:00:00. > :00:07.This is BBC World News Today with me Daniela Ritorto.
:00:08. > :00:14.Scotland votes to stay in the UK - ending a two-year fight
:00:15. > :00:19.Scenes of jubilation in the pro-union camp - after a decisive
:00:20. > :00:22.referendum victory - and pain in the independence camp - whose leader
:00:23. > :00:34.- and Scotland's First Minister - announces his resignation.
:00:35. > :00:47.It has been a privilege of my life to serve as first Minister. But this
:00:48. > :00:53.is a process which is is not for the SNP or any political party. It is
:00:54. > :00:56.much more important. Queen Elizabeth has released a
:00:57. > :01:00.statement calling for people to come together again. She spoke of mutual
:01:01. > :01:03.respect. Undeterred by the Scottish No vote -
:01:04. > :01:06.the Spanish region of Catalonia says it is pressing ahead with
:01:07. > :01:09.a vote on independence from Spain. As French jets carry out air strikes
:01:10. > :01:13.in northern Iraq - hundreds of Syrian Kurds flee to Turkey in
:01:14. > :01:29.fear of Islamic State extremists. The United Kingdom will remain
:01:30. > :01:34.united after Scottish voters decisively rejected independence
:01:35. > :01:39.at an historic referendum. The result wasn't as close
:01:40. > :01:41.as polls suggested but that didn't stop the day
:01:42. > :01:45.from being one of the most gripping A couple of hours ago, the man who
:01:46. > :01:50.led the two-year campaign for independence, Scotland's First
:01:51. > :01:54.Minister, Alex Salmond, announced He said he accepted the verdict
:01:55. > :02:01.of the electorate which in the end saw 2 million people vote
:02:02. > :02:05.against independence against 1.6 All up,
:02:06. > :02:11.that broke down to a clear 45 Let's cross to Lucy Hockings who is
:02:12. > :02:42.live for us at Holyrood We have been waiting for the Queen
:02:43. > :02:46.to make her views known. I think people have been waiting for the
:02:47. > :02:50.views of the Queen. She was pointed in staying here in Scotland at
:02:51. > :03:00.Balmoral. Before the independence vote, she remained silent. She likes
:03:01. > :03:06.to be neutral on political issues. But she released a statement
:03:07. > :03:10.saying, knowing the Scots as I do, I'm sure that they are able to
:03:11. > :03:14.express strongly held opinions before coming together in a spirit
:03:15. > :03:17.of mutual respect to work constructively for the future of
:03:18. > :03:22.Scotland and all parts of this country. She adds, my family and I
:03:23. > :03:27.will do all we can to support you in this important task. She, like many
:03:28. > :03:31.others today, are in the sizing unity. This country has been divided
:03:32. > :03:41.by this independence referendum but she, along with Alex Salmond, who
:03:42. > :03:49.resigned a massacre, are calling on the country to -- resigned in --
:03:50. > :03:55.dramatically, are calling on the country to come together. With our
:03:56. > :04:00.with all the developers here is our political editor.
:04:01. > :04:06.More people cared, more people believed, more voted
:04:07. > :04:12.Scotland has voted no in this referendum on independence.
:04:13. > :04:16.The result in Fife has taken the no campaign over the line
:04:17. > :04:20.and the official result of this referendum is a note.
:04:21. > :04:28.The final result, 45% yes, 55% no, was clearer than most had predicted.
:04:29. > :04:30.This morning, Alex Salmond put on a brave face,
:04:31. > :04:37.But he called the media to the First Minister's office
:04:38. > :04:41.in Edinburgh and announced that he would soon quit the job.
:04:42. > :04:46.For me as leader, my time is nearly over.
:04:47. > :04:50.But for Scotland, the campaign continues.
:04:51. > :04:56.And the dream should never die. The real guardians of progress are no
:04:57. > :05:01.longer politicians at Westminster, or even at Hollyrood, they are the
:05:02. > :05:04.energised actions of tens of thousands of people who I
:05:05. > :05:08.predict will refuse meekly to go back into the political shadows.
:05:09. > :05:14.We have now the opportunity to hold Westminster's feet to the fire
:05:15. > :05:19.on the vow that they have made to devolve further powers to Scotland.
:05:20. > :05:27.This places Scotland in a very strong position.
:05:28. > :05:29.The story of the night was clear almost
:05:30. > :05:31.from the very first result at 1:30 a.m..
:05:32. > :05:44.The No campaign, subdued for so long, celebrated
:05:45. > :05:51.as result after result in 28 out of 32 areas had them winning.
:05:52. > :05:55.Nicola Sturgeon, Alex Salmond's deputy and surely
:05:56. > :06:16.The news from Scotland's biggest city, a consolation prize.
:06:17. > :06:18.Not so long ago, few would have believed they would
:06:19. > :06:23.But for Alex Salmond as he left home in the early hours,
:06:24. > :06:30.For them, for those who has hoped for Scotland to remain
:06:31. > :06:43.We have chosen unity over division and positive change
:06:44. > :06:55.Today is a momentous result for Scotland, but also
:06:56. > :07:03.By confirming our place within the union, we have reaffirmed all
:07:04. > :07:10.Those watching outside Scotland had simply had to hold their breath.
:07:11. > :07:13.The Prime Minister watched for much of the night, aware that
:07:14. > :07:17.a yes vote would destroy not just as country but his reputation.
:07:18. > :07:27.They kept our country of four nations together.
:07:28. > :07:31.And like millions of other people, I am delighted.
:07:32. > :07:47.The debate will settle for a generation, he said.
:07:48. > :07:51.reruns. Scotland would get more power but change would go much
:07:52. > :08:42.Some will ask, why on earth politicians talking
:08:43. > :08:50.The anger they feel at the way Westminster currently runs things is
:08:51. > :08:56.felt up and down what remains of the United Kingdom. But this great
:08:57. > :09:08.national debate will now happen without him leading Scotland. One
:09:09. > :09:14.thing that is certain is that the voice was clearly heard and turn out
:09:15. > :09:20.was 85%, that is the highest since 1951. That is seen as a real triumph
:09:21. > :09:25.here. We look now at what tipped voters away from independence.
:09:26. > :09:27.The burden of proof from the beginning lay mostly with
:09:28. > :09:40.To too many voters, their blueprint from the dependency incomplete, I'm
:09:41. > :09:46.-- seemed -- blueprint for independence seemed incomplete, not
:09:47. > :09:49.ready. ready, particularly on what currency
:09:50. > :09:51.and independent Scotland would use. Edinburgh, home to Scotland's
:09:52. > :09:53.financial industry -- financial services into industry,
:09:54. > :09:56.but it 61% to stay within the UK. This is quite well-off country and I
:09:57. > :09:58.think a lot I don't get a surprise that parts of
:09:59. > :10:03.the country where people didn't have Even here though,
:10:04. > :10:07.more than one in three voted yes. But I am inspired to know that
:10:08. > :10:14.almost half the people get it. Been heartbroken
:10:15. > :10:16.but also inspired because we know It is weird knowing that half people
:10:17. > :10:20.are scared of change I think overall it has been very
:10:21. > :10:23.beneficial to Scotland, despite I was in no vote when I heard
:10:24. > :10:28.the result but I started crying because I was relieved but also
:10:29. > :10:31.worried about what happens now. In this --
:10:32. > :10:35.in more prosperous places, In Scotland's business city,
:10:36. > :10:41.Glasgow voted for independence. Here, Labour voters who crossed
:10:42. > :10:46.in large numbers were decisive. Is it oval over for them now, will
:10:47. > :10:50.they return to the Labour fold? The sole reason is that I wanted
:10:51. > :10:54.more than anything a yes vote. A change in labour's policies,
:10:55. > :10:58.they were too close to Tory After what happened with Tony Blair,
:10:59. > :11:04.I don't think the working class In this, the intervention
:11:05. > :11:14.in the last stages of the campaign by a rejuvenated Gordon Brown
:11:15. > :11:20.stemmed the flow of Labour voters to The margin of victory
:11:21. > :11:24.for the union was clear, Does that mean job done,
:11:25. > :11:30.the union is safe? 45% on a high turnout voted to end
:11:31. > :11:40.United Kingdom's stake in Scotland. That would have been unthinkable
:11:41. > :11:42.even 15 years ago, when the Scottish We have to remember that
:11:43. > :11:54.1.6 million of our citizens And the really important thing to do
:11:55. > :12:00.is to try to understand and then respond adequately to
:12:01. > :12:08.the reasons why people voted yes. The Anglo Scottish union has
:12:09. > :12:10.survived the greatest challenge to Scotland has settle the question
:12:11. > :12:20.peacefully and other critically. But the challenge for the UK's
:12:21. > :12:24.legitimacy -- but the popular challenge
:12:25. > :12:53.for the UK's legitimacy in Scotland There are two main thing is to take
:12:54. > :12:57.away from the referendum. The remarkably high turnout. It has been
:12:58. > :13:00.increasingly difficult to get voters to go to the polls. They do not have
:13:01. > :13:05.the partisan sympathies any more that mean that they will turn up for
:13:06. > :13:11.Labour or Conservative come what may. They have to be presented with
:13:12. > :13:16.a choice, they have to be persuaded that the referendum matters. On this
:13:17. > :13:21.occasion, Scotland's voters clearly decided it mattered, therefore
:13:22. > :13:25.nobody can argue that the outcome on Thursday was anything other than the
:13:26. > :13:29.collective judgement of all of Scotland's adults. The second thing
:13:30. > :13:33.that I would take away is that it is clear that in terms of the
:13:34. > :13:39.arithmetic, the yes side lost and Scotland has voted to remain in the
:13:40. > :13:45.union. At I think in many respects, the yes side won the referendum
:13:46. > :13:52.campaign. It was not expected for them to get as many as 20 -- 45%.
:13:53. > :13:56.Because they got as many as that, the no side found themselves under
:13:57. > :14:00.pressure to firm up its offer in terms of more devolution for
:14:01. > :14:06.Scotland within the framework of the UK, making this building here more
:14:07. > :14:12.powerful than it is already. And as a result of that, Scotland is going
:14:13. > :14:16.to change. It is going to find its constitutional check -- status will
:14:17. > :14:21.change anyway. Indeed, public support for the status quo is now
:14:22. > :14:26.down to 20%. We now move on to the arguments about the detail of
:14:27. > :14:31.devolution. In the resignation of Alex Salmond, have we lost a great
:14:32. > :14:35.figure? I think that we have to recognise that this is a man who
:14:36. > :14:40.inherited a party with about three MPs which was in a weak position and
:14:41. > :14:47.he ended up becoming its first parliamentary leader in government
:14:48. > :14:51.and the did not succeed in taking his party across the waters to the
:14:52. > :14:56.promised land of independence, but he certainly brought them to the
:14:57. > :15:02.side of the river bank. For that, he would clearly be remembered. He has
:15:03. > :15:05.also managed to remain -- to become a remarkably popular politician for
:15:06. > :15:12.somebody who has been in power for seven years. But he has form in
:15:13. > :15:17.terms of surprising us by resigning. He first resigned as SNP leader in
:15:18. > :15:20.the sum of 2000. He also announced he was leaving the Scottish
:15:21. > :15:25.parliament, which he did for a while. And any came back and now,
:15:26. > :15:29.all of a sudden, he has decided to leave. I think it means that we will
:15:30. > :15:34.see a debate inside the Scottish National party about what its stance
:15:35. > :15:37.in terms of Scotland's constitutional future will be in the
:15:38. > :15:41.immediate future and in particular, whether it will get involved in
:15:42. > :15:49.those talks that the Unionist parties want to hold about more
:15:50. > :15:51.devolution. Thank you. One small point I would like to mention, it is
:15:52. > :15:59.coming through that 71% of 16 and point I would like to mention, it is
:16:00. > :16:00.17-year-olds voted here in Scotland. People here are saying they are very
:16:01. > :16:05.proud of that. So,
:16:06. > :16:08.the vote in Scotland could have a profound impact on government across
:16:09. > :16:12.the United Kingdom with new powers for England, Wales and Northern
:16:13. > :16:22.Ireland as well as Scotland. Dr Mark Elliott is a reader
:16:23. > :16:25.in public law at the University of Cambridge where he specialises
:16:26. > :16:37.in constitutional law. a great big new constitutional
:16:38. > :16:46.headache is now just starting? a great big new constitutional
:16:47. > :16:55.think that is absolutely right. I think he is very relieved that the
:16:56. > :17:00.think that is absolutely right. I Particularly because of the
:17:01. > :17:04.think that is absolutely right. I additional powers for Scotland, that
:17:05. > :17:06.opens up a new series of questions about how
:17:07. > :17:12.opens up a new series of questions UK should be treated. Talk is
:17:13. > :17:15.through what those options are because the three main parties are
:17:16. > :17:19.all promising something slightly different? I think it is clear
:17:20. > :17:24.something is going to be on offer and there will be a transfer of
:17:25. > :17:28.additional powers to Scotland. What is not clear at the present time is
:17:29. > :17:35.firstly, whether that will happen on the very rapid timescale that Gordon
:17:36. > :17:38.Brown promised a week ago and secondly, although it seems pretty
:17:39. > :17:44.clear that the powers will include things like enhanced taxation powers
:17:45. > :17:50.and spending, precisely how far that will kill remains to be seen. We are
:17:51. > :17:54.broadcasting to the UK and internationally as well, we have
:17:55. > :17:59.heard a lot today about the so-called induced question, can you
:18:00. > :18:01.explain that? England finds itself in a strange position because when
:18:02. > :18:07.devolution was introduced in the late 1990s, new parliament were
:18:08. > :18:12.cratered in Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland. But no English
:18:13. > :18:17.Parliament was created. The issue which that gives rise to raise that
:18:18. > :18:23.when for example, Scotland makes laws for itself, the only law makers
:18:24. > :18:27.involved in that art the members of the Scottish Parliament. Because
:18:28. > :18:31.there was an English parliament, its laws have got to be made by the UK
:18:32. > :18:37.Parliament in Westminster and of course, MPs from all four of the
:18:38. > :18:44.nations sit in that parliament. So the problem really is that while an
:18:45. > :18:49.English MP can no longer influenced the vast majority of Scottish law,
:18:50. > :18:55.Scottish and Welsh and Northern Irish MPs still have a in relation
:18:56. > :18:59.to the making of English law. One week to think one way to solve that
:19:00. > :19:06.would be a federal UK, I am thinking of Australia, with happen? It could
:19:07. > :19:09.happen, lots of people have used the Word, federalism, and the last few
:19:10. > :19:17.weeks. But that would be a very significant change and that strikes
:19:18. > :19:22.me as unlikely. The UK constitution is built on a very long and
:19:23. > :19:30.continuous history and the tendency has always been towards incremental
:19:31. > :19:32.piece by piece change and switching to a federal system would involve
:19:33. > :19:38.the adoption of a written constitution and it would be a
:19:39. > :19:39.seismic change of the Constitution at a time when we don't usually
:19:40. > :19:44.adopt here. The vote and its result has been
:19:45. > :19:47.watched closely across the world, especially in regions wanting
:19:48. > :19:49.independence, perhaps nowhere more Our correspondent is in the Catalan
:19:50. > :19:55.capital, Barcelona. The main message from Catalonia's
:19:56. > :20:00.president reacting to that no vote in Scotland was that he still plans
:20:01. > :20:04.to hold a Scottish style referendum here in Catalonia on independence
:20:05. > :20:09.from Spain on November 9. Pressed from journalists over
:20:10. > :20:14.whether the Scottish no vote was a defeat or setback for him
:20:15. > :20:18.personally, he said it was not, despite having said a week ago that
:20:19. > :20:24.he wanted a yes vote in Scotland. Why does he claim it is not
:20:25. > :20:26.a setback? He is focused on the right to
:20:27. > :20:30.a vote here in Catalonia. The Spanish government had said
:20:31. > :20:34.a vote in Catalonia would be illegal, it doesn't fit with
:20:35. > :20:38.the Spanish constitution. The Spanish constitutional court is
:20:39. > :20:41.expected to rule exactly that in a matter of days but he praised
:20:42. > :20:45.both Scotland and Britain. He said it shows that Britain is
:20:46. > :20:48.a mature society, He said we seek a similar choice
:20:49. > :20:55.and it is the only way, the right way in the 21st-century, but it is
:20:56. > :21:00.still unclear whether the vote here in Catalonia will take place and
:21:01. > :21:06.if it does, what will it mean? A look now at some
:21:07. > :21:10.of theday's other news. The authorities in the West African
:21:11. > :21:13.nation of Guinea have launched an investigation after eight people
:21:14. > :21:15.including doctors, local officials and journalists died while trying to
:21:16. > :21:18.raise awareness about Ebola. They are believed to have been
:21:19. > :21:21.killed with machetes and clubs by villagers who feared they had
:21:22. > :21:23.come to spread the disease. Guinea's Prime Minister said those
:21:24. > :21:31.responsible will be punished. Thousands of people have been forced
:21:32. > :21:34.to leave their homes in Northern California after
:21:35. > :21:36.a wildfire burning out of control The blaze is the biggest
:21:37. > :21:40.in what officials describe as the A man has been arrested
:21:41. > :21:50.on suspicion of arson. The Syrian Observatory for Human
:21:51. > :21:53.Rights is reporting that Islamic State militants have seized 60
:21:54. > :21:55.Kurdish villages near the Turkish The report comes
:21:56. > :21:59.as Turkey is allowing thousands of Syrian Kurds fleeing IS to cross
:22:00. > :22:03.its southern border. Meanwhile in neighbouring Iraq,
:22:04. > :22:06.France has become the first country to join the US campaign
:22:07. > :22:21.of air strikes against IS fighters. The French have now joined the fight
:22:22. > :22:26.against Islamic State. Inside northern Iraq, fighter jets like
:22:27. > :22:37.these struck a logistics depot and apparently killed dozens of
:22:38. > :22:40.militants. I think there are always risks in taking responsibility. I
:22:41. > :22:44.have reduce these risks as much as I can. The onus is always on trying to
:22:45. > :22:50.extinguish terrorism but this form of terrorism is not exclusive to the
:22:51. > :22:54.Middle East. It threatens us all stop the French intervention will be
:22:55. > :22:59.welcomed by the US and its allies. The Kurdish forces in Iraq on the
:23:00. > :23:02.front line up the fight against Islamic State. But inside
:23:03. > :23:09.neighbouring Syria, Kurds find themselves under and even more
:23:10. > :23:14.immediate threat. Face-to-face with more guns on a Turkish
:23:15. > :23:17.paramilitaries block Kurdish refugees from crossing into Turkey,
:23:18. > :23:24.shots were fired and not all into the air. One man showed the wind
:23:25. > :23:28.from one of the bullets. These Kurdish refugees have just fled the
:23:29. > :23:35.spreading violence in northern Syria and were greeted by arms and barbed
:23:36. > :23:40.wire. These are the people now with nowhere to go. Families is giving
:23:41. > :23:44.the advance of Islamic State fighters and fearing for their
:23:45. > :23:49.lives. Militants had besieged a Kurdish town in northern Syria and
:23:50. > :23:58.seized many villages. On the Turkish side of the border, the Kurds were
:23:59. > :24:02.angry at the Turkey army. This man said the people on the other side
:24:03. > :24:05.are our cousins. They are running away from war and they came here to
:24:06. > :24:10.seek shelter. We demand our relatives are let in. The flow of
:24:11. > :24:14.people has stirred up deep anxieties inside Turkey about Kurdish
:24:15. > :24:21.separatism and Turkey already shelters around 1.5 million Syrian
:24:22. > :24:25.refugees. Under pressure, Ankara has now opened the border. These Kurds
:24:26. > :24:32.at least will be able to join their families. But with the advance of
:24:33. > :24:35.Islamic State at, there is likely to be more turmoil and clinical
:24:36. > :24:41.questions of the future of the Kurds will intensify.
:24:42. > :24:43.The former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has
:24:44. > :24:46.announced he is returning to politics after two years away.
:24:47. > :24:49.He has said he will stand for the leadership of the centre-right
:24:50. > :25:02.He resigned in 2012 after losing France's presidential election.
:25:03. > :25:12.Nicolas Sarkozy is back? Indeed he is. It was expected, he has let it
:25:13. > :25:16.be known over the last few months that this was going to happen. It
:25:17. > :25:24.happened as an announcement on his Facebook page. A text in which he
:25:25. > :25:28.pours pity on the current state of France and says it has reached a cut
:25:29. > :25:32.of Tropic state and pose is therefore as a kind of saviour of
:25:33. > :25:37.the nation, he wants to come back and basically he feels he cannot not
:25:38. > :25:41.come back, given the state of the country and what he wants to do now
:25:42. > :25:48.is run for the leadership of the UMP party, the opposition centre-right
:25:49. > :25:52.party but which has been Roger less since the last election. He wants to
:25:53. > :25:55.be the leader of that party and the election is coming up in November
:25:56. > :26:01.and from there he wants to launch a bid for the presidency. It is a big
:26:02. > :26:05.moment because we have a return to French politics of the biggest beast
:26:06. > :26:10.there is. The man who defeated him of course is Francoise Hollande, he
:26:11. > :26:17.has ordered these air strikes in Iraq, what is the public mood?
:26:18. > :26:20.People are pretty much behind it but I think one
:26:21. > :26:24.People are pretty much behind it but need to make is how deeply unpopular
:26:25. > :26:31.President Hollande is. need to make is how deeply unpopular
:26:32. > :26:40.unpopular and ironically, for an action is the one
:26:41. > :26:56.From me and the rest of the team, goodbye.
:26:57. > :27:00.There has been some lively storms across parts of the UK today and
:27:01. > :27:05.some of these are running into the night. The humid air will be
:27:06. > :27:10.replaced by fresh conditions find this cold front as we go into the
:27:11. > :27:17.weekend. We are stuck with that humidity through the next few hours
:27:18. > :27:18.and into tomorrow morning across England and Wales. For Northern