:00:13. > :00:18.Fierce fighting in Syria. Activists in Damascus say they've suffered
:00:18. > :00:21.the heaviest bombardment since the uprising began. Just 24 hours after
:00:21. > :00:27.the bomb blast which killed three senior members of the Assad regime,
:00:27. > :00:30.David Cameron says Syria's leader has run out of time. I've got a
:00:30. > :00:35.clear message for President Assad, which is it is time for him to go.
:00:35. > :00:40.It is time for transition in this regime. All change on the High
:00:40. > :00:43.Street. Lloyds Banking Group is selling 632 branches to the co-
:00:43. > :00:48.operative Bank. The Chancellor says it will create a new banking system
:00:48. > :00:51.for Britain. Get a grip. MPs tell the government that chaos
:00:51. > :00:56.surrounding G4S security blunders is undermining confidence in
:00:56. > :01:01.Olympic planning. Caught on CCTV, the man believed to be the suicide
:01:01. > :01:06.bomber, filled moments before he blew up an Israeli tourist bus in
:01:06. > :01:09.Bulgaria. Under the hammer. The medals of the First World War hero
:01:09. > :01:13.who, despite being shot in the head, single-handedly held of several
:01:13. > :01:15.German divisions. Later on BBC London. The Met won't have to
:01:15. > :01:19.provide officers to fill any shortfall in security guards during
:01:19. > :01:29.And who shot this Russian banker six times in a London street?
:01:29. > :01:44.
:01:44. > :01:47.Crimewatch are on the hunt for his Good afternoon. Activists in the
:01:47. > :01:51.Syrian capital, Damascus, say they've suffered the heaviest
:01:51. > :01:54.bombardment since the uprising began. Fighting between rebels and
:01:54. > :01:57.forces loyal to President Assad has continued throughout the day, with
:01:57. > :02:02.reports of clashes near government buildings. It follows the death
:02:02. > :02:07.yesterday of three members of the President's in May Circle in a
:02:08. > :02:13.report a bomb attack. -- inner circle. Ominous black smoke and
:02:13. > :02:17.flames today in a suburb of Damascus. Evidence of a Syrian
:02:17. > :02:21.government air strike, according to activists. But they say opposition
:02:21. > :02:26.fighters are hitting back at the nerve centre of President Assad's
:02:26. > :02:29.regime. The smoky it is reported the rising from an area housing the
:02:29. > :02:34.government's Cabinet offices, though all this is unverified
:02:34. > :02:38.footage. Amidst reports of military units being sent to the capital to
:02:38. > :02:42.bolster the government, these pictures from last night. Armoured
:02:42. > :02:47.vehicles from one Court Four -- from one convoy blazing after an
:02:47. > :02:52.attack, presumably by rebels. Meanwhile, on Syrian state TV today,
:02:52. > :02:56.a eulogy to on of the three top security chiefs killed apparently
:02:56. > :03:01.in a bombing yesterday. But no sign of President Assad himself. He was
:03:01. > :03:06.last seen in public on 9th July, when the UN peace envoy, Kobe and
:03:06. > :03:10.and, of was visiting. Today again, David Cameron speaking in Kabul,
:03:10. > :03:15.called for the Syrian President to step down. I have a clear message
:03:15. > :03:21.for President Assad, which is it is time for him to go. It is time for
:03:21. > :03:27.transition in this regime. Clearly, Britain doesn't support violence on
:03:27. > :03:32.either side. But if there is and transition, it is quite clear there
:03:32. > :03:36.is going to be civil war. fighting is fast to eclipse in
:03:36. > :03:40.efforts to restore peace. The UN Security Council both this
:03:40. > :03:44.afternoon on a resolution to extend the mandate of the UN monitor's
:03:44. > :03:47.mission in Syria. But it may well fail to pass. The Norwegian general
:03:47. > :03:52.heading permission admitted this morning it had become all but
:03:52. > :03:56.irrelevant. What ever comes, we need very strong and efficient
:03:56. > :03:59.leadership by the Security Council. That is needed for the sake of the
:03:59. > :04:05.Syrian people, when we look at the violence going on every day around
:04:05. > :04:09.us. Wherever all this is leading, it is hard to deny the conflict has
:04:09. > :04:13.entered a new and dangerous phase. A battle for control of the
:04:13. > :04:21.capital's streets. No one now in Syria is immune from its impact.
:04:21. > :04:26.The question is, how long it will last and how far it could spread.
:04:26. > :04:30.Our correspondent is in Beirut. What is the sense of what the
:04:30. > :04:35.consequences of yesterday's action not going to be? A lot of people
:04:35. > :04:39.are seeing it as possibly, when we look back from a historical
:04:39. > :04:44.perspective, the tilt point at which things may begin to slide
:04:44. > :04:48.much more rapidly. We've had 16 months of often stalemate conflict
:04:48. > :04:53.with neither side apparently able to budge the other. Now things seem
:04:53. > :04:57.to be moving a lot faster. Just in the last few days we've had
:04:57. > :05:02.fighting in the capital itself. Now we've had the killing of three top
:05:02. > :05:05.security men, one of them a brother in law of the President. That
:05:05. > :05:10.brings the fire right into his own breakfast room, if you like. People
:05:10. > :05:13.do feel that the momentum is not really gathering pace, far
:05:13. > :05:16.outpacing the efforts of the Security Council to try and hold
:05:16. > :05:23.the country back from what by anybody's definition is already a
:05:23. > :05:26.civil war. We are waiting to see what happens in the streets of
:05:27. > :05:31.Damascus. By using overwhelming force, the government may succeed
:05:31. > :05:34.in calming the city for a while, but as experience in the outlying
:05:34. > :05:38.suburbs have shown, time and again they cleared rebel fighters from
:05:38. > :05:42.those suburbs, only to find them coming back as soon as they turn
:05:42. > :05:46.their backs. The battle has begun. Even if it reaches a kind of
:05:46. > :05:50.temporary halt, I am sure it will resume and things will continue to
:05:50. > :05:56.move rapidly towards a conclusion, perhaps in weeks and rather than
:05:56. > :05:59.the months that people thought. Here, almost 5 million Lloyds TSB
:05:59. > :06:03.customers are to be transferred on to the books of the co-operative
:06:03. > :06:08.Bank, after a deal was agreed over the sit -- over the sale of more
:06:08. > :06:15.than 600 branches. Lloyds, which is 40 % taxpayer owned, was forced to
:06:15. > :06:21.sell the branches to comply with European rules on state aid. It
:06:21. > :06:25.will be a big change and hundreds of high streets, as Lloyds branches
:06:25. > :06:29.go and the customer owned co- operative takes over. The plan is
:06:29. > :06:33.to transfer customers, staff and computer systems across, lock,
:06:33. > :06:37.stock and barrel Forster many of them are being caught by surprise.
:06:37. > :06:41.I'm disappointed. They should have told us. I hope that it's going to
:06:41. > :06:45.be good for everyone, but I think everyone would prefer law leaves.
:06:45. > :06:50.Personally, I would. If you were given the choice... I would rather
:06:50. > :06:53.stay the same. I'm hoping my current account... It's being sold,
:06:53. > :06:58.as long as it doesn't make a difference to my savings, it
:06:58. > :07:01.shouldn't be a problem. This is the name they will see over the door,
:07:01. > :07:06.the TSB brand which the Co-op is buying with the business. It will
:07:06. > :07:09.be a huge shift for millions of customers. The branches like this
:07:09. > :07:13.one affected, it will be about a third of them, will see the name
:07:13. > :07:16.Lloyds disappear from the front. They will still be able to govern
:07:16. > :07:21.and operate their accounts, but the branding will change and they won't
:07:21. > :07:24.be able to use any of the remaining Lloyds branches. It is all because
:07:24. > :07:28.when banks were rescued in the financial crisis, and Lloyds are
:07:28. > :07:33.swallowed up Halifax and Bank of Scotland, the European Commission
:07:33. > :07:36.said it was too dominant. The Co-op is buying 632 branches, including
:07:36. > :07:42.all those in Scotland and the Cheltenham and Gloucester brand.
:07:42. > :07:48.That is 4.8 million customers for a price of �750 million, much lower
:07:48. > :07:51.than expected. Already, Richard Branson has stepped into high-
:07:51. > :07:54.street banking by taking over Northern Rock, as the government
:07:54. > :08:01.tries to beef up competition. But this is the most significant move
:08:01. > :08:07.yet. We see this as one of the biggest changes in retail banking
:08:07. > :08:14.this country has seen for many years. The retail banking market
:08:14. > :08:19.has been dominated by the big five banks. We are now going to be a
:08:19. > :08:23.significant challenger. Customers affected will have the chance to
:08:23. > :08:30.opt out of the move, but if they do want to stay with Lloyds they will
:08:30. > :08:35.have to find another branch. MPs have urged the government to get a
:08:35. > :08:37.grip on the security firm G4S, to ensure a smooth Olympic Games. The
:08:38. > :08:42.Commons Public Accounts Committee says the company, whose staff
:08:42. > :08:48.shortages have seen an extra 3500 soldiers drafted in, should be
:08:48. > :08:52.fined. Chairman Margaret Hodge said the chaos have been predictable.
:08:52. > :08:57.The failure of G4S to provide enough security guards for the
:08:57. > :09:00.Olympics has brought down waves of criticism on the company, with the
:09:00. > :09:04.chief-executive getting a mauling from MPs and forced to admit it had
:09:04. > :09:08.been a humiliating shambles. But the company is not as involved in
:09:08. > :09:11.the Olympics. It has hundreds of millions of pounds worth of
:09:11. > :09:17.contracts around the country, providing support services for the
:09:17. > :09:21.police and running a handful of prisons. The Labour leader wants
:09:21. > :09:24.ministers to halt the use of G4S providing contract pending a review
:09:24. > :09:30.and improving accountability. People want bobbies on the beat,
:09:30. > :09:36.not G4S. What has happened with G4S is a warning sign. A warning sign
:09:36. > :09:39.not just about one event in one city, a very important event, but a
:09:39. > :09:44.warning sign about the privatisation of policing services
:09:44. > :09:48.across this country. government's handling of the
:09:48. > :09:52.Olympic contract is also facing severe criticism from a key
:09:52. > :09:56.parliamentary committee, particularly over the cost, even
:09:56. > :09:59.though the gains have come in under budget. Among other things, the
:09:59. > :10:04.public accounts committee asks, why did that cost of providing security
:10:04. > :10:07.at the Olympic venues nearly doubled between 2010 to 2011? Why
:10:07. > :10:12.was there a sudden increase in the number of security staff the Games
:10:12. > :10:15.organisers said they would need? And while it would G4S still
:10:15. > :10:19.received substantial sums of money, even though it broke its contract?
:10:19. > :10:23.This is nonsense. This has been the most transparent Olympics ever. I
:10:23. > :10:28.think our most transparent public sector contract ever. The Public
:10:28. > :10:33.Accounts Committee is there to check up on value-for-money. It is
:10:33. > :10:37.worth remembering that this project came in under budget, 476 million
:10:37. > :10:41.at the last count and the spent. Ministers are not ruling out a
:10:41. > :10:45.wider review of G4S and its role in supplying services to the public
:10:45. > :10:48.sector. But they will commit to nothing this side of the Olympics.
:10:48. > :10:55.From September there will be a whole queue of committees ready to
:10:55. > :10:59.pick over the organisation of these games. Our correspondent is in the
:10:59. > :11:03.Olympic Park for us. Security not the only cloud on the Olympic
:11:03. > :11:08.horizon. No, the issue of strikes as well. Throughout the planning
:11:08. > :11:12.before the Games the organisers have sat down and played out
:11:12. > :11:16.various scenarios. The threat of strikes was always high up as one
:11:16. > :11:19.of the greatest risks. Today, confirmation that members of the
:11:19. > :11:23.Aslef union on East Midlands trains are going to stage three days of
:11:23. > :11:28.strikes as a potential strikes from the Border Agency, even maybe South
:11:28. > :11:33.West Trains as well. I was talking to the Culture Secretary earlier,
:11:33. > :11:36.adamant that all contingencies are ready and will be in place. But it
:11:37. > :11:41.will make life difficult, even if there are contingencies in place,
:11:41. > :11:44.if there are a number of strikes around the country. That is the
:11:44. > :11:49.negative. On the positive, looking at where you are, it looks good and
:11:49. > :11:52.it's all ready on time. It is ready. They have been some issues with
:11:52. > :11:55.waterlogging but we are told what is improving and everything is
:11:55. > :11:59.getting back to normal. The dry weather is going to play a major
:11:59. > :12:03.factor in that. You can probably see various people milling around.
:12:03. > :12:06.Most of those have been involved in opening ceremony rehearsals. Those
:12:06. > :12:09.people you speak to who are involved are really confident it is
:12:09. > :12:14.going to be a show which everybody who is British is going to be proud
:12:14. > :12:18.of. The athletes and officials are now in place in the athletes
:12:18. > :12:22.village. I'm told there were 250,000 Olympic tweets cent
:12:22. > :12:28.yesterday. Everything is up and running and the games are almost
:12:28. > :12:33.here upon us now. Four people have appeared before magistrates in
:12:34. > :12:36.London charged with terrorism offences. Our correspondent is
:12:36. > :12:40.outside Westminster magistrates' court for us.
:12:40. > :12:43.Proceedings have just wrap up here. All four of the accused were
:12:43. > :12:46.arrested at various locations in London earlier this month. Late
:12:46. > :12:51.last night, police announced that they were setting charges against
:12:51. > :12:58.them. Richard Dart, 29, from Ealing, has been charged with preparing for
:12:58. > :13:03.acts of terrorism between 25th July, 1920 10 and July this year. As has
:13:03. > :13:07.Imran Map mood, who is 21, from Northolt. Add another man from
:13:07. > :13:11.Stratford, specifically the charges say they travelled to Pakistan for
:13:11. > :13:16.terrorist training and to commit acts of terrorism abroad. It is
:13:16. > :13:20.also said on the charge sheet that they are charged with advising and
:13:20. > :13:24.cancelling the commission of terrorist acts by providing
:13:24. > :13:28.information and other statistics about travel to Pakistan and
:13:28. > :13:32.terrorist training there. The fourth member of the group, the
:13:32. > :13:36.only woman involved, she is 22 and from East London. She wasn't
:13:36. > :13:40.charged with that, she was charged with possession of documents likely
:13:40. > :13:45.to be of use to terrorists, specifically some online
:13:45. > :13:49.publications by Al-Qaeda. In court today, none of them spoke apart
:13:49. > :13:54.from to confirm their names and addresses. There were no police
:13:54. > :14:01.ended. The Senior District Judge said they would be remanded in
:14:01. > :14:05.custody before returning to the Old Bailey for trial on July 31st. The
:14:05. > :14:09.number of murders, manslaughter and infanticide recorded by police in
:14:09. > :14:12.England and Wales has fallen to its lowest level in almost 30 years.
:14:12. > :14:16.Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics also shows the
:14:16. > :14:21.total number of crimes has fallen to below 4 million for the first
:14:21. > :14:25.time since 1989. However, there was a 2% rise in so-called other theft
:14:25. > :14:30.offences, such as pickpocketing, metal thefts and the stealing of
:14:30. > :14:34.mobile phones. David Cameron has stressed Britain's continuing
:14:34. > :14:37.commitment to Afghanistan once combat troops leave their in 2014.
:14:37. > :14:42.The Prime Minister held talks with the Afghan President, Hamid Karzai,
:14:42. > :14:45.in Kabul this morning. They signed an agreement to build an officers'
:14:45. > :14:52.training facility, modelled on the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.
:14:52. > :14:55.The two leaders Bennett Pakistan's new Prime Minister. Bulgaria says
:14:55. > :14:59.the bombing of an Israeli tourist bus was carried out by a male
:14:59. > :15:03.suicide bomber who was carrying fake US documents. At least seven
:15:04. > :15:07.people died and 34 were injured when the bus exploded at Burgas
:15:07. > :15:16.airport by the Black Sea. Israel says it holds Iran responsible for
:15:16. > :15:21.the attack and has promised a This is the man that the
:15:21. > :15:26.authorities believe is the suicide bomber. Captured on CCTV inside the
:15:26. > :15:30.airport terminal, minutes before he blew hitch up next to a bus,
:15:30. > :15:35.murdering six people it happened late on Wednesday afternoon, an
:15:35. > :15:40.explosion which sent a huge plume of smoke rising above the airport.
:15:40. > :15:47.The target were Israeli tourists. Witnesses spoke of body parts
:15:47. > :15:51.strewn all around. This survivor, struggled to describe the chaos as
:15:51. > :15:56.people scram pbled -- scrabblebled to get away.
:15:57. > :16:01.TRANSLATION: There is what a lot of fog. I could not get inside.
:16:01. > :16:05.The Bulgarian authorities suggest at that they know who the bomber is.
:16:05. > :16:09.We cannot point to the nationality or the real name of the person, but
:16:09. > :16:16.there is strong evidence to suggest that the suicide bomber approached
:16:16. > :16:20.the bus as people were boarding with their luggage and that he
:16:20. > :16:24.exploded the device. A massive investigation has now
:16:24. > :16:28.begun with Israeli teams flying in to help.
:16:28. > :16:32.The Bulgarian authorities are not yet accusing any group or country
:16:32. > :16:36.are involvement in this attack, but Israel has been clear, this, it
:16:36. > :16:41.says, was the work of Hezbollah and Iran.
:16:41. > :16:44.We are talking about a state whose modus operandi is these sorts of
:16:44. > :16:50.terrorist attacks, that's the reason why we, along with the rest
:16:50. > :16:57.of the Western world fighting terrorism, have it take them
:16:57. > :17:02.seriously and respond force fully. Burgas is a popular destination for
:17:02. > :17:09.Israeli tourists, but an attack of this kind is a huge shock for
:17:09. > :17:11.Bulgaria. Officials here and in Israel insist there was no specific
:17:11. > :17:16.information of an imminent terrorist threat. For many of theme
:17:16. > :17:20.here at the time, many of them on holiday, it was a terrifying
:17:20. > :17:26.experience. There was a loud bang. Like a clap
:17:26. > :17:30.of hands. Very sudden. I didn't know what it was it was very loud.
:17:30. > :17:35.It shook the building. When you saw it was a bomb, you think was there
:17:35. > :17:38.another one? There a focus on helping the injured and getting
:17:38. > :17:43.stranded passengers home. Condemnation of this attack has
:17:43. > :17:49.come in from around the world. Many questions remain, not least, how
:17:49. > :17:54.and when Israel will choose to respond.
:17:54. > :17:58.The top story: Fierce fighting continues in
:17:58. > :18:02.Syria's capital, Damascus, following the bomb attack that
:18:02. > :18:06.killed three senior members of Bashar al-Assad's regime.
:18:06. > :18:11.I am here at Royal Lytham & St Anne's where Tiger Woods has made
:18:11. > :18:21.an ominous start on day one of the Open championship.
:18:21. > :18:31.
:18:32. > :18:35.Later in the hour, all of the sport on the BBC News Channel.
:18:35. > :18:42.Hopes of a recovery in retail sales were dashed by the poor weather
:18:42. > :18:45.last month. The figures out show that they rose by 0 .1%, the
:18:45. > :18:49.wettest June on record. According to the Office of National
:18:49. > :18:53.Statistics, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee had little effect on the
:18:53. > :18:59.High Street. Now, the figures are much worse
:18:59. > :19:03.than anyone predicted? They are. A lot had pinned hope on the Jubilee
:19:03. > :19:07.to lift the sentiment and get people out spending, but that did
:19:07. > :19:11.not happen. If you look at the bigger picture, it is really the
:19:11. > :19:14.rain that had a big impact. Preventing the people from going
:19:14. > :19:18.out to the shops. We had the wettest June on record. So people
:19:18. > :19:27.clearly did not want to go out and go shopping.
:19:27. > :19:32.Some particular companies that look at dismal figures, Mothercare, JJB
:19:32. > :19:37.Sports and Halfords? Yes, there is a lot of despair on the High
:19:37. > :19:42.Streets. There are many retailers doing well. They are planning the
:19:42. > :19:48.right promotions, there are some winners out there, but at the same
:19:48. > :19:53.time a lot of the discretionary segments on retail, especially on
:19:53. > :19:57.the non-food side are struggling as the consumers are focusing on the
:19:57. > :20:01.essentials. And there was a lot of discounting
:20:01. > :20:06.brought? Absolutely it was the summer sales that saved the High
:20:06. > :20:10.Street in June. In volume, the sales were up. So that is a sign,
:20:10. > :20:14.people given the opportunity to go out shopping and to buy something
:20:14. > :20:18.on sale, they will take it, but people are being selective. They
:20:18. > :20:25.are cherry-picking the best deals and looking out for the best
:20:25. > :20:28.bargains. Now, the 141st Open Championship
:20:28. > :20:32.this morning got under way at Royal Lytham & St Anne's.
:20:32. > :20:37.Andy Swiss is there for us. Yes, welcome to Royal Lytham & St
:20:37. > :20:40.Anne's, where, believe it or not, we have had sunshine and a very
:20:40. > :20:45.enthralling Open Championship. All of the talk beforehand was about
:20:45. > :20:50.how difficult the course would be. Well, some of the best in the world
:20:50. > :20:55.are making it look rather east easy, including a certain Tiger Woods.
:20:55. > :21:00.Grey skies, qijy grass and sensible footware. They have been the
:21:00. > :21:04.hallmarks the sporting summer, but if fans were fearing the worst, for
:21:04. > :21:08.once they were to be surprised. It was calm, it was dry, for golf, it
:21:08. > :21:12.was almost perfect. COMMENTATOR: Tiger Woods! It is
:21:12. > :21:17.four years since Tiger Woods won a major, but he began the latest
:21:17. > :21:21.attempt with pin-point precision. COMMENTATOR: That is absolutely
:21:21. > :21:25.brilliant. A birdie at the first hole.
:21:25. > :21:34.Lee Westwood went befr, birdieing the first two holes.
:21:34. > :21:40.-- better. While the best of the lot went to
:21:40. > :21:45.another Brit ain, Paul Lawrie, the Open Champion of 1999. He set about
:21:45. > :21:51.rolling back the years in some style. It was not all fun and games,
:21:51. > :21:55.though, the defending champion, Darren Clarke needed a strimmer
:21:55. > :22:01.more than a golf club, although Graeme McDowell was faring rather
:22:01. > :22:05.better. Others were going nicely too,
:22:05. > :22:10.including Australia's Adam Scot. COMMENTATOR: He is in control.
:22:10. > :22:14.But all will be watching this man, Tiger Woods in ominously good touch
:22:14. > :22:20.after a tough few years, this may just be his week.
:22:20. > :22:24.Well, the latest that I can tell you is that Australia's Adam Scot
:22:25. > :22:28.leads the way, Tiger Woods is not far behind. Many more big names are
:22:28. > :22:34.out this afternoon, including Rory McIlroy, hoping to make the best of
:22:34. > :22:40.the great conditions. It is the first day of the First
:22:40. > :22:43.Test between England and South Africa at the Oval today.
:22:43. > :22:53.Whoever wins will be crowned the number one nation.
:22:53. > :22:56.Eng London have won the toss. Under the dark skies, the credentials for
:22:56. > :23:00.England were examined by a confidence South Africa. The self-
:23:00. > :23:04.belief was apparent. Querying the umpire's decision in the first over.
:23:04. > :23:10.They were right to ask. Andrew Strauss trapped by Morne Morkel.
:23:10. > :23:15.In came the usual steady hands of from the Jonathan Trott. But his
:23:15. > :23:21.runs came in a jittery fashion it was not getting easier. The world's
:23:21. > :23:26.best bowler came on, but England were not daunted
:23:26. > :23:32.Alistair Cook is not the type to be daunted. He is well-versed in
:23:32. > :23:37.weathering storms. The rain passed and so too the South African threat.
:23:37. > :23:43.The runs were arriving quicker and more convincingly. With both
:23:43. > :23:51.Jonathan Trott and Cook set on an unthreatening pitch, the tourists
:23:51. > :23:55.first day back at the Oval could be a long one. Eight men have been
:23:55. > :24:00.cleared of the murdered three friends during last summer's riots
:24:00. > :24:05.in Birmingham. Let's go to Birmingham now.
:24:05. > :24:09.Emotional scenes in the dock and the public gallery as those not
:24:09. > :24:12.guilty verdicts were read out to all three counts of murder.
:24:12. > :24:19.Emotional scenes, I would say from the defendants, obviously, and
:24:19. > :24:23.their family. The families of the three men who died, have remained
:24:23. > :24:27.calm and respectful as they have down throughout the trial. The
:24:27. > :24:33.judge said that the jury had decided that this was not a
:24:33. > :24:38.deliberate killing, there was no plot. The jury decided thiss with a
:24:38. > :24:42.terrible accident that occurred at a time of unprecedented civil
:24:42. > :24:46.disorder. He said it was important that the city and the communities
:24:46. > :24:49.involved remained calm. He said that surely, that we think what
:24:49. > :24:55.happened on the streets of Birmingham last August should never
:24:55. > :24:58.be repeated. We are waiting for the reactions to the verdicts from the
:24:58. > :25:01.families of the defendants themselves and indeed, from the
:25:01. > :25:07.families of the three men who died last August.
:25:07. > :25:11.Thank you very much. The first Victoria Cross to be
:25:11. > :25:17.awarded to a private in the First World War, has been sold for a
:25:17. > :25:22.figure of �267,000 to a private collector. It was awarded to
:25:22. > :25:27.Private Sidney Godley for holding off a German attack, single-
:25:27. > :25:32.handedly for two hours, despite being badly wounded.
:25:32. > :25:36.The highest declaration for valour in the face of the enemy, this is
:25:36. > :25:42.the Victoria Cross, awarded to Private Sidney Godley for single-
:25:42. > :25:46.handedly holding off the German army in the Devil's Bridge at Mons
:25:46. > :25:50.in August 1914. He single-handedly provided cover
:25:50. > :25:55.and fire for his battalion, for two hours, until he ran out of
:25:55. > :26:01.ammunition. By which time the lives of the rest
:26:01. > :26:06.of his battalion were saved. Private Sidney Godley, despite
:26:06. > :26:11.having a bullet in the back of his skull and shrapnel in the back kept
:26:11. > :26:14.firing for two hours, dismantled the gun and threw it into the canal
:26:14. > :26:21.to stop it from falling into enemy hands.
:26:21. > :26:25.The Victoria Cross is a special medal, it has been awarded some
:26:25. > :26:28.�1,356 times, remarkably, Private Sidney Godley survived his act of
:26:28. > :26:31.valour. It is very special, the first
:26:31. > :26:37.Victoria Cross awarded to a private in the First World War. The
:26:37. > :26:41.criteria is so strict. You basically have to forfeit your life
:26:41. > :26:46.or almost certainly would do unless you were lucky enough not to. It is
:26:47. > :26:52.as simple as that. Any interest at 130? That is bid, thank you. At the
:26:52. > :26:57.auction house the bidding was fast as the buyers bidded for the unique
:26:57. > :27:06.piece of history as Private Sidney Godley's Victoria Cross far out-
:27:06. > :27:10.stripped the estimate. The buyer will hoe -- loan or
:27:10. > :27:15.donate it to hopefully the Royal Fusiliers Museum. The story is
:27:15. > :27:19.unique and one fr the regiment's proudest moments.
:27:19. > :27:23.Now, she is one of the most photographed women in the world.
:27:23. > :27:29.Today, the Duchess of Cambridge went to see pictures of other
:27:29. > :27:34.people as she visited an expedition of those depicted in the Olympic
:27:34. > :27:38.Games. Kate was given a sneak preview of
:27:38. > :27:44.the show at London's National Portrait Gallery. It opens to the
:27:44. > :27:47.public later. Road To 2012 is a three-year project, showcasing
:27:47. > :27:51.Olympic and Paralympic athletes, as well as those working behind the
:27:51. > :27:55.scenes. Now, time for a look at the weather
:27:55. > :27:59.it can only get better. It is going to get better. Have
:27:59. > :28:03.faith it is looking better. The weather charts for the end of the
:28:03. > :28:07.week, I like the look of. A big area of high pressure.
:28:07. > :28:09.Hopefully that means scenes like Hopefully that means scenes like
:28:09. > :28:13.this. At long last the temperatures will
:28:13. > :28:18.be climbing from the doll drums and getting up to the promised land of
:28:18. > :28:22.the low to mid-20s. That is going to start feeling much
:28:22. > :28:27.more like summer. We are not there yet, though. Showers in the
:28:27. > :28:32.forecast for today. That is in amongst the sunshine. So a bit of a
:28:32. > :28:38.mix. Now, the showers, a band of thicker cloud in the Midlands and
:28:38. > :28:41.area, giving more rain. Heavy showers to the south, but across
:28:41. > :28:46.the south-west, no not a bad afternoon.
:28:46. > :28:51.One or two showers inland, that is about it. South Wales, a similar
:28:51. > :28:55.mix. North Wales, more in the way of cloud, Manchester starting to
:28:55. > :28:59.brighten up. You may catch a shower in Northern
:28:59. > :29:03.Ireland, but unlucky if you do. They will be well scattered.
:29:03. > :29:08.As they are in Scotland, but with the sunshine, the breeze is not
:29:08. > :29:11.helping the temperatures. Up to 1 Celsius. Similar in the north of
:29:11. > :29:16.England. Then down through the band of cloud
:29:16. > :29:22.across the Midlands into area. To the south of that we could see
:29:22. > :29:27.heavy downpours developing as the afternoon wares on.
:29:27. > :29:33.That may cause one or two problems. Through the evening, the showers
:29:33. > :29:37.start to move away. It is a largely drier night.
:29:37. > :29:42.Where we have the cloudy skies, the temperatures are in double figures.
:29:42. > :29:47.With the clear spells, the temperatureing nipping down to nine
:29:47. > :29:50.Celsius. Tomorrow, a largely cloudy start for the day. Showers to watch
:29:50. > :29:55.out for in the north-east of England and to the south-east. Most
:29:55. > :29:59.of the other areas are largely dry, a bit of sunshine, but the
:29:59. > :30:03.temperatureing struggling, but it means benign conditions at the Open
:30:03. > :30:08.through Friday and Saturday. More testing for the final round as the
:30:08. > :30:12.wind beginning to pick up, but Saturday, a fantastic day. The
:30:12. > :30:16.start of the weekend, light winds and loads of sunshine and the
:30:16. > :30:20.temperatures responding. Up to 21 Celsius, but feeling warmer because
:30:20. > :30:24.of the light winds. The winds pick up in the north-west on Sunday
:30:24. > :30:26.bringing rain to Scotland and Northern Ireland. Picking up the
:30:26. > :30:31.wind then at Royal Lytham & St Anne's, but coming to the south,
:30:31. > :30:36.look at that, 24 Celsius in places. That is set to continue into the
:30:36. > :30:39.early part of next week, especially in the south. A little bit of a
:30:39. > :30:41.hiccup further north. hiccup further north.
:30:41. > :30:44.We are getting there. Summer is nearly coming.