:00:05. > :00:11.A major crackdown on anti- government protestors in Syria -
:00:11. > :00:15.over 130 people are killed. Fighting across Syria has made this
:00:15. > :00:19.one of the deadliest days since the uprising began. Britain calls it an
:00:19. > :00:29.assault on the Syrian people. Crucial talks in Washington on
:00:29. > :00:34.
:00:35. > :00:37.America's debt crisis. Political leaders say a deal is close.
:00:37. > :00:39.Here, a political row on health spending. The Government denies
:00:40. > :00:42.Labour claims that reforms will mean poorer areas lose out.
:00:42. > :00:52.Ian Bell scores more than 150 for England after a controversial
:00:52. > :00:58.
:00:58. > :01:01.reprieve on the third day of the Good evening.
:01:01. > :01:04.More than 130 people are reported to have been killed across Syria in
:01:04. > :01:07.one of the most violent days since the anti-government uprising began
:01:07. > :01:09.there in March. In one city, hospitals were flooded with
:01:09. > :01:14.casualties as tanks smashed through protestors barricades and opened
:01:14. > :01:17.fire. Both Britain and the United States have condemned the violence
:01:17. > :01:21.in Hama, calling it an assault by the Syrian Government on its own
:01:21. > :01:31.people. Our World Affairs correspondent Caroline Hawley has
:01:31. > :01:32.
:01:32. > :01:39.the latest. The assault began at first light.
:01:39. > :01:42.The Syrian regime of bringing war to a city of 700,000. Witnesses say
:01:42. > :01:45.the tanks moved in from several directions, smashing through
:01:45. > :01:52.makeshift roadblocks put up by protesters, and firing
:01:52. > :01:55.indiscriminately. For weeks, the military had been surrounded Hama,
:01:55. > :02:02.which has seen some of the biggest demonstrations since the protests
:02:02. > :02:09.in Syria began. Today, a clear message from the regime on the eve
:02:09. > :02:19.of Ramadan that they will not tolerate more unrest. We started
:02:19. > :02:19.
:02:19. > :02:27.hearing some artillery shots from all directions. And bombing. And
:02:27. > :02:31.sometimes we heard, the like, anti- aircraft shooting against people.
:02:31. > :02:37.Hospitals were swamped. Doctors appealed for blood. Here, a race to
:02:37. > :02:42.get one man to treatment. Hama has a history of resistance to the
:02:42. > :02:46.regime. It is a city still scarred by a massacre in 1982, when the
:02:46. > :02:51.regime killed many thousands and destroyed whole neighbourhoods, to
:02:51. > :02:57.put down an Islamist are rising. Foreign Secretary William Hague
:02:57. > :03:00.said he was appalled by today's storming of Hama. American
:03:00. > :03:06.officials call it a last act of utter desperation. The uprising
:03:06. > :03:11.began 4 and a half months ago. Even before today, other 1,500 civilians
:03:11. > :03:15.had been killed, as well as hundreds of security forces. 12,000
:03:15. > :03:20.people have been arrested. But for all of the force the regime has
:03:20. > :03:24.been using, it has been unable to crush the protest movement. There
:03:24. > :03:28.has been no prospect of outright victory for either side. Ramadan
:03:28. > :03:32.was a chance for protesters the Gabba against the Government, but
:03:32. > :03:36.the Government has a willingness to use all of its force within the
:03:36. > :03:44.cities. The most likely outcome is the protesters will arm themselves,
:03:44. > :03:49.like they did in Libya. President Bashar al-Assad has made promises
:03:49. > :03:54.of reform, but they have been drowned out by the sound of his
:03:54. > :03:59.regime's guns. This has been one of the bloodiest days in serious since
:03:59. > :04:02.the uprising began. The violence has not been confined to Hama. The
:04:03. > :04:06.authorities and the protesters are in a deadly test of wills for the
:04:06. > :04:10.future of the country. Our correspondent Jim Muir is
:04:10. > :04:13.covering events in Syria from neighbouring Lebanon. Pretty strong
:04:13. > :04:18.comments from Britain and the United States today on the events
:04:18. > :04:21.in Hama. Do those have any kind of influence on Damascus?
:04:21. > :04:25.Well, I think international pressure may be playing a role on
:04:25. > :04:30.Hama, because it is such a special case because of the massacre there
:04:30. > :04:37.before. There have been statements from the Turkish Prime Minister Mr
:04:37. > :04:41.Ed again, saying there must not be another Hama. -- third began. They
:04:41. > :04:46.could get away with it in 1982, because they did not have the media
:04:46. > :04:52.then that we have today, the same technology. Today, it seems the
:04:52. > :04:57.tanks have pulled back -- pulled back, so they may have drawn away
:04:57. > :05:00.from that confrontation in Hama. We are told by people on the ground
:05:00. > :05:04.that the city is in the hands of its inhabitants, as it has been for
:05:04. > :05:08.the past few months. So despite this attempt to advance and the
:05:08. > :05:11.bloodshed of today, it does seem as though they have drawn back from
:05:11. > :05:14.trying to overwhelm the city altogether. That could be a sign
:05:14. > :05:18.that they are sensitive from the very strong pressures from the
:05:18. > :05:22.Americans, and the French, the Europeans are threatening more
:05:22. > :05:27.sanctions. It is things like economic pressures that will begin
:05:27. > :05:32.to tell, because the economy is in very severe trouble, and that could
:05:32. > :05:38.be one of the Achilles heels of this very tough and ruthless regime.
:05:38. > :05:42.He said it has gone on and on, it is four and a half months. You get
:05:42. > :05:47.the impression the protest movement is running out of steam?
:05:47. > :05:51.No, it is the classic situation of the irresistible force of their
:05:51. > :05:55.protest movement that is slowly gaining ground and the immovable
:05:55. > :05:58.object of a regime which is absolutely refusing to budge. What
:05:59. > :06:03.it is doing is offering so-called comprehensive reforms but they have
:06:03. > :06:07.no credibility as far as the people of the opposition are concerned. So
:06:07. > :06:10.it looks as though it will go on for some time, it will be cracks
:06:10. > :06:14.within the army or the economy that could be the thing that eventually
:06:15. > :06:17.brings the Government down. Jim Muir, thank you for joining us.
:06:17. > :06:20.In the United States, Democratic and Republican leaders are reported
:06:20. > :06:22.to be close to reaching a deal which could end the deadlock over
:06:22. > :06:25.raising the country's borrowing limit. Politicians have until
:06:25. > :06:27.Tuesday to reach an agreement or risk the country defaulting on its
:06:27. > :06:32.debts. Our North America Editor Mark
:06:33. > :06:36.Mardell is in Washington. What kind of deal might this look
:06:36. > :06:40.like? I think we are very close to a deal
:06:40. > :06:44.with the political elite, the President, the White House and the
:06:44. > :06:48.leaders of both parties. And we have to remember the reason we are
:06:48. > :06:52.in this crisis, that could affect the whole world's economy, it is
:06:52. > :06:55.because when the Republicans won the elections last year and took
:06:55. > :06:59.control of the House of Representatives, they said we are
:06:59. > :07:04.not going to let America borrow any more money, because the reasoning -
:07:04. > :07:08.- the reason is it is spending too much. Let's deal with that first.
:07:08. > :07:13.This would give them around three trillion dollars of cuts in stages,
:07:13. > :07:17.some agreed that and some to be agreed in November. They are pretty
:07:17. > :07:21.close to that deal. So essentially everything is at
:07:21. > :07:25.stake, which is why they are haggling up to the last minute?
:07:25. > :07:28.Yes, and the fly in the ointment is what the parties will think about
:07:28. > :07:33.that. There will be many Democrats who think that these cuts are far
:07:33. > :07:37.too deep and will affect the poor, affect programmes that are very
:07:37. > :07:41.important. And probably more of the difficulty, the Republicans,
:07:41. > :07:47.particularly those backed by the Conservative tea-party movement,
:07:47. > :07:51.think the cuts are not deep enough, and some of them say, actually, the
:07:51. > :07:55.problem is we are deep in debt, and you don't borrow more money when
:07:55. > :07:58.you are in debt. So they would be willing to risk the sort of
:07:58. > :08:03.economic crisis that some are warning would end sue if the debt
:08:03. > :08:07.ceiling isn't raised, or rather than do a deal. They don't want a
:08:07. > :08:10.deal at all. It will be a tense few days.
:08:10. > :08:14.Mark Mardell, thank you. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury
:08:14. > :08:17.has dismissed calls to scrap the 50% tax rate for top earners. The
:08:17. > :08:20.Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and former Chancellor, Lord Lamont,
:08:20. > :08:24.have both said the rate should be cut. But Danny Alexander today
:08:24. > :08:28.called it a "cloud cuckoo-land" idea.
:08:28. > :08:32.We set out in the coalition agreement, it is something that we
:08:32. > :08:35.as Liberal Democrats pushed hard for, that the Government's first
:08:35. > :08:39.priority in tax reductions would be for people on low and middle
:08:39. > :08:43.incomes, those families working hard to make ends meet. Anyone who
:08:43. > :08:46.thinks we will shift our priority to reduce the tax burden for the
:08:46. > :08:52.wealthy as another think coming. That cannot be the right priority
:08:52. > :08:55.for the country at this time. A political row has broken out over
:08:55. > :09:00.health funding in England, with Labour claiming that poorer areas
:09:00. > :09:03.would lose out to more affluent ones as a result of reforms. The
:09:03. > :09:07.Government claims this is misleading as the overall NHS
:09:07. > :09:11.budget is going up. The Health Secretary must be
:09:12. > :09:15.getting a bit sick of all the criticism. Doctors, nurses and even
:09:15. > :09:19.some government ministers pushing for a rethink on his reforms.
:09:19. > :09:27.Labour are claiming that the change to the way the NHS is funded will
:09:27. > :09:30.harm the poor and help the rich. Figures calculated by health bodies
:09:30. > :09:34.in Manchester say that less well- off parts of England, not just
:09:34. > :09:41.Manchester, but Liverpool, Tower Hamlets, will lose out when funds
:09:41. > :09:46.are allocated, while richer areas will benefit. The Government is not
:09:46. > :09:51.taking into account health and -- health inequalities, as it used to
:09:51. > :09:55.in allocating money. Inevitably, if you don't take health inequalities
:09:55. > :09:59.in to account sufficiently, poorer areas lose money. Labour believes
:09:59. > :10:03.the Government are vulnerable are the NHS. The Health Secretary has
:10:03. > :10:07.had to delay or change some of the big reforms planned to the services
:10:07. > :10:11.in England. Andrew Lansley knows that if he wants to stage a
:10:11. > :10:16.political recovery, he cannot take the latest criticisms lying down.
:10:16. > :10:21.We are increasing the budget in England. Everywhere is saying that
:10:21. > :10:24.the budget increase of at least 2.5% -- is seeing. And we are
:10:24. > :10:28.making sure that we build from a position of better performance.
:10:28. > :10:32.although the way money is being handed out within the NHS is
:10:33. > :10:36.changing, the overall about it every part of England is going up.
:10:36. > :10:41.The NHS Primary Care Trusts in they are less well-off Tower Hamlets
:10:41. > :10:45.will see an increase in its funding, which is very similar to the rise
:10:45. > :10:48.seen in Surrey this year. And in future, the Government says local
:10:48. > :10:52.authorities will get more money to help improve the health of people
:10:52. > :10:56.living in deprived areas. At the Health Secretary will try to prove
:10:56. > :11:00.-- push through bigger changes in the autumn, but these will be
:11:00. > :11:03.examined closely by the opposition and professional bodies that are
:11:03. > :11:09.still worried that the reforms could make the health service worse,
:11:09. > :11:12.not better. It is now a year since Pakistan was
:11:12. > :11:18.hit by the worst floods in its history, with millions of people
:11:18. > :11:23.affected by torrents of water. Almost 2000 people were killed and
:11:23. > :11:28.the flooding and another 3,000 injured. In all, more than 1.7
:11:28. > :11:32.million homes were destroyed. Today, amid this year's monsoon, many
:11:32. > :11:36.families are still struggling, with little help from the authorities.
:11:36. > :11:40.Aleem Maqbool reports from one of the worst affected parts of north-
:11:40. > :11:48.west Pakistan. The rainy season is just starting
:11:48. > :11:54.again. As harmless as the water looks now, it is failing the people
:11:54. > :11:57.here with dread. It has brought back the memory of the images like
:11:57. > :12:02.these from last year, and the heaviest rains ever recorded,
:12:02. > :12:08.wreaking havoc across Pakistan. Nearly 20 million people were
:12:08. > :12:12.affected. This village in Charsadda or was one of the first places the
:12:12. > :12:17.floods struck. People here had no warning of the disaster that was
:12:17. > :12:21.coming their way. Villagers say a massive wall of water came through
:12:21. > :12:26.here from that direction and hit the village. It destroyed a lot of
:12:26. > :12:32.the houses and also caused a lot of death. In fact, one year on, they
:12:32. > :12:36.still haven't found all the bodies of those who were swept away. This
:12:36. > :12:41.lady did manage to find her two teenage daughters, but it took days.
:12:41. > :12:45.Their bodies had been carried more than three kilometres away by the
:12:45. > :12:50.force of the water. Her family has been able to rebuild part of the
:12:50. > :12:54.house that was damaged, but she remains consumed by grief.
:12:54. > :13:03.TRANSLATION: Of my life was shattered. Without my two girls,
:13:03. > :13:09.living has no meaning any more. spite other massive aid
:13:09. > :13:13.mobilisation, many are still living in tents -- off a massive aid
:13:13. > :13:17.mobilisation. This man and his family lost their home and in the
:13:17. > :13:25.desperation of saving themselves, all of their belongings as well.
:13:25. > :13:29.They are trying to get their lives back on track. TRANSLATION: The
:13:29. > :13:33.last eight we received was six months ago, when we got some basic
:13:33. > :13:37.food rations -- aid. Since then, we have relied on charity from local
:13:37. > :13:43.people. Whether it is through their grief for their homelessness and
:13:43. > :13:48.loss of livelihood, millions are still struggling from last year's
:13:48. > :13:55.floods. Bat, the UN wants, makes them even more vulnerable as their
:13:55. > :13:58.new monsoon season starts -- bat, the UN warns.
:13:58. > :14:04.Time to get the latest board with Olly Foster.
:14:04. > :14:08.A century from Ian Bell has helped England build a very big lead in
:14:08. > :14:12.the second Test against India, but he was involved in a very
:14:12. > :14:22.controversial incident at Trent Bridge. He was given out and then
:14:22. > :14:26.climax, the English batsmen needed to set the pace. Andrew Strauss was
:14:26. > :14:31.perhaps too eager, chasing one from Sreesanth with his team still in
:14:31. > :14:35.arrears. Ian Bell was bright and breezy from the off, seemingly free
:14:35. > :14:42.from pressure. He rapidly move his side into the lead and himself to
:14:42. > :14:47.aircraft the 50. After the interval, Kevin Pietersen picked up the bat
:14:47. > :14:52.on and drove the attack. Bell caressed his way to a fine century,
:14:52. > :14:58.among the best he has scored at Test level. Kevin Pietersen
:14:58. > :15:02.eventually went but England almost survived a further loss up to tea
:15:02. > :15:07.until a bizarre incident. Eoin Morgan as she and he had four runs
:15:07. > :15:13.but the ball was not dead. -- assumed. India removed the bails,
:15:13. > :15:19.with Ian Bell departing for tea. In fact, he was departing run out, to
:15:19. > :15:29.his, his teams and the home crowd's constellation. But peace broke out
:15:29. > :15:33.
:15:33. > :15:38.over the crumpets, as he re-emerged. Ian Bell on 150 before being
:15:38. > :15:41.permanently out. Morgan followed him and the injured Jonathan
:15:41. > :15:48.Trott's earnings were short but England have already built a high
:15:48. > :15:51.Jenson Button was given a cake last night ahead of his 200th Grand Prix
:15:51. > :15:56.and he got a big bottle of Champagne today after winning in
:15:56. > :15:59.Hungary. Lewis Hamilton was heading for victory but was penalised by
:15:59. > :16:04.the stewards for dangerous driving and finished fourth. The wisdom
:16:04. > :16:08.inside that Helmut comes from 11 years in Formula One. It served
:16:08. > :16:12.Jensen Button well today after winning his first grand prix five
:16:12. > :16:17.years ago also in the wet. From the start, he was all over Lewis
:16:17. > :16:21.Hamilton. Both were catching the Sebastian Vettel. His lead from
:16:21. > :16:25.polar lasted just five laps. Hamilton passed first. Jensen
:16:25. > :16:31.Button got his dodgy spot on. Fresher tyres and Sebastian Vettel
:16:31. > :16:36.watched him go through as well. Anything could happen. Hamilton was
:16:36. > :16:41.feeling the heat and lost control. And at the lead. As he spun his car
:16:41. > :16:44.back in the right direction, he almost caused an accident. The
:16:45. > :16:50.stewards view of that could cause him the race. He didn't find that
:16:50. > :16:54.for a few laps, though. Enough time to go wheel to wheel with Jensen
:16:54. > :16:59.Button for the lead. Great racing until the stewards handed down
:16:59. > :17:04.their punishment for that spinner. His brother watched Hamilton take
:17:04. > :17:08.his drive-through penalties. Have 11th race in 11 years, Jensen
:17:08. > :17:13.Button, but it could be an important one. Perfect going into
:17:13. > :17:19.the summer break. His victory puts him firmly in the chasing pack but
:17:19. > :17:22.Sebastian Vettel's second place sees him stretches champion lead.
:17:22. > :17:24.Great Britain's swimmers have signed off from the World
:17:24. > :17:26.Championships in Shanghai with another gold medal. Liam Tancock
:17:26. > :17:30.successfully defended his 50 metres backstroke title taking the teams
:17:30. > :17:34.tally of golds to three for the championships. Only two have come
:17:34. > :17:38.in the pool though. Hannah Miley also took silver today in the 400
:17:38. > :17:41.metres medley. Golf, and Englishman Simon Dyson
:17:41. > :17:43.has won the Irish Open. And the Women's British Open went to the
:17:43. > :17:48.world number one and defending Champion at Carnoustie. Yani Tseng
:17:48. > :17:52.from Taiwan finished on 16 under par. Four clear of the field. It's