:00:08. > :00:18.Targeting the heart of power - a suicide bomber in Syria kills the
:00:18. > :00:18.
:00:18. > :00:22.defence minister and his deputy - President Assad's brother-in-law.
:00:22. > :00:27.The Defence Minister was among those who died when a bodyguard
:00:28. > :00:35.reporter to Blue himself up. His deputy, the President's brother-in-
:00:35. > :00:38.law also died. Positive signs as the jobless total
:00:38. > :00:43.falls again helped by a growing number of people becoming self-
:00:43. > :00:46.employed. It is so worth it. When you look around you at the end of
:00:46. > :00:49.the day and think, I got myself here.
:00:49. > :00:51.Trying to get the economy to grow - ministers say they'll guarantee �50
:00:51. > :00:54.billion for investment in infrastructure.
:00:54. > :00:56.Get moving - a lack of exercise is now causing as many deaths across
:00:56. > :01:01.the world as smoking. And texting overtakes talking as
:01:01. > :01:04.the young drive a change in the way we communicate.
:01:05. > :01:07.On BBC London: Nine days to go and warnings to motorists that the
:01:07. > :01:11.Olympics will disrupt motorists outside the capital.
:01:11. > :01:19.And the father of a man crushed to death in a cement mixer says he's
:01:19. > :01:29.no nearer the truth of his son's death. And is preparing to sue
:01:29. > :01:34.
:01:34. > :01:37.Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC News at One. A suicide bomber
:01:37. > :01:40.in Syria has struck close to the heart of power killing the defence
:01:40. > :01:43.minister and his deputy - who was President Assad's brother-in-law.
:01:43. > :01:46.They're the most senior government officials to be killed in the
:01:47. > :01:50.Syrian civil war as rebels try to oust President Assad. There are
:01:50. > :01:53.reports that the bomber was the defence minister's bodyguard. The
:01:53. > :01:55.bomb went off at the National Security Building in Damascus where
:01:55. > :01:58.cabinet ministers and senior security officials were meeting,
:01:58. > :02:07.during a fourth day of fighting in the capital. Our Middle East
:02:07. > :02:12.correspondent Jim Muir reports from neighbouring Lebanon.
:02:12. > :02:19.A blow at the very heart of the Syrian regime. Confirmation the
:02:19. > :02:25.defence minister, Daoud Rajiha was caught in an explosion by the
:02:25. > :02:30.suicide bomber. So was his deputy, Assef Shawkat, he is President
:02:30. > :02:34.Assad's brother in law. Both in the inner circle of power. The attack
:02:34. > :02:39.came as the fires were getting closer to the centre of power.
:02:39. > :02:44.Activist said this blazing army barracks is helping guard the
:02:44. > :02:48.presidential palace just below. Clashes and skirmishing have
:02:48. > :02:53.continued in several parts of the city, mainly in the south-west and
:02:53. > :02:58.north-east of the centre. Activists say Government forces have used
:02:58. > :03:02.tanks and artillery while rebel fighters are likely armed but hard
:03:02. > :03:07.to winkle out. The Syrian state media have played down the fighting
:03:07. > :03:14.in the capital, but television showed these pictures of troops on
:03:14. > :03:21.the corners of deserted streets of Midan near the city centre. The
:03:21. > :03:27.clashes in Damascus hat -- started on Sunday spreading to Midan. They
:03:27. > :03:36.later broke out on the other side of the city. Residents say some of
:03:36. > :03:39.the affected districts have been surrounded by troops and tanks.
:03:39. > :03:47.Media in Qaboun is showing residential houses and then
:03:47. > :03:53.shooting everything, every moving thing. People are trying to run a
:03:53. > :03:57.wave. Now the interest is especially towards the south and
:03:57. > :04:02.towards the Damascus of birds and they are closed. After that saved a
:04:02. > :04:06.dozen people have been killed in the city so far and many wounded.
:04:06. > :04:11.Treating them in such conditions is clearly hard. Despite the
:04:11. > :04:17.Government crackdown, defines continues both in Damascus and in
:04:17. > :04:21.the outlying countryside where some of the approach roads to the
:04:21. > :04:24.capital were blocked. The rebels are sensing victory. The news of
:04:24. > :04:29.the deaths at the core of the regime will give them heart. The
:04:29. > :04:32.battle is heating up but still may have a long way to run.
:04:32. > :04:35.And Jim joins me from Beirut The number of unemployed people fell by
:04:35. > :04:41.65,000 between March and May to nearly 2.6 million - the lowest for
:04:41. > :04:47.almost a year. How much of a blow will this be to the Assad regime?
:04:47. > :04:52.If you ask them to name one a double macro outsiders, Assef
:04:52. > :04:57.Shawkat is always one of the top names people come up with. It is a
:04:57. > :05:01.significant blow. The defence minister, very senior figures. It
:05:01. > :05:06.is hard to imagine apart from getting President Assad himself,
:05:06. > :05:09.being able to hit more important than these at the heart of the
:05:09. > :05:15.regime will stop whether it is a death blow, we will have to wait
:05:15. > :05:19.and see. The Defence Ministry has said this will only redouble its
:05:19. > :05:24.determination to root out what it is calling terrorists who are
:05:24. > :05:28.backed by foreign powers carrying out their plots. We can expect some
:05:28. > :05:33.severe reprisals on the ground and a further crackdown as the fighting
:05:33. > :05:42.moves closer to the centre of the capital. There is still a long way
:05:42. > :05:48.to go before we can say the regime is in danger of toppling.
:05:48. > :05:52.The number of people out of work fell by 65,000 between March and
:05:52. > :05:55.May, to 2.6 million. The number of people in work increased to just
:05:55. > :05:57.under 30 million - the highest figure for almost four years. But
:05:57. > :05:59.the Office for National Statistics said the number claiming
:05:59. > :06:08.Jobseeker's Allowance increased last month to 1.6 million. John
:06:08. > :06:12.Moylan reports. This lady is one of the growing
:06:12. > :06:16.ranks of the self employed. She was an out of work architecture
:06:16. > :06:22.graduate before she decided to turn her hobby of drawing and
:06:22. > :06:25.illustrating into a full-time job. It is hard work, but it is worth it.
:06:26. > :06:30.When you can look around you at the end of the day and think, you're
:06:30. > :06:37.only here because of your own hard work and everything around you, you
:06:37. > :06:40.have created, is a fantastic feeling. For the 4th month in a row
:06:40. > :06:44.unemployment has fallen. What looked like a blip seem to be
:06:45. > :06:49.turning into a trend. What is happening in the labour market has
:06:49. > :06:56.perplexed many economists given Britain is still in a double-dip
:06:56. > :07:01.recession. One employment up by 180,000 in the last three months
:07:01. > :07:05.when the country is in a recession. It does not happen. Either the doom
:07:05. > :07:11.and gloom on the data has been overdone and we will seek a
:07:11. > :07:15.pleasant surprise and GDP gets revised up. Or we will get a nasty
:07:15. > :07:19.surprise and this latest data is too good to be truthful stock
:07:19. > :07:24.unemployment remains at historically high levels. For those
:07:24. > :07:30.looking for work, like these people at a Wolverhampton, getting on the
:07:30. > :07:34.jobs ladder is not easy. It is hard to, not a lot on offer and a lot of
:07:34. > :07:39.it is just work experience. I have a lot of work experience now and I
:07:39. > :07:44.don't know what else to do. needed job because I have a lot of
:07:44. > :07:49.things to pay for. I am looking for something in waitressing, retail,
:07:49. > :07:54.something to get the money in, basically. There are more people in
:07:54. > :07:58.work and vacancies are rising, too. This morning employment minister
:07:58. > :08:04.was visiting his postal firm which intends to recruit 20,000 staff in
:08:04. > :08:08.the coming years. There is a long way to go, I make no bones about
:08:08. > :08:12.the challenge we face. Unemployment in this country is still too high
:08:12. > :08:16.and we need to create economic growth to support businesses as
:08:16. > :08:21.they develop, expand and create jobs. Of course we have to do more
:08:21. > :08:25.of that. But at least things are moving in the right direction.
:08:25. > :08:30.Olympics might be playing a part. The unemployment picture is mixed
:08:30. > :08:32.across the UK but the biggest fall in recent months was in London.
:08:32. > :08:36.Up to �50 billion is to be given to privately-funded infrastructure
:08:36. > :08:39.projects by the Government. Ministers say that guaranteeing
:08:39. > :08:41.loans to contractors will help work to start on many important energy
:08:41. > :08:44.and transport schemes. Labour said it doubted whether the assistance
:08:44. > :08:49.would speed-up any projects in the next year. Our political
:08:49. > :08:53.correspondent Chris Mason reports. Building up the economy is the
:08:53. > :08:58.biggest challenge for the Government. The latest idea the
:08:58. > :09:02.Chancellor and his deputy are looking at involves trying to help
:09:02. > :09:06.up to �40 billion worth of building projects get going. They are not
:09:06. > :09:12.offering loans, but guaranteeing banks won't be out of pocket if a
:09:12. > :09:17.project fails. Because the banking system is still recovering, it is
:09:17. > :09:21.not always easy to get financing. We can use the low interest rates,
:09:21. > :09:23.we have secured for the country and taxpayers, to help secure lower
:09:23. > :09:31.interest rates for people who want to go ahead with construction
:09:31. > :09:34.projects. Building new hospitals, constructing new roads and much
:09:34. > :09:40.needed new flood defences are all potentially in line for Government
:09:40. > :09:44.support. But to qualify, projects would have to meet strict criteria.
:09:44. > :09:48.They would have to start within a year. They would have to be
:09:48. > :09:52.financially credible and be good value for the taxpayer. Businesses
:09:52. > :09:55.across the country will welcome the fact the Government is putting the
:09:55. > :10:01.strength of the balance sheet of the Government, not taxpayers'
:10:01. > :10:05.money, but their ability to guarantee projects to get some big
:10:05. > :10:10.infrastructure projects moving. building projects don't happen in
:10:10. > :10:17.reality this quickly. They take time to have a long term, economic
:10:17. > :10:21.impact. I fear this plan is too little, too late. The
:10:21. > :10:25.infrastructure projects it hopes to fund won't be coming on stream this
:10:25. > :10:31.several months, if not years and the scheme is not the size to make
:10:31. > :10:35.the significant difference we need. For both the Chancellor at Number
:10:35. > :10:39.11 Downing Street and the Prime Minister next door, they are a work
:10:39. > :10:44.economy getting back on its feet again is crucial to whether they
:10:44. > :10:47.still live here after the next elections. After a rough couple of
:10:47. > :10:51.months for the coalition, they want to be seen to be doing something
:10:51. > :10:58.that will help. It won't be easy. Our economics editor Stephanie
:10:58. > :11:03.Flanders is here. Will this extra money make a difference? A lot of
:11:03. > :11:05.people thought it would be a good idea. It is not spending any money,
:11:05. > :11:09.but the idea that Government can lend its credibility in the
:11:09. > :11:14.financial markets to these projects to get them moving, I think people
:11:14. > :11:18.thought it was worth exploring. But concern about the detail, whether
:11:18. > :11:23.it can deliver. The Government has announced this type of project in
:11:23. > :11:28.the past but has not been able to deliver. The Treasury won't want to
:11:28. > :11:33.give these guarantees away lightly, so they will have to show they are
:11:33. > :11:37.a strong project. For one reason or another, in needs a bit of a push.
:11:37. > :11:42.People in the industry say it does not describe a lot of big projects
:11:42. > :11:47.out there. Unemployment figures have gone down again, is this a
:11:47. > :11:50.blip, or is this turning into a trend going the right way? There
:11:50. > :11:54.has been a trend throughout the last few years. Although we feel
:11:54. > :11:59.the unemployment figures are too high, they have not risen as high
:11:59. > :12:04.and not risen as much as people would have expected given the time
:12:04. > :12:09.the economy is going through. It has been encouraging for a while,
:12:09. > :12:13.and to see these figures at a time when the economy is officially flat,
:12:13. > :12:18.it is encouraging. But ministers are right to be cautious. London
:12:18. > :12:22.has played a big part, may be something to do with the Olympic
:12:22. > :12:29.hirings. In the next few months, if you look at how weak earnings are,
:12:30. > :12:33.it is not a strong labour market, people are still finding it tough.
:12:33. > :12:35.Lack of exercise is causing as many deaths around the world as smoking
:12:35. > :12:38.according to research published in the medical journal The Lancet. In
:12:38. > :12:41.a series of studies to coincide with the Olympics, scientists say
:12:41. > :12:44.inactivity is causing five million deaths a year globally, with the UK
:12:44. > :12:49.recording some of the lowest levels of exercise. Our medical
:12:49. > :12:53.correspondent Fergus Walsh has the details.
:12:53. > :12:58.Exercise is the miracle medicine that can benefit every part of the
:12:58. > :13:03.body, but that message just isn't getting through, according to an
:13:03. > :13:07.international team of researchers writing in the Lancet journal. They
:13:08. > :13:13.estimate that worldwide, one in 10 deaths from heart disease, diabetes
:13:13. > :13:17.and breast and bowel cancer is the result of inactivity. Because it is
:13:17. > :13:22.such a common risk factor for many of the chronic diseases we suffer
:13:22. > :13:26.from, on balance if we are physically inactive the risk of
:13:26. > :13:31.premature mortality is probably comparable to that of smoking.
:13:31. > :13:37.Adults are meant to do 2.5 hours of moderate aerobic activity every
:13:37. > :13:42.week, like cycling or walking. But two out of three in the UK do not
:13:42. > :13:49.manage that. Theresa Alchin has her health back on track now she is
:13:49. > :13:57.more active. But there so they tree lifestyle led her to develop Tyke
:13:58. > :14:01.two diabetes. It was a shock. But I had some fantastic medical advice
:14:02. > :14:05.from my doctor and nurse which said you have to put together a
:14:05. > :14:10.programme to work with this disease, which is going to be with you for
:14:10. > :14:14.the rest of your life. With the Olympics just days away and
:14:14. > :14:18.athletes arriving all of the time, most of the world will be spending
:14:18. > :14:23.hours in front of the television watching a lead sport. Researchers
:14:23. > :14:27.say we cannot all be champions, but we can extend our lives if we
:14:27. > :14:30.choose to be more active. Police have charged Hans Kristian
:14:30. > :14:34.Rausing, one of the heirs to the Tetra Pak drinks carton fortune,
:14:34. > :14:37.with delaying the burial of his wife, Eva. Her body was found at
:14:37. > :14:47.their home in London last week. Mr Rausing, 49, will appear in court
:14:47. > :14:50.
:14:50. > :14:53.in around an hour's time. Daniela Hans Rausing is due to be brought
:14:53. > :14:57.here from hospital, where he has been since the discovery of his
:14:57. > :15:00.wife's body. We understand that because of that on going hospital
:15:00. > :15:04.treatment, the court staff one today's first hearing dealt with as
:15:04. > :15:08.soon as possible and as quickly as possible. It is due to start at 2pm,
:15:08. > :15:14.and that is when Hans Rausing will hear the charge that he prevented
:15:14. > :15:18.the decent and lawful burial of his wife's body. He is one of the heirs
:15:18. > :15:22.to the Tetrapak empire, but the life of both he and his wife have
:15:22. > :15:26.been blighted by drug addiction. Hans Rausing was arrested on 9th
:15:26. > :15:31.July by police in south London on suspicion of driving under the
:15:31. > :15:35.influence of drugs or alcohol. It was during the subsequent search of
:15:35. > :15:39.the couple's luxury home in Chelsea that the body of Eva Rausing was
:15:39. > :15:47.discovered. But at this stage it is still not known how long her body
:15:47. > :15:50.had been there, know exactly how she died. The editor of the
:15:50. > :15:53.Mauritian Sunday Times has been arrested, after the paper published
:15:54. > :15:57.photographs of the body of a woman who was murdered while on honeymoon
:15:57. > :16:01.there. Michaela McAreavey, who was from County Tyrone in Northern
:16:01. > :16:05.Ireland, was strangled in the room of the luxury Legends Hotel in
:16:05. > :16:10.January last year. Last week, two hotel workers were recruited for
:16:10. > :16:14.murder. The body of an RAF pilot has been recovered from the site of
:16:14. > :16:17.a Tornado jet crashed in the Moray Firth. Flight-Lieutenant Adams
:16:18. > :16:22.Sanders, who was 27, had been missing since his plane was
:16:22. > :16:25.involved in a head-on collision during a training exercise on July
:16:25. > :16:29.3rd. Squadron Leader Samuel Bailey remains missing. The Daily Mail and
:16:29. > :16:34.the Mirror have been found guilty of contempt of court for publishing
:16:34. > :16:37.articles which allowed the Serial Killer Levi Bellfield to avoid a
:16:37. > :16:41.jury verdict on a charge of attempting to kidnap an 11-year-old
:16:41. > :16:45.girl. The papers ran the story after he was found guilty of
:16:45. > :16:50.murdering Milly Dowler, but the same jury was due to return
:16:50. > :16:53.verdicts on the separate charge the next day. The former Marcus Pode
:16:53. > :16:56.boss Max Mosley has told the Leveson Inquiry that a new press
:16:56. > :17:01.regulator should be able to stop papers publishing stories and
:17:01. > :17:04.should have the power to levy fines worth millions of pounds. He's been
:17:04. > :17:08.campaigning for new press rules since the news of the World
:17:08. > :17:14.published a story about his personal life. This report contains
:17:14. > :17:18.flash photography. Max Mosley was the motorsport boss whose sex life
:17:18. > :17:22.make the papers. A court ruled there wasn't a NATFHE theme to an
:17:22. > :17:26.orgy, reported on the front page of the News of the World, and that his
:17:26. > :17:29.privacy had been invaded. But no court ruling in the world could
:17:29. > :17:34.wipe the knowledge of his most personal details from the public
:17:34. > :17:38.mind. And debate, he came to the Leveson Inquiry but a plan for a
:17:38. > :17:43.new press tribunal that would be able to issue injunctions to stop
:17:44. > :17:47.papers publishing stories like that one. We absolutely have to have a
:17:47. > :17:51.procedure where if somebody has got no money and knows that a story is
:17:51. > :17:55.coming out that is a clear breach of privacy, that they should be
:17:55. > :18:01.able to go somewhere and get someone to tell the newspaper not
:18:01. > :18:05.to print it. Seeking the tribunal's held wouldn't cost money and it
:18:05. > :18:09.would be able to find the papers of to 10 % of their parent company's
:18:09. > :18:12.turnover. Max Mosley tried and failed to get the European Court of
:18:12. > :18:16.Human Rights to force journalists to warn people before making
:18:16. > :18:20.allegations about them. The plans he presented to the inquiry today,
:18:20. > :18:25.he said papers could, in very rare cases, ask the tribunal for
:18:25. > :18:29.permission not to give a warning. He said that would... Avoid the
:18:29. > :18:34.situation where entire decisions are taken by the editor. Some of
:18:34. > :18:38.his life can be ruined instantly. At the heart of this there is a
:18:38. > :18:41.decision to be made between the right to publish and the right to
:18:41. > :18:46.privacy. If journalists don't have to tell people before they write
:18:46. > :18:51.stories about them, there's a risk of bad reporting. If they have to
:18:51. > :18:56.tell, almost everybody, there's a risk that investigative journalists
:18:56. > :18:59.are stopped from exposing bad people. Max Mosley's campaign for
:19:00. > :19:04.changes to the way the press works has outlived the News of the World
:19:04. > :19:12.itself. If he has persuaded Lord Justice Leveson today, he might yet
:19:12. > :19:17.be able to chalk up another successful day before a judge. Our
:19:17. > :19:22.top story... A suicide bomber in Syria kills two of the most senior
:19:22. > :19:27.members of the Assad regime inside the national security building.
:19:27. > :19:33.Join me at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium, where Team USA makes its
:19:33. > :19:36.final Olympic preparations. Later on BBC London. Another Olympic row.
:19:36. > :19:39.This time it's over whether cyclists can use the Olympic Lanes,
:19:39. > :19:49.although Transport for London insist most lanes can be used. And
:19:49. > :19:52.
:19:52. > :19:56.will the rain ever end? We have the Texting is now the most popular way
:19:57. > :20:00.for adults in the UK to keep in touch with the average person
:20:00. > :20:04.sending 200 texts a month. And, according to the latest figures,
:20:04. > :20:11.the boom in texting means we are spending less time talking on the
:20:11. > :20:16.phone for the first time. Saturday, get, just let me check in
:20:16. > :20:22.my Filofax. It used to be good to talk. Now it seems it is better to
:20:22. > :20:27.text. And here is the modern face of communications in one family.
:20:27. > :20:31.Amelia is on a tablet computer in the kitchen. Elsewhere, her mum is
:20:31. > :20:35.on her phone, checking e-mails. Next door, Charlie is on the
:20:35. > :20:43.computer playing a gay man chatting on-line. While in the sitting room,
:20:43. > :20:46.we find Dad on his home watching TV. So how do they keep in touch?
:20:46. > :20:51.tend to use Facebook and Skype because they are free. No matter
:20:51. > :20:55.where someone is, I can talk to them pretty much any time. I do
:20:55. > :21:02.prefer to speak to people in person but increasingly I find myself
:21:02. > :21:05.texting or e-mailing. You see! That is the way the world is. The Ofcom
:21:05. > :21:09.report also shows that having bigger, better television's means
:21:09. > :21:13.families are spending more time together in the living room. So we
:21:13. > :21:16.are still watching a lot of television, on average about four
:21:16. > :21:21.hours a day. But just about everything else about the way we
:21:21. > :21:27.communicate has changed. Texting has more than doubled over the last
:21:27. > :21:31.four years. We now send 50 a week on average. Four in 10 of us alone
:21:31. > :21:35.a smartphone, but we are not using them to make calls but as internet
:21:35. > :21:39.devices. That means the amount of data we send up the mobile networks
:21:39. > :21:42.has more than doubled over the last 18 months. Ever since we started
:21:42. > :21:47.using mobile phones, we've been spending more and more time talking
:21:47. > :21:50.on them. Now that has dipped for the first time. 20 years ago, you
:21:50. > :21:54.would walk past a bus stop and people would have been chatting
:21:54. > :21:58.away to each other. 10 years ago, they would have still been talking,
:21:58. > :22:04.but it was on their mobile phones. Today, you walk past the same bus
:22:04. > :22:08.stop and everyone has got their heads down, looking at their
:22:08. > :22:11.smartphone devices and tapping away at their screens. Whatever the
:22:11. > :22:18.technology, it seems we are all communicating more, it's just that
:22:18. > :22:21.we keep finding new ways to stay in touch. Road safety campaigners say
:22:21. > :22:25.action must be taken to reverse an increase in the number of people
:22:25. > :22:31.dying on the roads. Last year, the total number killed increased for
:22:31. > :22:36.the first time in eight years. It is something that nearly all of us
:22:36. > :22:40.do in one way or another. Using the roads. The perception is that if
:22:40. > :22:44.you are careful it is generally safe. But the number of people who
:22:44. > :22:50.died on roads in England, Scotland and Wales last year went up. It is
:22:50. > :22:53.the first increase since 2003. And a cross-party group of MPs says the
:22:53. > :22:58.government must do something about it. The government should show more
:22:58. > :23:01.leadership, local authorities are losing their funding and losing
:23:01. > :23:05.their road safety officers. There should be a review of driver
:23:05. > :23:10.training, better designed roads, looking again at cycle lanes and
:23:10. > :23:18.stopping a lot of young lives so soon after people have passed their
:23:18. > :23:24.test. In 2011, 883 drivers or passengers in cars were killed. 453
:23:24. > :23:30.pedestrians died. And 469 cyclists and motorcyclists lost their lives.
:23:30. > :23:34.The overall total is a 3% increase on the previous year. Doncaster, in
:23:34. > :23:38.South Yorkshire, is highlighted in today's report for being an area
:23:38. > :23:42.where there's been no improvement in road casualty rates for over a
:23:42. > :23:46.decade. Nicky Webber was knocked down here when she was a child and
:23:46. > :23:56.is now a road-safety campaigner. She says educating young people is
:23:56. > :24:01.the key. Kids have got to learn that cars her to -- heard, but they
:24:01. > :24:07.also kill. When you are in a car or when you are driving the car, you
:24:07. > :24:11.are in control of a machine. government says it is disappointed
:24:11. > :24:15.that the number of road deaths has risen, but points out that the
:24:15. > :24:19.figures are still some of the lowest since records began. It says
:24:19. > :24:23.it is spending money on targeting the most dangerous drivers and
:24:23. > :24:30.cracking down on drug-driving and the use of mobile phones behind the
:24:30. > :24:34.wheel. But the committee looking at fatality rates say it is shocking
:24:34. > :24:41.that road accidents are the main cause of death among young adults.
:24:41. > :24:44.And more must be done to address the issue. Britain's Bradley
:24:45. > :24:48.Wiggins has embarked on a brutal mountain test to keep his yellow
:24:48. > :24:51.jersey in the Tour de France. The Ryder resumed the race this morning
:24:51. > :24:55.with a lead of two minutes and five seconds, but he faces his toughest
:24:55. > :25:00.challenge yet as the tour goes through the Pyrenees. Meanwhile,
:25:00. > :25:06.one of the big names in cycling, Frank Schleck, of Luxembourg, has
:25:06. > :25:09.withdrawn from the race after failing a doping test. Before the
:25:09. > :25:14.Cycling even got under way today, the Tour de France hit a pothole.
:25:14. > :25:18.Frank Schleck, here seen on the right of the podium, has tested
:25:18. > :25:24.positive for a banned substance and quit this year's race. He claims he
:25:24. > :25:28.may have been poisoned. The bad day was about to become even worse.
:25:28. > :25:33.Only a short distance into today's stage, Chris Homer disappeared over
:25:33. > :25:36.the edge of the road - a reminder of one of the perils of this savage
:25:36. > :25:40.event. Add to that today they heat, that climbs and the distance, in
:25:40. > :25:45.this case through the Pyrenees. At the front of the peloton, the main
:25:45. > :25:50.group of riders, the impasse of black-clad group of Team Sky riders,
:25:50. > :25:54.escorting the man in yellow, their team-mate, Bradley Wiggins. The
:25:54. > :25:58.ascents are exhausting, be descents, they can be terrifying. The writers
:25:58. > :26:02.hitting speeds that even a camera bikes struggle to reach. There is
:26:02. > :26:07.still a long way to go in today's stage, but the prospect of
:26:07. > :26:10.Britain's first Tour de France winner remains on course. The
:26:10. > :26:13.United States athletics team is training for the Olympics in
:26:13. > :26:23.Birmingham today. Some of the country's most successful track and
:26:23. > :26:28.field stars are also helping local school children to get into sport.
:26:28. > :26:33.Team USA has well and truly landed in the city this morning. In spite
:26:33. > :26:39.of a soggy British summer's day, they were given a warm Birmingham
:26:39. > :26:43.welcome this morning. America's track and field stars are used to
:26:43. > :26:48.the big stage, but this one was a unique opportunity, for them and
:26:48. > :26:52.their hosts at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium we want to ask
:26:52. > :26:57.you a few questions. Hurdler Michael Tinsley was happy to share
:26:57. > :27:01.his Olympic dream in a field filled with local schoolchildren. When I
:27:01. > :27:05.was a young kid, I used to come to events like this and see basketball
:27:05. > :27:09.players, football players and athletes in America. They would
:27:09. > :27:12.come and speak to the kids, and I wanted to do things like that once
:27:12. > :27:17.I got to a platform where Wright could. It's great because you want
:27:17. > :27:20.the kids to stay healthy and get out and live an active life. This
:27:20. > :27:24.was one Sportsday the weather was never going to spoil. Elite
:27:24. > :27:30.athletes and their trainers on hand to guide and inspire. I felt
:27:30. > :27:35.amazing because I've never seen an athlete in real life. It was really
:27:35. > :27:40.great. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He was our age ones,
:27:40. > :27:44.so knowing that he was once our age and he had a dream and is living
:27:44. > :27:49.his dream and doing what he was inspired to do, that gives us faith
:27:49. > :27:52.that we can grow up and do what we want to do as well. The stadium's
:27:53. > :27:57.upgrade plans to Diamond Standard were brought forward so that Team
:27:57. > :28:02.USA could enjoy them. With only a few days left, the athletes seemed
:28:02. > :28:08.happy to take time out from their gruelling preparation... But not
:28:08. > :28:13.for long. These top-notch facilities at Alexander Stadium
:28:13. > :28:16.will continued to attract world- class athletes to Birmingham long
:28:16. > :28:22.after the London Games, but today was all about giving the Olympians
:28:22. > :28:31.a chance to spread some of that excitement well beyond the capital.
:28:31. > :28:36.A day on day improvement for the next few days. Yes, there will be a
:28:36. > :28:41.glimmer of sunshine at the end of this forecast. But for today,
:28:41. > :28:47.another warning for yet more rain, and amber warning through central
:28:47. > :28:51.areas of Scotland. The rain has been relentless through the morning.
:28:51. > :28:55.Further south, the band of rain moving through south-east England.
:28:55. > :28:58.Hot on its heels are some really heavy and already thundery showers.
:28:59. > :29:03.We focus on the rain across Scotland, it's set in earlier this
:29:03. > :29:08.morning and will be there through the day. 30-40 mm of rain falling
:29:08. > :29:13.easily, very widely. We could see up to 80 mm, that is just over
:29:13. > :29:16.three inches. Saturated ground with the persistent rain, it's worth
:29:16. > :29:20.checking the website for any flood warnings through the day. The far
:29:21. > :29:25.north of Scotland will be dry, but with the cloud and rain across the
:29:25. > :29:28.bulk of Scotland it is a cool afternoon. Eastern Scotland
:29:28. > :29:32.sticking with the best of any sunshine. But watch out for those
:29:32. > :29:35.heavy shell was driving in. South- east England and many southern
:29:35. > :29:39.counties of England are much cooler than yesterday, windier as well
:29:39. > :29:44.with the outbreaks of rain continuing on and off through the
:29:44. > :29:48.afternoon. Misty and murky around the western coasts of Cornwall and
:29:48. > :29:53.the western coast of Wales. For much of Wales it is hit and miss,
:29:53. > :29:56.sunshine and showers, many of them heavy and thundery. Equally, a
:29:56. > :30:00.chance of picking up some heavy downpours across Northern Ireland.
:30:00. > :30:04.These heavy showers with gusty winds continuing through central
:30:04. > :30:08.areas during the evening rush hour and then gradually clearing to the
:30:08. > :30:12.south. Overnight, thankfully the rain relinquishes its grip across
:30:12. > :30:17.Scotland, easing as it pushes into and northern England and North
:30:17. > :30:24.Wales. For the North, by Dawn it is a cooler, drier start. In the south
:30:24. > :30:27.of his eight cloudy and damp start. But things are improving. It is a
:30:27. > :30:32.North westerly flow tomorrow. Sunny spells, still some showers.
:30:32. > :30:36.Tomorrow, showers could be heavy and thundery with light winds. But
:30:36. > :30:41.at least it's a promising start for the start of the Open at Lytham St
:30:41. > :30:46.Annes. The outlook for the next few days is largely dry and bright, the
:30:46. > :30:50.risk of picking up the odd shower. Friday, the shower risk diminishes,
:30:51. > :30:54.sunny spells and showers continued into the weekend. But with high
:30:54. > :30:57.pressure building into the weekend, pushing our weather fronts north,
:30:57. > :31:05.much-needed rain for western Scotland but elsewhere there is
:31:05. > :31:10.some much-needed sunshine to look Our top story. A suicide bomber in
:31:10. > :31:14.Syria kills two of the most senior members of the Assad regime inside