been a traditional ally. India has looked

upon all of these factors, with a lot of caution, and it has tried to

come up with something which is of mutual interest to both countries.

Of course, there is this problem of growing Indian quick dash the

growing Indian trade deficit, although China remains one of its

biggest partners. That is a delicate balance which needs to be looked

upon by the new government in Delhi. Of course, the Chinese president has

now landed in Gujarat. Yes, it is significant.

Interesting how this silly dash visit is being conducted. It was his

birthday. There was a picture treated, which is trending in India.

It is quite a personal start to this trip. The Premier has made plain his

admiration of the way the Chinese have improved that internal affairs.

That is true. When he was the chief minister of Gujarat province, he

made four or five visits to China in search of investment. He has

promised Chinese investors export zones, setting up special zones

throughout the country and in the Gujarat state. Basically, he has

been talking about an investor friendly climate in India and that

is how he sees the future of Sino Indian relations over the coming

decades. China and India represent a third of

the population so it could be a powerful alliance of it comes.

Stay with us on BBC World News, still to come:

New research shows the English king - Richard III - succumbed to 11

gruesome blows as he lost the throne and his life on the battlefield more

The golden era of America's space age may seem

consigned to history, but NASA is gearing up to, once again,

July 2011 and a moment in history. The space shuttle Atlantis makes its

final landing at the Kennedy space Centre in Florida. The USA's manned

mission to the stars comes to a halt, at least for a while. But now,

it is left off once again and then a very American touch, the private

sector is leading the way. NASA has signed a deal with Boeing to build a

new generation of craft, effectively space like taxis to put astronauts

into space and towards the space station. This truth be the most

ambitious and exciting chapter and NASA's history. From the first day,

the Obama Administration has made it clear that the greatest nation on

earth should make it its priority to get into space. Especially when he

is talking about rivals Russia. It costs America $1700 to finance his

astronaut Petra. That is especially when they have to get into the space

station. We will have new facilities that will not only be visited by our

astronauts but by private citizens and foreign sovereign nations. NASA

plans the first launch in 2017 and the hope is that this is only one

small step. They hope it will bite to the next giant leap, a mission to

the planet Mars. It is the final day of campaigning

before Scotland decides on its independence referendum. The latest

polls suggest it is too close to call the outcome.

China visits India and both countries hope it will improve the

relationship between them. A new experimental vaccine for Ebola

is to be tested on humans The British trial has been

fast-tracked in an attempt to stop The planned trial in Oxford will see

60 healthy volunteers being tested against the Zaire species of Ebola

which is circulating in West Africa, The vaccine does not contain

the infectious Ebola virus and can't cause a person who is

vaccinated to become infected. The first phase of the trials,

which could also see people from the Gambia and Mali taking

part, is expected to be completed Up to 10,000 doses

of the experimental vaccine are being produced

while trials are taking place. That will mean the vaccine could

be made available immediately to Dr Edward Wright is a senior

lecturer in Medical Microbiology at the University of Westminster,

who's involved in the trials. He says clinical trials of this

vaccine are moving very quickly. It's normally takes years of

development for a new vaccine to come into effective use. There's a

new vaccine to come into effective use. Studies have been done on

animals already. They have proven that this is an effective vaccine

for stimulating an antibody response in monkeys. The vaccine itself is

perfectly safe. It is not going to cause the Ebola disease in people.

All the vaccine comprises of it a harmful chimpanzee virus that has

been engineered to incorporate one of the proteins, one of the genes of

the Ebola virus, so it cannot cause the Ebola disease. The virus itself

only causes cold and flu like symptoms. It is one protein, one

small part of the Ebola virus, how can that park then generate a proper

response in the human body? We have to look at the natural history of

the infected individual. When the person becomes infected, the body

recognises the virus and stimulates antibodies that will target a

protein on this offers of that virus. The gene decodes that protein

and incorporates it into this chimpanzee virus and so when the

volunteers receive this vaccine, the vaccine will infect cells and that

stimulates the antibody response to the infection. That is what we hope

at least what happened. -- will happen.

A senior Ukrainian rebel leader has told the BBC that

a new law granting self-rule to parts of the East will not change

Andrei Purgin said there were no plans to develop any political

The bill - which was approved by the Ukrainian

Parliament on Tuesday - also offers an amnesty for some rebels.

The measures are part of a ceasefire deal seeking to end five

The BBC's Paul Adams is in Donetsk, a separatist stronghold,

and he explained the reaction in the city to the new autonomy law

It's kind of interesting - both here in Donetsk and in the other main

rebel stronghold of Luhansk - we've had at times some carefully nuanced

statements saying that rebel leaders are interested in some of the

proposals that they do not dismiss them out of hand, but they are also

making it clearer that after everything that has happened

in the past few months, they are not about to abandon their cause

They have declared their own peoples' republics both

They also talk about New Russia as a kind of overarching structure

which is also indicative of the fact that they are looking towards

the East and not the West for their political and economic allegiances.

But when I spoke to Andrei Purgin, who is the first

Vice Prime Minister, effectively the number two of the Donetsk

People's Republic last night, he gave me a rather guarded answer at

On the one hand he expressed optimism

but on the other hand he made that wider purpose clear.

Right now, we are learning about this a lot.

There are a lot of positives which we can use for dialogue

and the foundation for negotiation, but that does not mean that we have

altered our direction on the way to independence and the Russian world,

and we really do not plan on building any political

relationship with Ukraine, not federal or any other.

But we can discuss economic cooperation, social,

He also made it clear that he dismissed some

of the proposals about an amnesty and he said that the rebels were not

He said Ukrainian forces had to withdraw from their territory first

and when I put it to him that effectively what they are looking

towards is some kind of separate entity, a bit of a forgotten

remnant, he said that there were many small countries in Europe that

are proud and they do not think they are little or forgotten.

He also described Ukraine as one of the poorest countries in Europe,

"A rotten, poor, corrupt country, the cesspool of Europe."

So it is pretty clear, talking to Mr Purgin,

that he has absolutely no intentions of agreeing to anything that would

bring this part of Ukraine back under the control of Kiev.

New research has shown that King Richard III died in the thick

Detailed scans of the king's bones, published in The Lancet,

show he sustained 11 wounds at or near the time of his death,

King Richard's skeleton is due to be reinterred at Leicester Cathedral

Let us hope David Cameron does not suffer the same fate! You can watch

all of the life polling results from the Scottish independence referendum

election tonight on BBC One. Here is Jeremy Vine with the latest news on

that. Yes, join us tonight for the results

of life as they come in. You can see the map here Scotland. We have

covered dust and the results of the last election held in Scotland. You

can see what we have got is essentially a three-dimensional

Spain 's operating in two dimensions. But actually it is just

a screen. Inside this board we will show due to the voting areas. They

are in alphabetical order from Aberdeen to West Lothian. It is

green for yes, read for now, we will put through the percentages as they

come into others. This is where the referendum results will be decided.

We will use this other bot to tally the raw number of votes as the night

continues. I will then take the councils of the battle ground board

as they declare and by the end of the night you will know whether it

is a green for yes or a read for now that has won the day. -- read for

now. Thank you for joining us. Goodbye.