06/08/2013 BBC News at Six

have been pulled out, following heightened fears of a terror attack.

High alert on the streets of the Yemeni capital, with America saying

it has credible evidence of an Al-Qaeda attack in the planning.

Tonight at the BBC has been told Al-Qaeda extremists have been

gathering in the Yemeni capital. Also on the programme, the father of

this 14-year-old girl says she killed herself after being bullied

online. Friends have been paying tribute to her. She was a really

nice girl, you would not think anybody would want you would just

think she was so happy. Two boys aged five and seven are killed by a

the reptile had escaped from a pet shop. Music on Mars - Curiosity

Rover celebrates one year on the Red Planet with a Martian melody. And

coming up in sport, Luis Suarez will miss Liverpool's three season

friendly in Norway with a foot injury, as doubts remain about his

staff in the Middle Eastern state of Yemen have been taken out of the

country, in the wake of a security alert. The Foreign Office is

contacting any other British citizens who remain there. In the

last 24-hour scum it has emerged that US intelligence has intercepted

conversations about a possible attack in Yemen. Our security

correspondent, Frank Gardner, reports. Getting out of Yemen -

Western expatriates heading for the airport today. Britain has now

closed its embassy. It is empty, but guarded. The several dozen British

staff there have been flown home today. The reason behind this is

intercepted messages between Al-Qaeda leaders. The US says it has

overheard a conversation between this man, and the Al-Qaeda leader,

hiding in Pakistan. Their conversation Ruth Porter bespoke of

a strategic attack on US interest rates. -- reportedly spoke. I think

this is very real. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has heatedly woven

itself to be dangerous. I think this has particularly got American and

European officials worried. Al-Qaeda operatives have access to trucks,

explosives and volunteers. They have also placed explosives on

international flights three times now. The BBC has learned that Yemeni

counterterrorism forces are on high alert after detecting several

Al-Qaeda operatives arriving in the capital, believed to be targeting

Western embassies and the Yemeni military. When I visited the Yemeni

border with Saudi Arabia this year, the Saudi guards complained that

since the Arab Spring uprisings, there has been almost no security on

the Yemeni side. So, to hit back on Al-Qaeda, Ashington has resorted to

missiles fired by the deeply unpopular unmanned drones, which

often kill civilians as well as militants. But the Foreign Minister

says they have few alternatives. fact is that if your target is

Al-Qaeda, and if they are endangering the security of your

country, there is no alternative. Impoverished Yemen's problems extend

well beyond international terrorism. The world wants to help, and the

embassies will have to reopen, but when they do, the threat of attack

will still be there. Al-Qaeda may well wait for another opportunity.

There will be surprised that after all these years, Al-Qaeda can still

think about mounting this kind of operation. It is very depressing. I

think the reason is that Yemen is a very difficult country for law

enforcement to be spread out in oral areas. There is pretty good security

on the whole in the cities, but out in the more remote provinces, it is

an ideal refuge for them. They are living with the tribes. The

government cannot go in there, rather like the Pakistani government

has problems getting into the more remote parts of the tribal

territories. So, why are they so rattled by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian

Peninsula? Three reasons. It is relatively easy for them to get into

the capital with trucks and explosives and guns and threaten

Western embassies. If they cannot get to the US Embassy, they will

look for another European target. Hence the embassies closing when

they get these threats. There is also the threat of putting bombs on

planes, which they have done three times. And also, there is the

propaganda element, they have got people writing for magazines,

targeting young and impressionable people.

The latest review of the state of the NHS in England has called for a

complete cultural change to put patient safety above everything

else. The report, repaired by President Obama's health adviser,

Don Berwick, says that in rare cases, staff should face criminal

sanctions. Tonight, the report has been described as a missed

opportunity. Branwen Jeffreys reports. This is where making care

as a first starts, with the patient, at the bedside. At this Birmingham

Hospital, nurses and doctors write straight into a patient's record.

The tablet computer links up to a system which monitors quality. That

feeds back to each ward, to say how it is doing, day by day. The nurse

in charge told me it had really pushed them to make improvements.

is a really good quality indicator of how well we are performing, as

award, and the care that we are giving to our patients. This ward is

monitoring day by day how it is doing on things which really matter

to patients, things like the number of people falling, infections,

whether or not medicines are being given properly to patients. And

crucially, it can compare it performance to every other ward in

the hospital. Stafford Hospital is trying to move on. What happened

here is a reminder of how things can go wrong. The public inquiry spelt

out the wider problems in the Health Service in England. Paul Richards

died in 2007 in another hospital after a mistake in his medication on

a cancer ward. His widow has been involved in this review. Systems

sometimes are not safe in our hospitals, and changes are needed.

If we all work together for positive change towards patient safety, then

the NHS will become a better and safer place for us all. This report

says the NHS has to focus more on patient safety. Nuke guidelines on

staffing are needed, but no fixed levels should be set nationally. A

review of regulation to make it simpler and clearer is needed.

Also, a culture where mistakes are reported, and a new criminal offence

for wilful or recklessly black. But it says legal action should be rare,

and openness should be encouraged. People need to learn from each

other, the culture should be open and transparent, people should be

welcomed when they speak up. That is so much more powerful than finding

the occasional miscreant. patient groups say the report is

full of platitudes and light on practical solutions, with too little

detail to hold the NHS to account and make sure another tragedy like

Stafford is avoided. The father of a 14-year-old girl who was found dead

in her bedroom on Friday says she was driven to suicide by cyber

bullying. Hannah Smith, from Lutterworth in Leicestershire, was

apparently taunted about her weight and appearance via anonymous users

on the social networking site Ask.fm. Her father has called for

structure controls on all internet sites used by children. Sian Lloyd

reports. Hannah Smith, a loving daughter and sister, whose family

say was driven to her death by cyber bullies. Flowers and messages have

been left at the home where Hannah lived with her father and sister,

16-year-old Jo. She discovered Hannah in her bedroom on Friday.

Hannah's friends are devastated by her death and struggling to take in

what has happened. She was lovely, she was chatty you could always have

a laugh with her. If you were ever said, she would put a smile on your

face. She was so popular in school, she was such a pretty girl, there

was no reason for her to be bullied. Hannah was one of the

millions of people who use the Latvian -based site Ask.fm. Her

father says she was subjected to a torrent of abuse by members, who can

post messages anonymously. The website said tonight that it will

cooperate in the investigation into Hannah's death. This lady's niece, a

15-year-old, took her life last year. She had used the same website

and had also been targeted by online bullies. The loss of a child in

these circumstances is unbearable. Each time you hear about the loss of

another child, it stabs you in the heart as if it has happened again to

you. And pain groups are still calling on social networking sites

to be more accountable. We are looking at legislation to be amended

to encompass cyber bullying. There are things which are being done, but

lots more needs to be done full stop we want to see the Government

stepping in a bit more. Hannah had been a popular pupil at Lutterworth

High School. Today, the head teacher described how everyone was shattered

by what has happened. Hannah was bright, bubbly and thoughtful. She

had everything to live for. The 14-year-old family say her death

must not be in vain. They are campaigning for tighter controls of

Two men have died and another has been injured in a shooting at a farm

and Equestrian centre in South Lanarkshire. Peter Thompson, who was

a 59-year-old man, was found dead at the scene. The body of a 53 year Mac

man was found in a nearby car. Police say they are not looking for

anyone else in connection with the incident. Now, it was the month that

Andy Murray won Wimbledon, a royal baby was born, and we all basked in

the highest July temperatures for years. Last month's heatwave also

gave the economy a boost. Retailers enjoyed their fastest growth in the

month of July for seven years. Sales grew by more than 2% compared with

the same month last year. The latest numbers show that manufacturing also

grew by a similar amount. Our business correspondent, Emma

Simpson, has been back to a foundry in the West Midlands which has

managed to turn itself around. It is a hive of activity, goods ready to

be shipped. Four years ago, this factory looked very different. We

met Frank after his business collapsed and he had just laid off

dozens of workers. It is very personal when you have got to tell

these people that they have not got a job any more, when you have worked

with them for 30 years. Very difficult. But he started all over

again, making metal castings, and slowly, winning orders. The foundry

is alive again. It is like winning the lottery, that is how I feel. We

have got the foundry back, we have got some of our old employees back,

we are expanding again. To get it back to where it was, before I pass

away, would be a wonderful thing, absolutely wonderful. This is a

keypad for a cash dispensing machine. We actually lost this job

to China on cost, and we now have it back. He has got 15 staff, all

former workers. Michael was a self-employed electrician, when he

got the call to come back. building trade was finishing, and I

had a few financial worries, and I thought I would come back, get a

better financial security. When the recession hit, hundreds of

manufacturers went under in the West Midlands, and many never came back.

This one did, but Frank and his team are now having to do things very

differently. There is no one in the office, no book-keeper or van

driver, either. Instead, they all muck in to stay competitive. They

have just a 10th of the number of staff they once had, but they are

still generating �1 million worth of sales this year. Today, we had more

evidence of the UK economy being on the move, but the recovery is

nothing like as incredible as this one. A 16ft-long snake is believed

to have killed two young boys in Eastern Canada after it escaped from

a pet shop. Police say the rock python coiled itself around the

boys, aged five and seven, and strangled them as they slept. They

believe it slipped out of its cage and entered their flat through the

ventilation system from the shop below. These brothers adored each

other, sleepovers were regular treat, but yesterday a visit to

their best friend's home turned into unimaginable tragedy. The police

sealed off the New Brunswick building where the boys were

killed, they had spent the night in the flat above the pet shop where

their friend lived. It is believed a snake slipped out of its cage,

travelled through the ventilation unit, and into the room where the

brothers were sleeping. Shop owner discovered the children. I thought

they were asleep until I saw the hole in the ceiling. I saw this

terrific scene -- horrific scene, I pinned the snake down and put him in

a cage. The snake is thought to be an African rock python.

Approximately four metres long, it had wrapped itself around the

children. By the time the emergency services arrived, the boys were

dead. Experts say incidents like these are rare. Was the snake

hungry? Absolutely. That doesn't mean it was neglected. Nevertheless

one report claims customers had previously complained about

conditions in the shop and a question now hangs over whether the

shop was properly licensed. Tonight, Noah and Connor's mother was

described as grief stricken. Our top story this evening. Security

alert in Yemen as all British embassy staff are pulled out over

fears of an Al-Qaeda attack. Can they rise from the ashes? We look at

the reasons behind Australia's poor streak at sport. On BBC London,

living in squalor, the tenants being housed in places infested with

bedbugs and lies. How Beth Tweddle's sporting legacy will live

on in east London. A year ago today the Mars Rover

Curiosity was touching down on the Martian surface. It had travelled

352 million miles and its mission was to find out if Mars could ever

have supported life. So far over 70,000 images have been sent back to

Earth by Curiosity. The project has cost just over �1.5 billion but that

is cheap compared to manned missions. It began with a high-speed

approach and in a nail-biting descent. One year ago, NASA's most

sophisticated rover successfully touched down on Mars. Mission

control erupted. Years of planning had paid off and a series of

discoveries was to follow. This sequence of pictures shows how

Curiosity got to work, exploring the landscape for clues about weather

conditions here in the distant past could ever have supported life.

Let's imagine we could be on Mars right beside Curiosity. The most

striking thing is its sheer size, but this allows it to carry more

instruments than ever before to see if life could ever have existed

here. The first discovery was on the surface itself. Curiosity was on

rocks where we know water flowed in the past. Then the Rover extended

its arm, a complicated set of manoeuvres to try something never

attempted before on another planet, to use a drill to dig below the

surface just a couple of inches, but the results were amazing. The

drilling revealed a kind of clay which could only have been formed in

water with the right chemical balance for life. In fact the water

would have been drinkable, proof according to NASA of the first

discovery of a potential habitat on a world beyond our own. Rock from an

old stream in Britain very similar to what has been found on Mars. This

scientist says the findings are incredibly significant. This water

would not have been too salty or acidic, it would have been sweet

water which is perfect for life to thriving on earth. On Mars we have

rocks perfectly conducive for life in the ancient past. Curiosity is on

the move again. Water once flowed here and we now know that life at

least had a chance. The European commission will send a

team of monitors to the border between Spain and Gibraltar as the

row over the British territory continues. The Spanish government

says it may introduce a feed of monitors to the border between Spain

and Gibraltar as the row over the British territory continues. The

Spanish government says it may introduce a feed to cross the border

the monitors are expected to arrive in September or October.

They are disputed waters between Spain and British rock. On a boat,

Gibraltar 's government took us to the spot which is now the focus of a

diplomatic dispute. We are not far from the rock from Gibraltar, and

according to the Gibraltarian government we are in Gibraltarian

waters, but the Spanish government disagrees. You cannot see it, but

below is the source of the tension, the row between Spain and Gibraltar

and Britain. Several days ago Gibraltar says it created an

artificial reef to protect the marine life here. Spain says the

concrete blocks were dumped into the seats to keep Spanish fishermen

away. In the morning mist we found these Spanish fishermen preparing

their nets. It is madness, says this man. For years we got on well, now

we have fallen out with our neighbours, he says. The

Gibraltarian neighbours have lived on a small slice of Britain for 300

years. Spain gifted Gibraltar to Britain in a peace treaty, but has

since claimed it should be handed back. In this latest dispute, Spain

has threatened a 50 euros charge to get over to Gibraltar. The idea to

set up a toll which doesn't apply to Spanish workers but applies to

everyone else is so contrary to the freedom of movement of people that

we believe it will be illegal and therefore that it cannot be made to

work. Gibraltar 's rock towers over the tip of Spain and there has been

tension in these crowded waters before. The people on either side of

the divide our friends, colleagues and neighbours, but Spain,

Gibraltar, and Britain's governments cannot get along on this issue.

It was a morning and high anxiety for much of Scotland as students

found out their exam results. It was good news overall as pass rates were

up for all major qualifications including highers and standard

grades. Way down in the glen below me here is that most north-western

school on the Scottish Highland and this morning the students were

waiting nervously for news. Today, along with bills and birthday cards,

the postman is delivering hopes and dreams. He is heading for this town

on the very edge of the British mainland. Here, 27 pupils at the

village high school are waiting anxiously to learn their fate. For

Jacqueline, the news is good. into university, I got another A and

two Bs so I am really happy. Others are heading in a different

direction. I didn't get my maths grade but I have got a job and it is

not compulsory, I didn't need it anyway. The pass rate for higher

English was up 0.7% while the overall pass rate rose by 0.5%. As

for standard grades, they are on their way out. These pupils were

among the last to suit them. They have been replaced with new

qualifications called nationals. Scotland's entire curriculum is

being replaced, but the focus here is on the immediate future, which

for some pupils will be very different. Life changing moments,

happening today all over Scotland. They are happy tears.

It weighs 16 tonnes, it is the size of a double-decker bus and has just

been removed from London's sewer. Britain's biggest ever that Berger

has just been removed from the sewers underneath Kingston upon

Thames. Thames water says the blockage could have led to

overflowing. Apologies to any viewer eating their dinner during that. Not

long ago people living down under were on top of the sporting world,

but it has been a dismal summer, surrendering the ashes and losing to

the British and Irish Lions. It is not much better in swimming

and tennis, two sports in which Australia has traditionally

excelled. It is a nation defined by prowess on

the playing field, but Australia's status as the world 's greatest

sporting nation is under threat. London 2012 was the country's worst

Olympic performance for 20 years, this summer their rugby team lost to

the British and Irish Lions, and the cricket Ashes will be staying with

England once again. Today in Sydney 's sport seemed as much a way of

life as ever, so why is Australia no longer punching above its weight?

Something has changed, but I don't know what. Australia is going

through a crisis at the moment, maybe the facilities in England have

improved. No place symbolises better the chair of Australian sport than

this, the Melbourne Cricket ground, and yet by the time England play

here on Boxing Day the hosts could be well on their way to losing

back-to-back Ashes series so what now is being done to try to revive

Australian sport? The Australian Institute of sport here in Canberra

is known as a world leader when it comes to performance with

state-of-the-art facilities. Many of the titles won over the years can be

traced back to this place, but the man in charge told me it has now

come the time to look to Britain for guidance. The UK sport philosophy of

no compromise has been one of the cornerstones of British success, and

you can debate philosophy but there is no doubt that has been pivotal

for success. Australia's underperforming sports are having

their funding cut. Others blame the generation of less active

youngsters, but whatever the reason there is an acceptance that other

countries have caught up. I think we have had people coming here and

looking, trying to identify young people and bring them through.

Australia's cricketers left Manchester this morning, but with

many backing the country to restore its sporting reputation, its rivals

might want to enjoy the moment while they can. And now the weather

forecast. If you like this kind of forecast. If you like this kind of

summertime weather, it is on repeat, same. It will not be bone dry, just

a few showers and the emphasis on largely dry weather. The cloud that

has built up today across England and Wales is starting to fade away.

You may see a stray shower hitting the Far East overnight. Some rain in

the north-west Highlands in Scotland, that could be on the heavy

side, and these temperatures will be reaching single figures again so if

you thought it was cool this morning you will think the same again

tomorrow morning. That rain in northern Scotland will break up into

showers, and elsewhere it is a fine day. This is the picture at 4pm, and

amongst these showers there will be some sunny spells. It looks like a

lovely afternoon across northern England. There may be some showers

in England and Wales but most will stay dry with temperatures into the

lower 20s. We are expecting more cloud in the south-east and there is

the chance of the shower or thunderstorm. The sailors at Cowes

will appreciate the breeze. This weather system moves across on

Friday but we need to account for more cloudier zone. The temperatures