05/01/2014 BBC Weekend News

More wind and rain is forecast for the UK.

Joy for Australia as they crushed England to seal a five - zero Ashes

whitewash. Good afternoon. The Prime Minister

has promised to protect state pensions if the Conservatives win

the next election. David Cameron continued to bowl the so-called

triple lock which means pensions continue to rise in line with

prices, wages, or two wonder half -- 2.5%. More pennies in the pension

pot, as the Prime Minister Mrs, with his renewal of the existing policy

on the state pension if the Conservatives win then general

election. The so-called triple lock guarantees the state pension will

rise in line with whichever is highest, wages, prices, or 2.5%. I

want people when they reach retirement to know they can have

dignity in their old age. People who have worked hard, provided for their

families, they should then know that they will get a decent state pension

and they don't have to worry about it lagging behind prices. This is an

idea that has to be paid for by those who are working and not

everybody thinks it is reasonable to ask them to pay more. It seems

extremely unfair on young people who face a terrific amount of high costs

and will be paying for these higher pensions. It also seems

unaffordable. Richer or poorer, the pensioners are

the age group most likely to vote. The Conservatives see this is the

first plank of their election manifesto. Labour originally

supported the idea but will be under pressure to keep it if they win the

next election. The trimming back of pensioner benefits has not been

ruled out. More heavy rain and strong winds are

forecast for all areas of the UK today. The Met Office says the rain

will fall on ground already saturated, and with rivers already

swollen, more flooding is likely. 72 flood warnings are in place across

England and Wales - most of them in southern England and ten in

Scotland. And in Northern Ireland, the risk of flooding is highest

tomorrow. Chris Eakin is in Malmsbury in Wiltshire. It is about

looking to see how the rainfall affects river levels. If you take

for example where I am, on the upper reaches of the River Avon which ends

at Bristol, the water level has dropped overnight because there was

a bit of respite, but it will react extremely quickly to the new rain

which falls this afternoon, and that is why there is still a flood

warning here, one of 72 that you mentioned in England and Wales.

There is one in Sunderland in the north-east as well so this is not

just about the South of England. Northern Ireland are getting a lot

of rain today, and then as we go into next week we will see winds and

high tides. For those affected by localised flooding, today is a

waiting game again. The US Secretary of State, John

Kerry, says America is not planning to send troops back to Iraq despite

al Qaeda-linked militants seizing control of the key city of Fallujah.

Mr Kerry promised to help fight the militants, but said he was confident

the Iraqi government would win. It comes after Iraqi officials

acknowledged losing control of the city, which is 50 miles west of

Baghdad. Australia have crushed England

five-nil in the Ashes. In front of a packed ground in Sydney, they bowled

out England cheaply again to win the final Test by 281 runs. It's only

the third series whitewash in the 130 year history of the contest -

all of them have been Australian triumphs. From Sydney, our chief

Sports Correspondent Dan Roan reports. The urn had returned, the

whitewash was complete. Earlier Australia had compounded England's

agony. In the first innings Alastair Cook had gone second ball, today he

lasted until the second over. We knew what would happen next. They

may have been tempted to blame their tools, but the senior batsmen know

they have not been good enough here, Kevin -- Kevin Pietersen failing and

other batsmen then came and went in the blink of an eye. The only two

Englishman who leave here with them reputations intact, Ben Stokes and

Stuart Broad did at least go down with their bats swinging, but the

rout was complete. England losing by 281 runs, losing 5-0 and losing

perhaps like they have never lost before. We have obviously let the

supporters down because we have not played very well and the results

suggest that. The players have a feeling they have let themselves

down because we have not performed. It is only Stuart Broad and Ben

Stokes who have delivered close to their potential. Everyone else will

be hurting. This has arguably been England's worst tour other, and the

team will come under scrutiny. The inquest will now begin, but with

another Ashes series as soon as next year, answers are needed fast.

A massive rise in cash machine fraud is being fuelled by international

criminals targeting the UK, according to an undercover

investigation by the BBC's Inside Out programme. It's discovered

evidence that sophisticated equipment is being sold to thieves

so they can steal money from people's bank accounts. Mary Rhodes

reports. Toni Nicholls knows how it feels to become a cashpoint victim.

She had ?700 taken from her account at this supermarket cashpoint. I was

really upset, crying, thinking I had lost this money. Until then, there

was nothing suspicious. The thieves trapped her card and watched enter

her PIN, when she walked away, they withdrew her card and all her cash.

Other thieves are more sophisticated, like these ones

caught on CCTV. They are fitting a false front to this cashpoint with a

special device to read the information from cash cards. They

have also fitted a camera to record PIN numbers. They are not the only

ones active. This man, who says he is from America, is boasting about

the equipment he claims he's sold to thieves in the Midlands. We posed as

potential buyers to get him to talk. He said for $1000 he would supply

everything we needed. The UK is very good. It has always been a good

hotspot. You guys deal with pounds, that is why the Russians and

Bulgarians tried to go there. The money there is extremely good. We

discovered other websites offering the same type of equipment. Fraud

investigators have promised to act on our findings. This is an area

where there are increases and we are doing all we can to reverse that

trend. We will add this to the list of cases we take up on behalf of

people and try to get the people behind it. You can see more on that

story on Inside Out in the West Midlands tomorrow night at 7:30pm.

One of football's all time greats, the Portugal and Benfica striker

Eusebio, has died aged 71. He played 64 times for his country, scoring 41

goals, and was the top scorer in the 1966 World Cup. Patrick Gearey looks

back at his meteoric career. Eusebio... Oh, my word! The pictures

might be dated, the technique can still be admired. 1966 might be

remembered as the year England won the World Cup, but Eusebio was the

star of the tournament. He had no choice but to represent Portugal and

drove the side forward, often appearing to win matches on his own.

In the quarterfinal in 1966 Portugal were trailing, but Eusebio changed

everything. Defeat turning to victory by one man. In all, Eusebio

scored 44 goals for Portugal. He had come to prominence scoring twice for

Benfica in 1962. He was to become a personal -- prolific goal-scorer for

the club and defenders knew they had to stop him somehow. Nobby Stiles

here with a typically robust attempt. Eusebio was rarely

ruffled, his engaging demeanour was well-known and well used by

Portugal. Eusebio Da Silva Ferreira, a and national icon. That

is all from me. The next news is on BBC One at 5:35pm. Goodbye for now.

There are signs that over the week ahead, this would be some

improvement in the weather. But it has certainly been a very stormy

spell for all of