:00:11. > :00:13.The Royal Mail is to be privatised in the biggest sell-off for
:00:13. > :00:21.decades. The Government says the move will allow Royal Mail to
:00:21. > :00:26.compete. Critics say it could mean job losses and an end to delivery
:00:26. > :00:32.six days a week. We will have all the latest from Westminster.
:00:32. > :00:42.Also this lunchtime, one of Britain's biggest unions give a
:00:42. > :00:47.stark warning about the link. Miliband said he wanted to end the
:00:47. > :00:52.link rather -- amend the link rather than end it but this is as close as
:00:52. > :00:56.we are getting. The worst flooding in China for 50
:00:56. > :01:01.years. People have been buried by landslides and thousands have had to
:01:01. > :01:04.flee their homes. Minimum training standards for 1
:01:04. > :01:08.million healthcare assistants are commended in the wake of the
:01:08. > :01:13.Stafford Hospital scandal. Britain's small-scale fishermen are
:01:13. > :01:17.celebrating a significant High Court victory over the rights to quotas.
:01:17. > :01:23.Eye and Joe Wilson in Nottingham, where we have had an overcast start
:01:23. > :01:32.of the Ashes. We have already won a couple of wickets to warm Australia
:01:32. > :01:38.Later on BBC London, a fire and Hounslow kills people as a woman
:01:38. > :01:48.jumps to her death. And the teenage killer who stabbed a student to
:01:48. > :01:59.
:01:59. > :02:04.News that one. The Royal Mail is to be privatised in a move that will
:02:04. > :02:11.see tens of thousands of staff getting a stake in the company. The
:02:11. > :02:14.Government says the sell-off will give Royal Mail greater freedom to
:02:14. > :02:18.compete but the Communication Workers Union says the plan will
:02:19. > :02:22.lead to joblessness and lower wage increases. The plan does not include
:02:22. > :02:28.post offices, which are run separately. Here is our industry
:02:28. > :02:32.correspondent. Not so long ago, Royal Mail was
:02:32. > :02:37.haemorrhaging cash and facing long-term decline. Now, boosted by
:02:37. > :02:40.prices and the growth of online retailing, its profits are soaring.
:02:40. > :02:44.The coalition hopes that will make an attractive prospect for
:02:44. > :02:47.investors. Today, the Business Secretary came to the Commons to
:02:47. > :02:51.explain how Royal Mail will be privatised, something previous
:02:51. > :02:57.governments have failed to do. the time has come for government to
:02:57. > :03:01.step up from Royal Mail, allow its management to focus wholeheartedly
:03:01. > :03:05.on growing the business and planning for the future and it is now time
:03:06. > :03:08.for employees to hold a stake in the company and a share in its success.
:03:08. > :03:18.So this Government will give Royal Mail the real commercial freedom it
:03:18. > :03:24.has needed for a long-time ally commend this statement to the House.
:03:24. > :03:27.10% of shares will be given to Royal Mail staff, providing the possible
:03:27. > :03:34.windfall of around �2000 each. The Royal Mail business is expected to
:03:35. > :03:38.be valued at up to �3 billion. But Labour says the privatisation is a
:03:38. > :03:43.fire sale and that if in government, it would have kept the majority
:03:43. > :03:48.stake in the business. And the main postal union is opposed, too. Today
:03:48. > :03:54.it delivered that message to Royal Mail's central London headquarters.
:03:54. > :03:58.Royal Mail last year made an increase of 60% in profits and it
:03:58. > :04:03.won't be a burden to the taxpayer in the future. We support a social
:04:03. > :04:07.business model which would make sure it can access capital without the
:04:07. > :04:12.downside of private control. postal union is so concerned about
:04:12. > :04:17.union that it has announced its intention to ballot for industrial
:04:17. > :04:20.action. That raises the very real prospect of a national strike and a
:04:20. > :04:24.Royal Mail standstill at the very time the Government is trying to
:04:24. > :04:28.sell of this business. But what will it all mean to millions of people
:04:28. > :04:36.who used Royal Mail everyday? Consumer groups want guarantees that
:04:36. > :04:43.prices will be affordable. But experts warned that in private
:04:43. > :04:48.hands, the cost of posting letters and packages could soar. Think we
:04:48. > :04:53.will see the increase in stamps but they will also see Royal Mail be a
:04:53. > :04:57.bit less generous with them in terms of the scope of services it offers.
:04:57. > :05:01.But Royal Mail also faces challenges. One of its rivals, TNT,
:05:01. > :05:06.has 1,000 postmen on the streets of London and hopes to have up to
:05:06. > :05:10.20,000 around the UK in five years' time.
:05:10. > :05:15.Let's get more from Norman Smith, because, Norman, not for the first
:05:15. > :05:20.time somebody has thought of this idea. Do you really think it will
:05:20. > :05:24.happen? Privatising Royal Mail has been a bit like the boomerang of
:05:24. > :05:28.British politics. Successive governments have tried to cast it
:05:28. > :05:32.off and it has come back and can't the Secretary of State on the head.
:05:32. > :05:37.We had Michael Heseltine having a go and failing, and then Peter
:05:37. > :05:42.Mandelson, and now Vince Cable. And there are still risks. The unions
:05:42. > :05:48.are threatening to strike and opinion polls suggest the public is
:05:48. > :05:52.decidedly iffy about the prospect. But this time it is different. Why?
:05:52. > :05:56.Because the politics have changed. Although Labour are opposing the
:05:56. > :06:00.idea today they are not threatening to renationalise a privatised Royal
:06:00. > :06:04.Mail. Secondly, money is different. Royal Mail is attractive to
:06:04. > :06:08.investors as a profit-making venture. But they have packed this
:06:08. > :06:15.sell-off with sweeteners. Royal Mail staff get tempers and the shares
:06:15. > :06:20.free, maybe up to �1000. -- get 10%. And although it won't be a Tell Sid
:06:20. > :06:24.style campaign, the public, too, will be able to buy shares, so in
:06:24. > :06:30.this sense, Vince Cable won't have to duck to avoid that returning
:06:30. > :06:34.boomerang. The leader of the country's third
:06:34. > :06:38.largest union has given the starkest warning yet about Ed Miliband's
:06:38. > :06:42.plans to change the relationship with trade unions. Paul Kenny from
:06:42. > :06:48.the GMB says the reforms come as close as you can get to ending the
:06:48. > :06:55.link and yesternight Labour could see its funding from the GMB four x
:06:55. > :06:59.90%. -- and estimates Labour could see. Yesterday, Ed Miliband
:06:59. > :07:02.announced the biggest change to Labour's relationship with the
:07:03. > :07:06.unions for a generation. Instead of union leaders handing over cash to
:07:06. > :07:10.the party, in future, each individual member would have to give
:07:10. > :07:15.their consent. The leader of Britain's third biggest union sees
:07:15. > :07:21.this as a weakening of historic ties which will prove costly to Labour. I
:07:21. > :07:28.asked him to put a price on it. Cumulatively, five millionplus,
:07:28. > :07:32.maybe. In terms of each year, about 2 million. And he says the
:07:32. > :07:38.long-standing link between Labour and unions is now under threat, and
:07:38. > :07:45.he may even back some of Ed Miliband's opponents. The union
:07:45. > :07:50.hasn't got a collective voice and maybe that freezes up to do other
:07:50. > :07:56.things and support other candidates and are also some things. That is
:07:56. > :08:01.the logical conclusion. Union leaders said Ed Miliband
:08:01. > :08:07.rushed into these reforms after getting a kick in last week in prime
:08:07. > :08:12.ministers questions. This did not stop David Cameron raising the whole
:08:12. > :08:17.issue of trade union influence over Labour today. Will be unions still
:08:17. > :08:21.have the biggest vote at the conference? Yes! Will they still be
:08:21. > :08:25.able to determine party policy? Yes! Will they still have the
:08:25. > :08:32.decisive vote in voting and the Labour Leader? Yes! They own him
:08:32. > :08:39.lock, stock and barrel. I am proud we have links with ordinary working
:08:39. > :08:44.people. He is bankrolled by a few millionaires. The party of the
:08:44. > :08:48.people, the party of privilege. Labour now want to raise broader
:08:48. > :08:53.questions about party funding but some unions say Ed Miliband has not
:08:53. > :08:58.thought through the far reaching consequences of his own reforms.
:08:58. > :09:02.Up to 40 people have been buried in a landslide in south-western China
:09:02. > :09:05.following days of torrential rain and flooding. Hundreds of buildings
:09:05. > :09:13.have been destroyed and thousands of people have been forced to flee
:09:13. > :09:17.their homes. This was ferocious nature in full
:09:17. > :09:23.flow. Torrents of water tore through this town and little was allowed to
:09:23. > :09:33.stand in the way. One factory worker was left stranded. He waded into the
:09:33. > :09:34.
:09:34. > :09:37.swollen waters. Just in time. A colleague then pulled him to safety.
:09:37. > :09:43.Battling the weather conditions, the emergency services are struggling to
:09:43. > :09:50.cope. This man said, all the rescue vehicles in the town have been swept
:09:50. > :09:56.away. Elsewhere, a bridge collapsed, sending six cars plunging into the
:09:56. > :09:59.river. At least 12 people are still missing. Across the region, a
:09:59. > :10:06.massive rescue operation is now underway. It has been carried out by
:10:06. > :10:11.any means possible. The government says over a quarter of a million
:10:11. > :10:16.people have been affected by these floods. Hundreds have been left
:10:16. > :10:19.marooned, waiting for help to arrive. This region is no stranger
:10:19. > :10:26.to natural disasters. It was devastated by a massive earthquake
:10:26. > :10:30.in 2008. Torrential rain is sweeping across large parts of China and it
:10:30. > :10:36.appears that in the worst affected areas hit by these terrible floods,
:10:36. > :10:43.there is going to be little respite. In Sichuan province, up to 15
:10:43. > :10:47.centimetres of rainfall are expected in the next 24 hours.
:10:47. > :10:51.Here, health care assistants look after some of the most needy and
:10:51. > :10:56.vulnerable people in society but often have little if any training.
:10:56. > :11:00.Now, a report commissioned by the Government has recommended all staff
:11:00. > :11:03.in England should receive a minimum standard of training before they are
:11:03. > :11:09.allowed to work unsupervised. The Cavendish Review was set up in the
:11:09. > :11:12.wake of the Stafford Hospital scandal.
:11:12. > :11:16.Healthcare resistance on the front line when it comes to looking after
:11:16. > :11:22.patients. Routine but vital work means there are more than 1 million
:11:22. > :11:26.of them working in our health system. Looking after all the old
:11:26. > :11:36.people I love because they make me laugh and tell me tales. And when
:11:36. > :11:40.they are all clean and satin bed, I feel good. -- sat in bed. But some
:11:40. > :11:44.have just watched a DVD before dealing with patients and need more
:11:44. > :11:47.training. And after a public enquiry into Stafford Hospital, where poor
:11:47. > :11:53.care may have contributed to the deaths of dozens of elderly
:11:53. > :11:56.patients, a review has reported back to date about standards of care and
:11:56. > :12:00.training. Healthcare assistants don't just work here in hospitals,
:12:00. > :12:03.they work in care homes and people's private homes as well. They
:12:03. > :12:12.provide some of the most fundamental and basic care, like turning people
:12:12. > :12:15.in bed so they don't get pressure sores people to eat and watch. But
:12:15. > :12:19.at the moment, their training varies between organisations. So the
:12:19. > :12:22.proposal is to give all healthcare assistants in England the same level
:12:22. > :12:28.of basic training, with a two week course covering First Aid,
:12:28. > :12:30.infection, control and dementia awareness. They must then get a
:12:30. > :12:36.certificate of fundamental care before looking after people and
:12:36. > :12:40.supervised. And once they have this and appropriate, they can be allowed
:12:40. > :12:44.to use the title nursing assistant. The union which represents health
:12:44. > :12:49.care assistants has welcomed the proposals but says regulation should
:12:49. > :12:55.be the next step. We think that is necessary to both give status to the
:12:55. > :12:58.staff doing the job, but also to give protection to patients and the
:12:58. > :13:04.public so they know the people trying to provide that level of
:13:04. > :13:07.internet care are actually covered by some regulatory body. But these
:13:07. > :13:14.changes are not given. The Department of Health says they have
:13:14. > :13:17.not accepted any of the proposals yet and will respond in the autumn.
:13:17. > :13:20.Britain's big fishing bosses have lost a High Court battle with the
:13:20. > :13:24.Government over the reallocation of fishing quotas. They were
:13:24. > :13:28.challenging plans to pass on their own used quotas to small-scale
:13:28. > :13:36.fishermen. The ruling should benefit coastal fishermen who working boats
:13:36. > :13:41.smaller than ten metres long. Life on the seas has been rough for
:13:41. > :13:46.small fish are Britain. David White has worked for ten nights in a row
:13:46. > :13:53.to make the most of the recent good weather. In Europe, you cannot fish
:13:53. > :13:57.commercially without a government quota. David has been fishing
:13:57. > :14:02.overnight for soul. But like so many for fishermen, the quota he is
:14:02. > :14:08.allocated is barely enough to make a living. It is getting harder and
:14:08. > :14:15.harder. It is ridiculous, to be honest with you. I mean, we have
:14:15. > :14:21.worked ten trips now without a day off. Just to make ends meet.
:14:21. > :14:27.firms gobble up 90% of the national quota. Half the small boat owners
:14:27. > :14:32.round here are said to have gone out of business. The Government agreed
:14:32. > :14:37.recently to give small boats a fairer share of the cash. But it was
:14:37. > :14:44.challenged in the High Court by the big firms. The court rejected that
:14:44. > :14:47.challenge. So quotas for the little guys will go up. I think it is
:14:47. > :14:52.marvellous! Absolutely unbelievable! I didn't think for a minute we would
:14:52. > :14:56.get the verdict. We were up against great opposition with lots of money,
:14:57. > :15:02.lots of money! And we are just little boys... For the big fishing
:15:02. > :15:08.firms, the High Court decision has come as a blow. We have considered
:15:08. > :15:13.an appeal. That will be considered fully by the members of the UK
:15:13. > :15:17.Association and we may be returning to the High Court in the autumn.
:15:17. > :15:22.There is just �1.5 million worth of quota being reallocated now. But
:15:22. > :15:27.small fishermen hope it is the start of a trend. Today's court decision
:15:27. > :15:30.is the latest positive development on fisheries. Just a few weeks ago,
:15:30. > :15:34.the European Union voted to end the practice of over exploiting fish
:15:34. > :15:44.stocks. That will be good for the fish and ultimately for the
:15:44. > :15:45.
:15:45. > :15:50.fishermen and for us all. Our top story this lunchtime: The Royal Mail
:15:50. > :15:54.is to be privatised in the biggest sell-off for decades. But unions
:15:54. > :15:59.have attacked the plans. And still to come here, one week on
:15:59. > :16:04.from the passing of Egypt's President Morsi, we meet one family
:16:04. > :16:08.divided by the conflict. Later on BBC London, Camden's very
:16:08. > :16:12.own codebreakers, how this council is the first to have computer club
:16:12. > :16:22.after school for all primaries. And we see how Middlesex will cope
:16:22. > :16:25.
:16:25. > :16:32.with the loss of its captain, who is Australia and Andy Murray at
:16:32. > :16:37.Wimbledon, it has already been a vintage summer of sport. Now one of
:16:37. > :16:40.the oldest and fiercest rivalries, the battle for the Ashes between
:16:40. > :16:46.England and Australia, has begun at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. England
:16:46. > :16:49.captain Alastair Cook won the toss and batted. At lunch, they were 98 -
:16:49. > :16:54.two. Sports correspondent Joe Wilson is at Trent Bridge, hello to you,
:16:54. > :16:57.Joe. Thanks very much, sold-out
:16:57. > :16:59.excitement here in Nottingham, we have been waiting two and a half
:17:00. > :17:04.years for the resumption of the ashes, that great rivalry between
:17:04. > :17:08.England and Australia, based a lot on history but partly on mystery.
:17:08. > :17:11.Even though this year England seem to have the better side, test match
:17:11. > :17:15.cricket has this wonderful habit of being unpredictable, and the balance
:17:15. > :17:17.can shift between the teams even over the course of a morning. I
:17:17. > :17:25.think that has been very much the case here today, with England
:17:25. > :17:29.reaching lunch, as you say, 98-2. One last attempt to raise the
:17:29. > :17:35.atmosphere before the start of play above Nottingham, the Red Arrows,
:17:35. > :17:39.the ultimate example of speed under control. With a red ball, James
:17:39. > :17:43.Pattinson tried something similar, unleashing the first delivery of the
:17:43. > :17:46.series, almost ending up with first slip. In overcast conditions which
:17:46. > :17:52.always please bowlers, Alastair Cook had decided to bat, and there he
:17:52. > :17:54.was, calmly manoeuvring the ball to the boundary. Seven minutes in, the
:17:54. > :17:58.first Ashes four, classic Alastair Cook style. After some nervy
:17:58. > :18:02.moments, Joe Root was on his way, this is its first match as an
:18:02. > :18:05.opening batsman for England, deep faith in his ability. Australia are
:18:05. > :18:10.building their future on the broad shoulders of the young pace bowlers,
:18:10. > :18:14.Pattinson in particular picked to do just this. Getting rid of Alastair
:18:14. > :18:18.Cook is a source of celebration at any time. If you get him out for
:18:18. > :18:22.13, you are really in luck. If there is a glimmer of light for the
:18:23. > :18:28.bowlers, Jonathan Trott's job is to slam the door shut. Actually, today
:18:28. > :18:31.he was in expansive mode. His first 12 runs were formed of three fours.
:18:31. > :18:37.The subplots to Australian cricket is the search for the new Shayne
:18:37. > :18:41.won, and the latest candidate is just 19, thrusting for his debut,
:18:41. > :18:46.note gently for four office first delivery. Balls of the century only
:18:46. > :18:51.happen once a century. England progressed happily passed 50.
:18:51. > :18:56.Sometimes their balls are just too good, 78-2, Australia suddenly empty
:18:56. > :19:00.used again. It only takes a wicked. I can tell you that Kevin Pietersen
:19:00. > :19:04.did offer a chance to the wicket-keeper just before lunch, not
:19:04. > :19:09.taken, and that could be expensive, he is the one man who could make
:19:09. > :19:19.England feel dominant by the close of play. He is on ten, Jonathan
:19:19. > :19:19.
:19:19. > :19:23.Trott... Enough for England to Egypt's state prosecutor has issued
:19:23. > :19:26.an arrest warrant for the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed
:19:26. > :19:32.Badie. He is accused of inciting violence on Monday that left more
:19:32. > :19:35.than 50 people dead. The division in Egypt between supporters and
:19:35. > :19:39.opponents of the deposed President Mohamed Morsi have been put into
:19:39. > :19:44.sharp focus by the events of the last week. But as Cairo
:19:44. > :19:50.correspondent Aleem Maqbool reports, it is families, too, who are being
:19:50. > :19:55.driven apart by the continuing conflict.
:19:55. > :20:04.For many in the new Egypt, he is a hero. Acme was one of the most vocal
:20:04. > :20:10.opponents of Mohamed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood. But he paid a
:20:10. > :20:13.price for that. He was jailed for insulting Morsi, calling him a
:20:13. > :20:19.murderer on a talk show. Just a couple of weeks ago while his son
:20:19. > :20:28.was still in jail, we met Ahmed's father, a staunch supporter of the
:20:28. > :20:31.then-President Morsi. He told us that he had gone too far in
:20:31. > :20:34.criticising the Muslim Brotherhood. Since we saw him, everything has
:20:34. > :20:41.changed. President Morsi was deposed, and soon after Ahmed was
:20:41. > :20:46.released. TRANSLATION: This is the Egypt we have been dreaming of, now
:20:46. > :20:56.the revolution is back on track. with that, Ahmed went to join in
:20:56. > :20:59.
:20:59. > :21:02.celebrations at the demise of the different gathering, the funeral of
:21:02. > :21:06.a young Brotherhood supporter, killed, it appears, by security
:21:06. > :21:13.forces at a sit in protest. It is Ahmed's father that is the activist
:21:13. > :21:17.now. The shock at what has happened is huge, he says, but we have hope
:21:17. > :21:23.that democracy will be brought back and the military coup will be
:21:23. > :21:27.overturned. These funerals and the rallies and
:21:27. > :21:31.politics are off-limits when the family sits together and talks. It
:21:31. > :21:35.is the only way to stop arguments. There are extremes in this country
:21:35. > :21:40.right now. On one side, there is euphoria, the other side a
:21:40. > :21:43.shellshocked, and that exists within Ahmed's on family, but he and his
:21:43. > :21:52.father have been able to work through things and compromise. The
:21:52. > :21:56.question is, of course, can Egypt? Police are linking the death of
:21:56. > :22:00.seven young people in Scotland to a batch of fake ecstasy tablets. Most
:22:00. > :22:04.of those who died were in their early 20s and are thought to have
:22:04. > :22:08.taken tablets containing the dangerous toxic stimulant PMA. Let's
:22:08. > :22:13.get more from Scotland correspondent Laura Bicker, who is following this
:22:13. > :22:17.story. What more of the police saying? These tablets are thought to
:22:17. > :22:22.be green in colour and have a distinctive Rolex crown stamped on
:22:22. > :22:30.top of them. The latest person to die after taking them is an
:22:30. > :22:32.18-year-old woman from Alexandria in West Dunbartonshire. Now, she took
:22:32. > :22:35.them in the early hours of Tuesday morning with three others. They,
:22:35. > :22:39.too, were admitted to hospital, and a 25-year-old man is still being
:22:39. > :22:45.treated in hospital. Now, police say that they believe these tablets
:22:45. > :22:48.contain the chemical PMA, and that causes extremes in temperature. It
:22:49. > :22:53.can cause hallucinations, and in some cases convulsions. Now what
:22:53. > :22:56.they say is that they are particularly concerned ahead of this
:22:56. > :23:01.weekend's music Festival, T in the park, where amnesty bins will be
:23:01. > :23:06.provided, and they say taking these tablets is gambling with your life.
:23:06. > :23:08.Thank you very much, Laura Bicker. The Irish parliament will blog
:23:08. > :23:14.tonight on controversial new abortion legislation that has led to
:23:14. > :23:16.a fierce row between church and state. -- vote. The church believes
:23:16. > :23:21.the legislation will lead for the first time two abortions were a
:23:21. > :23:25.mother's life is not at immediate risk. But the Irish government is
:23:26. > :23:30.arguing that the bill will simply clarify existing laws.
:23:30. > :23:33.Air pollution is having a serious and sometimes fatal impact on people
:23:33. > :23:37.with weak hearts, according to a study funded by the British Heart
:23:37. > :23:40.Foundation. The charity says thousands of people are affected
:23:40. > :23:45.every year and that the government must do more to improve air
:23:45. > :23:49.quality. Ministers have already admitted that EU limits will be
:23:49. > :23:56.breached in 15 areas of the country until 2020. Health correspondent
:23:56. > :23:59.Sophie Hutchinson reports. Joanne is often breathless due to
:23:59. > :24:03.heart failure. It is a serious condition which means her heart
:24:03. > :24:07.struggles to pump efficiently. prefer not to go out when it is
:24:07. > :24:12.cold, because it really affects my chest, and I prefer not to go out
:24:12. > :24:17.when it is too smugly and horrible, because it does make my breathing
:24:17. > :24:19.very laboured, and it does make it worse. Today a report published by
:24:19. > :24:24.the Lancet suggests that air pollution could have harmful and
:24:24. > :24:26.sometimes fatal effects on people with heart failure. Researchers
:24:26. > :24:31.reviewed data from 12 countries and found a direct link between raised
:24:31. > :24:35.levels of traffic pollution and an increase in admissions to hospital
:24:35. > :24:39.or deaths from the condition. The risk was from short periods of
:24:39. > :24:46.exposure and came from harmful gases and particles emitted by diesel
:24:46. > :24:51.powered vehicles. Pollution in UK cities massively exceed agreed
:24:51. > :24:55.safety limits, and every year it is estimated that around 30,000 people
:24:55. > :24:59.die prematurely as a result. The campaigners say that vulnerable
:24:59. > :25:06.people should be warned when pollution peaks so that they can
:25:06. > :25:11.protect themselves. But researchers say that even modest improvements in
:25:11. > :25:14.air quality could save lives. failure affect about three quarters
:25:14. > :25:22.of a million people in the UK, and we would estimate that a modest
:25:22. > :25:25.reduction in our permission would probably reduce admissions by around
:25:25. > :25:30.1000 patients. The Government has said air quality limits will be
:25:30. > :25:37.breached in 15 regions in the UK until 2020, but it stresses it is
:25:37. > :25:41.committed to improving the situation to protect public health.
:25:41. > :25:45.Now, the UEFA women's European championship kicks off in Sweden
:25:45. > :25:49.today, and for the first time the BBC will be showing every England
:25:49. > :25:53.match live on television. And England, of course, will be hoping
:25:53. > :25:58.to improve on their performance of four years ago, when they made it to
:25:58. > :26:04.the final but lost to Germany. Let's go to sports correspondent Sally
:26:04. > :26:10.Nugent, who is at the England team hotel in Linkoping. Sally, hello,
:26:10. > :26:14.good afternoon to you, an exciting period ahead.
:26:14. > :26:16.Yeah, interesting times, I can tell you first of all that we have got
:26:16. > :26:22.fantastic access here at the England team hotel. This is not something
:26:22. > :26:25.you would get in the men's game. Just down the corridor behind me,
:26:25. > :26:29.behind a closed door, the England coach has just gone in with their
:26:29. > :26:33.players, and we had a lovely shot for you outside the England team
:26:33. > :26:36.hotel, but it is pouring so heavily now, a storm was closing in, so we
:26:36. > :26:41.have had to come inside. That is one difference, great access to the
:26:42. > :26:46.teams, players and coaching staff. The other thing is that Sweden is a
:26:46. > :26:49.natural home for women's football. It is not unusual to see women and
:26:49. > :26:52.girls playing football in this country, there is a fantastic club
:26:52. > :27:00.network, and in fact the old station are expected to do rather well in
:27:00. > :27:04.this tournament, too. How are we expected to do, England?
:27:04. > :27:08.Well, interestingly, as you mentioned, yes, England did rather
:27:08. > :27:11.well in 2009, they made it all the way to the final but were beaten by
:27:11. > :27:15.Germany in a bruising game they lost 6-2, which properly does not reflect
:27:15. > :27:19.how well they played at the time. Hope Powell says that this time
:27:19. > :27:23.around they have learned lessons, they are prepared, and she does have
:27:23. > :27:27.the strength in depth to cover this tournament right the way to the
:27:27. > :27:31.final on July 28. So let's see how that goes. The other big change here
:27:31. > :27:36.is the coverage that you mentioned, unprecedented television coverage of
:27:36. > :27:40.women's football, all over the BBC, television, radio and online, or
:27:40. > :27:45.starting tonight on BBC Three, watch if you can!
:27:45. > :27:55.Thank you very much, Sally Nugent, pouring with rain there, mercifully
:27:55. > :27:57.
:27:57. > :28:01.not like this year, let's find out for rain, I keep having to water my
:28:01. > :28:05.garden. Mixed weather in Sweden and here in the UK, not all scorching
:28:05. > :28:08.sunshine, and indeed many places are saying much more clouds today as a
:28:08. > :28:13.result temperature is quite a bit lower as well. For the cricket as
:28:13. > :28:16.well, we have got overcast skies as well, quite grey, and it will stay
:28:16. > :28:21.that way into the early part of the afternoon session. It should slowly
:28:21. > :28:24.brighten up with sunshine after tea, but yesterday it was about 27
:28:24. > :28:30.degrees at Trent Bridge, approaching 30 degrees in York and hurt as
:28:30. > :28:33.well. But today, in some places, temperatures are 10 degrees lower,
:28:33. > :28:36.and it is much cooler because we have got all this cloud. And this
:28:36. > :28:39.cloud has been spilling its way southwards down the eastern side of
:28:39. > :28:43.England and Scotland, it is working its way slowly towards the
:28:43. > :28:47.south-west, but the highest temperatures today could well be in
:28:47. > :28:49.the south-west of England, likely to get 28 Celsius, which is 82
:28:50. > :28:53.Fahrenheit. Because here in the south-west we have got the best of
:28:53. > :28:57.the sunshine, a good amount of sunshine in Wales, one or two than
:28:57. > :29:00.three showers could get set up over the mountains later today. The
:29:00. > :29:03.south-east of England, not as warm as yesterday, patchy cloud coming
:29:04. > :29:08.in, but breaking up as it moves through Midlands. We may get late
:29:08. > :29:10.sunshine down the east coast as the cloud begins to break, some sunshine
:29:10. > :29:15.across Northern Ireland and the western side of Scotland, and it is
:29:15. > :29:19.here that we will see the highest temperatures. Similar to where we
:29:19. > :29:23.were yesterday, in actual fact. So this evening a slightly cooler feel
:29:23. > :29:26.across many areas, the cloud, as it heads towards the south-west,
:29:26. > :29:29.continues to become or substantial, flatter looking cloud heading in
:29:29. > :29:32.from the North Sea into central and eastern areas of England later in
:29:32. > :29:37.the night. Temperatures for most of us, thankfully, will be a little bit
:29:37. > :29:40.lower than they have been over the past few nights, a more comfortable
:29:40. > :29:43.night for sleeping. Early morning mist and fog in Northern Ireland,
:29:43. > :29:47.western Scotland, grey cloud across central and eastern areas burning
:29:47. > :29:50.back to the coast, and as you can see, it ends into a nice day with
:29:50. > :29:53.lots of sunshine around, when is quite light, and whilst it is
:29:53. > :29:57.slightly cooler in the south-west, most places will see temperatures
:29:57. > :30:01.similar to today. Further north and east, it should feel warmer than
:30:01. > :30:05.today, with more sunshine, as we have seen. As we head into Friday,
:30:05. > :30:08.again, someone sunshine across most places, a bit of a cloudy start
:30:08. > :30:10.across East Anglia and the south-east of England, one or two
:30:10. > :30:15.than three showers could hop off in Northern Ireland and over the
:30:15. > :30:22.mountains of Scotland as well. -- thundery showers. Over the weekend,
:30:22. > :30:25.turning cooler and more cloudy in Scotland and Northern Ireland. One
:30:25. > :30:35.or two thundery showers in England and Wales, cabbages peaking at 30
:30:35. > :30:35.
:30:35. > :30:39.degrees in the south-east on lunchtime: The Royal Mail is to be
:30:39. > :30:44.privatised in the biggest sell-off for decades. The Government says the
:30:44. > :30:49.sale will give Royal Mail a long-term sustainable future. And
:30:49. > :30:54.one of Britain's biggest unions has given a stark warning about Ed
:30:54. > :30:57.Miliband's proposals to reform Labour links with the trade unions.