:00:11. > :00:16.Tonight, a bomb attack strikes at the heart of the Assad regime in
:00:16. > :00:23.Damascus. Among the victims, the President's brother-in-law and the
:00:23. > :00:29.defence minister. The attack came on a fourth day of fighting in the
:00:29. > :00:35.capital, as the Americans warned of more chaos. The violence has only
:00:35. > :00:40.got worse, and the loss of life has only increased, which tells us that
:00:40. > :00:44.this situation is rapidly slipping out of control. We will be looking
:00:44. > :00:47.at the effects of the attack and the likely response. Also tonight -
:00:47. > :00:52.there has been a fall in unemployment for the fourth month
:00:52. > :00:59.in a row. Why a lack of exercise in adulthood can be as deadly as
:00:59. > :01:05.smoking. Two out of three UK adults are not doing enough exercise. The
:01:05. > :01:10.research says this is putting many of them into an early grave.
:01:10. > :01:15.gangs of pickpockets said to be in training for the London Olympics.
:01:15. > :01:23.And the first British win in the Tour de France is still on the
:01:23. > :01:33.cards. Coming up in Sportsday - the Open is just a hours away. The much
:01:33. > :01:47.
:01:47. > :01:51.maligned course is defended by the Good evening. Three senior members
:01:51. > :01:56.of the Syrian regime, including the President's brother-in-law, have
:01:56. > :02:00.been killed in a reported suicide bombing. It happened during a
:02:00. > :02:06.meeting at the security headquarters in Damascus. Details
:02:07. > :02:15.of exactly what happened are hard to establish. Our security
:02:15. > :02:20.correspondent, frank gardener, reports. Military images on Syrian
:02:20. > :02:29.state TV. To prepare the population for news of an attack on the very
:02:29. > :02:33.heart of government. With deepest regret, said the presenter, a
:02:33. > :02:36.bomber has attacked the headquarters of national security.
:02:36. > :02:40.The Defence Minister, General Daoud Rajha, has been killed, said the
:02:40. > :02:46.government, along with two other top military figures, including the
:02:46. > :02:56.President's brother-in-law. Syria has been tightly-controlled by the
:02:56. > :03:00.
:03:00. > :03:04.Assad family for more than 40 years. It has been an unelected dynasty.
:03:04. > :03:14.The President's sister's husband is the man who was killed today, among
:03:14. > :03:17.
:03:17. > :03:21.others. The deaths are a major blow to the inner circle. But the
:03:21. > :03:27.government has vowed to defeat the rebels.
:03:27. > :03:34.TRANSLATION: this is a decisive battle, not only in Damascus but in
:03:34. > :03:39.Syria as a whole. They are wrong to underestimate us. These street
:03:39. > :03:43.fighting pictures of Damascus were not filled by rebels, they are on
:03:44. > :03:49.state television, a tacit admission by the regime of how serious the
:03:49. > :03:54.situation has become. President Bashar al-Assad's 12-year rule is
:03:54. > :04:00.under more threat than ever before. The capital, Damascus, is peaceful
:04:00. > :04:03.no more. The violence has crept in from outlying districts like these.
:04:03. > :04:09.Last night, the barracks guarding the Presidential Palace were set
:04:09. > :04:19.ablaze. This morning's last was in a place which had been presumed to
:04:19. > :04:20.
:04:20. > :04:24.be a secure stronghold. It has sent a message to the nation that the
:04:24. > :04:31.hands of the revolution can reach anywhere. Even Assad himself is not
:04:31. > :04:34.safe any more. But the regime still commands a massive, powerful and
:04:34. > :04:39.ruthless military and security apparatus. It is wounded, but not
:04:39. > :04:45.finished, which is worrying the rest of the world. This situation
:04:45. > :04:48.is rapidly spinning out of control. For that reason, it is extremely
:04:48. > :04:53.important that the international community should work with other
:04:53. > :05:00.countries which have concerns in that area to bring maximum pressure
:05:00. > :05:09.on Assad. The opposition's Mill's victory. They have been celebrating
:05:09. > :05:13.today's attack, as most have lost faith in peace plans and diplomacy.
:05:13. > :05:20.But this 16-month conflict is yet to burn itself out. The rebels are
:05:20. > :05:27.unlikely to give up. Let's speak first of all about the impact of
:05:27. > :05:30.this on the regime itself. Well, it is wounded, but not necessarily
:05:30. > :05:34.mortally. This time last year, people were saying that the regime
:05:34. > :05:39.would not make it till the end of the year, but it is still here. It
:05:39. > :05:46.is, however, the most serious blow so far to the inner circle of
:05:46. > :05:50.President Assad. It is the loss of somebody very close to the family,
:05:50. > :05:53.somebody with enormous experience in military and security matters.
:05:53. > :05:56.It is the loss of the personal loyalty and command and control
:05:56. > :06:00.which he had built up in the military. He was tipped to be the
:06:00. > :06:06.next commander-in-chief. It is also sending a message to everybody in
:06:06. > :06:10.that regime - we can get you. There is still confusion about how
:06:11. > :06:15.exactly it happened, whether it was a suicide bomb, or indeed possibly
:06:16. > :06:23.a briefcase full of explosive. One report says 45 kilos, which sounds
:06:23. > :06:29.rather a lot. But what matters is that he is gone. How do you see
:06:29. > :06:34.this impacting on the diplomatic arena? I think this will have led a
:06:34. > :06:36.lot of urgency to it. Tomorrow there is a crucial debate in the un
:06:36. > :06:40.Security Council. Essentially you have got Russia and China on one
:06:40. > :06:45.side, together with Iran, who are effectively shielding the regime
:06:45. > :06:48.from further, tougher sanctions. And then you have got most of the
:06:49. > :06:54.world, led by the West, on the other side, saying, this violence
:06:54. > :06:58.has got to stop. They think the only way to find a peaceful
:06:58. > :07:02.transformation to a new government, which does not include Assad, is to
:07:02. > :07:06.put really tough, not military pressure on the regime. So far,
:07:06. > :07:12.that has been resisted. Everybody agrees they need a transition, but
:07:12. > :07:22.they cannot agree on how to get there. You can get lots more
:07:22. > :07:27.
:07:27. > :07:31.information on the situation in Unemployment has fallen by 65,000
:07:31. > :07:36.in the three months to June. But the number of people out of work
:07:37. > :07:39.for more than two years is at its highest for 15 years. The
:07:39. > :07:45.Chancellor has announced a new financing deal to help in the
:07:45. > :07:49.creation of new jobs. Stephanie Flanders reports. Two years ago,
:07:49. > :07:54.Lianne Mellor was an unemployed graduate who liked drawing as a
:07:54. > :07:57.hobby. With some encouragement from her local JobCentre in Sheffield,
:07:57. > :08:02.that hobby is now a thriving business. It is really, really hard
:08:02. > :08:07.work, but it is so worth it. When you can look around you at the end
:08:07. > :08:12.of the day and think, you're only here because of your own hard work,
:08:12. > :08:18.and everything around you, you have created, it is a fantastic feeling.
:08:18. > :08:23.The number of people in work grew by 181,000 in the three months to
:08:23. > :08:30.May, the biggest rise in nearly a decade. The broadest measure of
:08:30. > :08:35.unemployment fell by 65,000, to just over 2.5 million. But there
:08:35. > :08:38.are still more people out of work today than there were one year ago,
:08:38. > :08:43.and 440,000 who have been looking for a job for more than two the
:08:43. > :08:46.years. We have had some positive figures for a few months. That
:08:46. > :08:51.could indicate that the economy is not doing as badly as official
:08:51. > :08:56.figures suggest. But it could just be a matter of time lacks, so I
:08:56. > :08:59.would want to see these positive figures continuing for a lot longer.
:08:59. > :09:06.The picture in London was much brighter than in many other parts
:09:06. > :09:09.of the UK. Some say that short-term hires for the Olympics might be
:09:09. > :09:13.flattering the figures. With the broader economy so weak, nobody is
:09:13. > :09:17.confident that the good news on jobs is going to continue. That's
:09:17. > :09:21.probably why we found the Chancellor, joined at the hip to
:09:21. > :09:24.his Liberal Democrat coalition Chief Secretary, standing by a
:09:24. > :09:28.massive hole in the ground in central London this morning, and
:09:28. > :09:33.fading their plan to help the economy by party guaranteeing big
:09:33. > :09:36.infrastructure projects which cannot otherwise get funding.
:09:36. > :09:39.are private sector projects, business projects, which at the
:09:39. > :09:42.moment cannot go ahead because of problems in the banking system and
:09:43. > :09:47.the world economy, and we are using the good name of the British
:09:47. > :09:51.Government, which has been built over the last few years, which
:09:51. > :09:55.enables us to borrow cheaply, to guarantee these projects which
:09:55. > :09:59.would not otherwise go ahead. Everybody gets excited about big
:09:59. > :10:03.infrastructure projects, but they will not help the economy overnight.
:10:04. > :10:09.They started digging here in April 2010, and it will not be finished
:10:09. > :10:13.until the end of 2016. But if the projects the Chancellor are talking
:10:14. > :10:17.about are so worthwhile, some are asking why it took the Treasury
:10:17. > :10:21.nine months to work out how to help. We have come a long way. We had a
:10:21. > :10:24.speech from the Prime Minister on infrastructure, and now, the
:10:24. > :10:28.Treasury is getting its act together and starting to do stuff.
:10:28. > :10:34.But given the scale of the infrastructure requirement, this is
:10:34. > :10:38.a small step, not a large one. first started talking about
:10:38. > :10:42.building his CrossRail link through London in 1948. Infrastructure does
:10:42. > :10:50.not come quick. But whether it is new jobs or new investment, in a
:10:50. > :10:54.flat economy, every little helps. An explosion on a bus carrying
:10:54. > :11:03.Israeli tourists in Bulgaria has claimed the lives of at least six
:11:03. > :11:10.people. The blast happened at Burgas airport, near a popular
:11:10. > :11:15.Black Sea resort. The Israeli Foreign Minister has accused Iran
:11:15. > :11:19.of being responsible. The multi- millionaire husband of Eva Rausing,
:11:19. > :11:23.whose body was found at their home last week is London, has been
:11:23. > :11:28.granted bail in court, on condition that he stays in a psychiatric
:11:28. > :11:37.hospital. Hans Rausing is charged with delaying his wife's burial.
:11:37. > :11:40.Eva Rausing's body was discovered under layers of boding.
:11:40. > :11:46.A lack of exercise is causing as many deaths around the world as
:11:46. > :11:51.smoking or obesity, say scientists. They say governments need to take
:11:51. > :11:55.urgent action to tackle what they call a pandemic of inactivity. In
:11:55. > :12:05.the UK, they say around two thirds of adults are not taking enough
:12:05. > :12:07.
:12:07. > :12:11.regular exercise. Fergus Walsh reports. Pushing everything from
:12:11. > :12:14.vaulting poles to paddles, the world's elite athletes are
:12:14. > :12:19.descending on London. But for most of us, the Olympics will mean a
:12:19. > :12:24.marathon in front of the TV. It is inactivity, which may help send us
:12:24. > :12:28.to an early grave. Adults are supposed to do 2.5 hours of
:12:28. > :12:34.moderately aerobic activity each week, such as brisk walking or
:12:34. > :12:41.pushing a lawnmower. Riding a bike is another option, or swimming. You
:12:41. > :12:45.should be working hard enough to raise your heart rate. Twice a week,
:12:45. > :12:51.you need to do exercise which strengthens all the major muscle
:12:51. > :12:56.groups, such as heavy digging or yoga. But two out of three adults
:12:56. > :13:02.in the UK do not manage that, which triggers one in 10 cases of
:13:02. > :13:08.coronary heart disease and causes a staggering one in six deaths here.
:13:08. > :13:12.What went wrong? Britons used to be far more active. Then came the car,
:13:12. > :13:17.and labour-saving devices. Television glued us to our seats,
:13:17. > :13:23.as did sedentary jobs. Then came computers and the intimate, each
:13:23. > :13:29.generation getting less active. -- the Internet. This Cardiff Group
:13:29. > :13:35.all have heart problems. Many never used to do any exercise. With his
:13:35. > :13:43.manual job, this man did not realise he was unfit until he had a
:13:43. > :13:50.heart attack. I never thought I would be as weak as this. When my
:13:50. > :13:56.heart attack came to me all of a sudden, it shocked me. Children are
:13:56. > :14:00.meant to do an hour's physical activity every day. But four out of
:14:00. > :14:04.five do not manage it. The Compton School in north London is bucking
:14:04. > :14:08.that trend, part of an Olympics education programme which is aiming
:14:08. > :14:12.for a legacy of sports participation. I think it is
:14:12. > :14:16.important that in school, you set the habits for the rest of your
:14:16. > :14:21.life. If we can get them engaged, hopefully they will continue for
:14:21. > :14:25.the rest of their lives. activity is a killer. That's the
:14:25. > :14:35.message of the research in the Lancet journal. While we cannot all
:14:35. > :14:38.
:14:38. > :14:41.win medals, staying active might Coming up on the programme:
:14:41. > :14:45.A report on the pickpocekt gangs from Eastern Europe who say they
:14:45. > :14:50.are coming to London for the Olympics. I knew they were going to
:14:50. > :14:54.lift something from my pocket and my bag. I was still shocked and
:14:54. > :15:00.surprised how quickly it happened and the fact I didn't feel anything
:15:00. > :15:04.leave my pockets or my bag. Now, in nine days' time thousands
:15:04. > :15:09.of volunteers will take part in the opening ceremony of the Olympic
:15:09. > :15:13.Games, an ambitious pageant directed by Danny Boyle exploring
:15:13. > :15:18.British culture and history but as full-scale rehearsals get under way
:15:18. > :15:23.in the coming days, the extent of the show and numbers involved are
:15:23. > :15:29.enforcing some changes. In a far corner of the Olympic Park,
:15:29. > :15:33.performers of all ages arrive for another day of secret rehearsals.
:15:33. > :15:40.Opening ceremony? What part do you play? We are not allowed to say,
:15:40. > :15:44.sworn to secrecy. But inside, the 10,000 cast members would hear
:15:44. > :15:48.today half an hour of the show has to be cut to save time. It's sad,
:15:48. > :15:52.for the amount of hours we have put in, at this late stage to be told
:15:52. > :15:56.but you know what we have to work with what we have got. We will make
:15:56. > :16:02.it right. Are you heard what will be cut? Not at all, never heard a
:16:02. > :16:08.thing. Not you, is it? I might find out later, I hope not. In fact it's
:16:08. > :16:12.this kind of thing that's gone, a BMX stunt routine involving dozens
:16:12. > :16:17.of bikers keen to showcase their sport. When they told you, what was
:16:17. > :16:20.your response? It completely and utterly gutted to be honest.
:16:21. > :16:24.bikers have signed contracts which means they can't be interviewed on
:16:24. > :16:28.camera. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that will never happen
:16:28. > :16:31.again. I couldn't believe it. To be honest I thought they were going to
:16:31. > :16:37.take me out of the show because I wasn't good enough or something,
:16:37. > :16:41.then he said -, no, it is everyone. The organisers insist that the
:16:41. > :16:45.changes to the ceremony have nothing to do with recent security
:16:45. > :16:48.concerns. It's been cut for one very simple reason, that we need to
:16:48. > :16:53.get people out of the Olympic Park on to the transport system and back
:16:53. > :16:58.into central London before the last trains leave at 2.30am. Tonight,
:16:58. > :17:03.out of view, but just about audible, rehearsals continue for an event
:17:03. > :17:11.that will be seen by billions. Even if the biggest show on earth has
:17:11. > :17:14.just got a little smaller. The Metropolitan Police is warning
:17:14. > :17:18.that gangs from Eastern Europe and South America are planning a crime
:17:18. > :17:21.wave in London during the Olympics. Gang members have been boasting
:17:21. > :17:25.they have the skills toorgt tourists and to outsmart the police
:17:25. > :17:29.at the same time. -- to target tourists.
:17:29. > :17:33.Chris Rodgers have been speaking to some of the so-called career
:17:33. > :17:37.pickpocekts. Welcome to a pickpocekting mecca. Crime
:17:37. > :17:44.statistics show Barcelona is one of the riskiest places in the world to
:17:44. > :17:50.hold on to your bags and wallets. Very good pickpocekt. This gang are
:17:50. > :17:56.part of a network of 50 Romanian pickpocekts here. We go to London
:17:56. > :18:05.this year. Johny, mar and dany say they will soon be aiming for gold
:18:05. > :18:11.at the London Olympics. -- Mario and Danny. They agree to show me
:18:11. > :18:16.how they do it. Here Johny is the distractor, Johny the runner slips
:18:16. > :18:22.off to whatever Mario, the pickpocket gives to him. They have
:18:22. > :18:29.named this after the footballer when he scores, Ronaldinio. Cameras,
:18:29. > :18:34.laptops and phones are sold on the Romanian black market. Unbelievable.
:18:34. > :18:39.What they really prefer is cash from wallets. This week you can
:18:39. > :18:44.make zero euros. The next week you can make 5,000 because a tourist
:18:44. > :18:47.just left his bag a second, you know. A second could ruin your
:18:47. > :18:51.vacation. Even though I knew they were going
:18:51. > :18:54.to lift something from my pocket or bag, I was still shocked and
:18:54. > :19:00.surprised about how quickly it happened and the fact I didn't
:19:00. > :19:04.notice, I didn't feel anything leave my pockets or my bag. Only a
:19:04. > :19:08.trained eye has any chance of spotting a pick-pocket as they
:19:08. > :19:14.strike. Tourists search for their valuables but the thieves are long
:19:14. > :19:21.gone. So are their clothes, wallets and phones. The man in the white T-
:19:21. > :19:27.shirt is the pick-pocket. It is the wallet. The wallet is now with him.
:19:27. > :19:33.Look, he takes the money and all of this. Look at the gie. He doesn't
:19:33. > :19:37.know he doesn't have his wallet. -- look at the guy. This gang say
:19:37. > :19:43.they'll soon leave Barcelona and head to London. They're doing their
:19:43. > :19:50.research. So you are looking at the shopping centre here the Olympic
:19:50. > :19:57.village. London buses, touristic buses, you can go upstairs. Buses
:19:57. > :20:00.are a good target for you. Police. Gang spot a potential obstacle. An
:20:00. > :20:06.online article reports on the British police's efforts to
:20:06. > :20:11.crackdown on foreign pick pockets. It's called Operation Podium,
:20:11. > :20:15.targeting Olympic--related crime. This is the early-morning wake-up
:20:15. > :20:20.call many foreign pick pockets could receive. This house has been
:20:20. > :20:26.rented by a gang of suspected Romanian thieves in east London.
:20:26. > :20:29.This is a pre-emptive strike to put gangs of pick pockets out of
:20:30. > :20:34.business before they arrive for the Olympics. It is also a very clear
:20:34. > :20:37.message for gangs still thinking of coming here. We know where people
:20:37. > :20:40.Rwe know the addresses and vehicles they are using. We will come
:20:40. > :20:45.through the door very hard and if you have anything, you will be
:20:45. > :20:52.arrested. In the first week of police raids, more than 80 arrests
:20:52. > :20:55.were made. But Scotland Yard say public vigilance is the best weapon
:20:55. > :20:58.against the pick pockets who claim they can steal in just one second.
:20:58. > :21:02.David Cameron has been visiting British troops in Afghanistan,
:21:02. > :21:07.where he has promised that more of them will be brought home next year.
:21:07. > :21:10.During the trip to Helmand province, he said he wanted a sensible,
:21:10. > :21:13.orderly process of handing control of security there to the Afghan
:21:13. > :21:18.forces. The United Nations is warning that
:21:18. > :21:22.hundreds of millions of pounds are needed to prevent another
:21:22. > :21:26.humanitarian disaster in somealia. A year ago the UN declared a
:21:26. > :21:30.familiarin in parts of the country, following a doubt that affected the
:21:30. > :21:34.vast area of East Africa. After a global aid effort the famine was
:21:34. > :21:37.claimed to be over in February but the threat has now returned. Our
:21:37. > :21:45.African correspondent Andrew Harding, who reported on last
:21:46. > :21:50.year's famine has been back to Somalia. Somalia, dry as a bone,
:21:50. > :21:57.and as dangerous as ever. We have come back a year after the famine
:21:57. > :22:06.to see how much has changed here. Last year we found scenes like this.
:22:06. > :22:09.Tens of thousands starving. Today, a much better picture. These
:22:09. > :22:14.families still dependent on foreign aid but there is no shortage of
:22:15. > :22:19.that here and no sense of panic. It's one year since I was last at
:22:19. > :22:22.this camp, at the height of the Somali famine. Looking around now,
:22:23. > :22:26.it's clear that things have improved significantly since then.
:22:27. > :22:31.That's largely thanks to foreign aid and also to one decent harvest.
:22:31. > :22:37.And yet this remains a very precarious country and in the next
:22:37. > :22:43.few months, hunger is expected to increase once more.
:22:43. > :22:48.And here are the warning signs: new arrivals fleeing from an area
:22:48. > :22:54.controlled by an Islamist group, Al-Shabab.
:22:54. > :22:59.! "There is drought at home once again" says this 40-year-old, "And
:22:59. > :23:04.Al-Shabab threaten and steal from us." It may not add up to another
:23:04. > :23:09.famine but Somalia is still on life support. The generosity that the
:23:09. > :23:13.world demonstrated when the famine was declared was phenomenal and we
:23:13. > :23:18.are grateful for that. But when statistically famine is over, it is
:23:18. > :23:23.not over yet. Kids continue to die. Kids continue to need assistance.
:23:23. > :23:29.We can't lotion that momentum, we have to continue.
:23:30. > :23:34.Some aid, not enough, is going on longer-term projects. We found
:23:34. > :23:39.these farmers being helped to irrigate their crops and feed their
:23:39. > :23:45.communities themselves. But most don't have that option.
:23:45. > :23:52.They remain at the Mersey of two fickle enemies, conflict and doubt.
:23:52. > :23:56.Tsh at the mercy. Jack Matthews, one of the great
:23:56. > :24:01.names of Welsh rugby has died at the age of 92. He was a key member
:24:01. > :24:06.of the Welsh Grand Slam team of 1950 and of the Lions' tour to New
:24:06. > :24:13.Zealand and Australia the same year. He formed one of the greatest
:24:13. > :24:17.midfield partnerships in rugby along side Bleddyn Williams.
:24:17. > :24:21.Bradley Wiggins is still on course to become the first British cyclist
:24:21. > :24:28.to win the Tour de France, after the demanding 16th stage in the
:24:28. > :24:35.Pyrenees. Bradley Wiggins, the nan yellow and
:24:35. > :24:39.the man currently in clover, his serene sweep over the finish line
:24:39. > :24:44.coming six hours after some of the toughest riding in this year's tour
:24:44. > :24:50.it. Also came after sadly familiar news, that of a failed drugs test
:24:50. > :24:57.from Frank Schleck. He has denied all and blamed poisoning but has
:24:57. > :25:00.quit the tour. There was boiling heat, brutal climbs and vast
:25:00. > :25:09.distances in the Pyrenees. Voke voke voke thrashed. He struck out
:25:09. > :25:14.on his own for a stage win. -- Thomas Voeckler. It was all too
:25:14. > :25:20.much for Cadel Evans, who had the pain of pedaling forwards while
:25:20. > :25:27.going backwards. In front of him, the three men leading the overall
:25:27. > :25:31.race. Niblis lying in third trying to attack, he just puffed his
:25:31. > :25:38.cheeks and sucked the challenger back. In this sight is becoming