:00:00. > :00:15.. The American comedian Bill Cosby
:00:16. > :00:19.appears in court after being charged with an alleged sexual assault. The
:00:20. > :00:23.latest storm to hit the UK causes yet more devastation and flooding
:00:24. > :00:29.across Scotland and parts of northern England. It comes as Nasa
:00:30. > :00:35.issues a warning that the El Nino weather phenomenon could be as bad
:00:36. > :00:40.as the worst ever recorded. New Year fireworks in Brussels, a are
:00:41. > :00:47.cancelled after two people suspected of plotting an attack are arrested.
:00:48. > :00:51.And what is in the Russian President's diary for 2016 in we
:00:52. > :01:08.take a look after Vladimir Putin's own calendar.
:01:09. > :01:16.Warm welcome to you. Prosecutors in Pennsylvania have charged the
:01:17. > :01:21.American comedian Bill Cosby with an alleged sexual assault 12 years ago.
:01:22. > :01:25.A short time ago, the 87-year-old arrived at a court outside
:01:26. > :01:30.Philadelphia for his arraignment on the charge. He is accused of
:01:31. > :01:34.indecently assaulting a woman at his home. This is the first criminal
:01:35. > :01:40.case against him who has faced similar accusations from more than
:01:41. > :01:42.40 women. The judge has set bail at more than a million dollars.
:01:43. > :01:51.Manufacture He played Cliff Huxtable,
:01:52. > :01:54.the ultimate family man on NBC's The Cosby Show, for five straight
:01:55. > :01:56.years, the most popular show Bill Cosby was for decades
:01:57. > :02:00.an American icon, then came this. When a stand up routine by a lesser
:02:01. > :02:03.known African-American comedian went viral a year ago,
:02:04. > :02:04.allegations that surfaced occasionally over the years
:02:05. > :02:07.acquired new momentum. Dozens of women came forward
:02:08. > :02:15.to allege Bill Cosby drugged Some of those allegations
:02:16. > :02:20.dated back to the 1960s, and were beyond the statute
:02:21. > :02:23.of limitations, but now prosecutors in Pennsylvania, where Bill Cosby
:02:24. > :02:33.lives, have filed charges in connection with an alleged
:02:34. > :02:36.assault involving a woman called Those charges filed a day before
:02:37. > :02:41.the statute of limitations was due On the evening in question,
:02:42. > :02:47.Mr Cosby urged her to take pills, that he provided to her
:02:48. > :02:53.and to drink wine. The effect of which rendered her
:02:54. > :02:56.unable to move, or respond to his advances, and he committed
:02:57. > :03:00.aggravated indecent Bill Cosby has denied
:03:01. > :03:08.the allegations against him and as recently as two weeks' ago
:03:09. > :03:11.filed defamation lawsuits Now 78, the man who was known
:03:12. > :03:36.as American's favourite dad Earlier David told me about how some
:03:37. > :03:43.previous testimony might be important in a future case against
:03:44. > :03:47.him There was testimony given before, under oath, by Bill Cosby
:03:48. > :03:52.which could be crucial to the criminal case that has started, has
:03:53. > :03:59.been launched today, if you like, the evidence that Bill Cosby gave in
:04:00. > :04:04.that civil case has now been basically released by the judge,
:04:05. > :04:14.unsealed by the judge, and that can be used. It is believed that Bill
:04:15. > :04:19.Cosby concedes that he gave women drugs, to, to basically relax them,
:04:20. > :04:25.but he denies having sex that was anything other than consensual. Now
:04:26. > :04:31.Bill Cosby was helped into court today, led into court by law
:04:32. > :04:35.enforcement officials, he entered no plea, he wasn't required to and he
:04:36. > :04:42.was released on bail of one million dollars. He is due back in court in
:04:43. > :04:46.the next couple of weeks, and of course, it could be weeks if not
:04:47. > :04:51.months before this case actually comes to trial.
:04:52. > :04:56.And David, there has been this hiatus, since all of this first hit
:04:57. > :05:00.the media. And as you mentioned as recently as two weeks' ago Bill
:05:01. > :05:05.Cosby was opening up against lawsuits of seven of the women,
:05:06. > :05:12.accusing them of defamation. Absolutely. He has strenuously
:05:13. > :05:16.denied the allegation against. The lawyer Gloria Allred who is
:05:17. > :05:19.representing 29 other women who allege they were sexually assaulted
:05:20. > :05:21.by Bill Cosby lutely. He has strenuously denied the allegation
:05:22. > :05:23.against. The lawyer Gloria Allred who is representing 29 other women
:05:24. > :05:26.who allege they were sexually assaulted by Bill Cosby, said "This
:05:27. > :05:28.was the best Christmas present those women have ever received." Show was
:05:29. > :05:31.referring to the announcement of prosecution, the prosecution in
:05:32. > :05:36.Pennsylvania, and she said that should any of her client, any of the
:05:37. > :05:42.29 women be required to testify, they would be willing, many of them
:05:43. > :05:47.would be willing to do so. The US Space Agency Nasa has warn
:05:48. > :05:52.had the effects of the current El Nino weather phenomenon could be as
:05:53. > :05:59.bad of those of 1998. That is the strongest we have on record. It has
:06:00. > :06:04.been linked to severe floods and in 2 US UK, so far 13 people have died
:06:05. > :06:11.in the state of Missouri after days of flooding. Here is Peter Gibbs.
:06:12. > :06:14.These scenes of flooding in Missouri are more reminiscent of the spring
:06:15. > :06:20.months rather this than winter. In fact are the result of spring-like
:06:21. > :06:24.warmth across this part of the USA. Fuelling exceptional rainfall
:06:25. > :06:30.amounts. In fact Missouri had its wettest November on record, almost
:06:31. > :06:33.twice the normal average rainfall, that has been followed by an
:06:34. > :06:39.exceptionally wet December. There are concerns about the water levels
:06:40. > :06:42.on the Mississippi now as a result. Better news in terms of the weather.
:06:43. > :06:47.High pressure is building in, to settle things down but those water
:06:48. > :06:50.levels will remain high. Meanwhile, El Nino is being blamed
:06:51. > :06:57.for the exceptional rainfall in southern Brazil. Northern Argentina,
:06:58. > :07:02.Paraguay, and Uruguay, which has led to extensive flooding over recent
:07:03. > :07:06.days. This is only the early part of the rainy season which extend to
:07:07. > :07:11.January and February, and it is a well-known fact that during a strong
:07:12. > :07:14.El Nino such as the one we have at the moment, that enhances rainfall
:07:15. > :07:19.across this part of the world. So there could be more problems to come
:07:20. > :07:24.in the months ahead. Meanwhile, El Nino potentially to blame for the
:07:25. > :07:30.storms that have been slamming into the UK, bringing extensive flooding.
:07:31. > :07:35.The latest Storm Frank moving northwards, that it has pushed warm
:07:36. > :07:39.up a up into the Arctic, in fact at the north pole, temperatures getting
:07:40. > :07:42.just slightly above freezing, for a time, as the warm air pushes
:07:43. > :07:48.northwards. It should be normally be minus 25 at this time of the year.
:07:49. > :07:54.So as Peter was just saying, the UK is being hit by severe weather that
:07:55. > :08:04.is leading to widespread flooding. Jane Francis Kelly has the latest.
:08:05. > :08:07.A caravan dislodged by the sheer force of water is pulled along
:08:08. > :08:12.on a bridge catch the moment of impact, before it is pushed
:08:13. > :08:14.underneath by the strength of the current.
:08:15. > :08:16.And simply floats away into the distance.
:08:17. > :08:19.In South Ayrshire, passengers had a close escape when their bus became
:08:20. > :08:21.stuck and began to fill up with floodwater.
:08:22. > :08:24.They had to be airlifted to safety, one by one, after rescue
:08:25. > :08:44.Got to the windows and it was like big waves,
:08:45. > :08:48.But I have to praise the rescue people.
:08:49. > :08:50.My phone was the only phone that had a signal.
:08:51. > :08:53.I was in touch with a lady in Glasgow the whole time,
:08:54. > :08:57.In Dumfries, police acted fast to move people away as the river
:08:58. > :09:01.It floods in this part of town a lot but rarely like this,
:09:02. > :09:04.millimetres of rain forecast over 24 hours.
:09:05. > :09:08.what they could to hold the waters back, but with a strong sense
:09:09. > :09:15.I have to try and get everything off the ground,
:09:16. > :09:20.When the flood did hit mid afternoon, it lapped
:09:21. > :09:24.Many are waiting to see what the damage is before they can
:09:25. > :09:27.A saving grace is that few residential properties
:09:28. > :09:40.Some will struggle to get going again.
:09:41. > :09:46.There will be a huge clean up exercise.
:09:47. > :09:49.Further afield, and Newton Stewart was the first place to see
:09:50. > :09:51.evacuation - people tried to salvage what property they could.
:09:52. > :09:54.In Peebles, the speed with which the water rose
:09:55. > :09:57.was a surprise, even to those who thought they had seen it all.
:09:58. > :10:02.I am Peebles born and bred, and I have never seen it as high
:10:03. > :10:30.Brussels has cancelled the city's New Year fireworks display due
:10:31. > :10:31.to the threat of attack by extremists.
:10:32. > :10:34.It follows the arrest of two suspected Islamic State members over
:10:35. > :10:37.an alleged plot to attack partygoers in Brussels over New Year.
:10:38. > :10:39.Military clothing and IS propaganda were found during police searches.
:10:40. > :10:41.Elsewhere, Turkish police have detained two men suspected
:10:42. > :10:49.of plotting a suicide bomb attack in the capital Ankara,
:10:50. > :10:52.A vest packed with a bomb and an explosive device containing
:10:53. > :11:08.ball bearings were among items seized.
:11:09. > :11:11.The traditional New Year fireworks display in Paris has
:11:12. > :11:15.There's a visible police presence at landmarks in the city,
:11:16. > :11:18.where 130 people were killed in a series of terror attacks
:11:19. > :11:36.And 60,000 police and soldiers are to be deployed across France
:11:37. > :11:44.I spoke to an expert on countering terrorism. I asked whether he
:11:45. > :11:49.thought cancelling the New Year's fireworks was the right decision The
:11:50. > :11:54.Government would not have taken that decision if they did not believe
:11:55. > :11:57.that it was necessary, you know, the authorities look at intelligence,
:11:58. > :12:02.they examine it. Determine the level of threat. I think they have found
:12:03. > :12:06.and determined that it was at such a level that warranted cancelling the
:12:07. > :12:11.event, and you know, otherwise, they probably would not have been able to
:12:12. > :12:16.guarantee the safety of the people who would be attending the New
:12:17. > :12:22.Year's gathering. What do you think is IS's strategy at the moment, in
:12:23. > :12:27.targeting people in these particular countries over the New Year
:12:28. > :12:32.festivities? I think IS's strategy for the New Year's and the holidays
:12:33. > :12:39.and moving forward for the next year, 2016, comes in the context of
:12:40. > :12:42.what IS's are experiencing. We know they have Gloucester triin both Iraq
:12:43. > :12:47.and Syria, although you know, they still hold on to quite a bit of her
:12:48. > :12:53.tri, but nonetheless, it seems as though there is momentum against IS,
:12:54. > :12:57.and IS's strategy is to show it is not on the defence, it continues to
:12:58. > :13:01.go on the offensive. Therefore, attacks in the west, if they can
:13:02. > :13:07.pull them off, they have, you know, the resources to do so, then, you
:13:08. > :13:11.know, those would help, in shaping perceptions, not just global
:13:12. > :13:18.perceptions but people who support IS are the leadership of IS wants to
:13:19. > :13:25.sustain the perception they are on the march and not being defeated.
:13:26. > :13:29.Still to come, a run up of the sports news so stay with us here on
:13:30. > :13:34.BBC World News. Now a couple from Reading who were
:13:35. > :13:38.found guilty of planning a bomb attack in London to mark the tenth
:13:39. > :13:42.anniversary of the July 7th attacks have been given life sentences at
:13:43. > :13:48.the Old Bailey. Mohammed Rehman was told he would spend at least 27
:13:49. > :13:53.years in prison. Sana Khan who was given a minimum of 25 years had
:13:54. > :13:57.written to the judge expressing remorse. An 86-year-old man has
:13:58. > :14:05.appeared in court accused of murdering his wife at care home.
:14:06. > :14:08.Rita King was shot dead at the home in Walton-on-the-Naze on Monday.
:14:09. > :14:16.Ronald King has been remanded in custody and is due to appear before
:14:17. > :14:19.a Crown Court judge tomorrow. Oliver Letwin has apologised for offensive
:14:20. > :14:24.comments he maids about black people in 80s. In a memo to Margaret
:14:25. > :14:27.Thatcher released by the National Archives, the MP wrote that black
:14:28. > :14:37.entrepreneur would only set up businesss in the disco and drug
:14:38. > :14:42.trades. This is BBC World News. The latest
:14:43. > :14:46.headlines. The American comedian Bill Cosby
:14:47. > :14:52.appears in court in Pennsylvania after being charged with an alleged
:14:53. > :15:01.sexual assault 12 years ago. The New Year fireworks in Brussels have been
:15:02. > :15:06.cancelled, due to security reasons. Hundreds of self stied Islamic State
:15:07. > :15:09.fighters are believed to be hiding out in Ramadi, even after Iraqi
:15:10. > :15:13.forces claimed control of the territory on Sunday evening. Since
:15:14. > :15:17.then, more than 50 families apparently forced to stay in the
:15:18. > :15:25.city have been evacuated by the Iraqi Army. A council official from
:15:26. > :15:34.Anbar province told a Kurdish news site that 80% of the city was
:15:35. > :15:38.destroyed in the battle. Joining me live from New York is Dr Ellie
:15:39. > :15:44.Halliwell. Many thanks for joining us. Ramadi is being described by
:15:45. > :15:49.many journalists as a city that was sacrificed in battle. How would you
:15:50. > :15:53.describe the level of destruction? Well, it is difficult to know until
:15:54. > :15:57.we get more information coming out, and obviously it is very dangerous
:15:58. > :16:01.to go in there and get pictures and direct information at the moment,
:16:02. > :16:05.but certainly what we have seen from the level of destruction elsewhere,
:16:06. > :16:08.and what we have seen from the different videos coming out, from
:16:09. > :16:11.IS, we can imagine that the level of destruction will be very high and
:16:12. > :16:17.will take a long time to recover from. Even before reconstruction
:16:18. > :16:26.proper can begin, you have to secure the air, don't you? Areas are still
:16:27. > :16:33.thought to be littered with IEDs, booby traps. Electricity and water
:16:34. > :16:38.services have been damaged. The clean-up operation is enormous.
:16:39. > :16:42.Quite, and security is key to reconstruction in these case, but
:16:43. > :16:45.for two main reason, partially you can't do reconstruction if you don't
:16:46. > :16:50.have security, you can't get materials in, you can't get people
:16:51. > :16:53.to safely work in rebuilding the city, but also because until that
:16:54. > :16:58.area is secure, you won't get people to come back and really a city is
:16:59. > :17:02.made up of the community f, if you can't ensure it is safe they won't
:17:03. > :17:07.come back. Of course, a city is made up of so much more than the physical
:17:08. > :17:14.buildings. Of course they do have to be rectified, five out of six
:17:15. > :17:18.bridges have been destroyed, all the major infrastructure, but how does
:17:19. > :17:23.one go about rebuilding the life and the soul of the city, if to you
:17:24. > :17:28.like? It is really a balancing act, any time you go to rebuild a place
:17:29. > :17:32.that has been so terribly damaged by conflict, you have to balance out
:17:33. > :17:37.the immediate needs, these kind of, these questions of infrastructure,
:17:38. > :17:42.of water, shelter and so on, with the long erterm needs of security of
:17:43. > :17:47.education and of rebuilding the very communities that once made up the
:17:48. > :17:50.city. Some of the most problematic examples of post-conflict
:17:51. > :17:54.reconstruction of cities we have seen, are those where they end up
:17:55. > :17:58.reactual officialing the decisions Naidan by the conflict. The best way
:17:59. > :18:01.is to go to the communities that live there and let them lead and say
:18:02. > :18:06.we are here to support you in rebuilding the city in the way you
:18:07. > :18:13.want, but let them set their priority, it is empowering for them.
:18:14. > :18:20.A huge task ahead of the rebuilding of Ramadi. Thank you for joining me
:18:21. > :18:28.from New York. Now the sports news. Captain Alistair Cook says he thinks
:18:29. > :18:31.there are "good times ahead' for England after his side beat
:18:32. > :18:33.South Africa by 241 runs They needed six wickets
:18:34. > :18:40.on the final day and wrapped up Man of the Match Moeen Ali dismissed
:18:41. > :18:44.AB De Villiers with just the third ball of the day,
:18:45. > :18:57.one of his seven in the match. Am lamb says he wants to carry on,
:18:58. > :19:01.as South Africa captain, he is under pressure. It's a four Test series.
:19:02. > :19:04.The next starts in Cape Town on Saturday.
:19:05. > :19:07.Saying how hard it is to win away from home.
:19:08. > :19:10.We can't take this victory lightly, we have to be proud of that,
:19:11. > :19:12.you know, the danger is saying how good everything
:19:13. > :19:15.is, and what a great, you know, everything is so rosy,
:19:16. > :19:18.it is very - defeat and victory are close margins, and we won
:19:19. > :19:21.the close margins this game, and the result at the end
:19:22. > :19:24.is exaggerated, and the lads can take a lot from it.
:19:25. > :19:27.Have two days of rest, it is a short turn round to Cape
:19:28. > :19:31.We have to be aware of that, and when you are playing
:19:32. > :19:33.South Africa, and New Year's test, their home of cricket,
:19:34. > :19:43.we know they are going to come back strong.
:19:44. > :19:45.Struggling Sunderland are facing Liverpool in the last Premier League
:19:46. > :19:56.They are inside the last 15 minutes at the Stadium of Light. Plenty of
:19:57. > :20:01.chances for both sides but Liverpool made the breakthrough, with Benteke
:20:02. > :20:04.scoring straight after the break, it is 1-0 to Liverpool at the moment.
:20:05. > :20:06.There were five matches scheduled in the Scottish Premiership,
:20:07. > :20:09.but champions Celtic had their match at Dundee called off
:20:10. > :20:13.That means Aberdeen can go top of the table if they
:20:14. > :20:18.In the early kick-off there were four goals
:20:19. > :20:30.Hamilton equalising twice, but Liam Polworth scored a stunning
:20:31. > :20:58.Real Madrid Manager Rafa Benitez was booed before kick-off
:20:59. > :21:00.at the Bernebeu but praised Cristiano Ronaldo for "carrying
:21:01. > :21:04.He missed a penalty, but scored twice in their 3-1 win
:21:05. > :21:08.That briefly took them top of La Liga, but wins for Barcelona
:21:09. > :21:25.and Atletico Madrid saw them go back to first and second in the table.
:21:26. > :21:28.London's air ambulance is trialling a hand-held scanner that can detect
:21:29. > :21:29.potentially life threatening brain injuries.
:21:30. > :21:32.The device can spot clots on the surface of the brain -
:21:33. > :21:35.that's significant because if they are left untreated they can lead
:21:36. > :21:38.Our medical correspondent Fergus Walsh has the details.
:21:39. > :21:41.For London's air ambulance, speed of diagnosis and treatment
:21:42. > :21:44.of trauma injuries is often the key to whether patients make
:21:45. > :21:48.In spring, it began a year-long trial of this hand-held brain
:21:49. > :21:51.scanner and has since used it on over 60 patients to help
:21:52. > :21:53.determine whether they needed urgent surgery
:21:54. > :22:03.The hand-held device uses harmless infrared light,
:22:04. > :22:09.The light beam penetrates the skull up to three centimetres.
:22:10. > :22:12.A blood clot absorbs light differently to normal brain tissue
:22:13. > :22:18.and the signal is bounced back to the scanner.
:22:19. > :22:21.The whole procedure takes less than two minutes.
:22:22. > :22:24.A green light means normal, a red means that a blood
:22:25. > :22:29.In a hospital setting, it has proved 90% accurate
:22:30. > :22:31.with patients then being given a more detailed CT-scan
:22:32. > :22:38.On London's air ambulance we treat approximately five critically ill
:22:39. > :22:42.The commonest causes of those injuries are road traffic accidents,
:22:43. > :22:45.Many of those people have head injuries and brain injuries
:22:46. > :22:51.So really in all that population, this has potential to give us
:22:52. > :22:53.an earlier diagnosis and institute personalised, optimised treatments.
:22:54. > :22:56.Eight years ago, the BBC reported on trials of an earlier version
:22:57. > :22:59.of the infra scanner in India and the device is now being used
:23:00. > :23:17.by the US Marines to detect battlefield head injuries.
:23:18. > :23:20.of the most pressing issue - such as the conflicts
:23:21. > :23:23.And the importance of Mr Putin as a leader and a personality
:23:24. > :23:26.is manifesting itself in a range of different ways -
:23:27. > :23:38.Steve Rosenburg's been looking at it.
:23:39. > :23:48.Here is an idea for you. How would you like to spend a whole year with
:23:49. > :23:48.Vladimir Putin? Well, now is your chance. Presenting the Putin
:23:49. > :24:33.calendar. 2016. With this calendar, you don't just
:24:34. > :24:38.get pictures of Putin you get his words of wisdom too. This is March.
:24:39. > :24:42.He has a flower up his nose and the words I like all Russian women, I
:24:43. > :24:49.think they are the most talented and the most beautiful. Then, if we
:24:50. > :24:54.flick through to October. Military garb, serious expression, he says
:24:55. > :24:58.no-one will succeed in gaining military superiority, over Russia.
:24:59. > :25:00.And the following month, slightly less serious. Succeed in gaining
:25:01. > :25:02.military superiority, over Russia. And the following month, slightly
:25:03. > :25:06.less serious. Vladimir Putin says "Dogs and I have very warm feelings
:25:07. > :25:11.for one another." Nice. And judging by some of the picture, this is
:25:12. > :25:15.going to be a very big year for Russia, for example August. The Rio
:25:16. > :25:19.Olympics but will Russian athletes be allowed to take part? And then
:25:20. > :25:25.the following month, September. Parliamentary elections. The last
:25:26. > :25:28.time Russians voted for a new Parliament that poll sparked giant
:25:29. > :25:32.anti-Government street protests. Mind you, do you really want this
:25:33. > :25:39.face, a Russian President, staring down at you, day in, day out for 366
:25:40. > :25:47.days? Personally, for my 2016 calendar, I am going to do what a
:25:48. > :25:51.lot of Russians do. And go Chinese. So, 2016, the Year of the Monkey,
:25:52. > :25:57.instead of a whole year of Vladimir Putin.
:25:58. > :26:06.From me and the team, thanks for watching.
:26:07. > :26:12.Hello. December has been a month for record-breaking weather. Back in the
:26:13. > :26:13.Cwmbran floods