:00:11. > :00:16.Defiance from President Assad. In a rare speech he urges Syrians to
:00:16. > :00:22.fight to save the nation. To applause from supporters, he
:00:22. > :00:26.calls op popts "western puppets and -- opponents western puppets and
:00:26. > :00:30.enemies of God. The war in the country continues.
:00:30. > :00:33.The British Government dismisses his speech as beyond hypercritical.
:00:33. > :00:36.David Cameron defends changes to child benefit, which come into
:00:36. > :00:41.force at midnight. He says the coalition has a full tank of gas.
:00:41. > :00:46.We have travelled a long way down the road. There's a lot more to do.
:00:46. > :00:52.Far from running out of ideas, we have a packed agenda. Patient
:00:52. > :01:00.deaths and mistreatment at Stafford Hospital, ahead of an inquiry's
:01:00. > :01:10.findings. Failing managers could lose their jobs. In sport, more
:01:10. > :01:24.
:01:24. > :01:29.Good evening. President Assad has made a di fined address, calling
:01:29. > :01:34.his opponents puppets of the West. Mr Al-Assad called for Syrians to
:01:34. > :01:38.defend their country from what he called terrorists, backed by
:01:38. > :01:43.foreign powers. The British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, dismissed
:01:43. > :01:47.the speech as "beyond hypercritical."
:01:47. > :01:53.60,000 Syrian dead, according to the UN. Hundreds of thousands more
:01:53. > :01:59.wounded. Millions driven from their homes. But the end of Syria's civil
:01:59. > :02:04.war is nowhere close. President Assad is embattled. This was his
:02:05. > :02:07.first public speech in six months, to an audience of supporters.
:02:07. > :02:13.Predictions of his regime's imminent collapse have all been
:02:13. > :02:18.wrong. One reason, he has important foreign friends. TRANSLATION:
:02:18. > :02:21.thank all these countries, at the forefront, Russia, China and Iran,
:02:21. > :02:26.and all the countries that have stood with Syria against
:02:26. > :02:33.interference in our affairs. We salute and we are grateful for the
:02:33. > :02:37.stances of these countries. The President delighted his
:02:37. > :02:42.supporters. He called for dialogue and a referendum on the future.
:02:43. > :02:46.Rebels he called traitors, could, he said have no part in it.
:02:46. > :02:54.He told them that terrorists who have embraced Al-Qaeda and
:02:54. > :02:58.Jihadists from around the world are trying to destroy Syria.
:02:58. > :03:06.Syrian refugees in Jordan watched the speech. The shoes were waved as
:03:06. > :03:11.signs of contempt. TRANSLATION: He's calling for a
:03:11. > :03:14.political solution?S a sad needs to stop the air strikes -- Assad needs
:03:15. > :03:20.to stop the air strikes. The people will not accept this speech. What
:03:20. > :03:24.seemed to be pictures of protests are appearing on the web. The only
:03:24. > :03:28.thing the enemies want to hear in his speech is his resignation -
:03:28. > :03:33.Britain included. It is a very disappointing speech. It is
:03:33. > :03:36.hypercritical, because it suggests no part of the regime in the death
:03:36. > :03:39.and destruction which has been raged against the Syrian people. It
:03:39. > :03:45.suggests it is from outside, when it is the Syrian people who have
:03:46. > :03:50.taken against their own regime. And outside President Assad's
:03:50. > :03:55.security bubble, Syria's war goes on. There are no good scenarios
:03:55. > :04:05.here right now. There have not been for a while. A US peace envoy
:04:05. > :04:07.
:04:07. > :04:12.struggling to make progress, partly because blood is being split.
:04:12. > :04:18.-- spilt. His supporters try to skiss him. His enemies want him
:04:18. > :04:22.dead. No wonder the diplomats are struggling. We have seen the
:04:22. > :04:27.President with all his supporters. How much strength does he have in
:04:27. > :04:32.the country as a whole? I have spoken to diplomats who got pulled
:04:32. > :04:35.early last year out of Damascus, who said they thought they would be
:04:36. > :04:42.back before Christmas under a new regime and they haven't been. He
:04:42. > :04:47.has an Air Force. He has an officer core. He has control of the south-
:04:47. > :04:51.west of the country, of the centre of the capital, a Mediterranean
:04:51. > :04:55.coast, of important roads. That is important parts of territory.
:04:55. > :05:01.Although the rebels have a lot of the north. I think there are people
:05:01. > :05:06.in Syria who buy his argument, who are not necessarily his supporters,
:05:06. > :05:11.but buy the argument that after him there could be something worse.
:05:11. > :05:15.Some kind of serious chaos, some kind of extreme Islamist, Jihadist
:05:15. > :05:19.solution. I have to say that this is all going in One Direction. The
:05:19. > :05:25.opposition is getting stronger. The regime is getting weaker. It is
:05:25. > :05:29.just a slow process. Thank you. The Prime Minister has defended
:05:29. > :05:33.Government policies on the eve of what the coalition calls its mid-
:05:33. > :05:37.term review, insisting the Government has begun the New Year
:05:37. > :05:42.with a full tank of gas. Mr Cameron said the decision to remove child
:05:42. > :05:48.benefit from better off families, which takes effect at midnight, was
:05:48. > :05:52.the right approach. Labour called the changes perverse.
:05:52. > :05:56.First there were the proud smiles when the coalition Government was
:05:56. > :06:01.born. Then a business-like approach from David Cameron and Nick Clegg.
:06:01. > :06:05.We are closer to the next election than we are from the last one. The
:06:05. > :06:10.coalition is officially middle aged. David Cameron is determined to
:06:10. > :06:12.prove the Government is not slowing down and certainly is not thinking
:06:12. > :06:17.of retirement. What you are going to see tomorrow
:06:17. > :06:22.is a coalition Government, with a full tank of gas, full steam ahead.
:06:22. > :06:26.We travelled a long way down the road. There is a lot more to do.
:06:26. > :06:29.One item on the agenda now is the removal of child benefit from
:06:29. > :06:33.better off families. The Prime Minister insisted it was fair,
:06:34. > :06:37.given the state of the country's finances. He added the UK should
:06:37. > :06:41.stay in the European Union. He said the Conservatives would offer what
:06:41. > :06:44.he called a real choice on the issue at the next election and...
:06:45. > :06:49.Should we look at arguments about should it be harder for people to
:06:49. > :06:54.come and live in Britain and claim benefits? Yes, frankly, we should.
:06:54. > :06:58.Tomorrow, the focus will switch to the Government's next set of
:06:58. > :07:03.priorities, amongst them is thought ideas on how to pay for new roads,
:07:03. > :07:06.funding long-term care for the elderly and improving childcare
:07:06. > :07:09.could feature. Labour claim a bigger promise has been broken,
:07:09. > :07:14.because the economy is still sluggish.
:07:15. > :07:18.The Prime Minister said, judge us on the economy. The economy is flat
:07:18. > :07:23.lined. It has hardly grown. Unemployment is higher than two
:07:23. > :07:26.years ago. They are not getting the deficit down. Reviving the economy
:07:26. > :07:31.remains the big challenge, but looming before long will be the
:07:31. > :07:35.awkward business of how the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats
:07:35. > :07:38.untangle themselves from each other before the next election. Both
:07:38. > :07:42.sides already pointedly took up their own successes.
:07:42. > :07:45.We want to show at the next election that we didn't runaway
:07:45. > :07:49.from being in Government. That is what people said in the past. Why
:07:49. > :07:52.should we vote for you, you are never in Government. We did not
:07:52. > :07:55.runaway. We stepped up to the plate. We have been willing to take
:07:55. > :08:01.difficult decisions. But, we have been determined to make a fairer
:08:01. > :08:05.Britain, at the end of the day. now, the aim is to project a United
:08:05. > :08:13.Front, and an agenda the two men who brought their parties together
:08:13. > :08:20.can agree on. And Chri is at Downing Street. Is
:08:20. > :08:25.this the coalition pating itself on the back? I think this is the
:08:25. > :08:28.equivalent of the coalition hitting control, alt, delete and re-booting
:08:28. > :08:32.themselves. It will give them an opportunity to say, this is what we
:08:32. > :08:37.have done so far and this is what we'll do in the future, to mark
:08:37. > :08:40.their own homeworks, as critics will see it. It will be
:08:40. > :08:44.symbolically significant T two who set the coalition up, coming back
:08:44. > :08:48.together, to set up what they hope will be a common agenda. There may
:08:48. > :08:52.not be a huge amount of detail coming our way in policy-terms
:08:52. > :08:56.tomorrow. That is likely to be fleshed out in the coming weeks.
:08:56. > :09:01.Expect big themes - childcare, for instance, road building as well and
:09:01. > :09:09.care for the elderly. Big themes that the two leaders will hope
:09:09. > :09:11.their parties can agree on. Thank you. The Health Secretary,
:09:11. > :09:15.Jeremy Hunt, has warned NHS managers in England that they
:09:15. > :09:19.cannot expect to keep their jobs if there are failings under their care.
:09:19. > :09:23.A second report into the deaths and mistreatment of patients at
:09:23. > :09:27.Stafford Hospital will be published within the next couple of months.
:09:27. > :09:31.Writing in a Sunday newspaper, Mr Hunt hunt said proper
:09:31. > :09:35.accountability is needed in the health service. What happened at
:09:35. > :09:42.Stafford Hospital will be remembered in the NHS for a long
:09:42. > :09:49.time. Appalling failures of care that came to light four years ago.
:09:49. > :09:52.A public inquiry is due to report on how it was allowed to happen.
:09:52. > :09:56.Bella Bailey went into Stafford Hospital for a routine operation.
:09:56. > :10:01.After a fall and poor care she died. Her daughter, Julie, has been
:10:02. > :10:06.campaigning for change. She says it is still too hard for
:10:06. > :10:09.whistleblowers in the NHS and they find themselves put under pressure.
:10:09. > :10:12.Each nurse and each doctor should be able to go into their hospital
:10:12. > :10:17.and know they will be allowed to care for their patients in a way
:10:17. > :10:20.they want to care for their patients. Doctors and nurses are
:10:20. > :10:25.tortured just for speaking out about the poor care that they are
:10:25. > :10:28.witnessing day in and day out. Unfortunately, the NHS has become a
:10:28. > :10:33.bullying culture, and that needs to stop.
:10:33. > :10:35.The Government is trying to anticipate the findings of the
:10:35. > :10:40.public inquiry, introducing a friends and family test, where
:10:40. > :10:43.patients are asked about their experience, funding more training
:10:43. > :10:47.for health care assistants and calling for managers to be held to
:10:47. > :10:53.account for any failings. It may be less keen on an overhaul of
:10:53. > :10:56.regulation, as the NHS in England is already in the middle of a
:10:56. > :11:01.reorganisation. The Health Secretary knows this inquiry could
:11:01. > :11:05.raise awkward questions. Could it happen now? Can staff speak out?
:11:05. > :11:09.Since last year, he has been talking about making the NHS
:11:09. > :11:13.accountable. I need to say this to all managers - you will be held
:11:13. > :11:17.responsible for the care in your establishments. You wouldn't expect
:11:17. > :11:22.to keep your job if you lost control of your finances. Don't
:11:22. > :11:26.expect to keep it if you lose control of your care.
:11:26. > :11:31.Stafford Hospital has made many changes, including increasing the
:11:31. > :11:35.number of experienced nurses. The report won't just be tricky for the
:11:35. > :11:39.Government. Labour were in power when things wept wrong here. This
:11:39. > :11:43.inquiry could influence every hospital in England. All under
:11:43. > :11:50.pressure to find big financial savings, without allowing another
:11:50. > :11:54.major failing of care. Politicians and church leaders in
:11:54. > :11:58.East Belfast held a three-hour meeting today to try and find a way
:11:58. > :12:01.to end the violent protests sparked by the city council's decision to
:12:01. > :12:05.restrict the flying of the Union flag. The chairman of Northern
:12:06. > :12:11.Ireland's Police Federation has said the situation is being
:12:11. > :12:15.exploited by paramilitaries. In parts of Belfast, the Union flag
:12:15. > :12:20.has become a symbol of protest. Roads were blocked again tonight.
:12:20. > :12:27.In a dispute over the flying of the flag in this city. While this
:12:27. > :12:32.evening has been calm, last night there was anger and violence.
:12:32. > :12:36.Bitter standoffs between protestors and police ended up on attacks on
:12:36. > :12:40.officers and even reports of gunfire. Police officers out
:12:40. > :12:44.protecting the community are being subjected to serious violence. They
:12:44. > :12:48.are being attacked with petrol bombs, with masonry and bricks.
:12:48. > :12:51.Close to where some of the worse trouble took place last night,
:12:51. > :12:56.community leaders and politician met this afternoon inside a church.
:12:56. > :12:59.So far, no-one has any solution to the month-long flag dispute. The
:12:59. > :13:06.decision to restrict the flying of the Union flag to a limited number
:13:06. > :13:09.of designated days was a democratic one, made by the council. The
:13:09. > :13:12.cross-community Alliance Party supported the vote. Because the
:13:12. > :13:15.make-up of the council will not change soon, neither is the
:13:15. > :13:19.decision. In the streets of East Belfast,
:13:19. > :13:26.which are scarred by the debris of violence, some refuse to accept
:13:26. > :13:29.that. Put the flag back up. don't have a right to violence. You
:13:29. > :13:33.cannot justify police officers being attacked and this community
:13:33. > :13:38.getting wrecked. They should not have taken the flag down in the
:13:38. > :13:42.first place. There are many, however, angry about the weeks of
:13:42. > :13:47.destruction and disruption in small pockets of this city. I think for
:13:47. > :13:51.our generation it is quite shocking because we grew up after the Good
:13:51. > :13:55.Friday agreement. We are not used to it. Today, for the second day in
:13:55. > :13:58.a row, there was a special sitting at Belfast Magistrates' Court, to
:13:58. > :14:01.deal with people charged in connecktion with the rioting. The
:14:01. > :14:06.police have -- connection with the rioting. The police have made clear
:14:06. > :14:10.they will do all they can to maintain law and order. The Prince
:14:10. > :14:14.of Wales says the prospect of becoming a grandfather is spurring
:14:14. > :14:18.on his environmental beliefs. Prince Charles told This Morning
:14:18. > :14:24.that he didn't want to be asked by Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's
:14:24. > :14:28.child why he had not done more to tackle issues like climate change.
:14:28. > :14:33.It is what I have gone on for years about the importance of thinking
:14:33. > :14:39.about the long-term, in relation to the environmental damage, the
:14:39. > :14:46.climate change and everything else. In a sensible world we don't want
:14:46. > :14:53.to hand on a dysfunctional world to our grandchildren. I don't want to
:14:53. > :15:03.be asked why I didn't do something. Now will have a grandchild it makes
:15:03. > :15:09.it more obvious. Now the sport. For a full round-up
:15:09. > :15:16.we join Lizzie. There were no upsets in today's FA Cup third
:15:16. > :15:25.round matches A controversial Liverpool win, as they swept away
:15:25. > :15:30.For some, the FA Cup has become a distraction. For Arsene Wenger it
:15:30. > :15:36.was the chance of much-needed silverware. Swansea brought on
:15:36. > :15:41.their star striker, Michu. That jump-started Arsenal, their
:15:41. > :15:48.passing had purpose. They still needed a goal. With ten minutes
:15:48. > :15:53.left there was this goal. The Gunners were inspired. They took
:15:53. > :15:58.Swansea apart. That finished from their left-back, Kieran Gibbs. With
:15:58. > :16:03.Arsenal you should never crump to conclusions. Danny Graham equalised
:16:03. > :16:08.on 87 minutesment an amazing tie goes to a re-play. In Mansfield it
:16:08. > :16:13.was a day to say "I was there." The conference side were hosting
:16:13. > :16:20.Liverpool and keeping them waiting. The Reds were not held up much
:16:20. > :16:25.longer. Seine minutes into his debut -- seven minutes into his
:16:25. > :16:29.debut Sturridge spoiled the party. The Premier League side needed a
:16:29. > :16:34.hand, over to Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan sense of fair play is
:16:34. > :16:37.sometimes questioned. Despite the touch of his arm, the goal stood.
:16:37. > :16:42.Mansfield channelled their sense of injustice. The goal they worked for
:16:42. > :16:46.came from Green. It was not enough to keep them in the cup. They exit
:16:46. > :16:56.with no regrets, but plenty of questions.
:16:56. > :17:12.
:17:12. > :17:17.Well, the draw for the fourth round Andy Murray says he is pleased with
:17:17. > :17:23.his form going into this month's Australian Open after defending his
:17:23. > :17:28.Brisbane International title today. It is a bit easier being a fan of
:17:28. > :17:33.Andy Murray these days, with a major monkey off his backs. The
:17:33. > :17:36.followers can relax a bit. The same cannot be said of the man himself.
:17:36. > :17:41.Any lack of concentration is always punished.
:17:41. > :17:46.New faces are always trying to usurp. Grigor Dimitrov has pedigree
:17:46. > :17:52.- a winner at the US and Wimbledon Championships, but yet to challenge
:17:52. > :17:56.the best until now. Murray was 5-2 down in the first, but started to
:17:56. > :18:02.show his superior ritty. The upstart was put in his place. But
:18:02. > :18:06.not for long. A break from the 21- year-old had the champion telling
:18:06. > :18:13.himself off. It looks negative when he does it, but perhaps it is what
:18:13. > :18:17.he needs. From then on he was superb in maintaining the trophy.
:18:17. > :18:22.would like to dedicate this to one of my best friends. Thank you. You
:18:22. > :18:27.will get through it. A dedication to a friend, as Murray once again
:18:27. > :18:31.shows he has tremendous heart to go with his undoubted skill.