this is bbc news with me clive myrie,the headlines. donald trump has arrived in washington, ahead of his inauguration tomorrow as america's 45th president. martin mcguinness, the former ira commander, turned peacemaker, this has announced he's retiring from frontline politics. the sinn fein politician recently quit northern ireland's power sharing executive, and now says he's suffering ill health. is the question i ask myself is are you physically capable of fighting their selection with the intensity with which they need to be fought. they answered as i am not physically capable. dozens are feared dead in italy, after an avalanche engulfed a hotel. 35 people are missing. theresa may says britain will be open for business after brexit, as one high street bank predicted london will remain europe's top financial centre, despite the uk leaving the eu. also coming up, we'll have the latest on the unfolding

political crisis in gambia. neighbouring senegal has sent in troops, to ensure adama barrow assumes power as the new president. and a french win in record time in the vendee globe race. welcome to bbc news. donald trump has arrived in washington, along with his wife melania, ahead of his inauguration tomorrow as the 45th president of the united states. hundreds of thousands of people are expected to attend — some to support him, some to protest against him. and it will be watched around the world by millions. let's cross to our washington correspondent jane o'brien.

asign of a sign of the times, our viewers saw the pictures. that plane did not have the word trump all over it and it will be official tomorrow. the clock is ticking, fewer than 2a hours to go on donald trump will become president. he is on his way right now to the national cemetery to lay a wreath. he has had lunch with some of his cabinet picks and the republican leadership at trump hotel which hejokingly the republican leadership at trump hotel which he jokingly referred to as weird he would move in whether or not he won the white house, also on pennsylvania avenue. he has a concert with on this afternoon at the lincoln memorial which he is expected to speak. the celebrations underway for donald trump at least

but a lot of protests expected to kick off, including a big march at the weekend where women from all over the country had expected to c0 nve i’g e over the country had expected to converge on washington. there will bea converge on washington. there will be a huge security presence with $500,000 spent on security around the inauguration site. non—collapsible the inauguration site. non—colla psible umbrellas will the inauguration site. non—collapsible umbrellas will not be allowed and no selfie f. ji% a to z w take some shelter. security will be tight. we're not sure at the moment how many people to expect. there has been some controversy. donald trump, as you would expect, said hotels are booked solid but they are not. he has also got less than a stellar

line—up of celebrities, a lot refusing to appear with him, so a bit of a refusing to appear with him, so a bit ofa b refusing to appear with him, so a bit of a b list for some of the events, but his new press secretary today said the inauguration was 20% under budget and that the money would be returned to the taxpayer. he said donald trump was already off toa he said donald trump was already off to a good start. this historians pour over presidential inaugurals. what do they expect from president tromp tomorrow? that is an interesting question. his press secretary said it wouldn't be so much an agenda as a philosophical document. i am much an agenda as a philosophical document. iam not much an agenda as a philosophical document. i am not sure what we can ta ke document. i am not sure what we can take from that. it will be quite short, we think. he has not finished writing it as couple of hours ago.

we don't really know whether it will lay out his priorities. according to mr spicer it is about what it means to be an american, this is a member of congress, and what it means to be a citizen at this point of time. this is all important because the country according to the latest polls is more divided than ever, 86% think donald trump is taking office over a deeply divided nation. thank you very much. i should say of course stay with us tomorrow because you will be able to see the inauguration ceremony. the former northern ireland deputy first minister, martin mcguinness has announced he is to retire from politics and will not seek re—election to the stormont assembly in march. mr mcguinness says he had been planning to stand down in may, on the tenth anniversary of sharing power with ian paisley. but he says that plan was over taken by his health

problems and the political crisis at stormont. our chief correspondent gavin hewitt has more. martin mcguinness is one of the most controversial leaders in british and irish politics. he has been a centralfigure in both northern ireland's pain and peace and is now standing down due to illness. ireland's pain and peace and is now standing down due to illnesslj ireland's pain and peace and is now standing down due to illness. i have to be honest with myself and the question i ask is are you physically capable of fighting this election with the intensity with which they need to be fought? the honest answered i am physically capable. his background lay in the civil rights and riots in londonderry but martin mcguinness chose violent resistance. by the age of 21 he was second—in—command of the ira in derry talking about the bombing campaign. can you save whether the bombing is likely to stop in the near future in response to bombing is likely to stop in the nearfuture in response to public demand? we've always take

consideration the feelings of the people of derry and these feelings will be passed on. he served two prison sentences in the irish republic and was also convicted of ira membership. he openly attended ira membership. he openly attended ira events, he denied he was the ira chief of staff but said he regarded it as chief of staff but said he regarded itasa chief of staff but said he regarded it as a compliment. we don't believe that winning elections or any amount of votes will bring freedom to ireland. at the end of the day it is the cutting edge of the ira that will bring freedom. today he asked —— was asked if he had any regrets. people have to remember the circumstances that existed in the city when i joined circumstances that existed in the city when ijoined the ira are —— the ira. we had a situation with people being murdered wholesale by the ruc, as on bloody sunday, and the ruc, as on bloody sunday, and the fact many young people and myself were supported by thousands in the city. i am not saying it was

a majority but we decided to fight back. he was one of the ira leaders who recognised that further violence would not bring political gains. in 1994 there was a ceasefire which laid the foundation of peace talks and sinn fein nominated him for a lead negotiator leading to the good friday agreement and eventual power—sharing. but foes sat alongside each other in a new assembly. my journey has been a long journey, more than 25 years building the peace. his departure from politics comes at a sensitive time for northern ireland. its power—sharing assembly has collapsed and the brexit poses difficult questions about the future of the border with ireland. many people would struggle to forgive the man who played such a key role in a violent campaign but he earned grudging respect for his commitment to peace and the gunmen had turned

politician have the authority to make compromises. let's cross to our northern ireland political editor mark devenport. this he had been ill for some time, any surprise he is stepping down. not particularly. it was probably predictable from the time he appeared and resigned as deputy first minister and appeared very wea k first minister and appeared very weak on that particular day about ten days ago. there had been a lot of speculation he would not be able to fight the campaign but it nevertheless has the feel of the end ofa nevertheless has the feel of the end of a new dock and while he didn't use the word retirement he said if he conquers the illness you could perform an ambassadorial role, there is the sense of him stepping back from the front line. his family were they are supporting him. and how much of a loss is this for sinn fein? there is no doubt he will miss martin mcguinness and he says this

is part of a process of transition which will like it will also see gerry adams at some point yet to be announced stepping down. the new generation are not as well—known and certainly across the world as martin mcguinness or gerry adams. they will be tested soon on handling the difficulties because we have had the breakdown of the power—sharing system in northern ireland over the renewable heating scandal. the one hope is they will not be tested in the tough times that martin mcguinness lived through. the prime minister says she's confident that britain's financial services sector will continue to prosper after britain leaves the eu. it's a view echoed by the head of barclays who says he expects the city of london to remain the financial centre of europe. that's despite a number of other banks and financial institutions suggesting they will move thousands ofjobs away from london.theresa may has been talking to business leaders in davos — and to our economics editor kamal ahmed. wrapped up warm, whisked from

meetings with bankers to millionaire technology entrepreneurs. it is hard to come to davos cannot look like a member of the global elite. while she was here to say that britain is open for business she was also hear with a warning. talk of greater globalisation can make people fearful. for many it meansjobs outsourced and wages undercut. it means having to sit back as they watch communities change around them, and in their minds, it means watching as those who prosper seem to play by a different set of rules. to these age came to the world economic forum not so much to celebrate business as to warn that. she backs globalisation and free trade and a deal with the european rain, but she had another message

for this rather privileged audience, do more to make globalisation work for everyone or if you don't she will be quite willing to intervene to ensure businesses change their behaviour. it was sunny here today but the prime minister's visit to davos was overshadowed with a number of international banks involving goldman sachs and jp morgan saying they are reducing investment or planning to cut jobs. they are reducing investment or planning to cutjobs. the city is a big place with different voices and for ba rclays big place with different voices and for barclays london are still in the lead. i think the uk will continue to be the financial ones for europe. we may have to change the legal structure we used to operate in europe but i think it will be at the margin and will be manageable. europe but i think it will be at the margin and will be manageablelj margin and will be manageable.” caught up with the prime minister later. what have the bank said to you about why they are moving jobs?

i have had a positive discussion with banks about the benefits of the city of london and what has brought them, and how we can continue to build on that for the future. there are huge benefits for investment in the uk. we have fundamentally strong economy and the service sector that is very important but valued around the world. i believe a truly global britain can bring jobs and prosperity to the uk and across the board including financial services. many are reflecting on one of the key tests of brexit, keeping uk financial services buoyant. hard brexit does the country damage but the point i am making to political leaders is if businesses decide to leave london, they are going to paris, madrid or frankfort, they are going to hong kong and new york. it isa going to hong kong and new york. it is a lose— lose battle, bad for london and the uk and the eu as

well. theresa may said she was an optimist and free trade discussions had also started with india and australia. she admitted the journey ahead was unpredictable but with the right deal the future was bright. dozens of people are feared dead after an avalanche buried a hotel used by skiers in central italy. at least three people have been killed rescue teams are searching for up to 35 people still trapped inside the building. the avalanche happened after a series of powerful earthquakes struck the area of abruzzo yesterday 150 miles from rome. the three—storey hotel was pushed almost 10 metres downhill as the huge wall of snow hit it directly as it raced down the gran sasso mountain. it's the third in a series of earthquakes in the region since last summer killing almost 300 people. our correspondent james reynolds is in the nearby village of penne. this at night, the quickest way through this the wall of snow was on skis. these rescuers are among the most

experienced in europe. even they struggled to move forward. step—by—step, they shovelled their way up towards the rigopiano hotel. shouting finally, they made it. the hotel was silent. inside, rescuers found this man. they went further in and came to where the avalanche hit. a six foot high wall of snow and rock broke through the building's walls. several miles away, a father waited for news of his daughter up in the hotel. straight after yesterday's earthquakes, they texted each other. "stay calm" he wrote. "you can come down tomorrow." "that's hard" she replied. "i think the worst has already

happened", he reassured her. "what's going on? " he then asked. he got no reply. his daughter and many other people, may be trapped underneath these tonnes of snow. these pictures, filmed after daybreak, show the rigopiano hotel swept away by the avalanche. do you think it's possible to find more people alive? for sure, yes. in the past, we found people after three days or something like this. and especially in this case, there could be some room under the snow. rescuers are helped by the fact that conditions here have improved. we haven't felt any more earthquakes or tremors. relief workers a few miles up the hill, will hope the snow holds off, allowing them to keep digging. and those rescuers continue

on their path to and from the destroyed hotel, searching for survivors or bodies. james reynolds, bbc news, penne, central italy. you are watching bbc news, the top stories now. donald trump has arrived in washington, ahead of being sworn in tomorrow as america's 45th president. martin mcguinness, northern ireland's former deputy first minister, has announced he's retiring from frontline politics. dozens are feared dead in italy, after an avalanche engulfed a hotel. up to 35 people are missing. the foreign office has confirmed that six britons have dry after a

road accident in saudi arabia. the victims were all thought to be on pilgrimage when their minibus crashed. we understand that this family travelled on a journey they had booked through the two operator behind me, they have told us that all 12 of the people on the minibus are part of the same extended family. some from scotland, some from here in manchester, with age ranging from pensioners down to a small babyjust ranging from pensioners down to a small baby just a ranging from pensioners down to a small babyjust a couple of months old. that baby, we are told that he dry in the crash along with his grandparents who are from manchester. another relative from manchester. another relative from manchester as well. also that the two people from glasgow who died we re two people from glasgow who died were pa rt of two people from glasgow who died were part of that family as well. we believe from glasgow central mosque that they had five children who we

don't think were involved in the crash. there were also several people injured including the mother of the baby and his siblings, children aged between two and four, and also a pensioner in a critical condition so the foreign office are providing consular assistance. the tour operators say it is the first accident may have had anybody involved with in the last 15 years since we have been running the trip and they say the family was partway through a fortnight trip, making a pilgrimage, travelling on a minibus to the second leg of theirjourney to the second leg of theirjourney to the second leg of theirjourney to the holy site in the medina. it is thought that one of the tires on the vehicle had a blow out but they are still trying to work out what happened and are providing assistance to other members of the extended family from the uk now in the process of travelling over to saudi arabia to find that information for themselves. senegalese troops have entered the gambia to ensure adama barrow

assumes power as the country's new president, a senegalese army spokesman has said. mr barrow has been sworn in at the gambian embassy in senegal. in his inaugural speech, president barrow urged gambian soldiers to remain in their barracks, saying those who did not would be considered rebels. the un security council has unanimously backed the west african regional group, ecowas, which has threatened military intervention to ensure that the new president takes power from yahya jammeh who is refusing to stand down. we're less than 24 hours away from the inauguration of us president—elect donald trump. last year's elections had been dominated by the allegations that russia ran a hacking campaign to influence the results. stephen sackurfrom bbc‘s hardtalk has just completed an interview with the kremlin spokesperson dmitry peskov who works closely with vladimir putin. it's good to see you. was he defensive as far as the ledger that actions of russia, as far as those actions of russia, as far as those actions are concerned, but america

clearly believes influenced the us election. i wouldn't say he was defensive so much as combative and that really is peskov‘s style. he is spokesman for the president and also one of vladimir putin's most trusted advisers, and he really is the spin doctor and message manager of the kremlin. under enormous pressure in the last few days because as you say, all these allegations of hacking and dirty tricks and allegations of a honey trap being laid, all of this stuff has in a sense being laid at the floor of the chief press officer, and when i saw him a couple of hours ago when his office close to the kremlin are said to him, how do you respond to these allegations which, from the very top of the us intelligence agencies, and

this is how he responded to me. every day, we have hundreds and thousands of cyber attacks against out thousands of cyber attacks against our digital systems in the russian federation. some of them are coming from the territorial of the united states. dozens are coming from the territorial germany. dozens from great britain. do you think that it means, with the high state of certainty, that those attacks against our digital systems are being promoted by the governments in washington, london and berlin? you would probably say no. we want to have good relationships with america. we believe that we cannot solve lots of problems in this world

and in the region that are endangering our country without cooperation with the americans. that is why we desperately need good relationships with washington, but it takes two to tangle. what would be the approach by president from, this is the question. it takes two to tangle, clearly russia hoping there will be a reset when donald trump takes power in washington, that relations will be more cooperative and warmer with the new us administration, but there is some scepticism and very much an attitude of wait and see and that is what we all must do until we see what donald trump really means by his talk of a new relationship by the mere putin. thank you. it's nicknamed the everest of the seas —— a gruelling solo round the world yacht race which after 74 days finishes today. british sailor —— alex thomson —— turned round a disastrous start and looks set to come second

in the prestigious vendee globe race. our sports correspondent natalie pirks is following the race from les sables d'olonne on france's atlantic coast. after ten unpredictable weeks, the frenchman celebrating was a well one story, for six weeks he has battled everything the ocean has thrown at him, eating only freeze dried noodles and jelly and surviving on as little as 20 minutes sleep every few hours. when he set off with 28 other boats on the 6th of november, the hampshire yachtsman waved goodbye to his wife and two young children and attempted for the fourth time to become the first briton to win the vendee globe in the race's 27 year history. he headed around antarctica, across the cape of good hope, around the furthest place from civilisation on earth and back around cape horn.

when he arrives here tomorrow morning he was not stop somewhere between 25 and 30,000 nautical miles. there have been good moments this is the southern ocean moments and it's sunny. bad moments... i do wonder why i do it, sometimes. and moments over christmas where his family worried he was going slightly mad. # jingle bells, alex sails... his wife is simply desperate to get him home. i can't wait! i am so excited about seeing him. i have spoken to him and been in contact but actually seeing him, i can't wait. just two weeks into the race has bought got so badly damaged that usually affected his speed yet he still smashed the world record for the greatest distance sailed so low in 24 hours. the big event tomorrow

if the inauguration of donald trump and stay with us on bbc news for that, life. you are watching bbc news and no time for a look at all the weather news. very little change on the weather in the next 24 hours and what you have 110w the next 24 hours and what you have now is probably what you will have tomorrow. this zone of cloud has been bringing drizzle to the south and a hard frost in the south overnight. some fog mostly across the northeast and also where that bank of cloud meets cold air so there could be fog across wales, the midlands and east anglia as we don on friday morning. beautiful sunshine follows and any fog will left and actually there will be a su btle left and actually there will be a subtle change tomorrow. sunshine should become more abundant so including wales, northern ireland as well and join probably brighter prospects than in the last couple of

days. it would be warm but the dizzy heights of 5—7, but for most of us it should be dry. hello there. you are watching bbc news. the top stories for you now. donald trump has arrived in washington, ahead of his inauguration tomorrow as america's 45th president. up to 900,000 people are expected to travel to the capital to watch the ceremony. the former deputy first minister of northern ireland, martin mcguinness, is leaving frontline politics. in recent months he's been suffering from a serious illness. the question i ask myself is are you physically capable of fighting this election with the intensity elections need to be fought, the answer is i am not physically capable. a search and rescue operation is under way, with 35 people still missing following an avalanche in central italy, which buried a hotel. four people are known to have died. theresa may says britain will be open for business after brexit, as one high street bank predicted

london will remain europe's top financial centre, despite the uk leaving the eu. i want to be ambitious for the uk and am ambitious for the uk and what we can achieve, trading with the eu but also trading around the world — a truly global britain. surrey county council is to hold a referendum on whether to increase council tax by 15% to fund social care. the local authority says government funding cuts has left them no choice. back to the top story. the former northern ireland deputy first minister, martin mcguinness, has announced he's to retire from frontline politics, and won't seek re—election to the stormont assembly in march. he says he's planning to stand down in may, on the tenth anniversary of devolved government and power sharing. he's been speaking to our northern ireland political editor mark devenport. in the aftermath of the assembly

election last year i was going to stay on and i was an to be asked to stay on and i was an to be asked to stay on and i was an to be asked to stay on by the party as deputy first minister and i said i would do it for a further year, bringing minister and i said i would do it fora furtheryear, bringing me minister and i said i would do it for a further year, bringing me to the 8th of may this year. which would have been the anniversary. with ian paisley, which was an historic moment. i thought that was an appropriate moment for me to step aside as deputy first minister and make room for a new sinn fein deputy first minister. of course, the best laid plans of mice and men coming to play. we have had two situations to deal with. i have had two situations. one is the crisis at stormont and my own health problems, which have come after that. and really, i've been dealing with this whole situation for the last couple of months. it is a very serious

illness. it has taken its toll on me. but i am very determined to ove 1120 m e me. but i am very determined to overcome it and i am very determined to ove rco m e overcome it and i am very determined to overcome it to the state where i can be very much involved in the whole process of peace, unity and reconciliation. then there is the crisis at stormont and a big decision had to be made over whether i would contest that election. a lot of things have to be taken into consideration so i have given very careful thought to this over the cause of the last couple of weeks. i have had to think of my wife and family, the wonderful doctors and nurses who are taking care of me from the nhs and of course my constituents, who have done me the great honour of electing me last year. people generally. and of

course my old party colleagues in sinn fein both nationally and here in the city. so i have taken a decision and it has been well thought out. i have to be honest with all of those groups and all of those people but i have to be very honest with myself. the question i ask myself, are you physically capable of fighting this election with the intensity elections need to be fought? the honest answer is i am not physically capable. or able to fight this election. northern ireland journalist and author david mckittrick said that his stepping down would be a great loss to sinn fein, but it was clear his ill health was a prominent factor in his retirement. i think that, as you have seen him from just looking at the guy he is ina bad from just looking at the guy he is in a bad way. his appearance

deteriorated in a couple of months and it was a bit of a shock since we turned on the tv a couple of weeks ago and there was martin mcguinness with very little left of the old martin mcguinness which everybody used to know. it comes as no surprise to say he is packing it in. how much of a loss is it for sinn fein and nationalist politics? it isa fein and nationalist politics? it is a big loss because he has been a big figure in his early days in the ira and now in sinn fein. the big surprise was that this guy, who was the toughest of the tough in the ira, when he went into politics he certainly blossomed and he became... he started to really concentrate on winning friends and influencing people and he did do so. he made a lot of friends, a lot of contacts and he developed a relationship with all sorts of unlikely places, for example buckingham palace, where he

had a relationship and various meetings with the queen. he will go down in history as somebody who started out on one wing of apparent paramilitary alyssum and ended on the other. david trimble is also going, and reverend ian paisley, of course, who has passed away. is there a sense that northern ireland is entering a new phase now which could be quite destabilising. it could be the case because the people who take over from martin mcguinness, and the people who will ta ke mcguinness, and the people who will take over in various other parties and sources of power in northern ireland, they are not the kind of giants we used to know and not all of those giants were big friendly ones. a lot of them were people who

knew what they were doing and played a big part and knew what they were doing and played a big partand had knew what they were doing and played a big part and had decades of experience. that may not be the case now. who do you think will end up leading sinn fein now into those elections? there is a variety of people. the name you hear most often is conor murphy, who is a guy who spent some time in the maze prison for ira offences back in the 1970s and who went on to spend time in westminster asa went on to spend time in westminster as a westminster mp. he has a lot of experience, pretty smart, very articulate. of course, nobody has the kind of charm that martin mcguinness could turn on when he wa nted mcguinness could turn on when he wanted to and he hasn't got the charisma either so it is going to be a bit ofa charisma either so it is going to be a bit of a loss for sinn fein, whoever takes over. by this time tomorrow donald trump will have been sworn in as the 45th

president of the united states after the inauguration ceremony on capitol hill which is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors to washington dc. this week we've been taking a road trip through the heart of america on route 45. today our correspondent jon kay is in tupelo in the state of mississippi, the birthplace of elvis presley. one last practice before heading to washington. tonight, the tupelo high school band will be travelling 900 miles from mississippi to the capital to play at president trump's inauguration. your face is going to ache. i think so. what are you most excited about? just to march in the parade and get to see washington for the first time.

what do you think of your new president, trump? donald trump got 60% of the votes in this state. the students might be playing for him, but that doesn't mean they are all fans of the new man in the white house. if you've been able to vote, put your hands up if you would have voted for donald trump. not exactly overwhelming. three? i think some of his ideas are actually pretty quick, and i think he can make america great again. wejust have to believe in him and see what happens. you didn't put your hand up. no. why not? i don't like him. you're just about to play him. i know, but i'm full too. —— forced to. i like washington. i don't like him. you're going for the trip, yeah? basically. lots of celebrities

said no to performing for him at his inauguration, why did you say yes? i'm not really a fan of him, but i'm going for the experience and for my band. i'm not going for him. i'm going for me. music matters in this small southern town. in fact, it put tupelo on the map. just off route 45 is the tiny house where elvis presley was born. but we're not here to talk about ‘the king', we want to talk about the new president. because as well as producing rock ‘n' roll stars, tupelo produces cars. look at this, 1957 chevrolet. i wish we hired one of these for our road trip. donald trump has promised a return to the heyday of american manufacturing. he says he'll create jobs and improve trade deals. this local steel company supplies the car industry. they believe the new president will cut red tape, cut taxes and boost growth. i feel very optimistic... the boss here hopes donald trump will fill his government

with tough business people. and then, if they don't do it, he'll fire them! but it's not the apprentice, is it? politics is more complicated and more nuanced, is he going to be able to cope with the political diplomatic challenges? that remains to be seen. i think he has introduced something into the political landscape that has never been done before. anything that you take to the parade is subject to being searched. the students are ready to go. tomorrow, they will perform outside the white house, and this nation will have to march to a very different beat. jon kay, bbc news, tupelo, mississippi. a local authority is to hold a referendum on whether to increase council tax by 15%. it claims cuts in government funding and the crisis in social care have left it with no choice.

surrey county council — a conservative controlled authority — says it has a huge gap in its budget and wants the extra money to fund improved social care for the elderly, services for people with disabilities and for children. our deputy political editorjohn pienaar reports from esher. you don't get a choice about getting old but how to pay the huge bills for care. councils pay most of it and now one authority's had enough of government cuts and paying for more and more with less and less. surrey‘s asking council tax payers — yes or no, to a 15% increase for social care. i think it's important that politicians stand up and tell the truth and be honest with the rest of us, tell us what it costs to run these services. we have to pay for these services. it's not easy finding people here who are keen to pay what will be nearly £200 a year more on an average home, though no—one could call surrey hard up. good afternoon, the council want 15% increase... i heard it on the one o'clock news today. how about more of that money for the council for social care? certainly not.

totally obscene. there's lots of money in surrey but that doesn't mean to say we'll accept a 15% rate increase, it's not on. i think it's a very bad idea. i can't afford to pay because my pension is frozen. more council tax to pay for social care, do you fancy that, yes or no? i'm up for it. i think we live in a very affluent area. i think we can all afford it. i know lots of people around here need it more than we do. absolutely, i think that's right. clearly it's a national cost. the sign of a civilised society is one that looks after and cares for its older people responsibly. i think it's a problem that's going to escalate over the years, it's not going to go away, and we have to address it. the labour leader also agrees all tax payers should bear the rising cost of social care. it's not right that we should thrust the social care crisis on local authorities, all of whom have different levels of income all over the country. it's a central government responsibility and central government should face up to its responsibility.

local voters have been asked to vote on a council tax rise just once in england in the last five years, the answer was no. the head of the metropolitan police sir bernard hogan howe says the "warning lights are flashing" over crime after new figures revealed there were nearly 12 million offences last year. for the first time fraud and cyber crime has been included in official crime figures and there's also been a jump in violent offences recorded in england and wales. a strike by conductors on the southern rail network will go ahead next week after the rmt union said it was barred from talks. the strikes planned for next week by the train drivers‘ main union aslef have been suspended to allow the talks to take place. a new year

a new initiative has been announced to fight three deadly diseases deadly diseases a new year a new initiative has been announced to fight three deadly diseases which scientists believe could spark the next global epidemic. it aims to develop vaccines quickly for mers, lassa fever and the nipper virus. our global health correspondent tulip mazumdar has more. these majestic creatures are believed to be spreading middle east respiratory syndrome, or mers. the virus was first identified in saudi arabia in 2012. around a third of those infected die. this lab in oxford is developing a vaccine to protect people against mers. the next outbreak could be even deadlier. we have got lucky so far. we have got lucky so far, but the world has major gaps for viruses that we know about which could cause ebola—like viruses that could spread faster around the world. scientists have identified three

they want to find vaccines for.