29/10/2011 BBC Weekend News

foreign troops in ten years of war 13 foreign soldiers and civilians

have been killed in a suicide bomb in Kabul.

Tens of thousands of passengers are left stranded around the world as

Qantas grounds all its flights. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

Welcome to Jim'll Fix It. One of the country's best known

broadcasters Sir Jimmy Savile has died at the age of 84

Good evening. In rugby, England Hello. A very good evening to you.

Miltiants in Afghanistan have carried out one of the deadliest

attacks on foreign troops in ten years of war. 12 Americans and a

Canadian are thought to have been killed in a suicide bomb attack on

a military convoy in the Afghan capital. Five of them were soldiers

and eight civilian members of the NATO led force ISAF. Four Afghans

also died in the blast on the outskirts of Kabul. Our

correspondent Quentin Sommerville has sent this report from the

Afghan capital In Syria activists say more than 20

people have died in the city of Homs, where there's been more heavy

gunfire as security forces try to stop anti-government protests.

The bus the troops were travelling in was heavily armoured. It had

bullet-proof plating, but the force of the explosion was so great it

blew it on its side. At the scene fire cruise worked to cordan off

the scene. The area was acted on by Afghan forces. This was one of the

deadliest attacks in the ten-year war. Four soldiers and eight ISAF

civilians died in the attack. All were mer, but -- American, but a

Canadian soldier may have been killed. It is quite a dramatic

incident today, and obviously, our feelings go out to the relatives of

those who have perished today. unusual for so many to die in a

single incident. Afghan civilians, including two students, were killed.

Most of the assaults were carried out by a Taliban faction. This was

last month when they fired on the US embassy and the international

mission's headquarters. That attack lasted 20 hours. It's usually the

civilians who bear the brunt of the attacks, but today it was American

forces who suffered. The actual number of assaults here in Kabul

has fallen over the last year but time and time again the Taliban and

the Hakani network are able to penetrate the city's defences. In

the coming years, forces will leave and the country will take on the

task. Quentin is live for us in Kabul.

What more do we know about who carried out this attack? It has all

the hallmarks of the Taliban network. There is an ongoing

investigation. We won't know who carried it out until that's over.

The other important thing here is British and American troops will

finish combat operations at the end of 2014. After then, those Afghan

security forces will be facing the Taliban - not just hear in Kabul

but across the country, and they'll largely be doing that on their own.

Many thanks. In Syria, activists say more than

20 people have died in the city of Homas where there has been more

heavy gunfire as security forces try to stop anti-government

protests. The violence comes despite Arab foreign ministers

issuing an urgent call to Syria to end the killing of civilians after

nearly forty people died yesterday Thousands of passengers around the

world have been left stranded after the Australian airline Qantas

grounded all its domestic and international flights in an

industrial dispute. The airline says it will lock out its employees

until they agree a deal. The Australian Government has referred

the matter to an industrial tribunal. Hundreds of people here

in the UK have been affected, as Joe Lynam reports.

The kangaroos on Qantas's tailfins were going no-where today, and

passengers, politicians and trade unions were hopping mad. They just

said, unfortunately all flights, internal, domestic and

international have been cancelled, so sort yourselves out. Bye.

just leaves a really bad taste in your mouth. I have heard so many

people say I am never going to play Qantas again. The lawyers were

called in to try to end the lock- out. What we're seeing is a

circumstance with this industrial dispute that could have

implications for our national economy. Qantas is the world's 10th

biggest airline, but tonight more than a hundred of its aircraft are

grounded across 22 airports worldwide. That disrupts the travel

plans of more than 13,000 Qantas customers over the next 24 hours

and costs the company around �13 million a day. Last August, Qantas

said it needed to cut its workforce and refocus itself towards Asia.

That sparked strikes from employees, which the company has said has cost

its money and forced it to take these measures. As the action

continues as the unions have promised, we'll have no choice but

to close down Qantas part by part. This is a pre-conceived, pre-

planned attempt to hoodwink the shareholders, the Australian

community and destroy the Qantas brand. For now the matter is in the

hands of an Australian relations tribunal which has adjourned until

tomorrow afternoon. It could order Qantas back into the skies. Here in

Britain, the four flights that operate from Heathrow were also

cancelled. The airline promised to rebook, reroute or refund all

affected passengers. The advice is to check before you leave for the

airport. 22 years ago an American airline, Eastern, locked out some,

but not all, of its staff and it resulted in the liquidation of the

airline. It is hoped history doesn't repeat itself.

One of the country's best-known broadcasters, Sir Jimmy Savile, has

died at the age of 84. With a career that spanned 40 years, he

was famous for his show Jim'll Fix It and for being the first and last

presenter of Top of the Pops. Sir Jimmy was also well known for his

charity work raising more than �40 million. Many tributes have been

paid tonight, and Prince Charles said he was saddened by the news.

Nick Higham looks back at his life. Jimmy Savile loved the limelight,

and crowds loved him, but underneath the flamboyant showman

heaf, profound enigma. He'd become a disc jockey - one of the very

first - after a stint as a wrestler. He became famous for his

catchphrases, his dyed hair and his eccentric clothes.

He was instantly recognisable. He was a wonderful marketing man - a

promotion man for himself, a recognisable dress, stylised speech.

"Goodness gracious," "As it happens," "Now then, now then" he

founded his career on. In Savile's Travels he broadcast from all

around the country. We shall play you a nice piece of music.

# Jim'll Fix It # For 20 years he ran Jim'll Fix It,

fulfilling order flair people's dreams like the lucky boy who got

to visit a model train factory. He became a rich man and wasn't shy of

showing it. He was an outrageous publicist, but he also put his

money to use, raising money for charities. He ran marathons. He

worked regularly at Leeds Infirmary as a porter. All my life I was

governed by a fund, a single fella, no expenses. Every day is Christmas

day, every night is New Year's Eve. It was all fun. It was fun when it

started, and it's fun today, and there is nothing wrong with a bit

of fun. Outside his Leeds home today, a fan laid flowers in

tribute and his family issued a statement. Jimmy was a wonderful

man. His public face is well known, but we knew him much more as an

uncle. He was a very good friend. He was a difficult man to fathom.

Louis Theroux made a documentary on him in which they travelled to

Scarborough and the flat his mother once lived.

The walls are suede. He was a man who was shy of commitments and

relationships. Why is it said in interviews you

don't have emotions? Because it's easier. Truth is I am good at

masking them. He was in the end a lonely man, who found consolation

in doing good. There's to be a big increase in the

amount of money welfare claimants who break the law can have docked

from their benefits to pay for court fines. The sum's being raised

from five pounds a week to a maximum of twenty five pounds from

2013. But the Government's been criticised for the move, as Ben

Geoghegan reports. After the looting and lawlessness

of the summer, the Government promised a fight-back. Today

Ministers announced tougher penalties for offenders on benefits.

At the moment the courts have the powers to take �5 a week out of

someone's benefits in order to pay a fine or compensation. In future

they'll be able to deduct �25. we're saying is the court should be

able to take �25 a week off someone who has broken the law. It's for

the court to decide, giving them extra powers to say crime doesn't

pay. Nearly 2,000 people have been brought before the court since the

riots in England. 35% of them were claiming benefit for being out of

work. In Ealing in West London, they're still rebuilding after

businesses and shops were trashed, so do people here think today's

announcement is a good idea? Actually, if you have done the

crime, pay for it. I don't see how anybody can live with �25 less on

state benefits enif they have committed crimes. Labour support a

tough response and agree the course should have as much as they need to

make people pay for their crimes. Some think this plan could backfire.

If someone has a family, and they have to pay �25 week after week,

they'll be plunged into poverty, and what'll happen is they'll have

to commit more crimes in order to feed the children. The hope is,

faced with losing a chunk of their benefits, people will think twice

about breaking the law in future. Michael D Higgins has been

officially confirmed as the ninth Irish President. The Labour

candidate and poet, who said he wanted to be a President for all

the people, will be inaugurated on the 11th of November.

Residents in the Thai capital Bangkok are bracing themselves for

high tide tonight as floodwaters continue to wreak havoc in the city.

Thousands of people have already fled as many parts of the northern

suburbs remain under water. Our correspondent Rachel Harvey reports.

Desperate attempts to plug the leaks - flood barriers that have

held until now are under pressure. High tide is approaching. This

riverside community is racing to reinforce its defences. They're

used to living with the water's ebb and flow, but this is different.

TRANSLATION: If we can hold the water back, it should be OK. But it

is so high. We can't pump the water out fast enough. In 20 years we

have never had flooding inside here. Elsewhere, the battle is already

lost. A district in a major capital city is being abandoned to the

floods, people retreating to the safety of dry ground. Boats now

dominate where cars were once king. It's no longer safe to stay here,

he says. The level has been rising for the past three days. Many are

forced to wade through the increasingly filthy floodwater.

You see people up to their chests in really stinking water, and it's

only going to be worse if the water rises in Bangkok with the sewage

something that overflows when it's just a flash flood anyway, so these

are big concerns. In the centre of town, life continues much as normal,

withs some extra precautions. Just look at the height of this sandbag

wall. It's outside a bank in the central business district of

Bangkok. There are no floodwaters here. It's completely dry, but the

Government told everybody to be prepared for the worst this weekend,

and this gives you an indication of just how worried people are.

It's easy to see why. Even if most of Bangkok is spared the worst, it

will take weeks for the floods to subside.

Now all the day's sport. Thank you very much indeed. This is

a warning if you don't want to know the scores, but we start with Rugby

League. But we start with Rugby League and the first game in the

Four nations for England and Wales. And it turned into a very good day

for England and their fullback Sam Tomkins.

Wales' real headache proved to be the England full-back Sam Tompkins.

He gave the match of the match performance, crossing the line

twice in the opening 20 minutes. Wales were far from overwhelmed,

but they couldn't stop them from bagging a third try before halftime.

England and Tompkins picked up where they left off after the

interval. He added more tries as they tried to swamp the opponents.

The home side ran in eight tries in total, with this score the last

action of the match. Their 42-4 victory should provide a marvellous

confidence boost for Steve McNamara's side, but that might not

be enough with Australia and New Zealand to face over the coming

weeks. Having lost the one-day series five-nil, England's

cricketers have beaten India in their 'one-off' Twenty 20 match in

Kolkata. And it was a man with a broken thumb - Kevin Pieterson -

who defied the pain to help England defeat India for the first time at

20/20. He hit a sparkling 53 including three sixes, as England

won by six wickets. Match of the Day follows the news on BBC1, so if

you don't want to know the results - please do look away now - and

mute the sound. There was quite a game at Stamford Bridge as Arsenal

defeated Chelsea - helped by three goals from Robin Van Persie. For

the second time in a few days Manchester City made life difficult

for Wolves, with a 3-1 win at home to stay five points clear at the

top. Elsewhere, Manchester United won at Everton, Norwich drew with

Blackburn whilst Sunderland and Aston Villa shared the points as

well. And there were wins for Swansea, West Brom and Fulham.

Rangers are nine points clear at the top of the Scottish Premier

League after a 2-1 victory over ten-man Aberdeen. Celtic drew at

home with Hibernian. Dunfermline were hammered by Dundee United.

Hearts lost at home to Kilmarnock. That is all the sport. Thank you

very much indeed. Just a reminder, the clocks go back

at 2.00am. But from all of us, good It has been a very mild October,

and that doesn't look like changing over the last couple of days of the

month. Temperatures will stay up overnight, and it will be another

mild day tomorrow. It might start off grey, but most places will

brighten up with some sunny spells developing by afternoon. It's quite

cloudy out there at the moment. There has been heavy rain across

Northern England and North Wales. The band of rain working south, but

tending to fizzle out. A drizzly, misty night, but temperatures

mostly staying in double figures. Sunday will start off grey. Some

southern counties will keep the cloud throughout the day, but it

should brighten up across eastern Wales and the Midlands. Sunny

spells for most of the day across Eastern England and Scotland. The

cloud thickens in the west. These southernmost counties are likely to

stay quite drab, but over the northern home counties, parts of

East Anglia and most of the Midlands, it will cheer up with

hazy sunshine, lifting temperatures to 17 Celsius. Tote east of the

Pennines, Eastern Scotland, it should be a fine day. Clouding over