30/12/2013 BBC News

Doctors treating Michael Schumacher say he's fighting for his life

following his ski-ing accident in France. The most successful driver

in Formula )ne history is in a medically induced coma after brain

surgery. Doctors say they're taking an hour-by-hour approach.

TRANSLATION: He is in a critical condition and we cannot predict the

future for Michael Schumacher. They also added that without wearing a

helmet he wouldn't be alive now. Also in tonight's programme: A

second suicide bombing in Russia in as many days - 31 people have now

lost their lives. And the deadline approaches - crucial talks on the

political future of Northern Ireland are going down to the wire.

Good evening. Michael Schumacher - the most successful driver in

Formula One history - remains critically ill tonight after

suffering severe brain injuries when he fell and hit his head while

skiing in the French Alps. Doctors said he's had an emergency operation

to relieve pressure on the brain and is now in a medically induced coma.

His family are at his hospital bedside. Our Sports Editor David

Bond reports. During two decades at the summit of Formula One, Michael

Schumacher earned the reputation as a fearless fighter. Tonight,

following a skiing accident in France, he is facing the biggest

battle of his life. Medics treating him in hospital said they were

taking things hour-by-hour. But the initial reports have left many

fearing the worst. TRANSLATION: He is in a critical condition and we

can say that he is fighting for his life. We cannot tell you what the

outcome can be yet. We are working hour-by-hour, but it is too early to

say what is going to happen. Michael Schumacher was skiing with his son

in Meribel when the accident happened just after 11 local time.

He was taken by helicopter to hospital in Moutiers, before being

admitted to the larger University Hospital in Grenoble. It was here

that he underwent immediate surgery to relieve pressure on his brain.

With fears growing, leading figures from Formula One united in sending

Schumacher messages of support. Jenson Button

For the best part of a decade, Michael Schumacher Dom named Formula

One. -- dominated Formula One. Today the man who comment tapted on so

many -- comment tapted on many of his triumphs said his fans shouldn't

give up hope. Well, he is tremendously determined and fought

his way to the top of his profession from humble beginnings and

significantly and I hope encouragingly, he is a fighter.

Michael Schumacher's achievements in Formula One mark him out as one of

modern sport's greatest figures. Tonight all his family, friends and

fans can do is wait and hope that he can come through the biggest fight

he has ever faced. Michael Schumacher's medical team say he

would not be alive now if he had not been wearing a helmet. They added

that the driver's relative youth and the fact that he was operated on

without delay do count in his favour. But added all they can do

now is wait. Our Science Editor David Shukman assesses the type of

injury he sustained. Packed inside the skull, the the brain is delicate

and injuries cannot just been difficult to diagnose, but hard to

treat. It is a challenge trying to understand which areas have been

damaged and how badly. The surgeons in France say there is a lot they

don't know about his condition and they're keeping him in a coma.

TRANSLATION: This is an important point, he was overwhelmed and showed

spontaneous movements of his limbs, but was not in a normal state.

Injuries to the brain are worrying, because they're unpredictable. The

brain is like a soft jelly inside the skull. Michael Schumacher was

hit on the right side of the head. Surgeons say it caused internal

bleeding within the brain. There are also contusions, or bruising of the

delicate tissue, adding to pressure inside the skull which can cause

further damage. The first step was an operation to relieve the

pressure. Beyond that, no one can be sure how things will go. Patients

who have been victims of major trauma can take weeks to months

sometimes years of rehabilitation to try and regain function and to

regain some normal life. It is almost impossible to say. Nearly

five years ago at this resort in Canada the actress Natasha

Richardson hit her Ed head and -- hit her head and at first said she

was all right. But she died. The damage to her brain was worse than

thought. With the ski season at its height, this will reinforce the

campaign for skiers to wear safety helmets. Michael Schumacher was

wearing one and the surgeons say without it he would be dead already.

Let's go live now to the hospital in France and our correspondent there,

Imogen Foulkes. Michael Schumacher remains here at the University

Hospital in Grenoble. He is still in that induced coma and his condition

is serious. The doctors have confirmed he suffered severe head

injury and they're maintaining him in that coma to make sure that the

swelling of the brain for which he was operated on yesterday does not

reoccur. So the next hours, days possibly, will be crucial. But there

are precedents for people recovering from this type of injury. Some of

your viewers who watch skiing that one Swiss star suffered something

similar four years ago. He too was operated on and he too was in an

induced coma and he has recovered and he is back skiing. All the

people and some are fans of Michael Schumacher, gathered here outside

the hospital, they will be hoping that the prognosis for him is

similar. But it is too early to say. Thank you. 14 people have been

killed after an explosion on a bus during this morning's rush hour in

the southern Russian city of Volgograd. It's the second suicide

bomb attack there in two days and takes the number of dead to 31. A

state of emergency's been declared there ahead of the start of the

Winter Olympics in Sochi. The attacks have been condemned by the

United States. Our Moscow Correspondent Daniel Sandford

reports. The burnt, twisted bomb-shattered remains of a rush

hour bus in Volgograd. Many of the passengers died almost instantly,

when a suicide bomber blew himself up as the people around him headed

to work. A state of emergency has been declared in the city after what

was the second bombing in two days. TRANSLATION: Today for all of us in

Volgograd and all Russians, this is a serious test - the second

terrorism act in 24 hours. We have dead people and we have injured

people and if necessary the seriously injured people will be

flown to hospital in Moscow. Yesterday, at least one other

suicide bomber attacked the city's main railway station, killing 17

people. The explosions are most likely linked to the Islamist

insurgent against Russian rule in the near by Caucasus republics and

timed to coincide with the build up to February's Winter Olympics. Two

suicide bombs in two days mean that the Kremlin now has a problem.

President Putin is going to have to move fast to reassure the Russian

public that he can keep them safe and to reassure the international

community that he can secure the Sochi Winter Olympics, which begin

in less than six weeks time. President Putin has insisted that

the Winter Olympics will be safe and today the international Olympic

committee said it has no doubt that the Russian authorities will be up

to the task. But for the Islamists who are probably responsible for the

bombs, the Olympics were a perfect platform to use violence to

undermine the Russian government and president Putin. And Daniel is live

in Moscow for us now. Daniel, what can President Putin actually do to

stop such attacks? Well he has not been seen in public since the bombs

started, other than on television in meetings with advisors. And there

isn't a great deal they can do, other than what they are doing now,

which is so secure Sochi as much as possible and make it a hard target

and encourage the investigators to get on with their investigation as

fast as they can. The seeds of this were sewed a long time ago when the

Russian Government rather than negotiating in the Caucasus. Then

president Putin bid for the Winter Olympics and won, although many

people warned Sochi wasn't the safest place to stage the Olympics

and here we are with less than six weeks to go and everyone hoping the

plan to secure Sochi works and that the bombers either run out of

explosives or man power, or luck. Thank you. The political parties in

Northern Ireland are meeting in a final attempt to reach agreement on

issues left outstanding from the peace process. Talks, chaired by the

former US diplomat, Richard Haass, have been going on since July. The

main issues have been the flying of contentious flags, a code of conduct

for parades on both sides, plus a mechanism for dealing with the

Troubles. From Belfast, Andy Martin reports. Dr Haass is preparing to

deliver good news, but after months the deal he had hoped to deliver is

still not sealed. As politicians arrived at the talks today, there

were prayers for a break through. Compromise is the key. Let's get the

job finished and get the society built and get jobs and tourism here

and lift Northern Ireland up in the world. Dr Haass is adamant that he

will return to America tomorrow, whether or not a deal is struck. His

task has been tall to develop mechanisms to prevent scenes like

this. Riots often caused by disagreements between loyalists and

Republicans about what flags can fly where and when. What parades can

take place in what areas. And how to deal with thousands of unsolved

murders from 30 years of conflict. These issues will not go away. So

now is the time to deal with it. We have created an opportunity in

inviting the team here and let's hope we can do it today. And I'm

fairly confident that we should be able to do that. Unionists too are

surprisingly upbeat. Are you optimistic Yes. Will you do it

today? Is no don't see why not. Among the proposals is the creation

of two new commissions. One to re-examine murders from the troubles

and the second to establish the truth and anyone giving information

to it would receive immunity from having the information they give

used against them. If a deal is struck tonight it will be a tough

job to sell it to those on the streets. It is too early for the

team to celebrate, but for the first time in this process, the glass

appears to be half full. Homes have been evacuated and roads closed

after heavy rain caused flooding across parts of Scotland. In

Dumfries and Galloway, around 40 homes were evacuated in the village

of Kirkconnel. East Ayrshire was also badly affected, with 14 people

rescued from properties in New Cumnock. The heavy rain also led to

some disruption on the rail network. More than 30 flood warnings are

currently in place across Scotland. 90 senior Conservative activists are

urging David Cameron not to lift border controls on Romanian and

Bulgarian migrants on the 1st of January. They've written to the

Prime Minister pressing him to use a clause in EU law - allowing

countries to continue with border controls if they have serious labour

market disturbances. Let's explore this further with our Political

Correspondent Vicki Young is in Downing Street. Vicky - this could

extend restrictions until 2018 - but is it likely to happen? No, in a

short answer, it is not not. This letter says the current situation is

unfair and could lead to social unrest. They say there is the clause

in the EU law which can be used in an emergency. Brussels have

contradicted that, but it is a sign of how much pressure Tory activists

feel from the UKIP party and they have elections in May. As for

Conservative ministers, they say they have to act within the law and

they have done everything they can and they point to new restrictions

on the kind of benefits that immigrants can claim. In the longer

term, David Cameron does want to bring in more sweeping changes to

the freedom of movement between EU countries, but that is years down

the line and I think these Conservatives have their eyes more

on the European elections. Thank you.

Ed Miliband is urging Scotland to reject independence. He said his

party would continue to focus on people's concerns about the cost of

living in 2014. The president of South Sudan has

told us that if his side has committed a piece in recent clashes,

they will be punished. The UN is sending additional troops to try to

protect civilians. He said his government did not stop the conflict

and it could not be resolved militarily. More than 100 -- 1000

people are feared dead. -- he said his government did not start the

conflict. Able with many victims. These people

fled the first bullets and are now living in a precarious life,

hand-outs replacing the comforts of home. In this camp and in others,

everyone you meet has a horrifying story to tell. They kill everyone,

they brought people from their homes, they kill youths. The

president said it started as an attempted coup. His rivals insist he

was trying to silence them. Now, it is civil war. Rebels seized control

of towns and oilfields to the north of the capital. Juba is calm now,

but the rebels are still fighting the government elsewhere. Thousands

have been killed so far in this conflict. As Beach charger gees

piled up, so do the calls for restraint. The warring parties and

those who have differed must come back to restore the broken

relationship through a peaceful solution. If please don't work,

force might. Uganda's president has threatened to intervene militarily

if the rebels will not negotiate. You try military solutions and

political solutions. I believe that a peaceful solution is still an

alternative. A chuckle of hope, though they continue to suffer and

wait until the politicians decide whether to fight or talk -- a

trickle of hope. Police forces in England and Wales

are changing the way they record offences to try to give a clearer

picture about why crimes are not solved. At present, 70% of crimes do

not result in a charge or caution. They will now be replaced by

categories indicating why no action was taken.

At North Point Shopping Centre in Hull, the problem is shoplifting,

but 98% of those caught our first time offenders. The centre manager

often banned them rather than pushing for charges. Because we are

looking at first-time offenders, we will store them attending a game,

and it will decrease crime locally. But for the police, no crime is

detected, which just look good on the figures. The new outcomes

framework is designed to change that. Police will still record its

body is charged or cautioned, but the third category of undetected

will disappear, replaced by more than a dozen new ones, including

community resolution, where the crime is resolved without charge,

for example by banning shoplifters. Prosecution prevented, perhaps if

they witness is too ill to give evidence. Interested and complete,

where a case is closed. Crime is falling in all measures that we

have, but there have been problems with the measurement, so we need to

restore public confidence. Even more importantly, the police need

information that enables them to cut crime. The government says changing

the recording of crime gives the police a wider range of outcomes and

more discretion. At some police forces say the system could be more

bureaucratic. The Duke of Cambridge will become a

student again, reading agricultural management at Cambridge. Prince

William will start a ten week course in January, tailor-made for him

personally. He will learn about the issues facing the UK's ruble

communities and the farming industry.

We are back with North Wales and Northern Ireland.

Perhaps try and brighter m Good evening.

Detectives investigating the death of a young mother who was found on

fire in a South London street are speaking to two people who tried to

save her. Police aren't treating her death as suspicious, but say they're

still trying to find out what happened.