16/12/2017 BBC Weekend News

Tonight at Ten.

South Africa's ruling

ANC party prepares

to pick a new leader,

who's expected to become President.

The reign of Jacob Zuma,

tainted by scandal draws to a close,

at a special meeting of party

activists in Johannesburg.

This conference isn't

just about the future

of a liberation movement,

of a physical party, it is about

the future of this country.

As the ANC loses support

across South Africa,

what can the new leader do

to reverse the decline?

Also on tonight's programme...

Thousands of homes and businesses

in Gloucestershire have been without

water after a mains pipe bursts.

Retailers tempt shoppers in the run

up to Christmas with big discounts,

to keep the tills ringing...

And Australia take control

of the Third Ashes Test,

with a double century

from their captain Steve Smith.

Good evening.

South Africa's President,

Jacob Zuma, says the future

of the governing ANC party

is under threat.

At a conference to choose

a new leader, he said voters

believed it was arrogant

and soft on corruption.

Mr Zuma himself has

faced allegations of

fraud and racketeering.

His successor is widely expected to

become the next President in 2019.

Our Africa editor, Fergal Keane,

reports from Johannesburg.

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 isn't

just about the future

of a liberation movement,

a political party.

It's about the future

of this country.

Will the ANC 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, Dr Dlamini-Zuma

and the man targeting corruption,

Cyril Ramaphosa,

both vying for delegates' votes.

Who would you like to see

as your next president?

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma,

she's going to be the president.

Definitely?

Yeah, definitely.

You'll see, you'll see.

You can see, look at the numbers.

Who do you think will

be the next leader?

Cyril Ramaphosa with be

the president, no doubt.

The mandate is for Cyril Ramaphosa

to be the next president

of the African National Congress

and to be the next president

the Republic of South Africa.

Dr Dlamini-Zuma is a senior

politician in her own right

but is also the ex-wife

of Jacob Zuma.

Cyril Ramaphosa could prove

his nemesis if he makes good

on his anti-corruption rhetoric.

The president's allies have sought

to portray Ramaphosa 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 are informed

by the policies of the ANC

and are not dictated by...

are not dictated to by

business interests.

Africa's oldest 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.

Water supplies to thousands of homes

and businesses in Gloucestershire

have only just been restored,

after two days.

It follows a mains pipe

burst in Tewkesbury,

that left many having to rely

on bottled water, as

Jon Donnison reports.

Water, water everywhere.

Nor any drop to drink.

A ruptured pipe has left these

fields flooded and in Tewkesbury,

thousands of people without water

for a second day.

Many businesses have

been forced to close.

Severn Trent has already had to hand

out 300,000 litres of bottled water.

I'm surprised that Severn Trent have

not got it all back together

again within 24 hours.

I had to drive nearly

ten miles here.

It just can't be helped.

It is one of those things.

David Luckett runs an emergency

committee set up to deal with water

problems in the nearby

village of Twining.

He says more remote areas have

been the worst affected.

I feel that the villages have been

left almost to their own devices

to a certain extent.

We have had no forward

delivery of any supplies.

By late afternoon,

Severn Trent Water said that supply

had returned to some areas,

but not all.

I can't say at this moment

how long it will take

to get back to normal,

but I can assure all of our

customers that we are working

as hard as we can to get the network

back to normal and to restore

the water supplies.

This evening, Severn Trent said

that the majority of people

in Tewkesbury now have their supply

back, but for a second night,

some will go to bed wondering

if they will wake up with water.

Jon Donnison, BBC News.

New evacuation orders have been

issued in California

as huge wildfires continue

to cause havoc.

Fresh winds are driving flames

deeper into Santa Barbara's

eastern neighbourhoods,

towards the Pacific coast.

The blaze is the third-largest

in California, since reliable

records began, and now covers almost

400 square miles.

A draft resolution is being

circulated at the UN

Security Council which would declare

that any unilateral decision

on the status of Jerusalem

would have no legal effect.

The measure from Egypt comes

after President Trump's

announcement that the United States

recognises Jerusalem

as the capital of Israel.

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 spend big 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

rather than after.

Quite a few of the shops that

have got reduced prices

and bargains and obviously,

if you were going to wait

to the sales, but I think,

from looking around,

they 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 that is expected

to intensify next week.

Promotional levels are stacking up,

both online and off-line,

so in the run-up to Christmas,

if you have not done your shopping

yet, we are 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 will be

back in bigger 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.

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 are merely bringing forward

the discounts that they would have

offered in the winter sales.

Thank you.

It is all part of the

annual face-off between

retailers and consumers.

Joe Lynam, BBC News.

The scientist and broadcaster,

Professor Heinz Wolff,

perhaps 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.

Relishing his role as the eccentric

scientist, Heinz Wolff

became a television star

in the 1970s and '80s.

In my book, you've already got full

marks for eccentricity and having

made a five foot bridge to bridge

an eight foot gap.

His programme The Great Egg Race,

testing the scientific and inventive

skills of teams to solve a problem

he had set them.

Always the performer, he'd later

show them how he had done it.

It's all right!

Now, this is the most critical

poin, probably here.

He also knew how to make

science fun for children,

as Professor Ian Sutherland,

a close friend and colleague

at Brunel University,

remembers only too well.

One time I remember him saying,

"Kids, you shouldn't

bite your nails, because if you do,

you may accidentally

bite off your finger."

And what he'd done, he'd stuck

with superglue a frankfurter

sausage on his hand,

and he bit it off,

and they all went, "Ah!"

It was really amazing,

he would really capture

the imagination of children.

As a distinguished,

pioneering academic,

Professor Wolff invented important

medical devices, including a machine

for counting patients' blood cells.

And he was scientific director

of the Juno programme,

sending Helen Sharman,

the first British astronaut,

into space in 1991.

The technical innovations,

the big programmes like

the Juno missions to space,

they were important, but I think

just everyday human interactions,

giving people advice,

enthusing them about science

and technology, he felt those

who were equally important,

I think.

The man who arrived in Britain

as a refugee from Nazi Germany

at the start of World War II leaves

an enduring scientific legacy.

Professor Heinz Wolff,

who's died at the age of 89.

With all the sport, here's

Lizzie Greenwood Hughes

at the BBC Sport Centre.

Thanks very much.

Good evening.

England's cricketers have been told

by their coaches they need to show

"guts and determination"

to keep their Ashes hopes alive.

Australia already have one hand

on the famous urn and now lead

the crucial Third Test in Perth

by 146 runs after a punishing

day three at the Waca.

Our correspondent,

Andy Swiss, reports.

For two Australians, a day to

remember, for 11 Englishmen want to

forget. But if this is when their

Ashes dream finally ended, it was at

the end of batting brilliance. First

Steve Smith resuming on 92 he soon

reached his century, as it turned

out, he had barely started. At the

other end, a flicker of English oak,

Moeen Ali removing Shaun Marsh,

little would be no would be their

only wicket of the entire day. Enter

Mitchell Marsh you set about showing

his sibling precisely

how it done. Perfection from Marsh.

Australia were ruthless, Inglot's

bowling more to this. Flailed to all

corners, for dual route it was hard

to watch and the aggression of Marsh

reaped its reward, first test

hundred to the delight of his fans

and his family. And as the runs kept

coming, so did the milestones. Smith

completed his double century, the

world number one batsman with

another masterclass as Australia

piled on the misery. Smith is still

there on 229, Marsh on 181 on a day

when England's bowling limitations

were painfully exposed.

We don't

have that extra pace. And we haven't

got perhaps the highest quality of

magical spin, we have got what we

have got and we have had to work

exceptionally hard today.

England

have seen some dark days in the

series but none quite as grim as

theirs. They will now need something

very special in they are to save

this match and save their Ashes

hopes. Andy Swiss, BBC News, Perth.

There were eight games

in the Premier League today.

Match of the Day follows the news,

so if you don't want to know

what happened, please

avert your attention.

Manchester City's lead at the top

of the table is now 14 points

after they stunned

Tottenham 4-1 at home.

Kevin De Bruyne was Man of the Match

as City extended their winning

streak to 16 games.

Elsewhere there were wins

for Arsenal, who moved

back into the top four.

Champions Chelsea beat Southampton.

Crystal Palace moved to safety

with a big win at Leicester.

Huddersfield put four past Watford,

their first away goals

since the opening day of the season.

And West Ham's resurgence continued

at the expense of Stoke,

who are now just a point

above the drop zone.

Aberdeen are up to second

in the Scottish Premiership,

closing the gap on leaders Celtic

to just two points.

Gary Mackay-Steven scored

a hat-trick in their 4-1 victory

over Hibs, who hadn't lost

at home since March.

Elsewhere there were wins

for Dundee, Hamilton,

Kilmarnock and St Johnstone,

who won at Ibrox for

the first time since 1971.

It's an important weekend

in Rugby Union's European

Champions Cup as teams jostle

for the quarter-final places.

Bath are on their way

to qualifying automatically,

avenging last week's late defeat

to holders Toulon by beating

them 26-21 at the Rec

to top their Pool.

Scarlets are back in contention

with victory over Benetton in Italy,

but Exeter will struggle to go

through after Leinster did the

double, and Glasgow can't progress.

The world's fastest swimmer,

Adam Peaty, won his first major

short-course medal today -

then gave it away!

Racing in a 25 metre pool,

Britain's Olympic champion took

the 100 metres breaststroke gold

at the European Championships,

then delighted the Copenhagen crowds

by handing his medal to a young fan.

That's it, but as always there's

plenty more on the BBC Sport

website, including the build up

to February's Winter Olympics

where British cross-country skier,

Andrew Musgrave, took his first

medal at a World Cup event.

Back to you Clive.

And there's a new

Strictly champion...

It's Joe and Katya!

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE.

Soap star Joe McFadden lifted

the Glitterball Trophy,

along with his dancing partner Katya

Jones.

Joe had a near perfect score

from the judges all night,

beating fellow finalists

Debbie McGee, Alexandra Burke

and Gemma Atkinson.

At 42, he's the oldest winner

in the show's history.

That's it.

You can see more on all of today's

stories on the BBC News Channel.

But from me and the rest

of the team, have a very good night.