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 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 kyernen that will mean that we divert anne kylloenen services away from patients, potentially leaving patients, potentially leaving patients on the floor with a broken hip ora baby 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. 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 gci’oss 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 intoa 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 toa 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, 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 isjust 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. 0ne 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 presidentjacob early 1990s. and the other is

president jacob zuma's former wife, doctor nkosaza na dlamini—zuma. 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. 0ur 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 19705, 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 ofa 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 0r 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 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. 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. 0ut because cold air is with us for saturday. out in the atlantic there's milder air. a big plume of milderair 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. todayis 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 additionalfog around. eastern areas starting cold, with additional fog around. that will tend to clear as the rain sinks south—eastwards. some of it will be heavyin 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 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 lastjedi, 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 0scar 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 ifound 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 awa kens 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 rianjohnson who is helming this, who's come from films like looper, has done a fantasticjob. 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? ihear him. in his room. ihear 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 horrorfilm 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 lastjedi. and it's not a horrorfilm. 0k! i may be just saying that, but it's not a horror film! best out, however, iwholeheartedly, 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, itjust 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. 0n 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 19705, 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.

you don't seem surprised, mikel 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? cucumbergin? 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 they play spurs, the only team in the top six they have not yet faced. 0ne 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. city have now won an impressive 15 straight league matches, in the process of picking up 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 totte n ha m history has managed. so can tottenham stop them ? history has managed. so can tottenham stop them? well, their boss likes a challenge. tottenham stop them? well, their boss likes a challengelj tottenham stop them? well, their boss likes a challenge. i think we are going to play, for me, the best tea m are going to play, for me, the best team today in europe. not only in england. and it is so exciting, it isa 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 0'sullivan was caught napping at the scottish 0pen snooker. not one of his power naps, but he was beaten 5—0 byjohn higgins in the quarter—finals. it is the first time in 23 years higgins has whitewashed 0'sullivan, who said he had no excuses, and the pair clearly have a lot of respect for each other. you know whatjohn is like. he is a class act and just an amazing player. he is just class act and just an amazing player. he isjust 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 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 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 choirjoins 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. 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, tha nkfully lost 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 tojust 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 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?m was the singing that dittert! when we we re 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, itjust leaves they start the song and it goes on stage, it just leaves you they start the song and it goes on stage, itjust 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 itjust 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 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. good morning! 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. 0therwise, most areas will be dry and sunny. more cloud across the west in eastern areas. 0utbreaks 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. 0vernight,

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. 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. 0ur producer has the kodak, while i'm putting the nikon through its paces. now, we don'tjust 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. 0r front to front. 0r 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 reasonablejob. the stitching point is more visible on the kodak, partly because of the different qualities of those two lenses. 0n 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 sheerfun, 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. 0h, 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 greatjob, 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 0umuamua 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.

0k, 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. 0h. 0h, 0k, 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 pleasejoin 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