:00:00. > :00:00."We're doing all we can" - the Home Secretary announces
:00:07. > :00:10.emergency measures to clear the backlog of passport applications.
:00:11. > :00:14.Theresa May says some will be fast-tracked free of charge, and
:00:15. > :00:23.The Government will do everything it can, while maintaining the security
:00:24. > :00:31.of the passport, to make sure people get their passports in time.
:00:32. > :00:33.This has been a sorry shambles from a sorry department,
:00:34. > :00:37.and a Home Secretary who can't even bring herself to say the word.
:00:38. > :00:39.We'll get all the latest from our chief political correspondent.
:00:40. > :00:44.Islamist militants say they're planning to advance on the Iraqi
:00:45. > :00:47.capital, Baghdad, after seizing two major cities
:00:48. > :00:53.The Court of Appeal rules that most of a major terrorism
:00:54. > :01:00.Angelina Jolie tells the BBC the use of rape as a weapon
:01:01. > :01:13.My key messages to follow up this summit with action, and to make sure
:01:14. > :01:17.we visit them in the field and see these governments and shake their
:01:18. > :01:20.hands. Now and in years to come, we will be doing something.
:01:21. > :01:22.And countdown to the kick-off - we're live in Brazil before
:01:23. > :01:29.The wife of rock star Paul Weller calls for a change to
:01:30. > :01:31.the law to stop photos of children being published without consent.
:01:32. > :01:35.The UK's first dental school in 40 years opens in the capital's worst
:01:36. > :01:56.Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC News at One.
:01:57. > :01:59.The Home Secretary, Theresa May, says the Government is
:02:00. > :02:03."doing all it can" to deal with the backlog of hundreds of thousands
:02:04. > :02:08.She was called before MPs this morning to explain the delay,
:02:09. > :02:12.and announced a number of measures including a free, fast track service
:02:13. > :02:16.for anyone who could prove they had an urgent need to travel.
:02:17. > :02:18.But that wasn't enough for the Shadow Home Secretary, Yvette
:02:19. > :02:23.Cooper, who accused Theresa May of overseeing a "sorry shambles".
:02:24. > :02:25.Let's cross to Liverpool passport office, and our correspondent,
:02:26. > :02:38.Yes, this crisis came to public light yesterday, when photographs
:02:39. > :02:43.from inside this building word leaked showing piles of our sport
:02:44. > :02:48.applications waiting to be processed. In the last half-hour, we
:02:49. > :02:52.have learnt that staff who are found guilty of that league have been
:02:53. > :02:56.threatened with disciplinary action and all staff here have been told
:02:57. > :03:04.that they may not use mobile phones while working. There was no letup in
:03:05. > :03:06.the demand for passports in Liverpool today, as more
:03:07. > :03:10.applications continued to come through the door. But with 30,000
:03:11. > :03:14.people waiting for their delayed passports to be processed, this
:03:15. > :03:20.morning the Home Secretary announced new steps being taken to speed up
:03:21. > :03:27.the system. There is no big bang single solution, so we will take a
:03:28. > :03:31.series of measures... We will take a series of measures to address the
:03:32. > :03:35.pinch points and resource in problems HMP oh faces. Theresa May
:03:36. > :03:38.told the Commons that those who can prove they have to travel urgently
:03:39. > :03:44.to have their cases fast-tracked for free. British nationals applying
:03:45. > :03:48.from abroad for renewal will be able to extend their current passports by
:03:49. > :03:52.a year. People applying from overseas on behalf of their children
:03:53. > :03:57.will be issued with emergency travel documents. But Labour condemned the
:03:58. > :04:02.government's handling of the affair full up this has been a sorry
:04:03. > :04:07.shambles from a sorry department, and the Home Secretary can't even
:04:08. > :04:11.bring herself to say the word. Government incompetence means people
:04:12. > :04:14.are at risk of missing their holidays, their honeymoons, their
:04:15. > :04:17.businesses. The Guardian newspaper has posted this internal Passport
:04:18. > :04:21.Office memo on its website, showing that earlier this week on staff were
:04:22. > :04:25.told to relax checks on overseas applications to reduce delays. Today
:04:26. > :04:31.the Home Office said it had ordered it to be withdrawn. Our members are
:04:32. > :04:36.stuck in the middle of getting slated by management and the list is
:04:37. > :04:40.saying the other thing. It is a mess the government has created. There
:04:41. > :04:42.were also reports that last month, British ambassadors and high
:04:43. > :04:46.commissioners from around the world want the Passport Office of the
:04:47. > :04:50.problems. One British citizen in Singapore who is waiting for his
:04:51. > :04:54.document is to be returned spoke to BBC news. It is worrying that they
:04:55. > :04:58.are saying it is a minimum of eight weeks. And the fact that the advice
:04:59. > :05:02.has moved from six to eight weeks leaves me feeling that it could be
:05:03. > :05:05.extended yet again. The word minimum is obviously worrying, because it
:05:06. > :05:09.could push it very close to our trip. The government has said more
:05:10. > :05:14.staff are being brought in and extra office space in Liverpool will be
:05:15. > :05:19.used from next week in response to the highest demand for passports in
:05:20. > :05:21.the last 12 years. Meanwhile, at the centre of all of this, the staff
:05:22. > :05:28.inside this building are continuing to work through those piles of our
:05:29. > :05:32.sport applications. None of them have wanted to come here and talk
:05:33. > :05:35.about their feelings on camera, but their union representatives told us
:05:36. > :05:41.that the staff here are working under considerable pressure and
:05:42. > :05:45.stress. We can speaking our chief political correspondent, who is at a
:05:46. > :05:49.Passport Office in central London. Norman, Labour is clearly not
:05:50. > :05:52.impressed, but will Theresa May's statement have done enough to
:05:53. > :05:58.reassure people that the situation has been brought under control?
:05:59. > :06:01.Today we saw Mrs May in effect ripping up the old government script
:06:02. > :06:05.on the passports are go. No longer any pretence that there was no
:06:06. > :06:09.backlog that it is not that big a problem, that it is kind of under
:06:10. > :06:12.control. Today, Mrs May swept aside all her other business and took
:06:13. > :06:18.personal charge of the passport crisis, indicating that she may take
:06:19. > :06:21.control of the Passport Office, end its independence and run it from the
:06:22. > :06:25.Home Office said that she can keep a closer eye on what is going on. You
:06:26. > :06:30.sensed that today was a kind of cold water moment, a splash of frozen
:06:31. > :06:35.water in the government's face as they woke up to the scale of public
:06:36. > :06:38.anger, the media fury and criticism from MPs, including some from her
:06:39. > :06:43.own party, one of whom berated Mrs May for not sent -- setting up an
:06:44. > :06:47.MP's al plan so that they could get on the blower to the Passport Office
:06:48. > :06:51.to find out what was going on for their constituents. That was why we
:06:52. > :06:55.saw this series of measures by Mrs May, the details of which have still
:06:56. > :07:00.to be worked out. But will determine whether the passport crisis is
:07:01. > :07:04.solved. It will also determine how damaged Mrs May is by it. One last
:07:05. > :07:08.thing - do not be confused by the lack of a queue behind me. People
:07:09. > :07:14.are queueing inside to use a telephone helpline. There are only
:07:15. > :07:18.two, and one is out of order. Thank you very much.
:07:19. > :07:20.The militant Islamist group which has taken control
:07:21. > :07:22.of two key cities in northern Iraq says it's now ordered
:07:23. > :07:27.There are reports that some of its forces are now just 15 miles
:07:28. > :07:30.Meanwhile, Iraqi Kurds are reported to have taken
:07:31. > :07:41.Our diplomatic correspondent, Nick Childs, has the latest.
:07:42. > :07:48.The erratic capital, Baghdad, and a rush of volunteers, it seems, to
:07:49. > :07:54.take on the sudden stunning advance of Islamist militants across a
:07:55. > :07:58.swathe of northern Iraq. This Iraqi general says hundreds of young and
:07:59. > :08:03.old have come forward to defend the country and its holy sites. The
:08:04. > :08:07.Iraqi government has promised to fight back, but it has been rocked
:08:08. > :08:10.by the collapse of its forces in the face of this latest little
:08:11. > :08:15.challenge. That has raised alarms and post questions for the outside
:08:16. > :08:22.world, too. But there is no appetite for direct military intervention in
:08:23. > :08:25.Washington or London. We will not be getting involved militarily. We will
:08:26. > :08:31.support the United States in anything they decide to do, but I
:08:32. > :08:35.stress again that it is for the Iraqi leadership primarily to
:08:36. > :08:39.respond to this. This is a democratic country with an elected
:08:40. > :08:44.government with considerable resources. The militants' had long
:08:45. > :08:51.advance, at least as their own video portrays it, may have been halted
:08:52. > :08:54.for now. But this audio message from their spokesman implores them to
:08:55. > :09:01.greater efforts, and to press on to the Iraqi capital. Already, behold
:09:02. > :09:06.Fallujah and parts of another city. They have been consolidating in
:09:07. > :09:11.Mosul and Tikrit and have got as far as are. The group Isis grew out of
:09:12. > :09:17.Al-Qaeda in Iraq, under this man. But his and his forces' successors
:09:18. > :09:21.are now challenging traditional Al-Qaeda, their aim to create a
:09:22. > :09:25.single Islamic state across Syria, Iraq and beyond. These images, it is
:09:26. > :09:29.said of gunmen near the town of Kirkuk, to add to the complexities
:09:30. > :09:34.here and fears of a fracturing Iraq, Kurdish forces say they have taken
:09:35. > :09:39.control of the town to protect it from the militants after Iraqi
:09:40. > :09:43.forces abandoned their posts. As more Iraqis flee the fighting, there
:09:44. > :09:48.are growing concerns about the humanitarian impact of all this, but
:09:49. > :09:51.also over the international fallout from a new struggle in an already
:09:52. > :09:59.volatile part of the world. Nick Childs, BBC News. Our Security
:10:00. > :10:06.correspondent is with me. How serious is the situation? For Iraq
:10:07. > :10:10.and the Middle East, it is extremely serious. For Iraq, it is an
:10:11. > :10:13.existential threat. It could be the beginning of the break-up of Iraq.
:10:14. > :10:20.It was always an artificial country, with borders drawn up during the
:10:21. > :10:23.last entry which split up three different communities, Sunni, Shia
:10:24. > :10:27.and Kurd. Now it looks like they are being pitted against each other in
:10:28. > :10:30.the sense that you have got a Sunni incursion coming from this group,
:10:31. > :10:36.taking over Sunni areas and vowing to take bag bad. If they go for
:10:37. > :10:42.Baghdad, a capital populated by both Sunni and Shia, it will be a
:10:43. > :10:46.bloodbath, and it will not be easy. If they do manage to take it on
:10:47. > :10:50.which I think is unlikely, but if they do, they will face the same
:10:51. > :10:53.kind of insurgency that they have been conducting themselves against
:10:54. > :10:57.the Iraqi government. So it would be a disastrous move, but right now
:10:58. > :11:00.they are fired up because they are taking town after town, Isis, and
:11:01. > :11:04.they are encouraging their volunteers to march on Baghdad. For
:11:05. > :11:09.the West and the wider region, at the moment, they are looking on
:11:10. > :11:12.fairly helplessly. America is possibly considering sending in
:11:13. > :11:15.drones, but that will not liberate the areas that have already been
:11:16. > :11:19.taken. Where it will really troubled the rest of the world as if this
:11:20. > :11:22.mini-state that seems to have set up here ends up being a platform for
:11:23. > :11:23.international attacks on the rest of the world in the way that
:11:24. > :11:28.Afghanistan was under the Taliban. The central proceedings in the trial
:11:29. > :11:31.of two men accused of serious terrorist offences are to take place
:11:32. > :11:34.in secret after a landmark ruling The Crown Prosecution Service
:11:35. > :11:39.had wanted the entire case to be heard behind closed doors
:11:40. > :11:42.to protect national security. But that was challenged
:11:43. > :11:46.by a number of media organisations. Let's speak to our home affairs
:11:47. > :12:00.correspondent, June Kelly. This is a controversial case. What
:12:01. > :12:03.happened in court? That's right, the plan to hold this trial in secret
:12:04. > :12:08.caused a few Rory amongst the press and the civil liberties lobby and a
:12:09. > :12:11.number of media organisations, including the BBC appealed against
:12:12. > :12:18.that decision. Today the appeal judges were adamant that the trial
:12:19. > :12:22.should go ahead in secret, on the grounds of national security. But
:12:23. > :12:26.they did make some concessions, notably, for the first time, the
:12:27. > :12:32.names of the defendants, formerly only known as A, B, C, were made
:12:33. > :12:40.public. We can now report their names. The appeal judges also said
:12:41. > :12:44.that when the trial gets going, a certain group of journalists would
:12:45. > :12:50.be allowed into the court. But would be able to report certain limited
:12:51. > :12:54.aspects of the case. But the bulk of the case will still be in secret.
:12:55. > :12:58.Although those journalists can be in court for much of the evidence, they
:12:59. > :13:02.will not be able to come out and tell their listeners, viewers or
:13:03. > :13:05.readers anything about it. At the moment, the plan is to this trial to
:13:06. > :13:10.get going next Monday. There is another hearing this afternoon, when
:13:11. > :13:12.no doubt this timetable issue will be addressed.
:13:13. > :13:15.The Business Secretary, Vince Cable, has suggested the Bank of England
:13:16. > :13:19.should intervene to stop the housing boom destabilising the economy.
:13:20. > :13:22.Just hours before the Chancellor gives his annual Mansion House
:13:23. > :13:26.speech, Mr Cable said he'd been "appalled" to discover that some
:13:27. > :13:29.lenders were offering as much as five times a borrower's income.
:13:30. > :13:37.Here's our Business Correspondent, Simon Jack.
:13:38. > :13:44.The red-hot housing market in some parts of the UK has been drawing
:13:45. > :13:47.criticism from experts at home and abroad. International economists
:13:48. > :13:50.have warned that soaring prices pose a threat to the UK economy. Today,
:13:51. > :13:55.Business Secretary Vince Cable waded into the debate by saying that banks
:13:56. > :14:00.who grant big mortgages relative to incomes were making things worse.
:14:01. > :14:03.The Bank of England has the moderate demand. If you lend people five
:14:04. > :14:06.times their income and something goes wrong with their family
:14:07. > :14:10.circumstances, they are potentially in serious trouble. It is feeding
:14:11. > :14:13.prices so that people on ordinary incomes can't get into the market.
:14:14. > :14:19.He was suggested that lending up to 3.5 times eight are well's salary
:14:20. > :14:23.was more appropriate. But that would make homeownership in some areas
:14:24. > :14:28.almost impossible. If you bear in mind that the national salary is
:14:29. > :14:32.?26,500, a multiple of 3.5 times that may be fine in the north-east
:14:33. > :14:34.of the country, but would have a significant impact elsewhere, where
:14:35. > :14:39.people would have to look at larger multiples to afford house prices
:14:40. > :14:43.that are currently being passed. But the Business Secretary and the UK
:14:44. > :14:48.surveys' body said the problems would persist until more homes were
:14:49. > :14:53.built. The problem is one of supply and demand. We are not building
:14:54. > :14:56.enough new homes. We built 130,000 in the year to March, 30% more than
:14:57. > :15:01.the previous year, but still way below the 200 thousand plus it is
:15:02. > :15:07.estimated that we need, and way below precrisis levels. Surveyors'
:15:08. > :15:10.group said today that buyers were beginning to balk at higher prices.
:15:11. > :15:14.They cut their estimate for annual house price growth from 6%
:15:15. > :15:18.nationwide to 5%. In the role runaway London market, which they
:15:19. > :15:21.had estimated to rise at 9%, but I now seeing it come into line with
:15:22. > :15:25.the rest of the country at 5%. We will learn more from the chancellor
:15:26. > :15:29.when he gives his Mansion House speech tonight on how he and the
:15:30. > :15:39.Bank of England plan to tackle a widely acknowledged housing problem.
:15:40. > :15:42.Our top story: The government says it is doing all it can to ease the
:15:43. > :15:48.delay in passport applications. Labour calls it a shambles.
:15:49. > :15:51.And coming up, I will be reporting live from Brazil, where the World
:15:52. > :15:56.Cup kicks off in just a few hours' time. Later on BBC London, signs
:15:57. > :15:59.that London's properties market is slowing a report blames surging
:16:00. > :16:03.house prices. And ahead of the World Cup kick-off,
:16:04. > :16:13.we look at the London players who will not be backing England.
:16:14. > :16:16.Rape as a weapon of war is now used "systematically and deliberately"
:16:17. > :16:19.against women and constitutes "one of the great mass crimes of the 20th
:16:20. > :16:24.and 21st centuries", according to a global summit being held in London.
:16:25. > :16:28.It's being led by the United Nations special envoy Angelina Jolie and the
:16:29. > :16:33.They're trying to persuade governments to work more closely
:16:34. > :16:35.together to clamp down on rape in war zones.
:16:36. > :16:46.Let's cross to the conference and Jane Hill, who's there.
:16:47. > :16:54.Yes, this is a big day politically here at this conference. There is
:16:55. > :16:58.140 countries represented here in today's plenary. Some very senior
:16:59. > :17:01.government ministers and their representatives, NGOs, charities,
:17:02. > :17:07.women, who has survived sexual violence. It is led from organised
:17:08. > :17:13.by the Foreign Secretary William Hague and Angelina Jolie, now I UN
:17:14. > :17:16.envoy and she managed to bring even more publicity to today's events and
:17:17. > :17:21.this particular corner of East London, because she arrived for
:17:22. > :17:28.today's sessions with her husband, Brad Pitt. James Robbins takes a
:17:29. > :17:32.look at the day's events so far. Hollywood star and Foreign
:17:33. > :17:35.Secretary. Angelina Jolie and William Hague may seem an unlikely
:17:36. > :17:40.double act but they have worked together for two years to reach this
:17:41. > :17:43.moment. We are here for the nine-year-old girl in Uganda,
:17:44. > :17:48.kidnapped and forced into sexual slavery. We are here for the men in
:17:49. > :17:52.Bosnia, years after rape, still stigmatised, unable to earn enough
:17:53. > :17:58.money to buy bread for his family. Aten -- another of those victims,
:17:59. > :18:01.now a campaigner, has been telling us how she was kidnapped in the
:18:02. > :18:08.Democratic Republic of Congo. TRANSLATION:
:18:09. > :18:12.I was with my and during holiday. Soldiers came to my room. There were
:18:13. > :18:18.four of us. They killed three and I was left. In the world's conflict
:18:19. > :18:23.zones, rape has often been a weapon of war. In the Democratic Republic
:18:24. > :18:27.of Congo, 860 conflict related rates were recorded in 2013. In Bosnia
:18:28. > :18:34.during three years of war in the 1990s, up to 50,000 rapes. But fewer
:18:35. > :18:38.than 70 convictions. It will make a huge difference. As we saw with the
:18:39. > :18:40.launch of the international protocol yesterday, it is giving practical
:18:41. > :18:45.guidelines to people who are dealing with survivors of sexual assault. It
:18:46. > :18:49.includes what questions to ask, what evidence together. It will make a
:18:50. > :18:53.real difference where people have been sexually assaulted in
:18:54. > :18:55.conflicts. It is easy to be sceptical about global summits like
:18:56. > :19:00.this and what they can really achieve. On the other hand the scale
:19:01. > :19:03.is impressive. The number of campaigning organisations and
:19:04. > :19:07.governments who have come together. They share one belief, but if it was
:19:08. > :19:11.possible to make slavery unacceptably the past, surely the
:19:12. > :19:19.same thing could be done to outlaw the use of sexual violence and
:19:20. > :19:24.conflict. Before this morning's plenary I
:19:25. > :19:30.spoke to William Hague and Angelina Jolie and asked them what they hoped
:19:31. > :19:34.today could achieve. My key message is to follow up this summer with
:19:35. > :19:38.action and to make sure that when we visit them in the field and we see
:19:39. > :19:41.these governments and shake their hands, now and in years to come that
:19:42. > :19:44.we are all actually doing something on behalf of all of these people
:19:45. > :19:48.that they will meet today, and they will hear their stories and come
:19:49. > :19:55.face-to-face with the victims from their own countries. They will
:19:56. > :19:59.hopefully not just be forced to axe, but they will really deeply want to.
:20:00. > :20:04.You want them to know that you are going to hold them to account. We
:20:05. > :20:08.will absolutely hold them to account. This is a subject the world
:20:09. > :20:11.did not want to talk about for a long time. We are having a summit
:20:12. > :20:16.with a huge number of countries, more than half the world is going to
:20:17. > :20:21.be represented here. There are ministers of Justice, foreign
:20:22. > :20:25.ministers, military leaders and so on. We have moved a long way in the
:20:26. > :20:29.last two years in getting the world to talk about what was a taboo
:20:30. > :20:33.subject. People will listen to you. Listen to this woman's story, they
:20:34. > :20:37.will listen to you, but because you are Angelina Jolie, no disrespect
:20:38. > :20:41.that you are sitting next to the British Foreign Secretary, but that
:20:42. > :20:45.is how the partnership works. I can of these women and a lot of these
:20:46. > :20:49.women it is not surprising to them that I would be sitting with them
:20:50. > :20:52.and becoming emotional them. When they see the Foreign Secretary of
:20:53. > :20:57.the United Kingdom sit with them, a man, it actually means so much, it
:20:58. > :21:04.means maybe even more because it is something they are not used to. So I
:21:05. > :21:09.think the power and the importance of the male role in this, the great
:21:10. > :21:13.men who protect and love women and support women, the great husbands
:21:14. > :21:18.and fathers, they have such a strong voice and we have missed that voice.
:21:19. > :21:23.We need that voice. I gather your own husband is here today. I can
:21:24. > :21:30.only assume he backs you are 100%. Absolutely. He is as a husband and
:21:31. > :21:35.father, he reads these stories and can hardly read them because he
:21:36. > :21:39.thinks about our daughter. Angelina Jolie at the Foreign
:21:40. > :21:42.Secretary, William Hague. Much more discussions this afternoon. Then
:21:43. > :21:44.communicate issued tomorrow morning at the end of the summit. Back to
:21:45. > :21:50.you. Firefighters in England and Wales
:21:51. > :21:52.have gone on strike in the latest round of their
:21:53. > :21:55.long-running row over changes to The 24-hour stoppage is the
:21:56. > :21:59.longest so far in a dispute that's The union says the pension proposals
:22:00. > :22:04.are unfair and unaffordable. Ministers have accused the union
:22:05. > :22:06.of disrupting negotiations. The main fire union says
:22:07. > :22:13.this dispute is escalating. Here in Manchester they walked
:22:14. > :22:16.out at nine o'clock this morning. Union members joined the action
:22:17. > :22:19.at fire stations across England These firefighters say government
:22:20. > :22:23.plans to change their pensions A lot of people might think that
:22:24. > :22:30.firefighters get one of the best Maybe, but we pay for that,
:22:31. > :22:36.?350 a month into our pension pot. Three quarters of the way through
:22:37. > :22:40.they have decided to change it. To be expected to go into somewhere
:22:41. > :22:49.over 55, that is 1000 degrees This is the first 24-hour walk-out
:22:50. > :22:56.in this increasingly bitter dispute. But over the past year there's
:22:57. > :22:59.been strike after strike. On the issue of pensions
:23:00. > :23:02.the two sides, the government and the Fire Brigades Union, seem
:23:03. > :23:09.just as far apart as they were. Under the proposals firefighters
:23:10. > :23:13.that leave before they are 60 will lose a substantial amount
:23:14. > :23:16.of their retirement income. But ministers insist their reforms
:23:17. > :23:20.are fair and still generous. We think there's
:23:21. > :23:27.a very good offer on the table. This is
:23:28. > :23:29.the most expensive pensions scheme in the public sector and it would
:23:30. > :23:33.still be one of the best schemes for But every time we've been talking to
:23:34. > :23:37.the union and got very close to doing
:23:38. > :23:40.something sensible and moving this While many union members are
:23:41. > :23:45.on picket lines and taking part in rallies,
:23:46. > :23:48.ministers say robust contingency A reduced services being provided
:23:49. > :23:54.by private contractors, part-time In genuine emergencies members of
:23:55. > :24:05.the public should still call 999. England's batsmen have struggled
:24:06. > :24:08.in the opening session of just 98. Our sports correspondent
:24:09. > :24:26.Joe Wilson watched the morning's Like Bs at the first scent of
:24:27. > :24:30.summer, the members sworn to Lourdes, but enthusiasm is not
:24:31. > :24:37.conditional. In recent times England's cricketers have sorely
:24:38. > :24:41.tested patients. For this man, it is an annual punk -- pilgrimage. It
:24:42. > :24:47.costs ?80. He needs something in return. It is entertainment. Play
:24:48. > :24:51.hard, play with flair, lose, that is fine. For you and a lot of fans the
:24:52. > :24:58.entertainer was Kevin Pietersen. Here's the box office. Against Sri
:24:59. > :25:02.Lanka, Sam Robson was poor of three England debutantes. He lasted 15
:25:03. > :25:06.minutes. The captain Alistair Cook made 17. Within half an hour
:25:07. > :25:11.England's new era was looking disturbingly like the old one. Gary
:25:12. > :25:15.Ballance now had a key role to play in restoring some order. This four
:25:16. > :25:18.took England past 50. There was Ian Bell as well, more of a craftsman
:25:19. > :25:22.than a craftsman, show man will stop if he gets going then it is
:25:23. > :25:27.classical cricket and -- entertainment. England recovered as
:25:28. > :25:32.the sunbaked Lord's, until with the score on 74 Ballance-macro was gone.
:25:33. > :25:36.Enough in the morning to make Sri Lanka glance again.
:25:37. > :25:47.Now, love it or hate it the World Cup is almost upon us.
:25:48. > :25:49.32 nations are competing for football's biggest prize.
:25:50. > :25:52.The host nation Brazil plays its first match tonight against Croatia.
:25:53. > :25:55.England kick off their campaign on Saturday against Italy and it's the
:25:56. > :25:57.condition of the match pitch which is already proving controversial.
:25:58. > :26:02.Let's cross to Ben Brown, who's in Rio.
:26:03. > :26:08.It has been a long, painful journey for Brazil to get here. A wave of
:26:09. > :26:13.demonstrations and strikes. A wildcat strike by Rio airport
:26:14. > :26:18.workers demanding a World Cup bonus payment. Finally it gets under way
:26:19. > :26:19.in a few hours' time. Brazil against Croatia in Sao Paulo. Wyre Davies
:26:20. > :26:24.reports. If Brazilian fans had been slow to
:26:25. > :26:27.get in the mood, Latin American supporters
:26:28. > :26:31.are here in big numbers. But all the negativity of
:26:32. > :26:38.the last year will be swept aside as Here at Sao Paulo's barely ready
:26:39. > :26:46.but imposing new stadium. Despite the delays
:26:47. > :26:49.and the widespread criticism of all the problems we've had
:26:50. > :26:51.in recent months, the Brazilian government is putting
:26:52. > :26:55.up a very stern defence of how it It has all come down to the last
:26:56. > :27:00.minute but the opening stadium is ready and the World Cup, they say,
:27:01. > :27:05.will be a huge success. We are good to celebrate and
:27:06. > :27:13.in delivery. Stadium worries aside,
:27:14. > :27:15.the big concern is disruption These landless activists camped out
:27:16. > :27:22.within sight of the opening venue, one of many groups threatening to
:27:23. > :27:26.demonstrate against excessive FIFA and Brazil's government hope
:27:27. > :27:33.those voices will be drowned out as fans finally get behind one of
:27:34. > :27:50.the world's great sporting events. Let's talk about England now. The
:27:51. > :27:54.squad are on their way to Manaus in the depths of the Amazonian
:27:55. > :27:58.rainforest, where they'll face high temperatures and high humidity and a
:27:59. > :28:04.pretty ropey pitch. Andy Swiss is there. A pretty tough place for
:28:05. > :28:08.England to play their opening game? What is right, welcome to Manaus.
:28:09. > :28:12.You can see the stadium behind me and as you say, it is the pitch that
:28:13. > :28:16.is the real talking point. It is not in great condition. Lots of dry,
:28:17. > :28:20.yellow streaks running across the pitch. In fact, yesterday the
:28:21. > :28:24.groundsman here admitted it was in poor shape and they were carrying
:28:25. > :28:28.out an emergency plan to try to improve it. The problem has been due
:28:29. > :28:33.to recent rainfall and algae within the grass. England are flying out
:28:34. > :28:37.here later within the next few hours. It is quite a journey from
:28:38. > :28:41.Rio de Janeiro, a four hour flight. They are only having a light strip
:28:42. > :28:46.-- a light training session here today. They will send over one of
:28:47. > :28:50.their backroom staff to inspect the pitch before they practice their
:28:51. > :28:54.tomorrow afternoon. The other big issue was the climate. It is only
:28:55. > :28:58.breakfast time. Already you can feel the stifling heat and humidity. It
:28:59. > :29:01.is going to be really tough conditions for the players.
:29:02. > :29:06.Temperatures into the low 30s. England will hope their preparations
:29:07. > :29:09.in Miami and Rio de Janeiro pay off.
:29:10. > :29:14.The atmosphere here in Rio, have perhaps a little flat at the moment.
:29:15. > :29:18.Just a few hours to go until the opening of the tournament. Many
:29:19. > :29:22.Brazilians resent the cost of the whole thing here. The government are
:29:23. > :29:31.hoping once the football does begin then Brazilians will fall under the
:29:32. > :29:32.spell of its magic. Beautiful blue skies here. Peter
:29:33. > :29:44.Gibbs has the weather. This evening's matches looking good.
:29:45. > :29:47.Perfect in Sao Paulo. 23 degrees and sunshine and relatively low
:29:48. > :29:51.humidity. It will probably be warmer here in some places, particularly
:29:52. > :29:57.across the South, during the rest of today compared to Sao Paulo. 25 or
:29:58. > :30:00.26 Celsius in some southern parts. We still have high or very high
:30:01. > :30:05.pollen levels across many parts of the UK. It is not great for hay
:30:06. > :30:10.fever sufferers at the moment. Maybe some improvement as we go into the
:30:11. > :30:14.weekend. More warm sunshine -- sunshine to come for England and
:30:15. > :30:16.Wales today. Things changing in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
:30:17. > :30:21.Outbreaks of rain moving in. Tonight, they will turn heavier,
:30:22. > :30:27.albeit showery. Heavy bursts likely in the early hours. One night, one
:30:28. > :30:32.or two spots could go into single figures but most towns and cities
:30:33. > :30:37.about mid-teens. Tomorrow morning, this is how we start. Lots of bright
:30:38. > :30:41.sunshine across England and Wales. Temperatures picking up quickly and
:30:42. > :30:45.the strong June sunshine. Had further north, we start to meet the
:30:46. > :30:49.cloud and still those outbreaks of rain, particularly across Northern
:30:50. > :30:54.Ireland and Scotland. Some of it on the heavy side, turning misty around
:30:55. > :30:57.western coast sandhills as well. Not terribly pleasant here. We will keep
:30:58. > :31:01.further outbreaks of rain going through the rest of the day. The
:31:02. > :31:06.intensity tending to go out of it. A little lighter and more patchy. The
:31:07. > :31:09.odd light shower may be getting into parts of northern England through
:31:10. > :31:13.the afternoon. The bulk of England and Wales getting another fine, one
:31:14. > :31:17.day. Lots of sunshine around, maybe not quite as much as the day, some
:31:18. > :31:22.high cloud but similar temperatures. Rather cooler under the cloud and
:31:23. > :31:27.the rain further north. Through this weekend the trend is for the cooler
:31:28. > :31:32.weather to push southwards. A bit of sunshine around, still dry for much
:31:33. > :31:35.of the time as well. Quite usable weekend. This is how Saturday looks.
:31:36. > :31:39.You will notice the temperature difference along the North Sea
:31:40. > :31:43.coasts, where the wind will come in off the sea but across central and
:31:44. > :31:46.western areas fairly light winds. Get some sunshine through and there
:31:47. > :31:52.will be some around and it should not feel too bad, with temperatures
:31:53. > :31:53.of 20-21, close to the average this time of year. Not a spectacular
:31:54. > :31:57.weekend, but not too bad. of 20-21, close to the average this
:31:58. > :32:03.time of year. Not Now a reminder
:32:04. > :32:09.of our top story this lunchtime.