:00:21. > :00:24.Good afternoon. The former Prime Minster Tony Blair says America and
:00:25. > :00:28.Britain will have to intervene to tackle the crisis in
:00:29. > :00:31.Iraq. He says military action, possibly in the form of
:00:32. > :00:35.air strikes, might be required to defeat ISIS extremists who have
:00:36. > :00:38.taken control of several key cities and are
:00:39. > :00:41.threatening Baghdad. Mr Blair, now a Middle East peace envoy,
:00:42. > :00:44.denied his decision to let the UK help the US topple Saddam Hussain
:00:45. > :00:46.had led to the current crisis. Our political
:00:47. > :00:58.correspondent Louise Stewart reports.
:00:59. > :01:03.Iraqi government forces backed by Shia Muslim and Kurdish militias are
:01:04. > :01:08.reportedly holding back in advance by Sunni militants north of Baghdad.
:01:09. > :01:11.The Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri Al-Maliki, has vowed to retake the
:01:12. > :01:17.towns and villages Al-Maliki, has vowed to retake the
:01:18. > :01:22.ISIS insurgents in recent days. A currently hold the key cities of
:01:23. > :01:24.ISIS insurgents in recent days. A Mosul and Tikrit. More than a decade
:01:25. > :01:30.after Tony Blair agreed to back the US-led intervention in Iraq, he says
:01:31. > :01:32.the upturn in violence there are no is the predictable result of the
:01:33. > :01:39.West's failure to intervene in neighbouring Syria. Where we are in
:01:40. > :01:45.2014, you have to understand this is a regional problem, but it will
:01:46. > :01:49.affect us. If you talk to security services in Europe, they will say
:01:50. > :01:57.that their single biggest worry is returning jihadis fighters --
:01:58. > :02:02.jihadists fighters, our own citizens, from Syria. We have to
:02:03. > :02:06.engage. Fearful the Iraqi military may be on the brink of collapse, the
:02:07. > :02:11.US and sent an aircraft carrier to the region. President Barack Obama
:02:12. > :02:15.is considering possible air strikes against the Sunni Muslim insurgents
:02:16. > :02:21.who are threatening the government. Tony Blair says that all options
:02:22. > :02:23.must remain on the table. Intervention is tough, partial
:02:24. > :02:29.intervention is tough, and nonintervention is also tough. The
:02:30. > :02:32.best policy for us is to realise that whatever form of intervention
:02:33. > :02:38.we choose, it is going to be difficult but it is better than the
:02:39. > :02:41.alternative. As security is stepped up on the streets of Baghdad, there
:02:42. > :02:45.is a growing consensus that intervention may be necessary,
:02:46. > :02:50.warnings as well that the international community has to learn
:02:51. > :02:54.from past mistakes. If in Syria and Iraq there is a Sunni Muslim
:02:55. > :02:59.extremist entity with ISIS in charge, that comes out of place for
:03:00. > :03:06.itself, it will be the great irony of the modern era. President Bush
:03:07. > :03:11.said he wanted to go into Iraq to fight terrorism, and there were no
:03:12. > :03:16.terrorists. There are now. There are now. The Foreign Office says that
:03:17. > :03:20.recent events must be seen in the context of internal tensions in Iraq
:03:21. > :03:24.that have increased in recent years as well as regional developments,
:03:25. > :03:27.but it says that the UK is not planning British military
:03:28. > :03:31.intervention and is looking at other ways to help.
:03:32. > :03:34.In Iraq, government forces appear to be holding back the advance by Sunni
:03:35. > :03:36.extremists, who had come within 80 miles of Baghdad.
:03:37. > :03:39.But the key cities of Tikrit and Mosul remain under
:03:40. > :03:42.the control of ISIS. This morning a suicide bomb blast in the capital
:03:43. > :03:43.killed at least nine people. Our defence
:03:44. > :03:50.correspondent, Jonathan Beale, is in Baghdad for us. Jonathan,
:03:51. > :04:01.it appears ISIS are being kept at bay but things still very tense?
:04:02. > :04:07.Jonathan, does Baghdad feel safe? We have been travelling around the
:04:08. > :04:12.city and there are lots of police and military checkpoints, but that
:04:13. > :04:16.did not stop the car bomb going off. It is a fairly regular occurrence in
:04:17. > :04:21.the city, even before the ISIS crisis. Outside Baghdad, we have
:04:22. > :04:24.seen the ISIS advance being stalled, because of the involvement
:04:25. > :04:30.of militia in support of the government. Nevertheless, the Prime
:04:31. > :04:35.Minister needs outside help and the big question is where does he get
:04:36. > :04:40.that help from? If it comes from Iran, as she let country, that will
:04:41. > :04:45.underline the sectarian divide. You also have to ask, what would be the
:04:46. > :04:48.reaction of Saudi Arabia? This focuses minds in Washington as the
:04:49. > :04:54.president weighs up his military options. You have to say, they are
:04:55. > :04:59.all pretty ugly, and in that sense, Tony Blair is right. The views going
:05:00. > :05:04.to consider military strikes, you have got to ask, what does that
:05:05. > :05:12.achieve? Iraq is facing a political crisis as well as a security crisis.
:05:13. > :05:15.Russia has reacted angrily to a violent protest outside its embassy
:05:16. > :05:17.in Ukraine. Windows were smashed, a flag torn down and
:05:18. > :05:19.cars overturned, and the Russians have accused
:05:20. > :05:22.Ukrainian police of doing nothing to stop the attack. It came as
:05:23. > :05:24.Ukraine's president promised tough action against
:05:25. > :05:25.pro-Russian rebels who shot down a military plane
:05:26. > :05:27.yesterday, killing 49 servicemen. Our correspondent, Daniel Sandford,
:05:28. > :05:40.Once again, both sides are angry with each other?
:05:41. > :05:45.Yes, today is a day of mourning in the Ukraine as people remember those
:05:46. > :05:47.49 people on board the military transport plane that was shot down
:05:48. > :05:55.at the government-controlled airfields. That means that flags are
:05:56. > :05:59.flying at half-mast. There are graphics of candles in the corner of
:06:00. > :06:03.the main television channels, even those showing the World Cup.
:06:04. > :06:09.Comedies have been taken off air on this television channels. Strangely,
:06:10. > :06:13.the atmosphere is almost normal. It is almost like people have got used
:06:14. > :06:18.to the idea that they are in a state of something that is close to war.
:06:19. > :06:21.The Ukrainian government is fighting off accusations by the Russian
:06:22. > :06:24.government that it failed to protect the Russian Embassy in Kiev when
:06:25. > :06:29.young men attacked it with stones and paint. To make things worse,
:06:30. > :06:33.when the acting Foreign Minister went there last night to camp things
:06:34. > :06:38.down, he was filmed uttering an obscenity about the Russian near --
:06:39. > :06:43.about the Russian president Vladimir Putin. All the while Ukraine and
:06:44. > :06:48.Russia are trying to agree a new gas price. Ukraine is accusing rush of
:06:49. > :06:53.sponsoring an armed uprising in the east and Russia is accusing the
:06:54. > :06:54.Ukraine of breaching diplomatic sensibilities and of killing its own
:06:55. > :07:00.people. Thank you very much. Pakistan says it has launched air
:07:01. > :07:03.strikes against militant hideouts in the tribal region
:07:04. > :07:05.of North Waziristan this morning, killing more than more than 50
:07:06. > :07:08.suspected militants. The air strikes are said to be in
:07:09. > :07:11.response to the attack on Karachi Airport last Sunday by
:07:12. > :07:13.the Pakistani Taliban, which left 40 Israeli military forces say they've
:07:14. > :07:18.detained about 80 Palestinian suspects during an
:07:19. > :07:20.operation to find three teenagers who were abducted last Thursday. An
:07:21. > :07:25.extensive search for the missing youths has been
:07:26. > :07:28.underway around the city of Hebron. The Israeli Prime
:07:29. > :07:29.Minister has accused the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas of kidnapping
:07:30. > :07:38.the teenagers. England know they have it all to do
:07:39. > :07:42.if they are to qualify for the knockout stages of the
:07:43. > :07:48.World Cup after defeat to Italy last night. Despite a bold and attacking
:07:49. > :07:50.display, Roy Hodgson's young side lost 2-1 in
:07:51. > :08:06.Manaus. Natalie Pirks is there for How is it feeling this morning?
:08:07. > :08:11.I think everybody is positive about what they saw. Despite Rod Tucker --
:08:12. > :08:15.despite Roy Hodgson saying this week that he works from logic rather than
:08:16. > :08:24.instinct, he threw everyone a curveball. He threw off the shackles
:08:25. > :08:27.of the cautious manager Chad -- cautious manager tag and very nearly
:08:28. > :08:32.upset Italy with an attacking formation.
:08:33. > :08:35.England had a four-hour flight back to their base in Rio to try and
:08:36. > :08:40.comprehend just how a performance full of vim and vigour ultimately
:08:41. > :08:45.amounted to nothing. And in the sultry heat of the jungle, the three
:08:46. > :08:52.Lions needed to roar. Likely temperature, England's pace from the
:08:53. > :08:56.off was blistering. The bold inclusion of Raheem Sterling almost
:08:57. > :08:59.paid off inside just four minutes. But it only takes one moment, and
:09:00. > :09:03.this Italian corner was straight from the training ground, the
:09:04. > :09:09.peerless Andrea Pirlo cleverly leaving the ball to Marchisio. Joe
:09:10. > :09:16.Hart was blindsided. Roy Hodgson was shell-shocked. Two minutes later
:09:17. > :09:20.came the equaliser. Wayne Rooney was largely ineffectual, stuck out
:09:21. > :09:26.wide, but his fizzing cross to Daniel Sturridge got a nation on
:09:27. > :09:31.their feet. In Rio, those who could not get to the Amazon is celebrated
:09:32. > :09:36.on the Copacabana. Even the Brazilian crowd cheering for Italy
:09:37. > :09:39.must have appreciated his nose. For the head physiotherapist, there was
:09:40. > :09:45.pain in the pleasure, he dislocated his ankle in the celebrations and is
:09:46. > :09:49.out of the World Cup. Mario Balotelli is well-known to the
:09:50. > :09:55.England defenders. When Gary Cahill failed to track him, he gave Joe
:09:56. > :10:00.Hart no chance. Wayne Rooney was inches wide from scoring his first
:10:01. > :10:05.ever World Cup goal. But Roy Hodgson's anguish summed up the
:10:06. > :10:08.thoughts of watching nation. And England could only look on as Italy
:10:09. > :10:14.danced around them and the liberation of the final whistle. It
:10:15. > :10:17.is very hard to take. There were major positives in the performance.
:10:18. > :10:22.We attacked well and performed better than two years ago but you
:10:23. > :10:25.have got to give Italy credit. It goes to show how good the art and
:10:26. > :10:29.the standard of players they possess. If we match that
:10:30. > :10:36.performance, we will get out of the group. Ultimately losses a loss, but
:10:37. > :10:40.fans left Manaus feeling positive that the swashbuckling England had
:10:41. > :10:45.gone down fighting. Well, Steven Gerrard was one of many
:10:46. > :10:50.England players I spoke to after the game. The consensus was the same
:10:51. > :10:53.across the board. They are gutted because they played so well and
:10:54. > :10:57.really did do the nation pride which is what they have been talking
:10:58. > :11:02.about. But the statistics are pretty grim. Less than one in ten teams who
:11:03. > :11:07.lose their first game in the World Cup get out of the group. The
:11:08. > :11:11.permutations for that group are quite complicated, but if England
:11:12. > :11:17.were to lose to Uruguay on Thursday in Sao Paulo, remember, Uruguay also
:11:18. > :11:21.lost their first game, if they were to lose and Costa Rica and literally
:11:22. > :11:24.where TBI drop, then England would be out of the World Cup before they
:11:25. > :11:28.had even played their final group game.
:11:29. > :11:37.An interesting time ahead. Thank you very much indeed. You can see the
:11:38. > :11:42.rest of the stories on BBC News on the news channel. The next news on
:11:43. > :11:57.Good afternoon. It will be quite a quiet spell of weather across the
:11:58. > :12:02.British Isles over the next few days. We will come to that in a
:12:03. > :12:05.second. Some sunshine to be had and where that pops up, for any length
:12:06. > :12:10.of time, it will feel pleasantly warm. I will temper my enthusiasm
:12:11. > :12:11.because of