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Aston Martin DB4 GT production to resume at Newport Pagnell - BBC News | 2017-01-15 | null | Production of the iconic model is to begin again after a decade-long gap. | null | Production of the Aston Martin DB4 GT is to resume at Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, after a decade-long gap.
BBC reporter Mike Cartwright went along to see the plant. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-38618338 |
Is it OK to watch porn in public? - BBC News | 2017-01-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | How would you feel if the person sitting next to you on the bus was watching porn - and what would you do about it? | Magazine | It's no secret that lots of people watch pornography on the internet. It's usually something done behind closed doors - but how would you feel about someone watching porn in public? The BBC's Siobhann Tighe describes a troubling experience on a London bus.
It had been a long day at work. I got on the bus at 7.30 in the evening and it was cold and drizzly. All the passengers were wrapped up in thick coats, hoods and hats.
Inside, the bus was softly lit and I was expecting to zone out on my way back home: just let the day go and switch off.
I sat on the lower deck beside a complete stranger and didn't give it a second thought. I was just relieved to get a seat. As we meandered through the London traffic, my gaze was drawn to my neighbour's phone. I wasn't being nosy but in the dim light of the bus, the brightness of his mobile caught my attention even though he was slanting it slightly away from me.
Although I didn't mean to or want to, I found myself looking over towards his mobile a few times and then it suddenly occurred to me what was going on. The man beside me was watching porn.
Once I realised, although I genuinely didn't mean to, my eyes kept on being pulled back to it. I couldn't quite believe it. First he was watching animated porn, with the two naked characters in lurid colours repeating their movements over and over again. Then he started watching a film, which seemed to begin in a petrol station with a large woman in a low-cut yellow top and blonde hair peering into the driver's window.
I didn't hear any sound, apart from a brief few seconds when my fellow passenger pulled the headphone jack out of his mobile, and then reinserted it.
The man didn't seem to notice my glances towards his phone, maybe because his hood was hampering his peripheral vision. He seemed oblivious to me and others around him, who admittedly wouldn't have been able to see what I saw.
We eventually arrived at his bus stop and because he had the window seat and I had the aisle, he made a motion that he needed to get out, and he muttered a "thank you" as he squeezed past me. I watched him get off and walk down the street.
I felt uncomfortable and annoyed, but I didn't do anything about it. I didn't say anything to him and neither did he pick up on any of my glances or quizzical looks. His eyes didn't meet mine so I couldn't even communicate my feelings non-verbally and it didn't occur to me to tell the driver. Even if I wanted to, it would have been difficult to get to the front of the bus because it was packed.
But when I got off, questions flooded into my mind about what I had just experienced. What if a child saw that? Are there any laws about looking at porn in public spaces? If there are laws, how easy are they to enforce? Why did this passenger feel public transport was an appropriate place to watch porn, and should I be worried from a safety point of view?
As a journalist, I also looked at it from his point of view, even though he made me feel uncomfortable. I asked myself: is he within his rights to look at porn on his private device wherever he is? Do civil liberties in our society grant him that freedom?
But in my heart, I was offended.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. From disgust to it's ok, Woman's Hour took to the streets to find out what you think of it.
When I mentioned it to friends, everyone seemed to have a story of their own, or an opinion.
"It happened to me when I was with my son having a coffee at a Swiss airport," one said. "Two Italian guys were sitting next to me. I said something because I felt safe and I sensed there'd be support if an argument ensued." It worked, and they politely switched the laptop off.
It certainly got everyone talking, but like me, no-one was sure where the law stood.
According to Prof Clare McGlynn from Durham University who specialises in the law around porn, there's little to stop someone viewing pornographic material in public - on public transport, in a library, in a park or a cafe, for example.
"It's like reading a book," she says. "They are viewing lawful material which is freely available, and restricting people's access to it presents other challenges."
In Prof McGlynn's view, the law would only prevent it if the porn viewer is harassing someone or causing a disturbance.
So, what do you do? Prof McGlynn describes it as a dilemma.
"It's like someone shouting at you, calling to you to 'Cheer up, love!'" says Prof McGlynn. "Do you confront it, or do you put your head down and walk along?"
But when I contacted Transport for London, they appeared to take the case very seriously.
"If someone has made you feel uncomfortable, for example by viewing pornographic material, please tell the police or a member of our staff," I was told.
A member of staff said passengers should report incidents like to this to the bus driver, who would tell the control centre, and the information would then be passed to the police for them to investigate.
In Prof McGlynn's view, there is not much the police could do. On the other hand, James Turner QC contacted the BBC to say that there is a law - the Indecent Displays (Control) Act - which might form the basis for a prosecution.
Five years ago, in the US, the executive director of a group called Morality in the Media had an experience similar to mine on an aeroplane. As a result, the group - now called the National Center On Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) - campaigned to get the major US airlines to stop passengers watching porn.
"All of them except for one agreed to improve their policies to prohibit passengers from viewing this material during flights and agreed to better train their flight attendants on what to do," Haley Halverson of NCOSE told me.
Buses don't have flight attendants, though. Nor do trains. And even if police wanted to investigate incidents of porn-watching on public transport, passengers can get off whenever they like.
How would officers catch them and question them then?
Siobhann Tighe and Prof Clare McGlynn spoke to Jenni Murray on Woman's Hour, on BBC Radio 4. Listen to the discussion here.
Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-38611265 |
Nottingham Forest sack manager Philippe Montanier - BBC Sport | 2017-01-15 | null | Championship side Nottingham Forest, who had a takeover fall though, sack manager Philippe Montanier. | null | Struggling Championship side Nottingham Forest have sacked manager Philippe Montanier after less than seven months in charge.
The 52-year-old leaves after the proposed sale of the club from Fawaz Al Hasawi to a United States-based consortium collapsed on Friday.
Forest are three points above the relegation zone in 20th after Saturday's goalless draw at Birmingham.
The Reds have taken just two points from a possible 21 since 11 December.
Frenchman Montanier, who took over at the City Ground in June, having left his job as boss of Rennes in January 2016, is the seventh permanent manager to depart the City Ground since the Al Hasawi family's takeover in July 2012.
His exit comes three months after Forest's director of football Pedro Pereira left his role at the club - a post the Portuguese held for four months.
Montanier's position had been under scrutiny for a number of weeks with the prospective takeover of the two-time former European Cup holders seemingly nearing a conclusion and expected to prompt changes.
The collapse of the takeover and the Reds' first point away from home for six weeks, ending a five-game losing run in all competitions, was not enough to save his job.
The goalless draw at St Andrew's was just the second clean sheet in 30 matches in all competitions this season, as the Reds have the worst defensive record of any Championship club apart from bottom side Rotherham.
However, only five teams, including the league's top two sides, have scored more goals in 25 league games this term.
Montanier, who previously managed Real Sociedad, Boulogne and Valenciennes, was unable to strengthen his squad in January with the Championship club only coming out of their transfer embargo on Friday, following a delay in submitting audited accounts.
Captain Henri Lansbury has also been absent from the side recently through injury and while there is uncertainly about his future, with Derby County, Aston Villa and Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic having all been linked with a move for the midfielder.
Following Saturday's draw at Birmingham, in what was his last news conference as boss, Montanier remained focused on trying to build the squad, while admitting he was also under pressure.
"The role of the head coach or manager is always in danger. It is part of my job," he said.
"I have told the owners that the most important thing is the team and the club, not my position. I am not selfish, I am always focused on the team.
"We now have to plan quickly to strengthen the squad. Decisions have to be taken now, instead of two or three days before the deadline.
"It is difficult because we do not have any money but I need to know exactly what I can plan and decide. I have targets but I do not know my budget. I need to have a meeting with the chairman for some advice on what we can do together."
Gary Brazil, Forest's academy manager, has been put in temporary charge while the East Midlands club looks for a new boss.
Forest are fourth from bottom, he hasn't been great, there have been too many defeats and too many goals against - it hasn't been a good season.
This team today against Birmingham got a decent point, but would you bank on it saving Forest? You probably wouldn't and it is a squad that isn't particularly united.
It has been a mish-mash of a season so far.
Next week it's at home to Bristol City, who have lost again today and are on a real downward curve at the moment. It is a real winnable game, but likewise they will be thinking 'we need a result and where better to go is Forest who can't win a game?' It is a huge game for both clubs - next week is vital. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38585962 |
Stolen baby found 18 years on - BBC News | 2017-01-15 | null | A girl stolen as a newborn from a hospital in Florida has been found alive, 18 years on. | null | A girl stolen as a newborn from a hospital in Florida has been found alive, 18 years on.
The woman who raised Kamiyah Mobley has been charged with kidnapping. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38622076 |
Newspaper headlines: Trump to 'make Brexit great' with trade deal - BBC News | 2017-01-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Donald Trump's first UK interview is one of many stories featured on Monday's front pages. | The Papers | President-elect Donald Trump is making the headlines on several of Monday's front pages.
His pledge to offer Britain a "quick" trade deal dominates the front page of the Times.
The president-elect tells the paper that Brexit will be a "great thing" and predicts that other countries will follow Britain's lead in leaving the EU, which he says has been "deeply damaged" by the migration crisis.
Mr Trump's interview is also the lead story for the Daily Telegraph which sees his remarks as a "boost" for Theresa May, ahead of her speech on Tuesday about the government's plans for Brexit.
The Guardian says Mr Trump has been warned that his "careless" use of Twitter could cause a security risk.
The outgoing director of the CIA, John Brennan, is quoted as saying the president-elect has a "tremendous responsibility" to protect the US and its interests.
The Daily Telegraph says Mr Brennan has cautioned Mr Trump against forging closer ties with Russia, arguing against the lifting of sanctions.
But the Daily Mail suggests the next US leader is planning a summit with Vladimir Putin "weeks" after becoming president, "as he seeks to improve relations with the Kremlin".
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is set to pocket £15m from the sale of an education website, according to the Daily Mirror.
The paper's headline describes the deal as a "payday sickener" as the NHS is "cut to the bone" while its editorial accuses Mr Hunt of being "born with a silver thermometer in his mouth" and calls on him to "study his conscience".
The Times agrees that the windfall is "politically embarrassing" following the government's disputes with junior doctors and GPs. The Daily Telegraph claims the deal will make Mr Hunt "the richest member of the cabinet".
Jeremy Hunt set to receive a £15m windfall is "politcally embarrassing" says the Times
Meanwhile the Daily Mail's lead story highlights what it calls "the scale of abuse of the crumbling NHS by health tourists".
It claims a hospital in Luton is attempting to recoup £350,000 from a Nigerian woman, who is said to have flown to Britain to give birth to twins.
The cancer specialist, Professor Meirion Thomas, tells the paper that similar, "staggering" debts should be investigated by NHS fraud officers, as "patients don't arrive at specialist hospitals with serious illnesses by chance".
The Sun says the half-brother of Prince Harry's American girlfriend, Meghan Markle, has apologised after he was arrested for alleged gun offences in the US. Thomas Markle Jr blamed the incident on a drunken argument, prompting the headline "Soz Sis! I was so sozzled".
The Daily Mail says other members of the family have insisted the arrest will not cause problems for Ms Markle's relationship with Prince Harry, but the Daily Express claims there is "some concern" in royal circles. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-38632547 |
Sydney International: Dan Evans loses singles final and Jamie Murray beaten in doubles - BBC Sport | 2017-01-15 | null | Dan Evans loses his first ATP Tour final as fellow Briton Jamie Murray and partner Bruno Soares are beaten in the doubles in Sydney. | null | Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Dan Evans lost in his first ATP Tour final, while fellow Briton Jamie Murray and partner Bruno Soares were beaten in the doubles in Sydney.
Evans, 26, led 4-2 in the first-set tie-break but eventually lost 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 against Luxembourg's Gilles Muller.
However, he is already guaranteed to climb to a new career-high ranking just outside the top 50.
Murray and Brazilian Soares were beaten 6-3 7-5 by Dutch duo Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop.
World number 34 Muller was the highest-ranked player on the tour to have never won a singles title, and the 33-year-old was visibly emotional after beating Evans and ending his 16-year wait for a trophy.
"It just means so much to win for the first time in front of my boys and my wife," he said. "It's been a great ride so far. What a night."
Elsewhere, American world number 23 Jack Sock won the Auckland Classic with a 6-3 5-7 6-3 victory over Portugal's Joao Sousa.
Sock's success comes after he was forced to retire because of illness in last year's final against Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut.
Belgian qualifier Elise Mertens beat Romanian third seed Monica Niculescu to win the Hobart International for her first WTA title.
The 21-year-old, ranked 127 in the world, lost nine of her first 10 points before taking control to beat world number 40 Niculescu 6-3 6-1.
The first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open in Melbourne, begins on Monday. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38621421 |
Programming in the early days of the computer age - BBC News | 2017-01-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Pioneering scientist and programmer Joyce Wheeler looks back on her time spent using Edsac - one of the first modern computers | Technology | Joyce Wheeler was one of a select group of scientists who used Edsac in their research
Everyone remembers the first computer they ever used. And Joyce Wheeler is no exception. But in her case the situation was a bit different. The first computer she used was one of the first computers anyone used.
The machine was Edsac - the Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator - that ran for the first time in 1949 and was built to serve scientists at the University of Cambridge.
Joyce Wheeler was one of those scientists who, at the time, was working on her PhD under the supervision of renowned astronomer Fred Hoyle.
"My work was about the reactions inside stars," she said. "I was particularly interested in how long main sequence stars stay on their main sequence.
"I wanted to know how long a star took to fade out," she explained.
The inner workings of the nuclear furnace that keep stars shining is an understandably knotty problem to solve. And, she said, the maths describing that energetic process were formidable.
"For stars, there's a rather nasty set of differential equations that describe their behaviour and composition," she added.
"It was not possible to be really accurate doing it by hand," she said. "The errors just build up too much."
Enter Edsac - a machine created by Prof Maurice Wilkes to do exactly the kind of calculations Ms Wheeler (nee Blackler) needed done to complete her advanced degree.
First though, she had to learn to write the programs that would carry out the calculations.
Dr Wheeler started her PhD work at Cambridge in 1954 knowing about Edsac thanks to an earlier visit during which the machine had been shown off to her and others.
Keen to get on with her research she sat down with the slim booklet that described how to program it and, by working through the exercises in that pioneering programming manual, learned to code.
Research students like Joyce Wheeler had to use Edsac at night
The little book was called WWG after its three authors Maurice Wilkes, David Wheeler and Stanley Gill.
It was through learning programming that Ms Blackler got talking to David Wheeler because one of her programs helped to ensure Edsac was working well. They got to know each other, fell in love and married in 1957.
Now, more than 62 years on she is very matter of fact about that time - even though programmers, and especially women programmers, were rare.
Perhaps because of that novel situation, a new discipline and a pioneering machine, the atmosphere at Cambridge in the computer lab was not overwhelmingly masculine.
"You could be regarded as a bit of an object, and occasionally it was a bit uncomfortable," she said, "But it was not quite a boys' brigade then in the way that it became later on."
It was an exciting time, she said, because of what the machine could do for her and her work. She took to programming quickly, she said, her strength with maths helping her quickly master the syntax into which she had to translate those "nasty equations".
"But it was like maths," she said, "it was one of those things that you knew you should not do for too long.
The foundations of programming were laid down by Edsac's creators
"I found I could not work at a certain programming job for more than a certain number of hours per day," she said. "After that you would not make much progress."
Often, she said, the solution to a programming problem she had been worrying away at would strike while she was engaged in something more mundane, like doing the washing or eating lunch.
"Sometimes it's better to leave something alone, to pause, and that's very true of programming."
With the programming done, she could let Edsac do the number crunching. As a research student she had to run her programs during the night. In her case that was Friday.
"That was good because there were no lectures the next day that you had to go to," she said.
As an operator she was allowed to run Edsac alone, provided she signed in and kept a record of what she did.
"Quite often it would break down during the night, but just occasionally you were lucky enough to keep it running all night," she said. "If it did crash, there was little that operators were allowed to do to try to fix it.
"They didn't even let any of the cleaners get near it," she said.
Dr Wheeler had been shown one procedure that recalibrated Edsac's two kilobyte memory but if that did not help, then her work would stop for the night.
Despite the regular crashes, Ms Wheeler made steady progress on finding out how long different stars would last before they collapsed.
A copy of Edsac is being built at the National Museum of Computing
"I got some estimates of a star's age, how long it was going to last," she said. "One of the nice things was that with programming you could repeat it. Iterate. You could not do that with a hand calculation.
"We could add in sample numbers on programs and it could easily check them," she added. "I could check my results on the machine very rapidly, which was very useful."
Rapidly in the 1950s meant about 30 minutes for the machine to complete one run of a program. Then the results were printed out for researchers to pore over to see what results they had got. Then it was a case of re-programming and perhaps waiting a few days to have a chance to run a slightly modified program on Edsac.
Despite the delays, it was clear to Dr Wheeler that they were pioneers.
"We were doing work that could not done in any other way," she said. And even though Edsac was crude and painfully slow by modern standards, she saw that a revolution had begun.
"It was clear that one day, when the machines got bigger and faster, a lot of problems would start to be solved." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-38103893 |
10 things we didn't know last week - BBC News | 2017-01-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Holding your baby on your left side may help you bond, and more news nuggets. | Magazine | 1. Holding your baby on your left side might help you bond.
2. You can't block Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook.
3. In 2022, you'll be able to look to the sky and watch two stars colliding 1,800 years ago.
4. For some years before he died, David Bowie had been working on a musical about aliens, mariachi bands and an imaginary collection of unreleased Bob Dylan songs.
5. White rhinos return to the same communal spot to poo - allowing them to pick up information about each other from the dung.
6. All electric trains in the Netherlands are powered entirely by wind energy.
7. About 70,000 retired Britons use Spain's health system, while only 81 Spanish pensioners are registered as covered by the NHS.
8. A Trump-branded apartment block in New Jersey was marketed to Chinese investors with the theme from The Sopranos.
9. Fund managers from poor backgrounds deliver better investment returns than those born rich.
10. Local anaesthetic has no effect on some people - and no-one knows why.
Seen a thing? Tell the Magazine on Twitter using the hashtag #thingididntknowlastweek
Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-38594859 |
The NHS is making people sick, GP tells BBC - BBC News | 2017-01-15 | null | Doctors tell of their "guilt" and "distress" over the care they can provide amid pressures on the NHS. | null | Doctors have told BBC Newsnight that the NHS "is making people sick".
It comes after the prime minister said she wanted to help reduce pressures on hospitals by extending GP surgeries' hours. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-38622003 |
City of London grapples with new EU shake-up - BBC News | 2017-01-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Financial institutions across the UK are gearing up for one of the most far-reaching regulatory changes they have ever faced, writes Rob Young. | Business | The City of London is braced for the chill winds of regulation
Financial institutions across the UK are gearing up for one of the most far-reaching regulatory shake-ups they have ever faced.
There's a five-letter acronym regularly muttered in the City of London, which leads to some rubbing of chins, looks of bewilderment and groans about the workload.
The acronym in question is Mifid 2, the name of a rather technical, complex and, yes, dull-sounding piece of financial legislation from the EU.
It stands for the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive. Mifid 2 means big changes for banks across Europe over the next year.
"It's a complete system change, very detailed," says Anthony Browne, who runs the British Bankers' Association (BBA).
"It is changing their IT systems, changing the way their whole systems operate right from the front end and the information the traders put in to the back end and information they provide to clients; it's also the documentation they provide for their clients, and information they give to regulators themselves."
The rules run to more than 1,000 pages.
The new rulebook - or perhaps rule "tome", more accurately - is the EU's response to the financial crisis.
A decade on from that scarring experience, the European Commission predicts the law will be transformative for markets.
Despite the Brexit vote, the City still has to abide by the new EU regulations
Many banks back the new rules, saying they will help avoid a rerun of 2007-08 by bringing in more transparency and giving investors greater protection.
Some companies, though, say they are too tough and have already led to job losses.
"It is the unintended consequences that could be the problem here," says Julian Allen-Ellis from the EFMA financial markets trade body.
"The operational cost of both buy-side and sell-side setting up for this new regulation could mean profitability is impacted and that ultimately impacts the person on the street with their pension and their portfolio."
A recent survey of the City by PA Consulting suggested two out of five companies were not prepared enough to implement the new rules.
They'd better get a move on. The sprawling regulations come into force in January 2018.
There are some who argue that these complex EU rules could be a big help to the City after Brexit, because they contain something called "equivalence".
That allows financial companies from outside the EU to do business inside it, as long as their home country has the same standards of regulation.
The City is wary of what Mifid 2 will usher in
"Potentially this could be a way through the mire," says David Biggin, an adviser at PA Consulting.
"For a lot of the companies talking about relocating, actually this rule might allow some light at the end of the tunnel. It's a technocratic decision rather than a political decision. It is a way forward."
However, not everyone thinks "equivalence" will save the City's bacon if it finds itself with less favourable access to the EU than it has today.
"The main drawback is it can be withdrawn unilaterally at any time," warns the BBA's Anthony Browne.
He has other concerns too. "This would be a political process done at a time when the UK is negotiating its divorce arrangements from the EU, and when it's thinking about negotiating a trade deal with the EU. The chance we would get agreement on equivalence, to come in the day the UK leaves the EU, seems hopeful at best."
The experience of some countries already outside the EU seem to bear that fear out.
Several have already applied for "equivalence" status under previous financial rules.
Guernsey is one of them. The Crown dependency has beefed up its laws, and they have been judged as technically the same as the EU's by an EU regulator, no less.
Guernsey is now waiting for the European Commission to give it the final nod - and has been for two years.
"The technical decision was made. Now it's become a political decision," says Christopher Jehan from the Guernsey Investment Fund Association.
"That political decision is effectively the roadblock for us," he says. "They're using whatever reason they have for anything else going on in the world as a delaying tactic."
Guernsey's experience does not bode well for those in the UK who think these new complex EU rules will help the City after Brexit.
But Mifid 2 is already bringing about big regulatory change in the City, the scale of which it has rarely seen. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38568310 |
James DeGale v Badou Jack unification title fight ends in a majority draw - BBC Sport | 2017-01-15 | null | Britain's James DeGale believes he showed "heart and grit" in his super-middleweight unification fight with Sweden's Badou Jack that ended in a controversial majority draw. | null | Britain's James DeGale believes he showed "heart and grit" in his super-middleweight unification fight with Sweden's Badou Jack that ended in a controversial majority draw. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/38628818 |
Entertainment Week in Pictures: 8-14 January - BBC News | 2017-01-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A look at some of the events in the world of entertainment and arts over the past week, including the Golden Globes, London Fashion Week Men's and Amy Adams's Hollywood Star. | Entertainment & Arts | Moonlight triumphed in the closely-fought battle for best film drama at the Golden Globes in Los Angeles. It held off competition from the critically-lauded Manchester By The Sea. Both films were put in the shade, however, by La La Land - which won all seven of the awards it was nominated for. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38595531 |
Jurgen Klopp: Liverpool boss says Manchester United 'play long balls' - BBC Sport | 2017-01-15 | null | Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says Manchester United resorted to long-ball football during Sunday's 1-1 draw. | null | Last updated on .From the section Football
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said Manchester United resorted to long-ball football during Sunday's 1-1 draw.
United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic's header cancelled out James Milner's penalty at Old Trafford, leaving Liverpool without a win in four games.
Klopp said: "They played long balls in a wild game. We played the better football and had the better plan."
United counterpart Jose Mourinho said: "We attacked and Liverpool were the team that defended."
Mourinho, criticised for negative tactics in a goalless draw at Anfield earlier in the season, said he wanted to "see if the critics are fair" after Sunday's draw, after which he said Liverpool were "happy with a point".
"They were clever," added Mourinho. "They took their time, they know how to play football and control the emotions of the game.
"They knew they would be in trouble in the final few minutes."
Klopp played down suggestions the draw was key in the title race, with his side now third, seven points behind Chelsea.
Liverpool were without Sadio Mane - who scored for Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations - and defender Joel Matip, who was not given international clearance after turning down the chance to play for Cameroon in the tournament.
Klopp added: "When you see the line-ups and our circumstances, we had lots of little issues, you say 'a point at Old Trafford - let's take it and go home.' Of course it now doesn't feel like that because of the performance of my boys."
The German believes Liverpool were "dominating" until the 75th minute and, though his side only had 45% of possession, they did better the shot count with 13 to United's nine.
The Reds ran 12km further than their hosts but are now on their longest winless run of the season in all competitions.
"In the end period of the game when United started playing long balls - to Marouane Fellaini and Zlatan Ibrahimovic - after 80 minutes high intense football it is really hard," added Klopp.
"Usually you can accept a draw at Manchester United but I think after the entire 98 minutes we could have deserved a win."
United played 53 long balls in the game - classified by Opta as "a forward pass that is 35 yards or more and is kicked into a space or area on the pitch rather than a precise pass aimed at a particular team-mate" - while Liverpool themselves hit 34.
The game total of 87 was only eight behind the most played in a Premier League game this season - during West Brom's win at Crystal Palace in August.
Manchester United have hit 510 long balls in the Premier League this season - which puts them 12th in the league's ranking Crystal Palace have played the most long balls (796), while league leaders Chelsea have made the fewest (361)
Defensive Reds a pain in the neck for Mourinho
Mourinho said the number of men defending Liverpool's area prompted his decision to introduce the physical Marouane Fellaini for full-back Matteo Darmian on 76 minutes.
The Belgian headed against the post in the build-up to Ibrahimovic's equaliser, although the switch to a more direct style triggered by his arrival resulted in just five United touches in the Liverpool area.
Mourinho said: "I have a problem with my neck because I was always looking to the left in the second half and I saw so many yellow shirts in front of me I thought 'let's go for it'.
"We lost two points when we wanted all three.
"The people need to know what Marouane Fellaini is great at and what he is not so good at. Marouane is very good in some aspects.
United, now unbeaten in the league since October, remain sixth, two points adrift of local rivals Manchester City and 12 behind leaders Chelsea.
The managers had a disagreement on the touchline late on, with fourth official Craig Pawson coming between them after an incident involving Roberto Firmino and Ander Herrera.
Liverpool forward Firmino was booked for shoving United midfielder Herrera in response to having his shirt pulled.
Mourinho said Klopp had wrongly thought he was asking for Firmino to be sent off, adding: "There was no problem at all."
Klopp added: "He wanted the minimum of a yellow card." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38632099 |
Prince Charles co-authors Ladybird climate change book - BBC News | 2017-01-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Prince Charles co-authors a book for adults in the style of the well-known children's series. | UK | The cover of the book was based on an image of flooding in Uckfield, East Sussex
Prince Charles has co-authored a Ladybird book on the challenges and possible solutions to climate change.
It is part of a series for adults written in the style of the well-known children's books that aims to clearly explain complicated subjects.
The 52-page guide has been co-authored by former Friends of the Earth director Tony Juniper and climate scientist Emily Shuckburgh.
Mr Juniper said he hoped the book would "stand the test of time".
Ladybird produced a series of books for children in the 1960s and 1970s and has recently found renewed success with a range of humorous books for adults.
Titles include the Ladybird Book of the Mid-Life Crisis and the Ladybird Book of the Hangover.
The prince previously co-authored a book with Mr Juniper and Ian Skelly called Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World. He also wrote a children's book entitled The Old Man of Lochnagar.
The full cover of the climate change book, which goes on sale later in January
Mr Juniper told the Mail on Sunday: "His royal highness, Emily and I had to work very hard to make sure that each word did its job, while at the same time working with the pictures to deliver the points we needed to make.
"I hope we've managed to paint a vivid picture, and, like those iconic titles from the 60s and 70s, created a title that will stand the test of time."
A publishing director for Penguin, which produces Ladybird books, revealed Clarence House had put the latest idea to the publisher.
Rowland White told the Sunday Times: "It was a coincidence where we were thinking about a new series for adults after the huge success of the spoof books, but this time wanted some factual books by experts on science, history and arts subjects."
Penguin Books said the title, which will be released on 26 January, had been read and reviewed by figures within the environmental community.
The other books in the series are Quantum Mechanics by Jim Al-Khalili, and Evolution by Steve Jones.
Asked how the book might be received in the academic community, Dr Phillip Williamson, an associate fellow at the University of East Anglia's School of Environmental Sciences, said: "There's the obvious danger that this won't be taken seriously.
"But if the style is right, and the information is correct and understandable, the new Ladybird book with royal authorship could be just what is needed to get the message across that everyone needs to take action on climate change."
Ladybird Books has recently had renewed success with a range of humorous books for adults. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38627650 |
SpaceX rocket successfully lifts off - BBC News | 2017-01-15 | null | SpaceX successfully launches a rocket, its first mission since an explosion in September. | null | The SpaceX company has successfully launched a rocket, its first mission since one of its vehicles exploded in September.
The unmanned Falcon 9 rocket took off from Vandenberg Air Force Base on the California coast. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-38624812 |
Sherlock series finale leaked online - BBC News | 2017-01-15 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The show's creators have urged fans not to share the episode ahead of it airing on TV on Sunday. | Entertainment & Arts | The current series of Sherlock has had an estimated 11m viewers per episode
The final episode of the current series of Sherlock has been leaked online.
A Russian version of the last instalment of series four - titled The Final Problem - has been illegally uploaded to the internet prior to it airing on television.
The creators of Sherlock have urged fans not to spoil the episode by sharing it online.
A post on the programme's official Twitter page said it was aware the episode had been uploaded illegally.
"If you come across it, please do not share it. #KeepMeSpoilerFree," it urged fans.
Sherlock producer Sue Vertue also tweeted: "Russian version of #Sherlock TFP has been illegally uploaded. Please don't share it. You've done so well keeping it spoiler free. Nearly there."
A preview screening of the series finale was held on Thursday in London for journalist and television critics.
Creator Steven Moffat has suggested another series of the detective drama "was possible" and he and fellow creator Mark Gatiss were not planning for the latest episode to be the final ever instalment.
Fans of the show will be able to watch The Final Problem at more than 300 cinemas as it is shown alongside its TV broadcast.
Audiences will have to pay for the cinema experience but will be treated to extra footage.
The series finale will air on BBC One at 21:00 on Sunday. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38627347 |
Masters 2017: Mark Allen beats John Higgins in deciding frame - BBC Sport | 2017-01-16 | null | Watch the five best shots as Mark Allen knocks John Higgins out of the UK Masters in the deciding frame, claiming the match 6-5. | null | Watch the five best shots as Mark Allen knocks John Higgins out of the UK Masters by winning the deciding frame and claiming the match 6-5. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/38644174 |
Winter freeze claiming lives across Europe - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | null | Dozens of migrants die in the extreme cold weather sweeping across Europe. | null | Dozens of migrants have died in the extreme cold weather across Europe, with many said to be refusing shelter due to the risk of deportation. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38627667 |
Trump interview: Is Donald helping Theresa? - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The president-elect supports a UK trade deal, but it might turn out to be a bit more complex than that. | UK Politics | On the face of it, on some of the front pages at least, it seems a slam dunk.
Before Theresa May gives an important speech on Tuesday outlining her plan for the tortuous process of taking us out of the European Union, there has been a big thumbs-up for Brexit (literally- in the picture he had taken with Michael Gove) from the most powerful individual in the world.
On top of that, Donald Trump, who'll be in charge from Friday, breezily promises a trade deal with the United States that can be sorted out without further ado.
Since the social and diplomatic embarrassments of Nigel Farage's freelance trips to Trump Tower, Number 10 seems to have worked to get the president-elect on board, and his comments in his Times interview to former cabinet minister Michael Gove seem to illustrate success - with the groundwork prepared for a visit between Mr Trump and Mrs May soon after the inauguration.
Mr Trump repeated his wholehearted support for the idea of the UK leaving the European Union, and his comments to the Times suggested he would be in the UK's corner. No prime minister would want to make an enemy of an American president, so who wouldn't want an endorsement like this?
But, as officials in Brussels and leaders around the EU seek to stick together before getting down to business with the talks with the UK, the government may also be wary about being seen to be cosying up too closely to President Trump.
Mrs May shares some of his analysis of many voters' disillusionment with what she describes as the "privileged few". But the similarities don't run deep, and for voters, Mr Trump appals as much as he inspires.
For some in Brussels, Mr Trump's support for Brexit may only harden them against the UK. Diplomacy is a sensitive and complicated business, not used to the brashness of this billionaire.
The European Commission has already piled in to say that it's not possible to make any agreements before the UK has left the EU.
Even Downing Street said today it would "abide by our obligations" and committed only to early conversations.
The president-elect's straightforward promise that a trade deal can be done with Mrs May without delay may come to haunt them both. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38639225 |
Reality Check: Can there be a quick UK-USA trade deal? - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Donald Trump has said he would like a quick trade deal with the UK. Is that possible? | Business | The claim: The UK and USA can quickly negotiate a trade deal
Reality Check verdict: The earliest we could possibly get a deal is 2019, when the UK leaves the EU under the government's current timetable. The complexities of the process mean a trade deal with the US could take considerably longer.
In an interview with the Times, Donald Trump has promised a quick trade deal with post-Brexit Britain.
The president-elect said: "We're going to work very hard to get it done quickly and done properly."
How quickly depends what you mean by quickly and what kind of deal you want, because EU treaties prohibit the UK from conducting formal negotiations while it is still a member of the EU.
Also, remember that this is the same Donald Trump who has attacked American companies that use NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, to build cars in Mexico and sell them in the USA, and has criticised a proposed pan-Pacific trade deal as the "rape of our country".
He is also opposed to TTIP, the current talks between the USA and EU to reach a trade deal.
But given he seems all in favour of a free trade deal with the UK, how long will it take and what will it involve? Even the easiest trade deal between perfectly willing partners would take years and we won't even be able to begin formal negotiations until we leave the EU, probably in two years.
We will be able to have unofficial talks though, as the prime minister's spokesman put it on Monday: "When she [Theresa May] visits the States she can have an early discussion, but we will abide by our obligations while in the EU."
Technically therefore, the quickest we would be able to get a deal is by 2019, but it is very unlikely to be that quick, not least because the deal the UK ends up doing with the EU would have an impact on the deal it gets with the US.
The first part of any negotiations would be relatively easy.
Tariffs, which are taxes on goods entering a country, are already quite low between the USA and the EU: they average 3%.
A free-trade deal would aim to bring them all down to zero, but it is non-tariff barriers that are the real problem.
This covers everything from bank regulations and car safety standards to animal welfare and environmental protection.
The easiest deal would be for the USA to accept all our standards and regulations and for us to accept all theirs.
But this is where it can get messy.
For instance, the UK has much stricter rules on food standards, GM crops and hormones in farm animals.
Just letting American food into the UK could undermine those standards and put British farmers at a disadvantage.
Then there is the thorny issue of the NHS; do we open it up to competition from US medical companies or do we seek to protect it?
Negotiating an optout for the NHS is perfectly possible, but it would take time and America might ask for something else in return.
The EU and the USA agreed to start negotiating a trade deal in 2011, and those talks have become bogged down because of a whole host of such issues, including how to resolve disputes once a deal is signed.
The UK should be a quicker and nimbler negotiator than the EU, which has 27 governments to keep on board, but that doesn't mean the issues are any less controversial. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38639638 |
Oxford University rejection letter turned into art - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A student who was rejected from Oxford University turns her letter into a piece of abstract art. | Oxford | Claudia Vulliamy had applied to Wadham College at Oxford University to study Classics; upon receiving her rejection letter she turned it into a piece of art
A piece of abstract art made from a student's rejection letter from Oxford University has gone viral on Twitter.
Claudia Vulliamy, from London, applied to study classics in September at Wadham College.
But when the 18-year-old received her rejection letter, she "thought it would be funny" to use it to create a piece of artwork.
A picture of the piece published on Twitter has been retweeted 48,000 times.
Her mother Louisa Saunders said: "Between that time [she told me she had been rejected] and when I got back from work, she had made this artwork.
"I thought it was very funny and very spirited, and obviously I was glad she wasn't feeling to sad about it."
The picture has been liked on Twitter 153,000 times and has sparked a lot of reactions from students who were rejected from Oxbridge.
Miss Vulliamy said there wasn't a message behind the artwork initially.
She added: "I just thought I had this letter, it's not often that you get a letter dedicated to you from Oxford.
"It's very meaningful, so I thought it would be funny if I made it into something."
Louisa Saunders, left, said she was amazed by the response to her daughter's artwork on social media
Ms Saunders said some people on social media were comparing the painting to works by Piet Mondrian.
The student, who has been accepted to Durham University, said: "In retrospect I quite like how it is interpreted as Oxbridge doesn't determine everything, I like that it's cheered people up.
"I hadn't set my heart on Oxford I'm happy I got an offer from Durham."
• None Will more schools select by ability?
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-38629172 |
Trump and Trudeau: Where leaders find common ground - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Donald Trump and Justin Trudeau share more than just a border. | US & Canada | The two world leaders may have more in common than meets the eye
At first glance, few people have less in common than Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and US President-elect Donald Trump.
Mr Trudeau is a favourite of global progressives, who see him as a bastion against rising tide of anti-immigrant and protectionist sentiment and who campaigned on appealing to people's "better angels".
Mr Trump won the US election riding that anti-trade and anti-globalisation wave, and as a political outsider who is free with his insults.
The relationship between the North American neighbours is a vital one and depends in part on the Republican and Liberal leaders finding common ground, despite differences in personality and policy.
Here are five areas where Mr Trudeau and Mr Trump are somewhat simpatico.
1. They pulled off unexpected election victories after being discounted by rivals and pundits.
Pollsters in both countries failed to predict Mr Trudeau and Mr Trump's upsets, and both party leaders were seen as celebrity lightweights by rivals.
It is a similarity not lost on Mr Trudeau.
In a 16 December interview with a Montreal radio show host, the prime minister revealed he touched on that "common ground" during his congratulatory phone call to Mr Trump following the US election.
"He and I had a conversation about being knocked around by the media because, present company excluded, that's the experience that I'd had for years of people just slamming me and saying 'he'd never become prime minister,'" Mr Trudeau said.
2. They embrace politics in the social media age.
The prime minister and the president-elect both use social media for their political ends.
Mr Trudeau and his team know a charming photo opportunity of the photogenic prime minister, from shirtless selfies to yoga poses, can go viral and bolster his popularity at home and abroad.
He has leveraged social media as a tool to sell his brand of progressive cool to the world.
While Mr Trudeau has a healthy Twitter following for a world leader, with nearly 2.4m followers (and over 830,000 on Instagram), his influence on the platform is dwarfed by Mr Trump's 19.7m followers.
A prolific tweeter, Mr Trump wields his influential account to attack opponents, drive the news, and pressure US manufacturers to bend to his agenda.
He has, however, promised to be more restrained in his Twitter antics after being sworn-in 20 January.
3. They promised to change the way politics is done.
Mr Trump vowed during the campaign he would "drain the swamp", a catch-all promise for his supporters who see of Washington as a cesspool of lobbyists, corruption, and waste.
During the 2015 Canadian election, Mr Trudeau said his predecessor, former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, "turned Ottawa into a partisan swamp" during his near decade in power.
Mr Trudeau promised to put an end to partisanship and patronage in Ottawa, to usher in a more transparent and receptive government, and to make question period respectful again.
The two have faced critics who say those promises were quick to fall by the wayside.
Donald Trump said he would 'Make America great Again'
4. They harkened to the past in their pitch to voters.
The two politicians pressed some very powerful nostalgia buttons as they campaigned to lead their countries.
Mr Trump's inescapable campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again", borrowed from former US president Ronald Reagan's 1980 race, looked back to a time when voters felt there was more prosperity and opportunity in the United States and when their nation garnered respect on the world stage.
Mr Trudeau was more subtle, though his campaign was woven through with a thread of nostalgia, from a promise to recommit troops to overseas peacekeeping efforts to a foreign policy return to when Canadians thought the world saw the country as its good neighbour.
After winning the election, Mr Trudeau and his MPs made "Canada is back" one of their favourite catchphrases.
Pierre Elliott Trudeau, right, Justin Trudeau's father, with former US President Ronald Reagan
5. They followed in their fathers' footsteps.
Fred Trump, the first New York real estate magnate in the Trump family, started a million dollar residential real estate business in Brooklyn and Queens.
The Donald learned the business from his father, switching from building low-income housing in New York City's outer-boroughs to luxury towers in downtown Manhattan.
Justin Trudeau grew up surrounded by politics and was once toasted by former US President Richard Nixon, who predicted the young boy would one day become prime minister like his father Pierre Elliott Trudeau. Trudeau senior served as in that role from 1968 to 1979 and again from 1980 to 1984, becoming one of Canada's most recognisable leaders.
• None How has Justin Trudeau's first year gone? | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38603859 |
Rory McIlroy: Injured rib forces withdrawal from Abu Dhabi Championship - BBC Sport | 2017-01-16 | null | World number two Rory McIlroy pulls out of the Abu Dhabi Championship because of a stress fracture to his rib. | null | Last updated on .From the section Golf
World number two Rory McIlroy has pulled out of the Abu Dhabi Championship because of a rib injury.
The Northern Irishman had tests on Monday after complaining about back pain during the South Africa Open, in which he lost in a play-off.
McIlroy has sustained a stress fracture and must now begin a rehabilitation programme.
"It's bitterly disappointing. I think everyone knows how much I love playing this tournament," said the 27-year-old.
"In situations like this you simply have to listen to the experts, and the team I have consulted have all advised me to rest until my rib has fully recovered."
Following his withdrawal from the Abu Dhabi event, McIlroy's next scheduled tournament is the Dubai Desert Classic in the first week of February.
He had initially said he suspected his problem was fatigue after an off-season during which he hit a lot of balls in practice trying to decide on new equipment.
He played in Johannesburg with his back taped up and having taken anti-inflammatory tablets.
Defending champion Rickie Fowler and fellow American Dustin Johnson are among those due to play in Abu Dhabi. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/38645049 |
House destroyed by explosion in Blackley, Manchester - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | null | Two people have been taken to hospital following an explosion at a house in north Manchester. | null | Two people have been taken to hospital following an explosion at a house in north Manchester.
The blast was in an end terrace in Cecil Road, Blackley, at about 12:40 GMT, and reduced much of the property to rubble.
A man with "major trauma" injuries was taken to Salford Royal Hospital and another person was taken to Wythenshawe hospital.
Three people were treated at the scene for minor injuries.
The cause of the explosion is not yet known. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-38642089 |
Andy Murray column on Grand Slam nerves, being a Sir and Christmas as a father - BBC Sport | 2017-01-16 | null | World number one Andy Murray on the Australian Open, playing in 30 degree heat and his first Christmas as a father. | null | Coverage: Live radio and text commentary of every Andy Murray match on BBC Radio, BBC Sport website and BBC Sport app. Watch highlights on BBC Two and online from 21 January.
The first round of a Grand Slam is always tricky, but I am glad to get through it.
My first-round match against Illya Marchenko, the world number 95, was OK but it was hard going.
It was tough conditions. The on-court temperature was in the high 30s, which wasn't easy.
I didn't feel any extra pressure playing my first Grand Slam as the world number one. I felt nervous beforehand, but I get that before all Slams.
I always feel that bit of extra nerves and bit of extra pressure because these are the tournaments that often you work towards. They're the biggest tournament for tennis players. It would be a bad sign if you weren't coming in nervous so I treat it as a good sign.
Being nervous shows me that I want to play well and that I'm up for it. Normally nerves tend to make me feel better or play better but I found it tough on Monday in harsh conditions.
The crowd were good. Sometimes in day sessions, when it's hot as it was, it's not easy for people to sit out in the sun for that long. There was a great atmosphere and lot of people out there watching.
After I was knighted I was asked if I wanted to be known as Sir Andy, from whether it was in the draws and on the scoreboards to when I was getting announced.
I'm happy with just plain old Andy, though.
It was an amazing honour to receive, although I have had some mickey-taking with some of the players about calling me 'Sir', especially the ones that have known me for a long time.
'It helps having family here'
In Grand Slams, if you go through to the end, you have two weeks of tennis with a day off after every match.
Kim and Sophia are here with me in Australia and it helps. It's nice to have them here and take my mind off the tennis when the matches are done.
I have a lot of family here: Kim's mum is also here, as is Jamie and my mum. In the morning we can have breakfast together as a family and then in the evening, when I get back from practice, Sophia is starting to get ready for bed.
So sadly it means I don't get to do a lot of the fun stuff with them during the day.
'I didn't get the dogs anything for Christmas'
I flew to Australia after being able to have Christmas with my family. My first Christmas as a father was good, but busy.
A lot of Christmases I have been away or at training, so it was good to be able to see Sophia on Christmas Day.
I spent the morning with my wife and daughter and Kim's family, then I flew at midday up to Scotland and had lunch with my mum's side of my family. Then in the evening I went to my dad's to have dinner with his family. It was a busy day and I did all right with presents too.
I didn't get the dogs anything this Christmas. My wife normally gets them toys and presents, and they get sent lots of stuff from my mum and my grandparents. They do pretty well, but they are just as happy tearing into the wrapping paper on Christmas Day. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38556094 |
The trauma centres helping veteran amputees - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | null | A network of trauma centres has opened across the UK to allow the NHS to treat veterans. | null | A network of 10 trauma centres across the UK has been set up to provide care for veterans. They bring NHS doctors who have military experience together with veterans to try and offer care specific to ex-Army personnel.
Matt Weston was a sapper with 33 Engineer Regiment. He was a bomb disposal expert clearing a road in southern Afghanistan when he was severely injured in an explosion. This centre has, as he explains to Sima Kotecha from the Today programme, changed his life. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-38613566 |
Police inquiry over fox 'killing' footage in Warwickshire - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | null | A hunt saboteurs group has released footage it claims shows them trying to save a fox from hounds, though it died soon after. | null | A hunt saboteurs group is claiming they saw hunt hounds on top of a fox, trying to kill it.
Members of the West Midlands Hunt Saboteurs Group say they witnessed the incident in a driveway near Shuttington, in Warwickshire, on Saturday.
The fox was taken away from the dogs, they say, but died soon after.
Warwickshire Police said it had a received a report about the claims and is investigating.
The Atherstone Hunt has been contacted for a comment.
Some people may find the following footage distressing. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-38644682 |
Donald Trump inauguration TV listing goes viral - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A TV critic on Scotland's Sunday Herald satirises Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony. | Scotland | A Scottish newspaper's TV listing of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration has caught people's attention both in the UK and the US.
The Sunday Herald TV critic Damien Love reimagined the ceremony as a return of the classic science fiction series The Twilight Zone.
"After a long absence, The Twilight Zone returns with one of the most ambitious, expensive and controversial productions in broadcast history. Sci-fi writers have dabbled often with alternative history stories - among the most common is the "What If The Nazis Had Won The Second World War" setting - but this huge interactive virtual reality project, which will unfold on TV, in the press, and on Twitter over the next four years, sets out to build an ongoing alternative present.
The story begins in a nightmarish version of 2017 in which huge sections of the US electorate have somehow been duped into voting to make Donald Trump president. It sounds far-fetched, and it is, but as it goes on it becomes more and more chillingly plausible. Today's feature-length opener concentrates on the gaudy inauguration of President Trump, and the stirrings of protest and despair surrounding the ceremony, while pundits speculate gravely on what lies ahead. It's a flawed piece, but a disturbing glimpse of the horrors we could stumble into, if we're not careful."
Love's satirical piece has amused people on both sides of the Atlantic.
A Facebook post by singer-songwriter Billy Bragg calling the listing a preview of things to come has been shared more than 125,000 times while Star Trek actor George Takei tweeted: "The Sunday Herald TV section wins today."
Seth MacFarlane, creator of animated TV series Family Guy, also tweeted his appreciation while Twitter user Scott Wryn worries Mr Trump may invade Scotland in response.
Not everyone approved of the joke though. One user tweeted: "They can't even write a TV schedule without filling it with fake news and propaganda."
The Editor of the Sunday Herald, Neil Mackay, tweeted: "I would like the good people of the world to help me get @realDonaldTrump to read this from today's Sunday Herald. Love from Scotland x."
The president-elect, normally quick to react to criticism, has not responded to the piece so far.
The inauguration ceremony will take place on Friday 20 January and you can watch the real programme President Trump: The Inauguration at 16:00 GMT on BBC One. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-38635518 |
Theresa May to star in spread in US Vogue magazine - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz's shoot with the prime minister will feature in April's Vogue. | UK Politics | Theresa May is to appear in a spread in glossy fashion magazine US Vogue, Downing Street has confirmed.
The prime minister - who is known for her love of fashion, especially eye-catching shoes - posed for the renowned portrait photographer Annie Leibovitz.
"The long-planned shoot for US Vogue will come out in April," a No 10 spokesman said.
The magazine's editor, British-born Anna Wintour, was made a dame in the New Year Honours.
Mrs May chose a lifetime's subscription to Vogue magazine as her luxury item when she appeared on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs programme.
Stranded alone on a desert island, Mrs May says she would chose a lifetime subscription to Vogue to keep her company
Her choice of expensive, chocolate-coloured leather trousers - which retail for £995 - for a previous magazine spread angered former education secretary Nicky Morgan, who said she had never spent that much on anything except her wedding dress.
According to the Press Association, Downing Street sources denied reports the Vogue feature was connected to a planned visit to the US for the PM's first meeting with Donald Trump.
US photographer Annie Leibovitz has previously shot Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton for the publication.
Margaret Thatcher, the UK's only other female leader, was photographed four times for British Vogue.
Baroness Thatcher, who died in 2013, was known for her smart, unfussy style including power suits, pussy-bow blouses and an ever-present handbag.
• None Seven notable things about Theresa May | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38631783 |
Is it OK to watch porn in public? - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | How would you feel if the person sitting next to you on the bus was watching porn - and what would you do about it? | Magazine | It's no secret that lots of people watch pornography on the internet. It's usually something done behind closed doors - but how would you feel about someone watching porn in public? The BBC's Siobhann Tighe describes a troubling experience on a London bus.
It had been a long day at work. I got on the bus at 7.30 in the evening and it was cold and drizzly. All the passengers were wrapped up in thick coats, hoods and hats.
Inside, the bus was softly lit and I was expecting to zone out on my way back home: just let the day go and switch off.
I sat on the lower deck beside a complete stranger and didn't give it a second thought. I was just relieved to get a seat. As we meandered through the London traffic, my gaze was drawn to my neighbour's phone. I wasn't being nosy but in the dim light of the bus, the brightness of his mobile caught my attention even though he was slanting it slightly away from me.
Although I didn't mean to or want to, I found myself looking over towards his mobile a few times and then it suddenly occurred to me what was going on. The man beside me was watching porn.
Once I realised, although I genuinely didn't mean to, my eyes kept on being pulled back to it. I couldn't quite believe it. First he was watching animated porn, with the two naked characters in lurid colours repeating their movements over and over again. Then he started watching a film, which seemed to begin in a petrol station with a large woman in a low-cut yellow top and blonde hair peering into the driver's window.
I didn't hear any sound, apart from a brief few seconds when my fellow passenger pulled the headphone jack out of his mobile, and then reinserted it.
The man didn't seem to notice my glances towards his phone, maybe because his hood was hampering his peripheral vision. He seemed oblivious to me and others around him, who admittedly wouldn't have been able to see what I saw.
We eventually arrived at his bus stop and because he had the window seat and I had the aisle, he made a motion that he needed to get out, and he muttered a "thank you" as he squeezed past me. I watched him get off and walk down the street.
I felt uncomfortable and annoyed, but I didn't do anything about it. I didn't say anything to him and neither did he pick up on any of my glances or quizzical looks. His eyes didn't meet mine so I couldn't even communicate my feelings non-verbally and it didn't occur to me to tell the driver. Even if I wanted to, it would have been difficult to get to the front of the bus because it was packed.
But when I got off, questions flooded into my mind about what I had just experienced. What if a child saw that? Are there any laws about looking at porn in public spaces? If there are laws, how easy are they to enforce? Why did this passenger feel public transport was an appropriate place to watch porn, and should I be worried from a safety point of view?
As a journalist, I also looked at it from his point of view, even though he made me feel uncomfortable. I asked myself: is he within his rights to look at porn on his private device wherever he is? Do civil liberties in our society grant him that freedom?
But in my heart, I was offended.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. From disgust to it's ok, Woman's Hour took to the streets to find out what you think of it.
When I mentioned it to friends, everyone seemed to have a story of their own, or an opinion.
"It happened to me when I was with my son having a coffee at a Swiss airport," one said. "Two Italian guys were sitting next to me. I said something because I felt safe and I sensed there'd be support if an argument ensued." It worked, and they politely switched the laptop off.
It certainly got everyone talking, but like me, no-one was sure where the law stood.
According to Prof Clare McGlynn from Durham University who specialises in the law around porn, there's little to stop someone viewing pornographic material in public - on public transport, in a library, in a park or a cafe, for example.
"It's like reading a book," she says. "They are viewing lawful material which is freely available, and restricting people's access to it presents other challenges."
In Prof McGlynn's view, the law would only prevent it if the porn viewer is harassing someone or causing a disturbance.
So, what do you do? Prof McGlynn describes it as a dilemma.
"It's like someone shouting at you, calling to you to 'Cheer up, love!'" says Prof McGlynn. "Do you confront it, or do you put your head down and walk along?"
But when I contacted Transport for London, they appeared to take the case very seriously.
"If someone has made you feel uncomfortable, for example by viewing pornographic material, please tell the police or a member of our staff," I was told.
A member of staff said passengers should report incidents like to this to the bus driver, who would tell the control centre, and the information would then be passed to the police for them to investigate.
In Prof McGlynn's view, there is not much the police could do. On the other hand, James Turner QC contacted the BBC to say that there is a law - the Indecent Displays (Control) Act - which might form the basis for a prosecution.
Five years ago, in the US, the executive director of a group called Morality in the Media had an experience similar to mine on an aeroplane. As a result, the group - now called the National Center On Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) - campaigned to get the major US airlines to stop passengers watching porn.
"All of them except for one agreed to improve their policies to prohibit passengers from viewing this material during flights and agreed to better train their flight attendants on what to do," Haley Halverson of NCOSE told me.
Buses don't have flight attendants, though. Nor do trains. And even if police wanted to investigate incidents of porn-watching on public transport, passengers can get off whenever they like.
How would officers catch them and question them then?
Siobhann Tighe and Prof Clare McGlynn spoke to Jenni Murray on Woman's Hour, on BBC Radio 4. Listen to the discussion here.
Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-38611265 |
Sale Sharks: Players reported over 'team leaks' before Bristol match - BBC Sport | 2017-01-16 | null | Sale complain to the RFU that one of their players passed team information to Bristol before their Premiership match on 1 January. | null | Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union
Sale have complained that one of their players passed team information to Bristol before their Premiership match on 1 January.
The Sharks have lodged a protest with the Rugby Football Union, claiming the player - understood to be former Bristol wing Tom Arscott - released confidential details.
They have also made a complaint against the Bristol player involved.
Bristol won 24-23 at the AJ Bell Stadium after trailing 15-0.
The Sharks have lost their past 10 games in all competitions.
A statement from Bristol said they had been "made aware of a complaint from Sale Sharks, which is now being investigated by the RFU".
It added: "The club are absolutely confident of no wrongdoing in this matter and will fully co-operate with the investigation." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/38645622 |
Diego Costa: Chelsea have no intention of selling striker amid reported China interest - BBC Sport | 2017-01-16 | null | Chelsea have no intention of selling top-scorer Diego Costa amid reports he is unsettled and a target for Chinese clubs. | null | Last updated on .From the section Football
Chelsea have no intention of selling Diego Costa amid reports the striker is a transfer target of Chinese clubs.
The Spain forward missed Chelsea's win at Leicester on Saturday with a back injury, says boss Antonio Conte.
The 28-year-old has reportedly fallen out with his boss and trained on his own on Monday, however this was to aid his recovery.
BBC Sport understands Blues owner Roman Abramovich will not bow to interest from China in the club's top scorer.
The Premier League leaders, who recently sold midfielder Oscar to Chinese club Shanghai SIPG for £60m, do not need to raise further funds through selling players.
Reports have linked Costa with a move to the Chinese Super League that could earn him £30m a year. On Monday, the league introduced a rule stating teams could only field three non-Chinese players.
The Spain international, who has scored 14 Premier League goals in 19 appearances this season, missed three days of training last week and was seen training at the club's Cobham training ground on Monday.
The rest of the club's playing staff resume training on Tuesday, when Costa will be evaluated to determine whether he can rejoin the first-team squad.
Chelsea, who have a seven-point lead at the top of the table, are at home to Hull on Sunday.
Conte has not confirmed or denied any rift with the former Atletico Madrid player, and said that if such a problem arose he would deal with it in-house.
Former England captain Alan Shearer told MOTD2 Extra that Chelsea would face a "huge uphill struggle" to win the title without Costa, who is joint top scorer in the league with Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez, Manchester United's Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Tottenham's Harry Kane.
"Costa will dictate the situation," said Shearer. "The players have the vast majority of the power. If the player does not want to be there, he will go."
Football Focus pundit Mark Lawrenson said: "If you get £60m for him let him go. Have you seen Chinese football? It's rubbish. He's at his peak. The team is built around him, a top, top player. If he wants to go to China and be bored for 18 hours a day, good luck with that one."
Costa has scored 51 goals in 99 games for the Blues since joining from Atletico for £32m in 2014. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38641798 |
Dimitri Payet: West Ham reject Marseille's improved bid - BBC Sport | 2017-01-16 | null | West Ham reject a second bid from Ligue 1 club Marseille for France forward Dimitri Payet. | null | West Ham have rejected a second bid from Marseille for France forward Dimitri Payet.
The improved offer from the Ligue 1 side - reported to be £1m higher than an initial £19m bid - was turned down by Hammers chairman David Sullivan.
He is said to be taking a tough stance and refusing to be bullied into a quick sale, with the club having no financial need to sell.
Manager Slaven Bilic says Payet, 29, no longer wants to play for the club.
Payet is not training with the first team and will continue to work with the under-23s.
The Premier League club said they would prefer Payet to apologise to supporters and return to first-team training.
• None Listen: 'It's not about the money'
Why does he want to leave?
In 2011, when he was at Saint-Etienne, he wanted to go to Paris St-Germain, which was his dream move. He tried everything again to force them to sell him.
The club stood their ground - he had to go with the reserves, they fined him. In the end, he had to come back and he apologised and said: 'I have made a mistake, I'm young.' He is a very stubborn man and at the time it didn't work out for him, but he really believes this time it will happen for him.
Eighteen months ago Payet did not want to leave Marseille. They forced him to leave in a way, because they had to sell him to balance their books. He never really settled in England.
His family are not settled, the children are not happy at school, his wife is not happy. They all went back to France and are already looking at new schools there. The main issue for him has always been the family. They were not happy and that was impacting on him as a person and as a player.
Payet will take a cut out to go back to Marseille, it is not about the money. He is not going to China. Marseille have already reached an agreement to go back, now it is between the clubs.
Marseille's second offer is clearly way below what West Ham want, but at least they are opening the door. Three days ago they said they would never sell him, now they say they would sell him if they receive £30-35m pounds. I expect Marseille to go back with a better bid and still believe they will sell at some point.
Former Hammers striker Dean Ashton, who was forced to retire at the age of 26 through injury, said Payet's refusal to play was "disgusting".
"I can't play anymore and to see the way Payet is acting, I can't tell you how angry it makes me," Ashton, 33, told Talksport.
"West Ham love him, they absolutely adore him - they wouldn't dream to think he would go and do this. He is so many kids' favourite player.
"It is disgusting what he is doing in refusing to play."
Payet, who signed from Marseille for £10.7m in June 2015, 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 running until the summer of 2021.
MOTD2 Extra pundit Alan Shearer says West Ham should hold out for the biggest transfer fee they can get for Payet.
"It is quite clear Dimitri Payet is refusing to play for the club," he said on Sunday's programme.
"You have to get as much as you can and sell him. The dressing room is far more important."
Mark Schwarzer, the former Chelsea, Fulham and Middlesbrough goalkeeper, added on the programme: "Payet is a commodity - you have to get as much money for him. Then they can bring in players to improve the team." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38643225 |
Prince Charles co-authors Ladybird climate change book - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Prince Charles co-authors a book for adults in the style of the well-known children's series. | UK | The cover of the book was based on an image of flooding in Uckfield, East Sussex
Prince Charles has co-authored a Ladybird book on the challenges and possible solutions to climate change.
It is part of a series for adults written in the style of the well-known children's books that aims to clearly explain complicated subjects.
The 52-page guide has been co-authored by former Friends of the Earth director Tony Juniper and climate scientist Emily Shuckburgh.
Mr Juniper said he hoped the book would "stand the test of time".
Ladybird produced a series of books for children in the 1960s and 1970s and has recently found renewed success with a range of humorous books for adults.
Titles include the Ladybird Book of the Mid-Life Crisis and the Ladybird Book of the Hangover.
The prince previously co-authored a book with Mr Juniper and Ian Skelly called Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World. He also wrote a children's book entitled The Old Man of Lochnagar.
The full cover of the climate change book, which goes on sale later in January
Mr Juniper told the Mail on Sunday: "His royal highness, Emily and I had to work very hard to make sure that each word did its job, while at the same time working with the pictures to deliver the points we needed to make.
"I hope we've managed to paint a vivid picture, and, like those iconic titles from the 60s and 70s, created a title that will stand the test of time."
A publishing director for Penguin, which produces Ladybird books, revealed Clarence House had put the latest idea to the publisher.
Rowland White told the Sunday Times: "It was a coincidence where we were thinking about a new series for adults after the huge success of the spoof books, but this time wanted some factual books by experts on science, history and arts subjects."
Penguin Books said the title, which will be released on 26 January, had been read and reviewed by figures within the environmental community.
The other books in the series are Quantum Mechanics by Jim Al-Khalili, and Evolution by Steve Jones.
Asked how the book might be received in the academic community, Dr Phillip Williamson, an associate fellow at the University of East Anglia's School of Environmental Sciences, said: "There's the obvious danger that this won't be taken seriously.
"But if the style is right, and the information is correct and understandable, the new Ladybird book with royal authorship could be just what is needed to get the message across that everyone needs to take action on climate change."
Ladybird Books has recently had renewed success with a range of humorous books for adults. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38627650 |
Reality Check: Will one-third of NHS beds in England be cut? - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | 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 |
Tunisia inquest shown police map of killer's spree - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | null | A court has watched a police recreation of the hour-long killing spree at a Tunisian beach resort in June 2015, which left 38 people - including 30 British tourists - dead. | null | A court has watched a police recreation of the hour-long killing spree at a Tunisian beach resort in June 2015, which left 38 people dead.
The inquest into the deaths of 30 Britons who died during the attack heard Tunisian security forces deliberately "slowed down" as Islamist gunman Seifeddine Rezgui opened fire. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38643286 |
Why do Indians vote for 'criminal' politicians? - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | They come with "deep pockets" and exploit the inability of the government to deliver services. | India | A third of MPs in the Indian parliament faced criminal charges
Why do India's political parties field candidates with criminal charges? Why do the voters favour them despite their tainted past?
Political scientist Milan Vaishnav has been studying links between crime and democracy in India for many years now. His upcoming book When Crime Pays offers some intriguing insights into what is a disturbing feature of India's electoral democracy.
The good news is that the general election is a thriving, gargantuan exercise: 554 million voters queued up at more than 900,000 stations to cast their ballots in the last edition in 2014. The fortunes of 8,250 candidates representing 464 political parties were at stake.
The bad news is that a third (34%) of 543 MPs who were elected faced criminal charges, up from 30% in 2009 and 24% in 2004.
Some of the charges were of minor nature or politically motivated. But more than 20% of the new MPs faced serious charges such as attempted murder, assaulting public officials, and theft.
Now, India's general elections are not exactly a cakewalk.
Over time, they have become fiercely competitive: 464 parties were in the fray in 2014, up from 55 in the first election in 1952.
The average margin of victory was 9.7% in 2009, the thinnest since the first election. At 15%, the average margin of victory was fatter in the landslide 2014 polls, but even this was vastly lower than, say, the average margin of victory in the 2012 US Congressional elections (32%) and the 2010 general election in Britain (18%).
Almost all parties in India, led by the ruling BJP and the main opposition Congress, field tainted candidates. Why do they do so?
For one, says Dr Vaishnav, "a key factor motivating parties to select candidates with serious criminal records comes down to cold, hard cash".
The rising cost of elections and a shadowy election financing system where parties and candidates under-report collections and expenses means that parties prefer "self-financing candidates who do not represent a drain on the finite party coffers but instead contribute 'rents' to the party". Many of these candidates have criminal records.
There are three million political positions in India's three-tier democracy; each election requires considerable resources.
Many parties are like personal fiefs run by dominant personalities and dynasts, and lacking inner-party democracy - conditions, which help "opportunistic candidates with deep pockets".
"Wealthy, self financing candidates are not only attractive to parties but they are also likely to be more electorally competitive. Contesting elections is an expensive proposition in most parts of the world, a candidate's wealth is a good proxy for his or her electoral vitality," says Dr Vaishnav, who is senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Political parties also nominate candidates with criminal backgrounds to stand for election because, simply put, they win.
During his research, Dr Vaishnav studied all candidates who stood in the last three general elections. He separated them into candidates with clean records and candidates with criminal records, and found that the latter had an 18% chance of winning their next election whereas the "clean" candidates had only a 6% chance.
Many Indians vote on lines on identity and religion
He did a similar calculation for candidates contesting state elections between 2003 and 2009, and found a "large winning advantage for candidates who have cases pending against them".
Politics also offers a lucrative career - a 2013 study showed that the average wealth of sitting legislators increased 222% during just one term in office. The officially declared average wealth of re-contesting candidates - including losers and winners - was $264,000 (£216,110) in 2004 and $618,000 in 2013, an increase of 134%.
Now why do Indians vote for criminal candidates? Is it because many of the voters are illiterate, ignorant, or simply, ill-informed?
Candidates with criminal records don't mask their reputation. Earlier this month, a candidate belonging to the ruling party in northern Uttar Pradesh state reportedly boasted to a party worker that he was the "biggest criminal". Increasing information through media and rising awareness hasn't led to a shrinking of tainted candidates.
Dr Vaishnav believes reasonably well-informed voters support criminal candidates in constituencies where social divisions driven by caste and/or religion are sharp and the government is failing to carry out its functions - delivering services, dispensing justice, or providing security - in an impartial manner.
"There is space here for a criminal candidate to present himself as a Robin Hood-like figure," says Dr Vaishnav.
Prime Minister Modi has called for state funding of elections
Clearly, crime and politics will remain inextricably intertwined as long as India doesn't make its election financing system transparent, parties become more democratic and the state begins to deliver ample services and justice.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has suggested state funding of polls to help clean up campaign financing. Earlier this month, he said people had the right to know where the BJP got its funds from. Some 14% of the candidates his BJP party fielded in the last elections had faced serious charges. (More than 10% of the candidates recruited by the Congress faced charges). But no party is walking the talk yet. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-38607255 |
Giant alligator caught on film in Florida - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | null | "Humpback" is caught on camera going for a stroll in Florida. | null | This video can not be played
To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38642924 |
Louis van Gaal: Ex-Man Utd, Barcelona and Netherlands manager retires - BBC Sport | 2017-01-16 | null | Ex-Manchester United and Netherlands boss Louis van Gaal says he has retired from coaching after a 26-year career. | null | Last updated on .From the section European Football
Ex-Manchester United and Netherlands boss Louis van Gaal says he has retired from coaching after a 26-year career.
Van Gaal, 65, has been out of work since being sacked by United hours after winning the FA Cup in May 2016.
"I thought maybe I would stop, then I thought it would be a sabbatical, but now I do not think I will return to coaching," Van Gaal was quoted as saying in Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.
Van Gaal also had spells in charge of Ajax, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and AZ.
He made the announcement on Monday after receiving a lifetime achievement award from the Dutch government for his contribution to football.
He cited family issues for his decision, with De Telegraaf saying it was partly motivated by the sudden death of his daughter's husband last month.
"So much has happened in my family, you become a human being again with your nose pressed to the facts," he added.
The Dutchman also revealed he turned down lucrative offers to continue his coaching career in the Far East.
Van Gaal also said winning the FA Cup was the greatest achievement of his career as it came against the backdrop of his impending sacking: "I was standing on the gangplank for the last six months. My head was in the guillotine, put there by the English media.
"In those circumstances you have to try and stick to your vision and inspire the players of Manchester United."
Van Gaal played as a midfielder for Ajax, Royal Antwerp, Telstar, Sparta Rotterdam and AZ between 1972 and 1987 before moving into coaching, first as an assistant at AZ followed by the same role at Ajax.
He replaced Leo Beenhakker as Ajax head coach in 1991 and went on to preside over a period of sustained success, winning the Dutch league title on three occasions as well as the 1992 Uefa Cup and the 1995 Champions League title.
Van Gaal was asked to emulate that success at Spanish giants Barcelona. He inherited Bobby Robson's side in 1997 and led them to two successive La Liga titles and the Copa del Rey.
His country came calling in 2000, but his first stint in charge lasted less than two years when Netherlands failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup, the first time they had missed the competition since 1986.
The Dutchman's second spell at Barcelona was even shorter - eight months - as he left midway through the season with the club hovering just above the relegation zone.
He then guided AZ Alkmaar to the 2005-06 Eredivisie title before moving to the Bundesliga, where he helped Bayern Munich to the 2009-10 Bundesliga title.
The Dutch national side approached Van Gaal again in 2012 and this time the Netherlands became one of the first two European countries, along with Italy, to qualify for Brazil 2014, where they finished in third place.
After much speculation, he joined United in May 2014, signing a three-year contract to succeed David Moyes.
However, United replaced him with Jose Mourinho after just two years following a fifth-placed Premier League finish in the 2015-16 season, with a first FA Cup triumph since 2004 not sufficient to save him. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38645667 |
Breast cancer patients' distress at withdrawal of Kadcyla - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | null | Some women with terminal cancer, who were expecting to be able to take a life-extending drug to give them an extra six months of life, have been told they will no longer get it. | null | Some women with terminal cancer who were expecting to be able to take a life-extending drug to give them an extra 6 months of life - have been told they will no longer get it.
Bonnie Fox has told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme she's "completely devastated"- and she's considering trying to raise funds to pay for it herself. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-38640371 |
Sports hall roof collapses during match in Czech Republic - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | null | A sports hall roof collapses during a floorball game in the Czech Republic city of Ceska Trebova. | null | A sports hall roof collapsed on Saturday evening during a floorball game in the Czech Republic city of Ceska Trebova.
No one was injured by the failure, though two people were hurt escaping the collapsing building. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38632441 |
Joel Matip: Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp expecting Fifa decision on Friday - BBC Sport | 2017-01-16 | null | Liverpool will find out on Friday whether a disciplinary case against Joel Matip will be opened over the defender's availability. | null | Last updated on .From the section Football
Liverpool will find out on Friday if a disciplinary case against Joel Matip will be opened, as confusion continues over the defender's availability.
The 25-year-old missed Sunday's 1-1 draw with Manchester United after the Reds failed to get clearance from Fifa about whether he could play for his club during the African Cup of Nations.
He 'refused to play' for Cameroon after being named in their preliminary squad.
Reds boss Jurgen Klopp said he was not "100% sure" of Matip's availability.
Matip has not played for Cameroon since 2015 and was not included in their final 23-man squad for the Cup of Nations.
But Fifa regulations state a player may be blocked from playing for his club if he refuses to play for his country.
The player could miss six to eight games for Liverpool if he is not made available until the end of the competition.
"I don't want to blame anyone, but our supporters deserve to know about the process we are in," said Klopp, who was speaking before his side's FA Cup reply with Plymouth Argyle.
"The thing is that in this moment, we are sure we did nothing wrong. Joel Matip did nothing wrong.
"In this moment he is not in the squad for Cameroon, but we have no 100% guarantee that he could play for us. I'd consider putting him in the line-up tomorrow, but I'm not sure I can.
"Fifa told us on Friday they'll decide if they'll open a case about it or not."
Should Cameroon make it to the final on 5 February, Matip would not be available until Liverpool host Tottenham in the Premier League on 11 February.
The German-born player would miss league games against Swansea, Chelsea and Hull, plus the EFL Cup semi-final second leg against Southampton.
Cameroon started their tournament with a 1-1 draw against Burkina Faso on Saturday.
Hugo Broos, Cameroon's 62-year-old Belgian manager, said he thinks some African players have been afraid to accept call-ups for the Cup of Nations, for fear of losing their place with their club side.
Speaking to the BBC, Broos would not elaborate on Matip's situation, but said: "I have a few examples of players who are afraid to come [on international duty] because when they are returning after camp they are not sure they are still playing in the team.
"I think if they want to avoid that then they have to move the tournament to June or July, then competitions are finished in Europe."
Broos does not think club managers are putting direct pressure on their players to refuse international call-ups.
He added: "Players feel 'if I am going now there is someone waiting to take my place.' This is sad for coaches like us who want to have our best team." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38638651 |
Pep Guardiola: Man City too far behind Chelsea after Everton loss - BBC Sport | 2017-01-16 | null | Boss Pep Guardiola says Manchester City are too far behind to challenge Premier League leaders Chelsea after a 4-0 loss at Everton. | null | Last updated on .From the section Football
Manchester City are out of the Premier League title race after a 4-0 loss to Everton at Goodison Park, according to manager Pep Guardiola.
City are now 10 points behind leaders Chelsea after defeat on Merseyside - the heaviest league loss in Guardiola's managerial career.
Asked if the gap was too great, he said: "Yes. Ten is a lot of points."
Guardiola, 45, has told his players to unite "in the bad moments" and "forget the table" until the end of the season.
He added: "At the end of the season, we are going to evaluate our level and how our performance was, how the coach was, how the players were. After that we are going to decide."
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss insisted he was "so happy in Manchester" despite his side sitting fifth, two points behind fourth-placed Arsenal.
• None Analysis: Why defending is not Pep's only problem
• None Listen: 'City don't have an outstanding goalkeeper at the moment'
Guardiola watched City dominate possession on Merseyside but concede four from the six shots they faced.
Only five teams have a lower haul than their four clean sheets in the league - BBC Radio 5 live pundit Robbie Savage said City "cannot defend" and questioned if Guardiola would now change his style.
City are the only team in the Premier League to have over 50% of possession in every game this season but they have now conceded from the first shot they have faced in four of their last seven games.
Guardiola added: "I said to the players be positive because you made some fantastic things during the season and for many reasons we didn't get what I think we deserved.
"In the bad moments we have to be close. It's awful for my players. We created chances but don't score and when they have a chance, they punish us."
Everton scored with their first two shots through Romelu Lukaku and Kevin Mirallas, with Tom Davies and Ademola Lookman completing the rout.
Stones in the spotlight - again
Lookman's goal came after a John Stones clearance was charged down, throwing the young defender again under the spotlight.
It was Stones' first visit to Goodison Park since leaving Everton for City in a £47.5m deal last summer.
The 22-year-old has been criticised for making too many mistakes, and former Manchester United and Everton defender Phil Neville believes he is being unfairly singled out.
However, fellow pundit Alan Shearer told Match of the Day 2: "John Stones did have a nightmare. He is 22 now, he has played nearly 100 Premier League games and everyone keeps saying to me and to the rest of the football world, that he is going to be a top player.
"If I'm a centre forward, a young guy and I keep on missing chances, I don't expect to be in the team. Eventually you are going to get left out. I keep seeing Stones making mistakes too often, too many times."
City's next outing is a home encounter with second-placed Tottenham, who are on a run of six league wins. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38631162 |
The defeat of Davos: Are the global elite in retreat? - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Brexit, Donald Trump, and the rise of populism have left the world's "liberal elites" reeling. Can Davos, their ideological habitat, survive? | Business | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Brexit, the election of Donald Trump, and the rise of populism have left the world's "liberal elites" reeling. Can Davos, their ideological habitat, survive?
It's all too easy to take a swipe at "Davos" - the annual Alpine pilgrimage of the so-called global elite, during which they underline the urgency of tackling climate change to the hum of private jet traffic, pledge to alleviate food poverty while snacking on caviar canapes, and commit to reducing inequality while being waited on hand-and-foot by an army of service staff at exclusive dinner parties.
But beyond the often jarring contrasts, the World Economic Forum (or ze WEF, as locals call it), has always been able to point to its role in oiling the wheels of a socially progressive, pro-globalisation alliance - safe in the knowledge that, to a greater or lesser extent, it was in harmony with the tide of history.
Then came 2016. At the beginning of the year, when Donald Trump was still one of many potential US presidential candidates, and a date for Britain's referendum on EU membership had yet to be set, Davos regulars were remarkably sanguine.
The WEF's annual Global Risks Report, in which it tries to predict future crises, made little mention of anti-establishment forces and WPP's Sir Martin Sorrell reassured delegates that Hillary Clinton would emerge victorious, regardless of whom she ran against.
European leaders seemed confident that their institutions would survive the challenges posed by an influx of refugees, murderous attacks on capital cities and rising nationalist sentiment. Soundbites dismissing populist movements were easy to come by.
Fast forward 12 months, and the WEF crowd is comparatively muted.
With the notable exception of billionaire George Soros, few are going out of their way to condemn the incoming US president, even as his daily pronouncements signal that the world's most important economy is moving further and further away from the Davos model.
Perhaps no image sums up the new world order as well as that of a seemingly despondent Klaus Schwab, the respected German academic who is the driving force behind WEF, being ushered through the lobby of Trump Tower last month.
The World Economic Forum's Klaus Schwab at Trump Tower last month
But Mr Schwab's visit is also indicative of the WEF's strength, in particular its ability to spread the Davos gospel by running a very broad church, both politically and geographically.
Indeed, the likes of Donald Trump have long been invited to the meeting (though he has yet to attend), and when controversial figures, such as Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, descend on the Swiss resort, they are hardly put in the stocks.
What's more, as organisers are keen to point out, Davos has always been about more than just the US and Europe, and Indian, Chinese and African attendees have been put centre stage for years.
Much is being made of the fact that Xi Jinping is to become the first Chinese president to attend WEF when he opens the forum this week, and that Davos is welcoming a bigger trade delegation from the country than ever before - a signal, perhaps, that a more inward-looking US leaves a void for other global powers to fill.
But a Chinese delegation was first invited to the annual meeting in 1979, and although he has stayed away in recent years, Russian President Vladimir Putin has drawn crowds on the mountain more than once.
And as the geopolitical map changes, the WEF's softly-softly approach - in which very little is mandated and everything is up for polite discussion - may yet lead the Davos tribe out of ideological isolation, even if it doesn't manage to keep their annual champagne consumption out of the headlines. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38632145 |
Faraday Future's cash flow woe - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Faraday Future, the car company hoping to out-do Tesla, responds to reports its finances are dire. | Technology | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Faraday Future, the company hoping to beat Tesla in the electric car game, had to halt building its factory in order to afford its glitzy CES press event, the firm told the BBC.
The company broke ground on its enormous plant in the Nevada desert in April last year - but work halted in October amid reports the company was in dire financial straits.
Speaking on the record for the first time about the firm’s money woes, Faraday Future’s senior vice president of research and design, Nick Sampson, acknowledged the company was facing "challenges".
"Clearly something like [CES] requires funding and some resources," Mr Sampson told me.
"We are resource-limited at times. [It's] just a matter of keeping the cash flow balance between the different projects we’re trying to do."
No date has been set for work on the site to recommence.
"Things like [CES] have to take priority at this point in time. We’ll be starting again [on the factory] very shortly," he said.
The company was spinning several financial plates, he argued.
"The challenge of building a new company is that it’s not just doing the engineering and R&D work, we’ve got manufacturing to keep aligned, we’ve also got the whole sales and marketing, branding and imaging.
"It’s a matter of keeping the whole programme aligned."
Faraday Future’s launch was arguably the most extravagant press event at this year’s CES, taking place in a huge venue away from the famous Las Vegas strip. It was attended by the mayor of North Las Vegas, John Lee.
The $1bn plant is being subsidised by around $320m of taxpayer’s money, a deal which has attracted intense criticism, though Mr Lee has insisted the public will not be left out of pocket should Faraday Future pull out of the project.
Faraday Future's contractor, AECOM, has stopped work on the factory but said it is still committed to the project
Little is known about the finances of Faraday Future, other than that its biggest backer is the founder and chief executive of China’s LeEco - a company also embroiled in legal difficulties owing to what suppliers claim are unpaid bills.
Another problem facing Faraday Future, as well as the stalled factory construction, is that several suppliers have begun taking legal action against the firm. Futuris, a company which specialises in luxury car interiors, is suing the firm for breach of contract, demanding immediate payment of more than $10m.
According to a recent report published by Buzzfeed, Faraday Future owes more than $300m.
"We’ve gone from nothing to where we are today in just over two years," he said.
"Matching the speed of development and building with the inflow of cash doesn’t always match.
"Many companies have had this - Apple and Steve Jobs didn’t always have it easy in its early days. That’s one of the hurdles that we have to get over."
That kind of comparison - to technology pioneers - is something Faraday Future does often.
An impression of how Faraday Future wants its factory to eventually look
During its CES presentation, it brought up a timeline of milestones including the invention of the lightbulb and the creation of the world wide web. Faraday Future placed itself at the end of this timeline.
"That to me was stepping too far," remarked Tim Stevens, editor at large of motoring news site Roadshow.
If the company does manage to put its first vehicle into production, Mr Stevens said he still had reason to be cautious.
"I’m expecting this car to be in the range of $150,000, maybe $200,000. Far more expensive even than a Tesla Model X.
"That’s a big ask - if they are talking a low-number, high-margin car, they’ve still got to have a production down pat, and the reliability down pat too. Those are things it's taken Tesla a long time to figure out."
Where Faraday Future doesn’t appear to be struggling is with the car itself. The FF91, shown off for the first time at CES, goes like a rocket - 0-60mph (97km/h) in an alleged 2.39 seconds. Faster, it said, than a Tesla Model S (though Tesla’s chief executive, Elon Musk, disputes the claim).
A test drive also demonstrated the car’s ability to park itself completely autonomously. The company hopes drivers will one day be able to leave their car at the side of the road and ask it to drive off and park using a mobile app - like a robot valet.
The FF91 impressed car buffs - the company has promised it will be ready by 2018
However, the technology won’t be a part of daily life any time soon. It will be valet parking "approved by Faraday Future", a test driver told me - a process that will mean adoption across the world will likely be painstakingly slow.
But when it comes to hurdles to leap over, autonomous parking is well down the priority list.
Right now, Faraday Future is a company seemingly operating on a thread.
It is right to acknowledge that getting into the car industry as a brand new player is extremely difficult - which is why so few companies attempt it, and even fewer succeed.
Even behemoths like Apple and Google owner Alphabet have turned their focus more to providing software for established car makers, rather than begin manufacturing themselves.
At CES 2016, when Faraday Future launched a concept car so outlandish it instantly became known as the Batmobile, the company insisted it would defy its critics by 2017.
Has it done that? Partly - there is a car, and it’s rapid.
But building on that achievement and turning it into a mass-produced vehicle and a viable business? By next year?
Follow Dave Lee on Twitter @DaveLeeBBC and on Facebook | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-38621065 |
Corbyn: 'Chancellor's threats risk trade war with Europe' - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | null | Jeremy Corbyn says that comments by the chancellor that corporation tax could be cut could be a "recipe for a trade war with Europe." | null | Jeremy Corbyn has said comments by the Chancellor Philip Hammond on Brexit were the wrong approach, and suggestions that corporation tax could be cut could be a "recipe for some kind of trade war with Europe". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38627671 |
How disaster inspired a multi-billion dollar business - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Canadian businessman Serge Godin saw his father's business burn down when he was a teenager. That inspired him to build a company that now turns over C$10bn a year. | Business | Serge Godin remembers the event that gave him the drive and determination to succeed in life - watching his father's sawmill burn down.
He was 17 in Canada at the time, the year was 1966, and as his dad's business was uninsured, the family lost everything.
One of nine children brought up in rural Quebec, Mr Godin, along with his siblings, suddenly had to earn money to help his parents pay the bills and keep a roof over the family's heads.
So Mr Godin worked at a supermarket in the evenings after school, and then at a dry cleaner's on Saturdays.
Ambitious to run his own company, in his 20s he used savings of C$5,000 ($3,800; £3,100) to start a computer business that he called Conseillers en Gestion et Informatique (CGI). In English, this translates as Information Systems and Management Consultants.
Today CGI Group is a global IT systems giant that enjoys annual revenues of C$10bn, while Mr Godin's personal fortune is estimated at $1.5bn.
Now 67 years old and the firm's chairman, he says: "I didn't want to go back to the situation when we lost everything. That's probably what prompted me to build CGI."
After gaining a computer science degree from Laval University in Quebec City, and a few years working for two companies, Mr Godin launched CGI in 1976, when he was 26.
In typical computer industry start-up fashion, he began the business from his garage. After a few months on his own, a friend joined the business, and in its first year, CGI generated revenues of C$138,000.
Mr Godin is little known outside of Canada, but often features in Canadian papers
From that modest start, CGI has grown steadily ever since, fuelled by no fewer than 81 acquisitions, as Mr Godin has continued to follow a policy of ambitious growth.
In the company's most recent large takeover, it bought its European rival Logica for C$2.7bn in 2012. This more than doubled CGI's workforce, which rose overnight from 31,000 to 68,000.
Today its business clients include companies such as miner Rio Tinto, tyre-maker Michelin, airline group Air France-KLM and London's Heathrow Airport. CGI also does work for 22 of the world's largest banks, and has no fewer than 2,000 government contracts around the world.
Mr Godin, who reduced his daily workload in 2006 when he switched from chief executive to chairman, says the business has not given up on fast growth.
"We think we can double the size of the company [again] within five to 10 years," he says.
It hasn't all been plain sailing for Montreal-based CGI in recent years, however.
Back in 2013, it made headlines for all the wrong reasons, when it was blamed for technical problems that plagued the launch of the US government website where people on low or no income could apply for the new "Obamacare" health insurance.
CGI had a central role in building the website, but Mr Godin said at the time that the company "ended up in the eye of a storm" between the two main US political parties.
Looking back, he says: "We stayed and finished the work.
"We were portrayed by the press as being the system integrator, but we were not. We were one of 52 companies involved in the project.
"We didn't fight this in the press, because we have a code of ethics and we never criticise our clients."
While the issue could not have been pleasant at the time, Mr Godin and CGI have always insisted that there was no long-term reputational damage.
In terms of how CGI is run on a day-to-day basis, Mr Godin says he views it as a big family and that he has to keep everyone happy.
"At CGI we have a dream, and this dream is centred on the core of our business - our people," he says.
The company floated on the Montreal Stock Exchange in 1986
"They are the ones who take the elevator to come to work every day, and we have to make sure they will come back and will like working here.
"As employers, we have rights, but we also have duties towards our employees."
One way in which CGI tries to look after its staff is encouraging them to become shareholders. And for every share that an employee buys, the company will buy him or her the same amount.
Mr Godin says: "This idea of sharing is important to me, because I come from a big family."
Robert Young, technology analyst at research group Canaccord Genuity, says: "Serge Godin is well regarded as the builder of a company with a strong culture and customer relationships.
"There is a discipline he has baked into the business that is evident in the strong financial controls, and rigorous approach to [what is known as] the 'CGI management foundation' - a set of proven processes and methods that define CGI engagements."
When not continuing to help lead CGI, Mr Godin focuses on his charity work.
In 2000, he set up a charitable foundation called Jeunesse-Vie or Youth Life, which aims to help disadvantaged children across Canada through alleviating poverty and improving their education and health. So far, he has given it more than C$60m.
Having already been inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame, last year he was also recognised for his business and charity work when he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, one of the country's highest civilian honours.
Mr Godin says: "When you have the chance to have a successful business, it is your duty to give back."
He adds: "My origins remind me that it is important to help."
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38594679 |
Donald Trump and brands: An uneasy relationship - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | 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 |
Programming in the early days of the computer age - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Pioneering scientist and programmer Joyce Wheeler looks back on her time spent using Edsac - one of the first modern computers | Technology | Joyce Wheeler was one of a select group of scientists who used Edsac in their research
Everyone remembers the first computer they ever used. And Joyce Wheeler is no exception. But in her case the situation was a bit different. The first computer she used was one of the first computers anyone used.
The machine was Edsac - the Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator - that ran for the first time in 1949 and was built to serve scientists at the University of Cambridge.
Joyce Wheeler was one of those scientists who, at the time, was working on her PhD under the supervision of renowned astronomer Fred Hoyle.
"My work was about the reactions inside stars," she said. "I was particularly interested in how long main sequence stars stay on their main sequence.
"I wanted to know how long a star took to fade out," she explained.
The inner workings of the nuclear furnace that keep stars shining is an understandably knotty problem to solve. And, she said, the maths describing that energetic process were formidable.
"For stars, there's a rather nasty set of differential equations that describe their behaviour and composition," she added.
"It was not possible to be really accurate doing it by hand," she said. "The errors just build up too much."
Enter Edsac - a machine created by Prof Maurice Wilkes to do exactly the kind of calculations Ms Wheeler (nee Blackler) needed done to complete her advanced degree.
First though, she had to learn to write the programs that would carry out the calculations.
Dr Wheeler started her PhD work at Cambridge in 1954 knowing about Edsac thanks to an earlier visit during which the machine had been shown off to her and others.
Keen to get on with her research she sat down with the slim booklet that described how to program it and, by working through the exercises in that pioneering programming manual, learned to code.
Research students like Joyce Wheeler had to use Edsac at night
The little book was called WWG after its three authors Maurice Wilkes, David Wheeler and Stanley Gill.
It was through learning programming that Ms Blackler got talking to David Wheeler because one of her programs helped to ensure Edsac was working well. They got to know each other, fell in love and married in 1957.
Now, more than 62 years on she is very matter of fact about that time - even though programmers, and especially women programmers, were rare.
Perhaps because of that novel situation, a new discipline and a pioneering machine, the atmosphere at Cambridge in the computer lab was not overwhelmingly masculine.
"You could be regarded as a bit of an object, and occasionally it was a bit uncomfortable," she said, "But it was not quite a boys' brigade then in the way that it became later on."
It was an exciting time, she said, because of what the machine could do for her and her work. She took to programming quickly, she said, her strength with maths helping her quickly master the syntax into which she had to translate those "nasty equations".
"But it was like maths," she said, "it was one of those things that you knew you should not do for too long.
The foundations of programming were laid down by Edsac's creators
"I found I could not work at a certain programming job for more than a certain number of hours per day," she said. "After that you would not make much progress."
Often, she said, the solution to a programming problem she had been worrying away at would strike while she was engaged in something more mundane, like doing the washing or eating lunch.
"Sometimes it's better to leave something alone, to pause, and that's very true of programming."
With the programming done, she could let Edsac do the number crunching. As a research student she had to run her programs during the night. In her case that was Friday.
"That was good because there were no lectures the next day that you had to go to," she said.
As an operator she was allowed to run Edsac alone, provided she signed in and kept a record of what she did.
"Quite often it would break down during the night, but just occasionally you were lucky enough to keep it running all night," she said. "If it did crash, there was little that operators were allowed to do to try to fix it.
"They didn't even let any of the cleaners get near it," she said.
Dr Wheeler had been shown one procedure that recalibrated Edsac's two kilobyte memory but if that did not help, then her work would stop for the night.
Despite the regular crashes, Ms Wheeler made steady progress on finding out how long different stars would last before they collapsed.
A copy of Edsac is being built at the National Museum of Computing
"I got some estimates of a star's age, how long it was going to last," she said. "One of the nice things was that with programming you could repeat it. Iterate. You could not do that with a hand calculation.
"We could add in sample numbers on programs and it could easily check them," she added. "I could check my results on the machine very rapidly, which was very useful."
Rapidly in the 1950s meant about 30 minutes for the machine to complete one run of a program. Then the results were printed out for researchers to pore over to see what results they had got. Then it was a case of re-programming and perhaps waiting a few days to have a chance to run a slightly modified program on Edsac.
Despite the delays, it was clear to Dr Wheeler that they were pioneers.
"We were doing work that could not done in any other way," she said. And even though Edsac was crude and painfully slow by modern standards, she saw that a revolution had begun.
"It was clear that one day, when the machines got bigger and faster, a lot of problems would start to be solved." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-38103893 |
How working dads juggle their roles - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | How do working fathers manage the work-life balance? You have been telling us how you cope. | Business | Working fathers are frequently reducing their hours or taking on a less stressful role in order to balance their work and family lives, a new study has found.
According to the charity Working Families, a third of fathers they surveyed said they would take a pay cut in order to be more involved in their children's lives and as many again said they felt burnt out trying to juggle work and parental responsibilities.
BBC audiences have been sharing their experiences about how they cope.
"I worked as a sound engineer for six or seven days-a-week for ten years, with no specific work times, no overtime and no extra pay. That's just how the industry works.
"On top of that I had to get home early so my wife Kim could go to work in the evenings, she had to work so we could pay the rent on the house.
"A couple of months ago I had to quit my job because I was asked to to work evenings too, and evenings are the only time I get with my family.
"I quickly got another job but things are even worse. This new job has no holidays and no regular working hours at all.
"I have had numerous opportunities to work abroad but I declined them so I could be a part of my daughter's life as she grows up.
"I've decided to quit my new job, and today after just two months I'm leaving.
"Now I'm looking to start a business where I can spend more time with my family."
Jessica: "My husband and I made the decision when our son was born that I should work full time and he would work part time and be the stay-at-home parent. This is because, as a woman, I get far more rights as a working mother than he would as a working father.
"I am entitled to flexible working and have more legal rights. I work 36 hours a week and he works between 16 and 18, split over a Friday afternoon and Sunday afternoon which means we are at home together on a Saturday and our son only has to go to a nursery for one afternoon a week.
"It's been eight months and it's working so far. Dan is happy because he is at home with our son and also has a job so he feels like he is contributing to our income and Louis (our son) is happy because he has a parent at home during the week.
"We earn enough to get by and get no help from the state with our son other than child benefit."
"In my role, it's really hard to find a healthy work-life-balance. In a lot of companies you will get benefits, such as salary increase based on the effort you invest into your job. If you are not focused on your career, then you will get no increase or not the amount that would be needed.
"If you are focused just on your career you will miss beautiful moments with your child.
"If you would like to spend more time taking care of your child, you have to work hard. Then it becomes a circle, like an infinite loop, that you cannot close.
"Some people advise to either not work that hard or to move to another company, but this is nonsense. Why? Because your family needs money. More money comes from higher appreciation at work. This comes from more hard work. However, it will also reduce the time you have for your family.
"In addition, the parental leave we have here in Hungary is near to nothing. We get two days of parental leave per year per child, which is not enough. Salary increases are also not a trend here, at least not in my case."
"I jumped off the career ladder about five or six years ago - a decision taken with my wife to effectively swap roles; she'd worked part-time since the first of our two sons was born.
"She wanted to get back to her career, and I was painfully aware of missing out on being around my boys. We had enough cash to fall back on that my not working for a while wouldn't cause problems and then I started working part-time from home as a writer.
"There are a lot of unexpected barriers and challenges when you're a stay-at-home dad - they almost all boil down to other people's attitudes.
"It's important to accept that balance comes at a cost."
"When the time came that I wanted to get back to work I met some almost hostile responses. Many people struggled to accept that a man would want to spend more time at home with his kids for a while.
"I asked a few of them 'would you be so negative in the face of a woman returning to work after a prolonged child-related career break?' The answer was always 'no' and was often followed by an uncomfortable acceptance that they were regarding me differently solely because of my gender.
"It's a real eye-opener into tacit acceptance of gender-defined roles in society. That's something facing both men and women and it needs to change.
"These days I work as a copywriter for a marketing agency. I spend three days in the office and two days at home. It feels like a good balance. But it's important to accept that balance comes at a cost.
"I earn about a third less than I did about six years ago and half what I might be earning had I stayed on the career ladder. But it's definitely been worth it."
"Nearly three years ago I changed jobs. I took a pay cut purely for the reason of getting a better work-life balance and importantly to spend more time with my two kids. It is a move that I have not regretted.
"Previously the stress levels I was working under were making me ill. The previous job also was further away from home, so I was spending between three-and-a-half to four hours travelling every day.
"My wife and I both still work full time - we could not afford the mortgage otherwise. Life is still a struggle, but we get by.
"Family is so much more important than a career."
"The family have breakfast together every morning now. I can now see that my kids leave home to get on the bus to school before I travel to work. I work one day a week from home and that also is invaluable.
"It means I can help with things like getting the kids to and from after-school activities - both my children are members of the local swimming club and train for around 10 hours a week.
"Family is so much more important than a career. My new employer, Virgin Media, has been good to me."
"I have struggled with this for many years, choosing to be paid at 80% while working 100%. I forego a larger salary for the right to look my colleagues in the eye when I'm leaving early two afternoons a week to meet the school bus.
"Yet as a manager, my commitment and my ability to manage has been called into question a few times. 'Why don't you get an au pair?' I've been asked. Or 'why don't you ask your wife to work less?'
"As a man, I know the expectations on men can be tough when we want to step out of a stereotype."
"I think this is a very important area for the UK to improve. My daughter was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Canadian law is much more even-handed.
"At the time my wife was self-employed and so I was able to take our entire allocation of parental leave. This allowed me to be there full time for my daughter for the first eight months of her life.
"I also had the great fortune to be working for a very enlightened employer whose policy topped up my state allowance to 95% of my salary.
"To say this was the most important and precious time of my life is an understatement. It allowed my wife and I to fully share the role of parenting and I feel we are much stronger as a family as a result.
"As a middle manager I was the first man to take advantage of this at my job and contrary to complaining and worrying about how they would cope, my bosses were more concerned with baby showers. I felt totally supported.
"What did the employer get out of this? A whole lot of loyalty and an employee that worked hard happily, who dealt with personnel issues with compassion and empathy and a very low staff turnover rate. All intangible I know, but as an employer, if you go to bat for your employees, they will do the same for you."
"Living and working in the Middle East has posed even larger issues with work-life balance.
"With the constant drive to meet deadlines, as well as meeting client expectations, work-life balance is generally not taken into account by bosses.
"Due to ensuring that the clients are kept happy and that revenue is maximised, it is rare that I and a lot of others in this part of the world are allowed to take more than two weeks leave at a time, even though by law we are entitled to four weeks a year paid vacation.
"Due to the excessive client expectations, six-day working weeks are the norm so getting time to spend with your family is far and few between, to the extent that I will pull a sickie if I know my kid, wife or both have an impromptu day off (my wife is a teacher and my kid is in nursery).
"I'm constantly looking for work outside the Middle East that offers a better working schedule so I can spend time with my family." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38637857 |
Sinn Féin refuses to nominate deputy first minister - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | null | Stormont faces collapse after Sinn Féin refuses to nominate deputy first minister. | null | Stormont faces collapse after Sinn Féin refuses to nominate deputy first minister.
Nominating officer Michelle O'Neill said the DUP's actions had "diminished the credibility" of the political institutions and said it was now "over to the people to have their say". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38640366 |
City of London grapples with new EU shake-up - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Financial institutions across the UK are gearing up for one of the most far-reaching regulatory changes they have ever faced, writes Rob Young. | Business | The City of London is braced for the chill winds of regulation
Financial institutions across the UK are gearing up for one of the most far-reaching regulatory shake-ups they have ever faced.
There's a five-letter acronym regularly muttered in the City of London, which leads to some rubbing of chins, looks of bewilderment and groans about the workload.
The acronym in question is Mifid 2, the name of a rather technical, complex and, yes, dull-sounding piece of financial legislation from the EU.
It stands for the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive. Mifid 2 means big changes for banks across Europe over the next year.
"It's a complete system change, very detailed," says Anthony Browne, who runs the British Bankers' Association (BBA).
"It is changing their IT systems, changing the way their whole systems operate right from the front end and the information the traders put in to the back end and information they provide to clients; it's also the documentation they provide for their clients, and information they give to regulators themselves."
The rules run to more than 1,000 pages.
The new rulebook - or perhaps rule "tome", more accurately - is the EU's response to the financial crisis.
A decade on from that scarring experience, the European Commission predicts the law will be transformative for markets.
Despite the Brexit vote, the City still has to abide by the new EU regulations
Many banks back the new rules, saying they will help avoid a rerun of 2007-08 by bringing in more transparency and giving investors greater protection.
Some companies, though, say they are too tough and have already led to job losses.
"It is the unintended consequences that could be the problem here," says Julian Allen-Ellis from the EFMA financial markets trade body.
"The operational cost of both buy-side and sell-side setting up for this new regulation could mean profitability is impacted and that ultimately impacts the person on the street with their pension and their portfolio."
A recent survey of the City by PA Consulting suggested two out of five companies were not prepared enough to implement the new rules.
They'd better get a move on. The sprawling regulations come into force in January 2018.
There are some who argue that these complex EU rules could be a big help to the City after Brexit, because they contain something called "equivalence".
That allows financial companies from outside the EU to do business inside it, as long as their home country has the same standards of regulation.
The City is wary of what Mifid 2 will usher in
"Potentially this could be a way through the mire," says David Biggin, an adviser at PA Consulting.
"For a lot of the companies talking about relocating, actually this rule might allow some light at the end of the tunnel. It's a technocratic decision rather than a political decision. It is a way forward."
However, not everyone thinks "equivalence" will save the City's bacon if it finds itself with less favourable access to the EU than it has today.
"The main drawback is it can be withdrawn unilaterally at any time," warns the BBA's Anthony Browne.
He has other concerns too. "This would be a political process done at a time when the UK is negotiating its divorce arrangements from the EU, and when it's thinking about negotiating a trade deal with the EU. The chance we would get agreement on equivalence, to come in the day the UK leaves the EU, seems hopeful at best."
The experience of some countries already outside the EU seem to bear that fear out.
Several have already applied for "equivalence" status under previous financial rules.
Guernsey is one of them. The Crown dependency has beefed up its laws, and they have been judged as technically the same as the EU's by an EU regulator, no less.
Guernsey is now waiting for the European Commission to give it the final nod - and has been for two years.
"The technical decision was made. Now it's become a political decision," says Christopher Jehan from the Guernsey Investment Fund Association.
"That political decision is effectively the roadblock for us," he says. "They're using whatever reason they have for anything else going on in the world as a delaying tactic."
Guernsey's experience does not bode well for those in the UK who think these new complex EU rules will help the City after Brexit.
But Mifid 2 is already bringing about big regulatory change in the City, the scale of which it has rarely seen. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38568310 |
Australian Open 2017: Andy Murray and Dan Evans reach second round - BBC Sport | 2017-01-16 | null | Britain's Andy Murray wins his first Grand Slam match since becoming world number one but is given a stern test. | null | Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Coverage: Live commentary every day on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra plus TV highlights on BBC Two from 21 January; live text on selected matches on the BBC Sport website.
Britain's Andy Murray won his first Grand Slam match since becoming world number one but was given a stern test by world number 95 Illya Marchenko.
A clearly frustrated Murray was far from his best but reached the second round of the Australian Open with a 7-5 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 win over the Ukrainian.
The Scot, attempting to win his first Australian Open title after five final defeats, won in two hours 48 minutes.
Evans, the world number 51, saved three set points before winning the opener in a tie-break, then broke Bagnis in the first game of the second set.
A break of the world number 65's serve in game nine gave Evans the second set, and he wrapped up a 7-6 (10-8) 6-3 6-1 victory to set up a second-round match against Marin Cilic.
• None Murray on nerves, being a Sir and what he bought his dogs for Christmas
• None Relive day one of the Australian Open
Murray, 29, made a nervy start and lost the first game with three double faults and a forehand error, but took control to serve for the set at 5-3.
However, Marchenko broke the Scot again to draw level, only for Murray to raise his intensity and take the set after 55 minutes.
Murray became increasingly frustrated in the second set, berating himself for his errors and unusually sluggish movement, as his opponent grew in confidence.
The Ukrainian, also 29, hit a series of powerful forehands and deft volleys to take the lead in the set.
Murray had to fight hard to force a tie-break, but once again the top seed did enough when it mattered to win the set after a marathon 76 minutes in hot conditions.
The gruelling effort seemed to affect Marchenko in the third set and Murray took advantage to win it without any complications.
He faces Russia's Andrey Rublev in round two.
"I don't think it was the best match," said the Wimbledon champion. "The conditions were pretty different to what we've been practising in.
"Last week's been pretty cool. When it's like that, the ball is bouncing a bit lower and it is a bit easier to control. I was a bit tentative because of that.
"And I didn't serve that well either. So you end up having to work really hard on a lot of your service games when it's like that."
It was a very hot afternoon and therefore I think you could say Murray expended a little more energy than he would wish.
His first serve will be a concern - it can't be easy serving in the sun - but the heat is not really a huge factor for him.
All in all, he looked in pretty good spirits. I don't think he'll be hugely concerned but there are things to work on.
Bedene, ranked 108 in the world, was 5-2 up in the opener but Estrella Burgos took the first two sets.
The Slovenia-born Briton eased through the third set, but Estrella Burgos progressed after three hours and nine minutes. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38633162 |
Hepatitis C patient's agonising wait for drug treatment - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | null | Ben Franklin from London was diagnosed with Hepatitis C nine months ago but is still waiting for a new drug which could cure his condition. | null | Thirty-three-year-old Ben Franklin from London was diagnosed with Hepatitis C nine months ago. The virus can cause life-threatening liver damage.
A new drug which could cure his condition was approved by NHS England last year, but funding is limited to 10,011 people.
Ben is now buying a cheaper copy of the drug from Bangladesh, a route which the Hepatitis C Trust estimates as many as 1,000 other patients have taken.
NHS England said it was regularly reallocating unused Hepatitis C treatments to places with waiting lists. It also revealed that the number of patients treated will increase by 25% next year.
BBC Inside Out's NHS special is broadcast on Monday, 16 January on BBC One England at 19:30 GMT and on the iPlayer for 30 days thereafter. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-38562628 |
Iconic Piccadilly lights turned off for site renovations - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | null | The iconic billboard lights are switched off for renovations and will stay off until autumn. | null | The iconic billboard lights at Piccadilly Circus have been switched off for renovations and will stay off until autumn.
The billboard, which has displayed electrical advertisements for more than a century, went dark at 08:30 GMT for work to take place. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38640368 |
NFL play-offs: Green Bay beat Dallas, Pittsburgh see off Kansas City - BBC Sport | 2017-01-16 | null | A 51-yard field goal with three seconds left gives the Green Bay Packers a play-off win, while the Pittsburgh Steelers beat Kansas City. | null | Last updated on .From the section American football
The Green Bay Packers scored a 51-yard field goal with three seconds left to beat the Dallas Cowboys 34-31 and move to within one game of the Super Bowl.
The Cowboys had rallied from 21-3 down at half-time in Dallas to level the scores before Mason Crosby drilled a retaken effort through the posts.
Green Bay now face the Atlanta Falcons next weekend, with the Pittsburgh Steelers playing New England.
The Steelers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 18-16 in Sunday's late game.
The Cowboys were top seeds in the NFC, having won 13 of their 16 games in the regular season, but a touchdown from Richard Rodgers and two for Ty Montgomery put the Packers in control at half-time.
Dallas fought their way back into the game but Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers found Jared Cook with a 36-yard pass with three seconds left and Crosby did the rest - despite having to retake his kick after Dallas called for a timeout during his first effort.
The Packers have now won eight matches in a row.
Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Rodgers, who led Green Bay to victory in the 2011 Super Bowl, is "an incredible talent".
He said: "To do it when it's on the line like that, that's what great players do.
"That was one heck of a football game to be a part of. I just can't say enough about my team's resilience."
Pittsburgh failed to score a touchdown in Kansas but reached their 16th AFC Championship game thanks to six field goals from Chris Boswell.
The Steelers - who have won six Super Bowls, more than any other side - will now face Tom Brady's New England Patriots for a place in Super Bowl LI in Houston on Sunday, 5 February.
Brady beat the Steelers at the same stage of the play-offs on both previous meetings in 2001 and 2004. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/american-football/38634027 |
How bad have Southern rail services got? - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | 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 |
Unilever boss lives by African proverb - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | null | Paul Polman, the head of Unilever, shares the business advice he wishes he had been given when he started out. | null | Paul Polman, the head of Unilever, shares the business advice he wishes he had been given when he started out.
He is attending the World Economic Forum summit of political and business leaders in Davos, Switzerland this week. He will be launching the Business and Sustainable Development Commission's report on global goals.
Shhh! Get all the #CEOSecrets on our website here and watch this video explaining the series.
To keep up to date with the CEO Secrets series and go behind the scenes, follow series producer Dougal Shaw on Twitter and Facebook. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38572582 |
Fran Halsall: Three-time Olympian retires after 10-year international career - BBC Sport | 2017-01-16 | null | British swimmer Fran Halsall, a three-time Olympian, announces her retirement after a 10-year international career. | null | Britain's three-time Olympian Fran Halsall, who won more than 30 medals at world, European and Commonwealth level, has announced her retirement after a 10-year international career.
The sprint freestyle specialist made her Olympic debut at Beijing 2008 and narrowly missed out on medals at both London 2012 and Rio 2016.
She finished just 0.02 seconds off the podium in the 50m freestyle in Rio.
"Stepping away from the pool is quite a scary decision," said Halsall, 26.
Halsall won three gold and seven silver medals at the Commonwealth Games, having made her international debut at Melbourne in 2006.
She was part of the gold medal-winning 4x100m medley relay team at the 2015 World Championships, and also won gold in the 50m backstroke at the 2016 European Aquatics Championships.
'I'm looking forward to peeing in peace'
Announcing my retirement from swimming is a weird concept to me as I've never seen it as a career or a job. Just as a hobby that I've loved doing and happened to be OK at.
However I've done it for over a decade and there are so many people who have committed time, money, wisdom and knowledge into my journey that I will forever be thankful for. Stepping away from the pool is quite a scary decision for someone who's whole adult life to date has revolved around swim, weights, diet, peeing in a pot whilst someone watched, outdoor swim camps (yey) and lots of napping.
I am very much looking forward to the next chapter of my life and the normality of eating and drinking what I want, the only time someone watches me pee is when I leave the door open by accident and the dog comes in, and experiencing the mythical bank holidays. I will miss my daily naps and choosing to do sets of backstroke while training outdoors just to get an even tan. It's time to close this chapter of my life and move on to the next.
Swimming has taught me so much and given me opportunities that no other career could. So for me this is just a thank you note to everyone who has supported me for being part of a fantastic set of memories. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/swimming/38636644 |
Donald Trump praises UK's Brexit decision - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | null | US President-elect Donald Trump says the UK is "doing great" following the decision to leave the EU. | null | US President-elect Donald Trump says the UK is "doing great" following the decision to leave the EU.
His comments came as the Chancellor, Phillip Hammond, told a German newspaper that the UK wouldn't "lie down," if access to the single market was closed off during Brexit negotiations. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38632439 |
NHS patient caught selling his drugs in undercover film - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | null | We went undercover to confront him. | null | A patient has been caught in an undercover BBC film illegally selling prescription drugs which cost the NHS £10,000 a year.
You can see this story in full on BBC Inside Out West Midlands at 19:30 GMT on BBC One on Monday 16 January or via iPlayer afterwards.
This video has been optimised for mobile viewing on the BBC News app. The BBC News app is available from the Apple App Store for iPhone and Google Play Store for Android. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-38608663 |
NHS England makes slight improvement - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | BBC Newsnight's Chris Cook exclusively reveals signs of a recovery in English hospitals. | Health | The number of people treated within four hours at A&E departments recovered in the second week of January, BBC Newsnight has learned.
But while performance has improved since the first week in January, it remains way below its target of 95%.
Leaked data covering last week puts the national figure at 82.4% with only five hospitals meeting the 95% standard.
NHS England said they were doing "everything [they] can to ensure the best care possible is being delivered."
While the national figure remains low, it does show an improvement on the first week in January, which is usually the health service's hardest week. An earlier exclusive report by BBC News had revealed that, in that first week, 79.6% of patients were seen within four hours and only one hospital met the 95% target.
The new analysis by NHS Improvement, which oversees foundation and NHS trusts, reveals a general pattern of gradual improvement since the low of January 3, when the daily A&E rate reached a low of 75.8%. Over this weekend, the service managed to see more than 85% of patients inside the four-hour waiting target.
A spokesman for NHS Improvement said: "In the past few days, we've seen a real improvement in how quickly patients are being seen and discharged from accident and emergency departments - including to social care. But we know the pressures facing our hospitals will continue over the remaining weeks of winter and we're working hard to ensure they have the support they need to offer patients quick, safe, quality care."
The leak also reveals that, in the second week of January, 14,700 people who had been admitted to a hospital were left waiting for more than four hours to find a bed.
Of these, 140 people endured so-called "trolley waits" of more than 12 hours. While these figures are well down on the first week in January, they remain historically high - up by 3,000 on the equivalent week two years ago.
There are further signs of vulnerability: for the week covered by the data, which runs 9 to 15 January, the number of beds in use remained an exceptionally high 95.3%, with 4.9% of the service's beds occupied because patients were stuck in hospitals awaiting transfer to another care provider (a so-called "delayed transfer of care").
This is well above the preferred rate of bed use. A large number of studies of hospital management have demonstrated how, when there are few spare hospital beds, even very modest further reductions in the number of free beds can dramatically increase the likelihood of any given patient being caught in a hospital backlog, which can lead to significant delays in care.
That high utilisation rate is why, in addition to the elevated rate of trolley waits, there were 177 cancelled operations. That figure is much higher than the previous week, but is likely to be distorted because of the Bank Holiday. The rate at which operations was being cancelled also fell during the week.
The strain on the service will have been eased because of the expected fall in traffic over the second week of the year, with average daily A&E attendances dropping from 50,993 in the first week of the year to 47,195 in the second.
A spokesperson for NHS England added: "We started planning for winter this year earlier than ever before and will continue to do everything we can to ensure the best care possible is being delivered." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-38641367 |
Beijing: The city where you can't escape smog - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | China's capital is notorious for its chronic pollution. Even indoors it's a struggle to find clean air, says John Sudworth. | Magazine | China's capital is notorious for its chronic pollution. Even indoors it's a struggle to find clean air, says John Sudworth.
Having already taped most of my windows shut, I have now started on the air conditioning vents. The aim is simple - to close off every access point through which the toxic outside air leaks into our Beijing home.
Even our double-glazing doesn't keep out the smog. The most dangerous constituent, particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter - or PM2.5 as it's known - finds a way through the tiniest of gaps where the windows close.
So the only solution there is duct tape.
It's like a re-enactment of a 1970s government information film on surviving a nuclear holocaust. Only it's not radiation we're trying to keep at bay, but the fallout from fossil fuels.
The most useful device in our armoury is our PM2.5 monitor. We have two, one upstairs and one downstairs, which we glance at frequently, and it was their arrival that prompted the frenzy of taping and draught-excluding that continues to this day.
When I first arrived in China, five years ago, there was no way of monitoring the quality of air in our home. Like everyone else, we left it to blind faith that our air purifiers were doing the trick.
It now transpires they weren't. Even now on highly polluted days, we struggle to get our PM2.5 count much below 25 micrograms per cubic meter, the World Health Organization's maximum standard for safe air.
And that's with multiple purifiers running at full tilt, large box-like machines that sit in the corner of every room - two in some - the combined noise output of which is akin to living in the engine room of an aircraft carrier.
Shoppers look at air purifiers in Beijing
China's air pollution problem is now so bad that its effects are measured in more than a million premature deaths a year and markedly reduced life expectancy - an average of more than five years or so - in the worst-affected regions.
Over the past few weeks, a period of particularly acute and prolonged air pollution, the average air quality in Beijing has been well above 200 micrograms of PM2.5 particles per cubic metre - many times the maximum safe limit.
During the worst of it, it's been like living under house arrest, our children confined to the small, deafening but breathable indoor space of our home for days on end.
And across China, the smog becomes a dominant topic on social media, with the population tracking the foulness of the air via mobile phone apps.
One group of Beijing mothers, armed with their own PM2.5 counters, have even been roaming the city in search of shopping malls or cafes with filtered air - and then sharing their discoveries online.
Of course, humanity's dependence on oil and coal long predate China's economic rise. But China offers a vision of environmental degradation far in excess of the pea-souper fogs of 1950s London or Manchester.
For much of the past month the cloud of toxic air hanging over this country has extended for thousands of miles, a giant, continent-sized cocktail of soot from coal fired power stations and car exhausts, smothering the lives and filling the lungs of hundreds of millions of people.
While growing awareness means that more of them are now taking action to protect their health, many others are either not fully informed about the danger or don't have the means to do much about it.
A set of new filters for a single air purifier can cost £100 ($120) or more and needs changing every six months or so.
It is, of course, not a problem only of China's making. The smartphones, computers, TV screens, jeans and shoes that have been pouring out of its factories over the past few decades are cheap, in part at least, precisely because they're made without environmental safeguards.
The interests of the rich world and an unaccountable Chinese Communist elite have neatly dovetailed. The West gets its cheap consumer desirables and China gets rich without the inconvenience of the independent scrutiny, regulation or democratic oversight of other markets.
The true cost is measured by the numbers on my pollution monitors, and it is one being borne disproportionately by ordinary Chinese people.
Following a crackdown on a rare protest against pollution in the central city of Chengdu recently, one blogger dared to speak out in favour of the protesters. The police, he suggested, should bear in mind that the elites, whose interests they protect, have sent their families to breathe clean air overseas.
Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-38587580 |
RSPCA warns of false alarms after call to catch cuddly toy - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The animal welfare charity is urging the public to double check before raising the alarm. | UK | The RSPCA discovered a snake trapped in a loft was a child's cuddly toy - not like the real one pictured here
The RSPCA was called out to catch a stray snake in a loft which turned out to be a child's cuddly toy.
A welfare officer made the discovery at a property in Surrey after being contacted by a distressed homeowner in December.
It is a one of a string of calls made to the animal welfare charity where people have mistaken objects for living creatures.
The RSPCA is urging the public to double check before raising the alarm.
Other call outs include a report in November that an owl had been sitting on a roof for more than four days and appeared unable to move.
Inspectors discovered that the creature was in fact made out of plastic.
A month later animal collection officer Alan Farr was asked by a homeowner to help find a trapped bird which was making a "peeping noise" in her loft.
"After searching around and unable to find the mystery bird, I then went into her front room and found a smoke alarm beeping after the battery had gone flat," he revealed.
This plastic toy was mistaken for a live crocodile
The charity's 24-hour cruelty line received 1,153,744 calls in 2016, 3% more than the previous year.
It has urged the public to make sure they have a genuine problem before getting in touch.
RSPCA spokesman Dermot Murphy said: "We know that people mean well and most of these calls are not made in malice, and although we would like to be able to help everyone, we simply haven't got the staff to personally investigate each and every issue that the public brings to us.
"We must prioritise to make sure we get to the animals most in need."
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38633548 |
Why are cars so expensive in Ethiopia? - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Owning a car for many Ethiopians - even those with ready cash to spend in one of the world's fastest-growing economies - remains a pipe dream, writes Emmanuel Igunza. | Africa | Owning a car for many Ethiopians - even those with ready cash to spend in one of the world's fastest-growing economies - remains a pipe dream.
"I have been saving for nearly four years now, and I still can't afford to buy even the cheapest vehicle here," a frustrated Girma Desalegn tells me.
He has been shopping around for a whole week in capital, Addis Ababa, and has still not found an affordable car.
He is looking to buy a second-hand car imported from the Gulf states or Europe - but even they are prohibitively expensive because the government classifies cars as luxury goods.
This means even if a vehicle is second hand, it will be hit with import taxes of up to 200%.
"I have a budget of $15,000 (£12,300) and had expected that with that I could buy a decent family car.
"I don't want to buy the Toyota Vitz," he says pointing to a row of small hatchbacks that have now become popular on Ethiopian roads.
These cost about $16,000 in Ethiopia; in neighbouring Kenya the same car costs not more than $8,000.
It seems little wonder that Ethiopia has the world's lowest rate of car ownership, with only two cars per 1,000 inhabitants, according to a 2014 Deloitte report.
Henok Demessew, who has been running a car import and sales business in the capital, blames taxation.
"If it was not for that, we would have been able to import better cars either from Europe or America. But in order to make any profits we have to sell cars at such high prices.
"On top of the cost of shipping the cars from say from Dubai via Djibouti, we have to deal with multiple taxes to the government, making this one of the toughest businesses to be in, even though it's seen as lucrative."
The Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority says both commercial and private vehicles imported into the country can be subjected to five different types of taxes.
However, despite the heavy tax burden there is a rise in the numbers of car imports.
In 2016, government records show that 110,000 cars were imported to Ethiopia, an increase of more than 50% on the previous two years.
Vehicles to be used for public transport are exempt from some import taxes
Kasaye Ayele, a tariff officer at the customs authority, says there is some discretion.
"Vehicles that are imported to be used for public transport - we collect a much lower tax of 10% and not all five taxes are applied," he explains.
"But for private cars we check the engine capacity and if the capacity is big, we collect anything between 60% and 100% [of taxes due]."
Once all taxes are added to an imported car's price tag, it could cost nearly three times more than the retail price in its country of origin.
But Mr Kasaye defends the taxation policy, saying it was fair and staggered. He cites examples of discounts given for buying second-hand cars.
In a bid to encourage people to buy cheaper, locally made cars, the Ethiopian government has given incentives such as tax breaks to foreign car manufacturers to set up and assemble new vehicles in the country.
Currently Ethiopia produces 8,000 commercial and private vehicles for the local market a year - something the government admits is way below the country's potential.
Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has often pointed out plans for Ethiopia to become a leading manufacturer and exporter of locally made cars.
At least half a dozen car assembly plants, mostly Chinese, have been set up in Ethiopia.
One of them is Lifan Motors, which was set up nearly seven years ago. One of its cheapest saloon models costs about $20,000 new.
It has a plant on the outskirts of the Addis Ababa which assembles about 1,000 cars a year - way below its capacity.
For the company's deputy manager, Ma Qun, this is down to a lack of confidence in the local market from consumers.
Those who can afford imported brands, will choose them over local cars - despite the high taxes charged on used cars, he says.
"We are not satisfied. Our factory's capacity is about 5,000 a year but we sell just 1,000 units.
"It's because the policy doesn't restrict second-hand cars. So there aren't really many incentives for us to compete.
"We are waiting to see if there will be a change in the policy."
For many Ethiopian car buyers it comes down to value for money.
"We often prefer imported cars because we believe they are much better than the Chinese assembled here," one prospective buyer said.
"On top of that, people don't trust cars assembled locally because what we import from China are not up to a standard quality."
Another pointed out concerns about spare parts for locally assembled cars.
"Those you usually find around here are not genuine. That is the major reason people prefer Japanese cars."
But the government is highly unlikely to change its luxury tax on foreign cars.
So for people like Mr Girma, who wants a big, reliable car for his family, it remains a Catch-22 situation and his search will continue. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-38607986 |
Baby born in police car outside Stoke hospital - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A baby makes a surprise arrival when she is born in a police car outside a hospital. | Stoke & Staffordshire | Darcey Carson McBride weighed 6lb 9oz (2.98kg) when she was born on Friday morning
A baby girl was born in a police car after her parents' car broke down in snow on the way to hospital.
Emily McBride and her partner Thomas Carson were on their way to Royal Stoke University Hospital when their car ground to a halt.
The couple from Stone were picked up by officers from Staffordshire Police who took them to hospital in the back of their patrol vehicle.
But before Emily could make it out of the car, she gave birth to baby Darcey.
Darcey Carson McBride was delivered by hospital staff on the back seat of the car at 08:56 GMT on Friday weighing 6lb 9oz (2.98kg).
Both were then admitted to the delivery suite.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Police officers rush mum-to-be to hospital after car breaks down in snow
The police force said: "Staffordshire Police send their very best wishes to Emily, Thomas and Darcey."
Thanking the officers for getting her to hospital safely, Ms McBride said: "I'm really grateful, they (Staffordshire Police) got us there in time, if it wasn't for them, I would have been giving birth in traffic."
The couple's car broke down in the snow on Friday morning
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-38615799 |
Who are the figures pushing Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin together? - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Advisers to Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are promoting a stronger relationship between the two. | Europe | The question of whether Russia's leader Vladimir Putin has got material with which he could blackmail Donald Trump is for now unknowable and misses the point by a country mile: the two men think alike.
Mr Trump's belief in American traditionalism and dislike of scrutiny echo the Kremlin's tune: nation, power and aversion to criticism are the new (and very Russian) world order.
You could call this mindset Trumputinism.
The echo between the Kremlin and Trump Tower is strong, getting louder and very, very good news for Mr Putin.
As Trump signalled to Michael Gove on Monday, a new nuclear arms reduction deal seems to be in the offing linked to a review of sanctions against Russia.
The dog that did not bark in the night is Mr Trump's peculiar absence of criticism of Mr Putin, for example, on the Russian hacking of American democracy, his land-grab of Crimea and his role in the continuing war in Eastern Ukraine.
What is odd is that Mr Trump, in his tweets, favours the Russia line over, say, the CIA and the rest of the American intelligence community.
But why on earth criticise the world leader with whom you most agree?
Three men have egged along Trumputinism: Nigel Farage, who is clear that the European Union is a far bigger danger to world peace than Russia; his friend, Steve Bannon, who is now Mr Trump's chief strategist; and a Russian "penseur", Alexander Dugin.
With his long hair and iconic Slavic looks, Mr Dugin is variously described as "Putin's Brain" or "Putin's Rasputin".
Alexander Dugin is described as "Putin's Brain"
He has his own pro-Kremlin TV show which pumps out Russian Orthodox supremacy in a curious mixture of Goebbels-style rhetoric and Songs of Praise.
Mr Dugin is widely believed to have the ear of the Kremlin.
He is also under Western sanctions for the ferocity of his statements in favour of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has cost 10,000 lives to date.
Messrs Farage, Bannon and Dugin are all united that the greatest danger for Western civilisation lies in Islamist extremism.
Mr Bannon aired his views in a right-wing mindfest on the fringes of the Vatican in 2014.
He claimed that so-called Islamic State has a Twitter account "about turning the United States into a 'river of blood'".
"Trust me, that is going to come to Europe," he added. "On top of that we're now, I believe, at the beginning stages of a global war against Islamic fascism."
The danger is that in allying yourself with the Kremlin in the way they fight "Islamist fascism" in say, Aleppo, you end up siding with what some have called "Russian fascism" or, at least, abandoning democratic values and the rules of war and, in so doing, become a recruiting sergeant for ISIS.
It is a risk on which Mr Dugin does not seem willing to reflect. My interview with him in Moscow did not end well.
Dugin posted a critical blog entry after walking out of his interview with John Sweeney
First, he dismissed the chances that the Russians hacked American democracy as "strictly zero".
I asked him about the depth of Mr Putin's commitment to democracy.
"Please be careful," he responded. "You could not teach us democracy because you try to impose to every people, every state, every society, their Western, American or so-called American system of values without asking…and it is absolutely racist; you are racist."
Too many of Mr Putin's critics end up dead - around 20 since he took power in 2000.
I have met and admired three: Anna Politkovskaya, Natasha Estemirova and Boris Nemtsov.
Boris Nemtsov was murdered close to the Kremlin in 2015
Mr Nemtsov was shot just outside the Kremlin's walls.
I asked Mr Dugin what his death told us about Russian democracy.
"If you are engaged in Wikileaks you can be murdered," he countered.
I then invited Mr Dugin to list the American journalists who have died under Barack Obama.
Mr Dugin did not oblige but told me that ours was a "completely stupid kind of conversation" and walked out of the interview.
Later, he posted a blog to his 20,000 followers, illustrated with my photograph and accusing me of manufacturing "fake news" and calling me "an utter cretin... a globalist swine".
Such is the language of the new world order.
A few days later I watched the press conference when Mr Trump closed down a question from a CNN reporter by accusing him of manufacturing "fake news".
Under Trumputinism, the echo between Russia and America is getting louder by the day.
Panorama: The Kremlin Candidate? BBC One, 8.30pm, Monday, January 16. If you miss it, you can catch up later online. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38639327 |
Timothy Spall on playing Holocaust denier David Irving - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | null | Denial is a film about the renegade British historian David Irving, accused of denying the Holocaust. | null | Denial is a film about the renegade British historian David Irving, accused of denying the Holocaust.
Timothy Spall spoke to Andrew Marr about the challenges of playing the role: "He is isolated in his views so that does have its effect on you". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38627875 |
Barack Obama's race legacy: Progressive or divisive? - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | null | The BBC's Aleem Maqbool reports on the polarised perspectives over Obama's race legacy. | null | President Barack Obama was one of "the most divisive" presidents in a generation because he "played the race issue", the pastor and member of the Alabama Republican Party John Killian has said. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38632677 |
'I'm allergic to my husband' - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | How one woman's rare disorder means a kiss from her husband could end up killing her. | Magazine | Johanna and Scott Watkins pictured together before she became severely allergic to her husband
Twenty-nine-year-old Johanna Watkins from Minnesota cannot kiss her husband Scott, or even spend time in the same room as him. She suffers from Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, a rare disorder of the immune system, which means she is allergic to almost everything, including her husband's scent.
Johanna and Scott Watkins's date nights are very different from other couples.
"Scott and I will try to watch a show together. We can't be in the room together, because I'm allergic to him, but he will be three floors below me in a room on his laptop and I will be on mine and we'll watch the show at the same time and then text about it as we're watching it," says Johanna.
Johanna lives in an attic room all by herself with sealed windows and doors, and air filters to purify the air. She has a severe form of Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) in which the cells that are meant to protect her from outside threats mutate and start attacking her body instead.
On their wedding day the couple were unaware Johanna's condition would become so severe
The symptoms and severity of the disease can vary from patient to patient, but it makes Johanna allergic to virtually everything and can trigger life-threatening anaphylactic shock.
Before she married her husband Scott in 2013 Johanna did not expect her condition to become so severe. She worked as a teacher and the couple used to love hiking together. Even then she struggled with unusual rashes, irritable bowel syndrome and migraines, but these ailments became much worse after the couple married.
"There were times three and four years ago, before we got the diagnosis, that if I was extra close to my wife, specifically if my face was close to Johanna's face, she would cough," says Scott.
But it was only last year that the couple realised they had become unable to physically share their life together.
"We had noticed that when Scott would come in [to the room] I would start feeling worse and worse. My normal daily symptoms would just be aggravated," says Johanna. "And then at one point he went to get his haircut and came back in the room and within two minutes I had started my anaphylactic symptoms and he had to leave."
A week later Scott tried to see his wife again, but the same thing happened, and they realised their lives would have to change dramatically.
"It was this horrible reality that it wasn't going to work," says Johanna. "I was now reacting strongly to my husband. Before this I had reacted to my parents, to many, many other people, but it was horrific when it became Scott."
The treatment and medication that is usually given to MCAS sufferers does not help Johanna, so at the moment the couple do not know when - if ever - their situation will change.
"There's not an easy way around this problem. I want to keep Johanna safe and me going to see her compromises her safety," says Scott. "One of the ways I can take care of her now is by not going to see her. I'm not going to endanger her life. We're absolutely committed to one another and we're going to wait as long as it takes to see if there is some kind of healing."
Doctors are trying different treatments, but none so far have helped.
"They don't know if I will get well, and so we hope and we pray that I will," says Johanna. "I have had anaphylaxis, which is a life-threatening allergic reaction, more times than we can keep track of. My life could end quickly. Life is frail - it can end."
But Scott will be part of her life for as long as it continues, she says.
"On our wedding day we made vows to each other that till death do us part. No matter what life brought.
"I can tell you that even if I have this until I'm 90 years old, I would be committed to my husband with that vow and still love him."
Johanna and Scott are no longer able to hold each other's hands
Scott says they do sometimes get angry and frustrated about their situation.
"I've had to release a lot of what I expected for myself and I've had to accept what has been given to us," says Scott.
He adds: "Johanna and I are good at talking, we talk a lot, we try to communicate a lot, so one thing that we've found that's helpful is just bringing each other into what's going on in our lives as best we can because we're not able to be together."
Scott works full-time as a teacher and then returns home every evening to cook Johanna's food.
"It's one of the ways that I can care for her, and every other day for the past year I've had one of my dear friends come and they help [me] cook for Johanna," he says. "She can only eat two meals, so she's been eating the same two meals for over a year."
Johanna can only tolerate 15 different foods, including spices, so she eats either beef chuck roast (beef stew) with organic celery, carrot and parsnip or organic lamb with turmeric, cinnamon and cucumber.
Johanna has not responded to any treatment so far, including four rounds of chemotherapy
The couple are currently living in the family home of their friends, the Olsons, while their own home is renovated to make it a safe living space for Johanna. The Olson family have given up using all scented products and do not cook in their house at all.
"I have had severe reactions to someone smoking a cigarette down the block," says Johanna. "I have had severe reactions to the pizza place that's a mile down the street, and all my windows are closed and sealed in the room with special filters.
"But just if the wind blows it on the right direction that day and I get even a whiff I can have a severe reaction. The house is quite large and I'm at the top level, and if an onion were to be cut in the kitchen I have had a severe reaction."
Johanna has not left the attic room for more than a year, except to visit the hospital in an emergency or to see her doctor. Every morning she listens to a playlist of songs and then might write or answer an email to a friend, or video-call her young nieces.
The only people she does not have a life-threatening reaction to are her siblings, who help take care of her. Before they enter her room, they have to avoid eating strongly spiced food, shower with a special soap and strip down to their underwear. As soon as they walk in, they put on masks and special clothes that have never left Johanna's room.
Despite all these precautions, Johanna's symptoms still become worse after their visit.
"I think growing up in America, it's common for us to just think, 'Oh OK if there's a disease there'll be a medical solution, it will be fixed and I'll move on with my life,'" says Johanna. "So being diagnosed and becoming this ill, [there was] definitely a grieving process that I went through."
But the fact that Scott is downstairs in the same house and that she can talk to him on the phone is a huge comfort, says Johanna.
"I have many gifts in my life, many blessings that I have to be thankful for," she says. "And that reminds me to not become selfish and just make it all about me."
Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-38507160 |
Masters 2017: Joe Perry and Mark Allen progress to quarters - BBC Sport | 2017-01-16 | null | Joe Perry thrashes former world champion Stuart Bingham 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals of the Masters. | null | Last updated on .From the section Snooker
Joe Perry thrashed former world champion Stuart Bingham 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals of the Masters.
Perry made two centuries against Bingham, who became a father for the third time on Saturday.
Scot Higgins missed a black off the spot when on course to win the deciding frame, allowing Northern Irishman Allen in to make a 44 and take the match.
"If you don't pot balls at key moments, you don't win snooker matches," four-time world champion Higgins said.
Allen, ranked 10 in the world, goes on to face Marco Fu or Judd Trump in the quarter-finals on Thursday.
Higgins, 41, started strongly, a 111 break helping him into a 2-0 lead before Allen hit back to level at 2-2.
A run of 54 saw the Scot nudge ahead again before breaks of 81 and 104 gave Allen, 30, a 4-3 advantage.
The seesaw nature of the match continued as Higgins levelled before a superb 67 break in the ninth frame forced a respotted black, only for Allen to take it with a stunning pot.
Higgins, the world number three, took it to a decider with a run of 77, but Allen held his nerve to repeat his 2015 first-round win over the Scot.
In the evening session, Perry took the first frame with a break of 116, before snatching the next after forcing a respotted black.
Bingham pulled one back with a century, but Perry made breaks of 77, 76 and 107 and after Bingham fouled the white, his opponent took all the colours to progress. Perry faces China's Ding Junhui in the last eight on Friday.
Sign up to My Sport to follow snooker news and reports on the BBC app. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker/38643223 |
Australian Open 2017: Andy Murray & Johanna Konta lead British challenge - BBC Sport | 2017-01-16 | null | Andy Murray and Johanna Konta could both win the Australian Open, but the British supporting cast is not here to make up the numbers. | null | Coverage: Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra plus TV highlights on BBC Two from 21 Jan; live text on selected matches on BBC Sport website.
Andy Murray says it feels no different to enter the Australian Open as the world number one. A few players do now address him as 'Sir' - but that, he says, is with tongue firmly in cheek.
The challenge, though, remains as tough as ever. Murray has lost five finals in Melbourne in the past seven years, while Novak Djokovic - now the number two - has won the title six times in all.
Murray struck an important blow by beating his lifelong rival at the World Tour Finals to end 2016 at the top of the rankings; but earlier this month, the Serb hit back to win the Qatar Open in Doha and halt Murray's winning streak at 28 in a match of nearly three hours.
Murray is expecting another gruelling clash should they meet in the final here in Melbourne on 29 January.
"The way that we both play, we can't just hit through each other in one shot," the Scot said.
• None How to follow the Australian Open on the BBC
"It takes a few big shots to win points, so if we're playing well they tend to be long, physical matches.
"Doha was good because I was able to see how well I recovered from it: first week of the year, you can be a bit stiff and sore. I pulled up pretty well, so it was positive."
Much may depend on the energy they expend in the early rounds of the competition. The draw does not appear to leave either at a significant advantage, so at 29, Murray has as good a chance as ever of winning his first Australian Open title.
In the women's draw, there is a real opportunity for a top-20 player without a Grand Slam title to break their duck at this Australian Open. Britain's Johanna Konta is as well equipped as any.
The 25-year-old, who will be ninth in Monday's world rankings, is on a high after winning her second WTA title in Sydney on Friday, but it does mean she has had little time to rest before a challenging first week.
Her draw appears brutal (although she will not thank you for telling her, as she prefers not to look beyond the first match).
If Konta can beat 2013 Wimbledon semi-finalist Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium in the first round, she might then have to face the aggressive talent of Japanese 19-year-old Naomi Osaka in the second round and former world number one Caroline Wozniacki in the third.
Konta's decision at the end of last season to part company with coach Esteban Carril, so soon after the sudden death of her mental coach Juan Coto, was a big surprise.
The WTA's most improved player of 2016 was 150 in the world when she started working with Carril, but my understanding is the two were unable to agree financial terms for the year ahead.
It is a sign of Konta's standing in the game that she has been able to attract one of the best in the business as a replacement. Wim Fissette is just 36 - but already has a sparkling CV.
The Belgian was coach to Kim Clijsters when she won three of her Grand Slam titles, and has also coached Sabine Lisicki and Simona Halep to Grand Slam finals. A flourishing partnership with Victoria Azarenka only ended when the Belarusian announced she was taking a break from the sport because she was pregnant.
Konta and Fissette agreed to work together after a trial week at Patrick Mouratoglou's Academy in Nice in the week before Christmas. Mouratoglou, the coach of Serena Williams, rates Fissette highly.
"He's worked with some of the best players on tour so he has the experience and I think he's still fresh," he said.
"He's young, so he still has the motivation which is something very important because when you get older, a lot of guys don't want to travel that much. He's one of the best on tour, so I think it's a good pick."
Supporting cast no longer just make up the numbers
At last year's US Open, Dan Evans made the third round, and fellow Briton Kyle Edmund the fourth.
Edmund, 22, is now a top-50 player, and Evans just a single place adrift after he appeared in his maiden ATP final in Sydney on Saturday.
Evans' creative talents have long been on show, but his consistency is now far greater and even in the defeat by Luxembourg's Gilles Muller the 5ft 9in player showed his serve can still pack a punch.
All of the 26-year-old's matches bar the final in Sydney went to three sets, so sustaining his form in the opening week in Melbourne will be tough - especially with a Monday start.
Evans, who faces Argentina's Facundo Bagnis in the first round, says it is positive that the matches are coming thick and fast and he was grateful for the private jet laid on by Tennis Australia for the journey to Melbourne on Saturday night.
Edmund, meanwhile, has developed the useful knack of halving his world ranking on an annual basis. Every year, the challenge gets tougher, but he now stands at 46 in the world and in Brisbane earlier this month featured in his fifth ATP quarter-final since the start of last year.
His forehand is one of the most powerful in the world, his net game much improved, and the physical problems which have undermined him in five-set matches hopefully now a thing of the past.
Cramp proved his undoing in the first round of last year's Australian Open, and Edmund will once again have to deal with temperatures in the mid-30s Celsius for his first-round match against Colombia's Santiago Giraldo on Tuesday.
It was not a year to remember in 2016 for Aljaz Bedene, who nearly decided to walk away from the sport last summer. His love of tennis deserted him - something he relates directly to the International Tennis Federation's rejection of his appeal against his ineligibility to play Davis Cup for Great Britain.
"I honestly didn't want to play tennis, I didn't want to think about tennis," Slovenian-born Bedene, 27, said.
With his love of the game seemingly restored, Bedene faces Victor Estrella Burgos in the opening round. There is no finer example of the perils of retiring too young than the man from the Dominican Republic, who cracked the top 100 for the first time at the age of 33.
Watson and Broady hope to upset their hosts
The other two British players in the draw face seeded Australians in the opening round.
Heather Watson, 24, has fallen to 75 in the world after a promising start to last year, but will be in the Margaret Court Arena for her match against Sam Stosur.
Australia's highest women's seed is the 2011 US Open champion, but has a poor record in Melbourne where in 15 years she has reached the fourth round just twice.
Naomi Broady, 26, takes on an Australian who made a name for herself here last year. Daria Gavrilova beat two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova en route to the fourth round in the first Australian Open she had contested since switching nationalities from Russia.
Broady, at 95 in the world, is competing in her first main draw in Melbourne and can never be discounted given the potency of her serve.
The one high profile name missing from the main draw is Laura Robson, whose defeat in the first round of qualifying was her seventh in a row. In truth, it was a hugely erratic performance undermined by a chronic loss of confidence.
Robson is still only 22, though, and working seriously for the first time with a sports psychologist. A run of Challenger tournaments in France and Germany will provide a better clue to what 2017 holds in store - and whether she will be part of the debate once the French Open rolls around in four months' time. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38615193 |
‘Afghan girl’ Sharbat Gula in quest for new life - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The Afghan woman made famous by a 1985 magazine cover tells the BBC of her hope for a new beginning. | Asia | An Afghan woman made famous by a 1985 National Geographic cover has spoken exclusively to the BBC of her hope for a new beginning, after being deported from Pakistan.
Sharbat Gula now lives with her five-year-old son and three daughters in Kabul, where she says she wants to live a normal life after years of tragedy and hardship.
Her portrait as a 10-year-old became an iconic image of Afghan refugees fleeing war.
The only time she has spoken to the media before now, her family says, was for a 2002 documentary after Steve McCurry, who took her original photo, tracked her down in Pakistan and found out who she was.
Sharbat Gula had no idea that her face had been famous around the world for almost 17 years.
Like many Afghans, she sought refuge in Pakistan and lived there for 35 years - but she was imprisoned and deported last autumn for obtaining Pakistani identity papers "illegally".
"We had a good time there, had good neighbours, lived among our own Pashtun brothers. But I didn't expect that the Pakistani government would treat me like this at the end," Sharbat Gula told me at her temporary residence in Kabul.
Her case highlighted the arbitrary arrest and forced deportation of Afghan refugees in the current spat between the two countries.
It has been illegal for non-Pakistanis to have IDs since they were first issued in the 1970s, but the law was often not enforced.
Now sick and frail in her mid-40s, Sharbat Gula's haunting eyes are still piercing, full of both fear and hope.
She says she had already sold her house in Pakistan because she feared arrest there for "not having proper documents to stay".
Two days before a planned move back to Afghanistan, her house was raided late in the evening and she was taken to prison.
Sharbat Gula was sentenced to 15 days in prison
Pakistan's government has ordered all two million Afghan refugees on its soil to leave.
Sharbat Gula believes the Pakistani authorities wanted to arrest her before she left.
"I told the police that I have made this ID card for only two things - to educate my children and sell my house - which were not possible to do without the ID card."
She served a 15-day prison sentence, the first week in prison and the second in hospital where she was treated for hepatitis C.
"This was the hardest and worst incident in my life."
Realising the reputational damage, Pakistan later offered to let her stay - but she refused.
"I told them that I am going to my country. I said: 'You allowed me here for 35 years, but at the end treated me like this.' It is enough."
Her husband and eldest daughter died in Peshawar and are buried there.
"If I wanted to go back, it will be just to offer prayer at the graves of my husband and daughter who are buried in front of the house we lived in."
The "Afghan Girl" picture was taken by Steve McCurry in 1984 in a refugee camp near Peshawar, when Sharbat Gula was studying in a tent school. Published in 1985, it became one of the most recognisable magazine covers ever printed.
For years she was unaware of her celebrity.
"When my brother showed me the picture, I recognised myself and told him that yes, this is my photo."
"I became very surprised [because] I didn't like media and taking photos from childhood. At first, I was concerned about the publicity of my photo but when I found out that I have been the cause of support/help for many people/refugees, then I became happy."
Sharbat Gula has now returned to Afghanistan, where the government promised her a house in Kabul
None of Sharbat Gula's six children - another daughter died too at an early age and is buried in Peshawar - share the colour of her eyes.
But her brother, Kashar Khan, does, and the eyes of one of her three sisters were also green.
She says her maternal grandmother had eyes of a similar colour.
Sharbat Gula was a child living with her family in Kot district of eastern Nangarhar province when Soviet forces invaded Afghanistan in 1979.
"There was war between Russians and Afghanistan - that is why we left. A lot of damage/destruction was done."
Her mother died of appendicitis in the village when she was eight. Like hundreds of thousands of other Afghans, her family (her father, four sisters and one brother) migrated to Pakistan and started living in a tent in a refugee camp called Kacha Garahi, on the outskirts of Peshawar.
She was married at 13. But her husband, Rahmat Gul, was later diagnosed with hepatitis C and died about five years ago. Her eldest daughter also died of hepatitis three years ago, aged 22, leaving a two-month-old daughter.
Sharbat Gula met President Ashraf Ghani in the presidential palace on her return, and later former President Hamid Karzai.
"They gave me respect, warmly welcomed me. I thank them. May God treat them well."
Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani received her at the presidential palace
The government has promised to support her financially and buy her a house in Kabul.
"I hope the government will fulfil all its promises," she told me.
Kot district is a stronghold of militants linked to the so-called Islamic State group, so she can't go home to her village. Her green-eyed brother and hundreds of others have fled the area, fearing IS brutality.
"We cannot even visit our village now because of insecurity and don't have a shelter in Jalalabad. Our life is a struggle from one hardship to another," he says.
But Sharbat Gula's priority is to stay in her country, get better and see her children be educated and live happy lives.
"I want to establish a charity or a hospital to treat all poor, orphans and widows," she says.
"I would like peace to come to this country, so that people don't become homeless. May God fix this country." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-38640487 |
Trump interview quotes - and the reaction - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Donald Trump has given his first UK interview since being elected - what do commentators think? | UK Politics | Donald Trump has given his first UK interview since being elected US president, speaking to Conservative MP and Times writer Michael Gove. Here are a selection key quotes, and some of the reaction to them.
"I'm a big fan of the UK, uh, we're gonna work very hard to get it done quickly and done properly - good for both sides."
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson says: "It's great to hear that from President-elect Donald Trump. Clearly it will have to be a deal that's very much in the interest of both sides, but I have no doubt that it will be."
The Financial Times's Shawn Donnan argues that Mr Trump and Theresa May could be in for a "rude awakening", with any deal potentially taking years and some UK economic sectors, such as farming, questioning whether the terms of US-UK free trade would benefit them.
Theresa May's spokeswoman says: "We welcome the commitment to have a deal quickly and it highlights one of the opportunities of leaving the EU. We welcome the enthusiasm and energy the president-elect is showing."
"Basically [the EU is] a vehicle for Germany. That's why I thought the UK was so smart in getting out and you were there and you guys wrote it — put it on the front page: 'Trump said that Brexit is gonna happen'."
The Guardian's Jonathan Freedland writes that Mr Trump gave "the Brexiteers just enough to keep them happy", adding that, when asked directly about a trade deal, Mr Gove was given a "non-answer: 'I think you're doing great!'"
The Daily Telegraph says: "The comments in The Times newspaper will be a boost for Mrs May, who is preparing a major speech on Tuesday to set out her plans for Brexit."
"It's obsolete because it wasn't taking care of terror."
"And the other thing is the countries aren't paying their fair share so we're supposed to protect countries but a lot of these countries aren't paying what they're supposed to be paying, which I think is very unfair to the United States. With that being said, Nato is very important to me."
Conservative MP Michael Fabricant tweets: "#Trump is NOT anti #Nato. However, like the #UK, he believes more countries like the #UK should pay their fair whack into Nato."
German foreign minister Frank Walter Steinmeier says: "His comments have caused worry and concern even here in Brussels. I've just had a conversation with the Secretary-General of Nato, Jens Stoltenberg, who has expressed concern at the comments made by Donald Trump that Nato is obsolete. This is in contradiction with what the incoming American defence minister said in his hearing in Washington only some days ago and we have to see what will be the consequences for American policy."
Nicholas Burns, professor of the practice of diplomacy and international relations at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, tweets: "Europe is our largest trade partner, largest investor in our economy and strongest ally-NATO. And Trump just declared it obsolete?"
"Well, I'll be there - we'll be there soon - I would say we'll be here for a little while but and it looks like she'll be here first. How is she doing over there, by the way?"
Guardian political editor Heather Stewart writes: "Michael Gove's latest excursion into controversy, pipping the prime minister - and her Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson - to a personal meeting with Donald Trump, is just the latest in a series of headaches created for May by the powerful figures she dispatched to the back benches."
Theresa May's spokeswoman says: "We have already established good relations with the president-elect. The prime minister has spoken on the phone, her team has gone out there for discussions, the foreign secretary has had discussions." She adds: "If the British press succeeds in interviewing world leaders, we should be proud."
"Well, I start off trusting both [Vladimir Putin and Angela Merkel} - but let's see how long that lasts. It may not last long at all."
The Independent says: "President-elect Donald Trump has avoided saying who he trusts more - German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a long-time US-ally, or Russian President Vladimir Putin."
Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia's Security Council, says: "If Donald Trump's administration is interested we will be ready to resume full-format consultations with our American partners through the Russian Federation's Security Council."
Angela Merkel says: "I am personally waiting for the inauguration of the US president. Then of course we will work with him on all levels." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38637058 |
Newspaper headlines: Trump to 'make Brexit great' with trade deal - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Donald Trump's first UK interview is one of many stories featured on Monday's front pages. | The Papers | President-elect Donald Trump is making the headlines on several of Monday's front pages.
His pledge to offer Britain a "quick" trade deal dominates the front page of the Times.
The president-elect tells the paper that Brexit will be a "great thing" and predicts that other countries will follow Britain's lead in leaving the EU, which he says has been "deeply damaged" by the migration crisis.
Mr Trump's interview is also the lead story for the Daily Telegraph which sees his remarks as a "boost" for Theresa May, ahead of her speech on Tuesday about the government's plans for Brexit.
The Guardian says Mr Trump has been warned that his "careless" use of Twitter could cause a security risk.
The outgoing director of the CIA, John Brennan, is quoted as saying the president-elect has a "tremendous responsibility" to protect the US and its interests.
The Daily Telegraph says Mr Brennan has cautioned Mr Trump against forging closer ties with Russia, arguing against the lifting of sanctions.
But the Daily Mail suggests the next US leader is planning a summit with Vladimir Putin "weeks" after becoming president, "as he seeks to improve relations with the Kremlin".
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is set to pocket £15m from the sale of an education website, according to the Daily Mirror.
The paper's headline describes the deal as a "payday sickener" as the NHS is "cut to the bone" while its editorial accuses Mr Hunt of being "born with a silver thermometer in his mouth" and calls on him to "study his conscience".
The Times agrees that the windfall is "politically embarrassing" following the government's disputes with junior doctors and GPs. The Daily Telegraph claims the deal will make Mr Hunt "the richest member of the cabinet".
Jeremy Hunt set to receive a £15m windfall is "politcally embarrassing" says the Times
Meanwhile the Daily Mail's lead story highlights what it calls "the scale of abuse of the crumbling NHS by health tourists".
It claims a hospital in Luton is attempting to recoup £350,000 from a Nigerian woman, who is said to have flown to Britain to give birth to twins.
The cancer specialist, Professor Meirion Thomas, tells the paper that similar, "staggering" debts should be investigated by NHS fraud officers, as "patients don't arrive at specialist hospitals with serious illnesses by chance".
The Sun says the half-brother of Prince Harry's American girlfriend, Meghan Markle, has apologised after he was arrested for alleged gun offences in the US. Thomas Markle Jr blamed the incident on a drunken argument, prompting the headline "Soz Sis! I was so sozzled".
The Daily Mail says other members of the family have insisted the arrest will not cause problems for Ms Markle's relationship with Prince Harry, but the Daily Express claims there is "some concern" in royal circles. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-38632547 |
Eyewitness describes Kyrgyzstan plane crash - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | null | Local eyewitness Uson describes the moment a plane crashed in a Kyrgyzstan village. | null | An eyewitness has described the moment a plane crashed in a Kyrgyzstan village, killing all four crew and at least 33 people on the ground.
Uson said part of the plane crashed on top of his friend's house. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38642921 |
Can Paris summit save fading two-state solution? - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A major Middle East summit in Paris aims to rescue the two-state solution, but risks setting it further back, says Yolande Knell. | Middle East | The fate of Jerusalem is one of the most contentious issues between the two sides
For many, the holy city of Jerusalem is meant to be a shared capital for Israel and the Palestinians - two peoples in two nations, living peacefully, side-by-side.
At least that is the dream of the so-called "two-state solution" to end a decades-old conflict.
The idea has been set out in UN resolutions going back to the mid-'70s, driving diplomatic efforts that culminated in the breakthrough 1993 Oslo Accords.
But after many rounds of failed peace talks, it looks increasingly in jeopardy.
A summit taking place in Paris on Sunday is expected to try to signal to Israel and the next US president that establishing a Palestinian state is the only path to peace.
Palestinians say Israel must freeze settlement activity before talks can resume
France will host more than 70 countries and world powers for the conference, but there will be no Israelis or Palestinians present.
Well-informed sources confirm reports of a draft statement asking both sides "to officially restate their commitment to the two-state solution".
It will also affirm that the international community "will not recognise" changes to Israel's pre-1967 lines unless they are agreed with the Palestinians.
It will make clear "a negotiated solution" is "the only way to achieve enduring peace".
The Palestinians welcome the French initiative but it is rejected by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"It's a rigged conference, rigged by the Palestinians with French auspices to adopt additional anti-Israeli stances," he said this week. "This pushes peace backwards."
The conference follows last month's UN Security Council resolution which called on Israel to stop settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Israel says many international forums are historically biased against it
Over 600,000 Israelis live in these areas which were captured in the 1967 Middle East war. They are seen as illegal under international law, but Israel disagrees.
This week, US President Barack Obama returned to the subject of settlements in an interview with Israel's Channel Two.
"The facts on the ground are making it almost impossible - at least very difficult, and if this trend line continues, impossible - to create a contiguous, functioning, Palestinian state," he said.
"If that's the case, then what you're embracing is a vision of Greater Israel in which an occupation continues indefinitely."
The timing of the talks in Paris - just days before Donald Trump moves into the White House - appear very deliberate.
He has not yet spelt out his vision for the Middle East but has shown strong backing for the Israeli far-right.
He has nominated a lawyer, David Friedman, who is an outspoken critic of the two-state solution and supporter of settlements, to be his ambassador to Israel.
Mr Trump has also promised to move the US embassy to Jerusalem.
Palestinians say relocating the US embassy to Jerusalem will kill prospects for peace
Like other countries, the US currently keeps its embassy in Tel Aviv, as it does not recognise Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem.
"This is very dangerous what President-elect Trump wants to do," Palestinian official, Mohammed Shtayyeh tells me. "It is American recognition that Jerusalem is part of the State of Israel."
"We would consider this American move as an end to the peace process, an end to the two states and really putting the whole region into chaos."
A poll conducted last year suggests that a slight majority of Palestinians - 51% - and Israelis - 59% - still support the two-state solution. However there is high mutual mistrust.
In recent days, Israeli officials have urged world leaders to refocus their attention on ways to tackle terrorism following a truck ramming by a Palestinian that killed four young soldiers in Jerusalem.
They argue that the very Palestinian leaders with whom they are supposed to be seeking peace have incited an upsurge in attacks, mostly stabbings, since October 2015.
Some 40 Israelis have been killed and more than 230 Palestinians have been shot dead by Israeli security forces. Israel says most of those Palestinians were involved in attacks. Others were killed in clashes with troops.
Palestinian leaders blame the violence on a younger generation's anger at the failure of talks to end Israel's occupation and deliver on promises of an independent state. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38608995 |
Monty Panesar to help Australia before tour of India - BBC Sport | 2017-01-16 | null | Former England spinner Monty Panesar is to work with the Australia team before their Test series in India. | null | Last updated on .From the section Cricket
Former England spinner Monty Panesar is to work with the Australia team before their Test series in India.
The 34-year-old has been playing grade cricket for Sydney side Campbelltown.
Panesar toured India on three occasions and took 17 wickets when England won 2-1 in 2012, their first series victory there for 27 years.
The left-armer will advise Australia's batsmen and slow bowlers before they depart for the four-Test series, which begins on 23 February.
Hopefully there will be opportunities to get involved at a county and get back into first-class cricket
"Pat Howard [Cricket Australia's team performance manager] gave me a call and asked if I was available to work with a few players for the upcoming series and I was happy to do that," Panesar told the Tuffers and Vaughan Cricket Show on BBC Radio 5 live.
"The hardest role for a spinner is [to] bowl 30 overs in a day, go for three an over, and give [the captain] control from one end and build pressure, and that's going to probably be one of the things [they] are going to ask me."
He added that coaching is "something I've always had a passion for".
"While I've been out here I've been helping the [Campbelltown] under-16s, under-21s and also the grade team, so this is a good opportunity to work with international cricketers," he said.
"Coaching is more about getting to know the person as much as talking about the technical side of the game. Once you develop that trust in people's opinions, your coaching becomes that much easier."
Panesar's stint in Australia is part of a bid to return to his best on the field amid mental health problems.
In May 2016 he spoke to the BBC about feelings of anxiety and paranoia that stemmed from a loss of confidence and self-esteem.
He spent last summer with Northamptonshire but is without a county for 2017, although he may train with Northants on his return from Australia and has not given up hope of playing at the highest level again.
"From a playing side, I'm trying to get my shoulder a lot stronger, trying to get fitter again," he said.
"Hopefully when I get back [to England] there will be opportunities to get involved at a county and get back into first-class cricket.
Before leaving England to head down under, he travelled daily from Luton to Wimbledon to work with a fitness trainer and turned down television offers, with some reports linking him to ITV show I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here.
Panesar has taken 167 wickets in 50 Tests for England, the last of which came at Melbourne on the 2013-14 Ashes tour. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/38635241 |
Entertainment Week in Pictures: 8-14 January - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | A look at some of the events in the world of entertainment and arts over the past week, including the Golden Globes, London Fashion Week Men's and Amy Adams's Hollywood Star. | Entertainment & Arts | Moonlight triumphed in the closely-fought battle for best film drama at the Golden Globes in Los Angeles. It held off competition from the critically-lauded Manchester By The Sea. Both films were put in the shade, however, by La La Land - which won all seven of the awards it was nominated for. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38595531 |
Piccadilly Circus lights turned off for site renovations - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The lights of Piccadilly Circus are switched off for the longest period since World War Two. | London | The iconic billboard lights at Piccadilly Circus have been switched off for renovations and will stay off until autumn.
The billboard, which has displayed electrical advertisements for more than a century, went dark at 08:30 GMT for work to take place.
It is the first time since World War Two the lights have gone off, except for power cuts and special events.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. A history of how the lights have changed at Piccadilly Circus
A permanent single screen will be unveiled in autumn to replace the current six screens.
As well as being an advertising board, it will be able to provide live video streaming and give updates about events such as the weather and sports results.
Ros Morgan, chief executive of the Heart of London business alliance, said the new screen would "bring visitors an enhanced entertainment experience".
About 100 million people are estimated to pass through Piccadilly Circus each year.
The lights, seen here on VE Day, were switched off for a decade during and just after World War Two
The new display will boast one of the highest resolution LED displays of its size in the world
The lights have previously gone out in 1939 to comply with World War Two blackouts. They were not switched back on until 1949.
Since then, they have only been turned off as a mark of respect, including during the funerals of Winston Churchill and Princess Diana, and in support of environmental campaigns.
The occasional power cut and the imposed three-day week in the 1970s have also plunged Piccadilly Circus into darkness.
Coca-Cola has a 62-year residency on the Piccadilly Circus display
The occasional power cut, like this one in June 2007, has also turned off the illuminations
The new display, which will be the same size as the current space, will be shared by six advertisers.
Coca-Cola has been advertising in Piccadilly Circus since 1954 and will continue its residency, while Samsung will also have a spot.
Vasiliki Arvaniti, portfolio manager at Land Securities, said the new screen would offer brands "pioneering new ways to connect" with people.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch the countdown and lights going off
• None Piccadilly Circus to be switched off
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-38610332 |
Jurgen Klopp: Liverpool boss says Manchester United 'play long balls' - BBC Sport | 2017-01-16 | null | Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says Manchester United resorted to long-ball football during Sunday's 1-1 draw. | null | Last updated on .From the section Football
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said Manchester United resorted to long-ball football during Sunday's 1-1 draw.
United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic's header cancelled out James Milner's penalty at Old Trafford, leaving Liverpool without a win in four games.
Klopp said: "They played long balls in a wild game. We played the better football and had the better plan."
United counterpart Jose Mourinho said: "We attacked and Liverpool were the team that defended."
Mourinho, criticised for negative tactics in a goalless draw at Anfield earlier in the season, said he wanted to "see if the critics are fair" after Sunday's draw, after which he said Liverpool were "happy with a point".
"They were clever," added Mourinho. "They took their time, they know how to play football and control the emotions of the game.
"They knew they would be in trouble in the final few minutes."
Klopp played down suggestions the draw was key in the title race, with his side now third, seven points behind Chelsea.
Liverpool were without Sadio Mane - who scored for Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations - and defender Joel Matip, who was not given international clearance after turning down the chance to play for Cameroon in the tournament.
Klopp added: "When you see the line-ups and our circumstances, we had lots of little issues, you say 'a point at Old Trafford - let's take it and go home.' Of course it now doesn't feel like that because of the performance of my boys."
The German believes Liverpool were "dominating" until the 75th minute and, though his side only had 45% of possession, they did better the shot count with 13 to United's nine.
The Reds ran 12km further than their hosts but are now on their longest winless run of the season in all competitions.
"In the end period of the game when United started playing long balls - to Marouane Fellaini and Zlatan Ibrahimovic - after 80 minutes high intense football it is really hard," added Klopp.
"Usually you can accept a draw at Manchester United but I think after the entire 98 minutes we could have deserved a win."
United played 53 long balls in the game - classified by Opta as "a forward pass that is 35 yards or more and is kicked into a space or area on the pitch rather than a precise pass aimed at a particular team-mate" - while Liverpool themselves hit 34.
The game total of 87 was only eight behind the most played in a Premier League game this season - during West Brom's win at Crystal Palace in August.
Manchester United have hit 510 long balls in the Premier League this season - which puts them 12th in the league's ranking Crystal Palace have played the most long balls (796), while league leaders Chelsea have made the fewest (361)
Defensive Reds a pain in the neck for Mourinho
Mourinho said the number of men defending Liverpool's area prompted his decision to introduce the physical Marouane Fellaini for full-back Matteo Darmian on 76 minutes.
The Belgian headed against the post in the build-up to Ibrahimovic's equaliser, although the switch to a more direct style triggered by his arrival resulted in just five United touches in the Liverpool area.
Mourinho said: "I have a problem with my neck because I was always looking to the left in the second half and I saw so many yellow shirts in front of me I thought 'let's go for it'.
"We lost two points when we wanted all three.
"The people need to know what Marouane Fellaini is great at and what he is not so good at. Marouane is very good in some aspects.
United, now unbeaten in the league since October, remain sixth, two points adrift of local rivals Manchester City and 12 behind leaders Chelsea.
The managers had a disagreement on the touchline late on, with fourth official Craig Pawson coming between them after an incident involving Roberto Firmino and Ander Herrera.
Liverpool forward Firmino was booked for shoving United midfielder Herrera in response to having his shirt pulled.
Mourinho said Klopp had wrongly thought he was asking for Firmino to be sent off, adding: "There was no problem at all."
Klopp added: "He wanted the minimum of a yellow card." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38632099 |
Cilla Black statue unveiled as Cavern Club celebrates 60 years - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Liverpool celebrates 60 years of the Cavern Club as a life-size statue of Cilla Black is unveiled outside the venue. | Liverpool | This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Cilla Black's son, Robert Willis, said the sculpture "captured the joy that she had"
A life-size bronze statue of Cilla Black has been unveiled outside Liverpool's Cavern Club as the venue celebrates its 60th anniversary.
The club, credited with launching the career of The Beatles, opened its doors on 16 January 1957 as a jazz cellar.
Crowds gathered in Mathew Street to see the sculpture which shows a young Cilla performing one of her early songs.
The TV celebrity and 1960s singing star, who died in 2015, started work as a cloakroom attendant at the club.
Crowds filled Matthew Street in Liverpool city centre for the celebrations
It was commissioned by Black's sons Robert, Ben and Jack Willis, who said they backed the idea after being moved by the response from the city following their mother's death.
Robert Willis said they wanted to "donate it as a small gesture of gratitude to this great city for their wonderful outpouring of love and affection for our mother", adding that he was "thrilled" with the statue.
His mother would have been "very flattered, proud and honoured", he said.
One of the sculptors, Andy Edwards from Stoke-on-Trent, said "it's the story of the birth of that period in Liverpool's musical culture" and it was important the city remembered her.
Cilla Black first worked at The Cavern as a cloakroom girl before going on to launch a hugely successful singing career of her own
The Beatles played hundreds of gigs at The Cavern Club between 1961 and 1963.
The unveiling was one of a programme of special events taking place on Monday to mark 60 years of the Cavern, which became synonymous with Merseybeat and The Beatles.
The Cavern was demolished in 1973 to make way for a shopping centre but reopened 10 years later on part of the same site using reclaimed bricks from the original building.
The Beatles played at the Cavern Club almost 300 times
Cavern director John Keats said the club had remained relevant and people were "constantly surprised at who has played [here]".
John Lennon's half sister, Julia Baird, said the role it played in the Liverpool's musical history should not be underestimated and she thought Lennon "would have loved" to be part of the celebrations.
"The Beatles didn't launch The Cavern - The Cavern launched The Beatles," she said.
The club's owner, Dave Jones, said: "This venue has to be protected for ever... it has to remain here."
The statue features images from the singer's life in the fabric of her dress
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-38636662 |
Fake news: Too important to ignore - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | It behoves all right-thinking journalists to combat fake news, says Amol Rajan. | Entertainment & Arts | "It is the customary fate of new truths," wrote TH Huxley, in one of my favourite quotes, "to begin as heresies, and end as superstitions."
Fake news is nothing new, depending on what you mean by it.
But during the past year - specifically during Donald Trump's election - it has become a cancer in the body politic, growing from an isolated but malignant tumour into a raging, mortal threat.
No hack can witness this without alarm. As a BBC journalist I am required to be politically impartial; but as my distinguished colleague Nick Robinson has argued, I am under no obligation to be impartial about democracy (as against tyranny, for example).
Nor am I under any obligation to be impartial about truth, as against lies. The possibility of truth is a necessary condition for democracy.
Fake news is an assault on truth. Therefore it behoves all right-thinking journalists to combat fake news.
First of all, what is fake news? Fake news is of three kinds.
First, false information deliberately circulated by those who have scant regard for the truth but hope to advance particular (often extreme) political causes and make money out of online traffic.
Second, false information that is circulated by journalists who do not realise it is false.
Freddie Starr: The subject of one of the most famous newspaper headlines
All unintended errors of fact in the history of journalism, from hoaxes to exaggerated headlines - Freddie Starr never ate a hamster - fall into this category.
That is why I say fake news is nothing new: in fact it is as old as journalism, if not older. The point about this kind of fake news is it often contains at least a scintilla of truth.
Third, news that causes Donald Trump discomfort. At his press conference last week, the president-elect targeted CNN, conflating that organisation with Buzzfeed.
CNN says it had corroborated accusations about Mr Trump that it published; whereas Buzzfeed published a dossier that contained allegations that hadn't been corroborated.
Mr Trump was discomfited by CNN; therefore he described it as fake news.
The first kind of fake news - deliberate lies - has been energised by the viral power of social media.
The Pope didn't back Mr Trump; nor did Denzel Washington. But millions may have believed one or both those propositions, and their originators got rich on the lie.
The third kind of fake news isn't really fake at all.
It's simply news that some people don't like to acknowledge, and wish to silence.
But if you believe that the media should be free to scrutinise the use and abuse of power, and so hold power to account, the silencing of legitimate questions through the abusive epithet "fake news" is clearly anti-democratic.
The first two kinds of fake news are, to varying degrees, hostile to the democratic process.
A useful distinction would describe the second as false news rather than fake news.
But with the third kind, it is the use of the term "fake news", rather than what it is describing, that is dangerous.
Pope Francis was reported to have backed Donald Trump's presidency campaign
The first kind spreads deceit and pollutes the well of civility on which strong societies must draw.
The second - false news - damages trust in the media. In the third instance, use of the term "fake news" numbs scrutiny and also pollutes that well of civility.
All proper journalists reside in the zone between truth and falsehood.
Some try harder than others to resist the magnetic pull - and it can be very strong at times - of the latter. Most, if they have any self-worth, steer clear of the outright lies that make up that first kind of fake news.
Many big media organisations recognise fake news is dangerous and are acting against it.
Facebook, after initially expressing scepticism about the influence of fake news in the presidential election, has started taking it very seriously indeed.
The BBC is boosting Reality Check, a fact-checking service that will work with Facebook. Several years ago Channel 4 News launched Fact Check, which fulfilled a similar role.
These are all pleasing, practical measures. But there is a deeper philosophical issue at stake, concerning the role of truth in our society.
No society can conduct the informed conversation necessary for civility, the resolution of disputes, or the judicious exercise of power and law if there is no agreement on basic facts.
You cannot choose how to go forward if you cannot agree what just happened.
Therefore it is necessary to agree that there are facts, or true propositions.
In the West today, largely but not solely because of the advent of digital media, the truth is more vulnerable than it has been for a long time.
This is partly because whereas falsity comes by degrees, truth is absolute; and therefore anything that chips away at its granite surface leaves a big dent.
It is also because, as I wrote in the last editorial of the Independent newspaper (now solely online), the truth is hard, expensive and boring. Whereas lies are easy, cheap and thrilling.
Finding out the real story takes time and effort. Time and effort cost money. Once you've found the real story, you have to verify it: that's what makes it true.
But verification also takes time and effort. And sometimes, the thrilling tip-off you received turns out to be no more than that.
It would be amazing if the Moon were made of cheese, or Elvis Presley still lived. But it isn't, and he doesn't.
Fake news of the second kind - the sort of exaggerations and errors that are inevitable in journalism, and which I call false news - will always be with us.
But fake news of the first kind has to be combated, and use of the term to silence scrutiny deserves the same harsh treatment.
You cannot conduct either of these battles, however, unless you have the preliminary belief that truth is not only possible, but vital.
And where might that come from? I'd suggest you start with the philosophers Bertrand Russell, AJ Ayer, and Simon Blackburn. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38636042 |
Dashcam shows US truck near miss - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | null | Dashcam footage captures a Kansas State Trooper's near miss with an oncoming truck. | null | Dashcam footage has captured a Kansas State Trooper's near miss with an oncoming truck.
It shows the moment the trooper swerved to avoid the vehicle, which had lost control in icy conditions. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38643280 |
The hidden strengths of unloved concrete - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Concrete has a pretty poor reputation, yet this ubiquitous material has largely overlooked benefits. | Business | Nearly 20 years ago, poor families in Coahuila state in Mexico were offered an unusual handout from a social programme called Piso Firme. It was not a place at school, a vaccination, food, or even money. It was $150 (£118) worth of ready-mixed concrete.
Workers would drive concrete mixers through poor neighbourhoods, stop outside a home, and pour the porridge-like mixture through the door, right into the living room.
They showed the occupants how to spread and smooth the gloop, and made sure they knew how long to leave it to dry. Then they drove off to the next house.
Piso Firme means "firm floor", and when economists studied the programme, they found that the ready-mixed concrete dramatically improved children's education.
50 Things That Made the Modern Economy highlights the inventions, ideas and innovations that have helped create the economic world we live in.
It is broadcast on the BBC World Service. You can find more information about the programme's sources and listen online or subscribe to the programme podcast.
Previously, the floors were made of dirt, which let parasitic worms thrive, spreading diseases that stunted kids' growth and made them miss school.
Concrete floors are much easier to keep clean. So the kids were healthier, and their test scores improved. Economists also found that parents in the programme's households became happier, less stressed and less prone to depression.
That seems to be $150 well spent.
Beyond the poor neighbourhoods of Coahuila state, concrete often has a less wonderful reputation.
It has become a byword for ecological carelessness: concrete is made of sand, water and cement, and cement takes a lot of energy to produce. The production process also releases carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.
That might not be such a problem in itself - after all, steel production needs a lot more energy - except that the world consumes absolutely vast quantities of concrete: five tonnes, per person, per year. As a result, the cement industry emits as much greenhouse gas as aviation.
Architecturally, concrete implies lazy, soulless structures: ugly office blocks for provincial bureaucrats, multi-storey car parks with stairwells that smell of urine.
Portsmouth's Tricorn Centre was regularly described as the UK's ugliest building, before its demolition
Yet it can also be shaped into forms that many people find beautiful - think of the Sydney Opera House or Oscar Niemeyer's Brasilia cathedral.
Perhaps it is no surprise that concrete can evoke such confusing emotions.
The very nature of the stuff feels hard to pin down. "Is it stone? Yes and no," opined the great American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1927. "Is it plaster? Yes and no. Is it brick or tile? Yes and no. Is it cast iron? Yes and no."
However, the fact that it is a great building material has been recognised for millennia - perhaps even since the dawn of human civilization.
There is a theory that the very first settlements, the first time that humans gathered together outside their kinship groups - nearly 12,000 years ago at Gobekli Tepe in southern Turkey - was because someone had figured out how to make cement, and therefore concrete.
Oscar Niemeyer's Brasilia Cathedral was constructed from 16 concrete columns, each weighing 90 tonnes
It was certainly being used over 8,000 years ago by desert traders to make secret underground cisterns, some of which still exist in modern day Jordan and Syria. The Mycenaeans used it over 3,000 years ago to make tombs you can see in the Peloponnese in Greece.
The Romans were also serious about the stuff.
Using a naturally occurring cement from volcanic ash deposits at Puteoli, near Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius, they built their aqueducts and their bathhouses with concrete.
Walk into the Pantheon in Rome, a building that will soon celebrate its 1,900th birthday. Gaze up at what was the largest dome on the planet for centuries, arguably until 1881.
You're looking at concrete. It is shockingly modern.
Many Roman brick buildings are long gone - but not because the bricks themselves have decayed. They've been taken apart, cannibalised for parts. Roman bricks can be used to make modern buildings.
But the concrete Pantheon? One of the reasons it has survived for so long is because the solid concrete structure is absolutely useless for any other purpose.
Bricks can be reused, concrete cannot. It can only be reduced to rubble. And the chances of it becoming rubble depend on how well it is made.
Bad concrete - too much sand, too little cement - is a death-trap in an earthquake. But well-made concrete is waterproof, storm proof, fireproof, strong and cheap.
That is the fundamental contradiction of concrete: incredibly flexible during construction, utterly inflexible afterwards.
In the hands of an architect or a structural engineer, concrete is a remarkable material. You can pour it into a mould, set it to be slim and stiff and strong in almost any shape you like. It can be dyed, or grey, it can be rough or polished smooth like marble.
But the moment the building is finished, the flexibility ends: cured concrete is a stubborn, unyielding material.
Perhaps that is why the material has become so associated with arrogant architects and autocratic clients - people who believe that their visions are eternal, rather than likely to need deconstructing and reconstructing as circumstances change.
In a million years, when our steel has rusted and our wood has rotted, concrete will remain.
But many of the concrete structures we're building today will be useless within decades. That's because, over a century ago, there was a revolutionary improvement in concrete - but it's an improvement with a fatal flaw.
In 1867, a French gardener, Joseph Monier, was unhappy with the available range of flower pots, and devised concrete pots, reinforced with a steel mesh.
Well-made reinforced concrete is much stronger and more practical
Less than 20 years later, the elegant idea of pre-stressing the steel was patented. This allowed engineers to use much less of it, and less concrete too.
Reinforced concrete is much stronger and more practical than the unreinforced stuff. It can span larger gaps, allowing concrete to soar in the form of bridges and skyscrapers.
But if cheaply made, it can rot from the inside as water gradually seeps in through tiny cracks, and rusts the steel.
This process is currently destroying infrastructure across the United States. In 20 or 30 years' time, China will be next.
China poured more concrete in the three years after 2008 than the United States poured during the entire 20th Century, and nobody thinks that it was all made to exacting standards.
There are many schemes to make concrete last longer, including special treatments to prevent water getting through to the steel.
There is "self-healing" concrete, full of bacteria that secrete limestone, which re-seals any cracks. And "self-cleaning" concrete, infused with titanium dioxide, breaks down smog, keeping the concrete sparkling white.
The concrete sails of Rome's Dives in Misecordia church include titanium dioxide
Improved versions of the technology may even give us street surfaces that can clean up cars' exhaust fumes.
Researchers are trying to make concrete with less energy use and fewer carbon emissions. The environmental rewards for success will be high.
Yet ultimately, there are many more things we could be doing with the simple, trusted technology we already have.
Hundreds of millions of people around the world live in dirt-floor houses. Their lives could be improved with a programme like Piso Firme. Other studies have shown large gains from laying concrete roads in rural Bangladesh - improving school attendance, agricultural productivity and boosting farm workers' wages.
Perhaps concrete serves us best when we use it simply.
Tim Harford writes the Financial Times's Undercover Economist column. 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy is broadcast on the BBC World Service. You can find more information about the programme's sources and listen online or subscribe to the programme podcast. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38317186 |
India v England: Virat Kohli and Kedar Jadhav lead stunning chase - BBC Sport | 2017-01-16 | null | A Virat Kohli masterclass helps India complete the highest successful chase in an ODI against England and seal a three-wicket win in Pune. | null | Last updated on .From the section Cricket
A Virat Kohli masterclass helped India complete the highest successful chase in a one-day international against England and seal a three-wicket win.
Chasing 351, India were reduced to 63-4 in Pune before Kohli, who made 122, and Kedar Jadhav (120) shared 200.
India completed the joint-fourth best run chase of all time in 48.1 overs.
Ben Stokes earlier struck a 40-ball 62 as England took 105 from their final eight overs, but they still went behind in the three-match series.
It is a demoralising result, coming after a 4-0 defeat in the Test series, and extends England's dismal record in India to only three wins in 24 ODIs.
Though England racked up their highest score against India, they could arguably have had even more - Jason Roy and Joe Root failed to make really big scores after good starts - and were taught a lesson by chasing specialist Kohli, who somehow overshadowed Jadhav's 65-ball century.
King Kohli does it again
Kohli is peerless in the history of ODIs when it comes to run chases. His 17th second-innings ton matches the record of Sachin Tendulkar, in 136 fewer knocks, while his average when India successfully pursue a score is 90.90.
This, though, in his first match since being appointed one-day captain, was perhaps his greatest effort, guiding India to their joint-second-highest chase.
When England's pace bowlers ran through the top order, he looked to be playing a lone hand, with effortless drives on both sides of the wicket and breathless running.
Later, in the company of Jadhav, he found ways to hit some extraordinary sixes over the leg side, the fourth of his five maximums overall bringing up his 27th ODI century.
The biggest surprise was that he did not complete the job, miscuing a Stokes slower ball to David Willey at cover and sending a raucous and partisan Pune silent.
For all of Kohli's brilliance, this game would not have been won without the efforts of Jadhav, a 31-year-old playing only his 13th ODI, on his home ground.
The right-hander's counter-attacking reversed the momentum and he actually contributed 102 of the 200 runs he shared with the skipper for the fifth wicket.
They rendered the England attack impotent, only Chris Woakes went for an economy rate of under 6.7 an over, with Adil Rashid and Stokes particularly wayward.
Favouring the leg side, Jadav's hundred was the sixth fastest by an India batsman in ODIs, but after Kohli fell he struggled with cramp and pulled Jake Ball to deep square leg.
However, a nerveless Hardik Pandya made an unbeaten 40 and Ravichandran Ashwin's six off Moeen Ali sealed only the second chase in excess of 350 to be completed inside 49 overs.
'England have got to set their targets higher'
"We have just seen the definition of intimidatory batting, the way the batters from both sides demolished the attacks.
"350 should be enough but I've always worried about England's bowling in one-day cricket unless the ball does something. Adil Rashid lacks confidence under pressure. Chris Woakes bowled a superb opening spell but it was almost a licence to print runs on this pitch.
"England have got to set their targets higher - they've got to get to 370, 380 to feel confident of winning."
• None India pulled off the joint-fourth-highest run chase of all time, their joint second best and the largest by anyone against England.
• None This is the second-fastest successful chase of a total of more than 350 in ODI history.
• None Since the beginning of 2016, Virat Kohli has played 11 ODI innings, scoring four hundreds and four half-centuries, averaging 95.66 with a strike-rate of 102.01.
• None Ben Stokes' 33-ball fifty beat the 35-ball efforts of Andrew Flintoff and Owais Shah to become the fastest by an England batsman against India.
• None The 105 added by England in the final eight overs of the innings is their second highest in an away ODI.
• None Joe Root has passed 50 in six of his past eight ODI innings and has made nine 50-plus scores in his past 15 innings.
On a brilliant batting surface surrounded by short boundaries, England should have been ahead of their 244-5 when Root fell in the 42nd over.
Roy in particular wasted the opportunity of a big score when he ran past the left-arm spin of the excellent Ravindra Jadeja to be stumped for 73, while Root holed out for a relatively pedestrian 95-ball 78 as he looked to accelerate.
It was left to Stokes to propel England with some wonderful hitting, helped by some woeful India death bowling that was littered with full-tosses.
He struck five sixes - two over long-on, two over long-off and one extraordinary ramp over third man off a pacey Umesh Yadav beamer.
The left-hander's 33-ball half-century was the fastest by an England batsman against India and, overall, he took 50 runs from the last 23 balls he faced.
Even after the late onslaught, and the four early wickets, India showed that it still was not enough.
'They will press the panic button' - what they said
India captain Virat Kohli: "This one is going to take a while to sink in, conceding 350 runs and being 63-4.
"What a special innings from Jadhav, and Hardik finishing really well at the end with Ashwin. That's a very special win for us.
"The moment he came to the crease, Jadhav started hitting the ball really well and I said, 'if we get to 150 here, they will press the panic button - watch'.
"It was a very, very special partnership that I'll remember for a long time."
England captain Eoin Morgan: "We had the runs on the board. We wanted to bowl first to see what a good score was. You post 350 and you think you're in the game, especially after taking four early wickets, but credit to Virat and Kedar - they didn't give us a chance.
"We didn't play at out best today, we thought we were in the game for most of it so all is not lost.
"The batters did well but we had a tricky period between 35 and 40 overs after we lost Buttler's wicket, but Stokes did well to come in and get us in to the game. Ideally we would have upped the momentum a little earlier." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/38628237 |
John Stones: Phil Neville & Alan Shearer discuss Manchester City defender - BBC Sport | 2017-01-16 | null | MOTD2 pundits Phil Neville and Alan Shearer discuss Manchester City defender John Stones and question his development after Pep Guardiola's side lost 4-0 to Everton. | null | MOTD2 pundits Phil Neville and Alan Shearer discuss Manchester City defender John Stones and question his development after Pep Guardiola's side lost 4-0 to Everton.
READ MORE: Man City have problems in attack as well as defence - Phil Neville | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38632190 |
Bradley Lowery: Terminally ill Sunderland fan appears as Everton mascot - BBC Sport | 2017-01-16 | null | Everton treat Sunderland fan Bradley Lowery to a day to remember after the five-year-old captured the imagination of football fans with his cancer fight. | null | Everton treat Sunderland fan Bradley Lowery to a day to remember after the five-year-old captured the imagination of football fans with his cancer fight.
WATCH MORE: Five-year-old Bradley wins goal of the month | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38628824 |
Chinese Super League reduces number of foreign players allowed to play - BBC Sport | 2017-01-16 | null | Chinese Super League clubs will only be allowed to play three non-Chinese players per game in their next season - which begins in March. | null | Last updated on .From the section Football
Chinese Super League clubs will only be allowed to play three non-Chinese players per game in their next season - which begins in March.
A rule change has reduced the number of foreigners allowed in a move which could slow down the wave of big-money signings from Europe.
Chelsea striker Diego Costa has been linked with a move to China that would be worth £30m a year.
A statement said the new measures will address "irrational investments".
Previously the rule was "4+1" - four foreigners of any nationality plus one Asian player in a matchday squad.
Teams will now also be required to name two Chinese players aged under 23 in their matchday squads, with at least one in the starting XI, with the Chinese Football Association also looking into "signature fees and other illegal activities" in recent transfers.
Chelsea midfielders Oscar and John Mikel Obi have already moved to China this month, while former Manchester United and Manchester City forward Carlos Tevez reportedly became the world's highest-paid player when he joined Shanghai Shenhua last month.
Shenhua would be one club hit by the new rules as they have six non-Chinese players in their squad, including Tevez, former Chelsea forward Demba Ba and ex-Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins.
Costa has been linked with a move to Tianjin Quanjian, who signed Belgium midfielder Axel Witsel for a salary of more than £15m a year this month.
Chinese teams have been paying reportedly exorbitant sums to lure international stars like Carlos Tevez and Axel Witsel. Now, the new rules will especially affect players from the Asian region - like Australians and Koreans - who were able to be chosen on top of the previous international count of four.
It is hoped the changes will foster more local talent at the expense of overseas players. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38636082 |
Ex-football coach Barry Bennell denies sex assault charges - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Barry Bennell pleads not guilty to eight charges of historical sex abuse of a boy aged under 16. | UK | Former football coach Barry Bennell has pleaded not guilty to eight charges of sexual assault against a boy under 16.
The former youth coach at Crewe Alexandra denied the eight counts when he appeared at Chester Crown Court.
The charges all relate to allegations of abuse between 1981 and 1986.
Mr Bennell, 63, wearing a blue polo neck shirt and appearing via videolink from HMP Woodhill, in Milton Keynes, answered "not guilty" to all the charges as they were put to him.
The ex-coach, who also worked at Manchester City, Stoke City and junior teams in north-west England and the Midlands, was remanded into custody until 20 March.
Owen Edwards, prosecuting, told the court the alleged victim "preserves his anonymity". | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38634794 |
Australian Open 2017: Roger Federer makes winning return in Melbourne - BBC Sport | 2017-01-16 | null | Four-time champion Roger Federer advances to the second round of the Australian Open by beating Jurgen Melzer in Melbourne. | null | Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Four-time champion Roger Federer reached the Australian Open second round with a four-set victory over Austria's Jurgen Melzer in Melbourne.
The 35-year-old, appearing in his first competitive match in six months after injuring his knee, won 7-5 3-6 6-2 6-2.
World number four Stan Wawrinka needed five sets to beat Slovakia's Martin Klizan 4-6 6-4 7-5 4-6 6-4.
Japan's Kei Nishikori, ranked fifth, is through after beating Russia's Andrey Kuznetsov 5-7 6-1 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-2.
The 27-year-old will next play France's Jeremy Chardy while Wawrinka, 31, will face American Steve Johnson.
Federer, who hit 19 aces in his two-hour match against Melzer, faces 20-year-old American Noah Rubin in round two.
• None World number one Murray battles into second round
• None Murray on nerves, being a Sir and what he bought his dogs for Christmas
"Any match is a good match, even if I had lost, because I'm back on the court," the 17-time Grand Slam champion said.
"Last year was tough but it is nice to be playing normal tennis again. It was a long road but I made it."
Chardy, ranked 72nd in the world, progressed when Spain's Nicolas Almagro pulled out with a calf injury four games into their match.
Almagro, 31, rebuffed suggestions he had only turned up to claim the $50,000 (£31,000) that comes with a first-round exit.
He said: "I have more than $10m. I'm not going to play for $50,000. It is not the reason."
Wawrinka and Nishikori come through lengthy tests
Wawrinka, winner in 2014, is appearing in his 12th Australian Open and has never lost in the first round.
The Swiss fought back from a break down in the final set to edge Klizan in a testing three-hour encounter during which Wawrinka climbed over the net to apologise after accidentally striking his opponent with the ball.
"I was fighting a lot and I never give up but it was most important to get through," he said.
Nishikori, who is attempting to become the first Asian man to win a Grand Slam, secured victory despite receiving medical treatment in the final set.
"It wasn't easy, especially mentally and I should have finished it in four sets," he added.
Australian Nick Kyrgios raced to victory in his opener against Portuguese Gastao Elias, who is ranked 77th in the world.
The 14th seed took only 84 minutes to win 6-1 6-2 6-2, despite an eight-minute medical timeout to treat a nosebleed in the first set.
Despite the stoppage, it took him just 19 minutes to win the first set as he powered into the second round.
"I'm getting some great treatment for it from my team and it didn't cause me any problems," Kyrgios said.
Kyrgios will next play Italy's Andreas Seppi, who beat Paul-Henri Mathieu of France 6-4 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (3-7) 7-5.
Tenth seed Tomas Berdych, twice a semi-finalist in Melbourne, also had a comfortable passage as his Italian opponent Luca Vanni retired after losing the opening set 6-1.
Seventh seed Marin Cilic fought back from two sets down to beat world number 278 Jerzy Janowicz 4-6 4-6 6-2 6-2 6-3 in three hours and set up a meeting with Britain's Dan Evans in round two.
France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, ranked 12th in the world, advanced after a 6-1 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 victory over Brazilian Thiago Monteiro. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38634057 |
Blue Monday: Feel-good sport videos on saddest day of year - BBC Sport | 2017-01-16 | null | Watch six feel-good sporting videos on Blue Monday, known as the saddest day of the year. | null | Watch six feel-good sporting videos on Blue Monday, known as the saddest day of the year. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/38597197 |
Katie Rough murder case: Balloon release marks birthday - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | null | Hundreds of people release balloons to mark what would have been the eighth birthday of Katie Rough, killed in York on 9 January. | null | Hundreds of people gathered to release balloons to mark what would have been the eighth birthday of a child killed in York.
Katie Rough was found injured in the Woodthorpe area of the city on 9 January and died later in hospital.
A 15-year-old girl has been charged with her murder. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38643289 |
Premier League title race: How top six is shaping up - BBC Sport | 2017-01-16 | null | Who looks like the "full package" and who may be facing a "catastrophe"? Phil McNulty assesses how the Premier League's top six looks now. | null | Last updated on .From the section Football
Chelsea's Premier League title rivals thought the door had been pushed ajar after a run on 13 straight wins ended at Tottenham and the new harmony under manager Antonio Conte was disturbed by Diego Costa.
The title pacesetters would always be able to recover from a bad result - but how would they cope with the exclusion of their firebrand top scorer after a training ground bust-up and suggestions of interest from China?
Chelsea gave their answer with an impressive 3-0 win at Leicester City that, combined with the weekend's other results, put them firmly back in control of their Premier League destiny.
So, after 21 games and another weekend of significant matches, how are the top six clubs shaping up?
Conte will have demanded an instant Premier League response from his team after that 2-0 loss at White Hart Lane, which he rightly placed in context by pointing out it was inflicted by a quality side with title aspirations of their own.
The wildcard was provided by the sudden falling out with influential striker Costa that provided an unexpected backdrop to Saturday's events at the King Power Stadium and gave the first hint of dissent in Chelsea and Conte's camp this season.
In the end, the Italian boss was given the opportunity to prove the versatility and flexibility of his squad in Costa's absence as Willian, Eden Hazard and Pedro provided the attacking threat.
In the absence of any suggestion Blues owner Roman Abramovich will bow to pressure to sell in January, the priority now is to get the combustible Spain striker back on side and ensure any unrest does not spread.
If that can be done, then Chelsea can look back at a weekend where their title position was strengthened as they now stand seven points clear.
Mauricio Pochettino's side are a growing force in this title race and the 4-0 demolition of West Bromwich Albion was further evidence of their growing authority.
It was their sixth straight league win since their loss at Manchester United in December - and they have only lost two games out of 21.
Harry Kane is firing on all cylinders, shown by his hat-trick against West Brom, and with Dele Alli scoring seven goals in his past five league games Spurs are starting to look the full package.
They ran out of steam towards the end of last season, but Pochettino is a top-class operator who will surely have learned his lesson and tailored his team's intense style accordingly.
The Argentine will still hope to avoid injuries and there is a real worry over influential defender Jan Vertonghen, who Pochettino fears has suffered a "bad" ankle injury.
Next weekend's game at Manchester City will tell us even more about them.
Verdict: Flew under the radar for a while but now right at the heart of the title race.
Liverpool will be disappointed they could not hold on for victory at Manchester United on Sunday, but there is plenty of encouragement to take from their performance.
The disappointment will come because they were within six minutes of securing a win that would not only have inflicted even more damage on United, but also would have sent a strong message to those nearer the top of the table.
It is to the Reds' credit that they came so close to victory despite key men such as Philippe Coutinho still not fit enough to start, Nathaniel Clyne out with a rib injury and Joel Matip sidelined because of confusion surrounding his absence from Cameroon's Africa Cup Of Nations squad.
Manager Jurgen Klopp rightly believes they are still in a strong position but will surely be frustrated that Zlatan Ibrahimovic's late goal means Chelsea stretched their advantage to seven points.
Verdict: Remain title contenders but top four would still be fine achievement.
Arsenal's win at Swansea City could not have been more convincing and they have responded well to successive losses at Everton and Manchester City, when they conceded winning positions and showed the vulnerability that has haunted them for seasons.
Even at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday they made a slow start, but it is hard to argue with a 4-0 away win.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger wants the Gunners to stay in the title shake-up until the closing stages - and they are certainly doing that so far.
Are they, however, potential Premier League winners? They cannot be ruled out but it is hard to see where they will pick up the points to haul in Chelsea.
Verdict: In the mix as their manager demands, but will a soft centre let them down?
Form: Two defeats in past three.
Manager Pep Guardiola effectively wrote off Manchester City's title challenge after they were giving a thorough working over and beaten 4-0 at Everton.
City now face a fight to finish in the top four with a side seemingly physically weak, riddled with defensive frailty and a goalkeeper in Claudio Bravo who hardly ever seems to save a shot. Failure to make next season's Champions League would represent a catastrophe in the Spaniard's first season.
• None MOTD2 analysis: Why defending is not Pep's only problem
And this is Guardiola's responsibility after he shipped out England keeper Joe Hart on loan to Torino. Out of the past 22 shots Bravo has faced, 14 have been goals.
Only five teams have a lower haul than City's tally of four clean sheets and they have conceded from the first shot they have faced in four of their past seven games.
The problems are there for all to see, although Guardiola has so far done little to correct the faults.
City have suffered two damaging defeats on Merseyside in recent weeks - and do not look like a side who have the slightest chance of making up a 10-point deficit on Chelsea.
Verdict: Forget the title. Manchester City are in a top-four fight now.
Manchester United are showing definite signs of improvement under manager Jose Mourinho, but like neighbours City their fight is now for the top four rather than the title.
They could have closed to within two points of Liverpool with victory at Old Trafford on Sunday, but 12 points is surely an impossible gap to breach between United and Chelsea.
United have drawn seven league games - including five at home - and the simple fact is they have squandered too many points to make up the deficit.
Mourinho is definitely moving United forward, but not fast enough to make them title contenders this season.
Verdict: Top four should be the target. The title is now out of reach. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38632129 |
Britain's oldest living Olympian Bill Lucas enjoys 100th birthday - BBC News | 2017-01-16 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Centenarian who competed in 1948 London Olympic Games says a daily tipple keeps him going strong. | England | Bill Lucas will spend his birthday on Monday with his family
An evening whisky is the key to a long life, according to Britain's oldest living Olympian on his 100th birthday.
Bill Lucas said a glass of wine or sherry before lunch also kept him strong.
Mr Lucas, also the country's oldest living Bomber Command pilot, competed in the 5,000m track event at the 1948 London Olympic Games.
He celebrated his birthday at a party organised by his athletics club, Belgrave Harriers.
Bill Lucas was joined at his 100th birthday at the Belgrave Harriers club by fellow Olympians Snowy Brooks, Paskar Owor and John Bicourt
A member of the Belgrave Harriers club for 81 years, Mr Lucas said his call-up to the RAF deprived him of a chance of an Olympic medal.
The decorated pilot, who lives in Cowfold, West Sussex, ran his 1948 heat in 14 minutes 30.6 seconds - 20 seconds off that required to qualify for the final.
He said: "I spent six years in the service and I had done very little training and I'd missed 1940 and 1944, where I might well have got a medal or something like that... but Hitler deprived me of those, so I went and bombed them instead."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Watch: Archive report about the opening of the 1948 Games
The 1948 Olympic Games took place in London as Europe continued to emerge from the shadow of World War II.
Dubbed "the Austerity Olympics", the Games were greeted enthusiastically by thousands who attended the opening ceremony and watched the torch being carried into Wembley Stadium by British athlete John Mark.
When Mr Lucas competed for Great Britain, aged 32, he had already flown 81 missions over Germany.
He trained for the 1948 Games while working full-time in insurance and living off rations in the post-war era.
Bill Lucas was joined by his wife Sheena for his birthday celebrations
Belgrave Harriers presented Mr Lucas with a 172-year-old bottle of Madeira wine at the party in Wimbledon, south-west London, on Sunday.
The party was the father-of-two's first outing since Christmas after he was cut out of a car following an accident in November.
He said the celebration was "absolutely marvellous".
Mr Lucas will spend his birthday on Monday with his family.
His wife Sheena, 87, said: "I'm immensely proud - I love him dearly and we have a wonderful life together." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-38633035 |
Valtteri Bottas to partner Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes in 2017 season - BBC Sport | 2017-01-16 | null | Valtteri Bottas succeeds Nico Rosberg as Lewis Hamilton's team-mate at Mercedes, with Felipe Massa returning to Williams. | null | Last updated on .From the section Formula 1
Valtteri Bottas has succeeded retired world champion Nico Rosberg as Lewis Hamilton's team-mate at Mercedes.
The move, expected since December, also sees Brazilian Felipe Massa come out of retirement to replace the 27-year-old Finn at Williams.
It's going to take a while to understand that this is really happening
Bottas has signed a one-year deal with the option for more, while Rosberg moves into an ambassadorial role.
Mercedes' young driver Pascal Wehrlein, passed over in favour of Bottas, joins the Swiss Sauber team.
• None Bottas faces challenge of his life at Mercedes
'Valtteri fits very well in our team'
Rosberg's shock retirement, announced just five days after he wrapped up his maiden world title, was a "challenging situation for the team to handle", according to Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff.
"Sometimes in life, unexpected circumstances provide interesting opportunities," he added. "Nico's decision in December was a big surprise.
"But weathering the storm makes you more resilient and we see this as another opportunity for the team to grow.
"I think Valtteri fits very well in our team, as a driver he's very fast, and he has also the heart in the right place.
"He shares our values and passion, and he's modest and humble and he's hard working."
For Bottas, the move is the opportunity of a lifetime. He has been in F1 for four seasons and has shown well at Williams alongside first Pastor Maldonado and then Massa.
"It's very exciting times for me," said Bottas, whose best F1 results so far are two second places, at the British and German grands prix in 2014.
"I think it's going to take a while to understand that this is really happening.
"It's definitely another dream come true, to race in another team with such great history - especially in the recent years, which have been so impressive.
"I think with Lewis we are going to be a strong pair together. I really respect him as a driver and a person.
"I'm sure we are going to be close, and we're going to be both pushing each forward. I'm sure we can work as a team."
Wolff has said he will end his ties with the personal management of Bottas' career now the driver is under his employment.
'It felt like the right thing to do'
Massa, 35, announced his retirement at the end of last season but quit F1 only because he knew he was not wanted at Williams and there was no other good seat available to him.
A winner of 11 grands prix, he said: "Given the turn of events over the winter, I wish Valtteri all the best at Mercedes.
"In turn, when I was offered the chance to help Williams with their 2017 F1 campaign, it felt like the right thing to do."
Williams deputy team principal Claire Williams said: "With Valtteri having a unique opportunity to join the constructors' champions, we have been working hard to ensure that an agreement could be made with Mercedes.
"Felipe has always been a much-loved member of the Williams family, and having the opportunity to work with him again is something we all look forward to.
"He was always going to race somewhere in 2017, as he has not lost that competitive spirit, and it was important that we had a strong replacement in order for us to let Valtteri go.
"Felipe rejoining us provides stability, experience and talent to help lead us forward. He is a great asset for us."
Massa, who has signed a one-year deal, is an experienced and known quantity for Williams, who needed a driver over 25 to partner the 18-year-old Canadian rookie Lance Stroll as a result of their title sponsor, drinks giant Martini.
Why did Mercedes not pick Wehrlein?
Mercedes Formula 1 boss Wolff negotiated a deal to release Bottas from Williams because he believed Wehrlein was not yet ready for promotion.
He turned to Sauber, who use engines from Mercedes' rivals Ferrari, to find a seat for the German to continue his development in F1.
Wehrlein will partner Swede Marcus Ericsson in what will be his second season in the sport.
The 22-year-old drove for Manor in his debut season last year but the British team are in administration and their participation in F1 in 2017 is in serious doubt.
Sauber team boss Monisha Kaltenborn said Wehrlein had shown "talent throughout his career".
She added: "Last year, in his rookie Formula 1 season, he proved his potential by scoring one point in the Austrian Grand Prix.
"There is surely more to come from Pascal, and we want to give him the chance to further grow and learn at the pinnacle of motorsport."
Wehrlein, whose move is likely to have been facilitated by financial support from Mercedes for Sauber, added: "It is a new challenge in a new team, and I am really excited and looking forward to this new adventure.
"Our objective is to establish ourselves in the midfield and to score points on a regular basis." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/38489054 |
India v England: Virat Kohli thought Eoin Morgan's side would 'panic' - BBC Sport | 2017-01-16 | null | India captain Virat Kohli says he thought England would "panic" during his side's chase of 351 to win the first ODI in Pune. | null | Last updated on .From the section Cricket
India captain Virat Kohli says he thought England would "panic" during his side's chase of 351 to win the first one-day international in Pune.
India had slipped to 63-4 but were put on the way to the joint-fourth-highest chase in ODI history by centuries from Kohli and Kedar Jadhav.
"The moment he came to the crease, Jadhav started hitting the ball really well," said Kohli.
"I said, 'if we get to 150 here, they will press the panic button - watch'."
For Kohli, 122 from 105 balls was his 17th century in the second innings of an ODI and the extension of a remarkable record in run chases.
The 28-year-old averages 90.90 when batting second in India victories and averages 95.66 overall since the beginning of 2016.
• None Listen: Kohli's stats twice as good as Tendulkar's - Vaughan
"We nearly had him caught at third man bowling a little wider," Morgan told BBC Sport. "That might have worked on a different ground and we will look at different options for the next two games."
Though England posted 350, their highest score against India and ninth best of all-time, Irishman Morgan said his side could have made even more.
"We didn't play out of or skins and still managed to post 350, that was an indication of good the wicket was and how small the ground is," he said.
"If guys go on, which we would do normally, we would have posted a bigger score."
Morgan also suggested that his bowlers must learn from the defeat for the final two matches of the series, the first of which is in Cuttack on Thursday.
"Cuttack is a bigger ground and an easier pitch to bowl on," he said.
"Here we took four early wickets, which was an incredible effort. From there, we need to be more disciplined in what we can do and stick to our guns a little longer." | http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/38631446 |
Australian conditions 'favourable' for mouse plague, scientists warn - BBC News | 2017-01-17 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | Rain has created ideal conditions for mice in Australia's breadbasket, a science agency warns. | Australia | Australia's science agency has warned that spring rains have created ideal conditions for a mouse plague in the country's breadbasket.
Victoria and South Australia are experiencing higher than expected numbers of mice, the CSIRO said.
The agency characterises a mouse plague as more than 1,000 mice per hectare (405 per acre).
If conditions bring enough food, the population could hit that number within months, researcher Steve Henry said.
"We had a terrific spring this year which lead to record crops," Mr Henry told the BBC.
"Those conditions that lead to great crops are also really favourable for mice."
The CSIRO could not give a current figure for mice per hectare, but said data from traps and anecdotal evidence pointed to a population spike. About five mice per hectare would be considered normal, Mr Henry said.
Mouse plagues regularly occur only in Australia's grain belts and a province in north-west China, the CSIRO said.
Victoria and South Australia occupy a large part of the Murray-Darling Basin, a fertile region accounting for almost 40% of Australia's agricultural income, according to the government.
Outbreaks of mice create a significant financial hit to farmers who are forced to buy costly bait and often re-sow crops.
Mr Henry said outbreaks also led to stress in rural communities.
"It's the fact that they are invading people's houses, they're in their vehicles, everywhere they turn around there's a mouse," he said.
"People in the cities are aghast when they have a mouse in the house. These people in the country, they're jamming up every crack in their house with steel wool to stop the mice from getting in."
Mice were introduced to Australia by European settlers. They have few natural predators and face little competition from native wildlife. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-38645836 |
George Michael ‘liked crack cocaine’, says friend - BBC News | 2017-01-17 | null | Singer George Michael’s childhood friend says that “hard drugs were back in his life”. | null | George Michael's childhood friend Andros Georgiou has linked the singer's death to drugs.
"Hard drugs had been back in his life," he told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme, adding the singer had been addicted to crack cocaine in the past.
Watch the Victoria Derbyshire programme on weekdays between 09:00 and 11:00 on BBC Two and the BBC News Channel. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38650607 |
Trump interview: Is Donald helping Theresa? - BBC News | 2017-01-17 | https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews | The president-elect supports a UK trade deal, but it might turn out to be a bit more complex than that. | UK Politics | On the face of it, on some of the front pages at least, it seems a slam dunk.
Before Theresa May gives an important speech on Tuesday outlining her plan for the tortuous process of taking us out of the European Union, there has been a big thumbs-up for Brexit (literally- in the picture he had taken with Michael Gove) from the most powerful individual in the world.
On top of that, Donald Trump, who'll be in charge from Friday, breezily promises a trade deal with the United States that can be sorted out without further ado.
Since the social and diplomatic embarrassments of Nigel Farage's freelance trips to Trump Tower, Number 10 seems to have worked to get the president-elect on board, and his comments in his Times interview to former cabinet minister Michael Gove seem to illustrate success - with the groundwork prepared for a visit between Mr Trump and Mrs May soon after the inauguration.
Mr Trump repeated his wholehearted support for the idea of the UK leaving the European Union, and his comments to the Times suggested he would be in the UK's corner. No prime minister would want to make an enemy of an American president, so who wouldn't want an endorsement like this?
But, as officials in Brussels and leaders around the EU seek to stick together before getting down to business with the talks with the UK, the government may also be wary about being seen to be cosying up too closely to President Trump.
Mrs May shares some of his analysis of many voters' disillusionment with what she describes as the "privileged few". But the similarities don't run deep, and for voters, Mr Trump appals as much as he inspires.
For some in Brussels, Mr Trump's support for Brexit may only harden them against the UK. Diplomacy is a sensitive and complicated business, not used to the brashness of this billionaire.
The European Commission has already piled in to say that it's not possible to make any agreements before the UK has left the EU.
Even Downing Street said today it would "abide by our obligations" and committed only to early conversations.
The president-elect's straightforward promise that a trade deal can be done with Mrs May without delay may come to haunt them both. | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38639225 |