:00:00. > :00:00.Heavy rain and strong winds have brought chaos to parts of
:00:00. > :00:10.the country - with roads closed and people evacuated from their homes.
:00:11. > :00:12.There are dozens of severe flood warnings in place
:00:13. > :00:15.in Cumbria - residents told of how they had to flee their homes,
:00:16. > :00:19.We just quickly went upstairs, got some dry clothes because they
:00:20. > :00:24.were already soaking wet, and threw some clothes in a bag.
:00:25. > :00:26.In southern Scotland, rivers have burst their banks
:00:27. > :00:31.as floods and landslides have brought major disruption.
:00:32. > :00:35.the severity of the rainfall and just how fast
:00:36. > :00:39.We'll have the latest from our correspondents
:00:40. > :00:46.The first images of RAF air strikes on an Islamic State target in Syria
:00:47. > :00:50.are released by the Ministry of Defence.
:00:51. > :01:13.And new measures to tackle stalking are proposed by ministers.
:01:14. > :01:17.Strong winds and heavy rain have caused severe
:01:18. > :01:20.disruption across parts of northern England and southern Scotland, as
:01:21. > :01:27.Roads have been closed and rail services disrupted.
:01:28. > :01:30.There are 44 severe flood warnings in place,
:01:31. > :01:36.The Met Office has taken the rare step of issuing its highest
:01:37. > :01:39.weather warning for rain in Cumbria - where it's advising people not to
:01:40. > :01:43.Our correspondent, Fiona Trott, is in Keswick in Cumbria, where police
:01:44. > :01:58.A few moments ago, a couple were evacuated from their home here. They
:01:59. > :02:04.were put in a dinghy and towed to safety. There was this huge bang,
:02:05. > :02:08.and we think a tree has been blown over on to the metal bridge here in
:02:09. > :02:11.Keswick. Tonight, there is an appeal for doctors to help, there is an
:02:12. > :02:16.appeal for people to raise ?1 million for the victims and there is
:02:17. > :02:20.an appeal for volunteers to help out of the reception centres around the
:02:21. > :02:22.county, including the ones in Keswick where the River Greta has
:02:23. > :02:25.burst its banks. After 13 hours of rain, nothing was
:02:26. > :02:33.going to stop this river, The barriers are somewhere under
:02:34. > :02:42.and there's concern that the nearby bridge is in a dangerous state.
:02:43. > :02:43.It's scary, with the houses, like, they are so high,
:02:44. > :02:47.This is the scene in Cockermouth tonight.
:02:48. > :02:54.People are desperately trying to protect their homes.
:02:55. > :02:55.Floods destroyed their town six years ago.
:02:56. > :02:57.That is why they are frustrated and anxious.
:02:58. > :03:03.What's happened to the money that they are supposed to
:03:04. > :03:06.have spent on the flood defences that don't seem to have worked?
:03:07. > :03:10.Throughout the day, people have left their homes any way they can.
:03:11. > :03:15.Our house is actually surrounded with water so we had to get out
:03:16. > :03:22.through a window, so my dad and my uncle helped my grandma get out.
:03:23. > :03:24.Back in Keswick, these two have come to check their house.
:03:25. > :03:28.They were told to leave this afternoon.
:03:29. > :03:30.That is your back garden under water?
:03:31. > :03:36.So in the house further down is probably about a metre,
:03:37. > :03:41.You have been through this before, but to see your home under water,
:03:42. > :03:48.When it first happens, you know the adrenaline keeps you
:03:49. > :03:53.The worst time is in a month's time when you are still trying to get it
:03:54. > :04:01.The river next to the couple's home has now peaked.
:04:02. > :04:04.They hope the worst is over, but the rain is set to continue
:04:05. > :04:14.In a moment, we'll be talking to Catriona Renton,
:04:15. > :04:16.who's in the Scottish town of Hawick,
:04:17. > :04:19.but first to our correspondent, Danny Savage, who's in Carlisle.
:04:20. > :04:34.This is Warwick Road in Carlisle. In 2005 this was the worst affected
:04:35. > :04:37.area of the city, with the severe floods here. There is a severe flood
:04:38. > :04:43.warning in place for the waters to peak here at 8.00am tomorrow. A
:04:44. > :04:46.bridge in the middle of Warwick Road has become structurally unsafe
:04:47. > :04:50.tonight. They are having to inspect it. They are sensitive about that
:04:51. > :04:54.because back in the floods of 2010, a police officer was killed when a
:04:55. > :04:58.bridge he was standing on was swept away in the floods. What this feels
:04:59. > :05:03.like tonight is that all the worst parts of the floods here in Cumbria
:05:04. > :05:08.over the last decade have been rolled into one again, with all the
:05:09. > :05:11.worst of those aspects in one event happening now. The worst is yet to
:05:12. > :05:14.come. People here have told me they are keeping their fingers crossed.
:05:15. > :05:16.And Catriona, a severe flood warning's been issued
:05:17. > :05:29.That's right. You can see the River Teviot is fast and furious this
:05:30. > :05:34.evening. Bits of it have burst its banks. Around 1,000 people so far
:05:35. > :05:44.have been evacuated from their houses. Here, 400 are without power,
:05:45. > :05:48.and around 700 people from nearby have also been moved out of their
:05:49. > :05:52.houses. There was a good group set up here in 2005, the last time there
:05:53. > :05:56.was a big flood here in Hawick. They tell me tonight that this is worse
:05:57. > :06:00.than it was then. The Scottish Government say they will put in
:06:01. > :06:06.extra resources if they are necessary. And the famous Pringle
:06:07. > :06:11.shop here has water up to its letterbox. Worst yet to come here as
:06:12. > :06:16.well. The flood is set to peak between 3.00am and 4.00am. Catriona
:06:17. > :06:18.Renton and Danny Savage, thank you both very much.
:06:19. > :06:19.Meanwhile, in India, hundreds of soldiers
:06:20. > :06:21.and relief workers have been sent to help relief efforts in the flooded
:06:22. > :06:26.city of Chennai, which has suffered the heaviest rains for a century.
:06:27. > :06:34.The authorities say they do now believe the worst is over.
:06:35. > :06:36.The Defence Secretary, Michael Fallon,
:06:37. > :06:39.has visited the RAF base in Cyprus, where Typhoon jets have joined in
:06:40. > :06:44.air strikes against the self-styled Islamic State extremists in Syria.
:06:45. > :06:46.The Ministry of Defence has released the first pictures of the British
:06:47. > :06:54.Our defence correspondent, Jonathan Beale, reports from
:06:55. > :07:00.Last night, the first RAF Typhoons joined
:07:01. > :07:08.Not just loaded with Paveway bombs, but also white-tipped air-to-air
:07:09. > :07:17.missiles, an extra precaution now flying in Syrian airspace.
:07:18. > :07:23.They left with another two Tornados to find their target.
:07:24. > :07:29.These the first images of an RAF air strike inside Syria, bombing the
:07:30. > :07:33.same oilfields as two nights ago, an attempt to cut off the supplies
:07:34. > :07:40.This morning, in Cyprus, the Defence Secretary met the air and ground
:07:41. > :07:50.This campaign is not going to be short or simple.
:07:51. > :07:53.And nor is fighting a war far from home.
:07:54. > :07:56.We can't identify crews, but one did raise concern about
:07:57. > :08:01.Sometimes it takes as long as five days to get some of the things
:08:02. > :08:05.in that we need so you have an aircraft on the ground for that long
:08:06. > :08:10.He said he'd sort it, but they did now have Parliament's full backing
:08:11. > :08:19.What we are doing is upping the tempo and the RAF, which had one
:08:20. > :08:23.hand tied behind its back until now, is now able to hit Daesh harder
:08:24. > :08:28.where it really hurts, on both sides of this very artificial border that
:08:29. > :08:33.These are only the second set of air strikes by
:08:34. > :08:39.the RAF over Syria, the first time that Typhoon jets have been used.
:08:40. > :08:44.And even the Defence Secretary doesn't know how long this will
:08:45. > :08:52.For the RAF, there will be many more missions, day and night.
:08:53. > :08:55.And still questions as to what these air strikes will achieve.
:08:56. > :09:02.Jonathan Beale, BBC News, RAF Akrotiri.
:09:03. > :09:07.Here, police in the West Midlands have confirmed that they are
:09:08. > :09:12.investigating possible British links to the Islamic State gunmen who
:09:13. > :09:15.attacked Paris last month. It is claimed that Abdelhamid Abaaoud had
:09:16. > :09:18.contacts in Birmingham and that another of the gunmen visited
:09:19. > :09:22.Birmingham and London earlier this year. Christian Fraser reports.
:09:23. > :09:26.Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the supposed ringleader attacks,
:09:27. > :09:32.who boasted how easy it was to of the cross European borders.
:09:33. > :09:35.Now it emerges that one of his connections involved
:09:36. > :09:38.in the planning of the Paris attacks may have travelled
:09:39. > :09:46.The report quotes French intelligence sources, who are
:09:47. > :09:47.tracing the links between Abaaoud and Muslims of Moroccan descent
:09:48. > :09:53.It's a real worry if people are able to get through our borders without
:09:54. > :09:59.being detected, especially if their names were on a European database.
:10:00. > :10:01.I think it's really important that there should be the closest possible
:10:02. > :10:08.We all face the same threat and that is why it is important that
:10:09. > :10:12.our borders should be as secure as possible.
:10:13. > :10:15.Yesterday, the Home Secretary was in Brussels pressing
:10:16. > :10:22.Since Paris, the Belgian prosecutors have outlined
:10:23. > :10:25.a plot that stretches far across Europe, and it features more than
:10:26. > :10:32.It's emerged that before Paris, Belgian intelligence had issued
:10:33. > :10:35.a list of 87 people living in Brussels who had been
:10:36. > :10:40.radicalised and, on that list, was the gunman Salah Abdeslam
:10:41. > :10:44.and his associate, Mohamed Abrini, who travelled with him to Paris.
:10:45. > :10:47.In September, Salah Abdeslam travelled from
:10:48. > :10:51.Brussels to Hungary to collect two men travelling on false passports.
:10:52. > :10:54.These are the photofits that were issued yesterday
:10:55. > :11:00.One of them transferred money four days after the Paris attacks to
:11:01. > :11:04.the woman killed in St Denis, Hasna Aitboulahcen.
:11:05. > :11:07.All four of these men are still at large.
:11:08. > :11:12.The UK authorities have refused to comment on this reported link to
:11:13. > :11:16.London and Birmingham, or the risks it might present.
:11:17. > :11:20.But again this week, Armed Response Units were in
:11:21. > :11:31.President Obama says Americans "will not be terrorised" following
:11:32. > :11:35.the mass shooting in California which killed 14 people.
:11:36. > :11:37.In his weekly address, Mr Obama said it was
:11:38. > :11:40."entirely possible" that the married couple who carried out the killings
:11:41. > :11:44.Laura Bicker reports from San Bernardino,
:11:45. > :11:50.This is the mother turned mass murderer
:11:51. > :11:55.Born in Pakistan, and raised in Saudi Arabia, she came here to
:11:56. > :12:01.She had a six-month-old baby girl, but attached to this
:12:02. > :12:06.ordinary-looking family home was a garage full of weapons
:12:07. > :12:13.She met husband Syed Farook online, said to be a quiet loner.
:12:14. > :12:19.The FBI is trying to build a profile of the couple, but friends
:12:20. > :12:24.Until I found out what he did, that it was his name,
:12:25. > :12:27.that he was the one that was found, that he was the suspect, until that
:12:28. > :12:33.The so-called Islamic State declared in a radio broadcast this morning
:12:34. > :12:37.that this shooting was carried out by two of its followers.
:12:38. > :12:39.There is no evidence linking the couple to
:12:40. > :12:45.a further terrorist network, or that this attack was ordered by Isis.
:12:46. > :12:47.But the President acknowledged that the couple may have been
:12:48. > :12:53.It is entirely possible that these two attackers were radicalised to
:12:54. > :12:57.And if so, it would underscore a threat we have
:12:58. > :13:00.been focussed on for years, the danger of people succumbing to
:13:01. > :13:05.President Obama says stricter gun controls would prevent weapons
:13:06. > :13:09.getting into the wrong hands, but his critics say he's failing to
:13:10. > :13:14.We see a President of the United States who, rather than stand
:13:15. > :13:18.up and say we will defeat radical Islamic terrorism, stands up
:13:19. > :13:23.and says we want to take away the guns from law-abiding citizens.
:13:24. > :13:27.You don't stop the bad guys by taking away our guns, you stop
:13:28. > :13:34.It puts the President under pressure,
:13:35. > :13:38.as opponents say he has floundered in the fight against Isis.
:13:39. > :13:41.But the FBI is appealing for calm, until the full motivation
:13:42. > :13:48.Laura Bicker, BBC News, San Bernardino.
:13:49. > :13:50.The Home Office is considering plans to introduce
:13:51. > :13:54.a new court order to tackle stalking in England and Wales.
:13:55. > :13:57.It's aimed at protecting victims who are targeted by strangers or people
:13:58. > :14:00.they barely know, amid fears that the Internet is
:14:01. > :14:09.Stalking can take many forms, all of them terrifying for the victim.
:14:10. > :14:13.Some are followed on the street, others tracked online
:14:14. > :14:17.by people they may know intimately, or who they have never even met.
:14:18. > :14:20.Crime survey figures suggest one in five women and one in ten men
:14:21. > :14:27.Jane Clough was stalked by her ex-boyfriend for eight months before
:14:28. > :14:35.He would stalk her by means of social media, by means
:14:36. > :14:40.of following her whereabouts using a telephone, constantly texting.
:14:41. > :14:44.The police knew the extreme risk that Jane was at.
:14:45. > :14:49.Even so, she was still left with no protection.
:14:50. > :14:52.Stalking appears to be on the increase.
:14:53. > :14:56.In the past year, it's led to more than 1,100 prosecutions.
:14:57. > :14:59.That's a 50% rise on the year before.
:15:00. > :15:02.And victims report more than half of stalkers are people they either
:15:03. > :15:09.And it's stalking by strangers that's the main focus
:15:10. > :15:14.Ministers acknowledge there is far more help available for victims
:15:15. > :15:17.who know their abusers and that stalking protection orders could
:15:18. > :15:23.If we can intervene earlier, and we can intervene
:15:24. > :15:25.on the perpetrator earlier, we believe that we will be able to
:15:26. > :15:30.protect victims, but also stop the behaviour escalating into that very
:15:31. > :15:37.Social media has made stalking by relative strangers easier than ever.
:15:38. > :15:42.Victims say the Government must also do more to keep them safe online.
:15:43. > :15:45.We have real issues with the digital aspect of stalking with
:15:46. > :15:51.I still hear victims being told, well, if you're being stalked,
:15:52. > :15:53.come off-line, come off Twitter, come off Facebook.
:15:54. > :15:56.That's not really the response they should be getting.
:15:57. > :15:59.It's never been easier for stalkers to track our movements.
:16:00. > :16:02.Pressure groups say treating the compulsions of the stalkers is also
:16:03. > :16:10.You can see more on all of today's stories on the BBC News Channel.
:16:11. > :16:28.Good evening. Storm Desmond is continuing to produce a dangerous
:16:29. > :16:31.combination of very strong winds and exceptionally heavy rainfall which
:16:32. > :16:36.has been leading to scenes like the one behind me taken from Cockermouth
:16:37. > :16:39.earlier today. Severe flooding. The Met Office has issued a red warning,
:16:40. > :16:40.the highest