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>> also coming up in the program, australia mourns as three of its soldiers are killed in afghanistan in the latest green on blue attack. >> in a war of so many losses, this is our single worst day in afghanistan. >> and syria calls for a transfer of democracy during a visit to iraq. hello, it is 7:00 in the morning in washington, half past 4:00 in dehli, midday here in london where the biggest paraolympic games ever got underway. focusing on science and humanity signaled the start of 11 days of competition. among 164 nations. let's go to my colleague at the bbc studios overlooking the olympic park. >> tim, thank you very much. yes, welcome to our stewed yows

overlooking the olympic park here in east london. 4,000 athletes are taking part in these games, many of whom are competing in their first ever paraolympic games. i have to say that that same feel good factor has returned to day one of this competition. of course it began last night when 80,000 spectators were packed in where they were told they would be inspired, dazzled and moved. david bond has more. >> can any sporting event have received a liftoff quite like this? two weeks after the olympic party ended, london was again the center of the sporting world as the paraolympics burst into life. as with danny boyle's sell -- as with danny boyle's celebrated aisle of wonders, this started but in a very different kind of show. watched by 80,000 people, there was a lead role for the eminent

physicist, professor steven hawking, chosen as the guide for a story which focused on the role played by science in pushing the boundaries of human knowledge and endever. because while these games are ultimately about world class sport, they're also an invaluable opportunity to change the way disabled people are viewed. for the queen, there was to be no daredevil entrance. her arrival was a more tradition affair this time around. other members of the royal family were also here and it was to the athletes. more than 4,000 from 164 countries, who will make this the biggest sports event after the olympics. for the british, this is their chance to follow the record-breaking lead set by team g.b. during the olympics. on a night which constantly challenged attitudes towards disability, the stellar moment was left to the end. the honor of relighting the

iconic cull deron fell to margaret mourn, who won britain's first paraolympic gold at the 1960 games. it was a spectacular finale to a ceremony which not also entertained, but also engaged the mind. it's now up to the sport and the competitors to continue that theme. david bond, "bbc news," at the olympic park. >> spectacular night last night. there were 80,000 people as we said in that stadium, packed, watching those scenes unfold. really was very special because of course the paraolympic games have returned home to their spiritual roots here. and like i said before, many of the countries are competing for the first time in these games over the next 11 days. and today, up for grabs, 28 gold medals in total, some of them will be handed out in the ah -- in the aquatic center.

you can see hundreds and hundreds of people millioning around. we're going to be here all day, so stay with us here on "bbc world news." tim, back to you. >> thank you very much indeed. to the united states where mitt romney's running mate in the presidential election has set out the republican's vision for reviving the economy. paul ryan said that a romney administration would hope to create 12 million jobs in four years and hold down public spending. he accused president obama of doing nothing to cut government debt. steve kingston reports from tampa, florida. >> businessman. governor. troubleshooter. husband. somehow questions still persist. who is mitt romney? and what does he stand for? on the second night of this convention, it fell to his youthful running mate to provide

an answer. >> the man who will accept your nomination tomorrow is prayerful and faithful and honorable. not only a defender of marriage, he offers an example of marriage at its best. not only a fine businessman, he's a fine man. after four years of getting the runaround, america needs a turnaround and the man for the job is governor mitt romney! >> it is a curious mix. the convention and the less conventional. we canvased voters in a hip cuban enclave that once made tampa the cigar capitol of the world. what comes into your mind when i say mitt romney? >> i'm unsure. >> why are you unsure? >> neither one of them give me any information i want. the stuff i'm hearing is just rhetoric and i want to hear

something positive. >> i don't think he's virgin win. if he would be more genuine, i think he's saying what the people want him to say versus -- i don't think he's for the common people. >> in a world where thousands of jobs were destroyed -- >> throughout the summer, mr. romney has been defined by his opponents, as the obama paints him as a hardless, tireless tycoon. yet he has arrived neck and neck each week in the polls. up on that stage, he will have his best chance, perhaps his last chance to define himself on his own terms. he'll be talking to not only the audience in this hall, but the million of americans back home, when just over two months from now will decide his fate. steve kingston, "bbc news," at if republican party convention in tampa. >> look at some of the other stories making headlines around

the world today. 28 coal miners are missing underground in china after an explosion killed at least 19 of their fellow workers. rescue teams from other mines pulled more than a hundred people to safety after a gas explosion. just six survivors have been found from a boat carrying as many as 150. they were rescued after spending nearly 24 hours in the water. australia's home affairs administer said he had grave concern for the other people onboard. the british government has stripped the london metropolitan university of its license to teach students from outside the european union. more than 2,000 students face deportation from the country. more than half never turned up to courses. we'll have more on that later. five australian soldiers have been killed in afghanistan in the single worst day for the

australian force operating there. in the first incident, a gunman dressed in afghan army uniform shot dead three soldiers. a helicopter crash also killed two australian commanders. these latest deaths bring to 38 the number of australian soldiers killed in afghanistan. >> in a war of so many losses, this is our single worst day in afghanistan. indeed, i believe this is the most losses in combat since the days of the vietnam war and the battle of longtan. this is going to feel like a physical blow. this is news so sadening that many are going to feel the immense weight of it. >> we'll get reaction later here. the egyptian president mohamed mursi has condemned the syrian government as oppressive in

iran. mr. mursi's criticism is reported to have prompted a walk out in the summit in tehran. they later accused mr. mursi of insighting bloodshed. let's get the latest. the first visit by an egyptian leader for many decades, john. and the strong words about syria in a country which of course is one of syria's closest allies. >> the first visit for decades, and you must wonder whether it will be the last one as well because president mursi after accepting the invitation to go to iran has done nothing really to make himself more welcome there. not only did he make these comments about syria, but islam as well which won't be received well in tehran. two very interesting messages here. first of all, obviously the comments about syria really sticking out. but it s opposition and saying that supporting the syrian people was just like supporting the

palestine people. absolutely provocative. egypt is now trying to stake out an independent and assertive foreign policy. clearly it was an act of defiance against washington, but he went to tehran but now he's not doing anything to endeer himself to the iran government and really showing his independence from them as well. >> just going back to syria, he said egypt would be prepared to work all out to stop the blood shed. how? in what way? >> that is not clear at all. because although he has called for a meeting against original powers including iran, it's really difficult to see what they had in common and where they could work towards the settlement. we've seen once again here that egypt supports the revolutions, the uprising within syria and has condemned the syrian government repeatedly. by contrast, it is their closest

ally of president mursi. maybe those two things can come together and have them work together towards some kind of deal. but frankly very, very hard to see anything coming in the immediate future. >> just looking at the countries there, the ones who don't automatically support the u.s. and russia, in what way does any sort of sectarian difference play out when you're dealing with a country like iran given the sunni background of mursi? >> well, exactly very important, very interesting some of these comments might seem slightly arcane to outside observers. but basically he penned his colors to the mast as a sue any muslim, something that infuror rated shiite muslims. it is seen as a shiite muslim power. that's very difficult for the sunni population of the middle east. and try as they might, the

influence has been restricted across the middle east. i think we'll see that divide even more starkly. i think this will really reassure western powers in the united states as well who may have been vaguely fairing some sort of islamic access between iran and egypt. now i think they'll see clearly that's divide is as important as any divide in the middle east. >> thank you very much. still to come on "g.m.t." after increased insurgent activity, israel forced billions of dollars into a kilometer defense. could this redefine the landscape of the sinai? now, becoming a world class athlete is tough enough but doing it while overcoming throat cancer takes even more dedication. one athlete is representing vietnam in the pair -- in the

paraolympics. she tells her story and how her family and her coach has helped her through her illness with throat cancer all the way to london 2012. >> i started doing sports in 2002 because i loved wearing nice, colorful sporty clothes. then a friend told me i would be good for weight-lifting so i took it up. to my amazement it came to me so naturally. in just a couple of months i was a champion. less than a year after that, i began competing internationally. i used to work in a small coffee shop but i have to give it up. everyone has a dream, and this is my dream. but two years ago, i found out i

had throat cancer. it was such a shock. i was so sick and terrified that i would have to quit weight lifting. i took a year off and went through chemotherapy treatments. thanks to my coach and my brother for their love and support, i have beaten my illness. my mother's really old and not very well. my family's very worried about me. they know that korea as a competitive athlete -- they know the career as a competitive athlete is short. they keep telling me to stop, find something real to do, but i keep answering i will compete until i can't any more. >> this is "g.m.t." from "bbc world news." so our headlines this addition. after spectacular opening ceremony, the paraolympic games

have begun in london with 28 gold medals due to be awarded today alone. australian army has suffered one of its worst days in afghanistan. five soldiers killed in two separate incidents. so, now, aaron is with us again. new executive for barclay's, but a bad time. >> yeah, a boss at the helm of one of the biggest banks, anthony jenkins is his name. he takes charge of chief executive. there he is right there. big smile on his face. i have to say he's no stranger to the bank because he was the boss of the barclay's retail business. that's the basics of business, the every day stuff, the savings, deposits -- >> the less flashy stuff? >> yeah, they call it boring banking. bob diamond stood down a few weeks ago in the wake of that

lending scandal that certainly rocked barclay's. but bob diamond was always on the investment side, the side that makes all the big money but also the riskiest side. so a bit of a u-turn for the bank, almost getting back to basics. mentioned the new investigation, he takes on a full plate because late last night, the s.f.o., what we call here the serious fraud office, they launched an investigation. the experts believe he is the right man. listen to this. >> i would like to say he's actually taken over command of the titanic after its hit the iceberg. i actually think he can plug these holes because he comes from the retail side. right now barclay's biggest problem is its brand. not necessarily the operations, they're doing relatively well that way. to recover their brand they have to get the people like you and i to start believing in that and that means leaders can probably do this. >> i should just add, this is

very serious this new investigation because it's being investigated by the fraud office and the allegations are over bribery to do with this money from other countries. if found guilty, barclay's could lose their banking license. >> could that happen? >> unlikely, but you can't send a bank to jail. >> and china? >> second visit in six months. i don't want to say it smells of desperation but it highlights how important china is for germany and for the eurozone. the german chancellor was telling everyone europe debt is safe but it's a hard sell. they're worried about all the european debt they're already holding. she made a very dan kid address saying get your finances in order because the reason is what's are fast becoming china's

problems. >> europe needs china but china also needs europe. chine yoo is -- china is the biggest exporter in the world. why is that happening? well, one of the large parts of the reason is that we're seeing dropping demand from europe and elsewhere. so sadly china wants europe to get back on its feet as quickly as possible. what role they'll play in that isn't clear. they have said they will continue to invest in government bonds, but you might remember a few months back there was talk of beijing perhaps investing in a bailout fund. no word on that. >> about $5.5 billion was done while she was there. >> so useful trip? >> useful trip indeed. >> now, hurricane isaac has weakened to a tropical storm, still pummeling new orleans but causing most damages to less protected areas outside the

city. isaac is soaking the gulf coast exactly seven years after the much stronger and devastating katrina. sea water has breached barriers in the town south of new orleans. >> hurricane isaac battered new orleans seven years to the day since katrina had devastated the city. it didn't have the same power, but dumped a lot more rain. this time, the levees held. billions have been spent improving defenses, and this time the city center wasn't badly hit. while the conditions here are still appalling we've driven half an hour out of the center of new orleans to a breakway which has been one of the worst close to the city sent cher has where 2,000 people fell just the wrong side of the defense wall that was built. when the storm built, the water flooded over the top and that level you can see behind me

threw all this rain and wind is a level of people that have it. they had to be rescued. but it was different outside the protective walls. dozens of people were trapped after water flowed over the levies and quickly inundated homes. many had to be rescued from their at tacks or plucked from their roof toops. this parrish was badly hit, as were other areas outside of the city's main flood defensives. >> focusing on the east bank in this parrish, there was overtopping near break weight at a nonfederal levy. this is an area where there was a mandatory evacuation called on noon. >> the force of the hurricane was felt all the way along this section of gulf coast, as the storm swelled flooded coastal areas and winds battered the shore. with the rain still falling.

>> we seem to have a problem with that report. now egypt has reportedly withdrawn several tanks near the israel gaza border. they've been deployed there earlier this month part of a military operation against militants in the sinai peninsula. until then, the region had been relatively peaceful. but armed insurgents staged a raid on the territory. israel fears the newly elected government will be less interested in maintaining control, despite that 1979 peace agreement. kevin connolly has more. >> if good fences make good neighbors, israel and egypt are starting to look like very good neighbors. the they're working on a 240 kilometer fence. their aim? to keep it safely on the other side. on the israeli side, they're working the potato fields as

normal, or what passes for normal here. earlier this month, heavily armed extremists in a stolen egyptian armored vehicle crashed through the fence near these fields. they were intercepted and killed, but the attack has changed the atmosphere. >> this was always called the peace fence. we have never been threatened from sinai, and we hope, we hope this is an isolated incident and we hope it won't happen again. >> for more than 30 years, israel's peace treaty kept this border quiet. never produced warm, deep relationships, but it did make an absence of conflict. now, as the arab spring continues to evolve, things are beginning to look much more

uncertain. these images of the crushing israeli victory in 1967, when they finally stopped fighting and signed a peace treaty in 1979 it brought a kind of stability to the middle east. the frontier between egypt and israel is long and lonely. israeli sees it as a soft target for any extremist planning to cross it or fire rockets over it. they trusted the ousted egyptian president to keep this border quiet. now that egypt has a president drawn from the brotherhood, they are not so sure. so israel's red sea fence which is right on the border, it's business as usual. but in the hills above the town, an iron dome keeps watch.

the town's mayor says peace suits everyone, not just israel. egypt has put billions of dollars into tourism in the sinai, he says. i hope they protect that investment, but we will certainly protect ourselves. israel got decades of stability out of peace in the sigh any. the diplomatic achievement that transformed the middle east. now, on the border, they watch anxiously for signs of change. kevin connolly, "bbc news," on the israeli-egyptian border. >> now, eating chocolate could help prevent strokes. that's according to researchers in sweden. they found that men who have a little more than a standard chocolate bar each week, which i think this is a little more than that, were 17% less likely to have a stroke than those eating none at all. both the researchers and the stroke association have warned that the findings are not an

excuse to overeat chocolate. a reminder of our top story, the london 2012 paraolympics are underway at the olympic park for athletes competing for 28 gold medals on the opening day of action. these are pictures live from olympic park. olympic park. that's it.