17/06/2014 BBC News at One

Britain is reopening its embassy in Iran as the crisis in Iraq

intensifies. Security's tight in Baghdad

after fierce fighting just 40 miles from the capital between Islamist

extremists and government forces. We'll be talking to

our world affairs editor John Simpson who's in Baghdad.

Also this lunchtime: Hot property - house prices across

the UK rise by almost 10% in a year. In London

the increase is nearly double that. The Queen welcomes the Chinese

premier to Windsor castle at the start of a three-day official visit

to boost trade and stronger links. A winter of floods - now MPs accuse

the government of not doing enough to maintain flood defences.

The missing Malaysia claim. The likely crash site has still not been

searched according to a radar company.

to boost trade and stronger links. Later on BBC London:

The schoolboy who died at an illegal rave in East Croydon is named.

And people living near Heathrow give their views

on plans for a third runway. Good afternoon

and welcome to the BBC News at One. There's heavy fighting between Iraqi

government forces and the Sunni Islamist insurgents group,

ISIS, in the city of Baquba only 40 miles from the capital, Baghdad.

Reports suggest the city fell last night, but is now

back in government hands. Troops loyal to Baghdad are also

trying to win back other cities in the north of the country which

have been overrun by ISIS forces. Meanwhile here the Government has

announced that it's re-opening the UK's embassy in neighbouring

Iran as part of its response to the upsurge of violence in Iraq.

We'll have he latest on the fighting in Iraq in a moment.

But first our political correspondent, Ross Hawkins, on

The flag burned, the British embassy the day's diplomatic developments.

The flag burned, the British embassy stormed. The protesters were

controlled, the British believe, by the Iranians regime. But three years

later, he has decided it is time for plans to send Jews diplomats back to

Tehran. Following discussions with the Iranians Foreign Minister, we

will be reopening our embassy in Tehran, initially with a small team.

The statements didn't mention Iraq, but the Sunni militants advancing

across that country are making diplomats rethink. That doesn't mean

this decision has come out of the blue. Iran has been talking to the

West about its nuclear programme for awhile. It was all smiles last year

when William Hague and Iran's Foreign Minister met for the first

time. The President Hassan Rouhani, elected last year, is more engaged

with Western governments, and he will project a relaxed image from

time to time. But above all, the fighting in Iraq poses a bigger

threat to the interests of Britain and Iran alike. The diplomatic

outrage of two years ago. the day's diplomatic developments.

Well, as we've heard, forces from the Sunni militant group

ISIS are now around forty miles from the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

But they seem to have been halted at the vital city of Baquba by the

Iraqi Army and militia volunteers. Our world affairs correspondent,

Emily Buchanan, has the latest. For now, Baghdad is calm. Security

is tight. Overnight, Sunni extremists help by supporters of the

former dictator, Saddam Hussein, seized control of parts of Baquba,

barely an hour from the capital. A US aircraft carrier is manoeuvring

into position. Washington is weighing the military option is to

push back the insurgents. A contingent of American troops are

being sent to Iraq to protect American assets, while the Iraqi

government is urging America to begin air strikes immediately. We

need air cover, aerial attacks on the centres of these terrorists. On

their convoys, on their supply columns. We need also support in

terms of counter-terrorism, support, intelligence support. There

are fears American air strikes could inflame sectarian tensions, driving

Shi'ites and sunny's apart. The fault lines are deepening. Some

argue the conflict is the beginning of a 3-way split in the country. We

have to find how to live together, find a formula to live together. But

if we think that we can go back like before, I don't think so. It is

almost impossible. Certainly the spread of images like this won't

help. The United Nations says ISIS extremists may have committed war

crimes. They allegedly executed hundreds of business over the past

few days. The region is already struggling to cope with millions of

refugees, and now thousands of Iraqis are fleeing for safety. These

people escaped after the militants invaded. Many more transit camps

like this one are going to be needed. Let's go to the Iraqi

capital, Baghdad, and speak to John since. -- Simpson. You might get the

sense that they would be a feeling of panic here, but that is not the

case. People are looking just 37 miles down the road to Baquba and

what is happening there, and having the sense that their country is

perhaps in the process of falling apart. Nobody is taking this likely.

The streets and surprisingly empty of traffic. People are mostly

staying at home. But we shouldn't give the impression that somehow

ISIS is an unstoppable force rolling towards the capital, which it will

soon capture. It isn't like that at all. They have been working in

basically Sunni areas. They have been capturing towns with a sizeable

Sunni population, and they have had it quite easy. Baghdad is a

completely different proposition. For a start, it is a Shia majority.

It isn't quite what it seems. What is happening in Baquba at the

moment, the government hopes, is what is going to happen overall,

which is that the volunteers have stemmed the tide, have chucked the

ISIS fighters out of the centre of the town, and are taking over. That

is what the government would like to hear. And what about Iran? Does it

have a role in tackling the ISIS fighters in Iraq? Iran has a very

big role indeed here in Iraq. It already plays it. It is the power

behind the throne of the Shi'ite government. Iran is the world's

great Shi'ite nation. Being right next door, so close, gives it a

position of huge importance. It is quite amusing, really, to hear

British and American politicians talk about allowing Iran to have a

role. Iran would see it as the other way around, letting Britain and

America have some kind of knowledge of what their plans are here. John

Simpson, thank you very much. Our chief political correspondent Norman

Smith is at Westminster. And a very big development, the British Embassy

reopening. It is a sea change moment in foreign policy. Remember

President Bush branded Iran part of the axis of evil. The embassy was

ransacked, there were allegedly unanswered questions about the

nuclear programme, and now it is being brought in from the diplomatic

cold. Bluntly, it is because the Barbarians 40 miles from the gates

of Baghdad, the Barbarians in the form of the terrorist group ISIS.

Only Iran has the political and potentially military muscle to repel

the invaders. It tells us that there is an utter conviction in the

witches government that the UK should not get militarily involved

in Iraq again -- in the British government. That it is up to the key

players in the region to involve these conflicts. And the political

imperative is to defeat ISIS, and if that means reaching out to an old

foe, so be it. Norman, thank you.

Emily Buchanan, has the latest. House prices across the UK rose

by 9.9% in the past year according to figures from the Office

for National Statistics. In London that figure is nearly 19%.

It means the average house now costs ?260,000.

The latest figures also show that inflation has fallen to 1.5%,

but prices are still rising faster than wages,

as our economics correspondent, Simon Jack, now reports.

The rate of inflation was you and a downward trend until Easter, when

the higher travel costs associated with holidays pushed it up last

month. Overall, the price of goods and services was 1.5% higher in May

than it was last year. That is down from April, which now looks like a

blip. That it still means prices are rising, just less quickly. The

economy has really blossomed over the last year. It is growing at a

rate that we haven't seen since before the big downturn.

Unemployment has fallen sharply, and inflation is low. But prices are

still rising a little bit more than people's wages, so is it too soon to

say that the big squeeze is over? I do think that prices are going up

with inflation. I don't think that my wages are keeping up. Everything

goes high, bills and everything, but our bills -- wages don't go high.

goes high, bills and everything, but Wii I do feel a bit better off.

Prices have Wii I do feel a bit better off.

going up so quickly. Last week, the Bank of England warned it may raise

interest rates this year to head off inflation. It is a bit of a pinch

when wages are going up at less than 1%, but it is low to be too

concerned. So I think interest rates will probably rise in the next 6-12

months. One thing the bank may have to tackle sooner is house prices,

which rose 99% on average nationally, and faster than

inflation in every part of the UK. -- 9.9%. The Court of Appeal has

ruled that the hospital acted unlawfully when it placed do not

resuscitate notice in the notes of a terminally ill patient without her

permission. Simon Jack, now reports.

The judges ruled that Janet Tracey's human rights had been violated

by staff at Addenbrooke's hospital, where she died in 2011.

It means that from now on, patients and their families will

Janet Tracy's family said that their before such notices are issued.

Janet Tracy's family said that their mother's life was spent caring for

others. But she was not cared for at the end of her life. The 63-year-old

care home manager was suffering from advanced lung cancer when she broke

her neck in an accident. Without telling her or her relatives,

doctors at the hospital placed a do not resuscitate notice on her

records. Today the Court of Appeal said her treatment reached her human

rights. It was extremely distressing for my wife. She was in tears.

Nobody should have to go through that. How important is this victory

in the court today for other families in a similar situation? It

is very important, and it would have been very important to my mum. She

cared for the elderly all her life. She would have expected us to do

something in the light of what she had experienced. And for us, it is

very important, but also it is those that are going to come into the same

situation in the future. Today's ruling doesn't mean that patients

will now have the automatic right to be resuscitated. That will study a

purely medical decision made by their doctors. But they do now have

the right to be kept informed at every stage of the process. The

hospital trust says it has introduced a new approach to

handling such decisions. Janet's family say after three distressing

years, they can finally move on. before such notices are issued.

The Queen has welcomed the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to

Windsor Castle at the start of a three-day official visit.

He's now in Downing Street for talks with David Cameron

which are expected to focus on plans to boost trade and investment.

Here's our world affairs correspondent, Paul Adams.

A grand, decorous start to a day of hard business. It is believed the

Chinese threat -- threatened to cancel the whole trip if this

meeting wasn't on offer. Last year's trip to China was an

opportunity for the Prime Minister to look, learn and be impressed. But

December's host now says he wants to draw on British experience. China,

he says, is a late, to modernisation with lots to learn. And lots to

invest. A ?1 billion plan to turn a part of London's docklands into an

Asian trading hub is part of the grand scheme they have in mind. It

is still very underdeveloped by comparison with someone like

Germany, for example. There is a lot of money coming into the UK in

investment, and particularly in big infrastructure projects that the

Government is trying hard to push. Among a host of deals, almost ?12

billion budget for BP to supply China with liquefied natural gas.

The end of a 30 year ban on British beef and lamb, which could be worth

a 30 year ban on British beef and lamb, which could be worth ?120

million. Add a major commitment worth almost ?1 billion from one of

China's newest investment corporations.

Albanese the way, new streamlined Visa system announced yesterday,

welcoming news for Chinese tourists and businesses alike. When it comes

to human rights, concerns are once again on display outside Downing

Street. From September,

chocolate and sweets will be banned And fried or battered food won't be

served for lunch more than twice a week under new rules being set

out by ministers. Children won't be allowed salt

on the table and they will be given water,

rather than fruit juice to drink. The UK says it will re-open

its embassy in neighbouring Excitement here over Brazil being

back in action here, but for England fans it is all

The research showing where to live outside the capital to save money.

And for over 100 years it's been where Londoners have their say.

Now Speakers? Corner gets a makeover.

about the build-up to the key match -- it

More than three months after the Malaysian airlines plane

disappeared with 239 people on board, a British satellite

company says the most likely crash site has still not been searched.

Scientists have told the BBC's Horizon programme that they'd

calculated the flight's most likely path, but the area where they

believe it came down hasn't been looked at yet because the

authorities began investigating a series of pings further afield.

Here's our Science Correspondent, Pallab Ghosh.

on March the 8th, Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 set off for Beijing. On

board the Boeing 777 were 239 passengers and crew. 40 minutes into

the flight, air traffic controllers lost radio contact with the crew and

lost track of the plane on their radar. The hourly electronic

connections between the jet and the communications satellite showed that

the plane continued to fly for several hours. Data from the company

that owned the satellite, Inmarsat, suggested the plane came down in the

southern Indian Ocean. An Australian naval vessel was sent to investigate

the region west of Perth. BBC Two's Horizon programme reports it never

got to the most probable area from Inmarsat because it picked up

signals some distance away. The search team thought it was coming

from the jet flight recorders. But the lead turned out to be a

dead-end. It was not an unrealistic location, but it was an area that

was not high that of probability. It is hoped that investigators are now

on their way to solving the mystery of what happened to MH370.

You can see more about that story on Horizon this evening on BBC2

The programme is called Where is Flight MH370?

An inquiry has recommended widespread changes to the way babies

It follows the scandal at a crematorium in Edinburgh,

where for decades staff secretly buried or scattered the ashes

of babies after telling bereaved parents there were no remains.

Our Scotland Correspondent, Lorna Gordon, reports.

Sian Marshall's son Liam was born, got to hold him, dress and tell him

he was loved. The mother from Dundee say she was told there would be no

remains from his cremation but says she recently discovered his ashes

were in fact scattered by staff at the crematorium without her

knowledge. I was the one that felt the kick and felt every nickel and

had to give birth, and to have him taken away from a completely and not

decide where his ashes went in the end was awful. Scotland's baby ashes

scandal started at this crematorium in Edinburgh. The

scandal started at this crematorium secretly buried or scatter the ashes

of babies without the knowledge of parents. Today's report looks into

practices across Scotland, but the BBC has

practices across Scotland, but the widespread. We asked all crematoria

in the UK how widespread. We asked all crematoria

cremation of stillborn and very young babies. Of those who fully

replied, it emerged that in 15-year period more than 1000 ashes were not

returned. Of those, in 300 instances across the UK, there were no ashes

left after the process, and in more than 700 instances, baby ashes were

not returned to families. There are a number of reasons why this might

have happened, but what is clear is that there are inconsistencies in

the way different crematoria and different parts of the UK handle the

cremation of babies. Glenn and Louise Perkins from Shrewsbury were

told there would be no remains after their four-month-old daughter,

Olivia, died. The council is now investigating. I don't know where

she is. I have nowhere to go. I believe she is with me, but on her

birthday, the anniversary, I have no where I can go and lay flowers or

take a teddy bear to. These families have all suffered terrible grief,

and in some cases that suffering has now been compounded by the

uncertainty over what happened to their child's remains. There are

moves to review practices here in Scotland, and also a suggestion that

the law elsewhere in the United Kingdom is clarified.

7,000 properties were flooded last winter and parts of Somerset

Now a group of MPs has accused the government of not doing enough

And MPs on the Environment Committee said spending on river maintenance

But the government insists it's investing far more than in the past.

It was the wettest winter record. For many, it meant

It was the wettest winter widespread flooding and widespread

misery. For some, it has still not gone away. Here in Somerset, this

woman has been out of her house for months before -- with little chance

of getting back in before Christmas. She is concerned the new report

could end up being all talk. The strain of living in chaos is never

far away. People's lives are so one edge. One drop of water and it

raises all hell in concern. The edge. One drop of water and it

water outside is always going to be a major problem and it is a long way

off from being sorted out. Dredging got underway at the end of March.

Locals wanted it for years, and complained that no one was

listening. Today, a group of MPs said the government must ensure it

gets its sums rights on flood prevention and recognise local

knowledge is key in the defence of any vulnerable areas. You must not

rob Peter to pay Paul. If money is no object and it will be made

available to Somerset and the South West, it must be from another source

of money rather than existing money in the system. The clearer continues

here in moorland. The government says it is spending more than ever

on flood management -- the clean-up. It is committed to long-term

investment and is giving local people more power. Residents here

hope they have got it right. No one can bear the thought of a repeat of

those devastating winter floods. More meat

from diseased animals could end up in sausages and pies because

of changes to the way safety checks Inspectors will no longer be allowed

to cut open pig carcasses to check for signs of disease because it's

thought it could increase New rules mean they'll only

carry out visual checks. Another day at the office that the

meat inspectors. One medium-sized abattoir in Suffolk. They examine

each pig manually to see if it should be eaten, but this method is

changing. It is not a pretty sight and we can't show you most of the

process here, but what happens in abattoirs is key. Inspectors have

always handled the meat, but now they are being told to stand back

and spot disease by looking at it. It is unusual to be let inside a

place like this, but the owner wants to make a point. He believes that

disease will be missed. We could have an abscess missed, arthritic

joints missed, lesions, and we don't want things like that ending up in

sausages. This is not about your food becoming more risky to eat,

it's more about knowing if there is something unpleasant on your plate.

Ron has 30 years experience and represents food inspectors across

Europe. I will not be eating pork pies and sausages from now on

because, even though it won't make me ill, in all probability, it may,

but probably not, I do not want that kind of material, pass, parts of

abscesses, minced into my food. But the Food Standards Agency says there

is science behind the shake-up. If you routinely handle carcasses and

offal you are likely to spread the contamination around. The scientific

evidence shows us that those hazards of contamination are the key public

health hazard we need to control against. There is more awareness of

where our food comes from and what exactly is in it.

And you can hear more on that story on File on Four tonight at 8:00pm

The World Cup now, and there's intense speculation

about whether the England manager, Roy Hodgson, will play Wayne Rooney

in Thursday's vital qualifier against Uruguay following

The FA has confirmed that the Manchester United striker had

extra training on Monday at his own request.

Sophie, thanks very much, welcome to a rather hazy day in Rio. There are

two questions for Roy Hodgson to mull over. One is whether to play

Rooney, and if the answer is yes, then the question becomes where.

Gary Neville says a drama is being created around one player. But that

Wayne Rooney has the strength to cope with it. Let's get this report.

How do you solve a problem like Wayne Rooney? Rooney pulls it wide.

Played out on the left-hand side in the defeat to Italy, and an

unfamiliar permission -- position that has got many people talking,

including Roy Hodgson's right-hand man. I think Rooney can cause damage

including Roy Hodgson's right-hand on the left. He scored against

Ecuador and set up a goal from the left against Italy, in the two games

we have played. The idea he cannot play there, because I've seen him in

big games playing in that position, once we get down to which players

are going to be playing on Thursday and the manager decides he can look

at Uruguay and think that this suits Wayne Rooney in a number of

positions. Everyone has -- opinion on the Manchester United man with

many newspapers speculating he might not start in the crunch match on

Thursday with Uruguay. But the one former England international there

is no doubt he should play, and in his favoured position. I think if

you're going to play Wayne Rooney, you play him where he's at his best,

which is behind centre forward. As experience, his movement, he can

score goals and he can prove it. He might not yet at a World Cup but he

is very good and he can make things happen. So with two days -- two days

to go before the next game, Roy Hodgson with lead you to think

about, that not just about Wayne, but where to play him. A closed

training session is taking place later on, and then we understand

another player will be holding a news Conference after that. Maybe we

will learn a little more about Roy Hodgson's thoughts. The pick of the

matches today undoubtedly Brazil against Mexico, and the copper

cabana Beach will probably be a feast of yellow and green --

Copacabana beach. All of those bands, and a lot of noise.

A bit more sunshine than yesterday and in that sunshine it will feel

warmer as well. As far as the day goes today we will have plenty of

sunshine around. The early-morning cloud we had across East Anglia and

south-east England is continuing to melt out of the way. We have

sunshine in the south and north, but the weather will feel different. AQ

midfield for Scotland and Northern Ireland and the air coming in was

sent from the subtropics -- AQ midfield. There is high pressure in

East Anglia, but that arrived from Greenland over the weekend. In the

northern areas, in the humid air, we will see top temperatures of maybe

26 degrees in the central belt of Scotland, the hottest day for

Scotland 2014. In the sunshine, further south, a pleasant feel with

temperatures in the low 20s. As I mentioned, a fresh feel the

sunshine. With the area of cloud across northern England, the North

Sea coast could struggle the temperatures. Northern Ireland and

Scotland, where we see the sunny spells, it will feel humid and

pretty hot and temperatures leading into the low up to mid-20s. The heat

and humidity could spark some showers over the Scottish hills, and

the showers will then begin to spread a little further south,

perhaps arriving across the Pennines and parts of northern England as we

head through the evening, before journeying south. But some

uncertainty about whether showers will be. They will be hit and miss

in nature but it will be a mild night. Turning murky in the north,

and in Manchester and Glasgow, falling no lower than 16 degrees.

Wednesday promises to be a cloudy day across England and Wales for

many areas. Showers clear away from the south and the sky brightened up

in the afternoon, but the best of the sunshine will probably be across

the north and west of the British Isles where temperatures should get

into the 20s. Showers break out later in the day across the

north-east of Scotland and they are tied in with a cold front. As we

head into Thursday, that will sweep towards the south and this will

bring a change to Scotland and Northern Ireland. There will be less

humidity, the air will be fresher and there might be more in the way

of cloud. The temperatures fall back by a few degrees into the upper

teens. But still warm across the South where temperatures will reach

the low 20s. Pollen levels are expected to peak. They will be very

high across Southern counties and the south of Wales as we get through

Thursday afternoon. It could be quite a sneezy day.

Now a reminder of our top story this lunchtime:

The UK says it is opening the embassy in Iran as tensions rise in