13/11/2015 BBC News at One

The US air strike against the Islamic State militant

known as Jihadi John - US sources say there's a high degree

The militant achieved worldwide notoriety after appearing

in a series of videos showing the beheading of Western hostages.

If this strike was successful, and we still await confirmation of that,

it would be a strike at the heart of Isil.

We'll be looking at the significance of this strike against

Russia waits to discover what sanctions it might face

The sentencing begins of the couple convicted

of the murder and manslaughter of the Bristol teenager Becky Watts.

Is a little of what's bad for you, good for you?

Power lines brought down and schools close - Storm Abigail

hits the north of Scotland, with gusts of over 80 miles an hour.

A report by MPs says it's staggering that

million pounds of public money was handed to the charity Kids Company.

And infested with false black widow spiders -

two east London primary schools close.

Good afternoon and welcome to the BBC News at One.

He became the face of a gruesome propaganda campaign

by the Islamic State group - today US sources say there is a high

degree of certainty that Mohammed Emwazi, known as Jihadi John,

The Kuwaiti-born British militant had appeared in several videos of

Speaking in Downing Street, David Cameron this morning said the UK's

intelligence agencies and armed forces had been working hand in

He said that although it was still uncertain whether the attack had

been successful, targeting Mohammed Emwazi was the right thing to do.

Here's our security correspondent Frank Gardner.

Masked and menacing, Mohammed Emwazi was was dubbed by the media Jihadi

John. He became the stuff of nightmares, beheading hostages on

camera, issuing threats from Islamic State's base in Syria. I'm back,

Obama... This morning, David Cameron announced a US and British

intelligence operation had resulted in a drone strike, believed to have

killed him. This was a combined effort and the contribution of both

of our countries was essential. Emwazi is a barbaric murder. He was

shown in those sickening videos of the beheading of British aid

workers. He posed an ongoing and serious threat to innocent

civilians, not only in Syria, but around the world. The hostages he

murdered included Britain's Alan Henning from Salford and David

Haynes from Scotland, and Americans, James Foley, Peter Kassig and Steven

Sotloff. The militant was born in Kuwait in 1998. He and his family

moved to London in 1994, when he was aged six. He went to school in Saint

John 's Wood in London and he attended Westminster University from

2006 until 2009. By 2013, Mohammed Emwazi had moved to Syria to join

the group calling itself Islamic State. He put himself in charge of

guarding Western hostages, taunting them before he killed them on

camera. His violence, his sadism was surely personal. I don't think he

received any instructions to mystery tours. I don't -- to mistreat us. I

think it was even his initiative, the initiative of his group to miss

handlers. GCHQ, Britain's secret listening station, was ordered last

year to make finding Emwazi a top priority. Analysts had been working

closely with Americans to break into Islamic State's encrypted

communications. Now, his likely demise is being assessed. I think

his death plays both ways. On the one hand, it shows Britain and

America will get you, if you are on our list and known to be a murderous

jihadists, we are coming at you and there is no place to hide. On the

other hand, you will now be a martyr, he will be lauded and it

will give him the notoriety he surely wanted. If Emwazi's debt is

confirmed, it will be some relief to the families of those he

slaughtered. Their only regret, that he was never brought to trial.

And Frank is here- if Mohammed Emwazi is dead, how big

It's not a big blow to them at all, really. He played no role in their

military conquest, sweeping across Syria and Iraq. He was a propaganda

tool to them, a very useful one at the time, last year. He has not been

seen since he was unmasked in February. At least he has had no

real profile. He has kept a really low profile because he knew he was

being targeted. He had a small group of friends, he was extremely careful

digitally, not to leave any kind of digital trail. I don't know exactly

how they got him, whether it was satellite intelligence, signals, or

whether somebody on the ground betrayed him. David Cameron made it

really clear to the intelligence agencies in this country, MI5, MI6

and GCHQ, find this guy. Ideally, he would have been brought to trial and

stood trial, probably in the States, and ended up spending the rest of

his life in a high security prison somewhere. That hasn't happened,

they have done this and I think the families will be quite relieved, if

it is confirmed he is dead. Many thanks. Gary O'Donoghue is in

Washington. Gary, despite what Frank was saying there, the Americans will

nonetheless be claiming this as a massive propaganda victory? Well, as

Frank said, this was a very important target for London, but

equally important to Washington to get Emwazi. Basically because he

murdered a number of Americans, brutally murdered a number of

Americans, on video, and paraded that around the world. That has

caused terror here and, of course, in other countries. It also made him

a recruiting Sergeant to Islamist around the world, brought in to

Syria. He was a high-value individual, as the Americans

describe them. They wanted to get him very much. We know they sent two

drones on Thursday night to get him. They tell us they were tracking him

for some time. They had this vehicle and they believe they killed him,

along with another individual in the vehicle. They will go through a

process now trying to verify this. They do that, on occasions, using

signals intelligence on the ground, checking e-mails, text, phone calls,

whatever people are saying to each other and using human intelligence

on the ground. They can take some time to be Def -- definite. If they

are wrong, he could pop up and say, here I am.

And we'll have more on the situation in Syria later in the programme.

Athletics' world governing body the IAAF will decide today what

sanctions to impose on Russia over claims its competitors were involved

The IAAF head Lord Coe has come under fire from one leading British

athlete, who's questioned whether he can clean up the organisation's act.

Our sports correspondent Richard Conway reports.

This report contains flashing images. Lord Coe is fighting to save

the integrity of athletics and his own credibility. Later today, the

IAAF will decide whether to suspend the Russian athletics Federation.

But cheating implicated the governing body as well and took

place while Lord Coe was Vice President. Now, Britain's captain at

this summer 's world athletics Championships is questioning whether

he is the right person to rebuild the sport's reputation. I think it

is pretty disrespectful to everybody else who is involved in athletics to

believe that the Vice President didn't know what was going on within

the IAAF. That is his job. If he hasn't been doing it, then, well, if

he believes he didn't know what was going on, he's not been doing his

job properly. Russia's President says that clean athletes should not

be collectively punished over actions of those that cheated. He

has promised that sports federations within the country will cooperate

fully with international doping agencies. But a suspension is

likely. With the Rio Olympic Games looming next August, his comments

are being viewed as an attempt to mitigate the severity of any

exclusion. Investigators say doping was state-supported, involving

doctors, coaches and lab staff. Government departments have been

accused of intimidation and the IAAF stands accused of corruption and

bribery within its ranks. If the reputation of athletics is to ever

recover, then Lord Coe and his colleagues know they must now send a

strong message. However, track and field's current problems have been

outlined is just the tip of the iceberg. Today's decision will help

set the tone, then, for the future of athletics and maybe for sport as

a whole. The couple who killed the Bristol

teenager Becky Watts will be Nathan Matthews, who's 28,

has been found guilty of murdering Matthews' 21-year-old girlfriend,

Shauna Hoare, Becky was suffocated

and her body dismembered. Yes, the judge is going to pass his

sentence at 2pm. This morning it has been a chance for Becky's family to

tell him, to tell the court about the impact this terrible crime has

had on all of them. There were very emotional scenes in court, as

Becky's Mohan said in a statement that she is haunted by the memory of

going to the mortuary to see her daughter's body after what had been

done to her. She said that the crime committed by Matthews and Sean Paul

had been like the worst of all horror movies, but, she said, this

was real and this was my child. Two days after they were convicted, they

returned to court. Nathan Matthews and his girlfriend, Shauna Hoare,

here to be sentenced for killing Becky Watts. In a victim impact

statement read in court, Becky's father, Darren, pushing his wife

here, said they will be for ever haunted by what he called this

despicable act of evil. He said when his 16-year-old daughter was

murdered and her body dismembered, everything beautiful had been ripped

from the family. He said he would never forgive his stepson, Nathan

Matthews, for murdering Becky, saying that the crime had been born

out of hatred, jealousy and greed. As the judge listened to the family

statements, many relatives and members of the public aware that in

the packed courtroom. In the dock, Nathan Matthews and Shauna Hoare

showed little emotion. They were sitting apart and did not appear to

look at one another. The jury decided on Wednesday that they had

lied to police and have actually conspired to kidnap Becky earlier

this year. They found him guilty of murder, and her guilty of

manslaughter. Becky's remains were found hidden in a neighbour's garden

shed in a number of boxes and bags. The family asked the judge to

consider what they called the dreadful brutality of the crime when

he gives his sentencing. After the raw emotion, the personal

power of those family statements, we also had some technical legal

argument in court from the barristers of different sides. The

prosecution say to the judge, should he consider giving Nathan Matthews a

whole life imprisonment, which would mean he would have no chance of

parole? The judge will be considering that at the moment,

before he gives the sentence at two o'clock. Shauna Hoare's barrister,

on the other hand, said she was not what he described as a evil child

killer. In some ways, he said she might be considered a victim of

Nathan Matthews in her own right. Both sides have put the arguments

forwards. The family and lawyers have spoken. The judge will speak

from two o'clock. Full coverage on the BBC News Channel.

?13 billion of financial assets from Northern Rock -

mainly mortgages - have been sold to a private equity firm.

The Government has now sold more than 85% of the bank's assets.

Northern Rock collapsed in 2007, marking the start

The Chancellor, George Osborne, says the proceeds will reduce

Our business editor Kamal Ahmed is here.

Does this mean we, the taxpayers, are gradually getting

Well, it does, but before we try to answer that question, it is always

worth remembering that this is actually about real people. About

120,000 mortgage holders who were with Northern Rockwell wake this

morning and realise that their mortgages are being run by a private

equity firm in America. TSB, the UK bank, has also bought some of these

mortgages. The terms and conditions of the mortgage should not change,

there should be no concern for mortgage holders. On the issue of

getting money back, two quick answers to that. We spent about ?20

million, sorry, ?30 million, saving Northern Rock in 2007, when it

collapsed. We have got back, since the sales of the assets, about 22

billion. There is about 8 billion outstanding. Of course, the banking

crisis was followed by the economic crisis. The costs were far bigger

than just the direct injection of money into Northern Rock. The costs

of the wider support for the financial system, as well as

Northern Rock, has been put at ?60 billion for that bank. Of that

money, about ?25 billion is still outstanding. So, the Treasury still

has some way to go to say we have all of the money back. But they will

argue we have made a very strong start. Many thanks.

The BBC has learned that ministers are considering adding homeopathy to

a blacklist of treatments that doctors in England are banned

Homeopathy is based on the idea that diluting substances which cause

Our health correspondent Dominic Hughes reports.

The NHS in England spends about ?4 million a year

on homoeopathy, despite its own website admitting there is no good

That amount is a tiny fraction of the ?15.5 billion spent

But a charity that describes itself as providing evidence-based science

has threatened to take the NHS to court if it continues to

Doctors really should be prescribing medicines that are known to work.

Now, homoeopathy is a great example of

a medicine that is not known to work.

And yet the National Health Service spends billions of pounds on it.

Ailments commonly treated with homoeopathic remedies include

asthma, ear infections, hay fever, depression and arthritis,

We know from the science that, actually,

when GPs incorporate homoeopathic medicine, they get better results.

Either they get the same results with less drugs, or the patients

Drugs can be blacklisted by the NHS for a new range of reasons.

For example, if there are cheaper alternatives or because they are

It would not affect people buying them over the counter or privately.

The Minister for Life Sciences, George Freeman, told the BBC:

That consultation is likely to start next year.

The US air strike against the Islamic State militant

known as Jihadi John - US sources say there's a high degree

Coming up - Pudsey is back again but for the first time ever Children

in Need will go ahead without Sir Terry Wogan.

Thousand of jobs and apprenticeships on offer for young Londoners

as the country's biggest careers fair takes place in East London.

More world class tennis at the O2 Arena

as the venue is confirmed for the ATP world tour finals until 2018.

It's six weeks since Russian aircraft began an intensive bombing

Russia says its air campaign in Syria has destroyed more than 2,000

Our correspondent Steven Rosenberg is in Syria and has been

following how people there are reacting to the Russian military

In the Syrian town of Tartus, they've taken to the streets to

Vladimir Putin is being hailed as a hero for supporting President Assad.

At times, it doesn't look the most spontaneous outpouring of emotion.

But the Russian Defence Ministry that brought us here as part

of a tour assures us this rally wasn't organised for our cameras,

and that these Syrians really do respect President Putin.

We are here to say thank you, Russia, thank you, Syria,

Everybody here thanks Putin, and the feeling is that Putin is

The message this Putin street party is supposed to convey is clear,

that the Syrian people are grateful for Russian military support.

For six weeks now, Russian bombers have been taking off round-the-clock

Their mission, air strikes on what Moscow calls terrorist targets.

From the air, Russia has been providing vital support for

But not everyone in Syria welcomes the intervention.

Russia has been accused of calling civilian casualties with

Some jihadist groups have declared a holy war on Russia.

This used to be the Latakia Sports Stadium.

It is now a refugee camp for thousands

Many of the people we spoke to here said Russia has given them hope.

Mohammed told me that Russia's military operation is helping

After three years here, he hopes to return home soon to Aleppo.

So many have been killed in Syria, so many made homeless.

After more than four years of war, people here just want

Steve Rosenberg, BBC News, Latakia, Syria.

The Kurdish president says his forces have recaptured

the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar from Islamic State militants.

Fighting has been going on around the town for four months.

Islamic State fighters captured it in August last year,

forcing thousands from the minority Yazidi community to flee.

Myanmar's opposition, led by former political prisoner Aung

San Suu Kyi, has won a resounding victory in the first contested vote

It's won enough seats in parliament to form a government

Jonah Fisher is in the capital Yangon.

It is quite an extraordinary day in Burnley 's history. It is a history

which has been dominated by military rule and, at times, brutal

repression -- in Burmese history. Former political prisoner Aung San

Suu Kyi, it has been confirmed, got two thirds of the vote on Sunday,

which is enough to give her a majority in parliament, give her the

right to choose the next president and former next government. She

cannot become president, she is barred from that by the Constitution

because she has two British sons, that she will be the government and

choose someone else, effectively, to be a puppet who she will then

control and give orders to. Today, year in Yangon, the real

celebrations taking place. Aung San Suu Kyi's party might get as many as

80% of the seats contested, but she has urged supporters not to gloat

and celebrate but to be humble and respectful to those who have lost

and to begin preparing for government. Thank you very much,

Jonah Fisher. The Indian Prime Minister Narendra

Modi is continuing his visit to the UK

and is having lunch with the Queen. This afternoon he's expected to

address 60,000 supporters Yesterday,

Britain and India announced trade deals worth around ?10 billion - but

the visit has attracted protests over what critics say is Mr Modi's

authoritarian style of government. In the language of diplomacy,

certain coded markers will tell a guest where they rank in the UK 's

priorities. A guard of honour... The red arrows... A speech to

Parliament... Dinner at Chequers. It was traka dal for the vegetarian Mr

Modi. -- tarka dal. For all written's advances, trade between

the two countries has fallen by ?1 billion in the past financial year.

Easter Modi was invited to meet the British Indian business leaders who

will advise him on the relationship can be included. -- improved.

Diplomacy has been smart on the part of Britain, they have laid out the

red carpet for Narendra Modi, but although chemistry between leaders

is important, if the fundamentals of a relationship are sound, it doesn't

really matter who the individuals are. Tonight, 60,000 British Indians

will descend on Wembley Stadium for an event British politicians could

only dream of. Mr Cameron, the warm up act for an Indian Prime Minister

at times treated by his most ardent supporters as a superstar. Of

course, plenty don't see about away. To finish, an immense firework

display to celebrate the Indian festival of Diwali. Perhaps also a

celebration of the Intel links these two countries share. -- the

indelible links. The producer punched by Jeremy

Clarkson is understood to be suing the former Top Gear host and the BBC

for alleged racial discrimination. Court records show that Clarkson

and the BBC attended a closed-door hearing with Oisin Tymon at a London

employment tribunal on Friday. The case centres

on verbal abuse that accompanied a physical attack, during which

Clarkson struck Tymon in March. Clarkson was dropped by the BBC

following an internal inquiry. Sir Terry Wogan's been forced to

pull out of presenting this year's Children

in Need because of back problems. He's hosted every live show

since the event started in 1980, and said in a statement

"I'm going to miss our wonderful, inspiring evening together, but I'll

be with you, watching, cheering and Dermot O'Leary will step

in to present the programme. Our entertainment correspondent

Lizo Mzumba reports. From the from the very beginning in

the 1980s he has been the face of Children in Need. Peace, my

children. Presenting appeal after appeal, year after year, for three

and a half decades. Now, less than 24 hours before tonight's show, the

BBC has announced that he will not be able to host the telethon this

evening. In a statement he said, I'm going to miss our wonderful,

inspiring evening together, but I will be with you watching, cheering

and donating to a magnificent cause. Standing in for him will be

presented Dermot O'Leary, who earlier this year raised more than

half ?1 million for the charity comic relief with a 24-hour dance

marathon. Tonight's show will feature

performances from West End musicals including Bend It Like Beckham,

including the customary array of stars. Across the country, people of

all ages have been hard at work raising cash. And more money will

come from the sales of the official Children in Need single, Take Me

Home by Jess Glynne. All to help Children in Need raise another

amazing total, despite the conspicuous absence tonight.

The effects of Storm Abigail are being felt in

the north of Scotland and across the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland.

70 schools have been closed and there have been power cuts.

A gust of 84 miles an hour was recorded in the Outer Hebrides.

Our Scotland correspondent Lorna Gordon is in Ullapool.

Yes, it is pretty cold up here and also pretty blustery. Nothing like

the wind speeds now that we saw overnights, especially out on the

islands. The winds gusting to over 80 mph, leading to warnings for

people not to travel unless absolutely necessary. The fear being

over topping waves on low-lying roads and causeways. About 13,500

homes overnight had that power disrupted. It is a movable feast,

but I think most homes, barring perhaps a few hundred, have had

their supplies reconnected. Although the waters look reasonably calm, it

is a different matter entirely if you head into open water, which has

led to disruptions with the ferry services. All the schools in the

Western Isles are closed, as are those in Shetland. One extraordinary

story emerging is of a man that had to be rescued from Ben Nevis

overnight by Lochaber mountain rescue. They said he faced certain

death. I think it is fair to say that most people heeded the warnings

about Storm Abigail. It has been very heavily trailed, this first

storm officially named by the Met Office. I think that is ultimately

why, thankfully, the impact has been less the first feared.

Here is Nick Miller. Abigail may be moving away, but problems still

being felt in northern Scotland. Problem is further south as well. As

ever, the weather watchers have been sending us pictures, telling us a

story. This from North Wales of a tree down. Yes, the highest gust

have been a northern Scotland, but Aberdaron in Plymouth have been from

this morning. England and Wales have seen very squally gusts of wind.

This came from Perth Kinross, some snow. Even in the showers in

northern Scotland, it has been relatively low levels. Northbound,

snow on the hills. Hail and thunder around. It is already feeling

colder, but the temperatures come down further when the showers move

on through, accompanied by squally, gusty winds. A bit of sunshine in

some places, but it is not doing much for the feel, colder across the

UK. Be careful heading out for Children in Need activities.

Overnight the winds will ease a touch, showers come to be confined

to northern and western Scotland. There could be a touch of frost.

Then the next weather system, turn to the Atlantic, this long weather

fronts, including some tropical moisture from the former Hurricane

Joaquin 's. -- Hurricane Kate. This is how it plays out on Saturday,

turning very wet in Northern Ireland for the weekend. We will all see

some rain, apart from northern Scotland, on Saturday. The winds

will pick up as well, milder and gradually filtering into Sunday.

Again, it is about the rainfall in western hills, particularly through

North Wales and north-west England full top 50 to 100 millimetres, in

some of the highest exposed hills, ridiculously in Cumbria, we could

see up to 200 millimetres on bringing flooding.

Still some uncertainty about these totals. And the areas worst

affected. But the Met Office has upgraded the warning to Amber,

meaning be prepared, keep integer with weather forecasts, weather

warnings and flood warnings right the way through the weekend in these

areas, with this sort of rain expected.

Still raining in some of these areas on Sunday. Heavy, persistent rain,

plenty of cloud and turning milder. You can send in your pictures by

signing up online to the growing band of weather watchers.

Our top story: US Anne Wood strike against the Islamic State militant

known as Jihadi John. -- air strike. US sources say there is a

high degree of certainty he has been killed.