02/01/2014 BBC News at One

Rail fares go up for thousands of commuters across the UK. The average

cost of rail season ticket is up 3%. At the lowest rise in four years but

it is still higher than the average rise in wages. We'll get reaction of

some passengers say it will make their journeys to work

unaffordable. Also this lunchtime, simpler energy bills are on the way

from today in an attempt to rebuild consumer trust. Look at that. What a

handsome sight that is. Rescued after nine days trapped in the ice,

all 52 passengers stranded in the Antarctic are airlifted to safety.

Here, warnings of exceptional weather to come with rain, wind and

high tides threatening the UK. And using a mix of modern and ancient

technology, the new implant that could help patients heal

post-surgery. Later on BBC London, with parts of

Surrey still underwater there are warnings of further floods in the

next 24 hours. And paying more for your daily commute. We'll find out

how rail passengers here will be hit.

Hello, a very good afternoon for you. Welcome to the BBC News At One.

Consume and campaign groups have joined passengers in criticising

today's rising rail fares which have seen an average increase of 2.8%. It

has pushed the cost of travelling to work for some to more than ?5,000 a

year. Some commuters say it will be increasingly difficult for them to

afford the journey to work. The average rises the smallest for four

years but campaigners say fares are rising three times faster than

incomes. Our transport correspondent Richard Westcott reports.

It has been as regular as clockwork for the past decade. Something busy

commuters can always rely on. The January fare rise. Rail users across

the country will be renewing their season tickets today with a sense of

dismay, for the 11th year in a row we have seen significant increases

in fares. We are calling on the government to put this to an end. It

is actually the government that sets the increase for around half of the

tickets we buy. Known as regulated fares, they include season tickets.

This year they'll go up in line with inflation also train companies can

add a little more as long as they match it with a small rise

elsewhere. So the annual ticket between Colchester and Chelmsford in

Essex goes up by 5%, for example, which adds ?96 per year. A worker

coming into London from Canterbury in Kent will only see a 2.1% rise

but that still works out at ?100 more a year. The Middlesbrough to

Newcastle commute goes up by 5%, or ?128 a year. The increase is but

they were meant to be even higher until the government changed its

policy last month. I am sure these passengers will welcome any kind of

respite in the price of their ticket but this comes after a decade's

worth of above inflation fare rises so will it be enough? I think it's

an improvement on previous years but I still feel it is a lot and back

commuters get hit hard all the time. ?5,800 now, so considerably more,

but it is going to be a struggle. I stand up every day from East

Croydon. Conditions are horrendous. Always delayed. So yes, not happy.

Train fares have been going at relentlessly for a decade because

successive governments have wanted passengers to pay a bigger share of

the running costs. The government is investing 16 billion over the next

five years to upgrade the railway network in terms of maintenance, new

lines, rolling stock. There is some movement on the basis of the balance

between the fair pay and the taxpayer but the government is not

stopping investing and the government is continuing to invest.

In Scotland commuters faced the same rise but season-ticket holders in

Wales will pay a little less than inflation. There is no increase at

all planned in Northern Ireland. Let's hear more from Richard who is

at King's Cross station for us. You separate prices have been going up

for the past decade. The question is what happens next? I think you are

absolutely right. Everyone wants to know if there is any chance that

fares will actually come down at all rather than going up with inflation.

Unfortunately I think the answer is, no, not for some years yet. The

first reason is the government wants to pay for less of the running costs

for the railways. It pays about 30% and wants to drag it down to 25%.

That means passengers have to pay more. The second reason is perfectly

illustrated behind me here, a brand-new King's Cross concourse,

billions of pounds invested in the railways in electrifying lines so

they are more reliable, faster and greener, all of that costs money and

that has got to come from somewhere. Unfortunately we have had an

inflation rise this year, a little lower than expected, I suspect we

will get at least that next year going into an election and who knows

beyond that but I don't think we will see cuts any time soon.

Richard, thank you. New rules designed to signify energy

bills have come into effect will stop changes include limiting

supplies to just four tariff Spurs customer for electricity and gas and

simplifying how prices are charged. The regulator Ofgem says banning

confusing and context tariffs should help to rebuild consumer trust.

Which? Says the changes are a step in the right direction but do not go

far enough. Simon Gompertz reports. You can't understand your bill or

compare it to what else is on offer, you could end up on a gas or

electricity deal which costs too much. So energy suppliers have been

told by the regulator to cut down on the bewildering variations which end

up confusing customers into overpaying. We have had people

saying to us that they go to switching sights or phone suppliers

and get bamboozled by the complete array of tariffs that currently

exist and beef complex multi-tier tariffs, where you pay one rate

until you get to a certain point and then pay a different rate, all of

that has gone. Even though energy bills are being made simpler each

company will still be able to offer four different electricity tariffs

and four different gas prices. They will be fixed or variable prices, or

green deals, and they will have a standing charge which can vary as

well as the unit price, along with possible discounts for dual fuel,

taking both gas and electricity from the same company, and giving your

account online. So it could still get, located but anything simpler

might help. If there are fewer tariffs it is easier to compare and

contrast whereas before there were many different tariffs and it is

difficult to worth out what is worthwhile for your particular

property. My concern is how they levelled them off at slightly higher

rates because the government is saying make it simpler? Bills have

doubled in recent years and that is because the price of gas out of the

North Sea and imported has gone up along with electricity and the power

station and simpler bills won't make any difference to those wholesale

costs which are hurting households. It can necessarily mean lower prices

unless the world price comes lower. What it can mean for US underwritten

-- you as an individual can find a better price than you are paying at

the moment. The government has taken the edge of price increases by

moderating the green charges which are included in bills. That's after

Ed Miliband promised to freeze energy prices. But this is about

choosing and there's more in the pipeline. By the end of March

suppliers will have to tell customers which of their tariffs

would be cheapest. Now, all 52 passengers who have been

stranded in Antarctica on a Russian research ship since Christmas Eve

have now been rescued. Their ship had been stuck on the ice and rescue

attempts have failed until today, when they were able to be rescued by

helicopter. The helicopter sent from the Chinese icebreaker has airlifted

groups of 12 to time taking them to an Australia ship, where they will

journey to Tasmania. Andrew Luck-Baker describes the rescue.

Look at that. What a handsome craft that is. We had many false dawns and

we were wondering whether we would have to wait another week, but no,

we are being lifted off in a next, well, I won't say how many hours but

we will go this evening. The first of helicopters to take us home!

Thanks, everyone! They have been taken on a ten minute ride over to

the very far edge of this new, extensive pack ice. They have been

put down there and then they will be picked up by a small craft that will

be sent out from the Australian icebreaker that is in the area, that

is in clear water and then they will be ferried over to the Australian

ship. In the meantime the helicopter will be coming back and pick up the

group of people, the group of 12, who are waiting on the ice right

now. They are kind of huddled in a little ice structure, is no

structure has been built for them to keep out the wind. I am on the

Australian icebreaker the Aurora Australis and what you can see there

is the fifth and final helicopter ride. The Chinese helicopter has

just landed and delivered its final consignment of expedition people and

luggage. It is a really exhilarating ride, I can tell you, but it is

great to see that the fifth and final ferrying operation of this

amazing Chinese helicopter has been successfully completed.

There you go, the BBC's Andrew Luck-Baker describing his time on

board that trapped research ship. The search for a 27-year-old man who

was swept out to sea near Porthleven in Cornwall has been called off

after the discovery of a body nearby. It is believed he had gone

paddling in the early hours of the morning after celebrating New Year.

The news comes as the government's emergency committee COBRA met to

discuss the response to the bad weather which has also torn down

power lines, closed roads had flooded homes. Jon Brain reports.

Rescue teams had been searching the coastline around Porthleven for the

man for more than a day and a half. The 27-year-old had been paddling

here with friends on New Year's Eve, when he was swept out to sea.

Conditions at the time were described as atrocious. The man's

body was spotted on the beach this morning by a member of the public.

The discovery follows the death of a woman who was drowned at sea in

North Devon on Tuesday morning. The police are warning residents and

visitors to the West Country to stay out of the sea during bad weather.

Bad weather which is due to return to much of the country tonight and

tomorrow. Raising fears of further flooding after a Christmas period of

chaos and disruption. Hundreds of properties were flooded thousands of

people left without power. This morning, the environment Secretary

chaired a meeting of the government's emergency committee

COBRA to plan for the impending storms. I would appeal to everyone

to keep in very close touch with the warnings which are being put out on

a regular basis by the Environment Agency, to pay heed to them as these

floods and the coast will be dangerous. And if there are warnings

from the local authority, the local emergency services, to pay heed and

take immediate action. And already the first evidence of the weather's

latest onslaught. The river in Carmarthenshire has burst its banks.

The flooding here is likely to be mirrored across large parts of UK

the next 24 hours. And indeed we will have a full

weather forecast for you later in the programme.

House of Fraser says it has seen its best ever Christmas trading period

with sales up almost 7.5% on the same period last year. John Lewis

has also reported a strong performance with like-for-like sales

up almost 7% on a year ago. Both reported a big increase in online

sales. Convicted murderers could be given

jail sentences lasting hundreds of years under new government plans.

The move as a response to a ruling by the European Court of Human

Rights, which said whole life tariffs were unlawful. Our political

correspondent Chris Mason expense. Multiple murderers Jeremy Bamber,

Douglas Pinter and Peter Moore took the government to court and forced

it to act. They are three of the 49 people in England and Wales serving

the whole of their lives behind bars. They are the worst and most

notorious murderers and include Rose West and the killer of five-year-old

April Jones, Mark Bridger. Has been a violation of Article three... .

The European Court of Human Rights ruled last summer that a whole life

sentence had to have the possibility of both review and possible release

and the human rights of the murderers were being breached. The

government has already had a running with the European court over whether

some prisoners should be given the vote. The Prime Minister is not

happy. What I believe is very clear, that there are some people who

commit such dreadful crimes that they should be sent to prison and

life should mean life and what is of the European Court said we must put

in place arrangements to make sure that can continue. So one idea is

that criminals convicted of the most serious crimes would be given

incredibly long sentences, perhaps 100 years. This would mean they

spent the rest of their lives here, in jail, but allow at least the

possibility of release eventually. The judgement by the European Court

was very clear. Not that people should be let out but simply that

they should have that opportunity at some stage, usually at 25 years or

more, for review, which is what happens in most countries around the

world. Beyond this specific ruling plenty of Conservatives have got an

eye to the next election next year now and they are taking a look at

the role of the European Court of Human Rights and its relationship

with British law. They would like to change it. As far as this idea is

concerned though there are still sceptics who need convincing. Of

course it is dishonest because they are going to die and ten, 20 or 30

years and secondly it is illogical. It has no proportion to it. This

wrangle with the European Court is already having an impact. The

sentencing of the murderers of the soldier Lee Rigby has been postponed

wireless solution of what to do with our most serious criminals is found.

Our main story this lunchtime: Rail fares go up for thousands of

commuters across the UK. The average cost of a rail season ticket is up

3%. And still to come, England look to avoid a 5-0 whitewash at the

hands of the Australians in the final Ashes test which begins

tonight. Later on BBC London: Driving artists

out - are property prices pushing creative industries out of the

capital? In an extraordinary case of ancient

technology meeting with the new, a traditional loom is being used by

researchers at the University of Oxford to help them develop a

material implant which they believe could help the body repair itself

after surgery. The material patch is being trialled with patients

suffering from shoulder injuries and it's hoped that in time it could

help people with other conditions like arthritis, hernias and heart

defects. Our health correspondent Adam Brimelow explains how.

Kevin senior fixes boilers, but he works in pain. He has torn a tendon

in his shoulder on his stronger right side. Now he is waiting for an

operation. This kind of injuries increasingly common. The need for a

long-term repair has never been greater. Whenever he lifts his arm

it hurts, even to shave or claim his hair. Twisting a spanner high on a

wall, everyday work for a plumbing engineer, is just too much. We have

got and apprentice. Anything I cannot do, he has to do. Most

boilers are above head height now and he has to do the boilers under

my supervision. Each year in England and Wales, there are 10,000

operations to fix this type of injury. The figures have gone up by

500% in the last ten years. But around the court of these procedures

are not successful and the tear reappears. Researchers in Oxford

have created a protective patch which wraps around the repair. It

has been tested in the lab to ensure it is strong enough to withstand the

stresses of movement in the crucial early months after surgery. One side

is made of thick woven material, but the other side is spun very fine.

The surface in courage of to grip and bond as they would naturally in

a younger patient. -- the surface encourages cells to grip and bond.

This has the extraordinary ability to direct the way cells behave and

if you like, wake up tired and ageing cells and make them want to

heal, whereas previously they were would not. This project uses the

best in modern and ancient technology. Here we have an

electro-spinning device which produces thread 100 times finer than

a human hair. And here, we have a hand loom which makes a cover for

the patch, making it strong and resilient. This material is

degradable. It disappears after a few months, so there is no risk of

rejection by the body. Researchers are happy to turn to old technology

to further science. Scientists are very fond of simplicity, crafts,

using your hands. Working with a hand loom is something that is good.

Clinical trials with shoulder patients should start soon but in

time, this approach could help keep with other conditions including

hernias, heart defects and arthritis.

Doctors treating the former Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, say

his condition has deteriorated in the past 48 hours. The 85-year-old

has been in a coma for eight years since suffering a stroke while he

was at the height of his political power. The hospital's director said

Mr Sharon's organs were failing and his life is in danger.

Fighting is continuing in South Sudan as representatives of both

sides of the conflict there prepare for peace talks in Ethiopia. Aid

agencies say tens of thousands of people have been forced from their

homes and are in desperate need of help. Many have fled to a refugee

camp on the banks of the Nile to escape the fighting. Our

correspondent, Alastair Leithead, is at the camp and sent this report.

We do not know exactly how many people have made the trip across the

Nile here, but it is more than 75,000 people, that is like a sports

stadium of people suddenly arriving here. This is where they are ending

up. They are sitting under the trees. This is the only shelter they

have got. This goes all the way down the banks of the Nile, all the way

into that area, huge numbers of people and they have nothing. They

grabbed what they could. They did not have any food with them either.

The water is not clean. These guys with the buckets on their head have

water from the Nile, it is dirty, bad water. On this side we have the

clinic which has been set up by Medecins Sans Frontieres. There are

two small clinics with a handful of staff in each. They have been trying

to deal with the increasing number of people coming in with very bad

diarrhoea, among them a number of children. We have heard of babies

who have died from diarrhoea. In the background are the first signs of

aid coming in here. This is truckloads of food. The Red Cross

have come in. They have brought food and supplies. They are trying to do

this in an organised way. They are being organised by which area they

are from, to ensure that this is given out fairly to the people who

need it most. But more needs to come. It's a five-hour drive to

reach this area. The UN is already aware of the situation the people

are in. It is a humanitarian crisis. The fighting is continuing across

the river. There are people over there who cannot come over on boats

because it is too dangerous for them. Even to get here where there

is nothing is better than being in a town which is being held by the

anti-government forces and there is a serious risk of more intense

fighting breaking out in the days ahead.

More than three-quarters-of-a-million young

people in the UK believe they have nothing to live for, that's the

finding of research by the Prince's Trust, which suggests a third of

those who've been out of work for more than six months have

contemplated suicide. Michael Buchanan reports.

23 Rod Chris Newell spent years looking for a job. Every rejection

knocked his confidence. When he was 20, disheartened and depressed, he

tried to kill himself. I took a load of tablets. Thankfully, I'm still

here but at the time I did not think that. I was at an all-time low, rock

bottom, for a long time. Being out of work contributed to that.

Today's research from the Prince's Trust suggests more than three

quarters of a million of young people aged between 16