:00:11. > :00:16.Government -- conflict in South Sudan. A senior general is killed.
:00:17. > :00:19.In the latest fierce fighting, army vehicles come under attack as they
:00:20. > :00:25.approach a key town held by the rebels. We have an eyewitness
:00:26. > :00:30.account. The firing started. There seems to have been that the convoy
:00:31. > :00:35.was an bushed from the front and back. The Prime Minister promises to
:00:36. > :00:45.protect the value of the state pension if re-elected. He does
:00:46. > :00:45.protect the value of the state rule out cuts to other benefits.
:00:46. > :00:48.More storms sweep into the UK from the Atlantic. Almost 100 flood
:00:49. > :00:51.warnings are in place. And a shattering end to the Ashes,
:00:52. > :01:16.as Australia whitewash England, 5-0. Good evening. It is the conflict
:01:17. > :01:21.which has cost more than 1,000 lives in just three weeks. Today, a BBC
:01:22. > :01:25.team in South Sudan saw the full extent of the latest fierce
:01:26. > :01:29.fighting. Government troops and rebels have both been trying to gain
:01:30. > :01:34.as much ground as possible before direct peace talks get under way in
:01:35. > :01:41.Ethiopia. Today, a senior general was killed as a Government convoy
:01:42. > :01:47.came under attack in Bor near Sudan's oilfields. Our correspondent
:01:48. > :01:51.Alastair Leithhead and his come raman Jack Garland were there. You
:01:52. > :01:56.may find parts of this report disturbing. These men grew up
:01:57. > :02:02.fighting for independence. After taking that - they are now fighting
:02:03. > :02:07.each other. It began as a political crisis which sparked tribal violence
:02:08. > :02:10.and is a battle between these troops, still loyal to the
:02:11. > :02:15.Government and the men up the road they are preparing to face, who now
:02:16. > :02:18.fight under a different banner in. These are Government
:02:19. > :02:24.re-enforcements. We saw hundreds arrive today. And joined them on the
:02:25. > :02:27.road north to Bor - the most fiercely contested city in South
:02:28. > :02:34.Sudan. For days, there have been clashes here. Barracks and village
:02:35. > :02:38.villages lie empty. Evidence lines the route. The commanding general
:02:39. > :02:45.was confident the slow, pot-holed road to Bor was clear. He strode
:02:46. > :02:54.out. His tanks and infantry ahead, unaware he was walking into trouble.
:02:55. > :03:01.We are just walking up the road with the general, when suddenly the
:03:02. > :03:09.firing started. There seems to have been that the convoy was ambushed
:03:10. > :03:15.from the front and from the back. It was a costly setback. And the
:03:16. > :03:19.chaos the young soldier was shot in the back of the neck. There are no
:03:20. > :03:23.doctors here. A senior general was among those killed in the ambush.
:03:24. > :03:27.This battle on the banks of the Nile is escalating.
:03:28. > :03:33.Until talks agree a ceasefire, each side will fight hard to strengthen
:03:34. > :03:36.their hand. These are some more of the Government re-enforcers coming
:03:37. > :03:39.in boats, they have come up the Nile. Others have come by road.
:03:40. > :03:45.There is a mass of these Government troops. It is not just a rag tag
:03:46. > :03:50.groop of rebels, it is a -- group of rebels, it is their own army. There
:03:51. > :03:57.could be many, many troops involved. There are heavy weapons and
:03:58. > :04:04.thousands of troops on both sides. Any incoming fire creates panic and
:04:05. > :04:08.retreat. This former guerrilla army lacks discipline.
:04:09. > :04:14.The Prime Minister has promised to protect the value of state pensions
:04:15. > :04:18.if the Conservatives win the next election. David Cameron says he is
:04:19. > :04:23.committed to the triple lock, by which pensions rise in line with
:04:24. > :04:28.prices, wages or by 2.5%, whichever is the highest. He has insisted it
:04:29. > :04:33.is fair to prioritise pensions even as benefits for younger people are
:04:34. > :04:37.slashed. Our political correspondent reports.
:04:38. > :04:41.Will they be able to keep up if the economy starts to gather pace? David
:04:42. > :04:47.Cameron's message is designed to reassure more than 11 million people
:04:48. > :04:51.that their state pensions will be protected for another five years if
:04:52. > :04:55.he wins the next election. He has promised to keep the so-called
:04:56. > :05:00.triple lock, which guarantees the state pension will rise in either
:05:01. > :05:04.line with wages, prices or by 2.5% - whichever is the highest.
:05:05. > :05:09.I want people, when they reach retirement, to know they can have
:05:10. > :05:12.dignity and security in their old age. People who have worked hard,
:05:13. > :05:15.done the right thing, provided for their families. They should know
:05:16. > :05:19.they will get a decent state pension and don't have to worry about it
:05:20. > :05:23.lagging behind prices or earnings. David Cameron is the first party
:05:24. > :05:28.leader to promise to keep the policy until 2020. And it puts pressure on
:05:29. > :05:32.Labour and the Liberal Democrats to say if they will match his pledge.
:05:33. > :05:36.Both have stressed their support for the triple lock. They have made no
:05:37. > :05:40.specific commitments about whether they would keep it in place after
:05:41. > :05:44.the next election. We will set out our plans in the manifesto for all
:05:45. > :05:47.of our tax and spending proposals. That is the right time to do it.
:05:48. > :05:52.Nobody should be in any doubt about my commitment to the triple lock on
:05:53. > :05:56.pensions. Increasing the state pension will benefit all pensioner,
:05:57. > :05:59.including some who are enjoying comfortable lifestyles and it will
:06:00. > :06:03.have to be paid for by those who are working.
:06:04. > :06:08.Figures show that pensioners have done better than many of those in
:06:09. > :06:15.work over the past five years. Since 2008, the basic state pension has
:06:16. > :06:21.risen by 21.4%. Average earnings increased by 8.4%. It seems unfair
:06:22. > :06:26.on younger people who face terrific high costs and who would be paying
:06:27. > :06:30.for these higher pensions. And it seems also unaffordable. And given
:06:31. > :06:34.the squeeze on spending, there is a real debate about whether pensioners
:06:35. > :06:41.should keep other benefits, such as the winter fuel allowance and free
:06:42. > :06:44.bus passes pensioners are the most likely age group to vote. Perhaps it
:06:45. > :06:48.is not surprising that the first plank of the Conservative manifesto
:06:49. > :06:51.is crafted to appeal to their interests.
:06:52. > :06:55.And let's join Carol now live at Westminster. Only five days into the
:06:56. > :06:59.New Year and we are talking about an election next year. That is right.
:07:00. > :07:04.And the Prime Minister clearly keen to try and seize the agenda at the
:07:05. > :07:08.start of the New Year, with a positive message, after months when
:07:09. > :07:12.it was Ed Miliband and his promise of an energy price freeze that
:07:13. > :07:16.appeared to be calling the shots. Significant too that the Prime
:07:17. > :07:20.Minister, at a time when there is talk about a threat from UKIP and
:07:21. > :07:25.the need to talk tough on immigration, on Europe, has chosen
:07:26. > :07:28.to go on an issue which is a much broader appeal, a real
:07:29. > :07:32.centre-ground, bread and butter issue, which will appeal across the
:07:33. > :07:35.party and public. There'll be a warning tomorrow from the
:07:36. > :07:38.Chancellor, George Osborne, it is not all positive news. The
:07:39. > :07:42.underlying problems in the economy are still there and the Chancellor
:07:43. > :07:44.will be warning of yet more cuts to come.
:07:45. > :07:51.Thank you. The Environment Agency is warning of more heavy rain and
:07:52. > :07:54.strong winds tonight, with almost 100 flood warnings in place across
:07:55. > :07:59.the UK. More than 200 homes have been flooded in the recent extreme
:08:00. > :08:00.conditions. The worst of the weather over south-west England and Wales
:08:01. > :08:15.and on to the north and east. How much longer can this go on? It
:08:16. > :08:21.is County Down that's had it worst today.
:08:22. > :08:30.Coastal roads closed for another tidal surge. Across the UK, it has
:08:31. > :08:36.been another day of rain, on rain, on rain. In the Wiltshire market
:08:37. > :08:42.town of Bradford on Avon, the water is rising yet again. The river her
:08:43. > :08:46.here should be several feet -- -- the river here should be several
:08:47. > :08:53.feet lower than it is today and those arches should be entirely
:08:54. > :08:59.visible. Mark Kendall's restaurant has flooded and will not reopen for
:09:00. > :09:03.months. Some staff has been laid off and he's worried the water could
:09:04. > :09:08.soon return. How vulnerable do you feel now? Very. Very vulnerable. And
:09:09. > :09:12.there is nothing I can do. There is nothing my wife and I can do.
:09:13. > :09:17.There's nothing anyone can do. We are at the liberty to the water. In
:09:18. > :09:22.Somerset, one woman has got liberty from the water for the first time in
:09:23. > :09:30.13 days. She had spent the whole of Christmas and New Year trapped in
:09:31. > :09:34.her isolated home near Taunton. And in Gloucestershire today, fire
:09:35. > :09:39.crews had to rescue two lorry drivers from their stranded truck.
:09:40. > :09:43.With more people returning to work and school tomorrow, after the
:09:44. > :09:49.Christmas break, renewed warnings tonight about the risks of flooding.
:09:50. > :09:55.Less than 30 cms of water, which is just one ruler, in this sort of
:09:56. > :10:00.tidal flow, will take people away. Tonight, another reminder of those
:10:01. > :10:04.dangers. In Oxford, a man has died after apparently falling into this
:10:05. > :10:09.swollen river while riding his mobility scooter.
:10:10. > :10:15.As well as rain, tomorrow will bring winds of up to 70 miles per hour.
:10:16. > :10:20.But then forecasters say things should improve.
:10:21. > :10:29.The security firm G4S is tackling an on going incident at oak Oakwood
:10:30. > :10:32.Prison near Wolverhampton. There are November more details but the
:10:33. > :10:37.situation is being detained. Last year prisoners staged a number of
:10:38. > :10:41.roof-top protests. An Iraqi Government operation appears to be
:10:42. > :10:48.underway to retake areas seized in recent days by militants linked to
:10:49. > :10:55.quad qua. Civilian -- Al-Qaeda. Civilians are #6d leaving Fallujah.
:10:56. > :11:05.A show of force from the Iraqi army. Tonight Al-Qaeda and its allies
:11:06. > :11:13.remain in control of the highly symbolic city of Fallujah.
:11:14. > :11:18.No retreat, declares the Iraqi Prime Minister, not until we eliminate
:11:19. > :11:22.this gang, referring to Al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda in Iraq, who are
:11:23. > :11:25.controlling areas of Fallujah are not representative of the
:11:26. > :11:30.population. They have at best 3,000 members. What they have done is
:11:31. > :11:35.exploited Government weakness, Government ill legitimacy to set
:11:36. > :11:40.themselves up as a violent alternative. Air strikes by the
:11:41. > :11:45.Iraqi Government have so far failed to dislodge the militants. It seems
:11:46. > :11:51.familiar. A re-run of America's struggles in Iraq.
:11:52. > :11:59.The Americans fought a bloody battle to rest control of Fallujah from
:12:00. > :12:05.Al-Qaeda. Almost ten years after this, the Jihadies are back.
:12:06. > :12:10.Al-Qaeda thrives on chaos. There has been plenty of that in Iraq. Almost
:12:11. > :12:13.9,000 people died there last year. The worst violence since the
:12:14. > :12:18.sectarian blood-letting of six years ago.
:12:19. > :12:24.And Al-Qaeda's black flag flies in towns across northern and eastern
:12:25. > :12:30.Syria. Now, in Fallujah. The goal, an Islamic emirate, united sunny
:12:31. > :12:38.areas and Iraq and Syria. -- Sunni areas and Iraq and Syria.
:12:39. > :12:41.Sectarian hatreds are what made Iraq an intractable problem for the
:12:42. > :12:45.Americans. This is a fight that belongs to the Iraqis. That is
:12:46. > :12:51.exactly what the President and the world decided some time ago. When we
:12:52. > :12:54.left Iraq. So, we are not obviously planning in returning, not putting
:12:55. > :12:59.boots on the ground. This is their fight.
:13:00. > :13:04.Al-Qaeda has sensed a power vacuum. In Iraq and in Syria. That in itself
:13:05. > :13:11.does not guarantee victory for the Jihadies. In both countries there is
:13:12. > :13:15.turmoil ahead. Now sport.
:13:16. > :13:21.Hello. Thank you. England's cricketers have suffered an
:13:22. > :13:25.embarrassing 5-0 whitewash in the Ashes in Australia. They lost the
:13:26. > :13:31.final Test within three days in one of their worst performances.
:13:32. > :13:38.The urn returned, the whitewash was complete. Australia had not just
:13:39. > :13:44.beaten England, they had annihilated them. The tourists put out of their
:13:45. > :13:50.Ashes mystery. Australia compounded England's mystery. Chris Rogers
:13:51. > :13:54.helping to get 148. Alastair Cook had gone second ball. Today, he
:13:55. > :13:57.lasted until the second over. We knew what would happen next. They
:13:58. > :14:01.may have been tempted to blame their tools, but the senior batsmen know
:14:02. > :14:07.they have not been good enough here. Bell and Pietersen again failing.
:14:08. > :14:11.England, 57-3. Then fittingly, another collapse, as four wickets
:14:12. > :14:17.fell in 11 balls after tea. Like lambs to the slaughter, batsmen came
:14:18. > :14:22.and went in the blink of an eye. 95-7, the end was nie. The only two
:14:23. > :14:27.who leave with reputations in tact did go down swinging. These were the
:14:28. > :14:32.last rights and after their defiance was snuffed out, it was complete.
:14:33. > :14:37.England, the favourites before this ser r ris, losing by -- series.
:14:38. > :14:43.Losing 5-0 and losing perhaps like they have lost never before. We have
:14:44. > :14:47.obviously let the supporters down because we have not played very
:14:48. > :14:51.well. At the end of the day, the results suggest that. Every person
:14:52. > :14:59.will feel they let themselves down because we have not performed.
:15:00. > :15:04.So, I think everyone else will be hurting. This has been arguably
:15:05. > :15:09.England's worst tour ever. And the team and those in charge of it will
:15:10. > :15:14.now come under severe scrutiny. The inquest into what went so long out
:15:15. > :15:16.here will now begin. With another Ashes as soon as next year, answers
:15:17. > :15:26.are needed fast. There were some surprising results
:15:27. > :15:29.in the FA Cup third round. Chelsea, Liverpool and Sunderland went
:15:30. > :15:32.through. Manchester United were beaten 2-1 by Swansea.
:15:33. > :15:42.West Ham lost to Nottingham Forest. Old Trafford is not as daunting for
:15:43. > :15:49.away teams as it used to B four home defeats this season are the biggest
:15:50. > :15:56.cloud over Moyes's rain. Swansea came with purpose.
:15:57. > :16:01.The tension was lift lifted when there was an equaliser. When Fabio
:16:02. > :16:11.was sent off for this challenge, Swansea smelled blood.
:16:12. > :16:16.Moyes despondent as thor meant continues. Sam Allardyce is under
:16:17. > :16:21.pressure at West Ham too. His day started badly when Djamel Abdoun
:16:22. > :16:25.dispatched an early penalty. The Hammers got to half time without
:16:26. > :16:31.further damage. Instead of building they began to crumble. Jamie
:16:32. > :16:36.Paterson grabbed his first goal for Forest. Having waited six months for
:16:37. > :16:40.his first, he only had to wait six minutes for his second. It was
:16:41. > :16:47.painful viewing for some. For Paterson it got better. He completed
:16:48. > :16:51.his hat trick in some style. Reid capped off a sensational day
:16:52. > :16:58.for Forest. Allardyce's problems deepen.
:16:59. > :16:59.Sportscene is on later in Scotland. If you don't want to know the
:17:00. > :17:10.scores, you know what to do. One of the greatest footballers of
:17:11. > :17:32.all time, Ouse Ouse has died, 71. Eusebio!
:17:33. > :17:36.Oh, my word! Have you ever seen anything like
:17:37. > :17:41.that! The pictures might be dated, the technique can be marvelled at.
:17:42. > :17:45.1966 might be remembered as the year England won the World Cup. It was
:17:46. > :17:51.Eusebio who was the star of that tournament. Born in Mozambique under
:17:52. > :17:54.colonial rule he had no choice but to represent Portugal. Driving the
:17:55. > :17:59.side forward, often appearing to win matches on his own. In their
:18:00. > :18:06.quarter-final Portugal trialled North Korea 3-0. Eusebio changed
:18:07. > :18:12.everything. Four goals to three. All four to
:18:13. > :18:16.Eusebio. There was a goal for him in the semi-final too. Portugal were
:18:17. > :18:23.beaten by England. In all Eusebio scored 41 goals in 61 games for
:18:24. > :18:29.Portugal. He came to prominence has a 20-year-old.
:18:30. > :18:32.He was to become a prolific goal scorer for the Portuguese club.
:18:33. > :18:36.Defenders knew they had to stop him... Somehow.
:18:37. > :18:45.Nobby Stiles here with a robust attempt. That was in the 1968 cup
:18:46. > :18:48.final. Eusebio found it in him to
:18:49. > :18:53.congratulate the goalkeeper. That was him. I can accept what he did
:18:54. > :18:57.because throughout his career that was the way he always performed and
:18:58. > :19:00.what he did. He gave so much respect to the game.
:19:01. > :19:05.Like I said, it was a privilege to play against him. That engaging
:19:06. > :19:09.demeanour was well used by Portugal. He worked as an ambassador for the
:19:10. > :19:13.national federation once his playing days were done. Eusebio da Silva
:19:14. > :19:18.Ferreira - an African and Portuguese icon, one of the greatest players
:19:19. > :19:22.not just of the 1960s, but of any era. And that is the sport.
:19:23. > :19:25.Thank you. And that's it from us. Stay with us
:19:26. > :19:26.though, on