:00:08. > :00:11.31 American soldiers die in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan.
:00:11. > :00:17.It's the biggest single loss of life for US forces since operations
:00:17. > :00:20.there began. President Obama said it was a reminder of the
:00:20. > :00:24.extraordinary sacrifices made by the military.
:00:24. > :00:28.America's biggest creditor, China, strongly criticises the United
:00:29. > :00:32.States after the US loses its triple-A status for the first time.
:00:32. > :00:37.The family of the teenager killed by a polar bear in Norway pay
:00:37. > :00:40.tribute to him as strong, fearless and kind.
:00:40. > :00:50.And England do just enough to beat Wales in a World Cup warm up at
:00:50. > :01:03.
:01:03. > :01:07.Hello, good evening. 31 Americans and seven Afghan soldiers have been
:01:07. > :01:11.killed in a helicopter crash in eastern Afghanistan. It's America's
:01:11. > :01:15.biggest single loss of life since the war began nearly a decade ago.
:01:15. > :01:19.President Obama paid tribute to the victims and said their deaths were
:01:19. > :01:22.a reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices made by the military.
:01:23. > :01:26.The helicopter was operating in Wardak province. The Taliban claim
:01:26. > :01:31.they attacked the aircraft. Our correspondent, Quentin Sommerville,
:01:31. > :01:37.is in Kabul now. This was a Special Forces operation.
:01:37. > :01:42.We believe the US navy seals were involved. Those Special Forces
:01:42. > :01:45.operations are not uncommon, but they are never routine. The Special
:01:45. > :01:52.Forces operation took place in Wardak province, just about an hour
:01:52. > :01:57.from here in Kabul. In Wardak province, close to the
:01:57. > :02:00.crash site, American forces fought to secure the surrounding valley.
:02:01. > :02:07.The Chinook, similar to this one, was returning from a battle with
:02:07. > :02:11.insurgents, when it appears to have been hit by a Taliban rocket. The
:02:11. > :02:15.twin rotor helicopter was targeting insurgents, almost fully loaded, on
:02:15. > :02:21.board were 31 American Special Forces and seven Afghan special
:02:22. > :02:27.commandos. All were killed. An eyewitness described the scene.
:02:27. > :02:32.TRANSLATION: We were outside our rooms on a veranda and saw a
:02:32. > :02:35.helicopter flying very low. It was hit by a rocket. It was on fire. It
:02:35. > :02:41.started coming down and crashed yards from our house, close to the
:02:41. > :02:45.river. Despite its proximity to the capital, parts of Wardak have been
:02:45. > :02:50.overrun by insurgents. In this mobile phone footage the Taliban
:02:50. > :02:52.can be seen at an abandoned American base. American troops had
:02:52. > :02:57.handed the compound to Afghan Security Forces, but they've been
:02:57. > :03:07.unable to hold it. From Camp David, President Obama gave his reaction
:03:07. > :03:19.
:03:19. > :03:23.President Obama gave his reaction In nearly ten years of fighting in
:03:23. > :03:28.Afghan America hasn't had a day as bad as this one. Operationally
:03:28. > :03:32.commanders say it won't affect their fight against the Taliban.
:03:33. > :03:39.Back home in America, a country already weary of this war, these
:03:39. > :03:42.deaths are another blow to morale. It hasn't been confirmed that the
:03:42. > :03:46.Taliban did carry out that attack. NATO has an investigation team at
:03:46. > :03:49.the site. They say they're waiting for that investigation to conclude
:03:49. > :03:52.before they'll issue any further statement.
:03:53. > :03:57.Quentin Sommerville, thank you. China has given a blunt warning to
:03:57. > :04:00.the US, that the good old days of borrowing are over. The country,
:04:00. > :04:05.America's biggest creditor, was responding to the news that the US,
:04:05. > :04:09.for the first time ever, has had its credit rating downgraded by the
:04:09. > :04:12.agency Standard & Poor's. Joe Lynam reports.
:04:12. > :04:16.America has only ever been triple-A. Not any more.
:04:16. > :04:21.Downgrade, for the first time in history, America's credit rating
:04:21. > :04:27.has been knocked down... world's wealthiest nation is no
:04:27. > :04:29.longer the safeest place to invest money. Standard & Poor's provide
:04:30. > :04:34.their opinion on the credit worthiness on countries and
:04:35. > :04:41.companies. It's just an opinion, but one that matters to governments
:04:41. > :04:45.and markets. Everything else about this deal stinks. S&P blamed the
:04:45. > :04:48.squabbling in Washington for its threatened decision to downgrade it.
:04:48. > :04:52.Now America will have to pay higher borrowing costs, which could
:04:52. > :04:57.trickle down to consumers and small firms. Some think the damage is
:04:57. > :05:01.mostly to America's reputation. It's a blow to America's res teeth.
:05:02. > :05:06.It's a problem and an embarrassment for President Obama, but it's not
:05:06. > :05:10.really going to effect the way the world economy works. But China is
:05:11. > :05:15.livid, saying it had the right to demand the United States address
:05:15. > :05:18.its structural debt problems and it called for a new stable global
:05:18. > :05:24.reserve currency to avert a catastrophe caused by any single
:05:24. > :05:29.country. Here, the Government said that the UK's current austerity
:05:29. > :05:35.package had ensured it retained the highest credit rating. Britain is
:05:35. > :05:38.now seen as a safe haven, as an oasis of calm in a turbulent road,
:05:38. > :05:42.because of the competence with which we've addressed the public
:05:42. > :05:45.finances in Britain. You have two parties working together in a
:05:45. > :05:48.coalition, working in the national interest. That inspires confidence.
:05:48. > :05:52.The Government may be playing down the significance to the UK of
:05:52. > :05:56.today's announcement, but privately, officials at the Treasury will be
:05:56. > :05:59.acutely aware that if the once impregnable US rating can be
:05:59. > :06:03.downgraded, then so too can all others. That means countries like
:06:03. > :06:09.Britain, with its own debt mountain to deal with, need to be careful
:06:09. > :06:13.not to seem that their rating will always be triple-A.
:06:13. > :06:16.So how has America reacted to this news? We're joined by our
:06:16. > :06:21.Washington correspondent, Andrew North.
:06:21. > :06:25.Well, interestingly, so far there's been no immediate reaction to this
:06:25. > :06:28.very harsh criticism from China. In a way America is still digesting
:06:28. > :06:35.this news that its credit rating has been downgraded for the first
:06:35. > :06:41.time ever. In many ways, we're in uncharted territory here. The only
:06:41. > :06:44.thing the White House has said so far is to release a Fairley anodine
:06:44. > :06:50.statement that doesn't mention the downgrade and simply saying that
:06:50. > :06:53.President Obama did try to reach a deal that would have avoided this
:06:53. > :06:56.downgrade, but I think everyone now is waiting to see what's going to
:06:56. > :06:59.happen with the opening of the Asian markets tomorrow. That will
:06:59. > :07:06.be the real test of how serious this really is for the United
:07:06. > :07:10.States. Thank you. Andrew North. The family of a 17-year-old
:07:10. > :07:14.schoolboy, killed by a polar bear in northern Norway yesterday, have
:07:14. > :07:18.paid tribute to him, saying he was strong, fearless and kind. Horatio
:07:18. > :07:22.Chapple died when the bear attacked a group on an expedition. Four
:07:22. > :07:25.others were injured and have undergone surgery.
:07:25. > :07:31.Horatio Chapple, the teenager on the trip of a lifetime, but killed
:07:31. > :07:36.by a polar bear on a remote glacier 700 miles inside the Arctic Circle.
:07:36. > :07:41.The group were sleeping when the bear attacked. Horatio was killed
:07:41. > :07:46.and two other boys were hurt. Also injured team leaders Andrew Ruck
:07:46. > :07:49.and Michael Reid, who shot the bear, but was seriously hurt himself.
:07:49. > :07:58.think he's lost a lot of teeth and I think there are neck and facial
:07:58. > :08:03.cuts as well. But I think the inner trauma will be worse. In a
:08:03. > :08:09.statement, Horatio's family said he was strong, fearless and kind with
:08:09. > :08:12.an amazing sense of humour and an ability to laugh at himself.". The
:08:12. > :08:17.trim was organised bit British School Exploring Society. The group
:08:17. > :08:22.on the glacier had been sent there to take measurements as part of an
:08:22. > :08:26.ongoing scientific study into suspected climate change. In all,
:08:26. > :08:34.around 90 were taking part in the expedition in different groups, but
:08:34. > :08:40.all are coming home. Police, local authorities, group leaders and BSES
:08:40. > :08:46.feel it would be wrong to continue their expedition in the light of
:08:47. > :08:50.the tragic incidents in Norway yesterday morning.
:08:50. > :08:54.Weighing an average of 60 stone polar bears are the dominant
:08:54. > :08:58.predator in one of the world's last great wildernesss. Though contact
:08:58. > :09:03.with man is rare, it is seldom without risk.
:09:03. > :09:08.Part of the M25 in Surrey, which was closed for 24 hours after a
:09:08. > :09:13.lorry crashed yesterday has re- opened. Let's go to our reporter at
:09:13. > :09:17.Reigate, Jonathan? 24 hours on, drivers are still
:09:17. > :09:21.facing disruption, after that closure of the M25 late yesterday
:09:21. > :09:27.afternoon. As you can probably see, traffic on the clock-wise part of
:09:27. > :09:31.the carriageway is now flowing two. Lanes were re-opened early this
:09:31. > :09:37.afternoon. Anti-clock-wise it's a different story. These pictures are
:09:37. > :09:42.from the Highways Agency webcam raz, monitoring the section of the
:09:42. > :09:47.motorway between Reigate and ledger head. That shows the run up to the
:09:47. > :09:52.junction where it's closed. Some motorists there for several hours.
:09:52. > :09:56.Some very stprus straiting time for them. The work to repair the
:09:56. > :10:00.carriageway, the central reservation and gantry has largely
:10:00. > :10:04.been completed now and final checks are going on. Anti-clock-wise lanes
:10:04. > :10:07.are expected to re-open this evening. Thank you.
:10:07. > :10:11.The Rugby Union World Cup begins next month in New Zealand. This
:10:11. > :10:16.afternoon the home nations were preparing with a few warm-up games.
:10:16. > :10:21.Scotland left it late to secure victory against Ireland at
:10:21. > :10:27.Murrayfield. England beat Wales 23 to 19 at Twickenham.
:10:27. > :10:30.England resplendent in their new strip, the real All Blacks, hosts
:10:30. > :10:33.New Zealand are favourites for the World Cup. England really believe
:10:34. > :10:37.they can win that trophy. This was a friendly, but England against
:10:37. > :10:41.Wales always means so much. Wales took an early lead, but England
:10:41. > :10:49.edge add head thanks to a try from James Haskell. The hosts led 13-7
:10:49. > :10:59.at the break. Wales' fortunes dipped after halftime when first,
:10:59. > :10:59.
:10:59. > :11:05.the debutante Manu Tuilagi proved his worth.
:11:05. > :11:10.Undeterred Wales hit back. A Shane Williams' try narrowed the lead to
:11:10. > :11:14.eight points. Wales were kept at arm's length. Jonny Wilkinson
:11:14. > :11:19.hasn't lost his touch though. His two drop goals would prove crucial
:11:19. > :11:24.in the end, a second try from Wales' George North set up an
:11:24. > :11:27.exciting finish. England held on for a 23-19 win. It wasn't quite as
:11:27. > :11:32.exciting at Murrayfield, where Scotland edged to a 10-6 victory