:00:20. > :00:23.Good evening. Trade unions have reacted with fury to plans by the
:00:23. > :00:27.Government to end national pay settlements for thousands of civil
:00:27. > :00:29.servants in England and Wales. The Chancellor, George Osborne, wants
:00:29. > :00:35.the pay of Jobcentre staff, Border Agency workers and other officials
:00:35. > :00:38.to reflect private sector wages in the areas where they live. For some,
:00:38. > :00:48.this could mean their pay is frozen. Our deputy political editor, James
:00:48. > :00:52.Landale, has the details. Should the public sector worker in
:00:52. > :00:57.Southampton get the same pay as one in Swansea? For years, the answer
:00:57. > :01:02.has been yes, but it is about to change. In the Budget next week,
:01:02. > :01:06.George Osborne will announce that he is speeding up plans to make the
:01:06. > :01:11.salaries of some civil servants reflect the pay in that area.
:01:11. > :01:16.odd that as a public servant, you learn a different amount relative
:01:16. > :01:21.to the cost of living in different parts of the country. This is the
:01:21. > :01:26.problem - on average, public sector workers in England and Wales get
:01:26. > :01:31.paid 8% more than comparable staff in the private sector. In Wales,
:01:31. > :01:38.the gap is more than 18%, but in the south-east of England, it is
:01:38. > :01:43.just 0.5%. George Osborne believes this makes it harder for public --
:01:43. > :01:48.private sector companies to hire staff. So, from next month, more
:01:48. > :01:53.than 150,000 civil servants could start seeing their pay frozen, or
:01:53. > :01:59.at least rising more slowly. Not surprisingly, public sector unions
:01:59. > :02:05.are not happy. If you drive down that ability to spend money in the
:02:05. > :02:10.local economy, there will be not only an effect on the public sector,
:02:10. > :02:14.but on the private sector as well. Doctors, dentists and the Armed
:02:14. > :02:18.Forces are not affected, but teachers, nurses and local
:02:18. > :02:22.government workers could face pay changes next year if the government
:02:22. > :02:26.decides to phase out national pay bargaining more widely. Labour has
:02:26. > :02:31.warned of anarchy in the public sector, but the Treasury says the
:02:31. > :02:34.changes will help boost the economy in areas where firms are struggling.
:02:34. > :02:37.US officials have named the American soldier accused of killing
:02:37. > :02:42.16 Afghan civilians nearly a week ago. He's Army Staff Sergeant
:02:42. > :02:45.Robert Bales, aged 38. He's being held at a maximum security military
:02:45. > :02:55.prison at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. Our correspondent David
:02:55. > :02:56.
:02:56. > :03:00.Willis reports. This is Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, a veteran of
:03:00. > :03:04.three tours of duty in Iraq, for which he received numerous
:03:04. > :03:09.commendations. He has been described by one former commander
:03:09. > :03:15.as a great soldier. But there was no hint of a hero's welcome when he
:03:15. > :03:21.arrived back on US soil last night. Fort Leavenworth in Kansas is home
:03:21. > :03:25.to the US military's only maximum- security prison, and Staff Sergeant
:03:25. > :03:32.Robert Bales is being held there amid allegations that he shot dead
:03:32. > :03:39.16 unarmed Afghan civilians and set fire to the bodies. He joined the
:03:39. > :03:42.Army in 2001, just a week after the September 11th terrorist attacks.
:03:42. > :03:47.During for redeployments to Iraqi was injured twice, suffering
:03:47. > :03:51.concussion in a roadside bomb attack, and then losing part of his
:03:51. > :03:55.foot. He was diagnosed with traumatic brain injury as a result
:03:55. > :04:00.of the concussion, but was cleared for duty after receiving treatment.
:04:00. > :04:06.US officials have not denied that he was missing from his base around
:04:06. > :04:08.the time the massacre took place in Afghanistan. Was this terrible
:04:09. > :04:14.tragedy the work of a man traumatised by his experiences on
:04:14. > :04:18.the battlefield? But here at Staff Sergeant Robert Bales's home base,
:04:18. > :04:22.details have started to emerge, among them, the fact that he had
:04:22. > :04:26.recently been passed up for promotion, that he did not want to
:04:26. > :04:31.go to Afghanistan, he wanted to stay and spend time with his family,
:04:31. > :04:41.and perhaps crucially, that the day before the massacre, in Kandahar
:04:41. > :04:43.province, one of his colleagues had The Syrian authorities say
:04:43. > :04:48.terrorists are to blame for two explosions in the capital, Damascus,
:04:48. > :04:51.which they claim have killed at least 27 people. Almost 100 others
:04:51. > :04:58.were wounded in the attacks. Syrian state television said intelligence
:04:58. > :05:00.and police buildings were targeted, possibly by two car bombs.
:05:00. > :05:03.Government officials in Libya have confirmed that Colonel Gaddafi's
:05:03. > :05:07.former intelligence chief has been detained in the West African state
:05:07. > :05:12.of Mauritania. Abdullah Senussi fled Libya when Gaddafi was ousted
:05:12. > :05:14.and killed last year after an uprising and months of fighting.
:05:14. > :05:21.He's wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against
:05:22. > :05:26.The FA Cup quarter-final between Tottenham and Bolton at White Hart
:05:26. > :05:29.Lane has been abandoned after a player suddenly collapsed. The
:05:29. > :05:33.Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba was taken ill 40 minutes into the
:05:33. > :05:37.game. He was given medical treatment on the pitch before being
:05:37. > :05:44.carried off on a stretcher and taken straight to hospital. There's
:05:45. > :05:49.In Cardiff, Wales beat France 16-9 in the Six Nations Championship, to
:05:49. > :05:53.win the Grand Slam. It's the third time they've taken the trophy in
:05:53. > :05:58.eight seasons. Scotland ended up with the wooden spoon after losing
:05:58. > :06:01.to Italy. England's campaign finished on a high with victory
:06:01. > :06:10.over Ireland but the real celebrations were in Cardiff. Andy
:06:10. > :06:14.Swiss was watching the action at the Millennium Stadium. It already
:06:14. > :06:19.felt like a victory parade, Wales arriving at the stadium to find the
:06:19. > :06:26.rest of Wales waiting for them. This young team has captured the
:06:26. > :06:31.country's imagination, but could they now capture the Grand Slam?
:06:32. > :06:39.Not if France could help it. Dimitri Yachvili put the French
:06:39. > :06:44.ahead, but Wales responded in swashbuckling style, as Alex
:06:44. > :06:49.Cuthbert sent the crowd into euphoria. Back came France after
:06:49. > :06:51.the break. Remember, they broke Welsh hearts at the World Cup, and
:06:51. > :06:56.Welsh hearts at the World Cup, and they threatened to do so again.
:06:56. > :07:00.Wales defended stoutly, but their lead had been cut. Some could
:07:00. > :07:10.hardly watch. But a nervous penalty from Leigh Halfpenny meant they
:07:10. > :07:11.could finally start celebrating. Moments later, Wales had done it,
:07:11. > :07:17.Moments later, Wales had done it, and the Grand Slam party was in
:07:17. > :07:22.full swing. We have had to show a bit of
:07:22. > :07:26.toughness, a bit of character. Hopefully it is a real turning
:07:26. > :07:34.point for Welsh rugby, because these players have showed great
:07:34. > :07:40.courage in this tournament, found ways to win when under pressure.
:07:40. > :07:45.This is what it means for these fans, a third Grand Slam in eight