Browse content similar to 18/01/2013. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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The Algerian hostage crisis continues. A number of British | :00:10. | :00:14. | |
workers are still at risk after the attack by Islamist militants. David | :00:14. | :00:17. | |
Cameron says Algerian forces are still pursuing terrorists and | :00:17. | :00:22. | |
looking for hostages at the gas installation in the Sahara desert. | :00:22. | :00:27. | |
Last night, the number of British citizens at risk was less than 30. | :00:27. | :00:31. | |
Thankfully, was now know that number's been quite significantly | :00:31. | :00:33. | |
reduced. Heavy snow falls across much of | :00:33. | :00:37. | |
Britain, shutting more than 2,000 schools and bringing widespread | :00:37. | :00:41. | |
disruption with more to come. Travel disruption on the roads as | :00:41. | :00:46. | |
trains are delayed, flights cancelled and motorists get stuck. | :00:46. | :00:50. | |
We'll have the latest in some of the worst affected areas. | :00:50. | :00:55. | |
One big lie. After years of denials, the disgraced cyclist, Lance | :00:55. | :01:00. | |
Armstrong, admits doping during all seven of his Tour de France wins. | :01:00. | :01:06. | |
And there was no Christmas cheer for retailers and it's revealed | :01:06. | :01:12. | |
there was a slight fall. With ten centimetres forecast, we have the | :01:12. | :01:16. | |
latest on the snowfall impacting across the region. Hundreds of | :01:16. | :01:26. | |
:01:26. | :01:35. | ||
schools are closing early and Good afternoon. Welcome to the BBC | :01:35. | :01:39. | |
News at One. The hostage crisis in Algeria is not over. The Prime | :01:39. | :01:42. | |
Minister says British workers are still at risk, though not as many | :01:42. | :01:46. | |
as first thought. David Cameron told the Commons that the attack on | :01:46. | :01:50. | |
a remote gas installation in the Sahara desert was brutal and savage | :01:50. | :01:53. | |
and he said the Islamist militants were heavily armed and well | :01:53. | :01:57. | |
coordinated. One Briton was killed at the start of the attack when a | :01:57. | :02:00. | |
convoy of workers heading to an airfield was ambushed, but the fate | :02:00. | :02:05. | |
of the others is still unclear. Caroline Hawley reports. | :02:05. | :02:09. | |
This is the Algerian Army in training for just the kind of | :02:09. | :02:12. | |
militant threat they are now facing deep in the Sahara desert. | :02:12. | :02:17. | |
Questions are being asked about why the Security Forces stormed into | :02:17. | :02:21. | |
the Ain Amenas gas plant with such deadly results. | :02:21. | :02:25. | |
We know that on Wednesday the kidnappers attacked the residential | :02:25. | :02:28. | |
compound of the complex, as well as the gas facility. Two days on, it's | :02:28. | :02:32. | |
still not known how many of the foreigners who worked here were | :02:32. | :02:36. | |
killed and injured and how many are safe. | :02:36. | :02:40. | |
David Cameron said Britain had not been told about the military | :02:40. | :02:43. | |
operation in advance, but he has now been briefed by his Algerian | :02:43. | :02:46. | |
counterpart. He said that the terrorists had | :02:46. | :02:50. | |
tried to flee, they judged there to be an immediate threat to the lives | :02:50. | :02:55. | |
of the hostages and had felt obliged to respond. I spoke to the | :02:55. | :02:58. | |
Algerian Prime Minister later last night and he told me this first | :02:58. | :03:02. | |
operation was complete, but this is a large and complex site and they | :03:02. | :03:06. | |
are still pursuing terrorists and possibly some of the hostages in | :03:06. | :03:10. | |
other areas of the site. Last night, the number of British citizens at | :03:10. | :03:15. | |
risk was less than 30. Thankfully, we now know that number's been | :03:15. | :03:20. | |
quite significantly reduced. Mark Grant from Scotland and other | :03:20. | :03:24. | |
Scots survived, as did ste fun McFaul from Belfast. He told his | :03:24. | :03:28. | |
wife he'd had explosives tied around his neck but escaped when | :03:28. | :03:33. | |
the Algerian Army fired on a five- car convoy and the vehicle he was | :03:33. | :03:40. | |
in crashed. She has described to me the circumstances in which he | :03:40. | :03:48. | |
became free. She described the experience that he had as truly | :03:48. | :03:54. | |
horrific. It's clear from what she told me that unfortunately, there | :03:54. | :04:01. | |
are a number of the kidnap victims who have not been as fortunate as | :04:01. | :04:04. | |
Stephen. One French survivor's spoken of | :04:04. | :04:09. | |
hiding in terror as militants stalked the site searching for | :04:09. | :04:14. | |
westerners. TRANSLATION: I stayed hidden for | :04:14. | :04:18. | |
almost 40 hours in my room under the bed. I put boards everywhere | :04:18. | :04:24. | |
just in case. I had food, water, to sustain myself, and I did not know | :04:24. | :04:29. | |
how long I would stay there. When the soldiers came to get me, I did | :04:29. | :04:33. | |
not even know that it was over. For some hostages, it appears the | :04:33. | :04:37. | |
ordeal is not over yet, as the militants involved in the worst | :04:37. | :04:41. | |
international hostage crisis for years threatened to attack other | :04:41. | :04:46. | |
facilities where security is now being stepped up. | :04:46. | :04:50. | |
Our Political Correspondent, Norman Smith, is in Westminster. The Prime | :04:50. | :04:53. | |
Minister told the Commons this morning that not as many British | :04:53. | :04:57. | |
workers were involved as first thought, but do we have any idea of | :04:57. | :05:01. | |
numbers? There have been a range of numbers. The Prime Minister saying | :05:01. | :05:04. | |
significantly below 30. There are reports this morning of up to 20, | :05:04. | :05:10. | |
others have suggested ten. I'm being guided that the number of | :05:10. | :05:15. | |
Britons at risk may be nearer ten than 20. At risk includes those who | :05:15. | :05:20. | |
may be dead, may include those wounded or may include those simply | :05:20. | :05:26. | |
hostages, we do not know the make- up of that number because it's an | :05:26. | :05:30. | |
ongoing situation. I suppose there is limited comfort that some of the | :05:30. | :05:34. | |
initial figures which seemed very, very high, those now seem not to be | :05:34. | :05:37. | |
correct and we are talking about a number closer to ten. Briefly, the | :05:37. | :05:41. | |
Prime Minister also confirmed he did not know that this rescue | :05:41. | :05:46. | |
operation was taking place until it was under way? Yes, l. There is | :05:46. | :05:50. | |
clearly frustration in Government that they seem to be kept oupt of | :05:50. | :05:53. | |
the loop by the Algerian government and have been determined to handle | :05:53. | :05:57. | |
this on their own. The Algerian government rebuffed offers of help | :05:57. | :06:03. | |
in terms of negotiators from Britain and intelligent-gathering | :06:03. | :06:07. | |
from the US. Also concern that the Algerians were focused on | :06:07. | :06:09. | |
eliminating the terrorists than necessarily safeguarding the | :06:09. | :06:11. | |
hostages. Thank you. Our Diplomatic | :06:11. | :06:16. | |
Correspondent, James Robbins is here. This is an incredibly remote | :06:16. | :06:19. | |
part of the world in the Sahara desert, there are fears about what | :06:19. | :06:27. | |
is unfolding here, Europe's soft underbelly it was called today? | :06:27. | :06:31. | |
Sir Malcolm Rifkind used this phrase first coined by Winston | :06:31. | :06:35. | |
Churchill in a different context. What he was talking about was vast | :06:35. | :06:40. | |
ungoverned spaces in north Africa, particularly of course in northern | :06:40. | :06:43. | |
Mali. The Prime Minister responded to that and agreed with the idea | :06:43. | :06:49. | |
that space could not be left for terrorists, extremist militants in | :06:49. | :06:53. | |
Africa, whether in Mali or Algeria or neighbouring countries to build, | :06:53. | :06:57. | |
arm or plan, as he put it. There was a real determination from David | :06:57. | :07:00. | |
Cameron to say to the House of Commons, the Western world, Europe, | :07:00. | :07:05. | |
NATO, has to do more actually to help and support all the | :07:05. | :07:08. | |
Governments in north Africa fighting a considerable battle | :07:08. | :07:11. | |
against Al-Qaeda. The Prime Minister said Al-Qaeda in | :07:11. | :07:14. | |
Afghanistan and Pakistan had been weakened, but it was exploiting now | :07:14. | :07:19. | |
weaknesses in a whole swathe of countries, many of them very remote | :07:19. | :07:22. | |
in north Africa. Heavy snow is causing disruption | :07:22. | :07:28. | |
across many parts of the UK with roads blocked, power cuts, flights | :07:28. | :07:31. | |
cancelled and schools closed and forecasters say there's much more | :07:31. | :07:35. | |
to come. Across many counties, trains have been delayed and | :07:35. | :07:38. | |
cancelled, Southampton and Birmingham Airports have been shut | :07:38. | :07:41. | |
and flights at Heathrow, Cardiff and Bristol are all affected. | :07:41. | :07:44. | |
Energy companies have been struggling to fix faults in the | :07:44. | :07:47. | |
freezing conditions, leaving thousands without power. And more | :07:47. | :07:50. | |
than 2,000 schools have been closed across England and Wales. In a | :07:50. | :07:54. | |
moment, we'll hear from our correspondents in some of the | :07:54. | :07:58. | |
worst-hit parts of the country, but first to South Wales, where a rare | :07:58. | :08:03. | |
red Met Office warning is in place. High well Griffith is in Merthyr | :08:03. | :08:05. | |
Tydfil. Thanks. This is one of those towns | :08:05. | :08:11. | |
in the red zone, the area covered by that special Met Office warning, | :08:11. | :08:15. | |
issued last night, of severe weather. The forecast came true. | :08:15. | :08:20. | |
It's been snowing since the early hours, making conditions very tough, | :08:20. | :08:24. | |
particularly out on the roads. At points today, it was feared that | :08:24. | :08:26. | |
Merthyr Tydfil could be cut off. The council teams have been out | :08:26. | :08:33. | |
trying to keep people on the move. With grit and a fair bit of | :08:33. | :08:37. | |
determination. The town of Merthyr Tydfil is trying to deal with what | :08:37. | :08:41. | |
the weather's thrown at it. Up to a foot of snow has fallen on | :08:41. | :08:46. | |
the heads of the South Wales valleys. Many who battled their way | :08:46. | :08:50. | |
into work quickly turned around. I think it's a nightmare. I own a | :08:50. | :08:54. | |
business in the town and I've come down, I've opened for 30 minutes | :08:54. | :09:00. | |
and closed because it's going to cost me more money to keep all the | :09:00. | :09:07. | |
lights on. Got up this morning, couldn't open up. A weekend off? | :09:07. | :09:14. | |
Yes. Trekking to the car now to hopefully get home. | :09:14. | :09:18. | |
Getting home won't be easy. The main roads north and south have | :09:18. | :09:23. | |
been closed for part of the day. The Met office red warning for this | :09:23. | :09:29. | |
area will remain in place until 9pm. This road goes through the red zone, | :09:29. | :09:36. | |
the main dual carriageway that connects the Wales valleys. | :09:36. | :09:41. | |
Normally it would be busy but there are a few hardy souls just | :09:41. | :09:44. | |
venturing out. Many people have heeded the warnings and stayed at | :09:44. | :09:49. | |
home. Others seem determined to ride out the conditions until the | :09:49. | :09:55. | |
worst has passed. For those people who are at home, | :09:55. | :10:00. | |
sadly some are without power, was understand, some 10,000 customers | :10:00. | :10:05. | |
in west Wales are waiting for power to be returned. For those venturing | :10:05. | :10:08. | |
out, the red Met Office weather warning stays in place for the | :10:08. | :10:11. | |
heads of the valleys and Brecon Beacons, the Fire Service warning | :10:11. | :10:15. | |
people to take extra precautions, taking blankets and mobile phones | :10:16. | :10:18. | |
and even food with them if they are going out on the roads. | :10:18. | :10:22. | |
Thank you very much. That is the picture in South Wales. The South | :10:22. | :10:24. | |
West of England has been badly affected by the weather with | :10:24. | :10:28. | |
transport hit and hundreds of schools closed. Duncan Kennedy is | :10:28. | :10:34. | |
in Stroud in Gloucestershire with the latest. | :10:34. | :10:42. | |
I'm about 60 miles from where Hywell is. It's picturesque and | :10:42. | :10:46. | |
treacherous. With ten plus centimetres of snow falling, | :10:46. | :10:56. | |
:10:56. | :11:05. | ||
there's three or four inches. Schools have been badly hit. | :11:05. | :11:09. | |
these schools are closed... School's out for winter. Hundreds | :11:10. | :11:14. | |
in the south-west are closed with pupils and teachers told to stay | :11:14. | :11:18. | |
off the roads. Everywhere you go around here, it's | :11:18. | :11:22. | |
like this. Treacherous snow conditions. I'm on an A-road just | :11:22. | :11:27. | |
off the M5 in Gloucestershire. Luckily in a 4X4. I wouldn't want | :11:27. | :11:31. | |
to be battling these roads in normal vehicles. It's white-out | :11:31. | :11:34. | |
wherever you look. Even though the gritters have been through here, | :11:34. | :11:40. | |
the snow covers it all over again in a few seconds. | :11:40. | :11:45. | |
Here at this school in Stroud, some students had to get in, as they're | :11:45. | :11:49. | |
sitting GCSE and A-level exams. Classrooms were kept specially warm | :11:49. | :11:54. | |
for those taking the physics and English tests. The weather adding | :11:54. | :11:57. | |
unwanted pressure. Got here half an hour early luckily, | :11:57. | :12:02. | |
warmed up my hands, took the exam and have got an hour-and-a-half | :12:02. | :12:06. | |
walk back. A lot of friends won't be able to make it in and will have | :12:06. | :12:10. | |
to resit in the summer which is quite annoying really. Trudging | :12:10. | :12:13. | |
through the sludge, these pupils have a welcome day off. The nearly | :12:13. | :12:19. | |
800 schools closed in this region alone. | :12:19. | :12:24. | |
Whilst at Bristol's heated Lido, they were giving an object lesson | :12:24. | :12:30. | |
in strong constitutions, a few winter lengths in the face of this | :12:30. | :12:34. | |
climatic adversity. Very brave people indeed trying to | :12:34. | :12:37. | |
attempt a swim in this kind of weather. So far as the schools are | :12:37. | :12:40. | |
concerned, the education authorities are already looking | :12:40. | :12:43. | |
ahead to Monday because of the uncertain weather over the weekend | :12:43. | :12:46. | |
and they are telling us either to check with their own individual | :12:46. | :12:49. | |
websites or with the schools themselves. | :12:49. | :12:53. | |
Thank you very much. Let's get the very latest on the | :12:53. | :12:56. | |
disruption to transport. Here is Ben Ando. | :12:56. | :13:00. | |
Most could hardly move, though some couldn't stop. | :13:00. | :13:03. | |
Heavy snow causing severe disruption to roads here in Bristol | :13:03. | :13:09. | |
and across the west of England and South Wales. | :13:09. | :13:13. | |
During the night, gritters had been deployed, but in the worst hit | :13:13. | :13:17. | |
areas, hazardous driving conditions caused difficulties on minor and | :13:18. | :13:22. | |
major roads, a large section of the M4 was closed. | :13:22. | :13:27. | |
And, falling snow isn't the only danger. You might be driving along | :13:27. | :13:30. | |
in relatively calm conditions, all right it's a bit snowy, you think | :13:30. | :13:35. | |
you are OK. All of a sudden a gust of wind cuts down visibility, but | :13:35. | :13:38. | |
can also blow snow into a lane you thought was clear. For those | :13:39. | :13:42. | |
wanting to take to the air, conditions on the ground have | :13:42. | :13:46. | |
caused problems. At Heathrow Airport, numerous flights were | :13:46. | :13:51. | |
cancelled as snowploughs battled to keep runways and taxiways open. | :13:51. | :13:54. | |
Southampton Airport's been closed until at least mid afternoon while | :13:54. | :13:58. | |
Cardiff and Bristol Airport halted flights for a while. | :13:58. | :14:01. | |
Rail travellers fared a little better. Some train companies in | :14:01. | :14:06. | |
Wales, the south of England and the Midlands are operating a reduced | :14:06. | :14:12. | |
service but the network is largely open and running for now. | :14:12. | :14:15. | |
Getting commuters to work is only half the battle and there are | :14:15. | :14:20. | |
concerns that more snow today will cause greater disruption and | :14:20. | :14:24. | |
greater frustration this evening when those who made it in want to | :14:24. | :14:27. | |
get home for the weekend. Because tomorrow isn't a working | :14:27. | :14:32. | |
day, it's hoped more poor weather will cause less disruption. In | :14:32. | :14:36. | |
Gloucestershire, a sliding car knocked another down into a garden. | :14:36. | :14:40. | |
When police closed the road, residents were left with little | :14:40. | :14:47. | |
choice but to start enjoying their weekend early. | :14:47. | :14:50. | |
Birmingham and Southampton Airports are closed, there are problems at | :14:50. | :14:55. | |
Heathrow Airport as well. Let's get the latest from Luisa Baldini who | :14:55. | :14:59. | |
is there now. There have been 220 flight | :14:59. | :15:04. | |
cancellations so far out of the usual 1300 or so flights which | :15:04. | :15:08. | |
operate every day here at Heathrow Airport. That is partly due to | :15:08. | :15:12. | |
reduced visibility. If I just show you the scene, you can see what I | :15:12. | :15:16. | |
mean. You can barely make out the tail fin of the aircraft there at | :15:16. | :15:21. | |
the stand, but cancellations also due to the fact that this runway | :15:21. | :15:25. | |
just here, the northern runway, was closed for about an hour so that | :15:25. | :15:32. | |
they could clear the snow and deice. That's re-opened and is being used | :15:32. | :15:36. | |
for landings and take offs because they have now had to close the | :15:36. | :15:46. | |
:15:46. | :15:47. | ||
Heathrow has invested millions in their winter resilience programme, | :15:47. | :15:51. | |
and more snow clearing vehicles, for example. They are doing as much | :15:51. | :15:56. | |
as they can to keep the airfield open and running, but there's not | :15:56. | :16:01. | |
much they can do about the poor visibility. In this situation, air | :16:01. | :16:04. | |
traffic control will have to reduce what they call the flow rates, that | :16:04. | :16:09. | |
is the number of planes coming in to land and take off. Cancellations | :16:09. | :16:16. | |
are inevitable and there may be more throughout the day. The time | :16:16. | :16:21. | |
is just off the 1:15pm. There will be a full weather core cast at the | :16:21. | :16:26. | |
end of the programme and you can get regular update on line or tune | :16:26. | :16:30. | |
into the local radio station for the details on trouble where you | :16:30. | :16:35. | |
are. The top storey this lunchtime. A hostage crisis in Algeria is | :16:35. | :16:39. | |
continuing. David Cameron says British workers are at risk are not | :16:39. | :16:49. | |
:16:49. | :16:50. | ||
as many as first thought. It is a sad day. I feel quite emotional. | :16:50. | :16:53. | |
One of the best loved voices on Radio Four says farewell after a | :16:53. | :16:56. | |
quarter of a century behind the microphone. Later on BBC London: | :16:56. | :16:59. | |
The very latest on how heavy snowfall is making travel across | :16:59. | :17:02. | |
the region difficult. We'll give you the latest information to plan | :17:02. | :17:12. | |
:17:12. | :17:14. | ||
your journey home tonight. Plus a full weather forecast in 15 minutes. | :17:14. | :17:16. | |
After years of denials, the disgraced American cyclist Lance | :17:16. | :17:19. | |
Armstrong has admitted, for the first time, that he did use | :17:19. | :17:25. | |
performance enhancing drugs. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, | :17:25. | :17:28. | |
Armstrong said he had used banned substances during all seven of his | :17:28. | :17:33. | |
Tour de France wins between 1999 and 2005. He said it had been "one | :17:33. | :17:37. | |
big lie, repeated a lot of times" and he was there to say sorry. Our | :17:37. | :17:47. | |
Sports News Correspondent Andy For years, he had deceived, and now | :17:47. | :17:52. | |
he confessed. For the moment, among wants a global hero admitted his | :17:52. | :18:01. | |
success was down to drugs. Did you ever take banned substances? Yes. | :18:01. | :18:06. | |
In all seven of your Tour de France victories, did you ever take banned | :18:06. | :18:13. | |
substances or blood dope? Yes. Armstrong said the battle against | :18:13. | :18:17. | |
Council -- cancer had given him a win-at-all-costs mentality, and | :18:17. | :18:22. | |
hoping to win the titles never even felt like cheating. And to keep on | :18:22. | :18:28. | |
winning, you had to keep on using banned substances. Yes, but, and | :18:28. | :18:34. | |
I'm not sure that this is an acceptable answer, but that is like | :18:34. | :18:40. | |
saying that you have appeared in your tyres, or water in our bottles. | :18:40. | :18:46. | |
-- having your tyres. In my view, that was part of the job. | :18:46. | :18:50. | |
Armstrong admitted he was a bully whose Bix -- behaviour was | :18:50. | :18:54. | |
inexcusable. He said he would be apologising for the rest of his | :18:54. | :19:04. | |
life. This is too late. It is too late for probably most people, and | :19:04. | :19:14. | |
:19:14. | :19:19. | ||
You know, I view the situation as one big lie. But his audience | :19:19. | :19:23. | |
seemed unmoved. At his home town in Texas, they watched the former | :19:23. | :19:26. | |
heroes confession, only disappointed that he did not reveal | :19:26. | :19:32. | |
more. I thought it was kind of sad, actually. I think he danced around | :19:32. | :19:40. | |
some issues, avoided a few things. It's kind of what I expected. Not | :19:40. | :19:45. | |
much was revealed. I would have expected more. Armstrong says he | :19:45. | :19:49. | |
will now co-operate with the authorities. It has been a shameful | :19:49. | :19:53. | |
saga for cycling. The current riders believe the sport can move | :19:53. | :19:58. | |
on. He have to remember it is one man, one part of the sport, not a | :19:58. | :20:02. | |
whole sport. The vast majority of cyclists are clean and we are | :20:02. | :20:09. | |
showing you can win gold medals and be proud of your sport. And so the | :20:09. | :20:12. | |
demise of one of sport's most famous fairy tales is now complete. | :20:13. | :20:17. | |
It was this myth, said Armstrong, this perfect story, and it wasn't | :20:17. | :20:22. | |
The Chairman of the Police Federation in England and Wales, | :20:22. | :20:26. | |
Paul McKeever, has died suddenly. The 57-year-old was admitted to | :20:26. | :20:29. | |
hospital a few days ago, and died last night of an embolism. Mr | :20:29. | :20:32. | |
McKeever had been chair of the organisation, which represents rank | :20:32. | :20:40. | |
President Obama has told David Cameron that he wants Britain to | :20:40. | :20:43. | |
remain a member of the European Union. He made the comments in a | :20:44. | :20:46. | |
telephone conversation last night before the Prime Minister postponed | :20:46. | :20:49. | |
a speech on Britain's relationship with the EU because of the ongoing | :20:49. | :20:52. | |
crisis in Algeria. Our Political Correspondent Iain Watson is at | :20:52. | :20:57. | |
Westminster. Plenty of journalists had been briefed on what the Prime | :20:57. | :21:02. | |
Minister was going to say today. Any idea on when or if that speech | :21:02. | :21:07. | |
will now take place? The latest thinking is that the speech will | :21:07. | :21:11. | |
probably take place very early next week. But, of course, that has not | :21:11. | :21:15. | |
been officially confirmed, and for good reasons it was rightly delayed | :21:15. | :21:20. | |
today. Any further delay could be politically damaging, but we do | :21:20. | :21:24. | |
have a clearer idea of some of the things that will be in it. Some of | :21:24. | :21:28. | |
the extracts were briefed to the press in advance on the assumption | :21:28. | :21:32. | |
it would happen today. It does seem clear that the Prime Minister is | :21:32. | :21:35. | |
raising up -- at least the possibility that Britain could be | :21:35. | :21:39. | |
outside the EU. He does not one that happened at once a | :21:39. | :21:42. | |
relationship where we can stay in it, but there is a danger that the | :21:42. | :21:46. | |
British people could drift towards the exit. His message to his | :21:46. | :21:50. | |
European partners is blunt, unless you allow me to renegotiate my | :21:50. | :21:54. | |
relationship, then I cannot guarantee that Britain will remain | :21:54. | :21:58. | |
in membership. He talks about frustration towards the EU, but | :21:58. | :22:03. | |
it's also pretty clear that there is a lack of consent that he would | :22:03. | :22:08. | |
put any renegotiated deal to way referendum, much as we anticipated. | :22:08. | :22:11. | |
Some members of his own party would say it is good and he is rising to | :22:11. | :22:15. | |
the challenge, but some of his coalition partners would say it | :22:15. | :22:18. | |
would be damaging to use the word exit at all in difficult economic | :22:18. | :22:23. | |
circumstances. He also briefed Barack Obama yesterday on the | :22:23. | :22:31. | |
speech, and a White House spokesman said that the President spoke to Mr | :22:31. | :22:36. | |
Cameron about the close alliance with the UK, and that he values a | :22:36. | :22:40. | |
strong UK in the European Union. Any delay to the speech doesn't | :22:40. | :22:44. | |
make it any less controversial. Christmas was even more | :22:44. | :22:46. | |
disappointing than expected for UK retailers, according to the latest | :22:46. | :22:54. | |
figures. In December sales rose by just 0.3%. But there was a boost | :22:54. | :23:04. | |
:23:04. | :23:07. | ||
for many retailers in online sales. Creat -- High Street. Overall, | :23:07. | :23:11. | |
retail sales have fallen in the last three months, with festive | :23:11. | :23:17. | |
trading tough. Read tales sales rose on the year by 0.3%, and fell | :23:18. | :23:22. | |
by 0.1% compared to 20th November 12. What we have seen in the | :23:22. | :23:25. | |
December results is that year-on- year growth is the slowest we have | :23:25. | :23:31. | |
seen since December 1998, when you exclude the snow hit December of | :23:32. | :23:41. | |
:23:42. | :23:42. | ||
2010. As ever, there are winners and losers. A best-ever Christmas | :23:42. | :23:50. | |
for Aldi. Discount supermarkets are benefiting as they change the way | :23:50. | :23:56. | |
we shop. It may be a small discount firm, but it is attracting affluent | :23:56. | :23:59. | |
shoppers and stealing all-important market share from the big | :23:59. | :24:04. | |
supermarkets. But what about the rest of retail? These are some of | :24:04. | :24:07. | |
the big names that did well in the current climate. They are all | :24:07. | :24:12. | |
reaping the benefit of investing in online business, where sales are | :24:12. | :24:16. | |
continuing to grow. This whole point of consumer convenience and | :24:16. | :24:22. | |
the consumer wanting to shop online and maybe picking up in-store, but | :24:22. | :24:25. | |
also liking to shop in the store, means that companies with deep | :24:25. | :24:28. | |
pockets can afford to invest in that, which is why we are seeing | :24:28. | :24:31. | |
some of the larger retailers generally doing better than the | :24:31. | :24:37. | |
smaller. Christmas didn't bring much cheer on the whole for | :24:38. | :24:41. | |
Britain's retailers, and it's not set to get better any time soon. | :24:41. | :24:46. | |
These latest figures will also fuel the fear that the economy may have | :24:46. | :24:56. | |
:24:56. | :24:56. | ||
For a quarter of a century, she's been the reassuring and trusted | :24:56. | :24:59. | |
voice of BBC Radio 4, but today the newsreader Charlotte Green will be | :24:59. | :25:02. | |
hanging up her headphones after her last day behind the microphone. As | :25:02. | :25:04. | |
David Silitto reports, millions will miss her impeccable diction, | :25:04. | :25:14. | |
:25:14. | :25:15. | ||
unflappable poise, and her very With the BBC News, Charlotte Green. | :25:15. | :25:20. | |
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled in favour. Oh the last 25 | :25:20. | :25:25. | |
years, millions of us have woken up with Charlotte, that calm, warm, | :25:25. | :25:32. | |
yet authoritative voice has stirred feelings. They send me Valentine's | :25:32. | :25:38. | |
cards, and rather sweet letters. There is a certain wistfulness in | :25:38. | :25:42. | |
them. We have been very lucky. People have been lovely in the | :25:42. | :25:46. | |
things we have said to them. Nine men have gone on trial at the Old | :25:46. | :25:51. | |
Bailey. This is a very radio type of fame. She needed a good deal a | :25:51. | :25:55. | |
gentle coaching to even agree to appear on camera. But even on Radio | :25:55. | :26:02. | |
we sometimes get a glimpse of the Real Charlotte. She is professional, | :26:02. | :26:08. | |
classy, smooth, unflappable, with an iron grip, except when it fails | :26:08. | :26:12. | |
completely and she breaks down. The American historians have discovered | :26:12. | :26:21. | |
what they think is the earliest The award-winning screenwriter | :26:22. | :26:27. | |
Abbey man has died at the age of 80. Excuse me, Surrey. He also warned | :26:27. | :26:34. | |
that several Emmys -- excuse me, sorry. That was including one in | :26:34. | :26:44. | |
:26:44. | :26:47. | ||
1973. For a film which featured... A police detective, called.... | :26:47. | :26:53. | |
is a sad day. I feel very emotional insight. I didn't think I was going | :26:53. | :27:03. | |
:27:03. | :27:05. | ||
to, but the end of the day, when I Never again will bedtime be Coco, | :27:05. | :27:14. | |
the shipping forecast. -- the Now, before weather forecast and a | :27:14. | :27:19. | |
moment, but we are being blanketed in snow, although in Sydney, | :27:19. | :27:28. | |
Australia they have had their hottest day on record. Here, of | :27:28. | :27:35. | |
course, a different situation, with widespread destruction -- | :27:35. | :27:40. | |
disruption. Let's speak to Louise Hubble, who was in Leicester. | :27:40. | :27:44. | |
Sophie, a lot of people enjoying the snow, but it is causing | :27:44. | :27:47. | |
widespread disruption. Hundreds of schools are closed across the | :27:47. | :27:55. | |
Midlands, and as the snow moves east, the real concern is icy roads. | :27:55. | :28:01. | |
Rail passengers are being advised to check for their trouble. 300 | :28:01. | :28:11. | |
:28:11. | :28:11. | ||
schools. There is of course more snow forecast in the east as week | :28:11. | :28:14. | |
move through the week many businesses are considering closing | :28:14. | :28:18. | |
early for people to get home because of the disruption, and a | :28:18. | :28:22. | |
lot of schools are closing early. But there is one heart-warming tame | :28:22. | :28:27. | |
-- tale, one bride in Shropshire was so determined to get to her | :28:27. | :28:32. | |
wedding, she decided to travel to the judge by tractor. More snow to | :28:32. | :28:36. | |
come, as we have been saying. Louise is here with the fall | :28:36. | :28:43. | |
I I hope you have been well-worn. We still have a red warning in | :28:44. | :28:52. | |
force because there is heavy snow. It is starting to ease away. We see | :28:52. | :28:58. | |
we have got this no pushing north and east, and it does fragment | :28:58. | :29:04. | |
slyly. The red warning is in force for South Wales, and there are 10 | :29:04. | :29:10. | |
centimetres. And if we are not snow in the morning, there is still the | :29:10. | :29:14. | |
potential for another three or five centimetres of snow, perhaps driven | :29:14. | :29:21. | |
by the strong easterly wind. A cold afternoon, and the Snow sits across | :29:21. | :29:26. | |
North Wales and the south-east corner. Starting to fragment | :29:26. | :29:32. | |
somewhat, so showers for the rest of the afternoon. They could be a | :29:32. | :29:41. | |
bit of a wintry mix. Snow showers continued, and it is bitterly cold. | :29:41. | :29:48. | |
Temperatures were below freezing. There is increasing chance of | :29:48. | :29:52. | |
further snow to come through the evening. The same in the north-east | :29:52. | :29:56. | |
of Scotland, driven in by the strong winds. The threat of snow | :29:56. | :29:59. | |
continues for north-east Scotland, and for Northern Ireland | :29:59. | :30:03. | |
potentially overnight. And amber warnings are continuing. Snow | :30:03. | :30:07. | |
showers across the peaks and Pennines. A cold night to follow, | :30:07. | :30:13. | |
with temperatures falling below freezing. Yes, it will be a frosty | :30:13. | :30:18. | |
and icy start to Saturday. Widespread ice is likely, snow | :30:18. | :30:22. | |
covering freezing solidly, so take care in the morning. The winds will | :30:22. | :30:29. | |
swing around to an easterly breeze, but as the day continues this snow | :30:29. | :30:33. | |
showers he's away, but if cold prospect for the weekend. | :30:33. | :30:38. | |
Temperatures just a degree or so it might -- a degree or so. The start | :30:38. | :30:42. | |
of the week, bitterly cold, frost and ice, but there is also the risk | :30:42. | :30:47. | |
of further snow on Sunday. It is this area of low pressure and the | :30:47. | :30:50. | |
front that will drift up through the Continent affecting eastern | :30:50. | :30:55. | |
England during the early hours of Sunday, so risk of heavy snowfall | :30:55. | :30:58. | |
for eastern England. If you are travelling on Sunday, keep watching | :30:58. | :31:03. | |
the weather forecast. This may be subject to change, but a bitterly | :31:03. | :31:11. | |
cold day in prospect on Sunday for A reminder of the top storey. The | :31:11. | :31:14. | |
hostage crisis in Algeria continues. David Cameron says British workers | :31:14. | :31:19. | |
are still at risk, but not as many as first thought. We understand | :31:19. | :31:23. |