29/12/2013 BBC Weekend News

A huge explosion rips through a station in southern Russia. At least

50 are dead. A female suicide bomber carried out the attack which raises

new security fears ahead of the Winter Olympics.

Passengers are winched to safety after a fire on board the North Sea

ferry. Two men are arrested. After the breast implant scandal, tighter

rules for surgeons and curbs on marketing the operations.

And Arsenal back on top of the Premier League with a win over

Newcastle. Good evening. At least 15 people

have been killed in an explosion at Gabriel we station in southern

Russia. Investigators say a suicide bomber carried out the attack in the

city of Volgograd. It is the latest in a series of bombings by

separatist Islamist groups in the North caucuses and head of the

Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, which begin in six weeks.

Volgograd's Central railway station, and the moment a bomb went

off in the entrance hall at lunchtime. Instantly killing many of

the passengers. Investigators quickly said it was the work of a

female suicide bomber, who had blown herself up inside of the building.

At the exact spot where the metal detectors were. Arches, designed to

stop weapons and explosives, from getting into the building. The

Kremlin immediately ordered railway stations and airports to step up

security. President Putin told his law-enforcement services to do

everything that was necessary to keep people safe. Russia is

grieving. The immediate concern is for the injured and relatives of the

dead. The New Year is the big annual family holiday here. For 16 families

today, it became a time of mourning. But Russia is also due to host the

Winter Olympics in six weeks time. The eyes of the world are on the

host city, Sochi, 400 miles from Volgograd. And have always been

security worries about staging the Olympics so close to Russia's

troubled republics of Chechnya and Dagestan.

In June, one of the leaders of the Islamist insurgency, Doku Umarov,

told on his -- called on his supporters to use maximum force to

disrupt what he called the Satanic games. I have always said that

Umarov's warning is serious stuff. I think a lot of people are responding

to his clear order to organise more and more things in the area.

The Winter Olympics are seen as a personal prestige project for

President Putin, who has done all they can to reassure the

International Olympic Committee that the Games will be safe. But Sochi is

only 250 miles from the scene of a terrible school siege nine years ago

that killed more than 300 people, half of them shall run. -- children.

Today's explosion was a reminder that you cannot guarantee security

in southern Russia. Daniel Samford joins me now. How realistic is it

for the Russian authorities to talk of delivering security for their own

people and for these Winter Olympics? Well, there will be

extraordinary security in February. Drones will hover over the area,

zooming in on numberplates and faces. No cars registered outside of

the city will even be allowed into the place. There will be extensive

monitoring of e-mails and telephone calls, physical security will be

quite hard because it is bordered by mountains on one side and the Black

Sea on other, which gives terrorists the opportunity to get into the

town. But today tells us that the one thing everybody has been saying

since the beginning, that you do not have to attack Sochi during the

Games to cause embarrassment, any bomb in any city in Russia during

the Games will cause maximum embarrassment to Russia and gain

maximum international attention. That is exactly what the bombers

want. Thank you. Two men have been

arrested, one on suspicion of arson, after fire brought out on a -- broke

out on a North Sea ferry last night. Six people were flown to

hospital by RAF helicopter and the ferry was forced to return to

Tyneside. There is a fire on board and everybody is coming to the

lifeboats. Frightened and confused. In the middle of the night, 900

passengers were dragged from their beds and told that there had been a

fire on board. This photo taken by a passenger shows the damage done to

the cabin. It was thick smoke. There was a lot of panic from some

people, women and kids were panicking. Our cabin was five doors

from the fire. A place filled with smoke. RAF helicopters winched six

people to safety. And they were flown to Scarborough Hospital and

treated for smoke inhalation. There were four doctors on-board

travelling as passengers, who treated the people. Luckily, it was

down to just six people who required evacuation, five of them crewmembers

who had been involved with fighting the fire. And one was a pregnant

lady. Police were waiting and everyone was held on board for four

hours while interviews took place. Two men were arrested, one on

suspicion of arson and the other on suspicion of affray. The other

passengers were released, emotional and exalted. We were just going for

a weekend to enjoy the day in Amsterdam and come home tonight.

Never mind. Back to Carlisle. They may not be where they planned to

beat a night but most passengers we spoke to were grateful that nobody

had been seriously hurt. Many of them praised the staff on

board for remaining calm but most importantly, containing a fire that

could have been a lot more dangerous.

For tonight, the MS King Seaways has become a floating hotel as

passengers spend the night on board. They will finally finish the journey

tomorrow. The leader of the UK Independence

Party, Nigel Farage, has said that some refugees from the Civil War in

Syria should be allowed to come to Britain. He said that Western

countries had a duty to offer a number of them sanctuary. The

government has refused to let any Syrian refugees into the UK, arguing

that it is better to offer financial support.

It is a conflict that has created hardship and displaced millions. But

what should happen to the innocent victims? Nigel Farage, a strong

advocate of reducing the number of economic migrants entering Britain,

says that in this case, we need to be more generous. I think refugees

are a different thing to economic migration. This country should, I

think, on the spirit of the 1951 declaration on refugee status, and

think there is a responsibility on all of us in the West to try to help

some of those people fleeing Syria in fear of their lives.

The United Nations is calling for a global effort to help those

struggling in Syria. The UN wants richer countries to take in a total

of 30,000 refugees. Germany has offered to accept 10,000 people.

France is taking 500. In contrast, 18 EU countries including the UK are

refusing to take any. But the UK is the most generous cash donor,

pledging more than ?500 million in aid. The Prime Minister has visited

refugee camps in Jordan to see some of the suffering for himself. Labour

says it would allow around 500 people to enter Britain. Some

Conservative backbenchers are urging the government to soften its line. I

think the government will eventually change its mind. Britain is an open

and holler and society. Clearly we cannot take all the refugees from

Syria but think we should abide by our international commitments and

take some. That might be 1000 or 2000. There was no sign of that

changing. Despite the increasing pressure. But the government is more

worried about immigration of a different kind. Restrictions on

workers from Romania and Bulgaria will be lifted on Wednesday.

Ministers do not know how many will come.

Five men have been arrested following the death of a man found

injured at a house in Newcastle under Lyme. Staffordshire police

said that officers were called to a house in Wilmot drive yesterday

evening. Five men aged between 28 and 57 were arrested at the scene

and remain in police custody. The man has yet to be formally

identified. A register of all breast implant operations is to be

introduced in England following the scandal two years ago when thousands

of women received faulty implants. There will also be a clamp-down on

the advertising of cosmetic besiegers and new qualifications

introduced for surgeons carrying them out. Our medical correspondent

reports. Nearly 50,000 women in Britain were affected by the PIP

breast implants care. The company used sub standard

silicon gel which had a high rupture rate. Many women find it difficult

to know whether they had been given PIP implants because of prerogative

in. I was very upset and very stressed out. Why was expecting my

baby, so wanted to know what was happening. It took a long time.

Health ministers promised action. The plan scandal shone light on what

has become a cowboy industry, an industry where there are murky

practices. We have had to make sure that, as a government, we protect

women and patients and consumers going forward and put in place

strong measures to do that. It register for implants similar to

that for hip operations will be set up in England. -- a register.

that for hip operations will be set up in England. Other parts of the UK

will decide whether they want to join. The Royal College of Surgeons

will create new qualifications and professional standards for cosmetic

surgery and the Department of Health says there will be a clamp-down --

clamp-down on cosmetic surgery advertising such as two-for-one

deals. The British Association of plastic surgeons said that

aggressive marketing and special offers placed undue pressure on

people considering treatment. We are pleased that the government will be

coming down on marketing cosmetic surgery but we do not feel that they

have gone far enough because we have been calling for an outright and so

there is no advertising at all. The government's full proposals are

respected early in the New Year. -- expected. Michael Schumacher has

been injured in a skiing accident in France. The German, who retired from

Formula one for the second time last year, has been taken by helicopter

to hospital. It is understood that he suffered a head injury. A

spokesperson said that he was wearing a helmet at the time of the

accident and his condition is not thought to be serious.

Football and Arsenal have returned to the top of the Premier League

after beating Newcastle United. A header from Olivier Giroud was

enough to secure a 1-0 victory. For Newcastle and Arsenal fans, the

match programme was worth getting, if only to stare at the league

table. Both are exceeding the expectations that many had of them

even if the first half was not the best showcase their talents. It was

until seconds before half-time that either side had a chance to go

close. Arsenal needed a moment of inspiration. Some freethinking came

from a free kick. The Walcott took it and Olivier Jarreau took it. --

Olivier Jarreau. The Gunners knew a second would

guarantee top spot at New Year. Chances came and went and were

wasted. That left them open to a late Newcastle charge, throwing of

putting forward but lacking direction. Arsenal finish on top,

and in recent history, the leaders at the start of the year tends to

still be there at the start of the at the start of the year tends to

still be there at the season -- end of the season.

Elsewhere, Everton beat Southampton at Goodison Park, 2-1. In the late

kick-off, Chelsea are currently beating Liverpool 2-1 with just a

few minutes left. Samuel Eto'o scoring the second for Chelsea. They

went a goal behind after three minutes.

In the Scottish Premiership, Celtic remain 11 points clear at the top of

the table with a goal from Kris Commons an offer for them to secure

victory against Inverness. And now the cricket. England face the

prospect of a humiliating 5-0 Ashes defeat after losing the fourth test.

With 231 to win, the Australians won, ugly, helped by a string of

dropped catches by England fielders. Melbourne this morning and the

fourth test had reached a crucial junction. Time and time again on

this tour, England had failed. Now finally it seemed like things could

go either way. With Australia resuming on 30 without loss but

still needing 201 runs to win, England had genuine hope but knew

they had to take every chance offered. Sadly for them, Alistair

Cooke squandered two almost immediately. The first unfortunate.

The second, unforgivable. England's lamentable fielding would cost them.

Having been handed a brief, David Warner was eventually snared by Ben

Stokes but it was a forced on. Chris Rogers was proving that the pitch

was no excuse for batting collapses. The opener steered his

side to victory with a brilliant century as England ran out of ideas.

With Shane Watson in one-day-old, the end was quick. Having trailed by

51 after the first innings, Australia romped home by eight

wickets. -- one day mode. This is argued with

the most painful defeat of all. England threw away a winning

position. With the Ashes already gone, this could have been a fresh

tart but instead the humiliation of a whitewash in Sydney next week now

feels inevitable. There was more throughout the

evening on the