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Losing hope in Mae La - BBC News
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2017-01-04
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Depression is all too common in refugee camps for Burmese people on the Thai border - and so, unfortunately, is suicide.
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Magazine
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On Thailand's border with Myanmar, also known as Burma, more than 100,000 people live in a string of refugee camps. Many fled ethnic conflict in their homeland decades ago, and have brought up their children here. Gracia Fellmeth arrived in one of the camps a year ago to study depression in women before and after childbirth.
After an hour's bus journey through forest from the town of Mae Sot, Mae La appears suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere. In the morning mist, thousands of bamboo huts cling to steep limestone crags.
It is the largest of nine refugee camps along the Thai-Myanmar border, and home to almost 40,000 people. Many residents have spent their entire lives in this isolated place, unable to work and dependent on outside aid. The majority are Karen, one of Myanmar's largest ethnic minorities.
It is a Wednesday morning, three months after my arrival, and the dusty waiting room is full. Pregnant women wait patiently to be seen by nurses, midwives and medics.
They will have their bellies examined, their blood pressure monitored and their blood screened.
Since my arrival, women are also offered a depression screen - a series of 10 questions to look for symptoms of depression, which is common in pregnancy.
Our first patient today is 18-year-old Myo Myo. She is nine weeks pregnant. She enters the room, smiling. Lar Paw, a Karen counsellor and midwife I am working with, explains what the interview involves. Myo Myo agrees to take part. We sit down on the bamboo floor and begin.
"In the past month, have you ever felt sad or down for long periods of time?" I ask.
"Sometimes," Myo Myo replies. "We have some family problems. And not enough money."
Gracia Fellmeth screened many young pregnant women for signs of depression
Calm and composed, she continues her story - a story by now familiar to me. She describes a happy relationship with her husband. Despite his alcohol dependency, he is good to her, she says, and she loves him. They are both happy about the pregnancy. However, there are tensions with her mother-in-law, who disapproves of Myo Myo and rebukes her for not contributing to household expenditure.
I want to know more about her symptoms. She tells us that the episodes of sadness are short-lived, occurring only once or twice a month and lasting an hour or so.
"Do you ever think about hurting yourself, or about suicide?" I probe.
"Sometimes I think about it, if we have been arguing with my mother-in-law," she admits. She has never attempted suicide though, and assures us she is not planning to.
A quarter of all women we speak to think about suicide at least occasionally. A smaller proportion - about 3% - have made attempts. We lack the resources to follow up all of these patients, so we focus only on those with pronounced thoughts of suicide or severe symptoms of depression.
Myo Myo has other symptoms, too - low energy and "thinking too much" - but they occur only once in a while and do not seem to be out of the ordinary.
We don't arrange a follow-up but we tell her to come and talk to us any time, if she wants to share her worries with anyone.
Two days later I am on the bus to Mae La when a colleague asks me: "Did you hear about the suicide? A young girl. She was pregnant."
My heart pounds. Was it someone I had interviewed? Someone we had been following up? Or worse, someone we hadn't followed up?
Lar Paw stands outside the clinic waiting for me.
"Doctor! We have a suicide. Do you remember this patient?" She hands me a file. It is Myo Myo's.
I feel shaky. I remember her, and I remember that we had not considered her to be high-risk. Among the hundreds of women we had spoken to, Myo Myo, tragically, had not stood out.
"Her husband also. They did it together," Lar Paw continues softly.
A double suicide? I couldn't think straight. We had seen Myo Myo only two days ago. How could this have happened? Had we given her the idea of taking her own life? Was this all my fault?
Later that day we go to Myo Myo's home to pay our respects. The family sits quietly. The two bodies lie in the middle of the room under a sheet, surrounded by candles. Two cups wrapped in plastic are lined with a fluorescent blue liquid - remnants of the toxic weed-killer that led the couple to their death.
We sit in silence until Myo Myo's mother-in-law stumbles in, drunk.
Myo Myo's sister-in-law shouts at her. "This is all your fault," she sobs.
Later we find out about an altercation that had taken place earlier in the week between Myo Myo's husband and his mother, during which she had slapped him in the face.
The death of this young couple left us deeply saddened, but also troubled. Should we have done more to encourage Myo Myo to put aside her thoughts of suicide? Could we have stopped her?
Had it been the impulsive act of an adolescent in response to a family feud? Had a Buddhist belief in rebirth enticed the couple to leave this world and start a new, better, life together?
We will never know. What we do know is that suicide is too common in Mae La - last year it accounted for half of all deaths among pregnant women and new mothers.
What is the explanation? There could be many factors - including chronic uncertainty, hopelessness, boredom, and the legacy of the conflict that led these families to Mae La in the first place.
The names of the people in this story have been changed
Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-38423451
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Yannick Bolasie: Everton winger out for possibly a year, says Ronald Koeman - BBC Sport
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2017-01-04
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Everton winger Yannick Bolasie will be out for 11-12 months with a knee injury, says manager Ronald Koeman.
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Last updated on .From the section Football
Everton winger Yannick Bolasie could be out for a year with a knee injury, says manager Ronald Koeman.
Bolasie, 27, injured his right knee during the Toffees' 1-1 draw with Manchester United on 4 December.
Manager Koeman said on Wednesday: "It will be around 11-12 months before he is back. That is a big disappointment but he will come back."
Bolasie is due to have a second operation - on his anterior cruciate ligament - in the coming weeks.
The DR Congo international signed for Everton from Crystal Palace in a £25m deal in August, and had played in every league game this campaign up until his injury.
Manchester United's Memphis Depay could be brought in to fill the position in attacking midfield, with Koeman having this season expressed his desire to sign his fellow Dutchman.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38512945
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Sweden's Queen Silvia says palace is haunted by ghosts - BBC News
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2017-01-04
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Sweden's Queen Silvia says the royal palace is haunted but the spooks are 'very friendly'
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Europe
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Queen Silvia told documentary makers that she is not scared of the ghostly visitors
Queen Silvia of Sweden believes her royal palace is haunted, according to a documentary to be aired on Swedish public television on Thursday.
She said she shares 17th-century Drottningholm Palace, with "small friends ... ghosts".
"It's really exciting. But you don't get scared," she said.
The building, near Stockholm, is the permanent residence of the queen and her husband, King Carl XVI Gustaf.
The documentary, Drottningholm Palace: A Royal Home, was made by public broadcaster SVT and airs in Sweden on Thursday.
"You sometimes feel that you're not completely alone," the queen told the filmmakers, insisting her alleged cohabitants are "all very friendly".
Princess Christina, the king's sister, backed the queen's claims when she was interviewed for the film.
"There is much energy in this house. It would be strange if it didn't take the form of guises," the princess said.
Swedish website The Local joked that "brave amateur ghost hunters" could visit the palace to put the rumours to the test.
It said: "Drottningholm Palace is open to the public year round, with the exception of the rooms in the southern wing, which are reserved for the royals. And their spooky friends, presumably."
Queen Silvia and King Carl (pictured in a scene from the documentary) married in 1976
Queen Silvia, 73, married King Carl 40 years ago and is now Sweden's longest-serving queen.
She is the daughter of a German businessman and a Brazilian woman.
In a 2015 book, The Royal Year, she told an interviewer that she had been lonely in her first year as queen and found it hard living in a palace dominated by men.
"Everybody had kind intentions. Everyone wanted to support me and was there. And the king was wonderful. [...] But it could be lonely," she said.
She was admitted to hospital just before Christmas, after experiencing dizziness, but was released two days later.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38507015
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MS Dhoni resigns as India one-day captain ahead of England series - BBC Sport
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2017-01-04
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MS Dhoni steps down as India one-day captain ahead of the ODI series against England, which begins on 15 January.
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Last updated on .From the section Cricket
MS Dhoni has stepped down as India's limited-overs captain ahead of the ODI series against England, which begins on 15 January.
The wicketkeeper will, however, remain available for selection for the three-match series and the three subsequent Twenty20 internationals.
Dhoni, 35, had been India's limited-overs captain since September 2007.
Under his leadership, India won the 2007 World Twenty20, 2011 World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy.
Test captain Virat Kohli - ranked second in the world's ODI batting rankings - is the leading candidate to replace Dhoni.
"The Indian team has touched new heights and his achievements will remain etched forever in the annals of Indian cricket," said Rahul Johri, chief executive of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Dhoni led his country in 199 ODIs and 72 Twenty20 internationals, also taking charge of 60 Tests between 2008 and 2014, to hold the overall record for the most international matches as captain with 331.
In terms of victories, he is the most successful captain in all three formats in Indian cricket history.
He was put in charge of the India squad for the inaugural World T20 in South Africa in 2007, leading his side to a five-wicket victory over Pakistan in the final.
It was this success which is credited with starting his country's obsession with the shortest format of the game.
Already established as a powerful middle to lower-order batsman, Dhoni developed a reputation as an adept finisher in run chases, as epitomised by his man-of-the-match performance in the 2011 World Cup final.
The captain struck 91 off 79 balls, including a six to win the game, as he guided India to a six-wicket win against Sri Lanka in front of a raucous home crowd in Mumbai.
There was further success in a dramatic five-run victory over England in the 2013 Champions Trophy final at Edgbaston, before finishing runners-up to Sri Lanka in the 2014 World T20 in Bangladesh.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/38510978
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Crystal Palace 1-2 Swansea City - BBC Sport
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2017-01-04
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Newly appointed Swansea boss Paul Clement watches his new side gain a dramatic win against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
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Last updated on .From the section Football
Newly appointed Swansea boss Paul Clement watched his side gain a dramatic win against Crystal Palace to move off the bottom of the Premier League table.
Clement was appointed earlier on Tuesday, although first-team coach Alan Curtis had picked the team for the game at Selhurst Park.
Alfie Mawson headed Swansea ahead from Gylfi Sigurdsson's free-kick, before Wilfried Zaha volleyed an equaliser.
The result means Palace have only picked up one point in the three games since Sam Allardyce replaced Alan Pardew as manager in December.
Plenty for Clement to be encouraged with
Clement, a former Derby County boss, left his job as assistant manager at Bayern Munich to take over the Welsh side and said he was "excited" by the challenge.
He will also be delighted with and encouraged by his side's performance in a hard-fought victory.
They dominated the first half with Ki Sung-yueng shooting just wide and Fernando Llorente and Federico Fernandez heading narrowly off target before Mawson put Swansea ahead.
Clement began the game watching from the stands but later joined Curtis in the technical area to help guide Swansea to only their fourth league win of the season.
Another pleasing aspect for Clement will be the defensive performance. Centre-halves Mawson and Fernandez excelled, restricting Palace to only three shots on target.
A spectacular scissor kick from Zaha from 18 yards out looked to have denied Swansea before Rangel's first goal of the season, in the 88th minute, made it a perfect day for Clement.
The result takes Swansea above Hull up to 19th, only one point behind Crystal Palace in 17th.
This was Allardyce's first home game in charge of the Eagles and he will be disappointed with his side's efforts against a team that came into the game with one away win in the league all season.
To make things worse for Allardyce, he will be without Ivorian goalscorer Zaha and Malian second-half substitute Bakary Sako, who will both now go to the Africa Cup of Nations.
Zaha has scored four goals this season, while Sako made an impact as a second-half substitute, forcing Lukasz Fabianski to tip a free-kick over, and causing the Swansea defence problems with his power.
Palace will also be hoping that a shoulder injury to top scorer Christian Benteke is not serious after he landed badly following a clash with Fabianski.
Allardyce was unhappy at two potential penalties that his side were denied - for Fabianski's challenge on Benteke and when Rangel appeared to handle the ball.
• None Swansea ended a run of eight away Premier League games (drew one, lost seven) without a win
• None Crystal Palace have now kept only one clean sheet in their last 25 Premier League games.
• None Alfie Mawson scored his first Premier League goal for Swansea in his 10th appearance for the club.
• None Only Hull (20) have conceded more goals from set pieces than Crystal Palace (17).
• None Since August 2014, only one Premier League midfielder (Sadio Mane - 43) has had a hand in more goals than Gylfi Sigurdsson (42 - 23 goals and 19 assists).
• None Sam Allardyce has lost his first home Premier League match as a boss for the very first time - he had previously won four and drawn one.
• None Angel Rangel ended a run of 95 Premier League matches without a goal by grabbing the winner - it was his first since May 2013 against Wigan.
What they said
Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce: "The lack of energy the players had showed massively. We struggled to keep up with Swansea, we hadn't recovered properly. I should have made more changes but I still don't know the squad too well.
"The second half was ours, we saw a wonder goal from Wilfried Zaha that should have got us at least a point, but we switched off and it's massively disappointing.
"You can see it with your own eyes, you don't need to be a football manager. Some people say it's rubbish but it's not, the players were trying 100% but they were not physically able to reach their usual levels. They are shattered.
"It's beyond our control, certain elements. But we can defend better for the two goals and our first-half performance was nothing like I expect to see from my team."
Swansea first-team coach Alan Curtis: "It is a terrific result for us and a huge three points. The first-half performance, we were excellent and we could have gone in with more than the one goal.
"We have been accused of lacking character but we came back and won it and we deserved it. In training you see the players have the ability, it is just the confidence that has been lacking.
"Any team under Sam Allardyce will come on strongly, they have some terrific players. We had 24 hours more rest compared to them and that may have made a difference."
On the club's new manager Paul Clement, who joined Curtis in the technical area later in the match, he added: "He came down for some moral support, he made his presence felt at half-time, but there was not too much to say. We would have surprised a lot of people with our performance today."
Paul Clement will take charge of a Swansea match for the first time when they play an FA Cup third round tie away at fellow Premier League strugglers Hull City on Saturday, 7 January (15:00 GMT). Crystal Palace are also in cup action at the same time, with an away game at League One side Bolton.
Both sides are next in Premier League action at 15:00 GMT on Saturday, 14 January. Palace play at West Ham with Swansea at home to Arsenal.
• None Angel Rangel (Swansea City) wins a free kick on the right wing.
• None Goal! Crystal Palace 1, Swansea City 2. Angel Rangel (Swansea City) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Leroy Fer with a through ball.
• None Attempt blocked. Leroy Fer (Swansea City) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
• None Attempt blocked. Ki Sung-yueng (Swansea City) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Kyle Naughton.
• None Fraizer Campbell (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick on the right wing. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38441016
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Duchess of Cambridge honoured by Royal Photographic Society - BBC News
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2017-01-04
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The Duchess of Cambridge accepts a lifetime honorary membership of the Royal Photographic Society.
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UK
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The duchess took this photo of her two children at Anmer Hall in Norfolk
The Duchess of Cambridge has accepted a lifetime honorary membership of the Royal Photographic Society for her family portraits and tour photos.
Chief executive Michael Pritchard praised the duchess for her "talent and enthusiasm" behind the lens.
Kate, 34, took the first official photograph of Princess Charlotte when her daughter was born in 2015.
She had previously published photos from her and Prince William's Asian and Pacific tour in 2012.
Since becoming a mother, the Duchess has released a number of family photos including Prince George's first day at nursery school and Princess Charlotte's first birthday.
In a picture taken by his mother, Prince George on his first day of nursery school near Sandringham in Norfolk
The palace released Kate's photo of Princess Charlotte on her first birthday
She also took this one of Charlotte learning to walk
Older shots include a photo of Mount Kinabalu, the highest point in Borneo, and a black-and-white image of an orangutan from when she travelled there with Prince William in 2012.
Mr Pritchard said the society chose to recognise Kate for her "long-standing" interest in photography and its history.
"She is latest in a long line of royal photographers and the society is pleased to recognise her talent," he said.
While on tour in 2012, Kate took a photo of an endangered Borneo Orangutan
She also captured this view of the rainforest during her and William's trip to Borneo
Kate and William visited Borneo as part of a tour of South Asia and the Pacific to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were also patrons of the 1853-founded Royal Photographic Society.
The duchess joins fellow lifetime members Annie Leibovitz, who has photographed the Queen, along with the recently-knighted war photographer Sir Don McCullin.
The Queen herself took cine films to capture family memories and royal trips.
Kate, who graduated in History of Art from the University of St Andrews, is also a patron of the Natural History Museum and National Portrait Gallery.
Her first commission was in 2008 for her parents' company, Party Pieces.
The Queen taking a cine-film in 1953 of a Royal Navy cruiser, HMS Sheffield
• None The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38494382
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India's double first in climate battle - BBC News
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2017-01-04
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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India opens two world-leading clean energy projects - the world's biggest solar farm and a chemicals plant using CO2 to make baking soda.
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Business
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Two world-leading clean energy projects have opened in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
A £3m industrial plant is capturing the CO2 emissions from a coal boiler and using the CO2 to make valuable chemicals. It is a world first.
And just 100km away is the world's biggest solar farm, making power for 150,000 homes on a 10 sq km site.
The industrial plant appears especially significant as it offers a breakthrough by capturing CO2 without subsidy.
Built at a chemical plant in the port city of Tuticorin, it is projected to save 60,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year by incorporating them into the recipes for soda ash and other chemicals.
The owner of the chemicals plant, Ramachadran Gopalan, told a BBC Radio 4 documentary: "I am a businessman. I never thought about saving the planet. I needed a reliable stream of CO2, and this was the best way of getting it."
He says his operation has now almost zero emissions. He hopes soon to install a second coal boiler to make more CO2 to synthesise fertiliser.
The chemical used in stripping the CO2 from the flue gas was invented by two young Indian chemists. They failed to raise Indian finance to develop it, but their firm, Carbonclean Solutions, working with the Institute of Chemical Technology at Mumbai and Imperial College in London, got backing from the UK's entrepreneur support scheme.
Their technique uses a form of salt to bond with CO2 molecules in the boiler chimney. The firm says it is more efficient than typical amine compounds used for the purpose.
The plant is projected to save 60,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year
They say it also needs less energy, produces less alkaline waste and allows the use of a cheaper form of steel - all radically reducing the cost of the whole operation.
The firm admits its technology of Carbon Capture and Utilisation won't cure climate change, but says it may provide a useful contribution by gobbling up perhaps 5-10% of the world's emissions from coal.
Lord Oxburgh, former chairman of Shell, and now director and head of the UK government's carbon capture advisory group, told the BBC: "We have to do everything we can to reduce the harmful effects of burning fossil fuels and it is great news that more ways are being found of turning at least some of the CO2 into useful products."
Meanwhile, the nearby giant Kamuthi solar plant offers a marker for India's ambition for a rapid expansion in renewables.
The world's largest solar farm at Kamuthi in southern India
It is truly enormous; from the tall observation tower, the ranks of black panels stretch almost to the horizon.
For large-scale projects, the cost of new solar power in India is now cheaper than coal and Prime Minister Modi plans to power 60 million homes from the sun by 2022.
But solar doesn't generate 24/7 on an industrial scale, so India has adopted a "more of everything" approach to energy until then.
Its recently-published National Electricity Plan projects no further additions to coal-based capacity between 2022 and 2027, and estimates that the share of clean generating capacity (including nuclear) will increase to 56.5% by the end of that period.
The firm behind the solar plant, Adani, is also looking to create Australia's biggest coal mine, which it says will provide power for up to 100 million people in India. Renewables, it says, can't answer India's vast appetite for power to lift people out of poverty.
Will India stick to its renewables promises with Donald Trump as US president?
And questions have been raised recently as to whether India will stick to its renewables promises now President-elect Donald Trump may be about to scrap climate targets for the US.
At the recent Marrakech climate conference, China, the EU and many developing countries pledged to forge ahead with emissions-cutting plans regardless of US involvement. But India offered no such guarantee.
Some environmentalists are not too worried: they think economics may drive India's clean energy revolution.
Roger Harrabin presents Climate Change: The Trump Card on BBC Radio 4 at 20:00 GMT on Tuesday, 3 January.
Correction 8 January 2017: This article was updated to change 'Baking soda' to 'Soda ash', and to include more details from India's National Electricity Plan
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38391034
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Bournemouth 3-3 Arsenal - BBC Sport
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2017-01-04
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Arsenal complete a dramatic comeback at Bournemouth as they rescue a point in injury time having been 3-0 behind.
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Last updated on .From the section Football
Arsenal completed a dramatic comeback at Bournemouth as they rescued a point in injury time having fallen 3-0 behind.
The Gunners looked destined for a third away league defeat in a row before a late rally that began with a diving Alexis Sanchez header and gathered momentum when a stunning Lucas Perez left-footed volley reduced the gap to a single goal.
Bournemouth went down to 10 men when Simon Francis was sent off for a challenge on Aaron Ramsey and Arsenal capitalised as Olivier Giroud headed a 92nd-minute equaliser.
The home side had overwhelmed the Gunners early on and taken the lead when Charlie Daniels cut inside Hector Bellerin and stroked a shot past on-rushing keeper Petr Cech.
Callum Wilson scored a penalty to extend Bournemouth's lead and Ryan Fraser sent a shot through Cech's legs for the Cherries' third before the hour mark.
But the hosts buckled under Arsenal's late pressure as Arsene Wenger's side moved eight points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea, who play Tottenham on Wednesday.
Arsenal had produced a feeble display for 70 minutes and were second best in the face of Bournemouth's energy and desire but that all changed when Sanchez headed in at the far post following Giroud's flick-on.
The momentum of the match changed and five minutes later Giroud clipped a lovely ball to substitute Perez and he sent an angled volley inside the far post.
Francis' sending-off helped Arsenal, although Cherries boss Eddie Howe felt it was a "harsh" decision by referee Michael Oliver.
Giroud headed in from a Granit Xhaka cross as Bournemouth failed in their desperate attempts to hang on during six minutes of added time.
Arsenal have been accused of lacking the character to maintain a title challenge in recent seasons and they did little to change that perception before Sanchez's goal.
They were continually second best to the home side and frustrations rose to the surface in the first half.
Sanchez and Ramsey exchanged angry words at 2-0 down, while Giroud showed his annoyance when Shkodran Mustafi failed to find him with a pass that went harmlessly out of play.
That they regrouped in such thrilling manner was doubtless a relief but not one that entirely satisfied goalscorer Giroud.
"I'm pleased to help the team by scoring the equaliser but I'm still disappointed," said the Frenchman.
"It's nice to come back but the way we played at the end, that made me think we should have done better. At least we came back, showed great mental strength and I will take it."
On this date in 2009, boss Eddie Howe was taking caretaker charge of his first match at Bournemouth - who were then second from bottom in League Two.
Success with the Dorset side as they won promotion to League One saw Howe lured away by Burnley, before he returned in October 2012 to complete the club's transformation with two more promotions in three seasons.
It is a mark of the turnaround he has instigated that he and his side were left bitterly disappointed at failing to avenge their defeat at Emirates Stadium in November.
The Cherries' 3-1 defeat at Arsenal was harsh on them and they looked more than capable of making amends for the majority of this game as the Gunners struggled to deal with their attacking 4-4-2 formation.
Even with the Arsenal comeback under way, Howe's men had a chance to go 4-2 up when Dan Gosling turned superbly in the visitors' area only to shoot well wide of Cech's goal.
A point keeps the Cherries ninth in the table.
What they said:
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger: "At the start we suffered from the quality of Bournemouth. One team had over three days to recover and on top of that we suffered at the back.
"It was a physical test but we came back into the game and we showed we are mentally strong. I am happy to play every day but only if our opponent has done the same."
Read more from Wenger here.
Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe: "It's a strange one for us. At 3-0 up you hope the game is over but you can't underestimate the quality of Arsenal and as soon as they got the first goal the game changed.
"We didn't see the game out in an effective manner from our perspective but you have to praise their resilience."
• None Arsenal came back to draw a Premier League game from three goals down for the first time.
• None Only Hull (nine) have conceded more Premier League penalties than Arsenal this season (six, level with Southampton).
• None Charlie Daniels has provided more assists than any other Premier League defender since the start of last season (eight).
• None Sanchez's goal was Arsenal's first shot on target in the match, in the 70th minute.
• None Sanchez has now matched his Premier League goal tally from last season (13 in 20 games this season, compared with 13 in 30 games last season).
It's FA Cup third-round action for both these teams in their next outings with Bournemouth at Millwall at 15:00 GMT on Saturday, 7 January and Arsenal at Preston for a 17:30 kick-off on the same day.
• None Attempt saved. Harry Arter (Bournemouth) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Adam Smith.
• None Goal! Bournemouth 3, Arsenal 3. Olivier Giroud (Arsenal) header from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Granit Xhaka.
• None Attempt blocked. Olivier Giroud (Arsenal) left footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is blocked. Assisted by Lucas Pérez.
• None Attempt missed. Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left.
• None Attempt missed. Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Alexis Sánchez following a corner.
• None Attempt blocked. Lucas Pérez (Arsenal) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Granit Xhaka. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38440999
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Laura Muir smashes a 25-year-old British indoor 5,000m record in Glasgow - BBC Sport
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2017-01-04
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Laura Muir breaks Liz McColgan's 25-year-old British indoor record over 5,000m at the Glasgow Miler Meet at the Emirates Arena.
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Last updated on .From the section Athletics
Laura Muir broke the British indoor record over 5,000m at the Glasgow Miler Meet at the Emirates Arena.
"I am delighted to get it and it is nice to know now where I am at in terms of the 5,000m," said Muir, 23.
"I've been in South Africa training, and the sessions there since we came back were at PB times for 5,000m so I felt good going into tonight's race."
Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland on Thursday, McColgan described Muir as "world class", but questioned if her feat satisfied all the criteria to make the record stand. British Athletics has since confirmed that Muir's time is official.
Muir broke her own British 1500m record at the Diamond League meeting in Paris in August and reached the 1500m Olympic final at Rio 2016.
The Scot will next captain the Great Britain team competing at Saturday's Great Edinburgh International Cross Country, which will be shown live on BBC One from 13:15 GMT.
Muir lines up as part of the mixed 4x1km relay team, while Sir Mo Farah competes in the men's 8km race and Gemma Steel and Steph Twell in the women's event over 6km.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/38514094
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Premier League festive fixtures 2017-18: Six games in 17 days next Christmas - BBC Sport
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2017-01-04
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If Premier League managers were annoyed at this season's festive fixture list, what about next season's?
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Last updated on .From the section Football
Arsene Wenger calls it "unfair", Jose Mourinho says it "creates problems" and Sam Allardyce thinks the person responsible for it should be sacked.
But with a shortened season next year to help England prepare for the 2018 World Cup, fixture congestion over the festive period could be even worse.
The Premier League has confirmed that a draft fixture schedule for next season could see six rounds of games over Christmas and New Year in 2017-18, as opposed to four this year.
That could see clubs playing six games in 17 days from 16 December 2017 to 1 January 2018 inclusive.
There are still several stages of the fixtures process to go, with nothing confirmed until June and final dates remaining subject to change after that announcement.
Yet should those factors result in two extra games during the festive period, the debate over the difference in rest between games for each side and calls for a winter break looks set to continue.
What is the draft fixture schedule for 2017-18?
On Monday's Match of the Day, host Gary Lineker revealed next season's draft fixture schedule includes six games between the dates of 16 December 2017 and 1 January 2018 inclusive.
It is unlikely there will be a full round of 10 fixtures on each of the six matchdays, with games set to be moved in order to be televised.
But if the six potential matchdays represent separate rounds of top-flight action, then fans can look forward to 60 Premier League games in total over the course of that period.
How does this compare?
This season saw 40 Premier League games over a similar period, with each club having four fixtures between Saturday 17 December 2016 and Wednesday 4 January 2017 inclusive.
Those 40 fixtures were played on 12 separate matchdays, including a particularly busy run which saw at least one Premier League match on every day bar one between 26 December and 4 January.
The 2015-16 campaign also included 40 games played between Saturday 19 December 2015 and Sunday 3 January inclusive, but the fixtures were played on nine separate matchdays.
Perhaps the biggest difference between the last two seasons is evident in the Boxing Day fixture lists, with all 10 games played on 26 December 2015 whereas only eight games took place on the same day this season - with televised games between Liverpool and Stoke and Southampton and Tottenham following on 27 and 28 December respectively.
That greater spread of games resulted in widespread debate amongst Premier League managers over discrepancies in the amount of rest between games for each club.
Hours taken to play all three festive matches 26 Dec-4 Jan Hours from start of first game, to end of third
What have the managers said?
Arsenal manager Wenger was especially critical of this year's festive fixture list, calling it the "most uneven Christmas period" he has seen in 20 years.
He added: "The difference of rest periods is absolutely unbelievable, compared to the other teams it is unbelievable."
Wenger was far from alone, with Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho claiming, "it looks like the fixtures are chosen to give rest for some and to create problems to others".
All the way back in October, an incredulous Jurgen Klopp looked at Liverpool's festive fixture list and simply asked: "How do you prepare a team for this?"
Not all title-chasing managers were fazed by the fixture list though, with Chelsea boss Antonio Conte saying his rivals were "angry for our position [as leaders] not for the fixtures".
The stakes are just as high at the bottom of the table with Sam Allardyce claiming the fixture scheduling contributed to his "shattered" Crystal Palace side losing to relegation rivals Swansea on Tuesday.
Even Swansea first-team coach Alan Curtis acknowledged the discrepancy, adding: "We had 24 hours more rest compared to them and that may have made a difference."
Referring to the lucrative television rights deal signed by the Premier League, Wenger said: "I don't know any more whether the Premier League is the master of the fixtures."
While TV broadcast selections alter the specific dates of games, the initial fixture list is compiled by international IT services company Atos, on behalf of the Premier League.
The first step is inputting international dates from world governing body Fifa, then dates of the European club competitions from Uefa, before the Football Association adds in their competitions, leaving the dates on which league and League Cup matches can be played.
This process is complicated for the 2017-18 season due to an agreement with the FA to finish seasons early in tournament years - in this instance to give the England manager a month with his squad to prepare for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Where possible, the Premier League and FA will also try to establish a stand-alone date for the FA Cup final.
There are then numerous other factors including the distribution of home and away games and travel issues to consider, as well as further discussion and checks before the fixture list is released in mid-June.
The live TV broadcast selections for December 2017 will not be confirmed until four to six weeks before the start of the month, so managers will have to wait to see how they fare in terms of rest between games.
But two extra fixtures to fit in are unlikely to be a welcome Christmas gift for most.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38497382
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Istanbul attack: Inside Reina nightclub - BBC News
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2017-01-04
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The BBC's Mark Lowen is one of the first journalists to access the site of Istanbul's deadly New Year attack, which left 39 people dead.
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The BBC's Mark Lowen is one of the first journalists to access the site of Istanbul's deadly New Year attack, which left 39 people dead.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38501613
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Dabbing son upstages new US congressman - BBC News
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2017-01-04
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Rep. Roger Marshall was upstaged by his son during a swearing-in photo op with US House Speaker Paul Ryan.
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US & Canada
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Finding your feet in a new job can be difficult at the best of times, so spare a thought for Republican US congressman Roger Marshall, whose son decided a photo op at his swearing in was the perfect time to do some dabbing.
As Marshall and family members posed with Paul Ryan, re-elected on Tuesday as House Speaker, the teen, Cal Marshall, can clearly be seen raising his arm into a distinctive dabbing pose.
Dabbing - a dance pose which involves burying your face in the crook of your elbow - gained momentum in 2015 when US musicians popularised the move.
Whilst his dad remains oblivious to his actions, Speaker Ryan is on to him.
"Do you want to put your hand down?" he says to Cal, who sheepishly apologises and blames the unusual contortions of his arm on needing to sneeze, before smiling for the camera and adopting a more conventional pose.
The video has been widely shared on social media.
Despite his crash course in dabbing, Ryan still wasn't entirely sure what had happened.
One politician's child who probably won't be following Cal Marshall's lead is the 17-year-old son of Utah Lieutenant Governor Spencer Cox. He was firmly warned off a copycat performance by his mother, Abby.
And what now for Cal after upstaging his dad on his big day? Well, according to the elder Marshall he may not be seeing much of his friends for a while.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38506818
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Bournemouth ABC cinema screens final movie - BBC News
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2017-01-04
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The last remaining high street cinema with the ABC brand closes following a charity screening.
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Dorset
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The cinema kept its ABC name to distinguish it from another Odeon cinema on the same road.
The final film has been shown in the last remaining high street cinema with the ABC brand.
The Odeon-owned cinema on Westover Road in Bournemouth has been sold and is due to be redeveloped into flats.
ABC - Associated British Cinemas - began in 1928, with the brand name gradually disappearing following its takeover by Odeon in 2000.
The last screening was Back to the Future which was shown in aid of charity Dorset Mind.
ABC was one of the biggest names during the post-war heyday of British cinema-going.
The newly modernised ABC Film Centre on its opening day on 13 June 1970
The Westover Road building first opened its doors as a 2,515-seat cinema in June 1937, showing the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musical Shall We Dance.
The cinema divided into three screens in the 1970s but its 634-seat main auditorium remains one of the largest in the UK.
Film enthusiast Adrian Cox, who tours cinemas across the country, said the ABC in Bournemouth was his favourite.
He said: "It's an event to watch a movie there. It has perfect sight-lines. A very tall person in front of you is never in the way because of the steep banking."
Mr Cox, who hired the cinema for a private screening of the once-banned Monty Python film Life of Brian, said modern cinemas tended to be smaller, less well decorated and "like little boxes".
The other Odeon cinema on Westover Road is also earmarked for closure ahead of the opening of the new BH2 leisure complex, planned for Bournemouth Square.
Cinema general manager Spencer Clark said: "It was one of the flagship cinemas for ABC and it's a fond farewell for what is a great venue."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-38500616
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Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg takes up challenge to tour US - BBC News
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2017-01-04
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg plans to spend 2017 touring the US - in his latest ambitious challenge.
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Business
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Mark Zuckerberg has announced plans to spend 2017 touring the US - in the Facebook founder's latest ambitious New Year's resolution.
He posted that this year's personal challenge is to "have visited and met people in every state in the US".
The 32-year-old tech titan added that he needs to travel to about 30 states to fulfil the pledge.
His previous New Year challenges have included running 365 miles, reading 25 books and learning Mandarin.
The US tour comes amid speculation that a future personal challenge by Mr Zuckerberg could include running for president of the United States.
"After a tumultuous last year, my hope for this challenge is to get out and talk to more people about how they're living, working and thinking about the future," Mr Zuckerberg said in his Facebook post.
"For decades, technology and globalization have made us more productive and connected.
"This has created many benefits, but for a lot of people it has also made life more challenging. This has contributed to a greater sense of division than I have felt in my lifetime. We need to find a way to change the game so it works for everyone."
He added that the road trips would help him to make "the most positive impact as the world enters an important new period".
"My trips this year will take different forms - road trips with [wife] Priscilla, stops in small towns and universities, visits to our offices across the country, meetings with teachers and scientists, and trips to fun places you recommend along the way," the statement continued.
Last year there was speculation that he could one day launch a bid for the White House.
That was fuelled by documents showing he has made provisions to keep control of the company if he works for the government.
Mr Zuckerberg also said last week that he was no longer an atheist.
He posted a Christmas message, prompting someone to ask: "Aren't you an atheist?"
Mr Zuckerberg replied: "No. I was raised Jewish and then I went through a period where I questioned things, but now I believe religion is very important".
• None Facebook to do more tackling fake news
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38503437
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Guantanamo Bay: What's it like inside? - BBC News
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2017-01-04
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As Donald Trump tweets that no-one should be released from Guantanamo Bay, the BBC's Gordon Corera takes a tour of the camp.
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As Donald Trump tweets that no-one should be released from Guantanamo Bay, the BBC's Gordon Corera takes a tour of the camp.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38512158
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Eddie Jones open to Richard Cockerill joining England set-up - BBC Sport
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2017-01-04
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Eddie Jones says he is open to the possibility of sacked Leicester boss Richard Cockerill joining England's coaching set-up.
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Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union
Eddie Jones says he sympathises with Richard Cockerill and is open to the possibility of the sacked Leicester boss joining England's coaching set-up.
Cockerill, 46, was dismissed as Tigers' director of rugby on 2 January, with the club fifth in the Premiership.
England head coach Jones told BBC Sport that despite having a forwards coach he would "never close the door".
Jones also said Dylan Hartley would continue to captain England if he was fit enough to be selected.
Northampton hooker Hartley is serving a six-week ban for catching Leinster's Sean O'Brien with a swinging arm in a Champions Cup match in December.
Jones, 56, said last month that the 30-year-old had "let his country down" with the third red card of his career.
But the Australian said on Tuesday that Hartley was "doing everything right" to be England captain for the forthcoming Six Nations.
Cockerill had been a member of Leicester's coaching staff since 2004, taking over as head coach in 2009 and becoming director of rugby in 2010.
But following a 16-12 defeat by Saracens on New Year's Day, and with Leicester 15 points adrift of leaders Wasps, Cockerill was sacked.
Leicester won three Premiership titles under Cockerill and were twice runners-up Leicester were runners-up in the European Cup in Cockerill's first season in charge and won the LV= Cup in 2011-12
Jones said: "I have a massive amount of sympathy for Richard Cockerill.
"He is a great rugby guy, a great player for Leicester, has been a very successful director of rugby and coach.
"You don't like to see that happen to anyone but the reality of being a coach is that everyone goes through that and I am sure he will end up somewhere else.
"It has been a discussion point for the Leicester players. They are disappointed for Richard but know they have to get on with the job.
"We are very well endowed with the forwards coaches we have at the moment so we can always look at the possibility of that [getting Cockerill]."
Former England lock Steve Borthwick is currently England's forwards coach.
Hartley's dismissal in Northampton's 37-10 home defeat by Leinster had jeopardised his involvement in England's Six Nations campaign, with their opening fixture against France at Twickenham on 4 February.
However, he is eligible to play again from 23 January.
Jones added: "A prerequisite to get into the England side is to be very fit and not playing games means he needs to undergo an unbelievably stringent fitness programme over the next five or six weeks. He is doing that and is in the best position to continue as captain.
"If Dylan is right to play, he will be captain.
"Everyone makes mistakes. In the last 12 months, he has made one mistake and done a hell of a lot of good things so his batting average is pretty high. If that falls, then we need to look at things.
"We have had a number of chats, not any longer than five minutes, but plenty of information has been exchanged. He understands where he is at and what he needs to do. He will do it."
The former Australia coach said it was a "big relief" to have James Haskell back in contention after the flanker missed the autumn internationals with a toe injury.
Leicester centre Manu Tuilagi has been ruled out of England's training camp in Brighton next week after a knee injury cut short his involvement in the Tigers' defeat by Saracens.
"He was coming back into some form, getting his power back so it is enormously frustrating for him," said Jones.
Former England captain Chris Robshaw also faces a nervous wait to discover the extent of the shoulder injury sustained with Harlequins on New Year's Day, with England ordering a scan.
World Rugby has tightened the tackle law with immediate effect, clamping down on high and dangerous tackles by lowering the acceptable height of the tackle and increasing the severity of on-field punishment.
"I think it is fantastic," said Jones. "The game of rugby is such a great game and we have to keep improving it.
"Concussions is an issue that will be there more and more so the scrutiny for head injuries is nothing like it was three or five years ago.
"Over the next period of time, it is going to be quite difficult. We will then have a safer, healthier game.
"We played against Argentina with 14 men and it was a great game. We are preparing for that. The penalties over the next period of time will be harsh."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/38503190
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Ivan Rogers resignation: Dear Sir, I quit! The resignation quiz - BBC News
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2017-01-04
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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How much do you know about famous resignations?
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Magazine
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Sir Ivan Rogers has quit his job as British ambassador to the EU, issuing a resignation statement that urged his team to "continue to challenge ill-founded arguments and muddled thinking". But he's not the first person to make headlines with a biting departure.
Test your knowledge about some of history's more celebrated resignation statements.
Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-38510071
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Leeds United: Owner Massimo Cellino sells 50% stake to Italian businessman - BBC Sport
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2017-01-04
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Leeds United owner Massimo Cellino sells 50% of his stake in the Championship club to Italian businessman Andrea Radrizzani.
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Leeds United owner Massimo Cellino has sold 50% of his stake in the club to Italian businessman Andrea Radrizzani.
Radrizzani has purchased his stake through his company Aser Group Holding.
The 42-year-old has been in talks to invest in the Championship club since August 2016, when BBC Sport broke news of his interest.
"I am excited by the challenge ahead and I will work alongside Massimo and everybody at the club to make Leeds as successful as possible," he said.
Cellino took over at Elland Road in April 2014 but the 60-year-old has received three Football Association bans in that time.
In December 2016 he was banned from all football activities for 18 months and fined £250,000 for breaching the FA's football agent rules over the sale of Ross McCormack to Fulham in 2014. He is appealing against the punishment.
Radrizzani, who co-founded sports media agency MP & Silva in 2004, added: "I am fully aware of the great heritage and traditions of Leeds United and I will endeavour to be a fitting custodian on behalf of the many thousands of Leeds supporters, who are the lifeblood of the club.
"I am making a long-term commitment to Leeds United and will work to bring stability through ongoing investment. I aim to bring sustainable growth. I won't do anything that will put the club's future at risk.
"Through working in the sports industry for many years, I have developed a great passion for the English game and I am honoured to have become joint owner of one of the country's biggest clubs.
"I am very impressed with the job [head coach] Garry Monk has done this season and I will do all I can to support him and the team moving forward."
'I needed to bring in a new partner'
Cellino, who had sacked six managers and head coaches before appointing Monk in June, said he felt "that the only way we can get better is for me to bring in a new partner".
The former Cagliari owner added: "Andrea is young and brings a new energy with him, as well as having a good experience in the football media business, which is the future for all clubs.
"I feel that bringing Andrea in as a 50% shareholder to work with me is the best choice we could have made. We will continue building a strong and healthy football club for the future."
Leeds are fifth in the Championship after winning four of their last five matches and seven points off the automatic promotion places.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38511004
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London visitors' last chance to see Dippy ahead of tour - BBC News
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2017-01-04
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The UK's most famous dinosaur skeleton is on show for the last time ahead of nationwide tour.
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London
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Dippy is to be replaced by the skeleton of a whale
A museum's famous 112-year-old dinosaur is set to leave London for a national tour.
Dippy the diplodocus, a 70ft long (21.3m) plaster-cast sauropod replica made up of 292 bones, is set to leave the Natural History Museum in Kensington later this year.
A six-person team will start a three-and-a-half week task of dismantling of Dippy on Thursday.
He is being moved as the museum is having a front-of-house makeover.
Dippy's spot is being taken by the skeleton of an 83ft (25.2m) female blue whale, weighing 4.5 tonnes.
Dippy was first installed at the museum in 1905
She will take up position in a diving pose as she is suspended from the ceiling of the hall.
The whale is also more than 100 years old but - unlike Dippy - she is not a cast.
About 90 million people are estimated to have seen Dippy
On Thursday, construction will also begin on a tunnel to protect visitors during the dismantling of Dippy.
This tunnel will take three to four days to build and will almost totally obscure Dippy from view.
Parts of Dippy will be cleaned and repaired ahead of the two-year tour.
The tour will start in 2018, with Dorset County Museum set to be the first stop from February to May.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Head of Conservation at Natural History Museum tells Today Dippy is like "huge 3D jigsaw puzzle"
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-38502339
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Tales from the bar - a tour of London's 'great pubs' - BBC News
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2017-01-04
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Giant barrels, mosaic ceilings and ghostly visions - stories from some of London's oldest and most intriguing public houses.
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In Pictures
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Giant oak wine barrels sit above the bar of the Cittie of Yorke in Holborn - which is more reminiscent of a great hall in a Tudor mansion than than a traditional pub.
The jury is out as to whether or not the massive casks were ever used as genuine storage vessels - or simply part of the inn's Tudor makeover in the 1920s.
The Cittie of Yorke features in a new book, Great Pubs of London, written by George Dailey and featuring photographs taken by his daughter Charlie.
The book examines the histories of 22 pubs. Take a look at some of them here.
On a quiet street in the heart of one of London's most exclusive neighbourhoods, the Nags Head's first customers would have been staff from the mansions on neighbouring streets.
"The likelihood is that, because of its location, most of the early landlords were connected with horses, carriages and stabling," writes Dailey.
The pub's main bar - with its 150-year-old Chelsea pottery beer engine pump handles - is unusually low, with short stools in front.
This is because the floor of the bar servery is positioned midway between the main bar and the lower back bar to the rear, which was once possibly a stables or courtyard.
The Nags Head is also filled with dozens of toys, penny arcade machines, posters and photos - and the current landlord's collection of military memorabilia.
The Blackfriar - built in 1875 - stands on the site of London's Dominican friary in the parish of Ludgate.
The Dominicans are known as "the blackfriars" because of the black cloaks they wear.
In the early 20th Century the pub's interior was remodelled by the sculptor Henry Poole, who created a vision straight out of medieval England.
There is a sumptuous mosaic ceiling, with marble columns and copper clay friezes.
And black-cloaked friars can be spotted just about everywhere - all appearing to enjoy sins of overindulgence.
The interior of the French House looks more like a Parisian backstreet bar, than a traditional London pub - and it remains a favourite of artists, writers, actors and photographers,
George Dailey describes the inside as "a little tired, faintly bohemian - but with unmistakeable Gallic charm".
For most of the 20th Century the pub's official name was The York Minster.
Its metamorphosis into "The French" started in 1914, when its German owner sold the business to a Belgian - but "The French sounds more romantic", says Dailey.
The inn on this site was first built in 1520 - on the north bank of the Thames to the east of the City.
It would have been a timber structure surrounded by gardens and marshland. It was rebuilt in the 18th Century.
Regular visitors included the writers Charles Dickens, Samuel Pepys and Samuel Johnson - and the venue was known for its bare-knuckle and cock fights.
It's thought the pub's strange name derives from the fact that a collier - a ship carrying coal - from Whitby in North Yorkshire used to moor regularly beside the pub.
Initially it was just called The Prospect.
For people heading to London from the south, Borough High Street in Southwark was a terminus.
The walled City of London was only a bridge away, but it was closed at night.
Latecomers were forced to take rooms at one of the local inns - including The George.
The George became a home for political debate and gossip - and Shakespeare's plays were often performed in its courtyard.
According to Dailey: "There is no pub in London that can boast of having a completely untouched 18th Century interior - but The George comes very close."
The current building, which backs on to the shore of the Thames, dates from 1720 - built on the site of a previous pub, which burned down in 1710.
In 1865, Charles Dickens is thought to have written about The Grapes - or The Bunch of Grapes, as it was then known.
He describes "a tavern of dropsical appearance... long settled down into a state of hale infirmity. It had outlasted many a sprucer public house, indeed the whole house impended over the water but seemed to have got into the condition of a faint-hearted diver, who has paused so long on the brink, that he will never go in at all."
Although rebuilt in the 1920s, there has probably been a pub on the site of The Ship since the mid-16th Century - and in its early incarnation it was known as a haven for persecuted Catholics.
The pub is now just behind a busy underground station, but initially it would have overlooked a rough area of pasture land - Lincoln's Inn Fields.
This narrow pub on the Thames is one of the best places to watch the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race - if you can find a space to stand.
Anecdotal evidence suggests the Dove was actually a licensed pub as early as 1730 - when the green fields and orchards of 18th Century Hammersmith offered tranquillity away from the City of London, which was then only a two-hour coach ride away.
With all the hallmarks of a village inn, The Flask is very close to Highgate Cemetery - the burial place of Karl Marx.
It also claims to have two ghosts - a Spanish barmaid who took her life when the landlord rejected her amorous advances, and a hapless man dressed as a cavalier who crosses the main bar and disappears into a wall.
The poets Byron, Shelley, Keats and Coleridge were regular drinkers here. Coleridge believed the clean air on the hill at Highgate was beneficial in his attempts to cure himself of opium addiction.
When the building now known as The Lamb and Flag was built, in the mid-17th Century, Covent Garden was a relatively new urban area - a smart and desirable address.
But a century later, the gentry had moved away and the area had become a red-light district. Records from 1772 show that The Lamb and Flag - or Coopers Arms as it was known then - was trading successfully, but the clientele was drawn from the lower levels of society.
A century later, and the venue was a popular location for unlicensed bare-knuckle fights.
Great Pubs of London by George Dailey is published by Prestel.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-38384519
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French cyclist Robert Marchand sets new record aged 105 - BBC News
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2017-01-04
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Robert Marchand sets a new hour record at the national velodrome but regrets not going faster.
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Europe
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Robert Marchand: "I'm wondering if it's really true"
He may not be the fastest cyclist round a velodrome, but he is easily one of the oldest.
Robert Marchand has clocked up 105 years and now a new record for the furthest distance cycled in one hour.
The French cyclist managed 22.547km (14 miles) at the national velodrome, taking the top spot in a new category - for riders over 105.
Mr Marchand already holds the record for those aged over 100 - 26.927km - set in 2012.
He "could have done better", he says, but missed a sign showing 10 minutes to go.
"My legs didn't hurt," he told BFMTV. "My arms hurt but that's because of rheumatism."
To be fair, he had admitted before the event at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome near Paris that breaking his previous hour record would be tough.
"I'm not in such good shape as I was a couple of years back," he told AFP news agency.
"I am not here to be champion. I am here to prove that at 105 years old you can still ride a bike," he said.
Hundreds of spectators cheered him on trackside.
Born on 26 November 1911, Mr Marchand puts his fitness down to diet - lots of fruit and vegetables, a little meat, not too much coffee - and an hour a day on the cycling home-trainer.
A prisoner of war in World War Two, he went on to work as a lorry driver and sugarcane planter in Venezuela, and a lumberjack in Canada.
No stranger to sport outside cycling, he competed in gymnastics at national level and has been a boxer.
The current men's hour record is held by the UK's Bradley Wiggins - 54.526km - which he set in June 2015.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38510439
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Jermain Defoe: Sunderland reject West Ham's £6m bid for striker - BBC Sport
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2017-01-04
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Sunderland reject West Ham's £6m bid for 34-year-old striker Jermain Defoe.
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Last updated on .From the section Football
It is understood the Hammers will raise their offer for the player who began his career at the east London club.
Defoe, 34, has scored 11 goals in 21 appearances for the Premier League strugglers this season.
His latest goals came on Monday as Sunderland twice fought from a goal down to draw 2-2 with in-form Liverpool, which left manager David Moyes's side in 18th position.
Defoe's senior career began at West Ham before he moved to rivals Tottenham in a £7m deal in 2004, with striker Bobby Zamora going the other way. A £7.5m move to Portsmouth followed in January 2008 before he returned to Spurs the following year for £15m.
Defoe made a surprise move to Canadian team Toronto FC in 2014 before he was lured to Sunderland in 2015 by former Black Cats boss and ex-Spurs team-mate Gus Poyet.
West Ham will return to test the resolve of Sunderland, but it's unthinkable the Black Cats can afford to sell Defoe given their precarious position.
David Moyes recently described Defoe as "priceless" and his goals will be the difference as to whether they can preserve their top-flight status.
Premium and proven goalscorers are in short supply which is why West Ham themselves are looking at the 34-year-old.
They say money talks but Defoe is invaluable to Sunderland's cause.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38511254
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Cairngorm mountain rescue couple speak about ordeal - BBC News
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2017-01-04
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A couple rescued from the Cairngorm mountains after being forced to shelter down for the night have spoken about their ordeal.
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A couple rescued from the Cairngorm mountains after being forced to shelter down for the night have spoken about their ordeal.
Bob and Cathy Elmer from Leicestershire, who were reported missing on Sunday, said at times the snow came up to their waists.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-38501505
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Qatar Open: Sir Andy Murray extends winning streak to 26 matches - BBC Sport
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2017-01-04
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Sir Andy Murray extends his winning run to 26 matches with a 7-6 (8-6) 7-5 win over Austrian Gerald Melzer at the Qatar Open.
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Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Sir Andy Murray reached the Qatar Open quarter-finals with a battling 7-6 (8-6) 7-5 win over Austrian Gerald Melzer.
World number 68 Melzer produced a gutsy display, saving eight first-set points before eventually succumbing to the world number one in the tie-break.
The Austrian broke as Murray served for the match at 5-4 but the Scot won the next two games and will next play world number 44 Nicolas Almagro of Spain.
Murray extended his career-best winning streak in competitive matches to 26.
He paid tribute to Melzer, saying: "He played great tennis and dominated large parts of the match. If he plays like this again this year he'll move higher and higher up the rankings.
"I played pretty good. The depth in men's tennis is great right now."
After shaking hands at the end of the contest the Argentine asked for a selfie with the Serb 12-time Grand Slam champion.
"That was the first time that I ever had this kind of experience in my career,'' Djokovic said. "So, Horacio, well done. Very original."
Meanwhile, Roger Federer was defeated by German teenager Alexander Zverev at the mixed teams Hopman Cup in Perth.
The Swiss 17-time Grand Slam winner lost 7-6 (7-1) 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-4) in two hours and 30 minutes in a match of high quality.
The tournament in Australia is the 35-year-old's first after a six-month knee injury lay-off.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38512939
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Marijuana brands aim for high-end retail in Canada - BBC News
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2017-01-04
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As brands fight for a share of the Canadian cannabis market before the drug is fully legalised, one store wants to make "seedy" so-called head shops a thing of a the past.
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With retailers jockeying for position before cannabis is fully legalised in Canada, "seedy" so-called head shops could soon be a thing of the past.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38500023
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Bournemouth 3-3 Arsenal: Arsene Wenger says Gunners refused to lose - BBC Sport
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2017-01-04
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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says his side "refused to lose the game" as they came back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 at Bournemouth.
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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said his side "refused to lose the game" as they came back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 at Bournemouth.
It was the first time the Gunners had recovered from a three-goal deficit to draw a Premier League match.
"It was a physical and mental test - they started much faster but we showed we are mentally strong," Wenger said.
"At 3-0 down after 70 minutes you'd take a point, but in the end we were frustrated not to win the game."
Charlie Daniels, a Callum Wilson penalty and Ryan Fraser put Bournemouth on top by the hour mark but Alexis Sanchez and substitute Lucas Perez hit back before Olivier Giroud levelled in stoppage time.
"We wanted to win the game and we wanted three points, but on the other hand some big teams have dropped points here," Wenger added. "We had to cope with the pace of Bournemouth, who scored four against Liverpool here.
"But when you're 3-0 down you have to acknowledge the quality of the response of your team."
Having spoken before the game about the "uneven" festive fixture programme, Wenger's side were in action two days after playing Crystal Palace on Sunday, against a Bournemouth team with an extra day's rest after their win at Swansea on Saturday.
Both sides played their three Christmas games in the space of 198.75 hours - 81.75 hours more than Southampton, who had the toughest schedule.
"Bournemouth deserve a lot of credit as they are a good team who played with pace, but the disadvantage is too big to play against a team with three and a half days' recovery," the Frenchman said. "It's too uneven to only have two days' rest. That's too big a handicap.
"We had three or four players we had to play tonight that we had to wait until the warm-up to see if they could play.
"Hector Bellerin had a knock so he was uncertain to play, and that's the problem with only 48 hours [between games] - you have to play some players again. Laurent Koscielny too, and we had Gabriel that we didn't start in the end.
"And then I didn't start Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain because I didn't take a gamble with him, because I didn't know who we'd have to take off.
"This complicates the job a lot, but we have to shut up and cope with it."
Asked whether his side would have won with an extra day's rest, Wenger replied: "I'm ready to play tomorrow, as long as we play an opponent who has played today. We want to play a team with the same rest that we have had."
Wenger's opposite number Eddie Howe also conceded that the schedule had aided his team.
"I'm not going to deny it had an impact," the Bournemouth boss said. "That's what you have a squad for and make changes, like we did."
• None Who got the most rest this Christmas?
The top six's busy Christmas: Did Chelsea have an advantage? Hours taken from the start of a team's first game to the end of their third game. *Chelsea play Tottenham on 4 January
'Arsenal cannot grind it out'
BBC Radio 5 live summariser Steve Claridge felt Arsenal's performance raised serious concerns about their ability to challenge for the title.
"There are one or two players that are not good enough to take that club where they need to go - particularly ones Wenger has brought in recently, who have made absolutely no difference.
"They're not a better side than they were last year. Mustafi, not good enough tonight. Xhaka, not good enough tonight - that's £70m already there.
"Clearly there are one or two deficiencies that need to be addressed. When they don't dominate, they lose or they concede. They can't dog games out, they cannot grind it out.
"They haven't got people that go 'hold on a minute, this isn't our time in the match, let's stay nice and tight and we are not going to lose, we'll not concede and when we do have our moment that's when we'll win the game'."
• None Hear Claridge in full in the 5 live Football Daily
Howe was left frustrated after captain Simon Francis was shown a straight red card for fouling Aaron Ramsey eight minutes from time.
"It was a foul but I don't think it was a sending-off, I don't think he's lifted his studs in a dangerous way," Howe said.
"Whether it was the defining factor, I'm not sure. But I don't want to be negative - I was proud of the players and their effort. They gave absolutely everything, and they should be congratulating each other. We have to acknowledge we've got a point against a very good team.
"It was a real committed performance from us. We wanted to disrupt their rhythm and we did that perfectly. The key moment was their first goal, which changed the momentum of the game, and you have to praise Arsenal for the way they came back into it."
Howe also felt Bournemouth were hampered by losing Joshua King and goalscorer Ryan Fraser to injury within the space of five minutes at 3-0. Striker Benik Afobe was unavailable after failing to receive international clearance, having pulled out of the DR Congo squad for the Africa Cup of Nations.
"Ryan and Josh were being a real nuisance, and I thought we lost that threat when they went off," Howe added.
"I'm not going to deny having our best players to bring off the bench might have made a difference. There's been dialogue between Benik and his association, they've been very good about it, but we're waiting for final confirmation from them."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38503563
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Manu Tuilagi: Leicester Tigers and England centre out for rest of season - BBC Sport
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2017-01-04
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England and Leicester centre Manu Tuilagi will miss the rest of the season after suffering cruciate ligament damage.
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Last updated on .From the section Rugby Union
England and Leicester centre Manu Tuilagi will miss the Six Nations and the rest of the Premiership season with anterior cruciate ligament damage.
The 25-year-old is out for at least six months after he was injured in Sunday's Premiership defeat by Saracens.
He has made just 23 appearances for Tigers since the start of the 2013-14 season because of a string of injuries.
Only one of his 26 England caps has been under Eddie Jones, who was named head coach in November 2015.
The Samoa-born player was forced to pull out of a two-day training camp with the national team after suffering his latest setback.
As well as missing the Six Nations, which starts on 4 February, he will not be available for the British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand in the summer.
"It's devastating for him," Tigers head coach Aaron Mauger said.
"He's got himself into such a good position, I think he's really matured as a person over the last 12 months and that's probably helped him get back to the space that he's been in.
"He'll have everything he needs to come back a better player and a stronger person and I'm sure he will."
Tuilagi last started an England game in June 2014, before sustaining a groin injury in September of that year which kept him sidelined for 15 months.
He had previously missed two games of the 2012 Six Nations campaign with a hamstring problem, and all but one game of the 2014 tournament after tearing a pectoral muscle.
A further recurrence of his groin injury in Tigers' opening game of the current Premiership season on 2 September then forced him to miss almost three months of action, making his return in a win over Bristol on 25 November.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/38507813
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Newspaper headlines: EU ambassador's resignation dominates press - BBC News
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2017-01-04
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The resignation of the UK's ambassador to the European Union, Sir Ivan Rogers, dominates the front pages of Wednesday's newspapers.
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The Papers
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Sir Ivan Rogers has quit as the UK's ambassador to the EU
The Daily Telegraph speculates about what the government will do now that the UK's ambassador to the EU, Sir Ivan Rogers, has stepped down.
"May to pick Brexiteer as our man in Brussels" is its headline.
The paper has been told by senior Conservatives that ministers see his resignation as an opportunity to appoint someone who backs leaving the EU wholeheartedly.
The Telegraph says Number 10 had "lost confidence" in Sir Ivan, over what it describes as his "pessimistic" view of Brexit.
The Times has a two-page spread exploring events leading up to Sir Ivan's departure, and the possible fallout.
Under the headline "Our man in Brussels gave everyone a reality check", it suggest Sir Ivan was performing a vital function - trying to "tell it how it is, even if his political masters did not like the message".
But the Sun says it will not shed a tear for his departure.
"He was reportedly always happy to take no for an answer from Eurocrats," its leader says "when Britain desperately needed someone to fight our corner in Brussels".
There is anger in the Daily Mail about personal injury claims lawyers who advertise in hospitals.
Simon Stevens, who is head of the NHS in England, tells the paper they should be banned from doing so.
NHS boss Simon Stevens criticised what are known as ambulance-chasing lawyers
He says the legal firms cost the health service more than £400m a year in claims for alleged medical blunders.
The Mail agrees that they should be kicked out.
Under the headline "Leeching off the NHS", its leader says allowing them to advertise in hospitals is "a grotesque act of self-harm".
The Daily Mirror front page headline is "The fattest of cats".
The paper says that, by lunchtime on Wednesday, the bosses of Britain's biggest corporations will have already earned as much as the average person will be paid all year.
In its opinion column, the paper says "inflated rewards for the overpaid elite aren't even linked to ability or performance while most of the country grafts hard for a relative pittance".
Members of the French National Front are upset, according to the Guardian, about the apparent depiction of their party leader, Marine Le Pen, in the trailer for a new film called Chez Nous.
Front National vice-president Florian Philippot is quoted describing it as "scandalous" and expressing outrage that the film is being released in February, two months before the French presidential election.
But the director of Chez Nous, Lucas Belvaux, defends his work, saying it is not against the National Front but about "the populist message and how people relate to politics".
Finally, several papers report on the story of Stuart Wilson, an amateur archaeologist who bought a field in south Wales, dug it up - and found the remains of the ancient city of Trellech.
The Daily Express explains that, 12 years ago, Mr Wilson paid £32,000 for the field suspecting there might be something worthwhile buried there.
He has since found evidence of streets, foundations, and even a well.
The paper's leader describes him as "outstanding in his field".
The Sun's headline is: "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Landmark".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-38503503
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Kim Kardashian's ex-boyfriend Ray J and Calum Best are in Celebrity Big Brother - BBC News
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2017-01-04
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Kim Kardashian's ex-boyfriend, a Game of Thrones actor and a former Strictly dancer are among this year's Celebrity Big Brother housemates.
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Newsbeat
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Kim Kardashian's ex, a Game of Thrones actor and a former Strictly dancer are among this year's Celebrity Big Brother contestants.
The line-up also includes stars who've previously appeared on the show.
Billed as All Stars versus New Stars, the 14 celebs will spend the next month in the CBB house together.
Big Brother has already started the fun and games by forcing the housemates to choose one contestant to "edit" out of the show.
As always we expect the show to be a slow burner but here are a few of the faces that could prove very entertaining.
The singer got to number three in America with single Sexy Can I in 2007
The 35-year-old's CV might list his occupation as singer but most people will know him as Kim Kardashian's ex-boyfriend.
Most notably - he was the man in the sex tape alongside Kim which leaked on the internet.
Ray J describes himself as "real, raw and ready" and says he wants people to get to know the real him and not "what they read or see on TV, or what I did in bed".
He appeared in 12 episodes of Games of Thrones between 2011-2013 as Jeor Mormont.
James Cosmo also played Father Kellan Ashby in Sons of Anarchy
"I'm looking forward to the psychological experiments of living with people I don't know. It depends on the duration; there are not many people I could not live with for even a short period of time."
The 68-year-old may have braved the cold as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch but admitted he expects things to get frosty in the house.
Calum Best might just be having second thoughts about signing up to take part.
The reality TV star not only has to live with old flame Bianca Gascoigne for the next month but also his mum.
Calum is known as a bit of a playboy but might have to behave with Angie sleeping in the same room as him.
This one is the combination of Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt.
The pair were originally on the 11th series of Celebrity Big Brother in 2013
They are reality TV show veterans who made their names in, MTV's The Hills.
The couple say they are taking part in CBB for one reason and that's to win.
Spencer and former Strictly Come Dancing pro James Jordan hit it off straight away after Speidi played a prank on the dancer as he entered the house.
Footballer Jamie O'Hara, Loose Woman Coleen Nolan and model Jasmine Waltz are also taking part this year.
Jasmine Waltz was a contestant in Celebrity Big Brother 13 in 2014
Completing the group are glamour model Nicola McLean, X Factor USA contestant Stacy Francis, DJ Brandon Block and model Austin Armacost.
Find us on Instagram at BBCNewsbeat and follow us on Snapchat, search for bbc_newsbeat
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/articles/38504767
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The Jump: Kadeena Cox has UK Sport funding suspended - BBC Sport
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2017-01-04
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Paralympic champion Kadeena Cox has her UK Sport funding suspended while she takes part in Channel 4 show The Jump.
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Last updated on .From the section Disability Sport
Paralympic champion Kadeena Cox has had her UK Sport funding suspended while she takes part in Channel 4 winter sports programme The Jump.
Cox, 25, will join Olympic taekwondo champion Jade Jones and Rio silver medal-winning gymnast Louis Smith on the show.
She won cycling and athletics gold at the Rio Paralympics.
British Athletics made the decision to withdraw Cox's funding with the support of British Cycling.
Cox, who has multiple sclerosis after a stroke in May 2014, later tweeted that her condition is a "ticking time bomb" which prompted her decision to go and "enjoy skiing".
UK Sport told BBC Sport the participation of funded athletes in the show was a matter for the individual sports concerned.
Cox does not have a major cycling event this year, with no Para-cycling Track World Championships officially confirmed, but she would be expected to take part in the Para Athletics World Championships in London in July.
"Due to the nature of the activities on the show, the athlete cannot continue to be supported by the WCPP (World Class Performance Programme) during this time," said a statement from British Athletics.
"Her UK Sport funding will be suspended until she returns to training and proves her fitness."
The medical teams from both sporting organisations are believed to have advised Cox against participating in the show but have allowed her to make her own decision.
"Kadeena enjoyed a fantastic 2016, making history by winning Paralympic gold in both athletics and cycling, and we respect her decision to take some time away from the sport to pursue the opportunities that her success has afforded her," added British Cycling.
Both organisations wished Cox well and said they look forward to her return after the show.
On Tuesday, GB Taekwondo said they "had reservations" but "understood" Jones' decision to take part and had held "extensive" talks with the 23-year-old about the risks involved.
Jones will still receive her full UK Sport funding during her time on the programme.
The show, which sees celebrities competing at winter sports, including ski-jumping, bobsleigh and speed skating, has seen a number of serious injuries.
Last year, Olympic gymnast Beth Tweddle needed surgery to have fractured vertebrae fused together after she was injured in training, while double gold medal-winning swimmer Rebecca Adlington suffered a shoulder injury.
Former Holby City actress Tina Hobley sustained knee, shoulder and arm injuries and has only recently stopped using crutches and Made In Chelsea star Mark-Francis Vandelli broke his ankle.
In addition, athlete Linford Christie pulled a hamstring, ex-EastEnders actor Joe Swash chipped a bone in his shoulder, Girls Aloud star Sarah Harding injured a ligament and model Heather Mills hurt her knee and thumb.
Channel 4 says there has been a "thorough review of safety procedures" before this year's series.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/disability-sport/38505652
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Call the Midwife is top Christmas Day show but ratings fall - BBC News
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2017-01-04
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Call the Midwife was the most-watched programme on Christmas Day - but audiences fell to their lowest level on record.
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Entertainment & Arts
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The Christmas special saw the team of midwives relocate to South Africa
Call the Midwife was the most-watched programme on Christmas Day - but audiences on 25 December fell to their lowest level on record, figures show.
The historical drama attracted an audience of 9.2 million.
It is the smallest number of viewers for Christmas Day's top show since the current ratings system began in 1981.
Mrs Brown's Boys got nine million viewers, the Strictly Come Dancing special had 8.9 million and The Great Christmas Bake Off had 8.2 million.
Data from those watching on-demand services on smartphones and computers is not included in the figures, from research body Barb.
Call the Midwife fans saw the nuns and nurses from Nonnatus House travel to South Africa in a bid to prevent a hospital from closing down.
Heidi Thomas, creator and writer of the Call the Midwife, said: "We are always so proud to be part of BBC One's Christmas Day schedule, and absolutely delighted that so many people joined us.
"At this special time of year it really feels as though the cast, crew and audience of Call The Midwife are one big family, and we can't wait to share series six with everyone."
The new series returns to BBC One later this month.
The Queen's Christmas Message was in the top 10
BBC One had eight of the 10 most-watched programmes on 25 December, while ITV had two.
The other top 10 programmes for Christmas Day were Doctor Who, EastEnders, The Queen's Christmas Message and Disney film Frozen.
Audiences for Christmas Day - which traditionally attracts big audiences - have been falling in recent years with the introduction of catch-up and on-demand services.
No programme has attracted more than 20 million viewers since 2001, and the figure of 15 million has not been achieved since 2008.
Call The Midwife's 9.2 million is just over half the number who watched Wallace And Gromit: A Matter Of Loaf And Death in 2008 (16.2 million).
The single biggest Christmas Day TV audience was recorded in 1989 when 21.8 million watched the UK premiere of the film Crocodile Dundee.
The average Christmas Day audience this decade is 11.1 million. In the 1980s, it was 18.5 million.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected].
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38498985
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House price predictions for 2017 - BBC News
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2017-01-04
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Experts give their predictions for the UK housing market in 2017 and look back at some of the key issues for property buyers and sellers over the last 12 months.
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Business
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Radstock Street is being marketed as "desirable lateral living"
Buyers of a four-bedroom family home in London need deep pockets - but perhaps not as cavernous as a year ago.
Asking prices in the capital for these top-of-the-ladder properties fell by 8.7% over the past year, according to search site Rightmove. House prices grew much faster in eastern England and the West Midlands than in London, according to Zoopla.
London's annual house price growth for 2016 (3.7%) was below the UK average of 4.5% for the first time since 2008, the Nationwide Building Society says.
So has the London bubble burst? Are bargains to be had? Well, these things are relative.
One new development in Radstock Street in Battersea will see eight large apartments go on the market in February for £3.65m each.
For most people around the UK, that is an eye-watering price for a three-bedroom property. Yet, the developers say these homes will be attractive to downsizers - people aged in their 50s and 60s already owning a home in central London.
The idea of downsizing to a £3m-plus home might make those eyes water a little more, but Louisa Brodie, head of search at Banda Property, says these apartments are "realistically priced".
"They have car parking, a porter, and are brand new. Properties like this are rare to find, and areas like this have a unique selling point," she says. "London is still one of the most desirable places to live, anywhere."
This is surely a sign that London property has been decoupled from the rest of the country for many years.
Despite the drop in activity in London, the average house price in the capital is still £474,000, more than double the typical price of £217,000 in the UK as a whole, according to the latest official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The slowdown in central London is the result of the most significant change in the housing market in 2016 - a stamp duty surcharge on buy-to-let and second homes.
Since April, anyone buying a home that is not their main residence has had to pay a 3% stamp duty surcharge. This meant that, for second homes or buy-to-let properties, the rate for properties priced at more than £1.5m reaches 15%.
The surcharge led to a burst of activity in March followed by a steep drop in transactions in April - a "hangover" that still persists, according to Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics).
In Scotland, the equivalent tax - the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) - was also up-rated.
The new surcharge, alongside a rise in normal stamp duty costs for £1m-plus homes since 2014, had a bigger impact on the market than the Brexit vote in June, according to experts.
Ray Boulger, of John Charcol mortgage brokers, says it led to many at the expensive end of the market choosing to extend their homes rather than move. This made it more difficult to create chains lower down the market.
Ed Stansfield, chief property economist at Capital Economics, says the housing market recovered "remarkably quickly" after cooling immediately after the UK's vote to leave the EU.
He says a "degree of nerves" surrounding the economy and potential buyers' caution over stretching too far financially had kept a lid on house prices.
Another major factor in the market over the last 12 months, according to the experts, is a lack of homes going on to the market. This supply squeeze has meant that, despite all the other pressures on affordability, prices continued to increase.
The constraint on supply proved to be more problematic than expected, according to Mr Rubinsohn of Rics, whose prediction of a 6% rise in house prices for 2016 looks to be the most accurate.
This trend will continue, he says, spelling more difficulties for first-time buyers whose incomes may fall in real terms. Many will continue to rely on the Bank of Mum and Dad for help with raising a mortgage deposit, while others will look to the government's Help to Buy projects to find somewhere affordable.
Others see first-time buyers as key to the buoyancy of the housing market.
"First-time buyers still underpin the wider market. So long as the government continues to support them either directly via Help to Buy or by further tax changes then the market should not plunge but this is not completely in the gift of politicians who frankly have more pressing matters to attend to," says property buying agent Henry Pryor.
"Like last year if you already own a home then you are probably better off than someone who doesn't. If you don't, then it seems unlikely that 2017 will see a swift solution emerge."
The experts have a relatively wide spread of predictions for 2017 - from price falls overall to rises matching or outstripping the general level of inflation.
Martin Ellis, housing economist at mortgage lender the Halifax, is offering a hedge-your-bets prediction of between a 1% and 4% rise.
"The relatively wide range for the forecast reflects the higher-than-normal degree of uncertainty regarding the prospects for the UK economy next year," he says.
Given that a buying a home is the biggest financial transaction of most people's lives, they - and their mortgage lender - will want some certainty over their job and income before taking the plunge.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38389967
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Daily Politics coverage of PMQs - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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Prime Minister's Questions on the BBC's Daily Politics.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-27901933
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British Grand Prix: Silverstone race 'under threat because of costs' - BBC Sport
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2017-01-05
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The future of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone is reportedly under threat because of the financial risk of staging it.
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Last updated on .From the section Formula 1
The future of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone could be under threat because of the "potentially ruinous risk" of staging the loss-making race.
Circuit owner the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) is considering giving notice to exercise a contract-break clause at the end of 2019.
A letter written by BRDC chairman John Grant - seen by ITV News - says a decision will be made by "mid-year".
The BRDC's contract with Formula 1 runs until 2026.
Silverstone first hosted the British Grand Prix in 1950 and has been the event's permanent home since 1987.
Formula 1 chief Bernie Ecclestone told ITV News: "If they want to activate a break clause, there is nothing we can do.
"Two other tracks have contacted us and we are keen to keep a British Grand Prix, there is no doubt about it, we want to have one."
Three-time world champion Sir Jackie Stewart added: "I think it's a credible threat, not impossible for it to happen. I would be very sad if it did.
"There's no other race track that would be able to host the British Grand Prix."
For anyone who has followed Formula 1 for the last decade or two, another story questioning the future of the British Grand Prix is about as surprising as cold weather in winter.
There is no doubt the British Racing Drivers' Club mean it when they say they are considering activating a break clause.
But, equally, there is no doubt that it fundamentally amounts to posturing - Silverstone does not want to lose the British Grand Prix any more than do the 140,000 fans who went there to watch it last year.
The issue is the cost of the 17-year contract - £12m in 2010; a 5% annual escalator means the race will cost nearly £17m this year and more than £26m by 2027.
This is small by comparison with Russia, which pays $50m (£40.3m) a year. It's not that far out of line with the new deal signed by Italy for €68m (£58m) over 2017-19, which averages out at £19.3m a year. But Silverstone - almost alone among grands prix - receives no government funding of any kind.
No other circuit in Britain is even remotely close to being able to replace it - so ignore any suggestions from F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone to that end.
The solution lies in new F1 owner Liberty Media, which has made it abundantly clear it wants to retain and nurture the historic European races, home of the sport's core audience, as a bedrock of its new-look F1.
Liberty will complete its takeover deal before the end of the first quarter of this year. So expect some time between then and this year's British Grand Prix on 16 July a compromise deal that revises the terms of the contract and secures the race's future.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/38526002
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Tiger Woods to open 2017 season at Farmers Insurance Open, Torrey Pines - BBC Sport
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2017-01-05
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Tiger Woods' first event of 2017 will be the PGA Tour's Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, which starts on 26 January.
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Last updated on .From the section Golf
Tiger Woods' first event of 2017 will be the PGA Tour's Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego, which starts on 26 January.
The 14-time major winner last played at the Farmers in 2015, but withdrew injured during the first round.
Woods, 40, will then compete in the European Tour's Dubai Desert Classic, which begins on 2 February.
He will also play the PGA Tour's Genesis Open, starting on 16 February, followed by the Honda Classic.
Woods finished 15th at the Hero World Challenge in December after 15 months out through injury.
World number two Rory McIlroy, Open champion Henrik Stenson and Masters champion Danny Willett will all compete alongside Woods in Dubai.
"I've always enjoyed playing in Dubai and it's fantastic to see how the city has grown from when I first started playing there," said Woods, who won the event in 2006 and 2008.
"When you win in Dubai, you know you've beaten an outstanding field," he added.
On competing at the Genesis Open, Woods said: "I'm very excited to come back to Riviera.
"This is where it all started for me. It was my first PGA Tour event. I was 16 years old, I weighed about 105 pounds. It was a life-changing moment for me."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/golf/38312523
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Nigel Farage to present daily radio chat show on LBC - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage is to host a daily hour-long chat show on the LBC radio station.
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UK Politics
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Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage is to present a daily chat show on the London radio station LBC.
The Nigel Farage Show will air from 19:00 to 20:00, Mondays to Thursdays, with the host describing it as "full of opinions, callers and reaction".
He tweeted: "I invite listeners to agree with me, challenge me & together we can lead Britain's conversation."
Mr Farage, a friend of US President-elect Donald Trump, is an MEP for South East England.
He resigned as UKIP leader last summer, but returned on an interim basis after his successor, Diane James, resigned only 18 days into the job.
Mr Farage's former deputy, Paul Nuttall, won the second leadership contest of the year.
Mr Trump has said Mr Farage - among the first politicians to visit the president-elect after his victory last year - would make a "great" UK ambassador to the US, but Downing Street responded that there was "no vacancy".
The former UKIP leader has previously taken part in occasional Phone Farage shows on LBC. The new regular slot begins next Monday.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38517624
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One man's search for diamonds - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Photographing the men who sieve for diamonds in Sierra Leone
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In Pictures
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During its 11-year-long civil war, Sierra Leone became famous for blood diamonds.
Rebel and government groups fought brutally over diamond-rich territory in the north of the country and funded themselves by selling the stones to international buyers.
Fourteen years after the conflict ended, diamond mining operations are still under way in the northern district of Kono.
A South African company, Koidu Holdings, runs a large mine that uses sophisticated machinery to blast through kimberlite and identify diamond-dense areas in the deep earth.
One of these miners, Philo, has worked in Kono for the past 23 years, but was driven out during the conflict and lived in Guinea as a refugee.
When the war simmered down in December 2000, he returned home and started diamond mining again a year later.
Many artisanal miners will admit that they have not found a diamond in months and are desperately poor.
Yet in a country where there is 70% youth unemployment, mining at least provides some form of livelihood.
Most men mine in a team of three.
One of them dives to scoop a bucket of mud and grit from the riverbed, while another man holds him down so he does not drift with the tide.
The third collects the bucket and empties it into a mound.
Once there is enough, the sifting begins.
The three men swap roles regularly, to avoid getting too cold.
Philo complains of chills when he gets out of the water and sucks a packet of cheap rum to warm up, saying: "This work is tough and physically straining - if I had the qualifications or opportunity to do another job then I would at once."
The swampy area around the river has been dug out by artisanal miners, who are dotted all over, urgently scooping mud and sifting through it.
At last, after three hours of sifting, Philo is thrilled to have found a tiny diamond.
Some miners are able to invest in what is known as a "rocker".
They use a power hose to squirt water through a layer of mud piled on to fine mesh.
Once the mud is cleared they are more likely to spot a glinting diamond.
However, Philo does not have this luxury.
"We are not able to afford this kind of machinery, we have to manage with just a bucket, spade and shaker [sieve]," he says.
In the local market each shaker sells for 25,000 Leones (about £3.50).
Soon after Philo has discovered a diamond, he packs up early and heads into town with his team.
He is happy, saying: "This was a very good day, we hadn't seen a diamond for nearly a month."
On the way to his house, he bumps into his elder brother outside a shop.
They greet each other in front of the rocky kimberlite mountain that has been created by Koidu Holdings' blasts.
Philo says that he is jealous of their machinery and wealth, especially as diamonds in shallow ground are running out.
Back home, Philo relaxes in his room with his uncle.
During the conflict his mother was shot and killed by rebels, just outside the room in which he is now sitting.
His whole house was burned down and had to be rebuilt.
The following day Philo heads into Koidu town to sell his diamond in an office just off the high street.
The going rate is $3,200 (£2,520) for a carat that is 40% pure, and much less for gems of lower purity.
Philo obtains only $35 (about £28) for his find, but he is pleased as it is more than he had expected.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-38302289
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Garth Crooks' team of the week: Alli, Barkley, Defoe, Rashford, Giroud - BBC Sport
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2017-01-05
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Whose performance marked the 'birth of a special player'? Who is living up to the legacy of Shilton and Banks? It is Garth's XI.
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Chelsea's winning streak came to a halt on 13 games as London rivals Tottenham moved up to third with a 2-0 win over the leaders at White Hart Lane.
The top of the table looks tighter after second-placed Liverpool dropped points at Sunderland, to allow Manchester City and Manchester United to make up ground.
At the bottom, Swansea's win away to Crystal Palace moved them off the bottom and could prove vital in the final reckoning come May.
I do like this keeper. Since the long-term injury to Jack Butland, Lee Grant has deputised brilliantly.
Stoke needed their win over Watford particularly after the run-around they got at Stamford Bridge, and the clean sheet will come in handy as well.
Stoke City have a history of signing great keepers, notably former England internationals Gordon Banks and Peter Shilton. Although I wouldn't put Grant in that bracket, he's proved to be an exceptional acquisition.
When Rangel scored the winner for Swansea in their potentially vital meeting with Crystal Palace, what I wanted to know was: what was the full-back doing so far up the pitch in open play in the first place?
I'm not entirely sure how much new boss Paul Clement had to do with this victory but the evidence suggests that whenever caretaker coach Alan Curtis takes the reins at Swansea he has a positive impact on the team.
And while we are on the issue of the new Swansea manager, I must also take issue with my old Final Score sparring partner Steve Claridge's remark that Clement was "lucky to get the job".
I can think of couple of managers I might have considered first, but we all need a certain amount of good fortune whenever we apply for a post. Surely the point is what we do with the job once we get it, isn't it?
They say revenge is a dish best served cold. White Hart Lane was red hot against Chelsea but, let's not kid ourselves, Spurs have waited some time to pay back the vitriol they received at Stamford Bridge when their title ambitions evaporated in a 2-2 draw at the end of last season.
I was at that game and Spurs have clearly grown up a great deal since then. Alderweireld has been central to that development and was outstanding against an out-gunned Chelsea. Spurs have done Liverpool, Manchester City and, dare I say it, Arsenal a massive favour.
Chelsea will just have to lick their wounds and get over it.
He's only gone and done it again.
I can't think of another current central defender who scores goals from set plays with such monotonous regularity. McAuley's goal against Hull was his fourth in the Premier League this season and the way he attacks the ball in the opposition's box is a delight to watch.
The Baggies and McAuley have had an interesting Christmas period. It was West Brom's centre-back who manager Tony Pulis identified as being bullied by Olivier Giroud in the final minutes of the game against Arsenal, which resulted in their 1-0 defeat.
However McAuley is a real professional and both manager and player know that in the final analysis the central defender can be relied upon.
Manchester City may be remodelling their dressing-room area at the Etihad, but they badly needed to reconfigure the team after three defeats in December.
But to leave out Sergio Aguero against Burnley? What was boss Pep Guardiola thinking?
That the only striker in the Premier league who Alan Shearer believes deserves the tag 'world class' is left out when goals were guaranteed against Burnley just didn't make sense.
So it was left to a full-back to provide the much needed inspiration Guardiola was demanding from his fans at half-time.
Clichy doesn't command a regular place in the team these days but his performance against a very dangerous Burnley was inspired.
When the Frenchman attacks he does so with pace and conviction, but the way he cut inside and arrowed his shot past an in-form Tom Heaton in the Clarets' goal was most impressive.
As for Guardiola's half-time plea to his fans to pipe up and encourage his team - I thought it was supposed to be the other way round and the players were to inspire the fans.
Did you see Alexis Sanchez as he walked off the Vitality Stadium pitch? He had a face like thunder and was remonstrating with himself about Arsenal's inability to take their title opportunities seriously - or at least that was what it looked like.
He was furious and had every right to be. Arsenal fans can pacify themselves all they want about their brilliant comeback against Bournemouth, but if they do they will have badly missed the point.
Arsenal should have knocked the Cherries out of the park and Sanchez knew it. This is the real reason why I believe Sanchez and team-mate Mesut Ozil are considering whether to re-sign for the Gunners or not.
Players like these know what it takes to win titles because they've done it before elsewhere and at the moment Arsenal simply don't have what it takes.
Has Ross Barkley finally come of age, or is it just an interesting phase he's going through?
The midfield player's performance against Southampton was superb. He ran the show. The reason I posed the question was because as the transfer window approaches Everton manager Ronald Koeman has to decide whether Barkley is his main man or not.
If Koeman decides that Barkley is the future and makes purchases in areas other than central midfield during the transfer window it could prove to be a seminal moment for both of them.
Get it wrong and it could signal their demise.
What a performance by Dele Alli. It has been some time since I've seen a Tottenham midfield player show so much composure in front of goal.
I have always maintained that I've only seen Alli perform in games of lesser importance rather than the really big matches.
However they don't get much bigger than Spurs against Chelsea when the Blues are going for a record number of victories and to cement their lead at the top of the table.
This was not only a great performance by Spurs but, for me, the birth of a special player.
Regular readers of my Team of the Week will know that I don't normally select a substitute unless he has been a game changer.
Manchester United's Marcus Rashford was that player against a desperately unfortunate 10-man West Ham.
The player had only been on the pitch for a little over 30 minutes and he transformed the match.
It was just as well because referee Mike Dean practically destroyed it with another dismissal this time after only 15 minutes. I'm beginning to wonder whether the Premier League can afford Mike Dean. He's bad for business.
When he sent off Southampton's Nathan Redmond for an innocuous trip on Tottenham's Dele Alli on 28 December I said Dean should "consider his position". Now it's time for the Professional Game Match Official Board to carefully think through whether his judgement has become impaired.
He seems to be the only referee intent on ruining evenly balanced contests for the viewing public by sending players off totally unnecessarily. It's time for him to go.
When you have played 450 games in top-flight football you are entitled to some respect, especially when you crown your 451st with two spot-kicks that might save your team from relegation.
Defoe kept his nerve brilliantly in difficult circumstances against Liverpool but all credit to Jurgen Klopp's side, who put together another tremendous effort within 48 hours of the victory against Manchester City.
If anyone had any doubts that the Premier League is the best in the world they can disabuse themselves of that notion now.
The level of entertainment, the quality of the performance and the intensity of the contests over the most intensive 10-day period, while other continental leagues have been sleeping, is a testimony to the product.
No other league in the world offers global customers what the Premier League offers. To all the players, managers and staff, thank you for upholding a marvellous tradition and providing us with the most glorious entertainment.
This lad has had an amazing Christmas period.
He stole a result out of West Brom, scored arguably the goal of the season against Crystal Palace and pulled Arsenal out of the fire against Bournemouth.
Giroud has had to play second fiddle to Sanchez up front but appears to have done so without rancour. When he has been asked to perform he has done so brilliantly.
This was another magnificent display of commitment and desire from two very different sides.
Bournemouth gave everything and Eddie Howe, while disappointed with the final outcome, must have been very proud of his boys and the way they equipped themselves throughout this torturous period.
As for Arsenal? As good a comeback as it was I saw all the reasons why I think they cannot, I repeat cannot, win the title. They are too busy looking good and simply aren't ruthless enough.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38511324
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CCTV shows Turkey bomb blast - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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CCTV obtained from a police officer shows the deadly car bomb attack a courthouse in the Turkish city of Izmir.
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Two attackers, a policeman and a court worker have been killed in a car bomb and gun assault on a courthouse in the Turkish city of Izmir, state media say.
Officials blamed Kurdish militants for the attack. A third attacker is reportedly still being sought.
CCTV obtained from a police officer shows the moment of the blast, as seen on two separate cameras.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38524050
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Bangalore sex attacks: CCTV captures horror on 1 January - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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Police in Bangalore say there were no mass sex attacks on 1 January - but what does footage show?
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Police in southern India say there is no evidence of mass sex attacks during new year celebrations in central Bangalore, despite a number of women telling the media they had been assaulted by groups of men.
CCTV footage of one violent attack in the early hours of 1 January elsewhere in the city has come to light, with four men arrested over the incident.
Filmed and edited by Jaltson AC. Produced by Yogita Limaye and Shalu Yadav
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-38521725
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CES 2017: Danny’s amazing earbud adventure - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A UK entrepreneur brings his earbuds that auto-translate languages to CES - but will he stand out from the crowd?
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Technology
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It sounds like a game-changing innovation: earbuds that auto-translate other languages. But what was supposed to be their big coming out week isn't going quite as planned.
If you're a tech company wanting to grab the world's attention this week, then Las Vegas could be the worst place to be.
Why? Well in the biggest CES yet with nearly 4,000 exhibitors you really have to shout very loud to be heard above the hubbub.
If you're a giant company like Sony or Samsung, you pour your marketing millions into spectacular press conferences and ridiculously lavish show floor exhibits where visitors have to wade through deep pile carpet while being deafened by loud music and shouty demos.
So, to arrive here as a one-man start-up with an innovative idea and try to get some attention requires both courage and optimism. Luckily Danny Manu has both in spades.
When I met this young man from Manchester on the Las Vegas strip, he was desperately tired. His cheap flight from the UK had been delayed by eight hours on a Miami stopover - so he'd dashed from the airport to his AirBnB to drop his luggage, then came straight on to see me.
"I've not slept for 24 hours but I'm still moving and looking forward to it," he says.
Danny's product is called Clik and he bills it as the world's first truly wireless earbuds with live translation. The idea is that you speak in one language and another person hears what you say in their own tongue, either via their own earbuds or via the MyManu smartphone app that Danny has already developed.
Smart wireless earbuds and instant translation are ideas which giants like Apple and Google are addressing with vast investments - so it seems ridiculously ambitious for a one-man band to take them on.
He has already had a few setbacks. He'd hoped to have a working model ready for CES, but says delays in manufacturing in China mean the earbuds won't be ready for a few weeks.
Instead, he demonstrates the system on a set of ear headphones, getting me to say Bonjour into an iPad which then comes out of his headphones as Hello.
We struggle with bad connectivity - often an issue when thousands are using the mobile networks at once - but Danny is hoping for a smoother demo in any of 37 languages when his stand is set up at the show.
It has been an extraordinary journey to get this far. He's been working on the idea for four years while holding down a full time job as an engineer at a major aerospace company. He tells me that when he went to China to sign a deal with Foxconn to manufacture his product he could only take three days leave, so spent just one day in Shenzhen - to the amazement of his hosts - then got back on the plane.
He has funded Clik from his own savings and a crowdfunding campaign and exhibiting at CES is costing him a tidy sum. So, is it worth it?
"I've had so many emails from companies that wanted to see the product," he says.
"That's the main reason I've come to CES."
He is also hoping to link up with distributors, manufacturers and other possible business partners.
Let's be honest, the odds aren't great on Danny Manu beating the tech giants to launch a product that could transform the way we interact with people who speak a different language. In fact, he might be better to head to the roulette tables and pick a number to put his life savings on.
But this brave young British entrepreneur, with the courage to stake everything on an innovation he believes could change the world, is just what CES should be all about.
Follow all our CES coverage at bbc.co.uk/ces2017
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-38514399
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CES 2017: Hyundai's self-driving car deals with illegal moves - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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Hyundai's self-driving car is faced with motorists making illegal manoeuvres during a test drive with the BBC.
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Self-driving car tech is one of the big themes of this year's CES expo in Las Vegas.
South Korea's Hyundai is one of those showing off a prototype.
But when the BBC's Dave Lee put it to the test, it had to deal with other drivers making illegal manoeuvres.
See all our CES 2017 coverage
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-38514628
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CES 2017: Intel VR headset turns living room into game - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Intel shows off a virtual reality headset that replaces pre-scanned objects in a living room with video game scenery.
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Technology
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Intel's Project Alloy headset was announced last year - but the CES demo was brand new
Intel has shown off a headset that can replace a room's pre-scanned furniture with more appropriate video game scenery in virtual reality.
The capabilities of the firm's Project Alloy headset, currently in development, were demoed at the CES tech show in Las Vegas.
Chief executive Brian Krzanich said Intel planned to license the technology to manufacturers by the end of 2017.
But one analyst said VR remained a difficult market to target.
The headset does not require a separate PC or a connection to a power source - both computer and battery are built in, noted Mr Krzanich as he introduced the latest prototype.
Two players in a mock living room demonstrated on stage how the headset could create a virtual replica of the room featuring scanned obstacles such as furniture.
In the demo, the bookcases and coffee table were then replaced, digitally, by similar-sized scenery more suited to the game - a futuristic spaceship.
The headset converted scanned objects into more appropriate bits of video game scenery
Project Alloy was first unveiled in August last year, but this was its most advanced demo yet.
"It was certainly interesting," said tech analyst Brian Blau at Gartner, who also praised the freedom offered by an "all-in-one" headset without a cable.
However, he said it would have been even more impressive had the living room been scanned by the headset itself.
"They did say [the room] was pre-scanned, so I was a little bit disappointed by that."
The device will not be manufactured by Intel, but instead it will offer the technology to other tech firms to build products around.
Intel hopes this process will begin in the final quarter of 2017. But the project's success may rely on others being willing to make content for it.
"They can enable all kinds of stuff but if it is not for the rest of those pieces they'll just have the parts out there," said Mr Blau.
A demo of Project Alloy last year showed how the wearer's hand could be represented within the virtual world
The firm also showed off a variety of other uses for a wide range of VR headsets - including high definition 360-degree video captured at a waterfall in Vietnam.
Mr Blau said the use of volumetric video - which lets viewers peer around objects as though they were really present in the captured scene - was impressive.
"It is something we won't really see en masse for a long time because of its heavy data requirements," Mr Blau added.
Other chip makers besides Intel have been developing virtual reality headset technology.
Nvidia, for example, has been working on software and processors to power computing-intensive experiences.
AMD is developing its Sulon Q headset, which - like Project Alloy - incorporates a computer and battery onboard, meaning no need for tethers or cables.
Chip maker AMD recently announced it's own Sulon Q VR and AR headset.
There is some optimism around the potential for growth within the virtual reality market at CES.
US unit sales of VR headsets are predicted to reach 2.5 million in 2017, according to a presentation at the trade show by the Consumer Technology Association.
But during Intel's event, Mr Krzanich acknowledged that many were still unsure if the technology would become truly popular.
"A lot of people are questioning is virtual reality going to take off, is it going to go anywhere?" he acknowledged
Follow all our CES coverage at bbc.co.uk/ces2017
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-38514888
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Exec pay under fire on 'Fatcat Wednesday' - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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Execs will have earned more by midday on January 4, than ordinary workers earn in the entire year, says the High Pay Centre think tank.
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Execs will have earned more by midday on January 4, than ordinary workers earn in the entire year, says the High Pay Centre think tank.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38512258
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Cuba says 'yes' to English as tourism flourishes - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Cubans are increasingly learning English as tourism flourishes on the Communist-run island.
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Latin America & Caribbean
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As Cuba slowly opens up its economy to the rest of the world, more and more Cubans are learning English. The Cuban government has made proficiency in English a requirement for all high school and university students. As Will Grant reports from Havana, that approach differs from the Cold War, when Russian was the preferred foreign language.
At the annual Havana Jazz Festival, the audience members, much like the music, were a mix of international and Cuban.
Sitting on plastic chairs at the open-air venue, visitors from the United States, Europe and China mingled with local jazz aficionados.
On stage, a saxophonist who lives in Denmark was reunited with some old Cuban friends.
At such an international event, the common language is generally English.
Many Cubans are already learning the language themselves, and if not, they are trying to make sure their children are.
Morning assembly at Jesus Suarez Gayol Secondary School on the outskirts of Havana begins with the school's anthem.
Secondary school pupils are expected to reach a certain standard in English
The school is named after one of the guerrillas who fought alongside Ernesto "Che" Guevara but these teenagers are growing up in an increasingly different Cuba to the one Jesus Suarez did.
For a start, a certain proficiency in English is now a requirement for all secondary school children and university graduates.
During the Cold War, students could choose between learning English and Russian but Cuba's educational authorities told the BBC they now consider English a necessary skill for all of the nation's youth.
"As an international language, English has always had a place in our curriculum," says Director of Secondary Education Zoe de la Red Iturria.
"But we are now rolling out new techniques to evolve our learning of the English language," she adds.
Zoe de la Red Iturria wants to modernise English-language learning in Cuba
But language-teaching methods remain quite traditional, relying heavily on textbooks, parrot-fashion repetition and with only very limited Internet access.
Olga Perez, national adviser for English teaching in Cuba, says the authorities are hoping to tackle that last issue.
"It would be very good for us if we had the internet in the schools. And we hope that in the future, we'll not only have the internet, we're also dreaming of installing language laboratories in every school."
And it is not just in the classrooms that English can be heard more frequently but on the streets of Havana, too.
In what was a record year for tourism to Cuba, many Cubans have tried to teach themselves English without the help of any formal classes.
Darvis Luis sells second-hand books and posters to tourists. He says he learnt English entirely through computer games, music videos and rock songs.
"I have to make conversation because I need to make money to eat," he says in easy-flowing, fast English.
"I have to learn how to speak with them and I have to get better and better. I tell them a story because books aren't so easy to sell. So you have to make them believe in what you're saying."
Darvis Luis taught himself English to be able to better sells his second-hand books to tourists
Resources for Anglophiles and budding English-language students like Darvis Luis are limited in Cuba.
One place they can go is Cuba Libro, the island's only English-language bookstore.
Nestled in the leafy Havana district of Vedado, it is the brainchild of US healthcare journalist and long-time Havana resident Conner Gorry.
Ms Gorry says that after some initial misgivings, local residents "welcomed us with open arms" once they saw "the free cultural programming, high-quality literature and community outreach" on offer.
"Literature is not subversive," she says. "A Cuban government-run publishing house just published George Orwell's 1984 and that's available in state-run bookstores."
"With increased tourism and increased business connections to the wider world, the Cubans are encouraging people to learn English. So we've become a resource," she adds.
In the past months, as well as the jazz festival, Havana has hosted the annual film festival and the international ballet festival.
The Latin American Film Festival has drawn Cubans and tourists to Havana
It is at events like these that the thaw in relations with the US seems clearer than ever.
The decision by the Obama Administration and the Castro government to rebuild their diplomatic ties has undeniably brought Cubans and Americans closer together.
It has also brought about some potentially lasting collaboration in science and the arts.
There are people on both sides who fear those steps could soon be reversed, especially in light of comments made to that effect by President-elect Donald Trump.
For now though, the young students at Jesus Suarez are just keen to keep improving their ability to communicate with the rest of the world.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-38467299
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Sir Ivan's resignation sign of greater Whitehall strain - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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What does the resignation of the UK's ambassador to the EU say about the Brexit process?
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UK Politics
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For one minister - an enthusiast for Brexit - it was very simple: "You're either on board, or you're not. He wasn't. We move on." The minister sounded rather cheerful.
So, Sir Ivan Rogers had gone because his face didn't fit. Now the way was clear for a true believer in the opportunities opened up by the vote to leave the EU.
If only winning a good deal for Britain in its divorce from the European Union, and eventually on the terms of trade for the UK outside the EU, was half so simple.
But the resignation of Sir Ivan Rogers has revealed more than the difficulty and complexity of Britain's EU divorce. It has highlighted wider strains in Whitehall between some mandarins and some ministers, up to and including Theresa May.
Mandarins and ambassadors perennially advise more junior mandarins on the importance of speaking truth to power. On this occasion, Sir Ivan's leaked farewell memo can fairly be read as a protest and a warning. Concern is growing among some high-ranking officials that ministers don't understand or won't admit the scale of the task they're facing.
That concern broke surface last week, when the head of the top civil servants' trade union, the FDA, suggested ministers lacked the courage to own up to the difficulties of Brexit for fear of displaying political weakness.
Dave Penman's particular worry, as the nearest thing mandarins have to a shop steward, was that ministers might leave the government machine unable to cope adequately with the day-to-day business of government.
Of course, trade unions tend to demand more resources on behalf of their members. It's their job.
But it was an unusually political contribution from an organisation which represents the most exalted, and rigidly non-political, beings in Whitehall.
By extension, if the complaint is justified, refusing to recognise the scale and complexities of Brexit might jeopardise the success of the mission itself.
Theresa May has promised to give a major speech on Brexit
The mere suggestion that senior officials might lack commitment to the task of making Brexit work as a result of political prejudice makes officials bristle. They insist they don't take sides - they take orders and try to make them work.
For their part, Brexit enthusiasts insist Britain's future outside the EU is assured, if only all concerned would recognise the strength of the UK's position as a strategic and trading power.
Their conviction is strengthened by a sense that the scepticism they detect in Whitehall and elsewhere is not merely faint-hearted or unpatriotic but also undermining to the prospects of eventual success.
No-one can say Brexit is coming off the rails. It hasn't even started.
But as if preparing to face 27 other European states, the European Parliament and the European Commission wasn't daunting enough a task to begin with, confidence in Whitehall and Westminster about the negotiations and life after Brexit is being undermined by tension between the people who run the government machine and their new political masters - and by old rivalries between Remainers and Brexiteers, even though that civil war was fought, and lost and won half a year ago.
In Downing Street the driving motivation is not ideological passion. Theresa May stood on the Remain side in the June referendum, admittedly with no great display of enthusiasm. Her prime concern now is making the plan work.
The prime minister is a pragmatist. The trouble with that, just now, is there's no clear sense of what the plan is.
We are promised a major speech by the prime minister in coming weeks, giving more detail of the plan for Brexit.
Who knows? It may even relieve some of the steady pressure on her and her ministers for more clarity.
Given the fact Mrs May and her team above all want to keep their cards closed, and their options open, I'll believe it when I see it.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38509459
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Veganuary: Is following a vegan diet for a month worth it? - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A record number of people have signed up for Veganuary - swerving meat and dairy for January - but does it do any good?
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UK
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The Veganuary campaign, encouraging people to try a vegan diet for the month most commonly associated with resolution and change, is under way, with a record 50,000 people signed up.
But can forgoing meat, fish, dairy, eggs and honey for 31 days do any good?
The adverts are on display, supporters on board and partner restaurants are promoting their meat and dairy-free dishes.
Campaign organisers say following a vegan diet, even for such a short spell, can bring benefits.
It promotes the animal rights argument - that sentient animals should not be eaten or used in food production. And environmental grounds - warning about the pollution caused by raising animals and as a by-product of agriculture.
But it also says a balanced vegan diet can provide the nutrition people need in concord with health benefits - catchy at a time of year when people look to make up for festive excesses.
Veganuary spokeswoman Clea Grady told the BBC she feels "brilliant - better than I ever have" as a result of trying, and staying with, a vegan diet.
The charity says the change can lessen obesity, cut blood pressure, and lower the levels of type 2 diabetes.
"More than 75 per cent of people who have tried going vegan for a month report an improvement in their health.
"They said they slept better and they lost an average of 6lbs as a result of their changed diet," the Veganuary website says.
There is a lot to be said for "strict dietary changes" says Lucy Jones, consultant dietician and spokeswoman for the BDA, the Association of UK Dieticians.
"If people follow a restricted diet, they think about what they're eating - you can no longer pop into the office and eat a biscuit or a cake."
They tend to "plan their meals in advance, prepare and cook from scratch".
"It is certainly possible to have an awful diet. But, as a vegan, you tend to have more plant proteins, beans and pulses and more fruit and vegetables," she says.
"We have to be cautious about what you can achieve. But having a month where you are eating more fruit, vegetables and nuts can't be a bad thing."
Proponents say it's a time for change
Veganuary can lead to changed eating habits throughout the year.
Will all those greens and pulses have an impact on pounds and pressures?
"The impact on blood sugars is fairly immediate, cholesterol takes a few weeks and blood pressure takes longer, and comes with the weight loss," says Lucy.
All burgers, and all dinners, are not created equal
There's a bias in play after years of being told meat, eggs and animal fats are bad for us, she says.
"There is a world of difference between hamburgers and hot dogs, fried eggs and pasteurised milk, versus grass-fed organic meat, pastured poultry, poached organic eggs and raw, or at least organic, dairy," she says, touching on the continuing debate about the benefit of organic foods.
"Vegan is a plant-based diet with high vegetables but also large amounts of cereal grains (both refined and unrefined) and legumes, both of which are low in bio-available nutrients and high in anti-nutrients such as phytate.
"On the other hand wholefood animal produce such as organic meats, fish and shellfish and eggs are among the most nutrient-dense foods you can eat," she explains.
Vegans can run low on minerals and vitamins like B12, iron, zinc, D and calcium - in fact the Veganuary website points towards supplementing B12 to ensure it's covered.
And, whereas some studies show vegans and vegetarians living longer, she says, they often include people who pursue other healthy lifestyle traits, like exercise and not drinking alcohol, comparing them with the junk food-lovers.
In January, both experts observe that anyone going from Christmas excess to a vegan diet plus exercise will feel different.
But Kahler warns they can become nutrient-deficient down the line.
"People use the words 'balance' and 'in moderation' as a cover to incorporate whatever they want in their diet. Moderation isn't the key to health," she says.
"Setting boundaries is the key along with an understanding that there are certain 'foods' - like fizzy drinks and doughnuts - that we consume which simply should not be labelled with the word 'food'".
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38506418
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Johanna Konta reaches Shenzen Open semi-finals but Kerber loses in Brisbane - BBC Sport
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2017-01-05
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Britain's Johanna Konta reaches the Shenzhen Open semi-finals but world number one Angelique Kerber loses in Brisbane.
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Last updated on .From the section Tennis
British number one Johanna Konta continued her good start to 2017 by reaching the semi-finals of the Shenzhen Open in China.
The world number 10 defeated Kristyna Pliskova of the Czech Republic, ranked 60th, 6-4 6-7 (11-13) 6-3.
Her next opponent will be another Czech, Katerina Siniakova, who beat Serbian Nina Stojanovic 6-3 6-4.
Konta is now the highest-ranked player left in the event after world number three Agnieszka Radwanska's exit.
The Polish top seed was beaten 6-2 3-6 6-0 by American world number 39 Alison Riske, who will face Camila Giorgi of Italy in the last four.
Konta looked in control early on against her opponent - the twin sister of world number six Karolina Pliskova - as she took the first set with a single break of serve.
Neither player could force a break point in the second set and in the resulting tie-break Konta wasted two match points before the big-serving Pliskova levelled the match on her fifth set point.
But Konta stayed firm in the final set, claiming the break and reaching the semi-final on her fifth match point.
"I am very happy to have extended my stay here," she said.
"She is one of the best servers on tour so I knew I was going to have a hard time on her service games. I was very happy I was able to get that break in the third and see it out in the end."
Top seed Angelique Kerber lost 6-4 3-6 6-3 to Ukraine's Elina Svitolina in the quarter-finals of the Brisbane International.
The world number one looked to have turned things around after losing the first set but Svitolina, the world number 14, hit back to win the decider.
Kerber said she was not worried about how the early loss would affect the defence of her Australian Open crown in Melbourne later this month.
"I think Grand Slams are always completely different," she said. "It doesn't matter how you play before."
WTA Finals champion Dominika Cibulkova, the second seed, also went out, going down 6-3 7-5 to France's Alize Cornet.
French Open champion Garbine Muguruza did reach the last four, beating Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-5 6-4, and third seed Karolina Pliskova was a 3-6 6-2 6-2 winner over Roberta Vinci.
Meanwhile, Germany's Julia Goerges staged a brilliant fightback to defeat third seed Caroline Wozniacki 1-6 6-3 6-4 in the ASB Classic quarter-finals in Auckland.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38515777
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Canada lottery jackpot won with numbers from a dream - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A Canadian woman whose lottery numbers came to her in a dream 30 years ago wins the jackpot.
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US & Canada
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Olga Beno did not initially realise she was a winner
A Canadian woman who has used the same lottery numbers for nearly 30 years has won the jackpot, winning a CA$5.3m ($3.9m; £3.2m) cash prize.
Olga Beno from Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia, says she "dreamt up" the winning set of numbers in May 1989 and has regularly used them ever since.
The win is a fillip for the cancer sufferer, who has had to sell her home to fund her treatment.
She now plans to build an easy-access ranch-style home with her winnings.
"I know my numbers by heart, and I thought I saw them on the television screen the evening after the draw, but my eyes aren't good," Ms Beno was quoted by Atlantic Lottery as saying.
The next morning, she was going through the newspaper when she saw the winning digits again.
"At first I thought - it can't be. It's a mistake in the paper. Then I said to my sister, 'I think I won the lottery'.
"She said 'Phone me back when you want to tell me the truth'."
Ms Beno was one of two people to win CA$5.3m from the 28 December draw. The second ticket was sold in western Canada.
Ten years ago she was diagnosed with Stage Four cancer and had to sell her home and start renting.
She said that her husband, children and grandchildren had helped her to survive the illness, and that her intention now is to spoil them by taking them to Disney World.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38514516
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CES 2017: Intel reveals credit card-sized modular computer - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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Intel reveals a handheld computer that can operate as a PC or act as the brains of other equipment.
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Intel has revealed a computer that is roughly the size of a credit card.
The Compute Card can operate as a PC or act as the brains of other electronics.
The US tech firm gave BBC Click's Spencer Kelly an exclusive first look before its official launch.
Follow all our CES coverage at bbc.co.uk/ces2017
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-38515472
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The spy with no name - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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In 1977 a woman thought she had finally tracked down the son she had abandoned as a baby. What followed was an extraordinary tale of deception and heartbreak.
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Magazine
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In 1977, Johanna van Haarlem finally tracked down the son, Erwin, she had abandoned as a baby 33 years earlier. She immediately travelled to London to meet him. What followed, writes Jeff Maysh, is an unbelievable story of deception and heartbreak.
It was a cold Saturday morning in April 1988 when a van full of detectives arrived outside the North London home of Erwin van Haarlem. The self-employed art dealer, 44, lived alone in sleepy Friern Barnet, a smattering of brick homes beside the grim North Circular ring road.
The Dutchman's apartment building on Silver Birch Close had become the centre of an investigation led by the British intelligence agency MI5. It suspected that Van Haarlem - whom neighbours described as an "oddball" - was not in the art business at all, but a sinister foreign agent.
Inside, Van Haarlem was hunched over a radio in his kitchen. He was still wearing his pyjamas, but his hair was parted neatly to one side. He was tuned in, as he was every morning, to a mysterious "number station". In his earpiece, a female voice recited numbers in Czech, followed by the blip-bleep of Morse code.
At 09:15 detectives from Special Branch, the anti-terror unit of London's Metropolitan Police, crashed into his apartment. Van Haarlem tried to lower his radio's antenna. It jammed. When he pulled open a drawer and grabbed a kitchen knife, an officer tackled him, and yelled: "Enough! It is over! It is over!"
Hidden among his easels and paintings, detectives discovered tiny codebooks concealed in a bar of soap, strange chemicals, and car magazines later found to contain messages written in invisible ink. Investigators suspected Van Haarlem was not really from the Netherlands, but was a spy for the UK's Cold War adversary, the Soviet Union.
Under a bright spotlight at a police station in Central London, Van Haarlem protested his innocence. Then, 10 days later, things turned really strange: a visitor arrived claiming to be the prisoner's mother. Johanna van Haarlem was a Dutch woman in her early sixties, who peered at detectives from behind huge glasses. Her son was no spy, she insisted, but an honest Dutchman - the child she had abandoned in 1944 and rediscovered 11 years earlier. The baffled detectives allowed her to visit their suspect.
"Tell me, I'm hearing all these strange stories," she said. "You're not really a spy, are you?"
"We have a saying that where you see the smoke, there will be a fire," Van Haarlem told her. "But this time it is not true. Too much of the smoke and no fire. I did absolutely nothing that could harm England."
Johanna sighed with relief. "But why? Why all of this, then?" she said.
"Don't ask me. Ask them."
And then he noticed a tiny red spot on her forearm. The DNA blood test results from the Home Office laboratory indicated, with near certainty, that they were not related. Johanna van Haarlem broke down in tears as her world collapsed.
Johanna van Haarlem was 52 on her first visit to London to meet Erwin
On 6 February 1989, at London's Old Bailey, prosecutor Roy Amlot told a jury that the defendant had stolen her son's identity.
"You may think that if he knew all along, it was a cruel thing to do to her," he said.
The trial captivated the press. The Daily Express described Van Haarlem as "an old-fashioned... slick-suited spy who inhabited a world of dead letterboxes and secret codes". Exotic beauties came forward to kiss-and-tell about their love affairs with the spy. But the most wounded victim stood in the witness box, the tragic Dutchwoman, Johanna van Haarlem.
On 4 March 1989, at 11:45, the judge sentenced Erwin van Haarlem to 10 years in prison for espionage. "He is probably the first person to be tried at the Old Bailey under an alias," one senior Scotland Yard officer told a reporter. The "spy with no name", as the newspapermen called him, would take his secrets with him to his cell.
After months of negotiation and false starts, I met Erwin van Haarlem on a spring day in Prague, in 2016. Although he had lived quietly as a free man for the past 23 years, spies famously do not talk. Introduced to me by the Czech crime journalist, Jaroslav Kmenta, Van Haarlem arrived at a restaurant near the city's Old Town Square, wearing a smart blue blazer. After carefully checking my identification he began, in accented English, to tell me his story.
It began on 23 August 1944, when he was born Vaclav Jelinek in Modrany, a small village near Prague. His father had owned a small bakery there, selling biscuits and ice creams, until the Communists took power. Young Jelinek enlisted in mandatory military service, and, as the Cold War intensified, he graduated to a position in the Czechoslovak Ministry of the Interior. He dreamed of military valour and excitement. But what he got was mind-numbing shifts and grunt work.
One day his superiors caught him studying German vocabulary instead of guarding a checkpoint in the snow. They marched him to an upstairs office where he expected disciplinary action. Instead he was introduced to two members of Statni bezpecnost - the Czechoslovak secret State police. The StB was a shadowy spy agency that reported directly to the Soviets.
The StB agents had studied his file and learned that Jelinek was defiant, a womaniser, highly intelligent, prone to violence, patriotic, and a risk-taker. In other words, perfect spy material. After careful training, they decided he was ready to begin an undercover mission abroad, spying on the West.
The StB searched through its files of missing persons and assigned Jelinek a false identity - that of a Dutch boy, abandoned at an orphanage in Holesovice, Prague, at the end of World War Two. The child had been born just one day before Jelinek.
"Your new name," they told him, "is Erwin van Haarlem."
He applied for a Dutch passport, and arrived in London by train in June 1975. To the boy from Prague, it was an alien city swarming with traffic, fashion, and danger. He took a job at the 24th-floor Roof restaurant at the Hilton Hotel on Park Lane, Mayfair, hoping to spy on the Royals down the road at Buckingham Palace.
At night, he exchanged coded messages with his home country via radio. One of his first ideas was to try planting listening devices in the Queen's furniture, he recalls, though he and his bosses realised it was technically unrealistic.
His secret career was running smoothly until late 1977, when he received a disturbing message from Prague: "YOUR MOTHER IS TRYING TO FIND YOU IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA WITH THE HELP OF THE RED CROSS. SHOULD THE RED CROSS FIND YOU, A MEETING IS TO BE AGREED WITH."
He read the message over and over again. In October of that year, Van Haarlem received a handwritten letter from Johanna van Haarlem. The Dutch embassy had given her his address, she wrote. She was thrilled to find him. As he had been ordered, the spy politely replied in November, enclosing some photographs. He began the letter: "Dear mother". When he sent a cordial invitation to visit him in London, she left immediately.
Johanna woke up early on 1 January 1978, in a West London hotel. Her stomach was knotted with nerves. She stepped on to the street littered with the detritus of New Year's Eve. It was her plan to arrive early and check out her son's address. But on the opposite side of the street a familiar-looking young man walked past.
"Are you Mrs van Haarlem?" the spy said, stopping in his tracks.
"Hello Mother, it's your son."
They embraced in the middle of the street. Johanna stepped back to look at him. Tears were rolling down her face.
"Your father did not have such dark hair," said Johanna, studying him. Then she commented that he was shorter than his father.
Inside his apartment a champagne cork popped as Johanna breathlessly told him her life story. The bottle had frozen in the refrigerator but Van Haarlem managed to pour a couple of glasses.
She had grown up in The Hague, in Holland, and was an 18-year-old virgin when she met his father on a train, in November 1943. Gregor Kulig was a Nazi. He was blue-eyed, 23, and Polish. Handsome. At a party four weeks later, she said, he raped her.
And when her father discovered she was pregnant, he exploded. "You are a sinner!" he told her. He ordered her to take the child to a distant town and give him away.
Full of sadness and desperation, in autumn 1944 Johanna travelled to Czechoslovakia by train. After a brief effort to survive there as a single mother, she walked into an orphanage in Holesovice, Prague. Sobbing, she kissed baby Erwin goodbye, and returned to Holland alone.
Her father - a Jew who had joined the National Socialist Movement to protect his family - destroyed the adoption papers and banned her from ever speaking about her son.
Over the years, dozens of letters arrived from the orphanage asking Johanna to take back her child. They went unanswered. But every year on his birthday, Johanna silently remembered her missing son, his name she could not even speak: Erwin van Haarlem.
Now she had found him. As they finished their champagne, he took her hand in his.
"You have to believe it," he told her. "I am your son."
Shortly after their emotional "reunion", Johanna invited Erwin to meet the Van Haarlem family in Holland. When the spy arrived at her bungalow in early 1978, one-by-one he shook hands with the whole family. They studied him like a specimen in a zoo. Johanna's niece approached Van Haarlem, and seemed to scan him from head to toe. Did she know?
"He has the nice Van Haarlem legs," she told the crowd, approvingly.
Back in London, having a Dutch, Jewish mother only improved Van Haarlem's cover. His main task, the spy told me, was to gather information about Refuseniks, the Jews held in the Soviet Union despite their requests to emigrate, who had become political pawns in Cold War peace talks. He also gained prize information about underwater sonar chains, which alerted Nato to Soviet submarine movements.
British defence journalist Kim Sengupta later described Van Haarlem in this era as "a brilliantly successful deep penetration agent", who, over the years, visited the Polaris submarine base at the British Admiralty's Underwater Research Unit, as well as "a string of sensitive military installations".
For these fantastic intelligence scores, Van Haarlem received a medal from the Soviet Union at a private party held in his honour in Prague.
"He moved a lot," Johanna later told a Dutch radio station. "From that small apartment I visited the first time to bigger, fancier places… I had no idea why he moved so much. He was doing better and better, you could tell by his clothes, shoes and houses that he was going in the right direction."
Erwin showered Johanna with presents including a Wedgwood vase, a gold and sapphire ring, and a gold coin. But at heart he was tiring of this relationship with his "fake" mother. In his mind she was a Nazi, a fascist, and a collaborator with foreign soldiers. He recalls travelling to Holland to introduce a girlfriend to Johanna - keeping up appearances.
Inside the Dutch restaurant, folk music played and locals danced. Johanna got carried away, he said. A local man whirled her around the dance floor, and suddenly the spy saw her as a young girl, dancing with the Nazi soldiers.
A blind rage swept over him like a fire. "She is at that again," he thought. "She never changes. She is 60!" One of the men held Johanna close, and gave a friend a suggestive wink. It nearly tipped van Haarlem over the edge.
Some time later, back in London, Van Haarlem's telephone shrieked. The blissful silence in his apartment was shattered. He sat up in bed and checked the time. It was 03:00.
"Dear son, I could not help it, I had to hear your voice." Johanna was slurring. Van Haarlem guessed she had been drinking. "I will sell my house and come to London," she said. "We will live together."
"I absolutely understand why you are so upset, Mum," he said. "Of course it would be wonderful to live together, especially since our fate prevented us doing so in the past. Mum, you know what? Let's go to bed now and think about it overnight. I will call you tomorrow."
He slammed down the phone but could not drift back to sleep. He was growing increasingly concerned about her behaviour. He simply couldn't afford her to be a liability. His life depended on it. But there was little he could do - he was stuck with her.
On her next visit, mother and son were driving through Golders Green in North London when Van Haarlem forgot to give the right of way to another car. The other driver slammed on his brakes to avoid a crash.
"Sorry, friend!" said Erwin pleasantly, with a wave of his hand.
Johanna snapped. "Why are you apologising?" she shouted. "You are so yielding, so soft! A typical Slav!"
Van Haarlem was shocked. "He had the right of way," he said.
"Right of way! Right of way!" she parroted.
Gripping the wheel, the spy fumed. "You'll pay with interest for that," he thought. But he would never get the chance.
One afternoon in autumn 1986 Van Haarlem noticed two cars driving closely behind him, pulling manoeuvres he recognised from his spy training.
"They must be tailing someone," he thought. Then the penny dropped: "They are tailing you! You stupid ass!"
He had by now quit his job at the Hilton - after rising from a lowly waiter to assistant purchase manager. He had set up himself up as a freelance artist and art dealer, and paid cash for the unassuming flat in Friern Barnet.
It should have been the last place anyone would look for a foreign spy, but it soon became a hotbed of chicanery. There was the technician who came to "fix" his telephone, the new postmen, and the dedicated window cleaners who washed his windows not weekly, but seemingly daily.
Van Haarlem was not the only one who noticed peculiar goings-on.
Mrs Saint, 61, who co-ordinated the local Neighbourhood Watch Scheme, said she telephoned the police in November 1987 to report strange noises and a "Morse code" interference which affected her television reception every night at 21:20.
Soon afterwards, in April 1988, that mysterious van parked outside Van Haarlem's apartment.
Johanna van Haarlem heard about the arrest on BBC radio. Then investigators arrived at her home and asked her to testify against the spy at his trial.
"When we finally made eye contact I felt hurt. I didn't see any sign of remorse, not a wink, no warmth, nothing," she said of the trial. A part of her was in denial, continuing to look in vain for a son's affection. "He showed me coldness," she said, "and looked at me like this was the end."
Van Haarlem was sent to Parkhurst prison on the Isle of Wight. After five years, the end of the Cold War, and a hunger strike, he was released and deported to what had by then become the Czech Republic.
I asked if he ever felt any compassion for Johanna.
"I had no pity whatsoever," he said.
"She was rather dominant and I had to put up with her. Sometimes I had enough of her," he added, describing many real mother-son relationships.
During the five years he spent in a prison cell, he went on, one thing about his case remained a puzzle. It was a statement that Johanna made about how she found him. "Without being asked," he told me, "she said only on her own, from her own will, she started the whole action, trying to find me."
From her own will. It was a funny thing to say, he thought.
Was it a coincidence that Johanna's motherly instincts awakened just months after his application for a Dutch passport? Who else might have inspired her to track down her son, and why? We may never know, as Johanna van Haarlem died in 2004. However, the spy has his own theory.
"We thought she was under the guidance of MI5 or the Dutch security service," he said.
Could Johanna also have been a spy? Though it seems unlikely, in this world of disguise and deception, anything is possible.
Adapted from The Spy With No Name by @JeffMaysh (Amazon Kindle Singles), published today.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-38261956
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Pep Guardiola: Manchester City boss clarifies retirement comments - BBC Sport
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2017-01-05
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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola insists he is not ready to quit management despite earlier saying he is "arriving at the end" of his career.
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Last updated on .From the section Football
Venue: Date: Kick-off:Coverage: Live on BBC One, BBC Radio 5 live and BBC local radio; text commentary on the BBC Sport website & app
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has insisted he is not ready to quit management, despite saying he is "arriving at the end" of his career.
The 45-year-old made the comments in an interview with NBC, which was aired last weekend.
Speaking before Friday's FA Cup third-round tie at West Ham, Guardiola said: "Maybe it was inappropriate to say I'm starting to say goodbye to my career.
"I'm not thinking that I'm going to retire."
Guardiola took over at Manchester City in the summer, after winning 14 trophies in four years at Spanish giants Barcelona and three successive Bundesliga titles with German club Bayern Munich.
"I said in the interview that I won't be a trainer when I'm 60. But I'm 45. I'm not going to retire in two or three years," he continued.
"I'm not going to train at 60 because I want to do something else in my life.
"I started playing football young and my career was on the pitch. I want to do something else in my life, but in the next three or four or five or six or seven years.
"I love my job and I'm in the perfect place to do my job especially here in England."
'I never said this club is below the other ones'
Guardiola, whose side are fourth in the Premier League, gave an awkward post-match interview to BBC Sport after Monday's 2-1 win over Burnley.
And quotes from the Spaniard appeared in the national newspapers the following day, implying Manchester City are 10 years behind their local rivals Manchester United.
But Guardiola clarified his comments, saying: "When I said to compare the titles with Liverpool, Manchester United, Barcelona and Real Madrid, we are behind. If people don't understand that, I'm sorry.
"In the last five or six years Manchester City achieved more targets and got better and grew the most. It is one of the best clubs in the world by far.
"But in terms of just the titles, winning the Champions League, we are behind other clubs in the last 20 years.
"I never said this club is below the other ones. Of course we are going to fight until the end of the season for all the titles."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38518373
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Elephant makes a splash in Thailand swimming pool - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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A five-month old elephant calf receives hydrotherapy after its leg was caught in a trap.
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A five-month-old elephant calf has been receiving hydrotherapy after its leg was caught in a trap.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-38516158
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Newspaper headlines: Brexit fallout and roadside dementia - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The ramifications of the European Union ambassador's resignation and a link between roads and dementia are the standout stories on the front pages.
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The Papers
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Sir Tim Barrow is the UK's new ambassador to the European Union
The papers offer their interpretations of Sir Tim Barrow's appointment as the UK's new EU envoy after his predecessor resigned, questioning the government's Brexit strategy.
The Financial Times believes Theresa May has bowed to pressure by selecting a career diplomat, allaying concerns about the civil service becoming politicised.
The Times and the Guardian both argue that the prime minister wanted to calm the row about Brexit after the resignation of Sir Ivan Rogers highlighted strains between some mandarins and ministers.
The Guardian says the attacks on Sir Ivan's impartiality by former Conservative ministers had angered some senior civil servants, with some privately claiming they were considering stepping down.
For the Sun, Britain's new ambassador to the European Union is a "wily behind-the-scenes fixer".
It hopes Sir Tim will show ambition and optimism when it comes to leaving the EU.
The Daily Telegraph criticises what it sees as Sir Ivan's "distinctly undiplomatic" resignation message and calls on the civil service to demonstrate the loyalty and discretion it expects from ministers.
According to the Daily Mail, theology students at the University of Glasgow are being warned they may see distressing images while studying the crucifixion of Jesus and are being given the chance to leave classes if they fear being upset.
The paper says this is part of a trend among a number of universities to let students know about parts of courses that might be disturbing.
Advocates say this helps protect the mental health of vulnerable students but critics believe people are left unable to face the realities of the world.
Other examples, according to the article, include veterinary students being warned they will have to work with dead animals; while those studying forensic science are alerted that some lectures contain images of crime scenes.
Several papers are concerned about the growing scale of household debt.
The Daily Mirror says it has reached crisis levels with consumer credit standing at £192bn, the most since the economic crash of 2008.
In particular, the Mirror highlights the plight of those aged 18 to 34 who are struggling in the face of low wages and rising rents.
For its lead, the Sun has been speaking to a refugee from Syria who says he was was waved through border control despite having a bogus passport.
He tells the paper that he bought the forged document for £300.
The Sun says this is evidence of a security shambles which leaves Britain wide open to an attack from the Islamic State group.
The Border Force declines to comment directly on the case but does tell the paper that technological changes have improved its ability to spot forged documents.
The Telegraph offers a wry assessment of the fallout after the Yorkshire seaside town of Scarborough barely noticed it had been struck by one of the biggest earthquakes to hit the UK in almost a decade.
The paper says that during the 3.8 magnitude tremor, which happened two nights ago, a woman reportedly lost control of her frying pan and afterwards people tweeted pictures of fallen wheelie-bins and capsized deckchairs, together with the slogan "We will rebuild".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-38514237
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Antonio Conte says Tottenham are among six Premier League title contenders - BBC Sport
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2017-01-05
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Chelsea manager Antonio Conte says Tottenham can challenge for the Premier League title after ending his side's 13-game winning run.
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Last updated on .From the section Football
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte says Tottenham can challenge for the Premier League title after they ended his side's 13-game winning run with a 2-0 win at White Hart Lane.
Two Dele Alli headers inflicted a first defeat on Chelsea since September and left Spurs seven points back in third.
"Tottenham are a really strong team and are, for sure, one of the teams that can fight for the title," Conte said.
Boss Mauricio Pochettino said Spurs "can challenge for the big things".
Tottenham were Leicester's closest title challengers for much of the run-in last season - moving to within five points with four games left - but eventually finished third behind Arsenal after a stuttering finish.
This season they are unbeaten at home in the Premier League and Pochettino, 44, says that consistency will be the key to success at the top of the table.
He said: "The top four is very competitive. There are a lot of games to play but this result is very important for us.
"We showed in our performance we can be competitive and we can achieve big things but it is also true you have to do this regularly and show consistency during the whole season."
Conte had not seen his side drop points in 101 days since a 3-0 defeat at Arsenal but said he must be satisfied with his team being five points clear at the top after 20 games.
"We knew that defeat could happen before the game," he said. "It is a pity to stop this run, but Tottenham fought last season and they can fight also this year.
"Don't forget we lost to a good team. They are one of the six teams who can fight for the title.
"We must work hard and be pleased with our position in the table, but know this league is tough until the end."
Tottenham opened up the title race with this victory.
Chelsea are in a strong position, being five points clear, but their manager Antonio Conte, as gracious in defeat as he has been in victory, insists it is now a six-way fight to the finishing line.
Liverpool's disappointment at failing to beat Sunderland will have been eased by Chelsea's loss while Tottenham's own aspirations were lifted as they moved into third.
Manchester United are 10 points behind Chelsea in sixth but Conte clearly regards them as genuine rivals under Jose Mourinho and their meeting with Liverpool at Old Trafford next weekend now assumes even greater significance.
The theory expounded by some that Chelsea could already be handed the title is complete nonsense but it should also be noted it took a performance of real power and purpose from Spurs to stop them getting that historic 14th successive league win.
So, according to Conte, the title winners will come from Chelsea, Liverpool, Spurs, Manchester City, Arsenal or Manchester United - and with 18 games to there is still plenty of time for twists and turns.
'Spurs can go unnoticed no longer'
Spurs have almost moved by stealth into the Premier League title race - pushing their way in among the frontrunners while eyes have been trained elsewhere.
All the talk has centred on Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal's various strengths and failings while Pochettino's side have reeled off five straight wins to go third.
Spurs looked the full package as they stopped Chelsea getting an historic win.
They have class and quality sprinkled throughout their team and against Chelsea it was the power of Victor Wanyama, the creation of Christian Eriksen and the finishing of Alli that did the job.
Spurs can go unnoticed no longer.
Pochettino's side could not quite go the distance last season, running out of legs on the final lap as Leicester City claimed the title.
They have the talent to take this season all the way and will surely have learned from that last campaign.
Spurs have shown their credentials at home this season with wins over Manchester City and Chelsea - and they have the chance to do the same in the coming weeks on their travels when they visit City and Liverpool.
If Spurs get results there to back up this outstanding win against Chelsea, maybe they and their fans can start to believe they have a real chance of making up for the disappointment of last season.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38514702
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David Tennant's film about RD Laing to close Glasgow Film Festival - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Scots actor David Tennant will bring the curtain down on this year's Glasgow Film Festival with a film about psychiatrist RD Laing.
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Glasgow & West Scotland
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David Tennant plays RD Laing in Mad To Be Normal
Scots actor David Tennant will bring the curtain down on this year's Glasgow Film Festival (GFF).
The former Dr Who star will attend the closing gala on 26 February for the world premiere of his latest film, Mad To Be Normal.
Also starring Michael Gambon and Gabriel Byrne, the film is about the life of Scots psychiatrist RD Laing.
The 13th festival opens on 15 February with a screening of Handsome Devil, starring Sherlock actor Andrew Scott.
GFF co-director Allison Gardner said: "I am so excited to share the news about our great opening and closing galas.
"Handsome Devil is a real crowd-pleaser with a joyous spirit that makes it a perfect film to launch the festival.
"David Tennant gives an absolutely stunning performance as RD Laing in Mad To Be Normal and it seems only fitting that Glasgow should have the honour of hosting the premiere of a film about one of the city's most complex, charismatic figures."
RD Laing was seen as a radical when he set up a medication-free community for psychiatric patients in London in the 1960s.
The film also features Elizabeth Moss who starred in Mad Men and Girl, Interrupted.
A documentary series about influential art writer John Berger, titled The Seasons in Quincy, has also been added to the GFF schedule after his death on 2 January.
The result of a five-year project by Tilda Swinton, Colin MacCabe and Christopher Roth in collaboration with the composer Simon Fisher Turner, the documentary is made with four films on different aspects of Berger's life and will be shown on 24 and 25 February.
The full festival programme is to be detailed later in January but events already announced include a live music performance involving Alex Kapranos and Stuart Braithwaite.
The ABC show will follow a special screening of documentary Lost In France, looking at the rise of Scotland's independent music scene and bands such as Mogwai, Arab Strap and Franz Ferdinand.
The 2017 GFF programme also celebrates Canadian cinema and the role of women in thrillers.
Glasgow City Council leader Frank McAveety said: "GFF is a highlight on the city's cultural calendar.
"The opening gala is always an exciting event, heralding the beginning of 11 packed days of film in the UK's cinema city.
"It's particularly great to see that a famous Glaswegian will be depicted on screen for this year's closing gala film."
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-38512736
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Ademola Lookman: Everton sign Charlton forward for £11m - BBC Sport
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2017-01-05
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Everton complete the £11m signing of Charlton Athletic's teenage forward Ademola Lookman on a four-and-a-half-year deal.
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Last updated on .From the section Football
Everton have completed the £11m signing of Charlton Athletic's teenage forward Ademola Lookman.
The 19-year-old joins on a four-and-a-half-year deal until June 2021.
The England Under-20 international, who has scored seven goals in 25 games this season, becomes the most expensive signing from League One.
Lookman said: "It feels great to be an Everton player. As soon as I heard about Everton's interest I knew this would be the right place for me."
Charlton had hoped Everton would loan Lookman back to them for the rest of the season but he is seen as someone who could quickly play a part at Goodison Park under manager Ronald Koeman.
"Everton has a big history and I was also attracted by the manager," Lookman added.
"When you look at what he did at Southampton, and what he does with young players in terms of developing them, that was a big attraction.
"It was great playing in the Championship last season and for the last six months in League One but I feel like I'm ready to make the step up to the Premier League."
Koeman said: "Ademola is a big talent and, at 19 years old, he has a big future in the game. I'm really happy that we've been able to bring him here to the club."
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated pageor visit our Premier League trackerhere.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38520520
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The ex-CIA agent who interrogated Saddam Hussein - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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Ex-CIA agent John Nixon describes how he interrogated former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein after his capture.
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US & Canada
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. John Nixon says Saddam Hussein was the most secretive man he has ever met
When former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was captured in December 2003, the CIA required a specialist who could identify and interrogate him for information. That person was John Nixon.
Mr Nixon had studied Saddam Hussein since joining the CIA in 1998. His role was to gather insight into leaders around the world, analysing "what made them tick," he tells the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme.
"When a crisis hits, policy makers come to us with the questions about who these people are, what they want, why are they doing this."
He had been in Iraq when the ousted leader was discovered by US troops in a small, underground hole next to farm buildings near his hometown of Tikrit.
When the news of Hussein's discovery came through, the US needed him to be identified - a task presented to Mr Nixon.
There had been rumours at the time that Saddam Hussein had numerous body doubles, but Mr Nixon - who left the CIA in 2011 - says "there was no doubt in my mind as soon as I saw him, that it was him".
The "spider hole" where Saddam Hussein was hiding when he was captured
"When I started talking to him, he gave me the same look he had on a book that had sat on my desk for years. Surreal doesn't come close."
Mr Nixon took on the role of interrogator and was the first person to question Saddam Hussein at length, doing so across a number of days.
"I had to keep pinching myself that I was questioning the most wanted man in the world. It seemed ludicrous," he says.
Mr Nixon, author of Debriefing the President: The Interrogation of Saddam Hussein, describes the former leader as a "mass of contradictions".
He saw "the human side" of Saddam Hussein, he says, in great contrast to the depiction presented by US media.
"He was one of the most charismatic individuals I've ever encountered. When he wanted to be he could be charming, nice, funny and polite."
But he could also switch to a much darker side. Mr Nixon describes him as rude, arrogant, nasty and mean-spirited - and scary when he lost his temper.
"There were two or three occasions when my questioning got on his bad side," Mr Nixon says.
Hussein had been unrestrained as he sat in the small, dingy room in which he was interrogated, sitting on a metal, foldable chair.
Only Mr Nixon, a polygrapher and an interpreter were also present in the room.
Nevertheless, Mr Nixon says the former leader - as a narcissist - "liked the interaction he got by talking to me".
At the end of the first session, in which Mr Nixon tried to establish a rapport with Saddam Hussein in the hope he would cooperate, Saddam said he had enjoyed the conversation.
"He had been in hiding for months and hadn't had many conversations," Mr Nixon says.
It was a positive start, but the next day Mr Nixon says Saddam Hussein "came back more suspicious".
"He is one of the most suspicious men I've ever met - every question I asked him he had one for me."
Mr Nixon admits the CIA had little to offer Hussein in the way of an incentive to speak.
"We had to appeal to sense of history and the prospect of him getting his views heard on record, and by the highest of powers in the world."
In 2006, Saddam Hussein was convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death by hanging
There were certain subject areas he was required to cover by the CIA, but otherwise he was left to his own devices.
"I knew I had to try and get answers.
"Working for the agency, you are taught how to debrief sources and make them into potential assets.
"But you have to be very careful as you don't want to risk not being able to extract the most information possible by going at a topic in the wrong way."
The most important subject area was that of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).
The US and UK had used allegations of Iraqi WMDs as a key reason for going to war.
Mr Nixon says "it was all the White House wanted to know", but - from his conversations with Saddam Hussein, his advisers and subsequent research to verify or dismiss his claims - he came to the conclusion that the former Iraqi leader had stopped the country's nuclear weapons program years before and had not intended to restart it.
It was a view that led him and his colleagues to be seen as "failures".
He was not invited to debrief President George W Bush until five years later, in 2008, following separate findings on Saddam Hussein from the FBI.
Mr Nixon is particularly scathing of President Bush, saying - as one of few people that have shaken the hands of both him and Saddam Hussein - he would rather spend time with the latter.
President Bush, he says, was "isolated from reality", with advisers that would "rally around him regardless and nod in agreement".
"I used to think what we said at the CIA mattered and the president would listen, but it doesn't matter what we say, politics trumps intelligence."
Mr Nixon says he is "ashamed" of what has happened in Iraq since the ousting of Saddam Hussein.
He says the Bush administration gave no thought as to what events might take place after Saddam's removal, and - in light of the rise of extremist groups such as the so-called "Islamic State" - believes the region would have been better off had he remained in place.
Such claims have been dismissed by former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, who led the country at the time of the invasion.
The BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme is broadcast on weekdays between 09:00 and 11:00 on BBC Two and the BBC News channel.
• None Blair: World better because of Iraq War
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38497767
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How a Medieval Welsh town was discovered - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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Archaeologist Stuart Wilson spent his life savings on the land 12 years ago.
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Archaeologist Stuart Wilson, who spent his life savings on a plot of land in Wales 12 years ago, has been proven right after uncovering a 13th century settlement.
The ancient town of Trellech was believed by academics to be situated under a modern village nearby, until Wilson and his team of volunteers began making progress.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38510806
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Denny Solomona: Castleford Tigers to seek £500,000 compensation - BBC Sport
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2017-01-05
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Castleford Tigers will claim they should receive £500,000 in compensation after winger Denny Solomona walked out on the club to join Sale Sharks.
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Last updated on .From the section Rugby League
Castleford Tigers will claim they should receive £500,000 in compensation after winger Denny Solomona left to join Sale Sharks in December.
Solomona, 23, is alleged to have demanded his wages were doubled before his controversial rugby code switch.
Court papers seen by the BBC claim Sale had been agitating for Solomona to move since last summer, and that they acted with the player and agent Andy Clarke.
The papers also allege Sale knew he was under contract until November 2018.
• None The legal case that could impact rugby as Bosman did football
And they claim that Sale and the agent entered into a "cynical calculation" that they would be better off if the player breached his contract rather than negotiate a transfer fee.
The court papers include an email that Castleford say was sent by Sale's director of rugby Steve Diamond to the Tigers chief executive Steve Gill in which an offer of £50,000 compensation was made.
An earlier offer of £150,000 rising to £200,000 had been withdrawn.
In the email, it is claimed, Diamond writes: "…legal advice has been sourced and we are confident that when he walks away he will be free to play rugby union.
"I… do not want to get the lawyers involved, it isn't our style and it will be a distraction as well as expensive to go through the courts for the next two years.
"The club are prepared to pay £50,000 immediately and you will release Denny from his contract at the end of September after your last match.
"Hopefully you will see the sense in a quick, quiet deal."
Castleford are taking legal action against Solomona, his agent and the Sale club.
It is understood that the claim was only issued in the High Court of Justice in Leeds last month.
At the time of writing, attempts to contact Sale for comment had been unsuccessful but director of rugby Diamond has previously denied that the club, the player or the agent have done anything wrong.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/38525994
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What does the future hold for Guantanamo? - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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After President Obama failed to close the detention facility, what will President Trump do?
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US & Canada
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. What is it like inside Guantanamo Bay?
These are uncertain times at Guantanamo Bay. Not only for the detainees but also those who guard them. After eight years in which President Obama has tried - and failed - to close the detention facility, what will President Trump mean for its future?
The first detainees arrived at Camp X-Ray 15 years ago in the early months of what was then called the "War on Terror". I first visited a few weeks later and watched the men in orange jumpsuits in steel cages in the hot Cuban sun.
Guantanamo had been chosen partly because it was not US soil and so avoided coming under regular US law. The camp then had a thrown together feel - the Bush administration was improvising and no-one was sure how long it would last.
The orange jumpsuits worn by detainees became notorious
The next time I visited - two years later - Camp X-Ray had been replaced by the more permanent structure of Camp Delta. Guantanamo was here to stay.
Its numbers grew - around 700 at its peak. But on his second day in office eight years ago President Obama promised to close the facility and the pace of transfers increased.
On my visit a few weeks ago, I found much of the Camp eerily empty, a lone iguana roaming around the barbed wire. But closing Guantanamo was a promise President Obama could not keep, partly because Congress blocked the transfer of any detainees to the US.
Fewer than 60 men are now left. There are 20 currently cleared for release and the Obama administration is trying to transfer some of these out before its term ends.
But on 3 January, President-elect Trump made his views clear in a tweet.
"There should be no further releases," he wrote. "These are extremely dangerous people and should not be allowed back on to the battlefield."
Most of the remaining detainees are held now in Camp Six.
Inside a cell in Camp Six at Guantanamo Bay
The uncertainty hanging over the base was clear as we toured the detention block. We were able to watch and film detainees in the communal areas of their cell block through one-way glass, an unsettling procedure.
The detainees are not supposed to know we are there but clearly they realised as one put up a hand-painted sign showing a question mark with a padlock underneath.
They followed the election result like everyone else and Col Steve Gabavics, Commander of the Joint Detention Force, told me: "They were all watching TV - their behaviour was pretty much the same as any other night.
"We didn't notice any significant negative response. No-one came to us angry, no-one protested. They were simply interested to see what was going to happen."
Colonel Steve Gabavics said they noticed no reaction to Donald Trump's election victory
One difference from my early visits is just how much more controlled - even mundane - the interaction between detainees and guards is now compared to the early days.
The attacks of 2001 were still raw and there was a tension and sense of underlying aggression on both sides. Now, the atmosphere is much more controlled.
Detainees tap on a window to summon a guard when they have a message to pass and the guard proceeds through a door into a cage-like structure inside the cell-block where they can communicate with a detainee.
During our visit in December, officials say that the detainees were "compliant".
But what does the arrival of President Trump mean?
"You know the detainees have questions - are the transfers going to stop when the new president takes office on 20 January? We don't know, they don't know. Their lawyers may speculate, but no-one knows," says Rear Adm Peter Clarke, commander of Joint Task Force Guantanamo.
He did say - before Donald Trump's latest tweet - that "some of them may act up" if they realise they are not going to be transferred.
Somewhere else on the base, which sprawls across an otherwise isolated tip of Cuba, is Camp Seven. Its precise location is secret - leading to much speculation from visiting reporters.
This is where so-called high value detainees are being held - men like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the 11 September attacks who is going through the long slow process of a military commission - a form of trial.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was captured in Pakistan in March 2003 and sent to the US detention centre in Cuba in 2006
Might it be not only that transfers out are stopped, but that current detainees find they have some company?
"We are going to load it up with bad dudes," Mr Trump said in the campaign trail in February last year.
Camp Five was built to hold detainees but now sits empty. What if President Trump decides he wants to not just stop people leaving but send in new detainees?
The maximum capacity of Camp Six is around 175 detainees. Camp Five could hold 80 - it has been part-converted to a new medical facility. That means potentially Guantanamo could accommodate more than 100 extra detainees pretty much immediately. More than that would require construction work.
Officials say it is a "reasonable assumption" that they would want to segregate new detainees who would be more likely to be members of so-called Islamic State rather than al-Qaeda.
"We are prepared to receive some if that was required in the short term," Col Gabavics told us.
The Obama administration's push to close Guantanamo also meant there was a reluctance to capture more detainees in counter-terrorism operations around the world, some former officials say.
They believe that a policy of "take no prisoners" created an incentive to kill rather than capture, with the administration increasing the pace and the geographical spread of drone strikes which - on occasion - might mean useful intelligence gleaned from interrogation or captured material might be lost.
Rear Adm Peter Clarke said he is confident he will not be asked to torture detainees
Mr Trump has also said that he would consider returning to the practice of waterboarding detainees. Could that take place at Guantanamo? Rear Adm Clarke said he was "confident" that there will be no torture at Guantanamo.
"Whatever orders we receive, by the time they come to me from US Southern Command, I am confident those orders will be legal orders that I will be ready to carry out," he said.
In the 15 years since Guantanamo was opened, the contours of America's war on terror have changed.
New enemies have emerged and the question of what to do with those America is fighting - where to put them, how to treat them and even whether to kill or capture them - will now be for a new president to decide.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38509031
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The guide dog that spies on people who ignore its owner - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The guide dog filming evidence for its blind owner of the discrimination he may unknowingly face.
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Disability
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Amit Patel's guide dog, Kika, carries a camera which records the discrimination he can't see
Unable to see the world around him, Amit Patel fitted his guide dog with a camera and set about recording evidence of the discrimination he faced but could not see.
"The city is a scary place. It's like someone put you in the middle of Trafalgar Square, turned you in a circle and said 'find your way home'."
That is Amit Patel's new reality after he lost his sight unexpectedly in 2012, 18 months after he got married.
He now relies on guide dog Kika to get him around the once familiar streets of London.
But the footage captured by his canine guide hasn't always shown a city willing to help him.
"The video came out of necessity," Patel says. "Kika was getting hit by peoples' bags and she was getting a lot of abuse. A woman stopped me one day and had a go at me for holding everyone up and said I should apologise, which was a real shock."
The former doctor found a solution - attach a GoPro to Kika's harness and film every journey. Patel's wife, Seema, can then review the footage if it is felt there was something amiss about that day.
And when alterations were made to a London train station the camera came into its own.
"I asked for help and no one came," Patel recounts. "The video shows lots of staff standing around me and this one guy looking over many times.
"Eventually when the staff member actually came to me the first thing he said was 'sorry I didn't see you' and that really bugged me. He wouldn't say that to someone who wasn't visually impaired.
"It really makes me angry. It's the fact that someone is fobbing me off."
An image from Kika's footage of the Network Rail incident in London
The footage was sent to Network Rail giving Patel the "valuable evidence" needed to lodge a formal complaint about an incident he couldn't see.
"It made me feel vulnerable but having the footage was a godsend," he says.
"Having the camera, having the voice, having the actual scenario played out in real time it actually gives me something to go back to the company and say 'this is what happened to me and it needs to be sorted'."
The video had an impact and Network Rail investigated before giving further training to its staff.
Kika's camera captures an image of Amit on the London Underground
"While in this instance the event and associated disruption was not organised by or held at the station itself, we do recognise that the station can be a complicated place to navigate," a spokesman says.
"That is why we have hired many extra staff to look after passengers."
For newly blind Patel, standing alone for several minutes can feel like hours.
"One of the things I noticed with losing my sight is how lonely it is. If I'm travelling by public transport I will be the scared little boy sat in the corner. You can't listen to music because you're listening out for dangers or to station announcements."
Patel says it is only since he lost his sight that he has become aware of the discrimination visually impaired people can face.
Patel learned he had keratoconus - a condition which changes the shape of the cornea - in the final year of medical school.
Lenses to push the corneas back into shape stopped working and six cornea transplants were rejected by his body until he was told "no more".
It was a series of burst blood vessels which caused the unexpected loss of sight within 48 hours.
Patel says: "I woke up every morning thinking I'd get my sight back. For about six months I was quite shut off, depressed and I would go to the bathroom and have a cry.
"The one thing that stayed in my mind was that I would never see my loved ones. It was holding on to the last memories I had."
"There are taxi drivers who will see you and won't stop. You phone the company and they say they didn't see you, but you look at the footage and see them having looked at you and driving right past."
Other incidents he says highlight a lack of thought - especially on London's Underground.
"People assume, because I have a guide dog, I can walk around them but they make us walk near the tracks or I can say to Kika 'find me a seat' and I'll put my hand down on one and someone will sit on it and refuse to get up."
The loss of his sight led Patel to change his life dramatically. The former University College Hospital doctor moved to New Eltham in south London so his wife didn't have to travel so far for work and wouldn't spend so much time away from him.
The view of New Eltham High Street from Kika's camera
Patel says he had assumed, as a doctor, he would know where to get support, but he found that wasn't the case and he became frustrated at the simple mistakes he made - miscalculations led to stair falls and fingers were burnt from trying to find out how full his coffee cup was.
Beyond the major life changes there were more subtle experiences too.
"Your balance goes awry. I felt like I walked on a cloud sometimes, and if I find a pair of shoes I'll buy three pairs because a change in grip makes a real difference.
"My hearing's increased and my sense of smell, and the way I touch things."
There have also been more unexpected side effects.
The camera has given Amit the confidence to go out alone with Kika and his baby son
"I have small pixels of light coming into my eyes and my brain interprets that as images. It'll put four pixels together and build a photo - so you may be sitting on the couch while thinking a car's coming towards you."
Patel now supports people who have lost their sight unexpectedly and gives talks to community organisations using the GoPro footage to demonstrate what Kika sees.
Despite all the challenges he has faced, including coming to terms with never seeing his baby son, Patel has accepted his new world.
"My life at the moment is so much more vivid, it's more colourful than it was when I had sight.
"It still fills me with dread leaving the house, because I have no control and am completely reliant on Kika, but we're out all of the time - any excuse."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/disability-38027203
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Celebrations mark opening of giant floating walkway in China - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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Covering 54,000 sq m, it's hoped the path will attract more tourists to the Hongshui River in Guizhou Province.
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Visitors have been enjoying a new floating walkway on the Hongshui River in China's Guizhou Province.
Covering an area of 54,000 sq m, it's hoped the path will attract more tourists to the region in the winter months.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-38516111
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After Brexit: What happens next for the UK's farmers? - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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From the environment to subsidies, trade tariffs to animal welfare, farming has the most to lose - and gain - from Brexit.
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Business
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Farming has the most to gain - and lose from Brexit
Of all UK industries, farming could lose or gain the most from Brexit.
At worst Brexit could devastate the farming sector; on average 60% of farm incomes come in the form of EU subsidies.
The report by Informa Agribusiness Intelligence estimates that without subsidies 90% of farms would collapse and land prices would crash.
So far no one has said the subsidies will be taken away, or even that they will shrink.
Indeed, the government has promised to match them up until 2020.
But beyond that it has promised nothing.
Some argue that without any subsidies at all, nine in 10 farms would collapse as businesses
This week has seen a flurry of activity as the farming industry tries to grapple with what comes next.
MPs from the Environmental Audit Committee warned on Tuesday of the dangers of Brexit to farming. Its report, the Future of the Natural Environment after the EU Referendum, says:
Meanwhile farmers gathered at the Oxford Farming Conference (OFC) this week to listen to the Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom, but there were precious few details on what would happen once EU subsidies go.
"We will be consulting in the near future on exactly the shape of future farm and agriculture support," said Ms Leadsom. "I will be committed to supporting farming in both the short and longer term."
Andrea Leadsom gave few details on what would happen to farming after the UK leaves the EU
Also at the OFC was George Eustice, Minister of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA, who was a little more detailed.
"I want to support agriculture to where it becomes more profitable, more vibrant, so we see expanding food production in this country, where we are supporting farmers to deliver eco-system services.
"So that rather than telling them 'here's a subsidy now here's a list of environmental demands', we should be saying to farmers you have a role to play to enhance our agricultural environment, and we are going to reward you for those services that you offer."
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) started in 1962 as the first members of what is now the EU emerged from over a decade of food shortages during and after World War Two.
Its emphasis was on production and food security but as farmers were paid for whatever they produced, they over-produced leading to food "mountains".
A reform process, including the "greening" of the CAP which emphasised environmental practices, has resulted in farmers mostly being paid depending on how much land they own - but some wealthy UK landowners now receive subsidies of up to £3m a year.
For instance, the Newmarket farm of Khalid Abdullah al Saud, billionaire owner of the legendary horse Frankel, receives £400,000 a year. Lord Iveagh who lives on the 22,486-acre Elveden Estate in Suffolk, receives over £900,000.
Yet working out what to replace EU subsidies with is raising passions.
Many farmers see opportunities once the UK is no longer in the Common Agricultural Policy
At the same conference the journalist and environmental activist George Monbiot had a run-in with the deputy head of the National Farmers Union (NFU) Minette Batters over the role of farmers after Brexit.
Mr Monbiot believes farming subsidies should be replaced by a fund to alleviate rural poverty, an environmental fund and help for new entrants into the sector.
When he asked Ms Batters if she was happy to see subsidies paid to wealthy farmers. Ms Batters hesitated and then said: "It depends on what they do with it," adding "I can't emphasise it enough, farmers embrace the environment".
An aghast-looking Mr Monbiot replied saying "Farmers, have, more than any other group been responsible for the environmental degradation of the countryside."
A few hundred yards down the road, another conference was going on. This was the Oxford Real Farming Conference (ORFC), set up 10 years ago to give an alternative view on farming.
While the OFC is all suits, largely men, and a large NFU presence, the ORFC is more woolly jumpers, more women, more beards and more delegates, many of them young.
If there is no free trade agreement with the EU Britain would rely on trading rules laid down by the World Trade Organisation
The two are not absolutely opposed to each other - coming together this year for the first time to jointly discuss the weighty subject of cheese and how to produce it.
And the feeling at both conferences is that, despite uncertainties, everyone sees huge opportunities once the UK is no longer in the Common Agricultural Policy.
And, of course, everyone is pushing their own agenda.
Guy Watson, the founder of the country's largest organic retailer, Riverford Organic Farmers, bravely told a gathering of livestock farmers that "there is no getting away from it, we have to eat less meat"
David Baldock, a senior fellow at the Institute for European Environmental Policy said: "It's really not the end of the world to think that we are going to produce slightly less and better."
Surprisingly neither were shouted down and there were even suggestions from the audience that VAT ought to be levied on meat.
While most of the lobby groups have a view on reforming subsidies, they are less clear about the problem of trade.
90% of UK exports in beef and lamb go to the EU
If there is no free trade agreement with the EU, Britain would rely on trading rules laid down by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) which could be very uncomfortable for farmers having to pay taxes, or tariffs, to sell into the single market.
Calum Kerr, MSP and Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesman for the SNP, said 90% of beef and lamb exports, and 70% of pork exports go to the EU.
"WTO rules would look at a minimum tariff into the EU of 20%. On red meat which ... is critically important [economic] modelling suggests anywhere between 50% and.... a 76% increase in costs into the EU market.
"That's why we believe we should remain a part of the EU market."
The NFU's Ms Batters said: "We have to do a deal with Europe and it is a deal that will shape our landscape for generations to come."
Nearly every farmer believes Brexit offers an opportunity to change the system, but exactly how is a matter for debate
As for competing with countries outside the EU, Ms Leadsom promised she wouldn't lower environmental and animal welfare standards to clinch free trade deals.
Ms Batters, herself a beef farmer, said: "The problem is that getting free trade deals in agriculture is notoriously difficult.
"Take Argentina. Michael Gove says he wants to do a deal with the South American countries. "But they have a completely different system of rearing beef, using a degree of genetically modified products.
"I simply can't compete with that."
Nearly everyone believes Brexit offers an opportunity to change the system, but no one can agree how.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38510423
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Mexico and Mr Trump: What will happen to trade ties? - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Caroline Bayley reports on the impact the Nafta trade deal has had in Mexico, and what its potential demise under US President-elect Trump would mean for the country.
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Business
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Donald Trump is not popular in Mexico
Mexico is being blamed by President-elect Donald Trump for taking jobs from the US.
He's been putting pressure on US companies not to move jobs south, and this week Ford announced it was investing in its factory in Michigan rather than building a new plant in Mexico.
During his election campaign, Mr Trump threatened to rip up Nafta, the free trade agreement between Canada, the US and Mexico, which has been in place for 23 years.
But what impact has Nafta had in Mexico, and what would its potential demise mean for the country?
In a leafy square in Mexico City on a warm December evening a group of excited children are hitting a brightly coloured pinata stuffed with sweets. A fellow passer-by explains to me that pinatas are a Mexican tradition, particularly at Christmas and birthdays.
However, Mexicans also like pinatas "in the shape of everything we want to hit", he says. "The latest trend is Donald Trump pinatas," he adds.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. A look back at some of the things Donald Trump has said about Mexicans
Mr Trump is not popular in Mexico. He was incredibly rude about Mexicans during his election campaign, and at a time when the world seems to be turning away from free trade he threatened to end the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) between the US, Mexico and Canada.
The important thing about Nafta is that companies importing and exporting between the three countries pay no tariffs. Mr Trump believes it's been bad for the US as cheaper Mexican labour has meant some US manufacturers have moved production across the border, resulting in job losses at home.
Nafta was implemented in 1994 and over the past 23 years Mexico has grown as a manufacturing hub. Today the United States and Mexico trade over $500bn (£400bn) in goods and services a year, equal to about $1.5bn a day. Mexico is the US's second-biggest export market, and the US is Mexico's largest.
Thierry Legros says without Nafta his farming business would be under threat
Red Sun Farms, a large vegetable-growing firm in central Mexico, depends on the free trade agreement. Its managing director, Thierry Legros, shows me into a vast greenhouse, 200m long, with row upon row of tomato plants. The company also grows peppers and exports 90% of its crop to the US and Canada.
So what would it mean if Mr Trump repealed the Nafta agreement completely with its tariff-free trading? "We might need to close the whole company," Thierry tells me. "It would be around 3,000 direct jobs, so with all the indirect that's quite a lot, probably double that."
Outside Thierry's office three flags flutter in the wind - one for each Nafta country.
The three Nafta flags at Red Sun Farms reflect the company's integration within the free trade area
Red Sun Farms even owns a farm in the US and sends Mexican workers over there. However, there's a stark wage differential, with pay significantly higher in the US.
"Right now with the exchange rate that's huge," Thierry explains, "it's about one to eight, one to 10."
These Red Sun Farms workers in Mexico earn far less than their counterparts in the US
As well as enabling Mexico to export freely, Nafta also opened the door to US imports, giving Mexican consumers much greater choice.
"It was an achievement, it was against history," says economic consultant Luis de la Calle, who was one of the negotiators of the free trade agreement.
"Most Mexicans thought that it was impossible or not convenient to have a strategic association with the US, and many people in the US never thought that Mexico could be their partner."
You can listen to In Business: Mexico and Mr Trump on BBC Radio 4 at 20:30 GMT on Thursday, 5 January and at 21:30 GMT on Sunday, 8 January.
Increased demand, as a result of free trade, forced Mexican manufacturers to improve quality.
Luis de la Calle says that before Nafta Mexico had three producers of TV sets, and the quality was "awful". But today, Mexico is "the largest manufacturer of TV sets in the world". They are exported and are "high quality, completely different from the protected market we had before".
The instantly recognisable VW Beetles are manufactured in Puebla, Mexico
Mexico is now a centre of manufacturing for overseas companies, such as the motor industry. General Motors and Ford both have factories in Mexico as well as the US.
But Donald Trump has put public pressure on US companies not to move production, and has threatened to impose import duties on cars coming in from Mexico. It's a sensitive subject and the American carmakers refused to be interviewed.
Donald Trump had this message for the car industry earlier this week
However, in the city of Puebla, a two-hour drive from the capital, the German car manufacturer Volkswagen is the biggest employer with 14,000 staff. It's the only place in the world where VW produces its famous Beetle, and as you enter the site you're greeted by a display of Beetles suspended in the air like a piece of installation art. The Golf and Jetta models are also produced here.
Thomas Karig from VW Mexico was tight-lipped about whether the firm had come under any pressure about jobs
Like the US carmakers, Volkswagen's Mexican production is integrated with its US plant. "We use a lot of parts coming from the US for assembly here in Mexico in Puebla, and our colleagues in Chattanooga in Tennessee - they use a lot of parts coming from Mexico," explains Thomas Karig from Volkswagen Mexico.
This integration is possible because there are no tariffs to pay each time components are sent from one Nafta country to another. But when I ask whether Volkswagen has come under pressure from Mr Trump about keeping jobs in the US, the atmosphere cools and there is a curt "no comment".
The Nafta agreement has not benefited everyone in Mexico though. Some small farmers were unable to compete with US agricultural imports and big Mexican rivals.
According to a study by the Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research, from 1991 to 2007 some 4.9 million family farmers were displaced. Some found work with big exporting agricultural companies, but there was still a net loss of 1.9 million jobs.
Three of Aurelio's children are illegal migrants in the US
An hour's drive from Puebla I meet Aurelio, whose family has farmed a tiny patch of land since 1925. Deep in the dry countryside he raises a few cows.
Job opportunities are scarce and three of his five children have migrated illegally to the US where they have found work painting cars. But Donald Trump has said he wants to deport illegal immigrants. Aurelio takes out his mobile phone and calls one of his sons in the US. Is his son worried about this, I ask.
His son says that if there is a chance of being deported they will have to look elsewhere, but adds: "Mexico is a tough choice because of lack of opportunities, violence, high taxes and the economic situation, so it wouldn't be easy."
President Obama has deported at least 2.4 million illegal immigrants so this isn't a new policy. And according to the Pew Research Center, by 2014 more Mexican immigrants returned to Mexico than migrated to the US.
Luis de la Calle says both the US and Mexico benefit from Nafta
Mr de la Calle acknowledges that the free trade agreement has split the country. He says there are two types of regions in Mexico.
"[There are] parts of the south of Mexico that are disconnected from international trade, that are lagging behind, where Nafta had little impact. Rates of growth are low, there is little investment, and you don't see large manufacturing operations."
In contrast to this, he says: "There are 16 or 17 other states that grow very fast, you see a lot of dynamism." These he describes as "Nafta states" with exporting businesses.
However, he dismisses Mr Trump's criticism of Mexico. "He says [Nafta's] been great for Mexico, actually his whole argument is that Mexico is doing so well. It's flattering."
He also claims that the US is benefiting from its close manufacturing links with Mexico.
However, when I ask who would come off worst if Nafta were repealed, the US or Mexico, he answers, "Mexico because we are smaller, but the US would lose quite a bit as well."
Donald Trump wasn't the first US presidential candidate to criticise Nafta. Hillary Clinton and even Barack Obama did so on their campaign trails.
But abandoning it completely? The US may find it has too much to lose and perhaps Mr Trump has realised that too.
In Business: Mexico and Mr Trump is on BBC Radio 4 at 20:30 GMT on Thursday, 5 January and at 21:30 GMT on Sunday, 8 January.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38507482
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Cohen Bramall: Arsenal to sign left-back from non-league Hednesford Town - BBC Sport
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2017-01-05
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Arsenal's new signing Cohen Bramall could have the same impact as England striker Jamie Vardy, after moving from non-league Hednesford.
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Last updated on .From the section Football
Hednesford Town defender Cohen Bramall is to move from non-league to Premier League, by signing for Arsenal.
The 20-year-old left-back will join the Gunners on a deal worth £40,000.
Liam McDonald signed Bramall for the Northern Premier League side and believes he could follow the path of Leicester striker Jamie Vardy, who also started out in non-league.
"He's a natural athlete and he's got a great opportunity to develop that now," McDonald told BBC Radio 5 live.
"He'll take it in his stride. I'm very positive he'll have a similar impact to Jamie Vardy."
• None Arsenal new-boy Bramall 'could have a Vardy impact' - former boss speaks to BBC Radio 5 live.
Bramall follows the road taken by Everton and Wales defender Ashley Williams, who started his career at the Staffordshire club.
Crystal Palace and Sheffield Wednesday had both reportedly watched Bramall, but only Arsenal agreed terms.
He travelled to Arsenal's London Colney training ground on Thursday with his agent Dan Chapman, following an initial period on trial.
Bramall, from the South Cheshire area, worked full-time in the Bentley car factory in Crewe until being made redundant, before working in a clothes shop.
He spent a short spell at nearby Nantwich Town before joining the Pitmen.
"It's fantastic to see players go through like this," Nantwich director of football Jon Gold told BBC Radio Stoke.
"He was obviously a great talent when he first came to us but the manager at the time was going with older players. That happens. Jamie Vardy was turned down by many clubs, don't forget, including even Crewe.
"Cohen's a lovely lad. I'm not sure he was taking his football that seriously and he went around the area a bit before moving on to Hednesford, but sometimes it can take time.
"He played against us earlier in the season and he was man of the match. We're proud to have played even a little part in his development."
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38519179
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The mother, the medium and the murder that changed the law - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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It was a murder which enthralled a nation, saw police turn to the supernatural and helped change the very law itself.
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Nottingham
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Mona Tinsley's face smiled out of countless newspaper articles and police leaflets
It is 80 years since the murder of 10-year-old Mona Tinsley, a case which was by turns grisly, seedy and bizarre. It enthralled a nation and helped change the age-old principle that a murder could not be proved without a body.
"Oh it couldn't possibly be him," said Lilian Tinsley to the assembled police.
Officers had a lead in the disappearance of Mona, her slight but sprightly 10-year-old daughter, but needed help.
Just hours after she vanished after leaving her Newark-on-Trent school on 5 January 1937, a witness identified a man seen nearby as a former lodger from the Tinsleys' home.
Local historian Chris Hobbs said: "The reaction of Lilian and her husband Wilfred, when questioned, was odd. They seemed evasive.
The house at the centre of the case has changed little on the outside
"When pressed by officers, Mrs Tinsley admitted they briefly had a lodger, known to the children as 'Uncle Fred'.
"Eventually she gave a name, Frederick Hudson, and, seemingly with great reluctance, the fact he was a friend of her sister Edith Grimes in Sheffield.
"Why would the parents be like this with the safety of their daughter at stake?" Mr Hobbs queried.
A possible, and murky, answer would emerge.
Mrs Grimes gave them a slightly different name - Frederick Nodder - but insisted she had not seen him for months. This turned out to be a blatant lie.
Officers quickly found a neighbour who had seen Nodder in Sheffield just after Christmas, driving a lorry marked 'Retford', a market town in Nottinghamshire.
This led them to a haulage firm which provided an address in the nearby hamlet of Hayton. It was only a day since Mona had disappeared.
British justice was haunted by the wrongful execution of three people in 1660
Legal historian Benjamin Darlow says: "This principle dates back to the case of William Harrison in 1660, known as the Campden Wonder. Mr Harrison disappeared from near Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire, in 1660 and two men and a woman were found guilty and hanged for the crime.
"In 1662, Mr Harrison turned up with a story about being kidnapped. This had a dramatic impact on English criminal law and the 'no body, no murder' principle survived for the next 294 years.
"The Mona Tinsley case was part of an important narrative in the 20th Century which built up to the abolition of the principle in English Law in 1954.
"It was perhaps the most high-profile and widely reported case in this timeline.
"There is no longer a 'no body, no murder' principle in English criminal law.
"A murder conviction can be based on circumstantial evidence if it is compelling and convincing enough.
"While the principle is gone, it is still very difficult to prove murder without a body, unless there is alternative strong evidence pointing to the murderer."
Confronted outside his rented house, Nodder, 50, denied any involvement but a girl was seen at the house at about noon that day, just a few hours before.
A search found a child's drawings as well as fingerprints on crockery. Nodder was arrested.
Witnesses placed him on a bus from Newark to Retford on Tuesday afternoon. He was accompanied by a girl.
Faced by this evidence, Nodder asked to see Mrs Grimes, insisting this would lead to Mona being found "alive and well".
Nodder's house (centre, between trees) was a short distance from the Chesterfield canal
Mr Hobbs said: "It came out that Mrs Grimes had in fact seen Nodder on a weekly basis since he left Sheffield. She knew full well where Nodder lived but did not tell police.
"Newspaper reports describe them as being "friendly" but it is striking how both she and Mrs Tinsley tried to deflect attention away from Nodder.
"It seems likely Mrs Grimes was having an affair with him but it is surprising both she and Mona's own mother were prepared to obstruct the police investigation.
"Had it delayed the search by vital hours?"
Hundreds of people turned out to search fields and help police drag local rivers
But when they met, Nodder offered only a statement insisting he had sent Mona to Sheffield to see Mrs Grimes.
Nobody believed a word of Nodder's new statement - but the lack of a corpse hampered the investigation.
After searches of the house, garden, nearby countryside and the ominously close Chesterfield canal, and just beyond it the River Idle, fat with winter rain, no new trace of the girl was uncovered.
On 10 January 1937 Nodder was charged, but only with abduction.
Divining, or dowsing, claims the twitching of sticks can locate lost objects or water sources
The desperate search for Mona used many conventional methods - but also some more bizarre efforts.
Diviners - who search for an item with the aid of sticks or rods and mysterious intuition - featured prominently in the hunt for the girl, often seeming to direct the efforts of police.
Most prominent was James Clarke of Melton Mowbray, who, carrying one of Mona's shoes and guided by whalebone sticks, focused on a gravel pit. On 14 January he told the Nottingham Post, "Never was I more confident of success. I am so confident that if I was younger I would dig myself."
The pit was cleared. Nothing was found.
Several mediums featured in the case. The Daily Mirror tested three - gaining access to both the Tinsley family and Nodder's house - but was given vague or conflicting answers.
Estelle Roberts, one of the most famous psychics of the 1930s, later claimed to have been chauffeured to the the crime scene by police and told them Mona was in the river.
Whatever she revealed to officers at the time, it was not enough to find the little girl.
The case made national headlines. The Daily Express offered a £250 reward to find Mona, a different editor was threatened with jail for contempt for publishing a photo of Nodder.
Press and public queued to get into hearings. It was reported some were "laughing and joking as they pushed and struggled to their places" and were told off by court officials.
Nodder stood trial in Birmingham just two months later.
Efforts to solve the mystery even featured in upmarket picture magazine The Sphere
His defence argued hard Mona might still be found alive and well and no-one should speculate on her fate. Nodder did not give evidence.
The jury took 16 minutes to convict him. He was jailed for seven years.
Clearly frustrated by what he felt was a killer getting away lightly, Judge Mr Justice Rigby Swift said: "You have been, most properly in my opinion, convicted by the jury of a dreadful crime.
"What you did with that little girl, what became of her, only you know. It may be that time will reveal the dreadful secret which you carry in your breast."
The searches had been exhaustive. Hundreds of volunteers had combed the countryside, leaflets had been handed out, an appeal broadcast on radio. The canal had been drained for five miles, the river dredged.
As it stood, Nodder just had to bide his time.
Nodder was described as unkempt but seemed to have been trusted by the Tinsley children
But his luck ran out on 6 June. A family boating on the River Idle, a few miles downstream of Hayton, spotted a suspicious object under the water.
When police arrived they found it was a body snagged in a drain.
It was taken to a nearby pub where Wilfred Tinsley identified his daughter by her clothes.
Injuries to her neck showed Mona had been strangled with a cord. Nodder was charged with murder.
Nodder was hanged at Lincoln Prison still maintaining his innocence
The law moved with vengeful speed. In November, the second time in a year, he stood trial. This time he gave evidence - still insisting he had put Mona on a bus for Sheffield.
A two-day trial saw his defence, which claimed nothing directly proved he had killed Mona and no motive was established, briskly dismissed.
Sentencing Nodder to death, Mr Justice Mcnaughton remarked: "Justice has slowly but surely overtaken you".
On 30 December 1937, Frederick Nodder was hanged in Lincoln Prison.
After the noose had done its work and the Tinsleys were left to grieve, the echo of the murder carried on. Its twists and revelations helped usher in a new way of seeking justice for the dead.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-37577247
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Bernie's giant Trump tweet gets hijacked by your memes - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Bernie Sanders put a Trump tweet on a poster and took it into the Senate - now the internet has gone mad.
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Newsbeat
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People have been making fun of Bernie Sanders after he used a poster-sized tweet by Donald Trump during a debate.
The Democrat politician was attempting to make a serious point.
He wanted to show the difference between what the president-elect had said about healthcare in the past and what he's now saying.
But the internet was ready. And there are now dozens of memes, replacing Trump's tweet with other ideas.
If you can't read the tweet, here's the original from May 2015.
But if you put a big Donald Trump tweet on a screen, then you're asking for the predictable to happen...
And it didn't take long for them to start flooding in.
For example, @kept_simple went back to 2012, to remind us how Donald Trump thought Robert Pattinson should dump Kristen Stewart.
Others used an old tweet to suggest Bernie Sanders was talking about sport...
There was also the search for the answers to some important life questions.
Some memes featured personalities we thought we'd left behind in 2016, including Harambe and Cecil the lion.
And of course, no meme list would be complete without the obligatory "Ed Balls".
Find us on Instagram at BBCNewsbeat and follow us on Snapchat, search for bbc_newsbeat
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/articles/38520603
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Pep Guardiola: First FA Cup tie with Manchester City will be 'special' - BBC Sport
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2017-01-05
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Pep Guardiola is looking forward to a "special" first FA Cup game in charge of Manchester City in Friday's third-round tie at West Ham.
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Last updated on .From the section FA Cup
Coverage: Live on BBC One, BBC Radio 5 live and BBC local radio; text commentary on the BBC Sport website & app
Pep Guardiola says he is looking forward to a "special" first FA Cup game in charge of Manchester City in their third-round tie at West Ham.
City face the Hammers at London Stadium on Friday night, live on BBC One.
"The cup is special because the lower team can beat the big teams, which is why it is fascinating," said Guardiola.
"I'm looking forward to it, but of course it's a Premier League game so it will be tough. We were unlucky in the draw."
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic said the tie is a "big game" for both sides and the fans.
"They will put out a very strong team because it is a big chance for them to get a trophy," he added.
The game at London Stadium is the first of 32 third-round ties across four days this weekend.
BBC One also has live coverage of Tottenham v Aston Villa on Sunday (16:00 GMT) while 5 live Sport's Mark Chapman presents Saturday's show from Sutton United ahead of their tie with AFC Wimbledon.
City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo was uncertain in the air in the 2-1 win over Burnley on Monday, failing to deal with a corner that led to Ben Mee's goal for the visitors.
It was the latest in a series of mistakes by Bravo, but Guardiola said the Chilean - who could come up against West Ham's powerful striker Andy Carroll on Friday - is adapting to the physical nature of English football.
"I see many goalkeepers who had the same problems as Claudio with these balls and when they fight for them, it's not only Claudio Bravo," said the Spaniard.
"He's intelligent enough, he has experience enough, he was nominated one of the five best keepers in the world, he has experience in Europe, all around the world, in South America, where the intensity of the games is so tough.
"He realised immediately with these sort of balls into the box he had to be careful because it's special.
"It's not necessary to read the newspapers or the comments of the coach saying, 'Go there, be careful here, it's quite different'. He realised already."
'Pep knew what he was in for'
Guardiola also insisted he is not ready to quit management, after he had said he was "arriving at the end" of his career following the Burnley match - when he also gave a testy post-match interview to BBC Sport.
When asked about Guardiola's conduct, Bilic said: "I saw his interview but maybe he was just tired after a couple of games in three days.
"Maybe after the great start they made some fans or pundits expected them to cruise in the league, especially with Guardiola.
"But it is never easy in any league, especially here. They are not struggling but for their standards, to be however many points from the top is probably not what they expected.
"He's never worked in a smaller club, he's never fought against relegation or mid-table or anything different than 'we have to win the league'.
"Is it Barcelona, is it Bayern, is it Man City? It's the same. He knew the intensity of the English league, he was well prepared for a difficult season. He didn't expect anything less than he is getting or has faced so far."
Guardiola has said he will play a full-strength side on Friday, while midfielder Soufiane Feghouli is available for West Ham after his red card against Manchester United on Saturday was rescinded.
Bilic also confirmed on-loan striker Simone Zaza will not play for West Ham again to avoid having to pay a £17.1m permanent-deal fee to parent club Juventus, which would have been triggered after 15 first-team appearances.
Zaza was signed on a season-long loan in August for a initial fee of £4.2m but has not scored in the 11 games he has featured in and has not played in the league since November.
Sign up for the 2017 FA People's Cup and take your chance to win tickets to the FA Cup final in May and achieve national five-a-side glory.
"He is still our player until he goes somewhere but mainly because of the situation with his contract he is finished here," said Bilic.
"Unfortunately we had to judge him on six, seven, eight games which is not a big pattern to judge a player in general.
"He is definitely a good player but like many times in football, it just didn't happen."
Sign up for the FA People's Cup is under way - head to bbc.co.uk/getinspired to get involved.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38525445
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Jose Fonte: Southampton captain hands in transfer request - BBC Sport
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2017-01-05
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Southampton club captain Jose Fonte asks to leave the club, after rejecting a new contract from the Premier League side.
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The 33-year-old Portugal defender has 18 months left to run on his current deal, which he signed in October 2015.
Southampton's director of football Les Reed says the player has had the chance to sign an improved contract, but Fonte has now asked to leave the club.
"He's had several opportunities to improve the situation. He's reserved his right not to do that," Reed told BBC Radio Solent.
"He's made it very clear he would like to explore the opportunities for a transfer.
"That's where we are at the moment, Jose wants to leave the club. He's formally asked for a transfer."
Reed confirmed the club have not yet received any formal bid for the player, who joined Saints from Crystal Palace in January 2010 and has made 288 appearances.
Fonte was linked with a move to Manchester United in the summer after helping his country win Euro 2016, and he wrote on Instagram last month: "Just to set the record straight I did not reject a new contract. In fact, I have been informed by Southampton that they are not offering me a new contract."
However, Reed insists new terms have been offered to the former Benfica player: "What was offered to Jose was, in my view, quite significant off the back of the contract he signed in October 2015.
"Six months later we were prepared to improve that contract and extend it. He has turned down the opportunity to increase his salary, and he's turned down the opportunity to get another permanent year on his contract."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38523114
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Who is Hugh Jackilometresan? - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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In what could be a 'find and replace' error, Trivial Pursuit fans have found a curious renaming of Australian actor Hugh Jackman.
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UK
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Spot the mistake: Hugh Jackman has been renamed 'Hugh Jackilometresan' in a Trivial Pursuit question spotted by Twitter user John E Lewis.
It's a Christmas staple with many families. When the turkey's gone cold and the evening's drawn in, it's the Trivial Pursuit board which often comes out.
And it was a "newish" Christmas gift of the popular board game from his nephew which prompted John Lewis, 47, to share a picture of the game on social media that has subsequently been shared thousands of times.
Lewis - not the department store, not the US man who is frequently mistaken for a department store on Twitter, but a journalist and editor from London - was playing the Family Edition of the game on Tuesday when his daughter discovered an unusual error.
Reading a question about 2008 film Australia, starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, Lewis' daughter was baffled. A mysterious 'Hugh Jackilometresan' appeared to have supplanted Jackman as the film's leading man.
"She showed us the card and we all found it hilarious," Lewis said.
"As an editor, I also immediately guessed how it had happened."
Lewis is not the first social media user to spot the error. @JackStooks and others noticed the problem back in 2015.
Lewis believes that the error could have been caused by a "cavalier find-and-replace command" where 'km' had been substituted for 'kilometres' by the game's makers. Hasbro has been approached for comment.
And he says that was not the only example he spotted.
"There is another error I later found in the same pack," he said, "where 'kg' has been universally replaced to 'kilograms'.
"So the question reads: 'What U2 song plays in the 'backilogramsound' of the famous Friends episode where Ross tries to get Rachel back after they were on a break?"
Lewis shared his image on Facebook and Twitter, where his post has attracted thousands of retweets and likes.
"I don't even use Twitter that much," he said. "But this Trivial Pursuit tweet has had something ridiculous like 8,000 likes and more than 5,000 retweets in the last 36 hours."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38518939
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CES 2017: Samsung and LG TVs battle to blend in - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Samsung and LG launch TVs that aim to better blend in to consumers' living rooms at the CES tech show.
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Technology
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. LG unveiled its "wallpaper TV' at the CES tech show in Las Vegas
South Korean tech giants LG and Samsung have launched TVs that aim to better blend in to consumers' living rooms.
LG showed off a set that can be fitted almost flat against a wall while Samsung teased a new kind of TV - designed to look like a painting - that displays art when not in use.
Samsung also unveiled a flagship set boasting greater brightness levels than before.
Others, including Sony, also revealed new models.
Samsung's flagship 75in (190cm) QLED 4K TV features the latest version of its quantum dot technology - tiny particles that emit different colours of light. These now feature a metal material that the firm says allows for better colour reproduction.
Samsung has decided to stick with a curved display for its high-end models - despite criticism from some experts that viewing angles suffer with such designs.
Samsung's quantum dots are tiny particles that emit light of different colours
The QLED TV can achieve HDR (high dynamic range) brightness of between 1,500 and 2,000 nits - one nit equalling the light from a candle.
"It's insanely bright," said Jack Wetherill, a tech analyst at Futuresource.
"That is pretty power hungry one would imagine, but if they're going down the route of getting as good a picture as they can out of it, then fair enough."
This sets it apart from other set makers who use another premium TV screen technology, OLED (organic light-emitting diode).
Such screens use a carbon-based film allowing the panel to emit its own light, rather than being backlit - this enables the ultra thin designs.
Quantum dot TVs might not be able to display the deepest blacks possible with OLED, but they are generally brighter.
LG's newest TV sticks out just 3.85mm from a wall when mounted against it
LG's new OLED 4K TV was as thin as last year's - just 2.57mm thick - and will be available in 65 and 77in models.
But the firm has now designed a new mount that uses magnets so the set can be fixed flat against a wall, which the firm says means it doesn't cast "a single shadow".
LG also announced its latest TVs would support four HDR formats - including Hybrid Log-Gamma jointly developed by the BBC and the Japanese broadcaster NHK. This will allow sport and other live broadcasts to be shown in the format.
Many experts agree that HDR makes a huge difference to the TV picture, making it seem richer and allowing for higher levels of contrast between light and dark tones.
"It is more vibrant, the colours are more distinctive," said Mr Wetherill.
"It does bring a much more impressive and immersive experience - no question about that."
It is not yet clear which format will become popular with content-makers, so LG's inclusion of all four should ensure it does not become obsolete if and when a winner emerges.
The Samsung Lifestyle TV could be mistaken for a painting
Samsung also showed off images of its new Lifestyle TV, which it described as "a beautiful, always-on, truly smart display that transforms the TV to art".
It comes in a wooden frame, in an attempt to look like a painting.
Sony also announced a new 4K OLED TV - its first - the latest in its Bravia range.
As well as an HDR processor that can upscale standard dynamic range content to "near 4K HDR quality", the set has also dispensed with in-built speakers.
Instead, it emits sound via vibrations produced on the surface of the screen itself.
The new Bravia TV doesn't have speakers - the screen vibrates instead, which emits sounds
This wasn't demonstrated at the press conference, noted Mr Wetherill, but it was, he said, "an interesting concept".
Panasonic did not discuss its OLED TV plans at its press conference, though it is possible a prototype will be on the CES trade show floor.
At last year's consumer electronics show IFA in Berlin, the company had said it would release details of the TV during the winter.
Follow all our CES coverage at bbc.co.uk/ces2017
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-38514171
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Jill Saward, sexual assault campaigner, dies aged 51 - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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June Kelly looks back at the life and legacy of sexual assault campaigner Jill Saward, who has died at the age of 51 after suffering a stroke.
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Jill Saward, who became a sexual assault campaigner after she was raped during a burglary at her father's vicarage in 1986, has died after suffering a stroke.
June Kelly looks back at her life and legacy.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38525269
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Mother's quest to find missing daughter in Ghost Ship ashes - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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A mother details her bid to trace her missing daughter after a California warehouse fire that killed 36.
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US & Canada
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When a fire at an underground music event in California killed 36, families whose adult children had been missing for months or years were among those who feared the worst. Daleen Berry explains why she went looking for her daughter at the Ghost Ship.
I had moved across the country to find my daughter, Trista, but the deadly warehouse fire in Oakland in December forced me to take the first step, the one I had been dreading.
After hearing that people actually lived in the warehouse of artists' studios and performance spaces known as the Ghost Ship, I needed to see for myself, to ensure Trista - the name I'll call her to protect her privacy - was not among the dead.
At the scene many had gathered to grieve and pay their respects. There were also people like me, who had lost touch with their loved ones for weeks, months, or even years, and were fearful they were inside when the fire started.
I took the advice of an officer and drove to the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, where they had set up a makeshift family assistance centre to provide emotional support and privacy for the family members. We waited for updates from Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and found comfort in a safe place, together.
On one wall inside the centre were three lists: the confirmed dead, those who had been located and were safe, and those still reported as missing. On that last list were about 150 names.
I knew then I was far from alone. Somehow, it made it easier to speak the words I'd refused to let myself believe: "My daughter is missing."
Unlike TV, where missing people are portrayed as victims of sexual trafficking or serial murderers, most adults disappear for far less sinister reasons. As of late December, the California justice department had 20,470 reports of missing persons in the state.
Of those, 7,854 are like my daughter, classified as "voluntary missing adults".
More than 8,000 are runaways.
Another 1,060 people were taken by a family member, while 764 disappeared under suspicious circumstances and 114 went missing during a catastrophe.
At just 51, stranger abduction cases number the lowest.
The 48 hours in the family assistance centre were among the most painful in my life, as I struggled to answer one question after another.
When did you last hear from your daughter?
Do you have a preferred funeral home?
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Oakland residents held a vigil for victims of the fire
A few months earlier I had packed up everything I owned, leaving behind family and friends to follow Trista's path west. I didn't tell them the real reason I was leaving - I wouldn't rest until I knew where Trista was.
A kind and caring free spirit, Trista had gravitated to places like the Ghost Ship in the past. I knew that she might have lived there because this was her community: musicians, artists and other creative people.
When I went to work for a small start-up in Oakland in 2009, she lived with me, then later followed me back to West Virginia.
From there she travelled to Chicago, New York and Philadelphia, meeting up with fellow musicians. She was content to live in her own world, collecting items cast to the kerb and transforming them into beautiful works of art.
But by 2014, while I was put the finishing touches on a true crime book about a missing daughter, Trista was becoming increasingly distant and withdrawn.
By then, my daughter's temporary forays into seclusion had become legendary.
I had been trying to understand them for 10 years because, at times weeks or even months would pass without so much as a word.
But I always knew she would reach out to someone - my sister, her brother, my mother.
Trista terminated all but two ties in February 2015, when she returned to the Bay Area.
By June 2016, the last time I heard from her, she severed the rest.
I called her brother in San Francisco: he hadn't heard from her in a year.
She changed her cell phone number. All of my emails to her bounced back.
"The email account that you tried to reach does not exist," Google repeatedly told me.
This wasn't my first trip to Oakland to look for Trista. I drove there one month before the fire. I needed to check out our old neighbourhood in case my daughter had returned. She hadn't.
Some of the victims of the fire were LGBT or made outcasts in other ways; people who believed their families had given up on them - or vice versa.
But families like mine with missing children don't give up. We may stumble around, accidentally making matters worse.
But it is never intentional. I met a few other parents whose children died in the fire.
They didn't leave until the last handful of charred ashes was carried from the scene - when they knew for sure their child was truly, finally gone.
A day after the fire, I finally forced myself to open the laptop Trista left behind in West Virginia a year earlier.
I spent hours reaching out to her friends, fellow musicians, and a previous employer.
They hadn't heard from her in years. No one knew anything.
It was like Trista had closed the door on her old life, never to reopen it again.
But I couldn't just wait for a phone call telling me if my daughter was dead or alive. I had to know myself, so I drove to Oakland from Sacramento.
And waited, for as long as it took.
After spending two days at the family services centre, I stumbled into my hotel room, still struggling with the enormity of it all. What will I do if they find her? What if they don't?
The following morning, one of the mental health professionals on hand to help the families guided me down a corridor and into an office.
There, two women greeted me from the state justice department's missing persons unit.
"We've located 1,000 people since 2001," they said.
"Even a few live Jane Does," they added hopefully.
They asked more questions. I signed more paperwork. Then, after careful instructions, a gloved hand gave me what looked like a pink and white emery board.
I opened my mouth, did as they directed, and handed over my saliva - my DNA - and the only link to my daughter.
I just wanted to find Trista. Beg for her forgiveness. Tell her I was sorry - for me, for my mistakes, and for not understanding her well enough. For my family, who did likewise, and in whose heart she still holds a sacred place.
Given that all 36 victims of the Ghost Ship fire have been identified, I have to believe Trista is still alive. Still out there, somewhere.
Like the 150 or so other worried mothers of those on the missing list, I have but one thought: I love you.
Or - at the very least - phone home.
Daleen Berry is a New York Times bestselling writer and author of several books, including Shatter the Silence and Pretty Little Killers.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-37481071
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Terrorism 'first-aid training needed' - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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People are being urged to learn lifesaving skills in case they are caught up in a terror attack.
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Health
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. CitizenAID aims to help the public save lives before the professionals arrive
People need to learn lifesaving skills in case they are caught up in a terror attack in the UK, a team of senior military and civilian medics has said.
They say people need to know how to help each other because it could take some time before it is deemed safe for paramedics to arrive on the scene.
The idea is supported by counter-terrorism police. Security services say a UK terror attack is highly likely.
Although an individual's chance of being caught up in an incident is small, Brig Tim Hodgetts and Prof Sir Keith Porter, co-developers of CitizenAID, say it is a good idea for people to have a plan and the knowledge and skills to help each other.
Their app, pocket book and website suggest how best to deal with injuries in the immediate aftermath of a mass shooting or bombing incident.
The system includes instructions on how to treat severe bleeding - one of the major causes of death in these scenarios.
It guides people through packing, putting pressure on and elevating a wound, and how to use a tourniquet safely, for example.
The programme also explains how to prioritise those who need treatment first and what to tell the emergency services once they arrive.
CitizenAID is not a government initiative but its developers say it builds on national advice from national counter-terrorism police to:
The system describes how to make a tourniquet out of a scarf to help stop bleeding
The CitizenAID system says people should follow these steps and then go one step further. It suggests once people are safe, they should start treating casualties.
Ch Insp Richard Harding, head of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, told the BBC: "One of the challenges we have is that when a serious incident, particularly a terrorist incident occurs, the first responders from a police perspective to a terrorist incident will inevitably be trying to deal with the people causing the threat.
"They won't have time to deal with the people who are injured and that gap is vital to saving people's lives.
"So we are really interested in the concept of CitizenAID. It allows the public and people involved in very rare incidents like this to help themselves and help others and their loved ones survive the situation."
According to its founders, CitizenAID builds on lessons learnt on the battlefield.
Sir Keith Porter, professor of clinical traumatology at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, told the BBC: "I have treated hundreds of soldiers whose lives have been saved by simply the applications of tourniquets when they have been shot or blown up. Teaching individual soldiers these skills has saved lives.
"And I think it is essential we train the public in those skills and that is exactly what CitizenAID does."
Brig Tim Hodgetts, medical director of the Defence Medical Services, told the BBC; "We don't know when the next incident will be that will involve blasts or gunshots so we need a critical mass of the general public to learn these first aid skills.
"They are the people who are always going to be at the scene. They are the ones who are going to make a difference."
He added: "I think we are doing the opposite of scaring the public, we are empowering the public.
''By giving them a step-by-step system we take away the anxiety because the decisions are already made and the right decisions in the right order can save lives."
The app is free to download and the pocketbook costs £1.99 to order.
Sue Killen, of St John Ambulance, added "First aid can be the difference between life and death. Knowing basic first aid in a terror attack or in an everyday emergency at home or in the community, will give you more confidence to deal with a crisis.
"First aid is easy to learn and our first aid techniques cover a wide range of injuries that could occur in a terrorist incident including severe bleeding, crush injuries and shock.
"We encourage anyone who would like to learn first aid to go to our website to view our first aid videos, download our app or attend a first aid course."
What do you think? Join the conversation on Facebook.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-38495234
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Marco Silva: Hull City appoint ex-Sporting & Olympiakos boss - BBC Sport
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2017-01-05
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Former Sporting and Olympiakos head coach Marco Silva is confirmed as Hull City's new manager.
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Last updated on .From the section Football
Former Olympiakos manager Marco Silva has been confirmed as Hull City's new boss.
The 39-year-old Portuguese has signed until the end of the season at the KCOM Stadium.
He replaces Mike Phelan who was sacked on Tuesday with the Tigers bottom of the Premier League.
Silva left the Greek side in the summer and had previously been linked with managerial vacancies at Championship sides Wolves and Nottingham Forest.
He will take charge of Hull's next game against fellow Premier League strugglers Swansea in the FA Cup third round at home on Saturday.
A full-back with only two top-flight appearances in Portugal, Silva started his coaching career in the summer of 2011 with second-tier side Estoril, with whom he had spent most of his playing career.
He guided them to promotion to the top flight and a place in the Europa League before moving to Sporting Lisbon in 2014.
Under his tenure, Sporting won the Portuguese Cup but he was sacked in June 2015, four days after the victory, reportedly for not wearing an official club suit during a match in an earlier round.
He signed a two-year deal with Olympiakos the following month and the Greek side won a record 17 consecutive domestic matches, also claiming a 3-2 Champions League win over Arsenal at the Emirates.
But he left last summer after they secured a 43rd Greek title and has been out of work since.
Silva has brought in his own coaching team, including assistant Joao Pedro Sousa, first-team coach Goncalo Pedro and goalkeeping coach Hugo Oliveira.
"Marco is a young coach who has impressed us with his philosophy and football style," said Hull vice-chairman Ehab Allam.
"He has a great track record and we feel this is a bold and exciting appointment in our aim to retain the club's Premier League status.
"We are already working hard with Marco and his team to deliver some key additions to our squad during this transfer window."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38516401
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Yannick Bolasie: Everton winger out for possibly a year, says Ronald Koeman - BBC Sport
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2017-01-05
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Everton winger Yannick Bolasie will be out for 11-12 months with a knee injury, says manager Ronald Koeman.
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Last updated on .From the section Football
Everton winger Yannick Bolasie could be out for a year with a knee injury, says manager Ronald Koeman.
Bolasie, 27, injured his right knee during the Toffees' 1-1 draw with Manchester United on 4 December.
Manager Koeman said on Wednesday: "It will be around 11-12 months before he is back. That is a big disappointment but he will come back."
Bolasie is due to have a second operation - on his anterior cruciate ligament - in the coming weeks.
The DR Congo international signed for Everton from Crystal Palace in a £25m deal in August, and had played in every league game this campaign up until his injury.
Manchester United's Memphis Depay could be brought in to fill the position in attacking midfield, with Koeman having this season expressed his desire to sign his fellow Dutchman.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38512945
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Top business tips for 2017 - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Some of the best business leaders profiled in 2016 for the BBC's The Boss slot give their advice on setting up and running companies over the next 12 months.
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Business
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Have you thought of your goals for the year ahead?
With 2017 now five days old, any business leader worth his or her salt has got their plans in place for the next 12 months.
Be it a strategy to boost sales, a schedule to expand into new territories, or a way to deal with problems, this is the time of year to look ahead.
Here, some of the best business leaders profiled in 2016 for the BBC's The Boss slot share their plans or thoughts on running a business in 2017.
It shouldn't be forgotten that your employees are your most important asset, and wellness at work - ensuring that your workforce is well looked after - has become a hot topic.
Include a regular slot in the working day or week for staff to work out together or alone, followed by a healthy communal lunch. This is a great way of bringing staff together socially, whilst improving their physical and mental health. This leads to a happier, more productive and collaborative workforce.
The best advice I have for someone running a business is listen to the winds of change.
Every industry is being transformed directly or indirectly by technology, and the rate of change will increase in the next few years.
So think not about what your business is doing now, but how it can be positioned in order to be a part of that technological transformation.
Then, as always - work hard, learn from mistakes and keep evolving.
Stay curious and hunt for inspiration in unexpected places. We always try to look beyond the shop shelf, and I'd encourage all businesses to do the same.
Define your purpose. Major global events of 2016 mean that having clear direction, beyond your annual targets, is more important than ever before.
In the digital age of everything, keep it simple. Without bottomless pockets, you need to prioritise and have the discipline to focus on the real strengths of your team.
But also remember to keep things light and have fun. We make popcorn, we're not saving lives, but it's easy to lose sight of that sometimes.
Don't forget to spend time and effort making sure people know what you have to offer. I see so many people who have great shows, great products and great ideas but decide to cut the marketing budget, or just think that it will work because it's clever.
I always say you could invent a kettle that boiled in a second, but if people don't know about it then it doesn't matter. Get people excited.
Think of interesting and amazing ways to get people involved and get your message out there. Create a community and harness the power of social media.
Be brave and try new things. Become an expert in your field. Above all, have fun and people will soon be shouting it from the rooftops.
These are uncertain, challenging times, so businesses need to be brave and not be paralysed by fear of the unknown. At Unruly, for example, we haven't let Brexit brouhaha put the brakes on our growth - on the contrary, our foot is flat on the pedal, and we've accelerated international expansion into India.
It's also important that you nurture the wellbeing of the team. Make sure your team understands the value they bring to your organisation, and mentor them so they are prepared for the challenges ahead.
Over the long term, the only strategy for an uncertain future is to keep and feed an open mind.
Keep listening, keep learning, keep reading, keep evolving, keep experimenting, keep questioning, keep agile. Only then can you can keep on being at the cutting edge of trends that are reshaping the world we live in.
I'm an optimist at heart and believe that if we build purposeful businesses with collaborative cultures, then rather than worrying about the future, we can help to shape it.
I have four "Ps" as my guide. Firstly, passion - you must be totally passionate about what you do, because customers and employees will only be as passionate about your product or service as you are.
Secondly - people. It is important that you employ great people. This will allow you to build a sustainable business with amazing customer loyalty and retention.
Thirdly - product. Make sure that you give a quality product that will allow you to build a business that customers and potential staff will want to be aligned to.
Finally - profit. It is vital that you understand your numbers and know what is gross and net profit, and work hard to protect your margins.
Business is like life - you get out of it what you put in. For me it is all about hard work, persevering and not giving up.
Success in business is about finding the right balance between pushing yourself to your limits, and knowing when to take time out to re-energise, regroup, and to take a moment to plan your next big push.
Many of us are great at the pushing bit, but forget about the importance of the other side, which can lead to burnout or perhaps a growing underlying resentment of the dream you're following.
In order to allow you the time to do this, it's essential that you build a strong team around you, who all share the same values.
Empower them, give them space to grow, and reward them in the way that pushes them forwards individually - what motivates your team will vary drastically between individuals.
Every business needs to expect even more work and new challenges in 2017.
Here in Brazil there is an economic crisis that can't be ignored, but it is important for any company to spend more energy finding new ways to make things work out rather than cursing the current situation.
We're not letting geography determine who we hire - we want to find the perfect person for the role. They could be based in London, the Czech Republic, the US or Canada. All that matters is that they elevate the team and help us achieve our goals.
I think this approach will slowly become the norm, and we'll see more big businesses adopt this way of doing things.
Technology is making the world a lot smaller, and communication has never been easier, which means you can always be in touch no matter where you are in the world.
Obviously there are processes you need to put in place to make sure everyone's doing the job that's being asked of them and to maintain a strong company culture, but once this has been ironed out the benefits are undeniable.
Build a team you can rely on. Over the last couple of years I've built up a strong senior management team who I am heavily reliant on for the day-to-day running of the business.
This has helped to give me space to breathe and focus on taking my business to new heights.
Also, take time off occasionally. I think it's extremely important to completely switch off from work every now and again.
I spent Christmas in Sri Lanka, turned off my emails and focused on me. It means that I come back to work in January - one of the busiest months in our industry - refreshed, focused and ready to tackle the year ahead.
Be clear about what you want to achieve in 2017. I have set myself half a dozen key things I want to realise this year.
If you get to the end of the year without achieving any or all of them, the things you identified at the start of the year were either not important, or you failed to deliver them.
If they weren't important after all, you called it wrong at the start of the year, which can be just as bad for your business as failing to achieve them.
Always be alive to what is going on with your competition, and with the market uncertainty we'll experience over the next couple of years this will be even more critical.
Too many people are too insular within their business, and they don't see who's in front and, even more importantly, they don't see who's coming up from behind.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38287871
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Leicester City complete signing of Genk midfielder Wilfred Ndidi - BBC Sport
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2017-01-05
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Leicester City sign Genk midfielder Wilfred Ndidi for a reported £15m after a work permit is approved.
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Last updated on .From the section Football
Leicester City have signed defensive midfielder Wilfred Ndidi for a reported £15m from Belgian side Genk.
The 20-year-old Nigeria international completed his move on Thursday after a work permit was approved, signing a five-and-a-half-year deal.
Ndidi has already trained with the squad and could make his debut in Saturday's FA Cup third-round tie at Everton (15:00 GMT).
"He's an impressive player with a big future," said manager Claudio Ranieri.
"I feel I can learn a lot here," Ndidi told the club's TV channel .
"I try to win the balls for the team - that is one of my main attributes. I have to achieve a lot here."
Ndidi helped Genk finish top of their Europa League group to secure their place in the knockout stages of this season's competition.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated pageor visit our Premier League trackerhere.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38500583
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CES 2017: Solos smartglasses help cyclists get fitter - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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Cyclists are being targeted with a new pair of smartglasses that display training data to help them get increase their performance.
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A specialised type of smartglasses designed to help cyclists get fitter is on show at the CES tech show in Las Vegas.
Smartglasses as a category have failed to make much impact to date, but Solos believes there is untapped demand for its product, as Chris Foxx reports.
Follow all our CES coverage at bbc.co.uk/ces2017
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-38526185
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Bob, aged 95: Loneliness ruined my New Year's Eve - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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Bob Lowe, who is 95, says spending New Year's Eve alone was miserable.
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We are all living longer. The number of people over 85 has increased by nearly a third over the past 10 years. A report from the Academy of Medical Science concluded that while our life expectancy is increasing, our healthy life is not increasing at the same rate.
Bob Lowe is 95. He lives in Barton on Sea in Hampshire and told the Today programme the only thing he wants to see is Crossrail opening. He describes the loneliness of his New Year's Eve.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38516764
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Pence: Ending Obamacare is a priority - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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President Barack Obama has met fellow Democrats in Congress to discuss how to protect the healthcare reforms he instituted, often called Obamacare.
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President Barack Obama has met fellow Democrats in Congress to discuss how to protect the healthcare reforms he instituted, often called Obamacare.
Republicans say that repealing the reforms is their "first order of business".
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38512800
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Laura Muir smashes a 25-year-old British indoor 5,000m record in Glasgow - BBC Sport
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2017-01-05
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Laura Muir breaks Liz McColgan's 25-year-old British indoor record over 5,000m at the Glasgow Miler Meet at the Emirates Arena.
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Last updated on .From the section Athletics
Laura Muir broke the British indoor record over 5,000m at the Glasgow Miler Meet at the Emirates Arena.
"I am delighted to get it and it is nice to know now where I am at in terms of the 5,000m," said Muir, 23.
"I've been in South Africa training, and the sessions there since we came back were at PB times for 5,000m so I felt good going into tonight's race."
Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland on Thursday, McColgan described Muir as "world class", but questioned if her feat satisfied all the criteria to make the record stand. British Athletics has since confirmed that Muir's time is official.
Muir broke her own British 1500m record at the Diamond League meeting in Paris in August and reached the 1500m Olympic final at Rio 2016.
The Scot will next captain the Great Britain team competing at Saturday's Great Edinburgh International Cross Country, which will be shown live on BBC One from 13:15 GMT.
Muir lines up as part of the mixed 4x1km relay team, while Sir Mo Farah competes in the men's 8km race and Gemma Steel and Steph Twell in the women's event over 6km.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/38514094
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Qatar Open: Sir Andy Murray reaches semi-final after Nicolas Almagro win - BBC Sport
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2017-01-05
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Sir Andy Murray reaches the last four of the Qatar Open with a hard-fought victory over Spain's Nicolas Almagro.
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Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Sir Andy Murray progressed to the Qatar Open semi-finals by beating Spain's Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (7-4) 7-5.
The top seed was broken in his opening service game by 31-year-old Almagro, ranked 44th in the world, but recovered to take the first set tie-break.
The pair exchanged breaks early in the second set before the Briton prevailed.
Murray will face third seed Tomas Berdych in the semis and, if he progresses, could meet Novak Djokovic in Saturday's final.
Djokovic, whom Murray replaced as world number one in November, beat veteran Radek Stepanek 6-3 6-3 in their quarter-final to book a meeting with Fernando Verdasco of Spain in the last four.
Elsewhere, Britain's Aljaz Bedene beat Slovakia's Martin Klizan to reach the quarter-finals of the Chennai Open in India.
And Australia's Nick Kyrgios was beaten 6-2 6-2 by Jack Sock at the mixed teams Hopman Cup, in the tie between Australia and the United States.
Kyrigos was defeated in under an hour and later pulled out of the mixed doubles event with a knee problem.
His injury comes less than two weeks before the Australian Open - the first Grand Slam of the year in Melbourne.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38524526
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Premier League festive fixtures 2017-18: Six games in 17 days next Christmas - BBC Sport
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2017-01-05
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If Premier League managers were annoyed at this season's festive fixture list, what about next season's?
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Last updated on .From the section Football
Arsene Wenger calls it "unfair", Jose Mourinho says it "creates problems" and Sam Allardyce thinks the person responsible for it should be sacked.
But with a shortened season next year to help England prepare for the 2018 World Cup, fixture congestion over the festive period could be even worse.
The Premier League has confirmed that a draft fixture schedule for next season could see six rounds of games over Christmas and New Year in 2017-18, as opposed to four this year.
That could see clubs playing six games in 17 days from 16 December 2017 to 1 January 2018 inclusive.
There are still several stages of the fixtures process to go, with nothing confirmed until June and final dates remaining subject to change after that announcement.
Yet should those factors result in two extra games during the festive period, the debate over the difference in rest between games for each side and calls for a winter break looks set to continue.
What is the draft fixture schedule for 2017-18?
On Monday's Match of the Day, host Gary Lineker revealed next season's draft fixture schedule includes six games between the dates of 16 December 2017 and 1 January 2018 inclusive.
It is unlikely there will be a full round of 10 fixtures on each of the six matchdays, with games set to be moved in order to be televised.
But if the six potential matchdays represent separate rounds of top-flight action, then fans can look forward to 60 Premier League games in total over the course of that period.
How does this compare?
This season saw 40 Premier League games over a similar period, with each club having four fixtures between Saturday 17 December 2016 and Wednesday 4 January 2017 inclusive.
Those 40 fixtures were played on 12 separate matchdays, including a particularly busy run which saw at least one Premier League match on every day bar one between 26 December and 4 January.
The 2015-16 campaign also included 40 games played between Saturday 19 December 2015 and Sunday 3 January inclusive, but the fixtures were played on nine separate matchdays.
Perhaps the biggest difference between the last two seasons is evident in the Boxing Day fixture lists, with all 10 games played on 26 December 2015 whereas only eight games took place on the same day this season - with televised games between Liverpool and Stoke and Southampton and Tottenham following on 27 and 28 December respectively.
That greater spread of games resulted in widespread debate amongst Premier League managers over discrepancies in the amount of rest between games for each club.
Hours taken to play all three festive matches 26 Dec-4 Jan Hours from start of first game, to end of third
What have the managers said?
Arsenal manager Wenger was especially critical of this year's festive fixture list, calling it the "most uneven Christmas period" he has seen in 20 years.
He added: "The difference of rest periods is absolutely unbelievable, compared to the other teams it is unbelievable."
Wenger was far from alone, with Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho claiming, "it looks like the fixtures are chosen to give rest for some and to create problems to others".
All the way back in October, an incredulous Jurgen Klopp looked at Liverpool's festive fixture list and simply asked: "How do you prepare a team for this?"
Not all title-chasing managers were fazed by the fixture list though, with Chelsea boss Antonio Conte saying his rivals were "angry for our position [as leaders] not for the fixtures".
The stakes are just as high at the bottom of the table with Sam Allardyce claiming the fixture scheduling contributed to his "shattered" Crystal Palace side losing to relegation rivals Swansea on Tuesday.
Even Swansea first-team coach Alan Curtis acknowledged the discrepancy, adding: "We had 24 hours more rest compared to them and that may have made a difference."
Referring to the lucrative television rights deal signed by the Premier League, Wenger said: "I don't know any more whether the Premier League is the master of the fixtures."
While TV broadcast selections alter the specific dates of games, the initial fixture list is compiled by international IT services company Atos, on behalf of the Premier League.
The first step is inputting international dates from world governing body Fifa, then dates of the European club competitions from Uefa, before the Football Association adds in their competitions, leaving the dates on which league and League Cup matches can be played.
This process is complicated for the 2017-18 season due to an agreement with the FA to finish seasons early in tournament years - in this instance to give the England manager a month with his squad to prepare for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Where possible, the Premier League and FA will also try to establish a stand-alone date for the FA Cup final.
There are then numerous other factors including the distribution of home and away games and travel issues to consider, as well as further discussion and checks before the fixture list is released in mid-June.
The live TV broadcast selections for December 2017 will not be confirmed until four to six weeks before the start of the month, so managers will have to wait to see how they fare in terms of rest between games.
But two extra fixtures to fit in are unlikely to be a welcome Christmas gift for most.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38497382
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Bournemouth ABC cinema screens final movie - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The last remaining high street cinema with the ABC brand closes following a charity screening.
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Dorset
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The cinema kept its ABC name to distinguish it from another Odeon cinema on the same road.
The final film has been shown in the last remaining high street cinema with the ABC brand.
The Odeon-owned cinema on Westover Road in Bournemouth has been sold and is due to be redeveloped into flats.
ABC - Associated British Cinemas - began in 1928, with the brand name gradually disappearing following its takeover by Odeon in 2000.
The last screening was Back to the Future which was shown in aid of charity Dorset Mind.
ABC was one of the biggest names during the post-war heyday of British cinema-going.
The newly modernised ABC Film Centre on its opening day on 13 June 1970
The Westover Road building first opened its doors as a 2,515-seat cinema in June 1937, showing the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musical Shall We Dance.
The cinema divided into three screens in the 1970s but its 634-seat main auditorium remains one of the largest in the UK.
Film enthusiast Adrian Cox, who tours cinemas across the country, said the ABC in Bournemouth was his favourite.
He said: "It's an event to watch a movie there. It has perfect sight-lines. A very tall person in front of you is never in the way because of the steep banking."
Mr Cox, who hired the cinema for a private screening of the once-banned Monty Python film Life of Brian, said modern cinemas tended to be smaller, less well decorated and "like little boxes".
The other Odeon cinema on Westover Road is also earmarked for closure ahead of the opening of the new BH2 leisure complex, planned for Bournemouth Square.
Cinema general manager Spencer Clark said: "It was one of the flagship cinemas for ABC and it's a fond farewell for what is a great venue."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-38500616
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Princess Diana letters sell for £15,100 at auction - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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Candid letters written by Prince Diana to an ex-Buckingham Palace steward sell for £15,100
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Candid letters written by Prince Diana to an ex-Buckingham Palace steward have sold for thousands of pounds more than their estimated sale price.
The notes describe how a young Prince William "swamped" his new baby brother with "an endless supply of hugs and kisses".
The BBC's Sarah Campbell spoke to the auctioneer, Luke MacDonald.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38524049
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Guantanamo Bay: What's it like inside? - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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As Donald Trump tweets that no-one should be released from Guantanamo Bay, the BBC's Gordon Corera takes a tour of the camp.
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As Donald Trump tweets that no-one should be released from Guantanamo Bay, the BBC's Gordon Corera takes a tour of the camp.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38512158
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Washington Post Express 'embarrassment' over gender symbol mix-up - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The Washington Post Express accidentally publishes a male symbol on its front cover promoting a story on women's rights.
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US & Canada
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The Washington Post Express "erroneously published" the front cover on the left, featuring the male symbol, instead of the front cover on the right with a female symbol.
The Washington Post Express has apologised for an "embarrassing" mix-up on its front cover.
Leading with an article about a 150,000 strong women's rights march, the Express accidentally used a male symbol instead of a female symbol.
Social media users were quick to spot the mistake.
The paper - a free daily newspaper published by the Washington Post - was quick to apologise on its Twitter account.
One commentator referred to the blunder as a "record for largest typo".
"We made a mistake on our cover this morning and we're very embarrassed," the statement from the Washington Post Express read.
"We erroneously used a male symbol instead of a female symbol."
It also released an image of how the cover should have appeared.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38518943
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Ivan Rogers resignation: Dear Sir, I quit! The resignation quiz - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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How much do you know about famous resignations?
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Magazine
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Sir Ivan Rogers has quit his job as British ambassador to the EU, issuing a resignation statement that urged his team to "continue to challenge ill-founded arguments and muddled thinking". But he's not the first person to make headlines with a biting departure.
Test your knowledge about some of history's more celebrated resignation statements.
Join the conversation - find us on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-38510071
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Chicago attack condemned by Black Lives Matter campaigners - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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Four black people have been charged over the live-streamed torture of a white man. It comes as supporters of campaign group Black Lives Matter say it has been unfairly linked to the attack.
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Four black people face hate crime and kidnapping charges for the Facebook Live-aired torture of a mentally disabled white man.
In the video, the assailants can be heard making derogatory statements against white people and Donald Trump.
Student Shelby, a supporter of Black Lives Matter, told World Have Your Say the social campaign group is being unfairly linked to the attack.
Listen to World Have Your Say on the BBC iPlayer.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38524551
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Handwritten Diana letters sell for £15,100 at auction - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Six handwritten letters from Princess Diana sell for £15,100 at auction.
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UK
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Six handwritten letters from Princess Diana have sold for £15,100 at auction.
One candid letter from Diana to ex-Buckingham Palace steward Cyril Dickman, revealed Prince Harry was "constantly in trouble at school".
Another note described how young Prince William "swamped" his baby brother with "an endless supply of hugs and kisses".
The letters form part of about 40 lots from Mr Dickman's former estate, which sold for £55,000 in total - exceeding the estimate price of £13,000.
Cheffins, a Cambridgeshire auction house, said the lots were "a unique collection of royal memorabilia".
Bidders from as far away as Australia, Japan and the US were trying to purchase the items.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Auctioneer tells the BBC that the bidding was "extraordinary... [it] never seemed to stop"
In a letter on headed Kensington Palace paper dated 20 September 1984, Diana thanked Mr Dickman for "such a lovely card" following the birth of her youngest son, Harry.
She wrote: "William adores his little brother and spends the entire time swamping Harry with an endless supply of hugs and kisses, hardly letting the parents near!"
"The reaction to one tiny person's birth has totally overwhelmed us and I can hardly breathe for the mass of flowers that are arriving here!"
That letter sold for £3,200, having had an estimated auction price of £400-600.
In another, dated 17 October 1992, Diana says how both young princes "are well and enjoying boarding school a lot, although Harry is constantly in trouble!".
This sold for £2,400 - after an estimate of £600-900.
The items were being sold by the family of the late Mr Dickman, who was head palace steward for more than 50 years.
Described by Cheffins as "a favourite of every member of the Royal Family", he received handwritten notes from other senior royals dating back more than 30 years.
The collection sold at auction also included letters, cards and photographs from Prince Charles and Princess Margaret, and Maundy money.
In one letter from the Queen written on Windsor Castle headed paper, she thanks Mr Dickman for his "thoughts and sympathy" following the death of the Queen Mother.
More than a dozen Christmas cards, including some from the Queen, Princess Diana and the Prince of Wales, were bought for £2,200.
Unopened boxed wedding cake from the Queen's marriage to Prince Philip in 1947 also sold for a few hundred pounds.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38508089
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French cyclist Robert Marchand sets new record aged 105 - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Robert Marchand sets a new hour record at the national velodrome but regrets not going faster.
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Europe
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This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Robert Marchand: "I'm wondering if it's really true"
He may not be the fastest cyclist round a velodrome, but he is easily one of the oldest.
Robert Marchand has clocked up 105 years and now a new record for the furthest distance cycled in one hour.
The French cyclist managed 22.547km (14 miles) at the national velodrome, taking the top spot in a new category - for riders over 105.
Mr Marchand already holds the record for those aged over 100 - 26.927km - set in 2012.
He "could have done better", he says, but missed a sign showing 10 minutes to go.
"My legs didn't hurt," he told BFMTV. "My arms hurt but that's because of rheumatism."
To be fair, he had admitted before the event at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines velodrome near Paris that breaking his previous hour record would be tough.
"I'm not in such good shape as I was a couple of years back," he told AFP news agency.
"I am not here to be champion. I am here to prove that at 105 years old you can still ride a bike," he said.
Hundreds of spectators cheered him on trackside.
Born on 26 November 1911, Mr Marchand puts his fitness down to diet - lots of fruit and vegetables, a little meat, not too much coffee - and an hour a day on the cycling home-trainer.
A prisoner of war in World War Two, he went on to work as a lorry driver and sugarcane planter in Venezuela, and a lumberjack in Canada.
No stranger to sport outside cycling, he competed in gymnastics at national level and has been a boxer.
The current men's hour record is held by the UK's Bradley Wiggins - 54.526km - which he set in June 2015.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38510439
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Sherlock writer Mark Gatiss answers critic in verse - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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Sherlock writer Mark Gatiss responds in verse to a critic who claimed the show has turned the character into "Sherlock Bond".
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Entertainment & Arts
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Gatiss is a co-writer on Sherlock and also appears as Holmes' brother Mycroft
Sherlock writer and cast member Mark Gatiss has responded in verse to a critic who accused the show of turning the character into "Sherlock Bond".
In his poem, Gatiss said the critic was wrong to infer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's detective was "no man of action".
"From [Basil] Rathbone through [Jeremy] Brett to [Benedict] Cumberbatch dandy, With his fists Mr Holmes has always been handy," his poem continues.
The updated version of Conan Doyle's stories returned on New Year's Day.
In The Six Thatchers, Cumberbatch's sleuth was seen investigating the mysterious destruction of busts of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher.
Writing in The Guardian, Ralph Jones said the show had taken "ill-advised liberties with Conan Doyle's stories" and had begun "to feel implausible".
Sherlock returned to BBC One on 1 January
"There is obviously an audience and an appetite for abseiling assassins, machine-gun shootouts and Benedict Cumberbatch getting sopping wet while kicking ass in an expensive suit," he continued.
"But, like the perverse instincts that lurk in the palaces of our minds, this is an appetite that ought to be resisted."
In a letter to the same newspaper, Gatiss used his five-verse poem to suggest Jones was "ignoring the stories that could have put [Sherlock] in traction".
He went on to cite the short story The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist, in which he says there is "boxing on show".
"In hurling Moriarty over the torrent, did Sherlock find violence strange and abhorrent?" the five-verse ode continues.
"There's no need to invoke in yarns that still thrill, Her Majesty's Secret Servant with licence to kill."
Gatiss's response mirrors a poem Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself wrote in 1912, entitled To An Undiscerning Critic.
The poem was a response to another poem, written by US humorist Arthur Guiterman, that suggested Sherlock Holmes should not disparage other fictional detectives.
The fourth series of Sherlock continues on Sunday with The Lying Detective, which will mark Toby Jones's debut as the villainous Culverton Smith.
Here is a critic who says with low blow
Sherlock's no brain-box but become double-O.
Says the Baker St boy is no man of action -
whilst ignoring the stories that could have put him in traction.
The Gloria Scott and The Sign of the Fo'
The Empty House too sees a mention, in time, of Mathews,
As for arts martial, there's surely a clue
In hurling Moriarty over the torrent
In shooting down pygmies and Hounds from hell
When Gruner's men got him was Holmes quite compliant
Or did he give good account for The Illustrious Client?
There's no need to invoke in yarns that still thrill,
Her Majesty's Secret Servant with licence to kill
From Rathbone through Brett to Cumberbatch dandy
With his fists Mr Holmes has always been handy.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected].
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-38516886
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Jill Saward: How Ealing vicarage case changed treatment of rape victims - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
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The impact of the Ealing vicarage rape case can be felt by victims of sexual assaults 30 years later.
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UK
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In 1986 Jill Saward, who has died aged 51, was raped after a gang of burglars broke into the Ealing vicarage where she lived.
Her father, Michael - the vicar of St Mary's, Ealing - and her boyfriend were beaten with cricket bats by the men, who demanded money and jewellery.
It was a sexual attack that shocked the nation, became headline news and was subsequently labelled the "Ealing vicarage rape".
The media coverage of the case and the sentencing of the men who attacked Ms Saward - who later became Jill Drake - led to a public outcry about how rape victims were treated.
Ringleader Robert Horscroft, then 34, who did not take part in the rape, was sentenced to 14 years in jail for his part in the burglary.
Martin McCall, then 22, was given five years for rape and a further five for burglary, while Christopher Byrne, who was also 22, was given three years for his part in the sexual assault and five for the burglary.
During sentencing, Old Bailey Judge Sir John Leonard said the trauma suffered by Ms Saward was "not so very great".
Ms Saward's case affected the way rape victims were treated and is still being felt 30 years later.
The public backlash against the media coverage and subsequent sentencing helped bring about changes to the way sexual assault cases were viewed.
In particular, there was uproar at how one of the defendants had been given a longer sentence for the burglary than the attack.
Several MPs, including Neil Kinnock, criticised the prison terms handed down - saying they were too lenient.
The then-Labour leader said during a Commons debate in 1987: "While it is necessary for judges to remain detached in the name of the law, sometimes they show an insensitivity to the suffering of victims which is difficult to comprehend."
And Margaret Thatcher, who was prime minister at the time, expressed her "deep concern" over the crime of rape following concerns about the case.
Ms Saward's case also sparked fierce criticisms about press coverage of rape cases after Ms Saward's ordeal became front page news.
While newspapers did not name Ms Saward as the victim, several of them published details which led her to be easily identifiable.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Jill Saward, who was gang raped in 1986, says her attackers got the same sentence as for aggravated burglary
The Sun newspaper printed the location of the attack and a photograph of Ms Saward with her eyes blacked out in the days following the rape.
When investigated, the publication relied on the defence that media identification of a victim was only banned after a defendant was charged, which was the case at the time.
Speaking in 1987 Ms Saward, who was an identical twin, demanded a change in the law to prevent this from happening.
According to the Guardian, she said: "Unless this is done, others may find themselves identifiable by a process of deduction from third parties known to be involved as victims of a crime as I was.
"This was very distressing both to myself and my family, and the manner in which some newspapers conveyed this information was highly insensitive and offensive."
The law was changed a year later to allow for the right to appeal against lenient sentences and to close a loophole which allowed media identification of a rape victim before a defendant was charged.
The Press Council also published guidelines on how rape cases were reported to prevent victims' anonymity being breached through jigsaw identification.
The notorious case put the laws on rape under the spotlight and led to calls by women's groups and politicians to call for changes to the way the crimes were viewed.
These included making rape within marriage a criminal offence, making oral and anal intercourse classified as rape and tougher sentencing for rapists - all of which have been achieved.
In 1990, Ms Saward broke new ground when she became the first rape victim in the UK to waive her right to anonymity.
She co-wrote a book, Rape: My Story, which explored her ordeal and she went on to become a fierce campaigner for the rights of sexual assault victims.
Her decision to speak publicly was driven by a desire to change attitudes towards victims and strengthen the support they receive.
Ms Saward launched a help group for those who had experienced sex crimes and regularly appeared in the media to highlight issues faced by victims.
Her commitment to the cause also saw her become a sexual assault case worker and she subsequently provided training to police forces across the country.
Over the years, further changes have been made to the way sexual assault cases are handled - taking into account the way victims were treated.
These include a ban on allowing an alleged rapist to cross-examine victims while representing themselves in court and restrictions on what evidence can be heard about a victim's sexual behaviour.
New guidelines were published on the sentencing of sex offenders in England and Wales in 2013 which gave a greater emphasis on the impact on the victim - something Ms Saward had long campaigned for.
Speaking to the BBC, she said: "So long we've felt left out of the system or surplus to requirement, so to actually see victims' needs and what's happened to victims being put at the forefront of this is really, really good."
Ms Saward never gave up on her fight for victims' rights, and in 2015 she spoke out against calls to give those accused of sex crimes anonymity.
In 1998, she came face-to-face with a member of the gang who devastated her life, but did not rape her, and told him: "You don't need to say sorry."
But she also spoke about forgiveness and said in a BBC interview: "I believe forgiveness gives you freedom. Freedom to move on without being held back by the past."
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38516389
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Qatar Open: Sir Andy Murray extends winning streak to 26 matches - BBC Sport
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2017-01-05
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Sir Andy Murray extends his winning run to 26 matches with a 7-6 (8-6) 7-5 win over Austrian Gerald Melzer at the Qatar Open.
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Last updated on .From the section Tennis
Sir Andy Murray reached the Qatar Open quarter-finals with a battling 7-6 (8-6) 7-5 win over Austrian Gerald Melzer.
World number 68 Melzer produced a gutsy display, saving eight first-set points before eventually succumbing to the world number one in the tie-break.
The Austrian broke as Murray served for the match at 5-4 but the Scot won the next two games and will next play world number 44 Nicolas Almagro of Spain.
Murray extended his career-best winning streak in competitive matches to 26.
He paid tribute to Melzer, saying: "He played great tennis and dominated large parts of the match. If he plays like this again this year he'll move higher and higher up the rankings.
"I played pretty good. The depth in men's tennis is great right now."
After shaking hands at the end of the contest the Argentine asked for a selfie with the Serb 12-time Grand Slam champion.
"That was the first time that I ever had this kind of experience in my career,'' Djokovic said. "So, Horacio, well done. Very original."
Meanwhile, Roger Federer was defeated by German teenager Alexander Zverev at the mixed teams Hopman Cup in Perth.
The Swiss 17-time Grand Slam winner lost 7-6 (7-1) 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-4) in two hours and 30 minutes in a match of high quality.
The tournament in Australia is the 35-year-old's first after a six-month knee injury lay-off.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/38512939
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Dangling skier rescued from Utah chair-lift - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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A skier has been rescued from a chair-lift in Utah after becoming trapped by his backpack.
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A skier has been rescued from a chair-lift in Utah after becoming trapped by his backpack.
Footage shot by another passenger, Clint Ashmead, shows the boy hanging by a single strap.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38516109
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Cowboy lassoes runaway calf on highway - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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A Tennessee cowboy named David Bevill has lassoed a runaway calf on a highway from the bonnet of a sheriff's car.
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A Tennessee cowboy named David Bevill has lassoed a runaway calf on a highway from the bonnet of a sheriff's car.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38524053
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Marijuana brands aim for high-end retail in Canada - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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As brands fight for a share of the Canadian cannabis market before the drug is fully legalised, one store wants to make "seedy" so-called head shops a thing of a the past.
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With retailers jockeying for position before cannabis is fully legalised in Canada, "seedy" so-called head shops could soon be a thing of the past.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38500023
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BBC iPlayer - BBC News
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2017-01-05
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JavaScript seems to be disabled. Please enable JavaScript to take full advantage of iPlayer.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10318089
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