31/08/2011 BBC News at One

Nearly a billion pounds are released for Libya as the new

leadership rejects an international peacekeeping force. People are on

the streets of the capital to mark the first Eid since the fall of the

Gadaffi regime. The fighters have been told there will be a pause in

their operations for a few days. That's partly because of the Eid

holiday, but it is mainly to give a chance to peace talks which are

taking place with tribal leaders in Sirte. I'll be reporting live from

Tripoli where people are still celebrating day and night even

though the war is not quite over and the revolution, not quite

complete. The other headlines this lunch time:

The banks are accused of creating panic in an attempt to delay reform

by the Business Secretary Vince Cable. $NEWLINE A teenager who

survived the Norway polar bear attack tells us how the animal had

his head in its jaws. I was punching it because it was biting

my head. Just wanted to get it off me. That was the only way to get it

off me, really. Facing eviction: 80 families wait

to hear whether they'll be moved out of the country's largest

illegal travellers site. And the end of an era for the people of

Wooton Bassett, the end of Hello. Good afternoon. Welcome to

the BBC News at 1.00pm. The UK is to release nearly a

billion pounds of Libyan assets which were frozen during the fight

to oust Colonel Gaddafi from power. The European Union is also expected

to lift sanctions against the country by Friday. In Libya, people

have been out celebrating their first Eid Al Fitr since the fall of

the Gaddafi regime. My colleague Ben Brown is in Tripoli.

Ben? Yes, the victorious rebels here have rejected the idea of the

United Nations sending peacekeepers or military observers. They say

they don't need foreign troops on the ground to help them with the

transition to a post-Gaddafi modern democracy, but this is still a

country somewhat in dimbo. Not only is Colonel Gaddafi still at large,

but his hometown, Sirte is still in the hands of his loyalists. Even so,

people here in Tripoli are celebrating the liberation of the

capital, but also the holy festival of Eid, which now under way. Wyre

Davis reports. The people of Tripoli have reclaimed their

capital. Martyr Square was bursting at the seams this morning as

thousands celebrated the Muslim Eid Al Fitr holiday. Days ago, some of

these men were fighting. This emotional gathering of free Libyans

was almost as much political as it was spiritual.

After prayers, the party. For years, these people have been

unable to express themselves. Now catching up after decades of fear

and oppression, some, like Omar, have only just been released from

Gaddafi's jails. I think it's going to be hard in the beginning, but

after that, I'm sure - I am 100% sure that the Libyans will prove

themselves to the world and show all the world that the Libyans that

succeed in this revolution did a really good job and will surprise

the world. This city and this country are being transformed. In

the very square where Colonel Gaddafi was due to celebrate his 42

years in power, his once-suppressed people are now marking their holy

holiday and celebrating their freedom.

Children who have known nothing but the dark days of Gaddafi can expect

better times. But the new Libya is beset by many problems - a shortage

of basic services, factionalism within the interim council and far

too many guns on the streets. Tripoli can still be a dangerous

place. Five people died when explosives went off in this car

today - probably an accident, but there are still fears of reprisals

by Gaddafi loyalists. Well, a key battleground is now

Sirte, about 400 kilometres east of here, Colonel Gaddafi's hometown

and stronghold where his loyalists are holding out. Rebels have moved

towards Sirte from both east and west and given an ultimatum to the

Gaddafi loyalists there - surrender by Saturday or face the

consequences. Our correspondent Paul Wood is on the road outside

Sirte. Eid prayers in the hamlet of this

town - fighters and villagers mingling easily.

This place changed hands a few days ago. The latest stop in the rebel

advance to the town of Sirte. The Imam angrily denounces the Gaddafi

forces who had been there. "They beat people. They destroyed

things," he says. Colonel Gaddafi's troops have fled now, and the

rebels say they don't want any fighting during the holiday. The

fighters have been told there will be a pause in their operations for

a few days. That's partly because of the Eid holiday, but it is

mainly to give a chance to peace talks which are taking place are

tribal leaders in Sirte, but after Saturday, loyalist forces in the

town have been told if they don't surrender, the rebels are coming in.

The fighters still hope it won't come to that. They say they have no

appetite for revenge. My brothers - they're my brothers. Gaddafi has

finished now. We have to go to Sirte. After Sirte, we go to

Misrata. With our fighting, God willing. A few miles outside the

village, rebel scouts try to locate loyalist positions. Gaddafi forces

fired ground rockets at them this morning, they say.

"Allah, Akbar!" There is no Eid ceasefire, and so far, no peace

deal. There are a few more days to secure one before the battle for

Let's go live now to our correspondent John line in Benghazi

where the National Transitional Council still have their

headquarters. How do you assess the rebels' military strategy now?

they're still talking about trying to get a surrender at Sirte. I

don't think anybody is optimistic. There are two options - either

we're going to have this huge battle in Sirte, and the opposition

have put massive amounts of firepower in that town, and there

are loyalist Gaddafi fighters inside, or when that ultimatum

expires on Saturday, it could be that then the Gaddafi forces see

the writing on the wall, and they then do a rapid flight out of Sirte,

and they then head down to the south of the country. Whichever way

it goes, we see the opposition looking more like a conventional

Army. They have an awful lot more kit there, heavy arms, tanks, heavy

artillery and communications. It's only going one way, conventional,

but it's a matter of how many lives are lost in the mean time. John, to

the idea of the UN sending in peacekeepers or observers, the

answer seems to be thanks, but no thanks. This issue is very

sensitive here, although it might be seen as useful in some ways,

this country is a country that fought colonial oppression from

Italians until quite recently - and you sometimes see the leader of

that resistance all over in people's cars and in posters, so I

think the new Government will currently be the opposition.

They're very sensitive to the idea of being told, you have liberated

the country only to hand it over to foreigners. They want help and

advice from the United Nations, but they don't want any foreign police

force or foreign soldiers with their boots on the ground. Many

thanks indeed. Here in Tripoli, there are pretty severe shortages,

for example, the UN saying 60% of residents in Tripoli still don't

have water or sanitation. It's one of the reasons the Transitional

Council want to get funds flowing pretty quickly. They want Libyan

assets that have been frozen unfrozen. They say they want to get

oil pumping quickly too in the next few weeks because they're aware

people are being patient at the moment, but that ultimately their

patience could run out. Back to you. Thank you, Ben Brown.

Banks have been accused by the Business Secretary, Vince Cable, of

spreading panic, in an attempt to delay reforms - which are aimed at

avoiding another multi-billion pound bailout funded by taxpayers.

The Independent Commission on Banking is due to deliver its final

report in two weeks' time, and is expected to recommend that the

riskier investment arms of banks be ring-fenced - to protect their

retail operations. Let's talk a little bit more about

this with our political correspondent Norman Smith. What is

Vince Cable saying, first? Well, Vince Cable is fighting back

against a fairly vigorous lobbying operation by the banks against

reforms expected to be unveiled next week, which will suggest that

banks should be split up internally within their retail operation,

which is their bog-standard High Street banking and their much

riskier wins which involve much more exotic jigry pokery which got

the banks into trouble in the first place, and the banks are adamant

they don't want this to happen. They're saying to the Government,

if you go down this road it will make us uncompetitive against non-

British bank and make it harder to deter to non-British business and

potentially damage the recovery, and it could potentially lead to

banks relocating outside the UK. Vince Cable regards that as special

pleading by the banks and has accused them of trying to create

panic and does insist that the Government intends to press ahead

with these sort of reforms. likely, though, is legislation

given all of that? Well, my impression is that the Government

is listening very closely to what the banks are saying because you

cannot afford for British banks to be made uncompetitive. You have to

ensure they keep lending to business, and so my impression is

that the Government is listening very, very closely indeed, which

means that the prospect of any immediate change in the structure

of banks I think is increasingly remote, and what I'm hearing is

while there may indeed be legislation to introduce these sort

of reforms before the next legislation, the changes may not

actually have to come into effect until after the election, so it's

clear that Ministers are listening very clearly to the concerns of the

banks and may actually delay these reforms. Interesting. Thank you

very much, Norman Smith, at Westminster.

An elderly traveller living on an illegal site in Essex is at the

local dois try to stop eviction. 80 families have been told to leave

Dale Farm, a former scrap yard which is classed as green belt. The

people there don't have planning permission for their caravans and

chalets. Mark Worthington is there for us. Mark. There is teans

atmosphere here inside Dale Farm, and you can see some of the

preparations under way for the arrival of the bailiffs, but as

that last gasp legal attempt gets under way in London, for those

people who have made Dale Farm their home, they're beginning to

count down the hours until their notice to leave expires.

From the air, it's clear why Dale Farm is the UK's largest

traveller's site. Along the pot- holed roads, caravans and chalets

fill separate plots, but more than 80 families have set up home on

land classed as green belt, and they have been given until the end

of the day to leave. This make- shift gateway marks the entrance to

the illegal half of Dale Farm, and on the top, there is a simple

message - a banner saying, "We won't go." Marian McCarthy has

lived at Dale Farm for ten years and has no plans to leave before

the bailiffs come. How can you just ask someone to leave their home

peacefully? Would you? No way. You've got to be an awful coward if

you didn't put up a fight, and there's no cowards there. This, in

July, a sign of what may lie ahead - a show of defiance by the women

of Dale Farm, angry at the prospect of being forced out when they say

they have no-where else to go. And, as the deadline approaches,

others have added their voices in opposition. If you were ill or you

had babies or children going to school, would you agree that you,

minus your wife and children, would be sent to some bricks-and-mortar

place, have your grandmother sent to an old-people's home? For some

living nearby, clearing the site is long overdurtion but if there is

trouble, it could cost as much as �18 billion and Basildon Council is

preparinged to pay half to see it done. It's still unclear when the

bailiffs may move in. The eventual costs to the council depends on

If the injunction is successful, it means that what has already been a

ten-year battle will be far from over. If not, it may only be a

matter of days before barricades like this come into play.

A teenager who survived an attack by a polar bear has been speaking

about his escape. A 17-year-old, Horatio Chapple, died in the attack

during an expedition in Norway. Patrick Flinders managed to fight

the bear of, even though it had his head in its jaws.

Patrick Flinders had looked forward to a great adventure. A trip 700

miles inside the Arctic Circle. But as he and the other 12 members of

his party slept in their attempts, a polar bear entered the campsite.

Minutes later he was fighting to save his life and those of his

companions. I just remember the bear ripping through the tent.

Everybody screaming. Looking at my sleeping bag, just seeing people

really scared, seeing the polar bear. It grabbed my arm, grabbed my

head, biting it. 17-year-old Horatio Chappell, who had been

sleeping next to him, was killed in the attack. I know it seems harsh,

but I am just glad that it wasn't me sleeping there. Every couple of

nights, we swapped around where we were sleeping. I was thinking, if I

was sleeping there that night, it could have been made. Another

student and two expedition leaders were seriously injured. One of them

managed to shoot the bear. All of the survivors have undergone

hospital treatment. Patrick was left with fragments of the bear's

teeth in his skull. But his thoughts are with a friend that he

lost. He was a really nice fellow. A really nice guy to be with. He

just reminded me of some of my friends. Back in Jersey, Patrick's

injuries are healing. But he and his family know that the memories

of the night will take far longer Our top story: Millions of pounds

of frozen assets are released to the new Libyan government as people

there celebrate their first Eid festival without Colonel Gaddafi in

power. If coming up: In from the cold.

The forgotten heroes of the wartime Arctic convoys are remembered at a

ceremony in Russia. Coming up in sport on BBC News,

better late than never. Andy Murray finally gets his US Open campaign

under way against India's Somdev This has become one of the defining

images of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Over the last four

years, thousands of people have lined the High Street in Wootton

Bassett in Wiltshire, to pay their respects to the 345 men and women

whose bodies have been returned to the UK through the town. But that

tradition comes time end today because of the closure of the

nearby base at RAF Lyneham. John Kay has reported on numerous

repatriations. He is in Wootton Bassett now.

It is a military tradition that a sunset ceremony is held at the end

of the day. People here thought it was entirely appropriate that they

would hold their Rhone sunset ceremony tonight to mark the end of

military repatriation through this town. Tonight they will gather here,

as they have so many times before. This time there will be no coffins.

Instead, they will watch the Union Flag, next to the war memorial, be

What started as a small, impromptu gathering on Wootton Bassett high

street has become a mass event. People have stood in silence like

this so many times. Nearly 400 military coffins have passed

through the town. Now, after four years, the ceremony itself is

coming to an end. Tonight, at sunset, there will be one final act

of respect. The town's Union Flag, which has flown on so many

occasions, will be lowered and blessed, taking to the local church

where it will lie on the altar overnight. Wootton Bassett's duty

will be done. Yes, we have done a good job. People are thankful to us.

I don't think that is foolish pride. I don't think it is a lack of

humility. I think it is appropriate to say, well done. Tomorrow morning,

the flag will be brought here, to Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where

it will fly in a purpose-built garden of remembrance. From now on,

repatriation flights will return to this airbase instead. Local people

have promised to continue the tradition that Wootton Bassett

began. Next week they will gather here for the first time, when the

body of a Royal Marine is flown home from Afghanistan. In Wootton

Bassett, they will never forget the fallen the or the four years that

have brought them international recognition. Next month, the town

becomes Royal Wootton Bassett, in honour of everything people here

have done. We wish the people of Oxfordshire every success. I'm sure

they will do the right thing. We are not the story, the servicemen

are the story. The people of Wootton Bassett want repatriations

here to end as they began, with restraint and quiet dignity. Then

this Wiltshire market town can return to normal after four years

of paint and pride. -- pain and pride. We have reported here so

many times over the last four years, you start to recognise a lot of the

people here. I've spotted a member of the Royal British Legion,

talking to a former mayor about what they are going to do tonight.

People like that have been working closely over the last few months

with the people living near Brize Norton, to make sure there is an

easy and successful transition between these two very different

An 11-year-old boy from Romford has become the youngest person to be

convicted of taking part in the riots in London. The boy, who

cannot be named for legal reasons, was given an 18 month

rehabilitation order for stealing a waste bin from a Debenhams store

Now, the secret to protection from sunburn could lie beneath the ocean

waves. Scientists have discovered that coral in the Great Barrier

Reef has built-in protection against ultraviolet light. They

think they may be close to taking that natural defence and turning it

Good afternoon. How would it work? Well, basically, what we have found

out is that for about 25 years we have known that Coral has produced

the sunscreen compounds to protect themselves from ultraviolet light.

We have never really known how they make the compounds until relatively

recently. What my Laboratory has been doing, in collaboration with

groups in America and Australia, its cloning the genes from the

coral that make the sunscreen compound. We would like to clone

them into simple cells, a simple bacteria, so that we have a

sustainable supply of sunscreen compounds. You think you could work

it into a tablet that any of us could take to protect ourselves

against the Sun? This is what we are hoping. If you look at what

happens on the Great Barrier Reef, small fish will eat coral. Larger

fish will eat the smaller fish. We can trace the sunscreen compounds

up the food chain. We can find them in light-sensitive tissues in fish,

on their skin and in their eyes. Rather than just making a suntan

lotion, why don't we just formulate a capsule which, if we can put it

in our mouths and swallow it, maybe the compounds will find their way

to while eyes and skin. That is potentially fantastic. But we all

need some son, don't we? How do you strike a balance? Of course, you

would not be taking the tablets all the time. It would just be as a

back-up, an alternative to normal sun protection you would be taking.

Perhaps we will speak again a bit Now, it is deadline day in football

transfer markets'. The wheeling and dealing is well and truly under way.

The top clubs are in the market to try to pick up a bargain, if there

is such a thing, and strengthen their squads. No one more than

Arsenal, after their dismal start to the season. Let's go to the

Emirates Stadium and trying Dan Roan. -- join.

The nail-biting Countdown has truly begun. Managers have until 11pm to

conclude frenetic transfer activity. Such is the money in the sport now,

with so much at stake, where re signing can be the difference

between staying in the Premier League or relegation, that a sense

of hysteria and frenzy accompanies the last few hours of the summer

transfer window. It's important for all clubs, of course, but

especially at Arsenal. They have about �80 million to spend, but

just a few hours to spend it. has been, surely, the lowest

experienced of all his near 15 years of Arsenal manager. It was

the defeat that tend transfer deadline day into Arsene Wenger's

very own day of reckoning. Arsenal's humiliation at the hands

of Manchester United let the manager with just three days to

replenish his depleted squad. At the Emirates, Arsenal fans were

hoping for some much-needed retail therapy to help save their season.

Arsenal fans are looking for the "wow" signing. A couple of world

class planes that will come in, make a difference, and give us new

heroes to replace people like Fabregas and Nasri. Arsenal have

lost prized assets Cesc Fabregas, Samia Nasri and Gael Clichy. Coming

in, Korean Sue Young Park, German Per Mertesacker and Brazilian Andre

Santos. The fans want more to be spent and fast. Perhaps the most

eye-catching deal of this deadline day promises to centre on this man.

Injury-prone former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves

recently tried to prove his fitness by posting videos of himself on

YouTube. It seems to have paid off, with a shock move to Manchester

City likely to go through this afternoon. He's a great player. A

different type of midfield player to what we have had. I think we all

hope, as England players and fans, that one day he will get back to

his best. I hope he does that. Meanwhile, back at the Emirates

Stadium, Arsenal fans wish that time could stand still, on a day

that could define their season and even the future of their manager.

Football continues to appear to be recession-proof. Already, �20

million more has been spent in its window than the same one last year.

In the last hour, Joe Cole has announced he has made a loan move

to Lille from Liverpool. Managers now have less than 10 hours to

conclude their business until the window slams shut.

Now, Winston Churchill called it the most dangerous journey in the

world. Today is the 70th anniversary of the first convoy

trip from the UK to Soviet Russia during World War II. Between 1941

and 1945, 3000 sailors were killed, taking supplies to the beleaguered

USSR. Today, a group of British war veterans is taking part in

celebrations in the northern Russian city of Acre and gas. --

Arkhangelsk. For Winston Churchill called it the

worst journey in the world, through thick fog and freezing cold, under

attack from German U-boats and fighter-bombers, the Arctic convoys

travelled to and from Russia. For four years, British ships helped

keep the Soviet Union supplied with fuel, food, tanks and warplanes.

More than 100 Allied ships were lost. 3000 sailors were killed.

were on the convoys. We thought, this is hell. This is absolute hell.

I don't ever want this to happen again. I looked back and I thought,

that was one of the proudest moments of my life, you know? To

have done such a thing. 70 years on, some British veterans of the Arctic

convoys have returned to Arkhangelsk. They have been given a

hero's welcome. Russia says it will never forget how these men risked

their lives to hop the Soviet war effort. But back in the UK, retired

naval commander William Grenfell believes that Britain hasn't done

nearly enough to honour those that sailed to Russia. He is leading a

campaign for veterans of the Arctic convoys to be awarded medals, which

he believes is long overdue. Nobody ever thinks of the graves in the

snow-covered cemeteries. There are graves of 16-year-old boys up there.

Forgotten. Forgotten by a government that should be admiring

them. They don't. The Government doesn't. Some have described the

Arctic convoys as suicide missions, such were the dangers. They are not

only provided Britain's ally in the East with supplies, but with hope.

That helped Russia defeat Nazi Now, we will turn our attentions to

the day's weather prospects. You probably noticed over the past

couple of weeks that there has been a distinct lack of sunshine across

the UK. Provisional figures suggest exactly that. But will 29th August,

just 76% of the average August sunshine. Even if you take into

account today, the figures are not set to change a great deal. A lack

of sunshine, little in the way of brightness. For most of us it is a

cloudy day. Here is the satellite picture. You can see across the

United Kingdom that there's been a fair amount of cloud. It has broken

in the past, of hours across Wales and south-west England. By no means

guaranteed for the rest of the afternoon. Here is the picture at 4

o'clock. The best prospect for brightness and sunshine will tend

to be across South Wales, south- western parts of England.

Pleasantly warm if you get the sunshine. 18 or 19 degrees. Across

North Wales, the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, fairly cloudy

skies. Fairly cool, highs of 15 or 16. Further north London to

Scotland, large amounts of cloud. One or two showers across the

northern half of the country. Nothing more than that. Many places

are set to stay dry. For northern parts of England, East Anglia and

the South, a lot of cloud. If you are lucky, you might catch one or

two glimpses of brightness. Through the see me and overnight, we keep a

lot of cloud across the northern half of the UK. The odd spot of

rain here and there. Cloud will tend to break for southern parts of

England and Wales. It could turn misty and won a two spots. Chilly

for rural areas. For many areas, eight or 13 will be the overnight

low. Once again, a fairly cloudy start to the day on Thursday.

Eastern Scotland and north-east England are keeping TARDIS dies for

much of Thursday. For the rest, better prospects. The cloud will

break up. There will be pleasant spells of sunshine coming through.

Higher temperatures, 20 or 21. For Thursday, overnight and into Friday,

high temperatures hold on into England and Wales. The weather

front is starting to move into England and Wales. That means it is

a very unsettled day for Friday, for the northern half of the UK.

Scotland and Northern Ireland, the breeze picks up. Add bits of rain

moving in. Feeling cool, a top temperature of 17 or 18 degrees.