title
stringlengths 13
112
| published_date
stringlengths 10
10
| authors
stringclasses 3
values | description
stringlengths 0
382
⌀ | section
stringlengths 2
31
⌀ | content
stringlengths 0
81.9k
| link
stringlengths 21
189
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sanremo tornado: Huge waterspout forms off Italian coast - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
| null |
It was spotted off the coast of Sanremo and moved inland as a tornado, causing damage in the city.
| null |
It was spotted off the coast of Sanremo and moved inland as a tornado, causing damage in the city.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-42204016
|
Russia-Trump: Who's who in the drama to end all dramas? - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
It was just like House of Cards. Or maybe Game of Thrones. Trump-Russia was the only drama that mattered.
|
US & Canada
|
It was more gripping than any box set we could get our hands on.
Over two years, the investigations into Russian interference in the US election, and whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin, delivered daily developments and drama worthy of anything seen in House of Cards.
In the end, 35 people and three companies were charged by Robert Mueller, the special counsel who investigated Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Here's our guide to the main characters in the four seasons of the only political drama that mattered.
This was the season in which Donald Trump, the reality TV star, took centre stage in his own political drama by launching a presidential campaign. He was supported by his family and got the attention of the Russians. The season ended with a cliffhanger - could Trump the outsider actually win?!
It's been a while since all of this happened, so let's remind you of the key players in this season.
Who was he? Donald Trump, the billionaire candidate (who by Season Three is the 45th president of the United States). If you really need a refresher, here's his life story.
Key plot line As Donald Trump was busy traversing the country canvassing for votes in Season One, Russia hacked into the emails of his Democratic rivals, investigators later said.
The question is why? Was the Kremlin trying to alter the outcome of the election, and what did Trump and his campaign know?
Skip forward to the end of Season Four and Mr Trump stood triumphant before reporters in a Florida airport, celebrating what he called "a complete and total exoneration".
But in between, there was no shortage of drama or tension.
Who was he? He was Trump's campaign chairman before being forced to quit over his ties to Russian oligarchs and Ukraine.
Key plot line He was one of the biggest dominoes to fall. When he ended up being arrested, it was a big season-ending shocker.
Manafort hung around a bit in Season One, but then disappeared from view for a while.
He quit the campaign after being accused of having links to pro-Russian groups in Ukraine. He also sat in on a crucial meeting with a Russian lawyer who may have been trying to feed the Trump team classified information (more on that later).
After an FBI raid on his home in Season Three, Manafort was found guilty on eight charges of tax fraud, bank fraud, and failing to disclose foreign banks accounts and is sentenced to 47 months in prison.
In Season Four, he agreed to co-operate with a special counsel inquiry in exchange for a reduced prison term. But then, in a twist - prosecutors claimed he breached his plea bargain by repeatedly lying to the FBI.
Read more: The man who helped Trump win
Who was he? The president's eldest child, who it emerged met some questionable Russians.
Key plot line Donald Trump Jr's role in this unfolding saga all came down to a meeting he had with a Russian lawyer, which was set up by a music publicist (the full details of which come out in Season Three). If it sounds random, then in many ways it is.
The publicist, Rob Goldstone, offered Trump Jr a meeting with lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, promising him dirt on Hillary Clinton.
This meeting was the key to much of our plot line because it raised several key questions. Did this amount to the campaign colluding with a foreign government? Why did he agree to the meeting?
What happened at the meeting was the scene investigators played over and over again as they tried to work out if there was any impropriety. In the end, no collusion charges were brought.
Donald Trump confounded his critics by winning the presidency. But the transition was as gripping as the season before it as Trump picked his cabinet, introducing key characters to the mix.
The season ended with Trump taking the oath of office on a cold January morning - but there were more twists to come.
Who was he? The granite-faced former general who later became the shortest-serving member of Donald Trump's cabinet. He resigned after not being honest about his contact with a Russian official - and was later charged with making false statements to the FBI.
Key plot line Flynn was appointed national security adviser just days after the election, against the advice of then-President Obama, who warned Trump not to hire him. Flynn's starring role came in December 2016, just before Trump was sworn in, when he spoke to the Russian ambassador, Sergei Kislyak.
The Washington Post and New York Times said the men discussed Russian sanctions, and that Flynn later lied to the Vice President Mike Pence about the conversation (Mr Kislyak says the men discussed only "simple things").
The substance of those talks eventually led to Flynn being prosecuted as part of the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller.
At the end of Season Three, in December 2017, Flynn pleaded guilty to making "false, fictitious and fraudulent statements" to the FBI about what he and Kislyak discussed.
With that, the investigation reached Trump's inner circle.
Read more: Out after 23 days - who is Michael Flynn?
Who was he? Many roads in this drama led back to Sergei Kislyak, the jolly and charismatic figure, who up until July 2017 was the Russian ambassador to Washington.
Key plot line Kislyak's role in this drama remained unclear up to the end - but many of the players in this drama had meetings with him, and that put them in awkward spots.
The key questions for investigators were: why were they drawn to him, and what was said? The Russian ambassador spoke to both Flynn and Attorney-General Jeff Sessions - meetings which both Trump officials didn't initially acknowledge took place.
Anything else we should know? Well, Russia fiercely fought back against claims on CNN that Kislyak was a "top spy and recruiter of spies".
Who was he? Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III hovered in the background during Season One, when he was an Alabama senator and a trusted Trump adviser, but we really got to know him during Season Two, when he became Trump's nominee for attorney general, a job he kept for almost two years.
Key plot line Sessions was one of several Trump aides to meet Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak, and question marks emerged over the nature of those meetings.
When the FBI investigation focused on the Trump campaign, Sessions stood down from the inquiry, much to Trump's irritation.
That decision to step down dogged him to the end, and he was written out of the series close to the end of Season Four, when Trump forced him to resign.
That move put control of the Mueller investigation into the hands of a Trump loyalist.
Read more: An attorney general dogged by scandal
This was where the drama really picked up and all the plot lines came together. A lot of the background characters we saw in Season One came back with a vengeance and the infighting got nasty - and this is when the police started circling.
Who was she? A Russian lawyer with a fearsome reputation who fought against US restrictions on Russia. But was she a Kremlin stooge?
Despite earlier denials, she admitted in April 2018 to being an "informant" for Russia's prosecutor general.
Key plot line Hers was a small but crucial role - she's the one who Manafort, Trump Jr and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner met in June 2016, the details of which begin trickling out a year later in a flashback sequence.
She said the meeting was to discuss adoptions - but those who helped set it up said she was offering dirt on the Democrats and Hillary Clinton's campaign.
While the meeting became a central plot point, whatever happened inside never actually led to any charges.
That meeting would never have happened without...
Who were they? Emin Agalarov is Azerbaijan's biggest pop star, of course. Have you not heard Love is a Deadly Game? Emin helped bring Donald Trump's Miss Universe competition to Russia and the two are close enough to send each other birthday messages. His dad, Aras, is a billionaire who mixes in the highest circles of influence in Moscow.
Key plot line Again in a flashback scene, we met Emin as he set the wheels in motion on that Trump Jr meeting.
An email sent to Trump Jr suggested Emin was offering information on the Democrats (Emin said he wasn't). The email also said Aras Agalarov had apparently met the "crown prosecutor" of Russia - a role that weirdly didn't exist - and got information on Hillary Clinton.
Who was he? He became deputy attorney general under Jeff Sessions. In the TV drama of the Russia scandal, this is the sort of role that would go to a solid Broadway actor you recognise but can't put a name to.
Key plot line When Sessions stood down from leading the main investigation into the Trump-Russia ties, it fell to Rosenstein to do that job. In a major plot development, he appointed a special investigator - not a popular move with the White House.
Read more: Who is Rod Rosenstein?
Who was he? Married to Trump's daughter, Ivanka, Kushner was the character who was seen but very rarely heard.
Key plot line Amid cries of nepotism, he was given a plum White House job as senior adviser to the president with a wide-ranging portfolio. It was his contacts with the Russians during the election campaign and beyond that led investigators to circle him.
In June 2016, Kushner attended THAT meeting with Donald Trump Jr and the Russian lawyer. He said he was so bored he messaged his assistant to call him so he could leave.
Kushner was also another character who had repeated contact with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak - contact that he initially failed to disclose.
Read more: The son-in-law with Trump's ear
Who was he? A British former tabloid journalist, with a penchant for selfies in silly hats, was perhaps an unlikely addition to the cast, but in most good dramas there's always room for the slightly out-of-place eccentric.
Key plot line Rob Goldstone found his way into Donald Trump's circle of trust thanks to his connections with Russian pop star Emin Agalarov.
Goldstone managed the pop star, and it was he who contacted Donald Trump Jr on behalf of his client to set up that now-infamous meeting at Trump Tower in June 2016. Goldstone sent an email to Trump Jr promising dirt on Hillary Clinton.
Read more: The Music Man with a love for hats
Who was he? At 6ft 8in, James Comey was a towering figure, the character who gave little away about himself personally but had a huge role in this story.
Key plot line He first entered this drama in Season One, when as head of the FBI he reopened the investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails - just weeks before the election. Democrats blamed him for her loss, Republicans hailed him a hero. That, we thought, was the last we'd seen of him.
Jump ahead to Season Three, when months into the Trump presidency, Comey was fired by the new president. In true television drama style, he learned of his sacking as he was watching TV news during a trip to LA. Up to then, Comey was heading up an investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Even by the end of the series, whether this amounted to obstruction of justice by the president remained an unresolved plot point.
Comey's testimony to the Senate was one of the most set-pieces in the series up to this point, as - under oath - he told politicians he was asked to pledge loyalty to the president, but refused.
Read more: The FBI director who took centre stage
Who was he? A former election adviser to Trump, although you'd be forgiven if you didn't remember the face. He was in only a few scenes in Season Two, but he had a massive role to play in Season Three, becoming the first person to plead guilty as part of the investigation.
Key plot line In late October 2017, court documents emerged showing Papadopoulos had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about the timing of meetings with alleged go-betweens for Russia.
After lying to the FBI, he deleted an incriminating Facebook account and destroyed a phone.
His guilty plea and co-operation with the investigation had the potential to damage the US leader because it related directly to his campaign - but in the end, it didn't do so.
Who was he? The man who held the fate of the Trump presidency in his hands.
Key plot line Some characters wielded a lot of power, but didn't have a starring role, such as Robert Mueller, the tall chiselled figure who was appointed as "special counsel" to take over the Russia investigation after the dismissal of James Comey. Mueller came from the same stock as Comey - both were former heads of the FBI.
There were no showboating scenes and powerhouses speeches from Mueller in this series - we only ever saw him studiously working in his office.
There were reports that the president considered firing Mueller at one point - but Mueller stayed in the background doing his job until the very end of the series.
After Season Three ended with the first charges being laid down by Robert Mueller, things really sped up in Season Four. The president's fury with the special counsel investigation increased and he fired his Attorney-General. But the series ended with no charges laid against the president and a sense of victory in the White House. Might we see a spin-off series...?
Who was he? OK, he wasn't Putin's chef by this point, but he once was. In Season Four, he was the man accused of spearheading Russia's attempts to interfere in the 2016 election.
Key plot line A little out of the blue, Mueller announced charges against Prigozhin and 12 other Russians, accusing them of tampering with the US election by (among other things) organising and promoting political rallies in the US.
In one surreal flashback sequence, we even see the Russians trying to buy a cage large enough to hold an actress dressed as Hillary Clinton in a prison costume.
Read more: Seven key takeaways from indictment
Who was he? The man who once said he would take a bullet for Donald Trump - but who instead turned against him.
Key plot line Cohen, as Trump's long-time personal lawyer, lingered around the edges of the plot for the first three seasons, but became the big player of the fourth.
When Mueller's team began looking into Cohen's finances, they passed on their concerns to investigators in New York.
Then the plot took an unexpected new turn: Cohen, a long-time Trump loyalist, flipped and began co-operating with investigators. Not only that, but he ended up giving them a lot of help in exchange for a lighter sentence.
Cohen ended up admitting violating campaign finance laws, committing tax evasion and lying to Congress.
The last shot of the entire series was a mournful Cohen being locked into his jail cell.
Who was he? A long-time Washington political operative who acted as an informal adviser to the Trump campaign. He called himself an agent provocateur, and once defended his actions by saying: "One man's dirty trick is another man's political, civic action."
Key plot line Stone was one of those memorable bit-part characters in Seasons One and Two - a colourful character known for his fiery tongue, sharp suits and the Richard Nixon tattoo spread across his back.
Towards the end of Season One, he appeared to let the cat out of the bag, hinting on Twitter that there was damaging information coming out on Hillary Clinton. Soon after, that information (that we later learned was found by Russia) was made public.
After a bit of a lull in the middle of Season Four, investigators indicted Stone on seven counts of witness tampering, obstruction and false statements, although he wasn't charged with co-ordinating with Russia.
All the way through, he denied any wrongdoing. He, like the president, called the investigation a "witch-hunt" and once said the accusations of collusion with Russia were "a steaming plate of bull".
Text by Rajini Vaidyanathan and Roland Hughes; illustrations by Gerry Fletcher
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-40709270
|
Ashes: Australia on top after day one of second Test in Adelaide - BBC Sport
|
2017-12-02
| null |
Australia make 209-4 on a rain-shortened opening day of the second Ashes Test against England in Adelaide.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Cricket
England were frustrated for much of the first day of the second Ashes Test after asking Australia to bat in Adelaide.
Joe Root became the first captain in 25 years to win the toss and field at the Adelaide Oval - and first in day-night Tests - then saw his side manage to take only four wickets.
England did succeed in controlling the home scoring, with Australia closing on 209-4.
But, on a grey, chilly day that was interrupted three times by rain, England's bowlers did not find the assistance they may have expected.
They were met by patient Australian resistance as Usman Khawaja (53), David Warner (47) and Steve Smith (40) all made runs without kicking on.
But every time Australia looked set to take control, they were pegged back, most importantly when captain Smith was bowled to give England debutant Craig Overton his first Test wicket.
Smith had batted for 326 balls and 512 minutes in the hosts' first innings in the first Test, to lay the foundations for his side's 10-wicket victory.
Peter Handscomb (36 not out) and Shaun Marsh (20 not out) will resume when play begins at 03:00 GMT on Sunday, half an hour early in order to make up for the nine overs lost to the weather.
• None Read more: Smith said my bowling was slow - Overton
• None Did Root get it wrong? Have England found Smith's weakness? - Ashes analysis
• None Listen: TMS highlights from day one in Adelaide
Root's big call on historic day for the Ashes
Given the overcast conditions and expectation the pink ball may misbehave, Root's decision at the toss was not a total surprise, even if it was unusual.
However, his side's performance with the new ball left Root in danger of joining Nasser Hussain at Brisbane in 2002-03 and Ricky Ponting at Edgbaston in 2005 as captains who have made a big mistake in opting to field first.
James Anderson in particular was guilty of bowling too short and Australia were allowed to settle.
Only after the second, 75-minute, rain delay were England energised as Chris Woakes' direct hit accounted for Cameron Bancroft.
From then on, the first day of Ashes cricket under lights and with a pink ball was attritional stuff on a two-paced surface that does not look conducive to free-scoring.
It was played out in front of a crowd of 55,317, the largest for any cricket match at the Adelaide Oval.
The ground looked resplendent under the lights, England fans sung under the iconic old scoreboard and the members socialised at the back of the Sir Donald Bradman Pavilion.
England improve - but could have done better
It was to England's credit that they recovered after such a poor start, but they may be left wondering what might have been had they used the new ball properly.
If there was early movement on offer, the tourists did not bowl in the right areas often enough to find it.
They needed an Australian error to force the first wicket, Warner first calling for a run and then sending Bancroft back, allowing mid-off fielder Woakes to steady himself and hit direct at the non-striker's end.
Stuart Broad led a steady improvement of England's bowlers, but it was the appearance of home captain Smith that really galvanised the tourists.
In the build-up, Root said England would use Smith's laughter at the end of the Brisbane Test as motivation, while Smith called Anderson one of the biggest sledgers in the game.
Both Broad and Anderson engaged Smith in conversation, with umpire Aleem Dar forced to step in on more than one occasion.
It may have had an effect on Smith, who was less fluent and more loose than the unbeaten 141 he made at the Gabba.
Still, it came as a surprise when Overton, who replaced Jake Ball, got the ball on to off stump via Smith's front pad, sparking joyous celebrations.
After England's attempts to frustrate Australia in Brisbane, here the hosts were ready to have their scoring curbed by the visitors' plans.
Warner only occasionally broke his patience outside off stump to lace the ball through the covers.
The left-hander was livid when the control left him and he poked Woakes into the gloves of Jonny Bairstow.
Khawaja, perceived to have a problem against off-spin, punished Moeen Ali whenever he dropped short.
Khawaja was dropped at long leg by Mark Stoneman off a top-edged Woakes bouncer, but had added only nine more runs when he sliced Anderson to gully.
Smith almost drove back to Overton on only nine, yet found an ally in Handscomb with similarities in obduracy and unorthodoxy.
Batting deep in the crease, Handscomb was joined by Marsh for an unbroken stand of 48 and it is they who will face a second new ball that is only an over old at the beginning of the second day.
• None Get Ashes alerts sent to your phone
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/42208010
|
N Korea threat prompts Hawaii nuclear siren test - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
For the first time since the Cold War, the US state tests its nuclear alert.
|
US & Canada
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. The siren has a different tone from a natural disaster warning siren
The US state of Hawaii has tested a nuclear attack warning siren for the first time since the end of the Cold War.
The resumption of the monthly tests comes amid a growing threat from North Korea's missile and nuclear programme.
Pyongyang has tested a series of ballistic missiles and in September carried out its sixth nuclear test.
Hawaii, in the Pacific, already has a monthly test of sirens warning of natural disasters, including tsunamis.
The nuclear attack signal uses a different, wavering tone, warning residents and tourists to stay indoors and await further instructions.
The last time a nuclear attack warning siren was tested in the state was in the 1980s in the final years of the Cold War.
But it sounded again on Friday morning and will be repeated on the first business day of every month.
Vern Miyagi, who heads the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, said it was "critically important" for the public to understand what the different tones mean, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.
A missile launched from North Korea could strike Hawaii within 20 minutes of launch, the paper added.
Hawaii hosts the US military headquarters for the Asia-Pacific region.
North Korea recently tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile which it claims can hit anywhere on the mainland United States.
Experts say the Hwasong-15 appears capable of transporting a nuclear warhead, although it is unclear if Pyongyang is yet capable of making a weapon small enough to be fitted on to a missile.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42205176
|
Kaspersky Labs: Warning over Russian anti-virus software - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The government issues a new warning about the security risks of using Russian anti-virus software.
|
UK
|
The British government has issued a fresh warning about the security risks of using Russian anti-virus software.
The National Cyber Security Centre is to write to all government departments warning against using the products for systems related to national security.
The UK cyber-security agency will say the software could be exploited by the Russian government.
Security firm Kaspersky Labs, accused in the US of being used by the Russian state for espionage, denied wrongdoing.
Kaspersky Labs is widely used by consumers and businesses across the globe, although they are not being advised to stop using the software, as well as by some parts of the UK government.
Officials stress they are not recommending members of the public or companies stop using Kaspersky products, which are used by about 400 million people globally.
Barclays has stopped offering free Kaspersky software to customers as a "precautionary decision".
On Saturday, the UK bank emailed 290,000 online banking customers who had downloaded Kaspersky over the past decade - but advised those with the software already installed to take no action.
A Barclays spokesman said: "Even though this new guidance isn't directed at members of the public, we have taken the decision to withdraw the offer."
For it to work, anti-virus software like that sold by Kaspersky Labs requires extensive access to files on computers and networks to scan for malicious code.
It also requires the ability to communicate back to the company in order to receive updates and share data on what it finds.
However, the concern is that this could be used by the Russian state for espionage.
Officials say the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)'s decision is based on a risk analysis, rather than evidence that such espionage has already taken place.
In the new government guidance, Ian Levy, NCSC's technical director, said: "Given we assess the Russians do cyber-attacks against the UK for reasons of state, we believe some UK government and critical national systems are at increased risk."
The NCSC is understood to have been in dialogue with Kaspersky Labs and says it will explore ways of mitigating the risks to see if a system can be developed to independently verify the security of its products.
It comes amid heightened concern about Russian activity against the UK.
Last month, Prime Minister Theresa May warned the Russian state was acting against the UK's national interest in cyberspace.
Following her warning, Ciaran Martin, chief executive of the NCSC, said Russia had targeted British infrastructure, including power and telecoms.
"Beyond this relatively small number of systems, we see no compelling case at present to extend that advice to the wider public sector, more general enterprises, or individuals," Mr Levy said.
"Whatever you do, don't panic.
"For example, we really don't want people doing things like ripping out Kaspersky software at large as it makes little sense."
Kaspersky has faced a series of accusations in the US press in recent months.
It responded to one claim, that it downloaded classified US material from a home computer in the US, by presenting a detailed explanation of what took place.
It has always said there is no truth to the claims.
Earlier this week, Eugene Kaspersky, chief executive and co-founder of the company, told me: "We don't do anything wrong. We would never do that. It's simply not possible."
He denied claims the Russian state could use the company.
"It's not true that the Russian state has access to the data. There are no facts about that," he added.
Mr Kaspersky said that if he was ever asked by the Russian state to hand over data he would move his company out of the country.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42202191
|
Major fishing nations agree Arctic moratorium - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
A new deal protects stocks in Arctic waters becoming more accessible because of global warming.
|
World
|
The world's major fishing nations have agreed a moratorium on commercial fishing in the Arctic Ocean, before it has even become established.
Much of the Arctic was once permanently frozen but global warming means its waters are becoming more accessible.
The deal is expected to last for 16 years while research is carried out into the existing marine ecosystem.
The moratorium was agreed by Canada, Russia, China, the US, the EU, Japan, Iceland, Denmark and South Korea.
It covers an area of about 2.8m sq km (1m sq miles) - roughly the size of the Mediterranean Sea. No commercial fisheries exist in Arctic waters yet.
"This is one of the rare times when a group of governments actually solved a problem before it happened," said David Balton, US ambassador for oceans and fisheries.
"In the future if fish stocks are plentiful enough to support a commercial fishery there, they will be part of the management system and presumably their vessels will have the opportunity to fish for those stocks."
Trevor Taylor, of the Canadian group Oceans North, said fish and marine mammals that many Arctic communities relied upon would now be protected.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-42205184
|
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wow Nottingham crowds on first joint visit - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Well-wishers in Nottingham come out in force to welcome Prince Harry and his new fiancee.
|
UK
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during their 2017 visit to Nottingham
Meghan Markle has had a taste of royal life, as she joined her fiance Prince Harry on their first joint official public engagement in Nottingham.
Excited crowds cheered as the couple greeted well-wishers ahead of a visit to a World Aids Day charity fair hosted by the Terrence Higgins Trust.
They split up to talk to people lining both sides of their route and were given cards, flowers and chocolate.
After the charity fair, they met head teachers at a nearby school.
Well-wishers gathered in the city ahead of the visit to catch a glimpse of the couple, including Helena Bottomley, Zoe Scott and Carole Bingham, from East and West Bridgford.
Ms Scott said: "We love the royals. We are genuinely happy for Harry."
"We all had our children at the same time as Diana [Princess of Wales] so we feel a real allegiance. She would be so thrilled," said Ms Bottomley.
The couple announced their engagement on Monday and are due to marry at Windsor Castle in May.
One of the people Prince Harry stopped to speak to was Julie Ball, 51, of Netherfield, who said the prince had commented on her Santa gloves.
"He said 'great gloves' and pulled one down over my fingers," she said. "I said they're from Primark for £3.
"When Meghan walked past she said the same thing. She said, 'We have the same taste.'"
Another member of the public shouted to Prince Harry: "How does it feel being a ginger with Meghan?"
"It's great isn't it?" The prince replied.
Dickie Arbiter, former royal spokesman, told the BBC the couple took their time to talk to as many people as possible on their 30-minute walkabout.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. A card designed especially for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has been given to them
The couple's engagement was announced on Monday
University of Nottingham students Raushana Nurzhubalina, from Kazakhstan, and Jenn Galandy, from Canada, set their alarms for 06:00 GMT to get a prime spot to try to see Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
"It is such an honour to see the royals," Ms Nurzhubalina said.
"I'm also a fan of Suits, so it is a chance to see a star of that too."
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by Kensington Palace This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Royal fan Irene Hardman had a goody bag ready to hand over to the couple, including copies of the local paper and two fridge magnets "so they don't fight over it".
Speaking afterwards, the 81-year-old said: "I cried - she's wonderful, and it's fantastic. They're so genuine."
They are due to marry at Windsor Castle in May
By the time the royal couple arrived, the pavements in the Lace Market were packed.
Prince Harry and Meghan spent around half an hour meeting the people of Nottingham who had come out in force despite the cold.
Meghan appeared very relaxed and perfectly at ease. This was her first official royal engagement with Harry and if she was nervous at all it did not show.
She smiled, she chatted, at one point she even picked up someone's glove and handed it back to them.
This was a confident first public appearance. The couple split up at points to cover both parts of the pavement and meet the maximum number of people. Meghan was happy to shake hands with the crowd and as she wasn't wearing gloves, the ring was on show.
Tactile with her fiancée and the crowd - it's fair to say the response from the people was overwhelmingly positive.
After the walkabout, Prince Harry and Ms Markle went to the Nottingham Contemporary Exhibition Centre for an event to mark World Aids Day.
Dominic Edwards, from the Terrence Higgins Trust, told the BBC the charity was "thrilled" the couple had chosen to visit Nottingham, and said: "I think it really underlines his great support for HIV as a cause."
Royal commentator Richard FitzWilliams, said this visit represented a link with the legacy of Princess Diana's influential work on HIV 30 years ago and was "no coincidence".
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post 2 by Kensington Palace This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Prince Harry has spent time in Nottingham both publicly and privately since he first met young people there in 2013, when he was exploring issues around youth violence.
A year later, he established the Full Effect programme, which aims to stop youth violence in the city.
At Nottingham Academy, the couple will watch a "hip hopera" and meet students.
The handbag Ms Markle chose to carry on her Nottingham visit has already sold out.
The bag was made by the Scottish label, Strathberry, which said "it was a fantastic surprise" to see the bride-to-be carrying one of its designs.
Ms Markle was wrapped up in a long navy coat by Mackage - a brand also favoured by actresses Gwyneth Paltrow, Halle Berry, Eva Mendes and Blake Lively.
She wore the coat over a beige cotton, full midi skirt from British-based fashion label Joseph, priced at £595, which also sold out on the brand's website.
On Tuesday, the couple's spokesman said Ms Markle would not be continuing her work on gender with the United Nations or with other organisations and instead would start new charity work as a full-time royal.
Mr Knauf said she planned to focus her attention on the UK and Commonwealth.
"This is the country that's going to be her home now and that means travelling around, getting to know the towns and cities and smaller communities," he said.
She will also become the fourth patron of the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.
The foundation is behind Prince Harry's Invictus Games - the Paralympic-style competition for injured servicemen and women and veterans - and also the mental health charity Heads Together.
It has also been announced that Ms Markle intends to become a British citizen and will work towards it in the coming years.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42181189
|
David Cameron: We 'didn't solve' dementia cost challenge - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Former PM tells the Financial Times there needs to be a way to meet "catastrophic" care costs.
|
UK
|
David Cameron has said his government was unable to solve the "huge" challenge of funding social care for the UK's ageing population.
Mr Cameron told the Financial Times that a way now had to be found to meet "catastrophic" dementia care costs.
"We didn't solve that problem," the former prime minister, now president of Alzheimer's Research UK, said.
While in office, he pledged to set a cap on lifetime care costs at £72,000, starting from age 65, by 2020.
But Theresa May has since said the level of a potential cap would be subject to consultation.
Mr Cameron, who was appointed to Alzheimer's Research UK in January, resigned as prime minister in 2016 after the Brexit vote result and stepped down as an MP later last year.
His plans were put on hold in July 2015 after insurers proved reluctant to introduce policies so that people could insure against their care costs, up to a £72,000 limit.
"The disappointment I had was I was hoping that a combination of the cap on care costs would help to deliver an insurer's model, where a market would grow up where everyone could insure themselves against the cost of long-term care," he said.
"We just haven't cracked that yet."
Mr Cameron described dementia as a "world of darkness" - and recalled visiting people in care homes in his Oxfordshire constituency while still an MP.
"They were completely disconnected from their surroundings, their relatives, their friends and their lives," he said.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42207100
|
Southampton University in new pay row - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Vice-chancellor Sir Christopher Snowden was awarded a pay package of £424,000 last year.
|
Family & Education
|
The vice-chancellor of Southampton University was awarded a pay package of £424,000 last year - £72,000 more than he earned the previous year.
Accounts show Sir Christopher Snowden was paid £352,000 in 2015-16, during which he was in post for 10 months.
The university said the extra reflected a full year's salary and the national higher education pay award of 1.1%.
But Sally Hunt, of the University and College Union, criticised his decision to accept the pay rise.
Ms Hunt, the union's general secretary, said the rise demonstrated "once again how out of touch university vice-chancellors can be".
She said that Sir Christopher was "already one of the best-paid vice-chancellors in the UK, on a salary that had been publicly questioned by the universities minister".
And she added: "To accept this kind of pay rise, while saying he must axe 75 academic jobs because money is tight, beggars belief."
A statement from the university said the 1.1% pay rise was the only increase in Sir Christopher's remuneration since his appointment, and that he had declined a similar increment for 2017-18.
"The lower salary figure published for 2015-16 reflected only 10 months of his first year spent in office," it said.
"The vice-chancellor's salary was set and is regularly reviewed and agreed by the university's independently-chaired remuneration committee, which reports to the University Council.
"The vice-chancellor is not a member of the remuneration committee and only attends by invitation to discuss other business."
The university also paid £9,000 into a pension scheme from which he had opted out.
The university drew criticism from Universities Minister Jo Johnson in the summer.
He said in a speech: "There is one institution on the south coast that has seen vice-chancellor pay rise from £227,000 in 2009-10 to £350,000 to 2015-16, which is really quite a sharp increase."
It comes two days after the UK's highest paid vice-chancellor Dame Prof Glynis Breakwell stepped down.
The University of Bath boss had become the focus of criticism for her £468,000 salary.
Lecturers had complained that her pay had risen much more rapidly than the salaries of university staff.
Dr Gill Rider, chair of the University Council, said: "The University of Southampton is a world-renowned teaching and research institution with over 24,000 students, 6,500 members of staff and a turnover of £590 million per annum, less than a quarter of which comes from EU/home tuition fees.
"We recruited Sir Christopher to Southampton two years ago because we wanted an outstanding leader for the university.
"He is a hugely respected academic, knighted for his services to engineering and higher education.
"He is one of the most experienced vice-chancellors in the sector with a track record of delivering long-term exceptional results, and he is a former president of Universities UK.
"He has held international leadership roles in the private sector, including as a plc chief executive, and he has served on the prime minister's Council for Science and Technology.
"Sir Christopher brings breadth and depth of experience that is critical to Southampton's long-term success."
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-42196462
|
Hawaii tests nuclear warning siren - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
| null |
The US state of Hawaii has tested its nuclear warning siren for the first time since the end of the Cold War.
| null |
The US state of Hawaii has tested its nuclear warning siren for the first time since the end of the Cold War.
The resumption of the monthly tests comes amid a growing threat from North Korea's missile and nuclear programme.
Pyongyang has tested a series of ballistic missiles and in September carried out its sixth nuclear test.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42207680
|
Honduras election: Army given more powers to quash unrest - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
A curfew is imposed and the army and police get extra powers after Sunday's disputed vote.
|
Latin America & Caribbean
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Maria Martinez, a supporter of Salvador Nasralla, said protesters were "defending the rights of the people"
Honduras has given its army and police more powers to contain unrest following violent protests over last Sunday's disputed presidential election.
Government official Ebal Diaz said "constitutional guarantees" had been suspended and a curfew imposed.
Earlier, the publication of election results was delayed when the main opposition candidate demanded more than 5,000 ballot boxes be recounted.
Salvador Nasralla says he has evidence of electoral fraud.
Violent demonstrations since the election have left one person dead and 20 injured.
Riot police fired tear gas at angry opposition supporters in the capital Tegucigalpa on Friday, near the centre where the results were due to be announced.
Opposition supporters claim President Hernández is trying to steal the election
"The suspension of constitutional guarantees was approved so that the armed forces and the national police can contain this wave of violence that has engulfed the country," Mr Diaz said on national television.
He said a curfew would be in place between 18:00 and 06:00 for the next 10 days.
After a day of street protests that spilled over into violence, a senior government official confirmed on Honduran TV that certain constitutional powers were being suspended and a curfew would be in place.
It came after what was supposed to be the announcement of the official result of the presidential election. Instead, the opposition alliance that is crying foul - alleging fraud by the electoral authorities - boycotted a hand count of around 1,000 ballot boxes.
They are demanding a full recount in three disputed regions, amounting to more like 5,000 boxes.
Supporters of main opposition candidate Salvador Nasralla say they have evidence of vote tampering and are refusing to end their protests until the electoral court listens to their demands.
Meanwhile, the sitting President, Juan Orlando Hernández, has a narrow lead and his centre-right National Party is confident of eventually sealing his re-election.
At this stage, neither side looks willing to work with the other and an already volatile situation in Honduras is now in serious danger of running out of control.
At the beginning of the week Mr Nasralla, whose supporters are deeply suspicious of the tribunal that counts the ballots, had established a lead of five percentage points.
But with more than 90% of ballots reportedly counted, incumbent President Juan Orlando Hernández moved ahead of his rival.
Mr Nasralla accused the authorities of manipulating the results.
Tensions eased temporarily on Wednesday when both candidates signed a document vowing to respect the final result after every disputed vote had been scrutinised.
But another pause in counting - attributed by the electoral tribunal to a computer glitch - led to Mr Nasralla saying a few hours later that the document "had no validity".
Distrust over the count is partly due to the fact that the tribunal is appointed by Congress, which is controlled by Mr Hernández's National Party, and partly due to the sudden reversal of Mr Nasralla's initial lead.
There has also been criticism of the slow pace of the count, which came to a 36-hour halt after the first partial results were released on Monday.
Salvador Nasralla (left) is challenging Juan Orlando Hernández for the presidency
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-42205180
|
Parents 'face tension at UK borders over surnames' - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
MP says children's passports should include parents to avoid "suspicion" when their surnames differed.
|
UK Politics
|
Parents who have a different surname to their children have felt "humiliated" at British ports by "over-zealous" border officials, MPs have heard.
Labour's Tulip Siddiq said she faced an "air of suspicion" after a holiday, as her daughter has her father's name.
She said if Brexit was to bring new passports, it would be a good time to "iron out" difficulties and include parents' names on children's passports.
The government said it would "actively consider" how to tackle the issue.
But Home Office minister Nick Hurd warned there were "formidable difficulties" with what was being proposed.
Ms Siddiq, MP for Hampstead and Kilburn, said a "growing number of parents in the UK" found holidays being "blighted by confrontations that are both unnecessary and entirely avoidable".
In a Commons debate on Friday, she described being stopped at the UK border before boarding Eurostar, after a trip to France, having been separated from her husband.
Pushing her 18-month-old daughter in a pram, she found herself being questioned about her identity.
"To my shock, the situation became quite tense. The official kept asking me for more and more documentation which I did not have and I explained over and over again that the child had my husband's last name, not my last name.
"My daughter was saying 'mama, mama' and crying because the unfortunate incident took so long, but even that didn't seem to convince the border official.
"My problem was that there was a real air of suspicion and I was made to feel like I was doing something wrong when I had just gone on holiday with my daughter and husband."
She said it was not only women travelling with their children but foster parents and "numerous LGBT couples" travelling with adopted children who had contacted her having been "questioned mercilessly" at borders.
She said she did not want to compromise the efforts of Border Force to tackle child trafficking, but "thousands of British parents" had been "unduly harassed and interrogated by officials at the UK border".
One constituent returned to Gatwick from a holiday with her eldest daughter from a previous marriage who had special needs. The girl was asked "is this your mother?".
She told Ms Siddiq it had been a "painful" experience "genuinely thinking that our re-entry to the UK depended on my daughter, who has minimal cognitive ability".
Another had been left "humiliated" at Stansted when border officials "refused to believe" her 12-year-old was her daughter.
"These stories are the tip of the iceberg," said Ms Siddiq. "Children's passports were introduced in the 1990s and list the child's name, and date and place of birth only. It is high time that they were updated to reflect the changing circumstances of British families."
She said both parents' names could be included on children's passports which would save "time, confusion and ultimately money at border control".
Children should be able to grow up knowing their identity was one of their choosing and "does not leave them treated by over-zealous border officials as criminals", she added.
Mr Hurd, a father of six, said he understood the challenge of travelling with small children and that the border system should not be doing anything to exacerbate parents' "stress".
He said it was "not in doubt" that many people felt a grievance about the issue, but there were occasions where children were taken across borders which "gave rise to safeguarding concerns", and "reasonable steps" were needed to avoid putting children at risk. Questioning by Border Force officials was done "with the best of motives".
Even if children's passports contained parents' names "it would not provide conclusive evidence to a border officer that the person accompanying the child had the right to do so or was acting in the best interest of the child".
But Mr Hurd said: "Having spoken to the immigration minister, I know that he does understand the present situation is causing difficulties, particularly in cases where children have different surnames to a parent.
"Therefore I am happy to give her the commitment on his behalf that he is going to actively consider how we can take this forward."
The Home Office's advice on the subject says it would help single parents with a different surname to their child to have a marriage or divorce certificate with them.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42194140
|
Children's commissioner may consider legal action over Universal Credit - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Scotland's children's commissioner says the rollout of Universal Credit may be impacting on youngsters' human rights.
|
Scotland politics
|
The children's commissioner told BBC Scotland he cannot rule out legal action on the issue
Scotland's children's commissioner has said he may consider legal action over the Universal Credit rollout if it further disadvantages young people.
Bruce Adamson said poverty was the biggest human rights issue facing children in Scotland.
He told the BBC reforms to the benefits systems could be resulting in some children going without basics like a warm home and hot meals.
The UK government said Universal Credit was helping people improve their lives.
A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions said the system was "working" and that as a result of Universal Credit people were "moving into work faster and staying in work longer than under the old system".
The controversial measure, which is being rolled out across the UK, brings six existing benefit payments into one.
It faced criticism over claims some people had to wait six weeks for their first payment, contributing to a rise in debt, rent arrears and evictions.
Chancellor Philip Hammond announced changes aimed at speeding up claim times in his autumn budget last month.
Mr Adamson said he was engaging with ministers, from the both the UK and Scottish governments, about the impact the benefit changes were having on the human rights of children and young people.
He called for "political leadership" on the issue, but said he could not rule of the possibility of legal action in the future.
In an extended interview broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland on Sunday, the children's commissioner said: "Poverty is the biggest human rights issue facing children in Scotland at the moment.
"And there's a number of issues around the way in which Universal Credit is calculated and how it is paid. But this leads to a much, much deeper issue. We are talking about the rights of children and the right to benefit from social security.
"We are talking about things like having a warm and secure place to live, having regular hot, nutritious meals and also the ability to access things like transport to get to school and to enjoy social and cultural activities that we know are so important to their development."
Asked if there was any prospect of legal redress in Scotland, Mr Adamson said: "While we don't have the Convention on the Rights of the Child within our domestic law yet, we do have the Humans Rights Act which brings in the European Convention on Human Rights and the courts look very closely if a state falls below that minimum standard required, where the state fails to provide those basics of life.
"So certainly if children in Scotland aren't getting those basic things then legal action may be the way to take this forward. But it's not the best way."
He added: "We really need political leadership here and we need to make sure that we are never in a situation where children are going without the basics that they need."
The Unite union organised a day of action on Universal Credit on Saturday, with demonstrations held around Scotland
The DWP spokesman said no-one who needed support had to wait six weeks.
He added: "In December, claimants can request an advance of up to 50% of their first payment and a further 50% in January if they need it, repayable over 12 months.
"Universal Credit lies at the heart of our commitment to help people improve their lives and raise their incomes. It provides additional, tailored support to help people move into work and stop claiming benefits altogether."
Speaking on the BBC's Sunday Politics Scotland programme, Brexit Minister Mike Russell said he thought the Scottish government would be "very sympathetic" to potential legal action against Universal Credit if it infringed the human rights of children.
He said: "The approach of the UK government on social security and welfare is truly appalling. It is impoverishing people. It is leading to despair.
"I think anybody who is standing up against that and arguing for a practical resolution, to what are awful, ideological problems being brought by the Tories, I think deserves all the support he can get."
On Saturday, a day of action, organised by the Unite union, saw demonstrations staged at various locations around Scotland protesting against changes to the benefits system.
You can listen again to the extended interview with Children's Commissioner Bruce Adamson on the BBC iplayer.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-42208424
|
Rugby League World Cup: Australia beat England 6-0 to retain trophy - BBC Sport
|
2017-12-02
| null |
Australia edge out England in a tight and nervy Rugby League World Cup final to retain the trophy.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Rugby League
Australia edged out England in a tight and nervy Rugby League World Cup final to retain the trophy at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
England produced a dogged and resilient performance in their first final for 22 years, but the Kangaroos held on to win an 11th world title.
Boyd Cordner smashed through for the only try of the game as England restricted Australia to six points.
They had chances of their own, but could not breach the hosts' defence.
There was no moment that summed this up more than a desperate but brilliant ankle tap by Josh Dugan on Kallum Watkins in the second half after the England centre had broken through.
• None Analysis - sometimes the narrow defeats hurt the most
It was a monumental effort from England against a team who came into the game as overwhelming favourites.
Having lost to Australia 18-4 in their opening game, Wayne Bennett's side both improved and impressed during the World Cup, holding off Tonga 20-18 for a memorable semi-final win before this thrilling final.
Australia's victory, though, completed a World Cup double for the country, with the women's team having beaten New Zealand 23-16 earlier.
England were forced to soak up wave after wave of Australian attacks in the first half as the Kangaroos built relentless pressure, completing 23 of 25 sets before the break.
Only a five-minute spell of indiscipline cost Bennett's side, a high tackle from Luke Gale starting a spell in which Australia enjoyed four straight sets.
Watkins fumbled a Cooper Cronk kick over his own line and Ryan Hall caught another as England were forced into back-to-back in-goal dropouts, before James Roby was pulled up for another penalty.
From there, Australia made them pay. Aaron Woods drew in several tacklers but managed to get an offload away and the Kangaroos capitalised as back-rower Cordner hit the line at speed to crash over.
Michael Morgan thought he had added to Australia's lead after the interval when Dugan caught Gale's cross-field kick beyond his own touchline and broke clear to set the field position, before Jordan McLean put Morgan over.
But referee Gerard Sutton called it back for an obstruction by Cameron Smith, and from then on England looked the more likely to cross.
Jermaine McGillvary was superb on England's right but the dangerous Huddersfield winger could not find the gaps to add to his seven tries in the tournament, while the Watkins ankle tap was arguably the game's most dramatic moment.
England assistant coach Denis Betts said in the build-up to the game that "nobody ever remembers the losers" - but the man who captained the team in their last World Cup final defeat may change his mind after a mammoth effort.
The bookmakers had the Kangaroos as 1-7 favourites, but there was certainly not that margin between the teams as England produced a solid defensive display and Australia looked to be out on their feet come the final whistle.
Many did not expect England to reach this stage - but, having reached the final, Bennett's team gave a great account of themselves.
Gareth Widdop caused problems as he joined the line from full-back, as well as reading Australia's kicking game and positioning himself superbly in defence, while captain Sam Burgess, along with James Graham, led a ferocious forward pack in the absence of experienced skipper Sean O'Loughlin.
It may have been a different story but for that Dugan ankle tap on Watkins, and had England's execution been better at key moments, McGillvary spilling in a good position in the first half and Gale passing behind John Bateman in the second.
England international Sam Tomkins, not selected for the tournament, said it was "a missed opportunity" for the team.
"We could have won that with just a matter of minutes left," the Wigan Warriors full-back told BBC One.
"I don't think we have played them in the last five or six years and got that close, one ankle tap, one moment, but we are making strides."
End of an era for Australian greats?
It might not be an Australia side to rival some of their greatest over the years, but there can be no arguing the Kangaroos are deserved world champions having won six games from six and conceded just 16 points.
It is also a side that has witnessed legends such as Cronk, Smith and Billy Slater, the latter two of whom played in the side stunned by New Zealand in the 2008 final in Brisbane.
Kangaroos captain Smith, who won the 2017 NRL Grand Final and State of Origin for Queensland alongside Slater and Cronk, said this was "one of the toughest games I have played in my career".
"The three of us have had a remarkable year for club, state and country. If this is the last time we get to play together what a special memory to have," the 34-year-old added.
Full-back Slater has come back from multiple shoulder operations to return, but said at the final whistle he "will probably retire" at the end of next season and may have played his last game for his country.
As for Cronk, the 33-year-old playmaker was at his creative best against a resilient England defence and his game management proved key to shutting down the game late on.
He later confirmed it would his last appearance in green and gold.
"I've had a fair ride," said Cronk. "This is the best-case scenario for me and the team moving forward."
What next for England and Bennett?
Bennett said before the game that reaching the final was his target when he took charge two years ago.
The Australian's contract with the Rugby Football League is effectively now up, and he is yet to commit to a new deal.
The veteran Brisbane Broncos boss helped engineer a New Zealand upset against Australia in the 2008 final, and came close to shocking his home nation again nine years later in England's narrow loss.
Asked about his future following the defeat, Bennett said: "I'm not talking about that tonight, I'm not in a good state to talk about those things."
England, with or without Bennett, will take confidence from their best performance at a World Cup in 22 years as they head into a three-match Test series with the Kiwis next autumn.
It will be a series you can follow live on BBC TV, radio and the BBC Sport website.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/42207590
|
Rugby League World Cup: England face Australia in Saturday's final - BBC Sport
|
2017-12-02
| null |
England face odds-on favourites and defending champions Australia in the World Cup final on Saturday at 09:00 GMT.
| null |
Coverage: Watch live coverage and highlights on BBC One, Connected TV, online & the BBC Sport app; live commentary on BBC Radio 5 live; live text commentary on the BBC Sport website & app
England will attempt to become world champions for the first time when they take on reigning champions Australia in the World Cup final on Saturday at 09:00 GMT.
It is live on BBC One with coverage starting at 08:30 GMT, while there is also commentary on Radio 5 live. Both can be accessed via the BBC Sport website, which will have live text coverage of the match.
It is England's first appearance in a World Cup final for 22 years, with the 1995 encounter ending in a 16-8 defeat by Australia at Wembley.
The last time a team from Britain won the tournament was in 1972 when a combined Great Britain team secured their third world title.
England captain Sean O'Loughlin has been ruled out after picking up a quad injury in their semi-final victory over Tonga, so Sam Burgess will skipper the side at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium.
"We've got an unbelievable opportunity to do something pretty special," said Burgess, 28, who will move to loose forward in O'Loughlin's absence.
• None Wayne Bennett unsure over his future with England
England are also without Josh Hodgson, leaving James Roby as the only hooker in the 17-man squad, with Ben Currie starting in the second row and full-back Jonny Lomax coming on to the bench.
Head coach Wayne Bennett says his side are finally back where they belong, with his aim having always been to help England reach a first final since 1995.
"I wanted England to be hopefully more competitive," said Bennett, the most successful coach in Australian rugby league history with seven Grand Final wins.
The 67-year-old, whose contract with England ends after the tournament, became their first Australian boss when he was appointed in February 2016.
"I thought it would add a great deal of interest to it all if we could get England back to that place where they should be and hopefully they can stay there," he added.
Australia coach Mal Meninga, who beat Bennett to the Kangaroos job two years ago, has accused the former Brisbane Broncos boss of mind games before the final.
"Mind games are about 20 years old. We don't want to make it about me and Wayne, it's about the two teams," he said.
Assistant coach Denis Betts was the last man to captain England in a World Cup final, the 16-8 loss to Australia in 1995, and says reaching the final itself is not enough because "nobody ever remembers the losers".
Betts said the decision for O'Loughlin not to play in the final was taken by the Wigan player himself.
"He pushed himself as hard as he possibly could," said Betts. "He knows his body, he knows when he's ready to play in this kind of game."
Burgess, who captained England in O'Loughlin's absence in the 2016 Four Nations Series, says England's injury problems give St Helens hooker Roby and Warrington forward Currie a chance to impress.
"We've been extremely consistent in our training. Players have been in and out of different positions so not a lot changes genuinely for our team," he said.
Not according to the bookmakers, who have the Kangaroos as overwhelming 1-7 favourites.
England have a powerful forward pack that is comfortably the equal of any in the competition and have been strong in defence all the way through, while their attacking combinations have improved week on week.
Brian Noble was the last man to coach a side from the northern hemisphere to victory over Australia in a rugby league match - presiding over Great Britain's 23-12 victory in Sydney in 2006.
He will be in the commentary box alongside Dave Woods on Saturday as the game is broadcast live on BBC One, with coverage starting at 08:30 GMT.
And the 56-year-old believes there are plenty of reasons why England fans can be optimistic of pulling off a major upset. Here are his five reasons:
• Sam Burgess. He's a big-game, big-pressure player. He's the leader of the pack and has a healthy disrespect for the Australians. A Clive Churchill in the NRL says it all. He's a player the Aussies have to fear.
• The back three. Full-back Gareth Widdop and wingers Ryan Hall and Jermaine McGillvary have been outstanding and collectively are better than their counterparts on the other side of the fence. Bennett's decision to move Widdop to full-back after the injury to Jonny Lomax was a stroke of genius. It has created the link with McGillvary, the winger of the tournament. And Hall has also got the pedigree to produce some big moments.
• No fear-factor. This Australian line-up is not as fearful as ones I've seen in the past. I'll give you two names who've not been available - Greg Inglis and Johnathan Thurston. They've still got brilliant individuals. Billy Slater will be voted the best full-back they've ever had when he retires, Cameron Smith is definitely the best number nine they've ever had and Cooper Cronk is up there. So the spine of their team are going to have to be rocked and knocked around a bit. But apart from those three, the supporting cast is not as good has it has been, especially in the pack.
• England fans can lift the team. They have been superb from when they started arriving in such numbers in Perth and have travelled with the team since. They've put in a phenomenal effort on matchdays with their support.
• It feels like it's our time. It's been a heck of a long time since we beat them in a final. But this group is energised and excited. Nobody is expecting us to win it, but they can do it and I believe they will do it.
Australia are without the likes of injured stars Thurston and Inglis but they still have quality all over the park and remain unbeaten since Mal Meninga took over as coach at the end of 2015.
Arguably their three key players are hooker and captain Cameron Smith, half-back Cronk and full-back Slater.
The trio occupy three of the key decision-making positions in league and as well as playing together for the Kangaroos, are Queensland and, until the end of the 2017 NRL season, Melbourne Storm team-mates.
Smith lifted the World Cup in Manchester back in 2013 after they demolished New Zealand 34-2 in the final and has just been named the world's best player for the second time.
Trampling over all before them
Australia are unbeaten at the World Cup and have won their past 12 matches against England.
That includes an 18-4 victory in the opening game of this tournament but England were a match for the Kangaroos for large periods.
The Kangaroos' other results are 52-6, 34-0, 46-0 and 54-6. You could argue they have been under no real pressure since the opening game, but that's because they have been so far superior to everyone they've played.
England have not had it quite so easy and are yet to put together an 80-minute performance.
The result was never really in doubt against Lebanon (29-10), France (36-6) and Papua New Guinea (36-6) but they survived an almighty scare against Tonga, leading 20-0 with seven minutes left before scraping home 20-18 in the semi-final.
Do you remember the last time?
You have to go back to 1972 for the last time a northern hemisphere team were world champions.
That match between GB and the Kangaroos was played in front of just 4,231 fans at the Stade de Gerland in Lyon, France. It finished 10-10 and GB became champions because they had previously defeated the Aussies in a bloody and bruising group match.
Steve Nash, the team's scrum-half that day, describes GB's World Cup triumph as "the best-kept secret in rugby league".
"I like to surprise people. Even now I will drop it in a conversation: 'Yeah I've won a World Cup, I'll go fetch my medal'," he told BBC Sport.
What about Saturday's other final?
Two World Cups come to a conclusion in Brisbane on Saturday.
The women's final will be between holders Australia and New Zealand, who hammered England 52-4 in Sunday's semi-final.
England did not have the best of tournaments. They defeated Papua New Guinea in their opening match before losing to Australia, the Cook Islands and the Kiwi Ferns.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/42180250
|
Barclays axes free Kaspersky product as a 'precaution' - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The bank emailed 290,000 customers on Saturday following warnings about Russian security software.
|
UK
|
Barclays has stopped offering free Kaspersky anti-virus products to new customers following an official warning about Russian security software.
The bank emailed 290,000 online banking customers on Saturday to say the move was a "precautionary decision".
UK cyber-security chiefs are warning government departments not to use software from Russian companies for systems relating to national security.
Barclays said it treated the security of its customers "very seriously".
A spokesman for Kaspersky said it was "disappointed" that Barclays had discontinued its offer to new customers.
The National Cyber Security Centre - the UK's authority on cyber security and part of GCHQ - is writing to all government departments telling them Russian security software could be exploited by the Kremlin.
But officials stressed they were not saying members of the public or companies should stop using Kaspersky products, which are used by about 400 million people globally.
Barclays told customers it would no longer offer free Kaspersky software "following the information that's been shared in the news" - but advised people with the software already installed that they did not need to take any action.
It wrote: "The UK government has been advised... to remove any Russian products from all highly sensitive systems classified as secret or above.
"We've made the precautionary decision to no longer offer Kaspersky software to new users.
"However, there's nothing to suggest that customers need to stop using Kaspersky."
It went on: "At this stage there is no action for you to take. It's important that you continue to protect yourself with anti-virus software."
The 290,000 people who received emails from Barclays are all online banking customers, who had downloaded Kaspersky in the past decade as part of a 12-month free trial offered by the bank.
Many of these customers, who could include individuals employed by the government, could have ended their subscription once the free trial ended.
Ian Levy, the NCSC's technical director, said there was no evidence the guidance to government departments should apply to the wider public.
"For example, we really don't want people doing things like ripping out Kaspersky software at large as it makes little sense," he said.
A spokesman for Barclays said: "Even though this new guidance isn't directed at members of the public, we have taken the decision to withdraw the offer of Kaspersky software from our customer website."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42209489
|
Chief vet defends support of larger hen cages - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
On Twitter, Nigel Gibbens says the pens are a "necessary defence" against bird flu.
|
UK
|
Battery cages for chickens were banned in the EU in 2012
Some cages for hens provide a "necessary defence" against bird flu, the government's chief vet has said.
In a tweet, Nigel Gibbens said the larger pens, which replaced so-called battery cages in 2012, have welfare benefits and offer more space.
It comes after 10 leading British vets, who believe caging hens is unethical, said his "brazen endorsement" was "extremely disappointing".
They said the restricted space was "seriously detrimental to welfare".
Battery cages for chickens were banned in the EU in 2012. The ruling said that if laying hens were to be held they must be in enriched - also known as colony - cages instead.
The enriched cages provided extra space to nest, scratch and roost and the guidance from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), is that each bird in an enriched cage must have at least 750 square centimetres of space.
The minimum for battery cages was 550 square centimetres.
Despite the banning of battery cages, a number of leading retailers have announced that they are moving towards selling free-range eggs only.
But at the Egg and Poultry Industry Conference in October, Mr Gibbens called this a "regrettable move" and said cages "have a lot going for them".
Criticising him in a group letter to the Times, 10 vets said overcrowding and restricted space were "seriously detrimental to welfare".
"Hens in cages cannot carry out fundamental species-specific behaviours", they added.
The group dismissed his claims about protection against bird flu saying there are other options to manage the threat and urged the chief vet to take a "more progressive position".
Mr Gibbens later defended his view on Twitter and said: "Free range risks disease that is really bad for welfare."
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by NigelGibbensChiefVet This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
A Defra spokeswoman said: "Enriched cages offer less exposure to the threat of bird flu during an outbreak than free range systems, and provide more floor space and more height than battery cages."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42208550
|
New heart for eight-week-old Charlie Douthwaite - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Charlie Douthwaite was the youngest patient on the UK transplant waiting list.
|
Tyne & Wear
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
The youngest patient on the UK transplant waiting list, an eight-week old baby, has received a new heart.
A Europe-wide appeal to help Charlie Douthwaite, who was born with half a heart, was launched last month.
The youngster, who suffers from hypoplastic left heart syndrome, underwent a nine-hour operation at Newcastle's Freeman Hospital.
His mother, Tracie Wright, thanked the donor family for giving Charlie "a second chance at life".
"They've given my baby a second chance at life and for that I'll be forever grateful," she said.
"His skin colour is amazing - he was so blue all the time to being so peachy and pink. Perfect.
By the age of five weeks, Charlie had undergone 11 operations.
"It hasn't quite sunk in that out there somewhere an amazing family gave us that amazing priceless most precious gift that could ever be given, in their darkest time they still thought of someone else.
"Thank you just doesn't seem like a big enough word to say to them.
"He's done well so far we couldn't be any more proud of him he's a real life hero, our little warrior."
Charlie had to have open heart surgery when he was three days old after being born weighing just 6lbs 5oz at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.
Dr Zdenka Reinhardt, a cardiologist at the Freeman Hospital, said he had been "extremely lucky considering his condition and his size".
Doctors hope he will be well enough to leave hospital in the new year.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-42200541
|
Whirlpool tumble dryers: MPs' anger as replacement ends - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Whirlpool ends a scheme that had offered cut-price replacements for tumble dryers linked to a fire risk.
|
UK
|
MPs are demanding to know why the white goods manufacturer Whirlpool ended a product replacement scheme for dangerous tumble dryers.
The Commons business committee says one million of the defective machines remain in UK homes.
Last week, a coroner blamed a fault in a Whirlpool dryer for a 2014 fire that killed two men in north Wales.
The firm says it is still offering free repairs, but ended a £50 offer for a replacement machine after demand fell.
The affected machines include dryers manufactured under the Hotpoint, Indesit, Creda, Swan or Proline brands between April 2004 and October 2015.
After problems with the machines first emerged, Whirlpool initially told customers that the dryers were safe to use but should not be left unattended, but later said the machines should be unplugged until they could be repaired.
With growing waiting lists for a repair, the company then said it would allow customers to purchase a replacement dryer for the reduced price of £50.
The Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee has written to Whirlpool, asking why it has now chosen to end this replacement scheme.
Committee chairwoman Rachel Reeves accused the US manufacturer of "falling significantly short of their responsibilities" and asked why boss Ian Moverly failed to mention the end of the replacement scheme when he gave evidence to her committee in October.
Whirlpool said anyone with an affected dryer was still eligible for a free repair, and should contact them immediately to arrange it.
It said in a statement: "After two years of extensive measures to raise awareness, the number of consumers coming forward has fallen sharply.
"This suggests that few affected appliances remain in service."
It told customers who still owned one of the appliances it was "never too late" to get in touch.
Doug McTavish and Bernard Hender died in the fire at the flat in Llanrwst
It continued: "Previously, consumers who wished to upgrade their products to a newer model were offered the additional option of a brand-new dryer in exchange for a small contribution to the total cost.
"The scheme has now ended due to a fall in demand."
The coroner from the inquests into the deaths of Doug McTavish and Bernard Hender in Llanrwst, north Wales, told Whirlpool that it had to "take action".
He said the fire was caused "on the balance of probabilities" by an electrical fault with the door switch on the dryer.
He described evidence presented at the inquest by Whirlpool as "defensive and dismissive" and said the company's approach was an "obstacle" to finding steps to prevent future fires.
His final report has been sent to the company, which has until 26 December to respond.
Consumer group Which? criticised both Whirlpool and the government, which it called on to step in.
The company's managing director of home products and services, Alex Neill, said: 'It is completely unacceptable that Whirlpool has shut down its replacement scheme for these dangerous tumble dryers.
"It is irresponsible that despite one million households potentially still using an affected machine, Whirlpool seems unwilling to do everything possible to deal with this issue.
"The government must step in and force Whirlpool to fully recall the remaining tumble dryers."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42208560
|
How Pussy Riot turned to protest art - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
| null |
Pussy Riot’s Maria Alyokhina is behind the Saatchi Gallery’s latest exhibition in London.
| null |
Pussy Riot’s Maria Alyokhina is behind the Saatchi Gallery’s latest exhibition.
It features work by artists who supported the feminist Russian punk band when they were arrested, detained and sent to prison following a protest in 2012.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-42199150
|
A new model for social mobility? - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Could a new scheme to help talented students into prestigious US universities show a way to increase social mobility?
|
Education & Family
|
Ben Hopkins is heading for a US university
On the steps of Downing Street, Theresa May pledged to promote social mobility, to make Britain a country that works for everyone.
She pointed out that a white working-class boy is currently less likely than anyone else to go to university, and that the privately educated dominated the "top professions".
Her cabinet has the highest proportion of state-educated ministers since Clement Attlee was prime minister in 1945.
Justine Greening is the first education secretary to have been wholly educated at a comprehensive school.
However, promising social mobility and delivering it are different things, as previous governments have learned.
For decades now, the charity the Sutton Trust has been the standard-bearer for social mobility in Britain, developing schemes to help pupils from less advantaged backgrounds gain access to elite universities, and helping them into the professions.
The trust's chief executive, Lee Elliot Major, said the Brexit vote underlines the need for a broader policy now, as it exposed a divided country.
Many areas which voted Leave are those same areas where opportunities are fewest.
Mr Elliot Major said: "The political vote that we saw was a direct consequence of social immobility."
One of the Sutton Trust's newest schemes, in partnership with the Fulbright Commission, helps teenagers to apply to American universities and win scholarships to pay the fees.
It is very competitive. There are 10 applicants for every place.
Just 61 British students are going to the US on the scheme this year.
Ben Hopkins, aged 18, from the village of Wheaton Aston in Staffordshire, will soon be heading for Bowdoin in Maine, where he has won a scholarship. It is one of the most highly rated liberal arts colleges in the US, with fees of $62,000 (£48,000) a year.
Ben Hopkins worried whether he would fit in at Oxford
Ben does not come from a privileged background. His father is a machinist, his mother a teaching assistant.
Neither went to university. The family live in a modest, though immaculate, home, on the outskirts of the village.
South Staffordshire is one of the more affluent parts of the Midlands, with a lower rate of unemployment than the national average.
It is a Conservative area. Nearly 65% voted Leave on 23 June. Those I spoke to cited fears over immigration.
Ben's mother, Tracy, told me he had always been very committed to his schoolwork, and he perseveres until he gets something right: "He's a perfectionist."
She said she wasn't a "tiger mother". Ben had always set his own pace. Both parents are very supportive of their son and proud of his achievement.
Ben told me his teachers had helped him greatly. Some gave up their own free time to give him extra lessons.
He was a pupil at the local comprehensive, Wolgarston High, in the nearby market town of Penkridge. It is rated "good" by Ofsted, and improving. It currently gets some of the best A-level results in South Staffordshire.
Every year, some pupils go to Russell Group universities, and sometimes students go to Oxford or Cambridge.
However, Ben told me that when he visited Oxford he wondered whether he would fit in, as so many students seemed to have gone to private school.
Headteacher Philip Tapp says there is very little in the local area to inspire and raise aspirations
Adam Simmonds, head of sixth form at Wolgarston High, said others occasionally felt the same, as there is a strong sense of community in this part of South Staffordshire, and some 18-year-olds do not want to leave.
"Sometimes it's a powerful draw, their experiences in this locality, and they don't want to give that up to go to, well any university, actually," he said.
"We've had students with three As at A-level who've decided to stay at home because they like staying at home."
Though Stafford is just over an hour from London by train, Ben had only visited the capital once before he went for the Sutton Trust assessment.
The school headteacher, Philip Tapp, said he was working to arrange more trips for all students. He said there was very little in the local area to inspire and raise aspirations.
So what made Ben such an exception? His family, his teachers and ultimately, himself. No-one told him about the Sutton Trust: he discovered it online.
Adam Simmonds described Ben, outgoing head boy, as an "elder statesman" of the school whom everyone respected and felt they could talk to.
Lee Elliot Major, chief executive of the Sutton Trust, urged the new government to consider how to extend social mobility to help more people.
He said; "We can pick talent and then catapult it into opportunity, as with our US programme where you have amazing young people who are going to the Ivy League and other leading universities.
"But what about those areas that are left behind? What about the children who don't go on those programmes? And I think no-one at the moment has got the answer to that."
The new government is considering reversing the ban on new grammar schools, as a way of promoting social mobility. But that's controversial - many argue it will not work.
David Skelton, of the conservative think tank Renewal, said he thought a more sophisticated and complex approach was needed now. He said: "1950s England should not be our model."
He suggested more streaming in schools could be effective, and he endorsed the comments of the new minister for skills, Robert Halfon, who has said apprenticeships should be more highly valued and more could be done to improve vocational and technical training, such as that provided by university technical colleges.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-37011068
|
Motorway PC stops van from falling off bridge - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The vehicle was in danger of tumbling to the ground before PC Martin Willis arrived on the scene.
|
Leeds & West Yorkshire
|
PC Willis said he held onto the van to stop it toppling over a bridge
A police officer held on to a van to stop it falling as it teetered on the edge of a motorway bridge.
The driver was trapped inside when PC Martin Willis arrived at the scene on the A1(M) in Yorkshire.
Writing on Twitter, he said he grabbed on to the vehicle to stop it "swaying in the wind".
PC Willis, known as Motorway Martin to his followers, said he couldn't "begin to describe [his] relief" when firefighters arrived.
A view from below the bridge shows the van's precarious position
The van ended up in the precarious position when it came off the road near the border between North and West Yorkshire.
Posting on Twitter, PC Willis described how he tried to stabilise the vehicle with the driver still trapped inside.
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by Motorway Martin This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
PC Willis was praised by colleagues for his swift action.
"Your superman cape isn't in this photo though! Must have come off in the fracas!," PC Adam Pace tweeted.
PC Willis he said he was relieved to see West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue arrive at the scene
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-42207935
|
Pope uses the 'R' word - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
| null |
While meeting a group of Muslim Rohingya refugees, Pope Francis referred to them by name for the first time on his Asian visit.
| null |
While meeting a group of Muslim Rohingya refugees, Pope Francis referred to them by name for the first time on his Asian visit.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-42203201
|
Lottery win means couple can marry after 30-year engagement - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
| null |
A £1m Lotto win not only saved a couple's house, it allowed them to get married.
| null |
A couple who have been engaged for 30 years can finally marry after a £1m lottery win.
Tony Pearce, 66, and Deb Gellatly, 58, from Southend, have never been able to afford the cost of a wedding.
The Lotto raffle prize means they can clear their debts and finally get married.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-essex-42207620
|
World Cup draw: England face Belgium, Panama and Tunisia in Group G - BBC Sport
|
2017-12-02
| null |
England have been drawn with Belgium, Panama and Tunisia in Group G at next year's Fifa World Cup in Russia.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section World Cup
England have been drawn with Belgium, Panama and Tunisia in Group G at next year's Fifa World Cup in Russia.
Gareth Southgate's men will begin their tournament against Tunisia on Monday, 18 June (19:00 BST) in Volgograd.
They will then face World Cup debutants Panama in Nizhny Novgorod on 24 June (13:00 BST) before playing top seeds Belgium four days later in Kaliningrad (19:00 BST).
Russia play Saudi Arabia in the opening game in Moscow on 14 June (16:00 BST).
Holders Germany are in Group F with Mexico, Sweden and South Korea while five-times winners Brazil are in Group E alongside Switzerland, Costa Rica and Serbia.
The 2018 tournament takes place in 12 stadiums across Russia between 14 June and 15 July.
• None All the groups and fixtures
• None 'If England don't qualify from the group, it's time to pack it in'
• None A guide to the grounds hosting games in Russia
• None Find out more about the 32 teams who qualified
"We need to find out more about Tunisia and Panama as we haven't been tracking them," Southgate told BBC Radio 5 live.
"We know everything about Belgium. I think that will capture the imagination back home as they have so many players in our league. They have probably the best group of players they've ever had.
"My experience of tournaments is you need to get a result in all three matches. In the past we've assumed we'll be in certain rounds but we need to make sure we get out of our group."
Who got the hardest draw?
There is not one group that obviously stands above the rest as being the toughest.
In terms of ranking positions, Group B looks the most difficult.
European champions Portugal, ranked third in the world, have been drawn with 2010 World Cup winners Spain as well as Iran - who went unbeaten in 10 Asian qualifying matches - and Morocco, who topped an African group that featured Ivory Coast.
Group F also looks tricky for the reigning champions. Germany, who beat Argentina 1-0 in the 2014 final in Brazil, will likely face three robust examinations against Mexico, Sweden and South Korea as they try to retain the title for the first time since Brazil did so in 1962.
Resurgent Brazil - thrashed 7-1 in the 2014 semi-final in Belo Horizonte - have also been handed what looks like a quietly exacting group.
Alongside Neymar's Brazil in Group E are Switzerland, Costa Rica and Serbia while Lionel Messi and his Argentina team-mates play debutants Iceland - who reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 - Croatia and Nigeria.
England will know all about Belgium, given the large number of their squad who play in the Premier League. Chelsea's Eden Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne of Manchester City are both enjoying superb seasons so far while Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku recently became the country's leading all-time top scorer.
England have not lost to Belgium in their past 11 meetings - and their only defeat against them in 21 games was in 1936.
The Three Lions have met Tunisia twice before, drawing a friendly in 1990 and beating the North Africans in their opening game of the 1998 World Cup in France, a match Southgate remembers well.
"It was a fantastic day as a player to play in a brilliant occasion, our fans made an incredible atmosphere that day," the former defender said of the game in Marseille that England won 2-0.
"It's nice to be able to relive that."
Tunisia coach Nabil Maaloul says he "knows all about" England's players and when asked about whether he was happy to be in the same group as them, he said: "Yes, and we will win."
England have never met Central America country Panama and won't be familiar with their players with only three of their current squad playing in Europe.
The Panamanians sealed their place at a first World Cup at the expense of the USA when they controversially defeated Costa Rica 2-1, with Gabriel Torres' header for their first goal not appearing to cross the line.
Pick the order teams will finish in England's group
England's possible route to the final
In summary, reaching the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on 15 July is not going to be easy.
If England top their group, their path to the final could see them come up against Colombia, Brazil, France and then Germany.
If Southgate's side finish second then it could be Poland, Germany, Spain and then Brazil in the final.
If you are viewing this page on the BBC News app please click here to vote.
BBC Sport's chief football writer Phil McNulty: England can have no excuses if there is a repeat of the embarrassment of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, when they failed to progress from the group phase.
Manager Gareth Southgate will understandably publicly exercise caution about the group with Belgium, Tunisia and Panama - but privately he and the Football Association will surely regard this as a highly satisfactory outcome.
There was certainly no need for FA chairman Greg Clarke to repeat the cut-throat gesture predecessor Greg Dyke delivered when England were drawn against Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica before the last World Cup in Brazil.
Barring surprises, the final group game against Belgium in Kaliningrad is likely to decide the group winners - and this will clearly be the toughest assignment for Southgate and his team.
Belgium coach Roberto Martinez has an intimate knowledge of the Premier League from his time at Wigan Athletic and Everton, while their outstanding generation of players has a heavy top-flight influence, including two performers of undoubted world class in Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne and Chelsea's Eden Hazard.
Tunisia, England's opponents in their opening game in Volgograd on Monday 18 June, are ranked 27th in the Fifa rankings, and will be heavy underdogs while a meeting with Panama, ranked 56th and at their first World Cup, should hold no fear.
England's immediate fate appears to hang on that meeting with Belgium but Southgate will surely be confident of qualifying from Group G.
How far will England travel during the group stage?
England will be based in the village of Repino, which is about 30 miles from St Petersburg (number 8, above). From there they will travel 930 miles to and from Volgograd (10) to play Tunisia at Volgograd Arena and then 600 miles to Nizhny Novgorod (3) for their game against Panama.
Finally, it's a 500-mile trip to Kaliningrad (9) for their final Group G game against Belgium.
"Travel wise, the way tournaments are now, you've got to be adaptable, but our kick-off times are decent as well," added Southgate.
In total, England's players will travel approximately 4,000 miles during the group stage, compared to the 4,400 they covered in Brazil.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42199903
|
Reality Check: Will Republican tax plan hurt Trump? - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The president says the Republicans' plan for massive tax cuts won't benefit him. Is that true?
|
US & Canada
|
The claim: US President Donald Trump will not benefit from a Republican tax plan that has been passed by the US senate - and he might even have to pay more.
Reality Check verdict: It is difficult to see how the president would have to pay more under the proposed tax plan.
Mr Trump has pushed hard for the tax cuts, saying it is a "once-in-a-generation chance" for the nation.
At the same time, he has said that for him - personally - the new tax plan is not good news.
"This is going to cost me a fortune, this thing, believe me," he told his supporters in St Charles, Missouri, on Wednesday. "Believe me, this is not good for me."
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by Donald J. Trump This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
He is the first president in more than four decades not to publicly release his tax returns while running for office.
But from what we know about the structure of his businesses, Mr Trump actually stands to benefit from his party's tax plan.
Daniel Shaviro, a taxation professor at NYU's Law School, points to aspects of the Senate tax bill that would help the president.
First, there are changes in the estate tax and lowering the so-called "pass-through" rates on businesses.
The "pass-through" tax rates affect income derived from partnerships and companies that are known as limited liability.
The president owns hundreds of these kinds of businesses and would benefit from a redesign of this tax code.
The repeal of the alternative minimum tax would also be hugely beneficial to Mr Trump, say analysts.
In the end, said Mr Shaviro, the president would find himself in a dramatically different situation, one that many other US taxpayers would envy.
Mr Shaviro said the president would come out better than many people in the US.
"A 28-year-old associate with a New York City law firm will pay taxes at a higher rate than he will," said Mr Shaviro.
One area where Mr Trump could find himself out of pocket is the Republican proposal to eliminate a federal income tax deduction for state and local taxes.
But it may be a small price for him to pay in light of the other goodies in the tax plan.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42203781
|
US Republican tax plan: What you may have missed - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The Republican plan is filled with targeted perks despite promises to simplify the code.
|
Business
|
Republicans are hurrying to pass tax reform - leaving uncertainty about some provisions in the bill
Republicans are rushing to pass the biggest revamp of the US tax code in decades.
And despite promises to simplify the code and eliminate special interest loopholes, the bill is packed with targeted goodies.
What makes it into a final compromise between the House bill and the Senate bill remains to be seen.
In the meantime, here are some provisions you may have missed as lawmakers rush to finalise a plan.
Senator Lisa Murkowski attached a piece of legislation to the tax plan that would allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, located in her home state of Alaska.
A man holds a sign during a 2005 rally to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from drilling
Securing Senator Murkowski's support for the bill was critical after she broke with Republicans earlier this year on a healthcare repeal effort.
The House and Senate bills allow families to save money for education in tax-privileged accounts for children "at any stage of development" - including those carried in the womb.
That's a provision designed to appeal to pro-life members of Congress.
The bills would do away with a range of privileges enjoyed by sports teams, such as the tax-free status given to professional football leagues.
The House bill also strikes at tax-privileged financing for sports stadiums and a perk related to purchases of college athletics tickets.
Under current law, nonprofits - including churches and schools - cannot participate in political campaigns and retain their tax-free status.
Some groups, including evangelical churches, have chafed at that rule.
The House bill moves to reduce that risk, allowing nonprofits to make political statements, assuming they incur minimal expense and are made "in the ordinary course of the organisation's business".
The Senate bill widens the range of wine producers eligible for tax credits, among other special rules for the beer and wine industry.
Production of kombucha - fermented tea that contains small amounts of alcohol - gets a special call-out for exemption from certain taxes, thanks to an amendment introduced by a Colorado senator.
The Senate bill would exempt firms that manage private jets from having to pay federal excise tax - one of the fees charged on ticket sales of commercial flights.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in 2012 said private jet services were subject to the tax, but it has since been re-examining how to treat those payments.
The Senate bill allows firms to expense "certain costs" of replanting citrus plants - a win for growers in states such as Florida, where crops have been marred by disease.
The citrus industry has been hurt by a disease that affects the trees
Florida lawmakers tried to secure this kind of perk in 2016 as a standalone measure.
Current law limits how big a stake private foundations can hold in for-profit companies to discourage the creation of fake foundations.
The Senate bill removes those limits, provided the business meets certain requirements such as donating all profits to charity.
Politico reported the perk was a priority for Newman's Own, which sells food items including pasta sauce and salad dressing. It is just one example of the pet projects in the bill.
Under the Senate proposal, teachers can deduct up to $500 in classroom purchases - at least through 2025.
The perk was introduced in 2002 by Republican Senator Susan Collins, who holds a key vote in passing the bill. It was extended - and doubled - after its elimination in the House proposal.
During his campaign for president, Donald Trump pledged to eliminate this controversial benefit, which provides managers of companies - including private equity firms - a lower tax rate on money received for overseeing investments.
But the perk stands, although the House bill would require that the investment be held for at least three years to qualify for the lower rate, which was intended to encourage "long-term" capital investments.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42156530
|
Dalston bus ticket clash: Eight police officers injured - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Eight officers were injured and three people arrested after police were confronted by a crowd in east London.
|
London
|
Police were confronted by a crowd on Kingsland High Street in Dalston
Eight police officers were injured after being confronted by a crowd in Dalston, east London, on Friday evening.
It came after a bus passenger was found not to have a valid ticket by police officers supporting TfL inspectors.
The officers sustained facial injuries including cuts and bruises and two were taken to hospital with concussion.
Two teenage girls and an 18-year-old man were arrested over the incident on Kingsland High Street.
A 15-year-old girl was arrested on suspicion of fare evasion and assault on a police officer.
The man and a 16-year-old girl were held on suspicion of assaulting a police officer.
The officers taken to hospital have since been discharged.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-42208162
|
Social mobility: The worst places to grow up poor - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Former industrial towns, rural and coastal areas fare worst in "spiral of ever-growing division".
|
Family & Education
|
Rhythmical Mike is a successful performer - but says his schooldays were "a nightmare"
"You've got this - the whirlwind that you're in - is the beginning of something wonderfully new - for you."
Rhythmical Mike, a 24-year-old East Midlands poet, performs his work to pupils at Lovers' Lane Primary school in Newark, Nottinghamshire.
It's an area where many children face big challenges and, according to a new State of the Nation report from the Social Mobility Commission, their educational and career prospects are too often limited from the outset.
It ranks all 324 local authorities in England in terms of the life chances of someone born into a disadvantaged background and it debunks the notion of a simple North-South divide.
Instead, it says, there is a "postcode lottery" with "hotspots" (shown in orange on the map below) and "cold spots" (shown in blue) found in all regions.
The report highlights a "self-reinforcing spiral of ever growing division", with children in some areas getting a poor start in life from which they can never recover.
Sorry, your browser cannot display this map
Map created with Carto. If you can't see the map, tap here.
West Somerset sits at the bottom of the league table, with average wages less than half those in the best performing parts of London.
There are some surprises, with wealthy areas such as West Berkshire, Cotswold and Crawley performing badly for their most vulnerable residents.
The report explains that wealthy areas can see high levels of low pay, with poorer young people at risk of being "somewhat neglected", particularly if they are scattered around isolated rural schools
Conversely, some of the most deprived areas are "hotspots", providing good education, employment opportunities and housing for their most disadvantaged residents.
These include London boroughs with big deprived populations such as Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Newham.
In Kensington and Chelsea half of disadvantaged teenagers make it to university, but the figure for the same group in Barnsley, Hastings and Eastbourne is just 10%.
"London and its hinterland are increasingly looking like a different country from the rest of Britain," says Alan Milburn, who chairs the Social Mobility Commission.
"It is moving ahead, as are many of our country's great cities.
"But too many rural and coastal areas and towns of Britain's old industrial heartlands are being left behind economically and hollowed out socially."
Large variations were also found within Scotland and Wales, although the data is not directly comparable with that for England, says the report.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. "Not many opportunities": People in the town of Newark share their experiences
The East Midlands is the English region with the worst outcomes for those from disadvantaged backgrounds, says the report - and within the East Midlands, Newark and Sherwood is the worst performing local authority.
In Newark, only 43% of children are ready for school when they start Reception, compared with 52% nationally, the research finds.
And by adulthood only 21% are in professional or managerial roles, compared with 51% in Oxford.
Mike, real name Mike Markham, has been a poet for about six years, running his own company and playing at festivals, supporting stars like Rizzle Kicks and Russell Brand.
For him, school was a really negative experience. He feels he failed there.
"It was a nightmare," he says, but believes overcoming his early difficulties helped him succeed later in life.
"Anybody can achieve anything," is his message to the children.
He believes that, despite class structures, the world is changing.
"I think you've just got to be driven, you've got to be inspired you've got to be inspiring."
Efforts to improve social mobility need to start early, says the report
The children themselves have big ambitions.
"I want to be a boxer. I want to get to the highest level and be a professional," says one boy.
"I want to be a heart surgeon and to do that I am going to have to get into the best universities there are and I've just got to try and pass all my exams," says a girl.
But head teacher Jenny Hodgkinson says too many parents are caught between low pay and rising living costs and are working so hard simply to put food on the table, that they often lack time and energy to focus on their children's schooling.
"There's a lot of challenges facing families at the moment," she says.
"In terms of working more than one job, people with low income aren't time rich.
"They want to do the best for their children and they work ever so hard but they don't always have the resources to do what they need to."
"It can be difficult trying to earn a living in this town," says parent Sian Mclachlan.
In the town centre, one young woman complained of few opportunities for young people.
"If there's a good job going it will be gone within a week or so," she adds.
"I've got job security," says one young man. "But I could be doing a lot more. I took better money where I should have gone to college - but you're not really pushed in this area."
The school is making great efforts to improve children's mental health, resilience and self-esteem, along with extra reading support and individual mentoring.
It is working to draw in families, with classes to improve parents' basic skills which can help improve attitudes to education and boost their children's attendance.
Ms Mclachlan says workshops on CV writing, job interviews and money management are also on offer.
But the report warns of "mind-blowing inconsistency" in efforts to improve social mobility.
"Tinkering around the edges will not do the trick," says Mr Milburn.
"The analysis in this report substantiates the sense of political alienation and social resentment that so many parts of Britain feel."
He wants "a new level of effort to tackle the phenomenon of left-behind Britain" and urges the government to increase spending on regions that most need it.
For example, estimates suggest that the North of England is £6bn underfunded compared with London.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Alan Milburn: "Your chances of getting on really depend on where you're born and where you live"
Education Secretary Justine Greening said the findings underlined "the importance of focusing our efforts in more disadvantaged areas where we can make the biggest difference".
"We are making progress. There are now 1.8 million more children in good or outstanding schools than in 2010. Disadvantaged young people are entering universities at record rates and the attainment gap between them and their peers has narrowed.
"We are also boosting salaries through the introduction of the National Living Wage, creating more full-time, permanent jobs and investing £9bn in affordable housing. Taken together, this won't just change individual lives, it will help transform our country into a fairer society."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-42112436
|
Five Northampton cat deaths linked to 'Croydon cat killer' probe - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Five mutilated cats have been found in the Northampton area, prompting warnings from police.
|
Northampton
|
Rusty, a one-year-old cat, was deliberately mutilated and left on the doorstep of its owner's home
The so-called Croydon cat killer is now believed to be responsible for killing and mutilating five cats in the Northampton area after two more deaths emerged.
Police released details of three cat deaths between August and last weekend, but have confirmed two further cases.
The unnamed cats were found in Duston.
Police said the five deaths were now being treated as part of a Metropolitan Police investigation looking into hundreds of killings across England.
The Met and animal charity Snarl (South Norwood Animal Rescue and Liberty) believe more than 400 animals have been killed in the same manner since 2015.
The five Northampton cats were all dismembered in a similar way - with their heads cut off - leading police and the charity to believe they are the work of one person.
The animals were then left for the owners or members of the public to find.
The latest cat death has prompted Northamptonshire Police to issue advice to owners, which includes keeping all cats and rabbits indoors at night.
The Met began investigating a series of "gruesome" killings, which initially began in the Croydon area in 2015, after Snarl raised concerns.
The suspect initially became known as the "Croydon cat killer".
The death of Taz, whose body was found in his owner's Hertfordshire garden, is one of many linked to the same killer
Tony Jenkins, co-founder of Snarl, believes the same person has now claimed the lives of hundreds of cats and rabbits across England, and may well travel as part of his or her work.
The Met launched Operation Takahe to investigate the links between animal deaths and in September experts at a new forensic lab in Surrey began re-examining some of the corpses for new evidence.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-42182698
|
Crowds shout at ex-Trump adviser Michael Flynn at court - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
| null |
Trump's former National Security Advisor has admitted lying to the FBI about dealings with Russia.
| null |
Trump's former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn has admitted lying to the FBI about his dealings with Russia.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42161102
|
Egyptian lawyer jailed for saying women in ripped jeans should be raped - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Nabih al-Wahsh said it was a "national duty" to rape and harass women who wear ripped jeans.
|
Middle East
|
An Egyptian lawyer has been sentenced to three years in prison for saying that women who wear ripped jeans should be raped in punishment.
The lawyer made the remarks on a TV panel show in October, during a debate on a draft law on prostitution.
"Are you happy when you see a girl walking down the street with half of her behind showing?" he said.
He added: "I say that when a girl walks about like that, it is a patriotic duty to sexually harass her and a national duty to rape her."
Mr Wahsh said that women who wore revealing clothing were "inviting men to harass them", and said "protecting morals is more important than protecting borders".
The prosecutor brought charges against Mr Wahsh after a public outcry.
The National Council for Women's Rights condemned the remarks, saying they were a "flagrant call" for rape, in violation of "everything in the Egyptian constitution".
The council has now filed a complaint about the statement to the Supreme Council for Media Regulation about the broadcast which aired on 19 October.
Mr Wahsh has previously called the Holocaust "imaginary" and declared himself a proud anti-Semite.
"If I see any Israeli, I will kill him," he said during a separate TV panel show.
In October last year, Mr Wahsh was involved in a TV studio brawl with a cleric, after the cleric suggested women should not necessarily have to wear a headscarf.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-42209755
|
Israel targets Syrian military base - Syrian state TV - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Syria says Israel attacked an army position outside Damascus and two missiles were destroyed.
|
Middle East
|
Israel launched surface-to-surface missiles at a military installation outside the Syrian capital Damascus overnight, Syrian state TV reports.
The attack caused damage but two missiles were intercepted, it added.
The Israeli military has not confirmed it carried out the strike.
UK-based monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights earlier reported explosions near Damascus, which it said were caused by a suspected Israeli missile attack.
The extent of the damage is not yet clear although the TV report spoke of "material losses" at the base.
Head of the Syrian Observatory, Rami Abdel Rahman, told the AFP news agency the strike destroyed an arms depot - but his group did not know who it belonged to.
Israel has hit weapons sites before, in a bid to prevent arms being transferred to Syria's Lebanese ally Hezbollah. Arms convoys in particular have been singled out by the Israeli air force.
According to the Syrian Observatory the attack took place near El-Kiswah, a few miles south of Damascus.
Last month the BBC revealed a claim that Iran was building a permanent military base near the town.
A series of satellite images showed construction at the location of the alleged base, which was made known to the BBC by a western intelligence source.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously warned that Israel would not allow Iran to establish any military presence in Syria.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-42207172
|
Social mobility board quits over lack of progress - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Chairman Alan Milburn criticises the government, which says it had decided not to renew his term.
|
UK Politics
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Mr Milburn said Brexit meant ministers were unlikely to have the energy to tackle "one of the biggest challenges" facing the UK
All four members of the board of the government's Social Mobility Commission have stood down in protest at the lack of progress towards a "fairer Britain".
Ex-Labour minister Alan Milburn, who chairs the commission, said he had "little hope" the current government could make the "necessary" progress.
The government was too focused on Brexit to deal with the issue, he said.
The government said Mr Milburn's term had come to an end and it had already decided to get some "fresh blood" in.
The commission is charged with monitoring the government's progress in "freeing children from poverty and ensuring everyone has the opportunity to fulfil their potential".
In his resignation letter to Theresa May, published in The Observer, Mr Milburn said he did not doubt her "personal belief" in social justice, but he saw "little evidence of that being translated into meaningful action".
He said individual ministers, such as the education secretary, had shown a deep commitment to social mobility.
But it had "become obvious that the government as a whole is unable to commit the same level of support".
Neither, according to the former Labour minister and his colleagues on the board who include a former Conservative education secretary.
Their frustration demonstrates the extent to which Brexit is all-consuming for the government.
Leaving the EU is taking up so much time, energy and effort that there is little capacity for anything else to get done.
Even on an issue which is a personal priority for the prime minister.
Mr Milburn, a former health secretary, took up his role at the commission in July 2012, under the coalition government led by David Cameron and Nick Clegg.
Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, he said divisions in Britain were becoming wider - pointing to the ongoing squeeze on wages.
The government lacked the "bandwidth" to tackle social division while also dealing with Brexit, he said, describing his task as being like "pushing water uphill".
Mr Milburn said Education Secretary Justine Greening had been a "champion for the cause" and had wanted him to stay in post - which Ms Greening, who also appeared on the show, would not be drawn on.
"He has done a fantastic job, but his term had come to an end and I think it was about getting some fresh blood into the commission," she said.
She denied the government lacked the will to tackle inequality, but admitted more needed to be done.
In a report published last week, the commission said economic, social and local divisions laid bare by the Brexit vote needed to be addressed to prevent a rise in far right or hard left extremism.
It said London and its commuter belt appeared to be a "different country" to coastal, rural and former industrial areas, with young people there facing lower pay and fewer top jobs.
The resignations come as Mrs May, who entered Downing Street in July 2016 promising to tackle the "burning injustices" that hold back poorer people, faces questions over the future of senior minister Damian Green - who is effectively her second in command - and is under pressure as Brexit talks continue.
In an interview in the Sunday Times, Mr Milburn said: "There has been indecision, dysfunctionality and a lack of leadership."
Theresa May pledged to "make Britain a country that works for everyone" when she became PM
The government said it was making "good progress" on social mobility and focusing on disadvantaged areas.
It said it had already told Mr Milburn it planned to appoint a new chair and would hold an open application process for the role.
It said it was committed to fighting injustice "and ensuring everyone has the opportunity to go as far as their talents will take them".
It highlighted its increase of the national living wage, cuts in income tax for the lowest paid and doubling of free childcare in England.
The process of appointing a new chairperson and commissioners would begin as soon as possible, it added.
The other board members standing down include deputy chair of the commission and Tory former education secretary Baroness Shephard.
Paul Gregg, a professor of economic and social policy at the University of Bath, and David Johnston, the chief executive of the Social Mobility Foundation charity, are also leaving.
Shadow cabinet office minister Jon Trickett said the resignations came as "no surprise".
"As inequality has grown under the Tories, social mobility has totally stalled," he said.
"How well people do in life is still based on class background rather than on talent or effort."
Mr Milburn said he would be setting up a new social mobility institute, independent of the government.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42212270
|
The strange animal jargon spoken by business people - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
A bestiary of business terms explained - from sharks and bear markets to unicorns and zebras.
|
Business
|
It's a jungle out there - especially in the world of finance, where it helps to tell your bear markets from bull markets and narwhals from unicorns.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42142691
|
Car hits pedestrians after Brixton 'altercation' - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Two groups argued shortly before several pedestrians were hit by a VW Golf in Brixton, south London.
|
London
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Mobile phone footage shows the scene after the crash
Five men were hit by a car after an "altercation" between two groups of people in the early hours, police have said.
Occupants of the vehicle argued with a number of people in Stockwell Road, Brixton, shortly before several pedestrians were hit, the Met said.
The injured men, aged between 23 and 42 years, were taken to hospital.
None were in a critical condition, Scotland Yard said, as it appealed for witnesses to come forward.
The crash is not being treated as terror-related.
Emergency Services were called to Stockwell Road at about 03:00 BST, police said
Videos released on social media show the aftermath of the incident.
An abandoned Volkswagen Golf was found near the scene, and a number of occupants made off on foot, police said.
The car remained at the scene on Saturday morning
Emergency services were called to Stockwell Road, near the junction of Sidney Road, at 03:00 BST.
No arrests have been made and Stockwell Road remains closed between Brixton and Stockwell.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-42207870
|
Alternative for Germany: Police and protesters clash over meeting - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Police use water cannon and batons as Alternative for Germany delegates gather to choose leaders.
|
Europe
|
Five demonstrations were planned to coincide with the AfD convention on Saturday in Hanover, said reports
Several people have been hurt in clashes between police and anti-fascist demonstrators in the city of Hannover.
Protesters were trying to blockade the far-right Alternative for Germany's first conference since it entered parliament after September's elections.
Once the delayed conference began, delegates elected Alexander Gauland as co-leader along with Jörg Meuthen.
Both hardliners, their election suggests the party is continuing its march further to the right.
Georg Pazderski, the party's regional head in Berlin and a relative moderate, failed to get delegates' backing for the leadership.
AfD won 12.6% of the vote in Germany's federal elections in September, becoming the third biggest force in the Bundestag after the centre-right and social democrat SPD.
They had never entered the federal parliament before but are now eyeing a real chance of becoming Germany's main opposition party.
If Angela Merkel's Christian Democrat alliance agrees a coalition deal with Martin Schulz's social democrats, AfD with 94 MPs would become the biggest non-government party.
With temperatures near freezing, Hanover police used water cannon, batons and pepper spray to clear a path for the 600 delegates.
One demonstrator's leg was broken after he chained himself to a barricade, while an officer was hit on the hand by a flying bottle.
Ten protesters were taken into custody.
A total of five demonstrations were scheduled in the northern city on Saturday. Some 6,000 people joined a pro-immigration rally in the city centre and another rally called by trade unions was expected to draw thousands later.
When the conference got under way an hour late, Mr Meuthen hailed delegates for helping the party achieve national success within five years of being founded.
He said the party was attracting support from voters put off by the other parties' "pathetic childish games" amid an ongoing struggle to form a coalition government.
The party has veered to the right since its inception as an anti-euro force, promoting anti-immigration and anti-Islam policies in its election campaign.
But this sharp turn has created tension within its own ranks, with former co-leader Frauke Petry quitting within days of the election.
The delegates on Saturday confirmed the AfD's rightward trajectory, backing Mr Gauland, the leader of the parliamentary party, for the co-leadership.
Mr Gauland, who has pledged to stop "the invasion of foreigners" into Germany, said he had "allowed my friends to convince me to step in".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Post-war politics of Germany: A history of division and unity
Delegates defeated a motion to install Mr Meuthen as the AfD's only president,
They are also due to elect a new executive board to decide the ideological direction of the party and debate policy motions.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-42209421
|
How much of your salary is spent on rent? - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Tenants living in London see twice as much of their salary going to their landlord than those in the North.
|
Business
|
Tenants typically spend more than a quarter of their monthly salary before tax on rent, official figures show, but there are wide regional variations.
They paid an average of 27% of their gross salary to their landlord in England in 2016, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows.
The picture varies across the country. In London, tenants spent nearly half (49%) of their salary on rent.
In northern England, this falls to just under a quarter of salary (23%).
Given the proportion of salary being spent on rent, a campaign is aiming to ensure regular rent payments are included in tenants' credit records.
Tenants in the South East of England, East of England and the South West all paid more of their salary on rent than the average across England.
In areas of Wales, the proportion of salary spent on rent ranged from 18% to 29%, according to the ONS data, which does not cover Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Tenants are more likely to be young and at a greater threat of getting into debt that they struggle to repay than many homeowners.
While the cost of servicing a mortgage has fallen since the financial crisis, the cost of renting in some parts of the country has risen sharply.
A campaign is being conducted aiming at ensuring credit rating agencies take regular rent payments into account on an individual's credit profile, given that such a large proportion of salary is being spent on rent.
This is being led in the House of Lords by Lord Bird, the founder of the Big Issue magazine, which is sold on the streets by homeless people.
He said it was unfair that mortgage applicants were unable to rely on rent payment history as proof that they would be safe to lend to when buying a home.
Speaking to the BBC, he said that the situation was another example of how many people on lower incomes faced higher costs than the better off.
Lord Bird is the founder of the Big Issue
He said that there was a chance that those with a chequered payment history could be excluded from products or even a place to live, and solutions needed to be found for that problem.
There was also no clear-cut examples across the world of such a system of rent being considered by credit reference agencies working well.
The government has argued that new technology should allow rental payment history to eventually be used as evidence to lenders of a good record of repayments.
However, Lord Bird said: "Many people in the rented sector may not have the skills or the digital profile to do this. Something needs to be done for the mass of people."
He told the BBC that it was a "terrible situation" that so much of the UK's wealth was tied up in property, rather than businesses.
Where can you afford to live? Try our housing calculator to see where you could rent or buy This interactive content requires an internet connection and a modern browser. Do you want to buy or rent? Use the buttons to increase or decrease the number of bedrooms: minimum one, maximum four. Alternatively, enter a number into the text input How much is your deposit? Enter your deposit below or adjust the deposit amount using the slider Return to 'How much is your deposit?' This calculator assumes you need a deposit of at least 5% of the value of the property to get a mortgage. The average deposit for UK first-time buyers is . How much can you pay monthly? Enter your monthly payment below or adjust the payment amount using the slider Return to 'How much can you pay monthly?' Your monthly payments are what you can afford to pay each month. Think about your monthly income and take off bills, council tax and living expenses. The average rent figure is for England and Wales. Amount of the that has housing you can Explore the map in detail below Search the UK for more details about a local area What does affordable mean? You have a big enough deposit and your monthly payments are high enough. The prices are based on the local market. If there are 100 properties of the right size in an area and they are placed in price order with the cheapest first, the “low-end” of the market will be the 25th property, "mid-priced" is the 50th and "high-end” will be the 75th.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42179119
|
Murderer William Kerr arrested after absconding from prison - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
William Kerr was apprehended after being spotted in Ipswich town centre by a member of public.
|
Suffolk
|
William Kerr was spotted in Ipswich town centre following a media appeal
A murderer who absconded from an open prison has been arrested.
William Kerr, 56, an inmate at HMP Hollesley Bay, near Woodbridge, Suffolk, went missing at about 15:00 GMT on Friday.
Suffolk Police launched a manhunt after he failed to return to a rendezvous point in Ipswich where he had been released for a few hours.
Kerr, also known as Billy, was jailed for life in 1998 for the murder of Maureen Comfort in Leeds.
She was found strangled to death in a cupboard at her flat.
Maureen Comfort was found strangled to death in 1996
Suffolk Police, which had advised members of the public not to approach Kerr, said he was apprehended after a member of public spotted him in the centre of Ipswich.
"Officers attended immediately and he was taken to Martlesham Police Investigation Centre pending his transfer back to the prison system," the force said.
"Suffolk Police would like to thank everybody who reported potential sightings of him during his absence."
In April 2015, Kerr absconded from a bail hostel in Hull, sparking a major police hunt and an appeal on BBC Crimewatch.
He was arrested in the Waterloo area of London at the end of April 2015.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-42205209
|
Bryan Singer: Illness forces director to stop work on Freddie Mercury film - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Work on the new Freddie Mercury biopic is suspended while the director deals with a health issue.
|
Entertainment & Arts
|
Bryan Singer has been filming Bohemian Rhapsody in the UK
Production on the new Freddie Mercury biopic has been suspended so director Bryan Singer can deal with "a personal health matter".
The film, titled Bohemian Rhapsody, will tell the story of the late Queen frontman's life.
Twentieth Century Fox told the BBC work had been temporarily halted "due to the unexpected unavailability" of Singer.
The director's representative said it was "a personal health matter concerning Bryan and his family".
A statement added: "Bryan hopes to get back to work on the film soon after the holidays."
Brian May, pictured with Freddie Mercury in 1984, is among the film's producers
Both Singer and a family member are believed to be suffering from health problems. There's no information about the nature of his illness.
A spokesman for the film studio said: "Twentieth Century Fox Film has temporarily halted production on Bohemian Rhapsody due to the unexpected unavailability of Bryan Singer."
Filming has been taking place in the UK, with Mr Robot actor Rami Malek in the lead role.
The movie is still expected to be released in December 2018 as planned.
As well as directing, Singer is listed as a co-producer, alongside Queen's Brian May and Roger Taylor, among others.
Singer's past directing credits include The Usual Suspects, four X-Men movies and Superman Returns.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-42193912
|
Trump-Russia: Six big takeaways from the Flynn deal - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Michael Flynn is facing prison, and the Trump White House is facing a political crisis.
|
US & Canada
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. After Flynn's guilty plea, what next for the Russia investigation?
Special Counsel Robert Mueller just dropped the hammer. Again.
On Friday it was Michael Flynn's turn "in the barrel", to borrow a line from Trump confidant Roger Stone. The former national security adviser pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about December 2016 conversations he had with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak and pledged to "fully co-operate" with Mr Mueller's ongoing investigations.
Mr Flynn has admitted he misled the FBI about his discussions regarding new sanctions imposed on Russia by the Obama administration following evidence of alleged meddling in the 2016 election.
There had been hints this was coming, after word last week that Mr Flynn's defence lawyers had stopped co-operating with the Trump legal team. The president's own scattershot behaviour on Twitter this week could also have been a key tell, like a trick knee acting up before a big storm.
So why is this being billed as a major development in the ongoing investigation into possible Trump campaign ties to Russia? Let us count the ways.
1) Trump's inner circle has been breached
It is difficult to overstate the significance of this felony plea deal. Mr Flynn was a close adviser and confidant of Mr Trump throughout the 2016 presidential race. He was a surrogate for the candidate on television and enjoyed a prominent speaking role at the July Republican National Convention. He had a pivotal role in Mr Trump's presidential transition.
The role of national security adviser in the White House, which Mr Flynn assumed upon Mr Trump's inauguration, is one of the most senior positions in any administration, responsible for being the key conduit between the sprawling US military and intelligence bureaucracies and the president. It is a post that has been held by the likes of Henry Kissinger, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice.
Mr Trump was so partial to Mr Flynn that he was praising him as a "wonderful man" who had been "treated very, very unfairly by the media" just days after firing him.
Now Mr Flynn could be going to jail - and, more importantly, could be sharing damaging information about the Trump inner circle he inhabited for so long.
According to the "Statement of the Offense" filed by the special counsel's office, Mr Flynn is testifying that he had contact with Trump transition team officials before and after his fateful December 2016 conversation with Ambassador Kislyak. "Members of the transition team," the document relates, "did not want Russia to escalate the situation after the Obama administration imposed new sanctions on the Russian government".
These conversations came more than a month after Mr Trump had won the presidency. Mr Flynn had already been announced as the national security adviser in the incoming White House - a top post in the president's inner circle.
The next big question is who exactly were the unnamed senior members of the presidential transition team. Some US news outlets are naming Jared Kushner and former Deputy National Security Adviser KT McFarland. Others seem to indicate it was Mr Trump himself. Eventually, Mr Flynn - and Mr Mueller - will have to lay their cards on the table.
Mr Flynn's assertions about his conversations with the transition team run directly counter to statements made by Mr Trump in a February press conference in which he said Mr Flynn was acting against orders when he reached out to Mr Kislyak.
In fact the White House said at the time that the president dismissed Mr Flynn as national security adviser because he lied to Vice-President Mike Pence about his Russian contacts. The true nature of Mr Flynn's conversations with Mr Kislyak first came out thanks to leaks to the press of information gleaned from government surveillance of Mr Kislyak.
If Mr Flynn has evidence corroborating his account of December contacts with the Trump transition team - which was headed by Mr Pence himself - the White House's explanation for its handling of the Flynn situation, denials of knowledge and all, starts to crumble.
Mr Flynn appeared in court in front of Judge Rudolph Contreras
Anyone in the president's inner circle who told the FBI or Mr Mueller's investigators that they weren't privy to Mr Flynn's activities, when there is evidence that they knew, would be open to another round of charges of lying to the FBI.
The White House response, at least so far, seems to be that Mr Flynn is a lying liar who lies.
"The false statements involved mirror the false statements to White House officials which resulted in his resignation in February of this year," White House lawyer Ty Cobb wrote in a press statement. "Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr Flynn."
4) Mr Mueller could be building an obstruction of justice case
Dust off that old political saw that "it's not the crime, it's the cover-up". While Mr Flynn's contact with the Russian ambassador is questionable, given that he was undercutting Obama administration policy efforts, it is probably not illegal.
What is illegal, however, is obstruction of justice. Former FBI Director James Comey has testified that on 14 February - the day after Mr Flynn was sacked - Mr Trump urged the director to back off his investigation into Mr Flynn during a private Oval Office meeting.
If the president knew that the ongoing law-enforcement inquiry would discover Mr Flynn had been acting under orders - either by the president or a member of his transition team - that could be the kind of motive that would help support an obstruction of justice charge.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. How Michael Flynn became entangled in Russia probe
5) Only the tip of the iceberg?
There were a lot of rumours and allegations floating around about Mr Flynn before Friday's plea deal news. The special counsel's office was reportedly looking into Mr Flynn's Obama-era work as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. It was scrutinising his 2015 trip to Russia, paid for by the Kremlin-backed RT network, and his undisclosed lobbying on behalf of Turkish government interests.
The charge brought against him, however, was solely related to his December 2016 phone conversations with Mr Kislyak. Although it comes with a possible five-year prison sentence, Mr Mueller hardly threw the book at the former national security adviser. Is this all there is?
Mr Mueller is primarily tasked with investigating possible ties between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. Mr Flynn was a senior adviser to and advocate for Mr Trump's presidential bid. Does the relative modesty of the charges against Mr Flynn indicate he may be offering information directly relevant to this inquiry?
Mr Flynn's plea deal is just one piece of a much larger puzzle the special counsel office is trying to solve.
In October Mr Mueller indicted former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, a top aide with White House ties, on money laundering charges predating their involvement with the Trump campaign.
He also struck a plea deal with former foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, who told prosecutors he lied about his own contacts with Russians.
Each move is distinct and not directly related - at least not yet. A some point we are going to learn whether Mr Mueller is building a larger case against the Trump campaign out of these legal moves - or that the sum total of his efforts is nibbling around the edges.
As the president likes to say, stay tuned.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42174518
|
Samuel Berkley: Family of teenager killed on M67 'heartbroken' - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Samuel Berkley, 14, played for Hattersley FC and recently became an uncle.
|
Manchester
|
The family of a teenager who died after he was hit by a car on a motorway said they are "completely heartbroken".
Samuel Berkley, 14, was found on the hard shoulder of the M67 in Hyde, Greater Manchester, in a critical condition at about 17:25 GMT on Friday.
He had been struck by a BMW and later died in hospital. The driver stopped at the scene and spoke with police.
Samuel's family said he was a "fun, outgoing and friendly boy" and a "talented footballer".
He lived at home with his parents in Denton and was described as having "many friends" at Audenshaw School, where he studied.
The teenager had started playing for Hattersley FC and recently became an uncle to his brother's new daughter.
Police had to shut the motorway for several hours
The motorway was shut for several hours on Friday while officers carried out investigations.
Sgt Lee Westhead, from Greater Manchester Police, said officers were working to "uncover how this happened and piece together the moments before the collision".
He appealed for witnesses to come forward.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-42207962
|
David Dearlove jailed for 1968 Paul Booth murder - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
David Dearlove swung his 19-month-old stepson by his feet and smashed his head on a fireplace.
|
Tees
|
David Dearlove claimed Paul Booth was injured when he fell out of bed
A man who swung his toddler stepson by the ankles and smashed his head into a fireplace has been been jailed for a minimum of 13 years.
David Dearlove, 71, murdered 19-month-old Paul Booth at their home in Stockton-on-Tees in October 1968.
Paul's brother Peter, who was three years old when he witnessed the attack after he crept downstairs for a drink, went to police in 2015.
David Dearlove was convicted of murder and three child cruelty charges
The inquest into Paul's death in 1968 recorded an open verdict.
But in 2015, Peter went to the police after seeing a photo on Facebook of his little brother sitting on Dearlove's knee.
He said as a three-year-old he had seen Dearlove, now of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, swinging Paul round their living room and witnessed the boy's head striking the fireplace.
Paul Booth was 19 months old when he died
During the trial, Dearlove insisted Paul suffered the fatal head injury when he fell out of bed onto a concrete floor, although he told police when he was arrested in 2015 that the toddler collapsed in the living room.
He claimed he changed his story because he had forgotten the events of 1968.
The court heard Dearlove had been violent towards Peter and Paul as well as their sister Stephanie Marron who also accused him of cruelty, saying he punched her and pulled her down the stairs.
Paul Booth had suffered bruising less than a month before his death
A mannequin was used to show jurors how Paul Booth's injuries were inflicted
Home Office pathologist Mark Egan demonstrated how the toddler could have died by swinging a doll by the ankles and banging its head on the surface of the witness box, causing some of the 10 men and two women of the jury to weep.
He also said he believed it would have taken separate blows to cause the "z-shaped" skull fracture on the side of Paul's head.
Dearlove was also convicted of three child cruelty charges.
Sentencing, Mr Justice Males told him: "You were a young and no doubt immature man.
"You were also a cruel man and you made the lives of those three young children a misery."
Dearlove swung Paul Booth by his ankles, smashing the toddler's head against the living room fireplace
The Crown Prosecution Service said it had not been able to exhume Paul's body as burial records had been lost, with the case relying on the documents prepared for his inquest at the time.
In a statement after the verdict, the Booth family said Dearlove's actions "not only physically killed Paul but also destroyed his memory".
"He was buried into an unmarked grave the location of which remains unknown and he was not spoken about for many years."
Det Insp Mark Dimelow, from Cleveland Police, said the murder investigation had been "challenging due to its historic nature".
"I want to pay tribute to Paul's family and other witnesses who provided such an emotive testimony and I praise their bravery in having to relive events from 50 years ago," he added.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-42155421
|
Arsenal 1-3 Manchester United - BBC Sport
|
2017-12-02
| null |
Manchester United end Arsenal's run of 12 home league wins despite Paul Pogba being sent off in a thrilling encounter.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Premier League
Manchester United ruthlessly punished defensive errors to become the first side to win a league game at Arsenal since January in one of the matches of the season so far.
Jose Mourinho's side were reduced to 10 men late on when Paul Pogba was sent off for a dangerous tackle and they were aided by a stunning goalkeeping display by David de Gea throughout.
But they did telling damage early on when Antonio Valencia pounced on a loose Laurent Koscielny pass to drill the opener, before Jesse Lingard side-footed a second after robbing Shkodran Mustafi to link smartly with Romelu Lukaku and Anthony Martial.
The strikes meant United had scored as many goals in 11 minutes as they had in eight away fixtures against the Premier League's so-called 'big six' clubs.
• None What happened in the Premier League on Saturday?
• None Watch: Pogba hopes injuries will cause Man City to slip up
An end-to-end first-half, which delivered 20 shots on goal, saw Arsenal hit the woodwork through Alexandre Lacazette and Granit Xhaka during a frenetic goalmouth scramble, before De Gea denied Hector Bellerin, Sead Kolasinac, and spectacularly prevented a Lukaku own goal.
The Spaniard could do nothing about Lacazette's simple finish on 48 minutes but after Lingard had hit the post in a breathless start to the second half, De Gea produced an unbelievable double save from Lacazette and Alexis Sanchez.
His heroics maintained the advantage during an opening 15 minutes to the second half which saw United have just 26% of possession, but Lingard was on hand to tap in a third on 63 minutes after good work by Pogba.
Pogba was dismissed when he mistimed a tackle to effectively stamp on the back of Bellerin's leg, and the Frenchman will now miss the Manchester derby next Sunday.
But his moment of woe felt merely a footnote in a riveting encounter which moved second-placed United to within five points of their city rivals.
Mourinho has garnered a reputation for defensive set-ups on trips to the league's traditional big clubs but his side went after their hosts early on, hounding possession high up the pitch to great effect.
Their opening two goals owed much to slack use of possession by the home side but needed clinical finishes, notably when Martial cleverly flicked into the path of Lingard for the second.
The reward for their adventure secured a first win for Mourinho in his past 12 away fixtures against the 'big six'.
He could be forgiven for not enjoying seeing Arsenal fire 33 shots at goal and said he later told De Gea - who equalled the league record for saves in a match - he had witnessed the "best from a goalkeeper in the world".
Arsene Wenger also labelled De Gea "absolutely outstanding" but while his brilliance points to United riding their luck at times, they were impressive in offering a balance between defence and attack.
Nemanja Matic was consistently well placed, never more so than when blocking a goal-bound Aaron Ramsey shot with the score at 2-0.
And the presence of the defensive midfielder once again freed Pogba, who in bursting into the box to lay on Lingard's second now has five assists this season, surpassing his four in the previous campaign.
Whether Mourinho will choose to live so dangerously against Manchester City next week remains to be seen, but those watching from a neutral stance would be fortunate to see a game as good as this one again.
Wenger spoke of a "good performance" and "impeccable attitude" from his players but he will be familiar with this feeling.
Only twice in 18 meetings with Mourinho has he got the upper hand and the charitable way in which his side gave away goals will not sit well.
Koscielny's cross-field pass and Mustafi's indecision ultimately left a mountain to climb if Arsenal were to record a 12th straight home win in the league.
The ease with which Pogba sauntered into the area to create a third just as Arsenal were seeking to build on Lacazette's goal also smacked of weakness.
Arsenal can justifiably feel aggrieved by a penalty shout that was turned down late on when Danny Welbeck was caught by Matteo Darmian but by that point, the 10 men of United had finally managed to calm a frantic affair.
Wenger's side drop out of the Champions League qualification places into fifth. They were superb going forward at times and will scratch their heads as to how they only found the net once but, not for the first time, it was at the other end where their shortcomings showed up.
It was a magnificent game of football. We have talked about Manchester City going forward but what we saw at times from Manchester United was equally as good.
They were just breaking, too quick and too sharp with their pace and their power. They went after Arsenal, put them under pressure and wanted to get behind their defence, and Arsenal could not cope with their one- or two-touch football.
It was great to watch, and Manchester United were too good and too clever for Arsenal. Superb.
I think De Gea is the best goalkeeper in the world. He was brilliant.
I think it is a red card. It looks terrible. It was dangerous and he was endangering his opponent.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said: "David de Gea was man of the match by a clear mile.
"We played well but there is nothing more frustrating when you have that quality of performance and nothing to show for it at the end. The attitude was impeccable until the end. But you cannot make the mistakes we made at the beginning."
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho said: "I loved the way my team played and fought. Arsenal played in some period amazing attacking football - creating difficulties for us.
"But I have to say that my players deserve all the great words. I don't know so many in English but amazing, phenomenal, fantastic. They deserved three points."
• None Arsenal suffered their first home league defeat since losing 2-1 to Watford in January.
• None Manchester United have won more Premier League away games at Arsenal than any other side (8).
• None David de Gea made 14 saves in the game, the joint-most in a Premier League game since 2003-04, when Opta started collecting this data. Vito Mannone and Tim Krul have also made 14 saves in a fixture.
• None Paul Pogba has scored four goals and assisted six more in his past nine Premier League appearances.
• None Alexandre Lacazette has scored more home goals in the Premier League this season than any other player (six).
• None Paul Pogba received his first red card in league competition since May 2013 for Juventus v Palermo
Arsenal will follow Thursday's Europa League home game against BATE Borisov (20:05 GMT) by visiting Southampton on Sunday, 10 December (13:30). Manchester United need a point at home against CSKA Moscow to progress in the Champions League on Tuesday (19:45) and then host Manchester City on Sunday, 10 December (16:30).
• None Offside, Arsenal. Alexandre Lacazette tries a through ball, but Nacho Monreal is caught offside.
• None Attempt missed. Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal) right footed shot from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Mesut Özil.
• None Attempt saved. Nacho Monreal (Arsenal) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top left corner. Assisted by Mesut Özil with a cross.
• None Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
• None Attempt blocked. Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Mesut Özil.
• None Attempt blocked. Alex Iwobi (Arsenal) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Nacho Monreal.
• None Attempt blocked. Alexis Sánchez (Arsenal) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Aaron Ramsey.
• None Attempt missed. Danny Welbeck (Arsenal) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Aaron Ramsey. Navigate to the next page Navigate to the last page
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42119930
|
Brexit offer 'must be acceptable to Ireland' - BBC News
|
2017-12-02
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
European Council President Donald Tusk says "the key to the UK's future lies - in some ways - in Dublin".
|
Europe
|
Donald Tusk was speaking after talks with the Irish prime minister in Dublin
The UK's offer on Brexit must be acceptable to the Republic of Ireland before the negotiations can move on, the president of the European Council, Donald Tusk, has said.
Mr Tusk was speaking after talks with the Irish prime minister in Dublin on Friday.
He said: "The UK's future lies - in some ways - in Dublin".
The European Union has said "sufficient progress" must be made on the Irish border before negotiations can move on.
"The Irish request is the EU's request," Mr Tusk said.
"I realise that for some British politicians this may be hard to understand.
"But such is the logic behind the fact that Ireland is the EU member while the UK is leaving.
The Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) said the EU was 'a family which sticks together'
"This is why the key to the UK's future lies - in some ways - in Dublin, at least as long as Brexit negotiations continue."
In a press conference with Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Leo Varadkar, Mr Tusk said that the UK's decision to leave the EU had created "uncertainty for millions of people".
"The border between Ireland and Northern Ireland is no longer a symbol of division, it is a symbol of cooperation and we cannot allow Brexit to destroy this achievement of the Good Friday Agreement," he said.
There is a lively debate about whether the Irish government has a veto over the decision - to be taken at the summit of EU leaders on 14 and 15 December - about whether Brexit talks can move to the next phase.
Call it what you like, but now Donald Tusk has told us for sure that the rest of the EU will do what Ireland decides.
There was a put-down for British politicians who may find it "hard to understand" why this is important.
But there was some comfort for the British government: Donald Tusk shares their view that the issue of the border can only be solved when there is more clarity about the UK's future relationship with the EU.
And Mr Tusk ended by saying "the key to the UK's future lies - in some ways - in Dublin." Is this a hint that the Irish government's suggestion that Northern Ireland remain in the EU's single market and customs union is the answer for the whole of the UK?
Or is it just a reminder that Dublin is first among equals among the remaining 27 members of the EU?
"The UK started Brexit and now it is their responsibility to propose a credible commitment to do what is necessary to avoid a hard border.
"As you know, I asked Prime Minister May to put a final offer on the table by the 4th of December so that we can assess whether sufficient progress can be made at the upcoming European Council.
"Let me say very clearly. If the UK offer is unacceptable for Ireland, it will also be unacceptable for the EU."
The taoiseach thanked Mr Tusk for the solidarity demonstrated by all EU partners and called the EU "a family which sticks together".
He said he was optimistic that a deal could be achieved by Monday.
However, he said any UK offer must indicate how a hard border can be avoided and avoid the risk of regulatory divergence.
On Thursday, the DUP's Sammy Wilson said any attempt to "placate Dublin and the EU" could mean a withdrawal of DUP support at Westminster.
He was responding to reports of a possible strategy to deal with the Irish border after Brexit.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Any attempt to 'placate Dublin and the EU' could jeopardise DUP support for Tories
The story suggested that British and EU officials could be about to seek separate customs measures for Northern Ireland after the UK leaves the European Union.
The DUP struck a deal with Prime Minister Theresa May's government in June, agreeing to support Tory policies at Westminster, in return for an extra £1bn in government spending for Northern Ireland.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-42202830
|
Liam Allan trial: Why disclosure failings can prove crucial - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
| null |
The BBC's Clive Coleman gives his analysis of the collapse of Liam Allan's rape trial.
| null |
The Met Police is to hold an "urgent" review of a rape case after being accused of failing to disclose vital evidence.
Liam Allan, 22, was charged with 12 counts of rape and sexual assault but his trial collapsed after police were ordered to hand over phone records.
The BBC's Legal Correspondent Clive Coleman gives his analysis on the issues surrounding the case.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-42366623
|
Christmas comes earlier in the UK, data shows - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Brits are searching for Christmas earlier and more often than other countries, data shows.
|
UK
|
The UK is the country where the character Ebenezer Scrooge was invented, the man who would scoff "bah humbug" at any Christmas revellers. But Brits are no Scrooges, according to Google.
The search engine claims people in Britain make more Christmas searches than anywhere else in the world.
Whether it's searching mince pie recipes, or hunting down the perfect tree decorations, the UK seems to be Christmas obsessed.
For the past four years the UK has had the highest search interest in Christmas topics, taking over from Ireland, which was top in 2012 and 2013.
And in November and December of every year since 2010, UK search interest in Christmas topics has increased.
"Based on experiences I have, there's no question that we are the most Christmas obsessed," says shop owner Robert Newman.
The 69-year-old is well-versed in this field, because he runs a Christmas shop in Stratford-upon-Avon that is open all year round.
He says he will have returning customers come to the shop up to seven times in a year.
"It's just such a magical time for everyone, it's a time for family and celebration."
Consumer and retail analyst Kate Hardcastle is not surprised by the number of Christmas searches coming from the UK.
She believes that the negative national mood over hard-hitting news events means people are going to try and make Christmas extra special this year.
"Life is really tough right now and emotionally, therefore everyone is aiming towards a celebration."
Sorry, your browser cannot display this map
The Lincolnshire village of Keelby is at the top of the table when it comes to Christmas-related searches in the UK.
Google's data shows the proportion of searches that relate to Christmas as a percentage of all searches in the given area and time period. A score of 100 shows the highest percentage of Christmas searches, and every other score is calculated in relation to that.
In November people in Keelby, home to just over 2,000 people, made the highest proportion of searches for Christmas out of all the searches in the area. That gave it a score of 100, a fair way ahead of Rhos-on-Sea in North Wales, which came in second place with a score of 89.
Burnham, on the outskirts of London, had the lowest Christmas search score of five.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. People in Keelby, Lincolnshire, explain why they are crazy for Christmas
In 2017, UK search interest has been over a third higher than in the US, the data shows.
Ms Hardcastle says because the USA has the added holiday of Thanksgiving in November, people in Britain are more focussed on a single holiday than those across the pond.
Our interest in the festive period is also beginning earlier in the year, as search engine results have more than doubled in the last seven years between September and October.
But what role does advertising have to play in Britons searching for Christmas earlier in the year?
Retailers, supermarkets and brands began releasing their adverts in November, in an attempt to entice shoppers to spend more before December arrives.
Brands are expected to spend a record £6bn on Christmas advertising this year, and Ms Hardcastle believes this is down to the relatively new UK phenomenon of Black Friday.
"The retailers have to push early with their Christmas messages because they know that they're not going to be able to get more spend out of some people," she says.
"But they're trying to secure the spend with them through Christmas adverts."
John Lewis is thought to have spent £7m on developing its Moz the Monster Christmas campaign
According to the survey, "November is fast becoming the key month for Christmas purchases for UK shoppers."
"Over 50% of consumers plan to do the majority of their Christmas shopping before December," it added.
On top of being organised by shopping for goods early, the survey shows "UK consumers are by far the most active online spenders in Europe, and are planning to spend 142% more on gifts and 207% more on food and drink online than the European average".
The UK has surpassed America's interest in Christmas online
Matt Cooke, the head of Google News Labs says: "When you look at what people have been searching for online over the past decade, you can see the UK's interest in all things relating to Christmas is greater than any other country, and we start looking for festive information earlier each year too.
In 2016 more people used Google search to find information relating to Christmas than ever before - and search interest begins increasing as early as 1 July."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42356135
|
Virginia woman mauled to death by her dogs, police say - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Police release graphic details after rumours of a murderer on the loose swept through the rural town.
|
US & Canada
|
Tonka and Pacman have since been put down
Police in rural Virginia have released disturbing details about a woman who they say was killed by her two dogs while taking them for a walk last week.
Four days after Bethany Stephens, 22, was found, police held a second press conference to describe her death and refute rumours of foul play.
When deputies found the dogs on Friday they were guarding what police at first thought was an animal carcass.
But the body was Stephens's, and police say the pit bulls were eating her.
Warning: Some people may find the details below upsetting
"I observed, as well as four other deputy sheriffs observed," Goochland County Sheriff Jim Agnew said, "the dogs eating the rib cage on the body".
"The first traumatic injury to her was to her throat and face," he said.
"It appears she was taken to the ground, lost consciousness, and the dogs then mauled her to death," he added, pausing several times.
Sheriff Agnew said in Monday's press conference that he did not want to initially release the graphic detail, out of concern for the victim's family.
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by Kristin Smith This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
But after rumours began to swirl in the small town 30 miles (48km) outside Richmond, Virginia - and the sheriff was inundated with calls from concerned citizens - he chose to release the information in order to assure the public that there was not a killer on the loose.
Friends had questioned what would have led the pit bulls to kill their owner who had raised them since they were puppies.
One friend told local media that the dogs were gentle. "They'd kill you with kisses," Barbara Norris told WWBT News.
The two dogs - who have since been put down with the family's permission - together weighed twice as much as Stephens, who authorities described as "petite" and weighing 100lbs (45kg).
The dogs, named Tonka and Pacman, were found by Stephens's father after he went looking for her in a wooded area on Friday, one day after she disappeared.
"Ms Stephens was terribly, terribly injured, but it was very apparent to us that she had been dead for quite some time," Sheriff Agnew told reporters, adding that her bloody clothes were scattered around her corpse.
He added that her body was so badly mauled, and her injuries were "so extensive that there was nothing left to compare bite marks to".
Authorities say the bite marks on her head match those of the dogs, and that they were not consistent with any other type of wild animal such as a bear.
The dogs' bodies have been preserved for a post-mortem examination.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42418090
|
Metropolitan Police review of rape cases evidence - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
It follows the collapse of two rape cases in a week, after police failed to disclose vital evidence.
|
UK
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
About 30 rape cases due to go to trial and "scores" more investigations are to be reviewed after the collapse of two cases in a week.
On Tuesday, prosecutors dropped a case against a man charged with raping a child under 16 due to police providing "relevant" evidence in recent days.
Last week, student Liam Allan's trial collapsed because of the late disclosure of evidence.
The Met said the same officer worked on both cases and remains on full duty.
The force has not referred the officer involved to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), a Met spokesman said.
The IPCC told the BBC it was "monitoring the situation".
In the most recent case of Isaac Itiary, the Crown Prosecution Service said "new material" provided by Scotland Yard meant the case could not proceed.
Isaac Itiary was charged with raping a child in July but the case collapsed
The Met review is aimed at ensuring all digital evidence in other sex crime cases has been disclosed to the CPS.
Conservative MP Nigel Evans, who was cleared of rape and sexual assault charges in 2014, said there was a "systemic" problem, which could leave innocent people in jail.
Prime Minister Theresa May said the attorney general had already started a review into the disclosure of evidence, telling PMQs: "It is important that we look at this again so we make sure we are truly providing justice."
Liam Allan, 22, was charged with 12 counts of rape and sexual assault but his trial collapsed after police were ordered to hand over phone records crucial to the case.
A computer disk containing 40,000 messages revealed the alleged victim had pestered him for "casual sex".
Mr Allan, who spent almost two years on bail, has said he intends to sue the Met.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Jerry Hayes, the barrister prosecuting the case against Mr Allan, agreed with Mr Evans' assertion that the problem was "systemic" within the police, telling BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "You speak to any barrister they will tell you stories that this happens every single day and it has got to stop."
He said anyone about to go to trial should seek a letter from the police force to say all evidence has been disclosed, and for those convicted, "they will have to be looked at again".
The cases of Liam Allan and Isaac Itiary are very different.
As far as Mr Allan is concerned, the Met has accepted the case "clearly went wrong".
Crucial information was disclosed to defence barristers so late that the trial was already well under way.
In Mr Itiary's case, procedures appear to have been followed, though it's possible police could have acted more quickly.
What the cases have done is shine a light on the importance of following disclosure rules.
Undoubtedly the squeeze on resources, with cuts in the Crown Prosecution Service and policing and a national shortage of detectives, together with the increased caseload for sexual offences units, have played their part.
An inspection report this year also pinpointed inadequacies in training and supervision.
Some see the problems as a direct result of a misplaced culture of "believing" the victim, where police don't look for or withhold contradictory evidence - but that's an assertion for the attorney general's inquiry to examine.
Commander Richard Smith, who oversees the Met's rape investigations, said he understood the failure of the latest case would raise further concerns.
He added: "The Met is completely committed to understanding what went wrong in the case of Mr Allan and is carrying out a joint review with the CPS, the findings of which will be published."
But Nigel Evans said the late disclosure of evidence was "common" in investigations.
Mr Evans was cleared in 2014 of charges of raping a student
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, he said: "It seems to be in too many cases that police are cherry-picking the evidence that is there in order to get a prosecution. "
Mr Evans called for a "proper review" involving police forces across the country, not just the Met.
Dame Elish Angiolini led a review in 2015 into how the Met and the CPS deal with rape cases.
She said she was "concerned about the impact of excessive workloads on the effectiveness of both police and prosecutors".
In response to her review, the Met said it had carried out "significant work", with an extra 196 officers allocated to the relevant units and additional lawyers for the CPS.
Former Met detective chief inspector Peter Kirkham told the Victoria Derbyshire programme it was a resources issue.
"Since 2010, we have reduced the number of police officers around the country by about 20,000 - that's about 15%," he said.
He warned that officers were "stressed" and "haven't got time to do their jobs properly".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
The number of adults reporting rape in England and Wales has more than doubled from 10,160 in 2011-12 to 23,851 in 2015-16, according to figures from the HM Inspectorate of Constabulary's rape monitoring group.
A Home Office study suggests only 4% of cases of sexual violence reported to police are thought to be false.
And statistics from Rape Crisis indicate only 5.7% of reported rape cases end in a conviction.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42417553
|
GCHQ cyber-spies 'over-achieved' say MPs - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The UK's ability to cyber-attack other countries has improved says a Parliament committee report.
|
Technology
|
GCHQ can detect the work of hackers around the globe
The UK has substantially increased its hacking capabilities in recent years, an official report says.
This includes the ability to attack other country's communications, weapons systems and even infrastructure.
The details were revealed in the annual report of the Intelligence and Security Committee, which oversees the work of intelligence agencies.
It said GCHQ had "over-achieved", creating double the number of new offensive cyber-capabilities expected.
The report said GCHQ's allocation of effort to develop hacks had increased "very substantially" from 2014.
The programme of developing the capabilities is divided into three tranches and GCHQ said that it had just finished the first. "We… actually over-achieved and delivered [almost double the number of] capabilities [we were aiming for," an official from the agency told the committee.
The details of the successes are classified in the public version of the report.
Such capabilities could, in theory, be used to retaliate against others' cyber-attacks. The report comes a day after the Foreign Office publicly blamed North Korea for the Wannacry attack, which hit the NHS in May 2017.
Not all the projects at GCHQ have been as successful. One - codenamed Foxtrot - was designed to deal with the spread of encryption.
It is described as an "equipment interference programme to increase GCHQ's ability to operate in an environment of ubiquitous encryption" and is considered critical to the agency's work.
However, it was reported to have suffered a number of delays.
"The task has become more complex, the skills shortage has become more apparent," GCHQ told the committee.
"It is our number one priority and our number one worry."
Another priority was Project Golf - an effort to enhance its supercomputing capacity. GCHQ said this project was also critical but on track to be operational early next year.
For years the intelligence community, like much of government, has struggled with IT projects designed to facilitate the sharing of information.
MI5's Alfa programme, described as crucial to the core business of managing information, is said by the committee to have faced major problems. It added that "significant risks" remained to its successful delivery.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-42425960
|
Arthur Collins jailed for Dalston club acid attack - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Arthur Collins threw the corrosive substance at revellers at the East London nightclub in April.
|
London
|
Arthur Collins had denied knowing the substance he threw was acid
A man who threw acid across a packed London nightclub injuring 22 people has been jailed for 20 years.
Arthur Collins, the ex-boyfriend of reality TV star Ferne McCann, threw the corrosive substance at revellers in Mangle E8 in Dalston on 17 April.
The 25-year-old admitted throwing the liquid but had claimed he believed it was a date rape drug.
He was sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court to 20 years in prison with an extra five years on licence.
Last month he was found guilty of five counts of GBH with intent and nine counts of ABH.
Sentencing Collins, of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, Judge Noel Lucas QC described the crime as a "despicable act".
Judge Lucas said: "His defence from first to last was carefully researched and choreographed in order to explain away the evidence against him."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. CCTV of the acid attack in London club
Collins, he added, threw the acid "irrespective of the persons on whom it landed" and that "his motivations for such a vicious course of conduct was nothing more than a perceived personal slight".
Addressing Collins, he said: "You knew precisely what strong acid would do to human skin.
"Having thrown the acid over the club you slunk away and hid in the rear and pretended to be nothing to do with the mayhem you had caused.
"It was deliberate and calculated and you were intent on causing really serious harm to your victims."
The judge labelled him an "accomplished liar" and someone who has "not the slightest remorse for his actions."
Collins was in the dock wearing a suit and showed no reaction as his sentence was read out.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Club acid attack victim: "I'm not the Lauren who walked into Mangle"
A total of 22 people were injured as a result of the attack, 16 of whom suffered serious burns.
One man suffered third-degree chemical burns to the left side of the face and required a skin graft. Others had eye injuries.
One of his victims Sophie Hall, from Poole, Dorset, said she had hoped for a life sentence, but felt justice had been served.
She said after the sentencing: "Arthur showed no signs of remorse in court. I have to live with my scars for life."
Judge Lucas said that security at Mangle E8 was "poor", adding that had it been better, the injuries and offences "might not have happened".
The BBC has contacted the club for comment.
The attack happened in Mangle E8 in Dalston on 17 April
Collins had six previous convictions including using threatening words, possession of cocaine, drink-driving and assault, the court heard.
He was given a six-month sentence suspended for 12 months at Woolwich Crown Court for punching a man in a nightclub on 28 December 2015, and was still subject to the suspended sentence when he carried out the attack at Mangle E8.
The court also heard how he had made acid attack threats to the mother of an ex-girlfriend.
The father of Ms McCann's child referred to the attack as a "stupid little mistake" during Tuesday's hearing.
Victims who read impact statements to the court spoke of feeling "scared", "traumatised" and "suicidal" as a result of the attack.
Throughout the victims' statements, Collins showed little emotion.
Twenty two people were injured when acid was thrown in the Mangle E8 nightclub
Collins had claimed in court he had taken the bottle from a group of men with whom he had got into an argument.
He said he snatched it thinking it was a date rape drug.
"I wanted to show them the drug was gone; show them there was nothing left in the bottle."
CCTV from inside the club shows Collins throwing acid at the men.
Seemingly unaware of the mayhem caused, Collins returned to the dancefloor "drinking, dancing, Snapchatting and having a good time", the court heard.
At a preliminary hearing at magistrates court, the prosecutor said the incident bore "the hallmarks of both drug-related activity and gang-related activity".
However, Collins and his legal team have always denied any kind of gang-related activity, insisting that there was "not a shred of evidence" to support the theory.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-42411108
|
Surviving period poverty with 'socks and tissue' - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
| null |
A Scottish government pilot project is helping women who can't afford sanitary products.
| null |
Thousands of women in the UK cannot afford to buy sanitary products.
Research by the charity Plan International suggests that one in 10 girls and women - aged between 14 and 21 - in the UK has been affected at some point.
A Scottish government pilot project is providing towels and tampons to those who need them through an Aberdeen food bank.
Two women tell the BBC's Scotland Editor Sarah Smith about their experiences.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42421029
|
Wild animals in travelling circuses banned in Scotland - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
MSPs unanimously back legislation banning the use of wild animals in travelling circuses in Scotland.
|
Scotland politics
|
Legislation banning the use of wild animals in travelling circuses in Scotland has been passed.
The bill, which bans the use of non-domesticated animals for performance or exhibition in travelling shows, does not apply to static circuses.
MSPs unanimously signed off the ban, the first of its kind in the UK.
Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said the move would send a message to the world that Scotland does not condone the misuse of wild animals.
There are not currently any travelling circuses based in Scotland which use wild animals.
However, a Scottish government survey found that more than 95% of respondents were in favour of a ban, and legislation was introduced at Holyrood on "ethical" grounds.
The ban does not apply to static circuses, but a circus leader warned MSPs during committee consideration that a law on such grounds "will eventually close your zoos".
Ms Cunningham conceded that such travelling circuses "rarely" visit Scotland, but called it "a preventative measure based on ethical concerns".
She said: "This is an important act that will not only prevent travelling circuses ever showing wild animals in Scotland in the future, but will demonstrate to the wider world that we are one of the growing number of countries that no longer condones the use of wild animals in this way."
She said travelling circuses which do not feature wild animals "will always be welcome in Scotland".
Roseanna Cunningham said the bill was a "preventative measure"
Scottish Conservative MSP Donald Cameron said the legislation meant "we will finally and at last truly be able to say Nelly the Elephant has packed her trunk and said goodbye to the circus".
Labour's Claudia Beamish also spoke in favour, and said she hoped static circuses would be subject to a similar ban in future.
Green MSP Mark Ruskell said it was "unethical" to make animals live in circuses their whole lives, while Lib Dem Liam McArthur also strongly backed the bill.
MSPs had raised concerns earlier in the legislative process about a lack of definitions in the bill, including a definition of a travelling circus.
This was added at committee stage, which also featured a lengthy debate about what constitutes a wild animal - including references to alpacas, wallabies, raccoon dogs and even rabbits.
With members reassured by the amendments, the bill passed its final vote unanimously.
A ban on wild animals in all circuses in the Republic of Ireland is to come into force from 1 January 2018.
A total of 18 other EU countries have banned or restricted the use of wild animals in travelling circuses, in addition to 14 other countries, but a 2007 review by the UK government found insufficient evidence to support a science-based ban on welfare grounds.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-42429122
|
Student Liam Allan to sue after rape trial collapse - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Liam Allan's trial collapsed after police were ordered to hand over phone records.
|
London
|
Liam Allan said he was "disappointed" he had not yet received an apology from the Met Police
A man wrongly accused of rape says he will sue the Metropolitan Police over its failure to disclose vital evidence that led to the collapse of the trial.
Liam Allan was charged with 12 counts of rape and sexual assault but his trial collapsed after police were ordered to hand over phone records.
The 22-year-old student said he was "disappointed" he had not yet received an apology.
The Met Police said it was "urgently reviewing the investigation".
The case against Mr Allan at Croydon Crown Court was dropped after three days when the evidence on a computer disk containing 40,000 messages revealed the alleged victim pestered him for "casual sex".
Talking to the Victoria Derbyshire programme, Mr Allan said: "University is meant to be the best years of your life and the last two years have been spent worrying and not concentrating on anything.
"It has completely ripped apart my normal personal life."
The 22-year-old student had been charged with 12 counts of rape and sexual assault
He added he had not yet received any contact or an apology from the Met and found that "disappointing".
"I feel relief on one side, that the case is over, but now there's the stress of getting compensation and the process of suing - so it's not over completely", he said.
Mr Allan faced a possible jail term of 12 years and being put on the sex offenders register for life had he been found guilty.
He said he felt "pure fear" when he learned he had been accused of rape but would never be able to understand why the accusations were made.
It is understood police had looked at thousands of phone messages when reviewing evidence in the case, but had failed to disclose to the prosecution and defence teams messages between the complainant and her friends which cast doubt on the allegations against Mr Allan.
A Met spokesman said the force was "urgently reviewing this investigation and will be working with the Crown Prosecution Service to understand exactly what has happened in this case.
"The Met understands the concerns that have been raised as a result of this case being dismissed from court and the ongoing review will seek to address those," he said.
A spokesman for the CPS said: "In November 2017, the police provided more material in the case of Liam Allan. Upon a review of that material, it was decided that there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction.
"We will now be conducting a management review together with the Metropolitan Police to examine the way in which this case was handled."
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-42399802
|
Commonwealth Games: Birmingham set to host 2022 event - BBC Sport
|
2017-12-20
| null |
Birmingham is set to be officially announced as the host of the 2022 Commonwealth Games on Thursday.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Athletics
Birmingham is set to be officially announced as the host of the 2022 Commonwealth Games on Thursday.
It was the only interested city to submit a bid before the original 30 September deadline but was deemed "not fully compliant" by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF).
The CGF then gave rivals until 30 November to apply.
Earlier this month the CGF reiterated it needed "further clarification on issues" before choosing a host city.
But the BBC understands Birmingham has now finally prevailed in its attempt to stage the £750m showpiece, the most expensive sports event in Britain since the London 2012 Olympics.
The bidding process has been beset with problems, with the South African city of Durban originally awarded the Games in 2015 before being stripped of the event in March because it did not meet the CGF criteria.
Birmingham beat Liverpool in September to be Britain's candidate city and the bid subsequently received government backing.
As part of its bid, Birmingham has proposed to create the UK's largest permanent athletics stadium, supplemented by four indoor arenas.
Birmingham is securing its first global sports event and will become the third British city since 2000 to host the Commonwealth Games.
Other than Liverpool, it never faced a proper rival and was made to wait by the CGF, but none of that will bother a bid team that was always confident of victory.
The fact there was only one official bidder is another reminder of the image problem facing big sports events. But the CGF has a new strategy designed to help support host cities, and believes its partnership with Birmingham can help find a solution to the challenge facing sports federations.
Meanwhile, a bitter five-month long bin dispute has finally been resolved but amid further budget cuts, West Midlands local authorities will need to raise 25% of the overall cost of staging the Games.
Organisers insist essential services will not be affected, and that the event will prove great value for the West Midlands, showcasing a diverse and youthful community, and leaving a sporting and economic legacy.
But after the fiasco of the London Olympic Stadium's finances, there will be significant scrutiny of the costs and legacy benefits.
However, after London 2012, Glasgow 2014, the start of the Tour de France and recent world championships in rugby, women's cricket and athletics, Britain is now set to organise yet another major sports event.
It is a reminder of the importance the government now places on hosting sport as a platform for trade and tourism as the country prepares for Brexit.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/42423309
|
One teen has been campaigning to end period poverty - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Amika George, 18, wants free menstrual products to be given to pupils on free school meals.
|
Newsbeat
|
After seeing a news article about some girls in Leeds who missed school because they couldn't afford menstrual products, one teenager took it upon herself to change things.
"I'm still at school and to imagine what it would be like to miss a week of school every month is what really got to me," says 18-year-old Amika George.
"So I started a petition and called it #FreePeriods.
"The idea is that everyone on free school meals would get free menstrual products.
Amika George is calling for free menstrual products for those on free school meals
"I think some people will say they are really cheap, but it's easy to forget that you need to meet those costs every single month for several years in your life.
"So in the long run it adds up."
Amika organised a protest opposite Downing Street where celeb speakers - including Adwoa Aboah, Aisling Bea and Daisy Lowe - called on Theresa May to provide free menstruation products for those already on free school meals.
She says the government has been "dismissive of period poverty" because it says schools have discretion over how they use the money in their budget.
"We all know schools are incredibly stretched for money and budgets are being cut," says Amika.
"But also there's still a lot of taboo around periods.
"It's something that doesn't make any sense to me as to why a completely natural process that half the world's population goes through is unspeakable and scary and disgusting.
"And that is something that really needs to change."
If given the chance to talk to the prime minister, Amika would say: "There are girls missing school for up to a week every month and that's damaging the economy because it means those girls are less likely to get amazing jobs.
"There are people who are suffering from extreme poverty in the UK and it's awful she's not done enough to combat that.
"I'd say my solution of providing free menstrual products to all girls on free meals would work."
The government says it's invested more than £11bn since 2011 to help schools support their most disadvantaged pupils.
In a statement, it told Newsbeat: "Current guidance to schools on relationship and sex education encourages schools to make adequate and sensitive arrangements to help girls cope with menstruation."
Find us on Instagram at BBCNewsbeat and follow us on Snapchat, search for bbc_newsbeat
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/articles/42424484
|
UK homes to get faster broadband by 2020 - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Homes and businesses to have a legal right to demand access to high-speed broadband by 2020.
|
Business
|
Homes and businesses will have a legal right to demand faster broadband speed by 2020, the government has said, after rejecting a voluntary offer from BT.
It has promised that the whole of the UK will have access to speeds of at least 10 Mbps by 2020.
BT, which is responsible for the infrastructure, had previously offered to carry out improvements according to its own timetable.
But the company said it accepted the government's decision.
Under the plan, broadband providers will face a legal requirement to provide this minimum standard to anyone requesting it, subject to a cost threshold.
The UK lags behind many countries in terms of speed and reliability.
BT customer Lee Wootton-Rowley, who lives in Wakefield, contacted the BBC to say: "I get 5 Mbps and an upload speed of 0.9 in 2017.
"I lived in Malta for four years where I was getting 60 Mbps and 20 upload speed."
Mike Simatos, from Rotherhithe in south-east London, said his broadband supply speed was no faster than 4 Mbps.
He described the service as "appalling".
Regulator Ofcom said that 4% of UK premises, or about 1.1 million, could not access broadband speeds of at least 10 Mbps.
It said poor connections were a particular concern for small businesses, with almost 230,000 unable to get a decent service.
Ofcom defines superfast broadband as a download speed of 30 Mbps or more.
Matt Hancock, minister of state for digital said on the BBC's Today programme: "Access means you can phone up somebody, ask for it and then someone has the legal duty to deliver on that promise.
"It is about having the right to demand it, so it will be an on-demand programme.
"So if you don't go on the internet, aren't interested, then you won't phone up and demand this."
In response to the announcement, BT said: "BT and Openreach want to get on with the job of making decent broadband available to everyone in the UK, so we'll continue to explore the commercial options for bringing faster speeds to those parts of the country which are hardest to reach."
In one sense, there is little new in today's announcement - people in remote places were promised a legal right to a minimum 10Mbps broadband service by 2020 and now they are going to get it.
But in rejecting BT's plan for a voluntary agreement to fill in most of the remaining parts of the country with a decent service, the government is taking quite a risk.
The plan, opposed as anti-competitive by BT's rivals, would at least have given some certainty.
But now it is far from clear who will provide this Universal Service Obligation - the government hopes new providers will come in alongside BT's Openreach - or what technology will be employed.
New fast fibre firms are now competing in the cities, but the 1.1 million homes and offices Ofcom says still cannot get a 10Mbps service are mainly in rural areas, and it is not clear they will be keen to lay cables along every lane.
Now it is the regulator's job to make sure this all works.
There are now two years to push through new legislation, work out how to police it, and determine what is a reasonable cost threshold for hooking up really remote homes.
Should be a doddle, shouldn't it?
Rival firms, which had talked of legal action if the government accepted BT's offer, welcomed the decision.
Both TalkTalk and Sky said the government had made the right decision.
Tristia Harrison, TalkTalk chief executive, said: "By opting for formal regulation rather than weaker promises, ministers are guaranteeing consumers will get the minimum speeds they need at a price they can afford," she said.
"The whole industry now needs to work together to ensure customers see the benefits as quickly as possible."
Stephen van Rooyen, Sky's UK and Ireland chief executive, said: "Government have made the right decision by choosing a fair and transparent approach that maintains competition, keeps prices fair and gives consumers a legal right to request broadband."
Following the introduction of secondary legislation early next year, it is thought it will take another two years before the right is enforced by Ofcom.
Under BT's offer, which the company had said would cost up to £600m, 98.5% of premises would have had access to a fixed broadband service in 2020.
Another 0.7% would have access to a service delivered by a combination of fixed and wireless connections.
The remaining 0.8% in the most difficult-to-reach areas would have been guided toward satellite or on-demand fibre solutions.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42423047
|
Damian Green sacked after 'misleading statements' on porn claims - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The PM's deputy is asked to resign after making "inaccurate statements" after pornographic material was found on his Commons computer.
|
UK Politics
|
Damian Green, one of Theresa May's closest allies, has been sacked from the cabinet after an inquiry found he had breached the ministerial code.
He was "asked to quit" after he was found to have made "inaccurate and misleading" statements over what he knew about claims pornography was found on his office computer in 2008.
He also apologised for making writer Kate Maltby feel uncomfortable in 2015.
Laura Kuenssberg said the PM "had little choice but to ask him to go".
The BBC's political editor said the departure of a close friend left Mrs May a "lonelier figure".
Mr Green, 61, who as first secretary of state was effectively the PM's deputy, is the third cabinet minister to resign in the space of two months - Sir Michael Fallon and Priti Patel both quit in November.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Theresa May "will miss his advice, will miss his support" - Laura Kuenssberg on Damian Green sacking
In her written response, Mrs May expressed "deep regret" at Mr Green's departure but said his actions "fell short" of the conduct expected of a cabinet minister.
Like Mrs May, Mr Green campaigned for Remain in last year's EU referendum and had been a leading voice in Cabinet for a "softer" Brexit.
He had been under investigation regarding allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards journalist and Tory activist Ms Maltby. He denied suggestions that he made unwanted advances towards her in 2015.
He also denied that he had either downloaded or viewed pornography on a computer removed from his Commons office in 2008 and said police had "never suggested to me that improper material was found".
In his resignation letter, Mr Green said statements he made about what he knew about the pornography could have been "clearer", conceding that his lawyers had been informed by Met Police lawyers about their initial discovery in 2008 and the police had also raised the matter with him in a phone call in 2013.
"I apologise that my statements were misleading on this point," he said.
Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt told BBC Radio 4's Today programme Mr Green had "lied" about "a particular incident" and that was why he had to go but it was a "sad moment".
Asked if his departure left Theresa May more isolated, he said "leadership is lonely" but she had shown "extraordinary resilience in very challenging circumstances" and was someone "who is capable of taking very difficult decisions".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. "I was shocked": Former detective constable Neil Lewis speaks to the BBC
An official report by the Cabinet Office found that public statements he made relating to what he knew about the claims were "inaccurate and misleading" and constituted a breach of the ministerial code.
The report also found that although there were "competing and contradictory accounts of what were private meetings" between himself and Ms Maltby, the investigation found her account "to be plausible".
Her parents, Colin and Victoria Maltby, said in a statement they were not surprised to find that the inquiry found Mr Green to have been "untruthful as a minister, nor that they found our daughter to be a plausible witness".
They praised their 31-year-old daughter for her courage in speaking out about the "abuse of authority".
Ms Maltby is not commenting on Mr Green's resignation until she receives more details from the Cabinet Office.
Damian Green was a confidant of the prime minister for many years
Damian Green has never been a politician with a huge public persona, or even a hugely well-known character.
But he was an extremely important ally of Theresa May. Not just a political friend but a genuine one, close to her for decades.
The government, so the joke in Westminster goes, has become "weak and stable", with number 10 taking back some control of the agenda in recent weeks.
So it is not likely that Mr Green's exit will suddenly unleash another bout of turmoil.
But the prime minister clearly took this decision very seriously.
She is a politician who guards her views, her own persona very closely. To lose one of the few who understood her, who she trusts, leaves her a lonelier figure.
In her reply, the PM said while the report had found his conduct to have been "professional and proper" in general, it was right that he had apologised for making Ms Maltby "feel uncomfortable".
Addressing breaches of the ministerial code, she added: "While I can understand the considerable distress caused to you by some of the allegations made in the past few weeks, I know that you share my commitment to maintaining the high standards that the public demands of ministers of the crown.
"It is therefore with deep regret that I asked you to resign from the government and have accepted your resignation."
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by Helen Catt This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post 2 by Helen Catt This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Mr Green's political future has been in question since Ms Maltby claimed in an article in the Times that the minister "fleetingly" touched her knee in a pub in 2015 and in 2016 sent her a "suggestive" text message which left her feeling "awkward, embarrassed and professionally compromised".
Mr Green, an acquaintance of the journalist's parents, said the claims were "hurtful" and "completely false".
Kate Maltby's account was found to be plausible, the report says
But they were referred for investigation by top civil servant Sue Gray - who is examining other claims that emerged during a swirl of allegations about harassment and other misconduct at Westminster.
The inquiry was subsequently expanded to consider claims that legal pornography was found on a computer removed from Mr Green's office in the House of Commons in 2008.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
It was one of a number of possessions seized by the police during a controversial inquiry into the leaking of official documents by a civil servant to Mr Green, at the time a shadow Home Office minister under David Cameron.
Mrs May, who has known Mr Green since they were contemporaries at Oxford, brought him into the cabinet after she became PM in 2016 and promoted him to first secretary of state in July.
Since then, he has played a substantial role behind the scenes chairing key cabinet committees and has also deputised for Mrs May at Prime Minister's Questions.
It is not clear who will replace him in those roles but unconfirmed reports have suggested there will be no announcement until the New Year, with Parliament due to go on recess on Thursday.
• None Theresa May loses one of the few who understood her
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42434802
|
Brexit: Be more patriotic about cheese, says Michael Gove - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Prices will go up if the UK leaves the EU without a deal but not if people buy British, says Michael Gove.
|
UK Politics
|
Michael Gove has hit back at claims the price of cheddar cheese will go up by 40% if Britain leaves the EU without a trade deal.
The environment secretary said that would not happen if consumers started buying more British cheddar.
"I am deeply concerned about your unpatriotic attitude towards cheese," he joked to the Labour MP quizzing him.
He said his department was "very pro UK cheddar" - and Britain's dairy farmers would respond to what the market wants.
His attempts to show off his knowledge of cheddar, by naming varieties such as "Montgomery or Lincolnshire Poacher", were cut short by environment committee chairman Neil Parish.
Britain currently imports "lots of cheddar" from Ireland, the Commons environment committee was told, but if it leaves the EU without a trade deal and goes to World Trade Organization (WTO) rules it will face tariffs on that product of 40%.
That meant prices in British shops would go up by 40%, Labour's Angela Smith claimed.
Mr Gove said it would be important to have these WTO tariffs if Britain left without a deal to prevent British farmers being undercut by cheap food imports - but he insisted the price of cheddar would not rise by 40%.
Mr Gove has criticised standards in US chicken farms
Agriculture minister George Eustice told the environment committee: "What would probably happen, if everybody put up such a tariff wall, is that we would consume more of the cheese we produce, rather than send it to Ireland, and Ireland would be selling us less cheese."
The UK currently exports £320m of cheddar to Ireland every year and imports £389m of cheddar, he told the committee (Ireland accounts for about 80% of all cheddar imports, according to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board).
Mr Gove suggested going to WTO rules was as likely as "a tsunami hitting the South West of England" and the government did not want to do it - but he told the MPs that his department was planning for such an eventuality.
He said that if it happened it would lead to higher food prices in the shops, but also more export opportunities for farmers. Mr Eustice quoted research by the Resolution Foundation that under WTO rules retail prices might rise by 4.3%.
Mr Gove also suggested he could block a post-Brexit trade deal with the US if it included allowing the import of chlorine-washed chickens.
He said it was a matter of animal welfare rather than food safety - saying American chicken farmers were "less respectful of the birds" - and Britain would need to be "assertive" in trade talks.
He claimed his department "punches above its weight" and has "extra muscle" in Whitehall so it would be able to insist on keeping its chicken and other food standards.
"The Cabinet is agreed that there should be no compromise on high animal welfare and environmental standards," he said.
In response to Mr Gove's comments the pro-Remain Labour MP Ben Bradshaw, of the Open Britain group, said Mr Gove's comments meant "a trade deal with Trump's America won't be happening anytime soon".
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42427812
|
London: Banks and passporting rights after Brexit - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
| null |
Could the City of London remain the financial centre of Europe after Brexit?
| null |
Chief EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said British banks will lose their 'passporting rights', which allow them to serve clients across the EU without the need for licences in individual countries, when the UK leaves the EU.
Daily Politics reporter Emma Vardy looks at whether banks may move their headquarters out of London, and whether the city could remain the financial centre of Europe after Brexit.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42199601
|
Father's paternity pay rights tested at tribunal - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The case could determine whether firms have to pay new fathers the same as mothers.
|
UK
|
Stock image: Capita is appealing against a ruling that it failed to give a new father full paternity leave rights
A case that could determine whether firms have to pay fathers on maternity leave the same as women is being heard by the Employment Appeal Tribunal.
The support services firm Capita is appealing against a ruling in June that it failed to give a new father full paternity leave rights.
Madasar Ali, whose wife had post-natal depression, was offered two weeks' pay, whereas a woman is paid for 14 weeks.
A tribunal ruled Mr Ali, a call centre worker, had been discriminated against.
The BBC's legal correspondent Clive Coleman says the outcome of the appeal will be binding for similar cases in the future.
In 2015, new rules around shared parental leave came into force to give fathers (or the other parent or partner) the opportunity to stay at home caring for the baby.
For the first two weeks after birth, mothers must still take the time off but the rest of the leave, up to 50 weeks, can be shared between the parents if they meet certain criteria.
The government said about 285,000 working couples would be eligible under the rules.
Figures obtained by BBC Wales from HMRC showed 6,100 fathers and 542,850 mothers in England, and 250 fathers and 27,650 mothers in Wales, received a statutory payment to take time off work with their children in 2016/17.
Employment lawyer Lindsey Bell told BBC Breakfast that companies were giving "enhanced maternity leave over and above" what they have to for women - but not for men.
She said in Mr Ali's case, his wife was being encouraged to go back to work because of her post-natal depression, so he had to take on the childcare - but he was not being paid the same as female colleagues.
She said in that situation "that does seem to be discriminatory".
John Adams, from Dad Blog UK, is the main carer for his two children. He told BBC Breakfast that the leave offered for men and women was "inconsistent".
"It's small [the number of men taking up shared parental leave] but then this is the crux of the issue," he said.
"If men aren't getting the same rights as women, they can't actually get involved in family life, they can't afford to take the time off, so they don't, so from the earliest days they are basically discriminated against."
Tom Higham said he wants equal rights for paternity pay
Tom Higham, who has a one-year-old son Jack, told the BBC Victoria Derbyshire programme: "We are not advocating for lower pay for mothers.
"What we are advocating for is equal rights to pay and compensation for men who take paternity leave, because if you want a balanced family, a balanced economy and all of the positives that ensue for the child and for the family, and for the workplace, then you have to make an effort to make pay more equal."
Josh Lawson, who got 22 weeks' full paternity leave to look after five-month-old son Isaac, told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme it was "absolutely critical to get that time to bond".
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42421456
|
Paul Flynn v Michael Gove over £350m Brexit figure - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
| null |
A Labour MP challenges Michael Gove over the Vote Leave campaign's use of the £350m figure.
| null |
Labour veteran MP Paul Flynn has accused Michael Gove of a "lie... a deception" over the Vote Leave campaign slogan which claimed Brexit could free up £350m a week for the UK.
Mr Flynn, MP for Newport West, brought the controversial figure up during an evidence session of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee on the impact of Brexit on trade in food.
Mr Gove, who was one of the leaders of the Vote Leave campaign, said that if Mr Flynn was going to suggest to his constituents that they "were too stupid to understand the arguments... then good luck at the next election".
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42424315
|
Grenfell children deliver the alternative Christmas message - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Children who survived June's fire will speak of family and home in a message broadcast by Channel 4.
|
UK
|
The children all lived in Grenfell Tower
Five children who survived the Grenfell Tower fire will deliver this year's alternative Christmas message.
The message, broadcast on Channel 4 on Christmas Day, will urge people to "love and cherish" their families.
The children, aged between seven and 12, will also speak about the importance of having a home and their experiences on the night of the fire.
Children who survived the tragedy also took part in a service at St Paul's to mark six months since the fire.
Last year, the alternative Christmas message was given by Brendan Cox, the widower of the MP Jo Cox, who was murdered during the EU referendum campaign.
In this year's message, 10-year-old Hayam Atmani, who lived on the 15th floor of the tower, will say: "My message for everyone at Christmas is to stay as a family, and don't suffer about anything.
"I know this has been a really hard time for everyone, but everyone went through and everyone helped as a family. So I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year."
She will describe the family's life in a hotel, where she will also spend her birthday on 27 December, as "not that much fun".
Sisters Megan and Luana Gomes, 10 and 12, who were both put into induced comas after the fire, to be treated for smoke inhalation, will also take part in the broadcast.
Having spent five months in a hotel before moving into a temporary flat, they will both speak of the importance of having a home.
Megan will say: "My Christmas message is that I think all families, children and parents should have a nice warm cosy home.
"I just want everyone in the world to have a house at least."
Luana will add: "My Christmas message is that everybody should love and respect each other because you never know what tomorrow will be like. And it is important to love and cherish your family."
The children will also recount their memories of the night of the fire.
Brothers Amiel and Danel Miller, 10 and seven, who lived on the 17th floor, will describe hearing screaming and their mother telling them to get their clothes on and run down the stairs.
Danel will say: "We got outside and then we saw stuff falling down from the tower and grass on fire."
But the children will also talk of happier things, including memories of their former homes and their favourite aspects of Christmas.
Hayam will describe how her friends admired her former home. "Everyone came. They were just saying, 'Oh that's so cool! I wish I lived here.' You could see the whole area; parks and stuff," she will say.
Megan will describe how her family always got a real Christmas tree to gather around.
And Danel will bring a smile to viewers' faces, telling them that his Christmas message is to "share food!".
Previous alternative Christmas messengers have included whistle-blower Edward Snowden and the parents of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence.
Channel 4 has broadcast the series since 1993. This year's will air at 3pm.
• None Grenfell Tower fire: Who were the victims?
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42412891
|
Homelessness in England 'a national crisis', say MPs - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The government's approach to tackling the issue is "unacceptably complacent", a group of MPs warn.
|
UK
|
The report says 120,000 children are homeless and living in temporary accommodation
Homelessness in England is a "national crisis" and the government's attitude to tackling it is "unacceptably complacent", a committee of MPs say.
A Public Accounts Committee report found there were more than 9,000 rough sleepers and some 78,000 families living in temporary accommodation.
The cross-party research said there was a shortage of housing options for homeless people and those at risk.
The government says it is investing more than £1 billion on the problem.
The definition of homelessness under law includes rough sleepers, single people in hostels and those in temporary accommodation.
Since 2011, the number of people sleeping on the streets has increased by 134 per cent, the report says.
Meanwhile, those living in temporary accommodation has risen by about two-thirds in the last seven years.
Some 120,000 children are among those without permanent housing, the report says.
Labour MP Meg Hillier, who chairs the committee, says the government's approach to tackling the problem of homelessness has been an "abject failure".
"The government must do more to understand and measure the real world costs and causes of homelessness and put in place the joined-up strategy that is so desperately needed.
"That means properly addressing the shortage of realistic housing options for those at risk of homelessness or already in temporary accommodation.
"More fundamentally, it means getting a grip on the market's failure to provide genuinely affordable homes, both to rent and to buy."
Ms Hillier suggests action such as providing financial support to local authorities with acute shortages of suitable housing.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42421583
|
UN Jerusalem vote: US 'will be taking names' - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Donald Trump threatens to cut aid to states opposed to his recognition of the city as Israel's capital.
|
Middle East
|
Fourteen states backed a similar motion on Jerusalem at the UN Security Council on Monday
The US says it "will be taking names" during a UN General Assembly vote on a resolution criticising its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
Permanent representative Nikki Haley warned member states that President Donald Trump had asked her to report on "who voted against us" on Thursday.
The draft resolution does not mention the US, but says any decisions on Jerusalem should be cancelled.
Mr Trump later threatened to cut off financial aid to those who backed it.
"They take hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions of dollars, and then they vote against us. Well, we're watching those votes," he told reporters at the White House. "Let them vote against us. We'll save a lot. We don't care."
The status of Jerusalem goes to the heart of Israel's conflict with the Palestinians.
Israel occupied the east of the city, previously occupied by Jordan, in the 1967 Middle East war and regards the entire city as its indivisible capital.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Why the ancient city of Jerusalem is so important
The Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state and its final status is meant to be discussed in the latter stages of peace talks.
Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem has never been recognised internationally, and all countries currently maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv. However, President Trump has told the US state department to start work on moving the US embassy.
The 193-member UN General Assembly will hold a rare emergency special session on Thursday at the request of Arab and Muslim states, who condemned Mr Trump's decision to reverse decades of US policy earlier this month.
The Palestinians called for the meeting after the US vetoed a Security Council resolution, which affirmed that any decisions on the status of Jerusalem were "null and void and must be rescinded", and urged all states to "refrain from the establishment of diplomatic missions in the holy city".
The other 14 members of the Security Council voted in favour of the draft, but Ms Haley described it as an "insult".
The non-binding resolution put forward by Turkey and Yemen for the General Assembly vote mirrors the vetoed Security Council draft.
The Palestinian permanent observer at the UN, Riyad Mansour, said he hoped there would be "overwhelming support" for the resolution.
But on Tuesday, Ms Haley warned in a letter to dozens of member states that encouraged them to "know that the president and the US take this vote personally".
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by Nikki Haley This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
"The president will be watching this vote carefully and has requested I report back on those countries who voted against us. We will take note of each and every vote on this issue," she wrote, according to journalists who were shown the letter.
"The president's announcement does not affect final status negotiations in any way, including the specific boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem," she added. "The president also made sure to support the status quo of Jerusalem's holy sites."
Ms Haley echoed the warning on Twitter, writing: "The US will be taking names."
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki and his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, accused the US of intimidation.
"We see that the United States, which was left alone, is now resorting to threats. No honourable, dignified country would bow down to this pressure," Mr Cavusoglu told a joint news conference in Ankara on Wednesday before travelling to New York.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-42424666
|
Damian Green: PM's university friend and political ally sacked - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
A profile of Theresa May's close ally, who has been sacked after he breached the ministerial code.
|
UK Politics
|
Damian Green has been a confidant of the prime minister for many years
Damian Green was one of the prime minister's closest allies in government. A university friend, he entered Parliament at the same time as Theresa May.
But now he has been sacked from the cabinet after an investigation found he breached the ministerial code.
Mr Green was a leading Conservative figure for 20 years and had been a friend of the prime minister since they were at Oxford university together in the 1970s.
They entered Parliament together in 1997.
Later, he served in the Home Office during the coalition government.
After she became Tory leader in June 2016, Mrs May brought the 61-year old into her cabinet and a year later named him as her effective deputy by giving him the title of first secretary of state.
Since then, the former journalist, who campaigned for Remain in the EU referendum, has been a vital cog in a government beset by divisions and infighting over Brexit.
He has played a substantial role behind the scenes chairing key cabinet committees and, more publicly, deputised for Mrs May at Prime Minister's Questions as recently as last week.
He spent much of his early political career in the backroom, but the MP for Ashford in Kent has twice hit the headlines in a big way over the past decade.
His political future has been in question since journalist and Conservative activist Kate Maltby suggested, in an article in November for the Times, he had behaved inappropriately towards her.
The 31-year old claimed the minister "fleetingly" touched her knee in a pub in 2015 and in 2016 sent her a "suggestive" text message which left her feeling "awkward, embarrassed and professionally compromised".
Mr Green, who is an acquaintance of the journalist's parents, said the claims were "hurtful" and "completely false".
But they were referred to the Cabinet Office for investigation by a top civil servant amid a swirl of allegations about harassment and other misconduct at Westminster.
In his resignation letter, Mr Green apologised to Ms Maltby for making her feel "uncomfortable".
The civil servant's inquiry also considered claims that legal pornography was found on a computer removed from Mr Green's office in the House of Commons in 2008.
Damian Green and his wife, Alicia Collinson, have two daughters
Mr Green, shadow immigration minister at the time, was arrested in November 2008 and was held for nine hours as part of a Scotland Yard inquiry into a Home Office leak.
The arrest was described as disproportionate and flawed by two inquiries in 2009 and no charges were brought against him.
Mr Green, who is married to barrister Alicia Collinson and has two grown-up daughters, has always strenuously denied that he either viewed or downloaded any pornographic material on his Commons computer.
But, in his resignation letter, he said he should have been clear that police lawyers talked to his lawyers in 2008 about the pornography, and the police raised the matter again in a phone call in 2013.
Although it took Mr Green a comparatively long while to make it to the cabinet table, he is no stranger to being close to the centre of power - giving up a successful career in newspapers and broadcasting to work as an official in John Major's Downing Street in the early 1990s.
The Welsh-born politician was on the Tories' pro-European wing, having refused to rule out the UK one day joining the euro, long after many of his colleagues had done so.
But unlike EU diehards such as Ken Clarke and Lord Heseltine, who also campaigned on the remain side in the 2016 referendum, he has been on something of a journey and has taken a more pragmatic approach to Brexit.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-42193826
|
Sheffield arrests over 'alleged UK Christmas terror plot' - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Four men were arrested during raids involving counter-terror police and an Army bomb disposal unit.
|
England
|
Police and the bomb disposal unit were seen outside a property in Chesterfield, Derbyshire
Action has been taken against an alleged Islamist terror plot in the UK that could have happened at Christmas, counter terrorism sources say.
Four men were arrested early on Tuesday in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire.
An Army bomb disposal team cordoned off a street in Chesterfield where a 31-year-old man was arrested. Nearby homes were evacuated.
Three other men aged 22, 36 and 41 were arrested in the Burngreave and Meersbrook areas of Sheffield.
All four suspects were detained on suspicion of being concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
They have been taken to a police station in West Yorkshire for questioning. The cordon in Chesterfield was later lifted.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Elizabeth Fogarty lives on the street where a raid by police took place this morning
The cordon around one of the properties - the Fatima community centre on Brunswick Road in Burngreave - was extended on Tuesday afternoon and the bomb disposal unit attended.
A large number of police vehicles and officers were outside the two-storey building. The main door appeared to be broken on the ground.
Five raids at houses took place on Tuesday at:
Four men were arrested - all at their home addresses.
At 21:30 GMT, police said searches had been stood down for the evening but would resume at the scenes in Burngreave and Chesterfield in the morning.
A neighbour in Shirebrook Road, Sheffield, reported hearing "an enormous bang" as one of the raids took place at 05:30.
Carol Perry, who lives two doors from the scene, said: "I was asleep and then I was woken suddenly... and the house shook.
"My immediate thought was that it was an earthquake."
A large police presence could be seen outside the Fatima community centre in Sheffield
A spokeswoman from Counter Terrorism Policing North East said: "The public may have heard a loud bang at the time as police entered one of the properties, but it was not an explosion.
"[We] would like to reassure them that it was part of the method to gain entry to the property."
Retired Joan Miller, 63, who lives opposite the run-down house, said she looked out of her window to see many plain-clothed armed officers in the street.
Ms Miller said: "[There] was very loud bang. It shook the house.
"I pulled the curtains and saw lots of armed men in the street, so I kept watching because that was quite extraordinary."
Police and Army activity is continuing in Chesterfield
She said the officers shouted "very abruptly" for people to stay in their homes.
Elizabeth Fogarty, who lives across the road from the house in Meersbrook, said: "I've only recently moved up from London.
"One of the reasons we moved up north to Sheffield is because we felt quite nervous living in London with all the terrorist attacks taking place."
There are two types of terrorism raids in the UK. Many occur very quietly as detectives knock on the door and take the suspect into custody under normal police powers.
Then there are the full-on raids where doors or windows have to be knocked in, cordons set up and the bomb squad called.
Such operations are only ever mounted because secret intelligence - perhaps from an intercepted communication and often only fragmentary - suggests there is something at a property they need to get to the bottom of.
None of which is proof that any of those who have been arrested have committed an offence - but officers now have up to 14 days, subject to court oversight, to build a case.
One of their priorities is likely to be forensically examining phones. All recent major terrorism investigations have turned on not just what officers found during searches, but what they uncovered from online lives.
Supt Una Jennings of South Yorkshire Police said: "I understand our local communities will have concerns about this morning's police activity but I want to offer my reassurance that we will continue to serve and protect the public of South Yorkshire."
Derbyshire's Assistant Chief Constable Bill McWilliam said: "We of course understand that police activity of this nature can be unsettling.
"However, please be reassured, the arrest we wanted to make has been made.
"Our advice remains to be vigilant, which is not different to our day-to-day advice in the current climate, but continue to go about your business as usual."
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-42410084
|
Christmas attack: German government admits mistakes in aftermath - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Victims' relatives say they were not given timely information and were billed for autopsies.
|
Europe
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Angela Merkel visits the scene soon after the 2016 attack in Berlin
Germany has admitted that mistakes were made in the aftermath of last year's attack on a Christmas market in Berlin that left 12 dead.
"Everything humanly possible" was being done to help those affected and improve security, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on the first anniversary of the attack.
Mrs Merkel has come under fire for her government's response.
Families have said they were not given timely information and that they were sent bills for the costs of autopsies.
After a private ceremony for the bereaved and emergency workers, Mrs Merkel said it was time to work to "correct the things that went wrong".
"Not only to guarantee security, but to give those whose lives were destroyed or impacted, the chance to return to their lives as well as possible," she added.
The chancellor also attended an event that unveiled a memorial for the victims at Berlin's Breitscheidplatz, the site of the Christmas market.
Several family members had accused Mrs Merkel of "inaction", saying that she had failed to reach out to them. She met victims' relatives for the first time on Monday, and described the conversation as "brutally honest".
Last year's attack in Berlin also left dozens injured
Earlier, in an article in the Tagesspiegel newspaper (in German), Justice Minister Heiko Maas acknowledged the country was not "sufficiently prepared" for the consequences of such an attack, saying: "For this we can only apologise to the victims and surviving relatives".
He proposed the creation of a government co-ordination office to improve communication with victims of future attacks and called for a change in the law so that all victims could be treated and compensated equally, regardless of their nationalities or the circumstances of the attack.
Tributes are paid to the victims of the attack at the market in Berlin
A report commissioned by the government and released last week cited a number of failures in the response to the attack, including delays in confirming the identities of the victims to their relatives.
A separate report in October revealed "gross mistakes" by German police and security services.
Anis Amri, a Tunisian asylum seeker who drove a lorry into the crowded market, was shot and killed in Italy four days after the attack.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-42410414
|
Uber is officially a cab firm, says European court - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The ride-hailing firm had argued that it was an information society service.
|
Business
|
Uber is officially a transport company and not a digital service, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled.
The ride-hailing firm argued it was an information society service - helping people to make contact with each other electronically - and not a cab firm.
The case arose after Uber was told to obey local taxi rules in Barcelona.
Uber said the verdict would make little difference to the way it operated in Europe, but experts say the case could have implications for the gig economy.
An Uber spokesperson said: "This ruling will not change things in most EU countries where we already operate under transportation law.
"However, millions of Europeans are still prevented from using apps like ours. As our new CEO has said, it is appropriate to regulate services such as Uber and so we will continue the dialogue with cities across Europe. This is the approach we'll take to ensure everyone can get a reliable ride at the tap of a button."
In its ruling, the ECJ said that a service whose purpose was "to connect, by means of a smartphone application and for remuneration, non-professional drivers using their own vehicle with persons who wish to make urban journeys" must be classified as "a service in the field of transport" in EU law.
It added: "As EU law currently stands, it is for the member states to regulate the conditions under which such services are to be provided in conformity with the general rules of the treaty on the functioning of the EU."
This ruling is another example of how the courts and regulators are struggling to make sense of the phenomenon known as the gig economy.
Since Uber was first launched less than a decade ago, it has repeatedly fallen foul of regulators in different countries - and has frequently been forced to change its business model as a result.
This ruling sets out clearly that Uber is, in legal terms at least, a transport company. Uber itself insists that there won't be a huge immediate impact on its business, but it could still affect how it operates in future and how it liaises with national governments.
Uber itself has previously said this will undermine the reform of what it calls outdated laws.
On a wider basis, it could have implications for other gig economy businesses that try to portray themselves as little more than an app on a phone, connecting providers with customers; it appears the courts, so far, are taking a different view.
That could ultimately have an impact, not just on ride-hailing services, but on other gig economy services - such as couriers and accommodation providers - who operate a similar model.
TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said the verdict meant Uber must "play by the same rules as everybody else".
She added: "Their drivers are not commodities. They deserve at the very least the minimum wage and holiday pay.
"Advances in technology should be used to make work better, not to return to the type of working practices we thought we'd seen the back of decades ago."
The verdict comes after Uber was told last month that the appeal to renew its licence in London could take years, according to Mayor Sadiq Khan.
Uber's presence around the world has often been controversial, with protests staged against it in various cities.
However, Rohan Silva, a tech entrepreneur and former adviser to David Cameron, says the firm has made competitors up their game.
"Millions of people use these ride-hailing apps every day - not just Uber, but dozens of others too. They have brought real benefits, making it cheaper, easier and more convenient to get around the city," he told Radio 4's Today programme.
"There has also been a benefit in incumbent London taxi cabs, which are now taking credit cards, which they resisted for years. That is a response to competition."
He added that similar services could soon face regulation as a result of the ECJ ruling.
"There could be big implications for a sharing economy service like Airbnb, which will probably be regulated by the EU," he said.
"What is fascinating about this right now is that different countries are taking very different views. Portugal has legalised Uber and Airbnb, whereas France is clamping down."
Prof Andre Spicer, from the Cass Business School, welcomed the ruling. He told Today: "Many people see the EU is actually leading the way in pushing back the almost unlimited power of tech firms and beginning to provide some limits around that.
"We also claim this fosters competition, but what Uber's model is based on is pricing, so much that they basically drove everyone else out of the market.
"This judgement will allow normal competition, so what we will see is lots of other smaller apps appearing around Europe."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42423627
|
Stepfather jailed over boy's water park drowning - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Paul Smith had initially denied letting five-year-old Charlie Dunn wander off.
|
Leicester
|
Charlie Dunn was pulled from the Blue Lagoon children's pool at Bosworth Water Park
The stepfather of a five-year-old boy who drowned at a water park has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years.
Paul Smith pleaded guilty to manslaughter by gross negligence over the death of Charlie Dunn.
Charlie, who could not swim, was found in a pool at Bosworth Water Park in Leicestershire on 23 July 2016.
Smith, 36, of Tamworth, denied letting the boy wander off alone for more than two hours but changed his plea during a trial at Birmingham Crown Court.
Paul Smith and Lynsey Dunn from Tamworth, Staffordshire, were sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court
The boy's mother, Lynsey Dunn, 28, also of Tamworth, Staffordshire, had a charge of manslaughter dropped.
She was given an eight-month suspended sentence after she admitted neglecting Charlie in a separate incident in 2015, when a neighbour prevented him driving a toy car onto a main road.
The court was told Smith was heard swearing and blaming others after Charlie - who was placed on the child protection register in 2012 - went missing while unsupervised.
Charlie was left to "fend for himself" in a pool which had signs warning that children must be supervised.
One father who was in the pool had to explain to another parent that Charlie was not his son, Mrs Justice Jefford recounted.
The court heard Smith has 10 previous convictions for 28 crimes and was a "person of interest" to Staffordshire social services.
They had become involved with Charlie when he was 14 months old and put a child protection plan in place for him.
Mary Prior QC, prosecuting, said Smith "had a status of being a risk to children", but there was no evidence of Charlie having come to harm when the plan became effective.
Staffordshire County Council is now conducting a serious case review into Charlie's death.
In sentencing, Mrs Justice Jefford said she did not doubt the defendants "had genuine love and affection for Charlie", but said Smith was "completely indifferent" to the boy's "whereabouts and safety".
"This was not a case in which there was an isolated and momentary lapse in care and supervision," she said.
The judge also praised three boys, aged 10, 11 and 12, who pulled Charlie from the pool, saying it "must have been a horrific experience for them".
Smith was sentenced to five years and two months for manslaughter, with a consecutive two-year term handed down for threatening to petrol-bomb the home of a witness.
He was also given a further four months for driving while disqualified.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-42425758
|
Brexit: Goldman Sachs chief Lloyd Blankfein suggests second vote - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Lloyd Blankfein tweets that many want a "confirming vote" on a "monumental and irreversible" decision.
|
Business
|
The chief executive of Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein, has suggested holding another referendum on Brexit.
Mr Blankfein tweeted: "Here in UK, lots of hand-wringing from CEOs over #Brexit... So much at stake, why not make sure consensus still there?"
The firm, which is known to have taken office space in Frankfurt, employs about 6,000 people in London.
Banks are particularly worried the UK will fail to strike an EU trade deal.
The banks fear that after Britain leaves the EU their businesses will lose "passporting rights", which allows them to sell financial services across borders.
Mr Blankfein's tweet went on to say: "Better sense of the tough and risky road ahead. Reluctant to say, but many wish for a confirming vote on a decision so monumental and irreversible.
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by Lloyd Blankfein This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Mr Blankfein's twitter account was barely used until recently.
Despite him signing up to the microblogging service in 2011 he only sent his first tweet in June - and since then has shared his thoughts in that way just 26 times.
Nevertheless, he has attracted 69,000 followers.
His previously most noticeable tweet - sent last month - was also Brexit-related: "Just left Frankfurt. Great meetings, great weather, really enjoyed it. Good, because I'll be spending a lot more time there. #Brexit".
That was seen as a hint that Frankfurt would become a key European base for the Wall Street giant post-Brexit.
Last month, the Wall Street bank said it had agreed to lease office space at a new building in Frankfurt giving it space for up to 1,000 staff.
That would be five times the current staff of 200 and see the Wall Street giant bolstering activities including trading, investment banking and asset management.
The bank is also thought to be looking at expanding its operation in Paris.
A spokesman for Goldman Sachs said the bank had nothing further to add to Mr Blankfein's comments.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42014209
|
Post Office secures £370m funding from government - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
About £160m of the money will go to village branches, but unions condemn a "slash-and-burn" of services.
|
Business
|
The Post Office network is to get £370m in new funding, the government has announced.
About £160m of the money will be used to protect village community branches, Business Secretary Greg Clark said.
The three-year funding deal, running from next April, comes as the Post Office announced it had moved into profit for the first time in 16 years.
Unions dismissed claims the investment would save the network, arguing that it was just "managing decline".
In addition to the money for village branches, some £210m will be used to modernise services and technology.
The government said it had invested more than £2bn since 2010, leaving a network of around 11,600 branches, extended opening hours and thousands of branches open on a Sunday.
Mr Clark said the Post Office, run by an independent board, was "at the heart of communities across the UK, with millions of customers and small businesses relying on their local branch every day to access a wide range of important services".
He said: "With the network at its most stable in decades, this £370m of government funding will ensure it can continue to modernise and bring further benefits to customers across the UK."
Alongside the announcement, the Post Office revealed that it made £13m in the last financial year.
Paula Vennells, its chief executive, described this as "a major milestone in the Post Office's journey to a sustainable and successful business".
She added that "we are better placed than ever to embrace the future".
But a spokesman for the Communication Workers Union said the government "was dressing up" the announcement as good news.
In reality, the network was facing a funding cut, and the turnaround in profits was achieved from branch closures and thousands of job cuts, the CWU said.
Brian Scott, of the Unite union, said the Post Office lacked a "coherent strategy for the future" and said that profits were being achieved through a "slash-and-burn approach".
• None How does Christmas post get delivered?
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42418567
|
Contaminated blood report 'full of lies' - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Government officials have apologised for using a discredited report into the contaminated blood products scandal, the BBC can reveal.
|
Health
|
Carol Grayson's husband, Peter, died after contracting hepatitis C and HIV from infected blood products
Government officials have apologised for using a discredited report into the contaminated blood products scandal that left thousands of NHS patients infected with viruses including HIV.
Despite assurances that the "inadequate" document would be ditched, a health minister has referred to it this year, the BBC can reveal.
The government admits that the document was used for too long.
This week it will announce who will run its official inquiry into the scandal.
Critics say the whole process has taken far too long and have accused the government of a "whitewash".
Campaigners have always said that the 2006 report - originally billed by the government as an official account of how the scandal unfolded - was misleading and incomplete because original documents had been destroyed.
It has been called the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS.
At least 2,400 people died after they were given blood products that were infected with hepatitis C and HIV during the 70s and 80s.
Thousands of NHS patients with an inherited bleeding disorder called haemophilia were given the plasma products, which came from abroad, including the US.
Much of the plasma used to make the clotting treatment Factor VIII came from donors like prison inmates in the US, who sold their blood.
Carol Grayson's husband, Peter, was one of the victims who died.
She says campaigners have challenged the Department of Health over its investigations for more than a decade.
She told BBC News: "I had to give my career up to care for my husband for many years and I didn't have my own children because at the time I wanted to conceive, I was told I might infect the child and the advice at the time was, don't have children. So there are huge implications for families. It doesn't just impact on one person, it impacts on the whole family.
"I go from being absolutely furious and thinking everything I was brought up to believe in, you know about democracy, about justice is a lie."
In July, the prime minister ordered the Cabinet Office to oversee the independent investigation into how the scandal happened, after family members warned that the involvement of the Department of Health would mean it would be, in effect, investigating itself.
The BBC has now seen a series of letters from ministers and civil servants, accepting that the 2006 report (Self-Sufficiency in Blood Products in England and Wales) previously seen within Whitehall as a "definitive account", was inadequate.
Sir Chris Wormald, permanent secretary at the Department of Health, wrote to Liberal Democrat peer Lady Featherstone in August assuring her that the document "has not been used by officials in recent years… and it will not be used in the future".
But the BBC has also seen a letter written by health minister Lord O'Shaughnessy to another MP in January this year, which referenced the report and its conclusions.
When this was brought to Sir Chris's attention, he apologised, and said there were "some instances in recent years where the department had referred to the document" and reiterated the assurance that the document would be taken out of use.
Lady Featherstone told the BBC that civil servants promised to make clear online that the document had been discredited, but this was not yet apparent.
The peer, whose own nephew died from an infection from contaminated blood products, said: "That document is full of holes, and lies, and mistruths, and lines to take, and I went to the Department of Health to challenge the use of this document.
"I think the permanent secretary was quite genuine in his desire - he saw that the evidence proved that they couldn't use the document - and he wrote to me to assure me that this document was not being used any longer, had not been used in recent years and would never be used again in the future.
"It indicated to me that they knew it was wrong, that they must have acknowledged it was telling untruths."
A Department of Health spokesperson said: "The 2006 document, Self-Sufficiency in Blood Products in England and Wales: A Chronology from 1973 to 1991, remained in use by the department for too long. It is no longer used.
"The infected blood scandal of the 1970s and 80s is an appalling tragedy and the government has announced an independent statutory inquiry to ensure that victims and their families finally get the answers they have spent decades waiting for."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-42410301
|
Theresa May loses one of the few who understood her - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Damian Green's resignation leaves the prime minister a lonelier figure.
|
UK Politics
|
As Theresa May was just ending her year in a better place than her team could have imagined, her deputy has been forced to depart from government, despite his continued insistence that he has done nothing wrong.
Damian Green has never been a politician with a huge public persona, or even a hugely well-known character.
But he was an extremely important ally of Theresa May. Not just a political friend but a genuine one, close to her for decades.
The government, so the joke in Westminster goes, has become "weak and stable", with number 10 taking back some control of the agenda in recent weeks.
So it is not likely that Mr Green's exit will suddenly unleash another bout of turmoil.
But the prime minister clearly took this decision very seriously.
His friends in government had believed that he would have been cleared, with one minister telling me today, "he'll be fine".
After the prime minister received the initial report on Monday from the Cabinet Office official Sue Grey, who found flaws in his account, Mrs May asked for further advice, calling in her independent adviser, Sir Alex Allan.
He then, in turn, concluded that there had been breaches of the rules. With that, Mrs May had little choice but to ask him to go.
But just as Damian Green's friends say it is a disappointment for him, still insisting that he has done nothing wrong, so too it is a political blow for the prime minister.
She is a politician who guards her views, her own persona very closely. To lose one of the few who understood her, who she trusts, leaves her a lonelier figure tonight.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42434771
|
Mohammed Awan jailed for 10 years for terror plot - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Dentistry student Mohammed Awan is the brother of so-called Islamic State suicide bomber Rizwan Awan.
|
Sheffield & South Yorkshire
|
The brother of a suicide bomber killed in Iraq has been jailed for 10 years for terror offences.
Dentistry student Mohammed Awan, from Huddersfield, was sentenced after being found guilty of preparing for terrorist acts and possessing material likely to be useful to a terrorist.
The 24-year-old was jailed for 10 years and ordered to serve three years extended licence on his release.
Awan's brother Rizwan Awan killed 30 people in a bomb blast in Iraq in 2016.
Judge Paul Watson QC said he believed Awan was "to a very large extent radicalised by the actions" of his elder brother.
Anti-terror police said Awan had downloaded information on how to use ball bearings in attacks
Passing sentence at Sheffield Crown Court, Judge Watson said: "I am completely satisfied that you had intentionally adopted an outwardly innocent and respectable persona with the clear intention that, at some future point, you would be able to perpetrate a terrorist act without being detected."
Awan, a fourth-year dentistry student at the University of Sheffield, was arrested by anti-terror police in June after purchasing 500 ball bearings online.
During raids on his family home in Rudding Street, Huddersfield, and a flat in Dun Street, Sheffield, officers recovered a "significant volume" of extremist material, including advice on how to be a "sleeper cell" in the West.
Police also seized 11 mobile phones, 16 USB memory sticks and seven computers.
One memory stick contained a 36-minute video of a senior al Qaida leader calling on young Muslims to join so-called Islamic State (IS) and featured graphic footage of how to kill and kidnap victims.
On a mobile phone, officers found images of the Boston Marathon bombing and a man wearing an orange jumpsuit about to be executed.
Anti-terror police carried out a raid at the family home in Huddersfield
Awan had claimed he had bought the ball bearings and a catapult to use for hunting.
Det Supt Simon Atkinson, head of investigations at Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said: "Whilst we do not know the full details of Awan's intentions, officers intervened swiftly before Awan could put any plans into practice."
Judge Watson added: "The ideology to which you had so clearly wedded yourself is, to all right-thinking, peaceful, tolerant and inclusive Muslims living in harmony in this country, utterly abhorrent.
"Your romanticised notions of a jihadi struggle involving violence and destruction are far removed from the Islamic faith.
"You are, in my view, someone who is even now in the grip of idealistic extremism."
Rizwan Awan detonated a bomb in Iraq in 2016 killing himself and dozens of people
During his trial, jurors heard Awan's brother Rizwan had travelled from Manchester to Istanbul on 17 May, 2015 where he appeared to have joined IS.
The court heard that the brothers remained in contact until Rizwan launched an attack on an Iraqi military convoy.
Awan said he will appeal against his conviction and sentence.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-42426811
|
UK 'Christmas terror plot': Police searches resume - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Four men remain in custody after counter-terror police raids in Sheffield and Chesterfield.
|
England
|
Police and the bomb disposal unit were seen outside a property in Chesterfield, Derbyshire
Counter-terror police are carrying out searches of two properties after they foiled an alleged Islamist terror plot that may have happened at Christmas.
Armed officers and an Army bomb disposal squad were involved in raids on five properties in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire on Tuesday.
Four men arrested under the Terrorism Act remain in custody.
Searches at scenes in Burngreave, Sheffield, and at a house in Chesterfield are under way.
A 31-year-old man was arrested after the bomb squad cordoned off a street in Chesterfield.
Three other men aged 22, 36 and 41 were arrested in the Burngreave and Meersbrook areas of Sheffield.
A door was destroyed at the Fatima Community Centre on Tuesday
A clothing bank was searched outside the Fatima Community Centre
The cordon around one of the properties - the Fatima Community Centre on Brunswick Road in Burngreave - was extended on Tuesday afternoon and the bomb disposal unit was brought in.
All four suspects were detained on suspicion of being concerned in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism, under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Four men were arrested - all at their home addresses.
Police and army activity is continuing in King Street North, Chesterfield
Simon Atkinson, head of investigations at Counter Terrorism Policing North East, said: "We're working around the clock to keep people safe and to stop people who want to affect our way of life.
"It's really important that we continue to work with the public, so if anybody has any concerns report them to the police and be vigilant."
The Fatima Community Centre said it was "temporarily closed", with trustees told arrests had been made "in the flats adjacent to the centre and in the surrounding area".
In a statement, it said: "Our primary concern is to ensure the safety of all community members.
"Fatima Centre activities form an integral part of the lives of many local residents who are understandably concerned. Community users can rest assured that it will re-open as soon as this matter is resolved."
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-42421697
|
What's wrong with Rome's Christmas tree? - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
| null |
Tourists and locals have described it as "mangy", "sickly" and "plucked".
| null |
Tourists and locals have described it as "mangy", "sickly" and "plucked".
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-42425029
|
Harvey Weinstein: Ex-assistant criticises gagging orders - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Zelda Perkins wants UK law to change, 19 years after accusing the film mogul of trying to rape a colleague.
|
Entertainment & Arts
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Zelda Perkins: "Everyone sees [Harvey] as this repulsive monster... he was also an extremely exciting person to be around."
A former assistant to Harvey Weinstein, who accused him of attempting to rape a colleague 19 years ago, has called for a change to UK law on gagging orders.
Zelda Perkins worked for Weinstein's Miramax Films in the UK in the 1990s. She left after a co-worker said he'd tried to rape her, which he denied.
Ms Perkins told BBC Newsnight she tried to expose his behaviour, but was told by lawyers she "didn't have a chance".
She signed a non-disclosure agreement but said the process was "immoral".
Ms Perkins was 24 when she signed the confidentiality agreement in 1998, which prevented her from speaking to anyone about the alleged sexual assault.
She's now broken her 19 years of silence by speaking publicly about the movie mogul's mistreatment of women.
In her first broadcast interview, she told Newsnight's Emily Maitlis she wanted UK law on non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) reformed to dismantle a legal system which she says enables the rich and powerful to cover up sexual assault and harassment.
"The last 19 years have been distressing, where I've not been allowed to speak, where I've not been allowed to be myself," she told the BBC Two programme.
"It's not just distressing for me, but for lots of women who have not been able to own their past, and for many of them, their trauma. Although the process I went through was legal, it was immoral."
She said she was "emotionally and psychologically" threatened by Weinstein during her three years working for him, but was never physically threatened.
When, on a trip abroad, a younger colleague came to her in a distressed state to say that Weinstein had attempted to rape her, Ms Perkins felt it was her duty to act.
"She was shaking, very distressed, and clearly in shock," she said. "She didn't want anybody to know and was absolutely terrified of the consequences. I spoke with her and tried to calm her down before confronting Harvey face to face."
Weinstein denied the attempted rape. The women were advised to take legal advice, but were shocked by what they were told.
"The lawyers made it very clear that we didn't have very many options," she said. "We had no physical evidence because we hadn't gone to the police when we were abroad, and ultimately, it would be two young women's words against Harvey Weinstein.
"In hindsight, my lawyers were giving me the advice they thought was best.
"However, they were saying, 'You will get dragged backwards, forwards and sideways through the courts. As will your family, as will your friends, as will anybody who knows anything about you. You haven't got a chance. You will be destroyed.'"
They were advised that their best option was to take legal action against Weinstein. What followed eventually led to the signing of an agreement so shrouded in secrecy that Ms Perkins herself is not permitted to own a copy of the document, but can look at it under supervision.
She fought to get terms included, including Weinstein's commitment to attend therapy. The document is so closely guarded because it's "a smoking gun", she said.
"If you have an agreement that somebody has signed, that says that he will go to therapy, that he will be dismissed from his own company if anybody else makes a claim in the ensuing period, that an HR policy for sexual harassment has to be brought into the company, it's pretty clear that something's wrong."
She received £125,000 as part of the settlement - which she now views as a payment for her silence. But she says she regrets that the agreement meant that money changed hands.
She said the experience left her "pretty broken and exhausted and so disillusioned" and she doesn't know whether the conditions regarding therapy were carried out.
She said: "I didn't have the energy to go on fighting. It was not my obligation to follow up on his obligation.
"What's extraordinary looking back is you'd imagine that Miramax Films would have been bending over backwards to make sure all of those obligations were fulfilled. But they weren't. I really couldn't stay in the industry at that point."
Now, Ms Perkins says her motives for breaking the terms of her agreement by speaking publicly are as much about shedding light on the gagging orders that can protect the rich and powerful as they are about exposing Harvey Weinstein's alleged abusive behaviour.
NDAs are widely used in the business world to share confidential information and keep trade secrets, but their usage in sexual harassment cases is more controversial.
The allegations against Harvey Weinstein have caused some law-makers in the US to readdress the use of NDAs in these instances. Senators in New York, New Jersey and California have drafted legislation aimed at banning them in such circumstances.
Ms Perkins now wants the UK Parliament to follow suit and debate the issue.
Geoffrey Roberston QC said NDAs could be very useful, especially in employment law, and a blanket ban was "not the way to go".
But he added: "There is, however, an entirely legitimate case for the UK Parliament to pass an amendment to the Criminal Justice Act, making it a crime to offer money to employees to silence them in relation to criminal offences that they know about.
"This is also a question of legal ethics - the Weinstein story has highlighted an area in the law that can cover up sexual crime."
Ms Perkins said: "I understand that non-disclosure agreements have a place in society, and for both sides. But it's really important that legislation is changed around how these agreements are regulated."
The BBC asked Mr Weinstein for a response to the allegations. His lawyers said Mr Weinstein categorically denied engaging in any non-consensual conduct or alleged threatening behaviour. Miramax had no comment.
The lawyers representing Zelda Perkins at the time that the NDA was signed said it was inappropriate for them to comment, given the terms of the NDA.
Watch the full interview on Newsnight on BBC Two at 22:30 GMT.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-42417655
|
IMF downgrades UK growth forecast on Brexit uncertainty - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The IMF has cut its UK economic growth forecast, blaming Brexit uncertainty.
|
Business
|
The IMF has cut its UK economic growth forecast, blaming Brexit uncertainty.
The Fund expects growth of 1.6% this year, down slightly from its previous forecast of 1.7%. It expects growth to slow further next year, to 1.5%.
IMF chief Christine Lagarde said uncertainty over the Brexit deal was causing UK firms to delay investment plans.
She also said rising inflation, caused by the fall in the pound, and stagnant wages were squeezing spending power.
Ms Lagarde said that the government had made "significant progress" in reducing the deficit.
But she added that relative to growth in the rest of the world, "the UK is losing out as a result of higher inflation, pressure on wages and incomes and delayed investment".
"If you look at investment alone, with 2.1% of GDP in investment, with the global economy as it is, and the space the UK economy has in that global economy, it should be rolling at 6%."
I asked Christine Lagarde at the launch of the IMF report how she responded to critics who said the IMF had been too gloomy before the referendum.
It's worth reproducing her answer in full.
"The numbers that we are seeing the economy deliver today are actually proving the point we made a year and a half ago when people said, you are too gloomy," she said.
"We were not too gloomy, we were pretty much on the mark, I mean within 0.1% or so - our forecast actually turned out to be the reality of the economy.
"Sterling has depreciated, inflation has gone up, wages have been squeezed as a result, and investments have been slowed down and are certainly lower than where we would expect them to be."
Yes, there are many positives in this report on record high employment and praise for progress on those Brexit talks.
But the big takeaway is this.
In a world of strong global growth, the IMF stands by its analysis that the UK economy has suffered since the referendum.
Ms Lagarde said that increased productivity was key to increasing living standards and that a new trade deal could help restore productivity levels in the UK.
She said: "The shape of the new agreement with the EU will affect productivity performance through its implications for trade, investment and migration.
"The higher are any new barriers to the cross-border flow of services, goods and workers, the more negative the impact would be."
However, Ms Lagarde also said: "Brexit has the potential to reshape the structure of the UK economy. The impact will depend on the nature of the final agreement and may take many years to fully materialise."
Brexit supporter and economist Ruth Lea said that while the fall in value of the pound had squeezed incomes, it had also helped exports.
Ms Lea, who is economic adviser to the Arbuthnot Banking Group, also said that inflation was likely to fall, which would help company and household finances.
The IMF has made dramatic changes to its growth forecasts for the UK since the Brexit referendum. Immediately after the vote in June 2016, it slashed its forecast for 2017 from 2.2% to 1.3%.
It then revised it sharply upwards at the start of this year, but since July has been steadily cutting it again.
Labour's shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, said: "The IMF has today played the role of the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future to remind the chancellor that the last seven years of Tory economic failure is undermining our economy.
"As the IMF rightly points out, despite strong global growth, UK economic growth is revised down, and business growth is down despite Tory tax giveaways to big business; while working households this Christmas are struggling with rising prices and lagging wages."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42424700
|
Lottery millionaire to work at Slough care home on Christmas Day - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Patricia Aldridge says she won't be giving up her job at a care home for the elderly.
|
Berkshire
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Lottery millionaire to work at Slough care home on Christmas Day
A care home worker who won £1 million on the lottery says she will still do her 12-hour Christmas Day shift.
Patricia Aldridge, 55, a care assistant from Wexham, near Slough, won the money after the Lotto draw on 9 December.
She was announced as a new millionaire on Tuesday, along with her husband Robert, 57, who described the winnings as "life-changing".
Mrs Aldridge said: "You hear people say 'if I won a lot of money I'd give up work', but I love what I do."
She discovered her new riches after checking an app on her phone.
"I rang Robert, and I said 'how many zeros are there in a million? I think I've won a million pounds,' said Mrs Aldridge.
She will continue to work at the elderly people's care home in Slough despite her millionaire raffle win, where she will do her 08:00 GMT to 20:00 GMT shift on 25 December.
Mr Aldridge, a site manager at a school, will also not be giving up work.
He said: "We'll still be the same people. I'm not giving up work, I'll still go out with my friends, I'll still do my crib night.
"It just makes us more secure knowing that we can help the children buy a house and that sort of thing."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-42410326
|
Brexit 'affecting London's talent pool' - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The chief executive of Standard Chartered Bank says the capital will "take hits" from Brexit.
|
Business
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. 'We're preparing for the worst', says Standard Chartered boss Bill Winters
The UK's ability to attract talent is already suffering, following the vote to leave the EU, according to the boss of the UK's fifth-largest bank.
Standard Chartered is "preparing for the worst" from Brexit, chief executive Bill Winters told the BBC.
The UK-headquartered bank is in the process of turning its Frankfurt branch into a subsidiary requiring additional capital, licences and staff.
He said this was "inconvenient and expensive" and will damage London.
"London will take hits in the context of Brexit… I think big parts of the euro-denominated corporate banking business will be forced into Europe.
"It's possible that through the Brexit negotiations that there is some sort of extended passporting rule [ability of banks to sell services across Europe from a UK base] but none of us are expecting that quite frankly, or preparing for that.
"We have to prepare for the worst… let's hope for the best, but we're prepared for the worst."
Mr Winters said he would be happy to take the tens of millions of pounds he has spent on Brexit contingency planning and "flush it down the toilet" if it meant he could carry on as before and maintain the bank's current structure.
The mood music from the UK has already affected the bank's ability to attract the best and brightest talent according to Mr Winters.
"We have already had some setbacks for the talent pool in London through the restriction on student visas. That's already a problem.
"Some of the best talent that we can have in the UK marketplace is coming from students that have chosen to study here and then stayed for some extended period afterwards… We've noticed that's been impacted already.
"More through a sense from non-UK [people] that this might not be such a hospitable place any longer - it's more psychological than contractual."
Official numbers bear this out. After a decade of uninterrupted growth, applications from EU students for places at UK universities dropped by more than 7% last year, according to UCAS, even though their right to stay on and work is, as yet, unaffected.
A Department for Education spokesperson said it was taking action to provide certainty for students.
"We have confirmed that EU students starting their courses in the academic year 18/19 or before will continue to be eligible for student loans and home fee status and will have a right to remain in the UK to complete their course," they added.
Bill Winters says US President Donald Trump is wrong to allow China to grow its economic influence
Standard Chartered is not a High Street bank here in the UK.
It is probably best known here as Liverpool FC's shirt sponsor but it is a well-known financial brand in Asia, the Middle East and Africa and has a front row seat when it comes to financing global trade and investment.
It provides advice and cash to grease the wheels of commerce within and between some of the world's fastest-growing markets.
Former Wall Street banker Mr Winters is convinced the US under Donald Trump is making a big mistake in allowing China to grow its global economic influence in areas from which the US is retreating - as demonstrated when it dropped out of a trade mega deal called the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
"They're creating effectively a multi-regional trading bloc creating these markets in much the same way that the US and UK created markets in Europe after the Second World War during a period of so much devastation.
"They are creating markets where they will be less dependent on Europe…the US is taking itself out of some of the key discussions for them and then actual trade agreements where the US could continue to have an extremely benevolent influence that it has had for decades. I think we have got to be extremely careful about that - and the UK does as well."
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Mr Winters understands risk. He was part of a major report into the stability of the UK financial system commissioned by the government after the financial crisis. He believes the banks are much more secure than they were a decade ago but that has presented another type of risk.
A lot of banks have seen their profitability, their earning power reduced.
They have been forced to hold more shock-absorbing money in reserve and that has meant their earning power per pound of the capital they set aside has diminished.
Meanwhile, technology companies are coming along and doing lots of the things banks like to charge for - like foreign exchange and making payments - and doing them more cheaply and conveniently.
Many experts think banking's next crisis is the competition from nimble tech firms that don't have all the expense associated with being a bank.
This is one reason why many banks' shares (including Standard Chartered) - are trading at roughly half the price they appear to be worth on paper.
The idea that banks can't make enough money may seem perverse but any business that can't earn a sufficient return on the capital provided by investors is ultimately doomed as investors will take their capital away.
Mr Winters, however, is confident that banks are here to stay.
"For my thirty five years in banking I've started every year with people saying there is some enormous competitive threat looming - and they are right - there always is. But if you serve your customers as best you can you will stay relevant"
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42257277
|
Sesame Street to help Syrian refugees - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
A $100m grant is going to bring Sesame Street characters to help traumatised refugee children in Syria.
|
Family & Education
|
Sesame Street will be used to rebuild trust among millions of displaced children from Syria
Characters from the children's television programme Sesame Street are going to be used to help teach children displaced by war in Syria.
The Sesame Workshop and the International Rescue Committee have won a $100m (£75m) grant to help with the "toxic stress" on child refugees.
It will help children in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Syria
Jeffrey Dunn, head of Sesame Workshop, said Syria's refugee crisis was the "humanitarian issue of our time".
"This may be our most important initiative ever," he said.
The award has been made by the Chicago-based John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation, which wants to make "big bets" on influencing major challenges.
Sesame Street is going to be used as a way of helping teach traumatised youngsters about relationships
It's one of the biggest single philanthropic donations to such an education project - and will fund efforts to provide early years education and tackle the trauma of millions of young refugees created by Syria's conflict.
It will produce a customised version of Sesame Street for the young Syrian refugees, available on mobile phones, which will support literacy and numeracy, help to teach about relationships and encourage respect for others.
This is being claimed as the biggest such humanitarian intervention for early years learning
There will also be child development centres created, where parents will be able to bring children, and where advice, resources and information will be available.
Julia Stasch, president of the foundation, said this would be "the largest early childhood intervention program ever created in a humanitarian setting".
"Less than 2% of the global humanitarian aid budget is dedicated to education, and only a sliver of all education assistance benefits young children.
Millions of young refugees are living in countries such as Lebanon and Jordan
"The longer-term goal is to change the system of humanitarian aid to focus more on helping to ensure the future of young children through education."
David Miliband, president of the International Rescue Committee, said the funding would "bring hope and opportunity to a generation of refugee children".
"At a time when governments are in retreat, [non-governmental organisations] and philanthropists need to step up, and that is what we are seeing here - and in a big way."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-42429527
|
Derailed US train lacked automatic safety system - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The US train that crashed on a bend did not have anti-speeding technology, investigators say.
|
US & Canada
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Footage shows the scale of the derailment
Technology that forces trains to adhere to speed limits was being installed on the express that crashed in the US state of Washington on Monday but was not yet operational, investigators say.
Three people died when the train derailed at 80mph (130km/h) on a bend with a speed limit of 30mph.
Officials say the train's emergency brakes had been deployed automatically and not by the driver.
A conductor undergoing training was in the cab at the time with the driver.
Bella Dinh-Zarr, of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), told reporters that positive train control (PTC) - a safety system that automatically slows or stops trains that are going too fast - was not operational on the train.
"The locomotive was in the process of getting a system of PTC installed but it was not yet functional," she said.
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by Amtrak This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
She added that the board had long recommended that PTC be installed across all US rail systems.
But, she added, Congress had extended the deadline for implementation of the legislation from the end of 2015 until the end of 2018, a delay she described as "unfortunate".
The cost of implementing the system fully on all tracks and vehicles is reported to be more than $22bn (£16.4bn).
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. A 45-second look at how Positive Train Control works
Ms Dinh-Zarr said investigators were waiting to question the train's crew once they had recovered from their injuries.
She said they would want to know, among other things, whether the driver had been distracted in the cab.
"Distraction is one of our most-wanted-list priorities," she said, adding that there was a "conductor-in training" also present in the cab who "was getting experience and familiarising himself with the territory".
The spokeswoman added that the driver did not use the emergency brake, saying it "was automatically activated after - when the accident was occurring rather being initiated by the engineer".
Train drivers are called engineers in the US.
The 12-carriage train crashed shortly after leaving a new station on its inaugural run between Olympia and Tacoma on Amtrak's Cascades line.
There were 86 people on board, including 77 passengers and seven Amtrak crew members, as well as a train technician.
Passengers say the train rocked and creaked as it took the bend fast before plummeting off a bridge on to a busy motorway.
Seven vehicles, two of them lorries, were hit on the I-5 highway. Several people were injured in their vehicles but none died.
Several drivers, including US soldiers, rushed from their cars to help rescue trapped rail passengers.
Authorities have removed all but one carriage, a 270,000lb (122,000 kg) engine, and they say repairs will need to be done to the highway before it can be re-opened.
Two friends who were railway enthusiasts were identified as among the fatalities on Tuesday.
Rail aficionado Zack Willhoite, 35, was identified by his employer Pierce Transit, who said the IT specialist "played an important role in our agency".
The National Association of Railroad Passengers identified board member Jim Hamre as another victim.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42421417
|
Collapse of rape trials appalling, says attorney general - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Two young men were cleared after Met Police officers failed to disclose crucial evidence.
|
UK
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
The collapse of two rape cases in one week was an "appalling failure" of the criminal justice system, Attorney General Jeremy Wright has said.
Two young men were cleared when it emerged that Met Police officers had failed to disclose crucial evidence.
Around 30 rape cases about to go to trial are to be reviewed immediately and "scores" more will be looked at.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick admitted that police and prosecutors had made mistakes.
She said the 30 cases would not be reinvestigated, but would be reviewed to make sure everything that should have been disclosed had been.
The police have a duty to disclose any material to the defence that might support their case. If disclosure fails, innocent people go to jail, says the BBC's legal correspondent Clive Coleman.
"We need to learn lessons," Ms Dick told BBC Radio London, and insisted her officers were professional and fair with a "very complex job" to do.
Isaac Itiary was charged with raping a child in July but the case collapsed
The trial of student Liam Allan, 22, was thrown out at Croydon Crown Court last week.
The case collapsed three days into the trial when the police were ordered to hand over phone records showing the alleged victim had pestered Mr Allan for casual sex.
Days later, another prosecution case collapsed against Isaac Itiary, who was facing trial at Inner London Crown Court, accused of raping a child.
He was charged in July but police only disclosed "relevant material" in response to his defence case statement as his trial was about to start.
The same Met Police officer had worked on both men's cases. He remains on full duty.
The Met said it would review both these cases separately, as well as carrying out the wider review of other live rape cases.
Justice minister Dominic Raab said it was "absolutely right" for the Met to carry out the review, adding: "The basic principle of British justice is at stake."
"The proper disclosure obligations in these two cases have not been discharged, and that is deeply worrying," he told BBC Radio 5 live.
"This is not a new thing. It should be made easy by technology," he added.
The cases of Liam Allan and Isaac Itiary are very different.
As far as Mr Allan is concerned, the Met has accepted the case "clearly went wrong".
Crucial information was disclosed to defence barristers so late that the trial was already well under way.
In Mr Itiary's case, procedures appear to have been followed, though it's possible police could have acted more quickly.
What the cases have done is shine a light on the importance of following disclosure rules.
Undoubtedly the squeeze on resources, with cuts in the Crown Prosecution Service and policing and a national shortage of detectives, together with the increased caseload for sexual offences units, have played their part.
An inspection report this year also pinpointed inadequacies in training and supervision.
Some see the problems as a direct result of a misplaced culture of "believing" the victim, where police don't look for or withhold contradictory evidence - but that's an assertion for the attorney general's inquiry to examine.
Last week, Attorney General of England and Wales Jeremy Wright ordered a review to look at disclosure processes - including codes of practice, guidelines and legislation relating to sex offences and other crimes - which is expected to report back next year.
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Wright said the two cases of the young men were "obviously appalling failures of the criminal justice system".
"We need to understand and understand urgently what went wrong in those cases," he said.
He added that there were already concerns about the disclosure system due to the large amounts of digital information that needed filtering and sifting to find evidence that ought to be disclosed.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42431171
|
EU laws do not cover Sharia divorce, says ECJ - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Europe's top court says countries must decide whether to recognise so-called "private divorces".
|
Europe
|
A couple in Germany who divorced in a Sharia court in Syria cannot have their divorce validated under EU law, Europe's top court has ruled.
The European Court of Justice said member states must decide for themselves whether to recognise "private divorces", such as those performed in Sharia courts.
EU law is not applicable, it said.
Islamic law allows a man to divorce his wife instantly by saying "talaq" (divorce) three times.
It is the ECJ's first ruling on the subject.
The couple married in 1999 in the Syrian city of Homs before eventually moving to Germany. They hold both Syrian and German nationality.
In 2013, the husband ended the marriage in a Sharia court in the Syrian city of Latakia by having a representative repeating "talaq" (divorce) three times.
The ECJ calls the measure "private divorce", as a state authority is not involved.
The wife acknowledged the divorce in writing, but contested it after the former husband applied for its recognition in a court in the German city of Munich.
The court then referred the case to the ECJ, asking for clarifications over the interpretation of the EU divorce law pact, known as the Rome III Regulation.
The ECJ said the regulation "does not apply, by itself, to the recognition of a divorce decision delivered in a third country".
It added that a unilateral declaration of divorce before a religious court does not fall under the scope of the regulation, and said the case must be resolved under German law.
The ECJ does not decide the dispute itself, and the court in Munich will take a final decision on the issue.
Triple talaq divorce has no mention in Islamic law or the Koran, even though the practice has existed for decades.
Islamic scholars say the Koran clearly spells out how to issue a divorce - it has to be spread over three months, allowing a couple time for reflection and reconciliation.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Why must "talaq" be said three times? Under some interpretations of Islamic law, a man can divorce his wife and get back together with her - but only twice. After the third divorce, the marriage is completely over and cannot be started again without an intervening marriage to someone else.
Most Islamic countries have now banned triple talaq.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-42424547
|
Catt Sadler: US TV host quits over equal pay dispute - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Catt Sadler says she found out she earned about half as much as her male co-host at E! News.
|
US & Canada
|
Catt Sadler has worked at the network for more than a decade
US TV news presenter Catt Sadler has quit her role with E! News after learning that she earned about half of what her male co-host does.
Sadler, who has worked at the network since 2006, said an executive had made her aware of the pay gap.
In a statement, she said she subsequently asked for "what I know I deserve and [was] denied repeatedly".
She made her final appearance on the network on Tuesday, fronting daytime programme Daily Pop and later E! News.
Sadler said in a post on her website: "There was a massive disparity in pay between my similarly situated male co-host and myself. He was making close to double my salary for the past several years."
"How can I remain silent when my rights under the law have been violated? How can we make it better for the next generation of girls if we do not stand for what is fair and just today?" she added.
She added that she had wanted to stay in her job but "the decision was made for me and I must go".
In a tweet, Sadler said it had been a "difficult day" but thanked her fans for sending supportive messages.
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by catt sadler This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
In a statement to the BBC, an E! spokesperson said: "E! compensates employees fairly and appropriately based on their roles, regardless of gender. We appreciate Catt Sadler's many contributions at E! News and wish her all the best following her decision to leave the network."
Earlier this year, the female presenter of one of Australia's most prestigious TV news shows moved to a rival channel amid reports that she had been denied pay parity with her male co-presenter.
Lisa Wilkinson, 57, announced that she was joining Channel Ten's The Project because the Nine Network had been "unable to meet her expectations".
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42432235
|
Ex Met detective: Sex cases review will highlight police cuts - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
| null |
Former Met Police Det Insp Hamish Brown says "there has to be some give somewhere" when police are faced with cuts.
| null |
Former Met Police Det Insp Hamish Brown says the force "fell short" in the two collapsed sex cases of Liam Allan and Isaac Itiary.
However, he says with 10,000 officers cut from the organisation, "there has to be some give somewhere".
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42423593
|
Rail strikes due in new year over RMT guards row - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
RMT members at six train operating companies plan a series of new year strikes.
|
England
|
Workers at six train operators will walk out in January
Train strikes are looming in the new year as rail workers plan a series of 24-hour walkouts in the long-running row over the role of guards.
RMT members at five operators will walk out on 8, 10 and 12 January. Workers at Southern will strike on 8 January.
The five involved are South Western Railway (SWR), Greater Anglia, Merseyrail, Northern and the Isle of Wight's Island Line run by SWR.
Northern rail said it would work to keep customers on the move.
Greater Anglia said it would run a full service on all the strike days.
Govia Thameslink (GTR), Southern's parent company, said the RMT was striking on the same day the operator had invited the union to talks.
The union said it received the letter inviting them to negotiations on Wednesday - after the decision had been made to stage industrial action.
GTR's HR director, Andy Bindon, said: "We ask them to call off the strike and come to the negotiating table as we have suggested on many occasions."
Andy Heath, managing director of Merseyrail said: "I would like to make our passengers aware that we want to make every effort to reach an agreement with the RMT and have offered to meet with them with no preconditions in an effort to resolve this dispute - something they are unwilling to do."
The RMT said it was prepared to meet for "genuine" talks and that Merseyrail's claim that the union would not meet the operator was "rubbish".
The operator SWR has not yet commented to the BBC.
The union said it had tried to resolve the bitter row over driver-only operation (DOO) of trains and has insisted the dispute is about safety.
The RMT has insisted the dispute is about safety
General secretary Mick Cash said: "Every single effort that RMT has made to reach negotiated settlements in these separate disputes with the different train operating companies over safe operation and safe staffing has been kicked back in our faces.
"We are left with no option but to confirm a further phase of industrial action in the new year."
He added: "It is frankly ludicrous that we have been able to negotiate long-term arrangements in Scotland and Wales that protect the guards and passenger safety but we are being denied the same opportunities with rail companies in England."
He said the RMT stood "ready for talks" in each of the disputes.
The RMT said the issue was not jobs but a second safety critical member of staff on trains
Both Northern and Great Arriva said they had guaranteed conductors' jobs until the end of their franchises in 2025.
Richard Dean, Greater Anglia trains service delivery director said: "We are keeping our conductors on our trains. In fact we will be recruiting more."
Richard Allan, deputy managing director of Northern, added that the government last week had written to the union guaranteeing employment for conductors beyond 2025 if the RMT ended its dispute.
However, the RMT has said the guarantee of jobs is not the issue. A union member told the BBC: "The issue is about the role of the guard and the guarantee of a second safety critical member of staff, and the push to DOO on more trains."
A spokesman for the Department for Transport confirmed the offer had been made and said: "It is total nonsense to suggest these strikes are about jobs or safety - employees have been guaranteed jobs and salaries.
"In fact at Southern rail, where these changes have already been introduced, there are now more staff on trains.
"And the independent rail regulator has said driver-controlled trains, which have been used in this country for more than 30 years, are safe."
He added: "Not content with attempting to stop people getting home for Christmas, the RMT's version of a happy new year is to continue dragging paying customers into its futile and backward-looking industrial action.
"Despite this, rail companies will be working hard to keep people moving on RMT strike days."
The union said it was open to "genuine" talks
Paul Plummer, chief executive of the Rail Delivery Group, said: "No-one wins from RMT strike action."
He said: "Working together, we've got to find a way through this dispute so that we can get on with the business."
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-42429767
|
Mum carrying terminally-ill baby 'to be a donor' - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Hayley Martin's unborn daughter has no kidneys as a result of a fatal rare genetic disease.
|
Humberside
|
The couple will donate their unborn daughter's heart valves
A mother who has been told her unborn baby girl will not survive at birth is carrying her to full term so she can donate heart tissue to help others.
Hayley Martin was told at her 20-week scan that her child has a rare genetic disorder meaning she will die during labour or within minutes of being born.
Speaking on ITV's This Morning show, Mrs Martin, 30, said they would be able to donate her daughter's heart valves.
Explaining her decision, she added: "I wouldn't have it any other way."
Already a mother-of-three, Mrs Martin and her husband Scott, from Hull, discovered their baby had bilateral renal agenesis at the five-month scan.
Mrs Martin said she had a feeling early on in the pregnancy and that things were not right
The condition is fatal and means the baby has no kidneys and is not surrounded by enough amniotic fluid, causing malformed lungs.
After speaking to specialist doctors, the couple were given the weekend to consider terminating the pregnancy but Mrs Martin told This Morning her reaction was "automatically, I don't want to let her go just yet".
The couple said they had taken the decision to give birth to their daughter, who they have already named Ava-Joy, to help others in need of a transplant.
It is likely that their baby's heart valves will be used to help other seriously-ill children.
"With the heart valves they can store them up to ten years," Mrs Martin told the show.
"Anything is better than nothing. I know she can't donate proper organs but tissue is just as valuable."
Angie Scales, a NHS organ donation and transplantation nurse, said around 10 to 15 families a year ask about the possibility of donation in relation to their unborn child.
She said: "However, proceeding to actual donation in these cases is extremely rare due to the complexities of the processes that are required."
Three people a day, including children, die waiting for a transplant, she added.
The couple said their other children would grow up knowing about their younger sister
The couple said the support they had received through a specialist charity in Leeds had helped them bond with their unborn daughter.
The charity funded a blood test to enable them to find out the sex of the baby so they were able to give her a name and buy clothes to dress her once she is born.
The Martins said they were starting a charity project in Ava-Joy's memory to help other families who decided to carry to term, despite a fatal diagnosis.
"It was not an easy decision but it was the right decision and it has helped me cope with the heartbreak," said Mrs Martin.
"A part of her will live on, she won't be completely gone. She will be alive in somebody else."
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-42409289
|
Heather North, the voice of Scooby-Doo's Daphne, dies at 71 - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
Heather North provided the voice of "danger-prone" Daphne Blake from 1970 to 2003.
|
Entertainment & Arts
|
North was the second actress to lend her voice to Daphne (second from right)
Heather North, the US actress who was the voice of Daphne in Scooby-Doo for many years, has died at the age of 71.
According to reports, she died at her Los Angeles home on 30 November after a long illness.
North was the second actress to voice the "danger-prone" Daphne Blake in the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! TV series, making her debut in 1970.
The California native continued voicing the role in various iterations of the property until 2003.
They included The New Scooby-Doo Movies of the early 1970s, the short-lived Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo series and The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries that aired in 1984.
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by Twitter Moments This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
North's other roles included Kurt Russell's girlfriend in Disney's The Barefoot Executive and Sandy Horton in Days of Our Lives.
It was that job that led to her meeting producer Wes Kenney, to whom she was married from 1971 up to his death in 2015.
Stefanianna Christopherson was the first actress to lend her voice to Daphne, the role Sarah Michelle Gellar played in the 2002 live-action film.
North's death was initially confirmed by the Hollywood Reporter.
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post 2 by Hollywood Reporter This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-42425616
|
Harvey Weinstein’s former personal assistant Zelda Perkins speaks to BBC - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
| null |
Harvey Weinstein’s former personal assistant on what happens after you sign a non-disclosure agreement.
| null |
Harvey Weinstein’s former personal assistant has told the BBC how she was silenced after alleging sexual assault against her boss.
Zelda Perkins says she thought her only option was to sign a non-disclosure agreement, which stopped her from speaking out.
Laywers for Mr Weinstein told the BBC he "categorically denies engaging in any non-consensual conduct or alleged threatening behaviour".
Ms Perkins told BBC Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis that while the film maker is now seen as a “repulsive monster”, at the time he was “an extremely exciting person to be around”.
UK viewers can watch the full BBC Newsnight interview here.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-42420389
|
Dolphin pod living year-round off coast of England - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
A pod of 28 bottlenose dolphins is found to be permanently living off the south-west coast of England.
|
England
|
Experts analysed thousands of photographs and sightings of bottlenose dolphins
The first resident pod of bottlenose dolphins has been discovered off the south-west coast of England.
Experts used thousands of sightings and photos to identify a group of 28 individuals living year-round off the coasts of Cornwall, Devon and Dorset.
They were identified using their dorsal fins, which are as unique to dolphins as fingerprints are to humans.
Plymouth University researchers studied 3,843 records to identify 98 dolphins and among them the resident population.
The sightings, recorded between 2007 and 2016, established the group was present in shallow coastal waters, mainly off Cornwall and particularly near St Ives Bay and Mount's Bay.
Ruth Williams, marine conservation manager at the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, said: "Further work is needed but this is a huge step forward and I am proud of what our partnership between Cornwall Wildlife Trust, scientists and boat operators has achieved.
"We need to make sure the few we currently have in the south west are given the protection not just to survive, but to thrive."
Every bottlenose dolphin has a unique dorsal fin, similar to a human fingerprint
Rebecca Dudley, of the University of Plymouth, gathered data from a large number of collaborators who had studied the dolphins' social structure and distribution.
She said her findings will raise questions about conservation of the environment the pod inhabits.
"This shows that if anything happens to their habitat in this area, it is really going to affect the population, because they do spend all their time around the south west region."
The UK's two other resident bottlenose dolphin populations - in Cardigan, Wales and Moray Firth, Scotland - both have protection.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-42423617
|
Gifts for babies spending Christmas in hospital - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
| null |
A couple whose son spent his first Christmas in hospital are giving presents to premature babies.
| null |
The parents of a premature baby who spent last Christmas in hospital are trying to spread some festive cheer with gifts for mums and dads in the same situation this year.
When Arlo Watson, from Broseley in Shropshire, was born at 25 weeks doctors said he had a 50% chance of surviving until his first birthday, but he is now out of hospital and will be spending this Christmas at home.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-shropshire-42417827
|
BBC to air more religious programming - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The corporation pledges to "raise our game" on religion in mainstream shows.
|
Entertainment & Arts
|
One-off drama The Boy with the Topknot looked at generational differences in a Sikh family
The BBC has pledged to "raise our game" on religion by increasing the portrayal of all faiths in mainstream shows.
The corporation said it would "enhance" the representation of religion on TV and radio dramas and documentaries.
It said it would also create a new global religious affairs team, headed by a religion editor, in BBC News.
The BBC will also keep Thought For The Day on Radio 4's Today programme - despite presenter John Humphrys saying it's often "deeply, deeply boring".
The corporation has just published the conclusions of a review into its coverage of religion and ethics.
Director general Tony Hall said audiences of all faiths and none have said they want to learn more about those topics.
"They recognise that, if we truly want to make sense of the world, we need to understand the systems of belief that underpin it," he said.
He added that he wants the corporation "to do more about Christianity and other beliefs as well".
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. O Come All Ye Faithful through the years
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-42412869
|
MPs debate general topics - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
At Christmas adjournment debate in the Commons, MPs raise any subject they are interested in.
|
Parliaments
|
"It was all going so well," Deputy Leader of the House Michael Ellis says, until the "last part", referring to Karin Smyth saying she hopes that next year will bring a Labour government for the UK.
Responding to Sir Paul Beresford, he says that in the UK, there is much more work to be done on the issue of cancer treatments, but 7,000 more people are alive today than there would have been thanks to new treatments.
He tells Jamie Stone that the Scottish government has had the funding for broadband in rural Scotland since 2014, but the Scottish government haven't used it yet.
Referring to Lyn Brown's points, he says a consultation has been launched by the government on fixed odds betting terminals.
He says to Nigel Huddleston that most members "get on very well across this House," and can disagree professionally, but have a chat otherwise.
He invites Deirdre Brock to declare anything more she knows about Scottish and NI funding in the Leave campaign to the House, for it to be discussed further.
He tells Siobhain McDonagh that the government is putting in £1bn into tackling homelessness and rough sleeping.
He wraps up by thanking the whole House for their work and their protection of the Houses of Parliament, as well as thanking the Armed Forces.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-parliaments-42400904
|
Raheem Sterling: hooligan admits racially aggravated attack on Man City winger - BBC Sport
|
2017-12-20
| null |
A convicted football hooligan is jailed for a racist attack on Manchester City and England winger Raheem Sterling.
| null |
Last updated on .From the section Man City
A convicted football hooligan has been jailed for a racist and "unprovoked" attack on Manchester City and England winger Raheem Sterling.
Karl Anderson, 29, pleaded guilty to racially aggravated common assault after Sterling was attacked outside City's training ground on Saturday.
The court heard Anderson already has 25 convictions for 37 offences, including football-related violence.
He has been jailed for 16 weeks and must pay £100 in compensation.
Anderson, who kicked Sterling four times during the assault, said he "lost his temper" and was sorry for his actions.
He abused the City player using racist language, as well as telling Sterling he wanted his mother and child to die.
In a victim impact statement read out to the court, Sterling, 23, said he "did not think this kind of behaviour happened in this country in this day and age".
CCTV footage of the attack outside City's training complex was played to the court, which showed Anderson pulling up in his van alongside Sterling.
In sentencing him, magistrate Diana Webb-Hobson called it an "entirely unprovoked attack" and described Anderson's previous record as "appalling".
Anderson, of Woodward Street in Manchester, smiled as he was taken from the dock.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42429178
|
Jerusalem UN vote: Trump threatens US aid recipients - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
The US leader says countries thinking of voting against the US in a UN vote could lose financial aid.
|
Middle East
|
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to cut off financial aid to countries that back a United Nations resolution opposing the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
Earlier this month, Mr Trump took that step amid international criticism.
"They take hundreds of millions of dollars and even billions of dollars, and then they vote against us," he told reporters at the White House.
"Let them vote against us. We'll save a lot. We don't care."
His comments come ahead of a UN General Assembly vote on a resolution opposing any recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
The draft resolution does not mention the US, but says any decisions on Jerusalem should be cancelled.
Fourteen states backed a similar motion on Jerusalem at the UN Security Council on Monday
Earlier, US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley warned member states that President Trump had asked her to report on "who voted against us" on Thursday.
President Trump and Ambassador Haley are trying to use American muscle rather than diplomacy to convince countries to vote their way. From Washington's perspective, recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital and deciding to move its embassy there is its sovereign right.
But that's not how the majority of countries at the United Nations see it.
The strongest repudiation came, unsurprisingly, from Washington's critics.
Meanwhile, many US allies are brushing off the tough rhetoric as an empty threat.
A senior diplomat told me it was clear that the Trump administration was determined to take a stand for Israel at the UN, but he doubted that Washington would cut aid to, say, Egypt - which sponsored the failed Security Council measure on which the General Assembly draft resolution is based.
What is certain is that the US will be isolated in the General Assembly on Thursday as the rest of the world once again tells President Trump that it does not agree with his decision on Jerusalem.
The status of Jerusalem goes to the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israel occupied the east of the city, previously occupied by Jordan, in the 1967 Middle East war and regards the entire city as its indivisible capital.
This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Why the ancient city of Jerusalem is so important
The Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state and its final status is meant to be discussed in the latter stages of peace talks.
Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem has never been recognised internationally, and all countries currently maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv. However, President Trump has told the US state department to start work on moving the US embassy.
The 193-member UN General Assembly will hold a rare emergency special session on Thursday at the request of Arab and Muslim states, who condemned Mr Trump's decision to reverse decades of US policy earlier this month.
The Palestinians called for the meeting after the US vetoed a Security Council resolution, which affirmed that any decisions on the status of Jerusalem were "null and void and must be rescinded", and urged all states to "refrain from the establishment of diplomatic missions in the holy city".
The other 14 members of the Security Council voted in favour of the draft, but Ms Haley described it as an "insult".
The non-binding resolution put forward by Turkey and Yemen for the General Assembly vote mirrors the vetoed Security Council draft.
The Palestinian permanent observer at the UN, Riyad Mansour, said he hoped there would be "overwhelming support" for the resolution.
But on Tuesday, Ms Haley warned in a letter to dozens of member states that encouraged them to "know that the president and the US take this vote personally".
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by Nikki Haley This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
"The president will be watching this vote carefully and has requested I report back on those countries who voted against us. We will take note of each and every vote on this issue," she wrote, according to journalists who were shown the letter.
"The president's announcement does not affect final status negotiations in any way, including the specific boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem," she added. "The president also made sure to support the status quo of Jerusalem's holy sites."
Ms Haley echoed the warning on Twitter, writing: "The US will be taking names."
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki and his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, accused the US of intimidation.
"We see that the United States, which was left alone, is now resorting to threats. No honourable, dignified country would bow down to this pressure," Mr Cavusoglu told a joint news conference in Ankara on Wednesday before travelling to New York.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-42431095
|
Sea turtle found tangled in floating cocaine bales - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
| null |
The US Coast Guard tries to save the animal tangled in line connecting bales of cocaine in the Pacific.
| null |
With rope wrapped around its neck, this loggerhead sea turtle became part of a US Coast Guard rescue effort in the Pacific Ocean.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-42421409
|
Brexit: UK plans to soften impact on European banks - BBC News
|
2017-12-20
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
European banks operating in the UK will be able to carry on as usual after Brexit, the BBC learns.
|
Business
|
The Bank of England is to unveil plans allowing European banks to operate in the UK as normal post-Brexit.
The BBC has learned that banks offering wholesale finance - money and services provided to businesses and each other - would operate under existing rules.
It means EU banks operating through branches can continue without creating subsidiaries - an expensive process.
Branches offer an easy way for banks to move money around their international operations.
But they present the risk that, in the event of a financial crisis, funds are quickly repatriated to the foreign bank's headquarters - leaving customers of the UK branch out of pocket.
Subsidiaries are forced to hold their own shock-absorbing capital which can't cut and run - they essentially become UK companies.
Changing from a branch to a subsidiary could cost billions for a bank like Deutsche Bank, for example, which employs 9,000 people in the UK.
Currently, banks based anywhere in the EU can sell services to anywhere else in the EU thanks to an instrument known as a financial services passport.
On Monday, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier was talking tough on UK-based financial services access to the European single market after Brexit.
"There is no place (for financial services). There is not a single trade agreement that is open to financial services. It doesn't exist. In leaving the single market, they lose the financial services passport," he said.
Which begs the question - if they are playing hard ball - why are we being so nice in rolling out the red carpet?
Miles Celic, head of the lobbying group TheCityUK, said offering continuity to EU banks was an act of goodwill, but it was also one of enlightened self interest.
"Encouraging EU banks to continue to operate in the UK will help preserve financial stability for the UK and the EU and will help defend London's position as an open global financial centre," he said.
The Bank of England's announcement has the blessing of the government
Forcing EU bank branches in the UK to become separately capitalised subsidiaries may well have encouraged European banks to pull out of London - gradually eroding its pre-eminence as a financial centre.
But on the other hand, London acts as the wholesale bank to the EU and access to its expertise and capital is highly prized. Some may see this decision as surrendering a trump card that should have been held back for the tough negotiations ahead.
So, why are we allowing the EU access to this valuable resource while the EU threatens to create barriers the other way?
Government sources said there are three reasons.
First, there are the jobs. Tens of thousands of highly paid people work in the London branches of big EU banks. That also creates knock on jobs in other professions like accountancy and law.
Second, those people pay a lot of tax to the exchequer.
And third, there is another important economic point. Services sold by the UK branch of a French or German bank to a third country like the US, for example, count as UK exports - something the government is keen to maximise.
In a speech back in October, Sam Woods, the head of the Prudential Regulation Authority (the bit of the Bank of England that supervises banks) said the reason the European financial markets work so well is not just due to the "passport" that Michel Barnier insists will be revoked.
He said he hoped "for a strong, co-operative relationship in which wholesale banks can continue to operate across the UK and EU27 in branches... We have embedded a sophisticated framework of supervisory co-operation... There is every reason to think these will continue into the future"
This sentiment echoes what a senior banker told me six months ago - "if the regulators were in charge, and not the politicians, this would all be sorted out in a fortnight."
They are not in charge. But I understand the bank has the blessing of the government in offering this "no new post-Brexit strings attached" access to the world's largest financial centre.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42420829
|
Ukraine accuses government interpreter of spying for Russia - BBC News
|
2017-12-21
|
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews
|
A senior government interpreter is arrested in Kiev amid claims he passed information on.
|
Europe
|
Stanislav Yezhov (centre) pictured between Ukraine's Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman and UK Prime Minister Theresa May
Ukraine's main security agency has arrested a senior government translator and accused him of being a Russian spy.
Stanislav Yezhov, who accompanied the country's prime minister on numerous trips, was detained in Kiev on Wednesday.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said Mr Yezhov had gathered information about government activities.
In July, he was part of a delegation that visited UK Prime Minister Theresa May in Downing Street.
A statement posted on the SBU website [in Ukrainian] said: "Law enforcers found that an official was recruited by Russian intelligence agencies during a long-time foreign mission."
They said Mr Yezhov, who is facing charges of treason, used "special equipment" to gather information which he then passed on to his Russian handlers.
Ukraine's Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman posted about the arrest on his Facebook page.
He said Mr Yezhov was "an official in the government's secretariat who was working in the interests of the enemy state [Russia] for a long time".
He worked in the cabinet of ministers where he would have had access to sensitive government information. Prior to this, he served as a translator for Ukraine's former president Viktor Yanukovych.
This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by Jonah Fisher This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
The SBU did not directly refer to Mr Yezhov but he was named by other senior officials.
Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the interior minister, said Mr Yezhov had "worked for the Russian special services for at least two years."
"It is known that he was recruited by the Russian special services during his work at the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington several years ago," he said.
A photograph taken in early July shows Mr Yezhov standing in between the UK and Ukrainian prime ministers as they walked down a corridor in Downing Street.
Another image seen by the BBC shows him leaving through the front door of the prime minister's residence.
Last year, Mr Yezhov visited the White House where he translated for Mr Groysman during talks with former US Vice-President Joe Biden.
Tensions between Ukraine and Russia have escalated in recent years.
In 2014, Mr Yanukovych - who was pro-Moscow - was driven from power by violent protests in Kiev. Russian-backed forces then seized control of the Crimean peninsula, which is officially part of Ukraine.
The continued presence of the Russian fleet at the port of Sevastopol in Crimea has also been a focus of tension between the countries. In 2008, Ukraine demanded that Moscow not use the fleet that is based there during its conflict with Georgia.
|
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-42446865
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.