26/11/2011 BBC Weekend News


26/11/2011

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The plan to unlock �20 billion of lending to business. New details

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emerge about how the Chancellor hopes to get credit flowing again.

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No sign of backing down as the Government and unions argue ahead

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of Wednesday's planned strike. A furious response from Pakistan,

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after NATO kills 24 of its troops in an attack on the Afghan border.

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And the 102-year-old pensioner from Kent leaving the UK to start a new

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Good evening. More details have emerged tonight

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of the Chancellor's plans to try to stop the economy slipping back into

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recession. It's understood that George Osborne will announce on

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Tuesday that the Government will underwrite bank loans to businesses.

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�20 billion could be made available. Our political correspondent Carole

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Walker is at Westminster with the latest.

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Yes, when the Chancellor stands up in parliament on Tuesday to deliver

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his autumn statement he will be under huge pressure to say what the

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Government is doing to boost some growth in the economy and tonight

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we have learned that he is going to announce an ambitious plan that he

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hopes could provide lending to small and medium-sized companies by

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up to �20 billion. George Osborne is braced for a new

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set of gloomy economic statistics to coincide with his autumn

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statement. The eurozone crisis is adding to his woes and there's real

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concern that lending from the banks could dry up. So to try to get cash

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flowing to companies so they can invest and grow, he is setting up

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ambitious lending programmes with the Government stepping in to give

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businesses the chance to get loans at low interest rates. The idea is

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known as credit easing. The Government will provide a guarantee

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for banks to borrow on the financial markets, they'll then be

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obliged to pass on the cheap lending rates to small and medium-

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sized companies. The Government will also take a stake in

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investment funds which provide credit or loans to medium-sized

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companies. It's also planning an alternative to bank loans, by

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allowing firms to sell company IOUs to the market. The Government is

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also going to curve some rail fare increases. The Treasury says it

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will mean that peak fares and season tickets which were due to

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rise by 8% next year, will go up by 6%, instead. The Chancellor knows

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that may not be cause for celebration, but he hopes it will

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provide some relief for passengers. Labour have written to the

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Chancellor tonight with a series of questions, asking exactly how this

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credit easing plan is going to work and saying they don't think it's

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going to be enough to get growth really going in the economy.

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The Treasury are saying interestingly enough that this plan

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will not add to the country's deficit. They're sticking to that

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deficit reduction plan. I think the Chancellor does still face a lot of

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questions about how he is going to pay for things like those lower

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than expected rail fares, that plan to tackle youth unemployment that

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we heard about, we are told we are going to have to wait until Tuesday

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but one thing's for sure, the Chancellor hasn't got any money to

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give away. And tomorrow morning on BBC1 Andrew

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Marr will be speaking to the Chancellor, George Osborne, and

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Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls about this story.

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The planned walk-out, of more than two million public sector workers

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on Wednesday, looks set to go ahead, as the Government and unions

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continue to argue. Today, the Government confirmed that an

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improved offer on pensions could be withdrawn, if the strike isn't

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cancelled. But the unions responded, saying that no such offer has been

:04:04.:04:08.

made officially. Our political correspondent Robin Brant has more

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details. Union members have taken to the

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streets already this year. If Wednesday's walkout does go ahead

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it will be the biggest protest in a generation. Two million could stay

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at home. As that day approaches, the talk from the top of Government

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has got noticeably tougher. Ministers have repeated warnings

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they could withdraw their improved offer. There's also talk of tougher

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laws on future union strikes. days of action are very damaging to

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the economy. They cost money. We don't want this thing going into

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2012. We need to get an agreement reached and we are very close to an

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agreement with the trade unions on the basis of what is a generous

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offer and that's why we have said it's conditional on this agreement

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being reached. No deal is close, though, says the leader of one of

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the biggest unions. And it seems Wednesday's mass strike is now a

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certainty. We have not had a single offer, not one offer, for our local

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Government workers and they are in the biggest pension scheme in our

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public services. So we can't say that we are moving to an agreement,

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because I can't go to any of our members and say look, this is what

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you have been offered, would you prefer to take this or take strike

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action? Thousands of National Health Service non-emergency

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operations could be postponed. At Heathrow, they're preparing for

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delays of up to 12 hours. In Northern Ireland, the entire public

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transport network will shut down. There's going to be widespread

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disruption, something the Labour leader has come close to condemning

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outright. Are you supporting the strikers? It's not the job of

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politicians and we don't support strikes, that's - nobody wants to

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see the strike happen, in fact. But both sides need to give ground to

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stop the strike going ahead. Government believes taxpayers can't

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afford to fund the current deal, people are living longer, it says.

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But the unions see the proposals as a kind of retrospective robbery.

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Wednesday's strike will show the scale of their anger.

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Pakistan has ordered a review of all its operational arrangements

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with the US and NATO after the alliance attacked two military

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outposts on Pakistani territory. 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed in

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the incident in Mohmand, near the country's border with Afghanistan.

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Orla Guerin reports. It was in this harsh and remote

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terrain that NATO struck. This is Mohmand, part of Pakistan's lawless

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tribal belt. But the army says there was no militant activity here

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at the time. No excuse for mistaken identity. Pakistan says NATO

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helicopters and fighter aircraft opened fire on two border posts.

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Their location was well known, a senior official told us. NATO had

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the grid references. NATO commanders have offered condolences,

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and promised to investigate. have to look into this case as it

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happened in a very rugged part of the country, a very deserted part

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of the country and in the middle of the night where it was pitch dark.

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So we have to look into the incident in detail, come to the

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conclusion, and then talk to the Pakistani side. Pakistan's leaders

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have reacted with fury. The Prime Minister, and military chiefs,

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ordering a review of all links with NATO and the United States. Within

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hours, Pakistan was drawing new battlelines on the map. Critical

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NATO supplies are trucked across the country every day. One route

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leads to the Afghan capital, Kabul. And another to the second largest

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city, Kandahar. But the border has been closed to NATO traffic. The

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trucks are at a standstill. And soon all co-operation could grind

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to a halt, including intelligence- sharing.

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Exactly what happened at the border is still unclear, but tonight

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Afghan and NATO sources have provided a different version of

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events. They say a special forces team was targeting a Taliban

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training camp. They claim the team came under fire from inside

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Pakistan. An elderly widow has died after

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trying to stop a mugger stealing her handbag, in which she'd kept

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her husband's ashes. 79-year-old Nellie Geraghty was found

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unconscious with head injuries. Two teenagers have been arrested, as

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John Andrew reports. Nellie Geraghty was still clutching the

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strap from her handbag when she was found, suggesting she struggled to

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hang on to it. The attack took place on Thursday and in broad

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daylight in this alley near her home in Oldham. She was taken to

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hospital with serious head injuries and died in the early hours of this

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morning. Inside her handbag was a smaller bag containing the Ashes of

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her late husband, Frank, who died 17 years ago. The police are

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appealing to anyone with information to come forward. It's a

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drawstring bag, it's got no owe other significant marks I am aware

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of, that contains the Ashes and has real emotional family to the --

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value to the family. In a statement Nellie's family said they lost the

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best mum in the world. Neighbours have also been paying tribute.

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was very nice, she was a good neighbour. We helped each other.

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Very, very nice. Very pleasant. Help anybody. Tonight, two boys

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aged 14 and 17 are in police custody, held on suspicion of

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murder and robbery. The former TV presenter and

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comedian Michael Barrymore has been charged with possession of cocaine

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and being drunk and disorderly following a car crash in Acton,

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West London. Barrymore was arrested alongside another man in the early

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hours of Tuesday morning and is is due to appear at Ealing

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Magistrates' Court on December 7th. Northern Ireland's First Minister,

:10:08.:10:11.

Peter Robinson, says he wants to see an end to segregation between

:10:11.:10:14.

Catholics and Protestants. Speaking at his party's annual conference in

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Belfast, the leader of the DUP called for a shared education

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system and an end, to a "them and us" society. Mark Simpson's report

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contains some flash photography. A Protestant party for Protestant

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people, that's how many have viewed the DUP, but in recent years it's

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been reaching out. And now Ian Paisley's successor, Peter Robinson,

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is trying to go further. He says he wants to end the segregation

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between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland schools and in

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society here, in general. conflict of this last 40 years

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created terrible divisions. It became a case of "them" and "us".

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And that attitude deepened divisions even further. If we want

:11:01.:11:11.
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a better society, it can't be them and us, it can only be all of us.

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Peter Robinson knows that talking about change in Northern Ireland is

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easy, delivering it will be much more difficult. The divisions still

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run deep, especially in parts of Belfast. The city has 49 walls

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which keep Catholics and Protestants apart. The education

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system is divided, too, with only around 5% of schools fully

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integrated. There are even two different transfer tests from

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primary to secondary school. One taken mainly by by Protestant kids,

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the other mainly by Catholics. But do people believe that more

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integration would actually work? think it's a really good idea. It's

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definitely possible. No, never. Definitely not. People just need to

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realise how similar we actually are and that when we do work as a team

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magical things can happen. It will take a decade maybe, but the main

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thing is to get it started now. Some believe it will take much

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longer than that, maybe generations. But at least the political debate

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has begun. An unmanned rocket carrying the

:12:28.:12:31.

Curiosity robot heading for Mars, has blasted off from Cape Canaveral

:12:31.:12:41.
:12:41.:12:41.

in Florida. And lift-off... It's scheduled to touch down on the red

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planet in August next year and it'll search for signs of whether

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Mars has ever been able to sustain life.

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Now time for all the sport with Amanda Davies.

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Good evening. It's been a controversial day in the Barclays

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Premier League. Match of the Day follows the news so now's the time

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to look away if you want to keep the surprise. Sir Alex Ferguson

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aimed his frustration at the assistant referee at Old Trafford,

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after Manchester United's 1-1 draw against Newcastle. Javier Hernandez

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had given United the lead, before a controversial penalty gave the

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visitors a share of the points. Chelsea returned to winning ways

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with a comfortable victory over Wolves to ease the pressure on

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under-fire manger Andre Villas-Boas. Captain John Terry opened the

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scoring in a 3-0 win. Arsenal's Thomas Vermaelen scored at both

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ends to produce a 1-1 draw with Fulham.

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Everton won 2-0 at Bolton. Grant Holt came off the bench to score

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the winner for Norwich against Queens Park Rangers. Blackburn's

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poor form continues. They were beaten 3-1 by Stoke, so now sit

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bottom of the table after Wigan's late win over Sunderland.

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:13:58.:13:58.

And Tottenham's impressive form continues, they beat West Brom 3-1.

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In Scotland, a Gary Hooper hat- trick helped Celtic to a 5-0

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drubbing of St Mirren. So they're now four points behind leaders

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Rangers who don't play until tomorrow.

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Aberdeen fought back from 3-1 down to earn a draw against Dunfermline.

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Hearts broke their recent goal drought with a 2-1 win over bottom

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There was a goalless draw at Fir Park between Motherwell and Dundee

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United. And Hibernian's new manager Pat Fenlon watched from the stands

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as his side were beaten by St Johnstone.

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It's been a tough week for the reputation of Rugby Union in

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England, but despite that, 51,000 fans turned out at Twickenham to

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see the Barbarians take on Australia. It ended up being a one-

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sided victory for the Wallabies, who ran in eight tries en route to

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a 60-11 win. Joe Wilson reports. Twickenham, home of investigations,

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resignations and today, a league of nations. The barbarians, invented

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to celebrate Rugby Union, a rather alien idea in England right now.

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The other team, Australia, did the fixture the honour of taking it

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very seriously. Australia led and never looked back.

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But it was still an opportunity for Danny Cipriani, who made some

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progress for the Barbarians, but Australia were releaptless. --

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:15:28.:15:28.

relentless. This ill-judged pass gave away one of the many tries.

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Leaks in defence looked just as ugly as leaks in a newspaper. As

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Australia got to 60, it all felt a bit pointless. In the final seconds

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Cipriani saved the ball and Tom kins scored, just room for some

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romance. It's the final race of the Formula

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1 season this weekend, and world champion Sebastian Vettel has

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managed to squeeze in another record-breaking achievement. The

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24-year-old Red Bull driver took the front spot on the grid for the

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Brazilian Grand Prix, and with it overtook Nigel Mansell's record of

:16:04.:16:07.

14 pole positions in a season. Vettel became the youngest back-to-

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back World Champion when he clinched this year's title in Japan

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last month and goes into tomorrow's race ahead of team-mate Mark Webber

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in second, with Jenson Button in third. That's it. Thank you.

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Now, many people leave the UK to start a new life abroad, but not

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usually at the age of 102. Pensioner Louise Sides has done

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exactly that, deciding on the move when her nursing home shut down.

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Alexandra MacKenzie has the story. Arriving in New Zealand, a big

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adventure for Louise Sides, one reporter asked how many cases she

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had brought? Only one. And a small one. It's half a world away from

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her care home in Kent. She took the life-changing decision after being

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told it was closing down due to budget cuts. Many Brits have been

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lured to a new life in New Zealand, the surf, the weather, and the

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scenery. Louise Sides daughter and son-in-law live there. She's been

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to visit, now she's there to stay. On arrival in Auckland she seemed

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unphased by all the attention and just requested one thing. I want to

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just have a cup of tea. The family reunited again, her daughter, Sue,

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is delighted. It's her birthday on Boxing Day, so it's going to be a

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special one this year. And before that they're looking forward to

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