the first minister says a referendum should take place by the spring of 2019, once the terms of the final brexit deal are clear. i believe that it would be wrong for scotland to be taken down a path that it has no control over, regardless of the consequences for our economy, for our society, for our place in the world, for our very sense of who we are as a country. but the response from downing street is forthright, accusing the scottish government of losing sight of the important issues. instead of playing politics with the future of our country, the scottish government should focus on delivering good government and public services for the people of scotland. politics is not a game. we'll have the latest on the constitutional showdown from westminster and from holyrood. this dramatic move from nicola sturgeon has taken everybody by

surprise and set her on course for a major battle with the uk government. westminster says not now to a vote, but do ministers mean, not ever? and at westminster tonight, the house of lords is set to approve the bill allowing the brexit process to begin. also on the programme — we report from somalia and uganda on the famine threatening more than 20 million people in africa and the middle east. many thousands of rail passengers are affected by strike action across england, affecting three train companies. and at buckingham palace, the queen starts the baton relay for the commonwealth games of 2018. and coming up in sportsday on bbc news... birmingham and liverpool host an interest in hosting the 2022 commonwealth games, after it is announced that it won't be taking place in durban any longer. good evening.

the first minister of scotland, nicola sturgeon, is to seek permission to hold a second referendum on independence between the autumn of next year and the spring of 2019. she said the vote was necessary to protect scottish interests in the wake of theresa may's approach to brexit. mrs may said a referendum would cause uncertainty and division, but she didn't rule out allowing it to go ahead at some point. we'll be live at westminster with our political editor, laura kuenssberg. but we start in edinburgh, with our scotland editor sarah smith. no—one was expecting such a dramatic move from nicola sturgeon today, demanding another referendum on scottish independence before the uk leaves eu. now, she says she feels

she is compelled to ask for another vote because the uk government wouldn't listen to her plans for a separate brexit steel for scotland. but of course she wouldn't be talking about another vote if she didn't think she could win it. this isa didn't think she could win it. this is a big and bold move from nicola sturgeon, a dramatic political moment, one that is a huge gamble for her. but it is a risk she says she is ready to take. what scotland deserves, in the light of the material change of circumstances brought about by the brexit vote is the chance to decide our future in a fair, free and democratic way. democratic decision she says must happen before the uk leaves eu. it could have been avoided, she claims, if the uk government had been prepared to negotiate a separate brexit dealfor prepared to negotiate a separate brexit deal for scotland. we have worked hard, really hard, to try to find agreement. the prime minister and her government have been given

every opportunity to compromise. our effo rts every opportunity to compromise. our efforts have instead been met with a brick wall of intransigence. opinion polls still don't suggest more than 50% of the country would want to vote for independence. the economic circumstances are much harderfor you than they were in 2014 — do you really believe you could win another referendum on independence? yes, i do, absolutely i believe that. i believe it would be wrong for scotla nd believe it would be wrong for scotland to be taken down a path that it has no control over, regardless of the consequences for oui’ regardless of the consequences for our sick meet, our society, regardless of the consequences for oursick meet, oursociety, our sense of who we are as a country. and therefore my judgment sense of who we are as a country. and therefore myjudgment is that we should have that choice. outside, people keen to share a significant moment. but this decision cannot be made here alone. the scottish government will need the prime minister's permission for another referendum. instead of playing politics with the future of our

country, the scottish government should focus on delivering good government and public services for the people of scotland. politics is not a the people of scotland. politics is nota game. the people of scotland. politics is not a game. in the scottish parliament, a majority do support another referendum, even though the tories, the lib dems and labour will oppose it. nicola sturgeon says she is forcing this debate on us because of brexit. so how on earth can creating more uncertainty to be a good thing? nicola sturgeon has seized the initiative today and taken to reason me by surprise. she did not know this announcement was coming. but nicola sturgeon will need the agreement of the uk government before she can have another independence referendum. theresa may could refuse to allow it, or she could insist any vote ta kes pla ce it, or she could insist any vote takes place after the whole of the uk has already left the eu. but when the prime minister met the first minister here in july, the prime minister met the first minister here injuly, she said they would reach a uk—wide agreement on brexit. that failed. now, they must

try and agree the terms of a scottish referendum. their predecessors signed a deal to allow the last independence vote, one they said was a once in a generation event. and don't forget, both these men then lost theirjobs after losing referendum is. tonight, voters in scotland will have to start thinking all over again about whether they want to stay in the united kingdom — a decision recent polls suggest is very finely balanced. over the last few weeks we have seen support for independence actually going up in the last few polls. what this tells us is that if you thought this was a foregone conclusion for either side would be absolutely wrong, this is going to bea absolutely wrong, this is going to be a really, really tight race, whenever the next referendum happens. lily, a second independence referendum is going to be high sta kes for all referendum is going to be high stakes for all concerned, with the result currently impossible to predict. at westminster, mps have approved the bill allowing theresa may

to start the brexit process, rejecting two amendments put forward by the house of lords. the bill has also been given final approval by the lords in the past hour, despite their earlier wish to protect the rights of eu citizens and give parliament a bigger say on the final outcome of the brexit talks. let'sjoin laura kuenssberg at westminster. well, all of this is taking place in a quite extraordinary context. as we speak, the house of lords is voting to permit theresa may, the prime minister, to push the button on the legal process, article 50, that is likely to take britain out of the european union. but after today, it is abundantly clear that that journey to leave the eu could potentially mean the end of that other union, that union of the uk. not once... to the right, 335... but

twice... to the right, 331, to the left, 200 and... the prime minister never wanted them to have a say. but tonight, mps voted for her to get brexit started. ceremoniously, the bill went along the corridor of power, back to the house of lords, who had tried to change it. but resista nce who had tried to change it. but resistance has been fading. only the lib dems were left in theresa may's way. contents, 135, not contents, 274. so the not contents have it. co mforta ble 274. so the not contents have it. comfortable win for the government. westminster is different these days. the uk as we know it could soon be very different, too. the question is

whether or not scotland is going to be taken into the abyss with this tory government. we on this side of the house have an alternative. there might not be a real, meaningful vote in this chamber, but there shall be a meaningful vote in scotland training a millennium long history asa training a millennium long history as a european nation. weather on rights for eu citizens to stay in the uk or parliament having the final say, the government has not budged much. but it won the day. over the past five weeks, we have seen over the past five weeks, we have seen parliament at its best. right honourable members and peers have spoken with passion, sincerity and conviction. so, with the uk tonight now firmly on the path to exit, the scottish government wants to give voters a chance to leave the european union. the prime minister

was attending a commonwealth service today. can she really denied a chance? technically, it is down to westminster. but politically, is it really possible? nicola sturgeon is talking about independence, three hours after the brexit result was declared on the 24th ofjune. and actually has been banging on about independence every day since. i'm afraid today's irresponsible actions just demonstrated nicola sturgeon has a constitutional obsession. you could rule this out right now. you could rule this out right now. you could just say, the uk government will not allow another scottish independence referendum to take place. there could be another referendum, there is a process for doing that. but we are absolutely focused on the argument that there should not be another independence referendum. you're saying, not yet, but you're not saying no? it is a process issue, we don't want to be in the process argument, because that's not the real argument. behind closed doors, ministers used to say

they said they would not allow another independence vote to go ahead. but the eu referendum and how scotla nd ahead. but the eu referendum and how scotland voted has changed that whole dynamic. even before today, there was a growing sense that it wasn't if but when. it is only 206 to three days since the eu referendum. yet just as to three days since the eu referendum. yetjust as one fight for the tories comes to an end, another, perhaps more profound, begins. in the referenudm of september 2014, the people of scotland voted by 55% to 45% to reject independence. our scotland correspondent lorna gordon has been to fife to see if the mood has changed, and to test the appetite for a second referendum on independence. across the firth of forth from scotland's capital city of edinburgh lies kirkcaldy. its high street is typical of many scottish towns. what, then, do people here think of the possibility of a second independence referendum? it's too early for a referendum.

people are tired, plus the fact, nicola sturgeon wants to take us back into the eu. i voted out of the eu. we're going out, i don't want to go back in. in the last independence referendum, a little over two years ago, a majority of the people here in the kingdom of fife voted to remain as part of the united kingdom. in fact, the results here mirrored exactly the result across scotland as a whole. families and couples were divided in their opinions over what was best for scotland's future. i voted for independence. my personal opinion, i would quite happily see it go back to having another vote, i'd quite happily have another vote, and hopefully this time it would go to independence. her partner originally voted no to independence, but has now changed his mind. in the last referendum, i voted to stay in the united kingdom, but this time i would vote to leave the rest of the united kingdom. why?

so that hopefully we would get a chance to stay in europe, because i feel that we've been lied to so much in the past. there are others travelling in the opposite direction. the first referendum i voted for freedom. because i am a nationalist. and i voted for brexit. but this referendum, i'm going to vote to stay with the uk. why? immigration. on both sides, there are those who are fearful for the future. if we go independent, then you don't know what's round the corner. it's better the devil you know than the devil you don't. i would vote for independence, but i would be very wary. i think it's...leaving both the united kingdom and potentially europe, you'd have to ask some serious questions. polling suggests this will be close. nicola sturgeon hopes the tide is turning in herfavour. in a moment, we'll talk

to laura at westminster. but first, to sarah, at holyrood. thoughts on the timing of the first minister's announcement and indeed, the logic behind it, as you see it? well, the timing was quite deliberately designed to catch the uk government unawares. there have not been any conversations about the prospect of another referendum between the scottish and uk governments, and there probably will not be until after a vote in holyrood next week. sources close to the first minister said she did not feel any obligation to want theresa may that she was going to make this announcement, because she has not been given any indication about when

the prime minister intends to trigger article 50, and she has not been given much clue about the brexit proceedings. she did not even know the prime minister would say that the uk would leave the single market until she heard her say that in the lancaster house speech. relations have clearly become a little frosty this spring and there is now clearly a major fight on the way about the date of this future independence referendum. nicola sturgeon saint daybreak clearly it has to be before the uk leads the eu, because if it isn't, she's worried an independent scotland might be left out of the eu for yea rs. might be left out of the eu for years. theresa may will say the opposite and is likely to insist any vote happens after brexit is complete. that is quite an argument we have yet to see play out. thank you. let's go to westminster and laura. what should we read into theresa may's reaction today? the government is not ready today? the government is not ready to say yes but from a political point of view they know it would be extremely difficult to rule this out. nicola sturgeon's call for war

the referendum is a problem for the tories because they believe in the union and just as theresa may is grappling on how to get a dealfor the rest of the european union, this is another major battle which would require energy, effort, dedication, huge time and effort here in westminster and campaigning effort around the country? i think there is an awareness around government that is nicola sturgeon presses forward with these calls, ultimately it would be almost impossible from a political point of view for them to say no but they certainly want to play this long, as sarah was suggesting. in terms of the eu referendum, this today that this referendum, this today that this referendum at the end ofjune changed everything impolitic. just in the last few minutes the house of lords voted by an overwhelming

majority, despite all the objections they had, they have just overwhelmingly given the prime minister the power to push the button on brexit whenever she feels ready. we expect that will be probably in the last week of this month but today's offence north of the border have made theresa may's already extremely difficult job the border have made theresa may's already extremely difficultjob a great deal harder. lawro, again, thank you for the latest in westminster. —— laura. and there's more information on calls for another independence referendum in scotland, and the latest brexit developments, at bbc.co.uk/news. let's turn to the day's other main stories. aid agencies are warning that time is running out to save more than 20 million people who are facing famine in africa and the middle east. the united nations says the crisis in nigeria, south sudan, yemen and somalia threatens to be the worst in 60 years.

in somalia, conflict has intensified the effects of a two—year drought. it's left nearly 3 million people without enough water and food, and vulnerable to disease. our correspondent andrew harding is in baidoa, in south—west somalia. you may find some of the images in his report distressing. this is baidoa, a town besieged by two unforgiving enemies. the soldiers are here to guard against al—shabab, the militant islamists controlling the countryside in this corner of somalia. but it's the second enemy, drought, that is now far more dangerous. nine—year—old ali has just been carried into the local hospital. he is unconscious. but it's not from hunger. not yet. after three years of failed rains, clean water is hard to find. the doctors here believe they are battling a sudden

outbreak of cholera. inside, weak from diarrhoea, dozens of new cases. many families have walked miles get help. it's a cruel, opening salvo of disease before famine marches into town. we are feeling this situation is getting very bad. out of control? yes. due to the disease outbreak, this is totally different. and can you deal with that? with our capacity, no. for now, there's an orderly queue at baidoa's well. a nurse has volunteered to oversee the rationing. but every day more people are coming into town from the parched countryside. the famine is going fast, very fast. there isn't enough wheat. there isn't enough water. and the problem is very big. like any town under siege, this one is digging in and praying that reinforcements arrive soon.

as things stand, they only have enough supplies here to help one in ten of those who needed. in ten of those who need it. and there's little doubt things are going to get a lot worse. new arrivals seeking shade on the edge of town. during the last famine in 2011, many left it too late before moving to seek help. so maybe this counts as progress. but it's hard to get the timing right in such a gruelling climate. this woman buried herfour—year—old daughter and five—year—old son on thejourney here, probably cholera again. and what happens if the aid supplies run out? those helping say the main lesson of 2011 is to sound the alarm early. what we want to do different is we want to say there is a famine that is coming. we are sure it is going to come, and especially if the april rains fail. so what we are saying

is get us help now, get us the resources we need now, and we will save the children that need to be saved. and look how easy it can be. after 15 minutes of treatment in hospital, nine—year—old ali opens his eyes and asks his father for water. in a besieged town, one life saved, many more to go. from somalia to south sudan — where famine has already been declared in one state. the country has suffered from a brutal three—year civil war. it's displaced some 2.3 million people — creating even more problems for a country with insecure food supplies and a volatile economy. and it's now caused one of the world's biggest refugee crises. our correspondent catherine byaruhanga sent this report from northern uganda. bus after bus packed with refugees stream in. some of the world's biggest camps

can now be found here, where over 2500 south sudanese arrive in the country daily. most have travelled for weeks by foot to get to uganda. the passengers bring with them painful testimonies. it took this woman a month to get here, but the trauma of her five—year—old son's disappearance still haunts her. translation: gunmen raided my village. i was in the market and when i came home i could not find my son, isaac. i searched but he was nowhere. in the end i had to flee with my three other children and just a handful of clothes. margaret kade only managed to carry her handbag. a grandmother, she walked for three weeks, it was a painfuljourney. she told us the crisis is getting worse. translation: there is food at home but how can we collect it. the fighters are there morning, afternoon and night, so we had to leave with whatever we could carry on our heads and some of these things we had

to drop along the way. south sudan is the world's newest country that it has already been racked by three years of conflict, as the president and vice—president turn their political rivalry into an ethnic war. nobody really knows how many people have been killed, but over 3 million have been displaced. and this, the un says, has caused famine in parts of the country. it is not that there is no food in south sudan. it is just that people cannot access it. because of the constant fighting, people cannot plant, harvest or go to market. and if the fighting continues, more and more people will be forced to abandon their homes and become refugees. mary and rose were neighbours back home in south sudan, and when fighting erupted in their village, they fled together. they had to hide out in the bush on their way to safety, surviving on wild roots.

translation: soldiers surrounded the house at night and asked my husband and seven brothers to come out. they shot them in front of our home. i lay down on the floor with the children and only managed to run away when the gunshots stopped. despite efforts at peace, there is no clear sign that the war is about to end, and as long as long as the violence continues, the hunger will spread. a brief look at some of the day's other news stories. another of the "big six" energy suppliers has raised its prices. sse says its average electricity costs will go up byjust under 15% by the end of april — adding around £73 to the average dual fuel bill. scotland yard has appealed against a ruling that it failed victims of one of britain's most dangerous rapists. judges ruled two years ago that the force didn't properly investigate the london taxi driver, john worboys. the met says making it

liable for such failures would damage its effectiveness. worboys was jailed for life in 2009. the former football coach barry bennell has appeared in court charged with 12 new counts of historical child sex offences. the 63—year—old appeared at south cheshire magistrates' court via video—link from prison. he now faces a total of 20 sexual abuse allegations, relating to alleged incidents in the 1980s. hundreds of thousands of rail passengers have had theirjourneys disrupted — because a 24—hour strike — on some of the busiest lines in england. members of the rmt union at merseyrail, arriva trains north and southern rail took part in the walk—out. it's part of a dispute about changes to the role of conductors. our transport correspondent richard westcott has the details. the joys of the monday morning commute. welcome to the leeds train. passengers across northern england today hit by the same strike that

has caused months of misery for commuters in the south. northern are only running about 40% of their trains today. this is the eight o'clock train from keighley into leeds, a busy commuter service. it's really filling up now. it's been pretty busy. i mean, i usually get the train from ilkley, but there's no way i'd have got home. i finish work at half five, and the last train is at half five. it's a 24—hour strike with around 2,000 rail workers walking out today across three companies, northern, merseyrail and southern. three strikes, same issue — the introduction of driver—only controlled trains... please take all your belongings with you. ..where the driver takes over all of the safety critical jobs, jobs like closing the doors. which is currently done by the guard. we fundamentally believe that services operated on a driver—only, driver—controlled operation are fundamentally less safe. and every train in the uk should retain a second

safety—critical person on board. we put safety at the heart of everything we do. the independent rail regulator has actually indicated that this is as safe as conductor operation of the doors. this isn't about who opens and closes the doors, this is about giving our customers what they want. southern rail ran the bulk of its trains today, but merseyrail and northern struggled, stopping most of their services at around seven tonight. for many, it meant an early dash home. just panicking to get back before the last train at quarter past. if you've got a hospital appointment, it does panic you a little bit. as the last trains left a quieter than usual lead this evening, than usual leeds this evening, passengers are facing more disruption in future. richard westcott, bbc news, leeds. the dutch prime minister, mark rutte, and his main rival, geert wilders of the anti—islam freedom party,

have gone head—to—head in a televised debate two days before the parliamentary election in the netherlands. their respective parties are battling to become the largest in parliament. campaigning has been overshadowed by a diplomatic row between the netherlands and turkey. our chief correspondent gavin hewitt sent this report from rotterdam. long lines in rotterdam for the key confrontation of the dutch election. it pitched the prime minister mark rutte against challenger, geert wilders, anti—eu, anti—islam, a candidate who puts opposing immigration at the heart of his campaign. translation: they don't want to integrate. they disregarded our values. they want to rule over us and spit on us. the prime minister then challenged geert wilders over saying he wanted to remove korans from people's houses. translation: i still haven't heard how you're going to go door—to—door. i'm very curious how you're going to pick up those korans.

these two leaders are vying for top places in the polls. among this university audience we did not find much support for wilders. his main policy is all foreigners go back to their own countries. that is the whole point. and i don't think, it's not dutch. but out on the streets, it's a different story. a lot of my friends, i think 80% are supporting geert wilders, and that'sjust because we think he can bring the netherlands back, of what it was. all the other parties have vowed not to work with geert wilders, so it is most unlikely he will be able to form a government,