19/07/2012 BBC News at One

Fierce fighting in Syria. Activists in Damascus say they've suffered

the heaviest bombardment since the uprising began. Just 24 hours after

the bomb blast which killed three senior members of the Assad regime,

David Cameron says Syria's leader has run out of time. I've got a

clear message for President Assad, which is it is time for him to go.

It is time for transition in this regime. All change on the High

Street. Lloyds Banking Group is selling 632 branches to the co-

operative Bank. The Chancellor says it will create a new banking system

for Britain. Get a grip. MPs tell the government that chaos

surrounding G4S security blunders is undermining confidence in

Olympic planning. Caught on CCTV, the man believed to be the suicide

bomber, filled moments before he blew up an Israeli tourist bus in

Bulgaria. Under the hammer. The medals of the First World War hero

who, despite being shot in the head, single-handedly held of several

German divisions. Later on BBC London. The Met won't have to

provide officers to fill any shortfall in security guards during

And who shot this Russian banker six times in a London street?

Crimewatch are on the hunt for his Good afternoon. Activists in the

Syrian capital, Damascus, say they've suffered the heaviest

bombardment since the uprising began. Fighting between rebels and

forces loyal to President Assad has continued throughout the day, with

reports of clashes near government buildings. It follows the death

yesterday of three members of the President's in May Circle in a

report a bomb attack. -- inner circle. Ominous black smoke and

flames today in a suburb of Damascus. Evidence of a Syrian

government air strike, according to activists. But they say opposition

fighters are hitting back at the nerve centre of President Assad's

regime. The smoky it is reported the rising from an area housing the

government's Cabinet offices, though all this is unverified

footage. Amidst reports of military units being sent to the capital to

bolster the government, these pictures from last night. Armoured

vehicles from one Court Four -- from one convoy blazing after an

attack, presumably by rebels. Meanwhile, on Syrian state TV today,

a eulogy to on of the three top security chiefs killed apparently

in a bombing yesterday. But no sign of President Assad himself. He was

last seen in public on 9th July, when the UN peace envoy, Kobe and

and, of was visiting. Today again, David Cameron speaking in Kabul,

called for the Syrian President to step down. I have a clear message

for President Assad, which is it is time for him to go. It is time for

transition in this regime. Clearly, Britain doesn't support violence on

either side. But if there is and transition, it is quite clear there

is going to be civil war. fighting is fast to eclipse in

efforts to restore peace. The UN Security Council both this

afternoon on a resolution to extend the mandate of the UN monitor's

mission in Syria. But it may well fail to pass. The Norwegian general

heading permission admitted this morning it had become all but

irrelevant. What ever comes, we need very strong and efficient

leadership by the Security Council. That is needed for the sake of the

Syrian people, when we look at the violence going on every day around

us. Wherever all this is leading, it is hard to deny the conflict has

entered a new and dangerous phase. A battle for control of the

capital's streets. No one now in Syria is immune from its impact.

The question is, how long it will last and how far it could spread.

Our correspondent is in Beirut. What is the sense of what the

consequences of yesterday's action not going to be? A lot of people

are seeing it as possibly, when we look back from a historical

perspective, the tilt point at which things may begin to slide

much more rapidly. We've had 16 months of often stalemate conflict

with neither side apparently able to budge the other. Now things seem

to be moving a lot faster. Just in the last few days we've had

fighting in the capital itself. Now we've had the killing of three top

security men, one of them a brother in law of the President. That

brings the fire right into his own breakfast room, if you like. People

do feel that the momentum is not really gathering pace, far

outpacing the efforts of the Security Council to try and hold

the country back from what by anybody's definition is already a

civil war. We are waiting to see what happens in the streets of

Damascus. By using overwhelming force, the government may succeed

in calming the city for a while, but as experience in the outlying

suburbs have shown, time and again they cleared rebel fighters from

those suburbs, only to find them coming back as soon as they turn

their backs. The battle has begun. Even if it reaches a kind of

temporary halt, I am sure it will resume and things will continue to

move rapidly towards a conclusion, perhaps in weeks and rather than

the months that people thought. Here, almost 5 million Lloyds TSB

customers are to be transferred on to the books of the co-operative

Bank, after a deal was agreed over the sit -- over the sale of more

than 600 branches. Lloyds, which is 40 % taxpayer owned, was forced to

sell the branches to comply with European rules on state aid. It

will be a big change and hundreds of high streets, as Lloyds branches

go and the customer owned co- operative takes over. The plan is

to transfer customers, staff and computer systems across, lock,

stock and barrel Forster many of them are being caught by surprise.

I'm disappointed. They should have told us. I hope that it's going to

be good for everyone, but I think everyone would prefer law leaves.

Personally, I would. If you were given the choice... I would rather

stay the same. I'm hoping my current account... It's being sold,

as long as it doesn't make a difference to my savings, it

shouldn't be a problem. This is the name they will see over the door,

the TSB brand which the Co-op is buying with the business. It will

be a huge shift for millions of customers. The branches like this

one affected, it will be about a third of them, will see the name

Lloyds disappear from the front. They will still be able to govern

and operate their accounts, but the branding will change and they won't

be able to use any of the remaining Lloyds branches. It is all because

when banks were rescued in the financial crisis, and Lloyds are

swallowed up Halifax and Bank of Scotland, the European Commission

said it was too dominant. The Co-op is buying 632 branches, including

all those in Scotland and the Cheltenham and Gloucester brand.

That is 4.8 million customers for a price of �750 million, much lower

than expected. Already, Richard Branson has stepped into high-

street banking by taking over Northern Rock, as the government

tries to beef up competition. But this is the most significant move

yet. We see this as one of the biggest changes in retail banking

this country has seen for many years. The retail banking market

has been dominated by the big five banks. We are now going to be a

significant challenger. Customers affected will have the chance to

opt out of the move, but if they do want to stay with Lloyds they will

have to find another branch. MPs have urged the government to get a

grip on the security firm G4S, to ensure a smooth Olympic Games. The

Commons Public Accounts Committee says the company, whose staff

shortages have seen an extra 3500 soldiers drafted in, should be

fined. Chairman Margaret Hodge said the chaos have been predictable.

The failure of G4S to provide enough security guards for the

Olympics has brought down waves of criticism on the company, with the

chief-executive getting a mauling from MPs and forced to admit it had

been a humiliating shambles. But the company is not as involved in

the Olympics. It has hundreds of millions of pounds worth of

contracts around the country, providing support services for the

police and running a handful of prisons. The Labour leader wants

ministers to halt the use of G4S providing contract pending a review

and improving accountability. People want bobbies on the beat,

not G4S. What has happened with G4S is a warning sign. A warning sign

not just about one event in one city, a very important event, but a

warning sign about the privatisation of policing services

across this country. government's handling of the

Olympic contract is also facing severe criticism from a key

parliamentary committee, particularly over the cost, even

though the gains have come in under budget. Among other things, the

public accounts committee asks, why did that cost of providing security

at the Olympic venues nearly doubled between 2010 to 2011? Why

was there a sudden increase in the number of security staff the Games

organisers said they would need? And while it would G4S still

received substantial sums of money, even though it broke its contract?

This is nonsense. This has been the most transparent Olympics ever. I

think our most transparent public sector contract ever. The Public

Accounts Committee is there to check up on value-for-money. It is

worth remembering that this project came in under budget, 476 million

at the last count and the spent. Ministers are not ruling out a

wider review of G4S and its role in supplying services to the public

sector. But they will commit to nothing this side of the Olympics.

From September there will be a whole queue of committees ready to

pick over the organisation of these games. Our correspondent is in the

Olympic Park for us. Security not the only cloud on the Olympic

horizon. No, the issue of strikes as well. Throughout the planning

before the Games the organisers have sat down and played out

various scenarios. The threat of strikes was always high up as one

of the greatest risks. Today, confirmation that members of the

Aslef union on East Midlands trains are going to stage three days of

strikes as a potential strikes from the Border Agency, even maybe South

West Trains as well. I was talking to the Culture Secretary earlier,

adamant that all contingencies are ready and will be in place. But it

will make life difficult, even if there are contingencies in place,

if there are a number of strikes around the country. That is the

negative. On the positive, looking at where you are, it looks good and

it's all ready on time. It is ready. They have been some issues with

waterlogging but we are told what is improving and everything is

getting back to normal. The dry weather is going to play a major

factor in that. You can probably see various people milling around.

Most of those have been involved in opening ceremony rehearsals. Those

people you speak to who are involved are really confident it is

going to be a show which everybody who is British is going to be proud

of. The athletes and officials are now in place in the athletes

village. I'm told there were 250,000 Olympic tweets cent

yesterday. Everything is up and running and the games are almost

here upon us now. Four people have appeared before magistrates in

London charged with terrorism offences. Our correspondent is

outside Westminster magistrates' court for us.

Proceedings have just wrap up here. All four of the accused were

arrested at various locations in London earlier this month. Late

last night, police announced that they were setting charges against

them. Richard Dart, 29, from Ealing, has been charged with preparing for

acts of terrorism between 25th July, 1920 10 and July this year. As has

Imran Map mood, who is 21, from Northolt. Add another man from

Stratford, specifically the charges say they travelled to Pakistan for

terrorist training and to commit acts of terrorism abroad. It is

also said on the charge sheet that they are charged with advising and

cancelling the commission of terrorist acts by providing

information and other statistics about travel to Pakistan and

terrorist training there. The fourth member of the group, the

only woman involved, she is 22 and from East London. She wasn't

charged with that, she was charged with possession of documents likely

to be of use to terrorists, specifically some online

publications by Al-Qaeda. In court today, none of them spoke apart

from to confirm their names and addresses. There were no police

ended. The Senior District Judge said they would be remanded in

custody before returning to the Old Bailey for trial on July 31st. The

number of murders, manslaughter and infanticide recorded by police in

England and Wales has fallen to its lowest level in almost 30 years.

Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics also shows the

total number of crimes has fallen to below 4 million for the first

time since 1989. However, there was a 2% rise in so-called other theft

offences, such as pickpocketing, metal thefts and the stealing of

mobile phones. David Cameron has stressed Britain's continuing

commitment to Afghanistan once combat troops leave their in 2014.

The Prime Minister held talks with the Afghan President, Hamid Karzai,

in Kabul this morning. They signed an agreement to build an officers'

training facility, modelled on the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst.

The two leaders Bennett Pakistan's new Prime Minister. Bulgaria says

the bombing of an Israeli tourist bus was carried out by a male

suicide bomber who was carrying fake US documents. At least seven

people died and 34 were injured when the bus exploded at Burgas

airport by the Black Sea. Israel says it holds Iran responsible for

the attack and has promised a This is the man that the

authorities believe is the suicide bomber. Captured on CCTV inside the

airport terminal, minutes before he blew hitch up next to a bus,

murdering six people it happened late on Wednesday afternoon, an

explosion which sent a huge plume of smoke rising above the airport.

The target were Israeli tourists. Witnesses spoke of body parts

strewn all around. This survivor, struggled to describe the chaos as

people scram pbled -- scrabblebled to get away.

TRANSLATION: There is what a lot of fog. I could not get inside.

The Bulgarian authorities suggest at that they know who the bomber is.

We cannot point to the nationality or the real name of the person, but

there is strong evidence to suggest that the suicide bomber approached

the bus as people were boarding with their luggage and that he

exploded the device. A massive investigation has now

begun with Israeli teams flying in to help.

The Bulgarian authorities are not yet accusing any group or country

are involvement in this attack, but Israel has been clear, this, it

says, was the work of Hezbollah and Iran.

We are talking about a state whose modus operandi is these sorts of

terrorist attacks, that's the reason why we, along with the rest

of the Western world fighting terrorism, have it take them

seriously and respond force fully. Burgas is a popular destination for

Israeli tourists, but an attack of this kind is a huge shock for

Bulgaria. Officials here and in Israel insist there was no specific

information of an imminent terrorist threat. For many of theme

here at the time, many of them on holiday, it was a terrifying

experience. There was a loud bang. Like a clap

of hands. Very sudden. I didn't know what it was it was very loud.

It shook the building. When you saw it was a bomb, you think was there

another one? There a focus on helping the injured and getting

stranded passengers home. Condemnation of this attack has

come in from around the world. Many questions remain, not least, how

and when Israel will choose to respond.

The top story: Fierce fighting continues in

Syria's capital, Damascus, following the bomb attack that

killed three senior members of Bashar al-Assad's regime.

I am here at Royal Lytham & St Anne's where Tiger Woods has made

an ominous start on day one of the Open championship.

Later in the hour, all of the sport on the BBC News Channel.

Hopes of a recovery in retail sales were dashed by the poor weather

last month. The figures out show that they rose by 0 .1%, the

wettest June on record. According to the Office of National

Statistics, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee had little effect on the

High Street. Now, the figures are much worse

than anyone predicted? They are. A lot had pinned hope on the Jubilee

to lift the sentiment and get people out spending, but that did

not happen. If you look at the bigger picture, it is really the

rain that had a big impact. Preventing the people from going

out to the shops. We had the wettest June on record. So people

clearly did not want to go out and go shopping.

Some particular companies that look at dismal figures, Mothercare, JJB

Sports and Halfords? Yes, there is a lot of despair on the High

Streets. There are many retailers doing well. They are planning the

right promotions, there are some winners out there, but at the same

time a lot of the discretionary segments on retail, especially on

the non-food side are struggling as the consumers are focusing on the

essentials. And there was a lot of discounting

brought? Absolutely it was the summer sales that saved the High

Street in June. In volume, the sales were up. So that is a sign,

people given the opportunity to go out shopping and to buy something

on sale, they will take it, but people are being selective. They

are cherry-picking the best deals and looking out for the best

bargains. Now, the 141st Open Championship

this morning got under way at Royal Lytham & St Anne's.

Andy Swiss is there for us. Yes, welcome to Royal Lytham & St

Anne's, where, believe it or not, we have had sunshine and a very

enthralling Open Championship. All of the talk beforehand was about

how difficult the course would be. Well, some of the best in the world

are making it look rather east easy, including a certain Tiger Woods.

Grey skies, qijy grass and sensible footware. They have been the

hallmarks the sporting summer, but if fans were fearing the worst, for

once they were to be surprised. It was calm, it was dry, for golf, it

was almost perfect. COMMENTATOR: Tiger Woods! It is

four years since Tiger Woods won a major, but he began the latest

attempt with pin-point precision. COMMENTATOR: That is absolutely

brilliant. A birdie at the first hole.

Lee Westwood went befr, birdieing the first two holes.

-- better. While the best of the lot went to

another Brit ain, Paul Lawrie, the Open Champion of 1999. He set about

rolling back the years in some style. It was not all fun and games,

though, the defending champion, Darren Clarke needed a strimmer

more than a golf club, although Graeme McDowell was faring rather

better. Others were going nicely too,

including Australia's Adam Scot. COMMENTATOR: He is in control.

But all will be watching this man, Tiger Woods in ominously good touch

after a tough few years, this may just be his week.

Well, the latest that I can tell you is that Australia's Adam Scot

leads the way, Tiger Woods is not far behind. Many more big names are

out this afternoon, including Rory McIlroy, hoping to make the best of

the great conditions. It is the first day of the First

Test between England and South Africa at the Oval today.

Whoever wins will be crowned the number one nation.

Eng London have won the toss. Under the dark skies, the credentials for

England were examined by a confidence South Africa. The self-

belief was apparent. Querying the umpire's decision in the first over.

They were right to ask. Andrew Strauss trapped by Morne Morkel.

In came the usual steady hands of from the Jonathan Trott. But his

runs came in a jittery fashion it was not getting easier. The world's

best bowler came on, but England were not daunted

Alistair Cook is not the type to be daunted. He is well-versed in

weathering storms. The rain passed and so too the South African threat.

The runs were arriving quicker and more convincingly. With both

Jonathan Trott and Cook set on an unthreatening pitch, the tourists

first day back at the Oval could be a long one. Eight men have been

cleared of the murdered three friends during last summer's riots

in Birmingham. Let's go to Birmingham now.

Emotional scenes in the dock and the public gallery as those not

guilty verdicts were read out to all three counts of murder.

Emotional scenes, I would say from the defendants, obviously, and

their family. The families of the three men who died, have remained

calm and respectful as they have down throughout the trial. The

judge said that the jury had decided that this was not a

deliberate killing, there was no plot. The jury decided thiss with a

terrible accident that occurred at a time of unprecedented civil

disorder. He said it was important that the city and the communities

involved remained calm. He said that surely, that we think what

happened on the streets of Birmingham last August should never

be repeated. We are waiting for the reactions to the verdicts from the

families of the defendants themselves and indeed, from the

families of the three men who died last August.

Thank you very much. The first Victoria Cross to be

awarded to a private in the First World War, has been sold for a

figure of �267,000 to a private collector. It was awarded to

Private Sidney Godley for holding off a German attack, single-

handedly for two hours, despite being badly wounded.

The highest declaration for valour in the face of the enemy, this is

the Victoria Cross, awarded to Private Sidney Godley for single-

handedly holding off the German army in the Devil's Bridge at Mons

in August 1914. He single-handedly provided cover

and fire for his battalion, for two hours, until he ran out of

ammunition. By which time the lives of the rest

of his battalion were saved. Private Sidney Godley, despite

having a bullet in the back of his skull and shrapnel in the back kept

firing for two hours, dismantled the gun and threw it into the canal

to stop it from falling into enemy hands.

The Victoria Cross is a special medal, it has been awarded some

�1,356 times, remarkably, Private Sidney Godley survived his act of

valour. It is very special, the first

Victoria Cross awarded to a private in the First World War. The

criteria is so strict. You basically have to forfeit your life

or almost certainly would do unless you were lucky enough not to. It is

as simple as that. Any interest at 130? That is bid, thank you. At the

auction house the bidding was fast as the buyers bidded for the unique

piece of history as Private Sidney Godley's Victoria Cross far out-

stripped the estimate. The buyer will hoe -- loan or

donate it to hopefully the Royal Fusiliers Museum. The story is

unique and one fr the regiment's proudest moments.

Now, she is one of the most photographed women in the world.

Today, the Duchess of Cambridge went to see pictures of other

people as she visited an expedition of those depicted in the Olympic

Games. Kate was given a sneak preview of

the show at London's National Portrait Gallery. It opens to the

public later. Road To 2012 is a three-year project, showcasing

Olympic and Paralympic athletes, as well as those working behind the

scenes. Now, time for a look at the weather

it can only get better. It is going to get better. Have

faith it is looking better. The weather charts for the end of the

week, I like the look of. A big area of high pressure.

Hopefully that means scenes like Hopefully that means scenes like

this. At long last the temperatures will

be climbing from the doll drums and getting up to the promised land of

the low to mid-20s. That is going to start feeling much

more like summer. We are not there yet, though. Showers in the

forecast for today. That is in amongst the sunshine. So a bit of a

mix. Now, the showers, a band of thicker cloud in the Midlands and

area, giving more rain. Heavy showers to the south, but across

the south-west, no not a bad afternoon.

One or two showers inland, that is about it. South Wales, a similar

mix. North Wales, more in the way of cloud, Manchester starting to

brighten up. You may catch a shower in Northern

Ireland, but unlucky if you do. They will be well scattered.

As they are in Scotland, but with the sunshine, the breeze is not

helping the temperatures. Up to 1 Celsius. Similar in the north of

England. Then down through the band of cloud

across the Midlands into area. To the south of that we could see

heavy downpours developing as the afternoon wares on.

That may cause one or two problems. Through the evening, the showers

start to move away. It is a largely drier night.

Where we have the cloudy skies, the temperatures are in double figures.

With the clear spells, the temperatureing nipping down to nine

Celsius. Tomorrow, a largely cloudy start for the day. Showers to watch

out for in the north-east of England and to the south-east. Most

of the other areas are largely dry, a bit of sunshine, but the

temperatureing struggling, but it means benign conditions at the Open

through Friday and Saturday. More testing for the final round as the

wind beginning to pick up, but Saturday, a fantastic day. The

start of the weekend, light winds and loads of sunshine and the

temperatures responding. Up to 21 Celsius, but feeling warmer because

of the light winds. The winds pick up in the north-west on Sunday

bringing rain to Scotland and Northern Ireland. Picking up the

wind then at Royal Lytham & St Anne's, but coming to the south,

look at that, 24 Celsius in places. That is set to continue into the

early part of next week, especially in the south. A little bit of a

hiccup further north. hiccup further north.

We are getting there. Summer is nearly coming.