16/12/2017 BBC Weekend News

Good evening.

The South African president

Jacob Zuma has warned

that the ruling ANC party's very

survival is under threat.

At a conference to choose a new

leader he said voters believe it is

arrogant and soft on corruption.

Mr Zuma has been beset

by allegations of corruption.

His successor is widely expected to

become the new president in 2019.

Our Africa editor Fergal Keane

is in Johannesburg.

Clive, we are told that by tomorrow

we will know who the next leader of

the African National Congress will

be. But a movement which came to

power more than two decades ago

promising a new moral nation finds

itself in crisis.

Not since the ANC came to power 23

years ago has so much depended on

the votes of its party members. An

organisation that held together

through more than eight decades of

white rule is now bitterly divided.

They sing the same song, but support

very different visions. This

conference is not just about the

future of a liberation movement, a

political party. It is about the

future of this country. Will the ANC

and elect a new leader who has

promised to sweep away corruption?

The ANC has always been good at

shows of unity, like the clasped

hands of the two contenders. They

are both vying for delegates' votes.

Who would you like to see?

Zuma. She

will become the president. You will

see, you will see.

Who do you think

will be the next leader?

Cyril

Ramaphosa, no doubt.

Cyril Ramaphosa

to be the next president of the ANC

and the Republic of South Africa. Dr

Diamini-Zuma is a politician in her

own right but also the ex-wife of

Jacob Zuma. Cyril Ramaphosa could do

well if he makes good on his

anti-corruption rhetoric. Cyril

Ramaphosa has been portrayed as the

puppet of greedy white business.

Hence this swipe in his speech.

We

need to find ways of protecting the

ANC from corporate greed and ensure

that the decisions we take our

informed by the policies of the ANC

and not dictated... Not dictated to

by business interests.

Africa plasma 's Goldust liberation

movement is fraying. Even in the

face of poignant pleas for unity.

Whoever is elected leader tomorrow

will inherit a party in crisis.

Fergal Keane, BBC News,

Johannesburg.

Retailers are expected to make big

discounts in the final week before

Christmas to convince shoppers

to keep spending throughout

the festive period.

There's fear among some

on the High Street that with rising

inflation and stagnant wages,

consumers may be more willing

to shop in the period

after Black Friday in late November,

rather than in the run

up to December 25th.

Our business correspondent

Joe Lynam reports.

What could be more Christmassy

than the Salvation Army

warming our hearts, and the hustle

and bustle of shoppers

hunting for bargains?

But with money tight

and competition intense,

some big retailers are starting

to offer big discounts well ahead

of the Boxing Day sales.

Will it work?

I do believe that retailers

are trying to get the money

in before Christmas than after.

Quite a few shops have got reduced

prices, bargains on offer.

Obviously if you can

wait until the sales...

But I think a lot of sales,

looking around, have started early.

I come to Leeds every Saturday

and stuff that I looked at last week

is on sale this week.

The consultants PwC have found

evidence of pre-Christmas

discounting and expect it

to intensify next week.

Promotional levels are ticking up,

both online and offline.

So if you've not done your shopping

yet, we're expecting

a lot more promotions,

particularly online,

in the final week before Christmas.

The bad weather earlier this week

may have kept some shoppers at home,

but experts feel that they'll be

back in numbers.

Retail spending was surprisingly

up by 1.1% last month.

I say surprising because average

prices in the shops were rising

faster than wages and ordinarily

consumers rein in their spending,

but they haven't - yet.

And retailers want every penny

of that spare money.

And to do that, they are

slashing some prices.

But in doing so they're merely

bringing forward the discounts

that they would have offered

in winter sales.

It's all part of the annual face-off

between retailers and consumers.

Joe Lynam, BBC News.

More than 10,000 homes

and businesses in Tewkesbury

in Gloucestershire are without water

for a second day.

Their supply has been off since

a main burst yesterday morning.

Severn Trent says repairs

are proving extremely

difficult because the pipe

is in a flooded field.

Bottled water is being made

available for people

in the area to pick up.

The scientist and broadcaster

Professor Heinz Wolff -

best known for presenting the BBC

science programme The Great

Egg Race - has died.

He was 89.

Richard Galpin looks

back at his life.

Hello, and welcome to the murky

depths of The Great Egg Race.

Heinz

Wolff became a television star in

the 1970s and 80s. Good god you have

already got full marks of

eccentricity and having made a five

foot bridge to bridge an eight foot

gap. His programme The Great Egg

Race, testing the scientific skills

of teams to solve a problem he had

set them. Always the performer, he

later showed them how he had done

it.

Now, this is the most critical

point, probably.

But this distinguished academic was

also an inventor in his own right,

making a counting patients' blood

cells and other important medical

devices. -- making a machine for

counting patients' blood cells. And

he was scientific director of the

programme which sent the first

British astronaut into space in

1991.

Both the technical innovations, the

big programmes, the mission is to

space, they were important, but I

think everyday human interactions,

giving people advice, and teasing

them about science and technology,

he felt those who are equally

important.

The man who arrived in Britain as a

refugee from Nazi Germany at the

start of World War II leaves and

ensuring scientific legacy. -- and

ensuring scientific legacy.

Professor Heinz Wolff,

who's died at the age of 89.

A brilliant batting display

by Australia's captain Steve Smith

has put his side in a commanding

position in the third

cricket Test in Perth.

They lead England by 146 runs

with six wickets left,

and victory would give

them the Ashes.

From Perth, here's our sports

correspondent Andy Swiss.

For two Australians,

a day to remember.

For 11 Englishmen, one to forget.

But if this was when their Ashes

dream finally ended,

it was at the hands

of batting brilliance.

First Steve Smith -

resuming on 92, he soon

reached his century.

As it turned out,

he'd barely started.

At the other end,

a flicker of English hope.

Moeen Ali removing Shaun Marsh.

Little did they know

it would be their only

wicket of the entire day.

Enter Shaun's little

brother Mitchell Marsh,

who set about showing his sibling

precisely how it's done.

Deflection from Marsh.

Australia were ruthless,

England's bowling more toothless.

Flail to all corners of the Waca.

For captain Joe Root,

it was hard to watch.

And Marsh's aggression

soon reaped its reward -

a first Test hundred,

to the delight of his

fans and his family.

And as the runs kept coming,

so did the milestones.

Smith completing his double century,

the world's number one batsman

with yet another masterclass

as Australia piled on the misery.

Smith still there on 229,

Marsh on 181 on a day

when England's bowling limitations

were painfully exposed.