hello — this is breakfast with rogerjohnson. disruption as heavy snow hits the uk. parts of the midlands and south wales have been worst hit. 1a,000 homes are without power and the m1 is one of several major routes to be affected. good morning — it's wednesday 27th december. also on the programme: the first of a group of critically ill children are evacuated from a rebel—held suburb of the syrian capital damascus. the company which ran grenfell tower hands control of thousands of other properties back to the council, saying it can't guarantee tenants the service they expect. in sport, there's hope for england in the fourth ashes test, after stuart broad sets off an australia collapse on day two in melbourne.

phil has the rest of the weather for the uk. a very good morning. a cold, bright day to many cup —— parts of the british isles but in the nicks, snow has been falling and continues to fall in some areas. —— in the mix. good morning. first, our main story. thousands of homes are without power in england and wales, as overnight snowfall has brought down power lines. western power says 14,000 properties are affected, from cornwall to sheffield. meanwhile, parts of the mi, m5 and m42 motorways are also affected by snow. and some flights were diverted from birmingham airport after the runway was shut for a short time. let's get more from our news correspondent andy moore. this really has happened in the last few hours but it's causing a lot of chaos in certain areas. overnight,

an unusual combination of heavy rain turning to snow and that has caused quite a few problems. first of all, with the western power distribution company dealing with lots of different problems across the south—west and midlands and south wales, more than 14,000 properties without power. the flooding, the environment agency in england says there are currently 14 flood warnings and 96 alerts, with flooding on some major roads. the 836, the 814 new cambridgeshire. —— bea 836, the 814 new cambridgeshire. —— be a 36. —— the 814 now. the airport was closed for more than an hour. luton airport is warning the snow is about to hit them about now. they are warning passengers to check before they travel to the airport.

overnight, snow on the roads. lorries on the m5 were having pressure with the incline. in the north of scotland, northern ireland and the east coast, problems with ice. thank you very much indeed. the travel chaos ensuing as a result of that snow. we will keep you up—to—date. you can get in touch with us and let us know how the weather is wherever you are. email us weather is wherever you are. email us your photographs. bbcbrea kfast@bbc. co. uk or us your photographs. bbcbreakfast@bbc.co.uk or go to facebook or twitter. send us your pictures and use the hashtag #bbcbreakfast. pictures and use the hashtag #bbcbrea kfast. we will pictures and use the hashtag #bbcbreakfast. we will keep you posted with the weather. aid workers who have started to evacuate critically ill children,

rebel—held suburb near damascus are doing this following negotiations to allow children with cancer to be transferred from eastern ghouta into damascus to treatment. these photos posted on twitter by the syrian red crescent, an international committee of the red cross. a sign of hope forjust a few. four patients with critical medical conditions will now receive treatment in a hospital in damascus. in the rebel held suburb of eastern ghouta, the most vulnerable have little help. sick and malnourished, trapped under siege since 2013. on christmas day, the bbc aired a story of a young baby, two—months—old who lost an eye and suffered severe injuries in a suspected government attack. un efforts to arrange medical evacuations from ghouta have

until now fallen on deaf ears. last month, nine people who needed urgent medical care died after a request to get them out were denied. now the attention turns to those who can still be saved. including seven children with curable cancer. but without the medicine to treat them. if we can save these seven children maybe we may also be able to get out the other 125 children in ghouta who we understand are in desperate need of sophisticated medical support which they cannot get in ghouta. the syrian red crescent says the evacuations last night took a long time to negotiate. the first of 29 critical cases approved by authorities. the remainder will be evacuated to damascus over the coming days. it may seem just a drop in the ocean in the plight of so many. but it is perhaps a small change in what has been an unforgiving ordeal for the people of eastern ghouta. the company that ran

the grenfell tower is handing back control of the other properties it manages to the local council. the kensington and chelsea tenant management organisation says the temporary move is because it can't guarantee the right level of service. the organisation was heavily criticised afterjune's fire, but some residents say they don't think the council has the capacity to manage any of its housing stock. britain's workers could see another year without a pay rise, that's according to the resolution foundation think tank, which looks at living standards in the uk. it said a year—on—year rise in real pay wouldn't be noticeable until december next year. the government says it is cutting taxes for millions and raising pay through the national living wage.

we will talk to the foundation later in the programme. people who have their credit mistakenly issued will be protected under proposals. there are concerns that some businesses may be deliberately sending claims to the wrong address is in order to exploit people's debt and ruin our rating. most businesses responsibly collect their debts but what we want to do is protect vulnerable consumers against the minority of cowboy companies that can devastate innocent people's credit ratings without them even knowing so we've got a package of measures which will deal with that problem. the minority of rogue companies. the demand for holidays is set to remain strong in 2018, despite a squeeze on wages, according to the association

of british travel agents. it says that squeezed budgets won't put people off trying out new destinations over the next 12 months. it also says that despite tough financial times, holidays remain a spending priority for consumers. the kind of things we found this year, w011 the kind of things we found this year, won the findings is that people, even though we are going through tough economic times, 30% said they intend to spend more money on summer holidays rather than less next year and a 5% increase in bookings so were all very positive and it shows them when people are thinking they can make cuts, those qualities are one of the last things to go. —— those holidays. a fireworks explosion has injured 39 people — including six children — during a popular cuban carnival. the centuries—old festival in the town of remedios attracts thousands of cubans and tourists every christmas eve. state media reported that those injured all appear to be local residents, with their conditions ranging from stable to critical. the cause of the explosion is under investigation. andy murray's brother—in—law has become the youngest person ever

to reach the south pole on his own. 27—year—old lieutenant scott sears completed his solo trip without any external help, on christmas day, after just 38 days. scott, who is the brother of andy murray's wife kim, said sausage snacks and shortbread helped him on his final day. the previous record holder was aged 30. many of us wouldn't mind spending a few extra pennies on our pets, to make sure that they're warm and cosy. but imagine the cost of doing that for hundreds of animals. now one zoo is using new technology to cut its bills while keeping the animals happy, as zoe kleinman reports. these graceful creatures are a type of antelope called nyala. originally from southern africa, they argue is toa from southern africa, they argue is to a warmer climate than tamara wales when hampshire and keeping them warm, especially at this time

time of year, is dear. these nyala, like a lot of antelope species, are active at dawn and dusk. our total electricity bill for the zoo is around a year ‘s and we think a third of that is from animal houses serve our point of view, this electric heating of animal stalls is a big part of our carbon footprint and bill that we are trying to tackle. wild animals, plunging temperatures and no front door. so how do you keep this hurt warm? you might think with the thermostat on the wall, that would do the job of the wall, that would do the job of the thermostat would turn the heating on when it was cold regardless of whether or not an animal was the hour. they tried motion sensors but when animals are sleeping, they don't move much and heating could turn off. one solution is an algorithm using data from an infrared sensor. following a chance

meeting, ibm stepped in to help and thatis meeting, ibm stepped in to help and that is how artificial intelligence ended up here in the natural world. what we got some sense of that. looking down on the nyala to detect whether they are there or not annexed to that is a little computer with an infrared camera to take a photo to see if the algorithm in —— the algorithm is devised. as we can see on the little display, the moment it shows the rice and animals that, detecting that nyala is present and it would have turned the heat on. now, it's an experiment but the algorithm —— the algorithm is making the right decision 96% of the time. , the next stage is to connect it to the heat and see how the animals behave when heating is turned on and off. will they behave as they normally do and sleep in

normal positions or will they wander off and look for a warm patches somewhere else? but now, the nyalas are in bed with technology and they seem to be into it. i spent many a happy day out at marwell zoo. it is a great place. they are stuck in their cars on any of these roads? philip is with us. this snow that seems to be falling across a large swathe of the country. it seems to be the main story but most people. over the past couple of days, people shouldn't be too surprised. you say a large swathe of the country, it's quite specific. i will break the country down. a day of sunny spells

and showers. where is all this snow? in the north and west, more likely across southern and eastern parts. a combination of rain, sleet, snow. the snow was out west overnight through wales, parts of the midlands, in several areas. we will just pick it up in the more recent hours. it was through wales and now you see, it's on the back edge, the northern and western flanks in an area of low pressure which is chaining its way slowly but short ever slowly towards the southern parts of the north sea. the snow is around forjust parts of the north sea. the snow is around for just a parts of the north sea. the snow is around forjust a few hours. it's already caused issues on the roads. it's disrupted the power and close to bristol airport for a time. there is an ice issue further to the north. a combination of rain, sleet, snow and pretty strong winds. pretty miserable is. it will churn its way

a little bit further so that come the afternoon, east anglia, you've got it for keeps. elsewhere, it is a decent day. there is a peppering of showers. there is a lot of sunshine. these are the maximum temperatures, three, four degrees, that's as good as it gets. underneath those clearing skies, we end up with a pretty chilly night and quite widespread frost. just watch out. if you're on the move first on thursday morning, ice could be a bit of an issue. do you know what? thursday is a pretty decent day as well. it's bright, it's cold, it's crisp. there isa sign

bright, it's cold, it's crisp. there is a sign of something changing back into the south—west. this will eventually spring much milder out. back across many parts of the british isles. it turns a bit more u nsettled british isles. it turns a bit more unsettled as we get through the weekend and on towards the new year period is in the short—term, across the south—eastern corner of the british isles. begin at something much more wintry. rain, sleet, snow and strong winds. just keep the thought about ice underneath. bill has got the weather. we got lots of photographs coming in. please do email us if you've got snow affecting you. it is time to look at the papers. paul horrocks, former newspaper editor, is here to tell us what's

caught his eye. we'll speak to him in a minute. the front pages. the guardian, first of all, the main story is about research on brexit. the chancellor is being urged to show some of the brexit research. a photo of some brave people going into the ocean. the times. a disturbing story. youtube is a shop window for videos of child abuse. the front page of the mirror this morning. this is the woman sentenced in egypt for bringing in painkillers to her partner in egypt, laura. she was

given a jail term. christmas is not a happy time for her. the telegraph, finally. police spark shoplifting boom by not probing the theft of under £200. eye—catching. your first story of the morning. slightly worrying. shopping, obviously, is the story of the last day or so. this is a new twist. police have been accused of encouraging shoplifting by not officially probing theft under £200. it now looks like those caught stealing goods less than £200 are dealt with by post much in the same way as speeders are. what they are saying is this decriminalisation of shoplifting, what they are talking about, is encouraging gangs to go on

shoplifting sprees knowing that the police are not actually going to turn up. they are deliberately targeting goods under £200 and selling them quickly on to the drug abuse, et cetera. that puts the onus of stopping incidents occurring on private security guards. and police will say we had to prioritise so many different services with cuts that this is effective policing. slightly worrying. i have got a paper but i am not sure... the mirror. yeah. a big spread in the mirror. yeah. a big spread in the mirror along with other papers. the one wejust mentioned. mirror along with other papers. the one we just mentioned. laura, mirror along with other papers. the one wejust mentioned. laura, who was jailed in egypt for taking the 290 painkillers to her partner in egypt which are illegal over there. the mirror have been talking to her family. her mother was there on the

day of her sentence. they are saying she will find it very, very hard to survive these terrible conditions in this prison. now, the focus is not just on the appeal, which can take a long time because the legal system over there is complicated, but they wa nt to ta ke over there is complicated, but they want to take it from a poor condition jail to want to take it from a poor conditionjail to a want to take it from a poor condition jail to a better one. want to take it from a poor conditionjail to a better one. she was held in a single cell with rent of five of us. you cannot imagine the fear. you had it in iran recently. —— 25 others. the fear. you had it in iran recently. -- 25 others. she may suffer a mental breakdown. the sun. the queen's speech a winner. the bbc will be chuffed. it looks like the

bbc has dominated the television ratings. number one was her majesty probably thanks to the meghan markle effect. the annual broadcast on christmas day brought in 7.7 million viewers across bbc one and itv, of course, beating strictly and dr who into second. mrs brown's boy's third. in this picture, karen murdoch took this picture. this is the shot all the papers have used. the famous royal photographer was even there. it is the luck of the draw, it is where you are standing. the lesson is always have your camera ready, but it also shows how

good a mobile phone camera can be. she has a good name for thatjob. she has a good name for thatjob. she has a good name for thatjob. she has a good agent as well selling those voters. we will hear it more from you in an hour on the papers. this is breakfast on bbc news. we have spoken about the snow falling overnight causing problems with power supplies and travel. 40,000 properties are without electricity. -- 14,000. properties are without electricity. ——14,000. there are also issues on the m1 and m2. we will talk to an expert. how bad is the situation where you are? i have been here westbound on the a14 since two. we

have had five inches of snow. i have been sitting here waiting for someone to move. i am on an incline. lorries and vans in front unable to get up. we are seeing the photographs on the screen you sent through from where you are stuck. the a14, i hesitate to say, it is normally quite a free—flowing cross—country road, dual carriageway. it looks like a winter wonderland. it does. i mean, i have just come the way back from near cambridge heading back towards the airport. i do that every other day. well, i have never seen it like this. someone has to get the gritters out and break it down. even on the other carriageway, nothing is

moving. you might see a vehicle every 20 minutes. you said it caught eve ryo ne every 20 minutes. you said it caught everyone out. by the looks of the photograph, there was not a lot of grit on the road because the snow really stuck. was it listed conditions? it was very heavy. -- blizzard. from cambridge it was up to plus five at one o'clock this morning. then itjust got lower and lower. torrential rain in cambridge, obviously. the temperature dropped and it turned to snow. it is not like it is —5, —10, where the salt would not work. it is not that cold. the snow is just sticking. would not work. it is not that cold. the snow isjust sticking. one hesitate to ask, but i do not know if you are catching a flight to east midlands airport, but you will not get there soon, it looks like. midlands airport, but you will not get there soon, it looks likelj midlands airport, but you will not get there soon, it looks like. i am working on getting back to the

airport and then back to the cambridge area. depending on how long this goes, i might have to go back to cambridge later on today. it all depends on what time this gets fixed. we are grateful to you for taking the time to talk to us and sending those photographs. we wish you a safe journey whether it is to the airport also foamed. simon, a lorry driver. —— airport or home. we will talk to experts after seven o'clock on breakfast this morning about it. it is not snowing in australia. it has been quite worn down there. things are heating up, i can tell you. england are delighted to say it is the second day and it has been going their way. a bit too

little, too late. i thought you would say that. debutant tom, to ta ke would say that. debutant tom, to take out captain, steve smith, an incredible day for him. fingers crossed it will continue. steve smith fell for 78. that set out in australia collapsed. stuart broad, 4- 51. the australia collapsed. stuart broad, 4— 51. the hosts all out for three 227. joe root went as well. joe root and alastair cook are looking solid with joe root 72 and alastair cook are looking solid withjoe root 72 not out and alastair cook are looking solid with joe root 72 not out and and alastair cook are looking solid withjoe root 72 not out and england 149- withjoe root 72 not out and england 149— two. harry kane has broken the record for the most premier league goals in a calendar year. he moved past alan

shearer‘s mark with yet another hat—trick, in tottenham's 5—2 win over southampton. that's 56 goals for club and country, two more than lionel messi. joe lynskey has more on that and the best of the rest of the action from yesterday. of the action from yesterday. they either england strikers who set their own bath. but 2017 is when harry kane made history. —— bar. their own bath. but 2017 is when harry kane made history. -- bar. he has done it! it has been a very merry christmas. in front of the goal, he is unstoppable. harry kane chases records like through balls. fantastic. i am chases records like through balls. fantastic. iam proud chases records like through balls. fantastic. i am proud of it. compared to the players, lionel messi, alan shearer, that is what it's all about. somebody would fade after one season. now he is an icon. harry shearer set the record. there are more recent comparisons. totte n ha m are more recent comparisons. tottenham hotspur call them one of his own. harry kane will not win the league this year, but second place

could still be in reach. manchester united, zero, burnley, two. they found their way back to a 2—2 draw. is this a difficult spell for you? why is that? the team that deserved to win both matches is asked. liverpool at anfield. swansea met them at their most ruthless. five goals for the local boy. a first premier league strikes were trained. for swansea, it is facing teams around you that matters. that is why west ham thought this goal was so priceless. controversy was coming with bournemouth. it will not count. the flag is up. wilson are getting a touch. discussions are long and involved. it is a gold. the referee

transformed the motion. —— goal. when records come, it is best to save them. celtic have extended their lead at the top of the scottish premiership to 11 points thanks to a 2—0 win at dundee. james forrest and leigh griffiths with the goals. aberdeen can narrow the gap again this evening, when they take on partick thistle. next for celtic is the visit of old firm rivals rangers on saturday. this win gave trainer nicky henderson a double after victory in the christmas hurdle. boxing day racing is always the highlight of the year. it is not boxing day

without it. it is really good. fingers crossed for england. it is possibly too little, too late. we will take every glimmer of hope we can get. thank you. thank you for your pictures of snow. we will talk about the weather in a moment. stay with us. headlines are on the way. hello, this is breakfast with rogerjohnson. good morning. here's a summary of today's main stories from bbc news: thousands of homes are without power in england and wales, as overnight snowfall has brought down power lines. western power says 14,000 properties are affected, from cornwall to sheffield. meanwhile, parts of the m1, m5 and m42 motorways are also affected by snow. and some flights were diverted from birmingham airport after the runway was shut for a short time. let's get more from our news correspondent andy moore. he is following developments. there is chaos in certain areas. problems

in bath and bristol and the midlands. spoke to a truck driver who has been stuck on the a14 for a few hours. problems in leicestershi re few hours. problems in leicestershire on the m1. problems on the m5 when lorries have problems going up an incline. and it's not just the snow. heavy flooding as well in parts of the country. that combination of conditions has caused power outages. about 14,000 homes are without power in the west midlands, south wales, the west country. birmingham airport is closed. one flight was diverted. luton airport is expecting to be hit by snow. thank you very much. let us get the latest from the

weather centre. philip is standing by. a large part of the country was u naffected by. a large part of the country was unaffected but it is causing disruption in areas that are seeing snow. quite often we get hammered when we talk about snow in southern britain. people in warwickshire and leicestershi re people in warwickshire and leicestershire don't think they are in the south—east and they have had a good covering of snow. it came in through wales, into the midlands, down into the south—west. those are the depths that we recorded. it's been really quite noticeable in the number of locations. the whole system gradually working its way further east. falling to just a few hours. this is the situation we expect to see over the next few hours. we see our area of concern has shifted out of the west country and we looking —— we are looking up

into the east midlands and the m1 and into the greater london area. then it moves away and turns more towards rain and sleet rather than snow as we get on into the afternoon. it really is quite confined. the greater part of the british isles, into a decent and cold day. particularly in the high ground of wales. in the short—term, increasingly looking towards the eastern midlands and the south—east and maybe a wee bit into east anglia. the syrian red crescent aid agency says it has started to evacuate critically ill civilians, including 18 children, from a rebel held suburb of damascus. the first four patients left eastern ghouta, which has been under government siege forfour years. the operation is the result of negotiations between the united nations and syrian president bashar al—assad. the company that ran

the grenfell tower is handing back control of the other properties it manages to the local council. the kensington and chelsea tenant management organisation says the temporary move is because it can't guarantee the right level of service. the organisation was heavily criticised afterjune's fire, but some residents say they don't think the council has the capacity to manage any of its housing stock. britain's workers could see another year without a pay rise, that's according to the resolution foundation think tank, which looks at living standards in the uk. it said a year—on—year rise in real pay wouldn't be noticeable until december next year. the government says it is cutting taxes for millions and raising pay through the national living wage. andy murray's brother—in—law has become the youngest person ever there are concerns some businesses

may be deliberately sending claims to the wrong addresses in order to exploit people's debt and ruin their rating. most businesses responsibly collect their debts but what we want to do is protect vulnerable consumers against the minority of cowboy companies that can devastate innocent people's credit ratings without them even knowing. so would got a package of measures to deal with that and rein in the minority of rogue companies. —— so we have caught. —— so we have got. andy murray's brother—in—law has become the youngest person ever to reach the south pole on his own. 27—year—old lieutenant scott sears completed his solo trip without any external help, on christmas day, after just 38 days. scott, who is the brother of andy murray's wife kim, said sausage snacks and shortbread helped him on his final day. thank you very much for all your

pictures. now on bbc breakfast it's time for the travel show, and a look back at some of the top destinations of 2017. that's just a taste of what's coming up in the next half—hour, as we take a look back at some of the best bits on what has been a truly memorable year. it's taken us to all four corners of the world, we've met some amazing people with some fantastic stories. but first, let's kick off with these ones. in a moment we've got me fishing for my lunch here in finnish lapland and then rajan gets to be the first member of the public to take a ride on europe's tallest and fastest rollercoaster. but first, back injanuary henry travelled to turkey to explore a massive underground city recently found that is slowly revealing some fascinating stories about the country's history. wow, look at all of this. i find it hard to believe that people were living on top

of here and all of this was actually hidden, so they had no idea this was here. that is insane! wow, that ceiling is unique. what's all this? this is a mystery and, according to the scientists, the monastery dates back to the sixth century a.d. the winding tunnels and hidden openings offered protection from attacking armies. wow! look at that! i've actually heard of this spot because all of the archaeologists were very excited about this. this is a church, an underground cave church, dating back to the 12th century. going forward there are plans

to turn sections of the cave network into an archaeological park with art galleries and boutique hotels. authorities hope to open it to the public in 2018 when visitors can see the excavations in theirfull glory. it's —13 degrees celsius today and guess what i've got lined up? it's a great way to keep warm. if you're cold, do that! yeah. the real thrill here is actually trying to catch fish with a rod. can i have a go? yep. there are fish below are swimming under one metre of ice. i'm keeping warm! well done! it's getting tougher now.

argh! there's layers under, so... ah! give me some reindeer hide! there's a real emphasis on low impact tourism here, which is playing a big part in protecting this fragile arctic ecosystem. you should admire my technique here. multitasking. yeah, multiple chances to get fish. fishing isn'tjust done for the tourists, it's a real fact of life for many of the people who live here. with only a handful of shops around, most fish still have to be caught rather than bought, otherwise nobody eats. did we get a fish? look at that! it's a pike. it's a pike!

and it's been messing up my net. so fish and potatoes on monday, potatoes and fish on tuesday... wednesday, maybe reindeer bits, thursday fish and potatoes. good diet! portaventura is a well—established theme park, spain's biggest in fact, and they get about 4 million visitors here a year. but now they're building something that they say will take it to a different level and will give us one of the most amazing experiences in the world. i've come to ferrari land, licensed by the famous car brand, just as the finishing touches are being put to the site days before the launch. there are 11 rides here in total, but one in particular is hogging the limelight as the main attraction.

a velocity accelerator ride called red force. two years in the making, it's now europe's and fastest ever rollercoaster. 112 metres high at a speed of 180km/h. that's nought to 180 in five seconds flat! shall we go for it then? yeah, let's go for it. come on, let's do it. just do it. 0h, we're going to get the best views from the front. you feel the force on your face as well. right...right. there's a loose bolt there. should that be... 0h, there's a loose bolt, is there? hands up? yep, thanks up. you don't want to miss it. ok, i'll try my best! i'll try my best. see if you can tell the difference... here we go! ..between the seasoned coaster and the rookie tv presenter. no, i knew you wouldn't be able to.

you know, over the past year we estimate the travel show team have clocked up over 60 countries, travelled through 24 different time zones, countless times, to bring you some of the best stories from all over the world. and here are a couple where we met some truly inspirational and remarkable people. in a moment we'll see rajan report from the gir national park, in western india, where he went on patrol with the real—life cat women who help to protect the endangered asiatic lion. but first, earlier this month i headed to america to join disabled athletes from across the globe who travelled to maryland to take part in a championship that pushes them to the limit and beyond. the working wounded games has adaptive athletes compete across a range of body building and weightlifting challenges. volunteers!

most para—sport is categorised by ability, but the working wounded games are different. by modifying rules for each individual athlete, they encourage people with a range of capabilities to compete together. let's go! and one 18—year—old competitor is getting a lot of attention. tell me what you're trying to do. and it's mainly because of your right—hand? nora has never been able

to complete a pull—up. unless she can now figure out a way, she'll finish last in this round. this is going to be a real challenge for her, physically and mentally. go, go, go! yeah! two in a row! how many had she done? there's no let up. it's then on to the rest of the workout. yeah! you were crying, you had tears. your coach was hugging you. why were you so emotional? it's ok, take your time. was that the first time you've been able to do pullups? yeah, i haven't been close.

it's norwegian power! definitely. on average, the unarmed rangers cover 25 kilometres a day and have to tackle venomous snakes, leopards and poachers, as well as lions. if they did get agitated, how would you be able to tell from the animal? how would you know if you are safe, being this close to the animal? and it did get dangerous forjayshree early on in her career here. applications from women for these posts have rocketed and the rangers

are role models and trailblazers in the region today. look at that mouth! the good news is that from once being in danger of extinction, numbers have climbed to over 500. the next much more welcome problem is if the sanctuary is actually big enough for their growing population. up next, a couple of films that put my fellow presenters to the test. back in september, carmen faced her fears and took on some of japan's more challenging traditional dishes.

first, back injanuary we skipped a hotel and arranged for christa to spend the night in a drafty english church instead. thankfully she survived, but i'm not sure she'll be booking again next year. i am here for a spot of champing — church camping. it's available at 12 historic venues around the country. beautiful, ancient sites that are rarely, if ever, used as places of mass worship any more. a very big hotel room. money raised from letting champers like me stay means the crumbling buildings are spared a slow and inevitable decline. somebody at the pub just told me that tonight is supposed to be the coldest night of the year, so that's good, as i head into my unheated church room for the night. i've got my air bed... sleeping bag... i've just got into bed

and it's quite... i'm quite comfy, actually. quite cosy, given how cold it is and i can see my breath. i'm going to try to go to sleep now and try and forget that i am entirely surrounded by graves. it is quite cold. i'm notably quite cold. i think a jolly good reason that champing is usually only done during the summer. deciding to come champing in the dead of winter was a really terrible idea. wow, look at this octopus. this is tsukiji in tokyo. this is the world's biggest fish market. the early morning tuna auctions are the biggest attraction. butjust the sheer range of creatures here makes forfascinating browsing. this is all so fresh. i think i need something with a kick.

the outer market is where you can try some of the more exotic flavours. this is fish fermented with its own entrails in a salty liquid usually made from wheat, miso and soy. mmm! laughs very strong! it is really chewy, really, very very strong. speaks japanese. carmen there taking on some of japan's more challenging tastes. so to finish off this special look back at 2017, here's a run through of some of my personal favourites of the year. and over the past 12 months we have been so privileged to really see up close some amazing animals all over the world, and meet the people

who live and work alongside them. i can't think of a better way to finish the programme than to share with you some of those stories again. wow, look at that! they are so cute! i'm amazed at how much banana a little monkey like that can eat. laughs that monkey must have eaten at least ten bananas. they can eat more than ten. the villagers here believe these monkeys are sacred. there are two types — the cheeky mona, and the black and white colubus, which is slightly more aloof. harming either species is strictly

forbidden under local law, which means these villages havebecome a century. in fact the monkeys here are loved so much, that once they die they are given a proper burial. here, the monkeys belong to the gods, so the villagers have to stay with the monkeys peacefully here. if we harm them or punish, we get the same punishment from the gods. so we have to stay with them peacefully, and that is why the monkeys are unique from other parts of ghana. what kind of patients do you have? we have all kinds of

illnesses, sicknesses, knife wounds, gunshot wounds. some have diarrhoea, constipation, cataracts, some have serious cancer, tumours. the most difficult case are the victims of landmines. for this elephant, each day starts with her prosthetic leg being fitted, so she can walk out for breakfast. adult females weigh just under three tons on average. so the prosthetic is needed to give vital relief to her other three legs which are under enormous pressure. how long did it take her to get used to the prosthetic leg? five to seven day. the focus here is working with elephant owners in the community to help any animal that needs medical attention. they also have a nursery section and i am fortunate enough to be

able to see... what is the baby's name? his name mina. amazing to see elephants like these that might have died in the wild, learning the ins and outs of what goes on here it has been absolutely amazing. i won't forget it any time soon. i am heading out early in the morning to see something i am told you can only see here and abide. it is a new twist on traditional arabian falconry and i hear it is going to be truly breathtaking. 0k.

we're about to release oberon from the basket. so what's going to happen next is, i've untied him, you'll see we're about to release oberon from the basket. so what's going to happen next is, i've untied him, you'll see he is wearing a transmitter on his tail, that is so i can find him if he flies away. ready, guys? five, four, three, two, one... wow! amazing. well done. did you want a go? oh yeah, i'd love to. oh yes. peter has helped to hand rear these birds from birth, and the bond of trust between them is vital.

it is clear that for him the falcon's welfare is paramount and months of work goes into training the birds to get them used to the sights and sounds of the balloon and its passengers. if practised correctly, these birds are in good shape. essentially the bird is not suffering? absolutely. what more could you ask for? unique experience, and what a beautiful animal. that's it for our look back at 2017 here on the travel show. we have had such a great time seeing even more of the world and being able to share that with you guys, and i hope you have enjoyed notjust following me but the rest of the travel show team too, as we explore the world together. please make sure you join us again in 2018, but in the meantime, all that remains is for me to say goodbye from here

in finnish lapland, and join the rest of the team, wherever they are in the world, in wishing you a happy and healthy new year. bye— bye. hello — this is breakfast with rogerjohnson. disruption as heavy snow hits the uk. parts of the midlands and south wales have been worst hit. more than 10,000 homes are without power and the m1 is one of several major routes to be affected. the overnight snow that has caused so many problems is moving further to the east and in the next few hours, falls across lincolnshire, the east midlands and perhaps down into the south—east. more in just a few minutes. good morning — it's wednesday 27th december.

we'll have the latest throughout the morning. also ahead: the first of a group of critically ill children are evacuated from a rebel—held suburb of the syrian capital damascus. the company which ran grenfell tower hands control of thousands of other properties back to the council, saying it can't guarantee tenants the service they expect. in sport, there's hope for england in the fourth ashes test, after stuart broad sets off an australia collapse on day two in melbourne. more later. thousands of homes are without power in england and wales, as overnight snowfall has brought down power lines. western power says 14,000 properties are affected, from cornwall to sheffield. meanwhile, parts of the m1, m5 and m42 motorways are also affected by snow. and some flights were diverted from birmingham airport

after the runway was shut for a short time. let's get more from our news correspondent andy moore. overnight, an unusual combination of heavy rain turning to snow and that has caused quite a few problems. leicestershire, northamptonshire is supposed to be the worst with snow. a lorry has come up the road because of snowy conditions on the m1. motorists have been stuck on the a14 for about three hours, a total standstill. western power says the worst problems have been a worcestershire and gloucestershire and warwickshire, they have that engineers out from 1:30am birmingham airport was closed for one hour last night as they cleared the runway. at least one flight was diverted. luton

airport is on standby for snow and sleet. as the bear heavy rain, in england, currently 14 flood warnings and 100 flood alerts. but rain has been causing problems on some of the roads as well. in the far north of scotla nd roads as well. in the far north of scotland and northern ireland and down the east coast, there is a weather warning of severe ice and northumbria police are warning motorists about that. let's talk now to frank bird from highways england. he's in their east midlands regional control centre. good morning and thank you very much indeed. how bad is the weather where you are? the west midlands, the worst is now over. we had a good downfall of snow through the night.

it was probably at its heightjust after midnight. we invoked across the country a number of regions, bringing extra people in, more resources . bringing extra people in, more resources. within pretty much going back to back and round—the—clock. again, most predominantly, i can speak about the west midlands because that is the region where we have most of the figures for now. around 2000 tons of salt have been put down. just to keep the roads open. we've been pretty successful. a few open. we've been pretty successful. afew minor open. we've been pretty successful. a few minor hiccups. most of the incidents have been caused by poor driving skills. overall, again, we are quite pleased that motorists have taken it quite easy when they

are out on the road. there haven't been too many serious injuries.|j been too many serious injuries.” appreciate you are not in control of the whole country but while we were speaking, we are looking at a shot of the a14 which is covered in snow. were there areas where the salting and the gritting has not worked?m hasn't caught us out. one of the real difficulties is that when snow is falling, almost a slew —— as soon as the salting vehicle has gotten through, the snow reappears. it is a battle that we are constantly fighting. now that the snow has finished into the east midlands, we've now managed to recover our network and we are now moving some of our things to try and support the east midlands region so it's like

chasing the storm, really. it's a very difficult battle. if you've ever tried clearing your back garden, the minute you remove the snow, you turn your back for five minutes and as deep as it was before. thank you very much for taking the time to talk to was. —— to us. let's listen to where the snow is heading. philip avery is tracking things for us. by no means all areas clear? absolutely not. an issue quite widely across the southern half of britain. i'm showing you the latest we are getting from our weather watchers. lincolnshire and leicestershire. extension. —— extensively across warwickshire and into the south—west because the snow

was around for a few hours. seven centimetres depth. now this health system and it's all wrapped around an area of low pressure is heading up an area of low pressure is heading up towards the south part of the north sea. the cold air is flooding down onto the northern and western fla nks down onto the northern and western fla n ks of down onto the northern and western flanks of this area of low pressure so the small area is quite discreet. the forecasters gone pretty well our point of view. at andi mohr was suggesting, there is an ice issue across scotland, northern ireland and the north of england. . —— andy moore. i'm taking you into the early afternoon. as the day warms up a touch, i don't think the settled snow will lie around for too long. but we will see a conversion more of thatis but we will see a conversion more of that is no going back towards rain but i wouldn't be surprised if even into this afternoon across parts of east anglia, you're saying you would see something a bit wintry. but the real concern is the sway from

lincolnshire to bedfordshire. down in towards the greater london area where we could well see another two or three hours of snow falling and lying in some parts. the hide it, a decent day and a cold day but in the short—term, there are real weather issues. looking at some of the pictures you are sending on twitter. someone has said he has given up and gone home and turned around. the problems are continuing. you can email us your pictures and will follow the track of the snow. aid workers who have started to evacuate critically ill children, rebel—held suburb near damascus are doing this following negotiations to allow children with cancer to be transferred from eastern ghouta into damascus to treatment. these photos posted on twitter

by the syrian red crescent, an international committee of the red cross. a sign of hope forjust a few. four patients with critical medical conditions will now receive treatment in a hospital in damascus. in the rebel held suburb of eastern ghouta, the most vulnerable have little help. sick and malnourished, trapped under siege since 2013. on christmas day, the bbc aired a story of a young baby, two—months—old who lost an eye and suffered severe injuries in a suspected government attack. un efforts to arrange medical evacuations from ghouta have until now fallen on deaf ears. last month, nine people who needed urgent medical care died after a request to get them out were denied. now the attention turns to those who can

still be saved. including seven children with curable cancer but without the medicine to treat them. if we can save these seven children, maybe we may also be able to get out the other 125 children in ghouta who we understand are in desperate need of sophisticated medical support which they cannot get in ghouta. the syrian red crescent says the evacuations last night took a long time to negotiate. the first of 29 critical cases approved by authorities. the remainder will be evacuated to damascus over the coming days. it may seem just a drop in the ocean in the plight of so many. but it is perhaps a small change in what has been an unforgiving ordeal for the people of eastern ghouta. britain's workers could see another year without a pay rise,

that's according to the resolution foundation think tank, which looks at living standards in the uk. it said a year—on—year rise in real pay wouldn't be noticeable until december next year. the government says it is cutting taxes for millions and raising pay through the national living wage. a fireworks explosion has injured 39 people — including six children — during a popular cuban carnival. the centuries—old festival in the town of remedios attracts thousands of cubans and tourists every christmas eve. state media reported that those injured all appear to be local residents, with their conditions ranging from stable to critical. the cause of the explosion is under investigation. andy murray's brother—in—law has become the youngest person ever to reach the south pole on his own. 27—year—old lieutenant scott sears completed his solo trip without any external help, on christmas day, after just 38 days. scott, who is the brother

of andy murray's wife kim, said sausage snacks and shortbread helped him on his final day. the previous record holder was aged 30. very well done. more than six months after the devastating grenfell tower fire, the much—criticised organisation which managed the block has handed back responsibility for thousands of its properties to the local council. however survivors and local residents, marking theirfirst christmas since the disaster, have criticised the move. let's talk to joe delaney who is a resident on the grenfell recovery scrutiny committee. he's in our london newsroom. thank you to speaking to a spike in

early. some people have criticised it. now you have caught this organisation to be scrapped. a pleased that they are handing back this responsibility? not in the way it happened and how they have announced it. it was shabby and underhanded to announce it on friday before christmas. they hoped this would slip under the radar and nobody would notice. why are they trying to pull the wool as you are saying? there was an agm of the ti amo, and residents moved to make sure that was adjourned. —— tmo. we weren't happy with them taking back control of services because they lacked the capacity and competence and now they have decided to announce this before christmas. kensington and chelsea council could not even arrange christmas meal payments for those still trapped in hotels six months later after the

fire. the christmas meal payment in time to christmas wasn't there. how can we expect them to manage all these homes? explain to people who don't understand, the management of these buildings. other management has worked in the past? it is an arm's—length management organisation. they handle all of the housing and landlord responsibilities to the council. that was just pretty much a sop. they've always been based in kensington and chelsea council buildings. it's pretty much been arm's—length only. the big concern that locals have is the council are attempting to win up this organisation so that any chances of a corporate manslaughter charge will fall apart. kensington and chelsea wa nt to

fall apart. kensington and chelsea want to butchers might —— push as much of this responsibility onto the te na nt much of this responsibility onto the tenant management organisation. so that neither of them will end up being sick you did for corporate manslaughter. it is our understanding that user is not what they are trying but they can't avoid that. if those charges will be brought, they can be brought anyway. a dead organisation is like a dead person. it cannot be prosecuted for crimes. the first thing they tried at the agm was to say we take back all these services. when we stop to that, now all of a sudden they've already done step one in that plan that they announced several months ago. that's why the real concern and we don't want to see this move go ahead at this time. we wa nt we want it wound up, but now we want

it on our terms. you mentioned the meal payments. as we understand it, a handful do not have that money. more than a handful. i have spoken to d oze ns more than a handful. i have spoken to dozens still in hotels. anyone who had it, they were not made in time for christmas. the council cannot even make a christmas meal payment before 2018, and they are expected to run tens of thousands of properties? it is a disaster in the making. how difficult has christmas been for those in the area? it has been for those in the area? it has been unusual, i have to say. i was around the area yesterday. even though it is christmas, it is more quiet than usual. it has been more subdued for everyone. it has been

more contempt —— contemplative. it has been amazing, the spirit. it will continue to be amazing, but we will continue to be amazing, but we will look after each other, even if the council will not look after us as it should be doing. thank you. we are grateful to you for taking the time to talk to us. the weather is making the headlines this morning with snow making its way across the southern portion of the country. here is the latest. good morning. good morning. a busy morning as you can imagine. not eve ryo ne morning as you can imagine. not everyone is getting this problem. frost and highs are an issue in the north of the british isles. then sunny spells and showers. it is the

south—eastern quarter, quite a large area, has been a large area, with issues of rain and sleet and snow. the latest snow depths. these came in at 7am. my colleagues are looking at these for us. the depth, — seven centimetres in a number of locations. this band weather goes through. snow behind it. falling snow all the way from lincolnshire to bedfordshire. the northern home cou nty to bedfordshire. the northern home county areas getting up into warwickshire as well and down towards the south—east. further north, the issue is about ice. scotland, northern ireland, the north of england. clear skies, moisture on the roads. do not get caught out. once we get the lunchtime, early afternoon, much of the snow has converted back as it

started life back in the west and south—western approaches as rain rather than snow. the mid—afternoon, showers in the north and west of scotla nd showers in the north and west of scotland and northern ireland. because of the temperature profile, wintry showers on the higher ground. still ahead, wintriness in lincolnshire and east anglia well into the afternoon. you do not get rid of it from east anglia until after dark. behind that, bright skies. a cold and crisp day followed bya skies. a cold and crisp day followed by a chilly night. a night where ice may be an issue, especially with showers through the day. then we are running to thursday. highs on untreated surfaces. treacherous. —— ice. then something of a change for the latter part of the week. the

first signs of mild air coming in initially into the british isles and then more widely towards the weekend. in the short—term, it is all about the wintry weather in the eastern midlands and the south—east. the legacy left behind in wales and the west country in the west midlands further north with issues in the short—term with ice. back to you. thank you for the forecast and for all the this morning. —— the pictures. in the festive spirit of reconciliation, we're bringing together two sides of a story from 2017 to see if they can call a christmas truce. today, we're talking brexit, with the conservative mp iain duncan smith, who campaigned to leave the eu, and the labour mp liz kendall, who supported remain. let's see them discuss what's been achieved so far, and what needs to happen in 2018. hi. happy christmas. happy christmas

to you. why did the chewing gum cross other side? i am an optimist that we will agree. it will be bumpy. there will be wonderful moments of crisis. there will be moments of crisis. there will be moments where we get a sense of where we are heading. that is what it will be like in the next 8—9 months. one of my real frustrations about this year has been the, sorry to say, quite vacuous soundbites which the government has been hiding behind when people desperately need some certainty at both through the transition period and for the end

goal. and every time you feel you are making progress towards that, it is undermined by comments like nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. and we need to get some certainty. the people we are negotiating with need to know where we wa nt negotiating with need to know where we want to end up. crack another one. deal at dawn. total triumph wore a festive fudge? i hope because of the issue around the border between the republic of ireland and northern ireland, we need to have an agreement, i hope, that we achieve staying in the single market, the customs union, for the rest of the country. there will be a reasonable agreement. are you a canada plus, plus, plus person? we need to have something that is already out there,

not something from scratch. people recognised at the end of it all we wa nt recognised at the end of it all we want a reasonable relationship after leaving. we are leaving the customs union and the single market.” leaving. we are leaving the customs union and the single market. i hope that does not happen.” union and the single market. i hope that does not happen. i am optimistic. i think... i that does not happen. i am optimistic. ithink... i am that does not happen. i am optimistic. ithink... iam sure that does not happen. i am optimistic. i think... i am sure you are. iam optimistic. i think... i am sure you are. i am a glass half full kind of remainer too. happy christmas. happy christmas to you. single market and customs union. 0h, christmas to you. single market and customs union. oh, yes, there you go. i want one of those as well. i am very proud to be british. god, they are hard. a bit like negotiations, really. there you go, a lot of festive spirit. that was conservative mp iain duncan

smith, and the labour mp liz kendall, reflecting on the last year of brexit ups and downs. many more of brexit ups and downs. many more of those to come in 2018, i suspect. time now for a look at the newspapers. paul horrocks, former newspaper editor, is here to tell us what's caught his eye. we'll speak to him in a minute. the front pages. we start with the guardian. the main story, sticking with the brexit theme we were just discussing. reveal brexit research, mps ask. the picture is of some festive revellers. the times. a slightly disturbing story. youtube isa slightly disturbing story. youtube is a shop window for videos of child abuse, suggesting people make appalling videos and put clips on youtube to potentially bring people to their website to buy them. the

mirror. it has the story of a woman imprisoned in egypt for taking the painkiller tablets into the country. she says it was to give to her partner. she has been put into jail in egypt. her interview suggests not all is well with her mental state. and finally for this quick look at the pages, police spark shoplifting boom by not probing theft under £200. we talk about that before. it is basically a shoplifter charter because they will not take up any issue under 200 pounds. the telegraph. you will talk about seniorfireman. telegraph. you will talk about senior fireman. a familiar story of boomerang bosses leaving highly paid jobs with good and generous retirement and redundancy packages rehired the next day, or the next month, on equally good pay. now it

is the fire service which is being looked at. seniorfire is the fire service which is being looked at. senior fire officer is i been banned from claiming generous retirement pay—outs and returning a day lead us. —— officers are. they have been claiming lump sums. —— later. one got £400,000 for being rehired the next month. we need these essential skills and experience and we cannot find replacements. people will do what they will do. they say 249 fire service employees rehired in the past five years. it is notjust the fire service either. part-time clerics keeping the church of england going. staffing issues, i suspect. the times. have you ever seen a couple married at the altar bya seen a couple married at the altar by a plumber? seen a couple married at the altar bya plumber? a seen a couple married at the altar by a plumber? a funeral being presided over by a supply teacher?

in the church of england, that is common, increasingly it is looking at self—supporting priests with which day—jobs. —— weekdayjobs. it isa which day—jobs. —— weekdayjobs. it is a way to cut costs. the number of self supporting priests has increased from 2091 in 2002 to 3030 in 2016. now, one in four is one of those. we hear that numbers are down on the people actually going out to sales. you know what it is like. you look at a cute, whichever one i go to is the lowest one inevitably. —— queue. it is not the right thing to do, according to scientists. you can tell it is the silly season when on the front page of the guardian we

have the science of queueing and how it will get you nowhere fast. they found basically when people find themselves at the back of their cue, because of the aversion to being last, even though it is shorter, their instinct is to switch. they may spend even longer. that seems to bea may spend even longer. that seems to be a bit bonkers. but according to the experts, it is known as last place a version. not wanting to be last. —— aversion. place a version. not wanting to be last. -- aversion. i look at who will be getting a move on. i quite like self scanning. that is a different story. honey monsters. beehives hit by thieves! many more

people, quite rightly, are keeping bees. it is good for the environment. that craze has led to a crime wave, stealing hives, excuse the pun, stung by thefts of hives. queens reach £180 each. it seems those were the most knowledge, other beekeepers, are probably responsible for some of the theft. —— with the most. one person in anglesey had four hives stolen. we will speak about the book of the year which has many stories like that. i have a copy here. apparently, easton had a spate of it. thank you very much indeed. it is nice to see you. he has been looking inside the papers for us this morning. it isjust

approaching half past seven. the headlines injust a minute. hello, this is breakfast with rogerjohnson. good morning. here's a summary of today's main stories from bbc news: thousands of homes are without power in england and wales, as overnight snowfall has brought down power lines. western power says 14,000 properties are affected, from cornwall to sheffield. meanwhile, parts of the m1, m5 and m42 motorways are also affected by snow. and some flights were diverted

from birmingham airport after the runway was shut for a short time. let's get more from our news correspondent andy moore. he is following developments. some of the worst problems are and leicestershi re some of the worst problems are and leicestershire and northamptonshire where the a14 joins leicestershire and northamptonshire where the a14joins the m1. there are problems on the m1 southbound. highways england has said there are multiple collisions on the a14 from junction1 near multiple collisions on the a14 from junction 1 near kettering multiple collisions on the a14 from junction1 near kettering due to severe weather conditions. they said their officers are working with emergency services and people should avoid the area. we spoke to a motorist who had been stuck for about three hours. problems on the a34 just south of oxford about three hours. problems on the a34just south of oxford and problems overnight on the m5 near bath and bristol. with paolo,

thousands of homes from cornwall to yorkshire still without power. —— with paolo. there has been very heavy rain turning to snow. the latest update from the environment agency. 14 flood warnings and now 103 flood alerts. that number is increasing. letters get the latest on where the snow is now. it has made its way from west to east. philip is with us. problems in lots of areas? certainly. as the correspondence have been suggesting, it is on the move. initially, down through wales and the midlands. down into the west country as you see here. several centimetres falling in

a number of locations. my colleague was collating these a few weeks ago. six and seven centimetres in a number of locations. i am six and seven centimetres in a number of locations. iam picking six and seven centimetres in a number of locations. i am picking up the story from the wee small hours. there is a lot of rain in there as well. we've seen this conversion. an area of low pressure. you see the circulation. i must highlight the strength of the wind. i really u nfortu nate strength of the wind. i really unfortunate combination. a similar sort of prospect. again, we are up there. there is an ice issue away from the area we have been talking about the northern parts of britain. through the northern parts, we will start to relax because there is little in the way of falling snow. just cold air are interacting. there could be a wee bit of wintry weather

there and all the lying snow across wales and the midlands and where it's fallen into into parts of the south—east and because it's going to be chilly and it's a lovely day, temperatures in the range of about two degrees, seven degrees. the fall will be fairly slow. watch out the ice in the north. lots of photographs you've been sending through. there is plenty of snow in certain parts of the uk but nothing like what has happened in north america. a christmas storm has dumped a record amount of snow on erie, pennsylvania burying homes, cars and gardens. the 1.3—metre snowfall comes ahead of what forecasters said would be a bitterly cold few days for the us north—east and midwest. further snow is forecast this week. the syrian red crescent aid agency says it has started to evacuate

critically ill civilians, including 18 children, from a rebel held suburb of damascus. the first four patients left eastern ghouta, which has been under government siege forfour years. the operation is the result of negotiations between the united nations and syrian president bashar al—assad. the company that ran the grenfell tower is handing back control of the other properties it manages to the local council. the kensington and chelsea tenant management organisation says the temporary move is because it can't guarantee the right level of service. the organisation was heavily criticised afterjune's fire, but some residents say they don't think the council has the capacity to manage any of its housing stock. kensington and chelsea council as a council which could not even arrange

christmas meal payments for those trapped in hotels six months after the fire so that they can't arrange christmas meal payment in time to christmas, how do we expect them to manage the services of all these homes? britain's workers could see another year without a pay rise, that's according to the resolution foundation think tank, which looks at living standards in the uk. it said a year—on—year rise in real pay wouldn't be noticeable until december next year. the government says it is cutting taxes for millions and raising pay through the national living wage. andy murray's brother—in—law has become the youngest person ever to reach the south pole on his own. 27—year—old lieutenant scott sears completed his solo trip without any external help, on christmas day, after just 38 days. scott, who is the brother of andy murray's wife kim, said sausage snacks and shortbread helped him on his final day. the previous record holder was aged 30. thank you very much for all your pictures. snow in the south pole that it's

been exciting and hot in melbourne. you said about things getting hot. finally, england have had a great day on day two of the fourth ashes test. a great day to alistair cook. he has needed a score. a century ago less. his highest test score in australia since 2010, 2011 in sydney. at last we can say england are on top in australia, thanks to a return to form for stuart broad and alastair cook on day two of the fourth ashes test in melbourne. tom curran took his first test wicket — and it was an important one, captain steve smith out for 78 and that set off an australia collapse, broad taking four for 51. with the hosts all out for 327, england needed a good session with the bat and after stoneman

and vice went cheaply, captainjoe root closed in on a half—century. but batting honours went to former skipper alastair cook, who completed his century in the last over before stumps. england 192—2 at the close. harry kane has broken the record for the most premier league goals in a calendar year. he moved past alan shearer‘s mark with yet another hat—trick, in tottenham's 5—2 win over southampton. that's 56 goals for club and country — two more than lionel messi. joe lynskey has more on that and the best of the rest of the action from yesterday. they are the england strikers to set the bar. but 2017 is when harry made history. he's done it. he's had a

very harry christmas. he's been unstoppable at kane knows how to traceable. it's been a fantastic year, something to be proud of. compare to those players, the messis and shearers, it is what it's all about. it's come from persistence. some thought he would pay it after one season but he is now an icon. there was 1995 that are more recent comparisons. spurs call him one of the rome. in europe, harry kane is out on his own. harry kane's team won't win but second place could be in reach. united found a way back to a draw but their december has seen doctor points. is this a sticky spell? a bit. is it a difficult spell? a bit. is it a difficult spell? why? the team deserved to win both matches. there was a more

clinical edge to liverpool. swansea would need the reds at their most ruthless. five goals including one to the local boy. a turned alexander arnold. for swansea, these aren't the games to define their season, it is facing teams around you that matter. it is why west ham thought this was priceless. they thought they had seen at bournemouth. but controversy they had seen at bournemouth. but co ntrove rsy was they had seen at bournemouth. but controversy was common. “ they had seen at bournemouth. but controversy was common. -- coming. the flag is up! did wilson get a touch? the discussions are long and involved. it is a goal. a referee's chance to transform emotions. in the premier league, joy can turn to pa rta ke. premier league, joy can turn to partake. it is why when records come, it's best to save them. celtic have extended their lead at the top of the scottish premiership to 11 points, thanks to a 2—nil win at dundee — james forrest and leigh griffiths with the goals. aberdeen can narrow the gap again this evening, when they take on partick thistle —

next for celtic is the visit of old firm rivals rangers on saturday. in rugby union's pro14, scarlets made an extraordinary comeback to beat ospreys in the west wales derby. afer steff evans was sent off, scarlets played the whole of the second half a man short — and they were four points behind in injury time, whenjosh macleod earned himself hero status in llanelli. scarlets haven't lost a home game for 15 months and they're back on top of conference b. we have two more derbies to report — leinster beat munster 34—24 and cardiff blues held off dragons — this try from tom james turned out to be the winner, as cardiff won 22—17. the welsh grand national has been postponed until next month — it was schedule for today but heavy rain and snow at chepstow meant it had to be abandoned — organisers hope to run it on january the 6th. at kempton yesterday, (tx 00v) might bite held —— at kempton yesterday,

might bite held on in an exciting finish to win the king george the sixth chase. the 6—to—4 favourite, ridden by nico de boinville, held off the 50—to—1 shot double shuffle. and that is if the kempton. the snow is causing a lot of trouble forever on. not the cricket players. we mention the snow, and that is top story. more than 10,000 properties are without power in england and wales, the m1 is closed southbound and leicestershire and we've heard about multiple collisions near kettering. we were talking to a

lorry driver before. rundown on what is happening just after eight o'clock this morning and there is an upside. waking up to snow across parts of the uk. sue in berkshire has sent as this. antonin gloucestershire said this from outside his home. lewis has emailed a beautiful scene from the park in by. a beautiful scene from the park in rugby. it looks like a christmas card. strong winds as you can see. and jenny mitchell has sent as a picture of a road covered in snow in gloucestershire. you can email us your pictures. we are going to be the bbc news channel until nine this morning. we will be talking more about the warning that britain's workers face another year without a pay rise. we are about to say

goodbye to viewers on bbc one. stay with us if you can on the news channel. goodbye to now. they give are staying with others. good to have your company. we will catch up with the forecast. it's important to the south of the this morning. good morning. northern and western parts, frosty night. a cold night. sunny spells and showers. further south, we have the headline maker at the moment. very few have escaped. depths have

gone up. in the past the hours, it came down through wales. i am picking up on the latest imagery. the colder air has flooded down. it has turned to snow. further north, northern england, scotland, northern ireland, watch out for ice. snow continuing to fall across the east midlands, lincolnshire, east anglia. reports from there. late on in the afternoon, snow goes back to rain. a

decent day in scotland and northern ireland. the west midlands. in the high ground, a wintry flavour. it is a cold day. what i have not mentioned is the strength of the wind. anywhere near the low pressure, gust of wind, 50, if not, 60 miles per hour. a treacherous combination. thursday, if you have mist the frost and ice, a decent day. show is on the westerly breeze. a lovely day with not much wind. the first signs of mild a comment from the atlantic. saturday, many of us are in a more

mild regime. temperatures getting back towards double figures. in the short—term, northern britain, ice, in the south—east, east anglia, the midlands, lincolnshire, snowy to contend with. take care. we would never leave you behind. we are glad to have your company until nine o'clock. no early finish. thank you. next year will be another year without a real terms pay rise according to a think tank which looks at living standards in the uk. a quick look at the numbers behind that. it is all about the relationship between pay and prices. last year, the average weekly earnings went up like about 2%. that was less than the 3% of inflation. that meant pay was falling. next

year, the foundation thinks inflation will slow down a bit, but the same goes for wage growth. that means the average worker will end the year on the same income they started. we will speak to a policy a nalyst. started. we will speak to a policy analyst. thank you for taking the time to talk to us. are you surprised? should time to talk to us. are you surprised ? should we time to talk to us. are you surprised? should we expect it?” think this wage squeeze we are currently in, and you look of the government's numbers, it will keep going on the start of next year. it would be surprising in normal times, but coming out of the financial crisis, the six—year pay increases that followed it in the returned to falling real pay we have had this year, it is quite normal. —— and the return. this will ease over the

course of next year. by december, we will be back to relatively healthy real pay growth. unfortunately, it has been all too common. doesn't pay growth to a large extent depend on the economy growing, as we well know? the economy, with uncertainty, it is sluggish. there is a fundamental link. the key thing to look out in the economy in terms of what will happen to pay is productivity. that is the amount of growth, output, being produced in the economy for each hour people are working. that has basically been flat for 10 years. that is the underlying reason why he has been so bad. there are positive signs. in the latest months of data, productivity has gone up i 1.2%. that is not where it was before when it was over 2%. it is better than

recently. if it is to be sustained, the early signs, if they carry on, we could be more optimistic about pay packets for workers. there is some good news. things could improve by the end of the year. for the people the worst off in society, the living wage will rise. that is good news. are absolutely good news. in april, the national living wage will go april, the national living wage will 9° up april, the national living wage will go up from £7 52 £7 83, an increase of 4.5%. that is a lot faster than the predictions for middle and high—paid workers. it is welcome news. another year of strong growth and real pay for workers on the lowest wages. it means once again pay inequality will be falling next year. so, while it would be nice if wages were growing a bit faster across the economy as a whole, the

fa ct across the economy as a whole, the fact the lowest earners are continually supported by the bold increases in the minimum level of pay is welcome to bite as we move closer to the point of brexit, which is coming, is that likely, as more certainty comes, will positively impact wages? we don't know. the numbers we are talking about today are based on the office for budget responsibility‘s predictions for next year. we have had a look beneath the lid of those. it is uncertain that the one thing that is interesting about the outlook we have been describing is that it is really matched in public expectations. in terms of the public thinks will happen to their pay over the next few years, more than half think it stay the same if they stay in the same job. i do think it stay the same if they stay in the samejob. i do not think it stay the same if they stay in the same job. i do not think the experts or the public really know

what is going to happen to the economy and to pay around brexit. unmentioned experts and brexit, this is one area, the outlook for wages, where the experts in public are now very much moving in line in terms of what they think. a lot of pessimism about next year, though we do expect it to get better than 2017. thank you very much for your time. laura. on money matters, many of us would not mind spending more money on pets to make them warm and cosy. ones do is doing that. —— one zoo. these graceful creatures are a type of antelope called nyala. originally from southern africa, they are used to a warmer climate

than marwell zoo in hampshire, and keeping them warm, especially at this time time of year, is dear. these nyala, like a lot of antelope species, are active at dawn and dusk. our total electricity bill for the zoo is very high and we think a third of that is from animal houses serve our point of view, this electric heating of animal stalls is a big part of our carbon footprint and bill that we are trying to tackle. wild animals, plunging temperatures and no front door. so how do you keep this hut warm? you might think with the thermostat on the wall, that would do the job but the thermostat would turn the heating on when it was cold regardless of whether or not an animal was there. they tried motion sensors but when animals are sleeping, they don't move much and heating could turn off. one solution is an algorithm using data from an infrared sensor. following a chance meeting, tech company ibm stepped in to help and that is how artificial intelligence ended up here in the natural world. what we got was some sense of that.

looking down on the nyalas to detect whether they are there or not and next to that is a little computer with an infrared camera to take a photo to see if the algorithm is devised. as we can see on the little display, the moment it shows the that there are animals there, detecting that nyala is present and it would have turned the heat on. now, it's an experiment but the algorithm is making the right decision 96% of the time. the next stage is to connect it to the heat and see how the animals behave when heating is turned on and off. will they behave as they normally do and sleep in normal positions or will they wander off and look for warm patches somewhere else? but now, the nyalas are in bed with technology and they seem to be into it.

bbc news. as we look back on 2017, what do you think the year will be remembered for? well, dan schreiber and anna chazinsky are best known for their research work on the bbc two panel show qi, earning them the nickname the "q! elves." you have turned it into a useful side line. now, they've decided to share their favourite discoveries of the last 12 months in a new book. dan and anna join us now on the sofa. we started doing a pod cast about the most interesting fact is in the last seven days. this year we made it into a book, the most interesting fa cts it into a book, the most interesting facts we learned in 2017. what is your most interesting? a lot of donald trump staff. amazing. my

favourite is that in his first year of office he played more golf than rory mcilroy. it is astonishing. of office he played more golf than rory mcllroy. it is astonishing. how did you... we were chatting before you came on air. you said a lot of this stuff, you dig this out. these are genuinely fresh fact people have not found anywhere else. —— facts. how did you get them? it is a mixture. sometimes they are just in the news and we put them in. other times, there is a website called donald trump golf counter. we thought how much golf is that? we looked into professional golfers and found rory mcllroy. amazing. you have turned it into a stage show as well be how does that work? we have been doing live shows for a while.

we put the pod cast on stage and tell live audience is the most interesting stuff we have learned. —— audiences. this year, we have done a show where we talk about the news and comedy and facts, and the second half is the pod cast recording with us just chatting like every week. with the live show, we took the best to the book. it is an end of year show. the year has been amazing. utterly astonishing. we did not notice because we were clouded with rags at an donald trump and investigations. underneath that, so much was going on. —— brexit. we re ce ntly much was going on. —— brexit. we recently found out why shoelaces untie themselves. gee forces. that has freed up the top scientists of the world to focus on more important things. what is funny is that in

your book you talk about the rise in the number of thefts of bees across the number of thefts of bees across the world, not just the number of thefts of bees across the world, notjust in the uk. just half an hour ago we picked a story out of the sun about the rise in bee theft. that is the best one in the book. 2000 bees were stolen in beeston near nottingham. that led me to make the awful pun about a sting operation. when you get big characters like donald trump and kim jong—un, is it easy to find out fa cts jong—un, is it easy to find out facts about someone like him, for example? it is hard to know what to trust with north korea in some ways with the propaganda and how it is reported in the west. it is

difficult to penetrate. but with people like donald trump, so much has been overreported. finding the staff no one has discovered is the interesting thing we are trying to do. turn to page 42 of the sunday times and find out what is on it. there were some good north korea things this year. they launched a tourism website. they thought, this is our year, let's open up to the world. they have a cruise ship. they did a lot of launching. fortunately, not missiles. it is called "the book of the year," and it is out now. it is absolutely brilliant. stay with us. hello, this is breakfast.

disruption as heavy snow hits the uk parts of the midlands and south wales have been worst hit. more than 10,000 homes are without power, the m1 is one of the major routes affected. the overnight snow that's caused so many problems through wales, the midlands and the south—west is moving further to the east, in the next few hours, we'll be seeing falls across lincolnshire, the east midlands and perhaps down into the south—east as well. i'll have more details in a few minutes. good morning.

the first of a group of critically ill children are evacuated from a rebel held suburb of damascus. the company which ran grenfell tower hands control of thousands of other properties back to the council, saying it cannot guarantee tenants the service they expect. in sport, england are on top of day two of the fourth ashes test. alastair cook regains his confidence as he hits a century in melbourne. more from holly with the sport later. good morning. first, our main story. thousands of homes are without power in england and wales, as overnight snowfall has brought down power lines. western power says more than 10,000 properties are affected, from cornwall to sheffield. the m1 is closed southbound in leicestershire and we've been hearing about multiple collisions

on the a14 near kettering. and some flights were diverted from birmingham airport after the runway was shut for a short time. let's get more from our news correspondent andy moore. yes, the worst driving conditions at the moment seem to be leicester, northamptonshire, as you say, the m1 closed southbound and there's multiple collisions on the a14 at kettering. we've heard from motorists who've been stuck in the traffic there goir nowhere for five —— going nowhere forfive hours. not just the roads are affected. a tree is down on a railway line, between leamington spa and banbury. that's causing problems on that service. it's not just england causing problems on that service. it's notjust england and wales affected by this heavy rain, turning to snow. there's a weather warning in force for northern ireland,

northern scotland and eastern england. that's a warning of ice. northumbria police are warning of tricky driving conditions this morning. and just to give you an update of the situation with that flooding, that very heavy rain swelling the rivers, we're hearing that in england, there are 15 flood warnings and 109 flood alerts. last timei warnings and 109 flood alerts. last time i looked in wales, there were about four flood alerts there as well. a very serious situation with the flooding and with the snow causing quite a few problems this morning. thanks very much. we'll update you with the forecast. phil will be here with the latest on the location of the snow. thank you for your pictures that you've been sending in during the course of the morning this morning. lots of children waking up with a snowy scene to go and play in. aid workers have started to evacuate

critically ill children, from a rebel—held suburb of damascus. it comes after weeks of negotiations to allow children with cancer to be transferred for treatment these photos, posted on twitter, by these photos, posted on twitter, by the syrian red crescent, an internation committee of the red cross, a sign of hope forjust a few. four patients with critical medical conditions will now receive treatment in a hospital in damascus. in the rebel held suburb of eastern ghouta, the most vulnerable have little help. sick and malnourished and trapped under siege since 2013. on christmas day, the bbc aired a story of baby karim, two—month—old who lost an eye and suffered severe injuries in a suspected government attack. un efforts to arrange medical

evacuations from ghouta have until now fallen on deaf ears. last month, nine people who needed urgent medical care died after a request to get them out were denied. now the attention turns to those who can still be saved including seven children curable cancer, but without the medicine to treat them. if we can save these seven children maybe we may also be able to get out the other 125 children in ghouta who are in desperate need of sophisticated medical support which they cannot get in ghouta. the syrian red crescent says last night's evacuations took a long time to negotiate. the first of 29 critical cases approved by syrian authorities. the remainder will be evacuated to damascus over the coming days. it may seem just a drop in the ocean in the plight of so many,

but it's perhaps a small change in what has been an unforgiving ordeal for the people of eastern ghouta. the company which ran the grenfell tower is handing back control of other properties that it manages to the local council. the kensington & chelsea tenant management organisation says the temporary move is because it can't guarantee the right level of service. the organisation was heavily criticised afterjune's fire, but some residents say they don't think the council has the capacity to manage any of its housing stock. britain's workers could see another year without a pay rise, that's according to the resolution foundation think—tank, which looks at living standards in the uk. it said a year—on—year rise in real pay wouldn't be noticeable until december next year. the government says it is cutting taxes for millions and raising pay through the national living wage. a fireworks explosion

has injured 39 people — including six children — during a popular cuban carnival. the centuries—old festival in the town of remedios attracts thousands of cubans and tourists every christmas eve. state media reported that those injured all appear to be local residents — with their conditions ranging from stable to critical. the cause of the explosion is under investigation. andy murray's brother—in—law has become the youngest person ever to reach the south pole on his own. 27—year—old lieutenant scott sears completed his solo trip without any external help, on christmas day, after just 38 days. scott, who is the brother of andy murray's wife kim, said sausage snacks and shortbread helped him on his final day. the previous record holder was aged 30. the series might be lost, but england's cricketers have found some fight in australia, as they battle on in the fourth

ashes test in melbourne. our sports correspondent patrick gearey is at the mebourne cricket ground. good morning to you from here in the uk. at last, you have something to cheer us from over there. indeed. good morning, without doubt, england's best day of the series so farand england's best day of the series so far and that may not be saying much, i give you, but it's not the day that we expected at all. we thought we'd turn up in the scorching heat to see steve smith, the australian captain, piling on the runs. he hadn't been out on this ground in test matches in three years. imagine the surprise of everyone at the mcg, when he was bowled by tom curran, dragging the ball onto his stumps. that gave curran his first test wickets. it set up england for the rest of the day. mitchell marsh went in not long afterwards. stuart broad andjimmy in not long afterwards. stuart broad and jimmy anderson, england's most successful bowling partnership, got

rid of the rest of the australian tail. out for 327 in the end, adding just 83 runs for the remaining wickets this morning. a triumph for england. though they did lose mark stoneman and james vince, it was all about alastair cook in the afternoon and evening. people doubt whether cook has the appetite to keep scoring runs for england. he has more than 11,000 test runs as it is. he got his first 50 of the tour, then he was dropped on 66. cook kept going shows signs of his best. he finished on 100. joe root a fairway behind him on 49. two of england's senior players showing that there is still a bit of fight in the england side. they finished in a very strong position. good news for the home fans and for those who in the barmy army in the stands, particularly for alastair cook, because he has been such a talisman for england for so many yea rs talisman for england for so many years but has really struggled until

this innings today. he has. it hasn't been the tour that alastair cook was hoping for at all. but he is used to criticism. he was criticised regularly when he was captain of england. so stuart broad his team—mate who spoke to the media after said, "who cares if he's going to get criticism for not scoring a few runs. " to get criticism for not scoring a few runs." he works an a farm owned by his family. so he's always been able to put it in perspective. that's helped him score the sheer amount of runs that he has, more than11,000, amount of runs that he has, more than 11,000, more than any other englishman. i think he never doubted himself, even if some others around him, in the media perhaps, pundits have questioned his desire to keep scoring runs for england. he never questioned it. the celebration when he scored his 100 showed that he's still up for the fight. he still loves playing cricket for england. thank you very much indeed. we'll keep ourfingers thank you very much indeed. we'll keep our fingers crossed. there's still three days to go! good news for england.

just 8. 10am. thank you for the pictures you've send through this morning. snow has affected large parts of particularly the southern areas of the uk this morning. lots of pictures, we'll keep you up to date with the disruption. we have the weather forecast in a few minutes. a south atlantic island, which became over—run by rats, could be about to be declared completely rodent free after a five—year eradication project. for centuries, the british overseas territory of south georgia was home to tens of millions of birds, but they began to disappear as a result of the rodents, which often arrived on the island on fishing vessels. alison neil is from the south georgia heritage trust. thank you so much for coming in. nice to see you this morning. have you got rid of the rats? well we really hope so. but what we need to

do is be 100% sure. the trust did some baiting on the island by those helicopters in 2011, 2013 and 2015. we covered every single hectare of rodent infested area. ever since, birds have been returning to the island. they were basically excluded from the mainland when the rats were there. but they're starting to come back. the tourists are beginning to see them. so the signs are all very good that, in fact, rodents may be gone. at the moment we're doing a survey of all of the areas that we baited just to 100% check. survey of all of the areas that we baited just to 10096 check. it involves some quite detailed baiting. you had to get into nooks and crannies and crevices where the rats might have been nesting. that's right. we were so lucky that we had the expert tease of new zealand —— expertise of new zealand pilots, who

we re expertise of new zealand pilots, who were involved in eradications around the world. our whole team was really composed of experts who dealt with this kind of work before. those new zealand pilots are absolutely incredible, unsurpassed, as you say, at getting the nooks and crannies sorted out. we had the old whaling stations on the island that needed to be baited that. had to be done by hand. south georgia, you obviously know it, we look at pickures, such a beautiful but barren and desolate place in the south atlantic. how important was the bird ecosystem that was there before the rats took hold? well, what we predict is that potentially in the decades to come, more than 100,000, 100 million birds will return to the island. that gives you an idea of the extent of the problem that the rats had actually caused. many tourists

actually caused. many tourists actually don't realise that those birds are missing because they come to south georgia and they see 1. 5 million penguins. they see many seals and elephant seals and albatross. it's not immediately obvious. but it will make a huge difference. sorry to interrupt. give us an difference. sorry to interrupt. give us an idea of some of the species of birds that you're talking about then. you mentioned a few, but many more? that's right. there are two endemic species that were actually under threat of extinction by the rodents while they were penetrating more and more areas of the island. that's the south georgia pipette and pintail. many species of petrol, terns, many of the birds that people will be more familiar with were really under threat by the rats. from the point of view of your organisation, the south georgia heritage trust, i presume you're based here at home, but you, i mean you couldn't get a more distant place to have to try and preserve.

that's right. you know, obviously, that was a huge challenge. south georgia is 8,000 miles away. most people actually know it because it's -it people actually know it because it's — it was the first place that was invaded in the falklands war. that's what many people of a certain age, certainly my generation and older, that's what we remember south georgia for. that's right. but a lot of people are coming to know it now, because of documentaries like blue planet i! where it features. many people are visiting on cruise ships and seeing what a stunning wildlife sanctuary it is. talking about andy murray's brother in law, the youngest guy to trek to the south pole, obviously people watch blue planet ii, as somebody who knows the ecosystem planet ii, as somebody who knows the ecosyste m o n planet ii, as somebody who knows the ecosystem on south georgia, i'm asking you to go off piste a little bit, are you worried for the future of the environment and the seas around it and the climate around it?

this project is a great example of a nonprofit organisation like ourselves working with government, both in south georgia and in the uk and with the visitors who have been hugely helpful to all come together to make a real difference to the wildlife and i'm very confident of the future of the island and the government is protecting its waters as well as the wildlife. so, i think, there is a very bright future ahead for south georgia and actually it's a real inspiration to other charities and organisations that are doing this kind of work around the world. not many places on planet earth where you can be away from a rat. what do they say, you're only ten feet away at any time! i don't know where the one is here! thank you very much. just to remind you of our top

story this morning. heavy snow has hit parts of the uk causing disruption for many of you this morning. more than 10,000 properties are without power in england and wales. these are the scenes from roads across parts of the midlands. the m1 is closed southbound in leicestershire and we've been hearing about multiple collisions on the a14 near kettering. here's philip with a look at this morning's weather. a pretty scene, but plenty of disruption, phil. i want a pretty scene, but plenty of disruption, phil. iwant to a pretty scene, but plenty of disruption, phil. i want to give you a sense of the day's weather. northern and western parts of the british isles, frost and ice a real concern particularly in the north and then you have got a day of sunny showers and sunny spells. the ice, it is the combination of rain, sleet, snow and i could have put it on there, wind as well. some of the

gusts of wind around about the needles in the south, getting up to 60mph plus. this is the scene in basingstoke. the depths there for you, the latest figures, several centimetres falling and lying in a number of locations. this system, through the night, came in through wales, the south—west and through the west country. now, the radar rainfall and snow fall picking it up there as roger was indicating down through the east midlands, lincolnshire way. either side of london, we have seen reports down towards kenly. it isn'tjust about the southern half of britain. further north, we've had issues with ice as well. there have been a number of crashes reported in the north—east of england. through the day, we will push that area of cloud and wind and rain and snow further eastwards. as we get towards lunch time, the last wiventeriness will be on the higher ground and then more

in the way of wind and rain hanging on across east anglia and the south east. elsewhere, a lovely day. a cold one, certainly. wintry showers across the high ground of scotland and northern ireland, so too through wales and down to the moors of the south—west. right down the spine of the country a glorious day. just watch out, there will be issues with the lying snow which will take a time to get away given that your top temperature will only be two or three celsius. the wintry stuff and quitting the scene probably in the wee small hours of thursday if the truth were known. once that's away, the skies will clear. the veil of clu b the skies will clear. the veil of club will have departed and there will be another issue in thursday with frost and ice on untreated roads. here is the main message about thursday — a glorious day. a lot of sunshine. a speckling of showers. and just watch out for the ice first up. the latter part of the week and on into the weekend, milder

air flooding week and on into the weekend, milder airflooding in to all parts week and on into the weekend, milder air flooding in to all parts from the atlantic. more unsettled period of weather certainly. temperatures in double figures, but in the short—term think wintry. we have got a couple more hours for the wintry weather to get through the east midlands and cambridgeshire and lincolnshire and towards parts of east anglia and across parts of the south—east as well and we have got theiceissue south—east as well and we have got the ice issue further north. lots going on. roger, back to you. you have had three days straight, i hope you get a day off. i've got another one to go. yes, the end is in sight almost. thank you very much. thanks for keeping us up—to—date with the track of the snow this morning. phil avery who has the weather and holly hamilton has the weather and holly hamilton has the weather and holly hamilton has the sport. a good day for england's cricketers.

a good day for england's cricketers. a century today. the top scorer and he hasn't had a result like this since 2010/2011 which was the last time he performed like this. we are enjoying the performance. tom curran took his first test wicket — and it was an important one. tom curran took his first test wicket — and it was an important one. saptain steve smith out for 78 and that set off an australia collapse, stuart broad taking 4for51. with the hosts all out for 327, england needed a good session with the bat and after stoneman and vice went cheaply, captainjoe root closed in on a half—century. but batting honours went to former skipper alastair cook, who completed his century in the last over before stumps.

england 192—2 at the close. a welcome return to form for cook and broad. we created quite a lot of pressure yesterday that we were rewarded with wickets today. i think we were very patient yesterday and when it reversed a little bit things could have gone slightly different for us and then today we got lucky with a couple of chop—ons and a couple of that australia were probably disappointed with, but we were delighted with. it has been a pretty tough couple of weeks really, but it makes playing and taking wickets very rewarding. harry kane has broken the record for the most premier league goals in a calendar year. he moved past alan shearer‘s mark with yet another hat—trick, in tottenham's 5—2 win over southampton. that's 56 goals for club and country — two more than lionel messi. joe lynskey has more on that and the best of the rest

of the action from yesterday. they are the england strikers who set their own bar. but 2017 is when harry made history. he's done it. it has been a very harry christmas. he's been unstoppable but kane knows how to take a ball. it's been a fantastic year, one i'm proud of. compared to those players, the messis and shearers, it is what it's all about. it's come from persistence. some thought he would fade after one season, but he is now an icon. there was 1995 but there are more recent comparisons. spurs call him one of their own. in europe, harry kane is out on his own. kane's team won't win but second place could be in reach. united found a way back to a draw

but their december has seen a loss of points. is this a sticky spell? it isa it is a difficult spell for you. the team deserved to win both matches. there was a more clinical edge to liverpool. swansea would need the reds at their most ruthless. five goals including one to the local boy, trent alexander arnold. for swansea, these aren't the games that define their season, it is facing teams around you that matters. it is why west ham thought this was priceless. they thought they had seen at bournemouth. but controversy was coming. it won't count. the flag is up! did wilson get a touch? the discussions are long and involved. it is a goal! a referee's chance to transform emotions. in the premier league,

joy can turn to heartache. it is why when records come, it's best to save them. celtic have extended their lead at the top of the scottish premiership to 11 points, thanks to a 2—0 win at dundee. james forrest and leigh griffiths with the goals. aberdeen can narrow the gap again this evening, when they take on partick thistle. next for celtic is the visit of old firm rivals rangers on saturday. the welsh grand national has been postponed. heavy rain and snow at chepstow meant it had to be abandoned. organisers hope it can run on 6th january. at kempton mite bite held on. the favourite held off the 50-1 bite held on. the favourite held off the 50—1 shot with tea for two third. that gave nicky henderson a

double after victory in the christmas hurdle. holly, thank you very much indeed. enjoy the rest of your day today. in the festive spirit of reconciliation, we're bringing together two sides of a story from 2017, to see if they can call a christmas truce. today, we're talking brexit with the conservative mp iain duncan smith, who campaigned to leave the eu, and the labour mp liz kendall, who supported remain. let's see them discuss what's been achieved so far, and what needs to happen in 2018. hi. happy christmas, iain. happy christmas to you. why did the chewing gum cross other side? i am an optimist that we will agree.

it will be bumpy. there will be wonderful moments of crisis. there will be moments where we get a sense of where we are heading. that is what it will be like in the next eight or nine months. one of my real frustrations about this year has been the, sorry to say, quite vacuous soundbites which the government has been hiding behind when people desperately need some certainty at both for a transition period and for some certainty at both through the transition period and for the end goal. and every time you feel you are making progress towards that, it is undermined by comments like nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. we need to get some certainty. the people we are negotiating with need to know where we want to end up. crack another one. deal at dawn. total triumph wore a festive fudge? i hope because of the issue around

the border between the republic of ireland and northern ireland, we need to have an agreement, i hope, that we achieve staying in the single market, the customs union, for the rest of the country. there will be a reasonable agreement. are you a canada plus, plus, plus person? we need to have something that is already out there, not something from scratch. the idea is not to get too pessimistic because people on both sides recognise they want a reasonable relationship that we are leaving and they've accepted by the way and michel barnier said we are leaving the customs union and we are leaving the customs union and we are leaving the customs union and we are leaving the single market. they have gone further to say that it is off the table now. i hope that does not happen. i am optimistic.

ithink... i am sure you are. i am a glass half full kind of remainer too. happy christmas. happy christmas to you. single market and customs union. oh, yes, there you go. i want one of those as well. i am very proud to be british. god, they are hard. a bit like negotiations, really. that was conservative mp iain duncan smith, and the labour mp liz kendall, reflecting on the last year of brexit ups and downs. stay with us, headlines coming up. hello, this is breakfast with rogerjohnson.

it's approaching 8. 30am. here's a summary of this morning's main news. thousands of homes are without power in england and wales, as overnight snowfall has brought down power lines. western power says more than 10,000 properties are affected, from cornwall to sheffield. the m1 is closed southbound in leicestershire, and we've been hearing about multiple collisions on the a14 near kettering. and some flights were diverted from birmingham airport, after the runway was shut for a short time. let's get more from our news correspondent, andy moore. hello. first of all that accident on the m1, the lorry that had an accident, that has been cleared away now. but the delays will remain for some time because of a diesel spillage there. meanwhile, pretty nearby on the a14, we heard of

multiple collisions on that stretch of road between junctions one and three near kettering. we have heard about people stuck on that stretch of road forfour orfive about people stuck on that stretch of road for four or five hours. the latest update from high ways england, they say if people are caught in those conditions, rest assured that highways england say all available crews are out to try and clear stranded vehicles and get you moving again and they say they're liaising with the police to try and do that. not only snow in some parts of the country, there are very icy conditions in other parts of the country, very heavy rain. we are hearing the latest update on the situation with the environment agency in england, there are 15 flood alerts in place and 114 — sorry 15 flood warnings and 114 flood alerts. that number is growing all the time. thank you very much.

take care if you're out and about in any of the fresh snow, or indeed as katie has e mailed from edinburgh to point out, the stuff left over there, and in other parts of the scotla nd there, and in other parts of the scotland as temperatures drop in different areas there. a christmas storm has dumped a record amount of snow on erie, pennsylvania, burying homes, cars and gardens. the 1.3—metre snowfall comes ahead of what forecasters said would be a bitterly cold few days for the us north—east and midwest. further snow is forecast this week. the syrian red crescent aid agency says it has started to evacuate critically—ill civilians, including 18 children, from a rebel—held suburb of damascus. the first four patients left eastern ghouta, which has been under government siege forfour years. the operation is the result of negotiations between the united nations and syrian president, basharal—assad. the company that ran the grenfell tower is handing back control of the other properties it manages to the local council. the kensington and chelsea tenant

management organisation says the temporary move is because it can't guarantee the right level of service. the organisation was heavily criticised afterjune's fire, but some residents say they don't think the council has the capacity to manage any of its housing stock. you're watching breakfast. at 9am, simon mccoy will have the main headlines for you here on the bbc news channel. but before that, we take a look back at a momentous year for hull, the uk's city of culture in 2017. hello and welcome to hull, britain's city of culture as we review 12 months of cracking events. that's right, it's been an absolutely phenomenal year. we have so much to look back on. across four seasons, hull took art out of galleries and theatres and into the streets. 365 days of events changed the way the city has been seen by the rest of the world. the year has gone by so quick,

i cannot believe it's almost over, and i hope these guys get to stay. this is the latest installation for 2017 called where do we go from here. these robot arms brought out of retirement to do some dancing here in the city of culture. and it sort of mirrors the start of the year back injanuary when the whole of the city centre was filled with lights and sounds. that was amazing. that was how we started this season, made in hull. crowd: eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.

2017 really did start with a bang. with 3.5 tonnes of fireworks. and made in hull, a spectacular light show telling the story of the city and its people. what do you think to this unbelievable display? i thought it was amazing. absolutely fabulous. i've got family in canada and they're watching it live now. i'm from london and i think if this was in london... i can't explain, the reaction you get is absolutely fantastic. it's amazing. fantastic, i thought it was really very moving, very emotional. i am from brazil and i spent two new years in copacabana and it's the same quality here. it's amazing. i am so proud of hull. it's absolutely amazing.

i think it will launch a really positive year. at the centrepiece of a season called made in hull, something that was. a huge wind turbine blade, handmade at the city's siemens factory. an incredible 75 metres long, and to put that into some perspective, i am about six foot so i would fit along this 41 times. that's a lot of kofi. getting it in was a big job. 50 lamp posts, traffic lights and barriers were taken down for its four hourjourney from factory to city centre. and it drew in the crowds — one in five people who came to see it were from outside hull and east yorkshire. caroline quentin and mark addy starred in the world premiere of the hypocrite. i've spent the last two days running round inside a cardboard box

which represents a commode, for reasons too complicated to go into. the play was by award winning hull—born writer richard bean and told the story of hull's role in the start of the english civil war. shutting the city's gate on the king. who will make the first advance? i'm really looking forward to the people of hull seeing this play. there's so much great stuff in it. some of the jokes, they are so deeply entrenched in the culture here, they are going to love it. upon your conscience! the show had the theatre's biggest cast, biggest set and spectacular special effects, and it won a new audience, one third of them who had never been to this theatre before. february brought another world premiere.

6,000 pipes, written by britain's most popular living composer, sir karljenkins. # there's a starman waiting in the sky...#. weeks later the orchestra made way for one of david bowie's old bandmates, the spiderfrom mars, woody woodmansey. the last surviving member of the band from hull performed the rise and fall of ziggy stardust album live and in full for the first time ever. it is somewhere that bowie wanted to play himself. he knew we were from here. so to come back now, to hull the city of culture is amazing. made in hull also celebrated pioneering women of the city of culture. from the world's first woman conductor to the first women's world boxing champion barbara buttrick. i think all this talk about girls

not boxing is old—fashioned. girls aren't the delicate flowers they used to be and anyhow my boyfriend doesn't mind. art's original bad girl from her performance art collective and one of hull's most famous daughters, maureen lipman, on inspiring the next generation. if there's one kid out there watching, who thinks, "god, if that white—haired woman with spectacles can be on telly, so can i." and even if you are not famous and from hull you could pretend to be, as photography show hollywood icons let people take on the favourite film roles. and there were other ways to get involved, people choosing coloured filters for their flats as part of this community project, called i wish to communicate with you. i think is brilliant, it makes you feel good that you are part of the city of culture. by march nine out of ten people in hull had been

to a city of culture event and with 60 community projects in 2017, many were even taking part. that was one of the community projects put together by people from hull for people from hull. really a great way to get everyone involved. the woman who masterminded it is sharon darley. sharon, before 2017 some people might have thought art is not for me, isjust for the cultural elite. has this project changed that? yes! in what ways, what have you seen? the whole year has changed that, the project we were involved with definitely helped oil the wheels. what changes have you seen, just explain to people who don't know hull, the problems in the estate where you started that work. lots of the usual inner—city challenges, lack of employment, lack of prospects. lack of aspiration sometimes.

although i like to say that i work with a really creative, innovative, funny community. do you think 2017 has drawn that out? i think so, and it doesn't take a lot. how can you keep these things going, for the people who might not have the time or the money to go to theatre or the art gallery? i'm going to say the l word, legacy. this year is a beautiful launch pad. it is now up to us to keep it going and going and make it, if it is around for a long time, the more chance you've got of seeing stuff. sharon, thank you so much. and there were so many more community events stretching into season two called roots and routes. my favourite was seeing katy perry at big weekend, she was for me one of the highlights of season two. cheering and applause.

let's go, hull! season two looked to hull's place in the world. and you don't get much more global than katy perry. dozens of stellar pop acts came to burton constable near hull for radio 1's big weekend. in a festival environment just outside of hull is crazy. it is so cool. to have this on your doorstep. we keep running into people we know. it is like all the city in a big place. it's great. just from the crowd you can always tell what type of energy is out there, and it sounds like people really appreciate the music, it seems like a real freedom here.

music should be somewhere where people can come together no matter what background you are from. we need music to connect and i don't think that should ever be something people are afraid to come together for. we saw stormzy earlier. are you a grime fan? i'm interested in the grime scene, and he's one of the best. i saw little mix earlier, they are trained, they are in the dressing room next to mine and theirvocalwarm—ups were quite impressive. i don't think i can nail that. i'm going to stay at the french level, below that. but that was not the only festival in town. north atlantic flux celebrated

hull's historic ties to scandinavia and was created by the musicianjohn grant. hull is a place that has been on my radar for some time, several of the artists i admire have connections to hull. i think you will see what hull has to offer and also things from the north atlantic, it is quite scandinavian. another event with sound at its heart, height of the reeds was a sonicjourney across the iconic humber bridge. the swan bend their necks backwards to see god. then the magnetism of the blue space. listening through headphones they are hearing a piece of work which combines poetry with the sound of the bridge as it creaks and sways in the wind. opera north's chorus and orchestra married with sound recordings of the bridge itself. look up!

and a hull schoolgirl who guided the audience. it will be weird hearing myself, but it will be pretty cool. australian company circa brought circus, dance and sound to a hull graveyard. a horse, horse, my kingdom for a horse! and more world—class theatre with matt fraser in shakespeare's richard iii. i'm a deformed actor playing a deformed character for the first time in britain, which is extraordinary that it should be the first but exciting that i get to do it. thousands came to see the weeping window poppies on tour from the tower of london. and revealed in more ways than one,

more than 3000 people from around the world who took part in sea of hull. in april they saw the final artwork by specer tunick unveiled in the gallery. i'm about there. you have only one life, just live it. i don't care if anyone sees me or not. # i've got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire #. the big weekend was a highlight of season two, the perfect warm up for a season of festivals in the city of culture. we are now halfway through the year and it is clear that hull is getting pretty good at putting on unexpected, innovative and exciting events like this installation, and that is changing perceptions of the city. it was not that long ago when hull was voted britain's crappest town, but if you look in the papers today you'll see that is

no longer the case. and with a summer packed full of events to come things got better and better. one, two, three! # what are you thinking? summer was a season of festivals. more than 100 local bands at the humber street sesh. we are sitting on an amazing wealth of talent in this region and i think it's about time the rest of the country was aware of it. the tenth annual freedom festival, with a lecture from former un secretary—general kofi annan. art and culture is very much part of life. it brings people together. they may not understand what the artist is saying, but they stop and look at it and question something

within themselves. the city's first ever children's literature festival, the big malarkey. they all live at number 41 fairfield road, and their next—door neighbour is mr nigel mcnumpty who is a grizzly bear. and hull was even on show at the world's largest arts festival, the edinburgh fringe. we're here representing hull, which is the uk city of culture this year. the proms came here outside london for the first time in more than 80 years. and hull hosted the first ever uk pride parade, marking 50 years since the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality. we're bust to bust. yes, bust to bust, yeah, after all these years. cheering and applause. as part of lgbt 50, radio 2 brought the i feel

love concert to town. today, i feel really reflective and i feel i kind of stand on the shoulders of great people who have done — you know, like, marc almond's here. i mean, that'sjust like, he's an amazing artist an amazing advocate for lgbt people. alison moyer, amazing. so it's just why would i not say no to be in the company of those people? hello from hull, the 2017 city of culture. hull took over the airwaves again in september with contains strong language, a festival celebrating poetry and spoken word. what is exciting is to see the hull acts and the hull language taking its place on this global stage. here, domes and statues. spires and cranes cluster. you mentioned before about philip larkin and andrew marvell. yeah. reading both of them today, who is hull's best? 0h. do you know, i never compare — i never compare lovers, i never compare poets.

i mean, i never compare music. it'sjust different. i'm glad we don't have oscars for poets — i mean, it's ridiculous enough for actors. then there was the weird and wonderful — bill bailey invented tales about strange items in his cabinet of curiosities at hull's maritime museum. do you think you're the first comedian to have curated a museum exhibition? i don't know. i'm gonna say yes. it certainly seems like new ground, doesn't it? i've decided! in the spirit of this exhibition, yes, i, bill bailey, bill of bailey, am the first comedian to curate an exhibition of this kind anywhere in the world. and an immersive experience like no other, from high—tech shopping, being captured by the police of 1980 south korea, in a performance called one day maybe. if i don't make it out, tell my mum, dad, sisters, brothers that you can't

touch my stuff. oh, what? did you see that? he knows i'm watching! and one of the season's highlights, a special gala performance by the world—famous royal ballet. its principalsjoined a handful of top ballet dancers who had all taken their first lessons at skelton hooper school of dance in hull. so many wanted tickets, 5,000 people watched on screens in a nearby park. the gala showing off the great dancers who started theirjourney to the top in the city of culture. applause. well, you may have noticed in there some of the army of 2,500 turquoise—coated volunteers who are working for city of culture. and joining us is — this is special, we have three generations of volunteers, leanne, sheila, and karen.

now, how many hours of volunteering have you put in this year between you? we've put injust under 1,300 hours of volunteering. 1,300? between the three of you? between the three of us. incredible. and what have been your highlights? mine was one day maybe, which i absolutely adored. it was a long shift, but certainly worth the effort. one of mine was the gay parade. i really enjoyed that. gay pride? yeah. i was lucky enough to be in flood. i was on one of the floating platforms. 0h, brilliant! that was fantastic. we will be seeing some of that later in the programme. and you'll be sticking at it next year as well? yes, definitely. and longer to come, yeah. yeah, we have really enjoyed it, everybody. we're just like one big family. thank you so much for coming down. we are getting to the end of our review. season four is called

tell the world. the final season of 2017 and the world premieres kept coming. maxine pea ke's play, the last testament of lillian bilocca, told the story of four hull women who fought the government for better fisherman safety, and won. the winner of this year's turner prize is lubaina himid. this year's turner prize was awarded in hull to lubaina himid, the oldest winner in its history and the first black woman to win the prize. thank you, panel. first of all, to the people who've stopped me in the streets of preston and hull to wish me luck, thank you, it worked. the show at the ferens art gallery featuring the four short—listed artists has drawn huge crowds — more than double the average it

usually gets in london — and already, the most second—visited turner prize show ever. another treat for visual art lovers was hull, portrait of a city. every shot taken by world renowned photographers martin parr and olivia arthur in the city of culture. there you go. brilliant. but the contemporary art wasn't confined to galleries — it took over the city streets with huge installations like flow and a hall for hull. and mythical mystical beasts roamed the streets for the land of green ginger unleashed parade — the finale of a year of events that took artistic spectacle out to the city's communities. it was fantastic! well worth the wait, and i want to see it again! oh, it was so good! i didn't know what to expect. i didn't know it would

be like that, though. it was kind of scary when the people came up to you. it's what we've needed, it's what the city's wanted, and it just shows with the amount of people who are here that we all wanted it, you know? long may it continue. art even found its way into hospital. the footprint of every baby born in hull has been taken during 2017, and along with the midwife's hand print, they've made a huge mural reflecting every new life in the city of culture. it's lovely that he was born in 2017, and the little footprints are a great idea. i think they will be a gorgeous little tribute to him and a lovely tribute to all the staff as well. on 1st october, all of hull's cream phone boxes rang and the public took calls from the future. the live experience was part of we made ourselves over 2097 and ran alongside five short sci—fi films and an interactive app. and another glimpse of a possible

future came from theatre company slung low with a year—long performance called flood. tell me how i can save them, save the world! the dystopic story imagined europe flooded and its citizens as refugees. told online, on tv, and in a series of live performances in one of hull's old docks, its ambition reflected that of hull's whole year as city of culture. that was some of the fantastic moments from season four‘s tell the world. and the man who made 2017 happen is its director, martin green. when you moved to hull three years ago, martin, did you ever imagine that 2017 would be as successful as it has been? never in a million years is the truthful answer. i don't think anyone would have that kind of ego. it has been the most extraordinary year in the life of this great city. how would you sum up the changes that you've seen over that time? i think what we have seen here again

is how art is the life force of a city and quite apart from the many events and exhibitions and performances, what you have seen is a re—finding of a city's voice, a re—finding of its pride, and the rediscovery of a city by many people who aren't from this city as well. martin, will leave soon and hand over the reins to new management. what is the one thing that you would like to see carried on as legacy from this year? i think it's that ambition. i think what we've done here this year is the unexpected, you know, really interesting cultural experiences. and i think this city has a great ambition to be different, and if hull can continue to be a city of the extraordinary, then that would be one of the many legacies that will come from this year. thank you so much, martin. and that's it for our review of 2017. this year has been incredible. can you believe that there's been at least one event every single day? and we have been to most of them! and if you want to take a look back, you can go to our website. it's just bbc.co.uk/hull2017.

and there's been so much going on, here are a few bits that we haven't managed to squeeze in. bye— bye. see ya! if you've not heard of fuzzfeed, where the hell have you been? all: where have you been? if you like your coffee hot, let me be your coffee pot! robot: i am a loose cannon. this is bbc news. the headlines:

motorists are warned of dangerous conditions because of snow and ice. thousands of properties are without electricity in the midlands and parts of wales a small number of critically ill syrian children are allowed to leave a rebel held area of damascus. the company that ran grenfell tower gives up control of thousands of other properties, saying it can't guarantee tenants the service they expect. also in the next hour: prince harry guest edits radio 4's today programme. ina wide in a wide ranging interview with barack obama, the former us president warned that irresponsible use of social media is distorting the public‘s understanding of complex issues. tesco investigates after customers complained that their christmas turkey was "rotten" or had "gone off". in halfan in half an hour, i'll look back over a landmark year in the world of business.