:00:11. > :00:16.Two children aged five and two have died and their father is messing
:00:16. > :00:20.after a canoe capsizes in the Scottish Highlands. The two boys
:00:20. > :00:24.are named as Jamie and Ewen Beaton. The search for their father has
:00:24. > :00:28.been scaled down - he is presumed dead. Syrian rebels claim they have
:00:28. > :00:35.shot down an army helicopter in Damascus. Scientists say more
:00:35. > :00:41.Arctic ice has melted this summer than at any time since satellite
:00:41. > :00:51.records began. Essex on alert, but was there ever a lion on the lose
:00:51. > :00:58.
:00:58. > :01:06.A very good afternoon to you. A man is missing, feared dead, after an
:01:06. > :01:12.accident on a Highland sea loch. Ewen Beaton was on a day trip with
:01:12. > :01:16.his two sons T canoe they were in, with three other people capsized
:01:16. > :01:22.near Loch Gairloch yesterday. Our correspondent is at the scene for
:01:22. > :01:25.us. This was a terrible tragedy, involving two fathers who decided
:01:25. > :01:31.yesterday afternoon to head out into the wear behind me here with
:01:31. > :01:38.their children. It was a decision which led to disaster.
:01:38. > :01:42.For hours, they scoured the sea and the shore line, but to no avail.
:01:42. > :01:48.32-year-old Ewen Beaton is now presumed drowned. His young sons,
:01:48. > :01:52.Ewen, aged five and Jamie, two, are also dead. The unfolding tragedy
:01:52. > :01:58.was recorded on camera by tourists on the beach. We saw them recover
:01:58. > :02:02.one of the casualties from the water. Then there was an ambulance
:02:02. > :02:07.helicopter turned up. The boat kept searching. There was another pick-
:02:08. > :02:12.up, when somebody was brought ashore. The accident has shocked
:02:12. > :02:16.holidaymakers and locals here. An eight-year-old girl and her father
:02:16. > :02:19.survived, swimming hundreds of metres to raise the alarm, but the
:02:19. > :02:26.girl's five-year-old sister was taken to hospital in a serious
:02:26. > :02:31.condition. What went wrong is not yet clear. It was a beautiful sunny
:02:31. > :02:35.summer's afternoon. The loch was flat calm, visibility was clear. A
:02:35. > :02:40.great day - it just ended with tragic consequences. The two
:02:40. > :02:45.families had been out in an open can any Diane canoe like this. The
:02:45. > :02:51.children were living life jackets, their fathers were not. It hasn't
:02:51. > :02:59.got any inher rant buoyensy of its own. It is quite an unstable craft.
:02:59. > :03:02.They are quite - if you get a few people in them, it can be dangerous.
:03:02. > :03:06.Tonight, the Beaton family released a statement, saying they were
:03:06. > :03:09.utterly devastated by the loss of their beautiful little boys. They
:03:10. > :03:15.thanked rescuers for trying to find their adoring father, Ewen, but
:03:15. > :03:19.they know he will not now be found alive.
:03:19. > :03:24.That search has been scaled back this evening. The search for Ewen
:03:24. > :03:30.Beaton now reduced to shore-line patrols to find his body. His wife
:03:30. > :03:36.is being comforted by members of her family at home. Really, what
:03:36. > :03:39.comfort can anyone give her this evening?
:03:39. > :03:42.17 people have been killed in a Taliban-controlled area of
:03:42. > :03:46.Afghanistan. It is thought they may have been targeted because they
:03:46. > :03:54.were at a party. Our correspondent is in Kabul for us now. What more
:03:54. > :04:00.do we know about all this? We know these 17 civilians, including two
:04:00. > :04:04.women, either had their throats cut or were beheaded by local Taliban
:04:04. > :04:08.commanders. It may be because they were singing and dancing, they were
:04:08. > :04:12.at a party and the Taliban believe they should be punished for that.
:04:12. > :04:17.Or according to local officials it may be because rival Taliban
:04:17. > :04:20.commanders were in dispute over the affections of the two women. The
:04:20. > :04:25.reason it has taken so long to hear about this, despite the fact there
:04:25. > :04:33.are thousands of Marines in this area, this is Taliban-controlled
:04:33. > :04:37.territory. And there is news of yet another
:04:37. > :04:42.incident involving NATO troops being attacked by an Afghan
:04:42. > :04:50.soldier?. That is right, in the east of the country, not far from
:04:50. > :05:00.where I am now. It is called green on blue incidences, an Afghan
:05:00. > :05:01.
:05:01. > :05:06.soldier killed two NATO soldiers. He was subsequently killed. We saw
:05:07. > :05:12.ten Afghan national soldiers killed when their checkpoint was overrun
:05:12. > :05:16.by 200 overrunning that checkpoint. It gives you an idea of the
:05:16. > :05:21.ferocity of this continuing war. Thank you.
:05:21. > :05:26.Scientists say more sea ice in the Arctic has melted this summer than
:05:26. > :05:30.at any time since satellite records began more than 30 years ago. It is
:05:30. > :05:37.believed greenhouse gases from pollution are mainly to blame. It
:05:37. > :05:41.may provide an opportunity for gas, gas and mineral exploitation.
:05:41. > :05:45.The Arctic. It is warming much faster than the rest of the planet.
:05:45. > :05:51.That is thanks to the melting of the ice on the sea. Ice reflects
:05:51. > :05:59.heat, so every bit that disappears allows the sun to heat the dark
:05:59. > :06:03.ocean beneath it. From 1979, NASA's satellite have tracked the
:06:03. > :06:09.shrinking of Arctic ice. It fluctuates from year to year. This
:06:09. > :06:12.year's ice will be the smallest yet. Every year the ice grows during the
:06:12. > :06:17.winter and shrinks back in the summer. That is a natural cycle
:06:17. > :06:21.that goes on all the time. It is just in recent years we have seen
:06:21. > :06:27.the summer minimum is getting smaller and smaller.
:06:27. > :06:33.So what has caused the rapid warming? A recent paper from
:06:33. > :06:39.Reading university suggest that 30% is due to the natural cycle
:06:39. > :06:44.repeating every 65-80 years. It has been in a warm phase since the
:06:44. > :06:51.1970s. The same paper calculates that human activity has caused 70%
:06:51. > :06:55.of the warming. Pollution from our cars, our homes and our factories.
:06:55. > :07:00.Some scientists believe that an ice-free Arctic in summer is only a
:07:00. > :07:03.matter of time. I think the next two or three years will see a
:07:03. > :07:08.further collapse. We will then encounter an Arctic Ocean without
:07:08. > :07:12.any ice in it during the summer months. Some would benefit from a
:07:12. > :07:17.melting ocean like shipping, for instance. Oil and gas firms
:07:17. > :07:23.battling with environmentalists like Gazprom did with Greenpeace
:07:23. > :07:29.today hope to exploit the Arctic's mineral resources too. Warming
:07:29. > :07:38.would bring trouble, roads based on permanently frozen ground are
:07:38. > :07:44.crumbling, as was shownen the BBC's World's Most Dangerous Roads.
:07:44. > :07:48.Methane, a greenhouse gas could be permanently released and that would
:07:48. > :07:53.over-heat the world nor. It is all a big accidental experiment with
:07:53. > :07:58.the planet. Opposition forces in Syria say they
:07:59. > :08:02.have shot down a helicopter as it attacks rebel fighters in Damascus.
:08:02. > :08:10.State television has confirmed that a helicopter did crash near a
:08:10. > :08:13.mosque, but did not give any more details.
:08:14. > :08:19.A dramatic development in the battle for Damascus. A military
:08:19. > :08:24.helicopter burst into flames and fell out of the sky. Rebels say it
:08:24. > :08:27.had fired on their neighbourhood and claimed to shoot it down. State
:08:27. > :08:33.television confirms only it had crashed. It was a huge morale boost
:08:33. > :08:38.for the opposition in this uneven war. Unverified footage appears to
:08:38. > :08:44.show the smouldering wreck yaedge. There's no sign of the -- wreckage,
:08:44. > :08:48.there's no sign of the pilot. Fighting has been going on for a
:08:48. > :08:53.more than week. These pictures are said to show a fire, ignited by
:08:53. > :08:59.random shelling to. The north, the city of Aleppo, is the other main
:08:59. > :09:04.battle ground. The conflict here has ground into a bloody impasse.
:09:04. > :09:09.These images appear to show a guerrilla fighter using small arms
:09:09. > :09:13.to attack the military. Activists claim he hit an approaching
:09:13. > :09:17.armoured vehicle. Near Aleppo n the town of Ma'arra, rebels take a
:09:17. > :09:23.break from the war. They are angry about being left on their own to
:09:23. > :09:27.face a far superior army. The commander said the world needs to
:09:27. > :09:29.wake up. I have seen horrible things. I am not talking to the
:09:30. > :09:35.people inside Syria. I am addressing the world. Can you not
:09:35. > :09:40.see the shelling, the destruction, the children being slaughtered - is
:09:40. > :09:44.this not enough proof for the world? The least the world can do
:09:44. > :09:48.is provide us with some safe havens. Back in Aleppo no-one is safe and
:09:48. > :09:56.will not be for some time. In order to win the war t regime needs to
:09:56. > :09:59.win here and in Damascus. Labour has joined Sir Richard
:09:59. > :10:04.Branson in calling for the Government to delay the signing of
:10:04. > :10:14.a new contract to run the West Coast Main Line until MPs can
:10:14. > :10:15.
:10:15. > :10:18.scrutinise the deal. Virgin Trains lost the franchise to FirstGroup.
:10:19. > :10:22.He has practiced at celebrating success. Now Richard Branson is
:10:22. > :10:26.fighting a defeat. The Government is poised to sign a contract with
:10:26. > :10:30.FirstGroup, allowing it to take over the West Coast Main Line. At
:10:30. > :10:36.the moment, it is run by Virgin Trains. Richard Branson is lobbying
:10:36. > :10:39.hard for a last-minute re-think. We're not letting this drop because
:10:40. > :10:45.we is spent 15 years creating what we believe to be the best train
:10:45. > :10:50.network in the UK. We don't want to see that ruined. FirstGroup's
:10:50. > :10:54.critics fear the company will not be able to afford the �5.5 billion
:10:54. > :11:04.it offered in its successful bid. In a statement the chief executive
:11:04. > :11:08.
:11:08. > :11:12.said its bid was the best deal for 140,000 people have signed an on-
:11:12. > :11:16.line petition asking the Government to think again. Labour wants MPs to
:11:16. > :11:20.have a say before the contract is signed. This is a deal that's going
:11:20. > :11:24.to last not for the next Parliament but for the next three Parliaments.
:11:24. > :11:31.It seems that if the Secretary of State signs it in the recess,
:11:31. > :11:37.having announced knit the recess, MPs and they -- announced it in the
:11:37. > :11:40.recess and means MPs will not have a chance to debate it. The lawyers
:11:40. > :11:46.spent the weekend working out how to challenge the bidding process.
:11:46. > :11:49.Time is running out. The Government insist the bid was done fairly and
:11:49. > :11:59.the Secretary of State for Transport shows no sign of changing
:11:59. > :11:59.
:11:59. > :12:02.The final Paralympic cauldron has been lit in Cardiff. They have
:12:02. > :12:06.already been lit in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The
:12:06. > :12:09.planes will be brought together tomorrow, head of the Torch Relay
:12:09. > :12:12.for the opening ceremony. Dwindling congregations in
:12:12. > :12:16.Methodist churches across Wales are transforming the landscape as more
:12:16. > :12:20.and more church buildings close. Chapels in Wales are being lost at
:12:20. > :12:25.the rate of one a week. Church leaders fear that hundreds more are
:12:25. > :12:29.likely to follow. Robert Piggott reports from Pembrokeshire, where
:12:29. > :12:34.in the last 12 months almost half of Methodist chapels have closed.
:12:34. > :12:39.After almost 200 years of worship on this spot, Hill Mountain Chapel,
:12:39. > :12:43.near Haverfordwest, is closing. Facing the final Hennes with a lump
:12:43. > :12:49.in their throat, but know that with a maid -- register of only four
:12:49. > :12:54.members, the end had to come. sad to see it closing. But if it's
:12:54. > :13:00.got too close, it's got too close. Wales is littered with abandoned
:13:00. > :13:05.troubles. They are too costly for dwindling congregations to maintain.
:13:05. > :13:08.Of the 6500 built, more than half have closed. Those who still go to
:13:08. > :13:12.the Troubles blamed the demise of a culture which encourages
:13:12. > :13:17.individualism and the pursuit of personal wealth -- wealth, and
:13:17. > :13:20.scorns religion as unsophisticated and irrational. Almost half of
:13:20. > :13:24.Methodist chapels in Pembrokeshire have closed in the last 12 months.
:13:24. > :13:28.The Church says freeing itself of expensive buildings will help it
:13:28. > :13:36.take Christianity into the wider community. Were think, although it
:13:36. > :13:40.is very sad that some are closing, it is also very exciting. It is
:13:40. > :13:45.liberating the people to do what the Church should be doing. Ethel
:13:45. > :13:52.Chapple has just five that Sunday morning service. In the long term,
:13:52. > :13:56.they could be fighting a losing battle to keep it open. Wales was
:13:56. > :14:00.built on a culture that included non-conformity. That means the
:14:00. > :14:05.spirit of the nation, in many ways, is gone. Wales will be in no way
:14:05. > :14:09.distinctive. It will have lost its hope, it will have lost its way.
:14:09. > :14:19.Hill Mountain, people talk by the door like any other Sunday. Except
:14:19. > :14:19.
:14:19. > :14:22.Golf, and European Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal has
:14:22. > :14:26.announced his team for the competition this year. Nicolas
:14:26. > :14:30.Colsaerts from Belgium and Englishmen Ian Poulter were named
:14:30. > :14:33.as the wild-card picks in the team of 12, which includes Rory McIlroy
:14:33. > :14:37.and Luke Donald. There will compete against United States in Chicago
:14:37. > :14:41.next month. Police in Essex have called off a
:14:41. > :14:45.search for a lion near Clacton-on- Sea. At one point, armed officers
:14:45. > :14:48.and helicopters were deployed and people were told to stay in their
:14:48. > :14:54.homes after a member of the public claimed to have seen that the
:14:54. > :14:58.creature in a field. It is here that you would expect to
:14:58. > :15:02.see lions in Essex, safely in captivity in Colchester Zoo. Just a
:15:02. > :15:06.few miles away last night, armed police were on alert. Several
:15:06. > :15:11.people reported seeing what they thought was a lion, lurking in a
:15:11. > :15:18.field. Today, one of them told us what he had seen. We saw a large
:15:18. > :15:24.cat. It was looking at a tree, we thought it was going to go up. It
:15:24. > :15:28.did not, it turned, it sacked. I believe it could hear us from the
:15:28. > :15:33.other side of the field. -- it sat down. It just sat there looking at
:15:33. > :15:37.us. It was very impressive. It was a nice sight to see. In the local
:15:37. > :15:42.area, some were sceptical. Others were understandably worried.
:15:42. > :15:46.think it is quite concerning. If it is true, there is a large cat out
:15:46. > :15:51.there, then it is quite a worrying thing. We do have a lot of fields
:15:51. > :15:56.around, so there are plenty of places for the animal to hide.
:15:56. > :16:00.sighting happened in a field near St Osyth. Experts were drafted in
:16:00. > :16:04.on the basis of photographs that were taken, evidence that was far
:16:04. > :16:11.from conclusive. It's a picture of a blurry, sandy coloured animal at
:16:11. > :16:15.a distance. I was not prepared to say what it could be. This
:16:16. > :16:20.afternoon, the search was called off. For a while, imaginations have