:00:07. > :00:09.. 30 American soldiers are killed in a helicopter crash in
:00:09. > :00:14.Afghanistan. It's the biggest single loss of life of US personnel
:00:15. > :00:17.there since the war began. Many were Special Forces.
:00:17. > :00:21.President Obama said their deaths "were a reminder of the
:00:21. > :00:23.extraordinary sacrifices made by the military".
:00:23. > :00:30.China, America's biggest creditor, strongly criticises the country
:00:30. > :00:34.after the US loses its triple A status for the first time.
:00:34. > :00:40.Tributes are paid to the schoolboy killed by a polar bear in Norway.
:00:40. > :00:44.His family say he was "strong, fearless and kind".
:00:44. > :00:54.And England do just enough to beat Wales in a World Cup warm-up at
:00:54. > :01:04.
:01:05. > :01:07.Good evening. 30 American soldiers, seven Afghan
:01:07. > :01:13.troops and a civilian interpreter have been killed in a helicopter
:01:13. > :01:17.crash in Afghanistan. Many of them were US Navy SEALS from the Special
:01:17. > :01:21.Forces Unit which killed Osama Bin Laden in May. It's America's
:01:21. > :01:24.biggest single loss of life since the war began nearly a decade ago.
:01:24. > :01:27.President Obama paid tribute to the victims and said their deaths "were
:01:28. > :01:36.a reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices made by the military".
:01:36. > :01:41.From Washington, Andrew North sent First light after America's worst
:01:41. > :01:46.day in Afghanistan. A twin-rotared Chinook over the crash site in the
:01:46. > :01:49.mountains near Kabul. The American special forces and Afghan commandos
:01:49. > :01:57.who died were in the same kind of helicopter, flying low, they were
:01:57. > :02:03.hit by Taliban rocket fire. An eyewitness saw what happened.
:02:03. > :02:06.TRANSLATION: We were outside our rooms and saw this this helicopter
:02:06. > :02:08.flying very low. It was hit by a rocket and it was on fire. It
:02:08. > :02:15.started coming down and crashed just yards away from our house,
:02:15. > :02:19.close to the river. Most of those on board were from
:02:20. > :02:24.the Elite US Navy SEALs. The BBC has been told, seen here in
:02:24. > :02:30.training, not the same troops, but the same unit that killed Osama Bin
:02:30. > :02:34.Laden three months ago. This was how President Obama first
:02:34. > :02:39.got the news in a photo released by the White House. The moment every
:02:39. > :02:42.President dreads. In a statement, he said their deaths are a reminder
:02:42. > :02:46.of the extraordinary sacrifices made by the US military in
:02:46. > :02:51.Afghanistan. He paid tribute to the seven Afghan troops who were killed
:02:51. > :02:55.in the same crash. It couldn't come at a worse time as
:02:55. > :03:00.US troops begin to come home with many predicting this could allow
:03:00. > :03:04.the Taliban to regroup. What makes this such a hard blow for the
:03:04. > :03:08.United States is most of those who were killed are from the elite Navy
:03:08. > :03:13.SEALs who were seen as heroes here for killing Osama Bin Laden. It
:03:13. > :03:16.could put President Obama even more on the defensive over his
:03:16. > :03:20.Afghanistan policy with some saying he is pulling the troops out too
:03:20. > :03:24.quickly, but others are saying it is time to get out altogether.
:03:24. > :03:28.The Taliban are already preparing for the Americans to leave. These
:03:28. > :03:32.pictures show their fighters taking over a former US base. And in
:03:32. > :03:40.bringing down this American helicopter, they have scored one of
:03:41. > :03:47.their biggest propaganda victories Andrew is in Washington for us now.
:03:47. > :03:51.What's the likely impact of this going to be, Andrew? This this
:03:51. > :03:55.couldn't come at a worst time for President Obama, with the debt ci
:03:55. > :03:59.circumstances but now it looks likely this business of the
:03:59. > :04:04.shooting down of the helicopter could overshadow all of this. Now,
:04:04. > :04:09.I know from my time in Iraq and Afghanistan, travelling in Chinooks
:04:09. > :04:13.many times, often coming under fire, I know how vulnerable these
:04:13. > :04:18.helicopters are to ground fire. The big question though, the big
:04:18. > :04:22.unanswered question, is what were the troops doing there? 22 US Navy
:04:22. > :04:26.SEALs on board. There are reports they were hunting a senior Taliban
:04:26. > :04:29.commander, but there are some saying they were rescuing other
:04:29. > :04:33.units on the ground. We are waiting to hear more details, but that
:04:33. > :04:39.possible report that they were rescuing others on the ground, that
:04:39. > :04:41.starts to bring back memory of Black Hawk Down in Somalia, you
:04:41. > :04:49.could see President Obama under pressure over his Afghanistan
:04:49. > :04:51.mission. The Ministry of Defence has named
:04:51. > :05:00.the Royal Marine killed in Afghanistan yesterday. He was James
:05:00. > :05:02.Wright from Weymouth in Dorset. The 22-year-old was wounded when a
:05:02. > :05:05.grenade was thrown into his patrol's checkpoint in Helmand
:05:05. > :05:07.province. His parents said he touched the lives of everyone who
:05:07. > :05:11.knew him. China has given a blunt warning to
:05:11. > :05:14.the US that the "good old days" of borrowing are over. The country,
:05:14. > :05:17.America's biggest creditor, was responding to the news that the US
:05:17. > :05:20.for the first time ever has had its credit rating downgraded by the
:05:20. > :05:28.agency Standard and Poor's. Here's our Business Correspondent, Joe
:05:28. > :05:32.America has only ever been triple A, not anymore. Downgrade for the
:05:32. > :05:35.first time in history. America's credit rating has been knocked down
:05:36. > :05:41.a peg. The world's wealthiest nation is no
:05:41. > :05:51.longer the safest place to invest money. Standard and Poor's is one
:05:51. > :05:57.of the three main crediting rate companies who provide their opinion
:05:57. > :06:01.on credit worthiness. S and P blamed the squabbling in Washington
:06:01. > :06:05.for its long threatened decision to downgrade.
:06:05. > :06:08.The fact that you had a downgrade ceiling that resulted in the
:06:08. > :06:12.Government not reaching agreement until ten hours before they had a
:06:12. > :06:18.cash management programme. This is not how most highly rated
:06:18. > :06:21.governments run themselves. China is livid saying it had the the
:06:21. > :06:27.right to demand the United States address its debt problems and
:06:27. > :06:31.called for a new stable reserve currency to avert a catastrophe
:06:31. > :06:35.caused by any country. The Government said that the UK's
:06:35. > :06:41.current austerity pack age ensured it retained the highest credit
:06:41. > :06:44.ratings. Britain is seen as a a safe haven
:06:44. > :06:47.because of the competence which we've addressed the issue of the
:06:47. > :06:51.public finances in Britain, the fact that you've got two parties
:06:51. > :06:54.working together in a coalition, working in the national interest, I
:06:54. > :06:59.think that inspires confidence. Government maybe playing down the
:06:59. > :07:04.significance to the UK of today's S and P announcement, but officials
:07:04. > :07:08.at the Treasury will be aware if the once impregnable US rating can
:07:08. > :07:11.be downgraded then so too can all others. Countries like Britain with
:07:11. > :07:21.its own debt mountain to deal with, need to be careful not to assume
:07:21. > :07:23.
:07:23. > :07:26.that their rating will always be Our business editor Robert Peston
:07:26. > :07:31.joins us now. How is this going to hit news the UK? The big financial
:07:31. > :07:34.problems in the world aren't for once British problems. We have got
:07:34. > :07:38.the US downgrade and perhaps more importantly in terms what is
:07:38. > :07:44.worrying investors and creditors is the growing growing difficulty that
:07:44. > :07:49.Italy is having in bor in borrowing and the rising cost for the Italian
:07:49. > :07:54.Government of borrowing. Now, you know, this could cause further
:07:54. > :07:58.turmoil in markets and if that were to happen, yes there could be a
:07:58. > :08:01.negative impact on the UK, the value of our pensions would fall
:08:02. > :08:06.and if there were difficulties for big international banks in
:08:06. > :08:09.borrowing, probably our banks would not be immune, they would have
:08:09. > :08:13.difficulty lending and that would be damaging for the UK economy. It
:08:13. > :08:16.is a nerve-wracking time for the British Government because the
:08:16. > :08:19.British Government can't do do very much to fix these problems, we are
:08:19. > :08:22.on the outside, but they might end up hurting us.
:08:22. > :08:28.And what's it looking like for Monday when the markets open?
:08:28. > :08:32.going to be a very nerve-wracking weekend. For investors and
:08:32. > :08:38.creditors as I've said the the biggest worry is the Italian
:08:38. > :08:44.problem won't be be fixed. It will become more expensive for the
:08:44. > :08:47.Italians to borrow. All eyes are on the European Central Bank. What
:08:47. > :08:51.bankers and investors want to see is a decision by the European
:08:51. > :08:56.Central Bank to start lending effectively, effectively lending to
:08:56. > :09:02.Italy by buying Italian bonds in the market. It is not clear that
:09:02. > :09:05.the European sen European Central Bank will do that. If it doesn't
:09:05. > :09:09.decide to do that and we should know that by tomorrow evening, well
:09:09. > :09:12.then I think it could be very, very difficult hairy again on Monday in
:09:12. > :09:18.markets. Robert, thank you.
:09:18. > :09:21.There are reports tonight of violence on the streets of
:09:21. > :09:26.Tottenham in North London. These pictures have appeared on the
:09:27. > :09:33.internet in the past half hour. A man was shot dead in Tottenham on
:09:33. > :09:36.Thursday. Earlier today about 120 people marched from the Broadwater
:09:36. > :09:46.Farm area to the police station, after a man was shot dead by police
:09:46. > :09:48.
:09:48. > :09:51.The family of a 17-year-old schoolboy killed by a polar bear in
:09:51. > :09:55.northern Norway yesterday have paid tribute to him saying he was
:09:55. > :09:59."strong, fearless and kind". Ben Ando reports.
:09:59. > :10:04.Horatio Chapple was on the adventure trip of a lifetime
:10:04. > :10:08.exploring a glacier 700 miles inside the Artic Circle. The group
:10:08. > :10:14.were asleep when a polar bear attacked their camp. Horatio
:10:14. > :10:19.Chapple was killed and two other boys were hurt. Also injured team
:10:19. > :10:21.leaders Andrew Ruck and Michael Reid. This evening, he tweeted from
:10:21. > :10:25.hospital, "I shot the very aggressive polar bear after it
:10:25. > :10:33.attacked. I now have serious head injuries and the hospital is trying
:10:33. > :10:37.to make me better." I would rather not use the word
:10:37. > :10:40."hero "he was fighting for his life, I guess. The other members of the
:10:40. > :10:45.group do say that they thought he was very brave.
:10:45. > :10:53.It is understood the four survivors will be flown back to the UK in an
:10:53. > :11:00.air ambulance tomorrow or Monday. In a statement Horatio Chapple
:11:01. > :11:07.family's family said said strong and fearless and had a kind and
:11:07. > :11:10.amazing sense of humour. Those on the glacier had been sent to take
:11:10. > :11:17.measurements for an ongoing study into climate change. Organisers say
:11:17. > :11:24.the expedition will be cut short. Police, local authorities, group
:11:24. > :11:31.leaders, and BSES feel it would be wrong to continue their expedition
:11:31. > :11:35.in the light of the tragic incidents yesterday morning.
:11:35. > :11:41.Weighing an average of 60 stone, polar bears are the dominant
:11:41. > :11:49.predator in one of the world's last great great wilderness and contact
:11:49. > :11:52.with man is rare, it is seldom Transport officials hope to fully
:11:52. > :11:55.reopen the M25 tonight after parts of it in Surrey were shut for more
:11:55. > :11:58.than 24 hours because of a crash. Today the closure caused lengthy
:11:58. > :12:06.tailbacks. Three people were badly hurt in the crash when a lorry's
:12:06. > :12:10.tyre burst causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle.
:12:10. > :12:14.Now the sport with Olly Foster. There were two different matches
:12:14. > :12:18.today as the home nations start a month of friendlies in in
:12:18. > :12:23.preparation for the Rugby Union World Cup. Scotland left it late at
:12:23. > :12:33.Murrayfield as they edged Ireland in a low scoring encounter. England
:12:33. > :12:34.
:12:34. > :12:37.England resplendent in their new strip. The real All Blacks, hosts,
:12:37. > :12:43.New Zealand are favourites for the World Cup, but England believe they
:12:43. > :12:47.can win the trophy. This was a a friendly, but England against Wales
:12:47. > :12:52.means so much. Wales took an early lead, but England edged ahead
:12:52. > :12:58.thanks to a try from James Haskell and the hosts led 13-7 at the break.
:12:58. > :13:04.Wales' fortunes dipped further when Manu Tuilagi quickly proved his
:13:04. > :13:09.worth. Then full Back Morgan Stoddart sustained an ankle injury.
:13:09. > :13:16.Wales hit back, a Shane Williams try followed by a conversion
:13:16. > :13:21.narrowed England's lead to eight eight points. Wales were kept at
:13:21. > :13:26.arm's length by Jonny Wilkinson. He hasn't lost his touch. His two drop
:13:26. > :13:31.goals would prove crucial. A second try from George North set up an
:13:31. > :13:35.exciting finish, but England held on for a 23-19 win. It wasn't as
:13:35. > :13:41.exciting a at Murrayfield where Scotland edged to a victory over
:13:41. > :13:50.Ireland. The Irish led 6-3 with three minutes remaining, but
:13:50. > :13:55.Scotland clinched victory thanks to a try from Joe Ansborough.
:13:55. > :14:05.. Brighton returned to the championship. A new ground, the
:14:05. > :14:05.
:14:05. > :14:07.Amex Stadium and a win win against Doncaster Rovers.
:14:07. > :14:12.There were two matches in the Scottish Premier League today.
:14:12. > :14:21.Dundee United are top of the table, level on points with St Mirren
:14:21. > :14:26.after they shared the points at at Tannadice.
:14:26. > :14:36.Wigan Warriors reached their first Challenge Cup final at the expense
:14:36. > :14:57.
:14:57. > :15:07.Thris Horo came fourth today and there is question whether she will
:15:07. > :15:08.
:15:08. > :15:13.travel for the Whips. Sanya Richards-Ross won the race
:15:13. > :15:18.over Ohorouogu. I warmed up. I had a cold last week,
:15:18. > :15:23.but that's gone now. I'm shocked. That was really
:15:23. > :15:28.appalling. Helen Jenkins passed today's 2012
:15:28. > :15:32.Olympic Test Event with flying colours. The London leg of the
:15:32. > :15:40.triathlon World Series has been staged over the Hyde Park course
:15:40. > :15:44.that will be used at next year's Games.
:15:44. > :15:47.Jenkins came out on top winning in over two hours, a result that
:15:47. > :15:50.should see her make the team for the Olympics.