10/12/2017 Breakfast

Hello, this is Breakfast,

with Tina Daheley and Christian

Fraser.

Boris Johnson heads into crucial

talks with the President of Iran.

After meeting his opposite number

yesterday, the Foreign Secretary

is due to sit down with

Hassan Rouhani later this morning.

He'll again push for the release

of the jailed British mother

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe,

but she could appear in court later

today on new charges.

Good morning. It is Sunday, December

ten.

Heavy snow and icy conditions

are predicted as temperatures

plummet across large

parts of the UK.

Up to 20 centimetres of snow

are expected in some places.

This is the scene in North Wales.

Stav will have the latest for us.

Good morning. Today is certainly one

to keep across the weather forecast.

Disruptive snow in the forecast. It

is already selling in some places. I

will have all the details shortly.

And getting a degree

in just two years.

The government aims to encourage

more students in England to sign up

for shorter courses.

We'll hear why.

More than just bragging rights at

stake. Today's derby in Manchester

is the biggest game in the Premier

League so far this season.

Good morning.

First, our main story.

The Foreign Secretary,

Boris Johnson, is due to meet

the Iranian President,

Hassan Rouhani, this morning

on the second day of his

visit to the country.

He'll continue to press

for the release of Nazanin

Zaghari-Ratcliffe -

a British-Irainian aid-worker who's

been held prisoner in

the country since April 2016.

She denies charges of trying

to overthrow the Iranian government.

But she faces the possibility

of a further court appearance today

after Mr Johnson appeared last month

to contradict her claim

she was on holiday in Iran

at the time of her arrest.

I am sure it will make a difference.

I'm sure him being there, hymn

raising her case, hymn raising her

case in the context of what's of

other stuff, can only help improve

relations. -- him raising her case,

him raising her case in the context.

Improved relations can only lead to

a better results Ross. I am not

expecting that on Monday morning she

comes back on the plane.

And we will be getting

all the latest analysis

on the situation

in about 10 minutes.

More than 20 Arab League countries -

including close allies

of the United States -

have urged President Trump

to reverse his decision to recognise

Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The resolution, which follows three

days of violence and protests

in the Gaza Strip and West Bank,

says the move is a dangerous

violation of international law.

The league will now ask the UN

Security Council to condemn

Mr Trump's declaration.

A spell of heavy snow is forecast

over parts of Wales,

the Midlands and parts of Northern

and Eastern England.

The Met Office has issued an amber

weather warning for up to 10

centimetres of snow at low levels,

with up to 20 centimetres

on higher ground.

There are fears that some rural

areas could become cut off.

Simon Clemison reports.

It could be a scene from The

SNowman. White the new Green, as you

fly over parts of Wales. Sledge down

it, sculpt it, throw it. It might

not look any different to the snow

which has fallen from Shropshire,

but it is coming from a different

place, and that could mean it has a

much bigger effect. A band of rain,

this time persistent, is drifting in

from the south-west and is set to

push against the cold air,

potentially leading to heavy and

continuous falls across wide areas

of Wales, the Midlands, and in two

northern England, with the

possibility of 20 centimetres

accumulating in some spots. It could

also go further south than

originally thought to Scotland and

Northern Ireland on alert. A fair

amount has already arrived on the

weekend but so far it originated

from showers, covering some towns

but not others. This hospital is

calling on people with 4x4s living

nearby to help ring staff to work,

with the Met Office urging people to

be prepared. For many, for now, the

snow is anything but a problem.

We

have been sledging down the hill and

it is super front.

We don't get snow

very often, we brought the kids out

and it was good fun. Just having

loads of fun in the snow.

The Met

Office says roads, rail and air

delays are likely. The hope will be

that a Sunday will help lessen the

impact, because lots of people are

not at work or school. In fact, they

are here.

That does look fun.

In the last couple of hours the snow

has started falling in the Midlands

This is the scene

on the M5 near Worcester as the band

of wintery showers pushes north.

We can speak now to our news

correspondent Matthew Richards

who is in North Wales

for us this morning.

A very good morning to you, Matthew.

I hope you have enough layers on

underneath air. How much snow has

fallen overnight where you are?

Well, it began snowing here in the

last hour. It is expected to get

heavier over the last few hours --

next few hours. What is making it

worse in places like Wales is that

you can see the snow behind me

largely fell on Friday. We expect

the snow will be even heavier than

that. Up to ten centimetres in most

places, possibly 20 centimetres on

high ground. There is a warning from

the Met Office that some rural areas

could find themselves completely cut

off the roads becoming impassable.

The police are obviously urging

people not to make any unnecessary

journeys and the RAC motoring

organisation says it is expecting to

deal with about 7500 accidents

across the United Kingdom. They say

that if you have to make these

journeys, make sure you are prepared

and you have a smoke it in your car,

including a shovel to help dig your

way out of trouble, a flask to keep

warm drink in and plenty of food. --

snow kit. Across the central part of

the UK we are expecting the snow to

get heavier over the next few hours

for much of the day.

Matthew, for

now, thank you. We will have a

device later on on how to stay safe

in the bad weather. -- device. It is

due to sweep through the country

across the day.

Let us know how the weather

is affecting you this morning.

You can contact us on email,

at [email protected]

or share your thoughts with other

viewers on our Facebook page.

And you can Tweet us

using the hashtag BBCBreakfast.

The equalities watchdog

is to conduct its own review

into the Grenfell Tower fire.

71 people died in the blaze,

in west London in June.

The Equality and Human Rights

Commission is expected to consider

whether the government and the local

council failed in their duty

to protect life.

It will publish its conclusions

in April, before the full findings

of the official inquiry are known.

Students in England

are being encouraged to study

for undergraduate degrees in two

years rather than three.

The University's Minister Jo Johnson

says these shorter courses

will save thousands

of pounds in tuition fees -

even though universities would be

able to charge nearly 2,000 pounds

more per year.

Andy Moore reports.

It was a Conservative manifesto

promised to introduce more to degree

courses. And plenty that plan has

proved tough going. The universities

it will mean major changes to their

schedules, with the prospect of the

same or less money in income. Other

government's own admission, the

pickup so far has been pitiful, with

only 0.2% of students on fast

tracked degrees. The new scheme

would see students paying more for

each individual year of their course

but more than £5,000 less than they

would have done if it had lasted

three years.

It is a fantastic

offer. The same quality degree,

quality assured in exactly the same

way, provided in a more intensive

way. So instead of 30 weeks a year

studying over three years, a really

driven student, a highly motivated

student, could pack in 45 weeks over

two years.

The government says each

student on a two-year course will

save at least £35,000 if you add in

save living costs and a year's extra

earnings to the equation. And they

say demand from students will

persuade universities to offer the

new courses.

Iraq has announced that

its war against so-called

Islamic State is over.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told

a conference in Baghdad that Iraqi

troops were now in complete control

of the border with Syria,

where the last pockets of IS had

been holding out.

The announcement comes days

after Russia said it has defeated

the group in Syria.

The singer-songwriter Chris Rea

collapsed on stage last night

while performing at

a concert in Oxford.

The 66-year-old -

who is best known for writing

'Driving Home for Christmas' -

had a stroke last year.

The ambulance service said it had

taken a patient to hospital,

and he was in a stable condition.

Around 8,000 people braved freezing

conditions in Edinburgh to raise

awareness of homelessness

and rough sleeping.

Last night's Sleep in the Park event

was billed as "the world's

biggest sleepout" and aims to raise

4 million pounds for charity.

The fundraisers were entertained

with music from Liam Gallagher

and John Cleese wrote

and performed a bedtime story.

We have a collective responsibility

of society to stick up for them and

give them a hand out and help them

back onto their feet. Other things

we have learned over the last five

years of with homeless people is

that if you do give them that

chance, they can thrive in the same

way anybody else can.

A newly

discovered money which is believed

to be more than 3000 years old has

gone on display in each of. It is

thought to be that of a senior

official. It was found at a site

close to the Valley of the kings

were many of ancient each of's

Faroes were buried. -- ancient you

jumped's Pharaoh. -- Egypt's

pharoahs.

Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe has spent

almost 20 months in an Iranian jail.

Today she faces the possiblity

of a further court appearance

on new charges, after

the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson

wrongly told the Commons she'd been

in Iran to train journalists

when she was arrested in 2016.

Mr Johnson is expected

to discuss her release

with the Iranian President

during the second day

of his visit to Tehran.

Siavush Randjbar-Daemi

is a lecturer in Iranian History

at Manchester University and joins

us now.

Good to see you. What is your

assessment of Boris Johnson's is it

so far?

Vote sides have been cagey.

Auris Johnston release date brief,

is synced -- is a synced press

statement saying he had frank and

constructive talks with the Iranian

Foreign Minister. The Iranian side

has done less than that. Most of the

Iranian media has focused on other

issues brought up in these talks. It

is clear that these talks are

delicate and complex and neither

side was really publicising them,

for fear of jeopardising the

process.

These meetings are always

transactional. Is there any leverage

that Johnson has over the Iranians

here?

Over the past few weeks, some

form of average has been mooted. For

example, the fact that there is an

ongoing controversy over a payment

that the UK needs to make two Iran

over an order for tanks at the

stroke of the Iranian revolution.

They were never delivered and there

are now wants a hefty payment plus

interest. There are problems

relating to the financial

transaction following the sanctions

against Iran. The Iranian side has

complained, the Speaker of

Parliament, after his meeting with

Mr Johnson, he did state that Iran,

he did bring up the issue of the UK

not doing enough to reconnect Iran

into the international financial

system following the end of

sanctions. So I think that is the

main issue that the Iranians are

bringing up. They are trying to put

across the fact that she is not the

only item on the agenda.

We do know

that she could read you in court

today. How likely do you think it is

that Boris Johnson, the Foreign

Secretary, will be able to secure

her release?

It doesn't look likely

at the moment, judging from the body

language and judging from the sort

of statements that have come out on

both sides. I think at best, he will

seek an incremental improvements,

perhaps at the last minute, the

court case could be suspended. They

will be looking for a roadmap for a

way out rather than a quick

solution.

Is this different, is it

about different elements in the

Iranian regime battling for

suppressing? Is this fee Quds versus

the foreign ministry? What is going

on internally?

Well, from a

factional perspective, the Foreign

Ministry and the Quds have never

been on the same wavelength. The

judiciary is in the hands of

conservative hardliners. The Foreign

Ministry and the Iranian government

are the ones who have really trying

-- been trying to patch up their

relationship with the UK. When

President rani got to power the US

-- UK embassy was closed in Iran.

Now we have an ambassador, all sorts

of activities going on. So there is

an element of a power struggle going

on as well, which adds an additional

layer to the whole case. The issue

with Iranians is that they keep

claiming that she is an Iranian

citizen.

She does have dual

nationality.

That is not recognised

in Orion. They will claim that she

knew that, when she travelled to

Iran. From their point of view,

despite this interest in the UK, it

is still not a bilateral consulate

case. It is a case of the room.

Let's look at the papers. The Sunday

Telegraph, a big week coming up in

Brussels. That summit on Thursday,

the Sunday Telegraph says there is a

bit of a row going on about watchful

alignment actually means. The Brexit

truce that we saw on Friday has been

unravelling as the different

ministers tried to interpret the

wording. The front page of the Mail

on Sunday. Prime Minister had to

separate ministers in bust up at

Commons. The paper says Theresa May

had to step in as the Defence

Secretary Brexit Philip Hammond, the

Chancellor, over cuts to the army.

The full story is in the mail. The

Sunday Times has a picture of

somebody who went for a swim

Serpentine in Hyde Park yesterday. A

bad idea and eastern bridges. This

is the story on the left. An

allegation that bribes were paid by

Labour councillors in a Tower

Hamlets Council for a building, £2

million, allegedly, paid as a bribe

in return for planning permission

for this particular building.

Santa's Slaves - the Mirror claiming

delivery drivers for Amazon are

earning less than the minimum wage.

There's a legal bid to end the

14-hour shifts, they claim with no

breaks.

OK, shall we catch up with Stav? Oh,

he's not with us?

Not quite yet. The

front page of one more paper. I

don't think there's that much more

to say than "Zoe's New Man" of the

Sun On Sunday.

Stav is with us. Lots

to talk about.

Absolutely.

Where are

we seeing the snow, first

to talk about.

Absolutely.

Where are

we seeing the snow, first of all?

Which parts of the country?

OK, it's

falling quite heavily and widely now

across parts of Wales. Let me show

you this polygon where the snow is.

It's changed a little bit. There's

heavy snow further south as well out

of this circle. Generally speaking,

it's north of the M4 corridor where

we're seeing the snow falling south

of it. Milder air is pushing in, so

it's turning to rain. Heavy snow is

falling through central and northern

parts of Wales - in fact,

Sunnybridge has seen 14cm of snow,

and the snowfall rates are really

mounting up here. Heavy snow widely

through the Midlands, and the

northern extent of it could just

reach the Manchester area before

easing back southwards as well. Five

centimetres to ten centimetres quite

widely, and we could be looking at

as much as 20cm over the hills. Like

I mentioned, 14cm already in

mid-Wales. This is the area of heavy

snow through the course of the

morning. It's going to be

treacherous. If you are heading out

early, you really need to bear in

mind that roads really could be

gridlocked as the snow is coming

down pretty heavily now. The other

feature working out across the south

of the country - severe gales

already reaching the far south-west

of England. They're going to blow

through the Bristol Channel, across

southern coasts. 60 miles an hour to

80mph. This will cause disruption as

well. Slightly milder across the

south as gales blow through. Cold

with that snow petering out and

becoming lighter through the course

of the day. For much of Scotland and

Northern Ireland - a fine day. Very

cold, but lots of crisp winter

sunshine. Further wintry showers

continuing across the north of

Scotland. There will be a risk of

ice in places tonight as that snow

continues to ease away. Temperatures

in parts of the highlands could be

down to minus 10, minus 11, maybe

minus 12 Celsius, but less cold

across the south. Still a cold night

to come. On Monday, we're looking at

this feature, which is going to

batter France. Another deep area of

low pressure is going to give a

glancing blow to southern

southeastern parts of the country. A

mixture of rain, sleet and snow,

fairly strong gale-force winds here

too. Quite windy across western

Scotland and Northern Ireland,

feeding showers here. These will

continue to be wintry in places. But

a good chunk of the country looks

fine on Monday, with good spells of

sunshine, and those windy conditions

across the south-east continue to

ease away. Tuesday - much quieter.

We lose that area of low pressure.

Cold, frosty start to most of the

country, but it's going to be a

pleasant day, with crisp sunshine up

and down the UK. 8 degrees across

the south-west. Bear in mind the

weather's going to be very severe

across parts of England and Wales

this morning due to the heavy snow

and then to

this morning due to the heavy snow

and then to severe gales across the

south-west.

Thank you very much. I can see

another bank of snow coming in as

well over his left should there are.

It's going to be cold all the way

through till Wednesday!

Yeah. Do

send us your pictures if you've

woken up and it's white outside your

window - give us a tweet or e-mail

us.

Yep, show us what it's doing

where you are.

We'll be back with

the headlines at 6:30.

Now it's time for The Film Review

with Jane Hill and Mark Kermode.

Welcome to the Film

Review on BBC News.

To take us through this week's

cinema releases

is Mark Kermode.

What have you been watching, Mark?

We have Stronger,

which is a film about the Boston

bombing survivor Jeff Bowman.

Human Flow,

a very affecting documentary

by Ai Weiwei.

And The Dinner -

Steve Coogan and Richard

Gere together at last.

We can discuss that.

We can discuss that.

Stronger, I mean, people

will remember so vividly the Boston

Marathon bombing and this is very

much about the aftermath.

So Jake Gyllenhaal as

a Jeff Bowman, who was

a young Bostonian who was there at

the finishing line and was involved

in the blast and lost both his legs.

And having survived the bombing then

had to rebuild his life both

physically and indeed, mentally.

And deal with the fact

he'd suddenly become

right at the centre

of the

spotlight, which saw him in many

ways as the embodiment of the Boston

Strong mantra.

Here's a clip.

When you're ready,

scooch ahead before you

stand up.

Yeah.

OK.

OK, scooch ahead.

Up, hips back.

Chest up.

Chest up.

Chest up, Chest up.

Good, good, OK?

Good.

It's a little sore.

It's like needles on my legs.

You look awesome.

It looks amazing.

Keep going.

I can't, I can't.

Good job, good job.

Now the story's extraordinarily,

not least because

when he wakes up in hospital

the first thing he does

is say, I saw the bombers.

He wants to pass

on that information.

But what the film is really,

really interested in is

the way in which his

struggle to recover works.

And also his relationship

with his originally on-

off girlfriend and his

mother and his family.

You saw Miranda Richardson

as his mother, who is really, really

terrific.

And I think what central

to it is the film doesn't play him

as a hero, it plays him as somebody

who is in a position, you know,

which they had nothing to do with.

And suddenly find themselves

in the centre of this great personal

struggle and suddenly find

themselves the centre of all this

media attention.

And if you know, on the one hand

doing this very, very

heroic thing, but on the other hand

finding it very hard to cope with

that attention.

What I like about the film

is that it doesn't try and

paint two dimensional pictures.

He has fractious

relationships with his

family, with his girlfriend,

he goes through different phases.

I think what happens

with the movie is it

involves you in the story in a way

that you genuinely believe that what

you're seeing is a

realistic portrayal.

It's not exploitative,

it's melodramatic.

I think it's based

on a book he wrote.

Absolutely.

The details are true.

We've seen enough Hollywood movies

which are doing triumph over

adversity, that do so in a way

that is kind of saccharine and very

sentimental and relies very heavily

on sentimentality and melodrama.

I found this very moving.

There are moments that

make you cry, moments

that make you laugh.

The most important thing

was it seemed honest

it seemed truthful.

It was done in a way

that is low-key enough to never

feel like what it was doing

was exploiting the situation at all.

I was surprisingly moved by it.

It doesn't change

the format of film,

it doesn't do anything

major to the structure,

the kind of story we've seen before.

But it plays it well and played

it in a heartfelt way.

It feels like an honest

endeavour that

was moving and affecting.

The Ai Weiwei film,

your second choice.

Human Flow.

Sadly I haven't seen it yet.

I can only assume that it is

unbelievably, unbearably moving.

It is very moving.

Ai Weiwei is a conceptual

artist, this is about the

current refugee crisis and

the humanitarian disaster unfolding

around the world.

It's a portrait of global

displacement, different

people forced to move from their

homes for horrific reasons.

Shot in 25 countries.

20 countries, 25 film crews.

Some of the footage is hand-held.

Some of it, these extraordinary

aerial shots, drone

shots, of huge numbers of people

moving through incredibly hostile

terrain, refugee camps.

We do get interviews,

we do get discussions,

but the most affecting

stuff is this sort

of image of humanity

on the

move, and the persistence of

barriers and borders and boundaries

and people rather than receiving

welcome facing a wall.

It is a film that has

a cumulative impact over

the course of the movie you do

become overwhelmed by the scope of

this.

But I think, again, it's a very

interesting piece of

film-making because it is using film

to tell the story in a way which is,

you know, specifically visual.

We do get discussions

of these terrifying

subjects as the film plays out.

The stuff that works

less well is when

we see Ai Weiwei talking to some

of the refugees, that the stuff that

actually, we enough,

has less impact than

when you see the scope

of what

the film is depicting,

it's called Human Flow.

OK.

The Dinner.

Yes.

What did you think?

Well...

Hmm.

OK.

It's the latest from Oren Moverman,

and it's adapted from

a novel.

It is the story of the hidden

violence of the bourgeoisie.

It's also one of those things that

asks the question, what would you do

to protect a loved one?

In upstate New York

two chalk and cheese

brothers, played by Steve Coogan

and Richard Gere, you couldn't get

more chalk and cheese.

And their respective

partners, Rebecca Hall

and Laura Linney.

They meet in an upmarket restaurant.

Coogan's character is

tetchy and awkward and

difficult.

Richard Gere is a smooth politician.

But there is a terrible family

secret they have to discuss.

Here is a clip.

This is long overdue.

What were you talking about?

We were just enjoying one of those

awkward pauses, as they say.

Not talking about anything.

Not talking about anything.

Well we're going to talk tonight.

Put it all on the table.

There's a lot going on.

Are you OK?

Don't.

Perhaps there's a better table.

It's really, it's all

right, we're fine here.

Actually, actually,

the other room I think is

better.

As private as a fish tank.

There's something wrong,

let me check, just a second.

I actually agree.

I'm not moving.

What's interesting

about this is this

discussion they're not having,

that they move towards having,

plays out over the courses

of this

ridiculously elaborate dinner.

Each course is,

you know, described by

the maitre d' in incredible terms.

At the centre of the discussion is

this hidden secret about something

which has happened

with their children.

And I think the film has got

really good performances.

Great cast, really

good ensemble cast.

Oren Moverman got a very good

performance out of Richard Gere

previously in a film

in which Richard Gere

is playing a homeless man.

Actually, Ai Weiwei got a really

good performance out of him.

The problem with the film to some

extent is it probably two courses

too long, it's two hours and it

should be 89 minutes.

When we at the table,

when that kind of...

The unspoken arguments are sort

of broiling and seething away

I think it works rather well.

It then has this kind

of flashback structure in

which it moves back to events

in the past and we see

things unfolding from lots

of different perspectives.

To me, that works

slightly less well.

I'm some people have really

taken against the movie.

One of the reasons

is, they're pretty

claustrophobic company.

They're not people you

want to spend that much

time in their company because...

Steve Coogan's character

is so difficult, so awkward.

Richard Gere's character

seems to be so

smooth and so smarmy.

Yet during the course

of the drama it does play

with our expectations of how each

character's motivations will fall.

It's flawed, no question about it,

and it is at least two courses too

long, but in the middle of it

there is a main course

which is well worth trying.

I think I absolutely killed the food

metaphor stone dead now.

We've done it but we knew

what you meant by it.

Let's not do it again.

I'm so delighted you have chosen

this, because it encouraged me to

see it again, a film I haven't seen

probably since I was at university.

A Matter of Life and Death.

An absolute delight.

One of the greatest

movies ever made.

It made immediately

in the aftermath of the

war, the Ministry of information

said to Powell and Pressburger,

could you please make a film that

would encourage the Brits and the

Americans to like each other more.

And they came up with A Matter of

Life and Death, which ends up being

a story about this

world and the next.

It's just been rereleased

in a 4K print.

It's so moving.

It starts with David Niven

as a doomed airman,

you know, falling in love

with somebody just on a radio.

Then he evades death

because the emissary

from the other world

coming to get him

gets lost in the fog

of the

channel.

It's a film that plays out

you can either read it as a

psychological drama or read it

as another wordly drama, or you can

just read it as a comedian,

some slightly metaphysical romance.

It's funny and smart

and looks brilliant.

Extraordinary cinematography.

How many times have you seen it?

I think this was only my second.

But you, you know,

effectively forced me to

watch it again this week

and I just thought,

some of the script

is

wonderful.

It's just...

It is, I hate to say

this, the kind of film

they just don't make any more.

Yet it's incredibly future looking.

It does that brilliant thing

of converting the Wizard of Oz,

everything down on earth

is in Technicolor, everything

in the other world is in black

and white, which

inverts what you would

actually expect.

It's one of the greatest

movies ever made.

If not, arguably,

the greatest movie ever made.

And it's out again.

From 1946.

Fantastic.

Very quick thought about DVD.

Atomic Blonde.

I mean basically this

is a sort of, you know, and

adaptation of the graphic

novel Coldest City.

It's a tale of spies and neon.

Charlize Theron is having

an absolute ball in it.

It doesn't make a lot

of sense, but it's very

stylish and it's very entertaining.

It could be, I think

there is a place for,

you know, the stylish,

stylishly empty film,

and this is it.

I enjoyed it very much, though it's

probably a guilty pleasure.

I love that, stylishly empty.

Marvellous.

What a way to end.

Thank you very much,

Mark, see you again

next week.

Plenty to discuss this week,

as we've just proved.

Enjoy your cinema viewing this week.

See you next time.

Bye bye.

Hello, this is Breakfast

with Tina Daheley and Christian

Fraser.

Good morning.

Here's a summary of today's main

stories from BBC News.

That was your bit, by the way,

wasn't it?

That's fine. I will talk

about snow instead.

Heavy snow is hitting the UK.

The Met Office has issued an amber

weather warning for up to 10

centimetres of snow at low levels,

with up to 20 centimetres

on higher ground.

There are concerns that rural areas

could become cut off.

We can speak now to our news

correspondent Matthew Richards

who is in North Wales

for us this morning.

Matthew, how much snow has

there been overnight?

Eight my experience is that

correspondence go out and try to

find the snow and can't find it but

it seems you have hit the jack what?

Yes, we have been very lucky. The

problem here in north wheels is that

lots of the heavy snow that you can

see behind me: Friday. It is a bit

of a double whammy. This snow will

be moving across the centre of the

UK for much of the day. It has been

snowing here for more than an hour

this morning. Up to ten centimetres

in many places. Possibly 20

centimetres in higher parts of

ground where we are. There is a

warning from the RAC that they

expect about seven and a half

thousand accidents on the road

today. And the warning from the

police is not to make any journeys

on this they are absolutely

essential. We are also hearing about

people in hospitals in Shropshire

and north Wales who have been asking

for help, 4x4 drivers in Shropshire

have been asked to help ring medical

staff in. In north Wales blood

supplies have incurred around by

members of the Red Cross. The appeal

for people is that if they are

taking journeys to take a pack with

them that might help them out if

they should get caught. Extra

clothing, warm drink and food. A

snow shovel. Just in case the worst

happens. We have also been hearing

that this should read bad for the

next few hours or so, until early

afternoon.

OK. Matthew, we will stay

in touch with you. Sorry about the

sound quality. Gremlins everywhere,

this morning.

We are also just

hearing that flights have been

temporarily delayed at Birmingham

airport because of the snow. Stav

will be with us in the next 15

minutes with a full weather

forecast.

We have to get a train to

London this afternoon. I don't fancy

our chances, to be honest.

The Foreign Secretary,

Boris Johnson, is due to meet

the Iranian President,

Hassan Rouhani, this morning

on the second day of his

visit to the country.

He'll continue to press

for the release of Nazanin

Zaghari-Ratcliffe -

a British-Irainian aid-worker who's

been held prisoner in

the country since April 2016.

She denies charges of trying

to overthrow the Iranian government.

But she faces the possibility

of a further court appearance today

after Mr Johnson appeared last month

to contradict her claim

she was on holiday in Iran

at the time of her arrest.

I am sure it will make a difference.

I'm sure him being there,

him raising her case,

him raising her case in the context

of lots of other stuff,

can only help improve relations.

And improved relations can only lead

to a better results for us.

But I'm not expecting that on Monday

morning she comes back on the plane.

More than 20 Arab League countries -

including close allies

of the United States -

have urged President Trump

to reverse his decision to recognise

Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The resolution, which follows three

days of violence and protests

in the Gaza Strip and West Bank,

says the move is a dangerous

violation of international law.

The league will now ask the UN

Security Council to condemn

Mr Trump's declaration.

The equalities watchdog

is to conduct its own review

into the Grenfell Tower fire.

71 people died in the blaze,

in west London in June.

The Equality and Human Rights

Commission is expected to consider

whether the government and the local

council failed in their duty

to protect life.

It will publish its conclusions

in April, before the full findings

of the official inquiry are known.

Students in England

are being encouraged to study

for undergraduate degrees in two

years rather than three.

The University's Minister Jo Johnson

says that students taking shorter

courses will save thousands

of pounds in tuition fees and living

expenses, even though universities

would be able to charge nearly £2000

more per year than the current

maximum of just over £1000.

Iraq has announced that

its war against so-called

Islamic State is over.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told

a conference in Baghdad that Iraqi

troops were now in complete control

of the border with Syria,

where the last pockets

of IS had been holding out.

The announcement comes days

after Russia said it has defeated

the group in Syria.

The singer-songwriter Chris Rea

collapsed on stage last night

while performing at

a concert in Oxford.

The 66-year-old - who is best known

for writing 'Driving Home

for Christmas' - had

a stroke last year.

The ambulance service said it had

taken a patient to hospital,

and he was in a stable condition.

Around 8,000 people braved freezing

conditions in Edinburgh to raise

awareness of homelessness

and rough sleeping.

Last night's Sleep in the Park event

was billed as "the world's biggest

sleepout" and aims to raise 4

million pounds for charity.

The fundraisers were entertained

with music from Liam Gallagher

and John Cleese wrote

and performed a bedtime story.

We have a collective responsibility

as society to stick up for them

and give them a hand out and help

them back onto their feet.

All the things we have learned over

the last five years working

with homeless people is that

if you do give them that chance,

they can thrive in the same

way anybody else can.

A so-called bat plague has hit

a rural town in Australia,

where a large colony of flying foxes

out-number residents 25 to one.

The town of Charters Towers

in Queensland is now having

to consider drastic measures

to remove the creatures,

which are protected by national

environemnt laws, including removing

trees and setting up nets.

Residents, who've been

complaining about noise,

say the authorities should

have acted sooner.

First yesterday's matches,

and a huge win for West Brom -

The eucalyptus trees are flowering,

so that is why they have come out.

Presumably that is what they are

eating.

Kind of eerie, to see a sky

full of rats.

They will always be

that a wing of your house that you

want to renovate.

The wing of your

house!

Well, I don't have a wing of

a house, but that is what I always

hear about bats.

So, and massive,

massive day of Sport Today. The

Manchester derby. In the past it has

often been a case of not really

mattering, especially in the last

this really!

It always matters!

Welcome in terms of Manchester, the

red and blue sides, it matters.

Outside Manchester doesn't have much

resonance because London clubs have

in dominating the Premier League.

And we have seen Leicester coming

through as well. This season, it

really does matter. Pep Guardiola

against Jose Mourinho, but also the

top two teams in the Premier League.

There is a feeling that if City

wind...

What is the difference, in

Lebanon five?

Exactly. And it is

always that statistic, the team that

wins and is top of the table at

Christmas is more likely to go on

and win the Premier League. Anyway,

I'll be showing you more about that.

I have in doing a big piece on the

derby today. That's take a look at

it yesterday's matches.

First yesterday's matches,

and a huge win for West Brom -

they beat Chelsea -

a first win for them under

David Moyes too.

Marko Arnotovic's first goal

for the club arrived in just

the sixth minute, but it proved

enough to beat the reigning

Premier League Champions

at London Stadium.

Despite the win West Ham remain

in the bottom three.

What a great result for us. We

needed to find one of the results,

we can really close against City.

Don't get me wrong. Tough today,

Chelsea kept us under pressure. We

scored a good goal and played well

at times in the first half and if we

had been a bit it with the ball a

couple of times in the second half I

think we might have got another

goal.

Tottenham ended a run of four games

without a league win by thrashing

Stoke City 5-1.

An own goal from Stoke captain

Ryan Shawcross put Spurs ahead

in the first half.

Son Hueng-Min got

the second at Wembley

and Harry Kane scored twice as Spurs

moved above North London neighbours

Arsenal into fifth.

Jermain Defoe scored

twice for Bournemouth

against Crystal Palace

at Selhurst Park, his second

was a cracker.

But the story of the game

can in the closing

stages, Christian Benteke missed

the penalty which would have given

Palace all three points.

2-2 it finished, but manager

Roy Hodgson was angry as Benteke

should not have taken

the spot-kick.

Weaver management decided on the

penalty. We don't expect players to

change those decisions in the course

of the game. Unfortunately we are

not on the pitch. If it was a

training session we could have done

something about it but we are a

Premier League game and it was a

long way from it. Although we tried

to shout out instructions they'll be

seeded and get as far as the penalty

spot.

-- they obviously didn't yet

as far. -- get.

And Swansea City are off

the bottom of the table.

A late goal from captain

Wilfried Bony gave them a vital win

over West Brom to ease the pressure

on head coach Paul Clement.

There were also wins

yesterday for Burnley,

Huddersfield and Leicester.

In the Scottish Premiership Rangers

had to come from behind as they beat

Ross County 2-1 at Ibrox.

There were 1-0 wins for both

Saint Johnstone and Hearts

while Kilmarnock thrashed

Partick Thistle 5-1.

In Rugby Union's European Champions

Cup a Toulon try in the closing

stages condemned Bath to their first

defeat of the group stage.

The two sides were level

at the top of Pool 5 the start

of the day.

Bath had led twice,

but Anthony Bellow went over

for Toulon with four

minutes left on the clock.

They play each other

again next week.

Elsewhere there were wins

for the Welsh sides -

Scarlets and Ospreys.

Ronnie O'Sullivan remains on course

to equal Steve Davis's record of six

UK Championships -

he's through to the final

against Shaun Murphy later today.

The Rocket held off a late fightback

from Stephen Maguire

to win 6-4 after taking

a 4-frames-to-nil lead.

Meanwhile 2008 winner Murphy beat

Welshman Ryan Day 6-3 in the other

semi-final.

James DeGale lost his IBF Super

middleweight title in London last

night, after being beaten by big

underdog Caleb Truax

on a split decision.

The former Olympic Champion

was clearly not at his best,

and took a barrage of punches

in the fifth round.

And while he hung on,

the American unsettled De Gale -

and was the victor on 2

of the 3 judges scorecards.

Now you might remember Billy Monger,

the teenage racing car driver

who had to have his lower legs

amputated after a crash

back in April.

He can now walk again,

with prosthetic legs after spending

several months in a wheelchair.

He was presented with a special

award during end of year

prize-giving by motorsports'

governing body the FIA.

After which he revealed he's aiming

for a competitive return to action

next year.

Some rulings that were in place

before about single seat is not

being an option for disabled drivers

have been overruled. My plan is to

get back into a single seater

racecar for 2018.

In what?

Hopefully

British F3, I think. That is the

plan.

Just a remarkable story, to

see him back on his feet. And to the

behind the wheel of a car, really

special.

Let's get back to the Manchester

Derby which kicks off at half four.

The top two teams in

the Premier League going head

to head, although eight points

separate leaders City and United.

I've had a foot in both camps this

week to look ahead to the biggest

game of the season so far.

At faithful -- for the City faithful

there has been a lot to cheer for

the season. One of the favourites

for the title, and seemingly

unstoppable domestically. They have

won 13 consecutive games in the

Premier League, equalling the

record. They have not lost since the

beginning of April, when they were

beaten by Chelsea. So far this

season they have dropped just two

points, scoring more goals than any

other team.

How much does that

record of consecutive wins play on

your mind, if at all, and do you

think about that at all?

No,

absolutely nothing. So... If you are

going to play one game, just think,

in the record, you forget what you

have to do to win the games. It

means we won. Sooner or later the

record is going to be broken. So...

Yeah, it is what we have to do to

win the game, that is my concern.

For so long they were Manchester's

second sight. As recently as 1999,

City were down in the third tier and

struggling. Fast forward a decade,

and shake Mozilla at his Abu Dhabi

billions took over in 2008. --

Sheikh Mansour. It took them for

years to win their first Premier

League title. Their second game in

2014. For those who have followed

their 's and downs, there is a buzz

about this common -- this current

generation. Expectation that City

will be the Manchester side.

Write

their way through the side, the

control of the ball, the passing of

the ball, the accuracy of the

passing, the confidence and elite in

each individual player, I've never

seen anything like that before in my

career as a football.

So for

Manchester City the stakes are high.

Win this weekend, and they will set

a new Premier League record for

consecutive wins in one season. And

they could set themselves up for a

third Premier League title and usher

in a new era of dominance. But

United have their own records to

preserve. 40 matches unbeaten at Old

Trafford. 41 on Sunday would be a

new high. The last time they lost

here at home, was in 2016. Who beat

them then? City.

For the people born

in the city, and feeling the cause

in that good, positive rivalry, I

think it is a special match.

Whether

you are red or blue or not even from

Manchester at all, this derby is not

just a special occasion. It is the

biggest game of the Premier League

season so far.

Yes, so much of the back that it is

the top two teams in the Premier

League, but all those records are at

stake as well. And Pep Guardiola is

saying he is not even thinking about

how they could break the Premier

League record for consecutive wins,

but there is so much hanging on it.

They are also saying it is supposed

to be the most watched Premier

League game in history. 1 billion

people are expected to watch and 189

countries.

There you go, another

record at stake.

Extraordinary.

Where is your money?

City.

Because

Paul Pogba is suspended?

I think

that will be a factor, but the way

they have been playing this season

they have looked untouchable. They

have just gelled together so well.

They have that ability to take it

away very quickly, don't they?

Yes,

it is almost European football, like

Italians that all in its heyday, all

about possession.

You should stay

neutral!

It is never easy and the

Theatre of dreams.

You can never

write off Manchester United at Old

Trafford. But for me, City are the

better side at the moment.

We will

see how many gloves are on today,

because it is a cold one.

Freezing temperatures continue to

cause hazardous roads across the UK.

The Local Government Association has

urged households to show extra

vigilance and ensure friends,

relatives and neighbours are safe

during the cold water. Barbara

Murray joins us now in the studio, a

GP. Good to see you.

Good morning.

Wrapped up warm?

Very much. It's

real bitter out there now.

Yeah.

What can people do to keep

themselves safe when it is this

cold? Cold weather is expected in

December but, in some parts of the

UK, it's hitting minus double

figures.

Obviously we all know about

keeping warm, but the people we need

to focus on, really, are the

elderly, who are particularly

vulnerable. As we get older, the

thermostat in the body doesn't work

as efficiently, and much more likely

to suffer with hypothermia and, as

the temperatures drop. If the

temperature outside is, say, less

than eight degrees, there's a

greater risk of heart attacks,

strokes, and falls. Not just because

they're slipping on the ice, but the

colder we are, the less agile we are

and more like 3 trip over things in

the house. So looking at - just

looking at the whole environment in

the house, keeping one room, in

particular, warm - sitting in the

living room with the door shut -

it's very expensive, heating a

house, so if you can afford to just

keep that one room warm, wear lots

of layers - because we trap warm air

between different layers, so natural

cottons and fibres, wool, hands,

extremities, feet - wear a hat, lots

of hot drinks, fill a hot water

bottle - all of those sorts of

things... Eat well, have the flu jab

- that's particularly important...

Does it work?

Well, it does work,

this year there's a little bit of

controversy about the efficacy of

this year's flu. It might only be

30% effective. But as somebody said

to me, 30% is better than nothing.

It is really important, because

there are an extra 8,000 deaths a

year from flu each year, and 25,000

deaths every year as a result of the

cold weather.

When you say have the

flu jab, do you mean everybody, or

just vulnerable people?

Well,

vulnerable people in particular can

have the flu jab for free. Or you

could pay for the flu jab, if you

think that you're likely to be in an

environment where you're at risk.

Something that people don't actually

realise is - if you're a carer, so

if you're looking after somebody,

you can go on a list at the doctor's

surgery and have a free flu jab,

because protecting yourself protects

the person you're looking after. So

health care workers, for example, or

somebody who's caring for a relative

at home, should have the flu jab.

That's really important. Children,

particularly, are super spreaders.

So if we can...

Don't I know it!

LAUGHS

I've got everything that my two have

got.

Exactly. If you can stop the

children from spreading the flu,

you're protecting everybody else.

Yeah.

Those are the sorts of things.

Keeping stocked up with food. You

can freeze milk, for example - I

didn't realise this - in a plastic

bottle, take the top off, let a

little bit out because it expands in

the freezer - if you're trapped

somewhere in the middle of the

countryside and can't get out, have

a couple of pints of milk frozen.

You can freeze bread, freeze

cheese... Always have...

It's one of

those days, though, isn't it? If

you've got an old person next door

you might not drop in on very

regularly, just nip in and check

they have food in the fridge so they

don't have to go out. It's one of

those days, isn't it?

We might see

people who have relatives looking

after them. Those relatives might

not be able to get to them. We

shouldn't make assumptions that

everybody is being cared for. A

daughter may not be able 32 look

after their relatives. Think who

lives nearby, be proactive, and

knock on the door or...

If you pop

into the shops, it might be easy to

say, "I can pick up some stuff for

you as well."

Exactly. Exactly.

Barbara, thank you very much.

If you

are just joining us, I should remind

you that flights are suspended at

the moment at Birmingham Airport. It

is falling quite in the Midlands at

the moment. We'll get the Highways

Agency on after 7:00, and bring you

up to date with what's happening on

the roads. Stav has the weather for

us this morning. You've got some

the roads. Stav has the weather for

us this morning. You've got some

useful information where the snow is

falling?

That's right. It is falling

very heavily now. This forecast is

coming off correctly, which is

always very good news.

Amber - be

prepared - Met Office warnings in

force for very heavy snow affecting

parts of the Midlands and Wales. The

current snow depths are already

piling up. It could be even bigger

than this in Sunnybridge at the

moment - 14cm there, likely to

continue to pile up here. We could

be looking at as much as 20cm in

places. This is the amber warning

area - central-northern Wales,

widely into the Midlands, and across

some eastern Midlands areas as well.

Generally to the south, it's turning

to rain, but in the heavier bursts

of rain, we could see wet snow

falling, for example, in the Bristol

area - heavy rain moving in through

the course of the morning. So, very

heavy snow here for the next few

hours. As we head through the course

of the morning, that snow will

continue. It's almost stalled in

places - the snow is going to fall

over the same area for quite a while

- but it will gradually start to

become lighter and patchier as the

morning wears on. The next hazard

we're looking at is southern

southwestern parts of the country.

South Wales through the Bristol

channel Channel -- Bristol Channel,

60mph to 80mph - that's going to

cause disruption as well, along with

the snow. Really severe weather this

morning across much of England and

Wales. Across the north of the UK,

though, you'd be wondering what all

the fus is about. For much of

Scotland, snowshowers across the

north highlands, Northern Ireland,

far north of England - dry, very

cold, but plenty of crisp, winter

sunshine. Hazardous conditions

remain in place. Roads will be

treacherous. Light snow will

continue on into the evening first

part of the night. Ice will be a

massive hazard as well, across areas

where temperatures are really

falling away in central-northern

parts. Temperatures lower than this

in some rural areas. We could be

looking at minus 10 to minus 12

Celsius over the snowfields of the

highlands and Grampians. Into

Monday, we're looking to the south -

this area of low pressure will bring

damaging winds to parts of France

for us, we'll see wet and windy

weather across central, southern and

southeastern parts. We could see

wintrithesis, particularly over the

south Downs. It will eventually

clear away. For most parts, a strong

northerly breeze. Fine, with crisp

winter sunshine. Again, watch out

for the ice. It will be a cold one.

Tuesday looking much quieter. We're

in between weather systems. A cold,

frosty start - watch out for ice

again - but temperatures generally

in low single figures. Milder air

pushing in towards the south-west

with thickening cloud. Watch out for

this very heavy snow over the next

few hours, already causing problems

across parts of

few hours, already causing problems

across parts of Wales and central

parts of England.

A box-set day! Watch the box set,

watch the football.

Stay in.

Teachers are calling for highly

caffeinated energy drinks

to be banned from schools.

They've been described as a form

of "legal high"

by one of the largest

teaching unions,

who say they are

fuelling bad behaviour.

Adrian Goldberg from

Five Live Investigates joins us.

Good morning.

Good morning.

What's

the problem with these energy

drinks?

Well, it is the level of

both sugar and of caffeine in these

drinks. In theory, there is a code

of conduct which means that the

drinks should not be targeted at

under-16-year-olds. But research

carried out by academics in the

north-east of England, led by

Newcastle University, has found that

children as young as ten are highly

aware of these drinks, and as many

as a third of children aged between

10 and 18 drink an energy drink at

least once a week. Many of them,

though, drink more than that. So

you've got incredibly high levels of

sugar - I looked at one can this

week, about that high, and we're

talking about 20 lumps of sugar in

that particular can.

How is that

allowed?!

Then you've got the

caffeine, which of course for young

people can lead to insomnia and,

according to the teachers, the NAS

UWT union - talking about the

possibility of bad behaviour as

well. So you've got these drinks

which shouldn't, in theory, be

marketed at under 16-year-olds. But

under 16-year-olds believe they are

marketed at them. That's what the

research shows. Very often it's on

the internet - you get acts of

daring-do, bravery, incredible

feats, sponsored by a well-known

energy brand. Youngsters ten and

upwards seeing these videos on

YouTube and thinking, "Wow, that's a

cool thing to do," but obviously

it's associated with a well-known

energy drink.

And it's linked to

studying, exams...

It's clear that

young people do take them for that.

They think, "It's going to give me

an extra boost here." The academics

we've spoken to say that boost is

actually short-lived - once you've

got used to a certain level of

consumption of energy drink, after

that, well, you need to take more

energy drinks just to get back to

the boost that you enjoyed in the

first place. I went to a school in

Liverpool this week which has

actually banned the consumption of

energy drinks, and they say the

behaviour of children at that school

over the last two years since the

drinks were banned has markedly

improved. So...

What's the spin from

the manufacturers of these drinks?

It's quite interesting. The body

that represents many of the major

brands says, "There is a voluntary

code of conduct which we sign up

to."

"Voluntary" being the key word.

Where they say they don't target

under 16-year-olds, they say

regulatory authorities around the

world have deemed the ingredients of

energy drinks to be safe. You pay

your money, you take your choice.

Adrian, thank you very much. You can

hear more on that story on Five Live

Investigates on BBC Radio Five Live

at 11:00.

On a bicycle, Sir Bradley Wiggins

was a born winner -

and he has the trophy

cabinet to prove it.

After retiring from cycling last

year, he's now hoping to make it

as an elite rower.

But his first competitive event

didn't go according to plan,

as David McDaid reports.

Velodrome. Check.

Crowd - check.

Olympic champion cyclist - check.

He's the one in blue with the long

hair.

Now, we're used to seeing Sir

Bradley Wiggins do this. But on this

visit to the London Olympic

velodrome, the bike was missing -

instead, an unfamiliar challenge,

and an unfamiliar look, too. Wiggins

had come to the British Rowing

Indoor Championships - the first

step for the retired cyclist on the

way to maybe becoming an Olympic

rower. His aim over two kilometres

was to get close to 6:05, but a

stumble early on had him playing

catch-up. The effort to get back in

the mix plain to see. In the end, it

was 19th place and 6:22 - not quite

what he had in mind, and

was 19th place and 6:22 - not quite

what he had in mind, and off he

went.

He stopped, but he shouldn't

have. It only cost him a second or

two, but I'm sure it knocked him out

of his rhythm. What that led to, you

don't know, but it wasn't ideal.

The

International Rowers, though, were

happy to welcome Wiggle-mania.

Having Brad here getting the eyes of

the British sporting fans watching

what everyone's up to in this world

of rowing is really good. So, yeah,

compared to last year, the media

interest is through the roof. I

think it's - the more interesting

rowing, the better. So it's good.

But what about the notion of Wiggins

at the 2020 Olympics in a boat?

The

reality is that, since I stopped,

it's moved on. The guys are getting

bigger, and he's at the small end of

the market and, at the moment, with

no experience. So, no Briton had won

the Tour de France, had they?

So

Wiggins may not be there yet, but

Wiggins may not be there yet, but

the message - watch this space.

Yeah. If I know Bradley Wiggins -

born competitor - he will get better

at that.

Oh, he absolutely will. No

doubt.

It won't be long before he's

somewhere in the top three, no

doubt. Let's remind you about the

weather - it is snowing in large

parts of the country at the moment.

Across the Midlands, in particular -

Birmingham Airport is closed.

Flights suspended at the moment. The

airport's open, but flights are

suspended.

Pretty heavy. It started

snowing there in the past few hours.

Coming up, we'll be speaking to the

Highways Agency. They'll be giving

advice on what to do if you are

planning to drive today. If you're

out and about on the roads, and also

we'll speak to a doctor about how

you can stay safe in the snow. Do

keep sending us your snow pictures

if it's snowing where you are.

Some

people are asking if the Manchester