01/01/2012 BBC Weekend News

Kieran Stapleton will appear before magistrates in Manchester tomorrow,

but the police say despite tonight's charge, this is still

alive investigation and they still want a hear from members of the

community with information. Tomorrow people in that area of

Salford where he died will hold a candlelit vigil in his memory.

Events have taken place today to mark the start of the Olympic year.

The chairman of London 2012, Lord Coe is, said the Games will show

Britain is open for business, but the dangers ahead were highlighted

by the Olympics Minister. He warned betting syndicates were aiming to

fix the outcomes of competitions. This report contains flash

photography. The dawn of a New Year over London's Olympic Stadium. 2012,

the year for which all of this has been built. In the centre of the

city, the annual New year's parade with an Olympic theme as the build-

up to the game's intensifies. Economically, the coming months

carry uncertainty, but the message from London 2012 there is the party

spirit must not be dampened. This is a country that is open for

business and we need to use every opportunity we can offer back of

the games to showcase the fantastic creativity, our fantastic

businesses, our artistic Endeavour, our sporting endeavour, and most

crucially, what we are as a nation. But many challenges still remain.

In November, three Pakistani cricketers were jailed for their

involvement in the betting plot. Today the sports minister warned

about the risk of a similar scandal at the Olympics. It absolutely is a

possibility and there's a real danger of spot fixing. Consider how

easy it is to bet on something like the first short corner in a hockey

game. Any team sport, you can bet on an individual action. You look

at the number of team sports in the Olympics and the threat becomes

obvious. This being London, one of the other great unpredictable as is

the weather. Those taking part in today's parade got soaked. Not that

that deterred won Olympic champion who is hoping that by August he

will have another medal to hold alongside his gold from Beijing.

What is most excited about 2012 is not the fact we can win gold medals,

but the amount of enthusiasm the country has for the Olympics. We've

been competing in the Olympics for years, but it is exciting to see

the country wake up and have that moment of revelation to the fact

that 2012 is the Olympic year and we will celebrate it. The venues

are almost ready. This year is here. The London Olympics suddenly feel

very close. The organisers will be hoping the weather is better when

this clock finally Killick's down to zero for the opening ceremony.

As we begin the year 2012, they can be satisfied at the job done so far,

but as the sports minister has highlighted, there are still many

issues to be faced before the Games begin. Eurozone leaders have given

a gloomy assessment of the year ahead exactly 10 years after euro

coins and banknotes first went into circulation. The French President

warned that the worst economic crisis since the Second World War

would continue to hurt households in 2012. Angela Merkel said that

for millions of Germans, this year would be more difficult than last.

Nobody is crying for 2011. The year of riots in Greece as belts got

tighter and tighter. And friends fell out as you retentions got

tougher and tougher. And leaders got shunted out as voters got less

So welcome 2012. Fireworks over the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. And the

annual message to her people from Chancellor Kohl. She did not

promise a Happy New Year. -- Chancellor Merkel. TRANSLATION:

Europe is growing together in the crisis. The past -- part of

overcoming this remains long and will not be free from setbacks, but

at the end of it, Europe will emerge stronger from the crisis

than it went in to it. He and in Paris, the fireworks were subdued,

but a new year's glow shone over the Eiffel Tower. A blow in the

gloom of the message from the We have to be courageous and lucid.

What is happening in the world announces that 2012 will be a year

full of risks, but also possibilities. For the Pope if we

know how to face the challenges, full of dangers if we standstill. -

- full of hope. There is a New Year ritual in Germany. Everybody

watches a remake of an old British comedy about the Duchess and her

partner. This year there was a twist. A spoof with Chancellor

Merkel and President Sarkozy. In real life, they are now linked

together to save the euro. They meet again in a few days' time to

try to agree on greater integration of eurozone policies. Even in

Germany, Europe's strongest economy, the forecasts are for growth not

much more than zero. Throughout the rest of Europe, it may well be

recession. Every eurozone leader is pleased to see the back of 2011.

But they don't hold out much hope A soldier killed in an explosion in

Afghanistan was named today as Private John King from 1st

Battalion, the Yorkshire Regiment. He was 19 and from Darlington. He

was killed in a blast in the Neilly so much province on Friday. Council

tenants who sub-let their homes for money will face prosecution and

could be jailed under new government plans for England and

Wales. High earners may also be forced to pay the market rate for

living in their council property in They are pocketing money at the

taxpayers' expense, that is what ministers think of council tenants

who sub-let their property. Around 160,000 tenants move out and take

up to �1,000 a week in rent from someone else. The government says

it is a form of fraud, to profit from accommodation that is no

longer needed, and they are promising to change the law to make

it a criminal offence. It is not fair and it is not right. Hard-

working taxpayers pay billions of pounds to build social housing,

they should go to the people that really need it. Many local

authorities already tell their tenants not to sub-let, but often

the worst penalty they face is losing the property. In future,

they could go to jail. Around 8 million people in England and Wales

live in a home and don't do it -- either by the council or Housing

Association, but there's a lengthy waiting list, with almost 2 million

families hoping to be howls. Ministers believe making sub-

letting illegal is one way to try to find council homes for those who

really need them. The government is also considering allowing councils

to raise rents for high earning tenants. Those with an income of

over �100,000 may have to pay more, although only 6,000 people are

likely to be affected. But Labour say these measures will not do

anything to tackle a far deeper problem. The reality is the housing

crisis is only going to be solved by building new, affordable houses

and Grant Shapps, as housing minister, should stop renouncing

things will not make a big difference and get on with building

new houses. The Government will consult on its proposals soon, but

the housing charity Shelter has called for bigger and bolder at

solutions, not more tweaks the current policy. In Afghanistan,

President Karzai has vowed to bring to justice members of a family who

locked up and tortured a child bride to try to force her to commit

crime. The case has highlighted the abuse suffered by many married

women in Afghanistan. A report recently suggested almost nine out

of 10 Afghan women had experienced physical or psychological violence

Lying in her hospital bed, she still bears the scars of her six-

month ordeal. The Afghan health minister visited her today, an

indication that her story has hit a raw nerve. She's only 15, but was

married at 14 to a man twice her age. He and his family locked her

in a basement and starved and tortured her. The abuse of women in

Afghanistan, especially in poor rural areas, is not uncommon, but

cases are rarely made as public as this. It shows the poverty, the

extent of the poverty. It also shows the hall issues of women's

rights, human rights, access to justice. It is a very tragic and

heartbreaking case. The police who rescued her from her as she was

taken to hospital a few days ago after her family had raised the

alarm. She tells them it was her mother in-law who pulled up her own

hair and her nails. The police say she was also burned with cigarettes.

No one is sure why the abuse was so horrific, although some say her in-

laws were trying to force her into prostitution. The doctors here say

she will have to stay in hospital for at least a month while her

physical scars heal, although they warned the mental scars made last

far longer. A decade since the Taliban fell from power, life for

many Afghan women has not improved. But the violence to one young girl

is a reminder to others who suffer in silence. The Duke of Edinburgh

has joined the rest of the Royal Family for the New Year's Day

service at Sandringham. Prince Philip was greeted by hundreds of

well-wishers as he walked to church a few days after he was released

from hospital following surgery for a blocked artery. After more than a

week's rest, the Duke of Edinburgh's New Year message was

that he is now firmly back on his feet. Striding, as usual, at the

head of the royal party, he made the short walk to the morning

Sandringham church service to the sound of spontaneous applause. For

hundreds of well-wishers who lined the route, far more than normal,

and all visibly pleased that just a few days after leaving hospital,

Prince Philip appeared to be in good health. As he came up, people

were clapping and were genuinely pleased and excited that he was

here. Everybody was pleased to see him. I like to think I will look as

good when I am 91! He looked good. A very well that King Prince Philip.

He looked really well and it was nice to see him walking. After the

service, the Duke of Edinburgh emerged from the church to be

greeted once more by applause. It was a show of support he clearly

The Queen may have made the journey to and from church by car, but by

arriving and leaving under his own steam, Prince Philip was sending a

clear message that his Christmas health scare is behind him. And the

whole Royal Family can now look ahead to the Queen's diamond

jubilee year. Time for the big sports news. Just who wants to win

the Premier League this season? All the main title rivals have dropped

points over the past 24 hours. Manchester City could have put

daylight between themselves and Manchester United this afternoon,

but were left stunned by Sunderland. For Manchester City, tall and Tida

were of Proms is the title. Manchester United's defeat at

Blackburn was a reminder of the dangers that lurk throughout the

league and here, rejuvenated Sunderland should have opened the

scoring after two grew minutes. City rested their star forwards,

some of them. There was still Edin Dzeko, thwarted by Sunderland's

keeper, who had recently fractured nose and eye socket. Mancini added

sparkle from David Silva and Sergio Aguero. City dominated possession,

but Sunderland kept them out with organisation, bravery and a bit of

good luck. A goalless draw seemed well earned until the third minute

of injury-time and a young South Korean. Possibly offside, no one

cared in Sunderland. Teams managed by Martin O'Neill never give up, as

Man City have just discovered. There was also a late winner in the

other Premier League game today. Everton got it at West Brom with

just three minutes left on the clock. Victor and itchy beak score

the only goal of the game to move Everton up to 9th in the table. The

English champions Saracens were held to a 15-15 draw by Gloucester,

but there were victories for Bath, was there and Leicester. The Tigers

are into the Aviva Premiership top four with a 28-23 victory over Sale.

To Plan D scored the decisive try. In the Celtic Pro 12 League,