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- Burmese guilty of UK tourist murders

- Reflect on Christian values, PM urges

- Dozens dead in Saudi hospital fire

- Keep Oxford's Rhodes statue: Abbott

- Work to hit London airport rail routes

- Race campaigners target US Christmas

- Savers warned about 1 January changes

- Blood pressure therapy re-think urged

- Housing cuts 'affect the vulnerable'

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- The stories of Syrian children that went viral in 2015

- What's it like working in John Lewis at Christmas?

- New York's record-breaking warm Christmas

- The runaway children Malaysia failed to save

- Shine on: Why Colombian men like to get their nails done

- Christmas dinners around the world

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Thailand murders: Two men found guilty and face death for UK killings

- 24 December 2015

- From the section UK

Image copyright PA

Image caption Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were found dead on the island of Koh Tao

Two Burmese men have been found guilty and sentenced to death for murdering two UK tourists in Thailand last year.

Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo killed Hannah Witheridge, 23, from Norfolk, and David Miller, 24, from Jersey, judges said.

The backpackers’ bodies were found on a beach on the southern Thai island of Koh Tao on 15 September 2014.

The accused retracted their initial confessions saying police had tortured them, but Mr Miller’s brother said justice had now “been delivered”.

The flawed case of the Thailand beach murders

Media captionDavid Miller’s brother, Michael, said the verdict was “justice for David and Hannah”

At a Thai court in Koh Samui, three judges found the two bar workers - who were migrants from Myanmar - guilty of murder and ordered that they face the death penalty.

Miss Witheridge and Mr Miller were found bludgeoned to death, and a post-mortem examination showed Miss Witheridge had been raped.

Prosecutors said DNA evidence collected from cigarette butts, a condom and the bodies of the victims, linked Lin and Phyo to the deaths.

Image copyright EPA

Image caption Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin showed “no remorse” for their actions, Mr Miller’s family said

But lawyers defending the accused argued that DNA from a garden hoe - allegedly used as the murder weapon - did not match samples taken from the men.

They also claimed evidence had been mishandled by police and the pair’s confessions were the result of “systematic abuse” of migrants in the area.

The victims met on Koh Tao while staying in the same hotel.

‘Justice delivered’

Miss Witheridge was a University of Essex student from Hemsby and Mr Miller had just completed a civil and structural engineering degree at the University of Leeds.

The family of Mr Miller attended the hearing but relatives of Miss Witheridge did not travel to Thailand for the verdicts.

Speaking outside court, Mr Miller’s brother Michael said “justice is what has been delivered today”, and said Thai police had carried out a “methodical and thorough” investigation.

He said the evidence against the accused was “absolutely overwhelming”, and he went on to describe his brother David as “irreplaceable”.

‘Left to die’

Mr Miller said he hoped that campaigners who “relentlessly” championed the cause of the accused and believed their innocence would respect the court’s decision.

Mr Miller acknowledged that initially when Lin and Phyo were brought forward as suspects, and the family saw pictures of two “innocent-looking men surrounded by tough policemen, it was easy to conclude they might be convenient scapegoats”.

But he said the family resolved to keep an open mind and listen to all the evidence.

He said the widespread interest in the case had ensured the defendants received the “best possible representation in court by a team of seven top lawyers”.

“[David] was hacked down from behind, dragged into the sea and left to die. That will live with us forever,” he added.

“The correct verdict has been reached.”

The family of Miss Witheridge previously said their “bubbly and intelligent” daughter, who gained a first-class honours degree at university, had been “taken from us in the most horrific way possible”.

“She would have gone on to make a significant difference to the lives of many people,” they said.

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Reflect on Christian values, David Cameron says in Christmas message

- 24 December 2015

- From the section UK Politics

Image copyright Getty Images

David Cameron has urged people to reflect on Britain’s Christian values in his Christmas message.

The PM said the country’s “important religious roots” made it “a successful home to people of all faiths and none”.

Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn used a newspaper article to highlight homelessness and praise emergency workers.

Green Party leader Natalie Bennett called for a “different sort of society” while Lib Dem Tim Farron said the world was “in need of hope”.

- In pictures: Leaders’ Christmas cards

Mr Cameron highlighted the plight of people spending Christmas in refugee camps having fled the civil war in Syria, while Christmas in some parts of the world would go to church in fear of persecution.

“Throughout the United Kingdom, some will spend the festive period ill, homeless or alone,” he said.

‘Make a difference’

He paid tribute to people working at Christmas “to help the vulnerable” and said the armed forces were “in the skies of Iraq and Syria, targeting the terrorists that threaten those countries and our security at home” as well as saving migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean.

“It is because they face danger that we have peace,” he added.

Labour said Mr Corbyn would not issue an official Christmas message, but in a Sunday Mirror article, he said many low-paid workers could not afford to take time off over Christmas, and that homelessness was increasing with tens of thousands of people spending the festive season in temporary accommodation.

People should ask themselves whether they could do more for others, he said.

“Jesus said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’”, he said.

“It is a similar maxim that inspired our party: ‘From each according to their means, to each according to their needs.’”

Ms Bennett said people should look to 2016 “with the understanding that politics shouldn’t be just something that gets done to you.

“Politics should be something that you do to make a difference in your society.”

Mr Farron said he hoped people would be inspired in 2016 to make the country a more “compassionate, liberal and welcoming one”, Lib Dem Voice reported.

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Saudi Arabia hospital fire: Dozens killed

- 24 December 2015

- From the section Middle East

At least 25 people have been killed and 100 injured in a hospital fire in southern Saudi Arabia, officials say.

The blaze started at the intensive care and maternity departments of the Jazan General Hospital in the south of the kingdom, the civil defence agency tweeted.

Reports say the agency tweeted again to say that the “Jazan hospital accident is now over”.

It says an investigation is under way to find out the cause of the blaze.

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Removing Rhodes statue ‘moral vanity’, says Tony Abbott

- 24 December 2015

- From the section Australia

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Tony Abbott wants an Oxford college to keep its controversial statue of colonialist Cecil Rhodes

Oxford University should not remove a controversial statue of Cecil Rhodes from Oriel College, former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said.

Students say the 19th Century colonialist’s views are against the “inclusive culture” at the university.

Oriel College, which Rhodes attended, has agreed to remove a commemorative plaque in response to the campaign.

Mr Abbott, a Rhodes Scholar, said removing the statue would “substitute moral vanity for fair-minded enquiry”.

Oxford University’s Rhodes Scholarship is funded thanks to a legacy left after his death in 1902.

“The university and its students should prefer improving today’s orthodoxies to imposing them on our forebears,” Mr Abbott told the Independent newspaper.

“The university should remember that its mission is not to reflect fashion but to seek truth and that means striving to understand before rushing to judge.”

Mr Abbott said that while Rhodes himself had not campaigned against racism, many of the scholars who benefited from his legacy had done so.

“We can lament that he failed to oppose unjust features of his society while still celebrating the genius that led to the creation of the Rhodes Scholarships.”

#RhodesMustFall

The #RhodesMustFall movement began in South Africa, where students succeeded in having a statue of the diamond tycoon and colonial-era leader removed from the University of Cape Town.

Students involved in the movement argue that Rhodes’ involvement in apartheid and land seizures in 19th Century Africa make him unworthy of commemoration.

More than 2,300 people signed a petition calling for the removal of the statue from Oriel College.

The college responded by saying it would ask for permission to remove a plaque celebrating Rhodes and begin a consultation process about the future of the statue.

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption The Rhodes Must Fall campaign saw the removal of a statue in Cape Town

“Rhodes was… a 19th Century colonialist whose values and world view stand in absolute contrast to the ethos of the scholarship programme today, and to the values of a modern university,” it said in a statement.

Besides Mr Abbott, other prominent Rhodes Scholars have spoken out against the removal of the statue.

Former New Zealand rugby scrum half Chris Laidlaw told the Times he thought Rhodes’ views were typical of his generations and that to expunge his memory would be unfair.

Who was Cecil Rhodes?

Image copyright Getty Images

- Imperialist, businessman and politician who played a dominant role in southern Africa in the late 19th Century, driving the annexation of vast swathes of land

- Born the son of a vicar in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, in 1853, first went to Africa at the age of 17; grew cotton with his brother in Natal, but moved into diamond mining, founding De Beers, which until recently controlled the global trade

- Rhodes’s bequest continues to finance scholarships bearing his name, allowing overseas students to come to Oxford University; most famous of these was probably Bill Clinton

- Controversial even in his own time, Rhodes backed the disastrous Jameson Raid of 1895, in which a small British force tried to overthrow the gold-rich Transvaal Republic, helping prompt the Second Boer War, in which tens of thousands died

Why is Cecil Rhodes such a controversial figure?

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Train delays to major airports expected because of engineering work

- 24 December 2015

- From the section UK

Image copyright EPA

Passengers going by train to the UK’s two biggest airports are set to face long delays over the festive period as engineering work begins.

Gatwick Express train services will stop for the next 10 days, while the Heathrow rail links will stop for four.

Network Rail said 20,000 of its workers would be carrying out almost 500 improvement projects across the whole of the UK during the festive season.

Its chief executive Mark Carne has thanked passengers for their patience.

He also said that passengers had in the past “shown themselves to be incredibly understanding of planned improvement work”.

Line closures

Gatwick Express trains will be suspended from 24 December to 4 January, while work is undertaken to replace a major railway junction at Purley, south London.

Southern Railway services to Sussex will also be affected.

Neither Heathrow Express nor Heathrow Connect services will run for four days after Christmas Eve, due to a line closure between Paddington and Slough.

Services to the South West and south Wales will also take longer as some trains are diverted to London Waterloo or Marylebone stations.

The West Coast Main Line will be closed between Crewe and Stafford between Friday and Tuesday, while there is also a closure on the lines from London Liverpool Street to Colchester, Ipswich and Norwich.

Analysis

Image copyright PA

By BBC transport correspondent Richard Westcott

Network Rail always plans its biggest engineering jobs over the holidays because the trains are much quieter.

This year, it’s the fast services to the two biggest airports, Gatwick and Heathrow, that will be hit the hardest.

The last Gatwick Express of the year leaves London at 21.15 on Christmas Eve, although slower services do start again on 27 December.

If you’re planning a rail journey over Christmas and the New Year, the best advice is to check online first.

Network Rail got it badly wrong last year, as over-running work and a terrible back up plan caused chaos for thousands of travellers. Network Rail insists that won’t happen again.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said Britain’s “over-stretched” railways had suffered from signal failures, staff shortages and overcrowding in recent weeks.

Last year there was severe train disruption when engineering work on the lines from King’s Cross and Paddington overran, delaying travellers on the first Saturday after Christmas.

Image copyright Network Rail

Image caption Rail disruption over Christmas

Despite the rail delays airports are expected to be busy with an estimated four million people in the UK travelling abroad during the Christmas and new year period.

Meanwhile, the RAC predicted that Christmas Eve would be the busiest day for traffic on the roads with 4.1 million journeys being made.

Nearly 400 miles of roadworks have been removed to cope with the rush.

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US Black Lives Matter protests disrupt airports and shopping

- 24 December 2015

- From the section US & Canada

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption Police use of force against African Americans has been an ongoing issue in the US

Protests by the Black Lives Matter group have taken place in the US states of Minnesota and California on one of the busiest retail days of the year.

The demonstrators in Minnesota temporarily closed the international airport and interrupted Christmas shopping at the Mall of America.

Police said a total of 15 people were arrested at both places, mostly for trespassing or obstructing justice.

Protesters are angry over a police shooting of a black man in Minneapolis.

Jamar Clark was shot dead last month by officers responding to an assault complaint, in one of a number of recent incidents around the US. Activists say he was shot in the head while handcuffed.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Police were deployed in force at the Minneapolis-St Paul International airport

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption The protests meant that travellers heading to the airport faced lengthy delays

There have been daily demonstrations in Minneapolis over Mr Clark’s killing.

Hundreds of people took part in the protest at the mall, one of the largest in North America, where Black Lives Matter organisers promised to congregate in defiance of a judge’s warning that the shopping centre’s owners could legally block the demonstration.

Police said it was an “unauthorised demonstration” and at one point described the situation as “very, very dangerous”.

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption Black Lives Matter protesters silently walked out of the Mall of America after staging their protest

Police and mall security staff were speedily deployed against the protesters, warning that any who did not depart immediately would be arrested. For a while the area surrounding the mall was on lockdown, but most stores were only closed for about an hour.

The San Francisco Chronicle separately reported that eight protesters blocking southbound traffic on the 101 freeway near the California city’s international airport were arrested on Wednesday.

Pictures of the demonstrators on social media showed them holding a sign demanding justice for Mario Woods, a black man shot dead by police who is suspected of a San Francisco stabbing.

Black Lives Matter is a loosely organised movement which was formed following protests over police killings of black men in Ferguson, Missouri, New York and other cities.

Police use of force against African Americans has been an ongoing issue.

Protests have been held nationwide for more than a year after a series of incidents, some of them fatal.

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Savers warned about 1 January compensation changes

By Brian Milligan Personal Finance reporter

- 24 December 2015

- From the section Business

Image copyright Thinkstock

Millions of savers are being reminded that they may need to move some of their cash, to guarantee it will be fully protected in the event of their bank going bust.

New rules come in on 1 January, which will reduce compensation to £75,000 per account, per institution.

Previously the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protected savings of up to £85,000 per account.

Joint accounts will see protection cut from £170,000 to £150,000.

The maximum compensation across the European Union is set at €100,000, and the British level was reduced as a result of the pound gaining strength against the euro.

The precise rate was set on 3 July 2015.

At the time, one senior Tory MP described the change as “defective”.

‘Complicated’

Although 95% of savers will still be protected, as many as 2.5m people may not be, according to the FSCS. It is advising savers who have more than £75,000 in one account, or in one institution, to move their money if necessary.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that some registered banks and building societies operate under more than one brand.

So it you had £75,000 savings with HSBC, for example, any additional savings in First Direct would not be protected, as both banks have a joint licence.

Savers using Bank of Scotland and Halifax are in the same position.

But Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and NatWest - although they are sister banks - are both registered separately. So savers could safely have up to £75,000 in accounts with both banks.

“While this should be quite simple to navigate, it’s made complicated by the fact that FSCS cover is shared between banks that operate under the same licence,” said Hannah Maundrell, editor in chief of money.co.uk.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) publishes a full list of registered banks, and which brands come under the same umbrella.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Some European banks operating in the UK will offer different levels of protection

European banks

Under the new rules, savers who have up to £1m in their accounts temporarily - as a result of selling a house, or being made redundant, for example - are also protected.

To receive compensation, they cannot have had that cash in their accounts for more than six months.

A further warning comes in relation to some foreign banks which trade in the UK, but are registered within the eurozone, such as Germany’s Fidor Bank, or Sweden’s Handelsbanken.

Handelsbanken confirmed that the level of compensation would depend on the exchange rate at the time.

So depending on how much €100,000 is worth in pounds, savers may get more or less than £75,000 protection. At the time of writing, that amount is worth less than £74,000.

“With an increasing number of European banks now offering competitive rates, customers need to be aware that not all savings accounts offered in the UK are covered by the UK compensation scheme,” said Rachel Thrussell, savings insight manager at Moneyfacts.co.uk.

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Blood pressure therapy re-think urged

By Smitha Mundasad Health reporter

- 24 December 2015

- From the section Health

Image copyright Thinkstock

More lives could be saved if doctors considered giving blood pressure drugs to all patients at high-risk of heart disease - even if their blood pressures are normal, a study suggests.

The report calls for a move away from current guidelines which recommend pills only be prescribed if blood pressure is above a certain threshold.

But experts acknowledge lifestyle factors also have an important role to play in bringing blood pressures down.

The study appears in the Lancet.

High blood pressure has long been linked to a higher risk of heart disease and stroke.

Current guidelines - issued by England’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence - suggest patients should only take medication when their blood pressure levels reach 140 mmHg.

Until this point even those at highest risk, for example people who have had previous heart attacks and strokes, are offered monitoring but not pills.

Now a global team of experts are calling for doctors to focus on an individual’s risks rather than rigid and “arbitrary” blood pressure thresholds.

Large trial

Experts analysed the results of more than 100 large-scale trials involving some 600,000 people between 1966 and 2015.

They found those patients at highest risk - including smokers with high cholesterol levels and people over 65s with diabetes - would benefit most from treatment, lowering their chance of heart attacks and strokes.

In addition the report suggests once on treatment, blood pressure levels could be reduced even further than the targets currently used.

The study also adds to growing evidence that patients may benefit from lowering their blood pressure whatever their baseline levels - either through lifestyle changes or drugs.

But it shows the lower the person’s blood pressure to start with, the lower the benefit they gain from reducing it.

The authors do not go as far as to suggest everyone should be given pills and caution side-effects of medication must be weighed up.

Prof Liam Smeeth, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, agreed the findings were important for those at highest risk.

But he warned: “One important caveat is that not everyone will be able to tolerate having their blood pressure reduced to low levels, and there is a need to balance possible drug side effects and likely benefits.”

Heart specialist Dr Tim Chico, of the University of Sheffield, said medication need not be the only way to tackle the issue.

He added: “We can all reduce our blood pressure.

“We can do this safely, cheaply and as effectively as tablets by eating healthily, taking more physical activity, reducing alcohol intake, and maintaining a healthy weight.”

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Housing benefit cuts would ‘affect schemes for vulnerable’

- 24 December 2015

- From the section UK

Image copyright PA

Housing projects helping more than 400,000 vulnerable adults face closure because of government welfare cuts, analysis on behalf of Labour suggests.

The Treasury’s decision to cap housing benefit at the level available for private rents makes many schemes unviable, the research - carried out by housing providers - said.

The housing cap is part of a £12bn package of cuts from the welfare bill.

The government said the implementation of the policy is still being looked at.

The Labour Party, which commissioned the research, said under the proposed cuts an annual shortfall of £400m would put the frail and elderly at risk of losing their homes.

In the chancellor’s Autumn Statement he said the rate of housing benefit in the social sector would be capped at the same rate as is paid to those in the private rented sector - which would make savings of £225m by 2020-21.

‘Major threat’

But some providers of supported housing say they rely on higher levels of housing benefit to cover the additional costs of care and support needed to cater for vulnerable adults.

The analysis - carried out by the Placeshapers group of housing associations - warned that the cut represented “a major threat to the financial viability of such schemes”.

“Placeshapers is calling for all supported housing schemes to be exempt from the government’s changes to social housing rent levels,” it added.

The research suggested specific schemes such as one in Middlesbrough which helps vulnerable women and another one in Norfolk for children with learning difficulties would be in the firing line if the cap came into force.

‘Forced out’

Labour’s shadow minister for housing John Healey said the housing benefit cap would be a “catastrophe for those who can least afford it”.

“There is no way these people or the organisations who support them can make up the yawning shortfall these cuts will open up,” he added.

“If nothing is done, vital supported housing across the country will close, and the people who rely on them will be forced out.”

The Department for Work and Pensions said it was committed to supporting vulnerable people and details of how the policy will be implemented are still being worked on.

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US storms: At least six dead in trail of destruction

- 24 December 2015

- From the section US & Canada

Image copyright AP

Image caption Parts of the US have been buffeted by numerous tornadoes

A storm described by forecasters as “particularly dangerous” has hit the south and mid-west of the US, killing at least six people and injuring scores more ahead of the Christmas break.

Three people were killed as tornadoes moved through northern Mississippi, officials said, along with two in Tennessee and one in Arkansas.

There have been reports of at least 20 tornadoes of varying severity.

The high winds have also caused significant damage to homes.

Authorities in parts of Mississippi - where a seven-year-old was among those killed - are conducting a house-by-house search-and-rescue operation after the state was hit by multiple tornadoes.

Image copyright AP

Image caption The storms have left a trail of destruction across several American states

Planes at a small airport in the north-west of the state were overturned and an unknown number of people were injured.

“I’m looking at some horrific damage right now,” Clarksdale Mayor Bill Luckett was quoted by the AP news agency as saying..

“Sheet metal is wrapped around trees; there are overturned airplanes; a building is just destroyed.”

Mississippi’s Interstate 55 was closed in both directions as the tornado approached, the state’s Highway Patrol said.

Image copyright Science Photo Library

Image caption Storms at this time of the year are not uncommon in the US

The bad weather is also due to hit - or has hit - the states of Kentucky, Alabama, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Alabama.

The national Storm Prediction Center in Oklahoma has released a “particularly dangerous situation” warning for the first time since June 2014, AP reports, when two massive tornadoes destroyed a rural Nebraska town, killing two people.

The possibility of bad weather just before Christmas in the US is not unusual, officials at the centre say.

One year ago a tornado hit south-eastern Mississippi, killing five people and injuring dozens more.

A storm on Christmas Day in 2012 which included several tornadoes damaged homes from Texas to Alabama.

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Churches of Scotland and England reach first formal pact

- 24 December 2015

- From the section UK

Image copyright PA

Image caption The Queen, who is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, attends services at Crathie Kirk - which belongs to the Church of Scotland

An “historic” agreement has been reached between The Church of England and The Church of Scotland - marking their first formal working arrangement.

A document - the Columba Declaration - will be debated by the ruling bodies of both churches next year.

It commits the churches to “grow together in communion and to strengthen their partnership in mission”.

Founded in two different branches of Protestantism, England’s church is Anglican and Scotland’s Presbyterian.

The declaration has been authored by Kirk minister the Reverend John McPake, and the Church of England’s Bishop of Chester, Peter Forster.

‘Common reality’

They say the agreement will allow clergy and lay people from each church to be welcomed into the other when they move across the border.

The pact also recognises that the two churches have constitutional responsibilities in separate parts of the UK.

“We face the common reality that constitutional change could have a significant impact on our own identity and relationships,” the 15-page declaration says.

In a joint statement from both authors they said they hoped the pact would “affirm and strengthen our relationship at a time when it is likely to be particularly critical in the life of the UK”.

They also said they wanted it to: “Enable us to speak and act together more effectively in the face of the missionary challenges of our generation.”

Image copyright PA

Image caption Reverend John McPake was one of the co-authors of the declaration

The Church of England’s ruling body - the General Synod - will discuss the document in February, while the Church of Scotland’s General Assembly will go through the same process in May.

Both churches were formed separately during the Reformation - which began in 1517 and focused on ways to reform the Catholic Church.

The new agreement is the first between the churches - which both describe themselves as part of “one holy catholic and apostolic church” - but have significant ecclesiological differences.

The Church of England retained more vestiges of Catholicism, has Catholic and evangelical wings, and is governed by bishops.

Meanwhile, the Church of Scotland is Presbyterian in structure and has no bishops or cathedrals.

This year the two churches established the Churches’ Mutual Credit Union as a response to concerns that low-income families needed access to low-cost banking and loans.

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China smog sparks red alerts in 10 cities

- 24 December 2015

- From the section China

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption Tianjin issued its first ever red alert on Wednesday as it was hit with hazardous levels of pollution

Hazardous smog blanketing China’s north-east has sparked more red alerts, with authorities advising residents in 10 cities to stay indoors.

The announcement follows last week’s warning that a vast area of China would be badly hit by pollution.

Beijing saw its second red alert over the weekend. The latest wave of alerts includes the industrial port Tianjin.

Red alerts trigger advisories for people to stay inside, schools to stop classes, and restrict vehicle use.

An environmental ministry statement issued on Wednesday night said the 10 cities with red alerts include Tianjin as well as smaller surrounding cities Puyang, Xinxiang, Dezhou, Handan, Xintai, Langfang, Hengshui, Xinji and Anyang.

They are among 30 cities including Beijing seeing “severe pollution”. Another 20 cities have “heavy pollution”.

On Wednesday, images of a purple-tinged sunset in Nanjing spread across social media with many users attributing it to the pollution in the city.

China’s air pollution alert

Image copyright EPA

- A red alert is the highest of a four-level alert system instituted two years. The other colours are blue, yellow, and orange.

- Red means hazardous air pollution for three consecutive days. Air quality levels higher than 300 is considered hazardous.

- It triggers advisories to residents to avoid outdoor activity and for schools to stop classes.

- It also triggers restrictions on vehicle use, factories and construction work.

Beijing’s second red alert ended on Tuesday night. The ministry said the capital’s air quality was “slowly improving”.

But some parts of neighbouring Henan and Hebei regions were still seeing heavy pollution, with levels of the PM2.5 pollutant surpassing 300 mg per cubic metre - the hazardous level in China.

Image copyright ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images

Image caption The city of Shijiazhuang in Hebei province saw heavy smog on Wednesday as well

China has seen extremely high levels of air pollution in recent years, particularly in the coal-reliant north east, the industrial heart of the country.

Following criticism that authorities were not doing enough to protect citizens’ health, the government has stepped up in issuing health advisories and promised to take action to address pollution.

Image copyright EPA

Image caption Authorities said that Beijing’s air quality was “slowly improving”

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Newspaper headlines: Storm Eva and Christmas ‘miracle’ toddler

By Andy McFarlane BBC News

- 23 December 2015

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Image caption Britain’s national obsession - the weather - hits the last front pages before Christmas. The Daily Express says a storm, named Eva by meteorologists, will unleash “80mph gales, torrential downpours and snow” over the next three days.

Image caption For the i, it’s just the latest act in a “washout winter”. Its front page reproduces a satellite image of a large bank of cloud to the west of the British Isles.

Image caption Its sister paper, the Independent, uses a photograph of a man cycling along an already-flooded street in York. Its lead story quotes scientists warning MPs that Britain would be reduced to a “bit player” in academic research in the event it left the European Union.

Image caption Other papers find a “Christmas miracle” to enjoy. The Daily Mirror leads on the story of toddler Bella Moore-Williams, once critically ill with a genetic disease, who “rallied after she was taken off life support”. She had just been kissed goodbye by her parents, the paper says.

Image caption The Sun also features the story on its front page, saying that five months after that final kiss, the toddler “cannot wait to celebrate Christmas”. The paper’s lead story predicts a last-minute dash to the shops by Britons will see £2m spent each minute.

Image caption Half of maternity wards have turned away women in labour, according to the Daily Mail. “Hospitals are struggling to cope with growing numbers of older or obese mothers and the rising birth rates caused by record levels of immigration,” the paper says.

Image caption The Times reports the fears of faith leaders about the persecution of Christians around the world. It comes as Brunei threatened to imprison for up to five years anyone who celebrated Christmas in public, such as by singing carols, sending festive greetings or decorating trees, the paper says.

Image caption The Daily Telegraph reports the results of an Oxford University study which, it says, suggests up to half the adult population should be offered cheap blood pressure pills to cut the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Image caption The Financial Times says US banks face the prospect of tougher stress tests next year because of their exposure to the oil markets. The falling price of crude has transformed the outlook for the financial sector, the paper adds.

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Torn in two: Yemen divided

By Frank Gardner BBC security correspondent

- 24 December 2015

- From the section Middle East

Image copyright Reuters

Yemen is broken. The country once dubbed by the Romans as “Arabia Felix” - “Fortunate Arabia” - because of its lush valleys and rich agriculture has been torn apart by war.

The UN estimates that close to 6,000 people have been killed since a Saudi-led nine-nation coalition began air strikes in March 2015, hoping to defeat the Houthi rebels who had taken over half the country.

Already the poorest country in the Arab world, with dwindling oil and water reserves, Yemen is now facing catastrophe. Its basic infrastructure is shattered, its economy is grinding to a halt, at least 80% of the population is dependent on food aid.

Its land is divided between Houthi rebels, forces loyal to the former president, forces loyal to the current president, Gulf Arab armies and rival jihadists from both al-Qaeda and so-called Islamic State (IS).

Peace talks in Switzerland opened in December but if they fail to produce results when they resume in January then Yemen’s largely unseen war could last well into 2016 and beyond.

What went wrong?

In 2011 Yemen experienced the Arab Spring protests, along with Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain, Libya and Syria.

Image copyright AP

Image caption Like much of the Arab world, Yemenis came out onto the streets to demand an end to corruption and a total disrespect for human rights

Worried that the protests could spill out of control or even beyond its borders, Yemen’s Gulf Arab neighbours brokered a deal that saw longstanding President Ali Abdullah Saleh deposed and replaced by President Hadi.

They underestimated the former president. Instead of slipping off gracefully into retirement, Ali Abdullah Saleh remained in Yemen, conspiring to ruin the new president’s chances of success.

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption Saleh had ruled North Yemen since 1978 and a united Yemen since 1990, so was able to retain the loyalty of much of the army and police

In 2014 Saleh threw his support behind a rebellion by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, enabling them to march almost unopposed into the capital Sanaa.

By January 2015 the UN-recognised President Hadi had lost power completely and he fled into exile in Saudi Arabia where he remains today. By March 2015 the Houthis had taken over the whole of western Yemen, where the bulk of the population are concentrated.

The Saudis and their Gulf Arab allies saw this as an Iranian takeover, fearing that Iran was about to seize control of Aden port and the strategic entrance to the Red Sea, through which thousands of ships pass each year.

For the Saudis this was a red line and they decided to act. In March 2015 they began a massive campaign of air strikes, targeting both the Houthi rebels and their backers, the units loyal to former President Saleh.

The Saudis expected their overwhelming firepower to quickly drive the Houthis towards the negotiating table, and that they would sue for peace. Yet nine months later the Houthis remain firmly embedded in the capital and much of the north.

Yemen now effectively has two capitals - Sanaa and Aden - and the Saudi-led coalition is bogged down in an indecisive war where neither side is emerging as a clear winner.

The human cost

The toll on Yemen’s population and infrastructure has been horrific. According to human rights groups both sides have committed abuses, some of which may amount to war crimes.

Over 2,500 civilians are reported to have been killed, most by air strikes. The Saudi-led coalition stands accused of using at least four types of cluster bombs and dropping bombs on civilian homes, hospitals, factories and bottling plants.

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption Saudi-led air strikes have had a devastating effect

Image copyright EPA

Image caption There has been widespread disruption of water supplies - aid agencies have warned of the growing risk of malnutrition and disease

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption More than 2.5 million people have been displaced internally

Saudi Arabia insists it only attacks carefully chosen military targets but there have been numerous accounts from Yemenis on the ground saying residential areas have been attacked, far from any Houthi positions.

Human rights groups have called for a boycott of Western arms sales to Saudi Arabia since its air force uses US and UK-made planes and missiles, while US tankers resupply those aircraft and US intelligence advisers work alongside the Saudis in their operations centre.

The Houthi rebels are accused of shelling indiscriminately into residential areas, of laying unmarked mines and of imprisoning members of the population without charge. Food distribution has been hampered by the fighting and by a partial blockade of Yemen’s ports and aid agencies warn of the growing risk of malnutrition and disease if the war continues much longer.

The strategic picture

Some see the Yemen conflict as a sectarian proxy war between the two big regional rivals in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Saudi Arabia is a Sunni-majority country where the Shia population in the east complain of marginalisation and discrimination. Iran is a Shia-majority country. The two are vying for control and influence over a rapidly-changing map of the Middle East.

Until the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 that large, oil-rich country was ruled by Sunnis under President Saddam Hussein. Gulf Arab rulers did not much care for him but they saw Iraq as a useful bulwark against Iran and its efforts to export its Islamic Revolution.

But today Iraq is ruled by Shias and has very close links with Iran. Syria, riven by civil war, has a nominally Shia president supported by Iran while next door in Lebanon the most powerful militia is Hezbollah, also supported by Iran.

Image copyright EPA

Image caption Armed tribesmen loyal to Yemen’s Saudi-backed government

So the Saudis are feeling a certain paranoia, fearing a “Shia crescent” that extends all the way from Afghanistan westwards to the Mediterranean. The prospect, in their eyes, of Yemen forming part of this Shia sphere of influence was simply too much for them, hence their commitment to a Yemen war with no apparent end in sight.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain all now appear more interested in what happens in Yemen than what happens in Syria.

In practice this has translated into a scaling back of Gulf Arab participation in the US-led air campaign against IS in Syria and Iraq.

Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain are fully committed militarily in Yemen and analysts question whether these countries can focus their full attention on two full scale conflicts simultaneously.

Expeditionary warfare

The new, aggressive and adventurist stance of the Saudi ruling clique has surprised many people. Despite the billions of petrodollars they have spent on arms purchases over the years, the Saudis have not been a martial nation since the country’s tribes united back in 1932.

When Iraq’s late President Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990 some Saudi princes even suggested a deal that would buy him off and let him keep part of Kuwait. Traditionally, the Saudis have preferred to conduct diplomacy by quiet negotiation and compromise, backed by cash, rather than seeking confrontation.

But that changed after January 2015 when the late King Abdullah was succeeded by King Salman who granted extraordinary power to his young and untested son, the 29-year-old Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. As possibly the youngest defence minister in the world he was given the green light to lead the war against the Houthis in Yemen.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Prince Mohammed Bin Salman has overseen the military operation in Yemen

Today Saudi troops are on the ground there, but under the same banner of the Saudi-led coalition so too are Emiratis from the UAE, Bahrainis and, reportedly Egyptians, Sudanese and even Colombian mercenaries.

In September a single missile attack on a coalition base killed 46 Emirati soldiers and several Saudis and Bahrainis.

The UAE has some experience of expeditionary warfare (sending troops overseas to fight), after serving in Kosovo and Afghanistan, but for the Saudis the war in Yemen is a new and risky venture.

Any deal that leaves the Houthi rebels in control of Sanaa and the surrounding area will be perceived as a failure for the Saudis and their coalition, something that could have negative consequences for the young defence minister.

But reports from Yemen suggest that splits have emerged between the Houthi rebels and their Saleh backers. There are signs that some Houthi leaders want to bring this war to a swift end, while others want to fight on.

So, as ever, the situation in Yemen is complicated. Ceasefires come and go, peace talks are convened then break up, more and more countries are getting drawn into the morass and with no clear winner, it is Yemen’s increasingly beleaguered population that is emerging as the losers in this war.

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Birmingham’s ancient Koran history revealed

By Sean Coughlan Education correspondent

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Business

Media captionThe ancient Koran in Birmingham is giving up some its secrets

When the University of Birmingham revealed that it had fragments from one of the world’s oldest Korans, it made headlines around the world.

In terms of discoveries, it seemed as unlikely as it was remarkable.

But it raised even bigger questions about the origins of this ancient manuscript.

And there are now suggestions from the Middle East that the discovery could be even more spectacularly significant than had been initially realised.

There are claims that these could be fragments from the very first complete version of the Koran, commissioned by Abu Bakr, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad - and that it is “the most important discovery ever for the Muslim world”.

This is a global jigsaw puzzle.

But some of the pieces have fallen into place.

It seems likely the fragments in Birmingham, at least 1,370 years old, were once held in Egypt’s oldest mosque, the Mosque of Amr ibn al-As in Fustat.

Paris match

This is because academics are increasingly confident the Birmingham manuscript has an exact match in the National Library of France, the Bibliotheque Nationale de France.

Image copyright Thinkstock

Image caption The Mosque of Amr ibn al-As in Egypt, where Birmingham’s Koran seems to have orginated

The library points to the expertise of Francois Deroche, historian of the Koran and academic at the College de France, and he confirms the pages in Paris are part of the same Koran as Birmingham’s.

Alba Fedeli, the researcher who first identified the manuscript in Birmingham, is also sure it is the same as the fragments in Paris.

The significance is that the origin of the manuscript in Paris is known to have been the Mosque of Amr ibn al-As in Fustat.

‘Spirited away’

The French part of this manuscript was brought to Europe by Asselin de Cherville, who served as a vice consul in Egypt when the country was under the control of Napoleon’s armies in the early 19th Century.

Prof Deroche says Asselin de Cherville’s widow seemed to have tried to sell this and other ancient Islamic manuscripts to the British Library in the 1820s, but they ended up in the national library in Paris, where they have remained ever since.

Image caption 1: In summer 2015 two leaves of an ancient Koran at the University of Birmingham were identified and dated as being much earlier than anyone had anticipated and among the oldest in the world. 2: The National Library of France, Paris has leaves from the same Koran, brought from Egypt by a vice consul under Napoleon. 3: The Mosque of Amr ibn al-As in Fustat, Egypt. The fragments of the Koran in Birmingham are believed to have come from this ancient mosque. 4: Alphonse Mingana was born near Zakho in modern-day Iraq in 1878. He brought the manuscript to Birmingham from the Middle East on a collecting trip in the 1920s funded by the Cadbury family.

But if some of this Koran went to Paris, what happened to the pages now in Birmingham?

Prof Deroche says later in the 19th Century manuscripts were transferred from the mosque in Fustat to the national library in Cairo.

Along the way, “some folios must have been spirited away” and entered the antiquities market.

These were presumably sold and re-sold, until in the 1920s they were acquired by Alphonse Mingana and brought to Birmingham.

Mingana was an Assyrian, from what is now modern-day Iraq, whose collecting trips to the Middle East were funded by the Cadbury family.

“Of course, no official traces of this episode were left, but it should explain how Mingana got some leaves from the Fustat trove,” says Prof Deroche, who holds the legion of honour for his academic work.

And tantalisingly, he says other similar material, sold to western collectors could, still come to light.

Disputed date

But what remains much more contentious is the dating of the manuscript in Birmingham.

What was really startling about the Birmingham discovery was its early date, with radiocarbon testing putting it between 568 and 645.

The latest date in the range is 13 years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632.

Image copyright Thinkstock

Image caption Manuscripts were brought to France by Napoleon’s forces in Egypt

David Thomas, Birmingham University’s professor of Christianity and Islam, explained how much this puts the manuscript into the earliest years of Islam: “The person who actually wrote it could well have known the Prophet Muhammad.”

But the early date contradicts the findings of academics who have based their analysis on the style of the text.

Mustafa Shah, from the Islamic studies department at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, says the “graphical evidence”, such as how the verses are separated and the grammatical marks, show this is from a later date.

In this early form of Arabic, writing styles developed and grammatical rules changed, and Dr Shah says the Birmingham manuscript is simply inconsistent with such an early date.

Prof Deroche also says he has “reservations” about radiocarbon dating and there have been cases where manuscripts with known dates have been tested and the results have been incorrect.

‘Confident’ dates are accurate

But staff at Oxford University’s Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, which dated the parchment, are convinced their findings are correct, no matter how inconvenient.

Researcher David Chivall says the accuracy of dating has improved in recent years, with a much more reliable approach to removing contamination from samples.

Image caption Jamal bin Huwaireb believes that this an even more remarkable find than has so far been realised

In the case of the Birmingham Koran, Mr Chivall says the latter half of the age range is more likely, but the overall range is accurate to a probability of 95%.

It is the same level of confidence given to the dating of the bones of Richard III, also tested at the Oxford laboratory.

“We’re as confident as we can be that the dates are accurate.”

And academic opinions can change. Dr Shah says until the 1990s the dominant academic view in the West was that there was no complete written version of the Koran until the 8th Century.

But researchers have since overturned this consensus, proving it “completely wrong” and providing more support for the traditional Muslim account of the history of the Koran.

The corresponding manuscript in Paris, which could help to settle the argument about dates, has not been radiocarbon tested.

The first Koran?

But if the dating of the Birmingham manuscript is correct what does it mean?

There are only two leaves in Birmingham, but Prof Thomas says the complete collection would have been about 200 separate leaves.

Image copyright PA

Image caption The text of the Koran has remained unchanged since this very early version in Birmingham

“It would have been a monumental piece of work,” he said.

And it raises questions about who would have commissioned the Koran and been able to mobilise the resources to produce it.

Jamal bin Huwareib, managing director of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, an education foundation set up by the ruler of the UAE, says the evidence points to an even more remarkable conclusion.

He believes the manuscript in Birmingham is part of the first comprehensive written version of the Koran assembled by Abu Bakr, the Muslim caliph who ruled between 632 and 634.

Image caption Prof Thomas says the writer of this manuscript could have heard the Prophet Muhammad preach

“It’s the most important discovery ever for the Muslim world,” says Mr bin Huwareib, who has visited Birmingham to examine the manuscript.

“I believe this is the Koran of Abu Bakr.”

He says the high quality of the hand writing and the parchment show this was a prestigious work created for someone important - and the radiocarbon dating shows it is from the earliest days of Islam.

“This version, this collection, this manuscript is the root of Islam, it’s the root of the Koran,” says Mr bin Huwareib.

“This will be a revolution in studying Islam.”

This would be an unprecedented find. Prof Thomas says the dating fits this theory but “it’s a very big leap indeed”.

‘Priceless manuscript’

There are other possibilities. The radiocarbon dating is based on the death of the animal whose skin was used for the parchment, not when the writing was completed, which means the manuscript could be a few years later than the age range ending in 645, with Prof Thomas suggesting possible dates of 650 to 655.

Media captionThe university’s academics were “startled” by the results of radiocarbon dating

This would overlap with the production of copies of the Koran during the rule of the caliph Uthman, between 644 and 656, which were intended to produce an accurate, standardised version to be sent to Muslim communities.

If the Birmingham manuscript was a fragment of one of these copies it would also be a spectacular outcome.

It’s not possible to definitively prove or disprove such theories.

But Joseph Lumbard, professor in the department of Arabic and translation studies at the American University of Sharjah, says if the early dating is correct then nothing should be ruled out.

“I would not discount that it could be a fragment from the codex collected by Zayd ibn Thabit under Abu Bakr.

“I would not discount that it could be a copy of the Uthmanic codex.

“I would not discount Deroche’s argument either, he is such a leader in this field,” says Prof Lumbard.

He also warns of evidence being cherry-picked to support experts’ preferred views.

BBC iWonder: The Quran

A timeline of how the Quran became part of British life

Prof Thomas says there could also have been copies made from copies and perhaps the Birmingham manuscript is from a copy made specially for the mosque in Fustat.

Jamal bin Huwaireb sees the discovery of such a “priceless manuscript” in the UK, rather than a Muslim country, as sending a message of mutual tolerance between religions.

“We need to respect each other, work together, we don’t need conflict.”

But don’t expect any end to the arguments over this ancient document.

More stories from the BBC’s Knowledge economy series looking at education from a global perspective and how to get in touch

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Five things you need to know about US visa changes

- 24 December 2015

- From the section US & Canada

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption The in-progress US embassy in London

Changes to the US’s visa waiver programme will affect many EU citizens with ties to the Middle East. Could it affect you?

1. What’s will change once the law goes into effect?

Previously, the US waived visas for up to 90 days for citizens and nationals of 38 countries on their visa waiver list, many in the European Union.

Anyone eligible for the visa waiver program (VWP) still has to fill out an electronic form that’s administered by the US Department of Homeland Security before travelling to the US called the ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation). The ESTA clearance lasts two years.

Under the new law, those who previously would have qualified for ESTA but have a second citizenship from Iran, Iraq, Syria or Sudan or have visited those countries in the last five years will face changes.

Those people will need to apply for a visa. It’s unclear if those who apply for a visa must still get an ESTA or how long the ESTA clearance will last.

2. How will the visa program work?

The law is set to be implemented in 2016, although a time frame has not been determined by the US Department of Homeland Security and it’s standard practice for a new law to be subject to review.

Once the law is implemented, those who are affected could be required to go to a US embassy and apply for a visa in person, which could include an interview.

At the moment in London, for example, a visitor visa appointment can be scheduled in four days. The length of time it takes to be issued a visa is a case by case basis but can take anywhere from next day to a week.

3. Will I have to apply every time I go to the US?

The good news may be that most people won’t have to go into the embassy too often. A visa for tourism and business purposes for dual UK nationals, for example, may be valid for a maximum of 10 years and costs $160.

However, the length of visa would be determined then by a consular officer after an interview and background check.

Image copyright AP

4. Who will be hit hardest?

Specialists like journalists and performers already require a separate visa to travel to the US, and anyone seeking to work in the US - that is, be paid by a US company - requires a work visa. But those who are coming to the US for tourism or for business meetings, deals, or conferences - were previously covered by the VWP.

Because of this, the programme is expected to affect business people the most, especially those who come in and out frequently. and even more so those businesspeople who have recently been to Iran since the nuclear deal reached over the summer opened more opportunities for them.

The concern has angered the Iranian government who say this new law would violate the deal. But Secretary of State John Kerry has promised in a letter to Iran’s foreign minister that extensive visas will be available.

5. What if I’m a dual US citizen?

If you have a US passport and you have travelled to designated countries or are a dual national of these countries, you do not require a visa.

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Jeremy Corbyn’s 19,485 Early Day Motions

By Rajdeep Sandhu Political reporter

- 24 December 2015

- From the section UK Politics

Image copyright Chris Ratcliffe/Getty Images

Before Jeremy Corbyn became leader of the Labour Party he was a very active and opinionated backbencher.

Backbench MPs can speak relatively freely about their views, and Mr Corbyn took full advantage of this inside and outside Parliament. It’s well known to most, by now, that he was the most rebellious Labour MP of recent times - voting against the party leadership 533 times since Tony Blair came to power in 1997.

But he has made his voice heard on a dizzying range of issues since the day he first arrived in the Commons in 1983, as MP for Islington North, often using a Parliamentary tool known as an Early Day Motion (EDM).

According to data on Early Day Motions on the Parliament website, since 1989 Mr Corbyn has signed 19,485 motions. Of those he was the primary sponsor of 766 and a co-sponsor on 2,727.

Before we start, what are Early Day Motions?

Early Day Motions are “are formal motions submitted for debate in the House of Commons” according to the Parliament website, yet it goes on to say “very few are actually debated”. Essentially they are petitions for MPs to start or put their name too. They aren’t necessarily an effective way of bringing about change and some MPs have previously called them “narcissistic” and “pointless”.

But they are a good way for an MP to draw attention to an issue without having to wait for their turn to come around for things like an adjournment debate, backbench business debates - or until their number gets drawn for a Private Member’s Bill.

Based on the motions he signed what would Corbyn World be like?

Image copyright Reuters

To start with there probably wouldn’t be a London Eye. In 1996 he filed a motion titled “Ferris wheel and the homeless”. The motion said it was depressing that planning permission had been granted “for a 500 foot giant ferris wheel on the South Bank of the Thames” it went on to say it would “be an eyesore and totally inappropriate for that site”. He called for the money to be spent on the homeless instead.

There would be no nuclear weapons either.

Trident

Image copyright PA

Mr Corbyn is a long-time supporter of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. During his time as an MP he has submitted over 50 Early Day Motions voicing his opposition to nuclear arms in the UK and abroad. Shortly before becoming Labour leader he had submitted one titled “Trident and the Strategic Defence and Security Review” which called for the review to set out “how it has considered the delivery of UK defence and security capability without nuclear weapons, including threat assessments, estimated costs and all non-nuclear options”.

Animal cruelty (and asteroids)

Image copyright Other

Mr Corbyn is a staunch defender of animal rights and has signed many an EDM calling for an end to cruelty (including one urging the BBC not to repeat an episode of Michael Palin’s Around the World in 80 days in which a snake was skinned alive).

But it was a 2004 motion tabled by the late Labour MP Tony Banks that caught commentators’ eyes when Mr Corbyn became Labour leader, for its apparent call for the obliteration of the human race (Mr Banks had a well-developed sense of humour).

It read: “That this House is appalled, but barely surprised, at the revelations in M15 files regarding the bizarre and inhumane proposals to use pigeons as flying bombs; recognises the important and live-saving role of carrier pigeons in two world wars and wonders at the lack of gratitude towards these gentle creatures; and believes that humans represent the most obscene, perverted, cruel, uncivilised and lethal species ever to inhabit the planet and looks forward to the day when the inevitable asteroid slams into the earth and wipes them out thus giving nature the opportunity to start again.”

Fizzy pop and Arsenal

Closer to home, in the House of Commons, Mr Corbyn wants to remove the vending machines that are “packed with crisps, fizzy drinks and confectionery” and instead offer “fruit and a number of healthy beverages and snacks”.

Early Day Motions are sometimes used as a way to congratulate schools, sporting stars and the work of individuals. Being a football fan Mr Corbyn has congratulated his local football club, Arsenal 13 times - both the men and women’s teams. His most recent was in June congratulating “Arsenal on their twelfth winning of the FA Cup” adding further congratulations to “the whole team, manager Arsene Wenger and all supporters on this triumph and the wonderful skills displayed in the final”.

Image copyright AP Photo/ Rebecca Naden, Pool)

Image caption Arsenal win FA Cup Final in 2005

Non-Corbyn Early Day Motions on sport this parliament include:

- Alex Salmond, former SNP leader, congratulating golfer Russell Knox, from Inverness, on winning his first PGA tour. The motion went on to say it “looks forward to many more tour victories to come from Scottish professional golfers”

- Keith Vaz, Labour MP, decided to congratulate formula one driver Lewis Hamilton on winning the US Grand Prix and called him “a role model for young people”

- Douglas Chapman, SNP MP, congratulated Wayne Rooney on becoming England’s top goal scorer of all time

- Hannah Bardell, SNP MP, condemned the banning of bagpipes at the Rugby World Cup saying it was not “dangerous”

Al Jazeera in Parliament

Other causes he has promoted include providing Al Jazeera English channel for MPs to watch on the parliamentary estate to help them be “better informed”.

A memorial for protester Brian Haw

Jeremy Corbyn would also like a memorial in Parliament for protester Brian Haw who camped in Parliament Square for years, protesting against wars, especially the Iraq one. He died in 2011.

Image copyright Press Association

Image caption Brain Haw, anti-war protester with supporters in 2006

Human rights

There are some causes Jeremy Corbyn has consistently felt needed raising, many concerning human rights. He has repeatedly raised the issue for the rights of the Kurdish people, those in Western Sahara, the Dalits in India and the Palestinians.

What about Corbyn and other world leaders?

In 1992 after the defeat of President George Bush he welcomed the end of his presidency and referenced the US’s “unprecedented” military action in “Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama, Libya and the Gulf”. The Early Day Motion finished by saying the signatories were “relieved” Mr Bush had been “so emphatically defeated in the election in November”.

Image copyright AP

Image caption George HW Bush

Mr Corbyn has been very supportive of Bolivian socialist President Evo Morales, submitting three Early Day Motions to congratulate him on his electoral wins, one congratulated him on his campaign which was “dominated by the demand that oil and gas reserves should benefit the people of the country and a rejection of new liberal economies”.

Support for Stop the War Coalition

Jeremy Corbyn’s recent appearance at the Stop the War Coalition Christmas fundraiser caused controversy for the Labour Party. His long support for the organisation and previous position as chairman has come under heavy scrutiny after controversial comments by the group. But in 2006 and then again in 2010 he praised their hard work for organising protests first against sending British troops to Afghanistan and then later calling on them to be withdrawn.

Arming the police

Another controversial area where Mr Corbyn and the Parliamentary Labour Party have had differences is on armed police in the UK. In 1994 he was against increasing the number of armed police vehicles in London. The Early Day Motion said the move would “lead to a spiral of violence with criminals seeking to further arm themselves in response” and warned it about a substantial risk of “wrongful or accidental shootings”.

The calming effect of beards

As a proud six times winner of the Parliamentary Beard of the Year contest, Mr Corbyn was always going to sign an Early Day Motion opposing a ban on British Rail workers wearing facial hair. But so outraged was he by the idea that he inserted an extra line into Lib Dem MP Alex Carlile’s 1991 motion, pointing out that “beards are healthy and create the sympathetic image necessary for staff dealing with deeply distressed passengers”.

A love of composting

And finally… it seems Jeremy Corbyn is an advocate of composting. In 2002 his Early Day Motion stated it was “a good, effective and wholly natural way of dealing with organic waste”. He called on the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to publish free advice to tell people “how to make the best of compost heaps.”

Image copyright PA

Image caption Jeremy Corbyn holding a giant marrow during a visit to a Brighton business centre in September

How much do Early Day Motions cost?

During 2012-13 there were 1,139 early day motions and it cost approximately £374,500 to print them, £3,500 in IT support costs and £33,500 in staff costs. The government said the cost “has fallen considerably” after they reduced the amount of printing. In 2009-10 the total cost was approximately £1,000,000. We’ve also done a rough check here and reckon it would take at least 15 hours going at full pelt to sign your name 19,485 times…

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Don Howe: Former Arsenal and England coach dies aged 80

Former England international and coach Don Howe has died at the age of 80.

The full-back played for West Brom and Arsenal, earning 23 England caps, before establishing himself as a renowned coach for club and country.

Howe helped Arsenal to a league and FA Cup double in 1971 and spent four years as West Brom boss before returning to the Gunners as coach and manager.

He also coached under former England managers Ron Greenwood, Sir Bobby Robson and Terry Venables.

Arsenal chairman Sir Chips Keswick said Howe had been “enduring a long battle with illness”, but added it was still a “shock to learn the news”.

‘One of the greatest ever coaches’

Howe played every game in the 1958 World Cup and was then a key part of Robson's coaching staff as England reached the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup, before also supporting Venables as his side made it to the last four of Euro 96.

Former Gunners goalkeeper Bob Wilson said Howe was “a fine player but truly he was one of the greatest ever coaches in football”.

FA chairman Greg Dyke described his death as a “great loss for English football”.

Dyke added: “He is widely regarded as being in the vanguard of coaching in England, and I know that his loss will be keenly felt amongst the coaching fraternity in particular and not least by [current England boss] Roy Hodgson, who was close to Don.”

Hodgson said: “I found myself privileged to say he befriended me and I think it is a great loss and I am very sad.

“I think we were very fortunate growing up as young coaches to be able to take inspiration from Don, Sir Bobby Robson and Dave Sexton alongside him.

“He was absolutely one of the very best coaches I have ever come across in my life and, certainly in my opinion, one of the very best coaches England ever had.”

The footballing life and times of Don Howe

1955: Makes West Brom debut, making 379 appearances for the club

1958: Appears at World Cup in Sweden, going on to earn 23 England caps

1964: Joins Arsenal from West Brom for £42,000, playing 74 times

1967: Becomes Gunners coach going onto help team to 1971 double

1971: Begins as West Brom manager, but suffers relegation in 1973

1977: After managing Galatasaray becomes Arsenal coach again, going on to manage the Gunners from 1984-86

1977: Also takes up England coaching role under Ron Greenwood, continuing under Sir Bobby Robson and Terry Venables

A man forever linked with Arsenal

Howe's managerial career also included spells at QPR, Coventry City and Turkish club Galatasaray, while he was also a coach under Bobby Gould when Wimbledon earned a shock win over Liverpool in the 1988 FA Cup final.

But he was best known for his relationship with Arsenal, which spanned five decades.

Appointed as Gunners manager in 1984, he was credited with developing the likes of former players such as the late David Rocastle, Martin Keown, Michael Thomas and Niall Quinn.

Former boss George Graham said that Arsenal's 1971 'Double' under manager Bertie Mee was “due to the organisation of Don”.

Graham told BBC Radio 5 live: “He was a lovely man. Quiet in company but he could lose his temper as well. Certainly one of the best coaches I have worked for.”

Wilson added: “He was innovative and for us as a club he was instrumental and inspirational. He made us believe as a team. He should be remembered forever for his contribution to coaching in England.”

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Dylan Hartley (left) is a leading contender to replace Chris Rosbshaw (right) as England captain

Chris Robshaw says he will back his successor if new head coach Eddie Jones strips him of the England captaincy.

The Harlequins flanker is expected to be replaced as captain for the Six Nations, with Northampton hooker Dylan Hartley a leading contender.

Robshaw led England throughout previous head coach Stuart Lancaster’s reign and in 42 of his 43 international caps.

“If Eddie decides to go to someone else I’d respect that decision and fully back the person who comes in,” he said.

Robshaw, 29, met with Jones to discuss his international future on 6 December, shortly after the Australian was appointed as Lancaster’s successor.

Yet Robshaw said he was still “not sure” about the England captaincy situation but would be “hugely honoured” if Jones, 55, asked him to continue.

Hartley was dropped for the recent World Cup after being banned for a head-butt and has been out of action for a number of weeks with concussion.

Former Japan coach Jones is also thought to be considering moving Robshaw to blind-side flanker rather than on the open-side, where he has won the vast majority of his caps.

“As a player you want to be part of that team and my mentality is to first and foremost make sure I’m part of that team,” added Robshaw.

“That has to be the focus, to make sure I’m playing.”

Robshaw added he was “hugely disappointed” by England’s poor World Cup campaign where they failed to advance from the group stages after defeats by Wales and Australia.

“The World Cup didn’t go according to plan, but it’s still a very exciting group of players that England have,” he said.

“Myself and a lot of the other guys, we had our mope and dip in confidence but now we’re back and enjoying it.”

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A strange year of highs and lows has ended on a wonderful note after my boyfriend Radek took me by surprise and asked me to marry him, so Christmas will be even more special this year.

It’s a lovely end to 12 months that have seen me go from winning titles to struggling for motivation, suffering with glandular fever and then finding my form again.

In the last few weeks I’ve been able to enjoy some time at home with my boyfriend and see my brothers and their kids, and I even managed to get all my Christmas shopping done early, which makes me very happy.

I like shopping, but when I see so many people in the malls it’s not so appealing!

The last time I hit a ball in competition was at the Fed Cup final five weeks ago, but after resuming fitness training earlier this month I was back on the practice court in my home town of Prostejov on 16 December.

A new season is just around the corner.

‘Squash, badminton, swimming, paddle tennis…’

Swimming was among the activities suggested by fitness trainer David Vydra while training in Lanzarote

I had three weeks off after the Fed Cup final and took my parents to Dubai for a few days. It was their first visit and really fun, although it flew past so quickly, but I’m glad they saw somewhere new and we were able to enjoy it together.

It was then time for me to start preparing for 2016 and I headed to Lanzarote for the first time with my fitness trainer, David Vydra.

We didn’t do a lot of running but instead tried pretty much everything else over the course of a week. In the morning we would go biking and then in the afternoon we did other sports like squash, badminton, swimming, paddle tennis, volleyball…

Playing other racquet sports is a very different experience and I must admit I didn’t like squash that much - I played for the first time and it was difficult for me. I prefer badminton.

We also bumped into my fellow Czech, Jan Zelezny, the three-time Olympic javelin champion who was out there coaching three or four guys. He’s very famous in the Czech Republic and a very good guy. Javelin and tennis are about the only sports I didn’t try in Lanzarote.

I did play an exhibition in Bratislava after the Fed Cup final but I stepped back onto court properly last week in Prostejov and just about managed to put the ball in the court!

You don’t forget that so quickly, although it does take a few days to get your rhythm and feel OK again with no pain in the arm.

Pavla Kvitova joined her daughter on holiday in Dubai after the end of the 2015 season

‘Beating Serena was a great moment for me’

As I said before, it was a strange season but one with plenty of highlights. There was Madrid, where I beat Serena - that was a great moment for me - and went on to win the title, and also the US Open was good for me this year as I reached the quarter-finals.

I’d never really played that well in New York and I finally had some good results. I hope to have more success there; I’m trying every year and despite it being difficult conditions for me, I now know I can play well there if I am healthy.

The high point of my year was the Fed Cup at the end of the season as we beat Russia in Prague to defend our title again.

Unfortunately I didn’t win my second singles match against Maria Sharapova, but I think it was really great tennis. The tie came down to a deciding doubles and it is difficult watching such an important match from the sidelines.

You really can’t do anything except support and be with your team-mates. Karolina Pliskova and Barbora Strycova needed three sets and there were a lot of nerves out there, but I’m really glad that the girls made it.

It’s a team competition and we really showed that we won as a team and not one individual.

‘Andy was just great in the Davis Cup’

A few years ago I was kind of the big player in the Czech team and the one expected to win most of the points, and I think that was what Andy Murray experienced for Great Britain in this year’s Davis Cup.

When I see the Czech Davis Cup team it’s very similar, with Tomas Berdych leading the way like Andy does for Britain.

I watched a little bit of the final and it was very emotional how Andy won it. He was just great. But of course he needs the team to win the Davis Cup. He can’t win it by himself. And he plays with his brother, which is very unusual and special.

Kvitova (third from left) helped the Czech Republic win a fourth Fed Cup in five years

It is very different representing your country as a tennis player. The week is always great and we have a fantastic atmosphere in the Fed Cup team among the players and support staff, which I think not every team enjoys. As the girls we are a good group. Nothing there is a problem.

Whatever we go through during the week, by the time the weekend comes around we are supporting each other from the bench.

‘That passion for tennis is still there’

The tennis season is long and I think I lost a little bit of emotion for the sport at the beginning of this year. It was weird to be feeling empty on court and without any passion or love for the sport.

I took a month out and after the break I felt that passion again, which was a relief as I had been a little bit worried.

Tennis has been the major part of my life since I was 16 or 17 and moved to Prostejov, and I had to ask for an individual plan at secondary school so that I could train for tennis and play tournaments. I might have missed out on a few things along the way but I was OK with it.

Kvitova announced her engagement to Czech ice hockey player Radek Meidl in December

It was difficult to finish school for sure, it was tough, but on the other side I’m really glad that I made it. That passion for tennis is still there, which is great.

Hopefully I can put my health issues behind me as well. I could still play despite the glandular fever but not practise as much as I wanted - but then I’m not a player who needs to practise for four hours a day. It was good that I was able to handle the situation mentally as well as physically.

I’m healthy right now and practising again, injury free, but we’ll see. Let’s hope it stays like this and 2016 can be a successful year.

Petra Kvitova was talking to BBC Sport’s Piers Newbery

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Louis van Gaal: Manchester United boss walks out of news conference

Under-pressure Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal answered only three questions before walking out of a news conference on Wednesday.

The 64-year-old Dutchman was unhappy at being asked about his future following speculation that he could be sacked.

The media briefing, ahead of Saturday's game at Stoke, lasted only five minutes before Van Gaal's departure.

The former Netherlands boss said he had only turned up to speak to journalists because of Premier League rules.

As he left, he told the reporters: “I wish you a merry Christmas and maybe also a happy new year when I see you. Enjoy the wine and a mince pie. Goodbye.”

United are without a win in six games, having lost their last three matches to Wolfsburg, Bournemouth and Norwich.

You can read a full transcript of Van Gaal's news conference at the bottom of this page.

Four minutes and 58 seconds

Van Gaal was in an angry mood from the moment he took his seat in the media room at the club's training ground in Carrington.

“Has anybody in this room not a feeling to apologise to me? That's what I'm wondering,” he responded after being asked about Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger's earlier claim that speculation about Van Gaal's future had been “disrespectful”.

The news conference lasted only four minutes and 58 seconds in total.

Van Gaal, who has also managed Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, is halfway through his three-year Old Trafford contract.

Reluctant appearance

Van Gaal said his family and friends had been adversely affected by the criticism, amid rumours that sacked Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho is poised to replace him.

“What do you think happens with my wife or my kids?” he snapped.

“Or with my grandchildren? Or with the fans of Manchester United? Or my friends? What do you think?

“So you think that I want to talk with the media now. I am here only because of the Premier League rules. I have to talk with you.”

Mourinho speculation

Van Gaal is under pressure following United's dip in league form and early exit from the Champions League.

The club are fifth in the table, below fourth-placed Tottenham on goal difference but nine points behind surprise leaders Leicester.

Chelsea's sacking of Mourinho, 52 - who has been tipped as a possible replacement - has only intensified the pressure on Van Gaal.

News conference transcript

Question 1: “Louis, thank you for your time. Arsene Wenger has said today that the speculation over your future is disrespectful. Is that something you agree with?”

Answer: “Erm, has anybody in this room not a feeling to apologise to me? Nobody has that feeling? That's what I'm wondering?”

Question 2: “What have we done wrong?”

Answer: “I think I was already sacked, I have read… I have been sacked. My colleague [replacement] was here already.

“What do you think that happens with my wife or with my kids or with my grandchildren or with the fans of Manchester United or my friends? What do you think? They have called me a lot of times and also Arsene Wenger is saying something about that.

“Do you think that I want to talk with the media now? I'm here only because of the Premier League rules. I have to talk with you. But I can only see when I say something that you use my words in your context.

“I want to say only that I have tried to lift the confidence of my players, I have done everything this week. I hold meetings, evaluation meetings with the players, with my members of staff, I hold a Christmas lunch, I have held a speech and I feel the warmth and support of everybody in Carrington, this Aon training complex.

“But I didn't feel that in the media and, of course, I can imagine that you can write about that subject. We are not in a good position but four weeks ago we were first in the Premier League and in about four weeks we can again be back in that position.

Question 3: “You have been though Louis at big clubs, huge clubs before. This is Manchester United and when results don't go well and when the supporters have turned it is inevitable that speculation will happen. You surely aren't surprised that there is speculation?”

Answer: “No, I don't think that you can do that because you have to stick by the facts and when I get calls from [former manager Sir] Alex Ferguson and [director] David Gill and [executive vice-chairman] Ed Woodward because you are creating something that is not good, that is not being the facts and now I have to answer the questions.

“I don't think that I want to do it. I only say now I am focused on Stoke City, I help my players, I wish you a merry Christmas and maybe also a happy new year when I see you. Enjoy the wine and a mince pie. Goodbye.”

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India puts brakes on Facebook’s Free Basics scheme

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Technology

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Facebook rebranded its Internet.org app as Free Basics in September

Facebook’s effort to provide Indians with free access to a limited number of internet services has run into trouble.

India’s telecoms regulator has asked the mobile network that partnered with the US firm to put their Free Basics offer on hold.

Data fees are relatively expensive in India, and the initiative aims to prevent this being a deterrent.

But critics of the Free Basics service say it runs contrary to net neutrality principles.

They suggest data providers should not favour some online services over others by offering cheaper or faster access.

A spokesman for Reliance Communications - the mobile network that had supported the scheme - confirmed it would comply with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s demand.

“As directed by TRAI, the commercial launch of Free Basics has been kept in abeyance, until they consider all details and convey a specific approval,” a spokesman told the BBC.

Image copyright Facebook

Image caption Facebook has paid for large adverts in the local press to defend Free Basics

He added that the watchdog had only explained its decision by saying it wanted to “examine the details and intrinsics” of the offer, but had not provided further detail.

However, the Times of India quoted a source who confirmed the decision was indeed related to the net neutrality controversy.

“The question has arisen whether a telecom operator should be allowed to have differential pricing for different kinds of content,” they said.

“Unless that question is answered, it will not be appropriate for us to continue to make that happen.”

Facebook said that it would continue to lobby for its scheme.

“We are committed to Free Basics and to working with Reliance and the relevant authorities to help people in India get connected,” a spokeswoman said.

‘Millions more online’

Facebook launched Internet.org as a partnership with several mobile operators in emerging economies in 2013 as a means to “introduce people to the benefits of the internet”.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Net neutrality has proved to be a hot topic in India this year

The associated app, which provides access to selected services, was renamed as Free Basics earlier this year.

Content includes pages from selected local news and weather forecast providers, the BBC, Wikipedia and various health services.

It is offered in 36 countries and Facebook says it believes more than 15 million people have been brought online who would otherwise not be using the net.

Reliance began offering the scheme in February and then extended it to all its subscribers in November, but it has faced criticism.

Local start-ups complained they risked being disadvantaged because they were not included, and in April several larger groups that had initially signed up to the scheme - including the media conglomerate Times Group and the travel booking site Cleartrip - pulled their services, citing concerns about it failing to provide a “fair, level playing field”.

Net neutrality hearing

Facebook attempted to address such concerns by saying it would allow more services to join, but the firm’s founder Mark Zuckerberg warned it was “not sustainable to offer the whole internet for free”.

Part of the attraction for the mobile networks was their expectation that users would see the benefits of the internet and want to pay for fuller access.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Mark Zuckerberg hosted a visit by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to his firm’s headquarters in September

In recent weeks Facebook has stepped up its campaign by paying for billboard adverts and full-page ads in newspapers.

In addition, it has texted users and shown a notice when locals sign into its platform urging them to contact TRAI and tell it they support the Free Basics initiative.

The regulator is set to hold a hearing into net neutrality in January.

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UK growth estimate revised down to 0.4% for third quarter

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Business

Image copyright AP

The UK economy grew by 0.4% in the third quarter of the year, figures show, less than previously estimated.

The rate was revised down from 0.5% because the key services sector, which accounts for well over 70% of UK economic activity, grew more slowly than had been thought.

It is the third estimate for the quarter from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The ONS also cut its estimate of second quarter GDP growth from 0.7% to 0.5%.

In annual terms, growth in the third quarter of the year was revised down to 2.1% from the previous estimate of 2.3%.

The UK economy has been growing for 11 consecutive quarters.

A Treasury spokesman said in a statement that the figures highlighted that risks to the UK economy remained despite it being “the fastest growing economy in the G7 last year”.

“We’re leading the pack with the US this year, we have a record high employment rate and the deficit is down,” the Treasury said.

Fragile

Simon French, chief economist at stockbrokers Panmure Gordon, said the figures added to a picture of a fragile economy: “It’s been a bad 24 hours for the chancellor with bad public sector borrowing numbers [on Tuesday]. It is the fourth of seven quarters where the ONS growth estimate overestimated the strength of of the economy.

He said the most worrying part was the weakness of the service sector, which is the engine of the UK economy.

Other figures released on Wednesday showed scant prospect of a pick up in that.

Figures for the service sector in October - the first month of the fourth quarter - only grew 0.1% between September and October, suggesting fourth quarter GDP has made a slow start. The previous month the index grew by 0.5%.

Martin Beck, senior economic advisor to the forecasting group EY ITEM Club, said the full picture had not yet emerged: “Given the extent to which the economy has benefitted from very low inflation and the degree of spare capacity, this should really have been a year where the economy grew in excess of 3%.

“However, recent experience suggests that we should not write off 2015 just yet, given the clear tendency for the GDP data to eventually be revised up over subsequent years.”

US economic growth was also revised down this week, but despite that slight weakening, the US economy is perceived by its central bank to be strong enough to withstand a rise in interest rates. Borrowing costs were raised by the Federal Reserve for the first time in nine years last week.

The Bank of England is widely expected to hold back from following the Fed’s lead until well into 2016.

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EU exit could lead to break up of UK, says Lord Hague

- 23 December 2015

- From the section UK Politics

- comments

Image copyright PA

Leaving the EU could lead to the break up of the UK, former Foreign Secretary William Hague has warned.

In the Daily Telegraph, he said he was “unlikely” to join former cabinet colleagues Liam Fox and Owen Paterson in voting to leave in the referendum which he suggested would be in 2016.

Eurosceptic Tory MP Bernard Jenkin said Lord Hague was “completely wrong” to suggest a “Brexit” could split the UK.

The prime minister has promised to hold an in/out vote before the end of 2017.

Mr Hague’s comments came as Poland’s new President, Andrzej Duda, warned in an interview with the BBC that the EU would face a “very serious crisis” if the UK were to leave.

Mr Duda said the EU had “many weaknesses” and warned a UK exit from the bloc could cause further havoc.

“The EU has been shaken time and time again with crises - whether it’s the financial crisis, or the refugees crisis,” he said.

Media captionPolish President Andrzej Duda insists his party are not Eurosceptics but “Euro-realists”

“Let’s not pretend, a UK exit from the EU will be a very serious crisis for the EU. Of that I have no doubt.”

In Mr Hague’s article he warned that if the UK did vote to leave the EU he believed Scottish nationalists would “jump at the chance” to re-open the independence debate, and “the result of it could well be too close to call”.

He also said a UK departure would see the 28-member bloc lose one of its “respected military powers” and leave it weakened.

“To end up destroying the UK and gravely weakening the European Union would not be a very clever day’s work,” he wrote.

“So, even as a long-standing critic of so much of that struggling organisation, I am unlikely in 2016 to vote to leave it,” he said.

“We will have to ask, disliking so many aspects of it as we do, whether we really want to weaken it, and at the same time increase the chances, if the UK left the EU, of Scotland leaving the UK.”

Analysis

Image copyright PA

By BBC political correspondent Iain Watson

When he was Conservative leader, William Hague fought the 2001 election campaign on a strong commitment to keep the pound, and keep out of the euro.

He has been seen as a Eurosceptic ever since.

But Lord Hague says a vote to withdraw would give the SNP the pretext to call second referendum on independence.

Those who want to leave the EU are likely to see this as a tacit admission that Prime Minister David Cameron’s negotiations will produce little of substance and that alternative arguments are already being marshalled for continued UK membership.

Responding to Lord Hague’s comments, Mr Jenkin said Downing Street was “clearly mounting a campaign to stay in the EU” even though Mr Cameron’s renegotiations are not yet complete.

He added: “It is extremely unlikely that if England, Wales and Northern Ireland voted clearly to leave the European Union, that Scotland would vote differently.”

He told BBC Radio 4’s The World at One that Mr Hague’s view “was not a surprise” and urged the prime minister not to “muzzle” ministers in expressing their views on a decision that “utterly dwarfs” the significance of a general election.

SNP Europe spokesman Stephen Gethins said the Conservatives had “lost all credibility on Europe”.

“While it is welcome progress to see senior Tories finally ceding that it would be completely unacceptable for Scotland to be dragged out of the European Union against its will - we still have no answers as to how they will ensure this does not happen,” he added.

On Monday former Deputy Prime Minister Lord Heseltine warned of a “civil war” in the Conservative Party if cabinet ministers were given a free vote in the EU referendum - meaning they could vote as they saw fit and were not whipped into toeing the party line.

He argued that a free vote would make Mr Cameron a global “laughing stock”.

Meanwhile, Conservative Party vice-chairman Mark Field has also criticised calls for ministers to be given a free vote.

He told the Daily Telegraph that anyone who was not prepared to back Mr Cameron’s re-negotiation should resign from the government.

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Minimum alcohol pricing plan ‘may breach EU law’

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Scotland

Image copyright Thinkstock

Image caption The legislation to bring in a minimum price of 50p per unit was passed by the Scottish Parliament in May 2012

A European court has said the Scottish government’s case for a minimum unit price for alcohol is contrary to EU law if other tax options exist.

The European Court of Justice ruling instead recommends the introduction of alternative tax measures.

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon have both welcomed the ruling.

The legislation to bring in a minimum price of 50p per unit was passed by the Scottish Parliament in May 2012.

A legal challenge was brought by the SWA, which argued the Scottish government’s legislation breached European law.

The European court ruling said: “The Court of Justice considers that the effect of the Scottish legislation is significantly to restrict the market, and this might be avoided by the introduction of a tax measure designed to increase the price of alcohol instead of a measure imposing a minimum price per unit of alcohol.”

Image copyright Thinkstock

Image caption The Scottish government wants to set a 50p rate per unit of alcohol

It added: “The court states that it is ultimately for the national court to determine whether measures other than that provided for by the Scottish legislation, such as increased taxation on alcoholic drinks, are capable of protecting human life and health as effectively as the current legislation, while being less restrictive of trade in those products within the EU.”

Reacting to the judgement, Ms Sturgeon tweeted: “ECJ opinion on minimum pricing welcome.

“We believe it is most effective way of tackling alcohol misuse. National court will now decide.”

Health Secretary Shona Robison added: “This ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union indicates, importantly, that it will be for the domestic courts to take a final decision on minimum unit pricing.

“While we must await the final outcome of this legal process, the Scottish government remains certain that minimum unit pricing is the right measure for Scotland. We believe it is the most effective mechanism for tackling alcohol misuse and reducing the harm that cheap, high-strength alcohol causes our communities.

“We maintain that minimum unit pricing would target heavy drinkers as they tend to drink the cheap, high strength alcohol that will be most affected by the policy.

“The case will now continue to the Scottish courts, and we look forward to a hearing in the new year to determine the outcome in this case.”

David Frost, SWA chief executive, said: “The SWA always said European Union law issues were central to this case, and so it has proved. This settles EU law issues once and for all.

“The court has confirmed that minimum unit pricing is a restriction on trade, and that it is illegal to choose MUP [minimum unit pricing] where there are less restrictive ways of achieving the same end.

“The Scottish courts will now reflect on the implications of the ruling and all the evidence, before issuing a final judgement.”

Analysis

By BBC Scotland’s home affairs correspondent Reevel Alderson

Plus ça change, plus ça même chose. Wednesday’s ruling from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) is far from the end of a legal process which began in 2012 when the Scottish Parliament passed legislation allowing a MUP for alcohol to be set.

The matter will now return to the Court of Session in Edinburgh, which had asked the ECJ to rule on whether MUP contravenes EU law.

The Scottish judges will have to examine all of the evidence to help them decide whether improvements in public health - which the government says is the desired aim of MUP - could be achieved by other means, notably increasing tax rates.

Ministers have argued that MUP would specifically hit high-strength alcoholic drinks which cause significant problems, particularly among young people.

Whatever the Court of Session decides, it is almost inevitable there will be a further appeal to the UK Supreme Court, either by the Scottish government or the Scotch Whisky Association, whose challenge to the policy has halted its implementation.

Alison Douglas, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, said the ruling showed Scotland would be able to introduce minimum pricing “provided it is more effective than taxation”.

Ms Douglas argued minimum pricing was a better measure than alcohol taxes, which are “limited in their ability to raise the price of the cheapest alcohol to a level that will actually reduce harm”.

She also criticised the Scotch Whisky Association, saying it had “blocked the democratic will of the Scottish Parliament and sacrificed public health to protect their members’ profits”.

The chairman of BMA Scotland, Dr Peter Bennie, added: “The case for minimum unit pricing has always been based on the fact that it achieves what taxation cannot when it comes to reducing the harm caused by alcohol, so the decision of the European Court setting out the test that must be applied to the policy is a welcome one.

“Today’s ruling returns the case to the Scottish courts and puts Scotland a step closer to implementing minimum pricing.”

‘Unhealthy relationship’

Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (Shaap), which represents medical professionals, also welcomed the judgement.

Shaap director Eric Carlin said it “effectively confirms that the Scottish minimum unit pricing policy has to be justified as a regulatory measure to work alongside taxation increases.

“We hope that the Scottish courts will now move quickly to gather evidence to conclude this case and that the Scottish government will then implement this key policy without delay.”

Holyrood ministers have previously said minimum pricing was vital to address Scotland’s “unhealthy relationship with drink”.

Under the plans, the cheapest bottle of wine (9.4 units of alcohol) would be £4.69 and a four-pack of 500ml cans of 4% lager would cost at least £4.

It would mean a 70cl bottle of whisky could not be sold for less than £14.

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Osborne’s NHS cash pledge ‘has unravelled’, says Labour

By Hugh Pym Health editor

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Health

Image copyright Thinkstock

The government’s promise of a £3.8bn financial boost for the NHS in England next year has “unravelled”, the Labour Party has said.

The above-inflation cash injection represents a rise of nearly 4% on NHS England’s £101bn front-line budget.

But Labour said the money would be swallowed up covering hospital deficits - which are expected to reach £2bn this year - and higher pension costs.

The government said Labour’s assumptions were wrong.

“We’re helping hospitals improve finances with tough controls on agency staff and management consultants and introducing some cost-saving measures identified by the government efficiency adviser Lord Carter,” the Department of Health added.

Chancellor George Osborne announced the additional £3.8bn in real terms on top of NHS England’s £100bn-a-year budget in the November spending review.

Chief economist from health think tank The King’s Fund, John Appleby, said that although the NHS would get an increase in funding, it had “in effect, already spent the money”.

The health service faced an “unprecedented” challenge, and would be starting the year with a deficit, and with extra costs ahead, he said.

Labour says that £2.2bn will be swallowed up by deficits at hospitals and other NHS trusts.

That figure is the total overspend projected by trusts this year, which Labour argues will continue in 2016-17 because of the intense financial pressures on the health service.

Labour says that on top of that, NHS employers will have to fork out more for employee pensions.

‘More spin’

The lower national insurance contributions they currently pay for staff who have opted out of the second state pension will be abolished. A new single state pension will be introduced, which will mean higher employer contributions.

Quoting a parliamentary answer, Labour says that the pension reforms will cost NHS employers a further £1.1bn a year.

Adding that to the £2.2bn for covering trust deficits, Labour argues, means that much of the extra cash allocated for the NHS is already spoken for.

And that, says the party, leaves little to cover the anticipated increase in patient demand and the cost of government plans to extend NHS weekend working.

“George Osborne’s promise of extra money to the NHS is more spin than substance,” Labour’s shadow health secretary Heidi Alexander said.

“The scale of the financial challenge facing the NHS means that there are now real doubts about whether this money will be sufficient to repair hospital finances, let alone deliver the Tories’ promise of a ‘seven-day NHS’.”

But the Department of Health questioned Labour’s figures.

Officials said it was wrong to assume that the £2.2bn total projected deficit for trusts this financial year would continue through next year. They said trusts would continue to make efficiency savings which would reduce the level of overspending.

By 2020-21 the total NHS budget will be £119.6bn - a rise of £8.4bn once inflation is taken into account - meaning the government will have kept its manifesto promise.

Labour’s critics point out that the party did not match the Conservatives’ election pledge to raise NHS spending in England by that amount.

Labour said it only offered voters “fully costed” spending commitments.

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Cambridgeshire’s £800m NHS out-sourcing contract to be reviewed

- 22 December 2015

- From the section Cambridgeshire

Image copyright PA

Image caption Cambridge University Hospitals runs Addenbrooke’s and Rosie hospitals

The collapse of an £800m NHS out-sourcing contract is to reviewed by independent experts.

UnitingCare started to supply older people and adult community healthcare in April, but pulled out of the contract earlier in December.

It was a consortium of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

NHS England is to commission the investigation.

As reported by the Health Service Journal, NHS England is seeking answers about the circumstances leading up to the termination of the contract.

Lord Prior of Brampton, minister for NHS productivity, said it would also consider how similar contracts “will be managed and assured in the future”.

Image caption Campaigners had opposed the transfer of NHS services to a private company

The contract was meant to run for five years, but older people’s services have been transferred back to Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group (CPCCG).

UnitingCare was selected to run the service by CPCCG after a lengthy procurement process and from a shortlist of three organisations.

It said it was not “financially sustainable” to continue with the contract.

Dr Neil Modha, chief clinical officer at CPCCG, said: “The CCG will be conducting an internal review to begin shortly and advice from other parties will form part of the review.

“We will of course work closely with NHS England on any review that they commission. Our current priorities are to ensure continuity of services following the ending of the contract on 3 December.”

Labour peer Lord Hunt said he was “very concerned” about the impact the “extraordinary” series of events was having on patients.

“I’m going to be pressing NHS England to make sure the review is made public,” he said. “People locally have every right to know what went wrong, who is responsible, and what is going to happen.”

What did the £800m five-year contract cover?

- Urgent care for adults aged 65 and over, including inpatients and A&E services

- Mental health services for people aged 65 and over

- Adult community services for people aged 18 and over, including district nursing and rehabilitation services

- Health services to support the care of people aged 65 and over

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Domestic abuse campaign focuses on ‘forgotten’ children

- 24 December 2015

- From the section UK

Image copyright Refuge

Image caption Refuge said the campaign “gives a voice” to children, the “silent witnesses” of abuse

Children, described as the “forgotten victims of domestic violence”, have been put at the centre of a Christmas campaign by the charity Refuge.

It said some 750,000 children witness domestic violence each year, which can have a “profound and lasting impact”.

The charity has launched a video campaign on Facebook, encouraging viewers to raise funds and awareness by sharing the hashtag #givethemrefuge.

The launch comes as Refuge’s specialist services face possible funding cuts.

One in four women in the UK experience domestic violence, and two women are killed each week by a partner or ex-partner in England and Wales, the charity said.

Refuge’s video shows a girl unwrapping presents while being filmed by her sister, but the children end up abandoning their presents to run away from a violent argument between their parents.

Abusive father

An unnamed 22-year-old abuse victim said the fictional video was similar to her own childhood memories of living in “daily fear and terror” after witnessing her father “abuse, threaten and intimidate” her mother.

“It was only after a frantic phone call I had with my father that I knew he would fulfil his threat to ‘smash her brains against the wall’ and kill my mother,” she said.

She eventually escaped to a refuge with her mother and brother, where they were supported by Refuge, she said.

“Not only did the refuge give us safety, anonymity and a place to overcome our trauma and rebuild our lives, but my brother and I had the opportunity to enjoy our childhood and also start over,” she said.

Sandra Horley, chief executive of Refuge, said more than 3,300 women and children were supported by the charity, with children making up about two-thirds of people in the charity’s accommodation.

She added that the charity was “fighting to raise funds to keep its services running”.

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Beatles music joins streaming services

By Leo Kelion Technology desk editor

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Technology

- comments

Image caption The Beatles’ music is being made available to stream on a range of services

The Beatles’ music is being made available on a wide range of streaming music services.

Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, Tidal and Amazon Prime Music are among nine services that will offer the band’s tracks worldwide.

The group split up in April 1970. However, their songs - including Hey Jude and Yesterday - remain hugely popular and influential.

One expert suggested that the move would help their legacy endure.

“In terms of digital the Beatles have always been quite late to the party - they came to iTunes in 2010, which was a good five years after the iTunes Music Store started gaining momentum,” said Chris Cooke, co-founder of the music industry news site CMU.

“We had expected they would probably do an exclusive deal to stream their music with one service, but it looks like instead they are going to be pretty much everywhere from day one.

“So, I suppose that is them accepting that streaming is now a very serious, significant part of the record industry.”

Other services that have secured the band’s catalogue include Deezer, Microsoft Groove, Napster and Slacker Radio.

The deal involves rights to stream 224 songs from the original 13 studio albums released in the UK as well as “essential” collections including Past Masters.

The tracks will be made available from 24 December.

‘Lucrative catalogue’

John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr clocked up 17 number one singles in the British charts as the Beatles.

Image copyright Apple

Image caption The Beatles’ albums have been rereleased several times

But long after the band broke up they continued to issue songs and compilations, the most recent of which was an expanded edition of Beatles 1 put on sale last month.

“There’s a really simply reason why the Beatles catalogue took so long to join streaming services - their publishers didn’t want to do anything to damage potential sales of reissues and retrospectives - it’s a very lucrative catalogue,” said Mark Mulligan from the media research firm Midia.

“But they’ve waited until the market has got some scale and they could get the best deal.

“It’s a big PR catch as it helps communicate that the platforms are ‘all the music in the world’ - which is the value proposition of streaming services.”

Analysis - Mark Savage, BBC Music reporter

It’s a White (Album) Christmas. Some of the most enduring hits in pop are coming to a streaming service near you.

The Beatles as a corporate entity have been notoriously slow in adapting to new technology. They waited five years to issue their albums on CD, and didn’t talk about the download Revolution until 2010 - seven years after the iTunes store launched.

Their arrival on streaming services comes as consumption on those platforms starts to overtake digital downloads as a source of income for the music industry. The number of songs streamed in the UK looks set to top 25 billion this year, up from 13.7 billion in 2014, according to the Official Charts Company.

It will be interesting to see how the band’s music competes against the likes of Justin Bieber - whose latest singles are being streamed almost six million times a week, exerting a firm grip on the top of the charts.

When The Beatles became available to buy on iTunes, the band scored 10 entries into the Top 100 - but the top-selling song (Hey Jude) only reached number 40.

- Read all music stories

- BBC Music homepage

- More on The Beatles

The Beatles announcement comes as a number of high-profile artists - including Neil Young, Prince and Radiohead’s Thom Yorke - have questioned the value of streaming services.

The most prominent example is Adele.

Her new album, 25, has sold more than seven million copies without appearing on any streaming platform, although she has made her single Hello available.

Image caption Beatles songs include Let It Be, Come Together, All You Need is Love and A Hard Day’s Night

“I believe music should be an event,” she told Time magazine earlier this week.

“I don’t use streaming. I buy my music. I download it, and I buy a physical [copy] just to make up for the fact that someone else somewhere isn’t.

“It’s a bit disposable, streaming.”

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Crows’ tool time captured on camera

By Jonathan Webb Science reporter, BBC News

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Science & Environment

Media captionThe tail-mounted cameras capture the view from beneath each crow’s belly (footage: J Troscianko, C Rutz)

Ecologists have used a tail-mounted “crow cam” to catch wild New Caledonian crows in the act of making and using hook-shaped tools.

This species is well-known for its clever tool tricks, but studying its behaviour in the wild is difficult.

These tiny cameras peer forwards beneath the birds’ bellies and record precious, uninhibited footage.

As well as glimpsing two crows making special foraging hooks, the team was able to track their activity over time.

This “activity budget” offers a rare insight into the natural lives of New Caledonian crows - but it has not yet solved the mystery of precisely what drives these birds to use tools.

That is the “big money question” according to senior author Christian Rutz, from the University of St Andrews in the UK.

“Why is it that New Caledonian crows use tools but other corvids don’t? I think the answer to that lies in looking at their time budgets and figuring out how important tool use is in their everyday lives - what kinds of prey sources they tackle with tools,” Dr Rutz told the BBC.

Mystery switch

In nearly 12 hours of “crow cam” footage from 10 different birds, described in the journal Biology Letters, he and his team actually caught surprisingly little tool time on camera.

“Out of total observation time, only about 3% was spent making or using tools,” Dr Rutz said. And only four of the 10 subjects picked up a tool at all.

Image copyright Jolyon Troscianko

Image caption Each camera was attached to the underside of the tail feathers, looking forward under the crow’s belly

Instead, the crows spent considerably more time foraging with their beaks. And when one of the four tool-users did reach for a twig, the decision was often rather baffling.

For example, the birds spent a lot of time tearing strips from paperbark trees in search of grubs. Their sturdy beaks are perfectly good for this task.

“But every now and then, they suddenly switch into tool use - in the very same trees, in a very similar foraging context,” Dr Rutz said. “We don’t understand what is happening there.”

Meanwhile, there were two moments in particular that made the team, sifting through hours of shaky crow-cam video, very happy indeed.

Two different crows filmed themselves not just wielding sticks but making - and using - hooks: a known party trick of New Caledonian crows, never before caught on video except in cages or at baited feeding sites.

“When we got that footage it was a proper high-five moment in the field camp,” Dr Rutz said.

Image copyright Jolyon Troscianko

Image caption New Caledonian crows are well-known for their surprisingly sophisticated tool use

From lab experiments and previous brief sightings through binoculars, the team knew that the birds made these hooks. They snap off one branch from a forked twig and leave a small part of the main stem attached to the end.

But now they had video evidence of it happening unprompted, in the wild.

‘Gold dust’

“We were keen to get close-up video of birds making these tools under completely natural conditions,” said co-author Jolyon Troscianko from the University of Exeter.

“New Caledonian crows are notoriously difficult to observe, not just because of the challenging terrain of their tropical habitats, but also because they can be quite sensitive to disturbance.”

Key to the research effort, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, was a new design for the team’s crow cam system.

Instead of beaming the video to a receiver in the field, which had previously seen researchers scrambling through the New Caledonian forest with antennas, these devices stored the footage on a micro SD card.

Image copyright Jolyon Troscianko

Image caption The cameras fell off within a few days so the team could collect the footage

Then, after about a week, the gadgets fell off the birds and the team tracked them down thanks to a tiny radio beacon.

“We got much longer, uninterrupted video recordings,” Dr Rutz said.

“We were lucky that we recorded the hook tool making… but we also got enough data to look at energy budgets and so on. That kind of data is gold dust for us.”

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ISS crew receives Christmas delivery

By Paul Rincon Science editor, BBC News website

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Science & Environment

Media captionChristmas delivery for ISS crew

A Russian cargo vehicle carrying food and supplies has docked with the International Space Station - just in time for Christmas.

It launched on Monday from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The Progress 62P vehicle docked automatically with the Pirs compartment of the ISS at 10:27 GMT on Wednesday, after its two-day transit.

Once the crew completes leak checks, the hatches will be opened, allowing them to unload the cargo.

On Monday, British astronaut Tim Peake helped out with a spacewalk designed to fix a component ahead of the Progress craft’s arrival.

Image copyright NASA

Image caption US astronauts Scott Kelly and Tim Kopra (seen here) carried out a spacewalk on Monday

Image copyright Tim Peake

Image caption Mr Peake has been practising his photography skills - this image shows the Earth slipping from day into night

US crew members Scott Kelly and Tim Kopra moved a “rail car” on the outside of the ISS a few inches away from the position where it had stalled, so it could be latched in place before the Progress vehicle arrived.

Mr Peake arrived at the ISS on 15 December in a Soyuz spacecraft to begin a six-month mission aboard the orbiting outpost.

He is the first UK astronaut to fly into space since Helen Sharman spent a week on the Mir space station.

According to the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos), the unmanned Progress cargo ship was carrying 2,436kg of supplies, including propellant, oxygen, water, and food.

This Progress craft recently underwent an upgrade. It features a new command and telemetry system and an improved version of the Kurs radar.

Kurs is the system used to determine the relative positions of the craft and the ISS during rendezvous and docking.

Image copyright AP/Roscosmos

Image caption The Progress craft launched on Monday from a snow-covered Baikonur Cosmodrome

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BBC One’s Countryfile gets spin-off daytime show

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Entertainment & Arts

Image caption Countryfile presenters include Matt Baker, Ellie Harrison, Adam Henson, Tom Heap, John Craven

BBC One show Countryfile is to get a new spin-off programme after achieving its highest ever ratings.

The Sunday night programme was watched by an average of six million viewers in 2015, with one episode in November reaching 7.8 million.

Countryfile beat The X Factor’s Sunday results show in the ratings on two occasions last month.

The new five-part daytime series, named Countryfile Diaries, will start in the spring on BBC One.

Running across a week, the spin-off will feature country life through the changing of the seasons and will coincide with Countryfile’s seasonal specials.

‘Key moments’

BBC daytime controller Dan McGolpin said the new programme would allow viewers “to further enjoy the full splendour and sheer variety of life in the British countryside during key moments of the year”.

Countryfile’s presenters include Matt Baker and Anita Rani and the show achieved its highest audiences in the autumn when it was scheduled before Strictly Come Dancing.

More than 7.2 million households tuned in on average between 8 November and 13 December.

Countryfile executive producer Bill Lyons said the “huge audience” had made the programme the most popular weekly factual series on TV - which he put down to “the enduring love-affair between the British people and their countryside”.

The locations and presenters for Countryfile Diaries have not yet been announced.

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Lost Boys actor Brooke McCarter dies at 52

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Entertainment & Arts

Image copyright Rex Features

Image caption McCarter (left) with Lost Boys co-stars Kiefer Sutherland, Billy Wirth and Alex Winter

Brooke McCarter, best known for playing a vampire in The Lost Boys, has died at the age of 52, his family has said.

The US actor played Paul, a member of Kiefer Sutherland’s blood-sucking gang, in the 1987 horror comedy film.

In a statement, his “heartbroken” family said he died on Tuesday “from the genetic liver condition alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AAT)”.

The message describes McCarter as a “loving son, brother, father, uncle, cousin, nephew and friend”.

The Facebook statement added: “We appreciate your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”

Born in 1963 in Philadelphia, McCarter was a high school athlete and model before landing his best-known screen role.

As blond-haired “lost boy” Paul, he met a grisly end after being knocked by a dog into a bath full of garlic-infused holy water.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Brooke McCarter (centre) with actors Chance Michael Corbitt and Billy Wirth at a 2007 premiere

Unlike some of his co-stars, who included Jason Patric, Corey Feldman and the late Corey Haim, McCarter did not go on to pursue a full-time acting career.

Instead he worked in the telecommunications industry while also making music and occasionally appearing at horror conventions.

According to People magazine, the father-of-one died from liver failure at his home in Tampa, Florida, after having been admitted to hospital earlier this year.

Actor Alex Winter, who played vampire Marko in The Lost Boys, paid tribute to his former co-star on Twitter.

“RIP Brooke McCarter and condolences to the family,” he wrote. “We had some very very good times together back in the day.”

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Ten of the best drone photos of 2015

- 23 December 2015

- From the section In Pictures

The arrival of the drone ushered in new possibilities for photographers looking to find a new angle. Users of the site Dronestagram have been voting for their favourite images, and here we present a selection of those chosen as being among the best of the year.

Image copyright Ricardo Matiello

This dramatic picture by Ricardo Matiello shows the spire of Maringa Cathedral in Brazil on a foggy morning.

Image copyright Shoyab

The annual Al Marmoum Camel Race in Dubai was shot from above by Shoyab.

Image copyright Dronarium

The user Dronarium captured this image of Amalfi on the west coast of Italy.

Image copyright Alexandre Salem

Alexandre Salem shot this image on his drone high above the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Salem said: “One of my favourite activities is to take the drone for hiking trips in nature. On this day, after a walk of two hours, I arrived at the feet of the Christ the Redeemer statue. The evening and the beautiful sun beating on the back of the statue created the perfect combination for this photo.”

Image copyright Marama

This beautiful island image was made by the user Marama Photo Video who said: “We were waiting for sunset, drinking a Hinano, installed in warm water, rain was behind us, a rainbow appeared, this is Tahitian life.”

Image copyright Jeremie Eloy

Early one morning as the water slowly turned Mont Saint Michel in Normandy, France, into an island once more, Jeremie Eloy was on hand to record the moment with his drone camera.

Image copyright Alexandre Salem

Alexandre Salem’s picture shows a church in Paracatu that was caught in a mudslide in Brazil caused by a mining accident. At least 17 people were killed when the dam burst in the south-eastern state of Minas Gerais, polluting rivers and destroying farmland over a vast area.

Image copyright Alejandro Ochoa

Alejandro Ochoa caught the moment a cliff diver plunged into the sea from the diving platform in Mazatlan, Mexico. The platform is nearly 50ft (15m) high and the divers perform for tourists during the afternoon.

Image copyright Maksim Tarasov

This picture of a hole drilled into a frozen lake by fishermen in Lake Turgoyak in Russia was taken by Maksim Tarasov.

Image copyright Aeroshutter

A wedding in Aburi, Ghana, was captured from an unusual angle by Aeroshutter.

All photographs courtesy www.dronestagr.am.

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What did Jesus really look like?

By Joan Taylor King’s College London

- 24 December 2015

- From the section Magazine

Image copyright Thinkstock

Everyone knows what Jesus looks like. He is the most painted figure in all of Western art, recognised everywhere as having long hair and a beard, a long robe with long sleeves (often white) and a mantle (often blue).

Jesus is so familiar that he can be recognised on pancakes or pieces of toast.

But did he really look like this?

Probably not.

In fact this familiar image of Jesus actually comes from the Byzantine era, from the 4th Century onwards, and Byzantine representations of Jesus were symbolic - they were all about meaning, not historical accuracy.

They were based on the image of an enthroned emperor, as we see in the altar mosaic of the Santa Pudenziana church in Rome.

Image copyright Alamy

Image caption The halo also comes from classical art - it was originally a feature of the sun god (Apollo, or Sol Invictus) but was added to Jesus’s head to show his heavenly nature

Jesus is dressed in a gold toga. He is the heavenly ruler of all the world, familiar from the famous statue of long-haired and bearded Olympian Zeus on a throne - a statue so well-known that the Roman Emperor Augustus had a copy of himself made in the same style (without the godly long hair and beard).

Image copyright Alamy/Getty Images

Byzantine artists, looking to show Christ’s heavenly rule as cosmic King, invented him as a younger version of Zeus. What has happened over time is that this visualisation of heavenly Christ - today sometimes remade along hippie lines - has become our standard model of the early Jesus.

Image copyright Alamy

So what did Jesus really look like?

Let’s go from head to toe.

1. Hair and beard

When early Christians were not showing Christ as heavenly ruler, they showed Jesus as an actual man like any other: beardless and short-haired

Image copyright Yale Collections/Public Domain

Image caption The earliest surviving paintings of Jesus, from the church at the ruined city of Dura-Europos on the Euphrates (dating from first half of the 3rd Century AD)

But perhaps, as a kind of wandering sage, Jesus would have had a beard, for the simple reason that he did not go to barbers.

General scruffiness and a beard were thought to differentiate a philosopher (who was thinking of higher things) from everyone else. The Stoic philosopher Epictetus considered it “appropriate according to Nature”.

Otherwise, in the 1st Century Graeco-Roman world, being clean-shaven and short-haired was considered absolutely essential. A great mane of luxuriant hair and a beard was a godly feature, not replicated in male fashion. Even a philosopher kept his hair fairly short.

A beard was not distinctive of being a Jew in antiquity. In fact, one of the problems for oppressors of Jews at different times was identifying them when they looked like everyone else (a point made in the book of Maccabees). However, images of Jewish men on Judaea Capta coins, issued by Rome after the capture of Jerusalem in 70AD, indicate captive men who are bearded.

Image copyright CNG Coins

So Jesus, as a philosopher with the “natural” look, might well have had a short beard, like the men depicted on Judaea Capta coinage, but his hair was probably not very long.

If he had had even slightly long hair, we would expect some reaction. Jewish men who had unkempt beards and were slightly long-haired were immediately identifiable as men who had taken a Nazirite vow. This meant they would dedicate themselves to God for a period of time, not drink wine or cut their hair - and at the end of this period they would shave their heads in a special ceremony in the temple in Jerusalem (as described in Acts chapter 21, verse 24).

But Jesus did not keep a Nazirite vow, because he is often found drinking wine - his critics accuse him of drinking far, far too much of it (Matthew chapter 11, verse 19). If he had had long hair, and looked like a Nazirite, we would expect some comment on the discrepancy between how he appeared and what he was doing - the problem would be that he was drinking wine at all.

2. Clothing

At the time of Jesus, wealthy men donned long robes for special occasions, to show off their high status in public. In one of Jesus’s teachings, he says, “Beware of the scribes, who desire to walk in long robes (stolai), and to have salutations in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets” (Mark chapter 12, verses 38-39).

The sayings of Jesus are generally considered the more accurate parts of the Gospels, so from this we can assume that Jesus really did not wear such robes.

Overall a man in Jesus’s world would wear a knee-length tunic, a chiton, and a woman an ankle-length one, and if you swapped these around it was a statement. Thus, in the 2nd Century Acts of Paul and Thecla, when Thecla, a woman, dons a short (male) tunic it is a bit of a shock. These tunics would often have coloured bands running from the shoulder to the hem and were woven as one piece.

On top of the tunic you would wear a mantle, a himation, and we know that Jesus wore one of these because this is what a woman touched when she wanted to be healed by him (see, for example, Mark chapter 5, verse 27). A mantle was a large piece of woollen material, though it was not very thick and for warmth you would want to wear two.

A himation, which could be worn in various ways, like a wrap, would hang down past the knees and could completely cover the short tunic. (Certain ascetic philosophers even wore a large himation without the tunic, leaving their upper right torso bare, but that is another story.)

Image copyright Wiki commons

Image caption A himation might seem not unlike a Roman toga, but togas were circular (folded into a semi-circle to wear) and himatia were rectangular - modern toga parties, using sheets, are generally himation parties

Power and prestige were indicated by the quality, size and colour of these mantles. Purple and certain types of blue indicated grandeur and esteem. These were royal colours because the dyes used to make them were very rare and expensive.

But colours could also indicate something else. The historian Josephus describes the Zealots (a Jewish group who wanted to push the Romans out of Judaea) as a bunch of murderous transvestites who donned “dyed mantles” - chlanidia - indicating that they were women’s wear. This suggests that real men, unless they were of the highest status, should wear undyed clothing.

Jesus did not wear white, however. This was distinctive, requiring bleaching or chalking, and in Judaea it was associated with a group called the Essenes - who followed a strict interpretation of Jewish law. The difference between Jesus’s clothing and bright, white clothing, is described in Mark chapter 9, when three apostles accompany Jesus to a mountain to pray and he begins to radiate light. Mark recounts that Jesus’s himatia (in the plural the word may mean “clothing” or “clothes” rather than specifically “mantles”) began “glistening, intensely white, as no fuller on earth could bleach them”. Before his transfiguration, therefore, Jesus is presented by Mark as an ordinary man, wearing ordinary clothes, in this case undyed wool, the material you would send to a fuller.

We are told more about Jesus’s clothing during his execution, when the Roman soldiers divide his himatia (in this case the word probably refers to two mantles) into four shares (see John chapter 19, verse 23). One of these was probably a tallith, or Jewish prayer shawl. This mantle with tassels (tzitzith) is specifically referred to by Jesus in Matthew chapter 23, verse 5. This was a lightweight himation, traditionally made of undyed creamy-coloured woollen material, and it probably had some kind of an indigo stripe or threading.

3. Feet

On his feet, Jesus would have worn sandals. Everyone wore sandals. In the desert caves close to the Dead Sea and Masada, sandals from the time of Jesus have come to light, so we can see exactly what they were like. They were very simple, with the soles made of thick pieces of leather sewn together, and the upper parts made of straps of leather going through the toes.

Image copyright Gabi Laron

Image caption Leather sandals belonging to a Sicarii - child, man, and woman. Horowitz G. The Story of Masada. Exhibition catalogue 1993. Jerusalem: The Hebrew University, The Israel Antiquity Authority and the Israel Exploration Society

4. Features

And what about Jesus’s facial features? They were Jewish. That Jesus was a Jew (or Judaean) is certain in that it is found repeated in diverse literature, including in the letters of Paul. And, as the Letter to the Hebrews states: “It is clear that our Lord was descended from Judah.” So how do we imagine a Jew at this time, a man “about 30 years of age when he began,” according to Luke chapter 3?

In 2001 forensic anthropologist Richard Neave created a model of a Galilean man for a BBC documentary, Son of God, working on the basis of an actual skull found in the region. He did not claim it was Jesus’s face. It was simply meant to prompt people to consider Jesus as being a man of his time and place, since we are never told he looked distinctive.

Image copyright Alamy

Image caption Whatever some artists may imagine, such as the creator of this fresco in Crete, Jesus is unlikely to have had blue eyes

For all that may be done with modelling on ancient bones, I think the closest correspondence to what Jesus really looked like is found in the depiction of Moses on the walls of the 3rd Century synagogue of Dura-Europos, since it shows how a Jewish sage was imagined in the Graeco-Roman world. Moses is imagined in undyed clothing, and in fact his one mantle is a tallith, since in the Dura image of Moses parting the Red Sea one can see tassels (tzitzith) at the corners. At any rate, this image is far more correct as a basis for imagining the historical Jesus than the adaptations of the Byzantine Jesus that have become standard: he’s short-haired and with a slight beard, and he’s wearing a short tunic, with short sleeves, and a himation.

Image copyright Alamy

Image copyright Alamy

Image caption Moses appears to be wearing a tunic with blue bands, as well as a tallith (as a mantle) with blue decoration - in both cases the blue would probably have been created by dying with indigo

Joan Taylor is professor of Christian Origins and Second Temple Judaism at King’s College London and the author of The Essenes, the Scrolls and the Dead Sea.

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Christmas in Bethlehem: Hopes and fears for the future

- 24 December 2015

- From the section Middle East

As Bethlehem prepares for Christmas, five people chosen to represent characters in the original Nativity story have been speaking about their hopes and fears for the festive period.

Celebrations are taking place in the West Bank town where it is believed that Jesus was born. However this year they are overshadowed by the latest Israeli-Palestinian violence that shows no signs of abating.

The mother: Mary Anastas

Media captionMother of three Mary Anastas runs a tourist souvenir shop in Bethlehem

Mary Anastas runs a shop selling her husband’s stone sculptures and feels a special affinity with her namesake, the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus.

She is a mother of three children herself and worries about their safety in these tense times. The two eldest are studying at Birzeit University, north of Ramallah, but come home at weekends.

Young Palestinians regularly join protests that result in confrontations with Israeli soldiers. There are flashpoints across the West Bank including on the edge of Ramallah and in Bethlehem.

Like many Palestinian Christians, Mary thinks the holiday spirit is dampened this year and that festivities will be relatively low-key.

The shepherd: Kamal Nabaheen

Media captionShepherd Kamal Nabaheen keeps sheep and goats in the fields outside Bethlehem

Shepherds watching their flocks by night are believed by Christians to have been the first to hear about Jesus’ birth. Tradition has it that they were told the news by an angel in the Shepherds’ Field in Beit Sahur, next to Bethlehem.

Nowadays, Kamal Nabaheen keeps sheep and goats in this area. He is Muslim, but prizes his connection to the Biblical shepherds.

Recently shepherding has become much more difficult because of a lack of open land. Jewish settlements are expanding nearby. They are seen as illegal under international law, but Israel disagrees.

Israel has also built part of its separation barrier here. It says this is needed for security, but Palestinians see it as a land grab.

The innkeeper: Fadi Kattan

Media captionFadi Kattan runs a boutique hotel in the Old City of Bethlehem

According to the Bible, there was no room at the inn in Bethlehem for Mary and Joseph. With no bed available, baby Jesus was laid in a manger.

In modern times, hotels are usually full on Christmas Eve. Arab-Israelis as well as foreign visitors come to join the festivities as processions of church leaders arrive from Jerusalem.

Fadi Kattan runs a new boutique guesthouse, Hosh al-Syrian, in the Old City of Bethlehem. He says that since the recent troubles, people have cancelled their hotel bookings for next year.

There are also other underlying challenges for local tourism. It tends to be seasonal with Christian pilgrims coming at Easter and Christmas, but more and more visitors are staying elsewhere and coming to Bethlehem as a day trip on a Holy Land tour. The main attraction is the Church of the Nativity, built on the spot where it is believed Jesus was born.

Recent violence

- 19 Israelis have been killed since mid-September, mostly in Palestinian stabbings and shooting attacks, in Israel and the West Bank

- More than 130 Palestinians have been killed - Israeli officials say half of these were attackers, while others have been killed in clashes with Israeli forces in the West Bank or in cross-border violence in Gaza

- In Bethlehem, there have been at least five deaths

The wise man: Father Jamal Khadr

Media captionFather Jamal takes part in a Christmas procession from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to hold a special mass.

The Nativity story tells how wise men, or magi, came to pay their homage to Jesus bringing him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Each Christmas Eve, Latin Catholic priest, Father Jamal Khadr, accompanies the patriarch in a traditional procession from Jerusalem. On the way to the Church of the Nativity, they are met by Palestinian Christians for a special mass at midnight.

In 2003, an 8m(26ft)-high concrete wall was erected in Bethlehem - part of Israel’s barrier built in and around the West Bank. A series of gates were constructed in the wall so that church leaders could continue to pass.

Nowadays clashes regularly take place by one of these gates. Typically, young Palestinians throw stones, marbles and petrol bombs at Israeli soldiers who respond with tear gas, rubber bullets, skunk water and live rounds.

Israel blames the violence on incitement by Palestinian leaders and social media. Father Jamal says that on the Palestinian side there are feelings of hopelessness and despair.

The carpenter: Jack Giacaman

Media captionCarpenter Jack Giacaman runs a workshop producing religious carvings

Like Joseph, the husband of Mary, Jack Giacaman works with wood. He carves large pieces himself and runs a workshop producing mainly religious items.

His main business involves traditional Nativity sets made out of olive wood grown in the holy land. For centuries, such religious items have been sold to visiting pilgrims.

About 40% of the Bethlehem economy relies directly on tourism. However since the town was separated from Jerusalem by Israel’s barrier, most tourists now enter through an Israeli checkpoint.

Local souvenir sellers say that restricted access to the city has greatly affected their trade. They also complain about a system that sees large Palestinian stores pay a hefty commission to guides who bring in the tourists, which means many of the smaller shops lose out.

Interviews, videos and pictures: Yolande Knell, Jimmy Michael and Yousef Shomali

Video and web production: Alison Trowsdale and Sarah Fowler

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The stories of Syrian children that went viral in 2015

BBC Trending What’s popular and why

- 24 December 2015

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Around 2 million Syrian children live as refugees, but it’s the heart-breaking stories of a small number of individuals that struck a chord on the internet.

BBC Trending looks at the stories of five Syrian refugee children who captured the attention of the world in 2015.

1. The girl who mistook a camera for a weapon

A photo of a young girl holding up her arms up in front of a camera after she mistook it for a weapon went viral in early 2015 - but little was known about the child.

The original tweet that brought attention to this girl’s story was retweeted over 25,000 times. Back in March, BBC Trending tracked down the Turkish photojournalist, Osman Sağırlı, who took the picture in Atmeh camp on the Syrian border with Turkey. The photo was actually taken in 2014, and the girl’s name is Huda. “I was using a telephoto lens, and she thought it was a weapon,” Sağırlı explained.

BBC Trending tracked down Huda’s father to find out what has happened to the family since the photo of his three-year-old daughter went viral. “Nothing changed,” he said. “Our situation has gone from bad to worse, especially now that it’s winter.” Huda’s father says basic things, like water, are not always available at the camp where they’ve been living for the past three years.

Image copyright Osman Sağırlı

Image caption The original photo was taken by Turkish photographer Osman Sağırlı in 2014

2. The pen-seller’s daughter

A photo of a distressed-looking refugee selling pens on the street in Beirut while carrying his sleeping daughter caught the attention of millions.

These migrants had their lives dramatically changed after an Icelandic journalist and web developer, Gissur Simonarsonn, set out to find them after seeing the image and tweeting it.

It turned out that 33-year-old Abdul Halim Attar and his daughter Reem are Palestinians who were living in the Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria until it was heavily affected by the fighting.

Simonarsonn started a Twitter account and an online crowdfunding campaign aiming to raise $5,000 (£3,200) for Attar and his daughter. He managed to raise over $190,000 (£126,000).

Attar used the money to open three businesses in Beirut: a bakery, a kebab shop and a small restaurant. He says he employs 16 Syrian refugees and is settling in Beirut with his two children, although he’s separated from his wife who returned to Syria.

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Join the conversation on this and other stories here.

3. The girl who’s frightened of men in uniform

An emotional video showing a 5-year-old girl shaking and crying hysterically when approached by a policeman in Turkey has been viewed more 2 million times since it was uploaded in April.

The video shows a Turkish policeman unsuccessfully trying to calm the girl down, while she worries that she will get in trouble for selling tissues on the street.

“I won’t do it again,” she keeps repeating to the officer in the video. Many people commenting on the video pointed out that trauma caused by war has led some Syrian children to panic on the mere sight of men in uniform.

The girl, Aisha, was returned back to her family safely, but little is known about what happened to them. BBC Trending contacted the Turkish humanitarian organisation that uploaded the video, but they said they’ve lost contact with Aisha and her family.

4. The boy beaten up for selling tissues

Like Aisha, 13-year old Ahmed Abayed was selling tissues on the street when he ran into trouble. But his encounter ended differently.

In July images of a restaurant manager in Izmir beating up Abayed circulated widely on Turkish social media. People on the street intervened, and photos showed the boy with a bloody nose.

Many people in Turkey were enraged and took to social media to express anger at how some refugees are being treated.

Ahmed was quoted by local news outlets, saying: “I was only selling tissues. While I was about to sell a pack to a lady there, they pulled me aside and hit me. They stepped on me. Syrians on the other side of the road rushed and poured water on me and I gained consciousness only then.”

Image copyright Twitter

Image caption Photos of teenager Ahmed Abayed were shared widely on social media

What happened to Ahmed? According to local media the Turkish authorities tracked down the teenager and his family, but they didn’t want to file a complaint against the restaurant manager.

Ahmed’s mother, who reportedly suffers from a heart condition, was offered health care. His father was promised a job and the whole family was given a short vacation in a hotel. But Ahmed said he will continue to sell tissues to help support his family.

5. The dead toddler who changed everything

Image copyright Mai Noman

If there was one photo that captured the world’s attention, it was the picture of three-year-old Alan Kurdi’s body washed up on a Turkish beach. That one image came to symbolise the struggles of Syria’s refugees and helped galvanise global appeals to help them.

Alan, along with his brother Galib and mother Rehan, died on 2 September when their boat capsized, killing 12 Syrian migrants on their way to Greece. His father Abdullah was the only member of the family who survived. He now says he’s given up on his dream of going to Europe and that he will return to Syria.

In an interview with BBC Trending, Alan Kurdi’s aunt, Tima Kurdi, says that Alan’s death changed the way the world viewed refugees, “It is very painful to go through this tragedy, but in other ways. we are so proud of this picture [which] saved thousands of refugees,” she says.

Blog and illustrations by Mai Noman

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, and find us on Facebook. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

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What’s it like working in John Lewis at Christmas?

Magazine Monitor A collection of cultural artefacts

- 24 December 2015

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Image copyright PA

Working at John Lewis during the Christmas season is a particularly intense experience, writes BBC reporter and one-time temporary employee, Josephine McDermott.

The first thing you have to get to grips with when you start working for John Lewis is the language of the partnership.

It was my first day working in the Christmas department of Peter Jones in Chelsea and on asking where my manager was, the reply came: “Dominic’s recovering in babywear.”

Fair enough, I thought. It had been a busy day, but babywear? The image of a 6ft guy in a pink romper suit entered my head. It transpired that when partners (the workers) are called to “recover” - as they are over a tannoy at the end of the day - it means they are tidying up the stock on display, moving products to the front of racks and re-folding endlessly unfolded clothing. He was doing this in the baby section downstairs.

The staff customs and rituals took a bit of getting used to, but when it came to the customers, my customer service training had fully prepared me. No, we would never knowingly be undersold on a set of popsicle cluster tree lights. We would smile and greet each shopper, asking them if they needed assistance.

And on our break times in the comfortable John Lewis staff room, we sat there knowing that we all owned the business we were working for and would receive a share based on how hard we worked to make profit.

On my second day in Christmas Stationery, I posed with my manager for a photograph for the staff magazine The Chronicle. We were to be lauded for how the department looked - our impressive “wall” of boxes of Christmas crackers reaching from floor to ceiling, our selection of tree decorations including bejewelled pear baubles from the Vintage Forest collection - the last word in baubles that year - and our huge selection of flat wrap and roll wrap. But praise mainly came for the fact we’d opened ahead of schedule. It was 27 September. Ninety days until Christmas. And Day One of Frosty the Snowman being played.

Image copyright NASA

The next important thing I learned was how to stifle contortions of rage and agony with a cheerful festive partner smile when a customer innocently asked if I could “Check if you’ve got it in stock”. We were on the fourth floor of the department store and our stock room was on the ground floor. As staff weren’t allowed to use the lifts so I found myself scurrying up and down the 1930s staircase in my pencil skirt, beige blouse, John Lewis badge and sensible shoes dozens of times a day.

It was by far the worst part of the job. But as a fresh graduate, my last gig had been cleaning toilets in Italy. The other young girl in the department had come fresh from dressing as a badger in WHSmith’s.

As Christmas Stationery rolled towards the big day, the customers changed. By Christmas Eve, we had frenzied men, weighed down with bags, who’d sell their children if you agreed to wrap their presents for them. I got yelled at by a customer because I couldn’t answer whether Christmas stamps cost more than regular stamps. And no, we don’t sell stamps I’m afraid.

I also got a ticking off from my manager because my wrapping of baubles in tissue paper wasn’t up to standard. Have you tried wrapping a bauble? I focused on how this job was paying for me to go travelling while I considered the next 20 champagne gold textured baubles I had to lovingly swathe.

We’d all secretly been looking forward to Christmas Eve. This would surely be the day when shoppers caught up with our premature exuberance for the festive season. Not a bit of it. It was agony. We had no stock left, it was freezing cold, the customers were stressed out of their heads and Frosty the Snowman was still playing.

Fourteen years later, I can’t hear that song without pulling a stock room face. I guess I’m still recovering.

Christmas Shopping Fever 2015: John Lewis and the Retail Race is on BBC Two on 23 December 2015 at 21:30 GMT

More from the Magazine

Christmas window displays are a huge part of a store’s festive marketing campaign. For the department stores, the preparation is a job that goes on all year. For others, it is a more last-minute affair. BBC News spent time with both Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge and Oxfam in Dalston, east London as they prepared their seasonal displays - with different approaches.

Secrets of the Christmas window dressers (December 2013)

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Why New York is a wet and warm wonderland this Christmas

- 23 December 2015

- From the section US & Canada

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Mid-December in New York in 2013, mid-December in Washington, 2015

In the movies, New York is always cold and covered in snow at Christmas - but this season it’s an unseasonably warm and wet wonderland.

Hundreds of record highs are expected to fall on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day across eastern parts of the US and Canada, with temperatures forecast as high as 77F (25C) in Georgia, 75F further north in Washington, and 15C (59F) in Toronto.

While the East enjoys spring-like warmth, forecasters predict heavy snow across the West while tornadoes have been reported as a storm system crosses parts of the South.

In a reversal of a traditional Christmas, forecasters expect temperatures in New York to be several degrees higher than in Los Angeles.

70F (21C)

Forecasted temperature for Christmas Eve in New York

- 75F (24C) Forecast for Washington on Christmas Eve

- 69F Previous daily record (1933)

- 59F (15C) Forecast for Portland, Maine on Christmas Eve

- 53F Previous daily record (1957)

Environment Canada, National Weather Service

Getty Images

Bruce Bombara, a construction worker who was wearing a t-shirt outside Penn Station in Manhattan, told the BBC that he was freezing this time last year. “I think it’s great that there’s no snow - I love it. It lingers too long. I’ll take the rain over snow any day.”

“Oh God this time last year I remember it was cold and dry,” said Lillian White as she waited for a cab. “No, I don’t miss the snow. I don’t miss the inconvenience of it - especially from last year. I do miss the snowflakes though.”

But for Montana Cole, a student originally from Chicago who was wearing a sweatshirt and shorts, the unseasonable weather in New York felt all wrong.

“I think snow is a lot better than this rain. I grew up with seeing snow at this time of the year. Right now it doesn’t really feel like Christmas.”

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Not so snowy scene: Unlike in the movies, it’s raining not snowing at the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center

And it’s not just the holiday week that’s been warmer than usual - it’s been an unseasonably warm month across North America.

Warm December

More than 2,500 record daily highs and 30 monthly records have already been tied or broken across the US after a wave of extremely warm temperatures earlier in December.

In Washington, the iconic spring cherry blossoms have begun blooming again, while in Buffalo, in upstate New York, the first measurable snowfall arrived very late on 18 December. New York City is close to tying its record for the number of consecutive days above freezing - 274 days.

Media captionBBC Weather’s Peter Gibbs explains the record-breaking warm spell

Several cities have set daily record highs in the middle of the night, instead of the middle of the afternoon, according to the Weather Channel.

Christmas records

In places like Chicago and Minneapolis, the average December temperatures are double-digits higher than normal - and that’s not counting the upcoming record-breaking days.

In Boston, temperatures are expected to be between 15 to 25 degrees above the normal high, with Christmas Eve’s 1996 record high of 61F (16C) at risk.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Icy blast from the past: Ottawa’s Rideau Canal, seen here in 2012, is unlikely to have thick enough ice to open to skaters as normal in January

Canada’s capital Ottawa is expected to reach 59F (15C) as well, and warm temperatures will potentially delay the city’s Rideau Canal from opening for ice skating.

Montreal will also see warm temperatures of up to 61F (16C) on Christmas Eve, but like many parts of eastern Canada, will see cooler, but still unseasonable temperatures on Christmas Day.

Unlikely white but this warm?

Despite the famous song that has Americans dreaming of a white Christmas, snow on 25 December is actually quite rare in much of the US.

A recent historical study by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration found that the only locations where snow cover was “extremely probable” were parts of western mountain regions, the downwind side of the Great Lakes and northern New England.

Image copyright NOAA

Image caption Historic probability map of a “White Christmas”

But it is almost never this warm, especially in the more northern parts of the US.

Weather forecasters point to El Nino, a weather pattern that warms the Pacific Ocean near the equator, pushing warm air further east and north.

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The runaway children Malaysia failed to save

- 24 December 2015

- From the section Magazine

Image copyright Malaysian Insider / Najjua Zulkefli

Earlier this year seven children from an indigenous Malaysian tribe ran away from school and got lost in the jungle. Seven weeks later, only two survivors were found. The shocking case raises uncomfortable questions about Malaysia’s treatment of this minority.

A group of children are lying on the floor of a bamboo hut drawing with crayons and felt tips. It is mid-morning and they should be in lessons but the pupils from the villages in this area don’t go to school any more.

At first the nine and 10-year-olds are shy but then they start telling me about one of the teachers in the residential school they used to go to.

“He punished us even if we did nothing wrong,” says one of them. “He made us stand outside in the sun for ages with our desks on our heads and our knees bent, like this.”

As she demonstrates the posture, the others burst into peals of laughter. But one girl in a striped T-shirt is silent and focuses on her picture.

She is 10-year-old Norieen Yaakob. Last summer she and six classmates could no longer bear the harsh discipline at the school, so they fled into the rainforest.

These children are Orang Asli which in Malay means “original people” and they’re the earliest known inhabitants of the Malaysian peninsula.

There are 18 different Orang Asli tribes and the people from Norieen’s village of Kampung Penad in northern Malaysia, near the Thai border, belong to the Temiar.

The parents wanted their children to get an education, but the nearest school was two hours’ drive or a day’s walk away, so like many other children in this mountainous area, they had to board in a hostel next to their classroom.

The timeline of this story is hard to uncover because the only witnesses are two traumatised young girls - Norieen and Miksudiar Aluj, aged 11.

Image caption Norieen (right) with her mother, Midah

They decided to leave, they say, because some older children had been beaten by one of the teachers for swimming in the river and they feared they would be next. Norieen, her seven-year-old brother Haikal, Miksudiar, and four other girls aged between seven and nine all ran into the forest on the morning of 23 August.

The children chewed leaves but couldn’t find much else to eat. The only fruit they could reach proved hard and indigestible.

Then Norieen’s brother, Haikal, fell into the river as he was trying to drink and the other children were too weak to help him. “He just floated away,” says his mother, Midah Angah. “Most likely he quickly drowned.”

Meanwhile a seven-year-old girl, Juvina, broke her leg and could no longer walk. One evening she begged for food and the next morning Norieen woke up to find her lying dead next to her. Norieen took the younger girl to one side and covered her with leaves.

“She watched what happens to a dead body over a few days,” says Midah. “Flies landing on her eyes and mouth, her hair falling out and maggots crawling out of her. She saw so many terrible things.”

Ika, a nine-year-old girl, died of her injuries after she was impaled by bamboo in a fall from a steep river bank.

Linda, aged eight, somehow ended up in the water and it was this that eventually helped searchers find the survivors.

Just off the muddy track that leads from the school to the village, overlooking the Sungai Perias river, is one of those rare spots in the rainforest where you can get a mobile phone signal, and here, on 7 October - 45 days after the children disappeared - a logging truck driver pulled up to make a call.

“He was walking along here when he saw something white bobbing up and down in the water,” says Siti Kasim, a lawyer from Kuala Lumpur.

“He could see two legs sticking up. At first he thought it was a doll but then he looked closer and saw it was a child’s body.”

Two days later Norieen and Miksudiar were discovered sheltering in the roots of a big tree, skeletal and close to death themselves.

The policemen who found them were moved to tears when they saw how the children had made a canopy of palm fronds to protect themselves from the rain and sun, Midah says.

Noreen and Miksudiar were taken to hospital in the nearest town, Gua Musang.

The bodies of the other children - apart from Sasa who has still not been found - were taken to the mortuary.

Ika’s father, Ayel Ajed, says he and his wife were shown their daughter’s remains in a cardboard box - she could only be identified by her necklace and bracelet.

There is something very puzzling about this tragic story. The police and army had been searching a vast area using sniffer dogs and helicopters, yet the children were less than 2km from the school. So why did it take so long to find them?

One reason is that the search operation did not begin immediately when the children’s trail was fresh.

Instead the police came to the village late at night to search a number of homes, apparently suspecting the parents of hiding their children.

Then on 2 September, 11 days after the children disappeared, their families got a letter saying the pupils would be expelled unless they immediately returned to the classroom.

Find out more

Listen to Lucy Ash’s report for Crossing Continentson the BBC iPlayer, or catch it on Assignment, on the BBC World Service - click here for transmission times

Norieen’s mother, Midah, says the police and officials from JAKOA, (Jabatan Kemajuan Orang Asli) the government agency for the Orang Asli, “treated the families like criminals”.

Remarkably, when the search and rescue operation began in earnest, Ika’s father and other villagers were told they were not allowed to take part.

“They sent in soldiers used to hunting down enemies and smugglers,” says Colin Nicholas from the Centre for Orang Asli Concerns, a lobby group for Malaysia’s indigenous people. “If you really put yourself into the mind of a child and you see a bunch of guys looking for you in military fatigues and armed with machine guns - are you going to shout out, ‘I’m here’? Of course not! Those kids were obviously running away.”

Eventually an Orang Asli police unit was brought in to help, and it was their trackers who found the children.

Some were horrified that the authorities took so long to react to the children’s disappearance and then to find them.

“Are the lives of Orang Asli kids less worthy of protection than Malay, Chinese or Indian kids?” asked Lim Kit Siang, leader of the opposition Democratic Action Party.

“We must feel heart sick that such callousness, inhumanity, negligence and gross incompetence can happen in modern-day Malaysia.”

The lawyer, Siti Kasim, is trying to get a clear picture of events from the children who attended the school, in preparation for possible legal action against both the school and the government.

“Don’t be afraid - tell me the truth!” she says. “Who went to swim in the river and who was beaten?” she asks.

The children are shy and it’s not easy extracting information from them. Norieen herself, while she has recovered physically, is still deeply troubled, and wakes up crying in the night, her mother says.

Miksudiar, the other survivor, is still in hospital.

When I visit the school in Pos Tohoi, the teachers are reluctant to speak and ask me not to use their names. But when I ask about the alleged beatings, one of them laughs nervously. “No, no completely untrue,” he says. “It is just rumours,” says another.

In Kuala Lumpur, Deputy Education Minister P Kamalanathan tells me the government is doing everything it can for the Orang Asli.

He bemoans the high number of children who drop out from school - more than 40% in some areas - but says it is often because parents would rather their children helped them pick beans in the jungle.

When I ask about a new school for these villagers - who no longer want to send their children to Pos Tohoi - he’s non-committal.

He adds that the case at Pos Tohoi primary school is still being investigated but insists corporal punishment is not allowed in Malaysian schools.

“If there is something of that nature all people need to do is come and lodge a complaint and we will surely take action,” he says.

Siti Kasim, the lawyer, says the deputy minister is “living in cloud-cuckoo land” if he is unaware that there have been many complaints from the Orang Asli about the schools their children attend in the interior of the country.

In June at a school in nearby Kuala Betis a 10-year-old Temiar pupil was allegedly tied up, kicked and beaten up by her teachers after being accused of stealing money from one of them.

Kelantan police chief Datuk Mazlan Lazim confirmed the case and said it was being investigated.

In another incident, says the lawyer, four girls were slapped by a teacher because they refused to recite a Muslim prayer.

“Those girls aren’t Muslim so why should they be forced to say a prayer before they eat?” she says. “There are plenty of police reports and letters of complaint but nothing happens.”

The government says it aims to bring the disadvantaged Orang Asli into the mainstream of society.

But Colin Nichols argues that the government has little interest in protecting their identity and says indigenous people are being increasingly sucked into a Malay-centric nation state.

“You pluck young children - seven-year-olds, eight-year-olds - from the village,” he says. “Then put them in a school hostel for three months at a time without seeing their parents, give them a new education, give them a new culture, give them a new language and sometimes a new religion, and in one generation you have people who are no longer Orang Asli.”

Listen to Lucy Ash’s report for Crossing Continents on the BBC iPlayer, or catch it on Assignment, on the BBC World Service - click here for transmission times

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Shine on: Why Colombian men like to get their nails done

By Natalio Cosoy BBC Mundo, Bogota

- 24 December 2015

- From the section Latin America & Caribbean

Media captionColombian men explain why they like having manicures

A group of men serving sentences for corruption and financial misconduct in a Bogota prison had a manicurist visit them in their cells to get their nails done.

The little luxury the inmates treated themselves caused anger in Colombia when it was revealed in September.

People asked why the prisoners were allowed access to special privileges.

However, no one seemed surprised by the fact that a group of men would want to have a manicure.

That is because here in Colombia it is not unusual for men to “get their hands done”.

The first time I noticed this trend was at a conference hosted by the Colombian Armed Forces’ Retired Officers Association.

Wherever I looked, I saw hands with shiny, perfectly polished nails - many of them covered by a subtle varnish.

There was hardly a hand in the room which had not been improved by a manicure.

Male grooming

Ever since, I have kept looking at Colombian men’s hands to try to confirm if it was more than just coincidence.

Image caption Colombian men enjoy having their nails done for them, but do not like to do them themselves

Well, it turns out that my first impression has been backed up by a survey conducted by the e-commerce website Groupon.

It suggests that Colombian men are much more likely than any of their regional neighbours to get their hands and/or feet done.

According to the survey, more than 27% of Colombians get manicures, while only 14% of Brazilians, 11% of Mexicans, 9% of Argentines and 5% of Chileans are likely to do so.

Fabian Ojeda of the men’s grooming salon La Barberia in Bogota, is not surprised by the figures.

“Unlike in other places in Latin America and the world, here it is very common,” he tells me of Colombian men’s penchant for manicures.

Image caption Fabian Ojeda says about 30% of the men who visit his salon for a haircut also ask for manicures

He says that on average, out of the 50 men who will visit Las Barberia to get their hair cut, 15 will also get a manicure.

And that, he says, does not include the men whose sole purpose in visiting La Barberia is to get their nails done.

While Mr Ojeda’s clients are mostly well off, he says the practice is not limited to any particular socio-economic group.

Generational treat

Juan Carlos Castro is the director of the Cosmetics and Grooming Chamber of the National Association of Businesses of Colombia.

He says he believes it is a Colombian cultural phenomenon. A few months ago he was in Paris, attending an international cosmetics fair.

When he mentioned male manicures to delegates from other countries, they found the concept strange.

But Mr Castro has grown up with it.

His father used to be in the military and is fond of manicures.

He still does get his nails done, even now that he is 80.

“It shows rank, somehow, in the armed forces,” Mr Castro explains.

His grandfather also did it, he recalls.

Allure

Luis Alfonso Parra owns one of the largest nail varnish factories in Colombia; he sells a million bottles per month.

Image caption Colombian men say women look at their hands and it is important to have them looking well groomed

He reckons Colombian men get their hands manicured for one obvious reason: “Women look at your shoes, your suit or shirt and your nails.”

He sells three products for men: base (to strengthen the nails), tone (in a light pink colour) and gloss (to give them shine).

Products specifically made for men represent 10-15% of his production.

But he says, men will not apply his products at home.

They much prefer to go to a hairdresser or a grooming salon to get their nails cut, filed, polished and varnished.

Mr Ojeda says that prices can vary from anything between 15,000 pesos ($4.50; £3.00) to 40,000 pesos, making it an accessible treat to most Colombian men.

“You will find men getting their hands manicured in upmarket grooming salons but also in any corner hairdresser,” he says.

And I can attest to the fact that I have seen Colombians from many backgrounds and in many occupations who boast the tell-tale shiny nails.

From bankers to policemen in the middle of the jungle and even demobilised Farc rebels.

It is a habit that almost everyone seems to have embraced.

Just not this correspondent, or at least not yet.

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Christmas dinners around the world

By Will Smale Business reporter, BBC News

- 24 December 2015

- From the section Business

Image caption Kevin Little gets his fresh carp from fish farms in France

Ask fishmonger Kevin Little if he’d happily eat the carp he sells, and he shakes his head sheepishly.

“I don’t really like it,” he says.

“But a lot of my eastern European customers don’t particularly like carp either, it is just their tradition to eat them for their Christmas dinner.

“It’s like being British and easting roast turkey on Christmas Day - it is what most of us do, even though many of us would prefer to have beef, or something else instead.”

The thought of eating carp - at any time of the year - would horrify most people in the UK.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Carp is farmed across Europe especially for Christmas

It is a portly fresh water fish that conjures up images of murky canals, with half-submerged supermarket trolleys and industrial backdrops.

It is supposed to taste of mud, and while many British anglers obsess about catching them, they wouldn’t dream of taking one home for the table.

Yet tens of millions of people across eastern Europe - who have their main festive meal on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day - will this evening be sitting down to eat carp.

From Poland to the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and eastern parts of Germany, more often than not the fish is the centrepiece of people’s Christmas dinner, as it has been for generations.

Image caption Mr Little has been selling carp for more than 40 years

For eastern Europeans living in the UK, having carp for their Christmas dinner is a tradition they wish to hold onto, and Mr Little and other independent fishmongers are happy to meet the demand.

Mr Little who has owned and run the Smelly Alley Fish Company in the Berkshire town of Reading for more than 50 years, buys in fresh mirror carp from fish farms in France. At £11 per kg, it is roughly the same price as haddock or cod.

The 68-year-old says: “In a normal month we sell about 20kg of carp, but at Christmas this goes up to 300kg. The fish are between 1kg and 3 kg in weight.

“I have been selling carp since the early 1970s to serve the Polish people who didn’t go back to Poland after the end of the Second World War, including one man who was a Spitfire pilot.

“But sales have really taken off in recent years thanks to the new influx of Poles and other people from eastern Europe.”

‘Like cod’

Tadeusz Stenzel, chairman of the Federation of Poles in Great Britain, says it is wrong to think that carp doesn’t taste good.

“Carp is similar to cod, but a bit sweeter,” he says. “Muddy flavours are very rare, as the live fish are transferred from lakes or ponds into containers of clean water for a few days before being sold.

Image copyright Thinkstock

Image caption There is no standard recipe for cooking a Christmas carp

Image copyright Thinkstock

Image caption The carp can be served whole, or cut into smaller pieces

“Traditionally in Poland you’d buy your carp still alive, and people would keep them in a bucket or their bath until Christmas Eve, but these days more people buy their carp fresh [but already killed], or frozen.”

But why the tradition for fish on Christmas Eve across eastern Europe?

Mr Stenzel explains that it is the Roman Catholic practice in the region, and that Christmas Eve dinner marks the big final meal of the pre-Christmas, or advent fast period, during which meat is forbidden.

Carp became the most popular Christmas fish because it was the easiest one to farm, with the fish happily living in the village pond, he says.

He adds that unlike the Angle-Saxon Christmas turkey, which is invariably roasted, there are many different ways in which Polish people cook their festive carp.

“Some do roast it whole, but others cook it with onions, or fry steaks in breadcrumbs, or make jellied carp,” says the 66-year-old, who lives in Leicestershire.

He adds: “I like my carp pan fried with a cream and almond sauce, made from roasted almonds, fish stock, blended with double cream.

“This tastes fantastic, but does not help the waistline!”

Festive fried chicken

But if it has to be carp for Christmas dinner in eastern Europe, what do people eat for their main festive meal in other parts of the world?

Japan provides perhaps the most surprising answer, as the most popular Christmas meal in the land of the rising sun is a visit to KFC. Yes, you are reading correctly - Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption KFC is considered to be a festive food in Japan

Historically the Japanese didn’t celebrate Christmas, as less than 1% of the population is Christian.

Against that blank canvas, in 1974 KFC decided to introduce Christmas to Japan, or most specifically - promoting the eating of KFC for Christmas.

Its “Kentucky for Christmas!” marketing campaign was a tremendous success that year, and ever since, Japanese people have flocked to the chain’s restaurants for some festive fried chicken.

Mioko Fujisaki, a 37-year-old who moved to the UK from Japan nine years ago, says: “Christmas in Japan is different from in the West. In Japan, it is more commercially focused.”

“KFC for Christmas is popular for families,” she says.“We have a TV ad every year and you will see Colonel Sanders in the Santa outfit at the shop front.”

In the Philippines, the Asian country that does have a majority Christian population, fish and KFC hold little interest at Christmas. Instead the country goes mad for suckling pig.

Image copyright JES AZNAR

Image caption Suckling pig is the main event on Christmas Day in the Philippines

Image copyright Thinkstock

Image caption Nacatamales are the festive dish in Honduras and Nicaragua

Image copyright peredniankina

Image caption Fried cheese balls are among the delicacies eaten on Christmas Day in Colombia

Meanwhile, in the Americas, fried cheese balls are popular in Colombia, while in Honduras and Nicaragua they feast on nacatamales, which are steamed leaf parcels filled with corn meal, rice and meat and vegetables.

‘Celebrate with food’

Returning to Europe, fish is also the main festive focus in Italy and Portugal, where like Poland, the main Christmas meal is held on Christmas Eve.

For the Portuguese, it has to be salt cod, which requires soaking in fresh water for a few days before it can be cooked.

Image caption Portugal is said to have a different salt code recipe for every day of the year

Image copyright filipe frazao

Image caption One popular way of serving salt cod in Portugal is “Lisbon style” with onions, olives and potatoes

Joao Diogo, 44, owner of the Super Mercado Portugal supermarket in west London, which serves the local Portuguese community, says: “Sales of salt cod start rising two months before Christmas, there is a really big increase.”

Across in Italy, a typical Christmas Eve meal can have seven or more different fish dishes.

James Albanese, 39, from Rome, says: “You know Italians, we celebrate with food, and Christmas Eve is fish!”

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UK

- Burmese guilty of UK tourist murders

- Reflect on Christian values, PM urges

- Work to hit London airport rail routes

- Blood pressure therapy re-think urged

- Keep Oxford's Rhodes statue: Abbott

- Savers warned about 1 January changes

- Housing cuts 'affect the vulnerable'

- 'Forgotten children' in anti-abuse drive

- Historic agreement for two UK churches

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- Kvitova's 2015 of highs and lows

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- EU exit could break up UK, says Hague

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- Minimum drink price 'may breach EU law'

- 'Washout' winter and Christmas 'miracle'

- What's it like working in John Lewis at Christmas?

- Jeremy Corbyn's 19,485 Early Day Motions

- When is it right to remove a statue?

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Thailand murders: Two men found guilty and face death for UK killings

- 24 December 2015

- From the section UK

Image copyright PA

Image caption Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were found dead on the island of Koh Tao

Two Burmese men have been found guilty and sentenced to death for murdering two UK tourists in Thailand last year.

Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo killed Hannah Witheridge, 23, from Norfolk, and David Miller, 24, from Jersey, judges said.

The backpackers’ bodies were found on a beach on the southern Thai island of Koh Tao on 15 September 2014.

The accused retracted their initial confessions saying police had tortured them, but Mr Miller’s brother said justice had now “been delivered”.

The flawed case of the Thailand beach murders

Media captionDavid Miller’s brother, Michael, said the verdict was “justice for David and Hannah”

At a Thai court in Koh Samui, three judges found the two bar workers - who were migrants from Myanmar - guilty of murder and ordered that they face the death penalty.

Miss Witheridge and Mr Miller were found bludgeoned to death, and a post-mortem examination showed Miss Witheridge had been raped.

Prosecutors said DNA evidence collected from cigarette butts, a condom and the bodies of the victims, linked Lin and Phyo to the deaths.

Image copyright EPA

Image caption Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin showed “no remorse” for their actions, Mr Miller’s family said

But lawyers defending the accused argued that DNA from a garden hoe - allegedly used as the murder weapon - did not match samples taken from the men.

They also claimed evidence had been mishandled by police and the pair’s confessions were the result of “systematic abuse” of migrants in the area.

The victims met on Koh Tao while staying in the same hotel.

‘Justice delivered’

Miss Witheridge was a University of Essex student from Hemsby and Mr Miller had just completed a civil and structural engineering degree at the University of Leeds.

The family of Mr Miller attended the hearing but relatives of Miss Witheridge did not travel to Thailand for the verdicts.

Speaking outside court, Mr Miller’s brother Michael said “justice is what has been delivered today”, and said Thai police had carried out a “methodical and thorough” investigation.

He said the evidence against the accused was “absolutely overwhelming”, and he went on to describe his brother David as “irreplaceable”.

‘Left to die’

Mr Miller said he hoped that campaigners who “relentlessly” championed the cause of the accused and believed their innocence would respect the court’s decision.

Mr Miller acknowledged that initially when Lin and Phyo were brought forward as suspects, and the family saw pictures of two “innocent-looking men surrounded by tough policemen, it was easy to conclude they might be convenient scapegoats”.

But he said the family resolved to keep an open mind and listen to all the evidence.

He said the widespread interest in the case had ensured the defendants received the “best possible representation in court by a team of seven top lawyers”.

“[David] was hacked down from behind, dragged into the sea and left to die. That will live with us forever,” he added.

“The correct verdict has been reached.”

The family of Miss Witheridge previously said their “bubbly and intelligent” daughter, who gained a first-class honours degree at university, had been “taken from us in the most horrific way possible”.

“She would have gone on to make a significant difference to the lives of many people,” they said.

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Reflect on Christian values, David Cameron says in Christmas message

- 24 December 2015

- From the section UK Politics

Image copyright Getty Images

David Cameron has urged people to reflect on Britain’s Christian values in his Christmas message.

The PM said the country’s “important religious roots” made it “a successful home to people of all faiths and none”.

Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn used a newspaper article to highlight homelessness and praise emergency workers.

Green Party leader Natalie Bennett called for a “different sort of society” while Lib Dem Tim Farron said the world was “in need of hope”.

- In pictures: Leaders’ Christmas cards

Mr Cameron highlighted the plight of people spending Christmas in refugee camps having fled the civil war in Syria, while Christmas in some parts of the world would go to church in fear of persecution.

“Throughout the United Kingdom, some will spend the festive period ill, homeless or alone,” he said.

‘Make a difference’

He paid tribute to people working at Christmas “to help the vulnerable” and said the armed forces were “in the skies of Iraq and Syria, targeting the terrorists that threaten those countries and our security at home” as well as saving migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean.

“It is because they face danger that we have peace,” he added.

Labour said Mr Corbyn would not issue an official Christmas message, but in a Sunday Mirror article, he said many low-paid workers could not afford to take time off over Christmas, and that homelessness was increasing with tens of thousands of people spending the festive season in temporary accommodation.

People should ask themselves whether they could do more for others, he said.

“Jesus said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’”, he said.

“It is a similar maxim that inspired our party: ‘From each according to their means, to each according to their needs.’”

Ms Bennett said people should look to 2016 “with the understanding that politics shouldn’t be just something that gets done to you.

“Politics should be something that you do to make a difference in your society.”

Mr Farron said he hoped people would be inspired in 2016 to make the country a more “compassionate, liberal and welcoming one”, Lib Dem Voice reported.

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Train delays to major airports expected because of engineering work

- 24 December 2015

- From the section UK

Image copyright EPA

Passengers going by train to the UK’s two biggest airports are set to face long delays over the festive period as engineering work begins.

Gatwick Express train services will stop for the next 10 days, while the Heathrow rail links will stop for four.

Network Rail said 20,000 of its workers would be carrying out almost 500 improvement projects across the whole of the UK during the festive season.

Its chief executive Mark Carne has thanked passengers for their patience.

He also said that passengers had in the past “shown themselves to be incredibly understanding of planned improvement work”.

Line closures

Gatwick Express trains will be suspended from 24 December to 4 January, while work is undertaken to replace a major railway junction at Purley, south London.

Southern Railway services to Sussex will also be affected.

Neither Heathrow Express nor Heathrow Connect services will run for four days after Christmas Eve, due to a line closure between Paddington and Slough.

Services to the South West and south Wales will also take longer as some trains are diverted to London Waterloo or Marylebone stations.

The West Coast Main Line will be closed between Crewe and Stafford between Friday and Tuesday, while there is also a closure on the lines from London Liverpool Street to Colchester, Ipswich and Norwich.

Analysis

Image copyright PA

By BBC transport correspondent Richard Westcott

Network Rail always plans its biggest engineering jobs over the holidays because the trains are much quieter.

This year, it’s the fast services to the two biggest airports, Gatwick and Heathrow, that will be hit the hardest.

The last Gatwick Express of the year leaves London at 21.15 on Christmas Eve, although slower services do start again on 27 December.

If you’re planning a rail journey over Christmas and the New Year, the best advice is to check online first.

Network Rail got it badly wrong last year, as over-running work and a terrible back up plan caused chaos for thousands of travellers. Network Rail insists that won’t happen again.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said Britain’s “over-stretched” railways had suffered from signal failures, staff shortages and overcrowding in recent weeks.

Last year there was severe train disruption when engineering work on the lines from King’s Cross and Paddington overran, delaying travellers on the first Saturday after Christmas.

Image copyright Network Rail

Image caption Rail disruption over Christmas

Despite the rail delays airports are expected to be busy with an estimated four million people in the UK travelling abroad during the Christmas and new year period.

Meanwhile, the RAC predicted that Christmas Eve would be the busiest day for traffic on the roads with 4.1 million journeys being made.

Nearly 400 miles of roadworks have been removed to cope with the rush.

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Blood pressure therapy re-think urged

By Smitha Mundasad Health reporter

- 24 December 2015

- From the section Health

Image copyright Thinkstock

More lives could be saved if doctors considered giving blood pressure drugs to all patients at high-risk of heart disease - even if their blood pressures are normal, a study suggests.

The report calls for a move away from current guidelines which recommend pills only be prescribed if blood pressure is above a certain threshold.

But experts acknowledge lifestyle factors also have an important role to play in bringing blood pressures down.

The study appears in the Lancet.

High blood pressure has long been linked to a higher risk of heart disease and stroke.

Current guidelines - issued by England’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence - suggest patients should only take medication when their blood pressure levels reach 140 mmHg.

Until this point even those at highest risk, for example people who have had previous heart attacks and strokes, are offered monitoring but not pills.

Now a global team of experts are calling for doctors to focus on an individual’s risks rather than rigid and “arbitrary” blood pressure thresholds.

Large trial

Experts analysed the results of more than 100 large-scale trials involving some 600,000 people between 1966 and 2015.

They found those patients at highest risk - including smokers with high cholesterol levels and people over 65s with diabetes - would benefit most from treatment, lowering their chance of heart attacks and strokes.

In addition the report suggests once on treatment, blood pressure levels could be reduced even further than the targets currently used.

The study also adds to growing evidence that patients may benefit from lowering their blood pressure whatever their baseline levels - either through lifestyle changes or drugs.

But it shows the lower the person’s blood pressure to start with, the lower the benefit they gain from reducing it.

The authors do not go as far as to suggest everyone should be given pills and caution side-effects of medication must be weighed up.

Prof Liam Smeeth, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, agreed the findings were important for those at highest risk.

But he warned: “One important caveat is that not everyone will be able to tolerate having their blood pressure reduced to low levels, and there is a need to balance possible drug side effects and likely benefits.”

Heart specialist Dr Tim Chico, of the University of Sheffield, said medication need not be the only way to tackle the issue.

He added: “We can all reduce our blood pressure.

“We can do this safely, cheaply and as effectively as tablets by eating healthily, taking more physical activity, reducing alcohol intake, and maintaining a healthy weight.”

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Removing Rhodes statue ‘moral vanity’, says Tony Abbott

- 24 December 2015

- From the section Australia

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Tony Abbott wants an Oxford college to keep its controversial statue of colonialist Cecil Rhodes

Oxford University should not remove a controversial statue of Cecil Rhodes from Oriel College, former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said.

Students say the 19th Century colonialist’s views are against the “inclusive culture” at the university.

Oriel College, which Rhodes attended, has agreed to remove a commemorative plaque in response to the campaign.

Mr Abbott, a Rhodes Scholar, said removing the statue would “substitute moral vanity for fair-minded enquiry”.

Oxford University’s Rhodes Scholarship is funded thanks to a legacy left after his death in 1902.

“The university and its students should prefer improving today’s orthodoxies to imposing them on our forebears,” Mr Abbott told the Independent newspaper.

“The university should remember that its mission is not to reflect fashion but to seek truth and that means striving to understand before rushing to judge.”

Mr Abbott said that while Rhodes himself had not campaigned against racism, many of the scholars who benefited from his legacy had done so.

“We can lament that he failed to oppose unjust features of his society while still celebrating the genius that led to the creation of the Rhodes Scholarships.”

#RhodesMustFall

The #RhodesMustFall movement began in South Africa, where students succeeded in having a statue of the diamond tycoon and colonial-era leader removed from the University of Cape Town.

Students involved in the movement argue that Rhodes’ involvement in apartheid and land seizures in 19th Century Africa make him unworthy of commemoration.

More than 2,300 people signed a petition calling for the removal of the statue from Oriel College.

The college responded by saying it would ask for permission to remove a plaque celebrating Rhodes and begin a consultation process about the future of the statue.

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption The Rhodes Must Fall campaign saw the removal of a statue in Cape Town

“Rhodes was… a 19th Century colonialist whose values and world view stand in absolute contrast to the ethos of the scholarship programme today, and to the values of a modern university,” it said in a statement.

Besides Mr Abbott, other prominent Rhodes Scholars have spoken out against the removal of the statue.

Former New Zealand rugby scrum half Chris Laidlaw told the Times he thought Rhodes’ views were typical of his generations and that to expunge his memory would be unfair.

Who was Cecil Rhodes?

Image copyright Getty Images

- Imperialist, businessman and politician who played a dominant role in southern Africa in the late 19th Century, driving the annexation of vast swathes of land

- Born the son of a vicar in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, in 1853, first went to Africa at the age of 17; grew cotton with his brother in Natal, but moved into diamond mining, founding De Beers, which until recently controlled the global trade

- Rhodes’s bequest continues to finance scholarships bearing his name, allowing overseas students to come to Oxford University; most famous of these was probably Bill Clinton

- Controversial even in his own time, Rhodes backed the disastrous Jameson Raid of 1895, in which a small British force tried to overthrow the gold-rich Transvaal Republic, helping prompt the Second Boer War, in which tens of thousands died

Why is Cecil Rhodes such a controversial figure?

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Savers warned about 1 January compensation changes

By Brian Milligan Personal Finance reporter

- 24 December 2015

- From the section Business

Image copyright Thinkstock

Millions of savers are being reminded that they may need to move some of their cash, to guarantee it will be fully protected in the event of their bank going bust.

New rules come in on 1 January, which will reduce compensation to £75,000 per account, per institution.

Previously the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protected savings of up to £85,000 per account.

Joint accounts will see protection cut from £170,000 to £150,000.

The maximum compensation across the European Union is set at €100,000, and the British level was reduced as a result of the pound gaining strength against the euro.

The precise rate was set on 3 July 2015.

At the time, one senior Tory MP described the change as “defective”.

‘Complicated’

Although 95% of savers will still be protected, as many as 2.5m people may not be, according to the FSCS. It is advising savers who have more than £75,000 in one account, or in one institution, to move their money if necessary.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that some registered banks and building societies operate under more than one brand.

So it you had £75,000 savings with HSBC, for example, any additional savings in First Direct would not be protected, as both banks have a joint licence.

Savers using Bank of Scotland and Halifax are in the same position.

But Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and NatWest - although they are sister banks - are both registered separately. So savers could safely have up to £75,000 in accounts with both banks.

“While this should be quite simple to navigate, it’s made complicated by the fact that FSCS cover is shared between banks that operate under the same licence,” said Hannah Maundrell, editor in chief of money.co.uk.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) publishes a full list of registered banks, and which brands come under the same umbrella.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Some European banks operating in the UK will offer different levels of protection

European banks

Under the new rules, savers who have up to £1m in their accounts temporarily - as a result of selling a house, or being made redundant, for example - are also protected.

To receive compensation, they cannot have had that cash in their accounts for more than six months.

A further warning comes in relation to some foreign banks which trade in the UK, but are registered within the eurozone, such as Germany’s Fidor Bank, or Sweden’s Handelsbanken.

Handelsbanken confirmed that the level of compensation would depend on the exchange rate at the time.

So depending on how much €100,000 is worth in pounds, savers may get more or less than £75,000 protection. At the time of writing, that amount is worth less than £74,000.

“With an increasing number of European banks now offering competitive rates, customers need to be aware that not all savings accounts offered in the UK are covered by the UK compensation scheme,” said Rachel Thrussell, savings insight manager at Moneyfacts.co.uk.

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Housing benefit cuts would ‘affect schemes for vulnerable’

- 24 December 2015

- From the section UK

Image copyright PA

Housing projects helping more than 400,000 vulnerable adults face closure because of government welfare cuts, analysis on behalf of Labour suggests.

The Treasury’s decision to cap housing benefit at the level available for private rents makes many schemes unviable, the research - carried out by housing providers - said.

The housing cap is part of a £12bn package of cuts from the welfare bill.

The government said the implementation of the policy is still being looked at.

The Labour Party, which commissioned the research, said under the proposed cuts an annual shortfall of £400m would put the frail and elderly at risk of losing their homes.

In the chancellor’s Autumn Statement he said the rate of housing benefit in the social sector would be capped at the same rate as is paid to those in the private rented sector - which would make savings of £225m by 2020-21.

‘Major threat’

But some providers of supported housing say they rely on higher levels of housing benefit to cover the additional costs of care and support needed to cater for vulnerable adults.

The analysis - carried out by the Placeshapers group of housing associations - warned that the cut represented “a major threat to the financial viability of such schemes”.

“Placeshapers is calling for all supported housing schemes to be exempt from the government’s changes to social housing rent levels,” it added.

The research suggested specific schemes such as one in Middlesbrough which helps vulnerable women and another one in Norfolk for children with learning difficulties would be in the firing line if the cap came into force.

‘Forced out’

Labour’s shadow minister for housing John Healey said the housing benefit cap would be a “catastrophe for those who can least afford it”.

“There is no way these people or the organisations who support them can make up the yawning shortfall these cuts will open up,” he added.

“If nothing is done, vital supported housing across the country will close, and the people who rely on them will be forced out.”

The Department for Work and Pensions said it was committed to supporting vulnerable people and details of how the policy will be implemented are still being worked on.

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Domestic abuse campaign focuses on ‘forgotten’ children

- 24 December 2015

- From the section UK

Image copyright Refuge

Image caption Refuge said the campaign “gives a voice” to children, the “silent witnesses” of abuse

Children, described as the “forgotten victims of domestic violence”, have been put at the centre of a Christmas campaign by the charity Refuge.

It said some 750,000 children witness domestic violence each year, which can have a “profound and lasting impact”.

The charity has launched a video campaign on Facebook, encouraging viewers to raise funds and awareness by sharing the hashtag #givethemrefuge.

The launch comes as Refuge’s specialist services face possible funding cuts.

One in four women in the UK experience domestic violence, and two women are killed each week by a partner or ex-partner in England and Wales, the charity said.

Refuge’s video shows a girl unwrapping presents while being filmed by her sister, but the children end up abandoning their presents to run away from a violent argument between their parents.

Abusive father

An unnamed 22-year-old abuse victim said the fictional video was similar to her own childhood memories of living in “daily fear and terror” after witnessing her father “abuse, threaten and intimidate” her mother.

“It was only after a frantic phone call I had with my father that I knew he would fulfil his threat to ‘smash her brains against the wall’ and kill my mother,” she said.

She eventually escaped to a refuge with her mother and brother, where they were supported by Refuge, she said.

“Not only did the refuge give us safety, anonymity and a place to overcome our trauma and rebuild our lives, but my brother and I had the opportunity to enjoy our childhood and also start over,” she said.

Sandra Horley, chief executive of Refuge, said more than 3,300 women and children were supported by the charity, with children making up about two-thirds of people in the charity’s accommodation.

She added that the charity was “fighting to raise funds to keep its services running”.

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Churches of Scotland and England reach first formal pact

- 24 December 2015

- From the section UK

Image copyright PA

Image caption The Queen, who is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, attends services at Crathie Kirk - which belongs to the Church of Scotland

An “historic” agreement has been reached between The Church of England and The Church of Scotland - marking their first formal working arrangement.

A document - the Columba Declaration - will be debated by the ruling bodies of both churches next year.

It commits the churches to “grow together in communion and to strengthen their partnership in mission”.

Founded in two different branches of Protestantism, England’s church is Anglican and Scotland’s Presbyterian.

The declaration has been authored by Kirk minister the Reverend John McPake, and the Church of England’s Bishop of Chester, Peter Forster.

‘Common reality’

They say the agreement will allow clergy and lay people from each church to be welcomed into the other when they move across the border.

The pact also recognises that the two churches have constitutional responsibilities in separate parts of the UK.

“We face the common reality that constitutional change could have a significant impact on our own identity and relationships,” the 15-page declaration says.

In a joint statement from both authors they said they hoped the pact would “affirm and strengthen our relationship at a time when it is likely to be particularly critical in the life of the UK”.

They also said they wanted it to: “Enable us to speak and act together more effectively in the face of the missionary challenges of our generation.”

Image copyright PA

Image caption Reverend John McPake was one of the co-authors of the declaration

The Church of England’s ruling body - the General Synod - will discuss the document in February, while the Church of Scotland’s General Assembly will go through the same process in May.

Both churches were formed separately during the Reformation - which began in 1517 and focused on ways to reform the Catholic Church.

The new agreement is the first between the churches - which both describe themselves as part of “one holy catholic and apostolic church” - but have significant ecclesiological differences.

The Church of England retained more vestiges of Catholicism, has Catholic and evangelical wings, and is governed by bishops.

Meanwhile, the Church of Scotland is Presbyterian in structure and has no bishops or cathedrals.

This year the two churches established the Churches’ Mutual Credit Union as a response to concerns that low-income families needed access to low-cost banking and loans.

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Storm Eva brings fresh flooding fears for Cumbria

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Cumbria

Media captionAppleby resident Sarah McKay says that local people are exhausted by the flooding

Rain and winds of up to 70mph could continue to batter northern England over the Christmas period.

Storm Eva could bring further misery to Cumbria, where some areas are dealing with the aftermath of flooding for the third time in a month.

Appleby, Glenridding, Keswick and Kendal were all hit after rivers burst their banks on Tuesday.

Environment Secretary Liz Truss said military staff and 700 Environment Agency workers would support residents.

She said they would be “looking at what the potential scenarios are”.

Speaking to the BBC after chairing a meeting of the government’s emergency committee Cobra, Ms Truss said: “We are still too far out to have an exact prediction of the weather but we do know there will be further storms, probably on Boxing Day so we are making sure we have all the resources ready to go should they be needed.”

She also said local councils are helping residents find accommodation and said the government will provide £60m for repairs.

Ms Truss said: “It’s a terrible situation for people and it couldn’t have happened at a worse time of year and we have got every sympathy for those who are suffering.”

Media captionChristmas weather update

An Environment Agency spokesman said: “We will issue further flood alerts and warnings if required.”

Sheep dog leads flock from swollen river

See the latest on the floods and other news from Cumbria

10 of the worst weather events that shook Britain

Roy Ashley, whose garage business and home in Appleby have been damaged once again, said the flooding had destroyed lives.

Image copyright Aidan Greaves

Image caption The River Eden burst its banks in Appleby

He said: “It has taken people’s homes. Some people have lost businesses.”

His wife Charlotte said: “No-one’s ever seen this, it’s unbelievable.

“The water two weeks ago was above my head in the garage - you can’t deal with that kind of thing.”

Hundreds of properties were flooded when Storm Desmond brought a record amount of rainfall during the weekend of 5 December.

Four days later there was a further deluge, in which Glenridding was particularly badly hit.

Image copyright Glenridding Hotel

Image caption The manager of the Glenridding Hotel said she felt “defeated” by the further flooding

Speaking about the latest flooding, Appleby resident Sarah McKay said: “It’s just before Christmas and everybody has already lost everything. It’s terrible.”

Media captionFlood victims mopping-up third flood in a month

Mark Hook, who runs a guesthouse near Ullswater, said water was lapping at his door.

He said: “It’s quite a scary thought really… once yes, twice worrying, but three times is not good at all.

“When you’ve just cleaned everything up and are getting ready for decorating or carpet relaying, you’re thinking ‘should I do this? should I hold on?’.”

Image copyright Alex Charlton

Image caption The River Greta in Keswick was swollen by rainfall

A fundraising appeal for victims of the flooding launched in the wake of Storm Desmond has increased its target to £6m.

The Cumbria Community Foundation said it had raised almost £3.5m so far, and the higher amount reflected “a growing sense of the true scale of the need”.

Organisers said priority would be given to individuals and families suffering financial hardship, and community relief and rebuilding projects.

Meanwhile, two flood warnings remain in place across Cumbria.

Live flood warnings from the Environment Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

Note: the Environment Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency display their flood alert data differently. While the Environment Agency highlights individual rivers only, in Scotland the entire region is coloured to indicate the level of alert. This map and flood alert data are supplied to the BBC by third parties. The BBC is not responsible for its accuracy and you use it at your own risk.

View the flood map by tapping on the image below

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US relatives seek answers over UK family’s travel ban

By James Cook Los Angeles Correspondent, BBC News

- 23 December 2015

- From the section US & Canada

Image caption Mohammad Tariq Mahmood says he still wants to visit the United States

A Californian relative of a British family which was refused entry to the United States for a holiday has told the BBC the US government must explain its actions.

Muhammad Mahmood, who runs an auto repair shop in San Bernardino, said his children had been looking forward to welcoming their cousins and were sad that the trip had been cancelled.

Mr Mahmood, 47, said he had been preparing to welcome his two brothers, their seven children and two of his sister’s children for the holidays.

They had planned to go sky-diving and to make trips to several theme parks, he said.

Mr Mahmood, a US citizen, said he could think of no reason why his relatives would represent a threat to the country and called on his government to explain its actions.

“They can get away with anything by saying national security… and you cannot even challenge that,” he told BBC News, adding, “there is no check and balance.”

Media captionUK Muslim dad: US stopped my family flying to Disneyland

A spokesperson for US Customs and Border Protection refused to comment on this specific case, but told the BBC people travelling to the US “bear the burden of proof to establish that they are clearly eligible to enter the United States… the applicant must overcome all grounds of inadmissibility.”

Categories of inadmissibility include, among others: health-related reasons, criminal convictions, public charge, security reasons and labour certification.

In the UK, Labour MP Stella Creasy called on the prime minister to challenge the US, calling it “a growing problem” of British Muslims being barred from the US without explanation.

She also told BBC Radio 5 live she was aware of four other UK cases of Muslims who were denied entry to the US.

“Nobody knows why these people were stopped. We do know what the common denominator is between them. All of us agree we’ve absolutely got to be vigilant about tackling terrorism, and we’ve got to be clear prejudice hasn’t got a part to play in that,” she said.

Mr Mahmood said he prayed at the same mosque as Syed Rizwan Farook, who along with his wife Tashfeen Malik killed 14 people in San Bernardino on 2 December but he “did not know him personally”, would not have recognised him and could not recall ever speaking to him.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Fourteen people were killed in the San Bernardino massacre

The couple died in a shoot-out with police a few hours after the attack which is being investigated by the FBI as an act of Islamist terrorism.

Mr Mahmood said he had no problem with the US denying entry to people who were deemed to be threats but he insisted “there needs to be a reason given.”

Americans expected their country to act according to due process, said Mr Mahmood, who moved to the US from Pakistan more than 20 years ago.

“I think that’s what the democracy stands for, run by the people, for the people,” he said. “The authorities need to tell people why they’re not letting people in.”

Mr Mahmood said he could only surmise that his relatives had been refused entry because of an atmosphere of “Islamophobia” on the day the California public school system was disrupted by a threat, an atmosphere which he said had been fostered by hostile and unfair reporting about Muslims.

Muslims in America - in-depth

Media captionAmerican Muslims explain how they feel in the United States

The fear of being Muslim

Lessons from a US town with majority Muslim city council

“It’s a scary thing being a Muslim in America,” the father of three told the BBC, adding that the media was “painting Islam as the enemy” when in fact Muslims were peace-loving people who had nothing to do with the actions of individual “idiots”.

He said he was extremely worried about where the country was heading and there was a perception that “it’s very dangerous to be a Muslim in America” because of media reporting and inflammatory rhetoric from politicians including Donald Trump.

“Every country, every race, every religion has idiots and Trump is one of the American idiots,” he said.

Most American people were “very educated, very good people” and they realise that, he added.

Mr Mahmood said the last time he returned to the US from the UK he had been pulled aside at an airport for lengthy questioning because he was a “Muslim, bearded, brown” guy. “I expected that,” he said, “but it’s difficult to explain to the children.”

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Don Howe: Former Arsenal and England coach dies aged 80

Former England international and coach Don Howe has died at the age of 80.

The full-back played for West Brom and Arsenal, earning 23 England caps, before establishing himself as a renowned coach for club and country.

Howe helped Arsenal to a league and FA Cup double in 1971 and spent four years as West Brom boss before returning to the Gunners as coach and manager.

He also coached under former England managers Ron Greenwood, Sir Bobby Robson and Terry Venables.

Arsenal chairman Sir Chips Keswick said Howe had been “enduring a long battle with illness”, but added it was still a “shock to learn the news”.

‘One of the greatest ever coaches’

Howe played every game in the 1958 World Cup and was then a key part of Robson's coaching staff as England reached the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup, before also supporting Venables as his side made it to the last four of Euro 96.

Former Gunners goalkeeper Bob Wilson said Howe was “a fine player but truly he was one of the greatest ever coaches in football”.

FA chairman Greg Dyke described his death as a “great loss for English football”.

Dyke added: “He is widely regarded as being in the vanguard of coaching in England, and I know that his loss will be keenly felt amongst the coaching fraternity in particular and not least by [current England boss] Roy Hodgson, who was close to Don.”

Hodgson said: “I found myself privileged to say he befriended me and I think it is a great loss and I am very sad.

“I think we were very fortunate growing up as young coaches to be able to take inspiration from Don, Sir Bobby Robson and Dave Sexton alongside him.

“He was absolutely one of the very best coaches I have ever come across in my life and, certainly in my opinion, one of the very best coaches England ever had.”

The footballing life and times of Don Howe

1955: Makes West Brom debut, making 379 appearances for the club

1958: Appears at World Cup in Sweden, going on to earn 23 England caps

1964: Joins Arsenal from West Brom for £42,000, playing 74 times

1967: Becomes Gunners coach going onto help team to 1971 double

1971: Begins as West Brom manager, but suffers relegation in 1973

1977: After managing Galatasaray becomes Arsenal coach again, going on to manage the Gunners from 1984-86

1977: Also takes up England coaching role under Ron Greenwood, continuing under Sir Bobby Robson and Terry Venables

A man forever linked with Arsenal

Howe's managerial career also included spells at QPR, Coventry City and Turkish club Galatasaray, while he was also a coach under Bobby Gould when Wimbledon earned a shock win over Liverpool in the 1988 FA Cup final.

But he was best known for his relationship with Arsenal, which spanned five decades.

Appointed as Gunners manager in 1984, he was credited with developing the likes of former players such as the late David Rocastle, Martin Keown, Michael Thomas and Niall Quinn.

Former boss George Graham said that Arsenal's 1971 'Double' under manager Bertie Mee was “due to the organisation of Don”.

Graham told BBC Radio 5 live: “He was a lovely man. Quiet in company but he could lose his temper as well. Certainly one of the best coaches I have worked for.”

Wilson added: “He was innovative and for us as a club he was instrumental and inspirational. He made us believe as a team. He should be remembered forever for his contribution to coaching in England.”

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‘Highest village’ sign blunder in Bwlchgwyn, Wrexham

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Wales

A village near Wrexham which has a sign boasting it is Wales’ highest is not - it is not even the second highest.

Bwlchgwyn’s lofty claim has had cold water poured over it by data from mapping agency Ordnance Survey.

It showed Trefil in Blaenau Gwent is the highest with an elevation of 1,341ft (409m).

Local councillor Alyson Tippings said she had always known Trefil was one of the highest villages, but it “would be nice” to now have a sign of its own.

Garn yr Erw, Torfaen, at 1,292ft (394m) is second with Bwlchgwyn, 1,167ft (356m), a respectable, but not sign-worthy, third.

Ms Tippings said: “It’s not really well-known that it’s the highest, we have got the highest rugby pitch and thought it was high up, but we didn’t know if technically it would be the highest, or how big a village has to be, but it’s not surprising.

“In winter, we are usually the first to have snow and we’re the last to see it go away. People will call and say ‘is there any snow yet? Can I bring my kids?’

“Growing up in the village there was always snow around Christmas, snowmen and sleighing. That fact is a good indicator of height.

“We’re lucky that the rain washes away quite quickly too, there are benefits.”

She said now Trefil is officially the highest village in Wales, “it would be really nice to have a sign”.

Jayson Barry, who lives near Trefil, said it was not surprising it was the highest because of differences in temperature.

“I live a few miles away and you do notice the temperature differences just in a few miles, it always feels a few degrees colder here, if it is or not I don’t know.

“It’s been quite mild this winter so it feels more Christmassy up here.

“I wasn’t aware it was the highest, I don’t think much has been made of that but if it’s official that could make people want to visit.”

Evelyn Seville, who has lived Bwlchgwyn all her life, told BBC Radio Cymru’s Post Cyntaf she had always considered it to be the highest village in Wales and was disappointed.

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Decades-old Christmas pudding tastes ‘amazing’

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Nottingham

Image copyright University of Nottingham

Image caption The pudding was taken to the University of Nottingham for testing by microbiology staff and students

A 46-year-old Christmas pudding unearthed during a house clearance has been declared “dry” but tasty by food experts.

The pudding was donated to the microbiology department to see if it was still fit to eat.

University of Nottingham’s Professor Christine Dodd was convinced it posed no threat to her students as it was steamed for five hours first.

The verdict: “It tastes amazing - honestly!”

The pudding, which contains fruit, bread crumbs and brandy among other ingredients, was located in the kitchen of a house.

Professor Dodd said the results from laboratory tests would not be ready until after Christmas - but the tasters all agreed it was “a little bit dry but very good flavour”.

She said any bacteria in the pudding would not have survived the five hours of steaming - and the potent combination of alcohol and fruit.

The Ultimate Christmas Pudding

Image caption The 1969 pudding was made for a wedding in Nottinghamshire but not actually tasted for another 46 years

- Christmas pudding was described in 1732 as “a haggis-like sausage served on Christmas day filled with suet, fruit, spices, and mixed with eggs and oats soaked overnight in milk”

- The oldest recipes are very similar to the ones we use today

- Traditionally a silver coin (sixpence) was hidden inside the pudding

- Its high alcohol content prevents the pudding from spoiling

- The pudding was originally boiled in a pudding cloth, but later put into a basin and steamed

- They are often decorated with a sprig of holly

Source: BBC Food and History Today

The researchers were told the pudding was made for the wedding of a relative in 1969 and has the date marked on it.

“We were interested to see just how well it had kept,” Professor Dodd said, adding they wanted to see “whether there was anything still ‘live’ in there and what condition it was in”.

The laboratory results will take several weeks to complete and will be put on the university website.

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Dylan Hartley (left) is a leading contender to replace Chris Rosbshaw (right) as England captain

Chris Robshaw says he will back his successor if new head coach Eddie Jones strips him of the England captaincy.

The Harlequins flanker is expected to be replaced as captain for the Six Nations, with Northampton hooker Dylan Hartley a leading contender.

Robshaw led England throughout previous head coach Stuart Lancaster’s reign and in 42 of his 43 international caps.

“If Eddie decides to go to someone else I’d respect that decision and fully back the person who comes in,” he said.

Robshaw, 29, met with Jones to discuss his international future on 6 December, shortly after the Australian was appointed as Lancaster’s successor.

Yet Robshaw said he was still “not sure” about the England captaincy situation but would be “hugely honoured” if Jones, 55, asked him to continue.

Hartley was dropped for the recent World Cup after being banned for a head-butt and has been out of action for a number of weeks with concussion.

Former Japan coach Jones is also thought to be considering moving Robshaw to blind-side flanker rather than on the open-side, where he has won the vast majority of his caps.

“As a player you want to be part of that team and my mentality is to first and foremost make sure I’m part of that team,” added Robshaw.

“That has to be the focus, to make sure I’m playing.”

Robshaw added he was “hugely disappointed” by England’s poor World Cup campaign where they failed to advance from the group stages after defeats by Wales and Australia.

“The World Cup didn’t go according to plan, but it’s still a very exciting group of players that England have,” he said.

“Myself and a lot of the other guys, we had our mope and dip in confidence but now we’re back and enjoying it.”

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A strange year of highs and lows has ended on a wonderful note after my boyfriend Radek took me by surprise and asked me to marry him, so Christmas will be even more special this year.

It’s a lovely end to 12 months that have seen me go from winning titles to struggling for motivation, suffering with glandular fever and then finding my form again.

In the last few weeks I’ve been able to enjoy some time at home with my boyfriend and see my brothers and their kids, and I even managed to get all my Christmas shopping done early, which makes me very happy.

I like shopping, but when I see so many people in the malls it’s not so appealing!

The last time I hit a ball in competition was at the Fed Cup final five weeks ago, but after resuming fitness training earlier this month I was back on the practice court in my home town of Prostejov on 16 December.

A new season is just around the corner.

‘Squash, badminton, swimming, paddle tennis…’

Swimming was among the activities suggested by fitness trainer David Vydra while training in Lanzarote

I had three weeks off after the Fed Cup final and took my parents to Dubai for a few days. It was their first visit and really fun, although it flew past so quickly, but I’m glad they saw somewhere new and we were able to enjoy it together.

It was then time for me to start preparing for 2016 and I headed to Lanzarote for the first time with my fitness trainer, David Vydra.

We didn’t do a lot of running but instead tried pretty much everything else over the course of a week. In the morning we would go biking and then in the afternoon we did other sports like squash, badminton, swimming, paddle tennis, volleyball…

Playing other racquet sports is a very different experience and I must admit I didn’t like squash that much - I played for the first time and it was difficult for me. I prefer badminton.

We also bumped into my fellow Czech, Jan Zelezny, the three-time Olympic javelin champion who was out there coaching three or four guys. He’s very famous in the Czech Republic and a very good guy. Javelin and tennis are about the only sports I didn’t try in Lanzarote.

I did play an exhibition in Bratislava after the Fed Cup final but I stepped back onto court properly last week in Prostejov and just about managed to put the ball in the court!

You don’t forget that so quickly, although it does take a few days to get your rhythm and feel OK again with no pain in the arm.

Pavla Kvitova joined her daughter on holiday in Dubai after the end of the 2015 season

‘Beating Serena was a great moment for me’

As I said before, it was a strange season but one with plenty of highlights. There was Madrid, where I beat Serena - that was a great moment for me - and went on to win the title, and also the US Open was good for me this year as I reached the quarter-finals.

I’d never really played that well in New York and I finally had some good results. I hope to have more success there; I’m trying every year and despite it being difficult conditions for me, I now know I can play well there if I am healthy.

The high point of my year was the Fed Cup at the end of the season as we beat Russia in Prague to defend our title again.

Unfortunately I didn’t win my second singles match against Maria Sharapova, but I think it was really great tennis. The tie came down to a deciding doubles and it is difficult watching such an important match from the sidelines.

You really can’t do anything except support and be with your team-mates. Karolina Pliskova and Barbora Strycova needed three sets and there were a lot of nerves out there, but I’m really glad that the girls made it.

It’s a team competition and we really showed that we won as a team and not one individual.

‘Andy was just great in the Davis Cup’

A few years ago I was kind of the big player in the Czech team and the one expected to win most of the points, and I think that was what Andy Murray experienced for Great Britain in this year’s Davis Cup.

When I see the Czech Davis Cup team it’s very similar, with Tomas Berdych leading the way like Andy does for Britain.

I watched a little bit of the final and it was very emotional how Andy won it. He was just great. But of course he needs the team to win the Davis Cup. He can’t win it by himself. And he plays with his brother, which is very unusual and special.

Kvitova (third from left) helped the Czech Republic win a fourth Fed Cup in five years

It is very different representing your country as a tennis player. The week is always great and we have a fantastic atmosphere in the Fed Cup team among the players and support staff, which I think not every team enjoys. As the girls we are a good group. Nothing there is a problem.

Whatever we go through during the week, by the time the weekend comes around we are supporting each other from the bench.

‘That passion for tennis is still there’

The tennis season is long and I think I lost a little bit of emotion for the sport at the beginning of this year. It was weird to be feeling empty on court and without any passion or love for the sport.

I took a month out and after the break I felt that passion again, which was a relief as I had been a little bit worried.

Tennis has been the major part of my life since I was 16 or 17 and moved to Prostejov, and I had to ask for an individual plan at secondary school so that I could train for tennis and play tournaments. I might have missed out on a few things along the way but I was OK with it.

Kvitova announced her engagement to Czech ice hockey player Radek Meidl in December

It was difficult to finish school for sure, it was tough, but on the other side I’m really glad that I made it. That passion for tennis is still there, which is great.

Hopefully I can put my health issues behind me as well. I could still play despite the glandular fever but not practise as much as I wanted - but then I’m not a player who needs to practise for four hours a day. It was good that I was able to handle the situation mentally as well as physically.

I’m healthy right now and practising again, injury free, but we’ll see. Let’s hope it stays like this and 2016 can be a successful year.

Petra Kvitova was talking to BBC Sport’s Piers Newbery

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Louis van Gaal: Manchester United boss walks out of news conference

Under-pressure Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal answered only three questions before walking out of a news conference on Wednesday.

The 64-year-old Dutchman was unhappy at being asked about his future following speculation that he could be sacked.

The media briefing, ahead of Saturday's game at Stoke, lasted only five minutes before Van Gaal's departure.

The former Netherlands boss said he had only turned up to speak to journalists because of Premier League rules.

As he left, he told the reporters: “I wish you a merry Christmas and maybe also a happy new year when I see you. Enjoy the wine and a mince pie. Goodbye.”

United are without a win in six games, having lost their last three matches to Wolfsburg, Bournemouth and Norwich.

You can read a full transcript of Van Gaal's news conference at the bottom of this page.

Four minutes and 58 seconds

Van Gaal was in an angry mood from the moment he took his seat in the media room at the club's training ground in Carrington.

“Has anybody in this room not a feeling to apologise to me? That's what I'm wondering,” he responded after being asked about Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger's earlier claim that speculation about Van Gaal's future had been “disrespectful”.

The news conference lasted only four minutes and 58 seconds in total.

Van Gaal, who has also managed Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, is halfway through his three-year Old Trafford contract.

Reluctant appearance

Van Gaal said his family and friends had been adversely affected by the criticism, amid rumours that sacked Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho is poised to replace him.

“What do you think happens with my wife or my kids?” he snapped.

“Or with my grandchildren? Or with the fans of Manchester United? Or my friends? What do you think?

“So you think that I want to talk with the media now. I am here only because of the Premier League rules. I have to talk with you.”

Mourinho speculation

Van Gaal is under pressure following United's dip in league form and early exit from the Champions League.

The club are fifth in the table, below fourth-placed Tottenham on goal difference but nine points behind surprise leaders Leicester.

Chelsea's sacking of Mourinho, 52 - who has been tipped as a possible replacement - has only intensified the pressure on Van Gaal.

News conference transcript

Question 1: “Louis, thank you for your time. Arsene Wenger has said today that the speculation over your future is disrespectful. Is that something you agree with?”

Answer: “Erm, has anybody in this room not a feeling to apologise to me? Nobody has that feeling? That's what I'm wondering?”

Question 2: “What have we done wrong?”

Answer: “I think I was already sacked, I have read… I have been sacked. My colleague [replacement] was here already.

“What do you think that happens with my wife or with my kids or with my grandchildren or with the fans of Manchester United or my friends? What do you think? They have called me a lot of times and also Arsene Wenger is saying something about that.

“Do you think that I want to talk with the media now? I'm here only because of the Premier League rules. I have to talk with you. But I can only see when I say something that you use my words in your context.

“I want to say only that I have tried to lift the confidence of my players, I have done everything this week. I hold meetings, evaluation meetings with the players, with my members of staff, I hold a Christmas lunch, I have held a speech and I feel the warmth and support of everybody in Carrington, this Aon training complex.

“But I didn't feel that in the media and, of course, I can imagine that you can write about that subject. We are not in a good position but four weeks ago we were first in the Premier League and in about four weeks we can again be back in that position.

Question 3: “You have been though Louis at big clubs, huge clubs before. This is Manchester United and when results don't go well and when the supporters have turned it is inevitable that speculation will happen. You surely aren't surprised that there is speculation?”

Answer: “No, I don't think that you can do that because you have to stick by the facts and when I get calls from [former manager Sir] Alex Ferguson and [director] David Gill and [executive vice-chairman] Ed Woodward because you are creating something that is not good, that is not being the facts and now I have to answer the questions.

“I don't think that I want to do it. I only say now I am focused on Stoke City, I help my players, I wish you a merry Christmas and maybe also a happy new year when I see you. Enjoy the wine and a mince pie. Goodbye.”

Also related to this story

- Van Gaal speculation 'disrespectful' Arsenal

- Sportsday - Van Gaal reaction

- Wednesday's gossip column

- In Short: Best of 5 live Sport Sport

- How to get into Football Get Inspired

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EU exit could lead to break up of UK, says Lord Hague

- 23 December 2015

- From the section UK Politics

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Image copyright PA

Leaving the EU could lead to the break up of the UK, former Foreign Secretary William Hague has warned.

In the Daily Telegraph, he said he was “unlikely” to join former cabinet colleagues Liam Fox and Owen Paterson in voting to leave in the referendum which he suggested would be in 2016.

Eurosceptic Tory MP Bernard Jenkin said Lord Hague was “completely wrong” to suggest a “Brexit” could split the UK.

The prime minister has promised to hold an in/out vote before the end of 2017.

Mr Hague’s comments came as Poland’s new President, Andrzej Duda, warned in an interview with the BBC that the EU would face a “very serious crisis” if the UK were to leave.

Mr Duda said the EU had “many weaknesses” and warned a UK exit from the bloc could cause further havoc.

“The EU has been shaken time and time again with crises - whether it’s the financial crisis, or the refugees crisis,” he said.

Media captionPolish President Andrzej Duda insists his party are not Eurosceptics but “Euro-realists”

“Let’s not pretend, a UK exit from the EU will be a very serious crisis for the EU. Of that I have no doubt.”

In Mr Hague’s article he warned that if the UK did vote to leave the EU he believed Scottish nationalists would “jump at the chance” to re-open the independence debate, and “the result of it could well be too close to call”.

He also said a UK departure would see the 28-member bloc lose one of its “respected military powers” and leave it weakened.

“To end up destroying the UK and gravely weakening the European Union would not be a very clever day’s work,” he wrote.

“So, even as a long-standing critic of so much of that struggling organisation, I am unlikely in 2016 to vote to leave it,” he said.

“We will have to ask, disliking so many aspects of it as we do, whether we really want to weaken it, and at the same time increase the chances, if the UK left the EU, of Scotland leaving the UK.”

Analysis

Image copyright PA

By BBC political correspondent Iain Watson

When he was Conservative leader, William Hague fought the 2001 election campaign on a strong commitment to keep the pound, and keep out of the euro.

He has been seen as a Eurosceptic ever since.

But Lord Hague says a vote to withdraw would give the SNP the pretext to call second referendum on independence.

Those who want to leave the EU are likely to see this as a tacit admission that Prime Minister David Cameron’s negotiations will produce little of substance and that alternative arguments are already being marshalled for continued UK membership.

Responding to Lord Hague’s comments, Mr Jenkin said Downing Street was “clearly mounting a campaign to stay in the EU” even though Mr Cameron’s renegotiations are not yet complete.

He added: “It is extremely unlikely that if England, Wales and Northern Ireland voted clearly to leave the European Union, that Scotland would vote differently.”

He told BBC Radio 4’s The World at One that Mr Hague’s view “was not a surprise” and urged the prime minister not to “muzzle” ministers in expressing their views on a decision that “utterly dwarfs” the significance of a general election.

SNP Europe spokesman Stephen Gethins said the Conservatives had “lost all credibility on Europe”.

“While it is welcome progress to see senior Tories finally ceding that it would be completely unacceptable for Scotland to be dragged out of the European Union against its will - we still have no answers as to how they will ensure this does not happen,” he added.

On Monday former Deputy Prime Minister Lord Heseltine warned of a “civil war” in the Conservative Party if cabinet ministers were given a free vote in the EU referendum - meaning they could vote as they saw fit and were not whipped into toeing the party line.

He argued that a free vote would make Mr Cameron a global “laughing stock”.

Meanwhile, Conservative Party vice-chairman Mark Field has also criticised calls for ministers to be given a free vote.

He told the Daily Telegraph that anyone who was not prepared to back Mr Cameron’s re-negotiation should resign from the government.

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UK growth estimate revised down to 0.4% for third quarter

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Business

Image copyright AP

The UK economy grew by 0.4% in the third quarter of the year, figures show, less than previously estimated.

The rate was revised down from 0.5% because the key services sector, which accounts for well over 70% of UK economic activity, grew more slowly than had been thought.

It is the third estimate for the quarter from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The ONS also cut its estimate of second quarter GDP growth from 0.7% to 0.5%.

In annual terms, growth in the third quarter of the year was revised down to 2.1% from the previous estimate of 2.3%.

The UK economy has been growing for 11 consecutive quarters.

A Treasury spokesman said in a statement that the figures highlighted that risks to the UK economy remained despite it being “the fastest growing economy in the G7 last year”.

“We’re leading the pack with the US this year, we have a record high employment rate and the deficit is down,” the Treasury said.

Fragile

Simon French, chief economist at stockbrokers Panmure Gordon, said the figures added to a picture of a fragile economy: “It’s been a bad 24 hours for the chancellor with bad public sector borrowing numbers [on Tuesday]. It is the fourth of seven quarters where the ONS growth estimate overestimated the strength of of the economy.

He said the most worrying part was the weakness of the service sector, which is the engine of the UK economy.

Other figures released on Wednesday showed scant prospect of a pick up in that.

Figures for the service sector in October - the first month of the fourth quarter - only grew 0.1% between September and October, suggesting fourth quarter GDP has made a slow start. The previous month the index grew by 0.5%.

Martin Beck, senior economic advisor to the forecasting group EY ITEM Club, said the full picture had not yet emerged: “Given the extent to which the economy has benefitted from very low inflation and the degree of spare capacity, this should really have been a year where the economy grew in excess of 3%.

“However, recent experience suggests that we should not write off 2015 just yet, given the clear tendency for the GDP data to eventually be revised up over subsequent years.”

US economic growth was also revised down this week, but despite that slight weakening, the US economy is perceived by its central bank to be strong enough to withstand a rise in interest rates. Borrowing costs were raised by the Federal Reserve for the first time in nine years last week.

The Bank of England is widely expected to hold back from following the Fed’s lead until well into 2016.

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Minimum alcohol pricing plan ‘may breach EU law’

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Scotland

Image copyright Thinkstock

Image caption The legislation to bring in a minimum price of 50p per unit was passed by the Scottish Parliament in May 2012

A European court has said the Scottish government’s case for a minimum unit price for alcohol is contrary to EU law if other tax options exist.

The European Court of Justice ruling instead recommends the introduction of alternative tax measures.

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon have both welcomed the ruling.

The legislation to bring in a minimum price of 50p per unit was passed by the Scottish Parliament in May 2012.

A legal challenge was brought by the SWA, which argued the Scottish government’s legislation breached European law.

The European court ruling said: “The Court of Justice considers that the effect of the Scottish legislation is significantly to restrict the market, and this might be avoided by the introduction of a tax measure designed to increase the price of alcohol instead of a measure imposing a minimum price per unit of alcohol.”

Image copyright Thinkstock

Image caption The Scottish government wants to set a 50p rate per unit of alcohol

It added: “The court states that it is ultimately for the national court to determine whether measures other than that provided for by the Scottish legislation, such as increased taxation on alcoholic drinks, are capable of protecting human life and health as effectively as the current legislation, while being less restrictive of trade in those products within the EU.”

Reacting to the judgement, Ms Sturgeon tweeted: “ECJ opinion on minimum pricing welcome.

“We believe it is most effective way of tackling alcohol misuse. National court will now decide.”

Health Secretary Shona Robison added: “This ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union indicates, importantly, that it will be for the domestic courts to take a final decision on minimum unit pricing.

“While we must await the final outcome of this legal process, the Scottish government remains certain that minimum unit pricing is the right measure for Scotland. We believe it is the most effective mechanism for tackling alcohol misuse and reducing the harm that cheap, high-strength alcohol causes our communities.

“We maintain that minimum unit pricing would target heavy drinkers as they tend to drink the cheap, high strength alcohol that will be most affected by the policy.

“The case will now continue to the Scottish courts, and we look forward to a hearing in the new year to determine the outcome in this case.”

David Frost, SWA chief executive, said: “The SWA always said European Union law issues were central to this case, and so it has proved. This settles EU law issues once and for all.

“The court has confirmed that minimum unit pricing is a restriction on trade, and that it is illegal to choose MUP [minimum unit pricing] where there are less restrictive ways of achieving the same end.

“The Scottish courts will now reflect on the implications of the ruling and all the evidence, before issuing a final judgement.”

Analysis

By BBC Scotland’s home affairs correspondent Reevel Alderson

Plus ça change, plus ça même chose. Wednesday’s ruling from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) is far from the end of a legal process which began in 2012 when the Scottish Parliament passed legislation allowing a MUP for alcohol to be set.

The matter will now return to the Court of Session in Edinburgh, which had asked the ECJ to rule on whether MUP contravenes EU law.

The Scottish judges will have to examine all of the evidence to help them decide whether improvements in public health - which the government says is the desired aim of MUP - could be achieved by other means, notably increasing tax rates.

Ministers have argued that MUP would specifically hit high-strength alcoholic drinks which cause significant problems, particularly among young people.

Whatever the Court of Session decides, it is almost inevitable there will be a further appeal to the UK Supreme Court, either by the Scottish government or the Scotch Whisky Association, whose challenge to the policy has halted its implementation.

Alison Douglas, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, said the ruling showed Scotland would be able to introduce minimum pricing “provided it is more effective than taxation”.

Ms Douglas argued minimum pricing was a better measure than alcohol taxes, which are “limited in their ability to raise the price of the cheapest alcohol to a level that will actually reduce harm”.

She also criticised the Scotch Whisky Association, saying it had “blocked the democratic will of the Scottish Parliament and sacrificed public health to protect their members’ profits”.

The chairman of BMA Scotland, Dr Peter Bennie, added: “The case for minimum unit pricing has always been based on the fact that it achieves what taxation cannot when it comes to reducing the harm caused by alcohol, so the decision of the European Court setting out the test that must be applied to the policy is a welcome one.

“Today’s ruling returns the case to the Scottish courts and puts Scotland a step closer to implementing minimum pricing.”

‘Unhealthy relationship’

Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (Shaap), which represents medical professionals, also welcomed the judgement.

Shaap director Eric Carlin said it “effectively confirms that the Scottish minimum unit pricing policy has to be justified as a regulatory measure to work alongside taxation increases.

“We hope that the Scottish courts will now move quickly to gather evidence to conclude this case and that the Scottish government will then implement this key policy without delay.”

Holyrood ministers have previously said minimum pricing was vital to address Scotland’s “unhealthy relationship with drink”.

Under the plans, the cheapest bottle of wine (9.4 units of alcohol) would be £4.69 and a four-pack of 500ml cans of 4% lager would cost at least £4.

It would mean a 70cl bottle of whisky could not be sold for less than £14.

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Newspaper headlines: Storm Eva and Christmas ‘miracle’ toddler

By Andy McFarlane BBC News

- 23 December 2015

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Image caption Britain’s national obsession - the weather - hits the last front pages before Christmas. The Daily Express says a storm, named Eva by meteorologists, will unleash “80mph gales, torrential downpours and snow” over the next three days.

Image caption For the i, it’s just the latest act in a “washout winter”. Its front page reproduces a satellite image of a large bank of cloud to the west of the British Isles.

Image caption Its sister paper, the Independent, uses a photograph of a man cycling along an already-flooded street in York. Its lead story quotes scientists warning MPs that Britain would be reduced to a “bit player” in academic research in the event it left the European Union.

Image caption Other papers find a “Christmas miracle” to enjoy. The Daily Mirror leads on the story of toddler Bella Moore-Williams, once critically ill with a genetic disease, who “rallied after she was taken off life support”. She had just been kissed goodbye by her parents, the paper says.

Image caption The Sun also features the story on its front page, saying that five months after that final kiss, the toddler “cannot wait to celebrate Christmas”. The paper’s lead story predicts a last-minute dash to the shops by Britons will see £2m spent each minute.

Image caption Half of maternity wards have turned away women in labour, according to the Daily Mail. “Hospitals are struggling to cope with growing numbers of older or obese mothers and the rising birth rates caused by record levels of immigration,” the paper says.

Image caption The Times reports the fears of faith leaders about the persecution of Christians around the world. It comes as Brunei threatened to imprison for up to five years anyone who celebrated Christmas in public, such as by singing carols, sending festive greetings or decorating trees, the paper says.

Image caption The Daily Telegraph reports the results of an Oxford University study which, it says, suggests up to half the adult population should be offered cheap blood pressure pills to cut the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Image caption The Financial Times says US banks face the prospect of tougher stress tests next year because of their exposure to the oil markets. The falling price of crude has transformed the outlook for the financial sector, the paper adds.

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What’s it like working in John Lewis at Christmas?

Magazine Monitor A collection of cultural artefacts

- 24 December 2015

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Working at John Lewis during the Christmas season is a particularly intense experience, writes BBC reporter and one-time temporary employee, Josephine McDermott.

The first thing you have to get to grips with when you start working for John Lewis is the language of the partnership.

It was my first day working in the Christmas department of Peter Jones in Chelsea and on asking where my manager was, the reply came: “Dominic’s recovering in babywear.”

Fair enough, I thought. It had been a busy day, but babywear? The image of a 6ft guy in a pink romper suit entered my head. It transpired that when partners (the workers) are called to “recover” - as they are over a tannoy at the end of the day - it means they are tidying up the stock on display, moving products to the front of racks and re-folding endlessly unfolded clothing. He was doing this in the baby section downstairs.

The staff customs and rituals took a bit of getting used to, but when it came to the customers, my customer service training had fully prepared me. No, we would never knowingly be undersold on a set of popsicle cluster tree lights. We would smile and greet each shopper, asking them if they needed assistance.

And on our break times in the comfortable John Lewis staff room, we sat there knowing that we all owned the business we were working for and would receive a share based on how hard we worked to make profit.

On my second day in Christmas Stationery, I posed with my manager for a photograph for the staff magazine The Chronicle. We were to be lauded for how the department looked - our impressive “wall” of boxes of Christmas crackers reaching from floor to ceiling, our selection of tree decorations including bejewelled pear baubles from the Vintage Forest collection - the last word in baubles that year - and our huge selection of flat wrap and roll wrap. But praise mainly came for the fact we’d opened ahead of schedule. It was 27 September. Ninety days until Christmas. And Day One of Frosty the Snowman being played.

Image copyright NASA

The next important thing I learned was how to stifle contortions of rage and agony with a cheerful festive partner smile when a customer innocently asked if I could “Check if you’ve got it in stock”. We were on the fourth floor of the department store and our stock room was on the ground floor. As staff weren’t allowed to use the lifts so I found myself scurrying up and down the 1930s staircase in my pencil skirt, beige blouse, John Lewis badge and sensible shoes dozens of times a day.

It was by far the worst part of the job. But as a fresh graduate, my last gig had been cleaning toilets in Italy. The other young girl in the department had come fresh from dressing as a badger in WHSmith’s.

As Christmas Stationery rolled towards the big day, the customers changed. By Christmas Eve, we had frenzied men, weighed down with bags, who’d sell their children if you agreed to wrap their presents for them. I got yelled at by a customer because I couldn’t answer whether Christmas stamps cost more than regular stamps. And no, we don’t sell stamps I’m afraid.

I also got a ticking off from my manager because my wrapping of baubles in tissue paper wasn’t up to standard. Have you tried wrapping a bauble? I focused on how this job was paying for me to go travelling while I considered the next 20 champagne gold textured baubles I had to lovingly swathe.

We’d all secretly been looking forward to Christmas Eve. This would surely be the day when shoppers caught up with our premature exuberance for the festive season. Not a bit of it. It was agony. We had no stock left, it was freezing cold, the customers were stressed out of their heads and Frosty the Snowman was still playing.

Fourteen years later, I can’t hear that song without pulling a stock room face. I guess I’m still recovering.

Christmas Shopping Fever 2015: John Lewis and the Retail Race is on BBC Two on 23 December 2015 at 21:30 GMT

More from the Magazine

Christmas window displays are a huge part of a store’s festive marketing campaign. For the department stores, the preparation is a job that goes on all year. For others, it is a more last-minute affair. BBC News spent time with both Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge and Oxfam in Dalston, east London as they prepared their seasonal displays - with different approaches.

Secrets of the Christmas window dressers (December 2013)

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Jeremy Corbyn’s 19,485 Early Day Motions

By Rajdeep Sandhu Political reporter

- 24 December 2015

- From the section UK Politics

Image copyright Chris Ratcliffe/Getty Images

Before Jeremy Corbyn became leader of the Labour Party he was a very active and opinionated backbencher.

Backbench MPs can speak relatively freely about their views, and Mr Corbyn took full advantage of this inside and outside Parliament. It’s well known to most, by now, that he was the most rebellious Labour MP of recent times - voting against the party leadership 533 times since Tony Blair came to power in 1997.

But he has made his voice heard on a dizzying range of issues since the day he first arrived in the Commons in 1983, as MP for Islington North, often using a Parliamentary tool known as an Early Day Motion (EDM).

According to data on Early Day Motions on the Parliament website, since 1989 Mr Corbyn has signed 19,485 motions. Of those he was the primary sponsor of 766 and a co-sponsor on 2,727.

Before we start, what are Early Day Motions?

Early Day Motions are “are formal motions submitted for debate in the House of Commons” according to the Parliament website, yet it goes on to say “very few are actually debated”. Essentially they are petitions for MPs to start or put their name too. They aren’t necessarily an effective way of bringing about change and some MPs have previously called them “narcissistic” and “pointless”.

But they are a good way for an MP to draw attention to an issue without having to wait for their turn to come around for things like an adjournment debate, backbench business debates - or until their number gets drawn for a Private Member’s Bill.

Based on the motions he signed what would Corbyn World be like?

Image copyright Reuters

To start with there probably wouldn’t be a London Eye. In 1996 he filed a motion titled “Ferris wheel and the homeless”. The motion said it was depressing that planning permission had been granted “for a 500 foot giant ferris wheel on the South Bank of the Thames” it went on to say it would “be an eyesore and totally inappropriate for that site”. He called for the money to be spent on the homeless instead.

There would be no nuclear weapons either.

Trident

Image copyright PA

Mr Corbyn is a long-time supporter of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. During his time as an MP he has submitted over 50 Early Day Motions voicing his opposition to nuclear arms in the UK and abroad. Shortly before becoming Labour leader he had submitted one titled “Trident and the Strategic Defence and Security Review” which called for the review to set out “how it has considered the delivery of UK defence and security capability without nuclear weapons, including threat assessments, estimated costs and all non-nuclear options”.

Animal cruelty (and asteroids)

Image copyright Other

Mr Corbyn is a staunch defender of animal rights and has signed many an EDM calling for an end to cruelty (including one urging the BBC not to repeat an episode of Michael Palin’s Around the World in 80 days in which a snake was skinned alive).

But it was a 2004 motion tabled by the late Labour MP Tony Banks that caught commentators’ eyes when Mr Corbyn became Labour leader, for its apparent call for the obliteration of the human race (Mr Banks had a well-developed sense of humour).

It read: “That this House is appalled, but barely surprised, at the revelations in M15 files regarding the bizarre and inhumane proposals to use pigeons as flying bombs; recognises the important and live-saving role of carrier pigeons in two world wars and wonders at the lack of gratitude towards these gentle creatures; and believes that humans represent the most obscene, perverted, cruel, uncivilised and lethal species ever to inhabit the planet and looks forward to the day when the inevitable asteroid slams into the earth and wipes them out thus giving nature the opportunity to start again.”

Fizzy pop and Arsenal

Closer to home, in the House of Commons, Mr Corbyn wants to remove the vending machines that are “packed with crisps, fizzy drinks and confectionery” and instead offer “fruit and a number of healthy beverages and snacks”.

Early Day Motions are sometimes used as a way to congratulate schools, sporting stars and the work of individuals. Being a football fan Mr Corbyn has congratulated his local football club, Arsenal 13 times - both the men and women’s teams. His most recent was in June congratulating “Arsenal on their twelfth winning of the FA Cup” adding further congratulations to “the whole team, manager Arsene Wenger and all supporters on this triumph and the wonderful skills displayed in the final”.

Image copyright AP Photo/ Rebecca Naden, Pool)

Image caption Arsenal win FA Cup Final in 2005

Non-Corbyn Early Day Motions on sport this parliament include:

- Alex Salmond, former SNP leader, congratulating golfer Russell Knox, from Inverness, on winning his first PGA tour. The motion went on to say it “looks forward to many more tour victories to come from Scottish professional golfers”

- Keith Vaz, Labour MP, decided to congratulate formula one driver Lewis Hamilton on winning the US Grand Prix and called him “a role model for young people”

- Douglas Chapman, SNP MP, congratulated Wayne Rooney on becoming England’s top goal scorer of all time

- Hannah Bardell, SNP MP, condemned the banning of bagpipes at the Rugby World Cup saying it was not “dangerous”

Al Jazeera in Parliament

Other causes he has promoted include providing Al Jazeera English channel for MPs to watch on the parliamentary estate to help them be “better informed”.

A memorial for protester Brian Haw

Jeremy Corbyn would also like a memorial in Parliament for protester Brian Haw who camped in Parliament Square for years, protesting against wars, especially the Iraq one. He died in 2011.

Image copyright Press Association

Image caption Brain Haw, anti-war protester with supporters in 2006

Human rights

There are some causes Jeremy Corbyn has consistently felt needed raising, many concerning human rights. He has repeatedly raised the issue for the rights of the Kurdish people, those in Western Sahara, the Dalits in India and the Palestinians.

What about Corbyn and other world leaders?

In 1992 after the defeat of President George Bush he welcomed the end of his presidency and referenced the US’s “unprecedented” military action in “Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama, Libya and the Gulf”. The Early Day Motion finished by saying the signatories were “relieved” Mr Bush had been “so emphatically defeated in the election in November”.

Image copyright AP

Image caption George HW Bush

Mr Corbyn has been very supportive of Bolivian socialist President Evo Morales, submitting three Early Day Motions to congratulate him on his electoral wins, one congratulated him on his campaign which was “dominated by the demand that oil and gas reserves should benefit the people of the country and a rejection of new liberal economies”.

Support for Stop the War Coalition

Jeremy Corbyn’s recent appearance at the Stop the War Coalition Christmas fundraiser caused controversy for the Labour Party. His long support for the organisation and previous position as chairman has come under heavy scrutiny after controversial comments by the group. But in 2006 and then again in 2010 he praised their hard work for organising protests first against sending British troops to Afghanistan and then later calling on them to be withdrawn.

Arming the police

Another controversial area where Mr Corbyn and the Parliamentary Labour Party have had differences is on armed police in the UK. In 1994 he was against increasing the number of armed police vehicles in London. The Early Day Motion said the move would “lead to a spiral of violence with criminals seeking to further arm themselves in response” and warned it about a substantial risk of “wrongful or accidental shootings”.

The calming effect of beards

As a proud six times winner of the Parliamentary Beard of the Year contest, Mr Corbyn was always going to sign an Early Day Motion opposing a ban on British Rail workers wearing facial hair. But so outraged was he by the idea that he inserted an extra line into Lib Dem MP Alex Carlile’s 1991 motion, pointing out that “beards are healthy and create the sympathetic image necessary for staff dealing with deeply distressed passengers”.

A love of composting

And finally… it seems Jeremy Corbyn is an advocate of composting. In 2002 his Early Day Motion stated it was “a good, effective and wholly natural way of dealing with organic waste”. He called on the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to publish free advice to tell people “how to make the best of compost heaps.”

Image copyright PA

Image caption Jeremy Corbyn holding a giant marrow during a visit to a Brighton business centre in September

How much do Early Day Motions cost?

During 2012-13 there were 1,139 early day motions and it cost approximately £374,500 to print them, £3,500 in IT support costs and £33,500 in staff costs. The government said the cost “has fallen considerably” after they reduced the amount of printing. In 2009-10 the total cost was approximately £1,000,000. We’ve also done a rough check here and reckon it would take at least 15 hours going at full pelt to sign your name 19,485 times…

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When is it right to remove a statue?

By Finlo Rohrer BBC News Magazine

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Magazine

Image copyright Jonathan Hutchinson/Flickr

Image caption Rhodes’s statue stands on the building named after him at Oriel College, Oxford

Activists are campaigning for a statue of Cecil Rhodes to be removed from an Oxford college. The movement against him is part of a wider drive to get rid of monuments to figures who are now intensely controversial.

The problem with statues is that stone or bronze is meant to last forever, but reputations crumble much more easily.

Cecil Rhodes is a classic example.

Earlier, this year the #RhodesMustFall movement succeeded in getting the statue of the diamond tycoon and imperialist removed from the University of Cape Town.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Students at the University of Cape Town celebrate the removal of Cecil Rhodes’s statue in April

Rhodes believed the English were a “master race” and he was instrumental in the seizure of swathes of African land. But the movement against his statue was aimed at wider targets - continuing domination of education by white academics and generally addressing the lack of change in modern South Africa.

“He represents the former colonial representation of this country - supremacy, racism, misogyny,” said student representative Ramabina Mahapa. “The statue represents what is wrong with society.” Leader of the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters Julius Malema said: “It is through collapsing of these types of symbols that the white minority will begin to appreciate that there’s nothing superior about them.”

The movement spread to other universities in South Africa and has now arrived in Oxford, where Oriel College is under pressure to take down a statue marking Rhodes’s large financial contribution. But a petition has been countered by a series of figures counselling caution, including historian Mary Beard who said it was “not the job of the present to tick the past off”.

One letter writer to the Daily Telegraph argued: “The trouble… is that almost every person of that era held opinions that were commonplace at the time but are at odds with modern thinking. Taken to its extreme, this approach would lead to the eradication of almost every building and statue commemorating notable figures of the past, including the Albert Memorial and Nelson’s Column.”

And indeed rows over statues are increasingly common.

The US is undergoing a cultural battle over symbols of the Confederate era that has seen a statue of Jefferson Davis removed from the University of Texas-Austin. Students at the University of Missouri also asked for a statue of Thomas Jefferson - third president of the US - to be taken down as he was a “racist rapist”.

Statues of Lenin have been toppled in many countries that have rejected communism, but last year in in some cities in eastern Ukraine, pro-Russian protesters rushed to protect statues at risk of being torn down. Equally symbolically, a statue of Lenin in Odessa was turned into Darth Vader.

Image copyright Alamy

Image caption Jefferson Davis’s statue was removed from the University of Texas-Austin in August 2015

In the UK, a row is rumbling on in Bristol over the commemoration of Edward Colston. The 17th Century businessman and MP was a key figure in the Royal African Company and the transport of many thousands of slaves.

But he was also a key philanthropist in the city - which was a major hub for the wider trade around slavery - and is remembered with a statue and an annual day of celebration. Now there is intense controversy over whether the statue should be removed.

There are a slew of figures in London from the same period - all involved in some way in slavery - whose statues are still standing.

The legacy of slavery, imperialism and race aren’t the only reasons for campaigning against a statue.

The 1992 unveiling of a statue of Arthur “Bomber” Harris, head of the RAF’s Bomber Command in World War Two, created a wave of protest, culminating in sustained vandalism. Harris was criticised for having masterminded saturation bombing of areas of Germany that cost large numbers of civilian lives.

One letter writer to the Times said: “We need not be proud of a man who, for all his professional skill and dedication, committed the force to acts of destruction devoid of direct military value, of which people of humane and Christian sentiments have long been bitterly ashamed. “

Another wrote: “I read with disbelief and disgust that a monument is to be erected to ‘Bomber’ Harris. Certainly, a public remembrance to the very brave British airmen is long overdue, so long as the names of the instigators of the barbarity are not mentioned. I survived the air raids on Cologne as a teenager.”

Image copyright Alamy

Image caption The controversial statue of Sir Arthur “Bomber” Harris in central London

Other statue subjects have been controversial from the start. Oliver Cromwell is credited by many with being a key figure in the development of Western democracy. But he also stands accused of leading massacres in Ireland.

When a statue of him was proposed for Westminster in 1895, it was met with bitter opposition in Parliament from both Irish Nationalists and Conservatives. A century later a group of MPs campaigned to have it melted down.

The stimulation of debate prompted by a call to remove a statue can be a good thing, says historian Prof Madge Dresser, from the University of the West of England, who has written extensively about the legacy of slavery.

Image copyright PA

Image caption Oliver Cromwell’s statue outside Parliament was put up with private money

“I think it is a process, rather than the actual removal, starting a debate about collective values. Statues are lightning rods, symbols of the prevailing values of the society. When those values are not shared a debate needs to be started.”

No-one would suggest the retention of a statue of Hitler, Dresser notes. But for many other statues the argument is far less clear-cut. And there is an argument that removing statues has the potential to harm our understanding of history.

“I do also take the point that if you look at many of the people celebrated in statues, they have been responsible for death and destruction,” says Dresser. “Do we start taking them all down?”

People might not want to take their cue from the medieval Christians who gleefully melted down bronze equestrian statues of pagan Roman emperors and reused the metal. The one such statue to remain - that of Marcus Aurelius - was spared the furnace only because it was wrongly thought to depict the Christian Emperor Constantine.

Dresser suggests there is another way for more recent statues to be handled. To take the example of Colston in Bristol, the current positive plaque on his statue could be replaced by one that made clear that he was involved in the slave trade. Thus a debate could be started. “It’s better on the whole to keep the statues but to recontextualise them.”

Image copyright Alamy

Image caption The Voortrekker monument in Pretoria, South Africa

While the statues of Rhodes may be disappearing from South Africa, the giant Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria has remained and - despite its background of Afrikaner nationalism being associated with the later rise of apartheid - been tolerated as a slice of history and an opportunity to discuss the wrongs as well as the rights of bygone eras.

Other debates over statues may soon follow the same subtle path.

Who was Cecil Rhodes?

Image copyright Getty Images

- Imperialist, businessman and politician who played a dominant role in southern Africa in the late 19th Century, driving the annexation of vast swathes of land

- Born the son of a vicar in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, in 1853, first went to Africa at the age of 17; grew cotton with his brother in Natal, but moved into diamond mining, founding De Beers, which until recently controlled the global trade

- Rhodes’s bequest continues to finance scholarships bearing his name, allowing overseas students to come to Oxford University; most famous of these was probably Bill Clinton

- Controversial even in his own time, Rhodes backed the disastrous Jameson Raid of 1895, in which a small British force tried to overthrow the gold-rich Transvaal Republic, helping prompt the Second Boer War, in which tens of thousands died

Why is Cecil Rhodes such a controversial figure?

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World

- Race campaigners target US Christmas

- Dozens dead in Saudi hospital fire

- China smog sparks more red alerts

- Russian ex-tycoon may seek UK asylum

- Russia brushes off Syria allegations

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US Black Lives Matter protests disrupt airports and shopping

- 24 December 2015

- From the section US & Canada

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption Police use of force against African Americans has been an ongoing issue in the US

Protests by the Black Lives Matter group have taken place in the US states of Minnesota and California on one of the busiest retail days of the year.

The demonstrators in Minnesota temporarily closed the international airport and interrupted Christmas shopping at the Mall of America.

Police said a total of 15 people were arrested at both places, mostly for trespassing or obstructing justice.

Protesters are angry over a police shooting of a black man in Minneapolis.

Jamar Clark was shot dead last month by officers responding to an assault complaint, in one of a number of recent incidents around the US. Activists say he was shot in the head while handcuffed.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Police were deployed in force at the Minneapolis-St Paul International airport

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption The protests meant that travellers heading to the airport faced lengthy delays

There have been daily demonstrations in Minneapolis over Mr Clark’s killing.

Hundreds of people took part in the protest at the mall, one of the largest in North America, where Black Lives Matter organisers promised to congregate in defiance of a judge’s warning that the shopping centre’s owners could legally block the demonstration.

Police said it was an “unauthorised demonstration” and at one point described the situation as “very, very dangerous”.

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption Black Lives Matter protesters silently walked out of the Mall of America after staging their protest

Police and mall security staff were speedily deployed against the protesters, warning that any who did not depart immediately would be arrested. For a while the area surrounding the mall was on lockdown, but most stores were only closed for about an hour.

The San Francisco Chronicle separately reported that eight protesters blocking southbound traffic on the 101 freeway near the California city’s international airport were arrested on Wednesday.

Pictures of the demonstrators on social media showed them holding a sign demanding justice for Mario Woods, a black man shot dead by police who is suspected of a San Francisco stabbing.

Black Lives Matter is a loosely organised movement which was formed following protests over police killings of black men in Ferguson, Missouri, New York and other cities.

Police use of force against African Americans has been an ongoing issue.

Protests have been held nationwide for more than a year after a series of incidents, some of them fatal.

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Saudi Arabia hospital fire: Dozens killed

- 24 December 2015

- From the section Middle East

At least 25 people have been killed and 100 injured in a hospital fire in southern Saudi Arabia, officials say.

The blaze started at the intensive care and maternity departments of the Jazan General Hospital in the south of the kingdom, the civil defence agency tweeted.

Reports say the agency tweeted again to say that the “Jazan hospital accident is now over”.

It says an investigation is under way to find out the cause of the blaze.

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China smog sparks red alerts in 10 cities

- 24 December 2015

- From the section China

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption Tianjin issued its first ever red alert on Wednesday as it was hit with hazardous levels of pollution

Hazardous smog blanketing China’s north-east has sparked more red alerts, with authorities advising residents in 10 cities to stay indoors.

The announcement follows last week’s warning that a vast area of China would be badly hit by pollution.

Beijing saw its second red alert over the weekend. The latest wave of alerts includes the industrial port Tianjin.

Red alerts trigger advisories for people to stay inside, schools to stop classes, and restrict vehicle use.

An environmental ministry statement issued on Wednesday night said the 10 cities with red alerts include Tianjin as well as smaller surrounding cities Puyang, Xinxiang, Dezhou, Handan, Xintai, Langfang, Hengshui, Xinji and Anyang.

They are among 30 cities including Beijing seeing “severe pollution”. Another 20 cities have “heavy pollution”.

On Wednesday, images of a purple-tinged sunset in Nanjing spread across social media with many users attributing it to the pollution in the city.

China’s air pollution alert

Image copyright EPA

- A red alert is the highest of a four-level alert system instituted two years. The other colours are blue, yellow, and orange.

- Red means hazardous air pollution for three consecutive days. Air quality levels higher than 300 is considered hazardous.

- It triggers advisories to residents to avoid outdoor activity and for schools to stop classes.

- It also triggers restrictions on vehicle use, factories and construction work.

Beijing’s second red alert ended on Tuesday night. The ministry said the capital’s air quality was “slowly improving”.

But some parts of neighbouring Henan and Hebei regions were still seeing heavy pollution, with levels of the PM2.5 pollutant surpassing 300 mg per cubic metre - the hazardous level in China.

Image copyright ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images

Image caption The city of Shijiazhuang in Hebei province saw heavy smog on Wednesday as well

China has seen extremely high levels of air pollution in recent years, particularly in the coal-reliant north east, the industrial heart of the country.

Following criticism that authorities were not doing enough to protect citizens’ health, the government has stepped up in issuing health advisories and promised to take action to address pollution.

Image copyright EPA

Image caption Authorities said that Beijing’s air quality was “slowly improving”

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Russian ex-tycoon Khodorkovsky may seek UK asylum

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Europe

Media captionExiled Russian tycoon, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, has given an exclusive interview to the BBC

Former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, says he is considering applying for political asylum in the UK and feels safe in London.

He was speaking in a BBC interview after a Russian court declared him “under arrest in absentia” over the 1990s murder of a Siberian mayor.

“Definitely I’m considering asking for asylum in the UK,” he said.

Mr Putin “sees me - it’s obvious now - as a serious threat”, he said.

Once Russia’s richest man, the former head of the now defunct Yukos oil firm spent 10 years in a Siberian prison on fraud charges, which he says were politically motivated.

Mr Putin pardoned him in 2013 and he now lives abroad, mainly in Switzerland.

“I’m considered by President Putin as a threat, economically, because of the possible seizure of Russian assets abroad, and politically, as someone who will potentially help democratic candidates in the coming 2016 elections,” he said.

Russia will hold elections to the lower house of parliament - the State Duma - next year. The Duma is currently dominated by Mr Putin’s supporters.

London base?

The BBC’s Richard Galpin asked Mr Khodorkovsky whether he felt at risk in light of the murders of prominent opponents of Mr Putin in recent years. Among them was former secret agent Alexander Litvinenko, poisoned with radioactive polonium in a London hotel in 2006.

“The history of deaths of opponents of this regime is impressive… but I was in jail for 10 years, I could have been killed any day easily. In London I feel much safer than during those years,” he replied.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption President Putin’s decision to nationalise Mr Khodorkovsky’s oil firm was seen as a message to tycoons to keep out of politics

When he left Russia in 2013 he said he would not get involved in politics - which was was widely believed to have been the reason for his early release.

He told the BBC on Wednesday that he would “help young political activists in Russia to gain political experience and present an alternative to the existing regime”.

He said it was “far too optimistic” to speak of regime change in Russia now, “but I’m quite confident that within 10 years the regime will be changed and I hope I will play a significant role in that”.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Mr Khodorkovsky was held before his release at a penal colony close to the Finnish border

Charge sheet

Earlier, referring to the Russian order for his arrest, he said the Moscow authorities had “gone mad”.

He is accused of ordering several of his employees to kill both the mayor and a businessman, who survived.

Investigators allege Vladimir Petukhov, the mayor of Nefteyugansk, was killed on 26 June 1998 for demanding Mr Khodorkovsky’s oil firm, Yukos, pay taxes that the company had allegedly been avoiding.

Local businessman Yevgeny Rybin was allegedly targeted because his activities “clashed with Yukos’s interests”, Russia’s powerful Investigative Committee (SK) said in a statement (in Russian).

Mr Rybin survived a gun attack in November 1998 and a second attack on his car in March 1999, when another man in the vehicle was killed and several people were injured.

Five people have already been tried for the attacks and the arrest warrant is unlikely to make any difference unless Mr Khodorkovsky returns to Russia, the BBC’s Sarah Rainsford reports from Moscow.

Armed police raided the Moscow offices of Mr Khodorkovsky’s Open Russia pro-democracy movement on Tuesday, in a move that authorities said was linked to allegations of tax evasion. The flats of at least seven activists who work for Mr Khodorkovsky were also searched.

After Mr Khodorkovsky was arrested in 2003, Yukos was broken up and taken over by a state oil firm.

Last year an international arbitration court in The Hague said Russian officials had manipulated the legal system to bankrupt Yukos, and jail Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

The court told Russia to pay former shareholders in Yukos $50bn (£32bn) in compensation.

Image copyright AFP

Timeline: Mikhail Khodorkovsky

1963 - Born in Moscow, son of chemical engineers

1987 - Founds Menatep bank

1995 - Buys Yukos for $350m, with Menatep assuming $2bn in debt

2003 - Arrested for tax evasion, embezzlement and fraud

2005 - Found guilty on six of seven charges, jailed for eight years

2007 - Yukos declared bankrupt

2010 - Convicted of embezzlement and money laundering

2013 - Pardoned by President Putin after request for clemency; leaves Russia for Germany

2015 - Charged with ordering 1990s murder of Siberian mayor; says he is considering asking for political asylum in the UK

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Russia rejects Amnesty charges over Syria raids

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Europe

Media captionAmnesty has said Russian air strikes have killed hundreds of civilians

Russia has dismissed as “total lies” a report by Amnesty International accusing it of indiscriminate air strikes in Syria.

A Defence Ministry spokesman said he saw “nothing specific and nothing new” in the report.

He also denied the Russian military used cluster munitions in Syria.

The human rights group said it had evidence that the first two months of Russian air strikes in Syria had killed at least 200 civilians.

Some of the attacks “may amount to war crimes”, one Amnesty official said.

Amnesty is also researching concerns about the US-led coalition air strikes in Syria, its report said.

The US has rarely acknowledged civilian deaths in its air bombardment of the so-called Islamic State (IS), which began in September 2014, although some monitoring groups say the toll could run into hundreds.

‘Russian strikes kill scores’ in Syria

Activists criticise Raqqa air strikes

Russia began air strikes in September 2015, saying it was acting at the request of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. It is targeting IS and other groups it designates as terrorists - some of which are backed by the West.

‘Legitimate targets’

“We examined this report,” Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told a briefing in Moscow.

“Once again there was nothing specific or new that was published, only cliches and fakes that we have already repeatedly exposed.”

In the report, Amnesty said it had “researched remotely” more than 25 Russian attacks that took place in Homs, Hama, Idlib, Latakia and Aleppo between 30 September and 29 November.

It said there was evidence that Russia’s military “unlawfully used unguided bombs in densely populated areas and inherently indiscriminate cluster munitions”.

It had interviewed witnesses to the attacks by phone or over the internet - and had audio and video evidence, as well as “advice from weapons experts”.

However Maj-Gen Konashenkov said that as Amnesty International carried out its research remotely, it had no way of checking on the ground that there were no military targets in areas where civilians were killed.

He pointed out that militants used weapons mounted on vehicles and that “each vehicle is considered a tactical unit and represents a legitimate military target”.

As for cluster munitions, “Russia does not use them… we have no such weapons on our base in Syria.”

Attack on market : Idlib province : 29 November 2015

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption A busy Sunday market became a scene of carnage within seconds, witnesses said

One of the deadliest attacks detailed in the report occurred in Ariha, Idlib province, on 29 November. Amnesty says at least one suspected Russian warplane fired three missiles into a market when there was no obvious military target nearby.

A local activist group said 49 civilians were either dead or missing feared dead.

“It was a normal Sunday - there was nothing unusual. People were buying goods - children were eating,” activist Mohammed Qurabi al-Ghazal told Amnesty.

“First there was a loud explosion - dirt flying in the air - followed immediately by shock. In just a few moments, people were screaming, the smell of burning was in the air and there was just chaos.”

The armed group Jaysh al-Fateh controlled the area, but did not have any presence inside Ariha itself, he said.

A report by another group, Human Rights Watch, three days ago accused Syrian government forces and their Russian allies of making “extensive” use of cluster munitions against rebel groups.

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday Russia was “conducting its operation in strict conformity with principles and norms of the international law”.

The Kremlin has previously described similar reports as “information warfare” aimed at discrediting its operations in Syria.

President Vladimir Putin said in October that reports of alleged civilian casualties had emerged before the first air strikes were even carried out.

More than 250,000 people are believed to have been killed and millions of people have been forced to flee their homes since the conflict began in Syria in March 2011.

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US storms: At least six dead in trail of destruction

- 24 December 2015

- From the section US & Canada

Image copyright AP

Image caption Parts of the US have been buffeted by numerous tornadoes

A storm described by forecasters as “particularly dangerous” has hit the south and mid-west of the US, killing at least six people and injuring scores more ahead of the Christmas break.

Three people were killed as tornadoes moved through northern Mississippi, officials said, along with two in Tennessee and one in Arkansas.

There have been reports of at least 20 tornadoes of varying severity.

The high winds have also caused significant damage to homes.

Authorities in parts of Mississippi - where a seven-year-old was among those killed - are conducting a house-by-house search-and-rescue operation after the state was hit by multiple tornadoes.

Image copyright AP

Image caption The storms have left a trail of destruction across several American states

Planes at a small airport in the north-west of the state were overturned and an unknown number of people were injured.

“I’m looking at some horrific damage right now,” Clarksdale Mayor Bill Luckett was quoted by the AP news agency as saying..

“Sheet metal is wrapped around trees; there are overturned airplanes; a building is just destroyed.”

Mississippi’s Interstate 55 was closed in both directions as the tornado approached, the state’s Highway Patrol said.

Image copyright Science Photo Library

Image caption Storms at this time of the year are not uncommon in the US

The bad weather is also due to hit - or has hit - the states of Kentucky, Alabama, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Alabama.

The national Storm Prediction Center in Oklahoma has released a “particularly dangerous situation” warning for the first time since June 2014, AP reports, when two massive tornadoes destroyed a rural Nebraska town, killing two people.

The possibility of bad weather just before Christmas in the US is not unusual, officials at the centre say.

One year ago a tornado hit south-eastern Mississippi, killing five people and injuring dozens more.

A storm on Christmas Day in 2012 which included several tornadoes damaged homes from Texas to Alabama.

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Afghanistan: Sangin almost entirely in Taliban hands

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Asia

Media captionShaimaa Khalil reports from Kabul as the Taliban claim gains in Helmand province

Latest reports from southern Afghanistan suggest that Sangin district in Helmand province is now almost entirely under Taliban control after days of fierce fighting.

The police headquarters and the main government building fell to the Taliban on Wednesday, a local senator said.

The Taliban say their fighters have seized the entire district.

However, the Afghan defence ministry said fighting was continuing and that reinforcements had been sent.

Sangin saw almost a quarter of British military fatalities during the UK’s combat mission in Afghanistan.

District governor Haji Suliman Shah told the BBC he had been airlifted from the district HQ to Shorabak base - formerly Camp Bastion - in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah early on Wednesday, along with 15 wounded security force members.

A few hundred police and soldiers have taken refuge at an army barracks about 7km (four miles) from Sangin, and are besieged there.

Why Sangin matters

Image copyright EPA

Image caption Afghan forces across Helmand - here a policeman patrols Marjah district - have come under pressure from insurgents

- Sangin is a rich production centre for opium in Helmand province

- Helmand is a major centre of the Taliban insurgency and borders Pakistan

- Of the 456 UK military deaths in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2015, almost a quarter were killed in and around Sangin

- US and British troops have been sent to Helmand in the last few days, but in an advisory role only

Read more about Sangin

Harsh lessons from Sangin

Who are the Taliban?

Ashuqullah, a police officer at the barracks, told the BBC the “entire” town was controlled by militants. “We have not seen any help,” he said.

“Support troops have been airdropped at a distance… but all roads are blocked and in the militants’ control,” he added.

There were many wounded at the barracks needing urgent evacuation, he said.

Speaking in Kabul, Afghanistan’s acting Defence Minister Masoum Stanikzai described the situation in Helmand as “manageable” and said fresh support troops had been sent in.

Afghan government forces had been “thinly spread” over the whole country, he said, and had been trying their best to hold all areas.

A small contingent of British troops has been sent to Helmand “in an advisory role,” the British government said on Tuesday.

A Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, claimed on Wednesday:

“The Sangin district centres, its police HQ, and other establishments were under continued attacks of the mujahideen and today… with God’s grace the district was fully captured by the mujahideen.

“The white flag of the Islamic emirate is at full mast at the district now.”

Haji Daud, the head of the Sangin district people’s council, told the BBC that Sangin residents had fled the district to neighbouring areas.

Responding to the defence minister’s claims, he said: “Those whose family - brothers and siblings and parents - are not fighting on the front, they always say the situation is not dangerous in the area…”

“Those who make such comments do not care to defend Helmand.”

Image copyright AP

Image caption These Afghan soldiers man a checkpoint on the way to Sangin

Image copyright EPA

Image caption People from Sangin have fled to neighbouring districts, a local leader has told the BBC

Pharmacy owner Sarwah Shah, who fled to Lashkar Gah, told the BBC that all of the families living on his street in Sangin - around 20 to 30 houses - had fled.

Another resident Agha Wali said he had fled Sangin with his children two days ago. He had had to leave all his possessions behind, he said.

The Taliban have already seized control of all but two districts in Helmand.

On Monday the deputy governor of Helmand complained of a lack of government support in an open letter on Facebook to President Ashraf Ghani.

“Helmand will collapse to the enemies and it’s not like Kunduz, where we could launch an operation from the airport to retake it. That is just impossible and a dream,” he wrote.

In September, the Taliban briefly overran the northern Afghan city of Kunduz in one of their biggest victories since 2001.

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Nigeria Boko Haram: Militants ‘close to defeat’ - Buhari

- 24 December 2015

- From the section Africa

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption The president has given the army until the end of the month to defeat Boko Haram

The Nigerian military is close to completely defeating Islamist Boko Haram militants, President Muhammadu Buhari has told the BBC.

He said the militants could no longer mount conventional attacks against security forces or population centres.

“I think, technically, we have won the war,” he said.

The president has given the army until the end of the month to defeat Boko Haram, whose six-year insurgency has devastated north-eastern Nigeria.

But the BBC’s Bashir Sa’ad Abdullahi in the capital, Abuja, says that the deadline is likely to be extended as Boko Haram is still bombing areas despite losing towns under its control.

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption The president says that key to the defeat of Boko Haram is reorganising, retraining and reequipping the army

Image copyright AFP

Image caption The Islamist insurgency has kept about one million children out of school in Nigeria and three neighbouring states, the UN children’s agency said earlier this week

Image copyright Boko Haram video

Image caption Boko Haram has sworn allegiance to Islamic State and often displays its trademark black flag

Critics of the government argue that it has exaggerated the scale of its success against the militants, and that each time the army claims to have wiped out Boko Haram, the militants have quietly rebuilt.

The insurgency is said to have killed some 17,000 people and left more than two million homeless.

The jihadists have been forced to cut back on suicide bombings as a result of the military action against them, President Buhari said.

“Boko Haram has reverted to using improvised explosive devices (IEDs),” he said. “They have now been reduced to that.”

“Boko Haram is an organised fighting force, I assure you, [but] we have dealt with them.”

- Africa Live: BBC News updates

- Who are Boko Haram?

He said the militants had all but been driven out from Adamawa and Yobe states and remained a force only in its heartland of Borno state.

“They cannot now marshal forces and attack towns or attack military installations and so on as they did before.

“I don’t think this is mad talking.”

The president said that Nigeria had reorganised and reequipped the military. which had received training from the British, the Americans and the French.

“A lot is being done,” he said.

Boko Haram at a glance:

- Founded in 2002, initially focused on opposing Western-style education - Boko Haram means “Western education is forbidden” in the Hausa language

- Launched military operations in 2009

- Thousands killed, mostly in north-eastern Nigeria, hundreds abducted, including at least 200 schoolgirls

- Joined so-called Islamic State, now calls itself IS’s “West African province”

- Seized large area in north-east, where it declared caliphate

- Regional force has retaken most territory this year

Using football to tackle Boko Haram

Why Boko Haram remains a threat

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India PM Narendra Modi to focus on defence in talks with Putin

- 24 December 2015

- From the section India

Image copyright AP

Image caption Mr Putin and Mr Modi are expected to sign key agreements on defence and nuclear energy

Indian PM Narendra Modi will hold crucial talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, expected to focus on defence and nuclear energy co-operation

He began a two-day visit on Wednesday with a private dinner with Mr Putin.

These talks have been held annually since 2000 and hosted alternately between Moscow and Delhi.

Bilateral trade between the two countries stands at $10bn (£6.74bn). Russia is India’s second largest defence supplier.

Mr Modi’s visit is seen as a chance to work on the personal chemistry between the two leaders, and to reset relations between their countries, says BBC’s Sarah Rainsford in Moscow.

India has become an even more important market for Russia since the West imposed economic sanctions, our correspondent says, adding that Moscow is looking to sell India its sophisticated S400 anti-aircraft systems.

A deal to manufacture military helicopters and build further nuclear power plants in India could also be signed.

Image copyright AP

Image caption Mr Modi began his two-day visit on Wednesday with a private dinner with Mr Putin

Last year, Russia announced it would help India build at least 10 more nuclear reactors. It has already built in a nuclear reactor in Tamil Nadu state.

The two countries have outlined an “ambitious vision” for nuclear energy and agreed that the new reactors would be built over the next 20 years.

Russia and India were close allies during the Cold War but in recent years the relationship has been more complex.

Earlier this year, India was reported to be displeased with Russia for selling attack helicopters to Pakistan and Russia was unhappy with India for choosing French Rafale fighters and American Apache attack helicopters over Moscow’s defence products.

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Child ‘locked in hidden Australia drug den’

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Australia

Image copyright NSW Police

Image caption The alleged drug bunker consisted of buried three shipping containers accessed through a hidden manhole

Australian police have charged three people after a child was reportedly found locked inside an elaborate underground drugs compound.

Police said the boy, aged eight, was kept locked in a small room in the compound for several weeks and was allowed outside only to do chores.

The compound, located 300km north of Sydney, was hidden beneath an outdoor deck and accessible by trapdoor.

It allegedly contained 225 cannabis plants.

Three other children, aged between one and nine, were also found to be living on the property. All have been placed in care.

“The door to the small room in the shed was locked from the outside and police will allege that the boy was mistreated and only allowed out of the shed for chores and sometimes food,” Detective Inspector Peter McKenna told the Newcastle Herald.

Image copyright NSW Police

Image caption There were 225 cannabis plants housed in the compound, police said

Police from the Manning-Great Lakes command initially struggled to find the bunker when they raided the property on 19 December.

It consisted of three shipping containers buried beneath a hydraulic-powered deck that rolled away at the flick of a switch.

Image copyright NSW Police

Image caption The boy was said to have been locked in the compound

A 28-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman were charged with offences relating to drug cultivation and detaining a person for financial advantage, while a 19-year-old man was charged with drug offences.

The tiny room in which the boy was found contained only a mattress and a bucket for going to the toilet.

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Turkey Istanbul airport blast kills cleaner

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Europe

Image copyright EVN

Image caption Emergency staff were seen inspecting the plane after the blast

An explosion on the tarmac at Sabiha Gokcen airport in the Turkish city of Istanbul has killed a female cleaner.

The woman who died was working on a Pegasus airlines plane overnight when the blast took place. A colleague who was with her was wounded.

The cause of the explosion is under investigation, the airport says.

Armed police imposed tight security at the airport’s entrance, Turkish media report, but flights appear to be running normally.

The woman killed, 30-year-old Zeyhra Yamac, died of head injuries.

No passengers were on the plane or nearby at the time, Pegasus said in a statement.

It said the explosion had happened at 02:05 (00:05 GMT) on Wednesday. Although the cause of the blast was unknown, police were investigating whether it was a bomb, Dogan news agency reports.

Fragments from the blast damaged five other planes, Turkish Transport Minister Binali Yildirim said.

“[A] weakness in the airport’s security is out of the question,” he added.

Some witnesses claimed to have heard three consecutive explosions.

Located on the Asian facing side of Istanbul, Sabiha Gokcen is the city’s second-largest airport after Ataturk airport on the European side of the city.

Image copyright EPA

Image caption Investigators combed through nearby fields the following morning

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Mass graves for ‘300 Shia Nigerians’ in Zaria

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Africa

Image copyright AP

Image caption Shia leader Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky is being held by police

Nigeria’s military killed and quickly buried the bodies of at least 300 Shia Muslims in an unjustified attack in the northern Zaria city earlier this month, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said.

The bodies were buried without family members’ permission, it added.

Military spokesman Brig General Rabe Abubakar told the BBC the army had not killed anyone.

Reports of the deaths sparked outrage among Shia around the world and Iran called for their protection.

HRW said Nigeria’s army version of events “does not stack up” and called for an independent judicial investigation into what happened.

The Shia have rejected a committee set up by the government to look into the incident, saying it would be biased.

“At best it was a brutal overreaction and at worst it was a planned attack on the minority Shia group,” HRW Africa direction Daniel Bekele said.

- Africa Live: BBC News Updates

The military accuses the pro-Iranian sect of trying to assassinate army chief Gen Tukur Buratai, which it denies.

It also released images purportedly showing Shia with sticks and some throwing stones at them when they tried to pass through a makeshift roadblock erected by the group.

But Human Rights Watch says there has been no “credible information” that any soldiers were injured or killed.

It is difficult to determine an accurate death toll but the information was gathered from hospital sources and eyewitnesses, the campaign group added in a statement.

Nigeria’s Islamic spiritual leader, the Sultan of Sokoto, has warned that the raids on the sect, known as the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), could spark a new insurgency.

Militant Sunni Islamist group Boko Haram has killed thousands of people in its pursuit of an Islamic state, and has attacked the IMN.

Image caption Sheikh Zakzaky, leader of the IMN, is inspired by Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini

The IMN said the military had destroyed its religious shrine and the home of its leader Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky during the raid.

Sheikh Zakzaky is currently being held by the police.

Those killed during the incident include the group’s deputy leader and its spokesman.

Last year, three sons of Sheikh Zakzaky were killed in clashes between the army and pilgrims in a religious procession.

Shia in Nigeria

Image copyright AFP

- Shia are minority in Nigeria but their numbers are increasing

- The IMN, formed in the 1980s, is the main Shia group led by Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky

- They operate their own schools and hospitals in some northern states

- They have a history of clashes with the security forces

- The IMN is backed by Shia-dominated Iran and its members often go there to study

- Sunni jihadist group Boko Haram condemns Shias as heretics who should be killed

Meeting Sheikh Zakzaky

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El Gordo: Senegal refugee wins €400,000 in Spain lottery

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Europe

Image copyright EPA

Image caption Ngagne told reporters he had recently lost his job as a vegetable picker

A refugee from Senegal who travelled to Europe by boat has won a stake of some €400,000 (£294,000; $436,000) in Spain’s annual Christmas lottery.

The man, named Ngagne, travelled from Morocco to Spain in 2007.

Ticket-holders in his coastal town of Roquetas de Mar won first prize, and a share of €640m (£470m), in the “El Gordo” (The Fat One) lottery.

Ngagne told one Spanish newspaper that he and his wife often did not have even €5 to last the day.

The 35-year-old and his wife were rescued when they made the journey by boat in 2007, and taken to the island of Tenerife. They now live in Roquetas de Mar, which is on Spain’s south coast.

“There were 65 people on that boat,” he told the La Voz de Almeria newspaper (in Spanish). “I want to give thanks to Spaniards and the Spanish government for rescuing me when I was in the sea.”

Read more on Roquetas de Mar’s win

Ngagne told reporters he had recently lost his job as a vegetable picker in greenhouses near the town of Almeria.

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption The winning number, held here by Moroccan-born Imanes Naamane, appeared on 1,600 tickets

Another migrant in the town also won a share of the prize - a Moroccan 18-year-old named Imanes Naamane who moved to Spain aged four. “We will be able to do a lot of things - everything we want,” La Voz de Almeria quoted her as saying. “We were in real trouble before.”

Roquetas de Mar has an unemployment rate of more than 30% - higher than the national average of 21% - and tourism and agriculture are the main industries.

Unlike many other lotteries, there is no single jackpot in El Gordo. Instead the winnings are distributed among thousands of people.

The winning number - 79140 - appeared on 1,600 tickets in Roquetas de Mar. Second-prize winners included ticket-holders in Seville and Granada.

El Gordo is the world’s biggest Christmas lottery, and the live televised draw grips the nation.

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Skier Hirscher nearly hit by drone camera

Four-time defending overall World Cup champion Marcel Hirscher narrowly avoided being hit by a drone during an Alpine slalom race in Italy on Tuesday.

The Austrian was on his second run when a drone carrying a camera crashed onto the slope centimetres behind him.

“This is horrible,” said Hirscher, 26. “This can never happen again. This can be a serious injury.”

Despite the incident, Hirscher finished in second place, 1.25 seconds behind Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen.

Drone ban looms

The International Ski Federation (FIS) subsequently announced that it will ban camera drones from its World Cup races.

FIS men’s race director Markus Waldner told The Associated Press that drones will be prohibited “because they are a bad thing for safety”.

He added: “It was huge luck that Marcel was not hurt. I am very angry.”

According to Waldner, FIS agreed the drone could be used but the pilot should not have flown the camera directly over the race course.

“He did not follow our instructions,” said Waldner. “He had to fly outside of the race track and follow the racer from a 15-metre distance.”

Crash investigation

Drones have been used many times before at ski races.

The FIS said the new technology was aimed at enhancing the experience for TV viewers.

That’s because a drone provides moving pictures from an overhead angle which regular cameras can’t shoot.

The company responsible for the camera drone, sports marketing agency Infront, said the circumstances leading to the crash are “being examined”.

‘Sweaty palms’

In a post on his Instagram account following the drone crash, Hirscher joked there was “heavy air traffic in Italy”.

He later wrote a blog, adding: “Quite honestly, if I look at the pictures from the drone crash on the internet, I get sweaty palms and tremble.”

Hirscher won slalom silver at the 2014 Winter Olympics and, in March, became the first skier to win the men’s overall title four years in a row.

His performance at Madonna di Campiglio on Tuesday helped him reclaim the overall World Cup lead from Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal.

Hirscher was midway through his second run…

And his focus was on negotiating the gates…

When the drone suddenly fell from the sky inches behind him…

Hirscher appeared unaware on the near-miss…

And carried on skiing

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The runaway children Malaysia failed to save

- 24 December 2015

- From the section Magazine

Image copyright Malaysian Insider / Najjua Zulkefli

Earlier this year seven children from an indigenous Malaysian tribe ran away from school and got lost in the jungle. Seven weeks later, only two survivors were found. The shocking case raises uncomfortable questions about Malaysia’s treatment of this minority.

A group of children are lying on the floor of a bamboo hut drawing with crayons and felt tips. It is mid-morning and they should be in lessons but the pupils from the villages in this area don’t go to school any more.

At first the nine and 10-year-olds are shy but then they start telling me about one of the teachers in the residential school they used to go to.

“He punished us even if we did nothing wrong,” says one of them. “He made us stand outside in the sun for ages with our desks on our heads and our knees bent, like this.”

As she demonstrates the posture, the others burst into peals of laughter. But one girl in a striped T-shirt is silent and focuses on her picture.

She is 10-year-old Norieen Yaakob. Last summer she and six classmates could no longer bear the harsh discipline at the school, so they fled into the rainforest.

These children are Orang Asli which in Malay means “original people” and they’re the earliest known inhabitants of the Malaysian peninsula.

There are 18 different Orang Asli tribes and the people from Norieen’s village of Kampung Penad in northern Malaysia, near the Thai border, belong to the Temiar.

The parents wanted their children to get an education, but the nearest school was two hours’ drive or a day’s walk away, so like many other children in this mountainous area, they had to board in a hostel next to their classroom.

The timeline of this story is hard to uncover because the only witnesses are two traumatised young girls - Norieen and Miksudiar Aluj, aged 11.

Image caption Norieen (right) with her mother, Midah

They decided to leave, they say, because some older children had been beaten by one of the teachers for swimming in the river and they feared they would be next. Norieen, her seven-year-old brother Haikal, Miksudiar, and four other girls aged between seven and nine all ran into the forest on the morning of 23 August.

The children chewed leaves but couldn’t find much else to eat. The only fruit they could reach proved hard and indigestible.

Then Norieen’s brother, Haikal, fell into the river as he was trying to drink and the other children were too weak to help him. “He just floated away,” says his mother, Midah Angah. “Most likely he quickly drowned.”

Meanwhile a seven-year-old girl, Juvina, broke her leg and could no longer walk. One evening she begged for food and the next morning Norieen woke up to find her lying dead next to her. Norieen took the younger girl to one side and covered her with leaves.

“She watched what happens to a dead body over a few days,” says Midah. “Flies landing on her eyes and mouth, her hair falling out and maggots crawling out of her. She saw so many terrible things.”

Ika, a nine-year-old girl, died of her injuries after she was impaled by bamboo in a fall from a steep river bank.

Linda, aged eight, somehow ended up in the water and it was this that eventually helped searchers find the survivors.

Just off the muddy track that leads from the school to the village, overlooking the Sungai Perias river, is one of those rare spots in the rainforest where you can get a mobile phone signal, and here, on 7 October - 45 days after the children disappeared - a logging truck driver pulled up to make a call.

“He was walking along here when he saw something white bobbing up and down in the water,” says Siti Kasim, a lawyer from Kuala Lumpur.

“He could see two legs sticking up. At first he thought it was a doll but then he looked closer and saw it was a child’s body.”

Two days later Norieen and Miksudiar were discovered sheltering in the roots of a big tree, skeletal and close to death themselves.

The policemen who found them were moved to tears when they saw how the children had made a canopy of palm fronds to protect themselves from the rain and sun, Midah says.

Noreen and Miksudiar were taken to hospital in the nearest town, Gua Musang.

The bodies of the other children - apart from Sasa who has still not been found - were taken to the mortuary.

Ika’s father, Ayel Ajed, says he and his wife were shown their daughter’s remains in a cardboard box - she could only be identified by her necklace and bracelet.

There is something very puzzling about this tragic story. The police and army had been searching a vast area using sniffer dogs and helicopters, yet the children were less than 2km from the school. So why did it take so long to find them?

One reason is that the search operation did not begin immediately when the children’s trail was fresh.

Instead the police came to the village late at night to search a number of homes, apparently suspecting the parents of hiding their children.

Then on 2 September, 11 days after the children disappeared, their families got a letter saying the pupils would be expelled unless they immediately returned to the classroom.

Find out more

Listen to Lucy Ash’s report for Crossing Continentson the BBC iPlayer, or catch it on Assignment, on the BBC World Service - click here for transmission times

Norieen’s mother, Midah, says the police and officials from JAKOA, (Jabatan Kemajuan Orang Asli) the government agency for the Orang Asli, “treated the families like criminals”.

Remarkably, when the search and rescue operation began in earnest, Ika’s father and other villagers were told they were not allowed to take part.

“They sent in soldiers used to hunting down enemies and smugglers,” says Colin Nicholas from the Centre for Orang Asli Concerns, a lobby group for Malaysia’s indigenous people. “If you really put yourself into the mind of a child and you see a bunch of guys looking for you in military fatigues and armed with machine guns - are you going to shout out, ‘I’m here’? Of course not! Those kids were obviously running away.”

Eventually an Orang Asli police unit was brought in to help, and it was their trackers who found the children.

Some were horrified that the authorities took so long to react to the children’s disappearance and then to find them.

“Are the lives of Orang Asli kids less worthy of protection than Malay, Chinese or Indian kids?” asked Lim Kit Siang, leader of the opposition Democratic Action Party.

“We must feel heart sick that such callousness, inhumanity, negligence and gross incompetence can happen in modern-day Malaysia.”

The lawyer, Siti Kasim, is trying to get a clear picture of events from the children who attended the school, in preparation for possible legal action against both the school and the government.

“Don’t be afraid - tell me the truth!” she says. “Who went to swim in the river and who was beaten?” she asks.

The children are shy and it’s not easy extracting information from them. Norieen herself, while she has recovered physically, is still deeply troubled, and wakes up crying in the night, her mother says.

Miksudiar, the other survivor, is still in hospital.

When I visit the school in Pos Tohoi, the teachers are reluctant to speak and ask me not to use their names. But when I ask about the alleged beatings, one of them laughs nervously. “No, no completely untrue,” he says. “It is just rumours,” says another.

In Kuala Lumpur, Deputy Education Minister P Kamalanathan tells me the government is doing everything it can for the Orang Asli.

He bemoans the high number of children who drop out from school - more than 40% in some areas - but says it is often because parents would rather their children helped them pick beans in the jungle.

When I ask about a new school for these villagers - who no longer want to send their children to Pos Tohoi - he’s non-committal.

He adds that the case at Pos Tohoi primary school is still being investigated but insists corporal punishment is not allowed in Malaysian schools.

“If there is something of that nature all people need to do is come and lodge a complaint and we will surely take action,” he says.

Siti Kasim, the lawyer, says the deputy minister is “living in cloud-cuckoo land” if he is unaware that there have been many complaints from the Orang Asli about the schools their children attend in the interior of the country.

In June at a school in nearby Kuala Betis a 10-year-old Temiar pupil was allegedly tied up, kicked and beaten up by her teachers after being accused of stealing money from one of them.

Kelantan police chief Datuk Mazlan Lazim confirmed the case and said it was being investigated.

In another incident, says the lawyer, four girls were slapped by a teacher because they refused to recite a Muslim prayer.

“Those girls aren’t Muslim so why should they be forced to say a prayer before they eat?” she says. “There are plenty of police reports and letters of complaint but nothing happens.”

The government says it aims to bring the disadvantaged Orang Asli into the mainstream of society.

But Colin Nichols argues that the government has little interest in protecting their identity and says indigenous people are being increasingly sucked into a Malay-centric nation state.

“You pluck young children - seven-year-olds, eight-year-olds - from the village,” he says. “Then put them in a school hostel for three months at a time without seeing their parents, give them a new education, give them a new culture, give them a new language and sometimes a new religion, and in one generation you have people who are no longer Orang Asli.”

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Torn in two: Yemen divided

By Frank Gardner BBC security correspondent

- 24 December 2015

- From the section Middle East

Image copyright Reuters

Yemen is broken. The country once dubbed by the Romans as “Arabia Felix” - “Fortunate Arabia” - because of its lush valleys and rich agriculture has been torn apart by war.

The UN estimates that close to 6,000 people have been killed since a Saudi-led nine-nation coalition began air strikes in March 2015, hoping to defeat the Houthi rebels who had taken over half the country.

Already the poorest country in the Arab world, with dwindling oil and water reserves, Yemen is now facing catastrophe. Its basic infrastructure is shattered, its economy is grinding to a halt, at least 80% of the population is dependent on food aid.

Its land is divided between Houthi rebels, forces loyal to the former president, forces loyal to the current president, Gulf Arab armies and rival jihadists from both al-Qaeda and so-called Islamic State (IS).

Peace talks in Switzerland opened in December but if they fail to produce results when they resume in January then Yemen’s largely unseen war could last well into 2016 and beyond.

What went wrong?

In 2011 Yemen experienced the Arab Spring protests, along with Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain, Libya and Syria.

Image copyright AP

Image caption Like much of the Arab world, Yemenis came out onto the streets to demand an end to corruption and a total disrespect for human rights

Worried that the protests could spill out of control or even beyond its borders, Yemen’s Gulf Arab neighbours brokered a deal that saw longstanding President Ali Abdullah Saleh deposed and replaced by President Hadi.

They underestimated the former president. Instead of slipping off gracefully into retirement, Ali Abdullah Saleh remained in Yemen, conspiring to ruin the new president’s chances of success.

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption Saleh had ruled North Yemen since 1978 and a united Yemen since 1990, so was able to retain the loyalty of much of the army and police

In 2014 Saleh threw his support behind a rebellion by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, enabling them to march almost unopposed into the capital Sanaa.

By January 2015 the UN-recognised President Hadi had lost power completely and he fled into exile in Saudi Arabia where he remains today. By March 2015 the Houthis had taken over the whole of western Yemen, where the bulk of the population are concentrated.

The Saudis and their Gulf Arab allies saw this as an Iranian takeover, fearing that Iran was about to seize control of Aden port and the strategic entrance to the Red Sea, through which thousands of ships pass each year.

For the Saudis this was a red line and they decided to act. In March 2015 they began a massive campaign of air strikes, targeting both the Houthi rebels and their backers, the units loyal to former President Saleh.

The Saudis expected their overwhelming firepower to quickly drive the Houthis towards the negotiating table, and that they would sue for peace. Yet nine months later the Houthis remain firmly embedded in the capital and much of the north.

Yemen now effectively has two capitals - Sanaa and Aden - and the Saudi-led coalition is bogged down in an indecisive war where neither side is emerging as a clear winner.

The human cost

The toll on Yemen’s population and infrastructure has been horrific. According to human rights groups both sides have committed abuses, some of which may amount to war crimes.

Over 2,500 civilians are reported to have been killed, most by air strikes. The Saudi-led coalition stands accused of using at least four types of cluster bombs and dropping bombs on civilian homes, hospitals, factories and bottling plants.

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption Saudi-led air strikes have had a devastating effect

Image copyright EPA

Image caption There has been widespread disruption of water supplies - aid agencies have warned of the growing risk of malnutrition and disease

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption More than 2.5 million people have been displaced internally

Saudi Arabia insists it only attacks carefully chosen military targets but there have been numerous accounts from Yemenis on the ground saying residential areas have been attacked, far from any Houthi positions.

Human rights groups have called for a boycott of Western arms sales to Saudi Arabia since its air force uses US and UK-made planes and missiles, while US tankers resupply those aircraft and US intelligence advisers work alongside the Saudis in their operations centre.

The Houthi rebels are accused of shelling indiscriminately into residential areas, of laying unmarked mines and of imprisoning members of the population without charge. Food distribution has been hampered by the fighting and by a partial blockade of Yemen’s ports and aid agencies warn of the growing risk of malnutrition and disease if the war continues much longer.

The strategic picture

Some see the Yemen conflict as a sectarian proxy war between the two big regional rivals in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Saudi Arabia is a Sunni-majority country where the Shia population in the east complain of marginalisation and discrimination. Iran is a Shia-majority country. The two are vying for control and influence over a rapidly-changing map of the Middle East.

Until the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 that large, oil-rich country was ruled by Sunnis under President Saddam Hussein. Gulf Arab rulers did not much care for him but they saw Iraq as a useful bulwark against Iran and its efforts to export its Islamic Revolution.

But today Iraq is ruled by Shias and has very close links with Iran. Syria, riven by civil war, has a nominally Shia president supported by Iran while next door in Lebanon the most powerful militia is Hezbollah, also supported by Iran.

Image copyright EPA

Image caption Armed tribesmen loyal to Yemen’s Saudi-backed government

So the Saudis are feeling a certain paranoia, fearing a “Shia crescent” that extends all the way from Afghanistan westwards to the Mediterranean. The prospect, in their eyes, of Yemen forming part of this Shia sphere of influence was simply too much for them, hence their commitment to a Yemen war with no apparent end in sight.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain all now appear more interested in what happens in Yemen than what happens in Syria.

In practice this has translated into a scaling back of Gulf Arab participation in the US-led air campaign against IS in Syria and Iraq.

Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain are fully committed militarily in Yemen and analysts question whether these countries can focus their full attention on two full scale conflicts simultaneously.

Expeditionary warfare

The new, aggressive and adventurist stance of the Saudi ruling clique has surprised many people. Despite the billions of petrodollars they have spent on arms purchases over the years, the Saudis have not been a martial nation since the country’s tribes united back in 1932.

When Iraq’s late President Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990 some Saudi princes even suggested a deal that would buy him off and let him keep part of Kuwait. Traditionally, the Saudis have preferred to conduct diplomacy by quiet negotiation and compromise, backed by cash, rather than seeking confrontation.

But that changed after January 2015 when the late King Abdullah was succeeded by King Salman who granted extraordinary power to his young and untested son, the 29-year-old Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. As possibly the youngest defence minister in the world he was given the green light to lead the war against the Houthis in Yemen.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Prince Mohammed Bin Salman has overseen the military operation in Yemen

Today Saudi troops are on the ground there, but under the same banner of the Saudi-led coalition so too are Emiratis from the UAE, Bahrainis and, reportedly Egyptians, Sudanese and even Colombian mercenaries.

In September a single missile attack on a coalition base killed 46 Emirati soldiers and several Saudis and Bahrainis.

The UAE has some experience of expeditionary warfare (sending troops overseas to fight), after serving in Kosovo and Afghanistan, but for the Saudis the war in Yemen is a new and risky venture.

Any deal that leaves the Houthi rebels in control of Sanaa and the surrounding area will be perceived as a failure for the Saudis and their coalition, something that could have negative consequences for the young defence minister.

But reports from Yemen suggest that splits have emerged between the Houthi rebels and their Saleh backers. There are signs that some Houthi leaders want to bring this war to a swift end, while others want to fight on.

So, as ever, the situation in Yemen is complicated. Ceasefires come and go, peace talks are convened then break up, more and more countries are getting drawn into the morass and with no clear winner, it is Yemen’s increasingly beleaguered population that is emerging as the losers in this war.

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Christmas in Bethlehem: Hopes and fears for the future

- 24 December 2015

- From the section Middle East

As Bethlehem prepares for Christmas, five people chosen to represent characters in the original Nativity story have been speaking about their hopes and fears for the festive period.

Celebrations are taking place in the West Bank town where it is believed that Jesus was born. However this year they are overshadowed by the latest Israeli-Palestinian violence that shows no signs of abating.

The mother: Mary Anastas

Media captionMother of three Mary Anastas runs a tourist souvenir shop in Bethlehem

Mary Anastas runs a shop selling her husband’s stone sculptures and feels a special affinity with her namesake, the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus.

She is a mother of three children herself and worries about their safety in these tense times. The two eldest are studying at Birzeit University, north of Ramallah, but come home at weekends.

Young Palestinians regularly join protests that result in confrontations with Israeli soldiers. There are flashpoints across the West Bank including on the edge of Ramallah and in Bethlehem.

Like many Palestinian Christians, Mary thinks the holiday spirit is dampened this year and that festivities will be relatively low-key.

The shepherd: Kamal Nabaheen

Media captionShepherd Kamal Nabaheen keeps sheep and goats in the fields outside Bethlehem

Shepherds watching their flocks by night are believed by Christians to have been the first to hear about Jesus’ birth. Tradition has it that they were told the news by an angel in the Shepherds’ Field in Beit Sahur, next to Bethlehem.

Nowadays, Kamal Nabaheen keeps sheep and goats in this area. He is Muslim, but prizes his connection to the Biblical shepherds.

Recently shepherding has become much more difficult because of a lack of open land. Jewish settlements are expanding nearby. They are seen as illegal under international law, but Israel disagrees.

Israel has also built part of its separation barrier here. It says this is needed for security, but Palestinians see it as a land grab.

The innkeeper: Fadi Kattan

Media captionFadi Kattan runs a boutique hotel in the Old City of Bethlehem

According to the Bible, there was no room at the inn in Bethlehem for Mary and Joseph. With no bed available, baby Jesus was laid in a manger.

In modern times, hotels are usually full on Christmas Eve. Arab-Israelis as well as foreign visitors come to join the festivities as processions of church leaders arrive from Jerusalem.

Fadi Kattan runs a new boutique guesthouse, Hosh al-Syrian, in the Old City of Bethlehem. He says that since the recent troubles, people have cancelled their hotel bookings for next year.

There are also other underlying challenges for local tourism. It tends to be seasonal with Christian pilgrims coming at Easter and Christmas, but more and more visitors are staying elsewhere and coming to Bethlehem as a day trip on a Holy Land tour. The main attraction is the Church of the Nativity, built on the spot where it is believed Jesus was born.

Recent violence

- 19 Israelis have been killed since mid-September, mostly in Palestinian stabbings and shooting attacks, in Israel and the West Bank

- More than 130 Palestinians have been killed - Israeli officials say half of these were attackers, while others have been killed in clashes with Israeli forces in the West Bank or in cross-border violence in Gaza

- In Bethlehem, there have been at least five deaths

The wise man: Father Jamal Khadr

Media captionFather Jamal takes part in a Christmas procession from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to hold a special mass.

The Nativity story tells how wise men, or magi, came to pay their homage to Jesus bringing him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Each Christmas Eve, Latin Catholic priest, Father Jamal Khadr, accompanies the patriarch in a traditional procession from Jerusalem. On the way to the Church of the Nativity, they are met by Palestinian Christians for a special mass at midnight.

In 2003, an 8m(26ft)-high concrete wall was erected in Bethlehem - part of Israel’s barrier built in and around the West Bank. A series of gates were constructed in the wall so that church leaders could continue to pass.

Nowadays clashes regularly take place by one of these gates. Typically, young Palestinians throw stones, marbles and petrol bombs at Israeli soldiers who respond with tear gas, rubber bullets, skunk water and live rounds.

Israel blames the violence on incitement by Palestinian leaders and social media. Father Jamal says that on the Palestinian side there are feelings of hopelessness and despair.

The carpenter: Jack Giacaman

Media captionCarpenter Jack Giacaman runs a workshop producing religious carvings

Like Joseph, the husband of Mary, Jack Giacaman works with wood. He carves large pieces himself and runs a workshop producing mainly religious items.

His main business involves traditional Nativity sets made out of olive wood grown in the holy land. For centuries, such religious items have been sold to visiting pilgrims.

About 40% of the Bethlehem economy relies directly on tourism. However since the town was separated from Jerusalem by Israel’s barrier, most tourists now enter through an Israeli checkpoint.

Local souvenir sellers say that restricted access to the city has greatly affected their trade. They also complain about a system that sees large Palestinian stores pay a hefty commission to guides who bring in the tourists, which means many of the smaller shops lose out.

Interviews, videos and pictures: Yolande Knell, Jimmy Michael and Yousef Shomali

Video and web production: Alison Trowsdale and Sarah Fowler

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Five things you need to know about US visa changes

- 24 December 2015

- From the section US & Canada

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption The in-progress US embassy in London

Changes to the US’s visa waiver programme will affect many EU citizens with ties to the Middle East. Could it affect you?

1. What’s will change once the law goes into effect?

Previously, the US waived visas for up to 90 days for citizens and nationals of 38 countries on their visa waiver list, many in the European Union.

Anyone eligible for the visa waiver program (VWP) still has to fill out an electronic form that’s administered by the US Department of Homeland Security before travelling to the US called the ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation). The ESTA clearance lasts two years.

Under the new law, those who previously would have qualified for ESTA but have a second citizenship from Iran, Iraq, Syria or Sudan or have visited those countries in the last five years will face changes.

Those people will need to apply for a visa. It’s unclear if those who apply for a visa must still get an ESTA or how long the ESTA clearance will last.

2. How will the visa program work?

The law is set to be implemented in 2016, although a time frame has not been determined by the US Department of Homeland Security and it’s standard practice for a new law to be subject to review.

Once the law is implemented, those who are affected could be required to go to a US embassy and apply for a visa in person, which could include an interview.

At the moment in London, for example, a visitor visa appointment can be scheduled in four days. The length of time it takes to be issued a visa is a case by case basis but can take anywhere from next day to a week.

3. Will I have to apply every time I go to the US?

The good news may be that most people won’t have to go into the embassy too often. A visa for tourism and business purposes for dual UK nationals, for example, may be valid for a maximum of 10 years and costs $160.

However, the length of visa would be determined then by a consular officer after an interview and background check.

Image copyright AP

4. Who will be hit hardest?

Specialists like journalists and performers already require a separate visa to travel to the US, and anyone seeking to work in the US - that is, be paid by a US company - requires a work visa. But those who are coming to the US for tourism or for business meetings, deals, or conferences - were previously covered by the VWP.

Because of this, the programme is expected to affect business people the most, especially those who come in and out frequently. and even more so those businesspeople who have recently been to Iran since the nuclear deal reached over the summer opened more opportunities for them.

The concern has angered the Iranian government who say this new law would violate the deal. But Secretary of State John Kerry has promised in a letter to Iran’s foreign minister that extensive visas will be available.

5. What if I’m a dual US citizen?

If you have a US passport and you have travelled to designated countries or are a dual national of these countries, you do not require a visa.

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Shine on: Why Colombian men like to get their nails done

By Natalio Cosoy BBC Mundo, Bogota

- 24 December 2015

- From the section Latin America & Caribbean

Media captionColombian men explain why they like having manicures

A group of men serving sentences for corruption and financial misconduct in a Bogota prison had a manicurist visit them in their cells to get their nails done.

The little luxury the inmates treated themselves caused anger in Colombia when it was revealed in September.

People asked why the prisoners were allowed access to special privileges.

However, no one seemed surprised by the fact that a group of men would want to have a manicure.

That is because here in Colombia it is not unusual for men to “get their hands done”.

The first time I noticed this trend was at a conference hosted by the Colombian Armed Forces’ Retired Officers Association.

Wherever I looked, I saw hands with shiny, perfectly polished nails - many of them covered by a subtle varnish.

There was hardly a hand in the room which had not been improved by a manicure.

Male grooming

Ever since, I have kept looking at Colombian men’s hands to try to confirm if it was more than just coincidence.

Image caption Colombian men enjoy having their nails done for them, but do not like to do them themselves

Well, it turns out that my first impression has been backed up by a survey conducted by the e-commerce website Groupon.

It suggests that Colombian men are much more likely than any of their regional neighbours to get their hands and/or feet done.

According to the survey, more than 27% of Colombians get manicures, while only 14% of Brazilians, 11% of Mexicans, 9% of Argentines and 5% of Chileans are likely to do so.

Fabian Ojeda of the men’s grooming salon La Barberia in Bogota, is not surprised by the figures.

“Unlike in other places in Latin America and the world, here it is very common,” he tells me of Colombian men’s penchant for manicures.

Image caption Fabian Ojeda says about 30% of the men who visit his salon for a haircut also ask for manicures

He says that on average, out of the 50 men who will visit Las Barberia to get their hair cut, 15 will also get a manicure.

And that, he says, does not include the men whose sole purpose in visiting La Barberia is to get their nails done.

While Mr Ojeda’s clients are mostly well off, he says the practice is not limited to any particular socio-economic group.

Generational treat

Juan Carlos Castro is the director of the Cosmetics and Grooming Chamber of the National Association of Businesses of Colombia.

He says he believes it is a Colombian cultural phenomenon. A few months ago he was in Paris, attending an international cosmetics fair.

When he mentioned male manicures to delegates from other countries, they found the concept strange.

But Mr Castro has grown up with it.

His father used to be in the military and is fond of manicures.

He still does get his nails done, even now that he is 80.

“It shows rank, somehow, in the armed forces,” Mr Castro explains.

His grandfather also did it, he recalls.

Allure

Luis Alfonso Parra owns one of the largest nail varnish factories in Colombia; he sells a million bottles per month.

Image caption Colombian men say women look at their hands and it is important to have them looking well groomed

He reckons Colombian men get their hands manicured for one obvious reason: “Women look at your shoes, your suit or shirt and your nails.”

He sells three products for men: base (to strengthen the nails), tone (in a light pink colour) and gloss (to give them shine).

Products specifically made for men represent 10-15% of his production.

But he says, men will not apply his products at home.

They much prefer to go to a hairdresser or a grooming salon to get their nails cut, filed, polished and varnished.

Mr Ojeda says that prices can vary from anything between 15,000 pesos ($4.50; £3.00) to 40,000 pesos, making it an accessible treat to most Colombian men.

“You will find men getting their hands manicured in upmarket grooming salons but also in any corner hairdresser,” he says.

And I can attest to the fact that I have seen Colombians from many backgrounds and in many occupations who boast the tell-tale shiny nails.

From bankers to policemen in the middle of the jungle and even demobilised Farc rebels.

It is a habit that almost everyone seems to have embraced.

Just not this correspondent, or at least not yet.

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Indian women who are fighting to stop genital mutilation

- 23 December 2015

- From the section India

Image copyright AFP

Image caption Female genital mutilation has been a well-kept secret in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, where it’s practiced by the Dawoodi Bohra community

The cruel practice of female genital mutilation is banned in many countries globally, but it remains widespread among the Bohras - a small Muslim community in India. Now, some Bohra women have started a campaign demanding an end to the ritual, writes the BBC’s Geeta Pandey in Delhi.

When Masooma Ranalvi was seven years old, her grandmother took her out promising to buy her an ice-cream and some candies.

“I was very excited so I went along happily with her,” she told me.

“When she took me to a decrepit old building, I started to wonder what kind of an ice-cream parlour it was. Then she took me to a room, made me lie down on a rug on the floor and pulled my pants down.

Image copyright Masooma Ranalvi

Image caption Masooma Ranalvi was seven when she underwent female genital mutilation

“She held my hands and another woman held my legs. And then they cut something from my vagina. I shouted in pain and started to cry. They put some black powder there, pulled my pants up and my grandmother took me home.

That was nearly 40 years ago, but Ms Ranalvi says she is still to get over the trauma of what happened to her.

Media captionMasooma Ranalvi on her own childhood experience of FGM

So earlier this month, she and some other Bohra women began a change.org petition calling on the government to ban female genital mutilation (FMG).

Sometimes called female circumcision, FGM refers to procedures including the partial or total removal of external female genital organs for non-medical reasons, often without anaesthesia.

Image copyright AFP

Image caption An earlier petition to the Bohra high priest to ban FGM was ignored

The practice, Ms Ranalvi says, is “steeped in patriarchy” and the idea behind it is the belief that “female sexuality is destructive to patriarchal order and that a woman has no right to enjoy sex and that a woman who has undergone FMG will be more faithful to her husband and not stray”.

“The sole purpose is to curb a woman’s sexual desire and make sex less pleasurable for her,” she adds.

FGM has been widespread in many parts of Africa and the Middle East for centuries, but has been a particularly well-kept secret in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, where it’s practiced by the Dawoodi Bohra community. FGM is also practiced widely in Indonesia.

A Shia sect from Yemen, the Bohras arrived in India in the 16th Century. Today they are found mostly in Gujarat and Maharashtra.

The community, with a population of over a million, is fairly prosperous and the Dawoodi Bohras are among the most educated in the country, but they remain the only one to practice FGM.

In December 2012, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution vowing to eliminate FGM and across the world, many countries banned it.

Image copyright AFP

Image caption This picture taken on February 10, 2013 shows an Indonesian mother trying to calm her four-year-old daughter as doctors perform her circumcision

Image copyright AFP

Image caption Many Kenyan Maasai women support FMG and have opposed the ban on the practice currently in place in the country

But in India, no such law exists and the Bohras continue to practice FGM - known locally as khatna or female circumcision.

“FGM has mostly been spoken about in whispers, up until now,” Preethi Herman, country head of Change.org in India, told the BBC.

“For the first time in India, a group of women, survivors of FGM themselves, have spoken out. The message is loud and clear - FGM needs to be banned,” she added.

Art historian Habiba Insaf, a member of the community and a signatory to the petition, says: “The practice is not sanctioned by Koran. If it was, then all Muslims in India would practice it. It continues in our community because no-one questions it.”

Image copyright Masooma Ranalvi

Image caption The Bohra women in India are fighting to end the cruel practice of FGM

FGM, she says, can have long-term harmful effects - it can cause psychological and sexual damage.

“Also, since it’s not done by clinically-trained people, so often there are complications. I’ve heard about women who have bled to death after undergoing FGM,” Ms Insaf says.

A few years ago, a similar petition was started by a Bohra woman - who refused to reveal her identity - urging the Bohra high priest Syedna Mohammad Burhanuddin to ban FGM.

That petition, Ms Ranalvi says, was “consigned to the dustbin” - a spokesman for Syedna advised that “Bohra women should understand that our religion advocates the procedure and they should follow it without any argument”.

It’s an advice the petitioners are not willing to take and that’s why, this time, they have approached the Indian government to intervene.

“It’s a form of abuse. And it must stop,” says Ms Insaf.

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Belgium Syria: How a Belgian teenager was lured to jihad

By Murad Batal Shishani BBC News, Kortrijk, Belgium

- 24 December 2015

- From the section Europe

Media captionAbdelmalek one day told his mother: “Don’t expect me for dinner.”

“I wish everything could go back to the way that it was,” sighed Najat, remembering her 19-year-old son.

Last month, jihadist group Islamic State (IS) claimed that Abdelmalek Boutalliss had blown himself up in Iraq.

Originally from the Belgian city of Kortrijk, he had been preparing for his exams when he told his mother, “Don’t expect me for dinner”.

The next day he sent her a photo from Turkey of him with his best friend, saying he was heading to Syria.

Image caption Abdelmalek Boutalliss (right) and his friend stopped in Turkey before they entered Syria

One of hundreds of young Belgians lured by IS to Syria and Iraq, he was given the nom de guerre Abu Nusaybah al-Baljiki. His family are Berbers, an ethnic group from North Africa.

Idriss Boutalliss followed his son to Syria twice, in a desperate attempt to bring him back.

On the second occasion, after a 10-day search, he finally managed to meet him near Raqqa - the self-proclaimed capital of IS.

Abdelmalek refused to leave, telling his father that he would be jailed immediately if he returned to Belgium.

“I spoke to the police and they assured me if you return you will not go to prison,” his father told him. But the teenager said he was lying.

Committed to attacks

At around the same time, in July 2014, Belgian researcher Montasser Alde’emeh spent three weeks in Syria trying to understand what made so many young people from Belgium go there.

“There are about 500 Belgian jihadis [in Syria and Iraq],” he said. “About 70 of them have been killed.”

On his return, he set up a centre aiming to counter extremism and convince Belgians in Syria and Iraq to come home.

Image caption Abdelmalek Boutalliss went missing on 11 June 2014

That was how he came into contact with Abdelmalek Boutalliss, who had put his name down on a list of willing suicide bombers.

These lists can reportedly be found in jihadist training camps.

During a series of conversations via the Whatsapp instant messaging service, the Belgian academic tried to change the teenager’s mind, urging him to think what effect it would have on his mother.

Whatsapp conversation: Excerpts

This WhatsApp conversation originally took place in Dutch. It has been shortened and edited by the BBC.

Montasser Alde’emeh: You should not do that. Remove your name from the list of suicide bombers.

Abdelmalek: Allah willing, I will carry out a “martyrdom operation”

Montasser: Do not blow yourself up, brother. Do not do it. Can’t you imagine how sad your parents will be?

Abdelmalek: You are still looking for the truth, unlike me. I found the truth. I kept searching in Belgium and found it.

Montasser: I hate that you are doing that. Don’t you realise to what extent I care about you?

Abdelmalek: I don’t care. My path to paradise is not in your hands. Whatever you say, I won’t listen.

Montasser: Your parents are still Muslims and they want you to return.

Abdelmalek: If they are real believers they should come here.

Road to radicalisation

Many young European men have been lured by IS via the internet but Abdelmalek Boutalliss was recruited locally in Belgium.

His mother, Najat, said he had begun to show interest in Islam when a teacher began asking him about the religion.

At that point he started visiting a local mosque and his family thinks he was recruited there by a jihadist who had previously fought in Syria.

Young Muslims are still being radicalised in Belgium.

Observers believe they feel alienated from society and angered by Western involvement in Syria.

Since October, the number of Belgian jihadists has risen by 39, according to Belgian expert Pieter Van Ostaeyen.

Image caption Idriss and Najat Boutalliss have struggled to come to terms with their son’s decision to become a jihadist

Last month, 130 people died in co-ordinated attacks claimed by IS on a concert hall, cafes, restaurants and a stadium in Paris.

Several Belgian jihadists took part in the atrocities and the suspected ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud came from the Brussels district of Molenbeek.

Three days before the attacks, on 10 November, IS militants announced that the Belgian teenager they had dubbed Abu Nusaybah al-Baljiki had carried out a suicide attack in Haditha in western Iraq.

IS said he had destroyed three Iraqi military vehicles and killed everyone inside. Iraqi officials insisted his attack had been foiled and he blew himself up some distance from the vehicles.

Whether or not Abdelmalek Boutallis committed murder in western Iraq, his mother Najat still refuses to believe he is dead.

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The stories of Syrian children that went viral in 2015

BBC Trending What’s popular and why

- 24 December 2015

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Around 2 million Syrian children live as refugees, but it’s the heart-breaking stories of a small number of individuals that struck a chord on the internet.

BBC Trending looks at the stories of five Syrian refugee children who captured the attention of the world in 2015.

1. The girl who mistook a camera for a weapon

A photo of a young girl holding up her arms up in front of a camera after she mistook it for a weapon went viral in early 2015 - but little was known about the child.

The original tweet that brought attention to this girl’s story was retweeted over 25,000 times. Back in March, BBC Trending tracked down the Turkish photojournalist, Osman Sağırlı, who took the picture in Atmeh camp on the Syrian border with Turkey. The photo was actually taken in 2014, and the girl’s name is Huda. “I was using a telephoto lens, and she thought it was a weapon,” Sağırlı explained.

BBC Trending tracked down Huda’s father to find out what has happened to the family since the photo of his three-year-old daughter went viral. “Nothing changed,” he said. “Our situation has gone from bad to worse, especially now that it’s winter.” Huda’s father says basic things, like water, are not always available at the camp where they’ve been living for the past three years.

Image copyright Osman Sağırlı

Image caption The original photo was taken by Turkish photographer Osman Sağırlı in 2014

2. The pen-seller’s daughter

A photo of a distressed-looking refugee selling pens on the street in Beirut while carrying his sleeping daughter caught the attention of millions.

These migrants had their lives dramatically changed after an Icelandic journalist and web developer, Gissur Simonarsonn, set out to find them after seeing the image and tweeting it.

It turned out that 33-year-old Abdul Halim Attar and his daughter Reem are Palestinians who were living in the Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria until it was heavily affected by the fighting.

Simonarsonn started a Twitter account and an online crowdfunding campaign aiming to raise $5,000 (£3,200) for Attar and his daughter. He managed to raise over $190,000 (£126,000).

Attar used the money to open three businesses in Beirut: a bakery, a kebab shop and a small restaurant. He says he employs 16 Syrian refugees and is settling in Beirut with his two children, although he’s separated from his wife who returned to Syria.

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Join the conversation on this and other stories here.

3. The girl who’s frightened of men in uniform

An emotional video showing a 5-year-old girl shaking and crying hysterically when approached by a policeman in Turkey has been viewed more 2 million times since it was uploaded in April.

The video shows a Turkish policeman unsuccessfully trying to calm the girl down, while she worries that she will get in trouble for selling tissues on the street.

“I won’t do it again,” she keeps repeating to the officer in the video. Many people commenting on the video pointed out that trauma caused by war has led some Syrian children to panic on the mere sight of men in uniform.

The girl, Aisha, was returned back to her family safely, but little is known about what happened to them. BBC Trending contacted the Turkish humanitarian organisation that uploaded the video, but they said they’ve lost contact with Aisha and her family.

4. The boy beaten up for selling tissues

Like Aisha, 13-year old Ahmed Abayed was selling tissues on the street when he ran into trouble. But his encounter ended differently.

In July images of a restaurant manager in Izmir beating up Abayed circulated widely on Turkish social media. People on the street intervened, and photos showed the boy with a bloody nose.

Many people in Turkey were enraged and took to social media to express anger at how some refugees are being treated.

Ahmed was quoted by local news outlets, saying: “I was only selling tissues. While I was about to sell a pack to a lady there, they pulled me aside and hit me. They stepped on me. Syrians on the other side of the road rushed and poured water on me and I gained consciousness only then.”

Image copyright Twitter

Image caption Photos of teenager Ahmed Abayed were shared widely on social media

What happened to Ahmed? According to local media the Turkish authorities tracked down the teenager and his family, but they didn’t want to file a complaint against the restaurant manager.

Ahmed’s mother, who reportedly suffers from a heart condition, was offered health care. His father was promised a job and the whole family was given a short vacation in a hotel. But Ahmed said he will continue to sell tissues to help support his family.

5. The dead toddler who changed everything

Image copyright Mai Noman

If there was one photo that captured the world’s attention, it was the picture of three-year-old Alan Kurdi’s body washed up on a Turkish beach. That one image came to symbolise the struggles of Syria’s refugees and helped galvanise global appeals to help them.

Alan, along with his brother Galib and mother Rehan, died on 2 September when their boat capsized, killing 12 Syrian migrants on their way to Greece. His father Abdullah was the only member of the family who survived. He now says he’s given up on his dream of going to Europe and that he will return to Syria.

In an interview with BBC Trending, Alan Kurdi’s aunt, Tima Kurdi, says that Alan’s death changed the way the world viewed refugees, “It is very painful to go through this tragedy, but in other ways. we are so proud of this picture [which] saved thousands of refugees,” she says.

Blog and illustrations by Mai Noman

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, and find us on Facebook. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

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Reflect on Christian values, David Cameron says in Christmas message

- 24 December 2015

- From the section UK Politics

Image copyright Getty Images

David Cameron has urged people to reflect on Britain’s Christian values in his Christmas message.

The PM said the country’s “important religious roots” made it “a successful home to people of all faiths and none”.

Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn used a newspaper article to highlight homelessness and praise emergency workers.

Green Party leader Natalie Bennett called for a “different sort of society” while Lib Dem Tim Farron said the world was “in need of hope”.

- In pictures: Leaders’ Christmas cards

Mr Cameron highlighted the plight of people spending Christmas in refugee camps having fled the civil war in Syria, while Christmas in some parts of the world would go to church in fear of persecution.

“Throughout the United Kingdom, some will spend the festive period ill, homeless or alone,” he said.

‘Make a difference’

He paid tribute to people working at Christmas “to help the vulnerable” and said the armed forces were “in the skies of Iraq and Syria, targeting the terrorists that threaten those countries and our security at home” as well as saving migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean.

“It is because they face danger that we have peace,” he added.

Labour said Mr Corbyn would not issue an official Christmas message, but in a Sunday Mirror article, he said many low-paid workers could not afford to take time off over Christmas, and that homelessness was increasing with tens of thousands of people spending the festive season in temporary accommodation.

People should ask themselves whether they could do more for others, he said.

“Jesus said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’”, he said.

“It is a similar maxim that inspired our party: ‘From each according to their means, to each according to their needs.’”

Ms Bennett said people should look to 2016 “with the understanding that politics shouldn’t be just something that gets done to you.

“Politics should be something that you do to make a difference in your society.”

Mr Farron said he hoped people would be inspired in 2016 to make the country a more “compassionate, liberal and welcoming one”, Lib Dem Voice reported.

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Housing benefit cuts would ‘affect schemes for vulnerable’

- 24 December 2015

- From the section UK

Image copyright PA

Housing projects helping more than 400,000 vulnerable adults face closure because of government welfare cuts, analysis on behalf of Labour suggests.

The Treasury’s decision to cap housing benefit at the level available for private rents makes many schemes unviable, the research - carried out by housing providers - said.

The housing cap is part of a £12bn package of cuts from the welfare bill.

The government said the implementation of the policy is still being looked at.

The Labour Party, which commissioned the research, said under the proposed cuts an annual shortfall of £400m would put the frail and elderly at risk of losing their homes.

In the chancellor’s Autumn Statement he said the rate of housing benefit in the social sector would be capped at the same rate as is paid to those in the private rented sector - which would make savings of £225m by 2020-21.

‘Major threat’

But some providers of supported housing say they rely on higher levels of housing benefit to cover the additional costs of care and support needed to cater for vulnerable adults.

The analysis - carried out by the Placeshapers group of housing associations - warned that the cut represented “a major threat to the financial viability of such schemes”.

“Placeshapers is calling for all supported housing schemes to be exempt from the government’s changes to social housing rent levels,” it added.

The research suggested specific schemes such as one in Middlesbrough which helps vulnerable women and another one in Norfolk for children with learning difficulties would be in the firing line if the cap came into force.

‘Forced out’

Labour’s shadow minister for housing John Healey said the housing benefit cap would be a “catastrophe for those who can least afford it”.

“There is no way these people or the organisations who support them can make up the yawning shortfall these cuts will open up,” he added.

“If nothing is done, vital supported housing across the country will close, and the people who rely on them will be forced out.”

The Department for Work and Pensions said it was committed to supporting vulnerable people and details of how the policy will be implemented are still being worked on.

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EU exit could lead to break up of UK, says Lord Hague

- 23 December 2015

- From the section UK Politics

- comments

Image copyright PA

Leaving the EU could lead to the break up of the UK, former Foreign Secretary William Hague has warned.

In the Daily Telegraph, he said he was “unlikely” to join former cabinet colleagues Liam Fox and Owen Paterson in voting to leave in the referendum which he suggested would be in 2016.

Eurosceptic Tory MP Bernard Jenkin said Lord Hague was “completely wrong” to suggest a “Brexit” could split the UK.

The prime minister has promised to hold an in/out vote before the end of 2017.

Mr Hague’s comments came as Poland’s new President, Andrzej Duda, warned in an interview with the BBC that the EU would face a “very serious crisis” if the UK were to leave.

Mr Duda said the EU had “many weaknesses” and warned a UK exit from the bloc could cause further havoc.

“The EU has been shaken time and time again with crises - whether it’s the financial crisis, or the refugees crisis,” he said.

Media captionPolish President Andrzej Duda insists his party are not Eurosceptics but “Euro-realists”

“Let’s not pretend, a UK exit from the EU will be a very serious crisis for the EU. Of that I have no doubt.”

In Mr Hague’s article he warned that if the UK did vote to leave the EU he believed Scottish nationalists would “jump at the chance” to re-open the independence debate, and “the result of it could well be too close to call”.

He also said a UK departure would see the 28-member bloc lose one of its “respected military powers” and leave it weakened.

“To end up destroying the UK and gravely weakening the European Union would not be a very clever day’s work,” he wrote.

“So, even as a long-standing critic of so much of that struggling organisation, I am unlikely in 2016 to vote to leave it,” he said.

“We will have to ask, disliking so many aspects of it as we do, whether we really want to weaken it, and at the same time increase the chances, if the UK left the EU, of Scotland leaving the UK.”

Analysis

Image copyright PA

By BBC political correspondent Iain Watson

When he was Conservative leader, William Hague fought the 2001 election campaign on a strong commitment to keep the pound, and keep out of the euro.

He has been seen as a Eurosceptic ever since.

But Lord Hague says a vote to withdraw would give the SNP the pretext to call second referendum on independence.

Those who want to leave the EU are likely to see this as a tacit admission that Prime Minister David Cameron’s negotiations will produce little of substance and that alternative arguments are already being marshalled for continued UK membership.

Responding to Lord Hague’s comments, Mr Jenkin said Downing Street was “clearly mounting a campaign to stay in the EU” even though Mr Cameron’s renegotiations are not yet complete.

He added: “It is extremely unlikely that if England, Wales and Northern Ireland voted clearly to leave the European Union, that Scotland would vote differently.”

He told BBC Radio 4’s The World at One that Mr Hague’s view “was not a surprise” and urged the prime minister not to “muzzle” ministers in expressing their views on a decision that “utterly dwarfs” the significance of a general election.

SNP Europe spokesman Stephen Gethins said the Conservatives had “lost all credibility on Europe”.

“While it is welcome progress to see senior Tories finally ceding that it would be completely unacceptable for Scotland to be dragged out of the European Union against its will - we still have no answers as to how they will ensure this does not happen,” he added.

On Monday former Deputy Prime Minister Lord Heseltine warned of a “civil war” in the Conservative Party if cabinet ministers were given a free vote in the EU referendum - meaning they could vote as they saw fit and were not whipped into toeing the party line.

He argued that a free vote would make Mr Cameron a global “laughing stock”.

Meanwhile, Conservative Party vice-chairman Mark Field has also criticised calls for ministers to be given a free vote.

He told the Daily Telegraph that anyone who was not prepared to back Mr Cameron’s re-negotiation should resign from the government.

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UK growth estimate revised down to 0.4% for third quarter

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Business

Image copyright AP

The UK economy grew by 0.4% in the third quarter of the year, figures show, less than previously estimated.

The rate was revised down from 0.5% because the key services sector, which accounts for well over 70% of UK economic activity, grew more slowly than had been thought.

It is the third estimate for the quarter from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The ONS also cut its estimate of second quarter GDP growth from 0.7% to 0.5%.

In annual terms, growth in the third quarter of the year was revised down to 2.1% from the previous estimate of 2.3%.

The UK economy has been growing for 11 consecutive quarters.

A Treasury spokesman said in a statement that the figures highlighted that risks to the UK economy remained despite it being “the fastest growing economy in the G7 last year”.

“We’re leading the pack with the US this year, we have a record high employment rate and the deficit is down,” the Treasury said.

Fragile

Simon French, chief economist at stockbrokers Panmure Gordon, said the figures added to a picture of a fragile economy: “It’s been a bad 24 hours for the chancellor with bad public sector borrowing numbers [on Tuesday]. It is the fourth of seven quarters where the ONS growth estimate overestimated the strength of of the economy.

He said the most worrying part was the weakness of the service sector, which is the engine of the UK economy.

Other figures released on Wednesday showed scant prospect of a pick up in that.

Figures for the service sector in October - the first month of the fourth quarter - only grew 0.1% between September and October, suggesting fourth quarter GDP has made a slow start. The previous month the index grew by 0.5%.

Martin Beck, senior economic advisor to the forecasting group EY ITEM Club, said the full picture had not yet emerged: “Given the extent to which the economy has benefitted from very low inflation and the degree of spare capacity, this should really have been a year where the economy grew in excess of 3%.

“However, recent experience suggests that we should not write off 2015 just yet, given the clear tendency for the GDP data to eventually be revised up over subsequent years.”

US economic growth was also revised down this week, but despite that slight weakening, the US economy is perceived by its central bank to be strong enough to withstand a rise in interest rates. Borrowing costs were raised by the Federal Reserve for the first time in nine years last week.

The Bank of England is widely expected to hold back from following the Fed’s lead until well into 2016.

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Minimum alcohol pricing plan ‘may breach EU law’

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Scotland

Image copyright Thinkstock

Image caption The legislation to bring in a minimum price of 50p per unit was passed by the Scottish Parliament in May 2012

A European court has said the Scottish government’s case for a minimum unit price for alcohol is contrary to EU law if other tax options exist.

The European Court of Justice ruling instead recommends the introduction of alternative tax measures.

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon have both welcomed the ruling.

The legislation to bring in a minimum price of 50p per unit was passed by the Scottish Parliament in May 2012.

A legal challenge was brought by the SWA, which argued the Scottish government’s legislation breached European law.

The European court ruling said: “The Court of Justice considers that the effect of the Scottish legislation is significantly to restrict the market, and this might be avoided by the introduction of a tax measure designed to increase the price of alcohol instead of a measure imposing a minimum price per unit of alcohol.”

Image copyright Thinkstock

Image caption The Scottish government wants to set a 50p rate per unit of alcohol

It added: “The court states that it is ultimately for the national court to determine whether measures other than that provided for by the Scottish legislation, such as increased taxation on alcoholic drinks, are capable of protecting human life and health as effectively as the current legislation, while being less restrictive of trade in those products within the EU.”

Reacting to the judgement, Ms Sturgeon tweeted: “ECJ opinion on minimum pricing welcome.

“We believe it is most effective way of tackling alcohol misuse. National court will now decide.”

Health Secretary Shona Robison added: “This ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union indicates, importantly, that it will be for the domestic courts to take a final decision on minimum unit pricing.

“While we must await the final outcome of this legal process, the Scottish government remains certain that minimum unit pricing is the right measure for Scotland. We believe it is the most effective mechanism for tackling alcohol misuse and reducing the harm that cheap, high-strength alcohol causes our communities.

“We maintain that minimum unit pricing would target heavy drinkers as they tend to drink the cheap, high strength alcohol that will be most affected by the policy.

“The case will now continue to the Scottish courts, and we look forward to a hearing in the new year to determine the outcome in this case.”

David Frost, SWA chief executive, said: “The SWA always said European Union law issues were central to this case, and so it has proved. This settles EU law issues once and for all.

“The court has confirmed that minimum unit pricing is a restriction on trade, and that it is illegal to choose MUP [minimum unit pricing] where there are less restrictive ways of achieving the same end.

“The Scottish courts will now reflect on the implications of the ruling and all the evidence, before issuing a final judgement.”

Analysis

By BBC Scotland’s home affairs correspondent Reevel Alderson

Plus ça change, plus ça même chose. Wednesday’s ruling from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) is far from the end of a legal process which began in 2012 when the Scottish Parliament passed legislation allowing a MUP for alcohol to be set.

The matter will now return to the Court of Session in Edinburgh, which had asked the ECJ to rule on whether MUP contravenes EU law.

The Scottish judges will have to examine all of the evidence to help them decide whether improvements in public health - which the government says is the desired aim of MUP - could be achieved by other means, notably increasing tax rates.

Ministers have argued that MUP would specifically hit high-strength alcoholic drinks which cause significant problems, particularly among young people.

Whatever the Court of Session decides, it is almost inevitable there will be a further appeal to the UK Supreme Court, either by the Scottish government or the Scotch Whisky Association, whose challenge to the policy has halted its implementation.

Alison Douglas, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, said the ruling showed Scotland would be able to introduce minimum pricing “provided it is more effective than taxation”.

Ms Douglas argued minimum pricing was a better measure than alcohol taxes, which are “limited in their ability to raise the price of the cheapest alcohol to a level that will actually reduce harm”.

She also criticised the Scotch Whisky Association, saying it had “blocked the democratic will of the Scottish Parliament and sacrificed public health to protect their members’ profits”.

The chairman of BMA Scotland, Dr Peter Bennie, added: “The case for minimum unit pricing has always been based on the fact that it achieves what taxation cannot when it comes to reducing the harm caused by alcohol, so the decision of the European Court setting out the test that must be applied to the policy is a welcome one.

“Today’s ruling returns the case to the Scottish courts and puts Scotland a step closer to implementing minimum pricing.”

‘Unhealthy relationship’

Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (Shaap), which represents medical professionals, also welcomed the judgement.

Shaap director Eric Carlin said it “effectively confirms that the Scottish minimum unit pricing policy has to be justified as a regulatory measure to work alongside taxation increases.

“We hope that the Scottish courts will now move quickly to gather evidence to conclude this case and that the Scottish government will then implement this key policy without delay.”

Holyrood ministers have previously said minimum pricing was vital to address Scotland’s “unhealthy relationship with drink”.

Under the plans, the cheapest bottle of wine (9.4 units of alcohol) would be £4.69 and a four-pack of 500ml cans of 4% lager would cost at least £4.

It would mean a 70cl bottle of whisky could not be sold for less than £14.

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Muslim family’s halted Disneyland trip is raised with PM

- 23 December 2015

- From the section UK

Image caption Mohammad Tariq Mahmood says he still wants to visit the United States

Labour MP Stella Creasy has called on the prime minister to challenge the US after a UK Muslim family was barred from boarding a flight to Los Angeles.

The family of 11, from Ms Creasy’s Walthamstow constituency, had planned a holiday to Disneyland but were stopped at Gatwick Airport on 15 December.

Mohammad Tariq Mahmood said his family was given no reason why US officials had refused to allow them to board.

US officials said travellers were not barred based on religious beliefs.

Downing Street said David Cameron would respond to the issues raised.

Family ‘livid’

Ms Creasy has written to the prime minister urging him to press the US authorities on what she said was “a growing problem” of British Muslims being barred from the US without explanation.

She said she had “hit a brick wall” in her own attempts to get answers from the US embassy.

“A lot of Muslim constituents are now saying to me that they’re frightened about flying. They’re frightened they’re going to lose money, they’re frightened they’re not going to be able to see relatives.”

She told BBC radio 5 live she was aware of four other UK cases of Muslims being denied entry to the US.

“Nobody knows why these people were stopped. We do know what the common denominator is between them. All of us agree we’ve absolutely got to be vigilant about tackling terrorism, and we’ve got to be clear prejudice hasn’t got a part to play in that,” she added.

Mr Mahmood, who was travelling with his brother and their children, aged eight to 19, had planned to visit their elder brother in southern California and go to the theme parks.

He said UK Border officials told them at the departure lounge that they were not allowed to board the plane, despite them all having authorisation to travel under the US Visa Waiver Programme.

Image copyright AP

Image caption Disneyland and Universal Studios have recently increased security at the theme parks

Mr Mahmood told the BBC: “Just before the final check to get into the lounge we were singled out.

“A man from UK Border Force came and said, ‘I’m sorry you can’t board this flight. We received a call from Washington DC that we can’t allow this family to board the flight.’”

Mr Mahmood said he had educated his children “to live in this country peacefully” and had been invited to speak at local schools about Islamophobia.

He told BBC Radio 5 live it had seemed a clear case of discrimination.

He said his children were “traumatised, really upset” after their cancelled trip, saying, “They think they’ve done something wrong.”

“I want an explanation, and what’s going to happen next. I would still like to go to America, I would like my kids to fulfil their dreams.”

Image caption Stella Creasy said she was concerned about “increasing numbers” of British Muslims being stopped from entering the US

Mr Mahmood said the airline Norwegian had told them they would not be refunded the £9,000 cost of their flights.

They were also forced to return everything they had purchased at Gatwick’s duty-free shops before being escorted from the airport, he said.

Mr Mahmood also said he had been refused entry to Israel eight years ago. He and another man remained at the airport before returning on a flight two days later. He added that he was not held for eight days, as had previously been reported.

His brother, Muhammad, who runs an auto repair shop in San Bernardino, California, said he could think of no reason why his relatives would represent a threat to the United States and called on his government to explain its actions.

“They can get away with anything by saying national security… and you can not even challenge that,” he told the BBC. “There needs to be a reason given.”

‘Complete uproar’

A US Customs and Border Protection spokesman said: “The religion, faith, or spiritual beliefs of an international traveller are not determining factors about his or her admissibility into the US.

“In order to demonstrate that they are admissible, the applicant must overcome all grounds of inadmissibility.”

The spokesman also said there were 60 categories of inadmissibility, including health-related, prior criminal convictions, security reasons and immigration violations.

UK immigration minister James Brokenshire said the government would look into the incident but ultimately the decision was up to the US authorities.

But chairman of the home affairs select committee Keith Vaz said there seemed to be a growing pattern of British citizens being refused entry to the US.

“This is one of our closest allies in the world and the way we treat each other’s citizens is extremely important,” he said.

“If you imagine if an American citizen was told by a British official they couldn’t board a plane, there would be complete uproar in the United States of America.”

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Five large banks paid no corporation tax in 2014, analysis shows

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Business

Image copyright Getty Images

Five of the largest banks in the UK paid no corporation tax in 2014, despite making billions of pounds in profits, analysis by Reuters has shown.

JP Morgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, Nomura Holdings and Morgan Stanley paid no corporation tax at all, the news agency said.

The banks offset past losses against their taxable income for 2013-14.

The banks have so far declined to comment, but their tax returns say they complied with UK tax rules.

The research into the financial reports found that seven banks, which also included Goldman Sachs and UBS, used tax benefits as well as losses generated during the banking crisis to reduce their corporation tax bills.

The seven banks paid a combined £20m in corporation tax in 2014, even though they had profits of £3.6bn on revenues of £21bn, the news agency said. The banks employed 33,000 staff.

But the financial reports noted that the banks followed all UK tax rules, and that tax payments can be volatile and may reflect profits and losses from previous years.

Moral issue?

Laura Lambie of the investment management firm Investec told the BBC that there were a number of reasons why the banks paid little or no corporation tax.

“Certainly in the case of Deutsche there are questions as to why it’s not paying UK tax. Some of the other banks, it’s because they have big losses carried forward from previous years,” she said.

She added that there was “a kind of moral issue there” for the banks, although she acknowledged that bank staff do pay large amounts of UK income tax.

She said that fines for foreign exchange or Libor rigging, or consumer product mis-selling, have seen many banks still produce high levels of revenue for the UK authorities.

The ability of big banks to offset current profits against previous losses was reduced by the government in the 2014 Autumn Statement.

In December 2014, Chancellor George Osborne said that the “amount of profit in established banks that can be offset by losses carried forward” would be limited to 50% of their profits in the 2015-16 tax year.

But banks were given better news in the 2015 Budget when Mr Osborne said corporation tax was to be cut to 19% in 2017 and 18% in 2020.

Losses and profits

The ability of a company to cut its corporation tax bill, by offsetting past losses against current profits, is a long ingrained feature of the UK tax system.

It existed even before the current system of corporation tax was invented in 1965, replacing the previous system whereby companies paid income tax and also a separate profits tax.

Unlike some countries, the UK does not have a time limit restricting how long a company can hang on to past losses before using them.

But UK-based banks are not having it all their own way.

From January 2016 banks will have to pay an 8% surcharge on their profits.

That is being introduced as an alternative to the Bank Levy on bank balance sheets - first introduced by George Osborne in January 2011 - which is now being cut back over the next six years.

A Treasury spokesman said: “We’re creating a tax regime for the banking sector that is sustainable and fair, while maintaining the competitiveness of the UK as a global financial centre and supporting lending to the wider economy.”

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Greens challenge TV broadcast omission

- 23 December 2015

- From the section UK Politics

Image copyright Reuters

The Green Party says it will challenge the BBC’s decision not to offer it a party political broadcast - while UKIP is to be allocated three annual slots.

It has launched a petition against what it calls a “broadcast blackout”, saying it increased its vote share and has the same number of MPs - one - as UKIP.

The BBC based its decision on new rules for how broadcasts should be allocated.

The BBC Trust guidelines highlight an “unexpected discrepancy” between the number of UKIP MPs and its vote share.

Party political broadcasts take place three times a year in England, Scotland and Wales and once a year in Northern Ireland.

The latest allocations were announced on Monday, with UKIP joining the Conservatives, Labour and Lib Dems in the list of parties being offered broadcasts in England.

Urgent meeting

Green Party leader Natalie Bennett said she was “astonished” her party was being denied “vital broadcast coverage”.

“We’ve grown as a party by more than three times in the last 12 months,” she said.

“I’m starting to wonder what exactly it is that we need to do to convince the BBC to grant us fair representation.”

The party said it would request an urgent meeting with the BBC and urged support for a petition on the 38 Degrees website.

The BBC Trust, which carried out a public consultation on the new criteria for inclusion, said the previous guidelines, set in 2012, “did not anticipate the anomaly arising from an unprecedented discrepancy between representation (seats) and share of the vote in the last general election”.

It said this was particularly the case with UKIP, which could have missed out despite having a larger vote share at the general election than the Lib Dems.

In light of the promised in-out EU referendum, it added: “The BBC Executive considers that it could be an exacerbating factor if a party which was unambiguously in favour of leaving the EU was unfairly denied” party political broadcasts.

In Wales, Plaid Cymru is also included, and in Scotland the list is made up of the SNP, Labour, the Tories and Lib Dems.

In Northern Ireland broadcasts have been offered to the Democratic Unionist Party, Sinn Fein, the Ulster Unionist Party, the SDLP and the Alliance Party.

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Osborne’s NHS cash pledge ‘has unravelled’, says Labour

By Hugh Pym Health editor

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Health

Image copyright Thinkstock

The government’s promise of a £3.8bn financial boost for the NHS in England next year has “unravelled”, the Labour Party has said.

The above-inflation cash injection represents a rise of nearly 4% on NHS England’s £101bn front-line budget.

But Labour said the money would be swallowed up covering hospital deficits - which are expected to reach £2bn this year - and higher pension costs.

The government said Labour’s assumptions were wrong.

“We’re helping hospitals improve finances with tough controls on agency staff and management consultants and introducing some cost-saving measures identified by the government efficiency adviser Lord Carter,” the Department of Health added.

Chancellor George Osborne announced the additional £3.8bn in real terms on top of NHS England’s £100bn-a-year budget in the November spending review.

Chief economist from health think tank The King’s Fund, John Appleby, said that although the NHS would get an increase in funding, it had “in effect, already spent the money”.

The health service faced an “unprecedented” challenge, and would be starting the year with a deficit, and with extra costs ahead, he said.

Labour says that £2.2bn will be swallowed up by deficits at hospitals and other NHS trusts.

That figure is the total overspend projected by trusts this year, which Labour argues will continue in 2016-17 because of the intense financial pressures on the health service.

Labour says that on top of that, NHS employers will have to fork out more for employee pensions.

‘More spin’

The lower national insurance contributions they currently pay for staff who have opted out of the second state pension will be abolished. A new single state pension will be introduced, which will mean higher employer contributions.

Quoting a parliamentary answer, Labour says that the pension reforms will cost NHS employers a further £1.1bn a year.

Adding that to the £2.2bn for covering trust deficits, Labour argues, means that much of the extra cash allocated for the NHS is already spoken for.

And that, says the party, leaves little to cover the anticipated increase in patient demand and the cost of government plans to extend NHS weekend working.

“George Osborne’s promise of extra money to the NHS is more spin than substance,” Labour’s shadow health secretary Heidi Alexander said.

“The scale of the financial challenge facing the NHS means that there are now real doubts about whether this money will be sufficient to repair hospital finances, let alone deliver the Tories’ promise of a ‘seven-day NHS’.”

But the Department of Health questioned Labour’s figures.

Officials said it was wrong to assume that the £2.2bn total projected deficit for trusts this financial year would continue through next year. They said trusts would continue to make efficiency savings which would reduce the level of overspending.

By 2020-21 the total NHS budget will be £119.6bn - a rise of £8.4bn once inflation is taken into account - meaning the government will have kept its manifesto promise.

Labour’s critics point out that the party did not match the Conservatives’ election pledge to raise NHS spending in England by that amount.

Labour said it only offered voters “fully costed” spending commitments.

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EU referendum: Polish leader Duda fears ‘crisis’ if UK leaves

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Europe

Media captionPolish President Andrzej Duda insists his party are not Eurosceptics but “Euro-realists”

Poland’s new President, Andrzej Duda, has warned that the European Union would face a “very serious crisis” if the UK were to leave.

UK PM David Cameron has promised a referendum on EU membership by the end of 2017 and is pushing for reform.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Duda said he wanted to see the EU “fixed” to make it more efficient and more democratic.

But he criticised Mr Cameron’s key proposal to delay in-work benefits for new EU migrants for four years.

He said he would not accept any EU labour laws that could discriminate against individuals from particular member states.

Image copyright AP

Image caption David Cameron presented his demands for reforms at the EU summit in Brussels last week

Correspondents say Mr Duda’s surprise election victory in May signalled a shift to the right in Polish politics.

He is an ally of the ruling conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS), which has clashed with domestic and EU critics in recent weeks over claims it is trying to manipulate state institutions.

‘Euro-realists’

Speaking to the BBC, in his first interview to international broadcast media as president, Mr Duda said the EU had “many weaknesses” and warned a so-called “Brexit” from the bloc could cause further havoc.

“The EU has been shaken time and time again with crises - whether it’s the financial crisis, or the refugees crisis,” he said.

“Let’s not pretend, a UK exit from the EU will be a very serious crisis for the EU. Of that I have no doubt.”

He said Poland’s new leaders were not Eurosceptics but “Euro-realists”, and that he wanted the EU to change.

MEPs from his PiS party sit with the British Conservatives in the European Parliament.

UK’s EU referendum in-depth

Q&A: What Britain wants from Europe

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“We want the EU to be efficient. So that it will foresee any possible future problems that are coming its way.”

But he said he did not agree with Mr Cameron’s drive to allow EU migrants to receive in-work benefits only after living in the UK for four years.

“I do not agree with contravening our basic freedoms, which we have in the EU framework - one of which is the principle of non-discrimination,” he said.

“And this is where I am completely against changing that principle.”

‘Inciting society’

Mr Duda also commented on protests in recent weeks against planned changes to the Constitutional Court which critics say will undermine its ability to hold authorities to account.

The legislation requires cases to be adjudicated by a panel of at least 13 of the court’s 15 judges - the minimum is between five and nine under the present system.

The change was approved by the lower house of Poland’s parliament on Tuesday and now goes before the upper chamber, also controlled by PiS.

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption An anti-government rally: But Poland has also seen rival, pro-government marches

Mr Duda accused the protesters of not accepting the results of the October elections.

“These demonstrations are, above all, made up of those who until recently governed Poland - and who were removed from power by Polish voters in the general election,” he said.

“They simply do not want to accept this.”

The head of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, has criticised the Poland’s new leadership, denouncing a “a lack of solidarity” over the refugee crisis.

Mr Duda told the BBC the country welcomed “people who wanted to come here” but repeated the government’s refusal to accept mandatory quotas for resettling asylum seekers.

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Afghanistan Taliban: British military deployed to Helmand

- 22 December 2015

- From the section UK

Image copyright MOD

Image caption The majority of British troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan in 2014

British military personnel have been deployed to Afghanistan’s Helmand province as reports suggest the Taliban is close to overrunning Sangin town.

A small number of personnel had been sent to Camp Shorabak - near the former Camp Bastion - in an “advisory role”, the Ministry of Defence said.

They will not be in combat and are part of a larger Nato team, it said.

UK combat operations in Afghanistan ended last year, but about 450 troops remain in mentoring and support roles.

Helmand’s governor, Mirza Khan Rahimi, insisted the authorities were still in control of Sangin, in the province, but his own deputy said the town had been overrun by Taliban militants.

The police headquarters reportedly remains under siege after a Taliban attack.

Maj Richard Streatfield, who spent seven months in Sangin in 2009 and 2010 with the Rifles, told the BBC it was “hugely disappointing” to see the town under threat again.

“I won’t deny, on a personal level, it does make you wonder - was it worth it?” he said.

“Because if the people we were trying to free Afghanistan from are now able to just take it back within two years, that shows that something went badly wrong at the operational and strategic level.”

- UK’s fallen: Military deaths in Afghanistan

- Timeline: UK troops in Afghanistan

- Why is Sangin important?

- Who are the Taliban?

There are about 10 British personnel now at Camp Shorobak - an army camp some 60 miles by road from Sangin, the BBC understands.

A spokeswoman for the MoD said they would be providing advice to the Afghan National Army as part of the UK’s “ongoing contribution” to Nato’s Resolute Support mission.

They will not deploy outside the camp, she added.

‘Leadership in turmoil’

Image copyright AFP/Getty Images

Image caption British military personnel have been supporting the Afghan National Army

By Jonathan Marcus, BBC defence correspondent

The Taliban surge, not just in Helmand but in a number of other provinces, has highlighted the dysfunction at the heart of the Afghan government and thrown the continuing problems of the Afghan military into high relief.

The Taliban resurgence is as much a product of the turmoil in its top leadership as anything else, with different factions vying for power and seeking to demonstrate their pre-eminence by displays of military prowess.

The fact that the so-called Islamic State organisation is slowly putting down roots in the turmoil is also worrying Western military planners and adding a new dimension to the Afghan conundrum.

Read more from Jonathan here.

Defence select committee chairman Julian Lewis said British forces must be able to respond more flexibly to extremists in Afghanistan, as well as in Iraq and Syria.

He suggested having a “flexible force which can swoop in and swoop out again, a mixture of special forces supported by air power in support of friendly ground forces where they exist”.

The UK, however, should resist getting drawn in permanently to build up a nation in a country that is not ready for it, he told BBC Radio 4’s World At One.

Another senior figure, Lord Dannatt - former head of the British Army - said he believed Afghanistan was a lower priority than Syria and Libya, and any upsurge in British military effort should be focused there instead.

Dr Mike Martin, who spent two years in Afghanistan as a British army officer and wrote the book An Intimate War, said the UK should leave Afghanistan alone and not pour money into what he calls a “micro civil war”.

Portraying the conflict as the government versus Taliban was “simplistic” when many factors, such as the drugs trade, water, territorial battles, were behind the fighting, he told BBC Radio 4’s PM.

Timeline: UK troops in Afghanistan

Image copyright Danny Lawson

October 2001 - Following the 9/11 attacks, the US accuses the Taliban, the ruling power in Afghanistan, of harbouring terrorist Osama Bin Laden. Britain becomes involved soon after, deploying ground troops

December 2001 - The city of Kandahar, the last Taliban stronghold, falls to US coalition forces. Then Prime Minister Tony Blair hails a victory. Within a year it becomes clear the Taliban has regrouped and is fighting back

January 2006 - More than 3,000 British forces move into the southern Helmand province, with their base at Camp Bastion, as fighting intensifies

October 2009 - The UK sends more troops - at the peak of the conflict there are 9,500 British troops in Afghanistan. Nato and the US also send more troops. It becomes the bloodiest year of the campaign, but the coalition begins to win ground

October 2014 - The last British combat troops withdraw from Afghanistan, after 13 years of combat

December 2015 - A small number of personnel are sent to Camp Shorabak in an “advisory role”, working as part of a larger Nato team, the MoD says.

Read more about the history of the conflict

Some 12,000 foreign soldiers are deployed as part of the Nato-led Resolute Support international coalition, which is meant to underpin Afghanistan’s own security forces.

On Monday, a Taliban suicide bombing near Bagram killed six US soldiers in one of the deadliest attacks on foreign forces in the country this year.

Nato acknowledged progress in the last year had been “uneven”, but said the Afghans were “resilient”.

It added that they had become more adept at conducting planned operations and were successfully using helicopters now.

Media captionCaptain Doug Beattie, who served in Afghanistan, says that failure in Helmand would be “a bitter pill to take”

The battle for Sangin comes a little over a year after the end of UK combat operations in Afghanistan.

More than 450 British personnel died in the conflict, with the heaviest losses suffered in and around Sangin.

Victoria Bateman, whose husband L/Cpl James Bateman was among them, said it almost took her back to the time he died.

If his death had been for nothing, she believed she was owed an explanation, she told the BBC.

Brenda Hale, whose husband Captain Mark Hale was killed in an explosion in Helmand in August 2009, said: “When I’d seen the headline earlier today my breath was snatched away from me.

“Particularly because it’s Sangin and especially at Christmas time when families like mine are just trying to get through the holiday with a very empty chair in our house,” she told BBC Radio 5 live.

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Scottish political leaders issue Christmas messages

- 24 December 2015

- From the section Scotland politics

Image copyright PA

Image caption Nicola Sturgeon recorded a Christmas message with children from Edinburgh

The first minister has wished Scots a Merry Christmas in a video message filmed with primary school children.

Eight-year-old pupils at Forthview Primary in Edinburgh joined Nicola Sturgeon for the film.

Kezia Dugdale, the leader of Scottish Labour, used her Christmas message to welcome child refugees to Scotland.

Ruth Davidson, of the Scottish Conservatives, said she hopes Scots remember those in need this festive season.

Ms Sturgeon recorded the video at a children’s Christmas party that she hosted at her official residence earlier this month.

The first minister said: “The sound of excited children ringing round Bute House was a wonderful experience and there was no better opportunity to join in with them to wish everyone a very happy Christmas.”

The film includes some behind-the-scenes footage during the launch of the first minister’s charity Christmas card.

All sales of the cards will go to the four charities - Enable Scotland, Children 1st, Books Abroad and the Scottish Refugee Council.

Image copyright PA

Image caption Kezia Dugdale welcomed refugees in her Christmas message

Ms Dugdale, while welcoming refugees to Scotland, also praised the work of the armed forces and the emergency services.

She said: “From the Irish immigration of past centuries to the arrival of Syrians today, we have opened the doors of our nation to those seeking a better way of life.

“Those travelling halfway across the world need our support. They are ordinary people who don’t want to live in fear of constant violence. They are families who just want to get on with their lives. They are children with hopes and dreams of a better way of life. We should welcome them into our communities with open arms.

“Christmas is also a time of year not only to help those in need but also to give thanks to those who do so much for our country. We pay tribute to our armed forces, particularly those involved in conflict right now. No matter our view of the decisions of government leaders, no one can doubt the bravery of those who serve our country.

“Those who work in our emergency services will also keep our hospitals open and streets safe in the next few weeks. They quietly go about their business all year round without much fuss. Now is the time of year to show our appreciation.”

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption Ruth Davidson urged people to think about those in need

Ms Davidson, in her Christmas address, said the festive season can be a “cruel” time for some.

She said: “As we approach this time for celebration, many of us will be excited about giving and receiving presents, linking up with loved ones we haven’t seen in too long, and probably eating and drinking more than is good for us.

“It’s undoubtedly a special time of year, and one we rightly treasure.

“But for many others Christmas can also be cruel. Thousands across Scotland and the UK face difficulty on a daily basis.

“And if you’re lonely, worried about your job, your marriage or relationship is in difficulty or you are suffering from bereavement, far from being the best time of year, Christmas can be the hardest.

“I hope everyone can find time to enjoy themselves, but also to make those precious couple of phone calls or visits to those who - at this time of year more than ever - need to hear a friendly voice or see a familiar face.”

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‘Warm Welsh welcome’ for Syrian refugees at Christmas

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Wales politics

Image copyright Getty Images

Syrian refugees facing their first Christmas in Wales are sure to get a “warm Welsh welcome”, the first minister has said.

Carwyn Jones said Wales had a “proud tradition of being a friendly and hospitable nation”.

“The message of peace and hope is particularly poignant this year,” he said, referring to the terrorist attacks in Tunisia and Paris.

About 50 refugees from Syria have been re-settled in Wales with more to come.

Torfaen, Ceredigion, Neath Port Talbot and Caerphilly have been the first councils to welcome refugees, with more to be dispersed to other areas in the new year.

In his seasonal message to the nation, Mr Jones said: “At Christmas, it’s more important than ever that we spread the message of togetherness and unity in our Welsh communities.

“We have a proud tradition of being a friendly and hospitable nation.

“As fifty Syrian refugees make their home in Wales, they will be experiencing their first festive season in the UK - I’m sure they’ll get a warm Welsh welcome and we wish them well in their new lives.”

The first minister also asked people to “spare a thought” for those working over Christmas - such as the emergency services, medical professionals, charities, care workers and the armed forces - who “all deserve our thanks”.

“They work tirelessly while we enjoy ourselves,” he said.

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Jeremy Corbyn’s 19,485 Early Day Motions

By Rajdeep Sandhu Political reporter

- 24 December 2015

- From the section UK Politics

Image copyright Chris Ratcliffe/Getty Images

Before Jeremy Corbyn became leader of the Labour Party he was a very active and opinionated backbencher.

Backbench MPs can speak relatively freely about their views, and Mr Corbyn took full advantage of this inside and outside Parliament. It’s well known to most, by now, that he was the most rebellious Labour MP of recent times - voting against the party leadership 533 times since Tony Blair came to power in 1997.

But he has made his voice heard on a dizzying range of issues since the day he first arrived in the Commons in 1983, as MP for Islington North, often using a Parliamentary tool known as an Early Day Motion (EDM).

According to data on Early Day Motions on the Parliament website, since 1989 Mr Corbyn has signed 19,485 motions. Of those he was the primary sponsor of 766 and a co-sponsor on 2,727.

Before we start, what are Early Day Motions?

Early Day Motions are “are formal motions submitted for debate in the House of Commons” according to the Parliament website, yet it goes on to say “very few are actually debated”. Essentially they are petitions for MPs to start or put their name too. They aren’t necessarily an effective way of bringing about change and some MPs have previously called them “narcissistic” and “pointless”.

But they are a good way for an MP to draw attention to an issue without having to wait for their turn to come around for things like an adjournment debate, backbench business debates - or until their number gets drawn for a Private Member’s Bill.

Based on the motions he signed what would Corbyn World be like?

Image copyright Reuters

To start with there probably wouldn’t be a London Eye. In 1996 he filed a motion titled “Ferris wheel and the homeless”. The motion said it was depressing that planning permission had been granted “for a 500 foot giant ferris wheel on the South Bank of the Thames” it went on to say it would “be an eyesore and totally inappropriate for that site”. He called for the money to be spent on the homeless instead.

There would be no nuclear weapons either.

Trident

Image copyright PA

Mr Corbyn is a long-time supporter of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. During his time as an MP he has submitted over 50 Early Day Motions voicing his opposition to nuclear arms in the UK and abroad. Shortly before becoming Labour leader he had submitted one titled “Trident and the Strategic Defence and Security Review” which called for the review to set out “how it has considered the delivery of UK defence and security capability without nuclear weapons, including threat assessments, estimated costs and all non-nuclear options”.

Animal cruelty (and asteroids)

Image copyright Other

Mr Corbyn is a staunch defender of animal rights and has signed many an EDM calling for an end to cruelty (including one urging the BBC not to repeat an episode of Michael Palin’s Around the World in 80 days in which a snake was skinned alive).

But it was a 2004 motion tabled by the late Labour MP Tony Banks that caught commentators’ eyes when Mr Corbyn became Labour leader, for its apparent call for the obliteration of the human race (Mr Banks had a well-developed sense of humour).

It read: “That this House is appalled, but barely surprised, at the revelations in M15 files regarding the bizarre and inhumane proposals to use pigeons as flying bombs; recognises the important and live-saving role of carrier pigeons in two world wars and wonders at the lack of gratitude towards these gentle creatures; and believes that humans represent the most obscene, perverted, cruel, uncivilised and lethal species ever to inhabit the planet and looks forward to the day when the inevitable asteroid slams into the earth and wipes them out thus giving nature the opportunity to start again.”

Fizzy pop and Arsenal

Closer to home, in the House of Commons, Mr Corbyn wants to remove the vending machines that are “packed with crisps, fizzy drinks and confectionery” and instead offer “fruit and a number of healthy beverages and snacks”.

Early Day Motions are sometimes used as a way to congratulate schools, sporting stars and the work of individuals. Being a football fan Mr Corbyn has congratulated his local football club, Arsenal 13 times - both the men and women’s teams. His most recent was in June congratulating “Arsenal on their twelfth winning of the FA Cup” adding further congratulations to “the whole team, manager Arsene Wenger and all supporters on this triumph and the wonderful skills displayed in the final”.

Image copyright AP Photo/ Rebecca Naden, Pool)

Image caption Arsenal win FA Cup Final in 2005

Non-Corbyn Early Day Motions on sport this parliament include:

- Alex Salmond, former SNP leader, congratulating golfer Russell Knox, from Inverness, on winning his first PGA tour. The motion went on to say it “looks forward to many more tour victories to come from Scottish professional golfers”

- Keith Vaz, Labour MP, decided to congratulate formula one driver Lewis Hamilton on winning the US Grand Prix and called him “a role model for young people”

- Douglas Chapman, SNP MP, congratulated Wayne Rooney on becoming England’s top goal scorer of all time

- Hannah Bardell, SNP MP, condemned the banning of bagpipes at the Rugby World Cup saying it was not “dangerous”

Al Jazeera in Parliament

Other causes he has promoted include providing Al Jazeera English channel for MPs to watch on the parliamentary estate to help them be “better informed”.

A memorial for protester Brian Haw

Jeremy Corbyn would also like a memorial in Parliament for protester Brian Haw who camped in Parliament Square for years, protesting against wars, especially the Iraq one. He died in 2011.

Image copyright Press Association

Image caption Brain Haw, anti-war protester with supporters in 2006

Human rights

There are some causes Jeremy Corbyn has consistently felt needed raising, many concerning human rights. He has repeatedly raised the issue for the rights of the Kurdish people, those in Western Sahara, the Dalits in India and the Palestinians.

What about Corbyn and other world leaders?

In 1992 after the defeat of President George Bush he welcomed the end of his presidency and referenced the US’s “unprecedented” military action in “Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama, Libya and the Gulf”. The Early Day Motion finished by saying the signatories were “relieved” Mr Bush had been “so emphatically defeated in the election in November”.

Image copyright AP

Image caption George HW Bush

Mr Corbyn has been very supportive of Bolivian socialist President Evo Morales, submitting three Early Day Motions to congratulate him on his electoral wins, one congratulated him on his campaign which was “dominated by the demand that oil and gas reserves should benefit the people of the country and a rejection of new liberal economies”.

Support for Stop the War Coalition

Jeremy Corbyn’s recent appearance at the Stop the War Coalition Christmas fundraiser caused controversy for the Labour Party. His long support for the organisation and previous position as chairman has come under heavy scrutiny after controversial comments by the group. But in 2006 and then again in 2010 he praised their hard work for organising protests first against sending British troops to Afghanistan and then later calling on them to be withdrawn.

Arming the police

Another controversial area where Mr Corbyn and the Parliamentary Labour Party have had differences is on armed police in the UK. In 1994 he was against increasing the number of armed police vehicles in London. The Early Day Motion said the move would “lead to a spiral of violence with criminals seeking to further arm themselves in response” and warned it about a substantial risk of “wrongful or accidental shootings”.

The calming effect of beards

As a proud six times winner of the Parliamentary Beard of the Year contest, Mr Corbyn was always going to sign an Early Day Motion opposing a ban on British Rail workers wearing facial hair. But so outraged was he by the idea that he inserted an extra line into Lib Dem MP Alex Carlile’s 1991 motion, pointing out that “beards are healthy and create the sympathetic image necessary for staff dealing with deeply distressed passengers”.

A love of composting

And finally… it seems Jeremy Corbyn is an advocate of composting. In 2002 his Early Day Motion stated it was “a good, effective and wholly natural way of dealing with organic waste”. He called on the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to publish free advice to tell people “how to make the best of compost heaps.”

Image copyright PA

Image caption Jeremy Corbyn holding a giant marrow during a visit to a Brighton business centre in September

How much do Early Day Motions cost?

During 2012-13 there were 1,139 early day motions and it cost approximately £374,500 to print them, £3,500 in IT support costs and £33,500 in staff costs. The government said the cost “has fallen considerably” after they reduced the amount of printing. In 2009-10 the total cost was approximately £1,000,000. We’ve also done a rough check here and reckon it would take at least 15 hours going at full pelt to sign your name 19,485 times…

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How are SNP MPs settling in at Westminster?

By Gary Connor Political Reporter, The Westminster Hour, Radio 4

- 23 December 2015

- From the section UK Politics

Image copyright Getty Images

If anyone can resist the historic charms of the Palace of Westminster it should be the SNP - a party that seeks to dismantle the institution it houses. So seven months after they all-but swept the board in Scotland, how are their MPs adapting to life there?

“The SNP members I see around don’t look particularly unhappy to be at Westminster, though of course there is a range of views,” says Scottish political commentator David Torrance.

“On the whole it’s very difficult not to enjoy working there because it’s a historic environment, full of atmosphere, and a lot of them appreciate that.”

Stewart McDonald is one of those newly elected MPs. He represents Glasgow South and overturned a 12,000 Labour majority to take the seat for the SNP.

He had never set foot in the Westminster Parliament before his election, and quickly formed strong views about the institution.

“The main thing that shocks me is just how inefficient this place is,” says Mr McDonald.

“If the Commons was a quango, it would have been shut down years ago. If it was a business, it would have gone bust in a fortnight.”

- Listen to Gary’s Westminster Hour piece on the SNP’s role in the House of Commons

Former comedy club impresario, and one-time general secretary of the Scottish Labour Party, Tommy Sheppard, is the new SNP MP for Edinburgh East. He insists that there’s no risk of he and his colleagues being seduced by the history of their surroundings, which he compares to Harry Potter’s school of wizardry.

“I bring friends from my past to look around, and have a drink on the terrace,” he says.

“Even the most hard-bitten, cynical ones can’t fail to be impressed with looking up at Hogwarts. It doesn’t do it for me, I’ve got a healthy distance from it.”

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Nicola Sturgeon celebrates the arrival at Westminster of the 56 SNP MPs

Before Philippa Whitford took Central Ayrshire from Labour in May’s election, she was a breast cancer surgeon, and has been using her medical training to help her colleagues deal with the stresses of the job.

“As team doctor, I’m having to warn people to cool their jets a little bit, and pace themselves,” she says.

“It is utterly non-stop. Because of previous things, like expenses scandals, the public have a terrible impression of MPs and think we sit around in the bars all the time.

“Nothing could be further from the truth.”

‘Robots’ claim

The original 56 MPs who arrived at Westminster in May have seen their number reduced to 54, after two had the whip removed, but they appear to remain a remarkably tight-knit unit, who socialise together.

Their status as the third largest party in the Commons means the group’s leader, Angus Robertson, gets to ask David Cameron two questions at each week’s Prime Minister’s Questions.

Image caption Tommy Sheppard says the SNP bloc ‘is not that disciplined’

This has raised their profile as an opposition party, but also led some to question the role of Scottish Nationalist MPs in a parliament increasingly concerned with matters affecting England and Wales only.

Traditionally, SNP MPs at Westminster did not vote on England and Wales-only legislation, but they have dropped this rule, enabling them to force the government to retreat on some issues.

“You look at votes that didn’t happen, over foxhunting or Sunday trading. It’s clear that the SNP MPs are having a direct impact on the legislative programme,” says David Torrance.

“They said after the election that they wouldn’t sit there quietly, they would hold the government to account. I think they have done that.”

One of the striking things about the Westminster SNP group is its discipline. None of its MPs have broken their party whip, the instruction which tells members how to vote.

During a recent SNP-led Commons debate on Trident, Labour’s John Woodcock sparked anger by referring to them as “robots”.

‘English opinion’

“We’re not that disciplined. We just happen to agree with each other most of the time,” says Tommy Sheppard.

“A whip means you’ve got a view, a policy. If anyone felt really strongly, they could happily break the whip. Nobody gets sent to purgatory for disagreeing.”

The long-term goal for the SNP remains achieving independence for Scotland. Former First Minster Alex Salmond, now sitting as an MP again, has described a second referendum as “inevitable”, while his successor as party leader and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said that David Cameron is “living on borrowed time”.

Image copyright PA

Image caption Angus Robertson gets to ask David Cameron two questions each week

According to David Torrance, the SNP are using their platform at Westminster to become a more UK-focused party, and now adopt positions on issues that do not directly affect Scotland.

“They have an ongoing strategy of trying to work on English public opinion, which in some quarters is quite hostile to the idea of independence,” he says.

“Their aim is to de-stigmatise the SNP, and say we’re not as extreme and boisterous and chippy as some newspapers say we are.”

In the short term, frustrations remain on the SNP benches over the extent to which the views of Scottish voters are being represented at Westminster.

‘Scotland sidelined’

“I don’t feel like I have a stake in this place,” Stewart McDonald says.

“It really came home to me when we had the debate on Syria. All but two of Scotland’s MPs voted against UK participation in air strikes.

“Scotland’s view was completely sidelined.”

Philippa Whitford is in no doubt that independence for Scotland will be achieved in her lifetime.

“Our long-term aim is ‘please get us out of here as soon as possible’,” she says.

“I don’t think it’s going to be imminent. Maybe somewhere between five and ten years, we’ll get another chance.”

Until that aim of independence is achieved, the SNP will have to continue to stand for Westminster seats and sit on the green benches of the Commons. So is there a danger of getting a little bit too comfortable?

Glasgow South MP Stewart McDonald says he still feels like an outsider and remains determined not lose track of his party’s core purpose.

“We want to break up the British state,” he says.

“Whilst we would argue that it’s not radical to want your country to aspire to independence, in this place it’s pretty radical, because it’s such a conservative old boy’s club.

“We don’t want to be part of it for any longer than we absolutely have to be.”

“Ultimately, we want Scotland to be an independent country.”

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What not to wear in Parliament

By Pippa Simm Political reporter, BBC News

- 23 December 2015

- From the section UK Politics

The House of Commons and the House of Lords are a hotbed of rules, procedures and customs, including on what members may and may not wear when they are inside the chamber…

Speaker

Traditionally, the Speaker of the House of Commons, who presides over the debates, has always dressed in a ceremonial black robe.

The Speaker’s waistcoat, cuffs and winged collar were abandoned by John Bercow when he took up the post in 2010, who preferred instead a lounge suit and tie under his black gown.

He was not the first to opt out of the full attire, however, with his predecessors Betty Boothroyd and Michael Martin casting aside the long-bottomed wig and knee breaches and tights.

The last Speaker to kit himself out in the whole garb was Bernard Weatherill, who served in the role from 1983 to 1992.

Businesslike attire

Nowadays, male and female MPs are expected to wear formal businesslike clothes, which includes a jacket and tie for men.

Parliament’s official rule book Erskine May only has a limited set of rules on members’ dress; namely that military insignia or uniforms should not be worn in the Commons and that the custom is “for gentlemen members to wear jackets and ties”.

That said, as a parliamentary factsheet notes, the Speaker has “on a number of occasions, taken exception to informal clothing, including the non-wearing of jackets and ties by men”.

Image caption Some of the more eye-catching outfits in the House

Falling foul of the dress code has been something of “a political statement” in the past, the factsheet notes, recalling how Oliver Cromwell wore a “plain cloth” linen suit made by “an ill country tailor”, and a hat without a hat band.

Arguably Green MP Caroline Lucas fell in to this bracket when she turned up to a Westminster Hall debate in 2013 wearing a “No More Page Three” slogan t-shirt - which promptly saw her ticked off by the chair for breaking the sartorial rules.

Media captionCaroline Lucas was asked to stick to the dress code if she wished to continue the debate

Having said that, Labour’s deputy leader Harriet Harman managed to get away with a garment displaying a feminism campaign slogan to Prime Minister’s Questions last year.

A Commons spokesman said afterwards: “There are many demands on the Speaker’s attention whilst he is in the chair, particularly during questions to the prime minister. If a member’s dress is not in line with the conventions of the House and it is brought to the chair’s attention, he acts accordingly.”

There have been calls from some MPs for a less formal dress code, with Labour MP Kevin Brennan suggesting in 2002 the idea of “dress down” Thursdays.

And back in the summer of 2014, Conservative MP Henry Smith made an appeal to go further, tweeting: “Can we please, even if just today, wear shorts instead of suits in the Commons? Struggling with the hot air, externally (and internally)!”

Needless to say, neither idea gained traction.

But the two MPs can probably be thankful that the wearing of wigs is a tradition confined firmly to the eighteenth century (bar for the clerks, and the Speaker if he or she so chooses).

Image copyright Hutton archive/Getty Images

Hats

Image copyright Hutton Archive/Getty Images

Hats must not be worn in the House of Commons - although that has not always been the case.

A top hat was part of many MPs’s daily attire over the past few centuries. They could be worn in the chamber, but not upon entering or leaving, nor when addressing MPs.

MPs could don headgear when raising a point of order during a vote however, although this tradition has not survived the Commons modernisation process.

The idea had been that they could more easily be seen by the Speaker during the hustle and bustle of a division, as MPs filed in and out of the chamber. Indeed, two collapsible, black opera hats were kept in the Commons chamber at all times for this very purpose.

However, in 1998 the Labour leader of the House, Ann Taylor, announced the possible end to the practice as part of plans to update parliamentary procedures.

“I know some members may feel that they look particularly fetching in the opera hat, but it really does make the House of Commons look ridiculous,” she told MPs.

And so it came to pass. Members now just move along the green benches to be nearer to the Speaker when they want to raise a point of order.

Armour

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Definitely not allowed

Not so much of an issue nowadays, but the wearing of armour is not allowed in the House of Parliament, thanks to a law dating back to 30 October 1313, under King Edward II’s reign.

Similarly no kind of arms (swords, for example) are permitted. The only exception to the rule is the Serjeant at Arms, who still carries a sword whilst in the chamber.

The purple ribbons hanging in the members’ cloakrooms are said to have been used by MPs store their swords, although today’s politicians tend to use them to hang their rather-less-harmless umbrellas.

In similar vein, medals are not to be worn by MPs either - or badges.

‘Manbags’

Image copyright Keystone/Getty Images

Image caption One rule for the women and a different for the men?

Bow-tie wearing Mr Docherty, one of the many new SNP 2015 intake, has protested that men are not allowed to take bags in to the chamber, but women are.

“Even in this chamber,” he said during a debate on equal pay, “we perpetuate stereotypes of gender. Honourable gentlemen are not allowed to bring a bag into the chamber, and yet honourable ladies are more than delighted to bring in a small handbag.”

He found a perhaps unlikely ally in Conservative MP Stephen Phillips, who declared that “as one of the few members of the House who has a man bag” he would “stage a protest” with the SNP MP.

“We will both bring in our bags and see whether we are upbraided by the chair and receive some sort of censure for doing so,” he said.

According to a Commons spokesman: “There is no specific rule about ‘manbags’ as such. One of the conventions and courtesies of the House, which applies to all MPs, is that briefcases should not be brought into the chamber.”

And it’s not just MPs that have to play by the rules…

Image copyright Hutton archive/Getty Images

Image caption English novelist Charles Dickens belongs to the Press Gallery’s hall of fame

Situated just above the Speaker’s chair in the Commons is an area known as the Press Gallery, where journalists reporting on Parliament observe the proceedings.

And they, too, are subject to parliament’s dress codes, with male members required to wear a jacket and tie.

However, the rules were relaxed during the UK heat wave at the beginning of July 2015 - much to the journalists’ delight.

There are no rules dictating what members of the public have to wear when visiting the Public Gallery in the Commons.

What about the House of Lords?

Image copyright bbc

Perhaps the best known pictures of the House of Lords are from the State Opening of Parliament when its members are dressed head to toe in their finest, ermine gowns.

But, alas, that is not what they wear during the day-to-day business in the chamber. They are required to look smart, however, with men to be clothed in a jacket and tie.

Guests who want watch proceedings in the chamber “Below the Bar” should be “dressed appropriately”, with male guests required to wear a jacket and tie, according to the members’ handbook.

Anyone wearing jeans or t-shirts is not allowed in this area, but they are welcome to sit in the public gallery, it says.

“In the Peers’ Dining and Guest Dining Rooms, the Peers’ Guest Room and the Barry Room, men are required to wear a jacket and tie. Women and children should be appropriately dressed,” the handbook adds.

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Science/Environment

- Crows' tool time captured on camera

- ISS crew receives Christmas delivery

- Dogs 'can read canine emotions'

- Faulty tool halts Nasa Mars mission

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Crows’ tool time captured on camera

By Jonathan Webb Science reporter, BBC News

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Science & Environment

Media captionThe tail-mounted cameras capture the view from beneath each crow’s belly (footage: J Troscianko, C Rutz)

Ecologists have used a tail-mounted “crow cam” to catch wild New Caledonian crows in the act of making and using hook-shaped tools.

This species is well-known for its clever tool tricks, but studying its behaviour in the wild is difficult.

These tiny cameras peer forwards beneath the birds’ bellies and record precious, uninhibited footage.

As well as glimpsing two crows making special foraging hooks, the team was able to track their activity over time.

This “activity budget” offers a rare insight into the natural lives of New Caledonian crows - but it has not yet solved the mystery of precisely what drives these birds to use tools.

That is the “big money question” according to senior author Christian Rutz, from the University of St Andrews in the UK.

“Why is it that New Caledonian crows use tools but other corvids don’t? I think the answer to that lies in looking at their time budgets and figuring out how important tool use is in their everyday lives - what kinds of prey sources they tackle with tools,” Dr Rutz told the BBC.

Mystery switch

In nearly 12 hours of “crow cam” footage from 10 different birds, described in the journal Biology Letters, he and his team actually caught surprisingly little tool time on camera.

“Out of total observation time, only about 3% was spent making or using tools,” Dr Rutz said. And only four of the 10 subjects picked up a tool at all.

Image copyright Jolyon Troscianko

Image caption Each camera was attached to the underside of the tail feathers, looking forward under the crow’s belly

Instead, the crows spent considerably more time foraging with their beaks. And when one of the four tool-users did reach for a twig, the decision was often rather baffling.

For example, the birds spent a lot of time tearing strips from paperbark trees in search of grubs. Their sturdy beaks are perfectly good for this task.

“But every now and then, they suddenly switch into tool use - in the very same trees, in a very similar foraging context,” Dr Rutz said. “We don’t understand what is happening there.”

Meanwhile, there were two moments in particular that made the team, sifting through hours of shaky crow-cam video, very happy indeed.

Two different crows filmed themselves not just wielding sticks but making - and using - hooks: a known party trick of New Caledonian crows, never before caught on video except in cages or at baited feeding sites.

“When we got that footage it was a proper high-five moment in the field camp,” Dr Rutz said.

Image copyright Jolyon Troscianko

Image caption New Caledonian crows are well-known for their surprisingly sophisticated tool use

From lab experiments and previous brief sightings through binoculars, the team knew that the birds made these hooks. They snap off one branch from a forked twig and leave a small part of the main stem attached to the end.

But now they had video evidence of it happening unprompted, in the wild.

‘Gold dust’

“We were keen to get close-up video of birds making these tools under completely natural conditions,” said co-author Jolyon Troscianko from the University of Exeter.

“New Caledonian crows are notoriously difficult to observe, not just because of the challenging terrain of their tropical habitats, but also because they can be quite sensitive to disturbance.”

Key to the research effort, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, was a new design for the team’s crow cam system.

Instead of beaming the video to a receiver in the field, which had previously seen researchers scrambling through the New Caledonian forest with antennas, these devices stored the footage on a micro SD card.

Image copyright Jolyon Troscianko

Image caption The cameras fell off within a few days so the team could collect the footage

Then, after about a week, the gadgets fell off the birds and the team tracked them down thanks to a tiny radio beacon.

“We got much longer, uninterrupted video recordings,” Dr Rutz said.

“We were lucky that we recorded the hook tool making… but we also got enough data to look at energy budgets and so on. That kind of data is gold dust for us.”

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ISS crew receives Christmas delivery

By Paul Rincon Science editor, BBC News website

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Science & Environment

Media captionChristmas delivery for ISS crew

A Russian cargo vehicle carrying food and supplies has docked with the International Space Station - just in time for Christmas.

It launched on Monday from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The Progress 62P vehicle docked automatically with the Pirs compartment of the ISS at 10:27 GMT on Wednesday, after its two-day transit.

Once the crew completes leak checks, the hatches will be opened, allowing them to unload the cargo.

On Monday, British astronaut Tim Peake helped out with a spacewalk designed to fix a component ahead of the Progress craft’s arrival.

Image copyright NASA

Image caption US astronauts Scott Kelly and Tim Kopra (seen here) carried out a spacewalk on Monday

Image copyright Tim Peake

Image caption Mr Peake has been practising his photography skills - this image shows the Earth slipping from day into night

US crew members Scott Kelly and Tim Kopra moved a “rail car” on the outside of the ISS a few inches away from the position where it had stalled, so it could be latched in place before the Progress vehicle arrived.

Mr Peake arrived at the ISS on 15 December in a Soyuz spacecraft to begin a six-month mission aboard the orbiting outpost.

He is the first UK astronaut to fly into space since Helen Sharman spent a week on the Mir space station.

According to the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos), the unmanned Progress cargo ship was carrying 2,436kg of supplies, including propellant, oxygen, water, and food.

This Progress craft recently underwent an upgrade. It features a new command and telemetry system and an improved version of the Kurs radar.

Kurs is the system used to determine the relative positions of the craft and the ISS during rendezvous and docking.

Image copyright AP/Roscosmos

Image caption The Progress craft launched on Monday from a snow-covered Baikonur Cosmodrome

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Canine copycats can mirror other dogs’ emotions

By Helen Briggs BBC News

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Science & Environment

Image copyright Giada Cordoni/University of Pisa

Image caption Dogs are capable of basic empathy, say scientists

Dogs can copy each other’s expressions in a split-second just like people, showing signs of basic empathy, according to Italian researchers.

Mimicking each other’s facial expressions is a human habit, which helps people to get along.

Dogs do the same to bond with other dogs, scientists report in the journal, Royal Society Open Science.

They think dogs may be showing a basic built-in form of empathy, enabling them to pick up on emotions.

And the phenomenon may have emerged in our canine companions during the process of domestication, say scientists from the Natural History Museum, University of Pisa.

Split-second mirroring

Until now, the idea - involved in social bonding - has only been described in humans and non-human primates such as chimps and orangutans.

It is why humans automatically mirror a smile or a laugh, enabling the sharing of emotions.

Media captionDaniel the Spaniel’s owner Deana Selby says he picks up on emotions of those around him

“We demonstrated that rapid mimicry is present in dogs and it is an involuntary, automatic and split-second mirroring of other dogs,” lead researcher Dr Elisabetta Palagi told BBC News.

She said it appears that dogs are showing a basic form of empathy where they are able to instantly pick up on the emotions of other dogs through their facial expressions and body movements.

This is regarded as the first step towards more complex forms of empathy.

“A dog while playing with another dog can read their motivation and the emotional state of the other dog by mimicking the same expression and body movement of the other dog,” Dr Palagi explained.

“This phenomenon is present also in humans and in other primate species.”

Rapid mimicry

The team of three researchers - working with the Unit of Cognitive Primatology and Primate Center in Rome - videotaped dogs playing in a park in Palermo, Italy.

They analysed the way the dogs were interacting, including signals used to show when a dog was being playful, such as:

- Crouching or “bowing” down on its front legs

- Relaxing its mouth to reveal some of its teeth

After analysing 50 hours of video, they found that dogs were able to mimic the facial expressions and movements of other dogs in a split-second.

This “rapid mimicry” is an automatic and involuntary response, rather than the result of training, they say.

Human-dog relationship

But Dr John Bradshaw of the University of Bristol School of Veterinary Science said more research was required to establish if dogs are really able to sense what emotions are uppermost in the minds of other dogs.

“Domestic dogs are exquisite readers of body-language, both that of other dogs, and, uniquely, our own - which is why they’re so easy to train,” he said.

“They also love to play, so quickly learn that imitating the actions of their play-partner means that the game goes on for longer.

“But science has yet to show that dogs have any understanding of other dogs’ thought-processes, or emotions.”

Dogs are known to be able to respond to human emotions, such as copying a yawn, suggesting they show some basic aspects of empathy.

This capacity may have evolved in dogs as they were domesticated or could have been present in the wild ancestors of canines.

The Italian researchers plan to study wolves to answer this question and shed more light on the complex relationship between humans and dogs.

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Nasa suspends Mars mission over faulty instrument

- 22 December 2015

- From the section Science & Environment

Image copyright AP

Image caption The mission is designed to examine Mars’ geology in depth

The US space agency, Nasa, has suspended the March launch of its next mission to Mars because of a fault in a key research instrument.

Nasa said a problem with a seismometer provided by the French space agency meant the launch could not go ahead.

It is feared the mission could now face a two-year delay.

The InSight spacecraft was scheduled to take off between 4-30 March and land on the Red Planet six months later to examine Mars’ geology in depth.

Nasa said it had decided to call off the launch because the agency was unable to fix a leak affecting the seismometer, which required a vacuum seal to cope with harsh conditions on Mars.

The instrument is designed to measure ground movements.

“A decision on a path forward will be made in the coming months, but one thing is clear: Nasa remains fully committed to the scientific discovery and exploration of Mars,” Nasa’s John Grunsfeld was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.

The next time the earth and Mars are favourably aligned for a launch will be in 2018.

The mission is also intended to monitor the temperature on Mars, as well as the variations in its orbit.

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Technology

- Beatles music joins streaming services

- India puts the brakes on Facebook

- Software bug releases convicts early

- 10 rules for a safe cyber Christmas

- Hello Kitty tackles child data leak

- Skier Hirscher almost hit by drone

- Guilty plea to financial news hack

- Kim Dotcom loses extradition case

- Broadband adverts 'confuse public'

- German man 'must destroy naked images'

- Game Digital shares hit as sales fall

- How to celebrate a digital Christmas

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Beatles music joins streaming services

By Leo Kelion Technology desk editor

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Technology

- comments

Image caption The Beatles’ music is being made available to stream on a range of services

The Beatles’ music is being made available on a wide range of streaming music services.

Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, Tidal and Amazon Prime Music are among nine services that will offer the band’s tracks worldwide.

The group split up in April 1970. However, their songs - including Hey Jude and Yesterday - remain hugely popular and influential.

One expert suggested that the move would help their legacy endure.

“In terms of digital the Beatles have always been quite late to the party - they came to iTunes in 2010, which was a good five years after the iTunes Music Store started gaining momentum,” said Chris Cooke, co-founder of the music industry news site CMU.

“We had expected they would probably do an exclusive deal to stream their music with one service, but it looks like instead they are going to be pretty much everywhere from day one.

“So, I suppose that is them accepting that streaming is now a very serious, significant part of the record industry.”

Other services that have secured the band’s catalogue include Deezer, Microsoft Groove, Napster and Slacker Radio.

The deal involves rights to stream 224 songs from the original 13 studio albums released in the UK as well as “essential” collections including Past Masters.

The tracks will be made available from 24 December.

‘Lucrative catalogue’

John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr clocked up 17 number one singles in the British charts as the Beatles.

Image copyright Apple

Image caption The Beatles’ albums have been rereleased several times

But long after the band broke up they continued to issue songs and compilations, the most recent of which was an expanded edition of Beatles 1 put on sale last month.

“There’s a really simply reason why the Beatles catalogue took so long to join streaming services - their publishers didn’t want to do anything to damage potential sales of reissues and retrospectives - it’s a very lucrative catalogue,” said Mark Mulligan from the media research firm Midia.

“But they’ve waited until the market has got some scale and they could get the best deal.

“It’s a big PR catch as it helps communicate that the platforms are ‘all the music in the world’ - which is the value proposition of streaming services.”

Analysis - Mark Savage, BBC Music reporter

It’s a White (Album) Christmas. Some of the most enduring hits in pop are coming to a streaming service near you.

The Beatles as a corporate entity have been notoriously slow in adapting to new technology. They waited five years to issue their albums on CD, and didn’t talk about the download Revolution until 2010 - seven years after the iTunes store launched.

Their arrival on streaming services comes as consumption on those platforms starts to overtake digital downloads as a source of income for the music industry. The number of songs streamed in the UK looks set to top 25 billion this year, up from 13.7 billion in 2014, according to the Official Charts Company.

It will be interesting to see how the band’s music competes against the likes of Justin Bieber - whose latest singles are being streamed almost six million times a week, exerting a firm grip on the top of the charts.

When The Beatles became available to buy on iTunes, the band scored 10 entries into the Top 100 - but the top-selling song (Hey Jude) only reached number 40.

- Read all music stories

- BBC Music homepage

- More on The Beatles

The Beatles announcement comes as a number of high-profile artists - including Neil Young, Prince and Radiohead’s Thom Yorke - have questioned the value of streaming services.

The most prominent example is Adele.

Her new album, 25, has sold more than seven million copies without appearing on any streaming platform, although she has made her single Hello available.

Image caption Beatles songs include Let It Be, Come Together, All You Need is Love and A Hard Day’s Night

“I believe music should be an event,” she told Time magazine earlier this week.

“I don’t use streaming. I buy my music. I download it, and I buy a physical [copy] just to make up for the fact that someone else somewhere isn’t.

“It’s a bit disposable, streaming.”

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India puts brakes on Facebook’s Free Basics scheme

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Technology

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Facebook rebranded its Internet.org app as Free Basics in September

Facebook’s effort to provide Indians with free access to a limited number of internet services has run into trouble.

India’s telecoms regulator has asked the mobile network that partnered with the US firm to put their Free Basics offer on hold.

Data fees are relatively expensive in India, and the initiative aims to prevent this being a deterrent.

But critics of the Free Basics service say it runs contrary to net neutrality principles.

They suggest data providers should not favour some online services over others by offering cheaper or faster access.

A spokesman for Reliance Communications - the mobile network that had supported the scheme - confirmed it would comply with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s demand.

“As directed by TRAI, the commercial launch of Free Basics has been kept in abeyance, until they consider all details and convey a specific approval,” a spokesman told the BBC.

Image copyright Facebook

Image caption Facebook has paid for large adverts in the local press to defend Free Basics

He added that the watchdog had only explained its decision by saying it wanted to “examine the details and intrinsics” of the offer, but had not provided further detail.

However, the Times of India quoted a source who confirmed the decision was indeed related to the net neutrality controversy.

“The question has arisen whether a telecom operator should be allowed to have differential pricing for different kinds of content,” they said.

“Unless that question is answered, it will not be appropriate for us to continue to make that happen.”

Facebook said that it would continue to lobby for its scheme.

“We are committed to Free Basics and to working with Reliance and the relevant authorities to help people in India get connected,” a spokeswoman said.

‘Millions more online’

Facebook launched Internet.org as a partnership with several mobile operators in emerging economies in 2013 as a means to “introduce people to the benefits of the internet”.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Net neutrality has proved to be a hot topic in India this year

The associated app, which provides access to selected services, was renamed as Free Basics earlier this year.

Content includes pages from selected local news and weather forecast providers, the BBC, Wikipedia and various health services.

It is offered in 36 countries and Facebook says it believes more than 15 million people have been brought online who would otherwise not be using the net.

Reliance began offering the scheme in February and then extended it to all its subscribers in November, but it has faced criticism.

Local start-ups complained they risked being disadvantaged because they were not included, and in April several larger groups that had initially signed up to the scheme - including the media conglomerate Times Group and the travel booking site Cleartrip - pulled their services, citing concerns about it failing to provide a “fair, level playing field”.

Net neutrality hearing

Facebook attempted to address such concerns by saying it would allow more services to join, but the firm’s founder Mark Zuckerberg warned it was “not sustainable to offer the whole internet for free”.

Part of the attraction for the mobile networks was their expectation that users would see the benefits of the internet and want to pay for fuller access.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Mark Zuckerberg hosted a visit by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to his firm’s headquarters in September

In recent weeks Facebook has stepped up its campaign by paying for billboard adverts and full-page ads in newspapers.

In addition, it has texted users and shown a notice when locals sign into its platform urging them to contact TRAI and tell it they support the Free Basics initiative.

The regulator is set to hold a hearing into net neutrality in January.

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US prisoners released early by software bug

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Technology

Image copyright Michelle Shephard

Image caption The bug meant that, in one case, a prisoner was released almost two years early

More than 3,200 US prisoners have been released early because of a software glitch.

The bug miscalculated the sentence reductions prisoners in Washington state had received for good behaviour.

It was introduced in 2002 as part of an update that followed a court ruling about applying good behaviour credits.

State officials said that many early-release prisoners would have to return to jail to finish their sentences.

“That this problem was allowed to continue for 13 years is deeply disappointing to me, totally unacceptable and, frankly, maddening,” said Washington’s governor Jay Inslee at a press conference.

The Washington Department of Corrections (DoC) added that it was made aware of the problem in 2012 when the family of one victim found out that the offender was getting out too early.

Despite this, the faulty software was not corrected until a new IT boss for the DoC was appointed, who realised how serious the problem had become.

The manager then informed senior staff at the DoC and the governor’s office.

Analysis of the errors showed that, on average, prisoners whose sentences were wrongly calculated got out 49 days early. One prisoner had his sentence cut by 600 days. It is not known if any offender committed further crimes after being released prematurely.

Local police are now helping to round up those who still need to spend time in jail. Five people have already been returned to cells.

Mr Inslee said he had ordered the DoC to fix the software as quickly as possible.

An update that applies the correct formula for calculating sentence cuts is due to be in place by 7 January. Until then the DoC has been ordered not to release any prisoner without checking manually that they should be released.

An independent investigation has also been started to find out how the mistake was left uncorrected for so long.

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How to have yourself a merry cyber-safe Christmas

By Prof Alan Woodward Department of Computing, University of Surrey

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Technology

Image copyright Thinkstock

In 2000, Scott Culp wrote a terrific essay on computer security.

It was entitled the 10 Immutable Laws Of Security.

Fifteen years is a long time in cybersecurity, so it seemed like a good time to revisit these “laws” and put them in the a context you might encounter this Christmas - a time when there’s often a spike in attacks.

Observing them could prevent a festive season you’d rather forget.

Rule 1: If a bad guy can persuade you to run his program on your computer, it’s not your computer anymore

Image copyright Thinkstock

Most hacks begin this way - you receive an email, or SMS, you visit a link and are given a convincing reason why you have to install something.

Or, you receive an email with a document attached, open it and it installs the malware for you.

Think twice, click once.

If something is unexpected don’t trust it: delete it.

Rule 2: If a bad guy can alter the operating system on your computer, it’s not your computer anymore

Image copyright Thinkstock

Be careful where you buy that Christmas present from or you may get more than you bargained.

Even reputable manufacturers have been found to install elements into an operating system that cause major security headaches.

If at all possible, buy devices that give you the necessary data - original keys and software - to reinstall the operating system.

A fresh install is the only way you can be certain of what you’re getting.

It’s a pain but it’s worth it.

Rule 3: If a bad guy has unrestricted physical access to your computer, it’s not your computer anymore

Image copyright Thinkstock

Most people are completely unaware of how vulnerable their machines are to uploading malicious software simply by allowing someone to plug in a USB stick.

Even if your computer is powered off, a hacker might be able to boot off a USB stick and install malware or add hidden elements.

Unless you want to superglue shut all of the physical connections on your device - not recommended - just do not give anyone “alone time” with you precious machine.

And, if at all possible, encrypt your hard drive so it is more secure when powered off.

Rule 4: If you allow a bad guy to upload programs to your website, it’s not your website any more

Image copyright Thinkstock

With over a billion active websites in the world, hackers don’t just target individuals’ machines.

They can upload code in unexpected ways.

We have seen major brands breached as they didn’t prevent hackers injecting code into web forms. We have seen malware being passed onto visitors via embedded adverts.

Website developers typically don’t think like hackers. They design their sites to be helpful and friendly.

You need professional cynics who will advise on how hackers can abuse such features.

Nothing destroys a brand faster than a website that visitors think cannot be trusted.

Rule 5: Weak passwords trump strong security

Image copyright Thinkstock

Passwords are a terrible way of securing systems, but sadly they are here for a while longer.

You need to practice good password hygiene: use complex passwords, don’t share passwords - between people or systems - and don’t write them on white boards or post-it notes, especially if a film crew is in the office.

Most people know how to deal with passwords but we’re all lazy and take shortcuts.

Don’t learn the hard way that this is not a good idea.

Rule 6: A computer is only as secure as the administrator is trustworthy

Image copyright Thinkstock

The “insider threat” is a growing problem.

Remember that if you give someone privileges on your systems, you are giving them the keys to the crown jewels.

Plus don’t assume that simply because someone works in technology that they are not subject to human frailties.

They can be scammed out of logon credentials just the same as mere mortals, and unless your systems are configured to prevent it, those credentials could enable a hacker to walk away with data.

Make sure valuable data needs more than a simple username and password for access.

Some major data breaches have happened this way.

Rule 7: Encrypted data is only as secure as the decryption key

Image copyright Thinkstock

Encryption can be a great tool to prevent criminals getting at data if a machine is stolen.

But, as computers increase in power, decryption becomes simpler unless you have a key that is long enough.

Look for encryption that is known to be strong - for example the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) - and has keys that are considered “long”.

Also, most encrypted devices have some means of recovering data if, as we all do, we forget our passwords, or something similar.

If you’ve ever encrypted a disk you’ll probably find you were asked to make a recovery key using a USB stick or even to print out some long sequence of letters and numbers.

If you store this recovery information with the protected device it’s hardly worth the effort of encrypting it in the first place.

Lock your recovery keys away somewhere safe and don’t carry it with you.

Rule 8: An out of date virus checker is only marginally better than none at all

Image copyright Thinkstock

Malicious software is being adapted at an increasing rate.

Hundreds of thousands of new variants appear each year in addition to completely new strains.

The set of malware that your virus checker knew about when you first installed it is out of date very quickly.

Hackers do still try to use older versions of malware but they know many of us fail to keep our systems up to date, so they tweak the malware in the hope that the virus checker will miss it.

Update your virus checker as regularly as you possibly can, and do the same for your operating system.

If you tend to turn on your machine infrequently then do your updates before you start checking those emails or visiting your banks website.

Rule 9: Absolute anonymity isn’t practical, in real life or on the web

Image copyright Thinkstock

Not everyone who wishes to browse the web anonymously is doing so for illegal reasons.

But be aware that many technologies out there that can provide anonymity need to be used correctly otherwise you can be tracked.

And remember that being tracked is becoming the norm online.

If you’re not a paying customer you are probably the product, as marketers track you to more accurately target you.

Try using a browser that has “private mode “or “do not track”. It doesn’t always work but it may lessen the degree to which you are monitored.

Rule 10: Technology is not a panacea

Image copyright Thinkstock

Don’t assume that just because your machine is using the latest versions of everything, and you have the full array of security software installed, that you are fireproof.

The weakest link in any security chain is us: humans. We fall for scams, we do silly things and we suffer from security fatigue very quickly.

Worst of all we assume it won’t happen to us - until it does.

Phones, tablets or wearables are all essentially small computers, and the laws written back in 2000 apply to these devices as much as they ever did to the computers of 15 years ago. In fact, there is a real danger that we are forgetting the lessons of the last 15 years as hackers hope to catch us off guard.

These rules have proven to be fundamental in nature, so keep them in mind no matter what form your “smart” technology takes.

And if in doubt ask someone who knows.

That way you can avoid the hackers having a Merry Christmas.

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Hello Kitty security leak ‘corrected’

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Technology

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption Data about millions of Hello Kitty fans was accessible because servers were mis-configured

A security loophole on the Hello Kitty website that exposed millions of people’s personal data has been “corrected” says the brand’s owner.

Earlier this week a computer security researcher revealed that information about 3.3 million Sanrio Town members was accessible.

The Japanese firm Sanrio, which owns Hello Kitty and runs Sanrio Town, said it had now closed the loophole.

It added that no information about Hello Kitty fans had been stolen.

“We investigated the problem and applied fixes, including securing the servers identified as vulnerable,” said Sanrio in an advisory posted on the site.

It added that only personal information, including names, email address and encrypted passwords, had been available to those who knew where to find the servers.

Information on more than 180,000 children was in this cache. No credit card or payment information was held on the vulnerable servers.

Sanrio added that it was conducting an internal investigation and review to find out why the servers were mis-configured so they could be accessed.

“At this time we have no indication that users’ personal information was stolen by malicious parties,” said an advisory note.

Even so, Sanrio has sent messages to Sanriotown members advising them to change the password they used to access the site and to alter any other on which they used the same string of characters.

Chris Vickery, the researcher who uncovered the access to the data, disputed Sanrio’s claim that membership data had not been accessed.

He said he used many different net addresses to access the data and confirm it was vulnerable.

Sanrio is the latest in a growing list of firms that have failed to protect customer data.

Over the last few months data about users of VTech, TalkTalk and Ashley Madison have been exposed online.

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Media playback is not supported on this device

Skier Hirscher nearly hit by drone camera

Four-time defending overall World Cup champion Marcel Hirscher narrowly avoided being hit by a drone during an Alpine slalom race in Italy on Tuesday.

The Austrian was on his second run when a drone carrying a camera crashed onto the slope centimetres behind him.

“This is horrible,” said Hirscher, 26. “This can never happen again. This can be a serious injury.”

Despite the incident, Hirscher finished in second place, 1.25 seconds behind Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen.

Drone ban looms

The International Ski Federation (FIS) subsequently announced that it will ban camera drones from its World Cup races.

FIS men’s race director Markus Waldner told The Associated Press that drones will be prohibited “because they are a bad thing for safety”.

He added: “It was huge luck that Marcel was not hurt. I am very angry.”

According to Waldner, FIS agreed the drone could be used but the pilot should not have flown the camera directly over the race course.

“He did not follow our instructions,” said Waldner. “He had to fly outside of the race track and follow the racer from a 15-metre distance.”

Crash investigation

Drones have been used many times before at ski races.

The FIS said the new technology was aimed at enhancing the experience for TV viewers.

That’s because a drone provides moving pictures from an overhead angle which regular cameras can’t shoot.

The company responsible for the camera drone, sports marketing agency Infront, said the circumstances leading to the crash are “being examined”.

‘Sweaty palms’

In a post on his Instagram account following the drone crash, Hirscher joked there was “heavy air traffic in Italy”.

He later wrote a blog, adding: “Quite honestly, if I look at the pictures from the drone crash on the internet, I get sweaty palms and tremble.”

Hirscher won slalom silver at the 2014 Winter Olympics and, in March, became the first skier to win the men’s overall title four years in a row.

His performance at Madonna di Campiglio on Tuesday helped him reclaim the overall World Cup lead from Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal.

Hirscher was midway through his second run…

And his focus was on negotiating the gates…

When the drone suddenly fell from the sky inches behind him…

Hirscher appeared unaware on the near-miss…

And carried on skiing

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Man pleads guilty to financial news hack

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Technology

Image copyright Thinkstock

Image caption Garkusha is one of several traders accused of making financial trades using information taken from hacked press releases

US prosecutors have secured their first conviction in a case involving hack attacks on three of the major financial news release publishers.

Alexander Garkusha pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in a New York court.

He admitted making $125,000 (£84,000) from trades made over a three-month period using information gleaned from stolen embargoed press statements.

It is alleged a total of $100m was earned by a wider group using the scam.

The US authorities first made their suspicions public in August, saying that they believed the computer servers of Business Wire, Marketwired and PR Newswire had been breached leading to the theft of more than 150,000 news releases.

Companies often issue details of their financial results and other market sensitive news to the companies in advance so that the information can be released to all their investors at a specific time.

Nine people have been charged by district attorneys in New York and New Jersey in relation to the case, but dozens of others have also named as being suspects.

The gang responsible for the hack is thought to be based in Ukraine. Other individuals accused of being involved live in Russia, France and Cyprus.

Georgia-based Garkusha agreed to co-operate with the authorities and give up his earnings as part of his plea. Other defendants have plead not guilty.

Garkusha is due to be sentenced on 6 May.

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New Zealand court rules Kim Dotcom can be extradited to US

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Asia

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption The 39-year-old Dotcom told reporters on Wednesday that he would fight the ruling

A New Zealand court has ruled that internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom is eligible to be extradited to the United States to face multiple charges.

Dotcom, accused of copyright infringement, racketeering and money laundering, said he will appeal.

He founded the now-defunct file-sharing site Megaupload where millions of people downloaded movies and songs.

US authorities say Dotcom and others cost film studios and record companies more than $500m (£322m).

But Dotcom, a German national who has been living in Auckland and describes himself as an “internet freedom fighter” on his Twitter page, has fought the case arguing that he was not responsible for the copyright infringement.

The 39-year-old, born Kim Schmitz, told reporters outside the courtroom he would fight the ruling, adding: “I’m disappointed.”

Three other men, who co-founded the site with Dotcom and face similar charges, have also been ruled as eligible for extradition.

Timeline of Kim Dotcom’s case

Image copyright Reuters

- In 2005, Dotcom founded file-sharing website Megaupload.com in Hong Kong, used by millions to share movies, TV shows, pictures and songs.

- Dotcom was granted residency in New Zealand in 2010. He has been living in Auckland since then.

- In January 2012, US authorities shut down Megaupload.com and charged Dotcom with copyright infringement, racketeering and money laundering.

- New Zealand police raided his house at the request of the FBI. The US government began extradition proceedings that same year.

- The extradition hearing started in September 2015 in Auckland. On 23 December, an Auckland judge ruled he could be sent to the US to face charges.

The BBC visits Kim Dotcom at his mansion

The hearing which began in September was not to determine Dotcom’s guilt, but whether he should be sent to the US to be tried.

Judge Nevin Dawson told the court in Auckland that the US has a “large body of evidence” supporting the case and that the defendants “fall well short of undermining the case”, reported news outlet Stuff.

‘Justice not served’

After the ruling, Dotcom said on Twitter: “Thank you for your support. The fight goes on. Enjoy the holidays. I’m happy to be with my kids. There are bigger things than copyright.”

A member of Dotcom’s legal team, Ira Rothken, said on Twitter: “The @KimDotcom team looks forward to having the US request for extradition reviewed in the High Court.”

“We believe the (district court) was wrong… Justice was not served today.”

In an interview with New Zealand Herald earlier this week, Dotcom said he plans to take separate legal action in Hong Kong, where he founded Megaupload.

He said he plans to sue the Hong Kong justice department and seek more than $2bn in damages for taking down his site. Earlier this month a Hong Kong court allowed him to access some of his frozen assets held there.

“I now have the opportunity to fight back in Hong Kong and take legal action against those who have destroyed what I have built there and that means I can sue, indirectly the US government by suing the Hong Kong Department of Justice,” he was quoted as saying.

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Broadband adverts confuse public, says Citizens Advice

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Business

Image copyright PA

Broadband adverts have been criticised by Citizens Advice for misleading potential customers.

More than half of people would be unable to choose the cheapest deals when comparing the information in adverts, the charity said.

Three quarters of those in the research said information in the adverts was too complicated to make an easy comparison.

In particular, line rental costs were often not included in the advertised headline cost.

Earlier this year, Citizens Advice said that teaser deals in adverts were masking the long-term cost of broadband packages.

Gillian Guy, the chief executive of Citizens Advice, said the continuing problem with broadband adverts meant that potential customers were often left unable to make an informed decision.

“Attractive headline offers that don’t include line rental costs make it impossible for people to work out the best broadband deal on offer without doing complicated sums,” she said.

“Broadband providers need to make the costs of a contract clear in their advertising and the Advertising Standards Authority should also review the code of practice to make sure it works well for consumers.”

Bamboozled customers

In its latest research, Citizens Advice took a sample of just over 2,000 adults and split them into four groups.

Eight adverts, produced by seven unidentified companies, were selected by the charity and divided into four pairs.

Each of the four groups of people were then asked to compare a different pair of adverts, and also to look at marketing information on the websites of the companies involved.

The research found that 56% of those involved could not work out the cost of the deals on offer, and thus were unable to decide which was cheapest.

One advert, which the charity declined to identify, was so bad that only 22% of people in the research could work out accurately how much the deal on offer might cost them.

The charity said the source of the problem lay in the prominence given to temporary “teaser” rates, while at the same time the cost of line rental was often downplayed.

“The adverts typically are advertised with a promotional period featured prominently, which can be free or significantly lower than the overall cost of the contract,” said Citizens Advice.

“The cost of line rental and the length of time that the ‘teaser’ price applies is included separately and often only in small print,” it explained.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said: “We’ve conducted research jointly with Ofcom on this important matter and will be publishing the outcome of that work early in the New Year.”

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Sex tape row: German court orders man to destroy naked images

- 22 December 2015

- From the section Europe

Image copyright PA

Image caption The court said the man should not hold power over his ex-lover by possessing the images

Germany’s highest court has ordered a man to destroy intimate photos and videos of his ex-partner because they violate her right to privacy.

The Federal Court said the man, a photographer, should no longer possess naked photos and sex tapes, even if he had no intention of sharing them.

The woman had originally agreed to the images but this consent stopped when the relationship ended, the court said.

Germany has some of the strictest privacy laws in Europe.

The Federal Court was called upon to rule in a dispute between a former couple, who were arguing over whether or not the man should delete intimate photos and videos.

In its ruling (in German), the court said everyone had the right to decide whether to grant insight into their sex life - including to whom they grant permission and in what form.

It said that by retaining the images, the photographer had a certain “manipulative power” over his ex-lover.

He should no longer have rights to the photos and videos once the relationship had ended, it concluded.

It is not clear how the ruling will be enforced.

What counts as ‘intimate’?

Recent cases of naked images being leaked online have sparked a debate about victims’ rights, with some countries making so-called “revenge porn” a criminal offence.

Commenting on the Federal Court ruling, German lawyer Katja Weber said two important points had to be established in such cases:

- Which photos are to be defined as “intimate”

- Whether the original consent for having the pictures taken was restricted to the duration of the relationship.

She said “intimate” photos were not exclusively those taken before, during or after sex. However, “that was the type of photo considered in this case”, she said.

“One can imagine plenty of situations where, during a relationship, compromising photos might be taken.

“Even, for instance, photos showing one’s partner minus some clothes can be categorised as intimate shots, which should therefore be deleted.”

Consent for having the pictures taken does not have to be written - it can be verbal, the lawyer added.

If someone maintains that their ex-partner was willing for the photos to be used after the end of the relationship, that consent would still have to be proven, according to the new ruling, Ms Weber argued.

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Game Digital shares plunge as ‘challenging’ market hits sales

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Business

Image copyright Game Digital

Shares in video games Game Digital have plunged by more than a third after it said “challenging” conditions in the UK market would hit profits.

Game said there had been a faster-than-expected decline in sales of older games formats, while the switch to the newer Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles had been slower than expected.

It now expects underlying earnings of £30m for the half-year to 23 January.

That compares with earnings of £43m reported a year earlier.

Shares in Game Digital fell 77.75p, or 38%, to 128p.

Revenues fall

“The trading conditions in the UK video games market have been challenging,” said Martyn Gibbs, the company’s chief executive.

“The switch over from the older gaming formats to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One software has impacted profitability across the UK market.

“The extent of the impact of this switch over has only become apparent in December which has been compounded by lower year-on-year High Street and shopping centre footfall.”

Analysis: Rory Cellan-Jones, Technology correspondent

This isn’t just a story about gamers abandoning high street stores. Game has a big online operation and says it has a 60% share of digital downloads of console games.

Game says the big issue is the transfer from one generation of consoles to the next.

So what’s going on? Are new titles just too expensive, or is it that players are sticking for much longer with games they already have? Perhaps the sheer depth and artistry of some games is proving almost too satisfying, harming the industry’s bottom line because gamers don’t feel the need for something new quite as often?

The other explanation could be that even if console gaming remains very popular, there is now a range of other ways for their owners to get their fix - from platforms such as Steam, to casual games played on smartphones and tablets.

But the games industry body UKIE insists the picture is much brighter than the Game profit warning might suggest.

The UK has a big and thriving games industry. In new areas like eSports and live-streaming it has shown that it can innovate with the best. But in a fast-changing landscape, you cannot count on predictable profits, as Game has discovered yet again.

Read Rory’s blog in full

In the 21 weeks to 19 December, Game said that total revenues fell 6.7% to £466.8m, with UK revenues down 11.4% from a year earlier to £353.5m.

UK sales of products related to the Xbox One and PlayStation rose by £19m to £114.6m.

However, Game added this had been “more than offset by the unexpectedly steep decline in Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 content sales” which more than halved, dropping by £30.8m to £23.4m.

The retailer also said sales had been “disappointing” since the start of the school Christmas holidays.

‘Warning sign’

“UK sales have fallen off sharply in the past few weeks at the most critical time of year for Game,” said analysts at Liberum.

“While a decline in old format sales was expected, the scale has surprised the company while the importance of Christmas trading has hugely magnified the issue.”

Patrick O’Brien, retail analyst at Verdict, said Game’s comments were a “big warning sign about the role of the console cycle”.

Previously, he said, revenues surrounding new games consoles - including software - have peaked two to three years after their launch. However, the slower-than-expected pick up in sales related to the latest consoles suggests digital downloads are eating into traditional revenue sources.

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Five ways to celebrate a digital Christmas

By Zoe Kleinman Technology reporter, BBC News

- 24 December 2015

- From the section Technology

Image copyright Thinkstock

Nothing says Christmas more than watching that Harry Potter movie you’ve already seen 2,900 times, eating a mountain of lukewarm turkey and trying to work out where you’re going to put all those new socks.

Let’s not forget the traditional argument with your other half about whose job it was to buy all the batteries for the children’s new toys - which are currently a source of tension because nobody can turn them on.

Am I right?

If that sounds all too familiar and you fancy keeping the whole thing a bit more spiritual this year without giving up your gadgets, here are five ways to enjoy Christmas online:

Log on to a virtual church and talk about Star Wars

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption The hope awakens?

Everyday Church Online, which launched in the UK in September, runs virtual services every Sunday for a net-based congregation from around the world. Everyone’s invited to log on and chat while a recorded sermon is streamed.

So far, people from 61 different countries have logged on, according to online pastor Darren Parker.

“There are lots of reasons why people can’t get to church on a Sunday so we thought we would bring the church to them,” he says.

“The chat room is like the foyer of a church.”

Virtual prayer requests received from the global congregation have included:

- thoughts for a patient in UK children’s hospital Great Ormond Street

- a lady struggling with work in the United Arab Emirates

- a family in Switzerland who log on via their smart TV

Its first Christmas theme is Star Wars, the subject of three festive sermons.

“We found some real truths [in the franchise] which compare to Christmas,” says Mr Parker.

“The new Star Wars is called The Force Awakens. Our sermons are called The Hope Awakens - it’s about awakening hope for humanity.”

The Star Wars sermon will be running throughout the day on the church’s website.

Carry out a Christmas mission in a virtual world

Image copyright Guardians of Ancora

Image caption Tinsel is sadly in short supply in Ancora

Guardians of Ancora is a recently launched, free-to-play fantasy game available on Android, iPhone and Kindle platforms. It’s developed by the same people behind the young people’s group the Scripture Union.

The game is aimed at eight to 11-year-olds and director Terry Clutterham says 45,000 were playing within four months of its release.

“Ancora is a weird, wonderful, amazing place but it is a fictional space where children enter as guardians,” he says.

“The problem with Ancora is that the light has been stolen from that world, so there is darkness around.

“It’s the role of the guardians to rediscover the lost treasured stories which are the stories of the Bible… and those stories help to light up the world.”

You get the idea.

Special content created for Christmas includes two new Bible-themed quests in which players find the birth of the baby Jesus.

Make a viral nativity video

Image copyright Churches Advertising Network

Image caption From here….

There are lots of very charming nativity videos out there but it’s not easy to rack up the hits.

German marketing company Viral.de had huge success with its 2010 video The Digital Story of Nativity, which has so far been viewed almost six million times.

There are no actors, no animals, and not even a stable.

Image copyright Churches Advertising Network

Image caption … to here in 45 seconds. That’s quite a timelapse

The whole story is told in the form of Facebook status updates, tweets, Google searches and Foursquare check-ins.

Highlights include one “Joseph Carpenter” buying a cow and a donkey on Farmville before uploading a baby picture, which looks suspiciously like a Christmas card.

The Churches Advertising Network also had a respectable go - Christmas Starts with a Baby’s Giggle, which features a modern-day couple sitting in a trendy living room with their baby, only for the scenery behind them to keep changing eras until they are Mary and Joseph in the stable. So far, it has been viewed about 250,000 times.

“It’s pretty good - we’re not John Lewis, we’re a group of Christians with a very small budget,” explains Frances Goodwin, who chairs the network.

“The message is that Christmas is the same today as it was 2,000 years ago.”

Meet the Manga Messiah

Image copyright Next Manga

Image caption The nativity, Manga style

After distributing more than three million printed books and nearly five million booklets telling Old Testament stories in the genre of Japanese cult cartoon form Manga, the company Next Manga has just launched its work in app and e-book form - so far, only in the English language.

The book containing its version of the nativity is called the Manga Messiah.

It is available in 33 different languages - 25,000 copies of the Arabic version were recently sent to Syrian and Libyan refugees.

“We see it as a unique opportunity to share a message of hope and peace with these people who have suffered so much,” says founder Roald Lidal.

“One third of all publications are in Manga form in Japan,” adds Mr Lidal, who lived in the country for 45 years.

“There is a Manga for every age and every type of person. It seemed very difficult to proclaim the message of the Bible without using Manga.”

Get on social media

Image copyright Thinkstock

Image caption What would Jesus do?

As if you needed the excuse. But lots of groups are using platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to connect with their communities, especially at this time of year.

“I don’t see that much these days of trying to share the Gospel in 140 characters,” says Kevin Bennett of Christian media group Premier.

“The Church is mostly trying to just drop thoughts in, get people to fix their gaze on something a little bit higher for a second and maybe consider things that are a bit more spiritual rather than earthly.”

“Jesus would definitely be on Twitter,” adds Jules Middleton, blogger and mission pastor at The Point Church in Burgess Hill, West Sussex.

“He was a great communicator.”

Sounds like a seal of approval to me.

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Business

- Savers warned about 1 January changes

- Work to hit London airport rail routes

- India puts the brakes on Facebook

- UK growth estimate revised down

- Oil price to hit $70 by 2020, says Opec

- Russian ex-tycoon may seek UK asylum

- Chipotle to change cooking methods

- Australian stocks in Christmas rally

- Five banks paid no 2014 corporation tax

- Game Digital shares hit as sales fall

- Nesquik ad ban for 'great start' claim

- Mining stocks drive FTSE higher

- Beatles music joins streaming services

- Christmas dinners around the world

- What's it like working in John Lewis at Christmas?

- Insurance advice for flooding victims

- The benefits of cheap oil

- Is Greece really on the road to recovery?

- Defending the rights of domestic workers

- Can pedal power help with greener deliveries?

- Birmingham's ancient Koran history revealed

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Savers warned about 1 January compensation changes

By Brian Milligan Personal Finance reporter

- 24 December 2015

- From the section Business

Image copyright Thinkstock

Millions of savers are being reminded that they may need to move some of their cash, to guarantee it will be fully protected in the event of their bank going bust.

New rules come in on 1 January, which will reduce compensation to £75,000 per account, per institution.

Previously the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protected savings of up to £85,000 per account.

Joint accounts will see protection cut from £170,000 to £150,000.

The maximum compensation across the European Union is set at €100,000, and the British level was reduced as a result of the pound gaining strength against the euro.

The precise rate was set on 3 July 2015.

At the time, one senior Tory MP described the change as “defective”.

‘Complicated’

Although 95% of savers will still be protected, as many as 2.5m people may not be, according to the FSCS. It is advising savers who have more than £75,000 in one account, or in one institution, to move their money if necessary.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that some registered banks and building societies operate under more than one brand.

So it you had £75,000 savings with HSBC, for example, any additional savings in First Direct would not be protected, as both banks have a joint licence.

Savers using Bank of Scotland and Halifax are in the same position.

But Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and NatWest - although they are sister banks - are both registered separately. So savers could safely have up to £75,000 in accounts with both banks.

“While this should be quite simple to navigate, it’s made complicated by the fact that FSCS cover is shared between banks that operate under the same licence,” said Hannah Maundrell, editor in chief of money.co.uk.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) publishes a full list of registered banks, and which brands come under the same umbrella.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Some European banks operating in the UK will offer different levels of protection

European banks

Under the new rules, savers who have up to £1m in their accounts temporarily - as a result of selling a house, or being made redundant, for example - are also protected.

To receive compensation, they cannot have had that cash in their accounts for more than six months.

A further warning comes in relation to some foreign banks which trade in the UK, but are registered within the eurozone, such as Germany’s Fidor Bank, or Sweden’s Handelsbanken.

Handelsbanken confirmed that the level of compensation would depend on the exchange rate at the time.

So depending on how much €100,000 is worth in pounds, savers may get more or less than £75,000 protection. At the time of writing, that amount is worth less than £74,000.

“With an increasing number of European banks now offering competitive rates, customers need to be aware that not all savings accounts offered in the UK are covered by the UK compensation scheme,” said Rachel Thrussell, savings insight manager at Moneyfacts.co.uk.

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Train delays to major airports expected because of engineering work

- 24 December 2015

- From the section UK

Image copyright EPA

Passengers going by train to the UK’s two biggest airports are set to face long delays over the festive period as engineering work begins.

Gatwick Express train services will stop for the next 10 days, while the Heathrow rail links will stop for four.

Network Rail said 20,000 of its workers would be carrying out almost 500 improvement projects across the whole of the UK during the festive season.

Its chief executive Mark Carne has thanked passengers for their patience.

He also said that passengers had in the past “shown themselves to be incredibly understanding of planned improvement work”.

Line closures

Gatwick Express trains will be suspended from 24 December to 4 January, while work is undertaken to replace a major railway junction at Purley, south London.

Southern Railway services to Sussex will also be affected.

Neither Heathrow Express nor Heathrow Connect services will run for four days after Christmas Eve, due to a line closure between Paddington and Slough.

Services to the South West and south Wales will also take longer as some trains are diverted to London Waterloo or Marylebone stations.

The West Coast Main Line will be closed between Crewe and Stafford between Friday and Tuesday, while there is also a closure on the lines from London Liverpool Street to Colchester, Ipswich and Norwich.

Analysis

Image copyright PA

By BBC transport correspondent Richard Westcott

Network Rail always plans its biggest engineering jobs over the holidays because the trains are much quieter.

This year, it’s the fast services to the two biggest airports, Gatwick and Heathrow, that will be hit the hardest.

The last Gatwick Express of the year leaves London at 21.15 on Christmas Eve, although slower services do start again on 27 December.

If you’re planning a rail journey over Christmas and the New Year, the best advice is to check online first.

Network Rail got it badly wrong last year, as over-running work and a terrible back up plan caused chaos for thousands of travellers. Network Rail insists that won’t happen again.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said Britain’s “over-stretched” railways had suffered from signal failures, staff shortages and overcrowding in recent weeks.

Last year there was severe train disruption when engineering work on the lines from King’s Cross and Paddington overran, delaying travellers on the first Saturday after Christmas.

Image copyright Network Rail

Image caption Rail disruption over Christmas

Despite the rail delays airports are expected to be busy with an estimated four million people in the UK travelling abroad during the Christmas and new year period.

Meanwhile, the RAC predicted that Christmas Eve would be the busiest day for traffic on the roads with 4.1 million journeys being made.

Nearly 400 miles of roadworks have been removed to cope with the rush.

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India puts brakes on Facebook’s Free Basics scheme

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Technology

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Facebook rebranded its Internet.org app as Free Basics in September

Facebook’s effort to provide Indians with free access to a limited number of internet services has run into trouble.

India’s telecoms regulator has asked the mobile network that partnered with the US firm to put their Free Basics offer on hold.

Data fees are relatively expensive in India, and the initiative aims to prevent this being a deterrent.

But critics of the Free Basics service say it runs contrary to net neutrality principles.

They suggest data providers should not favour some online services over others by offering cheaper or faster access.

A spokesman for Reliance Communications - the mobile network that had supported the scheme - confirmed it would comply with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s demand.

“As directed by TRAI, the commercial launch of Free Basics has been kept in abeyance, until they consider all details and convey a specific approval,” a spokesman told the BBC.

Image copyright Facebook

Image caption Facebook has paid for large adverts in the local press to defend Free Basics

He added that the watchdog had only explained its decision by saying it wanted to “examine the details and intrinsics” of the offer, but had not provided further detail.

However, the Times of India quoted a source who confirmed the decision was indeed related to the net neutrality controversy.

“The question has arisen whether a telecom operator should be allowed to have differential pricing for different kinds of content,” they said.

“Unless that question is answered, it will not be appropriate for us to continue to make that happen.”

Facebook said that it would continue to lobby for its scheme.

“We are committed to Free Basics and to working with Reliance and the relevant authorities to help people in India get connected,” a spokeswoman said.

‘Millions more online’

Facebook launched Internet.org as a partnership with several mobile operators in emerging economies in 2013 as a means to “introduce people to the benefits of the internet”.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Net neutrality has proved to be a hot topic in India this year

The associated app, which provides access to selected services, was renamed as Free Basics earlier this year.

Content includes pages from selected local news and weather forecast providers, the BBC, Wikipedia and various health services.

It is offered in 36 countries and Facebook says it believes more than 15 million people have been brought online who would otherwise not be using the net.

Reliance began offering the scheme in February and then extended it to all its subscribers in November, but it has faced criticism.

Local start-ups complained they risked being disadvantaged because they were not included, and in April several larger groups that had initially signed up to the scheme - including the media conglomerate Times Group and the travel booking site Cleartrip - pulled their services, citing concerns about it failing to provide a “fair, level playing field”.

Net neutrality hearing

Facebook attempted to address such concerns by saying it would allow more services to join, but the firm’s founder Mark Zuckerberg warned it was “not sustainable to offer the whole internet for free”.

Part of the attraction for the mobile networks was their expectation that users would see the benefits of the internet and want to pay for fuller access.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Mark Zuckerberg hosted a visit by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to his firm’s headquarters in September

In recent weeks Facebook has stepped up its campaign by paying for billboard adverts and full-page ads in newspapers.

In addition, it has texted users and shown a notice when locals sign into its platform urging them to contact TRAI and tell it they support the Free Basics initiative.

The regulator is set to hold a hearing into net neutrality in January.

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UK growth estimate revised down to 0.4% for third quarter

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Business

Image copyright AP

The UK economy grew by 0.4% in the third quarter of the year, figures show, less than previously estimated.

The rate was revised down from 0.5% because the key services sector, which accounts for well over 70% of UK economic activity, grew more slowly than had been thought.

It is the third estimate for the quarter from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The ONS also cut its estimate of second quarter GDP growth from 0.7% to 0.5%.

In annual terms, growth in the third quarter of the year was revised down to 2.1% from the previous estimate of 2.3%.

The UK economy has been growing for 11 consecutive quarters.

A Treasury spokesman said in a statement that the figures highlighted that risks to the UK economy remained despite it being “the fastest growing economy in the G7 last year”.

“We’re leading the pack with the US this year, we have a record high employment rate and the deficit is down,” the Treasury said.

Fragile

Simon French, chief economist at stockbrokers Panmure Gordon, said the figures added to a picture of a fragile economy: “It’s been a bad 24 hours for the chancellor with bad public sector borrowing numbers [on Tuesday]. It is the fourth of seven quarters where the ONS growth estimate overestimated the strength of of the economy.

He said the most worrying part was the weakness of the service sector, which is the engine of the UK economy.

Other figures released on Wednesday showed scant prospect of a pick up in that.

Figures for the service sector in October - the first month of the fourth quarter - only grew 0.1% between September and October, suggesting fourth quarter GDP has made a slow start. The previous month the index grew by 0.5%.

Martin Beck, senior economic advisor to the forecasting group EY ITEM Club, said the full picture had not yet emerged: “Given the extent to which the economy has benefitted from very low inflation and the degree of spare capacity, this should really have been a year where the economy grew in excess of 3%.

“However, recent experience suggests that we should not write off 2015 just yet, given the clear tendency for the GDP data to eventually be revised up over subsequent years.”

US economic growth was also revised down this week, but despite that slight weakening, the US economy is perceived by its central bank to be strong enough to withstand a rise in interest rates. Borrowing costs were raised by the Federal Reserve for the first time in nine years last week.

The Bank of England is widely expected to hold back from following the Fed’s lead until well into 2016.

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Oil prices will reach $70 a barrel by 2020, says Opec

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Business

Image copyright Other

Oil producers’ group Opec has said it expects oil prices to recover to $70 a barrel by 2020.

Prices have fallen from more than $110 a barrel in the summer of 2014 to less than $37 a barrel now due to oversupply and slowing demand.

But Opec said oil prices would begin to rise next year and, longer term, would rise due to higher exploration costs.

It expects the market share of Opec producers to shrink by 2020 as rivals prove more resilient than expected.

The group currently accounts for about 30% of the world’s oil production, down from 50% in the 1970s.

Part of the reason for this decline is the emergence of vast quantities of shale oil produced in the US. This has also been factor in pushing down the price of oil to 11-year lows.

In its World Oil Outlook report, Opec said it expected supply growth from US shale to slow dramatically next year, as producers struggled to cope with such low prices.

Opec’s strategy this year has been to allow prices to fall by maintaining production in the hope that, eventually, US shale producers will be forced out of business.

Another factor in low prices, Opec said, was weaker economic growth, particularly in developing economies. It highlighted China, where the “economy seems to be maturing and growth is decelerating faster than previously expected”.

Price rebound

The report also highlighted the “huge reductions” in spending on exploration and production by the industry as a whole due to low oil prices.

These cutbacks will ultimately see supply fall, it said, putting upward pressure on prices.

Another longer-term factor pushing prices up, Opec said, was higher exploration costs, as companies are forced to look harder for oil as traditional supply sources dwindle. Deep water drilling, for example, is considerably more expensive than drilling onshore.

Finally, Opec said population and economic growth would see demand for energy rise by almost a half by 2040, increasing demand for oil.

Opec was founded in 1960 by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

These countries have since been joined by Qatar (1961), Indonesia (1962), Libya (1962), the United Arab Emirates (1967), Algeria (1969), Nigeria (1971), Ecuador (1973), Gabon (1975) and Angola (2007).

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Russian ex-tycoon Khodorkovsky may seek UK asylum

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Europe

Media captionExiled Russian tycoon, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, has given an exclusive interview to the BBC

Former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, says he is considering applying for political asylum in the UK and feels safe in London.

He was speaking in a BBC interview after a Russian court declared him “under arrest in absentia” over the 1990s murder of a Siberian mayor.

“Definitely I’m considering asking for asylum in the UK,” he said.

Mr Putin “sees me - it’s obvious now - as a serious threat”, he said.

Once Russia’s richest man, the former head of the now defunct Yukos oil firm spent 10 years in a Siberian prison on fraud charges, which he says were politically motivated.

Mr Putin pardoned him in 2013 and he now lives abroad, mainly in Switzerland.

“I’m considered by President Putin as a threat, economically, because of the possible seizure of Russian assets abroad, and politically, as someone who will potentially help democratic candidates in the coming 2016 elections,” he said.

Russia will hold elections to the lower house of parliament - the State Duma - next year. The Duma is currently dominated by Mr Putin’s supporters.

London base?

The BBC’s Richard Galpin asked Mr Khodorkovsky whether he felt at risk in light of the murders of prominent opponents of Mr Putin in recent years. Among them was former secret agent Alexander Litvinenko, poisoned with radioactive polonium in a London hotel in 2006.

“The history of deaths of opponents of this regime is impressive… but I was in jail for 10 years, I could have been killed any day easily. In London I feel much safer than during those years,” he replied.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption President Putin’s decision to nationalise Mr Khodorkovsky’s oil firm was seen as a message to tycoons to keep out of politics

When he left Russia in 2013 he said he would not get involved in politics - which was was widely believed to have been the reason for his early release.

He told the BBC on Wednesday that he would “help young political activists in Russia to gain political experience and present an alternative to the existing regime”.

He said it was “far too optimistic” to speak of regime change in Russia now, “but I’m quite confident that within 10 years the regime will be changed and I hope I will play a significant role in that”.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Mr Khodorkovsky was held before his release at a penal colony close to the Finnish border

Charge sheet

Earlier, referring to the Russian order for his arrest, he said the Moscow authorities had “gone mad”.

He is accused of ordering several of his employees to kill both the mayor and a businessman, who survived.

Investigators allege Vladimir Petukhov, the mayor of Nefteyugansk, was killed on 26 June 1998 for demanding Mr Khodorkovsky’s oil firm, Yukos, pay taxes that the company had allegedly been avoiding.

Local businessman Yevgeny Rybin was allegedly targeted because his activities “clashed with Yukos’s interests”, Russia’s powerful Investigative Committee (SK) said in a statement (in Russian).

Mr Rybin survived a gun attack in November 1998 and a second attack on his car in March 1999, when another man in the vehicle was killed and several people were injured.

Five people have already been tried for the attacks and the arrest warrant is unlikely to make any difference unless Mr Khodorkovsky returns to Russia, the BBC’s Sarah Rainsford reports from Moscow.

Armed police raided the Moscow offices of Mr Khodorkovsky’s Open Russia pro-democracy movement on Tuesday, in a move that authorities said was linked to allegations of tax evasion. The flats of at least seven activists who work for Mr Khodorkovsky were also searched.

After Mr Khodorkovsky was arrested in 2003, Yukos was broken up and taken over by a state oil firm.

Last year an international arbitration court in The Hague said Russian officials had manipulated the legal system to bankrupt Yukos, and jail Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

The court told Russia to pay former shareholders in Yukos $50bn (£32bn) in compensation.

Image copyright AFP

Timeline: Mikhail Khodorkovsky

1963 - Born in Moscow, son of chemical engineers

1987 - Founds Menatep bank

1995 - Buys Yukos for $350m, with Menatep assuming $2bn in debt

2003 - Arrested for tax evasion, embezzlement and fraud

2005 - Found guilty on six of seven charges, jailed for eight years

2007 - Yukos declared bankrupt

2010 - Convicted of embezzlement and money laundering

2013 - Pardoned by President Putin after request for clemency; leaves Russia for Germany

2015 - Charged with ordering 1990s murder of Siberian mayor; says he is considering asking for political asylum in the UK

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Chipotle to change cooking methods to address safety concerns

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Business

Image copyright Getty Images

Chipotle is changing its cooking methods in an effort to address food safety concerns, sparked by an E. coli outbreak at several of its restaurants.

The fast-food restaurant chain has been battling the outbreak since late October. More than 50 cases of E. coli have been reported in eight states.

As a result the company’s share price has dropped 18% since October.

Chipotle outlined the changes on its website and said it was taking “aggressive actions.”

“In the wake of recent food safety-related incidents at a number of Chipotle restaurants, we have taken aggressive actions to implement pioneering food safety practices,” a statement on the website said.

Chipotle restaurants will now dip fresh ingredients, like onions, in boiling water to kill off any germs. The company is also preparing ingredients, such as tomatoes, in a centralised kitchen where they can be washed, chopped and tested before being sent to restaurants.

Chicken will be marinated in plastic bags rather than bowls and coriander will be added to hot rice to allow the heat to remove any microbes.

In February, the company warned investors it had a greater risk of exposure to food-borne illness than its rivals.

In its annual report the company said its use of fresh ingredients rather than frozen and traditional stovetop cooking, rather than automated, put it at greater risk than competitors like McDonalds.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has been unable to identify the specific cause of the E. coli spread.

Chipotle partnered with food safety consulting firm IEH Laboratories, to come up with the new preparation methods.

IEH also will conduct external assessments of individual branches. These will take place alongside weekly and quarterly food safety audits.

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Australian stocks in strongest rally since January

- 24 December 2015

- From the section Business

Image copyright GREG WOOD

Australian markets have closed off the week in a shortened trading day on Christmas eve, with some holiday cheer.

The benchmark S&P ASX 200 got a lift from a commodities-led rally in US stocks overnight. The ASX 200 closed up 1.3% to 5,207 points.

It is the seventh straight day of gains for the Australian market, and the longest winning streak since January.

Shares of major oil and gas producer BHP nudged up by more than 5% in Thursday trade.

But Australia’s largest trading partner - China is missing out on the rally. The benchmark Shanghai Composite has remained in the negative column, down by 1.4% to around 3,585 at midday.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index is up by 0.4% to 22,140.

In South Korea the benchmark Kospi is up, just marginally, holding steady at 2,000 points.

Shares of Hyundai Motor are outpacing the gains on the main index, higher by 0.6%, on hopes that the car maker’s union will be able to reach a deal with management over wages.

Union members will reportedly cast their vote on Monday, on a 4% rise in pay. Workers have gone on partial strike since the middle of December.

Takata shares lower

Meanwhile in Japan the Nikkei 225 index is flat and trading below 19,000 points after opening higher by 0.85% to 19,050 points. The market there was shut on Wednesday for a public holiday.

Shares of airbag manufacturer Takata are down by 4.6% in Japan trade.

The auto safety agency in America - The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that there has been an eighth fatality in the United States, linked to a faulty Takata airbag inflator.

That would bring the death tally to nine worldwide and it’s the first reported death since April.

The Bank of Japan has released the minutes from its November meeting on monetary policy. The minutes showed that policymakers at the central bank are confident the Japanese economy has continued to “recover moderately, although exports and production have been affected by the slowdown in emerging economies”.

Also in Japan, the cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has approved a record fiscal 2016 budget, which counts on higher tax revenue to help Mr Abe achieve his aim of reviving the economy.

Starting April 1 next year, the total spending will be at 96.72 trillion Japanese yen ($800bn; £539bn). Defence spending also hit a record at 5.05 trillion yen and that is an increase for the fourth straight year.

Elsewhere in Asia, financial markets in Manila, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia are closed on Thursday for public holidays.

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Five large banks paid no corporation tax in 2014, analysis shows

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Business

Image copyright Getty Images

Five of the largest banks in the UK paid no corporation tax in 2014, despite making billions of pounds in profits, analysis by Reuters has shown.

JP Morgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, Nomura Holdings and Morgan Stanley paid no corporation tax at all, the news agency said.

The banks offset past losses against their taxable income for 2013-14.

The banks have so far declined to comment, but their tax returns say they complied with UK tax rules.

The research into the financial reports found that seven banks, which also included Goldman Sachs and UBS, used tax benefits as well as losses generated during the banking crisis to reduce their corporation tax bills.

The seven banks paid a combined £20m in corporation tax in 2014, even though they had profits of £3.6bn on revenues of £21bn, the news agency said. The banks employed 33,000 staff.

But the financial reports noted that the banks followed all UK tax rules, and that tax payments can be volatile and may reflect profits and losses from previous years.

Moral issue?

Laura Lambie of the investment management firm Investec told the BBC that there were a number of reasons why the banks paid little or no corporation tax.

“Certainly in the case of Deutsche there are questions as to why it’s not paying UK tax. Some of the other banks, it’s because they have big losses carried forward from previous years,” she said.

She added that there was “a kind of moral issue there” for the banks, although she acknowledged that bank staff do pay large amounts of UK income tax.

She said that fines for foreign exchange or Libor rigging, or consumer product mis-selling, have seen many banks still produce high levels of revenue for the UK authorities.

The ability of big banks to offset current profits against previous losses was reduced by the government in the 2014 Autumn Statement.

In December 2014, Chancellor George Osborne said that the “amount of profit in established banks that can be offset by losses carried forward” would be limited to 50% of their profits in the 2015-16 tax year.

But banks were given better news in the 2015 Budget when Mr Osborne said corporation tax was to be cut to 19% in 2017 and 18% in 2020.

Losses and profits

The ability of a company to cut its corporation tax bill, by offsetting past losses against current profits, is a long ingrained feature of the UK tax system.

It existed even before the current system of corporation tax was invented in 1965, replacing the previous system whereby companies paid income tax and also a separate profits tax.

Unlike some countries, the UK does not have a time limit restricting how long a company can hang on to past losses before using them.

But UK-based banks are not having it all their own way.

From January 2016 banks will have to pay an 8% surcharge on their profits.

That is being introduced as an alternative to the Bank Levy on bank balance sheets - first introduced by George Osborne in January 2011 - which is now being cut back over the next six years.

A Treasury spokesman said: “We’re creating a tax regime for the banking sector that is sustainable and fair, while maintaining the competitiveness of the UK as a global financial centre and supporting lending to the wider economy.”

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Game Digital shares plunge as ‘challenging’ market hits sales

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Business

Image copyright Game Digital

Shares in video games Game Digital have plunged by more than a third after it said “challenging” conditions in the UK market would hit profits.

Game said there had been a faster-than-expected decline in sales of older games formats, while the switch to the newer Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles had been slower than expected.

It now expects underlying earnings of £30m for the half-year to 23 January.

That compares with earnings of £43m reported a year earlier.

Shares in Game Digital fell 77.75p, or 38%, to 128p.

Revenues fall

“The trading conditions in the UK video games market have been challenging,” said Martyn Gibbs, the company’s chief executive.

“The switch over from the older gaming formats to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One software has impacted profitability across the UK market.

“The extent of the impact of this switch over has only become apparent in December which has been compounded by lower year-on-year High Street and shopping centre footfall.”

Analysis: Rory Cellan-Jones, Technology correspondent

This isn’t just a story about gamers abandoning high street stores. Game has a big online operation and says it has a 60% share of digital downloads of console games.

Game says the big issue is the transfer from one generation of consoles to the next.

So what’s going on? Are new titles just too expensive, or is it that players are sticking for much longer with games they already have? Perhaps the sheer depth and artistry of some games is proving almost too satisfying, harming the industry’s bottom line because gamers don’t feel the need for something new quite as often?

The other explanation could be that even if console gaming remains very popular, there is now a range of other ways for their owners to get their fix - from platforms such as Steam, to casual games played on smartphones and tablets.

But the games industry body UKIE insists the picture is much brighter than the Game profit warning might suggest.

The UK has a big and thriving games industry. In new areas like eSports and live-streaming it has shown that it can innovate with the best. But in a fast-changing landscape, you cannot count on predictable profits, as Game has discovered yet again.

Read Rory’s blog in full

In the 21 weeks to 19 December, Game said that total revenues fell 6.7% to £466.8m, with UK revenues down 11.4% from a year earlier to £353.5m.

UK sales of products related to the Xbox One and PlayStation rose by £19m to £114.6m.

However, Game added this had been “more than offset by the unexpectedly steep decline in Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 content sales” which more than halved, dropping by £30.8m to £23.4m.

The retailer also said sales had been “disappointing” since the start of the school Christmas holidays.

‘Warning sign’

“UK sales have fallen off sharply in the past few weeks at the most critical time of year for Game,” said analysts at Liberum.

“While a decline in old format sales was expected, the scale has surprised the company while the importance of Christmas trading has hugely magnified the issue.”

Patrick O’Brien, retail analyst at Verdict, said Game’s comments were a “big warning sign about the role of the console cycle”.

Previously, he said, revenues surrounding new games consoles - including software - have peaked two to three years after their launch. However, the slower-than-expected pick up in sales related to the latest consoles suggests digital downloads are eating into traditional revenue sources.

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Nesquik bunny ad banned over ‘great start’ claim

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Business

Image copyright ASA

An ad for Nesquik hot chocolate featuring a rabbit cartoon has been banned by the UK’s advertising watchdog, which found it encouraged poor nutritional habits in children.

A claim that the drink gave a “great start to the day” suggested it promoted health, the watchdog found.

Nestle, the firm behind the drink, said it was “disappointed with the ruling” but that it would remove the strapline.

It added that it was “actively looking for solutions to help us reduce sugar.”

An advert on Asda’s own-brand milk labels for Nesquik hot chocolate featured a rabbit a cartoon character with the strapline “For a great start to the day!” and a badge labelled “Nutristart”.

Following a complaint from The Children’s Food Campaign, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) found that the ad in context suggested health benefits without putting forward specific health claims, in contravention of European law.

Nestle acknowledged that a 200ml drink made with three teaspoons of Nesquik hot chocolate contained 20.2g of sugars, which is “high” under the traffic light system of food labelling.

‘Marketing stew’

But it said more than half the sugar in the prepared drink came from lactose, which occurs in milk. It said the drink had added vitamin C and D, and zinc and iron.

A Nestle UK spokesperson said: “The advert for Nesquik Hot Chocolate shown on the label of a family-sized bottle of milk was undoubtedly targeted at adults who were shopping for their family, making it clear that the product should be consumed over a number of days, rather than in excess.

“However, we always listen to concerns when they are raised.

“As a responsible manufacturer and to remove any ambiguity in future, we will no longer use the statement: ‘For a great start to the day!’ in our UK advertisements.”

Asda said it had no part in creating or approving the ad, which had been given directly to its milk supplier by Nestle.

An Asda spokeswoman said: “We respect the ASA’s decision and will work with our suppliers to ensure the ruling is adhered to in future marketing.”

The Children’s Food Campaign said the “Nesquik bunny” was in a “fresh marketing stew”.

“It is the second time in almost as many years that we have forced Nesquik to change their advertising because it encouraged poor nutritional habits in children and could be seen to mislead parents about the health benefits of such a sugary product,” said Malcolm Clark, coordinator of the Children’s Food Campaign.

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FTSE 100 surges as mining stocks recover

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Business

Image copyright Getty Images

(Close): The market climbed strongly, with mining and energy-related shares leading the way after prices of metals rose and oil prices stabilised.

The benchmark FTSE 100 index closed up 157.88 points, or 2.6%, at 6,240.98.

In the mining sector, shares in Anglo American jumped more than 9%, Glencore was up 8.5%, while BHP Billiton was 6.6% higher.

Higher oil prices helped energy stocks, with BG Group up 6.3% and BP climbing 4.5%.

Outside the FTSE 100, shares in video games retailer Game Digital plunged nearly 40% after the company warned of lower profits.

It said half-year underlying earnings would be £30m, down from £43m last year, after being hit by weaker-than-expected sales of new games formats.

On the currency markets, the pound was higher, despite news that the UK’s economy grew by less than previously estimated in the second and third quarters of the year.

Sterling rose almost half a cent against the dollar to $1.4870 and was up by more than one cent against the euro at €1.3671.

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Beatles music joins streaming services

By Leo Kelion Technology desk editor

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Technology

- comments

Image caption The Beatles’ music is being made available to stream on a range of services

The Beatles’ music is being made available on a wide range of streaming music services.

Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, Tidal and Amazon Prime Music are among nine services that will offer the band’s tracks worldwide.

The group split up in April 1970. However, their songs - including Hey Jude and Yesterday - remain hugely popular and influential.

One expert suggested that the move would help their legacy endure.

“In terms of digital the Beatles have always been quite late to the party - they came to iTunes in 2010, which was a good five years after the iTunes Music Store started gaining momentum,” said Chris Cooke, co-founder of the music industry news site CMU.

“We had expected they would probably do an exclusive deal to stream their music with one service, but it looks like instead they are going to be pretty much everywhere from day one.

“So, I suppose that is them accepting that streaming is now a very serious, significant part of the record industry.”

Other services that have secured the band’s catalogue include Deezer, Microsoft Groove, Napster and Slacker Radio.

The deal involves rights to stream 224 songs from the original 13 studio albums released in the UK as well as “essential” collections including Past Masters.

The tracks will be made available from 24 December.

‘Lucrative catalogue’

John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr clocked up 17 number one singles in the British charts as the Beatles.

Image copyright Apple

Image caption The Beatles’ albums have been rereleased several times

But long after the band broke up they continued to issue songs and compilations, the most recent of which was an expanded edition of Beatles 1 put on sale last month.

“There’s a really simply reason why the Beatles catalogue took so long to join streaming services - their publishers didn’t want to do anything to damage potential sales of reissues and retrospectives - it’s a very lucrative catalogue,” said Mark Mulligan from the media research firm Midia.

“But they’ve waited until the market has got some scale and they could get the best deal.

“It’s a big PR catch as it helps communicate that the platforms are ‘all the music in the world’ - which is the value proposition of streaming services.”

Analysis - Mark Savage, BBC Music reporter

It’s a White (Album) Christmas. Some of the most enduring hits in pop are coming to a streaming service near you.

The Beatles as a corporate entity have been notoriously slow in adapting to new technology. They waited five years to issue their albums on CD, and didn’t talk about the download Revolution until 2010 - seven years after the iTunes store launched.

Their arrival on streaming services comes as consumption on those platforms starts to overtake digital downloads as a source of income for the music industry. The number of songs streamed in the UK looks set to top 25 billion this year, up from 13.7 billion in 2014, according to the Official Charts Company.

It will be interesting to see how the band’s music competes against the likes of Justin Bieber - whose latest singles are being streamed almost six million times a week, exerting a firm grip on the top of the charts.

When The Beatles became available to buy on iTunes, the band scored 10 entries into the Top 100 - but the top-selling song (Hey Jude) only reached number 40.

- Read all music stories

- BBC Music homepage

- More on The Beatles

The Beatles announcement comes as a number of high-profile artists - including Neil Young, Prince and Radiohead’s Thom Yorke - have questioned the value of streaming services.

The most prominent example is Adele.

Her new album, 25, has sold more than seven million copies without appearing on any streaming platform, although she has made her single Hello available.

Image caption Beatles songs include Let It Be, Come Together, All You Need is Love and A Hard Day’s Night

“I believe music should be an event,” she told Time magazine earlier this week.

“I don’t use streaming. I buy my music. I download it, and I buy a physical [copy] just to make up for the fact that someone else somewhere isn’t.

“It’s a bit disposable, streaming.”

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Christmas dinners around the world

By Will Smale Business reporter, BBC News

- 24 December 2015

- From the section Business

Image caption Kevin Little gets his fresh carp from fish farms in France

Ask fishmonger Kevin Little if he’d happily eat the carp he sells, and he shakes his head sheepishly.

“I don’t really like it,” he says.

“But a lot of my eastern European customers don’t particularly like carp either, it is just their tradition to eat them for their Christmas dinner.

“It’s like being British and easting roast turkey on Christmas Day - it is what most of us do, even though many of us would prefer to have beef, or something else instead.”

The thought of eating carp - at any time of the year - would horrify most people in the UK.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Carp is farmed across Europe especially for Christmas

It is a portly fresh water fish that conjures up images of murky canals, with half-submerged supermarket trolleys and industrial backdrops.

It is supposed to taste of mud, and while many British anglers obsess about catching them, they wouldn’t dream of taking one home for the table.

Yet tens of millions of people across eastern Europe - who have their main festive meal on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day - will this evening be sitting down to eat carp.

From Poland to the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and eastern parts of Germany, more often than not the fish is the centrepiece of people’s Christmas dinner, as it has been for generations.

Image caption Mr Little has been selling carp for more than 40 years

For eastern Europeans living in the UK, having carp for their Christmas dinner is a tradition they wish to hold onto, and Mr Little and other independent fishmongers are happy to meet the demand.

Mr Little who has owned and run the Smelly Alley Fish Company in the Berkshire town of Reading for more than 50 years, buys in fresh mirror carp from fish farms in France. At £11 per kg, it is roughly the same price as haddock or cod.

The 68-year-old says: “In a normal month we sell about 20kg of carp, but at Christmas this goes up to 300kg. The fish are between 1kg and 3 kg in weight.

“I have been selling carp since the early 1970s to serve the Polish people who didn’t go back to Poland after the end of the Second World War, including one man who was a Spitfire pilot.

“But sales have really taken off in recent years thanks to the new influx of Poles and other people from eastern Europe.”

‘Like cod’

Tadeusz Stenzel, chairman of the Federation of Poles in Great Britain, says it is wrong to think that carp doesn’t taste good.

“Carp is similar to cod, but a bit sweeter,” he says. “Muddy flavours are very rare, as the live fish are transferred from lakes or ponds into containers of clean water for a few days before being sold.

Image copyright Thinkstock

Image caption There is no standard recipe for cooking a Christmas carp

Image copyright Thinkstock

Image caption The carp can be served whole, or cut into smaller pieces

“Traditionally in Poland you’d buy your carp still alive, and people would keep them in a bucket or their bath until Christmas Eve, but these days more people buy their carp fresh [but already killed], or frozen.”

But why the tradition for fish on Christmas Eve across eastern Europe?

Mr Stenzel explains that it is the Roman Catholic practice in the region, and that Christmas Eve dinner marks the big final meal of the pre-Christmas, or advent fast period, during which meat is forbidden.

Carp became the most popular Christmas fish because it was the easiest one to farm, with the fish happily living in the village pond, he says.

He adds that unlike the Angle-Saxon Christmas turkey, which is invariably roasted, there are many different ways in which Polish people cook their festive carp.

“Some do roast it whole, but others cook it with onions, or fry steaks in breadcrumbs, or make jellied carp,” says the 66-year-old, who lives in Leicestershire.

He adds: “I like my carp pan fried with a cream and almond sauce, made from roasted almonds, fish stock, blended with double cream.

“This tastes fantastic, but does not help the waistline!”

Festive fried chicken

But if it has to be carp for Christmas dinner in eastern Europe, what do people eat for their main festive meal in other parts of the world?

Japan provides perhaps the most surprising answer, as the most popular Christmas meal in the land of the rising sun is a visit to KFC. Yes, you are reading correctly - Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption KFC is considered to be a festive food in Japan

Historically the Japanese didn’t celebrate Christmas, as less than 1% of the population is Christian.

Against that blank canvas, in 1974 KFC decided to introduce Christmas to Japan, or most specifically - promoting the eating of KFC for Christmas.

Its “Kentucky for Christmas!” marketing campaign was a tremendous success that year, and ever since, Japanese people have flocked to the chain’s restaurants for some festive fried chicken.

Mioko Fujisaki, a 37-year-old who moved to the UK from Japan nine years ago, says: “Christmas in Japan is different from in the West. In Japan, it is more commercially focused.”

“KFC for Christmas is popular for families,” she says.“We have a TV ad every year and you will see Colonel Sanders in the Santa outfit at the shop front.”

In the Philippines, the Asian country that does have a majority Christian population, fish and KFC hold little interest at Christmas. Instead the country goes mad for suckling pig.

Image copyright JES AZNAR

Image caption Suckling pig is the main event on Christmas Day in the Philippines

Image copyright Thinkstock

Image caption Nacatamales are the festive dish in Honduras and Nicaragua

Image copyright peredniankina

Image caption Fried cheese balls are among the delicacies eaten on Christmas Day in Colombia

Meanwhile, in the Americas, fried cheese balls are popular in Colombia, while in Honduras and Nicaragua they feast on nacatamales, which are steamed leaf parcels filled with corn meal, rice and meat and vegetables.

‘Celebrate with food’

Returning to Europe, fish is also the main festive focus in Italy and Portugal, where like Poland, the main Christmas meal is held on Christmas Eve.

For the Portuguese, it has to be salt cod, which requires soaking in fresh water for a few days before it can be cooked.

Image caption Portugal is said to have a different salt code recipe for every day of the year

Image copyright filipe frazao

Image caption One popular way of serving salt cod in Portugal is “Lisbon style” with onions, olives and potatoes

Joao Diogo, 44, owner of the Super Mercado Portugal supermarket in west London, which serves the local Portuguese community, says: “Sales of salt cod start rising two months before Christmas, there is a really big increase.”

Across in Italy, a typical Christmas Eve meal can have seven or more different fish dishes.

James Albanese, 39, from Rome, says: “You know Italians, we celebrate with food, and Christmas Eve is fish!”

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What’s it like working in John Lewis at Christmas?

Magazine Monitor A collection of cultural artefacts

- 24 December 2015

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Image copyright PA

Working at John Lewis during the Christmas season is a particularly intense experience, writes BBC reporter and one-time temporary employee, Josephine McDermott.

The first thing you have to get to grips with when you start working for John Lewis is the language of the partnership.

It was my first day working in the Christmas department of Peter Jones in Chelsea and on asking where my manager was, the reply came: “Dominic’s recovering in babywear.”

Fair enough, I thought. It had been a busy day, but babywear? The image of a 6ft guy in a pink romper suit entered my head. It transpired that when partners (the workers) are called to “recover” - as they are over a tannoy at the end of the day - it means they are tidying up the stock on display, moving products to the front of racks and re-folding endlessly unfolded clothing. He was doing this in the baby section downstairs.

The staff customs and rituals took a bit of getting used to, but when it came to the customers, my customer service training had fully prepared me. No, we would never knowingly be undersold on a set of popsicle cluster tree lights. We would smile and greet each shopper, asking them if they needed assistance.

And on our break times in the comfortable John Lewis staff room, we sat there knowing that we all owned the business we were working for and would receive a share based on how hard we worked to make profit.

On my second day in Christmas Stationery, I posed with my manager for a photograph for the staff magazine The Chronicle. We were to be lauded for how the department looked - our impressive “wall” of boxes of Christmas crackers reaching from floor to ceiling, our selection of tree decorations including bejewelled pear baubles from the Vintage Forest collection - the last word in baubles that year - and our huge selection of flat wrap and roll wrap. But praise mainly came for the fact we’d opened ahead of schedule. It was 27 September. Ninety days until Christmas. And Day One of Frosty the Snowman being played.

Image copyright NASA

The next important thing I learned was how to stifle contortions of rage and agony with a cheerful festive partner smile when a customer innocently asked if I could “Check if you’ve got it in stock”. We were on the fourth floor of the department store and our stock room was on the ground floor. As staff weren’t allowed to use the lifts so I found myself scurrying up and down the 1930s staircase in my pencil skirt, beige blouse, John Lewis badge and sensible shoes dozens of times a day.

It was by far the worst part of the job. But as a fresh graduate, my last gig had been cleaning toilets in Italy. The other young girl in the department had come fresh from dressing as a badger in WHSmith’s.

As Christmas Stationery rolled towards the big day, the customers changed. By Christmas Eve, we had frenzied men, weighed down with bags, who’d sell their children if you agreed to wrap their presents for them. I got yelled at by a customer because I couldn’t answer whether Christmas stamps cost more than regular stamps. And no, we don’t sell stamps I’m afraid.

I also got a ticking off from my manager because my wrapping of baubles in tissue paper wasn’t up to standard. Have you tried wrapping a bauble? I focused on how this job was paying for me to go travelling while I considered the next 20 champagne gold textured baubles I had to lovingly swathe.

We’d all secretly been looking forward to Christmas Eve. This would surely be the day when shoppers caught up with our premature exuberance for the festive season. Not a bit of it. It was agony. We had no stock left, it was freezing cold, the customers were stressed out of their heads and Frosty the Snowman was still playing.

Fourteen years later, I can’t hear that song without pulling a stock room face. I guess I’m still recovering.

Christmas Shopping Fever 2015: John Lewis and the Retail Race is on BBC Two on 23 December 2015 at 21:30 GMT

More from the Magazine

Christmas window displays are a huge part of a store’s festive marketing campaign. For the department stores, the preparation is a job that goes on all year. For others, it is a more last-minute affair. BBC News spent time with both Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge and Oxfam in Dalston, east London as they prepared their seasonal displays - with different approaches.

Secrets of the Christmas window dressers (December 2013)

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Storm flooding: Insurance advice for flooding victims

By Kevin Peachey Personal finance reporter

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Business

Image copyright AP

Insurers say a “small army” of claims managers have been deployed to flood-hit areas, but they have urged affected residents to follow advice to protect any claims.

Rapid response teams are now sent by insurance companies to major incidents, following criticism of their reaction to the UK’s 2007 deluge.

Householders hit by Storm Desmond and its aftermath have been told to stay safe, but to act to reduce risks of further damage or loss.

This includes locking up unattended homes and keeping evidence of damage.

Thousands of homes were evacuated or left without power in Cumbria after Storm Desmond hit northern England and Scotland.

And some people and their homes and businesses are threatened by repeat flooding.

Mark Shepherd, of the Association of British Insurers (ABI), said insurers would be staffed over the Christmas holidays to deal with fresh claims.

“Everyone hopes the flood waters stay away over the Christmas break, particularly for residents of Cumbria who have already seen their properties inundated more than once in the past few weeks.

“People affected by flooding will be able to pick up the phone to their insurer on Christmas Day to get help, and work will start straight away on assessing damage and making emergency payments where needed.

“Sadly there was also flooding over the Christmas and New Year period in the winter of 2013 and we saw then that many loss adjusters were on the ground the same day to help people affected,” he added.

Advice from the British Insurance Brokers’ Association to those affected includes:

- Contacting their insurer or insurance broker and informing them before conducting any emergency repairs

- Leaving dangerous work such as fixing the roof to professionals

- Turning the power off, if safe, in a flooded home

- Ensuring homes are safe and secure before leaving to prevent further loss

- Keeping damaged items for evidence of a claim, including samples and photos of carpets, and receipts for any emergency work

Meanwhile, many business insurance policies cover damage to premises and stock, but loss of trading owing to interruption is usually only covered if firms have paid an extra premium as an add-on to their policy.

How does this compare to previous flooding?

Image copyright AP

At present, the recent flooding is not the worst to have hit the UK, with about 6,570 homes and businesses having been flooded so far.

The frustration and upset for many of those affected is that they have been hit before.

For example, Cumbria was hit by devastating floods in 2005 and 2009.

Some 25,000 flood and storm claims were made to insurers following the 2009 floods, with £174m paid out.

All these incidents were still far smaller than the 2007 floods across swathes of the UK, which led to claims of £3.2bn.

What compensation is available to those without power?

There is provision in place for compensation to be paid to those who suffer lengthy power cuts as a result of storm damage.

The amount of time that power is off and the severity of the storm are key to compensation levels.

They are currently being assessed.

Will this affect future insurance claims?

A guide has been published for those wanting to obtain flood insurance who live in areas at high risk of flooding.

Many of these householders are concerned about high premiums, high excess and a lack of access to insurance.

A new scheme, known as Flood Re, has been agreed between the government and insurance industry and is planned to start in April.

Under the scheme, residential homeowners in areas with the highest flood risks should be able to shop around for insurance, because the extra risk involved will be passed from the insurer to an industry body, called Flood Re, which is sponsored by the government.

Insurers will choose which properties are deemed suitable for the scheme.

Businesses, including landlords, are not covered by the programme.

Brendan McCafferty, chief executive of Flood Re, said he expected insurers to be more likely to use the system now, with the latest flooding impact coming so close to the launch date.

There is an issue for those whose insurance renewal is due before April.

Mr McCafferty said these householders might decide that cancelling an existing policy a few months into the year - which might also incur a charge - and shopping around for a new deal, would be a cheaper option once the system was operating.

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The benefits of cheap oil

By Andrew Walker BBC World Service economics correspondent

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Business

Image copyright Reuters

The fall in oil prices in the last 18 months is a large-scale international redistribution of income, from sellers to buyers.

We have looked at the impact on some of the losers, the oil exporters.

But what about the winners i.e. the oil importers?

For some the price fall was a great relief. It was a huge drop. The price of crude oil is less than half what it was in June last year.

A fall in the oil price is often seen as similar in its effects to a tax cut for consumers. It means they have more to spend on other goods and services, some of which will be produced by businesses in the same country.

It also reduces costs for businesses that use oil products - which means any that have goods to transport, plus the petrochemical industry which makes plastics, fertilisers, synthetic fabrics and much more using raw material made from refined oil.

Eurozone and UK

It also helps any that spend a lot on the goods and services produced by these industries - farmers, for example.

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption Low oil prices benefit farmers

Take the eurozone. In the two years before the big price fall the region’s economy contracted. Last year it grew and is doing so again this year, though admittedly not robustly.

The fall in the oil price is not the only factor, but it surely helped.

The UK has also seen stronger growth. Yes there is an oil industry which is being hit - more on that later.

There were other factors, but the UK economy grew faster in 2014 and 2015 than it did in the previous years. The consultants PWC estimate that an oil price settling at about $50 a barrel for five years (it’s now below that) would add about 1% to the British economy. Not huge but worth having.

Masked effect in China

There are many other countries, which are net oil importers where the beneficial impact may have been masked by other developments.

In China, the decline came at the same time as the economy’s growth rate was slowing for other reasons - its previous breakneck pace of expansion was not sustainable indefinitely.

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption China’s economic growth has slowed

Indeed the Chinese slowdown was probably one factor behind cheaper oil - though abundant supplies are generally thought to be the main element.

It is possible that China’s slowdown could have been even more turbulent had the economy not had some additional support from cheaper oil.

Japan, meanwhile, is almost totally dependent on imported oil. The fall in the price was not enough to prevent the economy slipping back into recession in the second and third quarters of this year.

Still, the Japanese economy is projected by the IMF to grow, weakly, for this year as a whole, having contracted in 2014.

Cutting subsidies

There’s another benefit from cheaper oil. Many countries subsidise fuel. The International Energy Agency estimates that in 2014 global subsidies for fossil fuels were worth almost $500bn (£330bn).

Of that, some $267bn went on fuels made from oil.

Cheaper oil means that governments can cut subsidies while consumers pay unchanged prices, although that will eventually mean rising fuel prices for those users when the oil market starts to rebound.

Already India, Egypt, Indonesia and others have taken the opportunity to reduce subsidies.

That’s the upside. But even for net oil importers there’s a downside.

US shale impact

Take the US. It is a net importer but the beneficial impact is not quite as pronounced as it would have been a decade ago. The reason: the rise of shale oil.

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption The shale oil revolution in the US means the country now produces more of its oil itself

It means that US dependence on foreign oil has declined markedly. In 2005 the US met 35% of its own crude oil needs. Last year the figure was 61%.

The rise of shale oil means there is a larger chunk of the American economy that is vulnerable to the effects of cheaper oil.

Tax takes

There are many countries that are net oil importers that have significant industries of their own: the UK in the North Sea, and Brazil and Indonesia, for example.

In the UK, the industry has declined. The UK has been a net importer of crude oil since 2005 and of products made from it since 2013.

Image copyright PA

Image caption North Sea oil revenues were down sharply at the beginning of 2015

When oil prices fall these governments do lose some tax revenue. But they are likely to see gains in taxes on incomes, consumer spending and non-oil business profits.

In the case of the UK, PWC estimated the overall impact of the price fall will be more tax revenue in total.

Deflation danger?

There’s also something unusual about this episode of lower oil prices that creates a potential downside even for the many oil importers with little by way of their own oilfields.

The background is one of very low general inflation in many countries, especially among the developed economies.

In the UK, the eurozone, the US and Japan central banks have an inflation target of 2% and the headline rate is well below that.

As long as it’s just energy prices that are falling, it’s not a major problem.

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption Falling prices in shops can lead to a stagnant economy

But central bankers are wary of what they call second round effects - if prices and pay agreements start to reflect an expectation that inflation is going to be be very low or even below zero.

That can lead to a damaging spiral of falling prices or deflation.

There’s a risk that consumers and businesses will delay spending to take advantage of lower prices and it can aggravate debt problems. Inflation above zero but still very low can have a similar effect.

It’s not generally thought that there is any imminent danger of the UK, the eurozone or the US experiencing that problem. But the central banks are very keen to ensure that they don’t.

For the most part then cheaper oil is a benefit in most countries. But some - the oil exporters - are exceptions to that rule.

And for the rest there can be some less appealing side effects that warrant careful scrutiny.

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Is Greece really on the road to recovery?

By Jonty Bloom Business correspondent, BBC News

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Business

Image copyright Getty Images

Six months ago I was in Athens standing in front of a TV camera on an exposed and very hot roof top overlooking the Greek parliament.

From sites like that across the capital hundreds of journalists were, like me, reporting live around the world on the possibility of Greece going to the wall within days, if not hours.

That would have meant a bankrupt banking system and almost certainly the forced ejection of Greece from the eurozone.

The government took the talks to the wire several times before agreeing to the terms of a bail out.

There were sighs of relief all round and then the story slowly but steadily retreated from the headlines.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Greece’s bailout referendum in the summer saw huge demonstrations in Athens

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption both for the bailout and the euro…

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption …and against

Greece survived but now at the end of the year it may be time to assess whether Greece really is on the road to full recovery.

Sell-offs start

Certainly the Greeks have had one great success - we are not all talking about how it will be broke by this time next week.

Despite a narrow majority in parliament and endless opposition from many groups the government is making a start in introducing the reforms that were the condition of that bailout.

Just this month, the left-wing government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras agreed to a set of reforms, including allowing Greek banks to sell bad business loans onto foreign buyers.

This will free up capital for the banks and was a condition for the release of the next €1bn (£727bn; $1.08bn) of the bailout.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Germany’s Fraport has agreed to lease and manage 14 of the country’s airports

Parliament also narrowly approved some privatisation measures, Greece will retain a 51% stake in the national grid operator, Admie, and go ahead with other state sell-offs.

The German airport operator Fraport has agreed to lease and manage 14 Greek airports in a deal worth €1.2bn.

But this is still small beer compared with what the Greek government originally promised. Athens has raised only a few billion euros so far from privatisations versus an original target of €50bn; due to bureaucratic delays and a lack of political will.

Bitter reforms

Greece is committed to a whole host of privatisations and has been for years and yet somehow not many of them seem to happen, it is the kind of foot dragging that keeps the other members of the eurozone awake at night.

Other reforms are still stuck in the mud, made more difficult by a wafer-thin government majority in parliament.

The civil service pay structure is likely to be changed next year but the elephant in the room is Greece’s pensions system. This is extremely complicated and expensive and yet reforming it is not only a condition of any further bailout but also political dynamite.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Greek pensioners could see their state pensions cut drastically under proposals now being considered

Pensioners have already endured a whole series of reforms and yet these have only scratched the surface.

Forcing through further changes is going to be extremely unpopular with a large number of people and is also likely to endanger the government’s majority in parliament.

Yet the next stage of the bailout from the EU and the IMF is dependent on huge savings from the pension system in 2016, squaring that circle is going to be the big problem for next year.

One of the biggest issues with selling those kind of bitter reforms to the Greek population is that they are yet to see much if any benefit from over five years of efforts to stop the crisis.

Monthly struggle

Economic growth in 2015 was originally predicted to be 2-2.5%. But in large part because of the decision of the Government to take those bailout talks to the wire, that has turned into a 2-2.5% contraction - a deep and painful recession.

Now the experts are predicting once again that the economy will return to growth in 2016, unless something else gets in the way; which is a distinct possibility.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Greece’s economy should return to growth next year - unless something else gets in the way

It is therefore far too early to say that Greece is out of danger.

It is still not the master of its own destiny and struggling month by month to enact the reforms it should have introduced years ago, in order to get the next few billion euros that will keep it going, once again.

That is rather better than the situation in June when it was struggling day by day and sometimes hour by hour to find the money to keep the government and the country going.

However, it is hardly a resounding success and it would not take much for Greece to find itself back almost exactly where it was.

A collapse of the government’s majority, a failure to pass those pension reforms, the reluctance of the IMF and the eurozone to bail out a country that has failed to do all that it promised, again.

Any and all of those things could find Greece once again on the brink.

That means it may be the right time to put my lightweight suit in the dry cleaners, ready for its next stint on the smoulderingly hot rooftops of central Athens.

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Maids in Mexico: Defending the rights of domestic workers

By Katy Watson BBC Mexico and Central America reporter

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Business

Image caption Magdalena has to get up at four every morning for work

It is an early start for 42-year-old Magdalena Urbano Blas. Every weekday morning, her alarm clock goes off at four o’clock.

She prepares lunch for her two children, 10-year-old Diego and Viviana who is about to turn 15. She kisses them goodbye and her father walks her to the bus stop.

Her journey to work as a house-keeper involves three buses and takes two hours from her home in the south of Mexico City.

Magdalena works eight hours a day, cleaning a wealthy family’s apartment and looking after a toddler.

After work, she makes the long journey back in the evening, only to start all over again before dawn the next day.

Tough employers

For Magdalena, this is better than it has ever been. She earns $90 (£60) for a 40-hour week - and gets paid overtime.

Compare that with when she started, aged 13. Her first employers paid her just $4 a week.

Magdalena says they taught her everything she knows. They encouraged her to finish primary education but they were tough.

She was so badly-paid, she could not afford rent. So she lived in a neighbour’s unoccupied room on the roof of the block of flats she worked in.

Instead of rent, she paid her way by ironing for the neighbour.

Image caption Mexico’s now has its first domestic workers’ trade union

Accused of stealing

It was a hard existence but nothing compared to the difficulties she faced in her last job.

The family she worked for had several houses, one of which was being renovated. There were dozens of workers there - gardeners, carpenters and electricians.

One day, her employer told her that an electronic device was missing.

“We looked and looked and it was nowhere,” says Magdalena.

“But as I was the person in charge of looking after the house, I was held responsible - they accused me of stealing and fired me.”

Her employers sent threatening text messages to her and her daughter, telling her that her mother was a thief.

After her employer started legal proceedings, the item in question turned up - at the house that was being renovated.

Charges were dropped but her former employers never apologised.

Newly-formed union

Magdalena’s experience led her to look for support. She called on Caceh, a centre for supporting and training domestic workers, and they helped her through difficult times.

At the end of August, the group successfully formed Mexico’s first union for and run by domestic workers.

Image caption Conditions for female domestic workers “are very precarious,” says Marta Leal Morales

Magdalena takes part in forums and workshops with her colleagues to help other people like herself.

“Conditions for women who work in homes in Mexico are very precarious,” says Marta Leal Morales, general secretary of the newly-formed National Union of Domestic Workers (Sinactraho).

“We decided that this union would be to defend the rights of domestic workers, so they could have a better quality of life.”

Hidden workers

According to the country’s national statistics agency, Inegi, more than 2.3 million people are paid domestic workers in Mexico - 95% of them are women.

Of that, nearly two million are maids. The rest are cooks, drivers, dish-washers and care-workers.

Image caption Rodolfo Corcuera helped set up Aliada to link cleaners with nearby clients

It is a sector that is poorly regulated and even more poorly paid, with some workers receiving as little as $6 a day.

The hope is that the new union will make people more visible and give them a voice. But domestic work is a hidden profession, most of the people work in the informal economy.

According to the Conapred, Mexico’s national council for the prevention of discrimination, more than 90% of domestic workers do not have a contract, so achieving change will be hard.

Improving conditions

Entrepreneur Rodolfo Corcuera has a different strategy but the same goal when it comes to making things better for domestic workers.

Last year he and Ana Isabel Orvananos founded an online platform called Aliada - linking cleaners with clients near their home.

Rodolfo came up with the idea after finding out his cleaner was commuting four hours each way to get to his house.

She was spending so much time travelling, she could not earn a full day’s wage cleaning houses.

Image caption Domestic workers earn around $35 a day via Aliada

Aliada was the solution. The name means ‘ally’ in Spanish because Rodolfo says the relationship between cleaner and client should be equal.

“This is not somebody that’s working for you, it’s another human being.

“She’s providing a service to provide for her family and she’s helping you in your home and you’re paying her for that,” says Rodolfo.

“It’s very important, especially here in Mexico where we have a lot of discrimination, a lot of inequality, for everyone in our community to feel they are at the same level.”

Any potential worker who wants to join has to have a smartphone, a bank account and pay taxes.

Once that is organised, they can sign up for as much work as they would like and on average, earn around $35 a day.

Norma Flores Vielma is one of the ‘aliadas’ or allies. She lived and worked in Los Angeles for several years but the mother of four had to return to Mexico for family reasons.

Image caption “You’re not just a domestic worker, you’re someone who is allowed into peoples’ houses,” says Norma Flores Vielma

The flexibility she has of being able to choose when and where she works through Aliada - and the fact that it is not just clients that can give feedback on her work, but she can rate clients on how they treat her too - means she feels supported.

“You’re not just a domestic worker, you’re someone who is allowed into peoples’ houses,” she says.

“Not even a doctor goes into the bathroom and the bedroom but we do and that’s something that’s really valued.”

Uphill struggle

Her sister, in contrast, works 10 hours a day and gets paid less than $12. I ask Norma why she does not join Aliada too.

She says that the cost of a smartphone is beyond her.

For every Norma and Magdalena - women who are ensuring they get the rights they deserve - it is an uphill struggle for many more.

With an informal economy that is so big and so hidden, there are plenty who will have to continue suffering in silence in the hope of getting paid.

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Can pedal power help deliver a green logistics sector?

By Luci Bonnor BBC News, Paris

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Business

Media captionMichael Darchambeau ‘This is all about clean energy’

“History is coming. In fact history is here.” These were the words of French President Francois Hollande at the end of this month’s global climate change summit in Paris.

But if the world really is on the brink of a low carbon future - it will be up to small business owners like Michael Darchambeau to make it happen.

He’s the co-founder and chief executive of The Green Link - a “green” delivery company.

“We are delivering parcels around Paris,” he explains at one of the company’s two busy sorting offices in the centre of the city. “This is all about clean energy.”

The firm was launched in 2010 with just €10,000 (£7,300; $10,900) in personal savings. Things have changed.

“We are delivering to 2,000 customers a day using 34 electric cargo bikes and seven electric small vans,” he tells me.

Their customers range from huge multinationals to small traders, and he has a team of 44 full-time and 10 part-time employees.

Beating the traffic

Michael claims a zero carbon footprint for his service, which performs the last leg of a journey for parcels which may have begun on the other side of the globe.

Image caption The firm delivers to 2,000 customers a day

His firm works with major courier companies, providing the final link in their delivery chain.

Customised electric cargo bikes use cycle lanes around the congested city in order to outpace their fuel-driven four-wheel rivals. They don’t just carry goods either.

A deal with the ecology-minded city hall in Paris also means they can serve up meals on wheels to housebound citizens.

The idea for the business crystallized while on a trip to New York. He saw the bicycle couriers carrying documents and realised the potential for taking the idea further.

“To be green it’s not like in the past, eating like farmers,” he insists.

“Today we need to go back to the roots but enjoying the technology of the day. And this is the future - to use technology in the service of a better development of the planet.”

The French capital was for him a perfect choice to start the business - he describes it as the most traffic-congested city in Europe.

Image caption Michael co-launched the firm in 2010 with just €10,000 in personal savings

Though that’s a view that might be contested by frustrated London courier agencies or a Brussels firm waiting on an important delivery.

Cheaper oil

Michael is keen on workforce flexibility and so, in addition to staff he has 15 freelancers on his books.

Many of his employees look upon this as their second job. When they are not acting, painting, drawing or working at a myriad of other activities they are ferrying parcels for the company.

All this in a country where freelancing is hardly the norm. It’s a model he needs in a business where demand can be seasonal. At Christmas time he may use a 100 couriers but by the start of the New Year just 10.

For Michael, this is all part of the entrepreneurial spirit which he has brought to the company along with his passionate belief in the ecological cause.

But the green transport isn’t having it all its own way according to Sony Kapoor from the think tank Re-Define.

He says the plunge in oil prices has made it easier for businesses and consumers to carry on using petrol and diesel. And he argues that governments should step in to make sure clean energy businesses survive and prosper.

Image caption Cheaper oil prices have lessened the pressure on many firms to switch to alternative energy sources

“This would be the perfect time to make sure the greening of the transport sector is encouraged.” He says that radical action is needed.

“Increasing tax on oil at the pump would make sure that the real cost doesn’t fall.”

It is true this would make it easier for the green sector to compete. But do governments have the political stomach for such a move?

“A number of governments in the developing world have taken the opportunity of falling oil prices to remove fossil fuel subsidies,” he maintains.

“Surely if they can do it there, western countries can do it as well.”

‘Green jobs’

Away from the political arguments, Michael is determined to build on what he’s achieved so far. He has an annual turnover of €1.3m and is hoping to go into profit next year. But he has plans to go beyond that.

Image caption The Green Link employs 44 full time staff - who pedal around Paris on cargo bikes

“I want my company to be developed in every city in Europe, maybe in the world, by other people like me, who want to jump on their bike, who want to make the city greener and create employment.”

Michael is utterly passionate about his company but when it comes to the crunch he says the environment trumps all.

“It’s much more important than business” he explains.” The environment, when it’s destroyed you cannot restore it.”

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Birmingham’s ancient Koran history revealed

By Sean Coughlan Education correspondent

- 23 December 2015

- From the section Business

Media captionThe ancient Koran in Birmingham is giving up some its secrets

When the University of Birmingham revealed that it had fragments from one of the world’s oldest Korans, it made headlines around the world.

In terms of discoveries, it seemed as unlikely as it was remarkable.

But it raised even bigger questions about the origins of this ancient manuscript.

And there are now suggestions from the Middle East that the discovery could be even more spectacularly significant than had been initially realised.

There are claims that these could be fragments from the very first complete version of the Koran, commissioned by Abu Bakr, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad - and that it is “the most important discovery ever for the Muslim world”.

This is a global jigsaw puzzle.

But some of the pieces have fallen into place.

It seems likely the fragments in Birmingham, at least 1,370 years old, were once held in Egypt’s oldest mosque, the Mosque of Amr ibn al-As in Fustat.

Paris match

This is because academics are increasingly confident the Birmingham manuscript has an exact match in the National Library of France, the Bibliotheque Nationale de France.

Image copyright Thinkstock

Image caption The Mosque of Amr ibn al-As in Egypt, where Birmingham’s Koran seems to have orginated

The library points to the expertise of Francois Deroche, historian of the Koran and academic at the College de France, and he confirms the pages in Paris are part of the same Koran as Birmingham’s.

Alba Fedeli, the researcher who first identified the manuscript in Birmingham, is also sure it is the same as the fragments in Paris.

The significance is that the origin of the manuscript in Paris is known to have been the Mosque of Amr ibn al-As in Fustat.

‘Spirited away’

The French part of this manuscript was brought to Europe by Asselin de Cherville, who served as a vice consul in Egypt when the country was under the control of Napoleon’s armies in the early 19th Century.

Prof Deroche says Asselin de Cherville’s widow seemed to have tried to sell this and other ancient Islamic manuscripts to the British Library in the 1820s, but they ended up in the national library in Paris, where they have remained ever since.

Image caption 1: In summer 2015 two leaves of an ancient Koran at the University of Birmingham were identified and dated as being much earlier than anyone had anticipated and among the oldest in the world. 2: The National Library of France, Paris has leaves from the same Koran, brought from Egypt by a vice consul under Napoleon. 3: The Mosque of Amr ibn al-As in Fustat, Egypt. The fragments of the Koran in Birmingham are believed to have come from this ancient mosque. 4: Alphonse Mingana was born near Zakho in modern-day Iraq in 1878. He brought the manuscript to Birmingham from the Middle East on a collecting trip in the 1920s funded by the Cadbury family.

But if some of this Koran went to Paris, what happened to the pages now in Birmingham?

Prof Deroche says later in the 19th Century manuscripts were transferred from the mosque in Fustat to the national library in Cairo.

Along the way, “some folios must have been spirited away” and entered the antiquities market.

These were presumably sold and re-sold, until in the 1920s they were acquired by Alphonse Mingana and brought to Birmingham.

Mingana was an Assyrian, from what is now modern-day Iraq, whose collecting trips to the Middle East were funded by the Cadbury family.

“Of course, no official traces of this episode were left, but it should explain how Mingana got some leaves from the Fustat trove,” says Prof Deroche, who holds the legion of honour for his academic work.

And tantalisingly, he says other similar material, sold to western collectors could, still come to light.

Disputed date

But what remains much more contentious is the dating of the manuscript in Birmingham.

What was really startling about the Birmingham discovery was its early date, with radiocarbon testing putting it between 568 and 645.

The latest date in the range is 13 years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632.

Image copyright Thinkstock

Image caption Manuscripts were brought to France by Napoleon’s forces in Egypt

David Thomas, Birmingham University’s professor of Christianity and Islam, explained how much this puts the manuscript into the earliest years of Islam: “The person who actually wrote it could well have known the Prophet Muhammad.”

But the early date contradicts the findings of academics who have based their analysis on the style of the text.

Mustafa Shah, from the Islamic studies department at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, says the “graphical evidence”, such as how the verses are separated and the grammatical marks, show this is from a later date.

In this early form of Arabic, writing styles developed and grammatical rules changed, and Dr Shah says the Birmingham manuscript is simply inconsistent with such an early date.

Prof Deroche also says he has “reservations” about radiocarbon dating and there have been cases where manuscripts with known dates have been tested and the results have been incorrect.

‘Confident’ dates are accurate

But staff at Oxford University’s Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, which dated the parchment, are convinced their findings are correct, no matter how inconvenient.

Researcher David Chivall says the accuracy of dating has improved in recent years, with a much more reliable approach to removing contamination from samples.

Image caption Jamal bin Huwaireb believes that this an even more remarkable find than has so far been realised

In the case of the Birmingham Koran, Mr Chivall says the latter half of the age range is more likely, but the overall range is accurate to a probability of 95%.

It is the same level of confidence given to the dating of the bones of Richard III, also tested at the Oxford laboratory.

“We’re as confident as we can be that the dates are accurate.”

And academic opinions can change. Dr Shah says until the 1990s the dominant academic view in the West was that there was no complete written version of the Koran until the 8th Century.

But researchers have since overturned this consensus, proving it “completely wrong” and providing more support for the traditional Muslim account of the history of the Koran.

The corresponding manuscript in Paris, which could help to settle the argument about dates, has not been radiocarbon tested.

The first Koran?

But if the dating of the Birmingham manuscript is correct what does it mean?

There are only two leaves in Birmingham, but Prof Thomas says the complete collection would have been about 200 separate leaves.

Image copyright PA

Image caption The text of the Koran has remained unchanged since this very early version in Birmingham

“It would have been a monumental piece of work,” he said.

And it raises questions about who would have commissioned the Koran and been able to mobilise the resources to produce it.

Jamal bin Huwareib, managing director of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, an education foundation set up by the ruler of the UAE, says the evidence points to an even more remarkable conclusion.

He believes the manuscript in Birmingham is part of the first comprehensive written version of the Koran assembled by Abu Bakr, the Muslim caliph who ruled between 632 and 634.

Image caption Prof Thomas says the writer of this manuscript could have heard the Prophet Muhammad preach

“It’s the most important discovery ever for the Muslim world,” says Mr bin Huwareib, who has visited Birmingham to examine the manuscript.

“I believe this is the Koran of Abu Bakr.”

He says the high quality of the hand writing and the parchment show this was a prestigious work created for someone important - and the radiocarbon dating shows it is from the earliest days of Islam.

“This version, this collection, this manuscript is the root of Islam, it’s the root of the Koran,” says Mr bin Huwareib.

“This will be a revolution in studying Islam.”

This would be an unprecedented find. Prof Thomas says the dating fits this theory but “it’s a very big leap indeed”.

‘Priceless manuscript’

There are other possibilities. The radiocarbon dating is based on the death of the animal whose skin was used for the parchment, not when the writing was completed, which means the manuscript could be a few years later than the age range ending in 645, with Prof Thomas suggesting possible dates of 650 to 655.

Media captionThe university’s academics were “startled” by the results of radiocarbon dating

This would overlap with the production of copies of the Koran during the rule of the caliph Uthman, between 644 and 656, which were intended to produce an accurate, standardised version to be sent to Muslim communities.

If the Birmingham manuscript was a fragment of one of these copies it would also be a spectacular outcome.

It’s not possible to definitively prove or disprove such theories.

But Joseph Lumbard, professor in the department of Arabic and translation studies at the American University of Sharjah, says if the early dating is correct then nothing should be ruled out.

“I would not discount that it could be a fragment from the codex collected by Zayd ibn Thabit under Abu Bakr.

“I would not discount that it could be a copy of the Uthmanic codex.

“I would not discount Deroche’s argument either, he is such a leader in this field,” says Prof Lumbard.

He also warns of evidence being cherry-picked to support experts’ preferred views.

BBC iWonder: The Quran

A timeline of how the Quran became part of British life

Prof Thomas says there could also have been copies made from copies and perhaps the Birmingham manuscript is from a copy made specially for the mosque in Fustat.

Jamal bin Huwaireb sees the discovery of such a “priceless manuscript” in the UK, rather than a Muslim country, as sending a message of mutual tolerance between religions.

“We need to respect each other, work together, we don’t need conflict.”

But don’t expect any end to the arguments over this ancient document.

More stories from the BBC’s Knowledge economy series looking at education from a global perspective and how to get in touch

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Table of Contents

BBC News [Thu, 24 Dec 2015]

News Home

Burmese guilty of UK tourist murders

Reflect on Christian values, PM urges

Dozens dead in Saudi hospital fire

Keep Oxford's Rhodes statue: Abbott

Work to hit London airport rail routes

Race campaigners target US Christmas

Savers warned about 1 January changes

Blood pressure therapy re-think urged

Housing cuts 'affect the vulnerable'

Six dead as heavy storms batter US

Historic agreement for two UK churches

China smog sparks more red alerts

'Washout' winter and Christmas 'miracle'

Torn in two: Yemen divided

Birmingham's ancient Koran history revealed

Will new US visa changes affect you?

Jeremy Corbyn's 19,485 Early Day Motions

Former England coach Howe dies aged 80

Robshaw would back England successor

Kvitova's 2015 of highs and lows

Van Gaal walks out of news briefing

India puts the brakes on Facebook

UK growth estimate revised down

EU exit could break up UK, says Hague

Minimum drink price 'may breach EU law'

Labour: Extra NHS cash vow 'unravels'

£800m health contract collapse reviewed

'Forgotten children' in anti-abuse drive

Beatles music joins streaming services

Crows' tool time captured on camera

ISS crew receives Christmas delivery

Countryfile gets spin-off show

Lost Boys actor Brooke McCarter dies

Ten of the best drone photos of 2015

What did Jesus really look like?

Christmas in Bethlehem: Hopes and fears for the future

The stories of Syrian children that went viral in 2015

What's it like working in John Lewis at Christmas?

New York's record-breaking warm Christmas

The runaway children Malaysia failed to save

Shine on: Why Colombian men like to get their nails done

Christmas dinners around the world

UK

Burmese guilty of UK tourist murders

Reflect on Christian values, PM urges

Work to hit London airport rail routes

Blood pressure therapy re-think urged

Keep Oxford's Rhodes statue: Abbott

Savers warned about 1 January changes

Housing cuts 'affect the vulnerable'

'Forgotten children' in anti-abuse drive

Historic agreement for two UK churches

Eva brings fresh flooding fears

US family wants travel ban answers

Former England coach Howe dies aged 80

Blunder over 'highest village' sign

Decades-old Christmas pud 'amazing'

Robshaw would back England successor

Kvitova's 2015 of highs and lows

Van Gaal walks out of news briefing

EU exit could break up UK, says Hague

UK growth estimate revised down

Minimum drink price 'may breach EU law'

'Washout' winter and Christmas 'miracle'

What's it like working in John Lewis at Christmas?

Jeremy Corbyn's 19,485 Early Day Motions

When is it right to remove a statue?

World

Race campaigners target US Christmas

Dozens dead in Saudi hospital fire

China smog sparks more red alerts

Russian ex-tycoon may seek UK asylum

Russia brushes off Syria allegations

Six dead as heavy storms batter US

Afghan Taliban 'overrun Sangin area'

Boko Haram 'close to defeat' in Nigeria

Defence agenda for Modi's Russia talks

Child 'locked in hidden drug den'

Cleaner killed in Turkish airport blast

Mass graves for '300 Shia Nigerians'

Refugee wins stake in Spain lottery

Skier Hirscher almost hit by drone

The runaway children Malaysia failed to save

Torn in two: Yemen divided

Christmas in Bethlehem: Hopes and fears for the future

Will new US visa changes affect you?

Shine on: Why Colombian men like to get their nails done

Indian women who are fighting to stop genital mutilation

How a Belgian teenager was lured to Syrian jihad

The stories of Syrian children that went viral in 2015

Politics

Reflect on Christian values, PM urges

Housing cuts 'affect the vulnerable'

EU exit could break up UK, says Hague

UK growth estimate revised down

Minimum drink price 'may breach EU law'

Muslim family's US 'ban' raised with PM

Five banks paid no 2014 corporation tax

Greens challenge TV broadcast omission

Labour: Extra NHS cash vow 'unravels'

Warning of EU 'crisis' if UK leaves

UK military deployed to Helmand

Leaders issue Christmas messages

'Warm Welsh welcome' for refugees

Jeremy Corbyn's 19,485 Early Day Motions

How are SNP MPs settling in at Westminster?

What not to wear in Parliament

Science/Environment

Crows' tool time captured on camera

ISS crew receives Christmas delivery

Dogs 'can read canine emotions'

Faulty tool halts Nasa Mars mission

Technology

Beatles music joins streaming services

India puts the brakes on Facebook

Software bug releases convicts early

10 rules for a safe cyber Christmas

Hello Kitty tackles child data leak

Skier Hirscher almost hit by drone

Guilty plea to financial news hack

Kim Dotcom loses extradition case

Broadband adverts 'confuse public'

German man 'must destroy naked images'

Game Digital shares hit as sales fall

How to celebrate a digital Christmas

Business

Savers warned about 1 January changes

Work to hit London airport rail routes

India puts the brakes on Facebook

UK growth estimate revised down

Oil price to hit $70 by 2020, says Opec

Russian ex-tycoon may seek UK asylum

Chipotle to change cooking methods

Australian stocks in Christmas rally

Five banks paid no 2014 corporation tax

Game Digital shares hit as sales fall

Nesquik ad ban for 'great start' claim

Mining stocks drive FTSE higher

Beatles music joins streaming services

Christmas dinners around the world

What's it like working in John Lewis at Christmas?

Insurance advice for flooding victims

The benefits of cheap oil

Is Greece really on the road to recovery?

Defending the rights of domestic workers

Can pedal power help with greener deliveries?

Birmingham's ancient Koran history revealed