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 comes this weekend. he has been party leaderfor 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 againstjacob zuma's wife, nkosaza na ramaphosa, is up againstjacob 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, 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. 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 with us side—by—side, to keep our house safe those first few days. all week they have been racing to contain the fire. and, with fierce winds forecast tonight, firefighters say they expect the battle to intensify. former prime minister david cameron is taking on a new government—linked role, as the uk and china step up cooperation on investment. the statement from the chancellor, phillip hammond, who is in beijing for a second day of talks, says mr cameron will be involved in a new $1 billion fund which will invest in the uk, china, and other countries.

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. 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. i'll buber doormat uber has not

substantiated claims in the latter, but its new leadership wanted to compete honestly in the future. 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. 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.

that is me getting to work. we will have the weather coming up later, and mike has all the sport for you as well. if you ventured into a town or city centre last night, you might have an idea of why some emergency services were calling it mad friday. a combination of office parties, binge—drinking, and cold weather meant that police and paramedics were braced for their one of their busiest nights of the year. one of those out on the frontline was consultant paramedic dan smith. he has finished his shift, and came straight here to talk to us. what time did you begin yesterday?

about six p.m.. and what time did you finished this morning? about six a.m.. you are a powerhouse, thank you for coming in. was it significantly busier than usual? yes, it is busy. this time of year we know the nhs is busy anyway, it isa we know the nhs is busy anyway, it is a busy period for us, it is cold out there, so the long—term chest conditions are out there anyway. so we are always going to be stretched at this time of year. and as we see these office parties and the alcohol is starting to flow, clearly that puts that little bit of extra pressure on us. i puts that little bit of extra pressure 011 us. | am puts that little bit of extra pressure on us. | am aware puts that little bit of extra pressure on us. i am aware there are sensitivities around people's privacy, but can you give us an overview of how the night progressed? so it is a different pattern to the usual on a friday. so the office parties start earlier and people go out on the town earlier

than they would otherwise do so. we start seeing things in towns and cities around four p.m.. so they started at lunchtime. yes, so officers closing early and we see that little rise about that time. and when we say already seen, you are getting call—outs already at that time which are alcohol—related. yes, and this isn'tjust about people having way much alcohol, and the unconscious on the floor, which you often see, but sometimes these are people doing daft things that they wouldn't dream of doing, trying tojump off they wouldn't dream of doing, trying to jump off stuff, they wouldn't dream of doing, trying tojump off stuff, or running around getting on people's shoulders, stuff you just wouldn't normally do. which then leads the incidents or injuries. so the kinds of injuries you are dealing with? so for me they ranged from a twisted ankle, again, a young man doing something daft because he had had too much to drink on what right the way through u nfortu nately last on what right the way through unfortunately last night to a couple

of really serious injuries, which began alcohol was linked to them, and in one case one guy was clearly very drunk and did something very daft and ended up with serious injuries. we have spoken to paramedics before, and you are pragmatic people. you deal with what you are presented with. you don't draw conclusions. but one of the realities is, if you are getting a lot of calls like that, other work that you might otherwise do, the pressure to cover all of those areas, is intense, isn't it? that is extra pressure, frankly, you could do without, i am sure. it is. and as isaid, do without, i am sure. it is. and as i said, this is a busy time of year for us, so any extra pressure on the ambulance service or the police or the nhs as a whole is an extra pressure we could well do without. and we have sent out messages every year, please be careful, please be sensible while out. but it is a strange dynamic this time of year. people are not necessarily out with the friends they would normally be out with, so

the friends they would normally be outwith, so they end up quite vulnerable because they are not with friends that would always look after them and understand how drunk they are. i suppose when you are with your friends, they know you have your friends, they know you have your certain ways and weaknesses when you are drunk, and can get you within that limit. uart without people you have —— you are out with people you have —— you are out with people you have not been out with all year. so that sort of ads to that. what about aggression? you have to be fairly pragmatic and non— judgemental about this, but it seems there is now a trend where if you are offering help people get annoyed with you. they do. unfortunately that's not just with you. they do. unfortunately that's notjust a christmas thing, that's notjust a christmas thing, that's all year round, we see that behaviour, and to have the say the vast majority of our patients don't act ina vast majority of our patients don't act in a way, but there are times when patients become aggressive towards us and there's often alcohol linked to that. we do get a couple

of crews assaulted during work and obviously that was dealt with by the police and things, but this is something we are very mindful of, our crews are very mindful of. it's not just physical. our crews are very mindful of. it's notjust physical. physicality is often less effect of that type of incident. use a you have to deal with these things with a slight twinkle in your eye. —— you say. how worried are you about your on staff, the pressures they are feeling and having to deal with the long hours you work? you have to be careful with your own people, don't you? you work? you have to be careful with your own people, don't you7m course. starting in the ambulance service, last night we held a

briefing at 8pm in preparation for the night and some of the key m essa 9 es we re the night and some of the key messages were about staff welfare and making sure we are cross dealing with any incident where staff welfare was in doubt. how sensible we re welfare was in doubt. how sensible were you at your christmas party? i am sure you got a chance to let your hairdown? am sure you got a chance to let your hair down? we do and we are sensible. like any christmas party, you know, alcohol is consumed, but i think we probably learnt the lessons that perhaps you don't learn sometimes in that we see the after—effects. sometimes in that we see the after-effects. but very well—behaved. are you on shifts tonight? no, that's me done for this weekend. thank you for coming in. you've been up for a very long time and so sleep well and thank you. we were mentioning the weather conditions and how they can sometimes compound things.

here's stav with a look at this morning's weather. good morning! good morning! good morning. the good news is for some of us that milder air is moving in off the atlantic. cold air with us today, so a frosty start and then the orange colours invade in off the atla ntic the orange colours invade in off the atlantic and it will turn on noticeably milder, especially in western areas. staying mild in the next week. it is a cold day today, but there should be a lot of sunshine around. some showers in the forecast. a few across cornwall and devon. some towards western and northern wales in particular. this feature is moving in north wales. there could be some wintriness over the high ground, but there will be ice where we've had showers overnight and whether rainfalls on frozen surfaces. the central parts of northern ireland, northern and western scotland, but elsewhere it's a drier, cold and frosty start.

todayis a drier, cold and frosty start. today is looking pretty good for most central and eastern areas, holding onto the sunshine. further west, a bit more cloud around. this feature bringing cloud and rain to wales and the south—west of england in particular. less cold, 6—8, i temperatures 2—5 or six at best. 0vernight temperatures fall away in east, but the change taking place in the west. cloudier and less cold. fight in belfast, 86 in plymouth. central and eastern england. sub zero values and a bit of mist and fog. this is the reason why the weather is changing. the weather feature will be moving on, bringing rain and strong winds. with it, milder air. so it's a cloudier and wet start to the north and west. a dry start across the south—east, but then the rain will moving here later in the afternoon. skies brightened up in the afternoon. skies brightened up in scotland and northern ireland.

it will still be chilly across the east, but later the mild air will arrive. next week it is set to stay mostly dry. very mild and we could have temperatures reaching 14— 15 degrees in a couple of places on tuesday and wednesday. but because the air is coming off the atlantic, where we see mild air it will be cloudy at times. so the cold and sunshine or the mild and cloudy weather. which one do you prefer? mild and cloudy. definitely. me too! thank you. they were thought to be lost forever but now tv shows starring cilla black, pete postlethwaite and patrick troughton will be seen for the first time in decades today at an exhibition in london. the event by the british film institute celebrates the discovery of programmes which were believed to have disappeared from the archives. 0ur entertainment correspondent colin paterson has had a preview.

i could learn a lot of things from you... you shine at every single thing you do... cilla black and dudley more together on her bbc one variety show. this episode of cilla has not been seen since it was first transmitted in march, 1968. you're the one who's really versatile... copy has turned up in the house of a formerfairground on copy has turned up in the house of a former fairground on the copy has turned up in the house of a formerfairground on the near blackpool whose dad was a film collector. today it will be shown in full at the bfi southbank as part of their series, where we discovered tb is showcased. including a crackly recording of the first ever tv appearance by pete postlethwaite at the age of 29. i still like you, sometimes. come on. get on with it. let's get it over with. one was a

half—hour bbc play broadcast in 1975, from which he played a journalist investigating a possible arrival of an alien spaceship. the original was wiped, the director held onto the video correct of the first edit, which has been restored. 0ther discoveries include the only surviving episode of late night horrorfrom 1968, surviving episode of late night horrorfrom1968, which surviving episode of late night horror from 1968, which was cancelled by the bbc after 16 part series, due to the number of complaints about being too scary. and an episode of itv police drama no hiding place has turned up in australia. in the 19605 it had audiences of 7 million, but only 20 of the 236 shows survived. this one

i5 of the 236 shows survived. this one is from 1960 and features a guest appearance by patrick troughton a5 a grumpy prisoner, appearance by patrick troughton a5 a grumpy pri5oner, 5ix appearance by patrick troughton a5 a grumpy pri5oner, six years before he joined dr who. not even after seven years joined dr who. not even after seven year5 good conduct. you will do another seven, in a straitjacket!m hoped the ben speight this will encourage more people to come forward with their own tv trea5ure5. -- it is forward with their own tv trea5ure5. —— it is hoped events like this. fascinating. a glimpse back into the past. they haven't been seen for years. past. they haven't been seen for year5. talking past. they haven't been seen for yea r5. talking about past. they haven't been seen for year5. talking about going back into the past. .. they were the woolly giant5 that roamed the earth more than 10,000 years ago. this is a rare mammoth skeleton, discovered in the permafrost in siberia, will go on auction in france today. david gelsthorpe i5 curator of earth science collections at manchester museum. this is curious, isn't it? someone selling a mammoth skeleton. it's amazing to have something that's so enormous, a really big specimen, and

something so complete. we find bit5 of mammoth in britain, which is incredible in its own right, that we tend to find things like bit5 incredible in its own right, that we tend to find things like bits of teeth, it is of bone occasionally, things like that. it's what we have in collections in museums in the uk, but we are in an incredible situation in the world where a lot of the permafrost i5 melting for the first time, especially in places like siberia, that means unprecedented numbers of skeletons and even things like flash, they've found organs and hair and even blood and things like that, so they are all melting out of the permafrost. cani all melting out of the permafrost. can i ask the really stupid question. how thick i5 permafrost and where is it most common? today it is most common in places like arctic canada and siberia. it can be metres and meters and me to speak, and with climate change even by half and with climate change even by half a degree or a couple of degrees it i5 a degree or a couple of degrees it is gradually melting. —— metres thick. things that have been trapped

for tens of thousands of years are suddenly being revealed. can we have a look at the images of the actual skeleton that's for sale? maybe you could talk u5 skeleton that's for sale? maybe you could talk us through it. it is an extraordinary thing. the scale and 5ize. talk u5 extraordinary thing. the scale and 5ize. talk us through what we are seeing. it's pretty much a complete skeleton a5 seeing. it's pretty much a complete skeleton as far as i understand. it's about skeleton as far as i understand. it‘s about 3.5— skeleton as far as i understand. it's about 3.5— four metres high, which is a big is ample of its kind. mostly you see smaller examples. and often as well with these kinds of skeletons they are what is known as composite is, so they get lots of different individuals and make up the two kind of make it... so you don't think this is the real thing? all original? they seem to think it i5 all original? they seem to think it is genuine, but it's hard to say u nless is genuine, but it's hard to say unless you have very good contacts from where it has been dug up. are you still learning from the

5 keleto n5 ? you still learning from the 5keleton5? i understand this one'5 teeth showed signs of decay, which maybe would have been because —— being the cause of its demise, because it couldn't it. absolutely we are learning things every day and the key thing is all about climate change as well. mammoth skeletons are change as well. mammoth skeletons a re really change as well. mammoth skeletons are really good clue to what these mammoth5 were eating, what the climate wa5 mammoth5 were eating, what the climate was like at the time. in manchester we do not solve work on dating the5e manchester we do not solve work on dating these different 5pecimen5, so we know exactly what the climate wa5 like in different points in the past. the5e like in different points in the past. these kinds of changes that we can really understand from the last ice age, which really brings it acted today and helps us understand what's happening to the climate now. what is the holy grail item that eve ryo ne what is the holy grail item that everyone is hoping that one day will be found and will fit into the jigsaw puzzle? more of these incredible 5pecimen5 jigsaw puzzle? more of these incredible specimens that are coming out of siberia that are complete, with all the skin and hair and fur

and all of the organs. it really help5 and all of the organs. it really helps us kind of unlock all of the puzzles of evolution. rigidly the danger is the moment you move it from the situation they've been in, albeit they've been defrosting overtime, that that is lost, because they've been kept intact because they've been kept intact because they have been frozen. absolutely at they have been frozen. absolutely at the context is lost and the slightly sad thing about the auction today is that all of the fabulous scientific re5ea rch that all of the fabulous scientific research that we could have done on the specimen, what's happened overtime and climate change, is lost to science, which is a real shame. thank you very much. really interesting. tonight is the night for many viewers if you are fans of strictly come dancing and the winner will be announced. fans watching all of the co ntesta nts, fans watching all of the contestants, as they twirl and tango their way to the final, can see who will be the winner. let's have a look. everything that we've put ourselves

through the last 12 weeks, it's worth it. this makes it all worth while. just being here and being with these amazing women, it feels like job donein amazing women, it feels like job done ina amazing women, it feels like job done in a way. it's just a massive achievement because i didn't think that we get this far. not that i didn't have belief, but you never think that far ahead. it means everything and we can't believe that everyone has voted for us, can we? absolutely, we are really happy. strictly come dancing is on bbc one

this evening at 6:30. stay with us. headlines in a moment. hello, this is breakfast, with naga munchetty and charlie stayt. good morning, here is a summary of today's main stories from bbc news: 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. south africa's future will be decided this weekend, as the governing party will choose a new leader to succeed president jacob zuma. he has faced numerous allegations of corruption during his decade in charge, and now a 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 winner. 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. the statement from the chancellor, phillip hammond, who is in beijing for a second day of talks, says mr cameron will be involved in a new $1 billion fund

which will invest in the uk, china, and other 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, 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. it is the second major leak to hit the utility in recent months. we are getting updated on a busy day in sport at home and abroad. the cricket is crucial, in the ashes, andi cricket is crucial, in the ashes, and i am getting worried for our colleague dan walker who tweeted he wasn't going to leave the sofa until the australian captain, steve smith, was out. he is approaching a double century. and mitchell marsh has a century. and mitchell marsh has a century as well. it is an amazing

performance. sometimes you just have to say... and being captain can put you off your batting game but he is the world's best batsman for many reasons. australia are now in the driving seat in the third ashes test, on 421—4. so they lead by 18, and know that, if they can now go on and win this test, the ashes will be theirs again. let'sjoin our sports correspondent andy swiss, who is at the waca, in perth. and andy, the little urn, is being prised from england's grasp. quite possibly, yes. as you say, it has been pretty grim viewing for england fans today. they have taken just one wicket all day. and as england fans had feared, the key man, steve smith, has been the man who has really done the damage. he began the day 92 not out. he soon went on to reach a century, showing

just why he is the world's number one batsman. it was a superb 100 from the australian skipper but he only really just started. from the australian skipper but he only reallyjust started. at from the australian skipper but he only really just started. at the other end, england made a breakthrough, shaun marsh caught by joe root at slip off moeen ali at 28. something for the england fans to cheer but that wrought his rather, mitchell marsh, to the crease “— rather, mitchell marsh, to the crease —— that brought his brother. england have looked flat, but you have to give credit to australia's batting. they have given england virtually no chances. and just before tea, what a moment it was for mitchell marsh, as he reached his first test century, at tea, steve smith still there. mitchell marsh is there, and england will look back on their batting collapsed yesterday. they had such a big chance to go

big, score 550 or 600. australia are now looking like they might have a first—innings lead of 200 or 250, and from there it will be a very long way back for england, if they are to get back into this match, save the match and save the ashes. there is a little bit of rain forecast over the next couple of days, what it is going to be some struggle for england to get back from here. that is some hope, rain! if they can draw this match and there are two more test is to play and if england can win those, england would then keep the ashes. but it is clinging at straws. if rain comes, we are only day three. will need a lot of rain. 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 last weekend manchester united, the side 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. that belongs to arsene wenger and his amazing arsenal in 2004. we are going to lose games. what's important is to play better, to try to play better and better. that's the most important thing. the record is ok, but the records always stay there, and one day it is going to be broken. 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 any team in top—flight history has managed. so can tottenham stop them? well, their boss likes a challenge. i think we're going to play, for me, the best team today in europe, not only in england. and it's so exciting. it's a massive challenge, the 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. and wales are now clear at the top of the championship after winning last night. 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. 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. 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 — a lone voice on match day. byron young has been singing

for his country since 1972. his 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‘s got a voice, and that's the way they do it. it happens in football. you see it at liverpool, in the cup, the national anthems, you see people crying because of the opportunity to sing out what you're feeling inside. singing in sport has come such a long way since it was originally given a voice in the modern era by welshman called tom williams back in 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 hymns. and on the pitch, ahead of kick—off, and for one night only they allowed another voice. # why, why, why, delilah? 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 sing

spontaneously in harmony. and i think that led into the stadiums 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 did it! when we were five metres out, you could hear the crowd singing, and stuff, and that lifts you that extra 10%. when the going gets tough, and they start the song and it goes on stage, itjust lifts you up. in the end, wales lost the match, but that didn't stop the 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 typifies it. this is the spirit, wales together. really fantastic. and they will be doing it all again in the six nations. and it is fascinating to think it is such an integral part of the team, and part of match day. as the team are arriving, they have a song. and hiring hayden to take the lion '5 to actually get the whole group together, to bond them for the home nations. are just coming together when he sings, it is lovely. here's stav with a look at this morning's weather. it is becoming more mild? that's right. that's the trend.

through the weekend the trend taking place. today is another cold one. widespread frost and ice to watch out for. we should see plenty of sunshine. these are the latest temperatures. —3 in rochdale. across the far south—west of england and towards northern ireland we've got more cloud. little bit less cold. temperatures above freezing. three degrees in plymouth. maybe three in taunton. the midlands eastward it is really cold. a few showers and long spells of rain into the north—west of england. this falls on frozen surfaces adequate device. icy patches in northern ireland as well and towards northern and western scotland, where showers are around. watch out for these. the ice warning is there until about 11 a.m.. after that it stays cloudy across the irish sea coast. a couple of showers

from northern ireland and northern scotland. elsewhere, a lovely day, lots of sunshine and light winds. there's the cold air for saturday. slowly pushed off into the near continent. the big plume of milder air moving in of the atlantic and it will be noticeable as we head into sunday. the change takes place tonight across western areas. the weather system will bring outbreaks of rain and strengthening winds. it will be another chilly one in the eastern side of the country. maybe fog as well. 64 plymouth. here is the reason for the change. initially wet and windy weather to the northern half of the uk. the southeast starts cold. also sunshine and fog. that will clear away across the north and it slowly move southwards and eastwards through sunday. behind it, we will see the best of the sunshine in the afternoon. temperatures much milder.

10-11 afternoon. temperatures much milder. 10—11 for glasgow and belfast. milder in the south—west. still chilly in the east. that in full force in full force into next week. it will be miles even very mild around the middle of the week. mainly dry, but it was the wind is coming from the south—west it will feed in a lot of cloud and it could be thick enough for drizzle or light rain in western hills. that's the run—up to christmas. it looks like it stay mild. thanks very much. we'll be back with the headlines at 8am, but first it is time for newswatch, with simira ahmed. hello, welcome to newswatch with me, samira ahmed. today we've got a special edition of newswatch. we're devoting the whole show to an exclusive interview with the outgoing director of news and current affairs, james harding. we ask him about his record during his four years in the role, and what advice he has for his successor, fran unsworth, who's just been appointed. so, come the new year, bbc news will have a new boss. james harding is off to set

up his own news media venture. but who is he and what challenges has he faced? james joined the bbc in 2013, having left his previous role as editor of the times newspaper the year before. it was his first job in broadcasting, heading up the largest broadcast news operation in the world. he presided over bbc news during one of the most divisive times in recent british political history. the scottish independence referendum, brexit, and two general elections. he's also had to deal with a series of pay rows at bbc news, including the pay gap between male and female presenters. but he is credited with the appointment of the bbc‘s first female political editor, laura kuenssberg. james's replacement will be fran unsworth, a long—term bbc journalist who is currently his deputy, and director

of the bbc world service. well, i've been speaking to james harding and began by asking him about brexit, and what he says to the many viewers who thought the bbc was part of the establishment during the eu referendum. clearly favouring remain. i think that the referendum was, of course, an incredibly polarising time, as you say, samira. but actually what's interesting is, of course, we've had complaints from both sides and what we try to do, and i think when you look back and you look at the coverage, what we actually did do, was set about trying to explain what the choice was, trying to report out what the choice was. if you look back over the last few years, there have been an extraordinary number of democratic moments, two referendums, two general elections, a host of others around the world. i think one of the real lessons of the last few years is you can't predict what's going to happen. you can't rely on either political predictions or polls, and that means for us we have to do what we're here for, we've got to make sure that people

get a sense of what the choice is. you mention the need for the bbc to provide informed news about that issue, and there was a big accusation from many viewers that the bbc was in fact, during the referendum, too timid in calling out things, notably statistical claims being made by one side or another that just weren't true. there's no question at all, the bbc and, as a news organisation, a group of journalists, what we set out to do is to understand the world presented to us and make choices. in that there is no question at all that the bbc has to make judgments, and we do. i suppose that on the issue of statistics, the specific question you're asking about numbers, actually, we made a very clear choice to try and challenge those numbers, question those numbers, and more than that, we didn't do it in a sort of ad hoc way, we took something called reality check, right, which was our system forfact checking, we really increased the resources,

the number of people working on it and we've made that a permanent part of the way in which we cover politics and policy. so, rather than stepping back from analysing statistics and numbers, we've actually stepped into it. with hindsight, should the bbc have done representation of different political views differently? we've had many complaints from some viewers over the years about, for example, too much nigel farage. so, i think it's a really good and important issue, this, and one that we spend an enormous amount of time thinking about. so, if you got into the team, for example, on question time, which would be a good place to start, we are really careful in trying to think about where we hold the programme, so we get the best possible spread of audiences, who's on the panel, notjust in the context of who's on the panel on a particular thursday night, but who's on the panel over the course of a year, over the course of an entire political or electoral cycle.

so, we do really think about it a great deal. and actually if you look over time, if you look over all of the bbc, what we call output, all of the bbc programmes, it's something that we think really carefully about. actually, if it's all right with you, i think there's something different that is really worth thinking about. it's not about the representation of political parties, it's about the representations of views and personal points of view that are not necessarily captured by political parties but are captured by groups of people come individuals who feel as though their voice should be heard on the bbc. one of the things we've really tried to do is change that, too. trust in bbc news has been eroded under your watch, hasn't it? well, actually, it moves, so the truth is with trust, it moves. i think that obviously i arrived here on the back of savile and mcalpine, and those were big issues facing the bbc and confidence in bbc news. actually, that trust and confidence was significantly restored. but you're right, there's also a very profound argument going on around trust in the media generally in the light of what's

happening politically. i don'tjust mean party politically, i don'tjust mean brexit and trump, i mean the extent to which people feel as though they're seen by, if you like, the system. by politicians, by the media. in your resignation letter, you said you were going to set up a media company with a clear point of view. does that mean you think the bbc‘s aim of impartial news isn't working in the age of fake news? no, no, it doesn't, it means exactly the opposite, it means that the bbc‘s offer is working and should be what it is, which is impartial, but not necessarily taking a position. the public funds, we are funded by the licence fee payer, and everyone who pays the licence fee, i think, has a decent expectation that the bbc should operate in such a way that it reports what's happening but doesn't take a position.

doesn't take a stand in the way in which newspapers or websites or other individuals might do. no, actually, i really believe in it. if you look at the bbc‘s trust, the bbc trust levels are so much higher than any other news organisation. that's the simple fact. and we still have to keep on working on trust, but it is the thing that is the most impressive about the bbc and the public‘s relationship with the bbc. the first female political editor was employed under your watch, laura kuenssberg. why do you think she has been getting unprecedented levels of vitriol and hatred ? i don't know, i think it's shameful that she is, because she is an unbelievably impressive journalist. she is one of the most extraordinary journalists i've ever worked with. if you look at just the thoughtfulness, the diligence and the quality of the work, i'm just amazed that people are so personal, even if they don't like the politics

they see in front of them. the fact they're willing to attack laura, the fact they're willing to do that, ifind is really shocking, and is bad for the way in which journalism is conducted and public debate. so, all i can say is that i know a few people do this. i do also have to say that i'm in a happy position that many people come up to me and say what an extraordinary job she's doing. we get lots of complaints from viewers that the bbc is anti—jeremy corbyn and focused on labour party divisions. do you agree that the bbc has collectively failed on the whole to treat him fairly and seriously? no, i don't think that, although i do think there is a really interesting lesson in the coverage ofjeremy corbyn. there was obviously great disquiet, great opposition to him within the parliamentary labour party. and we reported that, we reported obviously notjust the opposition to him, but the efforts that were made to get rid of him. there were leadership contests that were precisely about that. the question is, did we get that mix right alongside the mix of changes that were happening within the membership

of the local labour party, and people who were not members? so, i would say the in course of the 2017 general election, we really did capture that mood. if you go and you look at the way in which we were covering jeremy corbyn's rallies, we were the people saying the polls might say x, but look what's happening in terms of the rallies. we also, i like to think, really got to grips with the questions that were the heart ofjeremy corbyn's proposal to the country in the nature of the manifesto. once again trying to examine the choice, rather than the horse race. but there is a question which is, from the time thatjeremy corbyn was elected through to 2017, there are obviously changes within some of those constituency labour party... parts of the constituency labour party, and a politics element of that that is also really interesting. but also to the mood of certain parts of the electorate, and particularly young people. i think it is.

licence fee payers... all right, let's have a go at it. i think that the... the biggest issues i've got are the one i raise about how are we going to change an organisation when the behaviour of people around news is changing so fast? so, that's a long way of saying, we still have huge audiences for the 6pm and 10pm news. the today programme, 5 live and newsbeat. yet we can also see people changing the way in they consume news. are we moving fast enough to make those changes? and notjust in terms of the devices, also the way we tell stories. your successor, fran unsworth, is an internal candidate. which some might say reflects the decision to go a different way for the bbc.

do you have any advice for her? well, i chose fran when ijoined as my deputy, and she has been an extraordinary person to work with. for people who don't know her, fran has worked at the bbc for pretty much her entire career and knows and understands it. most recently she was running the bbc world service. what you see with fran is an incredibly thoughtful manager of people. a really intelligentjudge of news, and a fantastic ambassador for the bbc. but most of all, she has the capacity to enable great people to do exceptional work. and when you are the director of news and current affairs, that's the thing you really want to do, it's not what you do. the leadership of the organisation is enabling other people to do great things and no—one does that better in my experience, than fran. so i think she will be a brilliant director of news and current affairs. i've loved working with her and a great many people in the bbc feel the same way. thank you, james harding. thank you very much. and that's all from us this week.

if you want to share your thoughts on whatjames harding had to say or any aspect of bbc news and current affairs, you can call us on... 0r e—mail... you can find us on twitter... and do have a look at our website for previous interviews. the address for that is... we're off now till the new year, but do join us again onjanuary 5th. until then, from all of us on the programme, have a very merry christmas and a happy new year. 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. amid allegations of bribery, in—fighting andrcerruptierb more than 400 square miles of california has now been burned by wildfires. at least 8,000 people are still fighting the blaze. the mainland. captain smith mirza

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