05/01/2013 BBC Weekend News


05/01/2013

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200,000 parents opt out of receiving child benefit ahead of

:00:11.:00:15.

major changes to the system. Those who haven't, an estimated one

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million high earners, will continue to receive the money but have to

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pay it back later in tax. Labour says confusion over the reforms

:00:22.:00:26.

render them a shambles. More unrest in Northern Ireland

:00:26.:00:31.

with police coming under sustained attack. One man's arrested on

:00:31.:00:35.

suspicion of attempted murder after reports of shots fired at officers.

:00:35.:00:38.

Thousands are forced to flee their homes in Australia as bushfires

:00:39.:00:43.

sweep through the south-east of the country.

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And, dramatic day in the FA Cup third round, including this last-

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:00:57.:01:05.

minute goal by Manchester United's Good evening. The deadline for high

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earning parents to opt out of the child benefit system will come into

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force on Monday but new figures show fewer than a fifth of them

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have registered to stop payments. It means around a million people

:01:16.:01:19.

will continue to receive the benefits but then face having to

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pay money back in tax. Ministers deny the new system is overly

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complicated but Labour has accused them of presiding over a shambles.

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Our political correspondent Chris Mason reports.

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For years it's been a benefit for all families, regardless of wealth.

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Now more than a million higher earning families will find at least

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some of their child benefit payments disappearing.

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The changes will affect any family which has at least one parent

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earning over �50,000 a year. There will and sliding scale for those

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with one income between �50,000 and �60,000, meaning those families

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will lose just some of the payments. But those with a salary over

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�60,000 will lose all of their child benefit.

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For this family from Chingford on the outskirts of London, there will

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soon be more pressure on their budget because the dad earns more

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than �60,000. They will lose all of their child benefit, even though

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mum doesn't work. It should be household income and not looking at

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one partner, one salary. Whereas there are couples who earn just a

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touch under �50,000 each and will continue to get the full child

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benefit. Ministers say it would be too

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complex to use total household income to calculate the changes.

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And are defending their plan. a tough decision, we don't make any

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bones about this. This is going to have an impact on people's living

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standards. But at a time when we are making difficult decisions on

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the welfare bill, where we are borrowing more money than we can

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reasonably do, it is right that we take those difficult decisions.

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The Government is in a race to save money and be seen to do so fairly

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but critics say the practicalities of these changes are complicated.

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Those affected must either give up their child benefit now, or have it

:03:23.:03:28.

clawed back through the tax system. It's also drawing a lot of people

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into the very complicated self- assessment tax return process. It's

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possibly one of the greatest administrative shambles that we are

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going to be seeing from the Treasury.

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The changes were originally announced in the Budget by the

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Chancellor. They'll save the Treasury up to �2 billion a year.

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But ministers insisted then and now only the better off would be hit.

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85% of families will remain completely unaffected.

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Chris is in Westminster now. How is this going to play out ahead of

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what will be a challenging week for Government over benefits policy?

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The political calculation the coalition has made here is that

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these changes to child benefit are actually quite hard to oppose.

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George Osborne has written a piece in tomorrow's Mail on Sunday in

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which he says yes, tpeups with an earner making more than �50,000

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won't necessarily think of themselves as rich, won't think of

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themselves as having money to spare. But there's a crucial political

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challenge here, it's a challenge to be seen to be economically credible

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and fair. Remember that soundbite - we are all in this together. Those

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in Government say this is an illustration of that. On Tuesday is

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sa broader debate about benefits and the suggestion from the

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Government that there should be a 1% rise in working age benefits

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such as jobseeker's allowance, effectively a real terms cut. The

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Government says that's fair because in the past benefits have been

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rising faster than wages. Labour say no, look plenty of these

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benefits go to working-age people. The debate is going to get noisy T

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will get noisy because it matters. It matters, because being seen to

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be economically credible and fair is so, so important. Thank you.

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There've been more clashes between police and loyalist protestors in

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Belfast tonight, with reports of shots being fired and one man

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arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. Cars have been set on fire

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and stones and fireworks thrown at police. The demonstrations are the

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latest against a decision to limit the number of days the Union flag

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is flown over the City Hall. From Belfast, Andy Martin reports.

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As the dispute enters a second month, nights like these gradually

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create new, deeper tensions and grievances, not necessarily

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connected to what flag flies over Belfast's City Hall.

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The trouble started this afternoon. The police moved early to clear

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rioters from the streets. They've been dealing with flag protests and

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road blocks for a month now and patience is wearing thin. They were

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hit with bricks, stones and smoke cannisters as one group of

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loyalists made their way home from a protest at City Hall which has

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been taking place every Saturday since councillors voted to limit

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the number of days on which the Union flag can be flown above the

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building. Loyalists claim that the trouble started when they were

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attacked by nationalists en route and the police moved to contain the

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reaction. Skwraus few streets away a car is burning on the Newtownards

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Road, the the scene now of three nights of trouble. Loyalists say

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the police have been heavy-manneded -- heavy-manneded in their approach.

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Instead of the police going to the aggressors, they went the easy

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route and towards the protesters. Instead of trying to push the

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Republicans back to the Short Strand they wept for the unionist -

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- went for the unionist community. Dozens of police officers have been

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injured during the trouble and the police are investigating reports

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that shots were fired. A man has been arrested on suspicion of

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attempted mur. -- murder. Loyalists say they will

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continue protests until the flag is over the city hall every day of the

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year. In the meantime, relations between loyalists and nationalists

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and loyalists and the police are being soarly tested.

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-- sorely tested. A Nepalese army officer has

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appeared in court in London charged with torture. Colonel Kumar Lama,

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who's 46 and lives in Hastings, in East Sussex, was remanded in

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custody by Westminster magistrates. The alleged offences took place in

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2005, during Nepal's civil war. The Girl Guides are considering

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dropping their oath to God and the Queen. The organisation has

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launched a consultation looking at the promise new Guides make when

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they join. Girlguiding UK said it was because an increasing number of

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girls and volunteers don't identify with the century old pledge to

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"love my God" and "serve the Queen and country".

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There are calls for tougher restrictions on the food industry

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to try to curb obesity. The Labour Party's urging the Government to

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consider introducing legal limits on sugar, fat and salt content. But

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the Department of Health in England says there are already voluntary

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agreements in place with manufacturers to produce healthier

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foods. Richard Slee reports. This is an argument about how best

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to reduce levels of fat, sugar and salt in our food through regulation

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or collaboration. While in Government, Labour preferred a

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voluntary approach. But with Britain now having the second

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highest obesity rates in the world it says it's time for legal limits

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for food like cereals aimed at children. Three in ten children

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leave primary school in Britain either overweight or obese. It

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isn't working. We need to do something different. I don't think

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any parent is comfortable with the idea of their child sitting down to

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a meal that's 40% sugar. Government says it has made

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progress in reducing sugar, fat and salt in many foods and legislation

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would only be considered after the failure of a voluntary agreement

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with the food industry. If we had started by saying that we are going

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to legislate when we came to power two years ago, that legislation

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takes time to have impact. Also, the facts change, the situations

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change. What we have been able to deliver is much faster results by

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going for voluntary agreements. the past six years, the amount of

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salt in convenience foods has been reduced by 9%. With many sugary

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cereals also containing important fibre, vitamins and minerals,

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nutritionists say it's eating habits that need to change. People

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who are overweight tend to have overweight children and overweight

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children tend to become overweight teenagers and the sighle goes --

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cycle goes on. The Royal College of Physicians

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says it supports legislation when backed by evidence. And says legal

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limits are already effective in some other European countries.

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Thousands of people have fled their homes in south-east Australia as a

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heatwave, accompanied by high winds and drought, triggered a number of

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bushfires. Tasmania's the worst hit, with up to 40 fires sweeping across

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the island forcing many people to take refuge on beaches and await

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rescue by boat. Nick Bryant reports from Sydney.

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It's on Australia's island state of Tasmania that the bushfires have

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been at their fiercest. The heatwave affecting much of the

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south-east of the country, produced temperatures of 40 degrees, and the

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hottest day since the late 19th century.

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By daylight parts of this small community Dunalley had become

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virtually unrecognisable. At least 65 properties have been razed to

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the ground, including the local school. Did you think you were

:10:54.:11:01.

going to die? Yeah, maybe. Small rural businesses that have

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taken generations to build were reduced to rubble and cinders in a

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matter of minutes. Yeah, two nephews. They've lost both their

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houses, my brother lost the mill up there. Millions of dollars.

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Some residents fought to save their homes, others simply fled. The

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advice now is to get out early because the fires can rapidly close

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off the means of escape. With roads cut off by fast advancing

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firefronts, thousands of people have been stranded on the Tasman

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peninsula. So a massive sea operation has been launched to

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ferry them to the safety of the state capital, Hobart. It was very

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unpleasant because it was really hot. Then the smoke came over very

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thickly. Four big fires are still burning out of control, though the

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temperatures and high winds have now eased. These are the worst fire

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conditions since the Black Saturday disaster in 2009. People seem to be

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applying a key lesson from that day - to have a detailed escape plan,

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and to execute it early. In Japan, a record-breaking million

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pounds has been paid at a Tokyo auction for a fish. The winning bid

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for the 200 kilogram bluefin tuna was more than three times the

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previous record. Overfishing has pushed up prices but the million

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pound figure has more to do with publicity for the sushi chain of

:12:34.:12:44.
:12:44.:12:49.

the winning bidder. Sport now. Thank you very much.

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Good evening. It's been a dramatic day of FA Cup 3rd round action, no

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real giant killings but plenty of upsets and great escapes. Newcastle

:12:57.:12:59.

were knocked out by the Championship side Brighton while

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Manchester United scraped a 2-2 draw against West Ham with an

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injury time equalizer. Patrick Gearey reports.

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Like the traditional pre-match Upton Park bubble s Manchester

:13:10.:13:14.

United are often pretty but fragile N attack they soar, floating past

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West Ham skilfully and cleverly. Tom Cleverley's composure

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appreciated by the Beckhams. They had barely sat down before the lead

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was gone. United's delicate defence couldn't handle James Collins. A

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goal that owed much to the cross by Joe Cole, returning to the club

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where it all started. He clearly enjoyed the familiar

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surroundings so in the second half he tried the same trick again.

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Collins popped up just where he left him. They didn't settle on

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that. The Hammers kept control. They just needed that third goal.

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Cole couldn't get it and with Manchester United that's dangerous.

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They brought on Ryan Giggs and Robin van Persie. One found the

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other. And the favourites stay in the Cup.

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In Sussex, a riddle, when is an upset not an upset? Brighton are a

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league below Newcastle yet were fancied to beat them. They didn't

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disappoint. Orlandi executed them into a lead they would never lose.

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Newcastle didn't seem keen on staying in the Cup. Amoebi didn't

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even last the game. Before the end, Brighton got a second goal. Well

:14:22.:14:27.

taken by Hoskins. He will fancy a trip to the South Downs in the next

:14:27.:14:37.
:14:37.:14:37.

Southampton were the only other Premier League side knocked out

:14:37.:14:47.
:14:47.:14:55.

Wolves defeat to Luton was enough to prompt the sacking of their

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manager. A horse owned by a trio of top

:15:05.:15:07.

rugby players won the Welsh National today. The 10-1 outsider

:15:07.:15:10.

Monbeg Dude is co-owned by Mike Tindall, James Simpson-Daniel and

:15:10.:15:13.

Nicky Robinson. And it showed it has plenty of class, coming from

:15:13.:15:16.

the back of the field to beat off the favourite Teaforthree in

:15:16.:15:22.

Chepstow's big race. The BDO World Darts Championship started today

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with Richie George making history by becoming the first son of a

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former finalist to compete in the tournament. His father Bobby was

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twice runner-up. George junior is the 15th seed and beat Dave Prins

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by 3 sets to 2 to make it into the second round. Toby Flood could miss

:15:39.:15:43.

the start of England's Six Nations campaign next month. The Leicester

:15:43.:15:45.

fly-half has been cited for a dangerous tackle during their

:15:45.:15:53.

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