:00:07. > :00:13.David Cameron calls the death of a British doctor in a Syrian jail a
:00:14. > :00:16.sickening tragedy. Abbas Khan's body is flown home, the Prime Minister
:00:17. > :00:21.tells his mother the regime should be held to account. After criticism
:00:22. > :00:25.from the family that they were abandoned by the British Government,
:00:26. > :00:29.we'll look at how the case has been handled. Also tonight: Train
:00:30. > :00:33.operators warn of disruption tomorrow as many areas face gales
:00:34. > :00:37.and high winds amid the Christmas travel rush.
:00:38. > :00:41.With ten days to go until the lifting of work restrictions on
:00:42. > :00:45.Bulgarians and Romanian, the Business Secretary says UKIP is
:00:46. > :00:50.causing Conservative panic on immigration. And England are caught
:00:51. > :01:09.in a spin as Graeme Swann announce announces he is retiring.
:01:10. > :01:15.Good evening. The Prime Minister says the Syrian regime must answer
:01:16. > :01:19.for the death of a British surgeon in a Damascus jail last week,
:01:20. > :01:24.calling it a sickening tragedy. In a letter to the mother of Abbas Khan
:01:25. > :01:30.made public today, David Cameron said the doctor was badly treated by
:01:31. > :01:35.the Syrian authorities and Britain will press for those responsible to
:01:36. > :01:40.be held to account. Dr Khan's body was flown home today.
:01:41. > :01:45.Abbas Khan, a father of two children and a surgeon who died in a Syrian
:01:46. > :01:49.prison, just days before he was due to be released. After criticising
:01:50. > :01:55.the Government for not helping them his family have released a letter
:01:56. > :01:58.from the Prime Minister. He offers condolences and described the death
:01:59. > :02:03.as a sickening and appalling tragedy, which the Syrian regime
:02:04. > :02:06.should answer for. David Cameron acknowledges he knows from his own
:02:07. > :02:13.experience of losing a child that words are of little comfort. This
:02:14. > :02:18.morning his mother flew back from Syria with her son's body. She
:02:19. > :02:21.appealed to the British and other international embassies for help.
:02:22. > :02:25.India didn't want to help. They said, no, no, you are British. We
:02:26. > :02:29.will not help you. I went to the Russian embassy. They said, no, you
:02:30. > :02:36.are British and we're not going to help you. You are British and we
:02:37. > :02:39.don't want to help you. I was British and they said no, I didn't
:02:40. > :02:42.get help from the British Government.
:02:43. > :02:47.The Foreign Office have said Abbas Khan was, in effect, murdered by the
:02:48. > :02:50.Syrian authorities. That and Mr Cameron's letter are not enough for
:02:51. > :02:56.the family. His sister says she wants to see action, not just words.
:02:57. > :03:00.We have received letters from the Prime Minister who said he is now
:03:01. > :03:06.going to help us get answers, but nothing has been said as to how and
:03:07. > :03:09.when. His body has been taken to the East London Coroner's office. A
:03:10. > :03:14.postmortem will be carried out tomorrow. After that, the family say
:03:15. > :03:19.their priority is to lay his body to rest.
:03:20. > :03:22.Our chief international correspondent is just back from
:03:23. > :03:27.Syria. The question will be not just what the British Government says,
:03:28. > :03:30.but what it is doing and what it did in the past This letter from David
:03:31. > :03:34.Cameron suggests the British Government behind the scenes was
:03:35. > :03:39.doing more than the family was aware of. You heard the grief there -
:03:40. > :03:46.mixed with anger. When I spoke to them in Beirut, in a telephone
:03:47. > :03:51.conversation with them, they used words like abandoned and forsaken.
:03:52. > :03:57.Fatima told me she only found out during the 13 months through the
:03:58. > :04:02.Indian embassy he was still alive. David Cameron said they did work
:04:03. > :04:05.with the ement baysy which represents -- the embassy which
:04:06. > :04:10.works with British interests there. The family feels very much alone. In
:04:11. > :04:15.Beirut they were given the telephone number of a funeral director to try
:04:16. > :04:19.and get the body back to Britain. Of course, it is a complicated
:04:20. > :04:22.political story. It is a story of no relations between Britain and Syria.
:04:23. > :04:25.A very strained relationship. Therefore, it was hard for Britain
:04:26. > :04:29.to react in this case. The big question is now - could they have
:04:30. > :04:33.done more? What could they have done?
:04:34. > :04:38.Lyse Doucet, thank you. Anyone planning to travel home for
:04:39. > :04:43.Christmas tomorrow should brace themselves for delays ahead of
:04:44. > :04:47.warnings of heavy rains and strong winds. Airliners have advised people
:04:48. > :04:51.to check their websites before setting off.
:04:52. > :04:55.Let's get the latest now from Euston station. How is it looking, Ben?
:04:56. > :05:02.Well, Christmas travel problems seem to be turning into an unwelcome
:05:03. > :05:06.festive tradition now. The problem this time is a huge storm in the
:05:07. > :05:12.Atlantic, heading this way. At its heart possibly the most intense
:05:13. > :05:17.low-pressure system recorded here for nearly 130 years. Whichever way
:05:18. > :05:22.you are planning to travel you may face disruption. For many people the
:05:23. > :05:26.railways are the best Christmas travel option. To encourage
:05:27. > :05:29.passengers to beat the storm all operators say tickets dated for
:05:30. > :05:34.travel tomorrow will be accepted today. Tomorrow, we plan to travel
:05:35. > :05:37.at 4. 30pm. According to the weather that is the worst time. It is quiet
:05:38. > :05:40.here. Hopefully we'll be all right. The problem is a huge depression
:05:41. > :05:45.heading towards the south coast of England from the Atlantic. It is
:05:46. > :05:49.expected to cause high winds of up to 70 miles per hour across southern
:05:50. > :05:54.England and south Wales. And up to 60 mms of rain throughout the day.
:05:55. > :05:59.The Environment Agency has issued six flood warnings. On the roads,
:06:00. > :06:04.the risk to cars and lorries is also considerable. The Highways Agency
:06:05. > :06:07.said its website has hints for driving safely in deteriorating
:06:08. > :06:12.conditions. The AA says people should plan their journeys.
:06:13. > :06:16.And for those jetting off for the Christmas break, air travel is not
:06:17. > :06:20.immune. So far, no flights have been cancelled due to the weather, but
:06:21. > :06:25.Heathrow is urging passengers flying tomorrow to check airline websites
:06:26. > :06:32.before setting out. And for many people it is a double
:06:33. > :06:35.whammy. Not only do you have the normal commuters, you have the extra
:06:36. > :06:39.Christmas travellers. If you can change your plans, the message is,
:06:40. > :06:43.try and travel before lunch time. Thank you.
:06:44. > :06:48.The Business Secretary, Vince Cable, has admitted there are tensions in
:06:49. > :06:52.the Government with EU immigration, accusing the Conservatives of being
:06:53. > :06:57.in a panic over the issue because of UKIP. He has been speaking with ten
:06:58. > :07:02.days to go until restrictions on Romanians and Bulgarians working in
:07:03. > :07:07.the UK are lifted. Ten days and counting until we all
:07:08. > :07:11.need a new calendar and until the lifting of restrictions which are
:07:12. > :07:16.now causing a deepening row over immigration. From January 1st,
:07:17. > :07:21.people here in Bulgaria and Romania can pack their bags, move to the UK
:07:22. > :07:25.and look for work. The Government has changed the rules to predict
:07:26. > :07:29.migrants from claiming out of work benefits for their first three
:07:30. > :07:34.months here. This change and some of the language used in discusses
:07:35. > :07:38.immigration has irritated the President of Bulgaria. In an
:07:39. > :07:41.interview with The Observer he said there is a danger of isolating
:07:42. > :07:45.Britain and damaging Britain's reputation. Immigration, he claims,
:07:46. > :07:49.is good for the UK. You guys are making a profit out of this. Keep it
:07:50. > :07:53.like that. Liberal Democrats say a cap on
:07:54. > :07:57.European Union migrants, referred to in a leaked Home Office document,
:07:58. > :08:02.would be illegal. Vince Cable, for one, is not afraid of sounding off
:08:03. > :08:05.about the Conservatives. We periodically get these immigration
:08:06. > :08:09.panics in the UK. I remember going back to Enoch Powell and Rivers of
:08:10. > :08:15.Blood and all that. And if you go back a century, a panic over Jewish
:08:16. > :08:18.immigrants from Eastern Europe. The responsibility of politicians, when
:08:19. > :08:22.people are getting anxious is to try and reassure them and give them
:08:23. > :08:26.facts and not panic. No word from the Prime Minister today. He was in
:08:27. > :08:30.Brussels on Friday and said further rule changes would be needed if
:08:31. > :08:35.other countries joined the European Union in future.
:08:36. > :08:39.As we contemplate countries like Serbia or Albania one day joining
:08:40. > :08:44.the EU, we must find a way to slow down full access to each other's
:08:45. > :08:50.labour markets, until we can be sure this will not cause vast migrations.
:08:51. > :08:53.The bigger picture is the rise of the UKIP and the jostling for
:08:54. > :08:57.position going on ahead of the European elections in six months'
:08:58. > :09:00.time. There is the Conservative's desire to renegotiate our
:09:01. > :09:08.relationship with the European Union and put our membership to a
:09:09. > :09:12.referendum in 2017. The Russian oilty conreleased by
:09:13. > :09:17.President Putin after ten years in jail has said he has no plans to
:09:18. > :09:20.enter politics and will work for the freedom of political prisoners.
:09:21. > :09:24.Mikhail Khodorkovsky also said he will not be returning to Russia
:09:25. > :09:28.without guarantees that he'll be able to leave again.
:09:29. > :09:33.This report contains flash photography.
:09:34. > :09:38.Stepping back into the limelight today, the Russian oligarch who
:09:39. > :09:42.became the country's most famous political prisoner. In his first
:09:43. > :09:50.public appearance since his prize release, he described the moment
:09:51. > :09:54.when he heard he would be freed. TRANSLATION: It was 2am, when the
:09:55. > :09:58.head of the prison woke me up and told me I was going home. During the
:09:59. > :10:04.journey I was told I was going to Berlin.
:10:05. > :10:08.He had spent ten years in prison for fraud and money laundering. Many
:10:09. > :10:10.people believe he was there because President Putin ordered it.
:10:11. > :10:18.??FORCEWHITE REPORTER: Do you intend to return to
:10:19. > :10:23.Russia or are you in exile? Ful TRANSLATION: The President's
:10:24. > :10:26.spokesman says no-one is stopping me returning to Russia. Unfortunately I
:10:27. > :10:31.have no guarantees that I would be able to leave again if I needed to.
:10:32. > :10:37.For a man who has been in jail for ten years, he was calm, moderate and
:10:38. > :10:41.without anger. His main concern - the other political prisoners who
:10:42. > :10:45.have been left behind. This evening, his oldest son, who
:10:46. > :10:50.did not see his father for ten years, described to me the toll his
:10:51. > :10:56.imprisonment has taken on the family. My younger brothers, who
:10:57. > :11:04.were four years old when my father was arrested are now 14. They have
:11:05. > :11:10.grown up without a father. And I think that is way too much of a
:11:11. > :11:14.price to pay. Once Russia's richest man Khodorkovsky made his money in
:11:15. > :11:18.oil and banking. When President Putin came to power he became a
:11:19. > :11:23.fierce critic of the corruption surrounding the Kremlin and ended up
:11:24. > :11:28.in prison. Today, he said he wouldn't be returning to Russian
:11:29. > :11:34.politics and symbolically drove off through Berlin's famous checkpoint
:11:35. > :11:38.charily. The UN says hundreds of thousands of
:11:39. > :11:43.people in South Sudan are fearing for their lives amid escalating
:11:44. > :11:47.ethnic violence. 500 people have been killed in fighting which broke
:11:48. > :11:59.out a week ago between soldiers loyal to the President Syracuse Sir.
:12:00. > :12:04.-- Salva Kiir. Tens of thousands are seeking refuge in compounds. They
:12:05. > :12:07.talk of targeted killing of civilians, ferocious fighting. An
:12:08. > :12:12.oil-rich country is beginning to tear itself apart. There is a
:12:13. > :12:18.considerable amount of tension W that tension we see a build-up of
:12:19. > :12:24.people that have been dispersed from their towns and villages. We've got
:12:25. > :12:30.a considerable number of people that we are here to protect. South Sudan
:12:31. > :12:34.is the world's youngest nation. A power struggle between President
:12:35. > :12:42.Salva Kiir and the Vice-President who he sacked in July has reignited
:12:43. > :12:45.a festering ethnic conflict. As the violence escalates, Government
:12:46. > :12:52.troops have been sent to the areas seized by the rebel forces.
:12:53. > :12:56.In order to try and push out this renegade in the main centre. That
:12:57. > :13:02.was done yesterday. In fact they are being cleared out from the city.
:13:03. > :13:06.With fiercer battles likely to come, many oil workers have been
:13:07. > :13:12.evacuated. The capital of a vital oil-rich state has already fallen to
:13:13. > :13:15.the rebels. The UN is overwhelmed. Two Indian peacekeepers were killed
:13:16. > :13:28.in one attack on a UN base, prompting kaults for calm and the --
:13:29. > :13:32.calls for calm and . Of I call them to stop hostilities and end the
:13:33. > :13:40.violence against civilians. There is little sign the blood-letting and
:13:41. > :13:46.the tragic fallout will end soon. The American diplomat tasked with
:13:47. > :13:49.resolving some of Northern Ireland's most contention issues has
:13:50. > :13:54.recommended a separate process to deal with the flying of flags.
:13:55. > :13:58.Earlier today Richard Haass gave the parties his revised proposals on how
:13:59. > :14:02.to deal with issues still outstanding after the peace process.
:14:03. > :14:07.Let's join our correspondent. What is the view Mr Haass has come to?
:14:08. > :14:12.These are the most significant political negotiations here,
:14:13. > :14:16.designed to deal with the contentious issued left over. Dr
:14:17. > :14:21.Richard Haass has been talking to political parties and others for
:14:22. > :14:27.several months. He's proposed new bodies will set up to deal with two
:14:28. > :14:31.of the issues - parading and the legacy of Northern Ireland's
:14:32. > :14:34.troubled past. In his latest draft document, he said the politicians
:14:35. > :14:38.have not been able to find a common position on the issue of flags. That
:14:39. > :14:44.is an issue which has the potential to cause street violence here. A
:14:45. > :14:50.year ago Belfast City Council voted to restrict the flying over the flag
:14:51. > :14:54.in the civic building. He has proposed a new commission to look at
:14:55. > :14:59.the issue over the long-term. The parties will discuss that at round
:15:00. > :15:03.table talks tomorrow. Thank you. In Iraq, suicide bombings and
:15:04. > :15:07.assassinations are reaching levels last seen five years ago, with the
:15:08. > :15:13.UN estimating that 8,000 people have been killed this year. In a BBC
:15:14. > :15:18.interview Iraq's Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki blamed the conflict
:15:19. > :15:26.in neighbour neighbouring Syria. He has been speaking exclusively to our
:15:27. > :15:32.correspondent. A life came to a halt a month ago.
:15:33. > :15:37.She was shopping with her children, when suddenly, nearby a suicide
:15:38. > :15:40.bomber detonated his explosives. She was so badly hurt, her family kept
:15:41. > :15:48.the truth from her. TRANSLATION: It has been a month and
:15:49. > :15:53.I didn't know what had happened to them. The truth was, they were dead.
:15:54. > :15:58.I have just been told. It was a lie. They weren't in
:15:59. > :16:03.hospital. My life is not beautiful any more without them. I wish I
:16:04. > :16:10.would have died with them. The last thing she lebs is a --
:16:11. > :16:14.remembers is a hug from Omar. His five-year-old sister died in their
:16:15. > :16:19.father's arms. People here are caught in the middle of a sectarian
:16:20. > :16:23.conflict. It is turning Iraqi against Iraqi, Sunni against Shia.
:16:24. > :16:29.More than 6,000 civilians have been killed this year. Iraq's Prime
:16:30. > :16:32.Minister told us its trouble -- it is trouble outside the country that
:16:33. > :16:37.is causing the violence. TRANSLATION: We have high confidence
:16:38. > :16:41.we'll be able to contain this wave of terrorism which is not only
:16:42. > :16:46.dangerous to Iraq, but the whole region and maybe the world. The
:16:47. > :16:51.solution should be to contain the crisis in Syria, which is feeding
:16:52. > :16:54.terrorism within the region. In Baghdad, traffic is regularly
:16:55. > :16:58.brought to a standstill by increased security checks. The Security
:16:59. > :17:02.Services don't have a grip on the insurgency. The minority Sunni
:17:03. > :17:06.population is blamed for the attacks. We met one man who was
:17:07. > :17:12.arrested in a Government raid. Like many others, he says he was
:17:13. > :17:17.tortured. He asked for his identity to be concealed.
:17:18. > :17:22.TRANSLATION: My hands were cuffed behind my back. I was blindfolded
:17:23. > :17:25.and hung upside down from the ceiling. They wanted me to confess
:17:26. > :17:30.to something, but I didn't know what. Now I am too scared to sleep
:17:31. > :17:37.in my own bed. I feel like a stranger living in Iraq.
:17:38. > :17:43.It is Shia neighbourhoods baring the brunt of the attacks. Those linked
:17:44. > :17:48.to Al-Qaeda try and tear the country apart on secretary tarp lines. One
:17:49. > :17:52.senior official told me there are large swathes of the country where
:17:53. > :17:59.it is not safe for the Security Services.
:18:00. > :18:06.Now to cricket and the surprise news that spin bowler Graeme Swann is
:18:07. > :18:10.retiring with mediate effect in the middle of the Ashes in Australia.
:18:11. > :18:15.England y lost the series, although there are two more Tests to play.
:18:16. > :18:19.This report contains flash photography. You may have thought
:18:20. > :18:24.England's Ashes campaign could not have got any worse. With two Tests
:18:25. > :18:30.to play Graeme Swann made a shock announcement. The tourists would
:18:31. > :18:37.have to build without him. I was desperately hoping to win the Ashes
:18:38. > :18:43.out here like we did in 2010, 2011. With it gone now, I think personally
:18:44. > :18:47.to stay on and selfishly play to experience another boxing day Test
:18:48. > :18:53.match would be wrong. He was integral across all foremaths. He is
:18:54. > :18:59.six -- formats. He is sixth in his country list. A natural performer on
:19:00. > :19:03.and off the pitch. This series had not been as much fun. Having
:19:04. > :19:08.struggled with injury and form, Swann decided mid-series that he'd
:19:09. > :19:13.had enough. The iconic boxing day Test match here at Melbourne Cricket
:19:14. > :19:17.Ground was meant to be a pivotal fixture. Instead it has become
:19:18. > :19:21.crucial for England for very different reasons, as they try and
:19:22. > :19:29.recover from what has been an ill fated tour. The wheels are often in
:19:30. > :19:33.the England's camp. We have been 3-0 down. You have what I believe is one
:19:34. > :19:38.of the top three England spinners of all time retiring. Monty Panesar
:19:39. > :19:42.must step up as England enter a period of transition. Whichever way
:19:43. > :19:47.it is spun, Swann's surprise departure mean the changes may start
:19:48. > :19:50.sooner than anticipated. That's it from us. Now on BBC One,
:19:51. > :19:51.time for