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Recruiting prawns to fight river parasite - BBC News

2017-01-12

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Making sure certain rivers are fully stocked with prawns could prove to be an important contribution to fighting schistosomiasis.

Science & Environment

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Making sure certain rivers are fully stocked with prawns could prove to be an important contribution to fighting schistosomiasis. The parasitic worm disease is endemic in many parts of the tropics and sub-tropics. Africa is a hotspot. But it has been shown that prawns will avidly eat the water snails that host the parasite, breaking the cycle of infection that includes people. The impact was most eloquently demonstrated on the Senegal River. There, the Diama Dam was built close to the estuary in 1986, blocking the ability of prawns to migrate up and down the water course, decimating their presence. When scientists restocked the crustaceans upstream of the barrier in a controlled experiment, they saw a dramatic fall in schistosomiasis re-infection rates among the local population. But the ecological consequences of dam construction are often complex and hard to unwrap, and the team could not therefore know for sure how applicable this approach might be to other areas. So they did an analysis - to look at multiple dam systems worldwide to see how these mapped across decades-long records of schistosomiasis and the traditional habitat ranges of the large migratory prawn, Macrobrachium. To be clear, no-one actually went out into the field to count prawns, but the results of the analysis were nonetheless compelling: damming was followed by greater increases in schistosomiasis in those areas where prawns had historically been present versus those zones not known to be big prawn habitats. The inference being that the loss of the crustaceans was a major factor in the rise in infection. “Where there were dams, schistosomiasis increased, but it increased more - at least double on average - where we expected these predators to be, traditionally - compared to those dammed watersheds where they have not been,” explained Dr Susanne Sokolow from Stanford University and UC Santa Barbara, US. And her colleague, Prof Giulio De Leo, added: “We ended up finding that something like 280 million to 350 million people live in areas that are endemic for schistosomiasis and could potentially benefit from this type of intervention (prawn re-introduction). “We are talking in fact about 40% of the 800 million people that are potentially at risk of schistosomiasis and this is because most of the people tend to concentrate in coastal areas where there is also historical presence of these migratory prawns that happen to be voracious predators of the snails that amplify schistosomiasis.” Sokolow and De Leo gave details of their latest work at the recent American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco. The Diama Dam allowed for the expansion of agriculture along the Senegal River They are now working with various groups in Africa (the Upstream Alliance) to try to develop sustainable means of maintaining prawns in affected rivers. Praziquantel: A highly effective treatment but it does not stop re-infection This includes prawn aquaculture farms. The crustaceans are corralled in netted areas close to the river bank to keep on top of the snails and then harvested for food. Schistosomiasis cannot be caught by eating the prawns, so it is a strategy that has economic as well as a health benefits. The team is also examining the role other predators could play, such as catfish and ducks. Both will eat freshwater snails. Another idea is to tackle the problem at source - the dam. It should be possible to retrofit barriers with some kind of prawn bypass, akin to the “ladders” that aid salmon in other parts of the world to get to their upstream spawning grounds. The capital investment required at existing dams could be very large, however. This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Giulio De Leo: "We want to identify other candidate sites around the world" The native African prawn Macrobrachium vollenhovenii is the focus of attention and biotechnology (non GM) techniques are available that allow all-male progeny to be produced in aquaculture farms. Using only males is preferable on a few counts. They grow fast and big and consume more snails, but being male they do not need to migrate in the same way as females, which require a saline estuary for spawning - so the dam becomes less of an issue. But prawns are not a “silver bullet”, cautions Dr Sokolow. A suite of solutions will ultimately be necessary. “There’s a drug treatment that works very well - praziquantel. It clears the worms out of people and is 98-99% effective. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have lasting effects, so people the very next day - people living in poverty, especially, where there isn’t clean and safe water to access - are back out in the rivers and streams getting re-infected," she told BBC News. “Clearly, there are other factors in play, such as the building up of agricultural systems that follow the construction of the dams. That increases population densities and potentially puts agrochemicals in the river that influences the system. But when you add in the loss of the prawns, the situation becomes worse; and it suggests that this tool of restoring prawns could be a big factor in helping to reduce and mitigate the impact of dams on schistosomiasis.” It may not be just prawns - ducks and catfish may be useful tools, also

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-38571937

In pictures: Keeping the ski slopes open - BBC News

2017-01-12

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Photographer John Vink captures the work behind the scenes keeping the ski slopes open at Saint Sorlin d'Arves in France.

In Pictures

With the local economy relying on the slopes to provide income for several months each year it seems the snow cannons are here to stay, despite protests from some environmental groups.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-38568738

'The NHS is at breaking point': Nurses share their experiences - BBC News

2017-01-12

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Nurses share their experiences of being overworked, understaffed and under huge pressure.

Health

Leading nurses say conditions in the National Health Service are the worst they have ever experienced. Below are a selection of the experiences of nurses and former nurses who got in touch to share their experience and the problems they say they face working within the NHS. I have been a nurse for 30 years, but I am also currently due to undergo surgery, which has been cancelled three times since November 2016, so I feel I really see both sides of the impact of the cuts. I feel the treatment the NHS is able to offer and the working conditions of staff have both gone markedly downhill since 2008, as the direct result of government cuts to both the services the NHS offers and the number of staff it employs. I think the responsibility for the problems the NHS is currently facing rest firmly at the government's door. Both medical and NHS trust staff are doing the best they can without the resources they desperately need. The people I treat are often very ill by the time they reach me, as a result of huge cuts to other departments and services. The NHS is at breaking point. I'm 24 years old, and I've been a nurse for two years. I should be at the start of a long and wonderful career, which was my dream for many years. However, I am so overworked I can't continue. I am a front-line nurse on a ward, and the other day I started work at 07:00 and left at 23:30, with only a total of 45 minutes break all day. With an ageing nursing workforce, I'm really concerned, because if I can't do it as a 24-year-old, then I really worry about the nurses coming up for retirement. I worked full-time for over a year at a hospital in Birmingham. However, I recently left because the staffing compared to patient dependency (that means how poorly they are) was so bad it scared me enough to leave. We frequently had one junior nurse in charge of the ward, and very often had one nurse take care of four high-dependency patients (patients that need one nurse between two of them). We had to leave all admissions until the nightshift because there was no time in the day, which meant patients often being moved on to the ward as late as 03:00. Basic nursing care was often missed due to the lack of staffing, and resources and training were almost always cancelled due to lack of staff on the ward. And this was not a one-off, this was all the way through the hospital, all the time. I have worked in a busy hospital in Plymouth for nearly 10 years. I have watched and listened in despair at people haranguing the NHS and what we aren't doing, but the problem is not the hospitals. The problem is bed-blocking because of a lack of other places for patients to go. And that can only be addressed by the social services system. We outsource all our social care to independent companies that ask enormous amounts for the elderly and disabled, and this is not realistic. One of my patients some weeks ago, had been stuck on our ward for months because a suitable next step couldn't be found for him. We need to empty our beds of people who need longer term social care, so we can treat those who are sick and then have somewhere for them to go on to after initial treatment. We need more viable old-age homes, and more mental health facilities, because care in the community does not always work and people often simply end up back in hospital. I was a nurse manager for many years, and I believe the root of the problem for the NHS is the year-on-year cost cutting forced on every single department by successive governments. Whilst the government puts money into areas such as accident and emergency, it is constantly taken out again by the annual cost-cutting. The prime minister has spoken about improving access to mental health services for young people. When I started working in management, in Cumbria, 20 years ago, there were services for young people close to home. There were also more beds for adult mental health patients, but annual cost-saving meant wards were closed and beds disappeared in West Cumbria, meaning that service users were admitted to Carlisle or further afield. This meant a minimum of an 80-mile round trip for families in an area of the country where public transport is often very poor. Maybe if the government stopped the annual cuts to budgets and bolstered the system with adequate funds, the NHS would have a chance of surviving and delivering the quality service that its staff want to deliver.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-38586415

Cyprus peace talks: Can Cypriots heal their divided island? - BBC News

2017-01-12

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As peace talks between Cyprus' leaders progress, can people there forget the wounds of the past?

Europe

Abdullah Cangil, who was forced to emigrate from southern Cyprus to the north, says he is happy to hand back his house Abdullah Cangil is a 66-year-old Turkish Cypriot, living in Morphou - a border town on the divided island of Cyprus. His three-bedroom house is surrounded by orange and lemon trees. The chirping of birds can be heard all around the garden. He says he planted the trees here himself, as he reaches to one of them to grab a few mandarins to offer me. Mr Cangil moved to this house in 1974, after Turkey invaded Cyprus in response to a coup aiming to unite the island with Greece. This was followed by a population exchange. Around that time, 165,000 Greek Cypriots were displaced, while about 40,000 Turkish Cypriots were uprooted in total in inter-communal violence in the 1960s and the population transfer in 1975. Abdullah Cangil was one of those who left his house behind. After 24 years in Paphos, a southern Cyprus town, he was forced to emigrate to the north. "A Greek Cypriot family lives in our house in Paphos and we live in a Greek Cypriot family's house here," he says. "We all see each other, we became very good friends in time." But what if he needs to hand his current home to its previous owners? "I never felt attached to this house. I always knew one day I would need to leave it behind. It is its real owners' right to live here," he replies. "The future of my grandsons, that is more important than a house. Peace is more important. I don't want my children to live the wars, the troubles that we have gone through. It is much more important to have peace than to move from one house to another." Greek Cypriots from the town of Morphou stage a protest outside the presidential palace in Nicosia Morphou, or Guzelyurt as it is called by Turkish Cypriots, is one of the thorny issues at the peace talks under way in the Swiss town of Geneva. Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades has warned that there can be no deal without a full return of the town, while some on the Turkish Cypriot side say that is out of the question. Although the talks in Geneva are labelled as the most intense effort in more than a decade to reunite the divided island of Cyprus, there is slow progress and the hopes for a breakthrough are already dimming. But the two sides - for the very first time in the long history of Cyprus negotiations - have presented their respective maps of the future internal boundaries of a federated Cyprus. The details of the maps are yet unclear, but it is expected that the territory under Turkish Cypriot control could shrink from its current 37% to just under 30%. The fate of Morphou remains to be seen too, as emotions still run high on both sides of the island over the matters of territorial exchange and compensation for lost property. But that is not the only hurdle in these negotiations. The foreign ministers of Greece, Turkey and Britain, guarantor powers of Cyprus's independence, are scheduled in Geneva on Thursday to discuss the security concerns within a possible deal - another challenging topic. Turkey has about 35,000 troops in northern Cyprus. Greece and the Greek Cypriot government strongly contest their presence and demand all of them are pulled out - hardly a demand Turkey would be happy to meet. In general, Turkish Cypriots, fearful of past experiences of being targeted by Greek Cypriot nationalists, also want Turkish guarantees to continue. The wounds of the past are hard to heal in both communities and there is a mutual distrust of one another. Bird droppings cover seats inside the old Nicosia airport, now located in the UN-controlled buffer zone that separates the north and south of Cyprus One place that stands as a monument to that distrust and how to overcome it lies within the UN-controlled buffer zone that divides Cyprus along ethnic lies. The Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) located here is a bi-communal body established in 1981 with the participation of the UN. Its aim is to recover, identify and return the remains of the people who went missing during the atrocities mainly taking place in 1963-64 and 1974. According to a list agreed by the leaders of Turkish and Greek Cypriot communities, 2,001 people have been identified as missing persons - though it is believed that the number could be much higher. Around 500 of them are Turkish Cypriots and the rest Greek Cypriots - 1:3 being the exact proportion of the respective communities to each other. The first missing person was exhumed in 2007 and since then about 750 people have been identified, their remains returned to their families. Over a thousand sites have been dug until now, and excavations are still being carried out. The remains of 25 people have been uncovered in the past few months alone The Committee on Missing Persons aims to return the bones of the missing to their families Rania Michail is in the team of anthropologists digging at a previously Orthodox cemetery in Morphou. Since they started searching this place six months ago, they have managed to excavate 25 missing people's remains, she tells me - 12 soldiers, 12 old women and 1 person's general body parts. "Sometimes it gets difficult emotionally. Especially if we find the remains of a child," Rania says. "The first time that I saw remains five years ago, it was the most shocking moment of my life. I was really upset. That night I could not sleep. But then I got used to it. I have excavated over 100 bodies - women, soldiers, kids - both in the north and in the south of the island." At the CMP's headquarters in the UN-controlled buffer zone, the anthropologists study the remains carefully, trying to reconstruct them and to identify those killed. Skulls and bones are laid on top of tables along with whatever was found lying with the remains - a pair of socks, a piece of underwear, a lighter, or a picture of a loved one. "What we do here is very important for achieving peace in Cyprus," says Uyum Vehit, an anthropologist. "Almost every single family has missing persons. If they don't receive the remains, and if they don't have proper graves, they can't have a closure." Kyriacos Solomi lost his younger brother, George, in the violence At his home on the Greek side of the "Green Line" line in Nicosia, Kyriacos Solomi, 68, still waits for the remains of his younger brother, George, who was killed on the front line 42 years ago. "He was a very peaceful man. He liked mixing with people, enjoying life, peaceful activities. He was a nice, healthy, good-looking young man, 24 years old," he says while trying to hold back the tears when he looks at his brother's picture in his hand. "This is a very deep wound. It may close one day but a big scar will stay there forever." Despite having lost his brother, Mr Solomi still believes in peace - but he doubts whether it can ever be reached in Cyprus. "There is no other way to survive on this island. We fight for peace. I know the clock cannot go back, the lives will not come back. "But I don't think peace will come here. Maybe in the next generations, if they can change the textbooks that spread hate instead of love. "Listen to the TV, listen to the church: they are spreading hate. I don't think we can live peacefully with hatred on this island," he says. This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. For more than 40 years Cyprus has been a divided island.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38593506

Drone captures drifting ice on Danube river in Budapest - BBC News

2017-01-12

A drone captures the beauty of broken ice being carried on the Danube river in Budapest, Hungary.

A drone captures the beauty of broken ice being carried on the Danube river in Budapest, Hungary.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38590449

Reality Check: Has inequality been getting worse? - BBC News

2017-01-12

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Jeremy Corbyn says inequality has been getting worse, on the day official figures say the opposite.

Business

The claim: Levels of inequality in the UK have been getting worse. Reality Check verdict: Official figures suggest that income distribution has become less unequal over the past decade. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said on BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday morning that he would be interested in a cap on earnings, because "we cannot go on creating worse levels of inequality". Coincidentally, Tuesday morning also saw the release of the annual report on income inequality from the Office for National Statistics. It said that there had been a gradual decline in income inequality over the past decade. It is using the Gini Coefficient, which is a measure of inequality - in this case, a coefficient of zero would mean that all households had the same income while 100 would mean that one household had all the income. These figures are for disposable income, which is what you get after you've added benefits and subtracted direct taxes such as income tax and council tax. There are caveats around these figures - they are based on surveys, so there is a margin of error, and it is particularly difficult to get survey responses from people at the top of the income distribution. But the official figures suggest that there was a considerable increase in inequality in the 1980s, relatively little change from the early 1990s to mid-2000s and then a gradual decline in the past decade, returning the UK to the same level of inequality as was seen in the mid-1980s. So from these figures it would be wrong to conclude that inequality has been getting worse. What could be missing from this analysis? The ONS looks at inequality across the whole population - there has also been much interest in comparing the richest 1% or 0.1% with the rest of the population. The World Top Incomes Database (which you can see in figure 3 of this blog) suggests that since 1990 there has been relatively little change in the share of income taken by the richest 20% or 10% of the population. The richest 1% and the richest 0.1% had seen their share of income rising steadily until the financial crisis, but it has fallen since then. So once again, inequality has not been growing. The measures identified so far have been looking at income rather than wealth. It is also possible to calculate Gini coefficients for wealth, although the latest official figures for it covered only up to the middle of 2014. From 2006 to 2014, there was a small increase in overall wealth inequality, with property wealth having the biggest effect. Housing costs are a particular issue - the Department for Work and Pensions calculates a Gini coefficient for income distribution that takes housing costs into account. The difference it makes is that inequality increases in 2013-14, although it is still below pre-financial crisis levels. None of this suggests that inequality does not exist in the UK or that it is not a problem or indeed that it is not worse than in other countries, but there is little evidence that it has been getting worse in the UK in the past decade. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38570809

Retail winners and losers this Christmas - BBC News

2017-01-12

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How merry a Christmas was it for the retail sector and where was the festive cheer felt the most?

Business

Now the leftovers are all curry and the tree is at the tip, it's time to digest the news from the retail sector over just how merry a Christmas it really was. And it seems that just like Mr Scrooge, UK shoppers were persuaded to open their purses just a little wider this year. So if you're one of those who splashed out on gin, indulged in a new jumper and pulled out all the stops for your festive feast, you are in good company. But how and where was the festive cheer felt most? Here's our look at where the glass is half full and where half empty as we head into 2017. It's not likely to be a dry January if you're running one of the UK's supermarkets. They have good news to toast this week. Tesco and Morrisons, which have both had a difficult few years, have reported stronger sales. Tesco said fresh food had been "particularly popular, outperforming the market", adding that there had been a 24% increase in party food sales over Christmas, while Morrisons reported its strongest Christmas sales for seven years. Even Sainsbury's, which saw a meagre 0.1% overall rise in sales, managed to beat analyst expectations of a 0.8% fall. Discounters Lidl and Aldi don't report their figures in quite the same way - they do not give like-for-like sales, which strip out the effect of new store openings and are therefore a better comparison - but both reported double-digit increases in Christmas sales, reflecting brisk business. It looks like we collectively loosened our belts at just the right time for the big food retailers. "I guess the biggest impression so far is that food retailers did better than non-food in December," says independent retail analyst Nick Bubb. According to Kantar Worldpanel we spent almost half a billion pounds more in the final 12 weeks of 2016 compared with the year before (so no wonder we're still ploughing through the chocolate biscuits and checking out stilton soup recipes). But putting it into context, a lot of the good results now are set against a backdrop of pretty weak performances the previous year. If you look at the grocery sector in 2015, Tesco and Morrisons were both implementing turnaround plans, while Sainsbury's and Asda also faced sales challenges. "Overall, food had an ok end of the year and traded ok over the course of the year but that was against very low comparitors," says Paul Martin, UK head of retail at KPMG. It wasn't just the food stores that have given the market cause for cheer. High Street stalwart Marks and Spencer finally shrugged off a decline in clothing sales Early in the month Next had everyone spooked as it reported a drop in sales in the run-up to Christmas, but plenty of other clothing retailers have reported strong results. M&S surprised the market with sales in its clothing and homeware division up 2.3% - well above expectations for about 0.5% - while John Lewis, Debenhams, Ted Baker and online retailers Boohoo.com and Asos also reported sales growth. Strong festive periods were also seen at Primark, JD Sports and Superdry owner Supergroup, which saw like-for-like sales up 15% over the Christmas period. Next said it was preparing for "tougher times" in the year ahead "The biggest loser is obviously Next so far. They've had a bit of a shocker," says Patrick O'Brien from Verdict Retail. Next saw sales of full-price items fall 0.4% and warned of a "challenging" 2017. "Next [used to be] way ahead of the others with its online operation. But competitors have now caught up with that in terms of online and collection, with really high growth in online specialists like Boohoo," he says. But apart from that the really surprising thing is how few bad results there have been. Partly that is because they started from a low base after the poor sales of 2015, and partly because British consumers simply held their nerve. "Consumers have understood that prices are going up and it's been a good time to buy," says Mr O'Brien. Paul Martin, head of UK retail at KPMG, adds: "The British defied the mood music out there and wanted to go out and treat themselves and celebrate Christmas. That's the most surprising thing in a world where negative news is easier to come by than positive." John Lewis has warned of a "challenging" outlook and said that its staff bonus will be "significantly lower" this year But if 2016 ended on a positive note, Paul Martin says retail is moving into a "perfect storm" in 2017. He warns that around April to July the hedging positions retailers took against currency fluctuations will begin to run out and the full force of the pound's devaluation since the Brexit vote will start to be felt through higher prices for imported goods. Multinationals will flex their muscles a little more over pricing imported goods for the UK market. And costs will be rising as business rates are revalued and the minimum wage rises. Inevitably, he says, retailers will have to look at what kind of price rises their customers can bear. "We think it will be 5% to 8%. But that can vary substantially across sectors - you will find some cases where it will be 50%," he warns. In addition to Next, other retailers including John Lewis and Sainsbury's have warned about the uncertain impact of a weaker pound. While others have warned of price hikes, Ted Baker has said it will not raise prices this year The boss of fashion chain Ted Baker has vowed, however, that "there won't be any price increases this year". Chief executive Ray Kelvin told the Press Association: "We were hedged for two years and we have one year left on that. We're a public company, we don't gamble with things like this, plus we also have a big dollar income." The consensus though, is that consumer spending will be squeezed this year, and Rachel Lund, head of retail insight and analytics at the British Retail Consortium, says that will make it harder for retailers to generate growth. She also points to the uncertainty around what trading relationship the UK will have with the rest of the world once it leaves the EU. "An announcement about that that doesn't seem favourable could have an impact on confidence," she says. But she adds that the mood among retailers is "not one of doom and gloom, it's caution".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38595323

Austria teenager builds his own mini ski resort - BBC News

2017-01-12

A 17-year-old model maker from Austria demonstrates his very own miniature ski village.

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38590450

Couple who faced racism celebrate 73rd wedding anniversary - BBC News

2017-01-12

A couple who met at a factory making Lancaster bombers in World War Two celebrate their 73rd wedding anniversary.

A couple who met at a factory making Lancaster bombers in World War Two are celebrating their 73rd wedding anniversary. Trudy, 97, and Barclay Patoir, 96, who was an apprentice engineer in British Guiana, met when he was put to work at a factory in Speke, Merseyside. Trudy was his assistant on the production line. Despite opposition to the union, they married and moved to a new house on an estate in Wythenshawe, Manchester, where they have been ever since. They have two daughters, three grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-38578206

Graham Taylor dies at 72 - His FA Cup Story - BBC Sport

2017-01-12

Former England and Watford manager Graham Taylor has died aged 72. Here he tells his story of Watford's memorable FA Cup run in 1984.

Former England and Watford manager Graham Taylor has died aged 72. Here he tells his story of Watford's memorable FA Cup run in 1984.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38599596

James DeGale v Badou Jack: Briton is ready to prove himself 'as one of world's best' - BBC Sport

2017-01-12

James DeGale plans to prove he is "one of the best fighters in the world" in his unification bout with Badou Jack on Saturday.

Last updated on .From the section Boxing IBF super-middleweight champion James DeGale intends to prove he is "one of the best fighters in the world" in his unification bout with WBC champion Badou Jack in New York. The Briton, 30, fights Sweden's Jack, 34, at around 03:30 GMT on Sunday. DeGale weighed in 1.5lb (0.68kg) inside the 12-stone (76.2kg) limit, while Jack was 0.75lb (0.34kg) inside. "This is the moment. I can't wait to return to the UK as a unified world champion," DeGale said. He added: "This is a great fight for boxing and it's going to raise my appeal all over the world." DeGale, who has won 23 of his 24 professional bouts, has admitted money is another motivation for victory. "I've worked hard all my life," he told BBC Radio 5 live. "Now I've got myself in a position where I can financially secure me and my family. "It's time to strike while the iron's hot, get in the big fights, earn my money and run." The 2008 Olympic gold medallist added: "It's not just about the money but I'm a prizefighter. "I've got all the accolades now, the only thing that's missing is the millions in the bank." His opponent Jack, who has 20 wins, two draws and one defeat on his record, has million-dollar backing behind him as he is managed by Floyd Mayweather. DeGale has prepared for the fight with a strength and conditioning coach - the first time he has used one. "It's because I was getting fatigued in fights," he explained. He also said he had dreamt of fighting in New York since he was a child, watching his hero, Britain's former world featherweight champion Naseem Hamed, against Kevin Kelley. "At the age of 10, I was thinking, 'yes, that's going to be me'," he said. "I'm living the dream."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/38604206

Does Catholic praise for Mary Magdalene show progress towards women priests? - BBC News

2017-01-12

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Does increasing honour paid to Mary Magdalene in the Catholic Church show progress towards women priests?

UK

The emotional scene in John's Gospel in which Jesus calls to the grieving Mary Magdalene by name and she tries to touch him has inspired many artists. This is Titian's interpretation. The gospels depict Mary Magdalene as one of Jesus' closest companions. Her emotional encounter with the risen Jesus and her supposed sinful past have fascinated Christians for centuries. The latest of many films about her is released shortly. Its heroine, played by Rooney Mara, is billed as a young woman who joins "a radical new social movement" and "must confront the reality of Jesus' destiny and her own place within it". There was amusement when cast members were pictured in ancient garb smoking on set. Meanwhile, the Roman Catholic Church has enhanced the saint's status. Last year her Saint's Day (22 July) was promoted to a Feast, equal to those of most of the male Disciples. Explaining the decision, Archbishop Arthur Roche pointed out that she had long been known as "apostle to the apostles, as she announces to the apostles what they in turn will announce to all the world." A bizarre tradition in depictions of Mary Magdalene shows her naked, but clothed with her long red hair. Terracotta by Andrea Della Robbia of about 1590 This refers to John 20:17, in which Jesus sends her to the disciples to tell them he would ascend to God - "apostolos" in Greek means "one who is sent". The Vatican press office said that 22 July would be "a feast, like that of the other apostles." A special prayer for use at Mass on that day says Jesus honoured her with the task of an apostle (apostolatus officio), This has coincided with what some believe are signs of a change in Rome's attitude on the possibility of women priests. The announcement on Mary Magdalene, and the setting up of a commission to discuss the ordination of women as deacons - not priests, but able to preside at weddings, christenings and funerals is an indication to some of change. Tina Beattie, Professor of Catholic Studies at the University of Roehampton, says: "I accept that it has to be slow, it has to be sensitively done... But my own feeling is that something is happening". What was said about the feast day was encouraging, says Pippa Bonner of the campaign group Catholic Women's Ordination. "As soon as we spotted that we shared that news around - I think that's a very, very positive step." Pope Francis met Sweden's female archbishop, Antje Jackelen. But on his journey home he said Catholic policy forbidding women priests had not changed. In 1994 Pope John Paul II declared "that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful." Jesus had "called only men as his Apostles", The constant practice of the Church, he stressed, "has imitated Christ in choosing only men." In November, while returning from a visit to Sweden where he worshipped with the country's female Lutheran archbishop, Antje Jackelen, Pope Francis was asked if his Church still ruled out women priests. "Saint Pope John Paul II had the last clear word on this and it stands," he said. Asked again if the ban was permanent, he responded: "If we read carefully the declaration by St. John Paul II, it is going in that direction." Prof Beattie comments: "Whenever he's asked to give a reason he always references John Paul II... I'm not aware of him saying that under his own Papal authority." Paloma Baeza played Mary Magdalene in The Passion, shown on BBC1 in 2008. The idea that statements about Mary Magdalene and her "apostleship" contradict the rulings of John Paul II is discounted by many Catholic commentators. "Many Catholics from the Anglican tradition will rejoice at her commemoration being raised to the dignity of a Feast, while thinking that the idea that this has any relevance to the closed question of women's ordination is entirely fanciful," says Fr Simon Chinery, spokesman for the Ordinariate set up by Pope Benedict as a home within the Catholic Church for Anglicans opposed to women bishops. The idea of Mary Magdalene as a great sinner led to celebration of her as a great penitent, as in this haggard sculpture by Donatello (about 1455). Austen Ivereigh, co-founder of the group Catholic Voices, says: "Declaring her day a Feast reflects a growing awareness that the role of women in the early Church was an important one, and needs to be recovered. "But opening church leadership to women's unique gifts does not equate to opening the priesthood to women - at least that argument is not being made in any significant way in the Church at the moment," Arguments against women's ordination in the Church of England were ultimately unsuccessful. But of course the Catholic Church is very different. In the CofE the argument over women's ordination went on for decades. But it was possible to say where it had got to by referring to the state of discussions in the General Synod. It could not have been stopped for good by a ruling like that of Pope John Paul. Of all the hundreds of churches named after Mary Magdalene, the grandest is perhaps La Madeleine in Paris. Marochetti's statue on the high altar shows angels lifting her to heaven.. A change in doctrine can come as news to Catholics. And it can happen suddenly. That was the case with Mary Magdalene herself. In the late 6th Century AD Pope Gregory I declared that she was also the woman in Luke 7:37 who "lived a sinful life", who washed Jesus's feet and dried them with her hair. This fuelled the tradition that Mary Magdalene was not only a sinner (which Christianity says we all are) but a particularly colourful one, and inspired dozens of artistic portrayals of her ranging from ravaged penitent to borderline erotic. But the revised Roman Calendar of 1969 simply declared that 22 July was indeed the day of Mary Magdalene, but she was not the woman in Luke 7:37. And that, after nearly 1,400 years. was that. Is she, as the Anglican Rev Giles Fraser claims some see her, "the standard bearer for women's developing role in the Catholic church, and even... for women's ordination"? The Church can hardly show it is moved by the late unofficial gospels - one of which talks of Jesus repeatedly kissing Mary Magdalene,; the recent crop of stories claiming she was actually married to Jesus; or the Rooney Mara film. And Pope Gregory's claims about her sinful life may be discredited. But all these things contribute to her prestige.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38528682

Australian Open: Laura Robson and Tara Moore beaten in qualifying - BBC Sport

2017-01-12

Great Britain's Laura Robson loses in straight sets in the first round of qualifying at the Australian Open.

Last updated on .From the section Tennis Great Britain's Laura Robson lost in straight sets in the first round of qualifying at the Australian Open. The 22-year-old former British number one, ranked 222 in the world after three years of wrist problems, lost 6-2 6-4 to Amandine Hesse of France. "I had a weird thought just before I went on court - I thought last time I played a match here I then didn't play for 18 months," she said. "It maybe wasn't the best thing to happen before a match and I felt flat." She added: "I just never got going, it felt like my feet were stuck in mud." The left-hander, who reached the main draw of the US Open in August, has now lost seven consecutive matches and will return to Europe to play on the second-tier Challenger tour. "It doesn't take much to change it around," the former Wimbledon junior champion said. "Before the US Open I won one match and didn't have much confidence and then as soon as you win two matches, you think 'maybe I'm not as bad as I thought'." Robson's compatriot Tara Moore, 24, also lost to end British interest in the qualifying section of the women's draw. Moore, the world number 165, was beaten 6-7 (7-2) 6-3 6-1 by Hungary's Dalma Galfi. The first Grand Slam tournament of the year starts in Melbourne on Monday.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38592850

Trump news conference: 10 things we learned - BBC News

2017-01-12

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Donald Trump has held his first news conference in seven months, nine days before he takes office at the White House. What did we learn?

US & Canada

Donald Trump has held his first news conference in five months, with nine days to go before he takes the oath and assumes power at the White House. While his fury at the allegations concerning his ties to Russia made the headlines, there was plenty more covered. His sons, Donald and Eric, will run the Trump Organization, Mr Trump said in a long-awaited announcement concerning his business interests. His lawyer Sheri Dillon also said: She also turned to the constitution's "emoluments clause" which bans government officials from taking money from foreign governments. People have wondered if foreign officials staying at Trump hotels would mean he was in breach. She said no. But she said he would donate foreign payments to the Treasury anyway. However, the head of the Office of Government Ethics launched a scathing attack on the overall Trump plan, saying it does not go far enough to avoid potential conflicts of interest. Other ethics experts seem to agree. The BBC's Anthony Zurcher: Mr Trump has spent his entire life building his business empire, and he seems reluctant to let it go entirely, ethical concerns notwithstanding. While he says he's stepping away from the business, his decision not to relinquish ownership and his only transfer management to his children will likely not satisfy many of his critics. The president-elect suggested the US intelligence agencies are to blame for the unsubstantiated allegations that he paid for Russian prostitutes and fostered close relations between his campaign team and the Kremlin. "I think it was disgraceful, disgraceful that the intelligence agencies allowed any information that turned out to be so false and fake out there... That's something that Nazi Germany would have done." The top US spy, James Clapper, later hit back, saying the leak was not from the US intelligence community. AZ: Wednesday was only the latest broadside Mr Trump has fired against a US intelligence community that he believes is trying to undermine the legitimacy of the presidency. His targets feel threatened as well, so this is far from the final exchange. He went further than he has before in identifying Russia as the culprit behind hacks of Democratic Party emails, but still carried a caveat. "As far as hacking, I think it's Russia. But we also get hacked by other countries and other people." AZ: While Mr Trump was finally willing to acknowledge Russian involvement in 2016 election hacking, he still couched criticism in terms of a larger problem that involves other nations, like China. Mr Trump clearly feels much more comfortable criticising China than he does Vladimir Putin and Russia. Mr Trump said he plans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as soon as his health secretary pick is confirmed. That could be the same week, the same day or even the same hour, he said. But it's not clear whether the Republican party will be able to rally around a new plan. AZ: While Mr Trump has set a tight timeline for repeal and replacement of Obamacare, it will be a heavy lift for a Congress that still is uncertain on what it should do - or the political fallout it could suffer for doing it. This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Donald Trump said the information was 'fake' The man who launched his presidential campaign with the condemnation of Mexican immigrants as criminals shows no signs of wavering in his plan to build wall on the southern border. AZ: For Mr Trump, it's not a matter of if Mexico is going to pay for the border wall (not fence, he emphasised), it's when - and he predicts it will happen in less than a year. "There will be a major border tax on these companies that are leaving and getting away with murder. And if our politicians had what it takes, they would have done this years ago. And you'd have millions more workers right now in the United States." AZ: Now we know a bit more about how he will try to foot the bill for the wall - through a tax, which might be easier than asking the Mexican government to cough up a cheque. Asked about filling the vacancy on the Supreme Court, he said he has a list of 20 and will put one of them up within his first two weeks. "It will be a decision which I very strongly believe in. I think it's one of the reasons I got elected." AZ: While the Supreme Court wasn't a top issue for many American voters, it was likely an important factor in keeping evangelical conservatives in Mr Trump's column. His pick will likely reward their faith. "We have to get our drug industry coming back," he said. We need to "create new bidding procedures for the drug industry, because they're getting away with murder," he added. After the press conference, Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders expressed his full agreement. "Pharma does get away with murder. Literally murder. People die because they can't get the prescription drugs they need." AZ: Talking about using the power of government negotiation to reduce drug prices is a regular talking point for Democrats, but Mr Trump's interest in taking on big pharmaceutical companies probably comes as a bit of a shock to his Republican colleagues. Mr Trump cracked a joke when he said he could not have done some of the more salacious things alleged in the intelligence dossier. "Does anyone believe that story? I'm a germophobe, by the way." It has long been part of media folklore that he is averse to physical contact and once passed hand-sanitiser to journalists. AZ: Back when Mr Trump was giving regular press conferences, his answers were frequently peppered with quirky non-sequiturs or comments that would never come out of the mouth of a traditional politician. It seems like President Trump will stick to that script. "I was in Russia years ago, with the Miss Universe contest, which did very well - Moscow, the Moscow area did very, very well. "And I told many people, 'Be careful, because you don't wanna see yourself on television. Cameras all over the place.'" AZ: While Mr Trump may have a soft spot for Vladimir Putin and Russia, comments like this aren't going to get him a post-election job on the Russian tourism board.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38588878

Meet the rally driver aged 72 - BBC News

2017-01-12

A 72-year-old rally driver is coming out of retirement.

A 72-year-old female rally driver is coming out of retirement to drive the original car in which she competed during the 1970 World Rally Cup.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38592903

Arsenal: Olivier Giroud, Laurent Koscielny & Francis Coquelin sign new deals - BBC Sport

2017-01-12

Arsenal players Olivier Giroud, Laurent Koscielny and Francis Coquelin extend their deals with the club.

Last updated on .From the section Football Arsenal players Olivier Giroud, Laurent Koscielny and Francis Coquelin have extended their contracts with the club. The Gunners did not disclose the length of the deals for striker Giroud, 30, defender Koscielny, 31, and midfielder Coquelin, 25. But Koscielny said on Twitter he would extend his "adventure ... until 2020". "We are very pleased that three important members of our team have committed to us for the long term," Gunners boss Arsene Wenger said. The French trio have become first-team regulars at the London outfit, with Giroud signing the new deal on the back of four goals in four games - including his 'scorpion' goal against Crystal Palace. "Francis has made tremendous technical strides over the past few years because he's so focused every day," Wenger added. "Olivier has big experience in the game now and has become a more and more complete player since joining us. "Laurent is of course a key part of our squad and I believe one of the best defenders in the world today. So overall, this is great news for us."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38595926

Carney warns EU on risks of Brexit - BBC News

2017-01-12

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The governor of the Bank of England has moved the debate away from the risk of Brexit to the UK – arguing the rest of the EU is facing a greater threat to financial stability.

Business

Mark Carney has put his finger on one of the biggest debates developing in the City at the moment. Brexit may hold risks for Britain - the economy and the supremacy of London as Europe's financial capital being two of them. But the rest of the European Union also faces risks. And, according to the governor, those risks are greater for the continent. To be clear, Mr Carney was talking about financial stability, not economic growth - although of course the two are closely intertwined. If financial stability is compromised, or liquidity conditions deteriorate, then economic growth is likely to be adversely affected. In his evidence to the Treasury Select Committee, Mr Carney made three major points. First, the UK's financial services sector provides 75% of foreign exchange trading for the EU, 75% of all hedging products (which help businesses insure against risk when making investments or buying products) and supports half of all lending. As he said in November, the UK is Europe's "investment banker". A sharp break in that liquidity and capacity support could be detrimental to financial stability in the EU. Alex Brazier, the executive director for financial stability at the Bank, said that the UK exports £26bn of financial services to the EU, and imports just £3bn. Which, he said, makes the point. Second, as far as the UK is concerned, Brexit is no longer the biggest risk to financial stability. Now, that may be leapt on by the Bank's critics - the governor has changed his tune, it could be said, given that before the referendum Brexit was seen as the biggest risk. Mr Carney said the UK economy is performing better than expected But Mr Carney made it clear - the mitigating actions the Bank has taken since the referendum (a cut in interest rates and more financial support for banks and businesses) have, according to the governor, worked. Better economic news than many predicted has also maintained confidence - and the governor suggested that the Bank was now looking at upgrading the UK economic forecasts for 2017. Third, transitional arrangements would be a positive help to smoothing the process of Brexit, avoiding what has been described as a "cliff edge" exit which may occur at the end of the two year Article 50 process. Many in the City believe that given the complexities of the financial relationships between London and the rest of Europe, two years will simply not be enough time to build new regulatory and financial structures. A period of "adaption" will be necessary. Mr Carney's comments are likely to be welcomed in Number 10 and the Treasury. The government believes that, whatever the present noises about the toughness of the EU position on Brexit flexibility, the role London plays in supporting the rest of the EU economy will be an important part of the negotiations. Business leaders across the EU will want to maintain full access to UK's deep financial markets and widespread expertise. And that will help Theresa May's push for the "closest trading relationship" with the EU, even if Britain does leave the single market as it is presently constituted. Some believe this a forlorn hope, suggesting that political positions in the EU are hardening, not softening, towards the UK. But, the more the warnings come from people like Mr Carney that Europe might just need the UK's financial muscle, the stronger Mrs May's negotiating hand will be.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38582690

Trump 'compromising' claims: How and why did we get here? - BBC News

2017-01-12

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Paul Wood examines the background and fallout concerning the allegations about the president-elect.

US & Canada

The allegations against Donald Trump in the documents read like something from a bad film Donald Trump has described as "fake news" allegations published in some media that his election team colluded with Russia - and that Russia held compromising material about his private life. The BBC's Paul Wood saw the allegations before the election, and reports on the fallout now they have come to light. The significance of these allegations is that, if true, the president-elect of the United States would be vulnerable to blackmail by the Russians. I understand the CIA believes it is credible that the Kremlin has such kompromat - or compromising material - on the next US commander in chief. At the same time a joint taskforce, which includes the CIA and the FBI, has been investigating allegations that the Russians may have sent money to Mr Trump's organisation or his election campaign. Claims about a Russian blackmail tape were made in one of a series of reports written by a former British intelligence agent, understood to be Christopher Steele. As a member of MI6, he had been posted to the UK's embassy in Moscow and now runs a consultancy giving advice on doing business in Russia. He spoke to a number of his old contacts in the FSB, the successor to the KGB, paying some of them for information. They told him that Mr Trump had been filmed with a group of prostitutes in the presidential suite of Moscow's Ritz-Carlton hotel. I know this because the Washington political research company that commissioned his report showed it to me during the final week of the election campaign. The BBC decided not to use it then, for the very good reason that without seeing the tape - if it exists - we could not know if the claims were true. The detail of the allegations were certainly lurid. The entire series of reports has now been posted by BuzzFeed. Mr Trump's supporters say this is a politically motivated attack. The president-elect himself, outraged, tweeted this morning: "Are we living in Nazi Germany?" Later, at his much-awaited news conference, he was unrestrained. "A thing like that should have never been written," he said, "and certainly should never have been released." He said the memo was written by "sick people [who] put that crap together". The opposition research firm that commissioned the report had worked first for an anti-Trump superpac - political action committee - during the Republican primaries. Then during the general election, it was funded by an anonymous Democratic Party supporter. But these are not political hacks - their usual line of work is country analysis and commercial risk assessment, similar to the former MI6 agent's consultancy. He, apparently, gave his dossier to the FBI against the firm's advice. Mr Trump was in Moscow in 2013 for the Miss Universe pageant (pictured) And the former MI6 agent is not the only source for the claim about Russian kompromat on the president-elect. Back in August, a retired spy told me he had been informed of its existence by "the head of an East European intelligence agency". Later, I used an intermediary to pass some questions to active duty CIA officers dealing with the case file - they would not speak to me directly. I got a message back that there was "more than one tape", "audio and video", on "more than one date", in "more than one place" - in the Ritz-Carlton in Moscow and also in St Petersburg - and that the material was "of a sexual nature". The claims of Russian kompromat on Mr Trump were "credible", the CIA believed. That is why - according to the New York Times and Washington Post - these claims ended up on President Barack Obama's desk last week, a briefing document also given to Congressional leaders and to Mr Trump himself. Mr Trump did visit Moscow in November 2013, the date the main tape is supposed to have been made. There is TV footage of him at the Miss Universe contest. Any visitor to a grand hotel in Moscow would be wise to assume that their room comes equipped with hidden cameras and microphones as well as a mini-bar. At his news conference, Mr Trump said he warned his staff when they travelled: "Be very careful, because in your hotel rooms and no matter where you go you're going to probably have cameras." So the Russian security services have made obtaining kompromat an art form. Even President Vladimir Putin says there is "kompromat" on him - though perhaps he is joking One Russian specialist told me that Vladimir Putin himself sometimes says there is kompromat on him - though perhaps he is joking. The specialist went on to tell me that FSB officers are prone to boasting about having tapes on public figures, and to be careful of any statements they might make. A former CIA officer told me he had spoken by phone to a serving FSB officer who talked about the tapes. He concluded: "It's hokey as hell." Mr Trump and his supporters are right to point out that these are unsubstantiated allegations. But it is not just sex, it is money too. The former MI6 agent's report detailed alleged attempts by the Kremlin to offer Mr Trump lucrative "sweetheart deals" in Russia that would buy his loyalty. Mr Trump turned these down, and indeed has done little real business in Russia. But a joint intelligence and law enforcement taskforce has been looking at allegations that the Kremlin paid money to his campaign through his associates. On 15 October, the US secret intelligence court issued a warrant to investigate two Russian banks. This news was given to me by several sources and corroborated by someone I will identify only as a senior member of the US intelligence community. He would never volunteer anything - giving up classified information would be illegal - but he would confirm or deny what I had heard from other sources. Mr Trump says Moscow has "never tried to use leverage on me" "I'm going to write a story that says…" I would say. "I don't have a problem with that," he would reply, if my information was accurate. He confirmed the sequence of events below. Last April, the CIA director was shown intelligence that worried him. It was - allegedly - a tape recording of a conversation about money from the Kremlin going into the US presidential campaign. It was passed to the US by an intelligence agency of one of the Baltic States. The CIA cannot act domestically against American citizens so a joint counter-intelligence taskforce was created. The taskforce included six agencies or departments of government. Dealing with the domestic, US, side of the inquiry, were the FBI, the Department of the Treasury, and the Department of Justice. For the foreign and intelligence aspects of the investigation, there were another three agencies: the CIA, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the National Security Agency, responsible for electronic spying. Lawyers from the National Security Division in the Department of Justice then drew up an application. They took it to the secret US court that deals with intelligence, the Fisa court, named after the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. They wanted permission to intercept the electronic records from two Russian banks. Their first application, in June, was rejected outright by the judge. They returned with a more narrowly drawn order in July and were rejected again. Finally, before a new judge, the order was granted, on 15 October, three weeks before election day. Harry Reid, the leader of the Democrats in the Senate, pictured, accused the FBI of holding back information Neither Mr Trump nor his associates are named in the Fisa order, which would only cover foreign citizens or foreign entities - in this case the Russian banks. But ultimately, the investigation is looking for transfers of money from Russia to the United States, each one, if proved, a felony offence. A lawyer- outside the Department of Justice but familiar with the case - told me that three of Mr Trump's associates were the subject of the inquiry. "But it's clear this is about Trump," he said. I spoke to all three of those identified by this source. All of them emphatically denied any wrongdoing. "Hogwash," said one. "Bullshit," said another. Of the two Russian banks, one denied any wrongdoing, while the other did not respond to a request for comment. The investigation was active going into the election. During that period, the leader of the Democrats in the Senate, Harry Reid, wrote to the director of the FBI, accusing him of holding back "explosive information" about Mr Trump. Mr Reid sent his letter after getting an intelligence briefing, along with other senior figures in Congress. Only eight people were present: the chairs and ranking minority members of the House and Senate intelligence committees, and the leaders of the Democratic and Republican parties in Congress, the "gang of eight" as they are sometimes called. Normally, senior staff attend "gang of eight" intelligence briefings, but not this time. The Congressional leaders were not even allowed to take notes. In the letter to the FBI director, James Comey, Mr Reid said: "In my communications with you and other top officials in the national security community, it has become clear that you possess explosive information about close ties and co-ordination between Donald Trump, his top advisers, and the Russian government - a foreign interest openly hostile to the United States, which Mr Trump praises at every opportunity. "The public has a right to know this information. I wrote to you months ago calling for this information to be released to the public. There is no danger to American interests from releasing it. And yet, you continue to resist calls to inform the public of this critical information." The CIA, FBI, Justice and Treasury all refused to comment when I approached them after hearing about the Fisa warrant. It is not clear what will happen to the inter-agency investigation under President Trump - or even if the taskforce is continuing its work now. The Russians have denied any attempt to influence the president-elect - with either money or a blackmail tape. Hillary Clinton referred to Mr Trump as Mr Putin's "puppet" during the debates If a tape exists, the Russians would hardly give it up, though some hope to encourage a disloyal FSB officer who might want to make some serious money. Before the election, Larry Flynt, publisher of the pornographic magazine Hustler, put up a million dollars for incriminating tape of Mr Trump. Penthouse has now followed with its own offer of a million dollars for the Ritz-Carlton tape (if it exists). It is an extraordinary situation, 10 days before Mr Trump is sworn into office, but it was foreshadowed during the campaign. During the final presidential debate, Hillary Clinton called Donald Trump a "puppet" of Russia's leader, Vladimir Putin. "No puppet. No puppet," Mr Trump interjected, talking over Mrs Clinton. "You're the puppet. No, you're the puppet." In a New York Times op-ed in August, the former director of the CIA, Michael Morell, wrote: "In the intelligence business, we would say that Mr Putin had recruited Mr Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation." Agent; puppet - both terms imply some measure of influence or control by Moscow. Michael Hayden, former head of both the CIA and the NSA, simply called Mr Trump a "polezni durak" - a useful fool. The background to those statements was information held - at the time - within the intelligence community. Now all Americans have heard the claims. Little more than a week before his inauguration, they will have to decide if their president-elect really was being blackmailed by Moscow. Clarification: 11 January - This article was amended to make clear that the opposition research firm which commissioned the report had first worked for an anti-Trump political action committee.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38589427

Newspaper headlines: Trump's 'dirty dossier' and the British spy who 'rocked' him - BBC News

2017-01-12

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President-elect Donald Trump makes most of the front pages as he responds to controversial claims made against him in a leaked dossier.

The Papers

Pictures of a defiant Donald Trump holding forth during his news conference on Wednesday feature on many front pages. It was, says the Guardian, a combative performance as Mr Trump unleashed a firestorm of invective against news organisations and US intelligence agencies. The Financial Times claims his stance escalates an already tense relationship with an intelligence leadership that believes his election was abetted by a foreign power, Russia. The Times, the Daily Mail and the Daily Mirror all lead on reports that a former MI6 agent who was based in Russia has gone into hiding after being named as the person behind the dossier of lurid claims about the president-elect. They say Christopher Steele is "terrified for his safety", fearing retribution from Moscow. "Oh to be a sketchwriter in America" - declares Quentin Letts in the Mail. "Mr Trump is a politician, Jim, but not as we know it," he writes. "He doesn't do wriggling and lawyerly evasions. He doesn't do dainty detours or (ridiculous thought) charm. He just comes out and smashes his critics on the nose." Several papers highlight what they see as a rift between Theresa May and the head of the NHS in England, Simon Stevens, over funding for the health service and social care. The Sun speaks of "open war with Number 10" after Mr Stevens fired off what it calls "a series of barbs" at the prime minister when he appeared before MPs. The paper calls it an "unhealthy spat which helps no-one" - the last thing we need, it says, is the distraction of a row as those at the top pass the buck. The Daily Telegraph calls for the politics to be taken out of NHS funding; it argues that there must be a willingness to consider alternative ways of bringing money into the system without it being denounced as "privatising" the service. The Telegraph reports that Lady Thatcher has taken her place in the pantheon of British greats, in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. It says the former prime minister's life story attracts the third longest entry - with more space devoted to her than Sir Winston Churchill. Only Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth I are given a higher word count. According to the Daily Express, the biography - written by the historian Sir David Cannadine - concludes that: "There are times when nations may need rough treatment. And for good and for ill, Thatcher gave Britain plenty of it." Henry VIII was well known for his lavish banquets, but now - says the Mirror - it has been revealed just how much he forked out on food and drink. The paper reports that his annual bill for meat alone came to £3.5m in today's money - all washed down with £6m worth of beer.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-38591381

Was Buzzfeed right on Donald Trump dossier? - BBC News

2017-01-12

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Buzzfeed's decision to publish the Donald Trump dossier raises many questions about modern journalism.

Entertainment & Arts

Donald Trump has criticised the decision to publish the dossier Was Buzzfeed right to publish the Trump dossier? That comes down to editorial judgement, which is to news what eggs are to an omelette - the essential ingredient. That said, I opened this post with a question which I will not answer - partly because I work for the BBC and it is not my place to pass judgement on other news organisations' editorial calls and partly because those editorial calls are subjective. But as BBC media editor, and as a former editor of The Independent who had to make thousands of these calls, often against tight deadlines and under great pressure from the subjects of our stories, I want to explore some of the considerations that we editors have to make. Hopefully that will illuminate the hugely controversial decision made this week by Buzzfeed. Editorial judgement is ultimately a moral activity. It is an exercise in selection - which stories, facts, claims, pictures, words, ideas to publish, and which to leave out - that relies on several smaller judgements. These include: the importance you attach to veracity; your own political persuasion; a sense of your audience's interest and - outside the BBC and unfortunately more common now the news business model is under such strain - a consideration of the commercial implications of publishing particular things. The rectitude of all moral activity or actions - editorial judgement included - can be analysed along three criteria: Let's look at Buzzfeed's decision to publish the dossier in terms of intentions and consequences. Some people will argue that - whether you agree with it or not - there is a coherent case for putting information in the public domain even if you are not 100% certain it is true. Ben Smith, the editor-in-chief, has spoken eloquently about how, in our digital era, publishers are no longer gatekeepers of information who demand to be trusted, arguing that Buzzfeed is simply a distributor. His second argument is that because this publication was being circulated widely among government officials, it had tremendous news value and therefore it was in the public interest to put it in the public domain with plenty of caveats so readers could make up their own minds. I know from personal experience that, if you are a digital publisher whose content is free, you mainly make money from advertising, which is related to traffic and which you are under immense pressure to generate. This ultimately commercial imperative can - and does - influence the editorial judgement of many publishers. But let us be charitable to Buzzfeed and say that commercial considerations did not influence this editorial decision. Buzzfeed has a young audience and often publishes journalism associated with the political Left, unlike Trump whose most stable constituency is older voters on the Right. It is reasonable to conclude that one reason Buzzfeed published this dossier about Mr Trump is that it calculated it could harm someone it does not like. So Buzzfeed, having put traffic considerations aside, and being antithetical to some of the things Mr Trump stands for, calculated that the document, which had potentially huge implications for the incoming president, deserved to be seen in its entirety by readers who want access to information. That covers the intentions, but what of the consequences? Huge traffic for this article must have been one consequence. Another is that Buzzfeed, as a powerful international brand, is now clearly associated with a willingness to publish information it knows could be false. Another consequence is of course that the information contained in the dossier, some of it untrue, much of it not corroborated, is now in the public domain we call cyberspace. Perhaps citizens across the globe are digesting it to better understand the incoming president. Finally, life has been made harder for other news organisations, such as CNN, who Trump targeted in his remarkable press conference. They have now been conflated with Buzzfeed under Trump's pernicious umbrella term "fake news". Buzzfeed could reasonably say it is not its job to secure access to Mr Trump for CNN - and in any case the president-elect was not exactly friendly with the mainstream media before the dossier's publication. It will be for editors and citizens everywhere to decide, in balancing Buzzfeed's intentions with the (largely foreseeable) consequences, whether it made a correct editorial judgement. That in turn depends on your moral position - your commitment to truth and so on. What really interests me is that Mr Smith is saying that the digital revolution has redefined journalism, creating publishers who are prepared to put lots of information into the public domain without verifying it. Julian Assange's Wikileaks has put huge amounts of information into the public domain There is a difference, however, between Wikileaks, who do that sort of thing, and what most journalists understand their role to be: corroborating information before making selections as to what should be published. In a sense, Mr Smith's position is an argument against journalism, in that being gatekeepers who curate and edit the world is precisely what many hacks believe their role to be. Just as traditional media included many different types of publisher - tabloids v broadsheets, for example - so new, digital media include those who exhaustively check their facts and proceed with caution and those who are prepared to publish unverified allegations because they think the public should know. The BBC is in the former camp, as my colleague Paul Wood argued in his excellent blog. We work very hard to verify claims before publishing them: so much so that there are always big stories we know about that we cannot use, because we haven't got sufficiently solid sourcing. Our political editor Laura Kuenssberg has talked about this - and I can certainly relate to it. Together with Mr Trump, this controversy helps to illuminate how fast the media is changing - and how it affects all our lives.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38600531

Premier League Show: Gary Lineker meets Mark Hughes - BBC Sport

2017-01-12

Gary Lineker speaks to former-Barcelona teammate Mark Hughes about their time playing for the Catalan giants.

Gary Lineker speaks to former-Barcelona teammate Mark Hughes about their time playing for the Catalan giants. Watch the full interview on The Premier League Show, Thursday 10:00 GMT, BBC Two.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38599603

Idris Elba sells Valentine date for charity - BBC News

2017-01-12

https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews

Luther star Idris Elba puts himself up for auction as a Valentine's date to raise money for charity.

Entertainment & Arts

The winning bidder is promised "delicious conversation and great food" Luther actor Idris Elba has put himself up for auction as a Valentine's date to raise money for charity. In an online video, he offers bidders a "romantic evening" involving cocktails, food and "whatever your heart desires". "I'll let you pound my yams," the 44-year-old star continues before downing a glass of champagne. Proceeds will go to WE (Women Everywhere) Can Lead, a charity organisation "working to empower and educate girls throughout Africa". The winner will join Elba for "a candlelit meal at one of his favourite restaurants". Flights and accommodation at a four-star hotel are included, according to the actor's page on the Omaze website. Interested parties have until 14 February to make a bid. Elba also voiced Shere Khan in last year's hugely successful Jungle Book film as well as producing and starring in Beasts of No Nation (2015). He is also set to star in The Dark Tower later this year, a fantasy western horror film based on a series of Stephen King novels. Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk. • None Elba: I'm too old to play James Bond The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38595523

Rise in suspicious betting patterns in tennis a concern, says TIU report - BBC Sport

2017-01-12

The number of suspicious betting patterns in tennis is on the rise, says the first annual report from the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU).

Last updated on .From the section Tennis The number of suspicious betting patterns in tennis is on the rise and is a "concern", says the first annual report published by the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU). In 2016, nine players and officials were sanctioned as a result of TIU disciplinary investigations. There were 292 alerts to the TIU last year, with eight of them from Grand Slam, ATP and WTA matches. In 2015, there were 246 alerts to the TIU. The TIU said alerts are not proof of corruption, but that all cases have to be investigated. It added it will continue to review its systems to tackle corruption, "ensuring its provisions and powers are current and relevant". For example, from 1 January 2017, a player suspected of a corruption offence will be given a provisional suspension, while previously they could continue playing until a disciplinary notice had been served. Last year, secret files exposing evidence of widespread suspected match-fixing at the top level of world tennis were revealed by the BBC and BuzzFeed News. The files stated that, over the last decade, 16 players ranked in the top 50 had been repeatedly flagged to the TIU over suspicions they have thrown matches. All of the players, including winners of Grand Slam titles, were allowed to continue competing. On Tuesday, former Australian player Nick Lindahl was banned for seven years and fined $35,000 (£28,000) for match-fixing. The report also adds that the abuse of players through social media is a growing concern and that the TIU will work with players to ensure cases are logged and relevant action is taken against perpetrators. In 2015, British world number 75 Heather Watson said abuse on Twitter had "become such a usual occurrence" she has stopped reading the messages. She had previously told the New York Times that she and her family had received death threats online. "I think those people, they've got no life," she said. "They're just kind of cowards thinking they can say whatever they want on the internet."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38591456

Graham Taylor: Ex-England, Watford & Aston Villa manager dies aged 72 - BBC Sport

2017-01-12

Former England manager Graham Taylor, who enjoyed success as Watford and Aston Villa boss, dies at the age of 72.

Last updated on .From the section Football Former England manager Graham Taylor has died at the age of 72. As a club manager, Taylor led Watford from the Fourth Division to runners-up in the old First Division in five years, and to the 1984 FA Cup final. He took Aston Villa to second in the First Division, returning to Watford and Villa after his spell in charge of the national side, and managing Wolves. He became England boss in 1990 but resigned in 1993 after the team failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup. Taylor later became a renowned pundit for BBC Sport. A family statement said: "With the greatest sadness, we have to announce that Graham passed away at his home early this morning of a suspected heart attack. "The family are devastated by this sudden and totally unexpected loss." • None Obituary: 'Perhaps now his work will get the credit it deserves' • None 'I love you Graham, I'll miss you very much' - Sir Elton John pays tribute • None Listen: Archive interview: Graham Taylor on 'View from the Boundary' Watford will hold a minute's applause in honour of their former manager before their home Premier League game against Middlesbrough on Saturday, and their players will wear black armbands. The EFL said a minute's applause will be held before this weekend's league fixtures, while clubs will have the option of wearing black armbands. Tributes have been pouring in, including from musician Sir Elton John, who owned Watford during both of Taylor's spells at the club. "I am deeply saddened and shocked to hear about Graham's passing. He was like a brother to me," he wrote on Instagram. "We shared an unbreakable bond since we first met. We went on an incredible journey together and it will stay with me forever. "He took my beloved Watford from the depths of the lower leagues to uncharted territory and into Europe. We have become a leading English club because of his managerial wisdom and genius." Aston Villa said they were "deeply saddened" by the news and that Taylor would be "fondly remembered" by staff who worked with him. "Graham will always have a place of honour in our history books for his achievements while at the helm," the club added. Football Association chairman Greg Clarke said: "He was a hugely popular and respected figure in the game, not just in English football but international circles as well. "I know Graham was very proud of his time as England manager and it was always great to see him at football grounds across the country. "He had an exceptional knowledge and a love for the game that never diminished over the years. He will be much missed by us all at Wembley and St George's Park." Match of the Day pundit and former England striker Alan Shearer was given his international debut by Taylor. "I held him in the very, very highest regard because of what he gave to me," he told BBC Sport. "He set me on the road, as it were. I'll never ever forget that." Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson told the League Managers' Association website: "Graham was one of the old-school managers. He started as a very young man of 28, having suffered a career-ending injury as a player. "He was the natural choice to become the England manager when he did and this was the pinnacle of a hugely successful career. "I have very fond memories of Graham. He was approachable, open and honest. If he could help you in any way, he always would." Howard Wilkinson, chairman of the LMA - of which Taylor was the first president, said: "Football has lost one of its greatest servants and our thoughts and condolences are with his wife Rita, his daughters Joanne and Karen, and the rest of his family." Much of Taylor's work as a pundit at the BBC was carried out for BBC Radio 5 live, and controller Jonathan Wall said: "His colleagues loved working with him, and for our listeners he was a much-loved pundit. He leaves us with wonderful warm memories and so many stories. Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time." • None Archive: Media treated me like dirt after England - Taylor • None Archive: Taylor told me to stick to cricket - Botham Taylor started out as a player and, after coming through the youth ranks with Scunthorpe, was a defender at Grimsby and Lincoln City. He became manager at Lincoln in 1972 aged 28, and led them to the old Fourth Division title in 1975-76 before joining Watford. In his first spell as Hornets boss between 1977 and 1987, Taylor took the club to the top flight and they finished second to Liverpool in 1983. He was appointed by Villa in 1987 and, after leading them to promotion into the top tier, took them to second in 1990. His exploits led to his appointment as England manager, but he had a turbulent spell in charge of the national team as they failed to make it out of the group at Euro 92 and did not qualify for the World Cup in the United States two years later. Taylor's return to club management came with a brief stint at Wolves before he again took over at Watford, leading them to two promotions in as many years as he guided them back into English football's top flight. He also returned to manage Villa in 2002 but retired a year later. His association with Watford continued when he became chairman in 2009, a post he held for three years, and the club renamed their Rous Stand at Vicarage Road after Taylor in 2014. "In this day and age, when a stand is named after somebody, it's for commercial reasons. I felt honoured," he told BBC Three Counties Radio at the time. • Lincoln City (1972-77) - Youngest person to become an FA coach, at the age of 27. Won Fourth Division title in 1976. • Watford (1977-1987) - Led team from Fourth Division to First Division in five years (W244, D124, L159) • Aston Villa (1987-1990) - Took over when Villa had been relegated to Second Division. Took them back to top flight at his first attempt. Finished runners-up to Liverpool in his third season in charge (W65, D35, L42) • England (1990-1993) - Failed to progress beyond group stage of Euro 92 or qualify for World Cup in 1994 (W18, D13, L7) • Wolves (1994-1995) - Resigned after one full season in charge - (W37, D27, L24) • Watford (1996-2001) - Won Division Two title in 1998 and Division One play-off final in 1999 (W104, D80, L91) Graham Taylor will not simply be remembered for his outstanding management at places like Watford and Aston Villa where, despite his struggles with England, he proved himself an outstanding manager. Taylor will be remembered, by those who had dealings with him in his career as a manager and a BBC Sport pundit, as one of the nicest and most genuine men you could ever meet. He, in many respects, was vastly underrated as a manager because of his unfulfilling spell with England, but close scrutiny of his record proved his pedigree. Taylor took Watford from the Fourth Division to second place in the First Division, as well as the 1984 FA Cup final, before the advent of the Premier League. It was a remarkable feat. He continued at Aston Villa, not only taking them back into the top flight but almost winning the title, finishing second to Liverpool in his third season at the club. A spell at Wolves did not work out but he reproduced the old magic in a second spell at Watford, taking them into the Premier League, although a second stint at Villa was not so successful. Above all, this is a loss that will be felt keenly throughout football's generations because the game has lost one its true gentlemen.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38599231

Diner leaves £1,000 tip on £79 bill - BBC News

2017-01-12

https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews

A happy customer at an Indian restaurant in County Armagh has surprised staff by leaving a £1,000 tip on a £79 bill.

Northern Ireland

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Luna Ekush, who owns the restaurant, said the tip was "incredibly generous" A happy diner at an Indian restaurant in Portadown has surprised staff by leaving a £1,000 tip on a £79 bill. Chef Babu, (Shabbir Satter) of the Indian Tree in the town, said he was called over "very discreetly" by the man, who wanted to remain anonymous. The customer was one of a group of five who dined at the restaurant last Tuesday, the Portadown Times reports. He said he wanted to add the huge service fee in recognition of the "excellent food". Luna Ekush, who owns the restaurant, said the tip was "incredibly generous". "It is a very simple thing to express gratitude, but this has had such a big impact. We are still in shock," she said. "All the staff working that night will split the money as the customer said it was for everyone. "I don't think anyone at the restaurant has ever received such a massive tip, I definitely have not. "I want to thank Babu for his hard work, all credit for the food must go to him."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-38598004

Graham Taylor: Sir Elton John says former England boss was 'like a brother to me' - BBC Sport

2017-01-12

Singer Sir Elton John says Graham Taylor "was like a brother to me" following the former England manager's death at the age of 72.

Last updated on .From the section Football Sir Elton John described Graham Taylor as "like a brother to me" following the former England manager's death at 72. Sir Elton appointed Taylor as Watford manager in 1977, a year after the singer took ownership of the club. Within five years, Taylor took the Hornets from the old Fourth Division to runners-up in the top flight, going on to reach the 1984 FA Cup final. "We will cherish Graham and drown our sorrows in the brilliant memories he gave us," Sir Elton wrote on Instagram. "This is a sad and dark day for Watford. The club and the town. We went on an incredible journey together and it will stay with me forever. "I love you Graham. I will miss you very much." • None Listen again to a 5 live special: Tributes to Graham Taylor • None Archive: Taylor told me to stick to cricket - Botham Taylor, who managed England between 1990 and 1993, died on Thursday morning following a suspected heart attack, his family said. He was a highly successful club manager who also worked at Lincoln, Wolves and Aston Villa, guiding the latter to second place in the First Division in 1990. After resigning as England boss in 1993 following the team's failure to qualify for the 1994 World Cup, he managed Watford for a further five years, between 1996 and 2001. He retired from football in 2003, later becoming a respected BBC pundit. Sir Elton sold his stake in Watford in 1987, the year Taylor left for Villa, but he returned again as chairman in 1997. "I am deeply saddened and shocked to hear about Graham's passing. He was like a brother to me," he added. "He took my beloved Watford from the depths of the lower leagues to uncharted territory and into Europe. We have become a leading English club because of his managerial wisdom and genius." • Lincoln City (1972-77) - Youngest person to become an FA coach, at the age of 27 - won Fourth Division title in 1976. • Watford (1977-1987) - Led team from Fourth Division to First Division in five years (W244, D124, L159) • Aston Villa (1987-1990) - Took over when Villa had been relegated to Second Division. Took them back to top flight at his first attempt. Finished runners-up to Liverpool in his third season in charge (W65, D35, L42) • England (1990-1993) - Failed to progress beyond group stage of Euro 92 or qualify for World Cup in 1994 (W18, D13, L7) • Wolves (1994-1995) - Resigned after one full season in charge (W37, D27, L24) • Watford (1996-2001) - Won Division Two title in 1998 and Division One play-off final in 1999 (W104, D80, L91) Watford will hold a minute's applause in honour of their former manager before Saturday's home Premier League match against Middlesbrough, and their players will wear black armbands. They will also organise additional tributes, involving officials and supporters from the club. The club say they are "inviting supporters to tweet their tributes to the club's most successful manager by using the hashtag #thankyouGT". The EFL said a minute's applause will be held before this weekend's fixtures, while clubs will have the option of wearing black armbands. Football Association chairman Greg Clarke described Taylor as "a hugely popular and respected figure in the game". He added: "He had an exceptional knowledge and a love for the game that never diminished over the years. He will be much missed by us all at Wembley and St George's Park." Match of the Day host and former England international Gary Lineker said Taylor was "an outstanding manager, lover of football and thoroughly decent man". He added: "He made me his England captain and I will be eternally grateful to him for giving me that honour." Former England striker Alan Shearer, who made his international debut under Taylor in 1992, said he was "completely shocked" by the news of Taylor's death, adding he "held him in the very highest regard". Premier League executive chairman Richard Scudamore said: "You will struggle to find a more decent individual in football, one who cared passionately about all levels and aspects of the English game." Howard Wilkinson, chairman of the League Managers' Association - of which Taylor was the first president, paid tribute to his "lifelong friend". "I greatly admired Graham for his honesty, tenacity, professionalism and his capacity for innovation, which earned him richly deserved success," he said. "Football has lost one of its greatest servants and our thoughts and condolences are with his wife Rita, his daughters Joanne and Karen, and the rest of his family." Burnley manager Sean Dyche, who was given his first managerial job by then Watford chairman Taylor, said: "For such a legend at Watford to be helping you have that chance, and helping me along the way as a young manager, I'm absolutely devastated." Former England midfielder Paul Gascoigne said Taylor's "enthusiasm for life and football was incredible". Professional Footballers' Association chairman Gordon Taylor said he had known Graham Taylor since they were both aged 15 at England schoolboy trials. "He was a real quality human being. He cared about his fellow pros and the good of the game. He should be remembered as a man who added to the game, who really showed his ability as a manager," he said. "I'm proud and privileged to have been able to call him a friend."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38600446

Graham Taylor obituary: Ex-England boss a fount of knowledge and a true gentleman - BBC Sport

2017-01-12

Chief football writer Phil McNulty pays tribute to Graham Taylor after the former England manager's sudden death at the age of 72.

Graham Taylor will be remembered by many for his unfulfilling spell in charge of England - but by plenty more as an outstanding club manager at Watford and Aston Villa and one of the nicest, most genuine men in the game. The reaction to Taylor's death on Thursday at the age of 72, and the affection expressed for him, was the true measure of his standing inside and outside football. Born in Worksop in Nottinghamshire, Taylor was the son of a journalist and rose to prominence in the game as a manager after retiring as a player with Lincoln City in 1972. He became manager and coach at the club, winning the Fourth Division title with them before moving to Watford in 1977. It was here, in tandem with his chairman Sir Elton John, that he produced arguably his finest work, taking the club from the Fourth Division to the top flight in the space of five exhilarating years. • None Listen again to a 5 live special: Tributes to Graham Taylor Taylor nurtured Watford legends such as Luther Blissett and John Barnes, remarkably finishing second behind Liverpool in their first season at that elite level and reaching the FA Cup final in 1984, where they lost 2-0 to Everton. Not so long ago he joked with me, with his usual broad smile: "You know I have never watched any of that game from that day to this - but I don't need to see it again to know that second goal from Andy Gray was a bloody foul on our goalkeeper Steve Sherwood." Taylor's unlikely partnership with the flamboyant rock star worked against the odds, the manager's down-to-earth approach dovetailing with his chairman's lavish lifestyle. They remained friends for life, as demonstrated by Sir Elton's heartfelt tribute. On trips abroad when he worked as a BBC Sport pundit, Taylor would gladly tell stories of that partnership, always with a laugh and underlining the genuine affection they shared. Taylor's brilliance inevitably attracted attention from elsewhere and, perhaps feeling he had achieved all he could at Vicarage Road, he left for Aston Villa in May 1987. Villa were in reduced circumstances having been relegated to the second flight. Taylor soon put that right by winning promotion in his first season - and, not content with that, rebuilt the club with such success and shrewd management that he took them to second place behind Liverpool in 1990. Taylor's methods were tried and trusted and yet he often received criticism for what his detractors perceived as "long ball" football. He, with much justification, pointed out his willingness to use wingers and flair players such as Barnes and the young Mo Johnston, whom he brought to England from Partick Thistle. England inevitably looked in Taylor's direction after Sir Bobby Robson left following the 1990 World Cup in Italy, where his side lost to West Germany on penalties in the semi-final. This was, without doubt, the darkest and most frustrating period of Taylor's career and is one of the reasons his other work has been so criminally underrated over the years. Taylor took over at a tough time after the loss of England mainstays such as goalkeeper Peter Shilton and past captains such as Terry Butcher and Bryan Robson. He gave players like Alan Shearer and Martin Keown their first England caps - but he drew criticism for selecting players many simply felt were not international class, such as Carlton Palmer. England reached Euro 92 in Sweden under Taylor but produced a series of disappointing performances, going out at the group stage after losing 2-1 to Sweden in Stockholm. Taylor courted controversy and criticism in that decisive game by substituting England captain and main marksman Gary Lineker for Arsenal striker Alan Smith with a goal still needed - it never arrived and Lineker never played for England again. The manager was vilified and lampooned as a "turnip" in the Sun newspaper. The campaign to qualify for the World Cup in the United States in 1994 also ended in failure, and was brutally chronicled in the fly-on-the-wall documentary 'The Impossible Job', which gave an intimate insight into the pressures Taylor was under. Those struggles were illustrated starkly in the game that effectively sealed his fate, the 2-0 loss to the Netherlands in Rotterdam. He may have operated at the highest level but he never talked down to supporters and was always interested in how they viewed the game The tortured Taylor is seen on the sidelines pleading with officials after Ronald Koeman somehow escaped a red card for a foul on England's David Platt, only to be reprieved and score the brilliant free-kick that sent the Dutch on the way to victory. He resigned the following month and stayed out of the game until returning at Wolves in March 1994. During his spell in charge he took them into the second-tier play-offs in 1994-95, where they lost to Bolton Wanderers. Taylor left in November 1995 before returning to revisit old glories. Sir Elton John was back at the helm at Watford so it was no surprise when he turned to Taylor to come back to Vicarage Road as general manager in February 1996. It was once more the perfect fit and he was back as manager a year later, winning the third-tier title in 1998 before putting Watford in the Premier League at the end of the following season after a play-off final victory over Bolton. Watford, despite an early win at Liverpool, were relegated and the following season Taylor decided to retire - only to change his mind and make a comeback at Villa in February 2002. He retired for a second and final time after they struggled the following season. It was the end of one chapter and the start of another as Taylor became a respected pundit on BBC Radio 5 live, a role he performed with total assurance and perception. Taylor was part of the radio team that covered England. It was a sign of the esteem in which he was held by fans as well as players that whenever he encountered supporters abroad, he was treated with complete respect. There was barely a reference from England followers to any of his struggles in charge of the national team. To them, Taylor was a true gentleman, to be given his due not just for his work but for his warm personality and willingness to discuss football matters with anyone he met. He may have operated at the highest level but he never talked down to supporters and was always interested in how they viewed the game. • None Archive: Media treated me like dirt after England - Taylor • None Archive: Taylor told me to stick to cricket - Botham As a BBC Sport colleague, Taylor was unfailingly co-operative and the consummate professional, willing to take a call at any time, even when he was meant to be spending time with his beloved wife Rita. And as well as a fount of knowledge and a man with strong opinions, Taylor was also an endless source of entertainment and stories, just as happy to poke fun at himself as everyone else. Graham Taylor was a top-class manager at club level and a true gentleman inside and outside of football. He will be greatly missed and perhaps now his work in management, viewed through the prism of this sad news, will finally get the credit it fully deserves.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38596836

Daily Politics coverage of PMQs - BBC News

2017-01-12

Prime Minister's Questions on the BBC's Daily Politics.

This video can not be played.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-27901933

Alastair Cook: England captain to meet Andrew Strauss on Friday - BBC Sport

2017-01-12

England captain Alastair Cook will meet director of cricket Andrew Strauss on Friday, but no decision on his future as skipper is expected to be made.

Last updated on .From the section Cricket England captain Alastair Cook will meet director of cricket Andrew Strauss on Friday, but no decision on his role as skipper is expected to be made. The 32-year-old admitted to having "questions" over his position during the 4-0 series defeat in India. Cook and Strauss regularly meet to review each series that England play. With England not due to play a Test until July, Cook will be given time, with no decision likely before the end of the limited-overs series in India. • None Read more: Stay or go? The decision facing Alastair Cook... The white-ball teams, led by Eoin Morgan, play three one-day internationals and three Twenty20s, the last of which is on 1 February. With the majority of England's management, including coach Trevor Bayliss, currently in India, some staff met via video-link on Monday. Cook, who was appointed in 2012 and has captained in an England record 59 Tests, is thought to have already spoken informally to Strauss and indicated that he would like more time to come to a decision. The opening batsman was sacked as one-day captain in 2015, but is unlikely to face a similar situation if he wishes to remain as Test skipper. Speculation over how long he might remain as leader first arose before the tour of India, when Cook said he was looking forward to a time when he was no longer captain. Though England gained a creditable draw in the first Test, their performances deteriorated. In the fourth Test they became only the third side to lose by an innings after making 400 or more batting first, a result that sealed a series defeat and after which Cook said he thought vice-captain Joe Root was "ready" to lead. The fifth Test saw the tourists again beaten by an innings after hitting 477 batting first, this time with India piling on 759-7, their highest Test total and the largest made by any side against England. In the aftermath, former England batsman Geoffrey Boycott called on Cook to step aside, while ex-captain Michael Vaughan said he expected the opener to stand down. However, he has been publically backed by Bayliss and many members of his squad, most recently opening batsman Haseeb Hameed. If Cook resigns then Root, 26, is expected to take over.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/38593155

Morgan Schneiderlin: Everton sign Man Utd midfielder for fee rising to £24m - BBC Sport

2017-01-12

Everton confirm the signing of Manchester United midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin for a fee rising to £24m.

Last updated on .From the section Football Everton have signed Manchester United midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin for a fee rising to £24m. Schneiderlin, 27, has signed a four-and-a-half-year contract to link up again with Toffees boss Ronald Koeman, whom he played for at Southampton. The France international played 47 times for the Red Devils following his £25m move from the Saints in July 2015. Schneiderlin, who moves for an initial £20m, said he was "hungry as ever and ready to eat football again". He has made eight appearances since Jose Mourinho was appointed United boss in the summer, but has only played for 11 minutes in the Premier League. Schneiderlin's last appearance for the club came in the 1-1 draw against Arsenal in November. He said: "Everton is a big club in the history of English football. I have always loved the atmosphere in the stadium. I can't wait to play and to represent this great club. "There is a manager in place here that I know and he can get the best out of me. I know his style and how he likes to play football. He was very good with me from the start and I enjoyed playing football under him." Koeman demanded the club make signings this month after their FA Cup third-round defeat by Leicester. The Toffees have already signed 19-year-old forward Ademola Lookman from Charlton for £11m and agreed a £10.4m fee with Standard Liege for Algeria forward Ishak Belfodil. Midfielder Tom Cleverley has left to join fellow Premier League side Watford on loan for the rest of the season, with an option to buy. Morgan Schneiderlin has struggled to adapt and stamp his personality on anything at Old Trafford. But he gets across the ground well, he can tackle and he gets up and down the pitch. At his best he's a typical Premier League central midfield player. Everton are buying someone who you know has been able to produce the goods in the Premier League from his time at Southampton. He's not a gamble.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38586043

Jeff Sessions: What he revealed about Trump's priorities - BBC News

2017-01-12

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Senator Jeff Sessions gave policy clues on law and order, immigration and civil rights under Trump.

US & Canada

During Jeff Session's first day of confirmation hearings, Democrats did not provoke any blockbuster revelations that would bring his attorney general hopes crashing down in flames. Senators on both sides of the aisle, however, were able to draw Mr Trump's nominee out on a wide range of issues, revealing how he would go about running the Justice Department and what his priorities would be. Here's a look at some of the more significant topics of discussion. Last year Senator Jeff Sessions said that the FBI should have been more aggressive in investigating Democrat Hillary Clinton's use of a private email system and possible corruption in the her family's charitable foundation. On Tuesday morning he said that because such previous comments could call into question his impartiality, he would recuse himself from any future Justice Department investigations into the former Democratic presidential nominee. He also downplayed concerns, aired during the presidential campaign, that Mr Trump might be prone to use the powers of the presidency to punish political foes. When California Senator Diane Feinstein asked Mr Sessions about his past opposition to the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalising abortion across the US, the nominee stood by his view that the case was a colossal mistake. He noted, however, that the decision was the "law of the land" and that he will "respect and follow it" - a line he also used regarding the recent court decision to legalise same-sex marriage. Mr Sessions later said that he would enforce laws guaranteeing access to abortion clinics and prohibiting protesters from disrupting their operation. Abortion opponents have been focused less on overturning the Roe decision in recent years, however, instead opting for limiting when and where women can obtain abortions. On that topic, Mr Sessions was much more opaque. Mr Sessions, when asked about Mr Trump's past support for temporarily closing the US border to all Muslims, said neither he nor the president-elect currently backed such a policy. Instead, he said, the incoming administration's plan was to subject individuals from countries with ties to terrorism to "strong vetting". He did concede, however, that a new arrival's religion could be taken into consideration by US immigration officials "Sometimes, at least not in a majority, many people do have religious views that are inimical to the public safety of the United States," he said. This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Jeff Sessions said caricature of him as a 'Southern racist was painful' Mr Sessions has been an advocate for voter ID laws in the past - measures that have, at times, run afoul of the federal Voting Rights Act. When asked about a recent decision by a Texas court to strike down their strict law, the Alabama senator professed a lack of knowledge of details. "I have publicly said I think voter ID laws properly drafted are ok," Mr Sessions said. "But as attorney general it will be my duty to study the facts and in more depth, to analyse the law, but fundamentally that can be decided by Congress, and the courts, as they interpret the existing law." He was more forthcoming when asked about the portion of the Voting Rights Act ruled unconstitutional in 2013 by the US Supreme Court that required a number of states, mostly in the South, to receive federal clearance before taking actions affecting voting rights. He called it "intrusive". The practice of waterboarding detainees, according to Mr Sessions on Tuesday, is "absolutely improper and illegal". That represents a bit of a departure for the Alabama senator, who voted against the 2015 law making it illegal, and runs contrary to Mr Trump's campaign position that he backed measures "a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding". As for the US detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the attorney general nominee was on the same page as the president-elect. "It's a safe place to keep prisoners," he said. "I believe it should be utilised in that fashion and have opposed the closing of it." This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. A Democratic critic says there's no evidence Sessions will be 'fair and humane' on immigration Over the course of the more than six hours of testimony on Tuesday, Mr Sessions was asked about how vigorously he'd pursue a variety of Justice Department priorities. He wouldn't rule out increased enforcement of federal drug laws in states that have decriminalised marijuana and suggested he might restart a task-force charged with prosecuting violations of anti-obscenity laws. Mr Sessions also made clear that he did not support the "prosecutorial discretion" that the Obama administration used to suspend the deportation of some groups of undocumented migrants, such as those who entered the US as children. While he didn't directly call for reversing Barack Obama's executive orders on immigration, he said it was of "very questionable" constitutionality and that his Justice Department wouldn't object to reversing it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38577629

The footballer who makes more money playing video games - BBC News

2017-01-12

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Meet the man who gave up his successful on-pitch career for a money-spinning virtual one.

Business

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Former Brazilian footballer Wendell Lira will never forget the day he beat Lionel Messi. It was a split second in front of the goalkeeper in a match in Brazil's lower league that changed Lira's life forever. Only 342 people were in the stadium that night for Goianesia v Atletico Goianiense, but Lira's superb goal captured on video travelled the world and became a hit, winning 2015's Fifa Puskas Award for the most beautiful goal scored in 2015. Lira was soon hired by a bigger football club and his career seemed on the rise. But in a turn of events he decided to retire from the sport at the age of 27, and is now playing video games instead. Even more surprisingly, he is making more money as an e-athlete than he ever did as a real footballer. "I always dreamed of making a living as a video game player, but I never thought it would come true. But it did," he says. During a side event at the Fifa Award ceremony in Switzerland, footballers were challenged to play a match of EA Sports' Fifa game against the world champion. Most players, like Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi, declined the offer. But Lira thought he had nothing to lose. To his own surprise, he beat the world champion 6-1. Before the award, he had become disenchanted with his own profession. Players in Brazil's top leagues can get good salaries and become millionaires if they are spotted by rich European clubs. But in the Brazilian lower leagues life is hard. Lira spent the last few years earning 3,000 reais ($880; £700) per month in the weeks that he could find work. Some years he spent up to seven months unemployed. He had four serious injuries in his career. He had even retired from football and was working in his mother's restaurant when he got an invitation from Goianesia and decided to give the sport one last go. The goal he scored for the team earned him plaudits and fame. But just a few weeks after the glitz and glamour faded, he was again playing for a small club and suffering from all the same old problems - and having trouble paying his bills. "People think that because I was a Puskas winner I had a huge salary. It was never the case." But his good performance in the e-sport match in Switzerland did not go unnoticed. A sports marketing firm in the southern town of Porto Alegre saw potential in Wendell Lira and offered him a five-year contract as an e-athlete. He now makes money by playing in championships, hosting a YouTube channel with tips for players and selling sponsorship for his online programme. His channel has almost 250,000 subscribers and millions of views, and Lira says he is making well above his old salary. Making money playing on screen also needs hard training - something that will come as a surprise to many parents Brazil is one of the fastest growing markets for gaming in the world. A report by the consultancy Newzoo says Latin America is the second fastest growing region in electronic game revenues, after South East Asia. The region has 110 million gamers who spent $4.1bn in 2016 - some 20% more than the previous year. And video games are not only an entertainment option for players - people are now watching them in stadiums and on television too. Last year, more than 10,000 people attended the League of Legends final in a football stadium in Sao Paulo. The country's top TV sports channel is now broadcasting some tournaments live. Now traditional football clubs are looking for ways to cash in. Santos, the club that made Pele famous, has recently gone into partnership with an e-sports firm to sponsor teams. It now has e-athletes playing Rainbow Six and Counter Strike. Its marketing department fears that young audiences are flocking more to video games rather than to football clubs, and that they need to reach out to them in this new environment. Bruno Andrade, who manages the Santos Dexterity e-sports team, says it is a hard task to run the business. Money is still scarce - funding comes through cash prizes, online channels or sponsorship. Another challenge is to manage teenagers in a career that is not well-established yet. Santos Football Club provided its e-sports arm with a psychologist. "Many people still don't understand that this could be a lasting career and they need professional help to guide them," says Andrade. Some top stars in the game are playing full-time and making six-figure sums. There are teams that train and live together under one roof. But these are still rare cases. Most players are still struggling to make ends meet. Wendell Lira says his routine is very hard - he trains several hours every day to win cash prizes in online tournaments and stay relevant on YouTube. But, he says, it is still much easier than the gruelling world of football - where he had to deal with physical pain and long trips.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38262547

What does post-truth mean for a philosopher? - BBC News

2017-01-12

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How are philosophers meant to make sense of the post-truth world? AC Grayling says he fears the worst and blames social media.

Education & Family

AC Grayling says a post-truth world threatens the "fabric of democracy" "Post-truth" has come to describe a type of campaigning that has turned the political world upside down. Fuelled by emotive arguments rather than fact-checks, it was a phrase that tried to capture the gut-instinct, anti-establishment politics that swept Donald Trump and Brexit supporters to victory. Oxford Dictionaries made it the word of the year, defining it as where "objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief". But what does this new world mean for academics and scientists whose whole purpose is trying to establish objective facts? AC Grayling, public thinker, master of the New College of the Humanities, and Remain campaigner, views the post-truth world with undisguised horror. The philosopher, awarded a CBE in the New Year Honours, warns of the "corruption of intellectual integrity" and damage to "the whole fabric of democracy". But where does he think the post-truth world has come from? "The world changed after 2008," says Prof Grayling - politics since the financial crash has been shaped by a "toxic" growth in income inequality. As well as the gap between rich and poor, he says a deep sense of grievance has grown among middle-income families, who have faced a long stagnation in earnings. With a groundswell of economic resentment, he says, it is not difficult to "inflame" emotions over issues such as immigration and to cast doubt on mainstream politicians. Another key ingredient in the post-truth culture, says Prof Grayling, has been the rise of social media. It's not the soundbite any more, but the "i-bite", he says, where strong opinion can shout down evidence. "The whole post-truth phenomenon is about, 'My opinion is worth more than the facts.' It's about how I feel about things. "It's terribly narcissistic. It's been empowered by the fact that you can publish your opinion. You used to need a pot of paint and a balaclava to publish your opinion, if you couldn't get a publisher. Prof Grayling says the idea of post-truth has its roots in the financial crash "But all you need now is an iPhone. Everyone can publish their opinion - and if you disagree with me, it's an attack on me and not my ideas. "The fact that you can muscle your way on to the front row and be noticed becomes a kind of celebrity." "Fake news" on social media became part of the post-election debate in the US - and Prof Grayling warns of an online culture that can't distinguish between fact and fiction. "Put the words 'did the' into Google and one of the first things you see is, 'Did the Holocaust happen?' and the links will take you to claims that it didn't," he says. This process is "corrosive of our public conversation and our democracy" and he warns of a culture where a few claims on Twitter can have the same credibility as a library full of research. Has the success of Donald Trump changed the rules of campaigning? Appropriately for a philosopher, he identifies post-modernism and relativism as the intellectual roots "lurking in the background" of post-truth. "Everything is relative. Stories are being made up all the time - there is no such thing as the truth. You can see how that has filtered its way indirectly into post-truth." He says this has unintentionally "opened the door" to a type of politics untroubled by evidence. But hasn't this always been part of the battle of ideas? "Post-truth" was Oxford Dictionaries' word of the year for 2016 Prof Grayling tells the story of Adlai Stevenson, the unsuccessful liberal contender in the 1952 US presidential election, who was told: "Mr Stevenson, every thinking person in America is going to vote for you. And he said: 'Great, but I need a majority.'" But the philosopher argues that there has been a significant shift beyond the boundaries of election spinning and into something fundamentally different. He places his argument into a historical perspective, saying the international landscape is more like the volatile, intolerant era before World War Two. "There are some really uncomfortable parallels with the 1930s," he says. "These guys have realised you don't need facts, you just lie."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-38557838

Brian Fletcher: 'Unsung hero' who won Grand National three times dies aged 69 - BBC Sport

2017-01-12

'Unsung hero' Brian Fletcher, who won the Grand National three times as a jockey, dies at the age of 69.

Last updated on .From the section Horse Racing Ex-jockey Brian Fletcher, who won the Grand National three times, including twice on Red Rum, has died aged 69. Fletcher's first Grand National success came when he steered Red Alligator to victory in 1968, a year after finishing third at Aintree on the same horse. In 1973, he won the famous race on Red Rum, repeating the feat in 1974. Red Rum became the most successful horse to run in the National, winning for a third time with Tommy Stack in 1977, the year Fletcher retired. Fletcher also won the Scottish National in 1974, and finished as runner-up to Josh Gifford in the jockeys' title race. Former champion jockey Peter Scudamore said Fletcher was an "unsung hero", without whom "National Hunt racing wouldn't be where it is today". He added: "To win the Grand National three times is an incredible achievement. It's just a shame that after he finished in racing you didn't hear a lot about him."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/horse-racing/38604734

Johanna Konta beats Eugenie Bouchard to progress to final in Sydney - BBC Sport

2017-01-12

British number one Johanna Konta reaches the final of the Sydney International with a 6-2 6-2 win over Eugenie Bouchard.

Last updated on .From the section Tennis British number one Johanna Konta reached the final of the Sydney International with a 6-2 6-2 win over Eugenie Bouchard. Konta, the world number 10, was in impressive form as she beat the Canadian in one hour and eight minutes. The first set was tied at 2-2 before Konta reeled off seven games in a row on the way to victory. She will now play world number three Agnieszka Radwanska, who beat Barbora Strycova 6-1 6-2, in Friday's final. Konta, who has one tour title to her name, has played Radwanska twice before and lost each time. The most recent of those defeats came in the China Open final last October.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38596947

Dog stuck on cliff ledge in Provo, Utah - BBC News

2017-01-12

Rescuers tried to help a dog that was stuck on a ledge on a 60ft cliff in Provo, Utah.

Rescuers tried to help a dog that was stuck on a ledge on a 60ft cliff in Provo, Utah.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38600230

Spectacular cloud photographed over Australia - BBC News

2017-01-12

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A plane passenger captures a spectacular weather formation in the skies above Australia.

Australia

The image was taken on a flight from Perth to Adelaide A plane passenger has photographed a spectacular cloud formation in the skies above Australia. Ilya Katsman, 22, saw the weather phenomenon from a window on a flight from Perth to Adelaide. Neil Bennett, from Australia's Bureau of Meteorology, said it was likely to be a wave cloud. "It's like skimming a stone across a lake. The air is rising up and down in a wave motion," Mr Bennett said. "Where it's going up you're getting the cloud, and where its going down you're getting the clear lines." Mr Katsman said he initially thought it was a rare type of wave cloud known as the "morning glory", which occurs in the country's north. "The cloud is definitely impressive," Mr Katsman told the BBC. Experts say the formation is likely to be a wave cloud "I thought it was unusual to see it so far south." Mr Katsman's photos received wide attention after being shared on an airline's Facebook page, delighting weather enthusiasts.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-38579920

The business of free: How to boost your chance of getting a freebie - BBC News

2017-01-12

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Everyone loves getting something for free, but why do firms continue to give out freebies, what is in it for them, and who do they target?

Business

Propercorn gives out free popcorn at fashion and arts events in London As the saying goes, "there is no such thing as a free lunch", but it may be easier to get one if you are young, fashionable and live in a capital city. Attendees at last autumn's London Fashion Week didn't have to worry about their snacking needs. Outside the main venue in Brewer Street, Soho, a team of workers from upmarket UK popcorn brand Propercorn were there every day to hand out free packets. In total they gave away some 30,000 samples, in what was the 10th time in a row they have been generous at the biannual event. For Propercorn the giveaway is part of a strategy that also sees it offer free packets at arts events in the UK capital, such as Late at the Tate Britain, when the art museum opens its doors at night and puts on a music concert. It is a deliberate move by the company to target the so-called trendsetters and influencers, in the hope that they will speak positively about the product, giving it a word-of-mouth buzz. Propercorn says it wants to be part of an "exciting cultural dialogue" A Propercorn spokesman explains: "Positioning popcorn outside of traditional snack circles, and looking for inspiration at design, fashion, wellbeing and entrepreneurship events, helps us to remain fresh and part of this exciting cultural dialogue. "It's less about immediate increase in sales, and more about getting our product in the hands of people who will excitedly and personally engage in our brand and story." Everyone loves a freebie, but is it really free? Not even remotely, says Jean-Pierre Dube, professor of marketing at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Instead, the cost of giving away free samples comes from a firm's marketing budget, which in turn comes from its overall earnings. Lipton gave away free drinks at a number of breakfast events in London Prof Dube says: "Giving things away is definitely a form of marketing. "[For example], when you buy a ski vacation that comes with 'free lessons', the lessons are of course not free. "The price of the package was set with the lessons taken into account." He adds: "But what about literally giving things away? There is still no free. "This is an investment the firm makes in anticipation of receiving the reward in the future. For example, [US cable TV firm] Comcast gave away free digital video recorders as a promotion a few years ago. This was just an investment in receiving the monthly cash flows from people's service subscriptions." If you want to be handed a freebie on the street, it certainly helps to live in a country's capital or largest city. Lipton said it wanted to create a "clearly different brand experience" This is not simply because of the larger population, but because a country's main conurbation is more often the trendsetter for retail purchases. So in the UK new products or new promotional campaigns are invariably launched in London, in the US it is New York, while in France it is Paris, and so on. The hope is that the young and fashionable of the big city will try the item, like it, and then talk positively about it - preferably on social media in this day and age. If all goes to plan this will kick start increased sales across the country as a whole. Consumer goods giant Unilever went for this approach last year when it sought to increase UK sales of its Lipton Ice Tea brand. Lipton's Daybreakers campaign saw it give out free drinks at a number of breakfast events across London that included DJ sets and live music. Venues included Old Street in fashionable east London, and the Sky Garden venue at the top of the 34-floor 20 Fenchurch Street building, otherwise known as the "walkie talkie". A Lipton spokesman says: "In order for people to look at Lipton Ice Tea in a new way, we needed to offer consumers a meaningful and relevant reason to try it. Innocent has targeted music festivals to give out free samples "We therefore went down an early morning experimental road to cut through and create a clearly different brand experience." UK drinks firm Innocent is also in the habit of first giving out free samples in London, such as when it launched its coconut water product in 2015. This saw it hand out free samples at a pop-up bar in the trendy Shoreditch area. Innocent, which is majority owned by US giant Coca-Cola, has since gone on to offer free samples at UK music festivals Latitude and Wilderness, and at sporting events such as the Richmond marathon, in south west London. Last year it gave away more than 500,000 cartons. James Peach, Innocent's coconut water brand manager, says: "For [free] sampling to be effective it's important to be targeting the right type of consumer at the moment they would most likely want to use the product, so they get the most out of the experience, and understand the product's benefits. "Generally people drink coconut water to naturally re-hydrate or rejuvenate themselves after exercise or after excess [if they are hungover]. So we simply try to target those occasions as much as we can, to be there when people need it most." While most consumers don't give freebies much thought, behavioural economist Enrico Trevisan says that from the perspective of the business there are three main types; "future selling", "cross selling" and "up-selling". "In the future selling approach, firms give away a product for free, assuming that clients will like it and want to buy more in the future," he says. The New York Times operates an up-selling free model "With cross-selling, the company tries to gain new clients through an entrance product, with the intention of selling them additional products during their life cycle." Mr Trevisan, who works for marketing consultancy Simon-Kucher & Partners, says that an example of cross-selling is banks giving current accounts away for free in order to later sell the client loans, mortgages and overdrafts. Finally, he says that up-selling is when a firm gives away a basic version of the product, but then charges the client for more advanced and complete versions. He cites the examples of online news websites that only offer a limited number of free articles. However, Mr Trevisan cautions that while "giving something for free to potential users is not necessarily complicated, to convert them into paying customers is a very different story".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38570537

Helicopter rescue for snowbound islanders - BBC News

2017-01-12

The Greek air force has taken six people trapped in heavy snow on Skopelos in the Aegean to the island's port.

The Greek air force has taken six people trapped in heavy snow on Skopelos in the Aegean Sea to the island's port. The tourist island has been one of the hardest hit by the cold snap, leaving villages cut off and affecting power and water supplies.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38600233

US snow: Oregon Zoo closes - BBC News

2017-01-12

A polar bear has fun after historic amounts of snow fell in Oregon this week, closing the state's zoo.

A polar bear has fun after historic amounts of snow fell in Oregon this week, closing the state's zoo.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38604185

BBC extends Queen's Club deal as Andy Murray commits to event for rest of career - BBC Sport

2017-01-12

The BBC will broadcast the Aegon Championships at Queen's until 2024 as Andy Murray commits to the event for the rest of his career.

Last updated on .From the section Tennis The BBC will continue to broadcast the Aegon Championships at The Queen's Club on TV, radio and online until 2024. The news coincides with Andy Murray's decision to commit to playing at Queen's for the rest of his career. "To know that Andy will play at The Queen's Club for the rest of his career and that the BBC will cover it every step of the way is a huge boost," said tournament director Stephen Farrow. I'm really happy to know that I will play at Queen's for as long as my career lasts Murray, 29, won at Queen's last year en route to becoming the world number one. His victory in the 2016 final against Milos Raonic was watched by 3.7m on TV, with many more listening on Radio 5 live and following online on the BBC Sport website. Barbara Slater, director of BBC Sport, described the tournament as "one of the most cherished events in the tennis calendar". "It's great that the BBC will continue to bring it to audiences across all platforms until 2024," she added. "With a British tennis player as the current world number one, there's no better time for us to reinforce our commitment to the sport." Murray's record fifth Queen's title was just one chapter in a stellar 2016 for the Briton. He followed it up weeks later by claiming his second Wimbledon title, while his second Olympic gold medal followed later in the summer. He secured the year-end world number one ranking with victory at the ATP World Tour Finals before being named the BBC Sports Personality of the Year for a third time. He was subsequently knighted in the the New Year Honours. "I'm really happy to know that I will play at Queen's for as long as my career lasts," said Murray. "My first ATP World Tour match-win came at Queen's in 2005, so for it to become by far the most successful tournament of my career is a great feeling. "Looking at the names that have won the tournament four times, [they are] some of the best players ever. Winning it five times means a lot to me."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38588408

Graham Taylor: Ex-England, Watford & Aston Villa manager dies aged 72 - BBC Sport

2017-01-12

Former England manager Graham Taylor has died at the age of 72.

Former England manager Graham Taylor has died at the age of 72.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38597194

Graham Taylor: Football to pay tribute to former England manager - BBC Sport

2017-01-12

Fans are being asked to pay tribute to former England manager Graham Taylor at this weekend's games, while greats remember his contribution to the sport.

Last updated on .From the section Football Football is preparing to pay tribute to former England manager Graham Taylor at fixtures taking place this weekend. Taylor, who enjoyed success with Watford, Wolves, Aston Villa and Lincoln City, died aged 72 on Thursday. A minute's applause will be held before the weekend's English Football League matches. Watford, whom he managed for 15 years over two spells, will commemorate Taylor before their game against Middlesbrough on Saturday. • None Obituary: 'Perhaps now his work will get the credit it deserves' • None 'I love you Graham, I'll miss you very much' - Sir Elton John pays tribute • None Listen again to a 5 live special: Tributes to Graham Taylor The EFL said it was also giving clubs the option of letting their players wear black armbands during this weekend's fixtures. The Premier League will leave the decision of whether to pay tribute to individual clubs. Its executive chairman Richard Scudamore said Taylor's "insight, wit and self-deprecating humour" would be missed. "You will struggle to find a more decent individual in football - one who cared passionately about all levels and aspects of the English game," he said. Meanwhile, Watford supporters have been laying tributes to Taylor outside their stadium, where a stand is named after their former manager, chairman and, more recently, honorary vice-president. As a club manager, Taylor led Watford from the Fourth Division to runners-up in the old First Division in five years, and to the 1984 FA Cup final. He took Aston Villa to second in the First Division, returning to Watford and Villa after his spell in charge of the national side, and also managing Wolves. Wolves meet Aston Villa in a Championship game at Molineux on Saturday. Taylor became England boss in 1990 but resigned in 1993 after the team failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup. He later became a respected pundit for BBC Sport. He leaves behind his wife Rita and daughters Joanne and Karen. In the aftermath of the news of Taylor's death, emotional tributes poured in from the football community. BBC Radio 5 live hosted a tribute show in Taylor's honour, in which his colleagues and peers spoke about the effect he had on their lives. Former England captain Alan Shearer, who was given his national team debut by Taylor, said he held him in the "highest, highest regard". "The biggest and best compliment I can give him is he was genuine, honest, passionate and down to earth," he said. "Most of all, he just absolutely loved his football. He was so genuine, so honest and his passion for the game was just immense." Burnley manager Sean Dyche - whose first managerial position was at Watford, where Taylor offered him guidance, said he would be "forever in his debt". "He had an extremely thick skin, and he showed that by defending me on the radio when I was a young manager as well. Things like that mean a lot," he said. "To have that strength behind me when I was a young manager meant a lot." John Murray, a football commentator for 5 live who worked with him during his time as a pundit and summariser, said that Taylor was "everything I had hoped before I met him". "He was steeped in football - he was brilliant at being interested in other people and would always want to talk about football," he said. "I'd describe him as one of the football managers of our time. His club career was outstanding." Fans have been paying tribute to Taylor too, with thousands of people using social media to share their stories of the former England manager: Robert Howard: I spent a train journey from Hemel Hempstead to Euston sitting talking to Graham. We spoke about football old and new. Kids, football and life in general. He was friendly, open and a very nice man. I am glad I met him. Alan Jones: I refereed a youth team match between Portsmouth and Watford. On the same afternoon, Watford's first team were due to play Bournemouth, so they stopped at Eastleigh to watch the youth match on their way there. Graham came into the dressing room afterwards and thanked me for the game, which he thoroughly enjoyed. He looked at the towel around my waist and asked me to get a new one, as he did not like orange. He was a very charming and supportive ambassador for football. RIP. Dave Revell: Met Graham Taylor at a charity day for Kit Aid. Had so much time for people and was always so nice. One of England's better managers. Will Room: I remember seeing a clip of Taylor in the dugout during a match, and some fans behind him shouting out racial abuse to John Barnes and he went hell for leather against them - didn't hold back telling the fans to sit down and shut up basically. Back then it was probably normal for fans to think they could get away with stuff like that but Graham Taylor was definitely a decent man and respected everyone who played for him. Top bloke. Taylor started out as a player and, after coming through the youth ranks with Scunthorpe, was a defender at Grimsby and Lincoln. He became manager at Lincoln in 1972 aged 28, and led them to the old Fourth Division title in 1975-76 before joining Watford. In his first spell as Hornets boss between 1977 and 1987, Taylor took the club to the top flight and they finished second to Liverpool in 1983. He was appointed by Villa in 1987 and, after leading them to promotion into the top tier, took them to second in 1990. His exploits led to his appointment as England manager, but he had a turbulent spell in charge of the national team as they failed to make it out of the group at Euro 92 and did not qualify for the World Cup in the United States two years later. Taylor's return to club management came with a relatively brief stint at Wolves before he again took over at Watford, leading them to two promotions in as many years as he guided them back into English football's top flight. He also returned to manage Villa in 2002 but retired a year later. His association with Watford continued when he became chairman in 2009, a post he held for three years, and the club renamed their Rous Stand at Vicarage Road after Taylor in 2014. "In this day and age, when a stand is named after somebody, it's for commercial reasons. I felt honoured," he told BBC Three Counties Radio at the time. • Lincoln City (1972-77) - Youngest person to become an FA coach, at the age of 27. Won Fourth Division title in 1976. • Watford (1977-1987) - Led team from Fourth Division to First Division in five years (W244, D124, L159) • Aston Villa (1987-1990) - Took over when Villa had been relegated to Second Division. Took them back to top flight at his first attempt. Finished runners-up to Liverpool in his third season in charge (W65, D35, L42) • England (1990-1993) - Failed to progress beyond group stage of Euro 92 or qualify for World Cup in 1994 (W18, D13, L7) • Wolves (1994-1995) - Resigned after one full season in charge (W37, D27, L24) • Watford (1996-2001) - Won Division Two title in 1998 and Division One play-off final in 1999 (W104, D80, L91)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38602558

Copeland by-election goes nuclear - BBC News

2017-01-12

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Ross Hawkins visits Copeland ahead of the by-election.

UK Politics

A by-election will be held in Copeland later this year Ross Hawkins visits Copeland in Cumbria where the outgoing Labour MP is yet to leave his job but campaigning to elect his replacement has already begun in earnest. Conservatives are putting Jeremy Corbyn at the centre of their Copeland by-election campaign. His image is all over Tory leaflets, and their logic is very simple. Copeland relies on the nuclear industry and Jeremy Corbyn has opposed new nuclear power stations. It means that when a by-election date is set, the contest in Cumbria could reveal a lot about how national politics will play out in the coming months. Tories will highlight an issue that divides Mr Corbyn and his colleagues. But amid a huge local row about hospitals, Labour may discover how much damage troubles in the NHS have done to the Conservatives. Labour's campaign focuses on a row about local hospitals Chat to voters in the constituency and you hear two concerns: jobs and healthcare. In the butcher's in Whitehaven, one customer, Geoffrey Boyle, says: "This spot's dead enough already. There's hardly any life around here now. If nuclear goes, this town will be dead." The economy revolves around Sellafield, and job numbers are set to fall there as reprocessing work ends. A new nuclear power station is proposed. Labour backs new nuclear energy, and local politicians certainly do. But Mr Corbyn has made plain in the past that he disagrees. A policy document for his leadership campaign in 2015 says plainly: "I am opposed to fracking and to new nuclear on the basis of the dangers posed to our ecosystems." In a 2011 speech in the wake of the Fukushima disaster he went further, suggesting existing nuclear power stations should be decommissioned. Sources close to Mr Corbyn say he no longer believes that's practical but Tories campaigning in Copeland have seized on his words. The Convervatives hope to exploit Labour divisions over nuclear power Councillor, local Labour party secretary and would-be candidate Gillian Troughton says: "Jeremy Corbyn is not the entire Labour party and Labour policy is for the green, low-carbon energy policy of which nuclear power is a key part." UKIP, which came third here at the last election, boasts that it can take Labour votes. Fiona Mills - who has been UKIP's candidate in Carlisle - is hoping to contest Copeland. She says: "When I stood in the general election I definitely took voters away from Labour because people told me that." But while people here are worried about nuclear jobs, many are furious about healthcare. There is a proposal to move services, including a consultant-led maternity unit, from the hospital in Whitehaven 40 miles down a slow, twisting road to Carlisle. Michelle, who works in the butcher's, says: "Why don't we stick a fellow in the back of an ambulance who's making these decisions and stick a monitor on him that creates the pain the same as labour and see how he feels about that?" Labour's message is that only it will care for the local NHS. Conservative councillor Kevin Beaty says what happens to the hospital is a decision for the local NHS and blames "a PFI in the north set up under the last Labour government that is really difficult from a financial point of view for them". But with a decision about the hospital due in March, potentially before a by-election date, it's a clear and present danger to Tory hopes. What happens to the hospital is a decision for the local NHS, says Tory councillor Kevin Beaty If the Conservatives win, it will be the first time since 1982 the governing party has gained a seat in a by-election. Should that happen, Jamie Reed - the departing Labour MP - will in prompting the contest have done deeper damage to Mr Corbyn than he ever managed in many months criticising his leader. If Labour fails here blame will be piled deep at the door of the party leader. Yet speculation about an electoral upset has raised Tory expectations in a patch that has been Labour since 1935. Merely holding on to a seat that even Margaret Thatcher couldn't seize could yet wind up feeling like a win for Labour. If it's successful, a Labour strategy of responding to relentless attacks on Mr Corbyn with an equally relentless focus on the NHS may provide a model for the opposition in the years ahead.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38589306

Sir Dave Brailsford: Team Sky boss defends methods at British Cycling - BBC Sport

2017-01-12

Team Sky boss Sir Dave Brailsford defends his "uncompromising" methods as an investigation into British Cycling is set to be published.

Last updated on .From the section Cycling Team Sky boss Sir Dave Brailsford has defended his training methods as an investigation into British Cycling is set to be published. Former technical director Shane Sutton resigned in April over claims of discrimination, which he denies. The findings of a review into an alleged bullying culture at British Cycling are to be published soon. "I'm uncompromising in trying to achieve success," said Brailsford. "I don't think I treated people wrongly." He added: "I don't think I was vindictive, I don't think I was biased, I don't think I was malicious." Australian Sutton was found guilty of using sexist language towards cyclist Jess Varnish, but cleared of eight of the nine charges against him. However, the nature of the allegations - and wider claims about the culture at British Cycling - prompted an independent inquiry led by British Rowing chairman Annamarie Phelps. Brailsford became British Cycling performance director in 2003 and led Team GB to two cycling gold medals at the 2004 Olympics, improving that tally to eight in both 2008 and 2012. "We started off as a British team who were second rate, nowhere in the world, with an attitude of gallant losers," said the 52-year-old. "We thought actually 'why can't we be the best in the world?' "And I am uncompromising, I know that. Some people can cope with that environment, and some people can't. "When I took over at British Cycling I tried to push hard. And there were some people I felt who shouldn't be there. "So you get people who go. I'll never make any excuses about that." In 2014 he left British Cycling to focus on Team Sky, having combined his role with both organisations after the road outfit formed in 2009. Team Sky, who have won four of the past five Tours de France - one victory for Bradley Wiggins and three for Chris Froome - are currently the subject of a UK Anti-Doping investigation. Brailsford has denied wrongdoing and there is no suggestion that he, Wiggins or Froome have done anything against the rules. "When we set out with the Tour team and said we were going to try to win the Tour people laughed, they laughed at me," he said. "That was hard. Harder than now. "And then when we didn't do very well, that was hard. Really hard. But then you believe in something, you keep working at it and you achieve it." 2004 Olympics: two gold medals, one silver, one bronze 2008 Olympics: eight gold, four silver, two bronze 2012 Olympics: eight gold, two silver, two bronze Team Sky: four Tour de France wins in five years

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/38589587

Dimitri Payet does not want to play for West Ham, says Slaven Bilic - BBC Sport

2017-01-12

West Ham boss Slaven Bilic says Dimitri Payet needs to "change his attitude" to play again but the club is "not going to sell him".

Last updated on .From the section Football West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic says forward Dimitri Payet no longer wants to play for the Premier League club - but they will not sell him. The 29-year-old France international has regularly been linked with a move. It is understood the Hammers recently turned down a £19.1m bid for Payet from his former side Marseille. "We have said we don't want to sell our best players but Payet does not want to play for us," Bilic said. "We are not going to sell him." Payet joined West Ham from Marseille for £10.7m in June 2015. He excelled in his first season with the London club, scoring 12 goals and earning a nomination for the PFA Players' Player of the Year award. In February 2016 he signed a new contract to tie him to the Hammers to the summer of 2021. Payet has scored five goals so far this season, and the Sun reported last week that Bilic had ordered him to improve his attitude. "I expect from him to come back and to show commitment and determination to the team like the team has shown to him," Bilic said on Thursday. "We aren't going to sell him. It's not a money issue or anything. We want to keep our best players. "I spoke to the chairman and this is not a money issue. We gave him a long contract because we want him to stay." Payet was left on the bench for Friday's 5-0 FA Cup defeat by Manchester City. "He's probably been tapped up by some clubs or whatever," added Bilic, who also confirmed that the player is not training with the first team. "That is usual at this time of year. "But until he changes his attitude he is out of the team and he's not going to train with us." West Ham are 13th in the Premier League, seven points above the relegation zone, and host Crystal Palace on Saturday.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38595765

France elections: What makes Marine Le Pen far right? - BBC News

2017-01-12

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Marine Le Pen is appealing to the French mainstream, but what policies define her as far right?

Europe

Marine Le Pen has been increasingly looking to the centre and left for votes She described Britain's vote for Brexit as the most important event since the fall of the Berlin Wall, and Donald Trump's US presidential victory as "an additional stone in the building of a new world". Marine Le Pen, the leader of France's National Front (FN), is fighting to achieve a similar earthquake in France in the presidential elections in 2017. But with her increasing appeal to the centre and the left of French politics, how much can she really be characterised as far-right? Marine Le Pen is the youngest daughter of Jean-Marie Le Pen, former leader of the FN and a convicted racist, who last year repeated an old anti-Semitic slur that the Nazi gas chambers were "a detail of history". Having grown up in a political home, accompanying him to meetings from the age of 13, Marine Le Pen was always going to struggle to shake off the far-right label. But she did denounce her father's comments in 2015, and effectively expelled him from the party. While her father was leader, the FN was the party that wanted to deport three million foreigners, the party of Holocaust denial and xenophobia. But under Marine Le Pen the FN began to distance itself from such controversial issues. "Damned by her father" - Marine Le Pen managed to get her far-right father off the political stage after his remarks about the Holocaust Such efforts at detoxification have proved successful, with polls suggesting support for the FN climbing from 18% in 2010 to about 24% today. Nonetheless, when voters are questioned they still place the FN and Ms Le Pen "way more to the right than other parties", says Nonna Mayer, expert in racism and the FN at Sciences Po university. Where does she go from here in her pursuit of a detoxified party? The FN has traditionally been a male, blue-collar-dominated party, and the leader needs to target women, says Dr Mayer. So Ms Le Pen has softened her approach to women's rights, and even sees herself as a quasi-feminist. In fact, Dr Mayer argues, in many respects Ms Le Pen is more socially liberal than much of the mainstream right - something that has caused divisions within her own party. The 2017 National Front manifesto renews its commitment to a massive reduction in legal immigration. Ms Le Pen argues French citizenship should be "either inherited or merited". As for illegal immigrants, they "have no reason to stay in France, these people broke the law the minute they set foot on French soil". But if that is a far-right stance, it is not very different from that of centre-right candidate Francois Fillon - who when first elected as the Republican candidate enjoyed a small advantage over Ms Le Pen in polls but has since been damaged by claims of improper use of state funds. "We've got to reduce immigration to its strict minimum," he says. In a world where the centre is shifting to the right, and the right is shifting to the centre, the lines are getting blurred. The two are now competing for some of the same voters. While Mr Fillon is regarded as appealing more to the "respectable" middle classes, Marine Le Pen is claiming to speak for "all people", and increasingly appealing to a wider electorate, even Muslim voters in the French suburbs. Marine Le Pen increasingly claims to speak "in the name of the people" However, in December she upped the ante by announcing that she would end free education for the children of undocumented immigrants, though this did not appear as a pledge in the party's manifesto. "If you come to our country, don't expect to be taken care of, to be looked after, that your children will be educated without charge," she said in a speech in Paris. And, more threateningly, "playtime is over". Long before the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015, Marine Le Pen made a link between immigration and militant Islamism. In the immediate aftermath, she proposed to "expel foreigners who preach hatred on our soil" and to strip dual-nationality Muslims with extremist views of their French citizenship, a view traditionally associated with the far right. In an unprecedented move, those ideas were endorsed both by Socialist Prime Minister Manuel Valls and by President Francois Hollande, before eventually being dropped. Many of her views have been echoed by Francois Fillon too. Mr Fillon, a devout Catholic, described radical Islam as a "totalitarianism like the Nazis". Catholics, Protestants and Jews "don't denounce the values of the Republic," he said, indicating that was not the case with Islam. "The clear blue water between the FN and the other parties has been disappearing and disappearing," says James Shields, professor of French politics at Aston University. The National Front is to the right of the Republicans on law and order issues, says Nonna Mayer. Its 2017 election manifesto includes upping police numbers and powers and creating 40,000 new prison places. There is no mention in this manifesto of the FN's previous pledge to restore the death penalty, an issue that divides the party's core supporters from the mainstream. Polls suggest 60% of FN voters are in favour, compared with 28% of mainstream-right and 11% of left-wing voters. Treatment of immigrants in France is probably the standout, far-right policy of Marine Le Pen's FN. And it is central to the party's platform. Jobs, welfare, housing, schools, or any area of public provision should go to French nationals before they get to "foreigners". The centre of gravity of French politics may have shifted to the right. But no other party has adopted favouritism across the social services - and it could breach the law. Marine Le Pen's niece tweets this: "Fillon is for the national birth right, for family reunion, against restoration of the borders, against national priority" "She is upholding a policy that not only is thought by constitutional experts to be unconstitutional, but has been judged by the law to be unlawful," says Prof Shields. In 1998, a National Front mayor, Catherine Megret, tried to implement a new policy that would give a family allowance to French or EU families, but not to other foreign families. "Did it stand up in court? No," says Prof Shields. But, he says, so-called nativism remains central in Ms Le Pen's platform. Marine Le Pen appeals to French voters fed up with mainstream politics, but there is nothing far right about that. If she wins the presidency in May, she has promised an EU referendum in France within six months of taking office. And the UK's vote to leave the EU in June 2016 has provided the template. Portraying herself as beyond the establishment, she has championed public services - for non-foreigners - and presented herself as a protector of workers and farmers in the face of "wild and anarchic globalisation". This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. "She's managing to get these approval ratings by doing a Trump," says Prof Shields. But here the lines are blurred too: left-wing parties are playing the anti-establishment, anti-globalisation card as well. But what sets her European views apart from the rest of the French right is the company she keeps. The FN has strong ties with the Dutch Freedom Party (PVV), Austria's Freedom Party (FPOe), Belgium's Flemish Interest (VB), Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Italian Northern League (LN). They are all part of the FN-led Europe of Nations and Freedom grouping in the European Parliament and are either right-wing populist or, in the case of the FPOe, far right. Marine Le Pen associates herself with other right-wing leaders in Europe, for example Geert Wilders of the Dutch PVV Geert Wilders, of leader of the Dutch PVV, wants to ban the Koran. The Italian Northern League's leader Matteo Salvini is known for his praise of fascist leader Benito Mussolini. These views are toxic to the political right in Europe, and many centre-right parties have said they will not form coalitions with them.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38321401

My nightmare on the pill - BBC News

2017-01-12

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Millions of women have no problem with the pill but some find it shatters their mental health. Here The Debrief's Vicky Spratt describes years of depression, anxiety and panic.

Magazine

Millions of women rely on the contraceptive pill and many are happy with it - but some find it has a devastating effect on their mental health. Here Vicky Spratt, deputy editor of The Debrief, describes years of depression, anxiety and panic as she tried one version of the pill after another. I sat in the GP's office with my mum and told her that I'd been having my period for three weeks. She told me that the contraceptive pill might help. She warned that it wouldn't protect me from sexually transmitted infections and told me that if I had unprotected sex I could get cervical cancer, so I'd best use it wisely. She had to say that, though I was 14 and sex was very much not on the agenda. My prescription was printed in reception. And then, a three-month supply of the combined pill was mine. Picking up the green foil-covered packets full of tiny yellow pills felt like a rite of passage - I was a woman now. In the plastic pockets was the sugar-coated distillation of feminism, of women's liberation, of medical innovation. This is where it all began, 14 years ago. I then played what I call pill roulette for more than a decade, trying different brands with varying degrees of success and disaster. It was around this time that I also developed anxiety, depression and serious mood swings which, on and off, have affected me throughout my adult life. Relationships have ended and I had to take a year out from university - I thought that was just "who I was", a person ill-equipped for life, lacking self-confidence and unhappy. It wouldn't be until my early 20s, after graduating from university - when my mental health problems and behaviour could no longer be dismissed as those of a "moody teenager" - that I would seriously question whether it was linked to my use of the pill. One day in the early hours, sitting at my laptop, unable to sleep because of a panic attack which had lasted overnight, I began to Google. I had started taking a new pill, a progestogen-only pill (POP) which had been prescribed because I was suffering from migraines, and the combined pill is not safe for people who suffer from migraines with aura. I tapped the name of the pill + depression/anxiety into the search engine and the internet did the rest. There it was: forum threads and blog posts from people who were experiencing the same symptoms as me. At this point I had already seen my GP several times, following the sudden onset of debilitating panic attacks, which I had never experienced before. At no point had my contraceptive pill come up in conversation, despite the fact that the attacks had started when I switched to the new contraceptive. Instead, I was prescribed a high dose of beta blockers, used to treat anxiety, and it was recommended that I should undergo cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). I lived like this for somewhere between six and eight months - I can't tell you exactly because that year of my life is a blur, recorded by my mind in fast-forward because of the constant sense of urgency and impending doom that coursed through my veins. This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The Debrief carried out an investigation, surveying 1,022 readers, aged 18-30 I wish, wholeheartedly, that I could look back on this and laugh. That's how all good stories end, isn't it? But there was then, and is now, nothing funny about what I went through. It was terrifying. I was scared. I didn't recognise myself, I didn't like myself and I couldn't live my life. I didn't know what to do, who to turn to or whether it would ever end. I was not only anxious but lethargic, I felt completely useless. I blamed myself. At the time, convinced that I had lost my mind and feeling as though I was having an out-of-body experience, I explained to my GP that "I felt like someone else", as though my brain "had gone off and gone mouldy". "Do you think this could have anything to do with my new pill?" I asked. I remember the look on her face, an attempt to look blank which barely concealed a desire to tell me I was ridiculous. I explained to her that I had felt awful on every single one of the six or seven pills I'd taken up until that point, with the exception of one high-oestrogen combined pill which made me feel like superwoman for a year, before it was taken away from me (partly because of the migraines and partly because of an increased risk of thrombosis with continued use). She told me, categorically, that my new pill was not the problem. But, disobeying both her and my therapist, I stopped taking the progestogen-only pill. I can only describe what happened next as the gradual and creeping return of my sense of self. After three or four weeks I also stopped taking the beta blockers. To this day, I still carry them with me. They're in every handbag I own, a safety net should I fall off the enormous cliff of my own mind again. In three-and-a-half years I have never had to take them. My problems didn't disappear overnight, of course, but I did stop having panic attacks. I haven't had one since. I feel low from time to time, anxious and stressed but it's nowhere near on the same scale as what I experienced while taking the progestogen-only pill. I felt joy again, my libido returned and I stopped feeling terrified of absolutely everything and everyone. A year after the panic attacks subsided I sat on a faraway beach, after taking a solo long-haul flight halfway round the world. This would have been unthinkable the previous year. As I sat there, underneath a tropical electrical storm, I cried with relief. Relief that I was myself again, relief that I had control of my own mind once more and relief that I hadn't been wrong, that I knew myself better than doctors had made me feel I did. Now 28, I no longer use hormonal contraception and with the exception of mild mood swings in the 48 hours before my period I am, touch wood, free of anxiety, depression and panic attacks. In the years that have passed since I lost myself on the progestogen-only pill and found myself again on a South Asian beach, this issue has been gradually receiving more and more attention. Holly Grigg Spall's book, Sweetening The Pill, published in 2013, put the effects of hormonal contraception on women's mental health firmly on the agenda. Since then a study, overseen by Prof Ojvind Lidegaard at the University of Copenhagen, found that women taking the pill - either the combined pill or the progestogen-only pill - were more likely to be prescribed an antidepressant than those not on hormonal contraception. The difference was particularly noticeable for young women aged between 15 and 19 on the combined pill. Lidegaard was able to conduct this research because he had access to medical records for more than a million Danish women aged 15-34. Following the publication of Prof Lidegaard's study I sent a freedom of information request to the NHS, in my capacity as a journalist at The Debrief. I knew, from the number of our readers who write to us on a near-daily basis about this issue, that significant numbers of women were suffering. I asked the NHS whether they knew how many women were taking antidepressants or beta blockers concurrently. They told me that their systems do not yet allow them to collect this data. Prof Helen Stokes-Lampard, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, says: "There is an established link between hormones and mood, both positive and negative, but for the vast majority of women, the benefits of reliable contraception and regulation of their menstrual cycle outweigh any side effects, and many women report that taking hormones actually boosts their mood. "If a woman believes her contraception might be adversely affecting her mood, she should discuss it with a healthcare professional at her next routine appointment." See also: How risky is the contraceptive pill? Depression is listed as a known but rare side effect of the hormonal contraceptive pill, it's there in the small but hefty leaflet you get in the packet. The NHS website lists "mood swings" and "mood changes" but not explicitly depression, anxiety or panic attacks. We shouldn't throw our pill packets away but neither should we accept negative side effects which impinge on our day-to-day lives. We can't make informed choices without information. We need better research into how hormonal contraception can affect women's mental health, better ways of monitoring reactions in patients, more awareness and support for those who do experience serious side effects. No woman should feel dismissed or ignored. Vicky Spratt is deputy editor of The Debrief, a website for women in their 20s. Its investigation, Mad About The Pill, launched on Wednesday. Listen to the discussion on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter. • None BBC iWonder - How has the Pill changed your life-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-38575745

Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool were lucky not to lose semi-final 3-0 at Southampton - BBC Sport

2017-01-12

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says his side were fortunate to come away with a 1-0 defeat at Southampton in their EFL Cup semi-final first leg.

Last updated on .From the section Football Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says his side were fortunate to come away with a 1-0 defeat at Southampton in their EFL Cup semi-final first leg. The Reds were outplayed for much of the tie at St Mary's but have to now only overturn a narrow deficit in the return leg on Wednesday 25 January. Klopp told BBC Radio 5 live: "It could and should have been 2-0, 3-0. "The best thing for us is the result. We know that we can play better at Anfield, nothing is decided." Nathan Redmond's first-half goal gave Southampton the win, but the former Norwich winger should have increased their lead from two good chances. Redmond himself said after the game that he "should have scored four", after he hit the crossbar and Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius made several good saves. Klopp added: "We cannot be happy with the performance, Southampton cannot be happy with the result. I can't remember a clear chance for us. "We gave the ball away so easily and we needed Loris Karius to save our lives two or three times." Liverpool lost the League Cup final to Manchester City on penalties last season, while Southampton lost their only final 3-2 to Nottingham Forest in 1979. 'Everything will be different at Anfield' Liverpool welcomed back forward Philippe Coutinho from injury as a second-half substitute, and Klopp believes his side will put in a better performance in the second leg. "We will strike back, we will be a different team, a different side, everything will be different at Anfield," he said. "It's still possible to go to Wembley, and that's the target. "We have to show a reaction - but it would be cool if we could already show a reaction at the weekend, because we probably need a better performance to get something at Old Trafford [against Manchester United on Sunday in the Premier League]." Southampton manager Claude Puel admitted his disappointment that Saints will only take a one-goal lead to Anfield. "It's a little frustration that this win was just 1-0," said the Frenchman. "With just a little more luck we could have been further ahead. "I think it was important to keep this result with a clean sheet, with a win, and to sustain our chances of qualifying for the final. "It was a great performance here and I believe they had just one chance in the whole game, so it's a good performance from my players."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38591571

Weather forecast: Icy conditions hit the UK - BBC News

2017-01-13

Snow, ice and high winds have affected much of the UK, causing travel problems and schools closures in some areas.

Snow, ice and high winds have affected much of the UK, causing travel problems and schools closures in some areas. Louise Lear forecasts the conditions for the next 72 hours.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38592912

Marks and Spencer: Good news finally? - BBC News

2017-01-13

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After years of decline, Marks and Spencer has reported rising clothing sales. Has M&S cracked it?

Business

Marks and Spencer has turned out to be this year's surprise Christmas package. In a festive season where most of our big retailers did better than expected, M&S stood out, finally shrugging off its clothing sales hoodoo. Clothing sales have been in decline - and often sharp decline - for the past five years, with the exception of one positive quarter two years ago. Over Christmas, however, like-for-like sales were up 2.3%, although the company was quick to point out that 1.5% of that was down to how Christmas fell, which meant there were five extra trading days compared to the relevant period a year earlier. Even so, a 0.8% increase is not to be sneezed at, and is evidence perhaps that the back-to-basics reforms of chief executive Steve Rowe, which include hundreds of job losses at head office and the closure of most of the international stores, is having some effect. One good quarter doesn't make a revival, but a halt to the seemingly inexorable decline will give shareholders encouragement. Retail analysts say Mr Rowe's formula - a concentration on the basics - is a welcome contrast to the recent past, where management introduced eye-catching fashion and made mis-steps online. The real test will be at the next quarterly update, where the calendar is against Mr Rowe - just as he benefited at Christmas, he misses out next time. If he can turn in another positive number on clothing, there will be substance to the M&S revival. Elsewhere, there was good news tempered with caution about the coming year. This was best expressed at the John Lewis Partnership, which reported like for like sales growth of just under 3% at both the department store chain and the grocery business, Waitrose. Profits for the full year are likely to be up, but Sir Charlie Mayfield, the partnership's chairman, took the unusual step of warning staff their bonuses would be smaller than last year. The culprits? The pressure caused by a weaker pound and the need to invest heavily in new products.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38598206

The art of Obama: A painting a day - BBC News

2017-01-13

Rob Pruitt has painted a single image for every day of Obama’s time in office. That’s nearly three thousand paintings.

As the presidency of Barack Obama draws to a close, so too does the work of an artist who has followed the US leader's daily life for eight years. Rob Pruitt has painted a single image for every day of Mr Obama’s time in office. That’s nearly 3,000 paintings. Every one of those works is now on display at the Gavin Brown gallery in New York, where the BBC caught up with Pruitt.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38575586

Newspaper headlines: 'Snow chaos' and UK role in Trump scandal - BBC News

2017-01-13

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Snowy scenes feature on most of the front pages, some of which also focus on UK links to the controversial Trump dossier.

The Papers

Christopher Steele is believed to have left his home this week Many of the papers lead on the former MI6 officer named as the man who compiled the damaging dossier on Donald Trump leaked earlier this week. According to the Telegraph, Britain has been dragged into the row over the dossier after it was claimed that the government gave the FBI permission to speak to Christopher Steele. It says Britain now finds itself caught in the crossfire of accusations between Russia and the US. The Mail says Russia's relations with Britain have gone into the deep freeze as Moscow blamed MI6 for the dossier. The paper quotes a tweet from the Russian embassy in London suggesting Mr Steele was still working for MI6 and "briefing both ways" against Mr Trump and Moscow. The Mirror's front page has a picture of a two-year-old boy lying on two chairs put together as a makeshift bed at a hospital in Hastings in East Sussex due to a lack of proper beds. It says Jack Harwood - who had suspected meningitis - waited for five hours in A&E with his mother, as staff struggled to cope with the volume of patients. His case was put to Theresa May by the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday. The boy was eventually sent home after his temperature was brought down and his relieved parents were told he didn't have meningitis. The new King of Rwanda has been proclaimed - and he lives in a terrace house on an estate in Greater Manchester. The Guardian says it's not a typical royal residence - but the Rwandan royal family has been exiled since 1961. The Daily Mail says Emmanuel Bushayija is thought to be the first Briton to accede as a king since George the Sixth inherited the throne following the abdication crisis in 1936. It seems Mr Bushayija has been keeping a low profile since his elevation, but neighbours tell the paper he's a lovely man and it's a great honour to live next to him. Twenty-five years ago, the Sun portrayed Graham Taylor - then England football manager - as a turnip after the national team were knocked out during the group stages of Euro 92. Following his death - announced yesterday - it pays tribute to him in its leader column. While it acknowledges his failings as manager, it highlights his successes at club level, describing him as a genius. He had a magnificent football brain and made a fine radio pundit, it adds. Above all - it goes on - he was just a thoroughly decent bloke. Finally, you could save yourself as much as nine thousand pounds on a house purchase - if you don't mind living at number 13. Research by the property website, Zoopla - released to coincide with today's date, Friday the 13th - found that nearly a third of homebuyers are less likely to buy a property with this number. But - the Mail reports - those who are not put off by it will find a house with this number typically cheaper than the average UK property. On the other hand, the most expensive door number tends to be number one - and Number 100 the next most expensive.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-38605214

Quiz of the week's news - BBC News

2017-01-13

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A weekly quiz of the news, 7 days 7 questions.

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It's the weekly news quiz - have you been paying attention to what's been going on in the world over the past seven days? If you missed last week's 7 days quiz, try it here Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter

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Seaside towns 'battered' by tidal surge - BBC News

2017-01-13

People along England's east coast have been bracing themselves for a storm surge.

People along England's east coast have been bracing themselves for a storm surge and the possibility of severe flooding. The Environment Agency has issued 17 warnings of danger to life.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38616790

Nile Wilson: GB gymnast injured after 'freak accident' in training - BBC Sport

2017-01-13

British Olympic bronze medallist Nile Wilson could be out for several months after snapping ankle ligaments in training.

Last updated on .From the section Gymnastics British Olympic bronze medallist Nile Wilson could be out for several months after snapping ankle ligaments in training. The 20-year-old, who won bronze on the high bar at Rio 2016, was injured during what he called a "basic" parallel bars routine on Wednesday. Wilson said the "freak accident" caused "very significant injury". "I'll get through this and come back stronger; the key is staying very positive," he wrote on Facebook. Despite not breaking any bones, the injury could force Wilson to miss the European Championships in April. He was part of Team GB's best ever Olympic gymnastics performance, the squad winning seven medals in Brazil. Earlier in 2016 he became the first Briton to win European high bar gold. "Following a freak accident on Wednesday, a scan on my ankle has revealed a serious injury. "I am committed to getting back to full fitness as soon as I can. "I will come back a better gymnast and a better person. "The is day one of a different chapter on my journey and I will be reaching out to those facing similar challenges." British Gymnastics men's head national coach Eddie van Hoof said it was a significant setback for Wilson in his early preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. "He will receive the best possible advice and support to assist in his recovery. Nile will now focus on the recovery period and we will adjust his programme accordingly," he said. British Gymnastics chief medical officer Dr Chris Tomlinson added: "Investigations have revealed no fracture but he does have a significant lateral ankle ligament injury. "He will be further assessed by the British Gymnastics medical team early next week to determine the next steps in his treatment."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/gymnastics/38618279

Newspaper headlines: PM calls for seven-day GPs and stolen baby found - BBC News

2017-01-13

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Theresa May's demand for GP surgeries to open seven days a week features on Saturday's front pages.

The Papers

Theresa May's plan to make GPs in England open their surgeries seven days a week features on several of Saturday's front pages. The Daily Mail says the "personal intervention" by the prime minister comes as "thousands" of surgeries close early on weekday afternoons, "while others take a three-hour lunch break". According to the Daily Telegraph, access to a major package of government funding will be "contingent" on GPs being able to demonstrate they are offering appointments when patients want them. The Times warns that many GPs "are likely to be incensed" by the plan, after years of claiming there are too few of them to cope with an ageing population. The Conservative chair of the Commons Health Select Committee has said the Tories "risk losing the trust of voters" on the NHS in an interview with the newspaper. Dr Sarah Wollaston, who was a GP before entering parliament, says the system is "underfunded", and warns that "relentless" pressures on staff are contributing to what she describes as a "human crisis". She denies that GPs are lazy, claiming she has never encountered one who plays golf during the day, and instead argues that the key to dealing with problems in the NHS is to increase funding for social care. The Guardian reports that Michel Barnier is "backing away from his hardline approach" to Brexit The lead story in the Guardian details how the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, has said he wants a "special" relationship with the City of London to continue to give EU countries easy access to the financial centre after Britain leaves. The paper says it has seen unpublished minutes that hint at "unease" about the costs of Brexit on the rest of the EU, and give the "first signs" that Mr Barnier is "backing away from his hardline approach". The European Commission has insisted the minutes "do not correctly reflect" what was said, but a source has described them to the Guardian as "more or less accurate". Tristram Hunt's decision to quit as the Labour MP for Stoke Central is widely seen as bad news for Jeremy Corbyn in Saturday's newspapers. The Daily Express claims Labour will need a "miracle" to retain the seat in a by-election. For the Times, the resignation underlines Labour's "poor leadership and dearth of talent", while the Sun believes life is "too short" to spend a decade in "impotent opposition". Only the Daily Mail is critical of Mr Hunt, arguing that his new job as director of the Victoria and Albert Museum means he joins "multitudes of like-thinking left-wing luvvies" running "almost every public body in the country". Lord Snowdon features on several front pages following his death aged 86 Photographs of Lord Snowdon are printed on several front pages, including the Daily Express which claims the Queen has been "left saddened" by the death of her former brother-in-law at the age of 86. The Daily Telegraph notes that he was seen as "one of the country's foremost photographers, but became known for his many affairs", a fact which prompts The Sun to describe him as "the romping rock'n'roll royal rebel". The Daily Mirror highlights some of his "iconic" images, including photographs of David Bowie and Sir Richard Branson, and praises his portraits of the royal family for capturing "a more human side".

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Reality Check: Will one-third of NHS beds in England be cut? - BBC News

2017-01-13

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Is it true that the government plans to cut one-third of NHS beds in England?

Health

The claim: The government plans to cut one-third of hospital beds in England. Reality Check verdict: We do not have enough data to put a figure on the proportion of beds that will close under current plans. Only one-third of local NHS plans give any information about bed closures. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said at Prime Minister's Questions this week: "Her government is proposing, through sustainability and transformation, to cut one-third of the beds in all our hospitals in the very near future." He was referring to the Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs), which are the plans that local NHS areas have been asked to come up with to change services in order to make themselves financially sustainable. They are part of NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens' Five Year Forward View. England has been divided into 44 areas, each of which has its own STP. Although some of the STPs have quite precise plans, others are quite vague. That means it is difficult to come up with a precise figure for the number of beds being closed. In fact, according to Labour Party health researchers, only 14 of the 44 STPs mention bed closures. That is one-third of the STPs, although that might just be a coincidence. Mr Corbyn's team has been unable to show Reality Check where he got the number that he used in Parliament. Among the STPs with the most precise figures was Derbyshire, where 535 of 1,771 beds will be cut by 2020-21, a cut of 30%. West, North and East Cumbria plans to reduce beds in cottage hospitals (smaller hospitals, often in rural areas) from 133 to 104, with beds at Cumberland Infirmary and West Cumberland Hospital going from 600 to 500. That's an 18% cut overall. It illustrates another difficulty with these figures, which is that not all beds are the same. Having an acute bed is not the same as having a bed in a day unit or an A&E bed, for example. Also, some of the plans involve trying to treat people in ways that do not involve using hospital beds, through the use of home treatment, for example, which makes it harder to interpret bed closure figures. So an overall figure for bed closures would need a great deal of clarification, but it is clear that we do not yet have enough data to reach such a figure. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-38613657

Gambia's President-elect offers Yahya Jammeh 'direct talks' - BBC News

2017-01-13

Gambia's President-elect, Adama Barrow, urges the incumbent, Yahya Jammeh, to engage in direct talks.

The winner of Gambia's presidential election, Adama Barrow, has called on the incumbent, Yahya Jammeh, to engage in direct talks to resolve the country's political crisis. He made the call in a BBC Newsday interview, one week ahead of his inauguration ceremony. Newsday's Julian Keane began by asking him whether he believed the event would go ahead on 19 January.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-38606595

Can music festivals save Australia's failing towns? - BBC News

2017-01-13

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How Elvis, ABBA and Bob Marley are helping revive the fortunes of small outback towns in Australia.

Australia

Parkes' Elvis parade has grown from modest beginnings in 1993 They are unlikely saviours but Elvis Presley, ABBA and Bob Marley are helping to revive the fortunes of small outback towns in Australia. Their enduring music, fashion and legend have spawned festivals that are reversing the demoralising effects of drought and economic decline. The most glittering takes place this week in Parkes, a farming community 350km (217 miles) west of Sydney, named after Sir Henry Parkes, one of the founding fathers of modern Australia, who was born half a world away in Coventry. Parkes is being transformed by more than 20,000 Elvis loyalists in a motley collection of flared jumpsuits, a galaxy of sequins, jet-black wigs and sideburns, along with cockpit aviator sunglasses. There is a legion of buskers, look-a-like contests, a street parade, displays of Elvis artefacts and an Elvis-themed Gospel Service, which has become so popular it has outgrown its previous home in a supermarket car park and now takes place in a local park. The headline acts are international tribute artists Pete Storm from the UK and the American entertainer Jake Rowley. Parkes Mayor Ken Keith says everyone in the town embraces the festival The real King - who would have celebrated his 82nd birthday last week- may never have travelled to Australia, but 40 years after his death, his appeal remains as magnetic as ever. "I remember when he died the world just went crazy. It was a pretty devastating time," said Sheridan Woodcroft from Melbourne, as she boarded the Elvis Express, a special train service from Sydney to Parkes. "He just had the X-factor. He was so charismatic, he was gorgeous." Australia's biggest Elvis festival was borne out of economic necessity. Back in the early 1990s, mid-summer trade in baking-hot Parkes was sluggish but Bob Steel, 75, and his wife Anne, owners of the Gracelands restaurant, had a plan. "It was a pretty slack time. I went to a hoteliers' meeting and they were all having their grizzle about quiet times. I said, well, Elvis's birthday is in January and we could have a birthday party," Mr Steel told the BBC. Parkes' Elvis festival now generates about A$13m (US$9.6m) each year And they did. In January 1993, 190 people attended the inaugural event in the Steels' restaurant. From simple beginnings, the festival now generates about A$13m (US$9.7m, £7.9m) each year. "It's a tremendous economic benefit and it has really revived a town that was struggling. [Parkes] is now a place that people have heard about, they stop there when they are travelling through," said John Connell from the University of Sydney, who has written a book about the festival. His co-author Chris Gibson, a professor of geography at the University of Wollongong, explained that they had researched how various carnivals - from those celebrating scones and pumpkins to music and art - can benefit small country towns in Australia. Academics Chris Gibson (l) and John Connell (r) say music festivals can reinvent fading towns "There's a spirit of quirky eclecticism and larrikin [boisterous or maverick] humour in country Australia that comes out at these sorts of festivals. They can reinvent the story of a place, really," said Professor Gibson, dressed in a purple Elvis costume at Sydney's Central Station. "Although there are still jobs in agriculture, it is a fading industry, whereas the future is really about tourism, music, creativity and culture," he added. Kandos, in the Mudgee winemaking district of New South Wales, hosts a Bob Marley festival, while since 2012 fans of ABBA have headed to the town of Trundle for its annual homage to Sweden's finest. Elvis tribute singer John Collins says Parkes' Elvis festival is on many people's bucket list Elsewhere the tasty Food (Food of Orange District) jamboree draws large crowds, while the Tamworth Country Music Festival is arguably one of Australia's premier music events. So is Parkes worried it could lose its lustre because of the competition in other parts of New South Wales and beyond? Ken Keith, who is his ninth year as mayor and probably the only public official in Australia who turns up for work in a blue jumpsuit, is not concerned. "Why other people haven't been able to replicate it or steal the concept from us is just the friendly nature of the town, where people are made to feel welcome," he explained. This week Parkes is turning on not only a warm reception, but one that is roasting hot, with temperatures expected to climb to the high 30s Celsius. Simone Collison (far r) and friends joined fellow fans for the Elvis express train from Sydney Also celebrating a quarter of a century as an Elvis tribute singer is John Collins, who, as a marriage celebrant, officiates at Elvis-themed weddings all over Australia. "The Parkes Elvis festival is something everyone has to put on their bucket list. You've got to go at least once. One of the entertainers last year nearly cried when he had to go home. He didn't want it to finish," he said. As the Elvis Express prepared to roll out of Sydney - on what is quite likely to be Australia's most high-spirited rail journey - Simone Collison from Menangle had gathered with her friends for the trip. They all wore matching black and white spotted outfits with pink tops and sunglasses. Asked why a singer who died so long ago still had so many devoted fans, she said simply: "Everyone still loves him. That will never die." The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-38595133

Obituary: Lord Snowdon - BBC News

2017-01-13

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Talented photographer and campaigner for the disabled whose marriage to Princess Margaret captivated the media.

UK

Lord Snowdon was a talented film maker and photographer whose marriage to Princess Margaret fed the gossip columns for over a decade. His career was punctuated by lurid tales of extra-marital affairs, alcohol and drugs, but throughout it all he maintained a close contact with the Royal Family. His body of photographic work featured the cream of British society, although he was usually dismissive about his work. He was most proud of the stunning aviary he helped design for London Zoo. He was born Anthony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones on 7 March 1930, into a family of minor gentry. His father, Ronald, was a barrister while his mother, society beauty Anne Messel, later became Countess of Rosse, following her divorce from his father. In his teens, he contracted polio and had to lie flat on his back for a year. It left him with a permanent limp. But visits by such luminaries as Noel Coward and Marlene Dietrich, arranged by his uncle, the theatre designer Oliver Messel, helped alleviate the boredom. The start of what was to prove a stormy marriage He was educated at Eton, where his passion for photography began. He went on to Jesus College, Cambridge, and was cox of the victorious eight in the 1950 Boat Race. He never completed his course on architecture, and at 21 took up photography as a career, setting up a studio of his own in London. It was his flair for taking less formal photographs that earned him the commission, in 1956, for the 21st birthday pictures of the Duke of Kent. Later he was invited to Buckingham Palace to photograph the Prince of Wales and other members of the Royal Family, including Princess Margaret. Unlike some photographers, he did not set out to create a rapport with his subjects. "I don't want people to feel at ease," he once said. "You want a bit of an edge." His engagement to Princess Margaret was announced in 1960. At the time there had been no recent precedent for anyone so near to the throne marrying outside the ranks of royalty or the British peerage. The wedding took place on 6 May 1960, and after a honeymoon tour of the Caribbean in the royal yacht Britannia, the young couple moved into Kensington Palace. Early in 1961 Armstrong-Jones was raised to the peerage as Lord Snowdon, and he took his seat in the House of Lords a year later. A son, David, Viscount Linley, was born in 1961, and their daughter, Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones, three years later. In 1963 the Queen made him Constable of Caernarvon Castle, and as such he took a leading part in the arrangements for the investiture of the Prince of Wales in 1969. He was scathing about the ceremonial surrounding the event, claiming that most of the procedures used were "completely bogus". Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon went to Jamaica together in 1962, when the princess represented the Queen at the independence celebrations, and they made an official visit to the United States in 1964. In the early years of their marriage, he and Princess Margaret were treated almost as Hollywood stars. The press relished incidents in which the Snowdons donned leather jackets and raced motorbikes along London's North Circular Road. They consorted with celebrities of the day, and provided a marked contrast to the more conservative Queen and Prince Philip. But the marriage quickly experienced the sort of difficulties that were destined to plague royal relationships over the following 20 years. He had a flair for informal photography Snowdon's womanising was part of the reason for the break-up. A natural charmer, he had a string of relationships throughout his life and seemed incapable of remaining faithful. One close friend was quoted in a biography of the earl as saying: "If it moves, he'll have it." Margaret's own predilection for late-night partying, and the desire of both of them to be the centre of attention, also fuelled the breakdown. By then, Snowdon had embarked on a varied professional career - acting as adviser to the Council of Industrial Design, and working for various publications, including the Sunday Times. The aviary he helped design for London Zoo opened in 1964. It was regarded as cutting-edge in its use of new materials, providing the maximum amount of space for birds to fly. He helped to make several television documentaries. The first, Don't Count the Candles, from 1968, was about old age and won seven international awards. In 1975 he directed two programmes in BBC television's Explorers series, and in 1981 he presented two programmes on photography, Snowdon on Camera, for which he was nominated for a Bafta Award. The aviary at London zoo was regarded as a triumph of design It was during a debate on the mobility of people with physical disabilities that he had made his maiden speech in the Lords in April 1974. In March 1976, it was finally announced that he and Princess Margaret would live apart. When Margaret had a relationship with Roddy Llewellyn, Snowdon was able to play the part, though not very convincingly, of the cuckolded husband, and the divorce became final in 1978. Snowdon always refused to speak about the marriage but he regularly saw the children and continued to photograph the Royal Family. In December 1978, he was married again, to Lucy Lindsay-Hogg, a researcher on a BBC television series on which he was working. They had a daughter, Frances, the following July. In June 1980 Snowdon started an award scheme for disabled students. The money for it came from the reproduction fees he had received over 20 years from his royal photographs. The following year the Snowdon Council was formed, of which he was president. It comprised 12 members co-ordinating a dozen different bodies concerned with helping disabled people. Also in 1981 a compromise was reached in his long-running row with Lord Aberconway, president of the Royal Horticultural Society, who had said that disabled visitors to the Chelsea Flower Show were not encouraged. His subjects were often the rich and famous It was agreed that guide dogs would be admitted, and a special garden was created for those with disabilities. While married to Lucy Lindsay-Hogg, Snowdon had a long affair with journalist Ann Hills, who took her own life in 1996. Two years later, at the age of 68, he fathered a son, Jasper, with 33-year-old Melanie Cable-Alexander, a journalist on Country Life. This proved the final straw for Lucy, and the couple divorced. By then Snowdon had lost his seat in the Lords, following Labour's clear-out of hereditary peers. Instead, he took a life peerage as Baron Armstrong-Jones to enable him to remain in the House. Despite an increasing disability as a result of his childhood polio, Lord Snowdon travelled widely, doing work for the theatre and fashion houses as well as portraits and travelogues. A friend once said of him, "It's impossible to imagine a gentler, more cultured man." The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11483331

Cyprus peace talks: Can Cypriots heal their divided island? - BBC News

2017-01-13

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As peace talks between Cyprus' leaders progress, can people there forget the wounds of the past?

Europe

Abdullah Cangil, who was forced to emigrate from southern Cyprus to the north, says he is happy to hand back his house Abdullah Cangil is a 66-year-old Turkish Cypriot, living in Morphou - a border town on the divided island of Cyprus. His three-bedroom house is surrounded by orange and lemon trees. The chirping of birds can be heard all around the garden. He says he planted the trees here himself, as he reaches to one of them to grab a few mandarins to offer me. Mr Cangil moved to this house in 1974, after Turkey invaded Cyprus in response to a coup aiming to unite the island with Greece. This was followed by a population exchange. Around that time, 165,000 Greek Cypriots were displaced, while about 40,000 Turkish Cypriots were uprooted in total in inter-communal violence in the 1960s and the population transfer in 1975. Abdullah Cangil was one of those who left his house behind. After 24 years in Paphos, a southern Cyprus town, he was forced to emigrate to the north. "A Greek Cypriot family lives in our house in Paphos and we live in a Greek Cypriot family's house here," he says. "We all see each other, we became very good friends in time." But what if he needs to hand his current home to its previous owners? "I never felt attached to this house. I always knew one day I would need to leave it behind. It is its real owners' right to live here," he replies. "The future of my grandsons, that is more important than a house. Peace is more important. I don't want my children to live the wars, the troubles that we have gone through. It is much more important to have peace than to move from one house to another." Greek Cypriots from the town of Morphou stage a protest outside the presidential palace in Nicosia Morphou, or Guzelyurt as it is called by Turkish Cypriots, is one of the thorny issues at the peace talks under way in the Swiss town of Geneva. Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades has warned that there can be no deal without a full return of the town, while some on the Turkish Cypriot side say that is out of the question. Although the talks in Geneva are labelled as the most intense effort in more than a decade to reunite the divided island of Cyprus, there is slow progress and the hopes for a breakthrough are already dimming. But the two sides - for the very first time in the long history of Cyprus negotiations - have presented their respective maps of the future internal boundaries of a federated Cyprus. The details of the maps are yet unclear, but it is expected that the territory under Turkish Cypriot control could shrink from its current 37% to just under 30%. The fate of Morphou remains to be seen too, as emotions still run high on both sides of the island over the matters of territorial exchange and compensation for lost property. But that is not the only hurdle in these negotiations. The foreign ministers of Greece, Turkey and Britain, guarantor powers of Cyprus's independence, are scheduled in Geneva on Thursday to discuss the security concerns within a possible deal - another challenging topic. Turkey has about 35,000 troops in northern Cyprus. Greece and the Greek Cypriot government strongly contest their presence and demand all of them are pulled out - hardly a demand Turkey would be happy to meet. In general, Turkish Cypriots, fearful of past experiences of being targeted by Greek Cypriot nationalists, also want Turkish guarantees to continue. The wounds of the past are hard to heal in both communities and there is a mutual distrust of one another. Bird droppings cover seats inside the old Nicosia airport, now located in the UN-controlled buffer zone that separates the north and south of Cyprus One place that stands as a monument to that distrust and how to overcome it lies within the UN-controlled buffer zone that divides Cyprus along ethnic lies. The Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) located here is a bi-communal body established in 1981 with the participation of the UN. Its aim is to recover, identify and return the remains of the people who went missing during the atrocities mainly taking place in 1963-64 and 1974. According to a list agreed by the leaders of Turkish and Greek Cypriot communities, 2,001 people have been identified as missing persons - though it is believed that the number could be much higher. Around 500 of them are Turkish Cypriots and the rest Greek Cypriots - 1:3 being the exact proportion of the respective communities to each other. The first missing person was exhumed in 2007 and since then about 750 people have been identified, their remains returned to their families. Over a thousand sites have been dug until now, and excavations are still being carried out. The remains of 25 people have been uncovered in the past few months alone The Committee on Missing Persons aims to return the bones of the missing to their families Rania Michail is in the team of anthropologists digging at a previously Orthodox cemetery in Morphou. Since they started searching this place six months ago, they have managed to excavate 25 missing people's remains, she tells me - 12 soldiers, 12 old women and 1 person's general body parts. "Sometimes it gets difficult emotionally. Especially if we find the remains of a child," Rania says. "The first time that I saw remains five years ago, it was the most shocking moment of my life. I was really upset. That night I could not sleep. But then I got used to it. I have excavated over 100 bodies - women, soldiers, kids - both in the north and in the south of the island." At the CMP's headquarters in the UN-controlled buffer zone, the anthropologists study the remains carefully, trying to reconstruct them and to identify those killed. Skulls and bones are laid on top of tables along with whatever was found lying with the remains - a pair of socks, a piece of underwear, a lighter, or a picture of a loved one. "What we do here is very important for achieving peace in Cyprus," says Uyum Vehit, an anthropologist. "Almost every single family has missing persons. If they don't receive the remains, and if they don't have proper graves, they can't have a closure." Kyriacos Solomi lost his younger brother, George, in the violence At his home on the Greek side of the "Green Line" line in Nicosia, Kyriacos Solomi, 68, still waits for the remains of his younger brother, George, who was killed on the front line 42 years ago. "He was a very peaceful man. He liked mixing with people, enjoying life, peaceful activities. He was a nice, healthy, good-looking young man, 24 years old," he says while trying to hold back the tears when he looks at his brother's picture in his hand. "This is a very deep wound. It may close one day but a big scar will stay there forever." Despite having lost his brother, Mr Solomi still believes in peace - but he doubts whether it can ever be reached in Cyprus. "There is no other way to survive on this island. We fight for peace. I know the clock cannot go back, the lives will not come back. "But I don't think peace will come here. Maybe in the next generations, if they can change the textbooks that spread hate instead of love. "Listen to the TV, listen to the church: they are spreading hate. I don't think we can live peacefully with hatred on this island," he says. This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. For more than 40 years Cyprus has been a divided island.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38593506

Hoard of gold discovered in piano in Shropshire - BBC News

2017-01-13

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Experts think the hoard was "deliberately hidden" in the instrument more than 100 years ago.

Shropshire

The history and whereabouts of the piano between 1906-1983 is unknown A "substantial" hoard of gold has been found hidden inside an old piano. The discovery was made in Shropshire before Christmas when its new owners had it retuned and repaired. Experts think the valuables might have been "deliberately hidden" in the instrument more than 100 years ago. An inquest opened at Shrewsbury Coroner's Court earlier to determine whether the find can be classed as treasure, or whether an heir to the cache can be traced. Peter Reavill, of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme, described the find as "a stunning assemblage of material". Investigations so far have revealed the upright piano, made by Broadwood & Sons of London, was sold in 1906 to a music shop in Saffron Walden, Essex. Its history is then unknown until 1983, when records show it was purchased by a family in the area, who later moved to Shropshire. The current owners had recently been given the instrument and reported the find to Ludlow Museum Resource Centre. Mr Reavill said: "The current owners... came to the museum and laid it all out on the table. "I was like, 'whoa'. I'm an archaeologist and I'm used to dealing with treasure but I'm more used to medieval brooches. "I have never seen anything like that." No more details will be revealed about the gold while the search is on to find the potential owners. Ian Richardson, treasure registrar at the British Museum, said: "The artefacts might be older but they were hidden in the last 100 years. "Somebody put them in there and either died and didn't tell anyone or something else happened." The inquest will resume in March. Treasure must be substantially made of gold or silver According to the Treasure Act 1996, treasure is defined as any object which is at least 300 years old when found and: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-shropshire-38598845

Graham Taylor: John Murray remembers 'warm, generous' former colleague - BBC Sport

2017-01-13

BBC Radio 5 live's John Murray, who worked with Graham Taylor for many years, fondly remembers the former England boss.

BBC Radio 5 live football correspondent John Murray worked with Graham Taylor for many years. Here he fondly recalls what life was like on the road with the former England manager. Graham Taylor and I sat next to one another in commentary boxes here, there and everywhere. The first time we were squeezed together in one was for a not-terribly-high-profile match on a Friday night at Brentford. I can still see him bounding up the steps at Griffin Park, wearing a black and white checked jacket, cheerily acknowledging people as he came. And I remember thinking afterwards that Graham Taylor was everything I hoped he would be. He was good fun, charming, engaging, and he had lots to say about the players, the match and all matters surrounding it. And, off air, he wanted to know all about me. When I got to know him better, he would always be great company post-match, often late into the evening. I have never actually met his wife, Rita, his children, or his grandchildren, but I feel as though I have because Graham would tell you exactly what was going on in their lives. He loved all sports, particularly athletics and cricket - Graham actually followed England on tour to South Africa. And, believe it or not, he enjoyed the music of both Vera Lynn and Adele, whose albums he bought. As a match summariser, I knew that if the game wasn't very good and nothing was happening, Graham was someone you could go off at tangents with, because he had such a wide field of interests. During one such commentary, I remember us discussing how he used to take an annual holiday in Caister-on-Sea, and the merits of that Norfolk seaside town. But don't go thinking he was a pushover. There was a steely core to Graham Taylor that all winners have, and he always struck me as one of life's natural leaders - I'm convinced that was one of the secrets behind the many successes he had. Once, when we had lost our ticket in an underground car park in Innsbruck, he very nearly persuaded me to tailgate a car through the barrier. He was extremely disappointed that I pulled up short of causing untold damage! • None Ian Botham: Graham Taylor told me to stick to cricket • None Archive: Graham Taylor on 'View from the Boundary' • None Taylor was 'a pal as well as a manager' - Dion Dublin When I turned up at the airport to fly to Euro 2008, Graham appeared with one foot in a plastic boot. He'd injured it somehow, but rather than withdraw from our broadcast team so close to the finals - which he had been advised to do - he travelled all around Austria and Switzerland in some discomfort but without a word of complaint. Being under scrutiny as a football manager for most of his life, he could click a switch and go into serious mode at a moment's notice, and what he said carried a real authority. We were both part of the commentary team in Montenegro for a European Championship qualifier when Wayne Rooney was sent off for kicking out at an opponent. The next morning we were reporting on it into the Breakfast programme, and though Graham was bleary eyed when he arrived in the room, he sat down, clicked into action, and made perfect sense. I recall thinking that had he still been England manager, he would have answered the questions in exactly the same way. The way things ended for him with England, and the criticism that came with that, clearly stayed with him. He would often reference it himself and was, sometimes I felt, almost too willing to talk about it. We would always try to guide Graham away from large gatherings of England fans because of the greater possibility of someone saying something out of turn in those circumstances. On the occasions that did happen, Graham would go and talk to them, and they would inevitably be left feeling rather foolish. Later, though, there would often be a quiet word to you which revealed the hurt was still there. But it says a great deal about the man that it is for his warm, generous, human qualities that I will remember him best. Yes, Graham Taylor was everything I hoped he would be.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38599166

Ed Sheeran takes top two chart positions - BBC News

2017-01-13

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Ed Sheeran makes chart history with his comeback singles, smashing streaming records in the process.

Entertainment & Arts

Sheeran is due to release his third album, ÷, on 6 March Ed Sheeran's new singles Shape of You and Castle On The Hill have entered the UK singles chart at number one and number two respectively. The Official Charts Company says it is the first time in history an artist has taken the top two chart positions with brand new songs. The singer said he was "incredibly chuffed" by the success. "Both tracks mean a huge amount to me so it really is amazing to see them go to the top of the chart together." Sheeran's comeback follows a "gap year" where he removed himself from social media, making space to write his third album, ÷ (Divide). Fans were clearly hungry for new material, as the star set several streaming records over the course of the week. Shape Of You's bouncy, uptempo pop was the bigger hit, notching up 13.4 million streams - smashing the record Drake set last summer, when One Dance was streamed 8.9 million in a single week. Castle On The Hill, built around a chiming, U2-style guitar riff, also beat Drake's tally, with 11.07 million streams. On Spotify, Sheeran also broke a global streaming record held by One Direction, whose single Drag Me Down racked up 4.76m streams in one day in August 2015. Shape Of You was streamed 6.13 million times when it was released last Friday, increasing to 7.24 million streams on Monday. The remarkable performance of his singles ends Clean Bandit's nine-week run at number one. Their single, Rockabye, drops to number four, while Rag 'N' Bone Man's Human is at three. There are also new entries for Sean Paul and Dua Lipa's No Lie at 28 and Snakehips' Don't Leave, featuring Danish singer MØ, at 33. In the album chart, Little Mix held on to the top spot for a fifth week with their album Glory Days. It is now the most successful album by a girl band since the Spice Girls' Spice spent 15 weeks at number one in 1996. Meanwhile, David Bowie's Blackstar made a reappearance in the top 40, exactly a year after his death, while his Legacy compilation jumped from 18 to number five. Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk. • None Ed Sheeran is back with two new songs The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38609564

Retail winners and losers this Christmas - BBC News

2017-01-13

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How merry a Christmas was it for the retail sector and where was the festive cheer felt the most?

Business

Now the leftovers are all curry and the tree is at the tip, it's time to digest the news from the retail sector over just how merry a Christmas it really was. And it seems that just like Mr Scrooge, UK shoppers were persuaded to open their purses just a little wider this year. So if you're one of those who splashed out on gin, indulged in a new jumper and pulled out all the stops for your festive feast, you are in good company. But how and where was the festive cheer felt most? Here's our look at where the glass is half full and where half empty as we head into 2017. It's not likely to be a dry January if you're running one of the UK's supermarkets. They have good news to toast this week. Tesco and Morrisons, which have both had a difficult few years, have reported stronger sales. Tesco said fresh food had been "particularly popular, outperforming the market", adding that there had been a 24% increase in party food sales over Christmas, while Morrisons reported its strongest Christmas sales for seven years. Even Sainsbury's, which saw a meagre 0.1% overall rise in sales, managed to beat analyst expectations of a 0.8% fall. Discounters Lidl and Aldi don't report their figures in quite the same way - they do not give like-for-like sales, which strip out the effect of new store openings and are therefore a better comparison - but both reported double-digit increases in Christmas sales, reflecting brisk business. It looks like we collectively loosened our belts at just the right time for the big food retailers. "I guess the biggest impression so far is that food retailers did better than non-food in December," says independent retail analyst Nick Bubb. According to Kantar Worldpanel we spent almost half a billion pounds more in the final 12 weeks of 2016 compared with the year before (so no wonder we're still ploughing through the chocolate biscuits and checking out stilton soup recipes). But putting it into context, a lot of the good results now are set against a backdrop of pretty weak performances the previous year. If you look at the grocery sector in 2015, Tesco and Morrisons were both implementing turnaround plans, while Sainsbury's and Asda also faced sales challenges. "Overall, food had an ok end of the year and traded ok over the course of the year but that was against very low comparitors," says Paul Martin, UK head of retail at KPMG. It wasn't just the food stores that have given the market cause for cheer. High Street stalwart Marks and Spencer finally shrugged off a decline in clothing sales Early in the month Next had everyone spooked as it reported a drop in sales in the run-up to Christmas, but plenty of other clothing retailers have reported strong results. M&S surprised the market with sales in its clothing and homeware division up 2.3% - well above expectations for about 0.5% - while John Lewis, Debenhams, Ted Baker and online retailers Boohoo.com and Asos also reported sales growth. Strong festive periods were also seen at Primark, JD Sports and Superdry owner Supergroup, which saw like-for-like sales up 15% over the Christmas period. Next said it was preparing for "tougher times" in the year ahead "The biggest loser is obviously Next so far. They've had a bit of a shocker," says Patrick O'Brien from Verdict Retail. Next saw sales of full-price items fall 0.4% and warned of a "challenging" 2017. "Next [used to be] way ahead of the others with its online operation. But competitors have now caught up with that in terms of online and collection, with really high growth in online specialists like Boohoo," he says. But apart from that the really surprising thing is how few bad results there have been. Partly that is because they started from a low base after the poor sales of 2015, and partly because British consumers simply held their nerve. "Consumers have understood that prices are going up and it's been a good time to buy," says Mr O'Brien. Paul Martin, head of UK retail at KPMG, adds: "The British defied the mood music out there and wanted to go out and treat themselves and celebrate Christmas. That's the most surprising thing in a world where negative news is easier to come by than positive." John Lewis has warned of a "challenging" outlook and said that its staff bonus will be "significantly lower" this year But if 2016 ended on a positive note, Paul Martin says retail is moving into a "perfect storm" in 2017. He warns that around April to July the hedging positions retailers took against currency fluctuations will begin to run out and the full force of the pound's devaluation since the Brexit vote will start to be felt through higher prices for imported goods. Multinationals will flex their muscles a little more over pricing imported goods for the UK market. And costs will be rising as business rates are revalued and the minimum wage rises. Inevitably, he says, retailers will have to look at what kind of price rises their customers can bear. "We think it will be 5% to 8%. But that can vary substantially across sectors - you will find some cases where it will be 50%," he warns. In addition to Next, other retailers including John Lewis and Sainsbury's have warned about the uncertain impact of a weaker pound. While others have warned of price hikes, Ted Baker has said it will not raise prices this year The boss of fashion chain Ted Baker has vowed, however, that "there won't be any price increases this year". Chief executive Ray Kelvin told the Press Association: "We were hedged for two years and we have one year left on that. We're a public company, we don't gamble with things like this, plus we also have a big dollar income." The consensus though, is that consumer spending will be squeezed this year, and Rachel Lund, head of retail insight and analytics at the British Retail Consortium, says that will make it harder for retailers to generate growth. She also points to the uncertainty around what trading relationship the UK will have with the rest of the world once it leaves the EU. "An announcement about that that doesn't seem favourable could have an impact on confidence," she says. But she adds that the mood among retailers is "not one of doom and gloom, it's caution".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38595323

Cervical cancer: 'Our sister's symptoms were missed' - BBC News

2017-01-13

Amber Cliff's family say that she was deemed too young to be tested, despite her symptoms.

She worried there was something wrong with her four years ago, because she had bleeding and abdominal pains, but her family say she was told she was too young to be tested. Joanna Gosling spoke to Amber's brother Josh and sister Cameron on the Victoria Derbyshire programme. The Ashburn Medical Centre in Sunderland said they were unable to comment on individual cases, but were deeply saddened to hear of Amber's death. The Victoria Derbyshire programme is broadcast on weekdays between 09:00 and 11:00 on BBC Two and the BBC News channel.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-38612705

How Antarctic bases went from wooden huts to sci-fi chic - BBC News

2017-01-13

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For decades Antarctica hosted only the simplest huts as human shelters - but architecture in the coldest, driest, windiest continent is getting snazzier.

Magazine

How do you build in the most isolated place on Earth? For decades Antarctica - the only continent with no indigenous population - hosted only the simplest huts as human shelters. But, as Matthew Teller finds out, architecture in the coldest, driest, windiest reaches of our planet is getting snazzier. It's an eye-popping, futuristic design - a dark, sleek building, low and long, that is destined to be a temporary waterfront home for up to 65 people at a time. The price tag is a hefty $100m (£80m). And while a Chinese company is building it, it's not in China, and almost no-one will ever see it. After the original burned down in 2012, the Brazilian navy launched an architectural competition for a replacement design - won by a local firm - and then awarded the building tender to a Chinese defence and engineering contractor, CEIEC. It's due to be completed in 2018. The upper block will contain cabins, dining and living space; the lower block will house laboratories and operational areas Located on a small island just off the coast of Antarctica, it lies almost 1,000km (600 miles) south of the tip of South America. No scheduled air routes come close and it's way off any shipping lanes. And even if you could reach it yourself, like all Antarctic research stations Comandante Ferraz will be closed to the public. Virtually nobody other than the crews posted there will ever see it in the flesh. So why, you may ask, spend so much on architectural style? Wouldn't a dull but functional building do just as well? Brazil is not alone in paying for eye-catching design, though. In 2013, India unveiled its Bharati station, with a similar modernist design. Designed by bof arkitekten, Bharati overlooks the sea and is used to study polar marine life It was made from 134 prefabricated shipping containers, for ease of transport and construction, but you would never guess it from the outside. And the following year, South Korea opened its Jang Bogo station - a grand, triple-winged module lifted on steel-reinforced blocks, capable of supporting a crew of 60. Jang Bogo's aerodynamic triple-arm design is said to provide resistance to the elements What is the explanation for this architectural flamboyance? "Antarctic stations have become the equivalent of embassies on the ice," says Prof Anne-Marie Brady, editor-in-chief of the Polar Journal and author of China as a Polar Great Power. "They are showcases for a nation's interests in Antarctica - status symbols." Those interests could be purely scientific. But a moratorium on mineral prospecting becomes easier to review in just over 40 years' time, and every Antarctic player also wants to be ready to take advantage, should anything change. Planting a dramatic building on the ice has become the modern equivalent of explorers of old planting a flag. It wasn't always like this. In March 1903, the 33 men of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition landed on the outlying South Orkney Islands and built a dry-stone shack. Expedition leader William Bruce grandly named it Omond House, after the Edinburgh meteorologist, Robert Traill Omond. It was Antarctica's first permanent building, and is maintained today by the Argentine government as part of its Orcadas base. For years afterwards, throughout the heroic age of polar exploration headed by Amundsen, Scott, Shackleton and Mawson, nothing much fancier than wooden huts went up on the white continent. US Secretary of State John Kerry visited Shackleton's hut in November Then came a - relative - building boom, spurred by the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957-58, a global project for co-operation in science. The 1959 Antarctic Treaty, which resulted from the IGY, suspended all territorial claims, but that led many countries to set about consolidating their presence in other ways, such as construction. The treaty's clause giving countries conducting "substantial research activity" in Antarctica a vote in meetings to determine the continent's future was another incentive to maintain a physical presence. The US's sprawling McMurdo research station dates from this period. Powered from 1962 to 1972 by a nuclear reactor, it is the biggest settlement on the continent, housing a summer population of about 1,200. The McMurdo station has a harbour, landing strips on sea ice and shelf ice, and a helicopter pad The McMurdo coffee house serves hot drinks to workers and is attached to a small cinema - the chapel of the snows, a non-denominational Christian church, is nearby For years, though, what with the huge technical and logistical difficulties in building anything in Antarctica, architectural glamour stayed off the list of priorities. The UK's Halley station was just "a few wooden huts inside giant steel tubes" when meteorologist Peter Gibbs arrived in 1980. It lay buried beneath 15m (50ft) of snow. "It was like living in a submarine, clambering up and down ladders to get in and out," Gibbs remembers. Built in 1973, Halley III was abandoned in 1983 because of access and ventilation problems Antarctica as a whole has so little precipitation it is classified as a desert, but snow does fall near the coasts, and in the interior low temperatures mean fallen snow accumulates faster than it can melt. Polar winds blow this snow around the continent, so that any object standing proud of the flat surface quickly gains a downwind "tail" of blown snow. Snow accumulation can swamp and crush buildings with ease. The first Halley station, built in 1956, was abandoned 12 years later, when it too had become "like a submarine", as Gibbs puts it. The version he worked in, Halley III, was built in 1973 and lasted only 10 years. Until Halley VI arrived in 2013, all were defeated by snow accumulation, and by the moving ice shelf on which they stood. At Halley's location the ice slides around 1.5m (5ft) a day towards the sea, but to maintain accuracy the station's scientific measurements have to be made at the same place year by year. Designed by Hugh Broughton Architects and Aecom, Halley VI's red module contains the communal areas Halley VI, however, is Antarctica's first relocatable research station. Its eight connected pods - like giant, colourful train carriages, which can be isolated to limit the spread of fire - sit on hydraulic legs mounted on huge, 8m-long skis. This means that the pods can be detached from each other, dragged by bulldozers to a new location, and the whole station reassembled. That design is being put to good use, as Halley is currently being moved to avoid a chasm that is opening up in the ice nearby. And Halley VI is both glamorous and comfortable. Unlike earlier Halley stations, each bedroom now has a window to the outside Its bijou bedrooms feel like a classy budget hotel. Interiors are fitted in vivid reds, blues and greens to compensate for the lack of colour outside. Halley's pool table and sofas sit beneath the only double-height internal space in Antarctica, stylishly lit - outside the months of winter darkness, anyway - by tall, semi-opaque windows. Beside the drinks bar climbs a spiral staircase, clad in aromatic Lebanese cedar veneer, chosen to stimulate an often-overlooked sense in the almost completely smell-free Antarctic environment. "All the newest bases look good as well as do the science - it's a reflection of the priorities of our era," says Anne-Marie Brady. South Africa was one of the first countries to solve the problem of snow accumulation with its SANAE IV base, which opened in 1997. It was designed with stilt-like legs, which let snow blow under the building. Germany applied the same concept to its Neumayer III base, which opened in 2009, with an extra refinement. Sixteen hydraulic pillars allow the entire two-storey structure to be raised every year by around a metre. The foot of each pillar is then lifted and replaced on a new firm base of packed snow. Neumayer III always stands 6m above the ice - up to 50 people live there during the summer and nine in the winter Like the UK's Halley base, Concordia, an Italian and French research facility is used by the European Space Agency to study the physical and psychological effects of isolation - the nearest people are stationed 600 km (370 miles) away Another element of Antarctic architecture that has become critical is energy efficiency. Most stations run on polar diesel, which is expensive, polluting and difficult to transport. Belgium's Princess Elisabeth station, an aerodynamic pod raised on steel legs, is the first with zero emissions. Since its inauguration in 2009 it has run entirely on solar and wind energy, and - even here - has no heating. The station's layered design means interior temperatures are maintained from waste heat generated by electrical systems and human activity, and dense wall insulation reduces heat loss to almost zero. The Princess Elisabeth station has nine wind turbines Photovoltaic solar panels also provide electricity, while thermal solar panels melt snow and heat water for bathrooms and kitchens If the Princess Elisabeth station looks like something out of a Bond movie, China's latest Antarctic station Taishan - its fourth - has been likened to a flying saucer. It was rush-built in 45 days in 2013-14, and is intended to last only a few years. A model of the Taishan research centre - China's fourth in Antarctica "China will probably start building a fifth station this year," says Anne-Marie Brady. Like all the rest, few people will ever see it. Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-38574003

Obama's Syria legacy: Measured diplomacy, strategic explosion - BBC News

2017-01-13

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How did a man who took office espousing a new era of engagement with the world end up a spectator to this century's greatest humanitarian catastrophe?

US & Canada

How did a man who took office espousing a new era of engagement with the world end up a spectator to this century's greatest humanitarian catastrophe? Barack Obama was not against using force to protect civilians. Yet he resisted, to the end, a military intervention to stem Syria's six-year civil war, even as it killed or displaced half the country's population, brutally documented in real time on social media. Part of the answer to this vexing question has been clear from the beginning. President Obama was elected to end America's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan by a people tired of paying the cost in blood and treasure. He was extremely reluctant to get sucked into another messy Middle East conflict. But when the siege and bombardment of cities like Aleppo placed the violence on the genocidal scale of atrocities set by Rwanda and Srebrenica, inaction by the US and its allies mocked the international community's vows of "never again". Despite the pressing moral imperative, Obama remained convinced a military intervention would be a costly failure. He believed there was no way the US could help win the war and keep the peace without a commitment of tens of thousands of troops. The battlefield was too complex: fragmented into dozens of armed groups and supported by competing regional and international powers. A boy pushes a wheelchair along a damaged street in the east Aleppo neighborhood of al-Mashatiyeh, Syria "It was going to be impossible to do this on the cheap," he said in his final press conference of 2016. But that was not the conclusion of some senior military and cabinet officials, nor did they even propose a mass ground deployment, according to former defence secretary Chuck Hagel. They argued that a more limited engagement could have effectively tilted the balance of power against President Bashar al-Assad. Among the options: arming the rebels and setting up a safe zone from where they could operate early in the conflict, or military strikes on the Syrian air force to push Assad to the negotiating table. Instead, the Obama administration focused on providing humanitarian aid, and on promoting a ceasefire and political negotiations aimed at Assad's departure. "There is no military solution" became the mantra in briefing rooms at the White House and state department, but spokespeople were unable to explain how a political solution was possible without military leverage. "If there is to be any hope of a political settlement, a certain military and security context is required," former CIA Director David Petraeus told a Senate committee last year. "We and our partners need to facilitate it, and…have not done so." Obama's caution was reinforced by lack of support for military intervention from key allies such as the UK and Germany. That influenced his decision to back away from his famous "red line" threat of force in response to Assad's use of chemical weapons. It was also part of a larger pessimism about what the US could achieve in the Middle East, sealed by a Nato intervention in Libya that was carefully planned but still left the country in a mess. "The liberal interventionists seem to have forgotten that it is no longer the 1990s," wrote two of Obama's former national security officials, Steven Simon and Jonathan Stevenson, in October last year. "Disastrous forays in Iraq and Libya have undermined any American willingness to put values before interests." Indeed, to fully understand President Obama's reticence, it is important to also understand that despite his liberal instincts and his soaring rhetoric about a more peaceful global order, he was a foreign policy realist with a keen sense of the limits to American power. Although he campaigned to restore US moral authority after the disaster of the Iraq War, he rejected what he saw as the moralising interventionism of the president he replaced, George W Bush. Instead, his emphasis was on measured diplomacy and progressive multilateralism. That included a willingness to engage with repressive regimes, rather than consign them to an "Axis of Evil" - giving them "the choice of an open door", he told the Nobel Peace Committee when accepting its prize at the end of his first year in office. Above all, he was not willing to prevent humanitarian tragedies by expending American lives and military power unless he saw a direct security threat to the United States. The agreement on Iran's nuclear deal is an example of this doctrine at its most effective. Obama ably used diplomacy to force an issue around which there was a high degree of international consensus. He marshalled broad support for crippling sanctions, and then stretched out his hand to America's most enduring Middle East foe and negotiated an achievable deal - one that limited a threat rather than transformed a relationship. Cuba also walked through that "open door", propelled by an economic crisis at home and drawn by a less hostile political climate in America, as did the junta in Myanmar. Damascus did not. And Obama decided against trying to push it through. US administrations have tended to bridge the gap between values and interests when the moral choice is also strategic. But Obama calculated early on that the Syrian civil war did not directly endanger America's national security. Instead he focused US military might against the so-called Islamic State (IS), which he did eventually see as a threat to the homeland. Again, he was able to organise an international coalition that has had considerable success in achieving a limited goal. Rebel fighters stand with their weapons on a military vehicle as they head towards the northern Syrian town of al-Bab Dividing his Syria policy in two, however, meant inevitable contradictions. The White House held that the only way to stop the spread of IS was to end the rule and brutality of the Assad regime. But America's absence from the civil conflict served to strengthen the Syrian president. Obama did grudgingly approve some covert military aid to moderate Syrian rebels to diffuse the power of Islamist fighters. But it wasn't enough to shape them into a force that could defeat Assad. So the vacuum was filled by the better-supplied Islamist groups, feeding into Assad's narrative that the world had to choose between him or terrorists. The presence of Islamist rebels, along with the momentum of the anti-IS campaign, also began to colour views of the regime within the administration, according to a US official who worked closely with these issues. "Everything was done through a counterterrorism lens," he says. "This is a bunch of people who wanted Assad to stay because they were terrified of political Islamists taking over." Obama argued that the regime's supporters, Russia and Iran, had more at stake in Syria than the US and would be prepared to fight harder to defend it. So any American intervention would only escalate the conflict. It's the same calculation he made in his approach to Ukraine. Russia did enter the war to reverse rebel gains in 2015, turning the tide. Its anti-aircraft weapons closed the door on even the remote chance of a US intervention. Its air force solidified Assad's grip on Syria's cities, culminating in the military victory over Aleppo and giving Moscow new leverage in the Middle East while sidelining the US. Many in the American foreign policy establishment believe Obama erred in defining US interests too narrowly in Syria. "Syria exploded in strategic ways," says Vali Nasr, who's written a book arguing that the president's policies have diminished America's leadership role in the world. "It empowered Russia and Iran, produced ISIS, strengthened al-Qaeda and created the refugee crisis which became a strategic threat to Europe." Obama's critics have also faulted him for a detached, analytical leadership style they say is unsuited to geopolitical jousting. "He wasn't good at brinkmanship, it wasn't his inclination," says Ian Bremmer, president of the political risk firm Eurasia Group. Secretary of State John Kerry talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in 2013 "I've always thought [George W] Bush was a leader who didn't like to think, and Obama a thinker who didn't like to lead." Obama has taken the lead on combating what he sees as one of the biggest threats, climate change. And he hasn't hesitated from unilaterally ordering force when he felt America's security was at stake, as shown by his prolific use of drones against terrorist suspects. But in Syria his administration left a perception of American weakness. Stepping back from his red line on chemical weapons damaged US credibility, shaking the confidence of allies and, some argue, emboldening its adversaries. "Some in the administration thought that the longer we continued to engage the Russians in a facade of ceasefire and political negotiations the more we were providing political cover to the regime and Russia and Iran as they continued to pursue a military victory," said the US official. "It's hard to understand why the state department is going along with it," a European diplomat told me as the talks became about managing that victory. "It's supporting the Russian narrative." Although Obama says he came to understand that very little is accomplished in international affairs without US leadership, he doesn't talk about it as a strategic asset, says Nasr. That sets him apart from his predecessors who "believe US leadership is important for the world and important for America's hardnosed interests. Obama believes we can selectively lead where we have clear definable interests… but American leadership as a free-floating independent idea doesn't have value to him". Despite the personality chasm between the cerebral lawyer exiting the White House and the reality TV star entering it, Barack Obama and Donald Trump are on the same page when it comes to non-interventionism. In that sense, Trump's "America First" foreign policy is expected to be an extension of President Obama's. But it would be a stripped-down version without Obama's attachment to international law and institutions or his moral commitment to universal rights, argues Max Boot, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. And although neither would seek foreign quarrels, Trump would be more disposed to "clobber anyone who messes with" the United States. Would that make major powers such as China and Russia less likely to mess with America? Boot suggests Trump's "menacing unpredictability" could be more effective than Obama's reasonable predictability in confrontations with Beijing. The President-elect's call with the Taiwanese president shows a penchant for brinkmanship that has certainly put China on alert. Against these uncertain advantages, however, stand Trump's inexperience, his intemperate nature, and his hostility to some of the building blocks of US power, such as free trade in Asia. Crucially, his uncritical support for Moscow, along with allegations that it has compromising information about him, have put America's Russia policy into uncharted territory. This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Are Trump's nominees on the same page on Russia as their boss? Some of the President-elect's key cabinet officials can be expected to try and temper his extreme impulses and outlier positions, while taking a more muscular approach than Obama. In confirmation hearings, Trump's choices for secretary of state and defence advocated a conventional hard power policy, that included checking Russian moves on the geopolitical chess board. But the nominee for top diplomat, Rex Tillerson, echoed Trump's hard line on China by proposing an unusually aggressive stance against Beijing, raising eyebrows and concerns amongst many lawmakers and diplomats. History could very well judge Obama positively on Iran, Cuba and climate change. But the most important test of his foreign policy philosophy will be Syria, because it has been the crucible for the kind of realism he believes in. He argues that he's saved the US from getting trapped in another disastrous Middle East war that would sap America's power. His critics charge he has diminished US power in a crucial region, and weakened American global leadership in the process. The factor that shapes his legacy will be the same one that tests Trump: the extent to which either sustain, or reduce America's role in the world. • None What President Obama said in his goodbye speech

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38297343

US boot brand recalls shoe that leaves swastika imprints - BBC News

2017-01-13

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A Reddit post went viral after showing a shoe imprint that leaves behind the Nazi symbol.

US & Canada

A California shoe company has recalled a boot after a customer discovered the sole left tiny swastika prints behind. The boot went viral after a Reddit user posted a picture showing the shoe's tread and its swastika imprints. Conal International Trading Co, the City of Industry company that manufactures the boot, has since issued a public apology and pulled the shoe. The company said it was "no way intentional" and an "obvious mistake" made by manufacturers in China. "We will not be selling any of our boots with the misprint to anyone," the company said in a statement. "We would never create a design to promote hate. We don't promote hate at our company." The Reddit user's post has been viewed more than two million times, sending social media into a flurry. "There was an angle I didn't get to see when ordering my new work boots," the Reddit user wrote. "The soles don't look that much like swastikas, but the prints are unmistakable," a Reddit user wrote. "And whoever made the soles would have understood that." Amazon, where the Polar Fox military combat boots were sold before the company pulled the listing, was inundated with reviews cracking Nazi jokes, calling the boot "heily recommended" and rating the pair a "nein out of 10". Another Amazon user quipped: "Good for marching into Poland, but not so good for much else". The listing was removed from Amazon on Thursday. The boots also gained the attention of the popular neo-Nazi website, Daily Stormer, where they were called a "must have", the Washington Post reported. German weekly magazine Stern also pointed out the boot's name, Polar Fox, shares a name with a World War Two military operation. Polarfuchs, or Polar Fox, was an operation in which German and Finnish soldiers captured Salla, Finland from the Soviet Union.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38614276

Graham Taylor dies at 72 - His FA Cup Story - BBC Sport

2017-01-13

Former England and Watford manager Graham Taylor has died aged 72. Here he tells his story of Watford's memorable FA Cup run in 1984.

Former England and Watford manager Graham Taylor has died aged 72. Here he tells his story of Watford's memorable FA Cup run in 1984.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38599596

Bradford: RFL agrees deal for new club in city after Bradford Bulls liquidated - BBC Sport

2017-01-13

The Rugby Football League agrees a deal that will see a new club set up in Bradford for the start of the 2017 season.

Last updated on .From the section Rugby League The Rugby Football League has agreed a deal that will see a new club set up in Bradford for the start of the season. The old Bradford Bulls was liquidated earlier this month after its latest spell in administration, after years of financial problems. Four bids to revive the club were received by the game's governing body. The identity of the winning consortium is not expected to be revealed until next week, but it is believed to be headed by Andrew Chalmers. He is a former chairman of New Zealand Rugby League and used to be a director at Salford Red Devils. Former Wigan and New Zealand coach Graham Lowe is also believed to be involved. The group came close to taking the Bulls out of administration during the Christmas period, when a bid they made was rubber-stamped by the RFL, only to be rejected by the administrator. Chalmers registered the name Bradford Bulls 2017 at Companies House on Friday, and is now expected to meet with the former Bradford Bulls players. RFL director of operations and legal, Karen Moorhouse, said: "The RFL is confident that the consortium selected to run a new club in Bradford will provide an exciting and stable future for rugby league in the city." Earlier this week, a proposed pre-season friendly for a Bradford Select XIII due to take place on Sunday was called off because they do not have enough players. The new club will remain in the Kingstone Press Championship, but will start the new season with a 12-point deficit. They will also continue playing at Odsal Stadium, the lease for which is owned by the RFL. • None 'Rugby league's rock and roll club must be restored'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/38616454

James DeGale v Badou Jack: Briton is ready to prove himself 'as one of world's best' - BBC Sport

2017-01-13

James DeGale plans to prove he is "one of the best fighters in the world" in his unification bout with Badou Jack on Saturday.

Last updated on .From the section Boxing IBF super-middleweight champion James DeGale intends to prove he is "one of the best fighters in the world" in his unification bout with WBC champion Badou Jack in New York. The Briton, 30, fights Sweden's Jack, 34, at around 03:30 GMT on Sunday. DeGale weighed in 1.5lb (0.68kg) inside the 12-stone (76.2kg) limit, while Jack was 0.75lb (0.34kg) inside. "This is the moment. I can't wait to return to the UK as a unified world champion," DeGale said. He added: "This is a great fight for boxing and it's going to raise my appeal all over the world." DeGale, who has won 23 of his 24 professional bouts, has admitted money is another motivation for victory. "I've worked hard all my life," he told BBC Radio 5 live. "Now I've got myself in a position where I can financially secure me and my family. "It's time to strike while the iron's hot, get in the big fights, earn my money and run." The 2008 Olympic gold medallist added: "It's not just about the money but I'm a prizefighter. "I've got all the accolades now, the only thing that's missing is the millions in the bank." His opponent Jack, who has 20 wins, two draws and one defeat on his record, has million-dollar backing behind him as he is managed by Floyd Mayweather. DeGale has prepared for the fight with a strength and conditioning coach - the first time he has used one. "It's because I was getting fatigued in fights," he explained. He also said he had dreamt of fighting in New York since he was a child, watching his hero, Britain's former world featherweight champion Naseem Hamed, against Kevin Kelley. "At the age of 10, I was thinking, 'yes, that's going to be me'," he said. "I'm living the dream."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/38604206

Natarajan Chandrasekaran: Who is new Tata Group chairman? - BBC News

2017-01-13

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The BBC's Sameer Hashmi profiles the new chairman of India's $100bn Tata Group.

India

Mr Chandrasekaran is the first person outside India's affluent Parsi community to be appointed as chairman India's Tata Group appointed Natarajan Chandrasekaran as its new chairman on Thursday, months after an acrimonious stand-off with its outgoing chairman Cyrus Mistry. The BBC's Sameer Hashmi profiles the new chief. Chandra - as Mr Chandrasekaran is popularly called - is one of the best known faces of the Tata Group. The 53-year-old has been the chief executive of the high profile global IT service provider, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), since 2009. But his journey with the Tata group began three decades ago. He joined the company in 1987 after obtaining a Master's degree in computer applications from the National Institute of Technology in Trichy in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Interestingly, Mr Chandrasekaran, who will become the seventh chairman of the Tata group - is the first person outside India's affluent Parsi community to be appointed to the post. The $100bn (£80bn) enterprise is controlled by a Parsi family and for many observers this decision marks a huge shift. Apart from being an accomplished business leader, Mr Chandrasekaran is also known for being an avid runner. He has participated in marathons across the globe including in cities like Boston, Berlin, New York and Chicago, as well as back home in Mumbai. "I love running. It's helped me become a better listener and also calms me down," he told the BBC a few years ago. Running long races has also been the hallmark of his professional life. Mr Chandrasekaran has never worked anywhere but at TCS. As the firm grew through the 1990s and 2000s to become one of India's most prominent IT companies, he also rose through the ranks, heading various important projects and teams before becoming the chief executive in 2009. "I spotted him way back in 1996, and knew that he had the potential," S Ramadorai, the former chief executive of TCS and his first boss, said in 2009. And it was his performance over the last eight years, during which TCS expanded its global footprint and became India's most valuable company with a market capitalisation of nearly $70bn, that put him in a different league. This period was marked by global turbulence because of the economic recession which severely hampered the growth of Indian IT firms. But despite the tough times, TCS kept reporting healthy profits - and eventually displaced Bangalore-based Infosys to become the bellwether for India's IT sector. TCS is the jewel in the crown for the Tatas, contributing 10% of the group's total revenues and 40% of its profit. His strong leadership skills and a proven track record were big factors that helped him during the selection process. The fact that he is a Tata veteran, an "insider" who understands the dynamics and complexities of the group, also gave him an edge over other candidates in the race. "He is a global business leader with boldness of vision and drive for results. Chandra personifies the value system of the Tatas," Abidali Z Neemuchwala, Chief Executive of Wipro Limited told the BBC. But as Mr Chandrasekaran gets ready to take over the mantle from Ratan Tata, who was appointed interim chairman after Cyrus Mistry's ouster in October, he faces several challenges. The bitter and very public feud between Mistry and the Tatas over the last couple of months has tarnished the conglomerate's brand image. Both sides have made serious but unverified allegations against one other and are now locked in a legal battle. "The immediate priority for him will be to rebuild credibility. The second is building up transparency and governance besides everything else like strategy and building performance," said Kavil Ramachandran, the executive director at the Thomas Schmidheiny Centre for Family Enterprise, Indian School of Business. Tata Steel operations in the UK have been a concern for the company His other big task will be stabilising businesses that have been struggling. Tata's empire ranges from cars and steel mills to aviation and salt. It has a presence in more than 100 countries. But firms like Tata Steel have suffered heavy losses in the UK, and at home Tata Motors is facing some stiff competition from foreign and local brands. The Tata group relies hugely on a clutch of companies, including TCS - to bolster its overall profits. Mr Chandrasekaran started running marathons when he was 43 to keep his fitness levels up. And given the mammoth challenge that lies ahead, he will need all his stamina and patience to succeed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-38609021

Donald Trump and brands: An uneasy relationship - BBC News

2017-01-13

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Donald Trump tweets support or disdain for certain companies: but what effect do his comments have?

US & Canada

L.L. Bean is known for its heavy boots (other boot makers are available) In itself, it was nothing out of the ordinary: a morning tweet by Donald Trump thanking a supporter. The subject of his thanks was one Linda Bean, who was praised for her "great support and courage" in the tweet on Thursday. But his post, like many before it, had wider repercussions. Linda Bean is an heiress of the Maine-based catalogue business L.L. Bean - a company Mr Trump then encouraged his 19.7m Twitter followers to support. The tweet poses all sorts of questions about whether it is correct for the most powerful man in the Western world to endorse certain brands over others. But what is the broader effect of a brand being associated with Mr Trump - a man who, despite his election win, will enter the White House next Friday less popular than the man who leaves (at least according to one poll this week)? Linda Bean was found by the Associated Press to have made a large donation to a pro-Trump PAC (political action committee), named Make Maine Great Again. As a result, she and L.L. Bean have been targeted by anti-Trump groups, including one, #GrabYourWallet, that urges a boycott of companies associated with the billionaire and his family. L.L.Bean was forced on the defensive earlier this week. Its executive chairman, Shawn Gorman, wrote on Facebook that the company was "disappointed to learn that Grab Your Wallet is advocating a boycott against L.L.Bean solely because Linda Bean, who is only one of 50+ family members involved with the business, personally supported Donald Trump for President". But despite the company's statement, the links to Mr Trump may not necessarily have been harmful: on the day of Mr Trump's tweet, the company's stock price ended the day higher, and Linda Bean told Fox Business there had been "a slight uptick" in business in recent days. And the website for her own lobster restaurant crashed after Mr Trump linked to it (perhaps accidentally) in his tweet. An F-35 fighter jet (other fighter jets are available) In mid-December, a little more than a month after he won the election, Mr Trump took aim at the US defence giant Lockheed Martin. Shares in the company fell after he tweeted that he would cut the cost of its F-35 Joint Strike Fighter after taking office. He wrote: "F-35 program and cost is out of control. Billions of dollars can and will be saved on military (and other) purchases after January 20." The F-35 is the Pentagon's most expensive weapons programme, costing about $400bn (£328bn), so it's no small fry. The lobster restaurant in this particular relationship is Lockheed Martin's rival, Boeing. After Mr Trump tweeted that he had asked Boeing to look into producing a cheaper alternative to the F-35, that company's shares jumped. New Balance trainers being set alight (other trainers and fire-starting materials are available) Days after the election, the footwear company's vice-president appeared to praise Mr Trump's trade plans in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. Matt LeBretton said Barack Obama had "turned a deaf ear" to US business. "Frankly, with President-elect Trump, we feel things are going to move in the right direction," he said. The company put out a statement saying it supported the trade positions of Democrat candidates too, but the damage was done - literally, in some cases, as New Balance shoe owners set fire to their footwear. Mr Trump's son visited Yuengling's brewery in October (other beers and Trump children are available) Back in the weeks before the election, the owner of the oldest brewery in the US (in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, no less) expressed his support for the Republican candidate, and his frustration at what he saw as high tax rates. The outrage followed a similar path to that of New Balance, minus the fire-starting - online anger, the promise of a boycott of Yuengling beer, and one-star reviews on its Facebook page. But it is not clear now just how seriously the calls for a boycott affected Yuengling. Their Facebook page, for example, is now awash with support. And there's only one fact that matters - in Pennsylvania, the state where Yuengling is the most popular beer, Mr Trump ended up winning 48.2% of the vote, with Hillary Clinton on 47.5%. That's a result that helped push him towards the White House, and he'll take charge next week. Although, as a teetotaller, he won't be celebrating with a Yuengling beer.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38607711

Does Catholic praise for Mary Magdalene show progress towards women priests? - BBC News

2017-01-13

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Does increasing honour paid to Mary Magdalene in the Catholic Church show progress towards women priests?

UK

The emotional scene in John's Gospel in which Jesus calls to the grieving Mary Magdalene by name and she tries to touch him has inspired many artists. This is Titian's interpretation. The gospels depict Mary Magdalene as one of Jesus' closest companions. Her emotional encounter with the risen Jesus and her supposed sinful past have fascinated Christians for centuries. The latest of many films about her is released shortly. Its heroine, played by Rooney Mara, is billed as a young woman who joins "a radical new social movement" and "must confront the reality of Jesus' destiny and her own place within it". There was amusement when cast members were pictured in ancient garb smoking on set. Meanwhile, the Roman Catholic Church has enhanced the saint's status. Last year her Saint's Day (22 July) was promoted to a Feast, equal to those of most of the male Disciples. Explaining the decision, Archbishop Arthur Roche pointed out that she had long been known as "apostle to the apostles, as she announces to the apostles what they in turn will announce to all the world." A bizarre tradition in depictions of Mary Magdalene shows her naked, but clothed with her long red hair. Terracotta by Andrea Della Robbia of about 1590 This refers to John 20:17, in which Jesus sends her to the disciples to tell them he would ascend to God - "apostolos" in Greek means "one who is sent". The Vatican press office said that 22 July would be "a feast, like that of the other apostles." A special prayer for use at Mass on that day says Jesus honoured her with the task of an apostle (apostolatus officio), This has coincided with what some believe are signs of a change in Rome's attitude on the possibility of women priests. The announcement on Mary Magdalene, and the setting up of a commission to discuss the ordination of women as deacons - not priests, but able to preside at weddings, christenings and funerals is an indication to some of change. Tina Beattie, Professor of Catholic Studies at the University of Roehampton, says: "I accept that it has to be slow, it has to be sensitively done... But my own feeling is that something is happening". What was said about the feast day was encouraging, says Pippa Bonner of the campaign group Catholic Women's Ordination. "As soon as we spotted that we shared that news around - I think that's a very, very positive step." Pope Francis met Sweden's female archbishop, Antje Jackelen. But on his journey home he said Catholic policy forbidding women priests had not changed. In 1994 Pope John Paul II declared "that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful." Jesus had "called only men as his Apostles", The constant practice of the Church, he stressed, "has imitated Christ in choosing only men." In November, while returning from a visit to Sweden where he worshipped with the country's female Lutheran archbishop, Antje Jackelen, Pope Francis was asked if his Church still ruled out women priests. "Saint Pope John Paul II had the last clear word on this and it stands," he said. Asked again if the ban was permanent, he responded: "If we read carefully the declaration by St. John Paul II, it is going in that direction." Prof Beattie comments: "Whenever he's asked to give a reason he always references John Paul II... I'm not aware of him saying that under his own Papal authority." Paloma Baeza played Mary Magdalene in The Passion, shown on BBC1 in 2008. The idea that statements about Mary Magdalene and her "apostleship" contradict the rulings of John Paul II is discounted by many Catholic commentators. "Many Catholics from the Anglican tradition will rejoice at her commemoration being raised to the dignity of a Feast, while thinking that the idea that this has any relevance to the closed question of women's ordination is entirely fanciful," says Fr Simon Chinery, spokesman for the Ordinariate set up by Pope Benedict as a home within the Catholic Church for Anglicans opposed to women bishops. The idea of Mary Magdalene as a great sinner led to celebration of her as a great penitent, as in this haggard sculpture by Donatello (about 1455). Austen Ivereigh, co-founder of the group Catholic Voices, says: "Declaring her day a Feast reflects a growing awareness that the role of women in the early Church was an important one, and needs to be recovered. "But opening church leadership to women's unique gifts does not equate to opening the priesthood to women - at least that argument is not being made in any significant way in the Church at the moment," Arguments against women's ordination in the Church of England were ultimately unsuccessful. But of course the Catholic Church is very different. In the CofE the argument over women's ordination went on for decades. But it was possible to say where it had got to by referring to the state of discussions in the General Synod. It could not have been stopped for good by a ruling like that of Pope John Paul. Of all the hundreds of churches named after Mary Magdalene, the grandest is perhaps La Madeleine in Paris. Marochetti's statue on the high altar shows angels lifting her to heaven.. A change in doctrine can come as news to Catholics. And it can happen suddenly. That was the case with Mary Magdalene herself. In the late 6th Century AD Pope Gregory I declared that she was also the woman in Luke 7:37 who "lived a sinful life", who washed Jesus's feet and dried them with her hair. This fuelled the tradition that Mary Magdalene was not only a sinner (which Christianity says we all are) but a particularly colourful one, and inspired dozens of artistic portrayals of her ranging from ravaged penitent to borderline erotic. But the revised Roman Calendar of 1969 simply declared that 22 July was indeed the day of Mary Magdalene, but she was not the woman in Luke 7:37. And that, after nearly 1,400 years. was that. Is she, as the Anglican Rev Giles Fraser claims some see her, "the standard bearer for women's developing role in the Catholic church, and even... for women's ordination"? The Church can hardly show it is moved by the late unofficial gospels - one of which talks of Jesus repeatedly kissing Mary Magdalene,; the recent crop of stories claiming she was actually married to Jesus; or the Rooney Mara film. And Pope Gregory's claims about her sinful life may be discredited. But all these things contribute to her prestige.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38528682

Trump news conference: 10 things we learned - BBC News

2017-01-13

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Donald Trump has held his first news conference in seven months, nine days before he takes office at the White House. What did we learn?

US & Canada

Donald Trump has held his first news conference in five months, with nine days to go before he takes the oath and assumes power at the White House. While his fury at the allegations concerning his ties to Russia made the headlines, there was plenty more covered. His sons, Donald and Eric, will run the Trump Organization, Mr Trump said in a long-awaited announcement concerning his business interests. His lawyer Sheri Dillon also said: She also turned to the constitution's "emoluments clause" which bans government officials from taking money from foreign governments. People have wondered if foreign officials staying at Trump hotels would mean he was in breach. She said no. But she said he would donate foreign payments to the Treasury anyway. However, the head of the Office of Government Ethics launched a scathing attack on the overall Trump plan, saying it does not go far enough to avoid potential conflicts of interest. Other ethics experts seem to agree. The BBC's Anthony Zurcher: Mr Trump has spent his entire life building his business empire, and he seems reluctant to let it go entirely, ethical concerns notwithstanding. While he says he's stepping away from the business, his decision not to relinquish ownership and his only transfer management to his children will likely not satisfy many of his critics. The president-elect suggested the US intelligence agencies are to blame for the unsubstantiated allegations that he paid for Russian prostitutes and fostered close relations between his campaign team and the Kremlin. "I think it was disgraceful, disgraceful that the intelligence agencies allowed any information that turned out to be so false and fake out there... That's something that Nazi Germany would have done." The top US spy, James Clapper, later hit back, saying the leak was not from the US intelligence community. AZ: Wednesday was only the latest broadside Mr Trump has fired against a US intelligence community that he believes is trying to undermine the legitimacy of the presidency. His targets feel threatened as well, so this is far from the final exchange. He went further than he has before in identifying Russia as the culprit behind hacks of Democratic Party emails, but still carried a caveat. "As far as hacking, I think it's Russia. But we also get hacked by other countries and other people." AZ: While Mr Trump was finally willing to acknowledge Russian involvement in 2016 election hacking, he still couched criticism in terms of a larger problem that involves other nations, like China. Mr Trump clearly feels much more comfortable criticising China than he does Vladimir Putin and Russia. Mr Trump said he plans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as soon as his health secretary pick is confirmed. That could be the same week, the same day or even the same hour, he said. But it's not clear whether the Republican party will be able to rally around a new plan. AZ: While Mr Trump has set a tight timeline for repeal and replacement of Obamacare, it will be a heavy lift for a Congress that still is uncertain on what it should do - or the political fallout it could suffer for doing it. This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Donald Trump said the information was 'fake' The man who launched his presidential campaign with the condemnation of Mexican immigrants as criminals shows no signs of wavering in his plan to build wall on the southern border. AZ: For Mr Trump, it's not a matter of if Mexico is going to pay for the border wall (not fence, he emphasised), it's when - and he predicts it will happen in less than a year. "There will be a major border tax on these companies that are leaving and getting away with murder. And if our politicians had what it takes, they would have done this years ago. And you'd have millions more workers right now in the United States." AZ: Now we know a bit more about how he will try to foot the bill for the wall - through a tax, which might be easier than asking the Mexican government to cough up a cheque. Asked about filling the vacancy on the Supreme Court, he said he has a list of 20 and will put one of them up within his first two weeks. "It will be a decision which I very strongly believe in. I think it's one of the reasons I got elected." AZ: While the Supreme Court wasn't a top issue for many American voters, it was likely an important factor in keeping evangelical conservatives in Mr Trump's column. His pick will likely reward their faith. "We have to get our drug industry coming back," he said. We need to "create new bidding procedures for the drug industry, because they're getting away with murder," he added. After the press conference, Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders expressed his full agreement. "Pharma does get away with murder. Literally murder. People die because they can't get the prescription drugs they need." AZ: Talking about using the power of government negotiation to reduce drug prices is a regular talking point for Democrats, but Mr Trump's interest in taking on big pharmaceutical companies probably comes as a bit of a shock to his Republican colleagues. Mr Trump cracked a joke when he said he could not have done some of the more salacious things alleged in the intelligence dossier. "Does anyone believe that story? I'm a germophobe, by the way." It has long been part of media folklore that he is averse to physical contact and once passed hand-sanitiser to journalists. AZ: Back when Mr Trump was giving regular press conferences, his answers were frequently peppered with quirky non-sequiturs or comments that would never come out of the mouth of a traditional politician. It seems like President Trump will stick to that script. "I was in Russia years ago, with the Miss Universe contest, which did very well - Moscow, the Moscow area did very, very well. "And I told many people, 'Be careful, because you don't wanna see yourself on television. Cameras all over the place.'" AZ: While Mr Trump may have a soft spot for Vladimir Putin and Russia, comments like this aren't going to get him a post-election job on the Russian tourism board.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38588878

Houses at number 13 'are £9,000 cheaper', says Zoopla - BBC News

2017-01-13

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Buyers willing to purchase properties at 'unlucky' number 13 can make big savings, a website finds.

Business

Property buyers willing to live at "unlucky" number 13 may be encouraged by paying £9,000 less than the cost of the average home, a website suggests. Search portal Zoopla has calculated that homes with this number are typically £8,974 cheaper than the average UK property. Its survey, released on Friday the 13th, found that nearly a third of owners asked would be less likely to buy number 13. Number one is generally the priciest. Number 100 tends to be the next most expensive property. Lawrence Hall, spokesman for Zoopla, said: "While superstitions might weigh heavily on the minds of some, in a year with not one but two Friday 13ths - the second of which will be in October - there could be a real opportunity for those not suffering from triskaidekaphobia to secure a property bargain." Nearly a quarter of those surveyed said they would not exchange or complete on, or even move into, a property on Friday the 13th. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38611142

How bad have Southern rail services got? - BBC News

2017-01-13

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A long-running dispute over the role of conductors on the Southern rail network has resulted in a series of strikes. Just how bad have the operator's commuter services become?

UK

Commuters in south London and southern England have faced months of disruption on the Southern rail network amid a long-running strike over the role of conductors and the operation of driver-only trains. The RMT union's members first walked out in April last year and were joined by members of Aslef, making the dispute the longest-running rail strike since the railways were privatised in 1996. Further strikes had been planned for later this month, but most of the action has been called off following talks between the drivers' union Aslef and Govia Thameslink Railway, Southern's parent company. But with customer satisfaction at a low of 69% - the bottom of the passenger satisfaction table - just how bad have things got for Southern's customers? According to the official performance data published by Network Rail and the Office of Rail and Road, 29.5% of Southern's Mainline and Coast services were late (more than five minutes of the scheduled arrival time for commuter services) in the year to 7 January. That's almost three in every 10 services. However, if the latest-available figures - from 11 December to 7 January - are taken in isolation, the percentage of late-running trains rises to 35.4%. The national average for the same period was 12.6% In fact, all lines run by Southern's parent company, Govia Thameslink Railway, were in the bottom six of the list for the latest period (Southern Metro, Great Northern, Gatwick Express, Southern Mainline and Coast and Thameslink), with between 21.3% and 35.4% of trains arriving late at their destinations. *This is the Public Performance Measure (PPM) - the industry standard measure that monitors trains arriving within five minutes of scheduled arrival times for commuter services or 10 minutes for long-distance services. "Cancelled or significantly late" means cancelled trains or those arriving more than 30 minutes after a scheduled arrival time. On Wednesday 11 January, the second strike day that week, Southern's own daily performance chart showed 60% of its Southern Mainline services were arriving late. That's six out of every 10 services. Meanwhile, the top performer nationally during the latest four-week period of 11 December to 7 January, was London Overground - with only 2.9% of its London services late. Merseyrail Electrics Northern line also performed well, with just 2.9% late-running trains. Looking further back over the last two years, Southern's Mainline and Coast performance has fluctuated, but delays have increased since the beginning of this year, according to the three official measures. Using the Public Performance Measure (trains arriving late by more than five minutes), Southern's best performance since April 2014 was attained over the summer of that year - 10.3% of trains late. It has never attained that figure since. Its worst period was between 29 May and 26 June last year, with 44.2% - almost half - of its services running late by more than five minutes. Some 68.6% (almost seven in 10) of trains were running more than 59 seconds late and 23.6% (almost a quarter) of services were cancelled or arriving more than 30 minutes late. The latest National Rail Passenger Survey, released in Spring 2016, showed the lowest ratings for overall passenger satisfaction were given to Southern (69%) and Southeastern (69%), closely followed by Great Northern (74%), Thameslink (74%) and Abellio Greater Anglia (77%). Southern, Great Northern and Thameslink are all run by Govia Thameslink Railway. Nationally, the highest ratings for overall satisfaction were achieved by Grand Central (96%), First Hull Trains (94%), Virgin Trains (92%), Chiltern Railways (91%) and Heathrow Express (91%). Southern rail has promised to restore a "full train service" from Tuesday 24 January after talks with Aslef were described as constructive. Three Aslef strike days - on the 24, 25, 26 January - have been cancelled as a result of the talks, however the RMT union's walkout on Monday 23 January is still set to go ahead. Rail performance is measured in a number of ways. There are targets on punctuality, reliability, causes of delay, asset failures and disruption to the network from planned engineering work. Official statistics, published by the Office of Rail and Road, include the following indicators regarding punctuality and reliability: The rail industry reports data on a periodic basis rather than the more recognised reporting cycles such as monthly or quarterly. A period is normally a 28-day, or four weekly period for business reporting purposes (Sunday to Saturday) and there are 13 periods in a financial year. For more detailed information on the data, visit the Office of Rail and Road's performance report. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38249521

VW papers shed light on emissions scandal - BBC News

2017-01-13

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VW has been fined $4.3bn by US authorities and agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges, so just what do documents released this week reveal about the emissions rigging scandal?

Business

US Attorney-General Loretta Lynch said VW denied and then lied in a bid to cover up its actions "Volkswagen obfuscated, they denied, and they ultimately lied." These were the words of the US Attorney General Loretta Lynch, as she set out how the German carmaker would be punished for attempting to hoodwink the US authorities over the emissions produced by its diesel cars. It has been a tough week for Volkswagen. It has been fined $4.3bn, agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges - and six executives are facing charges. One of them, Oliver Schmidt, has spent the past few days in a Miami jail. Others may yet find themselves in the firing line. But because of this, we now have a very clear idea not only of what Volkswagen was doing wrong, and how it went about it, but also the measures that were taken to conceal that wrongdoing. As part of its plea bargain with the US authorities Volkswagen signed up to an agreed "Statement of Facts". It draws heavily on the results of an investigation by the law firm Jones Day, commissioned by VW itself. The FBI makes further detailed allegations in its criminal complaint against Oliver Schmidt. These have not yet been tested or admitted. According to these documents, the seeds of the scandal were sown in 2006, when VW were designing a new diesel engine for the US market. Supervisors in the engine department realised they had a problem. They could not design an engine that would meet tough emissions standards due to enter into force in 2007, and at the same time give customers the performance that they wanted. Their solution was to ask their engineers to design engine management software which would turn on emissions controls when the car was being tested, and turn them off when it was being driven on the road. This 'defeat device' software was able to recognise the standard testing procedure. It was based on a program developed by VW's subsidiary Audi, which engineers had specifically stated should "absolutely not be used" in the US. Not everyone was happy about this, it seems. Engineers "raised objections to the propriety of the defeat device" in late 2006. In response, a manager decided that production should continue, still using the device. He also "instructed those in attendance, in sum and substance, not to get caught". A similar row broke out the following year, and again, the decision was taken to press on regardless. Subsequently, the use of the defeat device appears to have become routine. The Statement of Facts describes how the software was refined and improved over time. A spate of breakdowns was blamed on the cars remaining in 'test' mode while being driven on the road. Supervisors worked with engineers to solve the problem, and "encouraged the further concealment of the software". The engineers were also told to destroy documents relating to the issue. The deception came to a head when, in 2014, the California Air Resources Board approached the company to find out why tests had shown that its cars were emitting up to 40 times the permissible amount of nitrogen oxides when driven on the road. VW supervisors "determined not to disclose to US regulators that the tested vehicle models operated with a defeat device". Instead they "decided to pursue a strategy of concealing the defeat device… while appearing to cooperate". The FBI claims in its criminal complaint against Mr Schmidt - who was a head of compliance at VW's US division from 2012 to 2015 - that the deception eventually went to the very top of the company. Citing "co-operative witnesses" and allegedly corroborating documentation, it claims that the company's executive management in Wolfsburg were briefed on the issue in July 2015. Rather than tell its staff to come clean about the defeat device, it says, "VW executive management authorized its continued concealment". There is, however, no mention of this meeting in the statement agreed by Volkswagen. Ultimately, Volkswagen's wrongdoing was confirmed to the authorities by a single employee acting "in direct contravention of instructions from supervisors at VW". But the deception did not end there. The Statement of Facts explains how VW staff were warned by an in-house lawyer that the authorities were about to circulate a so-called "hold notice", obliging them to retain and preserve documents under their control. Engineers were told to "check their documents", which several of those present "understood to mean that they should delete their documents". The message was repeated at a number of subsequent meetings, one of them attended by 30-40 people and ultimately thousands of documents were deleted. When the scandal at Volkswagen first came to light, the company's former US chief executive, Michael Horn blamed "a couple of software engineers". It is now clear that many more people were involved, at least some of them in positions of authority, and deliberate attempts were made to cover up wrongdoing. It is not hard, then, to see why the US authorities have taken such a tough line with the company. But some questions remain unanswered. We still don't know for certain, for example, whether people at board level knew what was going on. It's also unclear why the same software that was fitted illegally to 600,000 US vehicles was also present on millions of others sold around the world, including eight million in Europe. VW continues to maintain that the systems didn't actually break European law - though it is in the process of repairing those vehicles all the same.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38603723

Trump 'compromising' claims: How and why did we get here? - BBC News

2017-01-13

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Paul Wood examines the background and fallout concerning the allegations about the president-elect.

US & Canada

The allegations against Donald Trump in the documents read like something from a bad film Donald Trump has described as "fake news" allegations published in some media that his election team colluded with Russia - and that Russia held compromising material about his private life. The BBC's Paul Wood saw the allegations before the election, and reports on the fallout now they have come to light. The significance of these allegations is that, if true, the president-elect of the United States would be vulnerable to blackmail by the Russians. I understand the CIA believes it is credible that the Kremlin has such kompromat - or compromising material - on the next US commander in chief. At the same time a joint taskforce, which includes the CIA and the FBI, has been investigating allegations that the Russians may have sent money to Mr Trump's organisation or his election campaign. Claims about a Russian blackmail tape were made in one of a series of reports written by a former British intelligence agent, understood to be Christopher Steele. As a member of MI6, he had been posted to the UK's embassy in Moscow and now runs a consultancy giving advice on doing business in Russia. He spoke to a number of his old contacts in the FSB, the successor to the KGB, paying some of them for information. They told him that Mr Trump had been filmed with a group of prostitutes in the presidential suite of Moscow's Ritz-Carlton hotel. I know this because the Washington political research company that commissioned his report showed it to me during the final week of the election campaign. The BBC decided not to use it then, for the very good reason that without seeing the tape - if it exists - we could not know if the claims were true. The detail of the allegations were certainly lurid. The entire series of reports has now been posted by BuzzFeed. Mr Trump's supporters say this is a politically motivated attack. The president-elect himself, outraged, tweeted this morning: "Are we living in Nazi Germany?" Later, at his much-awaited news conference, he was unrestrained. "A thing like that should have never been written," he said, "and certainly should never have been released." He said the memo was written by "sick people [who] put that crap together". The opposition research firm that commissioned the report had worked first for an anti-Trump superpac - political action committee - during the Republican primaries. Then during the general election, it was funded by an anonymous Democratic Party supporter. But these are not political hacks - their usual line of work is country analysis and commercial risk assessment, similar to the former MI6 agent's consultancy. He, apparently, gave his dossier to the FBI against the firm's advice. Mr Trump was in Moscow in 2013 for the Miss Universe pageant (pictured) And the former MI6 agent is not the only source for the claim about Russian kompromat on the president-elect. Back in August, a retired spy told me he had been informed of its existence by "the head of an East European intelligence agency". Later, I used an intermediary to pass some questions to active duty CIA officers dealing with the case file - they would not speak to me directly. I got a message back that there was "more than one tape", "audio and video", on "more than one date", in "more than one place" - in the Ritz-Carlton in Moscow and also in St Petersburg - and that the material was "of a sexual nature". The claims of Russian kompromat on Mr Trump were "credible", the CIA believed. That is why - according to the New York Times and Washington Post - these claims ended up on President Barack Obama's desk last week, a briefing document also given to Congressional leaders and to Mr Trump himself. Mr Trump did visit Moscow in November 2013, the date the main tape is supposed to have been made. There is TV footage of him at the Miss Universe contest. Any visitor to a grand hotel in Moscow would be wise to assume that their room comes equipped with hidden cameras and microphones as well as a mini-bar. At his news conference, Mr Trump said he warned his staff when they travelled: "Be very careful, because in your hotel rooms and no matter where you go you're going to probably have cameras." So the Russian security services have made obtaining kompromat an art form. Even President Vladimir Putin says there is "kompromat" on him - though perhaps he is joking One Russian specialist told me that Vladimir Putin himself sometimes says there is kompromat on him - though perhaps he is joking. The specialist went on to tell me that FSB officers are prone to boasting about having tapes on public figures, and to be careful of any statements they might make. A former CIA officer told me he had spoken by phone to a serving FSB officer who talked about the tapes. He concluded: "It's hokey as hell." Mr Trump and his supporters are right to point out that these are unsubstantiated allegations. But it is not just sex, it is money too. The former MI6 agent's report detailed alleged attempts by the Kremlin to offer Mr Trump lucrative "sweetheart deals" in Russia that would buy his loyalty. Mr Trump turned these down, and indeed has done little real business in Russia. But a joint intelligence and law enforcement taskforce has been looking at allegations that the Kremlin paid money to his campaign through his associates. On 15 October, the US secret intelligence court issued a warrant to investigate two Russian banks. This news was given to me by several sources and corroborated by someone I will identify only as a senior member of the US intelligence community. He would never volunteer anything - giving up classified information would be illegal - but he would confirm or deny what I had heard from other sources. Mr Trump says Moscow has "never tried to use leverage on me" "I'm going to write a story that says…" I would say. "I don't have a problem with that," he would reply, if my information was accurate. He confirmed the sequence of events below. Last April, the CIA director was shown intelligence that worried him. It was - allegedly - a tape recording of a conversation about money from the Kremlin going into the US presidential campaign. It was passed to the US by an intelligence agency of one of the Baltic States. The CIA cannot act domestically against American citizens so a joint counter-intelligence taskforce was created. The taskforce included six agencies or departments of government. Dealing with the domestic, US, side of the inquiry, were the FBI, the Department of the Treasury, and the Department of Justice. For the foreign and intelligence aspects of the investigation, there were another three agencies: the CIA, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the National Security Agency, responsible for electronic spying. Lawyers from the National Security Division in the Department of Justice then drew up an application. They took it to the secret US court that deals with intelligence, the Fisa court, named after the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. They wanted permission to intercept the electronic records from two Russian banks. Their first application, in June, was rejected outright by the judge. They returned with a more narrowly drawn order in July and were rejected again. Finally, before a new judge, the order was granted, on 15 October, three weeks before election day. Harry Reid, the leader of the Democrats in the Senate, pictured, accused the FBI of holding back information Neither Mr Trump nor his associates are named in the Fisa order, which would only cover foreign citizens or foreign entities - in this case the Russian banks. But ultimately, the investigation is looking for transfers of money from Russia to the United States, each one, if proved, a felony offence. A lawyer- outside the Department of Justice but familiar with the case - told me that three of Mr Trump's associates were the subject of the inquiry. "But it's clear this is about Trump," he said. I spoke to all three of those identified by this source. All of them emphatically denied any wrongdoing. "Hogwash," said one. "Bullshit," said another. Of the two Russian banks, one denied any wrongdoing, while the other did not respond to a request for comment. The investigation was active going into the election. During that period, the leader of the Democrats in the Senate, Harry Reid, wrote to the director of the FBI, accusing him of holding back "explosive information" about Mr Trump. Mr Reid sent his letter after getting an intelligence briefing, along with other senior figures in Congress. Only eight people were present: the chairs and ranking minority members of the House and Senate intelligence committees, and the leaders of the Democratic and Republican parties in Congress, the "gang of eight" as they are sometimes called. Normally, senior staff attend "gang of eight" intelligence briefings, but not this time. The Congressional leaders were not even allowed to take notes. In the letter to the FBI director, James Comey, Mr Reid said: "In my communications with you and other top officials in the national security community, it has become clear that you possess explosive information about close ties and co-ordination between Donald Trump, his top advisers, and the Russian government - a foreign interest openly hostile to the United States, which Mr Trump praises at every opportunity. "The public has a right to know this information. I wrote to you months ago calling for this information to be released to the public. There is no danger to American interests from releasing it. And yet, you continue to resist calls to inform the public of this critical information." The CIA, FBI, Justice and Treasury all refused to comment when I approached them after hearing about the Fisa warrant. It is not clear what will happen to the inter-agency investigation under President Trump - or even if the taskforce is continuing its work now. The Russians have denied any attempt to influence the president-elect - with either money or a blackmail tape. Hillary Clinton referred to Mr Trump as Mr Putin's "puppet" during the debates If a tape exists, the Russians would hardly give it up, though some hope to encourage a disloyal FSB officer who might want to make some serious money. Before the election, Larry Flynt, publisher of the pornographic magazine Hustler, put up a million dollars for incriminating tape of Mr Trump. Penthouse has now followed with its own offer of a million dollars for the Ritz-Carlton tape (if it exists). It is an extraordinary situation, 10 days before Mr Trump is sworn into office, but it was foreshadowed during the campaign. During the final presidential debate, Hillary Clinton called Donald Trump a "puppet" of Russia's leader, Vladimir Putin. "No puppet. No puppet," Mr Trump interjected, talking over Mrs Clinton. "You're the puppet. No, you're the puppet." In a New York Times op-ed in August, the former director of the CIA, Michael Morell, wrote: "In the intelligence business, we would say that Mr Putin had recruited Mr Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation." Agent; puppet - both terms imply some measure of influence or control by Moscow. Michael Hayden, former head of both the CIA and the NSA, simply called Mr Trump a "polezni durak" - a useful fool. The background to those statements was information held - at the time - within the intelligence community. Now all Americans have heard the claims. Little more than a week before his inauguration, they will have to decide if their president-elect really was being blackmailed by Moscow. Clarification: 11 January - This article was amended to make clear that the opposition research firm which commissioned the report had first worked for an anti-Trump political action committee.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38589427

Johanna Konta beats Agnieszka Radwanska to win Sydney International - BBC Sport

2017-01-13

British number one Johanna Konta impressively wins the Sydney International by beating Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4 6-2.

Last updated on .From the section Tennis British number one Johanna Konta won the Sydney International on Friday with an impressive 6-4 6-2 victory over Agnieszka Radwanska in Australia. World number 10 Konta broke her Polish opponent in the third game and hit 18 winners to five in the first set. The 25-year-old dominated world number three Radwanska with some stunning returns and powerful hitting, and she convincingly won the second set. Konta finished the match off with an ace to claim her second WTA tour title. And Britain could yet boast both the women's and men's champions in Sydney, with Dan Evans defeating Andrey Kuznetsov to reach his first ATP Tour final, while Jamie Murray is in the doubles final. Konta, playing in the city of her birth, did not drop a set all week as she marched through a high-class field. "I was born here, so this is a very special moment for me," Konta said. "I'm really happy." "I'm really pleased with the amount of matches I've been able to play. I take it as a nice reward for all the hard work." The Briton's display will also give her confidence going into the year's first Grand Slam when she starts her Australian Open challenge against Kirsten Flipkens next week. She reached the semi-finals at Melbourne Park in 2016, losing to eventual winner Angelique Kerber. Find out how to get into tennis in our special guide. Konta had been beaten in both her previous matches against Radwanska, including the China Open final, and lost the first six points of the match. But, from 0-30 down on her own serve in the second game, Konta quickly turned the match around and took her third break point in the third game of match to seize the initiative. Her highlights in the first set included a second serve ace and some heavy hitting before a service game to love to wrap it up. Konta twice broke Radwanska at the start of the second set to go 4-0 up and she finished off proceedings with her seventh ace to secure victory in one hour and 21 minutes. "I can't remember playing someone like this on that level, that consistent for the whole match," Radwanska said. "I couldn't really say that I did something wrong. She was just playing amazing tennis and was aggressive from the first shot." This was a breathtaking performance by Konta - she was very aggressive from the baseline and served superbly. The 25-year-old has given plenty of notice of her talent over the past 18 months, but this was a display which marked her out as a potential winner of the Australian Open - although her draw is very tough and she has played nine matches on two continents in the first two weeks of the season. Konta will equal her career high ranking of ninth on Monday and no player has accumulated more ranking points than she has so far this year.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38606939

Hull tidal barrier lowered in sped-up video - BBC News

2017-01-13

A 45-minute video of the Hull tidal barrier going down, sped up to 45 seconds.

A 45-minute video of the barrier going down, sped up to 45 seconds.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38617337

Was Buzzfeed right on Donald Trump dossier? - BBC News

2017-01-13

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Buzzfeed's decision to publish the Donald Trump dossier raises many questions about modern journalism.

Entertainment & Arts

Donald Trump has criticised the decision to publish the dossier Was Buzzfeed right to publish the Trump dossier? That comes down to editorial judgement, which is to news what eggs are to an omelette - the essential ingredient. That said, I opened this post with a question which I will not answer - partly because I work for the BBC and it is not my place to pass judgement on other news organisations' editorial calls and partly because those editorial calls are subjective. But as BBC media editor, and as a former editor of The Independent who had to make thousands of these calls, often against tight deadlines and under great pressure from the subjects of our stories, I want to explore some of the considerations that we editors have to make. Hopefully that will illuminate the hugely controversial decision made this week by Buzzfeed. Editorial judgement is ultimately a moral activity. It is an exercise in selection - which stories, facts, claims, pictures, words, ideas to publish, and which to leave out - that relies on several smaller judgements. These include: the importance you attach to veracity; your own political persuasion; a sense of your audience's interest and - outside the BBC and unfortunately more common now the news business model is under such strain - a consideration of the commercial implications of publishing particular things. The rectitude of all moral activity or actions - editorial judgement included - can be analysed along three criteria: Let's look at Buzzfeed's decision to publish the dossier in terms of intentions and consequences. Some people will argue that - whether you agree with it or not - there is a coherent case for putting information in the public domain even if you are not 100% certain it is true. Ben Smith, the editor-in-chief, has spoken eloquently about how, in our digital era, publishers are no longer gatekeepers of information who demand to be trusted, arguing that Buzzfeed is simply a distributor. His second argument is that because this publication was being circulated widely among government officials, it had tremendous news value and therefore it was in the public interest to put it in the public domain with plenty of caveats so readers could make up their own minds. I know from personal experience that, if you are a digital publisher whose content is free, you mainly make money from advertising, which is related to traffic and which you are under immense pressure to generate. This ultimately commercial imperative can - and does - influence the editorial judgement of many publishers. But let us be charitable to Buzzfeed and say that commercial considerations did not influence this editorial decision. Buzzfeed has a young audience and often publishes journalism associated with the political Left, unlike Trump whose most stable constituency is older voters on the Right. It is reasonable to conclude that one reason Buzzfeed published this dossier about Mr Trump is that it calculated it could harm someone it does not like. So Buzzfeed, having put traffic considerations aside, and being antithetical to some of the things Mr Trump stands for, calculated that the document, which had potentially huge implications for the incoming president, deserved to be seen in its entirety by readers who want access to information. That covers the intentions, but what of the consequences? Huge traffic for this article must have been one consequence. Another is that Buzzfeed, as a powerful international brand, is now clearly associated with a willingness to publish information it knows could be false. Another consequence is of course that the information contained in the dossier, some of it untrue, much of it not corroborated, is now in the public domain we call cyberspace. Perhaps citizens across the globe are digesting it to better understand the incoming president. Finally, life has been made harder for other news organisations, such as CNN, who Trump targeted in his remarkable press conference. They have now been conflated with Buzzfeed under Trump's pernicious umbrella term "fake news". Buzzfeed could reasonably say it is not its job to secure access to Mr Trump for CNN - and in any case the president-elect was not exactly friendly with the mainstream media before the dossier's publication. It will be for editors and citizens everywhere to decide, in balancing Buzzfeed's intentions with the (largely foreseeable) consequences, whether it made a correct editorial judgement. That in turn depends on your moral position - your commitment to truth and so on. What really interests me is that Mr Smith is saying that the digital revolution has redefined journalism, creating publishers who are prepared to put lots of information into the public domain without verifying it. Julian Assange's Wikileaks has put huge amounts of information into the public domain There is a difference, however, between Wikileaks, who do that sort of thing, and what most journalists understand their role to be: corroborating information before making selections as to what should be published. In a sense, Mr Smith's position is an argument against journalism, in that being gatekeepers who curate and edit the world is precisely what many hacks believe their role to be. Just as traditional media included many different types of publisher - tabloids v broadsheets, for example - so new, digital media include those who exhaustively check their facts and proceed with caution and those who are prepared to publish unverified allegations because they think the public should know. The BBC is in the former camp, as my colleague Paul Wood argued in his excellent blog. We work very hard to verify claims before publishing them: so much so that there are always big stories we know about that we cannot use, because we haven't got sufficiently solid sourcing. Our political editor Laura Kuenssberg has talked about this - and I can certainly relate to it. Together with Mr Trump, this controversy helps to illuminate how fast the media is changing - and how it affects all our lives.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38600531

Dan Evans reaches maiden final in Sydney after beating Andrey Kuznetsov - BBC Sport

2017-01-13

Briton Dan Evans reaches his first ATP Tour final with a 6-2 3-6 6-3 win over Andrey Kuznetsov at the Sydney International.

Last updated on .From the section Tennis Briton Dan Evans reached his first ATP Tour final with a 6-2 3-6 6-3 win over Andrey Kuznetsov in the semi-finals of the Sydney International in Australia. Evans, 26, started strongly against the 25-year-old Russian and won the opening set in 30 minutes before being pegged back. The world number 67 broke serve early in the decider and held on to beat a player ranked 19 places above him. He will now face Luxembourg's Gilles Muller at 08:30 GMT on Saturday. In the men's doubles, Britain's Jamie Murray and Brazilian partner Bruno Soares also secured a place in the final with a 6-3 7-6 (7-4) win over Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah. They will play Dutch duo Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middlekoop at 05:00 on Saturday. Britain has already enjoyed success at the event with Johanna Konta winning the women's final after impressively beating Agnieszka Radwanska. Evans, who is already guaranteed to climb to a new career-high ranking just outside the top 50, said: "It was a good match. I feel pretty tired to be honest but I might not get this opportunity in a final for a while. "It's great that Jo won. Hopefully Jamie wins, and hopefully I do."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38607652

Diego Costa: Chelsea striker is dropped after dispute over fitness with coach - BBC Sport

2017-01-13

Diego Costa is left out of the Chelsea squad for Saturday's Premier League game against Leicester following a dispute over his fitness.

Last updated on .From the section Football Striker Diego Costa has been left out of the Chelsea squad to face Leicester on Saturday after a dispute with a coach over his fitness. The Spain international has not trained for three days and has not travelled for the Premier League leaders' match with the champions (17:30 GMT). The news comes amid reports he is the subject of an offer to move to China that would be worth £30m a year. Costa, 28, has scored 14 goals and provided five assists this season. It is understood Blues owner Roman Abramovich is not interested in releasing him from his contract, which expires in 2019, and would not entertain the idea of being forced to do so. • None Podcast: Is Costa about to derail Chelsea's season? Speaking in early January, Costa admitted he wanted to leave Chelsea last summer, but said he was now happy to stay. Chelsea had been hopeful of agreeing a contract extension with the Brazil-born forward, but the dispute with fitness coach Julio Tous raises new doubts. Costa joined the Blues for £32m in 2014, and was understood to be close to a return to former club Atletico Madrid after a difficult 2015-16 campaign. "Did I want to go? Yes, yes, I was about to leave," he said earlier this month. "But not because of Chelsea. "There was one thing I wanted to change for family reasons but it wasn't to be, and I continue to be happy here." Shortly afterwards, manager Antonio Conte said he believed the striker was now "completely focused" on "fighting for this club and for his shirt". He added: "When Diego decided to stay, I wasn't concerned. He is showing great patience in the right way, in every moment of the game." Midfielders Jon Mikel Obi and Oscar recently left Chelsea for Chinese clubs - Tianjin TEDA and Shanghai SIPG respectively - while ex-Manchester City and United striker Carlos Tevez joined Shanghai Shenhua from Boca Juniors in a deal reportedly worth £310,000 a week. 'Costa has no affinity with England' - analysis Why shouldn't Diego Costa go to China? There is no loyalty from clubs in football. He's already defected from Brazil, his native country, to play for Spain and has no real affinity with England and the Premier League. I'm sure he likes London but he doesn't have any real affinity here. Brazilians move around all the time; they will go wherever the money is. This is how the Premier League started, paying huge money for foreign stars and now China is trying wrestle the Premier League away from England. In general, how many England players have gone abroad in the past? We like our creature comforts. Brazilians are quite happy to up and leave. Diego Costa has got no loyalty or affinity with England and the Premier League and you can't blame him - everybody would do the same thing. Everything has been smooth sailing for Chelsea up to now. Imagine the faces of Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham. This is what they have been waiting for. Another bid from the Chinese market seems to be rocking the boat of another top club. It's a huge problem. When these situations arise, the players are probably thinking they'll go and do two years and then come back and play in the Premier League. Financially, they're not just supporting their immediate family, they are supporting their whole family… aunts, uncles and cousins. I'd still give Chelsea a good chance of winning the title even if they lost him. With the lead they now have, I think they can cope if they replace him. You don't want to keep players at your club who don't want to be there. Yes, Costa has been a huge part of Chelsea's success but he's not Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. Diego Costa is a problem for any defender. He is strong, quick and doesn't stop running. He sets the tone for all the other Chelsea players. It's frightening the way the Chinese market is acting right now. • None In Short - Costa 'wouldn't think twice about leaving for China'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38617783

Diner leaves £1,000 tip on £79 bill - BBC News

2017-01-13

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A happy customer at an Indian restaurant in County Armagh has surprised staff by leaving a £1,000 tip on a £79 bill.

Northern Ireland

This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Luna Ekush, who owns the restaurant, said the tip was "incredibly generous" A happy diner at an Indian restaurant in Portadown has surprised staff by leaving a £1,000 tip on a £79 bill. Chef Babu, (Shabbir Satter) of the Indian Tree in the town, said he was called over "very discreetly" by the man, who wanted to remain anonymous. The customer was one of a group of five who dined at the restaurant last Tuesday, the Portadown Times reports. He said he wanted to add the huge service fee in recognition of the "excellent food". Luna Ekush, who owns the restaurant, said the tip was "incredibly generous". "It is a very simple thing to express gratitude, but this has had such a big impact. We are still in shock," she said. "All the staff working that night will split the money as the customer said it was for everyone. "I don't think anyone at the restaurant has ever received such a massive tip, I definitely have not. "I want to thank Babu for his hard work, all credit for the food must go to him."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-38598004

Graham Taylor obituary: Ex-England boss a fount of knowledge and a true gentleman - BBC Sport

2017-01-13

Chief football writer Phil McNulty pays tribute to Graham Taylor after the former England manager's sudden death at the age of 72.

Graham Taylor will be remembered by many for his unfulfilling spell in charge of England - but by plenty more as an outstanding club manager at Watford and Aston Villa and one of the nicest, most genuine men in the game. The reaction to Taylor's death on Thursday at the age of 72, and the affection expressed for him, was the true measure of his standing inside and outside football. Born in Worksop in Nottinghamshire, Taylor was the son of a journalist and rose to prominence in the game as a manager after retiring as a player with Lincoln City in 1972. He became manager and coach at the club, winning the Fourth Division title with them before moving to Watford in 1977. It was here, in tandem with his chairman Sir Elton John, that he produced arguably his finest work, taking the club from the Fourth Division to the top flight in the space of five exhilarating years. • None Listen again to a 5 live special: Tributes to Graham Taylor Taylor nurtured Watford legends such as Luther Blissett and John Barnes, remarkably finishing second behind Liverpool in their first season at that elite level and reaching the FA Cup final in 1984, where they lost 2-0 to Everton. Not so long ago he joked with me, with his usual broad smile: "You know I have never watched any of that game from that day to this - but I don't need to see it again to know that second goal from Andy Gray was a bloody foul on our goalkeeper Steve Sherwood." Taylor's unlikely partnership with the flamboyant rock star worked against the odds, the manager's down-to-earth approach dovetailing with his chairman's lavish lifestyle. They remained friends for life, as demonstrated by Sir Elton's heartfelt tribute. On trips abroad when he worked as a BBC Sport pundit, Taylor would gladly tell stories of that partnership, always with a laugh and underlining the genuine affection they shared. Taylor's brilliance inevitably attracted attention from elsewhere and, perhaps feeling he had achieved all he could at Vicarage Road, he left for Aston Villa in May 1987. Villa were in reduced circumstances having been relegated to the second flight. Taylor soon put that right by winning promotion in his first season - and, not content with that, rebuilt the club with such success and shrewd management that he took them to second place behind Liverpool in 1990. Taylor's methods were tried and trusted and yet he often received criticism for what his detractors perceived as "long ball" football. He, with much justification, pointed out his willingness to use wingers and flair players such as Barnes and the young Mo Johnston, whom he brought to England from Partick Thistle. England inevitably looked in Taylor's direction after Sir Bobby Robson left following the 1990 World Cup in Italy, where his side lost to West Germany on penalties in the semi-final. This was, without doubt, the darkest and most frustrating period of Taylor's career and is one of the reasons his other work has been so criminally underrated over the years. Taylor took over at a tough time after the loss of England mainstays such as goalkeeper Peter Shilton and past captains such as Terry Butcher and Bryan Robson. He gave players like Alan Shearer and Martin Keown their first England caps - but he drew criticism for selecting players many simply felt were not international class, such as Carlton Palmer. England reached Euro 92 in Sweden under Taylor but produced a series of disappointing performances, going out at the group stage after losing 2-1 to Sweden in Stockholm. Taylor courted controversy and criticism in that decisive game by substituting England captain and main marksman Gary Lineker for Arsenal striker Alan Smith with a goal still needed - it never arrived and Lineker never played for England again. The manager was vilified and lampooned as a "turnip" in the Sun newspaper. The campaign to qualify for the World Cup in the United States in 1994 also ended in failure, and was brutally chronicled in the fly-on-the-wall documentary 'The Impossible Job', which gave an intimate insight into the pressures Taylor was under. Those struggles were illustrated starkly in the game that effectively sealed his fate, the 2-0 loss to the Netherlands in Rotterdam. He may have operated at the highest level but he never talked down to supporters and was always interested in how they viewed the game The tortured Taylor is seen on the sidelines pleading with officials after Ronald Koeman somehow escaped a red card for a foul on England's David Platt, only to be reprieved and score the brilliant free-kick that sent the Dutch on the way to victory. He resigned the following month and stayed out of the game until returning at Wolves in March 1994. During his spell in charge he took them into the second-tier play-offs in 1994-95, where they lost to Bolton Wanderers. Taylor left in November 1995 before returning to revisit old glories. Sir Elton John was back at the helm at Watford so it was no surprise when he turned to Taylor to come back to Vicarage Road as general manager in February 1996. It was once more the perfect fit and he was back as manager a year later, winning the third-tier title in 1998 before putting Watford in the Premier League at the end of the following season after a play-off final victory over Bolton. Watford, despite an early win at Liverpool, were relegated and the following season Taylor decided to retire - only to change his mind and make a comeback at Villa in February 2002. He retired for a second and final time after they struggled the following season. It was the end of one chapter and the start of another as Taylor became a respected pundit on BBC Radio 5 live, a role he performed with total assurance and perception. Taylor was part of the radio team that covered England. It was a sign of the esteem in which he was held by fans as well as players that whenever he encountered supporters abroad, he was treated with complete respect. There was barely a reference from England followers to any of his struggles in charge of the national team. To them, Taylor was a true gentleman, to be given his due not just for his work but for his warm personality and willingness to discuss football matters with anyone he met. He may have operated at the highest level but he never talked down to supporters and was always interested in how they viewed the game. • None Archive: Media treated me like dirt after England - Taylor • None Archive: Taylor told me to stick to cricket - Botham As a BBC Sport colleague, Taylor was unfailingly co-operative and the consummate professional, willing to take a call at any time, even when he was meant to be spending time with his beloved wife Rita. And as well as a fount of knowledge and a man with strong opinions, Taylor was also an endless source of entertainment and stories, just as happy to poke fun at himself as everyone else. Graham Taylor was a top-class manager at club level and a true gentleman inside and outside of football. He will be greatly missed and perhaps now his work in management, viewed through the prism of this sad news, will finally get the credit it fully deserves.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38596836

Snowy scenes on hills, roads and beaches - BBC News

2017-01-13

Snow has fallen across parts of the UK, as the Met Office warns of high winds, snow and ice on Friday.

Snow has fallen across parts of the UK, as the Met Office has warned of high winds, snow and ice on Friday.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38607021

Nick Blackwell: Trainer Liam Wilkins has licence withdrawn after sparring session - BBC Sport

2017-01-13

Trainer Liam Wilkins has his licence withdrawn after overseeing a sparring session that left Nick Blackwell in hospital.

Last updated on .From the section Boxing Trainer Liam Wilkins has had his licence withdrawn after overseeing the sparring session that left retired boxer Nick Blackwell in hospital. Hasan Karkardi has been suspended for six months for sparring with Blackwell, who was left requiring surgery to reduce swelling on his brain. The British Boxing Board of Control said Wilkins' conduct was "detrimental to the interests of boxing". Blackwell, 26, retired after suffering a bleed on the skull in March. He spent a week in an induced coma after losing his British middleweight title fight with Chris Eubank Jr. Despite Blackwell not having a licence to fight, and despite him being advised not to return to the ring, he sparred with Karkardi, 29, on 22 November at a boxing club in Devizes, Wiltshire. On Wednesday, a family member told BBC Sport Blackwell is still unable to walk, and a year away from making a full recovery.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/38617033

'Why I dropped the case against the man who groped me' - BBC News

2017-01-13

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One woman's story of why confronting India's 'Eve teasers' is not always straightforward.

BBC Trending

Samya Gupta, a 21-year-old law student from the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, was napping on a seat near the back of a bus when she felt something on her breasts. It was the hands of a man sitting in the row behind her. "The moment I realised (what was happening), I stood up from my seat, yelled and asked for his ID proof," Gupta wrote in a widely-shared Facebook post. She went on to detail how she not only confronted her alleged molester, but got the bus to take a detour so he could be taken into police custody. Gupta ended her account with a series of hashtags including #TooHorrifiedToLetItGo. But the social media users who have expressed admiration for Gupta's stand, may be disappointed by what has happened since. In her post Gupta wrote that when she challenged the man, who she says was in his 40s, he apologised. There were around 30 other passengers on the bus and they reportedly vocalised their support for Gupta. But they also advised her to not pursue the matter, she said. "My co-passengers asked me to accept it, and let it go," Gupta wrote, "But I decided otherwise. I decided to not let it go. I decided to not let an audacious eve-teaser to go free merely by apologising." In her post she said that she chose to speak up because she didn't want the alleged aggressor to feel confident enough in the future to escalate his behaviour to a more violent assault - "to convert into a rapist". "Eve teasing" is a common term used in some South Asian countries to refer to a wide variety of behaviour including molestation. According to Sameera Khan, the co-author of 'Why Loiter? Women & Risk on Mumbai Streets' it includes "flashing or any verbal/physical sexual street harassment that falls short of rape." "It's an archaic term," says Khan, "The 'Eve' part comes from the Old Testament and describing harassment as 'teasing' makes it sound almost like a mild romantic overture that should be tolerated - which of course it should not." Gupta told BBC Trending that she persuaded the bus driver to divert the bus to the nearest local police station. The passengers, who had surrounded the man who had allegedly been groping Gupta, then escorted them both into the building. There Gupta filed a harassment complaint against the man whose name has not emerged in the media and was not named in Gupta's post. "The process of filing a complaint was lengthy and laborious," Gupta added. She says that she was informed she would have to provide her statement in Hindi, a language she says she doesn't know to write well. "This made me wonder what happens to illiterate women in India who muster up the courage to go to the police," she told Trending, "I'm a law student and even I found the process tedious and challenging." Gupta wrote in her Facebook post that her problems didn't end when she left the police station. She claimed that when she took another bus several acquaintances of the alleged harasser approached her and told her to drop her complaint. She added that they questioned her character, accusing her of "goofing around with various guys every now and then, therefore my allegations have no sense of veracity". A court date was set for a hearing for the harassment charge. But before it arrived Gupta withdrew her charge. Speaking to Trending, she cited a couple of reasons for dropping the case. One, she said, was due to "complacency with paperwork" which she claimed resulted in her mobile number becoming available to man's family. As a result, Gupta told Trending, she received calls pressuring her to drop the case because the accused man was a father of two. Similarly, she said, her own family also advised her to drop the case. "They felt Eve teasing wasn't serious enough an incident to merit going through with a court trial," Gupta told Trending. She added: "I am a student and I don't earn my own money. I come a family with no background with the law. Going to the police station was a big deal for them. I dropped the charge because it seemed like too much pressure on my family." Local police have defended the handling of the case. Inspector Shiv Mangal Singh told BBC Trending that officers had followed protocol. "Then the girl, Samya Gupta and her father, came to the police station and told us to drop the case. In terms of the accuser's family getting her phone number, that didn't happen at our end, it may be an administration issue with the lawyers. Similarly, they were people available to translate and write the document in Hindi for her." Inspector Singh said that even after the case had been dropped, the man still spent several more days in custody, because the statute under which he was arrested requires suspects to remain in custody for 14 days without the prospect of bail. He added: "We take Eve-teasing seriously and have set up a Whatsapp number where women can send complaints about Eve-teasing." Eve-teasing, is not specifically classified as an offence specific in Indian law. However sections of the Indian Penal code are said to cover offences comprising sexually intimidating behaviour. This includes Section 354 which is defined as "assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty" and Section 509 which allows for up to three years imprisonment for on "word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman." A shocking, graphic video showing torture and racial abuse led far-right activists to link the perpetrators to the Black Lives Matter movement. READ MORE You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, and find us on Facebook. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-38584835

Other colour-casting controversies - BBC News

2017-01-13

Sky has pulled a TV programme about Michael Jackson - it's not the first casting controversy.

Sky has said it will not air a TV programme about Michael Jackson after his daughter said she was "incredibly offended" by the portrayal of him, slated to be by Joseph Fiennes. It's not the first casting controversy.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38618631

Trudeau reaffirms support for immigration and Canadian Muslims - BBC News

2017-01-13

Speaking about the difference between US and Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau strongly reaffirms his support for feminism, immigration and Muslim nationals.

Speaking about the differences between US and Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has emphatically reaffirmed his support for feminism, immigration and Muslim nationals.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38616652

Is that fitness tracker you're using a waste of money? - BBC News

2017-01-13

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The market for fitness trackers seems to be booming, but are these gadgets actually effective?

Business

Keen cyclist Peter Dumbreck uses fitness trackers to improve his performance Fitness-tracking devices have helped Peter Dumbreck beat his personal best times for cycling three days in a row. The racing driver and keen cyclist uses a Garmin 810 Edge cycle computer, a heart rate monitor and a power meter. "The power meter is embedded into my left crank arm and talks via Bluetooth to my Garmin device, as does my heart rate monitor," he says. "I can see my power [the force his legs are generating], which is updated every three seconds, on my Garmin screen and through training and experience know how many watts I can maintain and for how long I can do it," he says. Wearable and portable fitness trackers are certainly helping serious athletes like Peter to push themselves to the limit. But what about the rest of us? Does knowing how many calories we're burning, how fast our hearts are beating, and how many steps we've taken really motivate us to do more exercise and eat more healthily? In short, do they really work? "They've made us all aware of how we treat our bodies, and they have even helped people diagnose things like diabetes and obesity," says Collette Johnson, head of marketing at design technology consultancy Plextek. "But I feel they could go further." Last year the University of Pittsburgh concluded that fitness trackers were "ineffective at sustaining weight loss". The two-year study, conducted by the university's School of Education Department of Health and Physical Activity, involved 500 overweight volunteers. All were asked to diet and engage in more exercise, but only half were given a fitness tracker to help them. Do fitness trackers make us more or less motivated? The study found that the group wearing trackers lost 8lb (3.6kg), but the ones who didn't lost 13lb (5.9kg). "Trackers are a reliable measurement of our activity, but we can't rely on them completely," says Andrew Lane, professor of sport psychology at the University of Wolverhampton. "We can't expect just to buy one and that's it - some of the responsibility sits with us too. We still have to get off that sofa and complete those 10,000 steps a day." Prof Lane believes that, if used inappropriately, they may even start to have a negative psychological effect. "What if we start consistently not reaching goals set for us by them? Ultimately it would lead to us feeling demotivated - the opposite effect they are supposed to have." Such concerns haven't stopped the market from booming - yet. Leading wearable fitness tracker maker Fitbit reported 2015 revenues of £1.3bn, while researcher CSS Insight forecasts that the market will be worth £16bn by 2020. And the fact that smartwatch sales declined sharply last year, according to market analysts IDC, has led many makers to reposition them primarily as fitness-tracking devices - another indication of where the business potential lies. But is the problem with them that they are neither accurate nor sophisticated enough yet? "As well as providing data for us, companies need to provide coaching with this data. They need to take responsibility for the results they're providing us," says Prof Lane. Plextek's Collette Johnson thinks trackers need to give us more tailored advice And Plextek's Ms Johnson thinks they need to understand more about the individual user. "They need to recognise whether Sharon from Uxbridge really should be doing two hours of fitness a week, how that's going to impact upon her body, her joints, whether she's at risk of osteoporosis. "Fitness trackers can be too generic, personalising them will motivate us more," she tells the BBC. Apps, like the Slimming World app, may be better for achieving sustained weight loss, she argues, because they allow you to track your weight loss progress and give you incentives after it has recorded your exercise. "There is no doubt the industry is booming, but for it to really see results it needs not only to give us results, but to make them as personalised and as accurate as possible." So what tech innovations are making fitness tracking more effective? Genetics and nutrition firm DNAFit advises on how we should be training and what we should be eating after testing our genes and applying its algorithm to the analysis. You take a saliva swab and send it off to the company's lab. After 10 days a report tells you which exercises your body will respond to best and which foods you should be eating. The company says its technology platform has been peer reviewed and clinically tested. Andrew Steele, DNAFit's head of product, shows how to take a saliva swab for DNA testing Other companies such as FitnessGenes, Genetrainer and AnabolicGenes adopt similar approaches. Jo Rooney, 35, a deputy headteacher, used the test to try to cure her stomach problems. "My results came back quite quickly and told me that I was actually lactose intolerant and had a high sensitivity to gluten. "This did mean quite a radical change to my diet, and a lot more forward planning, but within a week I felt a lot less bloated, lost weight and I'd stopped having stomach problems." Body scanners and tech built into sports clothes are also giving us more detailed results. For example, Fit3D uses scanners to assess the whole body to calculate body fat percentage, assess posture and give body shape scoring. While last year, OMsignal launched OMbra, a smart sports bra that tracks heart rate, breathing and distance between steps, and shares this data with a smartphone app. The OMbra is a wearable fitness tracker that's really wearable Prof Lane believes that we're also going to start seeing biometric devices integrated not just into clothes and wearable devices, but directly on to our bodies as well. For example, US tech firm Chaotic Moon Studios - now called Fjord - has created a prototype tech tattoo - a skin-mounted monitor that connects to your smartphone to monitor heart rate, blood pressure and even track movement via GPS. Now we just need an injection of willpower.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38594037

Brexit options: Hard, soft, grey and clean versions - BBC News

2017-01-13

Many have heard the 'hard' and 'soft' Brexit terms, but what about the 'grey' and 'clean' versions?

Many have heard the 'hard' and 'soft' Brexit terms, but what about the 'grey' and 'clean' versions? Daily Politics reporter Adam Fleming looks at the terminology used in the debate over how the UK will leave the EU, and its future relations with Brussels institutions and our nearest neighbours. More: Follow @daily_politics on Twitter and like us on Facebook and watch a recent clip and watch full programmes on iPlayer

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38611676

Urine test reveals what you really eat - BBC News

2017-01-13

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Analysing urine could improve what you eat, claim scientists.

Health

A urine test that can reveal how healthy your meals are has been developed by UK scientists. They think it could be used to improve nutritional advice or in weight loss because people are notoriously bad at recording their own eating habits. The test, detailed in the Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, detects chemicals made as food is processed by the body. The research team believe it could be widely available within two years. The urine samples are analysed to determine the structure of the chemicals floating around in it using a technique called a proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. This gives clues to both recent meals and long term dietary habits. The results of your body processing fruit, vegetables, fish and different types of meat leave a distinct signature in the urine. Clues to the state of the body's metabolism and gut health can also be detected by investigating the chemicals in it. The test was developed by a collaboration between Imperial College London, Newcastle University and Aberystwyth University. Dr Isabel Garcia-Perez, one of the researchers at Imperial, said: "This will eventually provide a tool for personalised dietary monitoring to help maintain a healthy lifestyle. "We're not at the stage yet where the test can tell us a person ate 15 chips yesterday and two sausages, but it's on the way." Could urine be more accurate than food diaries? In trials, around 60% of people either under or over report what they are eating. Prof Gary Frost, another scientist at Imperial, said this could be the first independent test of what people munch on at home. He told the BBC News website: "You can really tell whether someone's been following a healthy diet or not. "The bigger you are the more likely you are to under-report what you eat. "People find it difficult to open up to what types of foods they eat at home, which is a major problem." The researchers believe the test results could help combat people's obesity or risk of diseases such as type 2 diabetes. Prof Frost said: "If someone is very big and their profile says they're eating lots of energy dense foods like meat, then you can try to change that profile and then test them again later. "It remains to be seen, but people might respond better to that and there is a desperate need for tools to help people change their diet." He says doing the test on large numbers of people would build up a picture of what the nation was really eating, which could be used to design better public health campaigns. The scientists were able to spot the difference between healthy and unhealthy diets after tests on 19 people who spent days eating a carefully controlled set of meals. Four diets of varying degrees of healthiness were given to the patients and their urine was sampled morning, noon and night. Dr Des Walsh, from the UK Medical Research Council, commented: "Though this research is still in its early stages, it's grappling with essential methods in food and diet studies where advances are really needed. "Measuring what we eat and drink more accurately will widen the benefits of nutrition research, developing better evidence-based interventions to improve an individual's health and reduce obesity."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-38597284

Manchester United v Liverpool: Jose Mourinho & Jurgen Klopp preview the game - BBC Sport

2017-01-13

Jose Mourinho and Jurgen Klopp look ahead to Manchester United against Liverpool, with Klopp expecting a "real fight".

Jose Mourinho and Jurgen Klopp look ahead to Manchester United's Premier League match against Liverpool this weekend, with Klopp expecting a "real fight".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38610019

Brian Fletcher: 'Unsung hero' who won Grand National three times dies aged 69 - BBC Sport

2017-01-13

'Unsung hero' Brian Fletcher, who won the Grand National three times as a jockey, dies at the age of 69.

Last updated on .From the section Horse Racing Ex-jockey Brian Fletcher, who won the Grand National three times, including twice on Red Rum, has died aged 69. Fletcher's first Grand National success came when he steered Red Alligator to victory in 1968, a year after finishing third at Aintree on the same horse. In 1973, he won the famous race on Red Rum, repeating the feat in 1974. Red Rum became the most successful horse to run in the National, winning for a third time with Tommy Stack in 1977, the year Fletcher retired. Fletcher also won the Scottish National in 1974, and finished as runner-up to Josh Gifford in the jockeys' title race. Former champion jockey Peter Scudamore said Fletcher was an "unsung hero", without whom "National Hunt racing wouldn't be where it is today". He added: "To win the Grand National three times is an incredible achievement. It's just a shame that after he finished in racing you didn't hear a lot about him."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/horse-racing/38604734

Paul Pogba says Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has 'let him free' - BBC Sport

2017-01-13

Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba says his recent form has been helped by Jose Mourinho letting him "free" on the pitch.

Last updated on .From the section Football Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba says his recent upturn in form has been helped by manager Jose Mourinho letting him "free" on the pitch. The France international, 23, started slowly after rejoining United for a £89m world-record fee last summer. But he has been instrumental in United's recent nine-match winning run. MOTD Analysis: Why Pogba is looking like the real deal "He told me not to listen to anybody, just be focused on the pitch and enjoy yourself. That is all I am doing," Pogba told the BBC's Football Focus. Pogba is now playing with a strut and a swagger, showing us what he is capable of Expectations were high following Pogba's return to Old Trafford from Italian champions Juventus in August, but it is only in recent weeks that his influence on the team has gradually increased. He has scored and assisted a total of five more goals in United's past 10 games compared to his tally in their first 10 games. And Pogba says it is down to the reassurance and guidance given by Mourinho. "He talked to me. He made me very comfortable and confident," said Pogba, who made seven appearances for United before joining Juve for £1.5m in 2012. "He said 'you know how to play, do what you want'. He let me free on the pitch. "He told me just to enjoy myself. That is it. That is all I need to hear from the manager." 'I still believe we can win the league' The Red Devils host arch-rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday, starting the game in sixth position and 10 points behind leaders Chelsea. Mourinho, 53, made a mixed start to his reign after succeeding Louis van Gaal, winning the Community Shield and his opening three league matches before losing three games in a row in September. However, a nine-match winning run in all competitions - six in the Premier League - has closed the gap on the top four to just three points. And Pogba insists overhauling Chelsea is still not out of the question. "You have to believe. We are not far," he said. "I know Chelsea are at the top but this is the Premier League, you never know what is going to happen. You have to keep fighting and believing. Inside I feel we can still win the league. "The team is getting better and better. We all know each other now so we feel much better than we did at the start of the season." Highlights of Manchester United v Liverpool are on Match of the Day 2 at 22:00 GMT on Sunday on BBC Two and the BBC Sport website.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38613861

To see finally the face of Peggy - BBC News

2017-01-13

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Scientists studying the splendour of Saturn’s rings hope soon to get a resolved picture of an embedded object they know exists but cannot quite see.

Science & Environment

When first identified Peggy was picked up as a long, bright smudge at the edge of Saturn's A-ring Scientists studying the splendour of Saturn's rings are hoping soon to get a resolved picture of an embedded object they know exists but cannot quite see. The moonlet is named after London researcher Carl Murray's mother-in-law, and was first noticed in 2013. Its effect on surrounding ice and dust particles has been tracked ever since. But no direct image of Peggy's form has yet been obtained, and time is now short. The Cassini spacecraft's mission at Saturn is edging to a close and its dramatic end-of-life disposal. In September, the probe will be driven to destruction in the atmosphere of the giant planet, at which point the constant stream of pictures and other data it has returned these past 13 years will come to an abrupt end. This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Carl Murray: "It's like an old friend to us, and so as you say goodbye you'd like to get a picture" Carl Murray and his team at Queen Mary University of London know therefore they have only a few months left to get the definitive image. Fortunately, Cassini will spend its remaining time flying close in to the planet and the moonlet's place in the so called A-ring. The best ever chance to see the face of Peggy is now at hand. And such is the fondness for this little object, the probe will even be commanded to take one last picture just before the big plunge. "Peggy is such an interesting object, and for people who work on the mission and even with the public - it's captured their imagination. It's like an old friend to us, and so as you say goodbye you'd like to get a picture. Peggy will be one of the last targets for Cassini," Prof Murray told BBC News. Theory suggests some of Saturn's bigger moons could even have been made in the rings The study of objects like Peggy goes to the core objectives of the multi-billion-dollar international space mission. The wide band of ice and dust that surrounds Saturn is a version in miniature of the kind of discs we see circling far-off new stars. It is in those discs that planets form, and so seeing the processes and behaviours that give rise to objects like Peggy delivers an insight into how new worlds come into being. It is a model even for how our own Solar System was created. "Peggy is evolving. It's orbit is changing with time," explained Prof Murray. "Sometimes it moves out, sometimes it moves in, by just a few kilometres. And this is what we think happens with proto-planets in those astrophysical discs. They interact with other proto-planets and the material in the disc, and they migrate; they move. We see that when we look at exoplanets around other stars: some can’t possibly have formed in the places we detect them now; they must have migrated at some point." Peggy was discovered by accident. Prof Murray was using Cassini to try to image Prometheus - a bigger, very obvious moon connected with the F-ring. The gravitational influence of objects within the rings can produce propeller-like features He got that no problem, but his eye was drawn to a 2,000km-long smudge in the background. That was 15 April 2013 (his mother-in-law's birthday). And a subsequent trawl through the Cassini archive revealed that a disturbance in the A-ring was actually evident from a year before. Peggy is certainly smaller than 5km across. So to produce that showy smudge, it must have been involved in a collision that kicked up a cloud of ice and dust. Follow-up observations have monitored the ongoing disturbance. If moonlets are big enough they can clear a gap in Saturn’s rings. But tiny objects like Peggy merely produce small bumps in the surrounding band of particles, or a sort of wavy pattern that looks akin to a propeller. This indirect evidence of the presence of a moonlet is all Cassini can achieve when the target is so small and the onboard camera is producing a best resolution of about 5km per pixel. But in the next few months, the orbits the spacecraft will fly around Saturn should bring the resolution down to one or two km per pixel. This might be enough to picture Peggy directly, and to confirm an intriguing possibility… that Peggy has recently become two objects. "When Cassini came out of its ring plane orbit in early 2016, we went back to look where Peggy should be; and we found Peggy and we've been tracking it ever since. "But a few degrees behind we could also see another object, even fainter in the sense that it had an even smaller (disturbance) signature. And when we tracked back the paths of both objects, we realised that in early 2015 they would have met. "So, probably, Peggy 'B', as we call it, came from a collision of the sort that causes Peggy to change its orbit, but rather than a simple encounter that deflected the orbit slightly, this was more serious." This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Linda Spilker: "Cassini is one of the great space missions of all time" Prof Murray gave an update on Peggy at the recent Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union. At that same conference, Dr Linda Spilker, the Nasa project scientist on the Cassini mission, outlined the end-stage activities of the probe, culminating in its disposal on 15 September. She said the same close-in manoeuvres that hopefully will enable Carl Murray to get his resolved pictures should also finally help to determine a key property of Saturn's rings - their mass. "The mass of the rings is uncertain by 100%," Dr Spilker told BBC News. "If they're more massive, maybe they're really old - as old as Saturn. If they're less massive, maybe they're really young, maybe only a mere 100 million years old." Age is important to this idea that rings, or discs, are the medium in which objects form. Some of Saturn's moons, even a number of its bigger ones, likely emerged by accumulating the material around them and displaying, certainly in the early phases of growth, the sorts of behaviours now seen in Peggy. But making moons takes time and if the largest of Saturn's satellites came out of this same process, it demands the present ring system to be very old indeed. Want to hear more about Cassini and its discoveries at Saturn? Listen to this week's The Life Scientific, which featured Imperial College London's Prof Michele Dougherty, the principal investigator on the spacecraft's magnetometer instrument.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-38599645