16/12/2012 BBC Weekend News

President Obama is to meet the families of the victims of one of

the worst mass shootings in US history. He has just arrived in

Connecticut, where a gunman killed 26 people at a school. 20 of those

who died were children, aged just six or seven. One father paid

tribute to his beautiful daughter. Her love and the strength she gave

us and the example she showed us is remarkable. She is an incredible

person. Japan is set to form a new Government that could raise

pensions -- that could raise tension with China. The sports

person of the year is Bradley Wiggins. Bradley Wiggins is crowned

the BBC Sports Personality of the A very good evening to you.

President Obama has arrived in Connecticut to visit the families

of victims of one of America's worst ever mass shootings. Church

services have been held throughout the day in memory of those who died.

Six members of staff and 20 children, all aged six or seven,

were shot dead on Friday at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. New

details have emerged about the lone gunman, whom police confirm was

Adam Lanza. They say he fired hundreds of rounds of ammunition

and had hundreds more left. A British boy was among his victims.

Our correspondent is in Newtown for us tonight.

Well, in the past few minutes the Presidential motorcade arrived here

in Newtown. Barack Obama will meet in private with the families of the

children and the teachers who died in that school on Friday and he'll

then address an interfaith vigil, in what promises to be another

emotional address. Members of his staff say the President has been

working on that speech himself here. It comes on a day when we have

learnt more about the young lives that ended so brutally. Bright,

eager, full of life - these were some of the children who went to

school on Friday morning but never came home. These, the teachers and

support staff who died trying to protect them. Like all the names

you are about to hear, Olivia Engel was six years old. She was to have

been the angel in a nativity play. Noah Pozner was a mature,

inquisitive boy, with two sisters who survived the attack. One, two,

three, ready and go... This is Ana Marquez-Greene performing a hymn

with her brother in a video posted by a local newspaper. Emily Parker

was remembered publicly by an agonised father.

She was the type of person who could just light up the room. She

always had something kind to say about anybody. Her love and the

strength she gave us and the example she showed us is remarkable.

At six years of age Dylan Hockley had spent much of his young life in

Britain. With his brother, father and American mother he had moved

from Hampshire to Newtown early last year. The family settling in

an up-scale neighbourhood, which chillingly was also home to his

killer. Behind the police cordon the Hockley family house and the

gunman's home are just a short distance apart. It was a street

which was prized for feeling safe. It is shocking. We all moved to

this neighbourhood, you want to bring your kids up the right way.

You want them to feel safe, you want them to be in a neighbourhood.

That is what we liked here - it was a neighbourhood. A father leaves a

paper angel at a make-shift memorial. Tell your kids you love

them, it reads. As if parents could possibly forget. The numbness of

Friday is giving way to a rare, unbearable grief, a collective

burden of loss. But up the road, a reminder too of

how on edge this community remains. The police had evacuated a packed

church after a threatening phone call. Whatever this is, it is an

incredibly tense situation. Police officers with guns drawn, Swat

teams surrounding what appears to be one of the Church buildings.

After a tense wait, guns were back in holsters. It appeared to have

been a hoax. How could anybody do this? How could anybody call the

Church in the middle of the mass? After everything - everybody has

been through in Newtown. We learned more today about Adam Lanza, the

young man only just out of his teens who shot his mother multiple

times before forcing his way into the school.

The caller indicates... children died in two classrooms.

Lanza then took his own life. The police have now officially

confirmed the obvious - the killer was well armed. 30 rounds per

magazine. How many? Numerous. Hundreds of bullets, yes. Tonight,

Barack Obama will give voice to America's heartbreak, as a father

and an elected leader to whom those who want tighter gun laws are

turning. And the police investigation, well

its focus is the guns used by Adam Lanza - four in all, we are told,

were retrieved from the scene. One from his car. It is believed, but

not confirmed, those guns were owned legally by Lanza's mother. Do

we get a sense about what the President might be thinking in

terms of gun control legislation? Yes. This issue has been discussed

at length on television today. There are senior politicians now

calling for tighter gun laws. First of all, for the reinstatement for a

ban on assault weapon, including the type of rifle used by Lanza.

There was a ban for ten years. It lapsed in 2004. There are calls for

restrictions on the sale of ammunition. In some States you can

walk into a super marbt and buy bullets off the shelf.

There are politicians who would like to see him act against that

through Congress, but it will not be easy.

Thank you. Now Japan's right-wing party is set

to form a Government after a victory in the country's general

election. Its leader has promised to get the economy back on track

after two decades of slump. His victory could raise tensions with

China, over a territorial dispute over islands was at the heart of

his campaign. Cheer as well they might. The old

boys of the LDP are back. The party that ruled Japan for half a century

is tonight once more in control. Japan today turned dramatically

against a Government which had swept the old LDP from power just

three years ago. In 2009, this woman voted for the democrats, not

today. I wished for a Government to make the economy improve a little

bit for our children. In three years, Japan has had three

different Prime Ministers. The country has been ravaged by natural

disaster. A nuclear power plant has exploded and the economy is back in

recession. Even Shinzo Abe admits it is why his party won.

TRANSLATION: It's not that trust has returned. I feel that the

people of Japan have said no. Two or three years of confusion from

the Democratic Party. The first priority for Japan's new Prime

Minister will be China. Tokyo and Beijing are locked in a bitter

dispute over this group of island in the East China sea. It has

caused violence across China. Mr Abe believes it is time to get

tough with Beijing. Tonight, Japan stands at a crossroads. The new

Prime Minister could choose to repair relations with China, or he

could choose to take the path of confrontation. Which way he decides

to go will have profound implications to the security and

stability of this region. The family of the nurse found dead

days after a hoax phone call about the Duchess of Cambridge has been

flown to India for her funeral. Her husband and two children

accompanied her body. Her funeral will take place

tomorrow. A medical tribunal has ruled a former British Army doctor

failed to protect detainees and acted dishonestly over the death of

Baha Mousa, who was beaten by British soldiers in Basra in 2003.

Dr Derek Keilloh, who works as a GP, claimed he had seen no injuries on

Mr Mousa's body on the day he died. A tribunal will consider what

action to take. Some routine NHS services in

England could be in future available at weekends. A new group

is to look at the obstacles preventing the NHS from providing

services like day surgery and scans seven days a week.

South Africa's ruling African national Congress is meeting to

decide who will lead it into the next general election. The ANC is

facing allegations of corruption and poor leadership, while a

growing number of South Africans are wondering how long it can or

should remain in power. Some politicians are already quitting

the party. Luxury beaches and stubborn poverty. It is on display

here. Could this town show a struggling nation a way forward.

Memory Booysens hopes so. He's the new mayor. He needs a new guard.

had death threats. I was scared. Here is why - for years it was

controlled by the ruling ANC - the party of Nelson Mandela. Disgusted

he said by the corruption that was bankrupting them. He joined the

opposition and won the next election.

It was corrupt from top to bottom. It was part of the fabric of the

way the ANC, at the time, was running the town. Do you believe it

is a snapshot of South Africa in general? It is what the ANC is all

about. The ANC has not taken defeat or memories -- Memory's defection

too well. He's a traitor. He is nothing more than a political

prostitute. His task now is to convince the

poorest communities here that he can deliver on Mandela's promise on

a better life for all. The values of Nelson Mandela are actually

lived within the Democratic Alliance. Not within the ANC?

just lip-service. People seem ready to listen. It was the ANC before.

So, for more than five years... the ANC made you lots of promises?

But did not achieve promises. years, South Africans have voted

almost instinctively for the ANC, the party that liberated them. What

is happening here is showing that loyalty can no longer be taken for

granted. Slowly, sometimes violently, multi--party democracy

is starting to take root here. I do want to shake your hand.

Memory keeps on reaching out, convinced that Mandela's dream of a

rainbow nation is not dead. If one small town can cope with change,

why not others? Now, the wait is over, the cyclist

Bradley Wiggins has been crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

The ceremony saw the Duchess of Cambridge made her first public

appearance since leaving hospital. She handed a Lifetime Achievement

Award to Lord Coe. Thousands of fans slowly leaving here after what

was a celebration of an extraordinary year for British

sport. Trying to pick one winner was always going to be a struggle.

In the end, it went to the man who made cycling history.

Bradley Wiggins. It was the perfect ending to a

perfect year. A deafening ovation for Bradley Wiggins, in a

remarkable 2012 for British sport, once again he had beaten the best.

History um of in the Tour de France and Olympics had captured the

country's imagination. Now he captured one of the most

prestigious awards. What a year. To stand on this stage with the likes

of these people next to me, it's incredible. I would like to thank

my team-mates. Without them, I would not be here tonight. I would

not be on this stage. One of the evening's other

highlights was a Lifetime Achievement Award for Lord Coe,

also presented by the Duchess of Cambridge.

In a year defined by the London Olympics and Paralympics, Lord Coe

had been the driving force. The man who did more than most, to deliver

an unforgetable 2012. I guess it is just another quiet night in East

London, in an Olympic venue. I'm so flattered and so honoured to be the

recipient of this trophy tonight. But this was a night that belonged

to Bradley Wiggins, in a glorious year for British sport, he is the

champion of champions. It was a night with plenty of other

big awards. The team of the year went to Team GB and Paralympics GB.

Coach of the Year went to Dave Brailsford. And overseas

Personality of the Year was Usain Bolt. No doubting the star of the

night - it was Bradley Wiggins. Many thanks.

Well, from those towering sporting achievements to today's sport

action. Thanks very much. Play will resume

in just a few hours' time in Nagpur, with England's cricketers on the

brink of a famous victory. England have not won a Test series there in

27 years. Needing a draw to go into the final day, go into the lead

with 165 runs. Following the trail of the Test Match from an English

perspective, Sunday could go slowly. For the English fans, a draw would

certainly do. Could it be the day when cricket stood still?

Alastair Cook scored one run. Simply seeing out time was

England's tactic. After 93 balls he rocketed to 13. Maybe the umpire

was bored. He gave him out caught and Cook was convinced he had not

hit the ball. Every replay backed him up. Next the mystery ball. If

he has bowled it, you can hit it. That is Jonathan Trott's mentality.

It had not been called a dead ball and everyone was amused.

Ashton suggested that Trott had abused the spirit of the game.

Pietersen batting, but not for long. Gone for six. Maybe England were

perceiving demons that were not really there. India were convinced

they had seen the ball edge Trott's battle. Maybe heard it. This time

the umpire did not agree. Trott's approach was obvious - going

nowhere. India continued to object. Perhaps their real frustration was

that England closed just three down, 165 ahead. England's attempt to

grind out a draw to protect themselves at all costs seems to be

working. Remember, it would be enough for them to win the series.

A clatter of wickets on the final morning could change everything.

Match of the Day 2 follows the news. If you do not want to know today's

football results please avert your eyes and cover your ears. Spurs are

up to fourth in the Premier League after beating Swansea 1-0 at White

Hart Lane. Vertonghen scoring in the 75th minute. West Brom missed a

chance to go level on points with Spurs after being held to a

goalless draw by West Ham. Chelsea's quest to be crowned Club

World Champions has ended. They were beaten 1-0 by Corinthians.