16/12/2017 Breakfast

Hello, this is Breakfast,

with Naga Munchetty and Charlie

Stayt.

Feeling the Christmas pressure.

Emergency services face

their busiest weekend of the year.

Extra ambulance crews,

control room staff, and thousands

of volunteers are tackling

the surge in demand.

Good morning, it is

Saturday 16 December.

Also this morning:

A country at a crossroads.

The ruling party in South Africa

prepares to pick a new leader,

amid allegations of bribery,

infighting and corruption.

More than 400 square miles

of California has now been

burned by wildfires.

More than 8,000 people

are fighting the blaze.

In sport: Whacked around the Waca.

Captain Smith smashes 150,

to suck the hope out of England

on the third day of the third Test,

and now has his eye

on a first-innings lead.

# Why, why, why, Delilah?

And I have been looking

into the power of song on the sports

field, and giving it a go myself.

And Stav has the weather.

Good morning to you. This weekend is

a tale of two hubs. We are starting

the week on a cold, frosty note.

Plenty of sunshine, and then

tomorrow it looks cloudier, breezy

and wetter, but a bit milder. I will

have all the details for you in

about 15 minutes.

Good morning.

First, our main story: Emergency

services are expecting this weekend

to be one of the busiest

of the year, as towns and city

centres are packed with

Christmas revellers.

Extra ambulance crews were brought

in ahead of last night,

amid concerns that so-called

Mad Friday, the most popular day

for work Christmas parties,

would see a surge of alcohol-fuelled

incidents.

Michael Cowan reports.

It is one of the busiest nights of

the Year 4 hour emergency services,

so much so that London's ambulance

service are bringing in an extra 30

cruise.

We are going to be

incredibly busy this weekend, and we

will take lots of 999 calls from

patients who have suffered the

effects of alcohol. That puts a

massive strain on our system. So

that will mean that we divert Anne

Kylloenen services away from

patients, potentially leaving

patients on the floor with a broken

hip or a baby with a broken arm in

order to attend to those patients

that present is immediately

life-threatening.

The pubs are

packed in opponents board but with

many of us drink to excess the

festive period, ambulance services

across the country have to bring in

scores of extra staff, and that puts

huge pressure on our emergency

services. In Bath, locals have

banded together on volunteer boat

patrols along the River Avon to

support the stretched emergency

services, and they are saving lives.

We asked him how do you get in

there? I'm not sure, I have been

drinking. We took him away to

hospital. After that we are not sure

what will happen, in terms of

whether he will need further

treatment.

And if you hadn't been

here?

Probably dead.

In Scotland's

party capital of Glasgow, pastors

have been out patrolling the

streets.

It is the volume of people

coming into a town. It is the fact

that some people, this is their

annual night out in Glasgow. They

are not used to the city centre,

they are not used to drinking, they

are not used to the temperature.

And, with the Knight said to be busy

again, emergency services are asking

people to drink responsibly, as they

deal with one of their most

difficult periods of the year. --

tonight.

The future of South Africa will be

decided this weekend,

as the country's ruling party

chooses a new leader to replace

Jacob Zuma, who faced constant

allegations of corruption

during his decade in charge.

The tense leadership battle has

raised fears the ANC could split

before the general election in 2019.

Virginia Langeberg reports.

With Jacob Zuma stepping down

as leader of the ANC,

South Africa is left

at a virtual crossroad.

Ever since 1994, the first election

where people of every race

were allowed to vote,

the ANC has won overwhelmingly.

But now, for the first time

in more than two decades,

there is the possibility

South Africans could turn their back

on the party that led their country

towards liberation.

Jacob Zuma's presidency has been

plagued with allegations

of corruption, since

he took office in 2009.

Public protests have been held

over his handling of the economy,

and he has survived eight

no-confidence votes in parliament.

The incoming ANC leader will not

only need to regain the trust

of voters, but also unite the party.

We have called on all our members

and delegates to ensure that you

need to have a confidence. The ANC

and the country must emerge as the

winners.

Whoever comes out on top of the ANC

leadership battle in the coming days

will be well placed to become

the country's president in 2019.

It is at a time when South Africa

has faced two economic recessions

in less than one decade,

unemployment stands at more

than 27%, and gross national

debt at $150 billion.

Milton Nkosi joins us

now from Johannesburg.

Good morning, good to see you. So

today, you know, we see this

build-up to a new leader. But the

country concerned about how this

leader takes it forward.

Yes indeed.

There are over 5000 delegates who

will be voting here at the ANC

conference. We are right at the

venue now, and it is due to start in

just over an hour. The country has

been split down the middle,

particularly in the ANC, in terms of

who is going to succeed President

Jacob Zuma as party leader.

Remember, he stays in office as head

of state until 2019. He is just

stepping down as the president of

the African National Congress,

having served for ten years.

And the

successor, Milton, of course that is

what is important, and how that

successor is likely to be the leader

of the country, move South Africa

on.

Yes indeed. There are two

possible successors. One is his

deputy president, Cyril Ramaphosa,

the man who went with Nelson Mandela

to negotiate the end of white

minority rule in South Africa in the

early 1990s. And the other is

President Jacob Zuma's former wife,

Doctor Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

Thank

you so much for those details.

Former prime minister David Cameron

is taking on a new Government-linked

role, as the UK and China step up

cooperation on investment.

In a statement from the Chancellor,

who is in Beijing for a second day

of talks, it says Cameron will be

involved in a new $1 billion

fund to invest in the UK,

China and other countries

Wildfires in southern California

are continuing to burn out

of control, scorching an area

larger than New York City

and Paris combined.

Firefighters are now preparing

to defend towns along the Pacific

coast, as fierce winds are forecast

to whip up the flames,

which have so far burned 400

square miles in 12 days.

Our correspondent James Cook

is in the town of Fillmore,

which is under threat from the fire.

12 days on, and still it burns.

More than 8,000 men and women

are now battling this blaze,

saving homes one by one.

Not far from here, the fire claimed

the life of 32-year-old

Cory Iverson, a firefighter,

a father, and a husband.

He is survived by his wife, Ashley,

his two-year-old daughter Evie.

Cory and Ashley are expecting

a second daughter this spring.

The fire has destroyed homes, too,

more than 700 of them.

Two apartment blocks and two

hotels also burnt down,

and another 18,000

buildings remain at risk.

This is one of five homes

in this tiny neighbourhood

which was destroyed when the flames

swept through here so fast that

firefighters had

to abandon the area.

Which ones survived

and which were destroyed

was a matter of pure luck.

Aaron Lawson and his family

were among the lucky ones.

Their home was scorched but it

survived, thanks in part

to neighbours, who lost everything

but stayed to fight the fire.

The most rewarding thing,

I think, is seeing them.

Some of the guys who lost

their houses were working

side-by-side with us

to keep our house safe

those first few days.

All week they have been raising to

contain the fire.

And, with more gusty winds forecast,

firefighters say they expect

the battle to intensify.

Austria is set to become the only

country in Western Europe

to have a far-right

party in government.

The conservative People's Party,

which won the parliamentary election

two months ago, but failed

to secure a majority,

has struck a coalition deal

with the anti-immigration Freedom

Party.

The head of the People's Party,

Sebastian Kurz, who is 31,

will be the youngest national

leader in the world.

The billionaire founder

of a pharmaceuticals company

and his wife have been found dead

at their home in Canada.

Barry Sherman set up his company,

Apotex, in the 1970s,

and was a prominent philanthropist.

Police have described the couple's

deaths as suspicious,

but say they are not searching

for anyone in connection

to the incident.

Severn Trent Water has apologised

to customers in Tewksbury

who are still without water

due to a burst main.

The company said a wide

area has been affected,

and it was a complicated job to get

the system back to normal.

Severn Trent has been handing out

water to around 10,000 homes

and businesses that have

been left without water.

It is the second major leak to hit

the utility in recent months.

If you have a spare £500,000 sitting

around you could be the proud owner

of a rare skeleton of a woolly

mammoth. Discovered about ten years

ago in Siberian permafrost, it goes

to auction in France today. You will

need quite a lot of house to fit it

in. It is 3.5 metres tall, and the

tasks are more than three metres in

length. The animals lived alongside

early man but became extinct more

than 10,000 years ago.

The winner of the Comedy Wildlife

Photography competition has been

announced, and we just had to show

you the pictures this morning.

This photo of an owl

losing its footing on a branch won

the overall prize, while the winner

in the Land category

was this laughing dormouse.

A photobombing sea turtle won

the award for the Under The Sea

category, and other highlights

include these two cheeky monkeys,

a baby polar bear, and these seals.

Sorry if I am being a bit quiet. It

took me a while to work out what was

going on.

That is your face,

Charlie, when we see something

shocking. I love those photos. They

are going to be rolled out again.

Fabulous. Are the front pages as

interesting?

The front page of the

Daily Mail, the announcement about

the royal wedding, of course, was

made yesterday. 19 May is the date

and the Daily Mail musing over the

choice of the day because it does

clash with the FA Cup final day. So

what a right royal own goal,

although you would have to assume

that they did no that was the

decision they were taking. -- did

know. We don't know whether Prince

William will be at the FA Cup final

or his brother's wedding, I assume

the wedding. The housing chief has

resigned over an obscene bonus, on

the Daily Mail. Has quit over the

role on this lucrative share scheme

and the role at the chair had was in

orchestrating a £100 million plus

bonus for the chief executive. The

picture here is Mira Sorvino, who

was blacklisted by the director of

the Lord of the rings trilogy, Peter

Jackson, who has said he did this

after he had been told by Harvey

Weinstein or Harvey Weinstein's

Company that Mira Sorvino was a

difficult person to work with, and

she is now saying that because of

that Harvey Weinstein derailed her

career. The Daily Telegraph, a

picture of Prince Harry yesterday

but the main story, eight in ten

rural homes and businesses can't get

a good mobile 4G signal. It has been

an ongoing issue, referred to many

times on BBC Breakfast, problems

with people getting decent 4G mobile

phone signals. This story caught the

eye of many yesterday. It is about a

student who was put on trial for

rape and police withheld ... Or

certain evidence wasn't put forward,

which caused the case to collapse,

because it was text messages between

him and the person who accused him

of rape, and now that times are

saying that dozens of cases have

collapsed in the past few years

because of these failings into how

they handled the evidence. And we

spoke about Star Wars yesterday. It

was the Penyak, lots of reviews

coming out, and -- this was the

premiere, lots of reviews coming

out.

You are watching

Breakfast from BBC News.

The main stories this morning: Extra

ambulance crews have been brought

in this weekend, which is expected

to be one of the busiest

of the year, as Christmas

parties get under way.

The future of South Africa will be

decided this weekend,

as the country's ruling party

chooses a new leader to replace

Jacob Zuma.

Also coming up in the programme:

The Click team is looking at how art

is moving from the physical

world to virtual reality.

I don't understand how virtual

reality art works, because it's an

impression of reality anyway.

Yes, you are asking the wrong person

to explain this. What I do know is

that in Click, which is coming up

later, they are going to explain it,

so shall we leave it to them?

I thought you would bring some light

to it...

Here's Stav with a look

at this morning's weather.

Here's Stav with a look

at this morning's weather.

Good morning. It's like deja vu.

This time last week I was presenting

with you both and it was so busy

because of the massive snowfall

event. A different story this week.

Starting with the air mass picture

because cold air is with us for

Saturday. Out in the Atlantic

there's milder air. A big plume of

milder air will be moving on towards

tomorrow and this will be with us on

that for much of next week in the

run-up to Christmas potentially.

Today is a frosty start with lots of

sunshine, but there will be ice

problems. A few showers around. This

is the picture at seven a.m.. More

cloud across the south-west, a few

showers in Cornwall and Devon,

elsewhere in the Midlands, southern

and eastern areas, really cold and

frosty. A few showers clipping the

east coast and an area of rain

pushing in the north Wales and the

north-west of England. This is

sliding in off the Irish Sea. Ice

will be a problem here and also

across the north of Scotland, where

we continue to have wintry showers.

Watch out for this price risk as it

will be slippery on untreated

surfaces until about 11am -- ice

risk. Then it stays damp in the

south-west corner through Wales and

the south-west. Elsewhere, a nice

day. Lots of sunshine if you like it

called, you need to wrap up -- cold.

Then tonight it's a tale of two

halves. Central and eastern areas

remain cold. You will start to see a

change in the west. Milder here and

frosty in east. That's how we start

Sunday. This is the cold air still

here. This is milder air moving in

with this weather fronts, so it will

be wet and windy as well for the

north of Ireland. Central and

eastern areas starting cold, with

additional fog around. That will

tend to clear as the rain sinks

south-eastwards. Some of it will be

heavy in northern areas. That

brightens up in the north of the

country through the afternoon,

except for Scotland and Northern

Ireland. Staying cloud in the south

and a milder day. Like I mentioned,

in the next week it stays mainly

dry. Very mild but there will be

quite a lot of cloud around, with

dry. Very mild but there will be

quite a lot of cloud around, with

outbreaks of rain. That's your

forecast. Thanks very much! See

later.

We'll be back with the headlines

at 6:30, but first it is time

for the Film Review

with Jane Hill and Mark Kermode.

Hello and welcome to

The Film Review on BBC News.

Taking us through this week's cinema

releases is Mark Kermode.

What have you been watching, Mark?

Very, very interesting week.

We have Bingo: The King

Of The Mornings, a film

about the dark side of clowning.

We have, of course,

Star Wars: The Last Jedi,

you might have noticed that this

is opening in cinemas!

And The Unseen, a low-key

British chiller.

Bingo: The King Of The Mornings,

this is a really

curious looking one.

Very interesting film,

submitted for the foreign-language

Oscar although it has not made it

through to the short list.

It comes on like an episode

of the Chuckle Brothers crossed with

the last third of Goodfellas.

It is inspired by a real-life

story of a kids' TV icon,

this is a fictionalised version

in which there is struggling actor

who has made his name in soft-core

sex films and manages to get a break

as Bingo, this clown

on morning television.

And realises that he may actually

have found something

for which he can become

celebrated and famous.

The downside is, he's not

allowed to say who he is,

he has to be completely anonymous,

so he's caught between

fame and anonymity.

However, he wants to

stretch his wings and see

what he can do with the role.

Here's a clip.

Now, you can see from that,

it has got a strange,

slightly cracked tone to it,

it is a fantastic performance

from Vladimir Brichta as Bingo.

What I

like about it is that it has a bit

of the backstage madness of live

television, something like Network.

It also has that...

I talked before about Goodfellas,

that sense as it accelerates,

that what happens is

success goes to his head,

he falls into drink and drugs

and reckless behaviour,

but he is tortured because he can't

tell anyone who he is.

It becomes that classic tale

of someone who is famous

in one area and completely

anonymous and another.

It is not without flaws,

there are certain moments

when the drama oversteps itself

somewhat, but I didn't

know this story at all.

As I said, it's inspired

by a true story,

and I found it gripping and weirdly

enjoyable, not least

because there's something...

I mean, clowns are a strange

presence anyway...

Yes.

Could go either way!

Can be funny, can be sinister.

And we saw the success of It,

which has now become

the biggest selling

horror movie of all time.

So, this is something a little bit

different, it is not entirely

successful but when it works,

it has a kind of crazed energy,

which is down to the central

performance largely,

which is very, very magnetic.

So apparently there's

a new Star Wars film out!

Who knew?

They should do some

publicity, really.

Are you a Star Wars fan?

To a degree.

I've seen some of them.

I lived with someone

who really, really is,

so it is on the list.

This picks up almost immediately

where Force Awakens left off.

Rey arrives at the island

where Luke Skywalker now

lurks, and she is looking

for her true self.

The thing with any Star Wars film

is that there is a balancing act.

Light and the shade,

between the action and

the introspection and also

between satisfying the fans

and the first timers.

I think that Rian Johnson

who is helming this,

who's come from films like Looper,

has done a fantastic job.

You get all the stuff that you want

from a Star Wars film,

the sabre battles, the deep space

explosions, the dogfights,

but you also get an awful lot

of internal character development.

What I liked most about this

is that it has a number

of disparate narrative strands,

as they all do, but each character

arc is followed through properly.

It is a film in which characters do

what that character would do.

It's a film in which action

is character, characters are defined

not by what they say

but by their actions.

Now, I saw it with a home crowd,

I saw it at the premiere

and in the final act of it,

people were laughing, cheering,

bursting into spontaneous applause.

My suspicion is that that will be

matched around the country,

because it's very well-made,

very confident, there

is a little bagginess in it,

there is one section on a casino

planet, which I think

is perhaps somewhat overstretched,

but I think it works

really well as a film.

That said, all Star Wars films

have a divisive element.

And nothing is going

to satisfy everybody.

I have never been a hard-core

Star Wars fan, but I did

enjoy this very much.

I thought as a piece of masterful

storytelling in which it obeys

the rules of the characters,

the characters make sense.

It may be fantastical

and inventive but the characters

make sense, and that,

for me, is the key.

And does it look fantastic?

Oh, yes, it looks fantastic.

In a way we sort of

take that for granted.

It looks really great,

but it also feels really solid.

It feels like a proper, you know,

well-made, stand-alone film.

That's excellent.

The Unseen.

Look, it's nearly Christmas -

have you brought me another horror

film, is this what

you're doing here?

This is a psychological chiller.

Not really horror.

What is the distinction?

Stick with me.

This is written and

directed by Gary Sinyor.

This was 12 years in development,

it is a story about

a young couple who suffer

a terrible loss of a child

and after that, their

relationship is in crisis.

Gem.

Yes?

I hear him.

In his room.

I hear him.

What?

At night.

Sometimes during the day.

You don't believe me.

What does he say?

He says he loves

me.

Now, you were asking

what the difference

is between a horror film

and a chiller.

I think it is a tenuous distinction,

however, it is to do

with an uncanniness,

sense of creepiness.

In its early stages,

this film is actually very,

very well played by

the central actors.

And it has a real atmosphere

of unease, of the uncanny,

which is very hard to achieve.

I have to say in its later stages it

kind of loses some of that,

the more the plot starts to explain

itself, the more mechanical it

becomes and the less

it became interesting.

But for its first movement,

it does establish that sense

of the cold hand on

the back of the neck.

The genuinely uncanny sense

that you're not quite

sure what's going on.

You believe in the characters,

you believe in the situation.

And you share their distress.

But you also have that sense

of eeriness, that sense of unease.

It's a very flawed film,

and I think overall, as I said,

there are missteps in the later acts

that let it down.

But at the beginning

it has an atmosphere

which I think validates it,

and it is really nice to see

something like that going up

against a behemoth like Star Wars:

The Last Jedi.

And it's not a horror film.

OK!

I may be just saying that,

but it's not a horror film!

Best out, however,

I wholeheartedly, I mean...

The rerelease of a classic.

I think this is one

of the greatest movies ever made,

A Matter Of Life And Death.

You love it too, right?

Yes, yes, yes.

When was the last time

you saw it on a big screen?

When I was at university,

300 years ago.

I love that image of up

in heaven, looking down.

Very clever, very clever.

You need to see it on the big

screen, so much of why it's

brilliant is the way it looks.

The idea of having the other

world as being black-and-white,

and the Technicolor, so gorgeous,

the performances are brilliant.

And every time you see it, it just

gets better and better and better.

And incidentally, that is a film

which you can view as a fantasy

or you can view as a psychological,

you know, psychological romance.

I would say it's not

a million miles away from...

I'm trying!

I love your attempt, Mark.

It is fantastic, it is wonderful,

worth seeing on a big screen,

you make a good point,

I haven't seen it on a for aeons.

On the smaller screen, DVDs...

Dunkirk.

Which I, kind of having seen it

on the big screen...

Want to see it on

the big screen.

I can't quite envisage

watching it on a small one.

I've seen Dunkirk three times.

I have seen it twice on a big

IMAX screen and once

on a television screen,

although the television screens

are now much bigger.

When you see it on a small screen,

you start to notice things

about the cleverness

of the structure, the fact that it

has these three

interweaving time periods.

One week, one day, one hour.

The fact that it

interweaves them so well,

sometimes on the big screen you're

just so overwhelmed

by the spectacle of it,

you don't realise just how smart

the construction of the film is.

Watching it on a smaller screen

you really admire the narrative...

It is a simple narrative

but it is told in a way

which is really complex

and really crystalline.

And actually I saw things in it

on the small screen that I hadn't

seen on the big screen.

Yes, the big-screen experience

is still the primary one but it does

work on the small screen,

for different reasons.

Mark, good to see you as ever.

Interesting week.

Thank you very much.

Quick reminder before we go

you can find more film news

and reviews online.

bbc.co.uk/MarkKermode.

And all our previous programmes

are on the BBC iPlayer,

of course.

That is it for this week, though,

enjoy your cinema going.

Bye bye.

Hello, this is Breakfast,

with Naga Munchetty and Charlie

Stayt.

Good morning, here is a summary

of today's main stories from BBC

News:

First, our main story: Emergency

services are expecting this weekend

to be one of the busiest

of the year, as towns and city

centres are packed with

Christmas revellers.

Extra ambulance crews were brought

in ahead of last night,

amid concerns that so-called

Mad Friday, the most popular day

for work Christmas parties,

would see a surge of alcohol-fuelled

incidents.

The night is estimated to be worth

more than £2 billion to the drinks

industry.

In half an hour, we will be

talking to a paramedic

who was on duty last night.

That is at 7:10am.

The future of South Africa will be

decided this weekend,

as the country's ruling party

chooses a new leader to replace

Jacob Zuma, who faced constant

allegations of corruption

during his decade in charge.

The tense leadership battle has

raised fears the ANC could split

before the general election in 2019.

President Zuma has urged the party

to unite behind the ruler.

We have called on all our members

and delegates to ensure that

unity prevails ahead

of the conference.

The ANC and the country must

emerge as the winners.

Former prime minister David Cameron

is taking on a new Government-linked

role, as the UK and China step up

cooperation on investment.

In a statement from the Chancellor,

who is in Beijing for a second day

of talks, it says Cameron will be

involved in a new $1 billion fund

to invest in the UK,

China and other countries .

to create employment

and increase trade links.

The news comes as the Chancellor,

Phillip Hammond.

The Chancellor, Phillip Hammond

is in Beijing for a second day

of talks securing future economic

relations between the two countries.

Forecasters are warning strong winds

could make the wildfires in southern

California even worse.

It has already scorched more

than 400 square miles,

which is the size of New York City

and Paris combined.

More than 8,000 firefighters are now

tackling the flames.

Austria is set to become the only

country in Western Europe

to have a far-right

party in government.

The conservative People's Party,

which won the parliamentary election

two months ago, but failed

to secure a majority,

has struck a coalition deal

with the anti-immigration Freedom

Party.

The head of the People's Party,

Sebastian Kurz, who is 31,

will be the youngest national

leader in the world.

The billionaire founder

of a pharmaceuticals company

and his wife have been found dead

at their home in Canada.

Barry Sherman set up his company,

Apotex, in the 1970s,

and was a prominent philanthropist.

Police have described the couple's

deaths as suspicious,

but say they are not searching

for anyone in connection

to the incident.

Severn Trent Water has apologised

to customers in Tewksbury

who are still without water

due to a burst main.

The company said a wide

area has been affected,

and it was a complicated job to get

the system back to normal.

Severn Trent has been handing out

water to around 10,000 homes

and businesses that have

been left without water.

It is the second major leak to hit

the utility in recent months.

If you have a spare £500,000 sitting

around, you could be the proud owner

of a rare skeleton

of a woolly mammoth.

It was discovered about ten years

ago in the Siberian permafrost,

and it goes to auction

in France today.

You will need quite a lot

of house to fit it in.

It is 3.5 metres tall,

and the curving tasks are more

than three metres in length.

The animals lived alongside early

man, but became extinct more

than 10,000 years ago.

It seems gin is proving

to be just the tonic.

A record 47 million bottles

were bought in Britain alone over

the past year.

That's the equivalent

of 1.32 billion G&Ts,

making gin the most popular spirit,

surpassing whisky and vodka.

You don't seem surprised, Mike.

I am

going to a gin off tomorrow. I won't

be tasting much of each one. Sloe

gin? Cucumber gin?

I don't know

about that. England could do with

the tonic, imagine a balloon which

has been burst, and is slowly

deflating.

It is becoming the theme

of this Ashes series -

Australia's captain, Steve Smith,

showing why he is the best batsman

in the world, and snuffing out

England's hope of a comeback.

This has been the story of the day,

Smith hitting England's bowlers

to the boundary.

And the ball slips through

Moeen Ali's fingers,

just like their sapping confidence.

So, despite one wicket earlier

for Ali, Smith is now 173 not-out,

while Mitchell Marsh is also

tormenting England's bowlers,

and is 77 not-out.

So Australia 388-4,

and only trail now by 15.

They only trailed by six and with

those six wickets remaining they

could end up with a lead of 150? And

you would have to say would England

have a chance of keeping the Ashes?

They could be gone in this early

test.

City have been so dominant this

season, the question is,

can anyone stop them?

Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool

and Manchester United have

all tried and failed.

Will it be Tottenham

who spoil the party?

A question for Patrick Gearey.

Mid-December, and Manchester City

are moving from probably uncatchable

to possibly invincible. This weekend

they play Spurs, the only team in

the top six they have not yet faced.

One by one, their rivals have been

dispatched, including, at last

weekend, Manchester United, the site

closest to them in points and

geography. So can they emulate

Arsenal in 2004 and go the season

unbeaten? The manager is having none

of it.

We are going to lose games.

The important thing is to try to

play better and better, that is the

motivation. The record always will

stay there.

Those records are

impressive. City have now won an

impressive 15 straight league

matches, in the process of picking

up 49 out of a possible 51 points,

enough to finish eighth in the

league last season and if they win

the last two matches before

Christmas they will average 2.89

points per game, the highest every

Dell lacked any team in top-flight

history has managed. So can

Tottenham stop them? Well, their

boss likes a challenge.

I think we

are going to play, for me, the best

team today in Europe. Not only in

England. And it is so exciting, it

is a massive challenge, this type of

challenge that you want always to

have.

City are already being

compared to another Spurs side, the

stylish double winners of 1961.

While they are on course to be more

effective than Mourinho's ruthless

Chelsea team of 2006. But their team

and manager are still focusing on

the present.

Championship leaders Wolves haven't

lost since the end of October,

and they took another step closer

to the Premier League with victory

over Sheffield Wednesday last night.

Ruben Neves with the goal that put

them seven points clear at the top

of the table.

Ulster put 50 points past

Harlequins, to improve their chances

of qualifying for the quarter-finals

of rugby union's European Champions

Cup.

Six different players

scored tries for them,

as they won by 52-24 in Belfast.

They are second in their group.

Ronnie O'Sullivan was caught napping

at the Scottish Open snooker.

Not one of his power naps,

but he was beaten 5-0

by John Higgins in

the quarter-finals.

It is the first time in 23 years

Higgins has whitewashed O'Sullivan,

who said he had no excuses,

and the pair clearly have a lot

of respect for each other.

You know what John is like. He is a

class act and just an amazing

player. He is just unbelievable. You

know, he has got touch, skill,

power, he has got everything. If you

are going to build a snooker player,

you would wield John.

Obviously

someone like that saying that is

amazing. He is definitely, as I

said, the best player I have ever

seen.

Phil Taylor is playing his last PDC

World Darts Championship before

retiring, and he got

off to a winning start

at London's Alexandra

Palace last night.

'The Power' is a legend

in the sport, thanks to a brilliant

career spanning three decades,

and he is going for a 17th world

title.

He beat Chris Dobey 3-1.

The legendary jump jockey Sir AP

McCoy came out of retirement last

night to take on flat racing

superstar Frankie Dettori

in a charity event.

The pair led teams in a relay

show-jumping competition

at the London International

Horse Show, at Olympia.

They were raising money

for the Injured Jockeys Fund,

and it was McCoys team

who felt more at home.

They beat Dettori's flat

racers over the jumps.

A lot of rivalry, and it was the

jumpers who came out on top.

Now, all week on Breakfast,

we are looking at the power

of singing, and this morning we are

considering its impact in sport.

Music was part of the first

Olympics in ancient Greece,

but over the last century

it has been the Welsh

leading the tune, as they

harmonise sport and music.

I have been out with one

of the choirs chosen to motivate

the Wales rugby team

in their Autumn International

against New Zealand.

# You fill up my senses like a night

in the forest.

This is where it all

begins, alone voice on match day.

Byron Young has been singing for his

country since 1972. Is one voice

soon becomes part of many on the bus

to the stadium. And then has the

power of 150, when several hours

before kick off his choir joins the

others chosen from around Wales. In

the tunnel for a dress rehearsal.

Everybody in sync everybody has got

a voice, and that is the way they do

it. It happens in football, you see

it at Liverpool, in the cup, the

national anthems, you see people

praying because of the opportunity

to sing out what you are feeling

inside.

Singing in sport has come

such a long way since it was

originally given a voice in the

modern era Welshman called Tom

Williams back and 1905. Now, it is

such an official part of match day

that, for the first time, the teams

as they come off their buses are

being greeted by a couple of hints.

-- hymns. And on the pitch ahead of

kick-off, and for one night only

they allowed another voice,

thankfully lost in the crowd. With

the Welsh team training just a few

moments away, this choir can bring

together this whole stadium of

76,000 people with music. And you

can feel the power of the Mass, the

power of the gathering, helping to

inspire those 15 individuals.

There

are many historians, musical

historians, who would tell you that

the Welsh were renowned for their

ability to just sings spontaneously.

I think it goes way back to the

chapels, the chapels, really, in

Wales, were the first to sings

spontaneously in harmony. And I

think that lead into the stadium

singing in harmony as well.

And it

can help the harmony in a team. This

man was hired by the British and

Irish Lions to bond the team on

their visit to New Zealand. And did

the singing here, led by Byron and

his choir, helped inspire Wales to a

second try against New Zealand?

It

was the singing that Dittert!

When

we were five metres out, you could

hear the crowd singing Tom and

stuff, and that lifts you that extra

10%.

Went the going gets tough and

they start the song and it goes on

stage, it just leaves you up.

In the

end, Wales lost the match. But that

didn't stop singing. You can see the

singing continues well into the

night, in this land of the song.

We

lost the game, but we won a lot.

This tip typifies it. This is the

spirit, Wales together. Really

fantastic.

And it just went on and on,

literally the singing never stopped,

into the early hours of the morning.

That sense of belonging,

togetherness.

Behind-the-scenes, and

they are singing the players into

the stadium.

Well, now, especially

in Wales, it has a very official

role. They know that as part of team

management, various tactics, there

is buying players, it has a huge

role now. You see the players saying

it gives them that extra 10%.

Seven

or eight points.

Here's Stav with a look

at this morning's weather.

Here's Stav with a look

at this morning's weather.

Good morning!

Good morning. Cold air is with us

for the first half of this weekend.

I'm showing you the air mass charter

because it paints quite a good

picture. Saturday, a cold and frosty

start, but notice the orange colours

coming in off the Atlantic towards

Sunday. This milder air and the

winds will be with us for much of

next week as well. Today is a cold

start and there will be ice around

but at least for most central and

eastern areas it will stay dry with

lots of sunshine. More cloud in

western areas and a few showers.

Cornwall and Devon and Wales. For

the Midlands and eastwards. A

widespread frost for the mourning

period. Watch out for ice,

especially in the north-west

England, with rain and snow falling

for the next few hours. A few

showers into Northern Ireland and

parts of western Scotland where

there will also be an ice risk.

Elsewhere, cold, dry and frosty. A

mixed picture through the morning.

Otherwise, most areas will be dry

and sunny. More cloud across the

west in eastern areas. Outbreaks of

rain in Wales and the south-west of

England. Here, touch less cold. 6-

eight degrees. Elsewhere,

temperatures struggling. Overnight,

a cold frost in central and eastern

areas. A weather system is beginning

to push into the west. This marks

the change to the weather.

Temperatures as low as 5-6 in the

west. Again, subzero in east. This

weather system is bringing change.

The heavy rain and the isobars are

really close together, so it means

it will be quite easy and windy for

the final of England and Scotland.

Pretty heavy rain as it moves

south-eastwards into much of England

and Wales will stop eventually the

sunshine is developing around it.

Double D gives on the west, still

chilly in the far east. That changes

as we head towards next week.

Staying largely dry, apart from

drizzle in western hills. It could

be very mild, temperatures around

the midteens on Tuesday and

Wednesday, but with a mild Atlantic

air there is quite a lot of cloud,

the sunshine will be limited.

air there is quite a lot of cloud,

the sunshine will be limited.

Midteens next week does that knocked

the idea of a white Christmas on the

head?

It could little bit. I was thankful

to get the train up to see my folks,

but I know so many people would love

a white Christmas. The run-up to

Christmas is looking mild, but

things could change during

Christmas.

There's always that caveat!

Thanks very much. Back with the

headlines at seven a.m.. First it's

time for Click.

Earlier in the year we looked

at some of the 360 cameras

which have taken off in 2017.

Dan filmed with the new kid

on the block, the Insta One in

Berlin.

And he came back very

pleased with it.

Easy to use, lots of features,

including this bullet-time mode,

a bit like the film The Matrix,

where you can get a picture

of yourself from all angles.

But what have the more established

names in photography got

to offer us?

Well, with Christmas

just around the corner,

this time we sent Dan to a suitably

festive place to put two pro-sumer

360 cameras through their paces.

The ancient city of Bath hosts

a very traditional Christmas market,

one that I want to

catch in the round.

I've got two cameras for the job.

One is from Kodak,

the other is Nikon's.

They look pretty similar,

with two ultra-wide-angle lenses

capturing everything,

before the two images

are stitched together in-camera.

But look closer, and you will see

the Kodak sporting two different

lenses, one smaller than the other,

superwide 235-degree lens.

It also has the tiniest remote

control in the world,

and a slightly higher

price tag than the Nikon.

Our producer has the Kodak,

while I'm putting the Nikon

through its paces.

Now, we don't just want to test

these cameras out in the daylight,

when all the conditions

are absolutely perfect.

For these cameras, we want to test

them out to see what they're

like as it starts to get dark.

Will the bright lights be a problem,

and will we see all of the details?

Time to go for a wander

and see whose 360 is best.

Please dive in, ladies.

Don't let me get in your way.

And, in no time at all,

I found the festive liquor stand.

Not just wine, but flavoured vodka

here, and the Nikon is not put off

by those flashing lights.

But the image is a little dark,

so we will brighten it

for you in postproduction.

There you go, and now you can

see the other problem.

The image stitching means I've

almost lost my head,

before touching a drop.

The Kodak's image is brighter

than the Nikon, but we found

that the quality from that

super-wide-angle lens was softer

than the smaller lens

on the other side of the device.

Of course, you're best off

with a stick attached to both

of these cameras, otherwise your

hands get sort of in the way.

Now, to make the test fairer,

we decided to see how these cameras

fared back to back.

Or front to front.

Or back to front.

Well, it's difficult

to tell, to be honest.

We shot them side by side.

Look at this.

We found a 360 globe

for a 360 camera.

And it's the Nikon showing off

more natural colours,

benefiting from a more

accurate light balance,

although some might prefer

the warmer Kodak results,

because it is very Christmassy.

At the chilled cider shop,

the Kodak warmed things up,

while Nikon kept things

more natural and crisp.

Both cameras struggled to stitch

their shots together perfectly.

This is the raw footage,

with no touching up,

and the Nikon has done

a reasonable job.

The stitching point is more

visible on the Kodak,

partly because of the different

qualities of those two lenses.

On the upside, it's Kodak that

offers the ability to play with how

the images are stitched together

in its free software,

something the Nikon's more

basic offering lacks.

For sheer fun, the Kodak also offers

greater flexibility when playing

back what you shot.

This is little planet mode.

And, if you want to do it

on the Nikon, then you'll need some

third-party 360 software,

which may mean additional cost.

Finally, the thing everybody

forgets when they use

a camera - sound.

It is very odd being

filmed by two cameras.

We're being filmed

as well, it is 360.

Oh, goodness me.

You can tell she's had too much

cider, because hers moves

around a bit.

I'm just cold!

We reckon both do a great job,

but the Nikon is slightly clearer,

although the Kodak offers

the possibility of attaching

an external mic.

So which camera will enthusiasts be

hoping Santa brings them this year?

We think the Kodak edges it

for easier post-production,

while the Nikon has a better shot.

But, if you're hoping

for a trouble-free, cinematic,

seamless result for under £400,

you may have to wait until something

else takes off.

At least for now.

Hello, and welcome

to the Week in Tech.

It was the week that the Federal

Communications Commission in America

voted to repeal rules on net

neutrality, which had stopped

internet service providers

from offering different speeds

and priorities for traffic online.

The extraordinarily elongated

asteroid called Oumuamua

was being checked for signs

of alien technology.

And, here on earth, the faces of 2

billion people can be compared

in a matter of seconds

with a Minority Report-style system,

Dragonfly Eye, unveiled in China.

It was also the week that Netflix

was caught up in a creepy viewing

controversy, after revealing

on Twitter that 53 subscribers

watched the holiday film

A Christmas Prince every day

for 18 days.

Netflix defended the tweet,

saying it represented overall

trends, and not

specific individuals.

The city of San Francisco has banned

the use of delivery robots on most

of its sidewalks, stating not

all innovation is all that

great for society.

Meanwhile, Dutch police say it may

not have been such a good idea

to use eagles to catch

drones after all.

Who could have guessed?

Seen here on Click, the birds

were trained to snatch the machines

from the sky.

But the cost of keeping them was too

high, and they didn't always do

what they were told.

And finally, if you're missing

Harry Potter, don't despair.

Artificial intelligence may

have a solution for you.

A new chapter has been created

for a book called Harry Potter

and What Looked Like

a Large Pile of Ash.

Its plot twists include Harry

dipping Hermione in hot sauce,

and Ron turning into spiders

and trying to eat Hermione's family.

Wizard.

This is Acute Art, a virtual

reality arts platform

and a gallery without walls.

And it's about to launch,

with VR works by some of the world's

leading contemporary artists.

Amongst these works is one

by Marina Abramovic,

the self-confessed Grandmother

of Performance Art,

who pushes her own body

to the limits to challenge

and move people.

OK, well, there's Marina,

in a tank of water.

Well, she seems to want to talk

to me, but the water is rising

up her body.

Immersive player, in real life,

where someone rescues another

person, or offers aid of any kind,

there is a transfer of energy.

Approach the water.

I think she wants me

to touch the glass.

Make contact.

Oh.

Oh, OK, right.

Now I'm somewhere very cold,

and everything seems

to be going wrong.

As always, with VR, you really

get a sense of scale.

I mean, that ice shelf looks

absolutely enormous.

And it's crashing down

right in front of me.

This work is an expression

of Marina's fear that humans

will not survive the consequences

of climate change, if we don't

change our behaviour.

I'm being covered in spray.

And now there's a note.

I will walk instead of drive.

I will reuse what I can.

I will reduce the waste I cause.

Marina wants to leave

the participants with a feeling

that they should do something

good for the planet.

We have to save this planet

that we are living on,

because what I'm interested

in is to create a literal contract

with the planet earth,

and give my word of honour that

I will do something to save it.

SCREAMING.

You are pretty well-known

for pushing your body further

than most people would want

to push their bodies.

Here, you appear virtually in a tank

of water, but I get the sense that

you still did some pretty real

stuff, to make it seem

as real as possible?

You know, actually, to do this,

I have to really be in the water.

And then we have to really

be in a swimming pool,

with two divers holding my legs,

so I can really go in and see can

feel like I would actually die

if I didn't have any more

air to breathe.

So it's funny that you have to do

something which is virtual,

but you still have

to do it physically.

Before, you've said that you don't

think your performances can be

captured adequately with photos

or videos, because you need to be

there, you need the experiences,

it is about actually

physically being there.

And I wonder if virtual reality

is close enough to being there,

that is why you chose it?

Because it's almost

being there, isn't it?

It is very important, the energy

dialogue between the audience

and the performer.

And the only thing that can catch

it, before it was video

with sound and movement.

Virtual reality is really

another step further,

because you can go around

the objects, you can interact,

you can do this.

But still, I think it's so much

a question of how much energy

and charisma actually can transfer

from the real performance

into the virtual body.

And that's it for the short

cut of Click this week.

The full version is waiting

for you on iPlayer, and please join

us next week for Click's

Christmas special.

And you know what that means.

Tons of sensible journalism,

and no fun whatsoever.

Maybe not.

In the meantime, you can

follow us on Facebook

and on Twitter @BBCClick.

Thank you for watching,

and we will see you next

week for Christmas.

Hello, this is Breakfast,

with Naga Munchetty and Charlie

Stayt.

Feeling the Christmas pressure.

Emergency services face

their busiest weekend of the year.

Extra ambulance crews,

control room staff, and thousands

of volunteers are tackling

the surge in demand.

Good morning, it is

Saturday 16 December.

Also this morning:

A country at a crossroads.

The ruling party in South Africa

prepares to pick a new leader,

amid allegations of bribery,

infighting and corruption.

More than 400 square miles

of California has now been

burned by wildfires.

At least 8,000 people

are still fighting the blaze.

In sport: Whacked around the Waca.

Captain Smith nears a double century

to put Australia ahead on the third

day of the third test,

and are the Ashes slipping away?

# Why, why, why, Delilah?

And I have been looking

into the power of song on the sports

field, and giving it a go myself.

And Stav has the weather.

Good morning to you.

This weekend is a tale

of two halves.

We're starting the weekend

on a cold, frosty note,

plenty of sunshine.

And then tomorrow it looks cloudier,

breezy and wetter, but a bit milder.

I'll have all the details

for you in about 15 minutes.

Good morning.

First, our main story: Emergency

services are expecting this weekend

to be one of the busiest

of the year, as towns and city

centres are packed with

Christmas revellers.

Extra ambulance crews were brought

in ahead of last night,

amid concerns that so-called

Mad Friday, the most popular day

for works Christmas parties,

would see a surge of alcohol-fuelled

incidents.

Michael Cowan reports.

It is one of the busiest nights

of the year for our emergency

services, so much so that London's

ambulance service are bringing

in an extra 30 crews.

We're going to be incredibly busy

this weekend, and we'll take

lots of 999 calls to

patients who have suffered

the effects of alcohol.

That puts a massive

strain on our system.

So that will mean that we will

divert ambulance resources

away

from patients, potentially leaving

patients on the floor with a broken

hip, or a baby with a broken arm,

in order to attend to those patients

that present as immediately

life-threatening.

The pubs are packed

and the pints are poured.

But, with many of us drinking

to excess over the festive period,

ambulance services across

the country have to bring in scores

of extra staff, and that puts huge

pressure on our emergency services.

In Bath, locals have banded together

on volunteer boat patrols along

the River Avon to support

the stretched emergency services,

and they are saving lives.

We asked him, how did

you get in there?

Not sure, I've been drinking.

Whisked him away to hospital.

After that, we're not

sure what will happen,

in terms of any further treatment.

And if you hadn't been here?

Probably dead.

In Scotland's party capital

of Glasgow, pastors have been out

patrolling the streets.

It's the volume of people

coming into town.

It's the fact that there are some

people, this is their annual night

out in Glasgow.

They're not used to the city centre,

they're not used to drinking,

they're not used to the temperature.

And, with tonight set to be busy

again, emergency services are asking

people to drink responsibly,

as they deal with one of their most

difficult periods of the year.

The future of South Africa will be

decided this weekend,

as the country's ruling party

chooses a new leader to replace

Jacob Zuma, who faced constant

allegations of corruption

during his decade in charge.

The tense leadership battle has

raised fears the ANC could split

before the general election in 2019.

Virginia Langeberg reports.

With Jacob Zuma stepping down

as leader of the ANC,

South Africa is left

at a virtual crossroad.

Ever since 1994, the first election

where people of every race

were allowed to vote,

the ANC has won overwhelmingly.

But now, for the first time

in more than two decades,

there is the possibility

South Africans could turn their back

on the party that led their country

towards liberation.

Jacob Zuma's presidency has been

plagued with allegations

of corruption, since

he took office in 2009.

Public protests have been held

over his handling of the economy,

and he has survived eight

no-confidence votes in parliament.

The incoming ANC leader will not

only need to regain the trust

of voters, but also unite the party.

We have called on all our members

and delegates to ensure that unity

prevails ahead of the conference.

The ANC and the country must

emerge as the winners.

Whoever comes out on top of the ANC

leadership battle in the coming days

will be well placed to become

the country's president in 2019.

It is at a time when South Africa

has faced two economic recessions

in less than one decade,

unemployment stands at more

than 27%, and gross national

debt at $150 billion.

Milton Nkosi joins us

now from Johannesburg.

We can see the gathering behind you.

You are at the conference centre,

the ANC conference, which is

happening today. It is such an

important weekend for the country,

isn't it?

Yes indeed. South Africa

finds itself at a crossroads this

morning, when the end of President

Jacob Zuma's term as party leader

comes this weekend. He has been

party leader for ten years, and he

is now stepping down this weekend.

The competition between the two

possible successors has divided the

country down the middle.

Milton,

tell us a little bit about the

atmosphere in the country at the

moment, looking ahead to what the

country might look like.

Yes, the

atmosphere in South Africa is that a

country is waiting. It is tense but

quiet, or as they say, quiet at

tens. What is happening -- quiet but

tends. What is happening now is that

of the possible successor, Cyril

Ramaphosa, is up against Jacob

Zuma's wife, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.

Wildfires in southern California

are continuing to burn out

of control, scorching an area

larger than New York City

and Paris combined.

Firefighters are now preparing

to defend towns along the Pacific

coast, as fierce winds are forecast

to whip up the flames,