23/07/2012 BBC News at One

With just four days to go, the president of the international

Olympic committee declares that he's very, very happy with security

at the London Games. Jacques Rogge says bringing in the army after the

G4S security fiasco was a "good strategy", but now it's time to

move on. Leading the way, Sir Chris Hoy is

named as Team GB's flagbearer at Friday's opening ceremony.

Arab League foreign ministers call on Syria's President Assad to

resign and offer his family safe passage out of the country.

Concerns grow as Spain's borrowing costs hit record highs. Shares

prices across Europe fall. After dairy farmers stage more

protests. Talks to resolve the dispute over milk prices.

President Obama visits Colorado and speaks to the families of those

killed in Friday's mass shooting at a cinema. I come to them not so

much as a president, as I do as a Delays and frustration for drivers

as changes to the road network take place in time for the Games.

We follow the Olympic torch as it Good afternoon and welcome to the

BBC News at One. With just four days to go before the opening

ceremony, the president of the International Olympic Committee,

Jacques Rogge, says he is confident about the security operation

despite the recent concerns. He says bringing in the Armed Forces

to make up the shortfall caused by the security firm G4S has been a

good strategy and it is time to move on. We will have the latest on

the build-up to the Games including the announcement in the last hour

that Sir Chris Hoy will carry the Union flag for Team GB at the

opening ceremony. James Pearce is Good afternoon, Sophie. After all

these years of waiting, it is feeling very special and really

exciting to be standing inside the Olympic Park at what is the start

of Olympic Week and behind me, the velodrome, a venue, if there is is

one is a banker for a Team GB gold medal and at least some more. We

found out just in the last hour that one of the people who will be

gracing the stage, Sir Chris Hoy will carry Team GB's flag at

He is carried the Olympic torch during its journey around the UK,

but now Sir Chris Hoy has been handed the greatest honour for any

British Olympian, the flagbearer for the closing ceremony in Beijing

will have the same role for the opening ceremony in front of a home

crowd and the eyes of the world in London on Friday evening. Hoy has

been selected is no surprise. A winner of three gold medals in

Beijing, he looked to be the outstanding candidate when the

votes of members of Team GB were counted over the week.

Chris Hoy is a fantastic example of everything that is good about an

Olympic athlete. He is successful. He uses that success to inspire

more people to take up his sport and he is a great role model. So

I'm delighted that he has been selected.

Pool is unlikely to become an Olympic sport soon and you can see

why the president of the International Olympic Committee,

Jacques Rogge, doesn't list this amongst his past times. There was a

relaxed atmosphere in the athletes village as the countdown continues.

I think that every Games has their own identity. Going to Athens was

coming back to the country that invented the Olympic Games, back to

the roots. Going to Beijing was going to the largest country.

The Princess Royal has been here this morning, having a look around

the Olympic Park. It is looking good in the sunshine, only four

more days until it starts to fill with spectators. Right now, it is

mainly athletes and they seem to like what they see.

Now we know who will carry the Team GB flag, what we won't know until

it happens is who is going to light the cauldron. It will be one of the

iconic images from the Games. A lot of debate about who it should be,

is it going to be Sir Steve Redgrave for Daley Thompson. There

is a war of words between those two men at the weekend. Will the London

organising committee choose one or the other or go for someone

different? I don't think we will find that out until it happens.

That's what the organisers are hoping anyway.

James Pearce, thank you very much. Well, with me is Dennis Hone, the

Chief Executive of the Olympic Delivery Authority, responsible for

building the Olympic venues. Thank you very much for joining us. It

looks fantastic in the sunshine, I bet after all these years, working

on these venues, you can hardly believe it is about to happen?

That's right. With only four days to go, this has been a seven year

journey. I'm looking forward to the sports starting after the planning,

testing and construction stages. We wanted to finish the permanent

venues so they could be tested and we have hit the schedules.

Within the venues is there anything left to be done? Is it all ready

for the athletes to arrive? It is just dressing the venues to make

sure they look their best at the start of competition. The athletes

arrived in the Olympic village and they are using test facilities. At

this moment, everything is on schedule.

It cost billions and billions of pounds to achieve this. What

happens afterwards? It will be over before we know it in one sense,

won't it? Can you guarantee the venues will still nb use in years

to come? Well, already the legacy operators are in place. The

velodrome is going to be run by the Lea Valley Regional Park Authority.

Most venues have operators. Most, but not all? On the IBC, MBC,

there is a preferred bid near place. We are hopeful that within six

months or so all of the venues will have operators named.

If we come back in years to come, the fear with any Olympics is you

end end up with white elephants. Athens has venues that are unused.

Are you sure these will be thriving in years to come? Well, I believe

so. There has been a a investment in this -- been a huge investment

in this. As I say, the operators have been put in place and they are

on long-term arrangements so I think we will be able to have

facilities for community events and elite athletes for years to come.

Team GB and Adam Parsons is at the Team GB HQ in Stratford. Yes, this

is the nerve centre for Team GB, organised by the British Olympic

Association. We're nine storeys up. This is where the decisions will be

made about the comings and goings of athletes over the next few weeks.

We have got the logistics for how do you move horses, javelins? All

the bits you need to keep a team running. So far we have seen a

number of athletes coming and going and the mood has been one of

infectious enthusiasm. Great acclaim for the decision to have

Sir Chris Hoy carrying that Olympic flag. Athletes said he was the

outstanding candidate. The man who carried the flag at the closing

ceremony four years ago gets to do the same job here this. Is where

the loved ones of athletes will come. The friends and the family,

and those who spent those years encouraging their sons, daughters,

wives, husbands, to train in preparation for the Olympics. They

will be coming here in order to greet them afterwards, we are

expecting emotional reunions to take place behind the doors of this

building. Also where the management will take the decisions. It reminds

me of Churchill's war rooms where we used to see the films of people

pushing battleships around. It is the same thing here, it is about

moving, athletes, cars, and parts around London and down to Weymouth,

all over the place and keeping track of performance. In Beijing

Team GB produced a remarkable performance to come fourth in the

medal table. The the expectations may not be to go above that, but it

would be to remain fourth. If Britain did that in competition

with France, Germany and Australia, that would be a remarkable

achievement. Thank you very much.

Arab League foreign ministers have called on the Syrian president,

Bashar al-Assad, to resign rapidly and end the unrest in his country.

They've offered his family safe passage out of Syria. The calls

come after more heavy fighting in Damascus where Government forces

have recaptured several parts of the capital. Fierce clashes have

also been reported in the city of Aleppo. Our Middle East

correspondent, Wyre Davis, reports Aleppo is Syria's commercial centre.

Keeping control of it is vitally important to the Assad regime.

There are huge numbers of well armed Government forces here,

determined to stop the rebel advance. Some of the heaviest

fighting has been taking place at an infantry academy outside the

city which is still in Government hands. But in towns and cities

across the country, including Damascus itself, likely armed rebel

fighters continue to take on their much better equipped enemy. Dozens

have been killed. More than one million-and-a-half Syrians have

been displaced by the fighting. There are 12,000 refugees at this

Turkish border camp alone. With the help of charlt, -- charity, they

are able to cope, but the longer the fighting continues, the more

Syrians are spilling out of their own country to avoid the bloodshed.

At this safe house, just on the Turkish side of the border, about

20 young men, are being treated for bullet wounds and injuries. Some

are almost certainly rebel fighters. Others say they were taking part in

demonstrations when they were shot. TRANSLATION: We were in a protest

and the Army shot at us with automatic weapons. A bullet shot me

from my leg and it broke the bone of my leg.

Amid international concerns about Syria's stockpile of chemical

weapons, the Foreign Ministry in da Damascus said they were secure, but

threatened to use them in the event Our correspondent Jim Muir is

watching events from neighbouring Lebanon. Jim a worrying new twist

in the Syrian conflict as a foreign ministry spokesman insists that his

country's stock of chemical weapons is secure and will only be used in

the event of a foreign attack. That's right. This was meant to be

an assurance rather than a threat. What he said was because there is a

lot of speculation about if its back is to the wall, the regime

mile pull the chemical weapons out and start using them. He said not.

He said however, this crisis evolves, we will not use chemical

weapons against our own people. The only logic for having them is to

face an external aggression. Now, everybody knows that Syria has

chemical weapons and everybody assumes that if it were to be

attacked by outside forces, it would be tempted to use them as

indeed, probably many other countries would too. So that

assurance about not using them against its own people is coupled

with this kind of standing threat really that they might be used

against an outside intervention which is not on the cards anyway.

But from the point of view of the western powers in Israel, those

assurances are not really calming for their anxieties, they are

worried they might be used against the internal population and they

are also worried that should the regime collapse those chemical

weapons might fall into the hands of radical groups. That's what they

are worried about and the Syrian regime can't guarantee that that

Spain's long-term borrowing costs hit a record high today. The

interest rate passed 7.5%, its highest level since the euro was

launched. Our chief economics correspondent, Hugh Pym, joins me.

Just how much trouble is Spain actually in, Hugh?

Well, Sophie, a lot of trouble and maybe more so today because at one

point Spain's borrowing cost over ten years rose to nearly 7.6%.

That's well above the 7% level widely seen as the danger sign if

you like, that's when Greece, Ireland and Portugal got into into

trouble and they need add bail out. More speculation about whether

Spain a bigger economy will need to be bailed out. More bad news for

Spain today, in the shape of the economy, came from the Central Bank,

the bank of Spain who estimate the economy contracted by more so the

recession getting deeper there which makes it harder for the

Government to bring down its deficit.

Does it have implications for the UK? The eurozone is a big trading

partner for the UK. So what happens in the eurozone, Spain included,

will impact on the UK. We will hear more about this on Wednesday when

economic output figures for the UK are published for the second

quarter of this year. They are expected to show another decline.

The UK recession getting worse. The Government will argue it is because

of the eurozone's problems and slowdowns elsewhere in the world

that the UK is contracting. The International Monetary Fund

downgraded the UK's growth prospects by more than any for any

leading economy. Labour will argue it has more to do with what is is

happening with policy here rather than in the eurozone.

With just four days to go, the president of the International

Olympic Committee declares that he is very, very happy with security

And coming up: I'm live at Wimbledon. On day 66 of the torch

relay, the Olympic Flame will be carried by some of the most famous

names from the world of tennis. On BBC London: The pop artist Peter

Blake on his latest exhibition in the capital.

And how long will this spell of Within hours of becoming the first

British cyclist ever to win the Tour de France, Bradley Wiggins

left Paris to start preparing for the Olympics.

The three-times Olympic track champion said he will be back on

his bike later today and he will be going for gold in the time trial in

London. Dan is at the National Cycling

Centre for us now. Well, no sign yet of Bradley Wiggins here at the

home of British cycling. He is back with his family at home in

Lancashire before he steps up the preparations for the Olympics, but

his success has high lighted the rise of his sport, inspired by a

clutch of Gold Medals at the 2008 Beijing Games. Membership in

British cycling has doubled in the last four years, now it seems set

for a fresh boost. 4 claim to the summit of his sport

was complete, after three weeks and 2,000 miles in the saddle, Bradley

Wiggins was fully entitled to enjoy his triumph, but this was a victory

celebrated well beyond Paris it underlined Britain's status as a

cycling nation. On the whistle guys, 3, 2, 1...

Back here at the National Cycling Centre, the Tour de France feel-

good factor was evident. These youngsters, some of the 2 million

people that the sports estimates get on a bike every week. A new

generation of cyclists with a new hero to follow.

It is awesome. It inspired me. Do you want to follow in his foot

steps? Compete in the Tour de France one day? Yep. I want to be

like him. Yesterday was a victory parade for

Bradley Wiggins, but he helped another of the sport's stars, Mark

Cavendish win a fourth successive sprint in the capital.

Back here in Manchester, the country's growing list of recent

medallists are honoured, so how has the sport come such a long way

since the days on the margins? It is fantastic what it has achieved

from the National Lottery and the support from Sky.

It is truly phenomenal, but it is a journey that would not have

happened without the volunteers who, make cycling happen at grass roots

levels. To think, that this could be just a

prelude to more achievement, the next stage for Bradley Wiggins and

his teem mates is on home soil. The aim an Olympic gold.

Well on Saturday, Bradley Wiggins is to swap the Champs Elysees for

the Mall as he tries to help Mark Cavendish win the 250 kilometre

road race and then a week on Wednesday, Bradley Wiggins is to

try to win a fourth Olympic gold when he tries to triumph in the

time trial. Coming off the back of the news you heard earlier about

Sir Chris Hoy, Britain's summer of success in cycling may not be over

yet. Talks between dairy farmers and

milk processing firms are taking place to resolve the dispute over

prices. Farmers say they could be driven out by a further cut in the

price for milk. They staged protests last night in Shropshire

and Somerset. Our correspondent is in Powys.

Sophie, this is Britain's biggest annual meeting of farmers. It

follows more than a week of demonstration and direct action. On

one side the farmers who say that their industry is in a crisis. Some

say that they stand to lose as much as two pence on a pint of milk that

leaves the farm gate, but on the other side, the retailers who say

they are giving them a fair price. In the middle are the ministers,

trying to broker a deal. It's the one week of the year when

they are meant to relax, but the heat is on. Dairy farmers here, no

public procession of politicians, but the ministers from across the

UK have been trying to hammer out the terms of a voluntary code for

the industry, where the farmers should have a cost of production

covered. A voluntary agreement would bring

goodwill to both sides of the industry. Also flexibility to

ensure that dairy farmers get a fair price for their milk.

How much do we make on a litre of milk? I am not privilegeed to

provide you with that information... Eager to put pressure on the super

markets, the taerpls targeted ASDA's store. The company say that

they will increase the premium to pay dedicated farmers two pence

litre, but some say that is not enough.

It is tight. The future was tight enough previously for young farmers

to be in the industry without cutting the price further.

Finding a deal that pleases every side will not be easy. The farmers

are convinced that the public are behind them.

The majority of people we have found are willing to pay more. The

supermarkets use milk as a loss- leader to bring them into the store,

but it does not always work. People have the feeling it is the wrong

way around to complete a long- lasting supply of milk.

The future of the dairy industry will not be decided in a day, but

deals made here could change how much you pay for your pint of milk.

Well, after today, attention will turn to the Government talks with

the supermarkets on Wednesday. If nothing comes from that, the

governments in Wales and Scotland have said that they are prepared to

legislate on this. So that they can guarantee a fair deal for farmers

in their countries. President Obama has visited

Colorado to meet victims of Friday's shooting at a cinema in

the city of Aurora. He told the bereaved families that the whole of

America is thinking of them. Nine people are in a critical condition,

following the attack that left 12 people dead.

# A weary land. # At the heart of this traumatised city, the people

had come to pay their last respects and to grieve a terrible tragedy.

A special welcome for those in uniform and those who fast action

in the moments after the shooting undoubtedly saved lives.

A couple of hours earlier, President Obama, arrived in Aurora

to meet survivors and families of the dead.

I come to them not so much as the President, as I do as a father and

as a husband. I think that the reason stories

like this have such an impact on us is because we can all understand

what it would be. The man he is talking about, James

Holmes, is die to appear in court later today, charged with multiple

counts of first degree murder. There were tributes and prayers

from community leaders and officials. The names of the dead

read out one by one. AJ Boik. We will remember.

Jesse Childress. We will remember. As the service ended, the faces of

those who had lost loved ones, said everything that needed to be said.

This service has been a huge outpouring of emotion. The first

real opportunity for survivors, family members of those killed, and

the whole community to come together to reflect on a tragedy

that affect sod many people. -- affected so many people.

The Chinese capital, Beijing, has been hit by the heaviest rain in 60

years. Nearly 40 people died after 170 millimetres of rain fell in the

city. The authorities are facing criticism of response with

questions being asked about the state of the infrastructure and the

poor drainage system. At least 80 people have died and

more than 200 injured in a series of bomb and gun attacks in Iraq.

Many of those killed were in the security forces it is one of the

worst days of violence since American forces withdrew from the

country at the end of last year. In cricket, England have reached

177 for five at lunch as they attempt to avoid defeat on day five

of the First Test against South Africa at the Oval. The visitors

took one wicket. Ravi Bopara fell for 152.

It is a strange fact of Test cricket that in trying to draw a

match reputations can be won or lost. Ravi Bopara is a case in

point. Unconvincing in the first innings, he had the chance to be a

hero. But in a moment, Dale Steyn

shattered that Downing Street. The breakthrough that the tourists

needed and England needed to prevent. Survival would now need

luck, Ian Bell got some. His touch should have been clutched by

Theresa Villiers. Matt Prior enjoy as scrap and using well-judged

punches he began to fight back, but South Africa missed a knock-out

chance. Ian Bell set out on a run at that could have been the end of

Matt Prior had Theresa Villiers's hands reached the stumps.

The Olympic torch continues its journey around London, covering

almost 37 miles today it will be carried by the one-time captain of

the Star ship Enterprice, Patrick Stewart before appearing in a

special edition of EastEnders tonight.

Indeed, Patrick Stewart, Wimbledon to EastEnders, quite a jump, but we

are used to that first, we have been looking at the journey this

morning. Thousands of people and that blend of showbiz and reality.

Five days and counting. In the south London borough of Lewisham,

Doreen Lawrence bore the Olympic Flame in memory of her son, Stephen,

murdered in a racist attack in 1993. Around her family, friends and

strangers united in support. It is fantastic. Driving along the

road, the amount of people out, so early in the morning. Waving. I

think before, people said how do you feel, but I was taking it in my

stride, but today, it is a completely different situation.

To the south to the Crystal Palace Stadium a veteran venue, echoing to

the roar of the crowd as Marlon Devonish jogged to the finish of

his stage. Then was mobbed by athletes from

Brazil, training here. I really enjoyed it. I didn't think

I would enjoy it so much. It is a great second-best as I did

not make the team. Honoured to be carrying the flame.

On through the London suburbs, drawing in scout leaders, charity

campaigners, local personalities as the temperature and the pre-Olympic

excitement climbed. Around anticipation here, but for

different reasons, Albert Square, decked out in relay colours to host

the torch live as EastEnders joins the party. 400 extras and members

of the torch convoy combining to give the torchbearer a surreal

experience. There is no way we could not have

some kind of Olympic content, bearing in mind that Walford is

almost next door to Stratford, fictionally. I this it is fantastic.

I love it when we do stuff like this. When real life and fiction

blur, as it were. Is reality.

Daniel Blake who lost his wife to cancer last December, dedicated his

life to his young son and to a charity set up in Nicky's name.

Every step he took was in memory of her smile.

Sorry about the pictures of that report, but we wanted to get Daniel

in to ensure he got a mention of the journey. Later on Andy Murray

is to carry the flame into Centre Court. To show it there. He is to

and that to Venus Williams, she will run there to Henman Hill. That

is not the end of the tennis connection. Later on, the man

himself, Tim Henman is to light the cauldron in tooting in south London

for the finale. Now, the latest weather with Matt

Taylor. Taylor.

He is basking in the sunshine. It make as change.

It is lovely to be out in the sunshine. I'm sure that the

organisers as well as the ticket holders will love this to last

three weeks, I hate to say it will struggling to last to the weekend,

but it is a case of summer is on for the vast majority of the

population it is a sunnyed a fairly hot afternoon. There is that heat,

but it is not the same everywhere. A huge contrast on the temperatures.

There in the south-east corner, the temperatures are up to 26 Celsius.

In Scotland and Northern Ireland, cooler.

The temperatures there midteens at best and evident why. There is the

satellite picture. It has lots of cloud. Under that there is heavy

rain. It continues to rain and lash it down for some parts of western

Scotland Forsythe the rest of the afternoon. In Northern Ireland, the

rain gets heavier. A breeze to go with it.

The northern half of Scotland, one or two showers. Bright here, but in

the southern areas, the rain to get heavier and wetter in parts of the

north-west of England. That said, much of northern England

is dry and bright. Good sunny breaks to the east of

the Pennines. Dry and bright in the north a and

the west of Wales. In the south and the south-east,

the sun is there, throughout the day and into the evening, the

temperatures peaking at 22 Celsius. Getting close to the warmest day of

the year so far. With that, the sun is strong and the pollen levels are

high. Clear skies in the north of

Scotland tonight, but the area of wetter weather is nudging to the

south. It could be drier in central parts of Scotland but turning

wetter in Cumbria and even the far north-west of Wales.

In the south-east, the muggy conditions continuing.

Tomorrow, the weather front is still with us.

It is in the same sort of areas. Parts of Northern Ireland, central

Scotland could be drier and brighter before the rain turns

later. Wetter in Cumbria. Dumfries, Galloway, that rain could

cause problems. In the south, more cloud for northern England and

Wales, but in the south-east it gets hotter. Highs could be up to

30 Celsius. Sunny into Wednesday. More cloud in

Wales and northern England. To the northern flank of that, sunny

spells and the warmth lasting into spells and the warmth lasting into

the evening. Now, a reminder of the top story: