:00:11. > :00:13.The Prime Minister is challenged to decide if he is man or mouse on the
:00:13. > :00:16.issue of a third runway at Heathrow Airport.
:00:16. > :00:18.A senior Conservative MP urges David Cameron to act, saying the
:00:18. > :00:27.expansion is needed to boost the economy and the environmental
:00:27. > :00:30.objections are disappearing. Young people who smoke cannabis run
:00:30. > :00:39.the risk of a "significant and irreversible" reduction in their IQ
:00:39. > :00:42.according to a major study. The search resumes for the body of
:00:42. > :00:50.a father who's thought to have drowned in a canoeing accident in
:00:50. > :00:53.which his two sons and another child died.
:00:53. > :00:55.Bearing down on New Orleans - millions prepare for the arrival of
:00:55. > :01:00.tropical storm Isaac due to hit land later today.
:01:00. > :01:03.And on the eve of the Paralympics, we'll be at Stoke Mandeville
:01:03. > :01:06.Hospital where it all began more than 60 years ago. On BBC London on
:01:06. > :01:10.the day before the Paralympics, passenger groups call for a
:01:10. > :01:20.transport legacy for disabled users, and a new scheme to stop London's
:01:20. > :01:32.
:01:32. > :01:35.young people going straight from Good afternoon, and welcome to the
:01:35. > :01:39.BBC News at 1.00pm. David Cameron came under pressure today to change
:01:39. > :01:41.his mind and back a third runway at Heathrow Airport. A senior
:01:41. > :01:45.Conservative and former Environment Minister Tim Yeo challenged the
:01:45. > :01:50.Prime Minister to decide whether he was a "man or a mouse" over the
:01:50. > :01:58.expansion. So far, though, the Government shows no sign of budging.
:01:58. > :02:02.Our political correspondent Iain Watson reports. The Prime Minister
:02:02. > :02:07.has been buffeted by a period of political turbulence. The economy
:02:07. > :02:10.is back in recession. He's behind in the polls, and sop of his
:02:10. > :02:17.backbenchers are drawing restless trying to force him to change
:02:17. > :02:22.course. Before the election David Cameron said no if's, no, but's, no
:02:22. > :02:26.third runway at Heathrow Airport but now a Conservative backbencher
:02:26. > :02:31.and environmental campaigner is urging him to leave this commitment
:02:31. > :02:41.behind. Writing in a Conservative publication, the Conservative MP
:02:41. > :02:42.
:02:42. > :02:45.I think there is a terrific turnt now for him to show strong
:02:45. > :02:49.leadership on the front and to set out clearly what his vision of
:02:49. > :02:57.Britain is going to be in 2020. I think we'd like some clarity on
:02:57. > :03:02.that. The Transport Secretary was
:03:02. > :03:06.extolling the -- she opposes the third runway and says the Prime
:03:06. > :03:10.Minister won't backtrack either. It's clear cut we have a coalition
:03:10. > :03:13.agreement not to have a third runway we're planning to stick to.
:03:13. > :03:17.There is cross-party consensus. Even the Labour Party have accepted
:03:17. > :03:21.their push for a third runway was wrong. All of this isn't just a
:03:21. > :03:24.debate about transport policy. Here at Westminster Conservative
:03:25. > :03:32.backbenchers have been pushing the Government to do more to boost
:03:32. > :03:37.economic growth. Some see the runway as a powerful symbol of the
:03:37. > :03:40.Government's ability to not show Britain is open to business.
:03:40. > :03:44.This MP says the Government shouldn't back a third runway in
:03:44. > :03:48.this Parliament but should say what they'd do instead. For the sake of
:03:48. > :03:51.the country and the economy, we need a long-term answer to our
:03:51. > :03:55.chronic shortage of airport capacity. Let's hope they come up
:03:55. > :03:58.with a good answer soon. David Cameron is likely to reshuffle his
:03:58. > :04:01.team soon despite the speculation his Chancellor's job is safe. Some
:04:01. > :04:06.Conservatives say it's not a change of personnel that's needed but
:04:06. > :04:10.change of policy, firmer plans to boost the economy they say will
:04:10. > :04:12.also boost the party's political fortunes.
:04:12. > :04:15.Let's speak to our political correspondent Robin Brant who has
:04:15. > :04:19.been with the Transport Secretary in Boxley in Kent on this Heathrow
:04:19. > :04:22.issue. Firstly, on the Heathrow issue, there is a coalition
:04:22. > :04:24.agreement which rules out any expansion before the next election.
:04:24. > :04:29.Could the economic and environmental arguments start to
:04:29. > :04:33.tip the balance? From her point of view, no. Justine
:04:33. > :04:37.Greening came here to kept today to talk about high-speed rail, be it
:04:37. > :04:41.is planes, not trains, that are dominating. What's interesting in
:04:41. > :04:45.her defence of her position, which is no third runway, she's chosen to
:04:45. > :04:48.make it about an issue of trust for this Government and specifically
:04:48. > :04:54.personally for the Prime Minister when in that interview she said he
:04:54. > :04:58.has made a decision, a pledge on no third runway. He articulated that
:04:58. > :05:02.in the campaign, and he'll stick to it, so for her it's not just about
:05:02. > :05:07.the broader issue of a third runway. It's about trust in politicians,
:05:07. > :05:10.trust in David Cameron, but in the last hour, we see fresh evidence of
:05:10. > :05:14.the pressure the Government is under. The Institute of Directors
:05:14. > :05:17.say the Government must stop delaying, so there is pressure from
:05:18. > :05:21.outside on very senior members of the Government to change tact, but
:05:21. > :05:27.a U-turn on Heathrow would be very, very significant. Also, there is
:05:27. > :05:30.pressure on the Government to allow this company FirstGroup ownership
:05:30. > :05:36.of Britain's biggest railway. I mean, I think what's clear this
:05:36. > :05:39.morning is there is going to be no delay despite pressure from Virgin,
:05:39. > :05:44.Richard Branson on Parliament to at least have some scrutiny over the
:05:44. > :05:48.deal it's huge deal - 13 years. It could mean �1 billion a year
:05:48. > :05:52.possibly for the Government in revenue. There has been pressure
:05:52. > :05:56.from Virgin, who have lost out on the deal, for Parliament to at
:05:56. > :05:58.least juteinise it. Justine Greening saying no deal. They'll
:05:59. > :06:08.push ahead. They believe the process has been transparent. They
:06:09. > :06:10.
:06:10. > :06:13.believe it has been a good deal for passengers but from what I fruns
:06:13. > :06:15.Virgin, they'll head to the courts and seek some sort of review.
:06:15. > :06:17.you. Young people who smoke cannabis
:06:17. > :06:20.regularly are risking permanent damage to their intelligence and
:06:20. > :06:23.memory. That's the conclusion of a study of more than a thousand
:06:23. > :06:26.people which found persistent cannabis users before the age of 18
:06:26. > :06:28.suffered an eight-point drop in their IQ, on average, by the time
:06:28. > :06:30.they were adults. Our health correspondent Dominic Hughes
:06:30. > :06:37.reports. For some years heavy cannabis use
:06:37. > :06:39.has been linked to an increase to developing mental illnesses like
:06:39. > :06:43.schizophrenia but now an international team of researchers
:06:43. > :06:49.found that young people who smoke it regularly, more than four times
:06:49. > :06:52.a week, risk a reduction in IQ, the way intelligence is measured. For
:06:52. > :06:57.this significant study into cannabis and IQ, researchers
:06:57. > :07:01.followed the lives of a thousand people from Dunedin in New Zealand
:07:01. > :07:07.over 20 years. They assessed them as children then reinterviewed them
:07:07. > :07:12.repeatedly up to the age of 38. Those who persistently used
:07:12. > :07:17.cannabis, up to 5% of those involved in the study, suffered a
:07:17. > :07:21.decline in their IQ. Of those we studied, 75% of them used cannabis
:07:22. > :07:25.at some point, and most of those people had no difficulty with their
:07:25. > :07:30.cognitive abilities. It was only the smaller group, about 5% of the
:07:30. > :07:33.population, who started using cannabis regularly - most days a
:07:33. > :07:37.week when they were teenagers, who showed that cognitive decline.
:07:37. > :07:42.Around ten, two, million people in the UK are thought to smoke
:07:42. > :07:46.cannabis. Half of all 16 to 29- year-olds have tried it at least
:07:46. > :07:51.once. One former heavy user says young people need to be aware of
:07:51. > :07:54.the risks that go along with heavy cannabis use. I think it's just
:07:55. > :07:59.really another danger sign for any young person that's thinking of
:07:59. > :08:04.taking cannabis that not only is it illegal, not only is it bad for
:08:04. > :08:07.your health and can cause psychosis, but it can also affect your IQ as
:08:07. > :08:12.well, so the more messages we can get out there just warning people
:08:12. > :08:16.of the dangers of it, then hopefully the happier lives people
:08:16. > :08:22.will lead. It is the most widely used illegal drug in the United
:08:22. > :08:28.Kingdom, but this study shows those who smoke large quantities while
:08:28. > :08:33.they're still adolescents are putting their, qui, at risk, and
:08:33. > :08:36.there is nothing to say that that IQ can be restored.
:08:36. > :08:40.Police are continuing to search the shoreline of Loch Gairloch for a
:08:40. > :08:42.man who's presumed to have drowned alongside his two young sons in a
:08:42. > :08:45.canoeing accident. Ewen Beaton is missing, presumed dead. The bodies
:08:45. > :08:48.of his sons, Ewen and Jamie, were found after their canoe overturned.
:08:48. > :08:56.A little girl aged five, Gracie Mackay, died yesterday in hospital.
:08:56. > :08:59.James Cook reports. The pictures are now all the more
:08:59. > :09:03.precious - eight-year-old Callie Mackay survived Sunday's accident
:09:03. > :09:07.but her little sister Gracie Mackay, who was five, did not. She was
:09:08. > :09:12.pulled from the water face down and unconscious and died in hospital
:09:12. > :09:17.yesterday. Ewen Beaton, who was five, and his little brother Jamie,
:09:17. > :09:22.who was two, also died when the Canadian canoe capsised in a flat
:09:22. > :09:30.calm. Their father, also Ewen, is still missing. On the windy shores
:09:30. > :09:37.of Gairloch, they're still searching for Ewen Beaton, V, but
:09:37. > :09:40.any sense of urgency has faded. They're combing the coastline
:09:40. > :09:43.looking for the body which may have been washed north by the strong
:09:43. > :09:47.currents. It's devastating for the families involved, and no words can
:09:47. > :09:52.describe what they'll be experiencing right now. The Beatons
:09:52. > :09:55.are well known in Beauly to the west of Inverness where the young
:09:55. > :09:59.boy's grandfather is the local postman. The tragedy has shaken
:09:59. > :10:06.this little town. Unbelievable that a tragedy like this could happen.
:10:06. > :10:10.It's a beautiful beach. It's a safe beach normally - been there on many
:10:10. > :10:13.occasions. Police are giving few details about exactly what happened
:10:14. > :10:20.in these waters, but it seems clear the life jackets the children were
:10:20. > :10:23.wearing did not do enough to keep their heads above water when the
:10:23. > :10:28.canoe capsised. A full inquiry will of course follow, but it can bring
:10:28. > :10:31.no solace to the families. The mother of an American activist
:10:31. > :10:34.who was crushed to death by an Israeli army bulldozer in Gaza has
:10:34. > :10:36.said she's "deeply saddened" and troubled to have lost a
:10:36. > :10:39.compensation claim. A court rejected the family's claim
:10:39. > :10:41.that Israel was to blame for Rachel Corrie's death nine years ago
:10:41. > :10:51.during a demonstration. Jon Donnision reports from the court in
:10:51. > :10:53.
:10:53. > :10:57.Haifa. Rachel Corrie on the day she died - a human shield trying to
:10:57. > :11:02.stop the Israeli Army from demolishing Palestinian property in
:11:02. > :11:07.Gaza. The tactics seen here being used by other pro-Palestinian
:11:07. > :11:13.activists was clearly risky. For Rachel Corrie, it cost her her life,
:11:13. > :11:17.crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer. Nine years later, her
:11:17. > :11:22.parents, Cindy and Craig, arrived in court today looking for what
:11:22. > :11:26.they could call justice - seeking to sue the Israeli Ministry of
:11:26. > :11:31.Justice -- Defence for damages. They were to be disappointed. The
:11:31. > :11:34.judge ruled the 23-year-old's death was an accident, that the bulldozer
:11:34. > :11:39.driver hadn't seen her and that she'd taken a risk going into what
:11:39. > :11:43.was in effect a war zone. The judge said the activists were protecting
:11:43. > :11:47.terrorists, Palestinian militants, operating in the area. For Rachel
:11:47. > :11:52.Corrie's family, tough to accept. think it's outrageous. I think we
:11:52. > :11:55.brought a lot of material to court, a lot of evidence, and of course,
:11:55. > :11:59.we demanded that the Israeli Government bring evidence to court,
:11:59. > :12:04.and some of that they simply did not bring, that you can go out on
:12:04. > :12:07.television and to a cinema-tech and find information that the Israeli
:12:07. > :12:12.Government said did not exist. family have already spent hundreds
:12:12. > :12:16.of thousands of dollars fighting the case, but their struggle is not
:12:16. > :12:21.over. They've already said they'll appeal today's ruling to Israel's
:12:21. > :12:23.Supreme Court. New Orleans is bracing itself for
:12:23. > :12:25.another hurricane exactly seven years after Hurricane Katrina
:12:26. > :12:28.brought devastation to the city. Tropical Storm Isaac is gathering
:12:29. > :12:32.strength as it heads across the Gulf of Mexico, and authorities say
:12:32. > :12:36.they expect it to become a hurricane by the time it hits land
:12:36. > :12:39.later today or tomorrow. Already, President Obama has declared a
:12:39. > :12:49.state of emergency in Louisiana. Alastair Leithead reports from New
:12:49. > :12:52.
:12:52. > :12:58.They know how to prepare for storms here in New Orleans. It was seven
:12:58. > :13:03.years to the day that people were doing a similar thing, as Hurricane
:13:03. > :13:07.Katrina was approaching across the Gulf of Mexico. The city was
:13:07. > :13:14.woefully unprepared back then. The levies, which were built to protect
:13:14. > :13:18.the people, failed. Much of the city flooded. More than 1,800 died
:13:18. > :13:22.here and along the Gulf coast. Since then, the levies very
:13:22. > :13:26.strengthened. The storm is not expected to be as powerful, but
:13:26. > :13:34.they were still putting the finishing touches to the city's
:13:34. > :13:36.defence as Isaac approached. Isaac is to00 miles across and heading at
:13:36. > :13:43.10mph strengthening over the warm Gulf of Mexico waters. It's
:13:43. > :13:47.expected to strike land somewhere along the coast as a category 2
:13:47. > :13:51.hurricane with winds two-thirds the strength of Hurricane Katrina.
:13:51. > :13:55.We're staged. We're battle ready. We're in battle rhythm, and we'll
:13:56. > :14:00.be prepared to handle what comes our way. In Mississippi, the calm
:14:00. > :14:04.was deceptive. The winds will soon pick up as the squalls reach the
:14:04. > :14:09.coast but a surge in the tide could also cause wide-spread flooding,
:14:09. > :14:13.and in Alabama, people were stocking up and preparing to batten
:14:13. > :14:17.down for the storm. Some were leaving, but many have decided to
:14:17. > :14:20.sit this one out and hope for the best.
:14:20. > :14:23.The widow of Tony Nicklinson, who died last week days after he lost a
:14:23. > :14:26.legal battle to change the laws on euthanasia, says she hopes his
:14:26. > :14:29.campaign will continue. Jane Nicklinson said it was a shame her
:14:29. > :14:39.husband, who had locked-in syndrome after a devastating stroke, had not
:14:39. > :14:42.
:14:42. > :14:46.been able to die the way he had He had described his life as a
:14:46. > :14:51.living nightmare. The devastation felt by Tony nick
:14:51. > :14:55.Lyn son when he lost the battle to allow a doctor to end his life was
:14:55. > :15:01.clear. After fighting for years, this was
:15:01. > :15:05.the point his wife Jane believes he gave up. Within a week, he died of
:15:05. > :15:09.pneumonia after refusing to eat. He was just absolutely devastated.
:15:09. > :15:12.I hadn't realised he was that devastated quite honestly, and it
:15:12. > :15:16.was the day after that he said to me that the fight had just gone. He
:15:16. > :15:21.said he couldn't take it any more. Before his stroke, he was the
:15:21. > :15:26.husband and father who had lived life to the full. Once ill, Jane
:15:26. > :15:30.supported Tony's legal case to allow a doctor to help him to die.
:15:30. > :15:35.That currently constitutes murder. Although they failed, she believes
:15:35. > :15:40.their work wasn't in vain. Even though we didn't win, you know,
:15:40. > :15:45.all the hard work for the case has been done and I hope that at some
:15:45. > :15:49.point someone will come forward and carry on with what Tony started.
:15:49. > :15:55.The campaign may not be over, but it's also not without opponents.
:15:55. > :16:04.Many are against the role a doctor would have played in helping Tony
:16:04. > :16:08.to die. One of the last things he said to me was, I am already dead,
:16:08. > :16:12.don't mourn for me. It's true, we did. I think it was in some
:16:12. > :16:16.respects seven years ago was harder, than this because we did lose the
:16:16. > :16:21.old Tony. Although Tony wasn't legally
:16:21. > :16:31.allowed to end his life on his own terms, his case has reignited the
:16:31. > :16:31.
:16:31. > :16:36.debate over assisted suicide. Our top story: The Prime Minister
:16:36. > :16:45.is challenged to decide if he is man or mouse, on the issue of a
:16:45. > :16:49.third runway at Heathrow Airport. Coming up: Escaping a country of
:16:49. > :16:53.conflict for a world of harmony. We meet Iraq's National Youth
:16:53. > :16:57.Orchestra. Later on BBC London: A major search
:16:57. > :17:02.takes place for a man from Romford who's gone missing after going to
:17:02. > :17:05.look for help during a camping trip in South Wales. And how amputee
:17:05. > :17:14.footballers in Hackney are trying to get their sport recognised at
:17:14. > :17:22.The most detailed photos of Mars ever taken have been released by
:17:22. > :17:24.NASA. They were shot by the Curiosity Rover and show a 3-mile
:17:24. > :17:27.high mountain where scientists plan to search for evidence that the
:17:27. > :17:31.planet once supported life. Our science correspondent Pallab Ghosh
:17:31. > :17:41.reports. These are the most detailed
:17:41. > :17:45.
:17:45. > :17:49.pictures of Mars ever seen. Coming It's six miles away, but using its
:17:49. > :17:54.advanced high definition camera, NASA engineers are able to zoom in
:17:54. > :17:58.and pick out areas which they think will be of greatest scientific
:17:58. > :18:04.interest. But there's plenty of science to do in the meantime.
:18:04. > :18:08.First, to sample the martial air. We are looking forward to getting
:18:08. > :18:12.our first sniff of Mars atmosphere and learning more about the history
:18:12. > :18:17.of Mars, what the atmosphere is telling us with regard to its
:18:17. > :18:22.composition. What is of huge interest are these layers. The
:18:22. > :18:28.lower down they go the further back in time they are. These darker
:18:28. > :18:38.areas go back billions of years. By analysing this rock they'll be able
:18:38. > :18:41.
:18:41. > :18:50.to recreate what Mars was like in They play the first ever voice
:18:50. > :18:53.spoken on Mars. This is the administrator speaking to you...
:18:54. > :18:59.NASA hopes children will be inspired by these images and one
:18:59. > :19:02.day take the next giant leap for mankind.
:19:02. > :19:07.As we continue the mission we hope the words of the administrator will
:19:07. > :19:10.be an inspiration to someone alive today who will become the first to
:19:10. > :19:14.stand upon the surface of Mars. Like the great Neil Armstrong,
:19:14. > :19:17.they'll be able to speak allowed in first person at that point of the
:19:18. > :19:22.next giant leap in human exploration. Economic reality
:19:22. > :19:27.suggests that the likelihood of a person setting foot on Mars is
:19:27. > :19:30.highly unlikely. But many at NASA have been inspired again by Neil
:19:30. > :19:40.Armstrong's achievement and his message to the world that all
:19:40. > :19:42.
:19:42. > :19:44.things are possible. The opening ceremony of the London
:19:44. > :19:47.2012 Paralympics takes place tomorrow. Tonight, the torch relay
:19:47. > :19:50.will set off from Stoke Mandeville Hospital, the Games' spiritual home
:19:50. > :19:53.and the place where they first began more than 60 years ago. From
:19:53. > :19:56.the most humble of beginnings the Games have grown into one of the
:19:56. > :19:58.largest sporting spectacles and, in terms of athlete numbers, it's
:19:58. > :20:01.second only to the Olympics. John Maguire reports.
:20:01. > :20:07.1948, and the eyes or in fact the ears of the world are on the
:20:07. > :20:10.Olympic opening ceremony in London. But 40 miles away in a
:20:10. > :20:14.Buckinghamshire village, 16 military veterans in wheelchairs
:20:14. > :20:21.compete in what's described as a hospital sports day. The
:20:21. > :20:27.paralympics is born. Its birthplace, the Stoke
:20:27. > :20:30.Mandeville spinal unit and its father, Professor Sir Ludwig
:20:30. > :20:36.Guttmann who came to the UK to escape the Nazi regime. I haven't
:20:36. > :20:41.much hope. Now, look here, cut that out... His bedside manner may fall
:20:41. > :20:45.short of modern expectations, but he believed in the power of sport
:20:45. > :20:55.to rehabilitate, not just physically, but emotionally and
:20:55. > :21:06.
:21:06. > :21:11.socially. To put it quite clearly, to transform helpless individuals,
:21:11. > :21:16.severely disabled. The Games grew and grew with competitors from
:21:16. > :21:22.overseas travelling there every year. Then, in Rome, 1960, for the
:21:22. > :21:26.first time they followed the Olympics, the parallel games, the
:21:26. > :21:29.paralympics as we know them today were up and running. At the
:21:29. > :21:35.hospital physiotherapy and sport remain vital parts of patient
:21:35. > :21:42.treatment. When I got here I was flat on a bed, I hadn't been out of
:21:42. > :21:46.bed in four months. Now I am starting playing sport. Starting to
:21:46. > :21:51.live my life again basically. elite sport provides extra
:21:51. > :22:01.inspiration. This place is amazing. I can't describe how amazing this
:22:01. > :22:05.
:22:05. > :22:15.place is. Maybe I would like to be in the paralympics one time and
:22:15. > :22:18.
:22:18. > :22:21.shoot, I would like to try shooting. As the paralympics, both Stoke
:22:21. > :22:26.Mandeville and the Games it created prepare for another chapter.
:22:26. > :22:29.work we do is to try and change the way people think and feel about
:22:29. > :22:33.disability. So in some ways we are looking for transformation but
:22:33. > :22:36.through the medium of sport. We feel that we are in a very
:22:36. > :22:40.privileged position with such a talented team and such inspiring
:22:40. > :22:43.images that British population will be seeing over the next two to
:22:43. > :22:48.three weeks, that we really feel that we can start to make inroads
:22:48. > :22:53.on that ambition. It is ambition, vision,
:22:53. > :23:03.determination that's driven the transformation from a small
:23:03. > :23:08.
:23:08. > :23:11.hospital sports day, to one of the More than 4,000 Paralympic athletes
:23:11. > :23:14.have been arriving in London ahead of Wednesday's opening ceremony.
:23:14. > :23:16.Among them are many who've been injured in conflicts around the
:23:16. > :23:19.world, including British troops, and there's one athlete from
:23:19. > :23:29.Afghanistan - a country where thousands of civilians are hurt in
:23:29. > :23:31.
:23:31. > :23:34.attacks and land mines each year. Aleem Maqbool reports from Kabul.
:23:34. > :23:39.Fahim Rahimi has made it to the Olympics but shouldered his burdens
:23:39. > :23:43.on his own. This weightlifter has no coach, no financial support and
:23:43. > :23:48.can only use the gym in Kabul because they don't charge him.
:23:48. > :23:52.He had his leg blown off by a mine in Afghanistan's civil war. There
:23:52. > :23:55.are no sophisticated prosthetics here, just the plastic limb he was
:23:55. > :23:59.given by the Red Cross. TRANSLATION:
:23:59. > :24:03.Every young person hopes they'll do something for their country. I want
:24:03. > :24:10.to fly the Afghan flag all over the world. It's a big thing for to us
:24:10. > :24:14.go to the Olympics. But he is the only athlete who
:24:14. > :24:21.represents Afghanistan and is one success story in a country where
:24:21. > :24:26.there are so many sad tales. This is how amputees can end up
:24:26. > :24:36.here, as beggars on the streets and thanks to war, their numbers are
:24:36. > :24:36.
:24:36. > :24:42.being added to all the time. The Red Cross factory is producing
:24:42. > :24:45.a staggering 15,000 artificial limbs a year. It has become a
:24:45. > :24:49.lifeline for so many. In Afghanistan now there are thought
:24:49. > :24:53.to be tens of thousands of people who have been made disabled by many
:24:53. > :24:57.years of conflict. These people are just learning to use their new
:24:57. > :25:03.prosthetic limbs, but of course they're going to need care in some
:25:03. > :25:07.form or another for the rest of their lives.
:25:07. > :25:10.But sport is starting to be seen as a factor that could really make a
:25:10. > :25:16.difference for Afghanistan's disabled. They were not convinced
:25:16. > :25:21.to be able to do anything, rather than just dragging around, moving
:25:21. > :25:28.around. Now they have seen, they understood they can be players,
:25:28. > :25:33.they can be champions. They can be heroes in a way. Fahim says he will
:25:33. > :25:42.only be happy with a medal in London. But he is already an
:25:42. > :25:45.inspiration to so many in Afghanistan.
:25:45. > :25:48.And, in another country fractured by conflict, there is harmony in
:25:48. > :25:51.the form of a National Youth Orchestra - conceived in Iraq four
:25:51. > :25:54.years ago by a teenager who wanted an escape from the world of car
:25:54. > :25:59.bombs and chaos on the country's streets. Most of its members taught
:25:59. > :26:01.themselves to play, using the internet as a guide. Now they're in
:26:01. > :26:03.Britain for their first concerts, performing alongside the world
:26:03. > :26:13.famous cellist Julian Lloyd Webber. Our arts correspondent David
:26:13. > :26:16.
:26:16. > :26:22.Sillito went to meet them. My name is Tuqa, I am a cellist.
:26:22. > :26:26.Teenagers can get up to all sorts of forbidden things in secret. Tuqa
:26:26. > :26:35.learned the cello. A girl playing a western instrument and growing up
:26:35. > :26:40.in Baghdad, she lived in fear. I first started it was very hard
:26:40. > :26:46.for a girl to play music. My house was very far from my school and the
:26:46. > :26:53.cello case is very big so people would always notice what I was
:26:53. > :27:00.carrying. Zuhal also grew newspaper Baghdad. When Britain and America
:27:00. > :27:08.invaded, that was the end of music lessons. But Zuhal persevered.
:27:08. > :27:15.just downloaded music, sheet music, and I practised and played.
:27:15. > :27:25.teacher? No teacher. And now, nine years on, Zuhal has formed an
:27:25. > :27:26.
:27:26. > :27:32.orchestra. Auditions are sent in on Because learning an instrument is
:27:32. > :27:39.difficult enough, but learning an instrument in Iraq over the last
:27:39. > :27:42.ten years, you can only begin to understand the problems.
:27:42. > :27:46.Some of them discovered their instruments by watching something
:27:46. > :27:48.on the television and falling in love with it. They had to ask their
:27:48. > :27:58.friends, what's the name of that instrument? Then they somehow got
:27:58. > :28:06.hold of one, usually a pretty poor instrument, and they downloaded the
:28:06. > :28:10.fingering and taught themselves thousand play -- how to play.
:28:10. > :28:20.a flute player. How long have you been playing? Five years. Have you
:28:20. > :28:21.
:28:21. > :28:31.ever had a teacher? No. I am a double bass player. Again, no
:28:31. > :28:36.lessons. He just watched videos on... YouTube. At home.
:28:36. > :28:41.And then during a ten-minute break in rehearsals it's suddenly party
:28:41. > :28:48.time. Too many here grew up hidden indoors, fearful, so this is a
:28:49. > :28:58.chance for friends, a little fun, and to do what they love. They
:28:58. > :29:01.It's time to take to you the weather now with Chris. We are
:29:01. > :29:05.going to start with an update on tropical storm Isaac.
:29:05. > :29:10.We are, Kate. Yes Isaac has been leaving a trail of destruction as
:29:10. > :29:13.it's moved across the Caribbean. Now it's situated in the Gulf of
:29:13. > :29:16.Mexico and I have seen an eye develop in that storm which tells
:29:16. > :29:19.me it's undergoing weak strengthening so it's probably
:29:19. > :29:22.going to reach hurricane status this afternoon. The track of that
:29:22. > :29:25.storm then moves north and west and the centre of the storm will
:29:25. > :29:29.probably come on shore just to the west of New Orleans but that
:29:29. > :29:33.doesn't mean it's out of the firing line because it's the eastern side
:29:34. > :29:39.of storms or hurricanes we get significant storm surges driven
:29:39. > :29:45.onshore by powerful winds. For today, after the drenching many
:29:45. > :29:49.of us endured during Monday, today it couldn't be more different. For
:29:49. > :29:52.most of us we are looking at a fine day with prolonged spells of
:29:52. > :29:55.sunshine. I say most, there are one or two showers today and the
:29:55. > :29:59.showers have merged together to give hrepgier -- lengthier
:29:59. > :30:03.downpours across Scotland, particularly around the Highlands.
:30:03. > :30:07.Elsewhere in Scotland, it should stay mainly dry. A few fleeting
:30:07. > :30:17.showers are possible for Northern Ireland, for western parts of of
:30:17. > :30:20.
:30:20. > :30:23.England and Wales. You will be unlucky if you do see one of them.
:30:23. > :30:26.Overnight strengthening winds will blow the next system in off the
:30:26. > :30:28.Atlantic with a band of rain crossing Northern Ireland and
:30:28. > :30:32.pushing into Scotland and western parts of England and Wales
:30:32. > :30:36.overnight. That leaves the south- east of England dry with prolonged
:30:36. > :30:39.clear spells. For Wednesday morning not a bad start to the day across
:30:39. > :30:43.eastern areas. Make the most of the sunshine because we are going to
:30:43. > :30:45.see bands of rain pushing eastwards during the day and we see rain
:30:45. > :30:48.arriving across the south-east during the afternoon. Behind the
:30:48. > :30:51.rain we are looking at showers moving in to most other parts of
:30:51. > :30:54.the British Isles. The showers will be heavy, thundery and slow-moving
:30:54. > :30:58.across the likes of Northern Ireland, parts of northern England
:30:58. > :31:01.and Wales and the south-west of Scotland, too. The rain does clear
:31:01. > :31:05.from the south-east of England during Wednesday evening so we are
:31:05. > :31:10.hopeful that for the opening ceremony of the Paralympics the
:31:10. > :31:13.weather should be dry, just a low chance of a shower brought on by
:31:13. > :31:16.those winds. There will be showers around for Thursday. Mainly
:31:16. > :31:19.affecting the eastern side. Further north, across Scotland and Northern
:31:19. > :31:23.Ireland, we are looking at largely dry conditions with a fair amount
:31:23. > :31:28.of sunshine. Not particularly warm, thanks to the north-west breeze.
:31:28. > :31:32.Towards the end of the week we see rain at times while these weather