this is bbc news, the headlines at midday. warnings of delays to road, rail and air travel and possible power cuts as snow and ice affects parts of northern glasgow airport reopens — after snow caused it to suspend all flights. it's advising passengers to check with their airlines. at least 12 people are dead — including a baby — after a fire at an apartment block in new york's bronx district. apple apologises for deliberately slowing down ageing iphones — it says the move was intended to prolong the life of the phones. also: easing the impact of excessive drinking on busy accident and emergency units. the nhs considers making mobile "drunk tanks" a permanent feature across england. and bestselling author sophie kinsella about her book

my not so perfect life. that's in meet the author, in half an hour — here on bbc news. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. snow and ice are causing more disruption in parts of the uk today. a yellow warning is in place for snow and ice in parts of northern england, the north midlands and scotland throughout the day. glasgow airport says operations have restarted after being temporarily suspended earlier. the met office says delays to road, rail and air travel are "likely" and is warning of possible power cuts. anisa kadri reports. snow can look so pretty sometimes but we all know the chaos it can cause.

flights were temporarily suspended at glasgow airport after heavy snowfall overnight. things are operational again but they have apologised for any disruption and the advice is to check with your airline for updates. snowfall of five centimetres to ten centimetres is expected in parts of northern england with up to 15 centimetres possible over higher ground and subzero temperatures have been recorded overnight with lows of —12 degrees celsius in northern scotland. they have been bracing themselves in leeds when the gritters have been scattering salt to try and stop accidents on the ice. if you are in one of those severe weather regions consider whether yourjourney is necessary. if you have to go out then proceed with caution, reduce your speed, keep a good grip of the steering wheel and drive very steadily and do not brake or accelerate sharply and be aware of those black

ice out there as well as snow and floodwater. in england and wales there are warnings of downpours and thunderstorms. the met office said delays to road, rail and air travel were likely and warned of possible power cuts. our correspondentjudith moritz is in huddersfield. it looks beautiful but causes a lot of problems. yes, we do say it every year, snow in winter and we talk to you from huddersfield at the reason we do that is because with impressive precision and the forecast did predict that the snow would hit areas like this and settle

on areas like this on the higher ground. just outside huddersfield area a cross ground. just outside huddersfield area across the trans—pennine routes the usual routes have been closed, the usual routes have been closed, the woodhead pass, those sorts of i’u ns we the woodhead pass, those sorts of runs we expect to close in these conditions and runs like this, minor roads around these trans—pennine areas, these you can see the cars areas, these you can see the cars are either not going anywhere are very slowly and with enormous care. the postman has left his van at the bottom of the hill, doing it on foot. the major route around this pa rt foot. the major route around this part of the world, the motorways nearby have been free—flowing, gritters predicting what would happen and working last night to keep those roads open. i drove over this morning from manchester and it

was quite heavy around 9am but the road continued to move with disruption at a minimum and because it is the middle of the holidays, people are off work and schools are closed so that has eased things. as well the li in terms of the conditions, forecasters say around the north of england the snow would probably stop or ease of mid—morning arrowed iiam, probably stop or ease of mid—morning arrowed "am, that is what happened around here. it has settled but it is not continuing at the moment to fall particularly heavily around the north. i do not want to speak too soon, have we got away with it? not as bad as it could have been but people also enjoying it. we have seen plenty of fun out and about, sledging and throwing snowballs and building snowmen, it looks great and for now you had in the report about

glasgow airport, that has been some of the most serious disruption has beenin of the most serious disruption has been in scotland but that's now europe and adam will be some knock—on effects more generally. think started to get back to normal. thank you. we will keep you up—to—date with any developments and that is much more information on the website and in terms of local disruption your local bbc radio station always has the latest information. a fire has swept through an apartment building in new york — killing at least twelve people — including a one—year—old baby. the emergency services said at least 15 people were also injured — some of them critically. jon ironmonger reports.

it is new york's deadliest blaze for decades. fire broke out on the first floor of the 5—storey apartment building and spread rapidly, sparking panic among residents in a busy corner of the bronx district. fire crews arrived at the scene within three minutes, but it was too late for many of the residents. those who managed to escape described the chaos as people rushed to flee the smoke. the fire truck wasn't even here yet when all the smoke and stuff was coming out at first. they weren't even here yet. they started to get everybody out but people were on the fire escape already, trying to get down on their own, that is how fast it was moving. at least 12 people were rescued from the building as firefighters plucked residents from this fire escape. outside in the bitter cold, locals huddled under blankets. speaking after the fire had been brought under control, new york mayor bill de blasio called it an unspeakable tragedy. in the middle of the holiday season is a time when families are together.

tonight here in the bronx there are families that have been torn apart. this is the worst fire tragedy we have seen in this city in at least a quarter of the century, based on the information we have now. this will rank as one of the worst losses of life to a fire in many, many years. the fire department said it was too early to comment on the cause of the blaze and the search of the building is continuing, while the mayor has warned the death toll could rise further. we will speak to cbs correspondentjohn schiumo who is in the bronx for us. apple has apologised to its customers — after it admitted slowing down older iphones — in order to

protect their batteries. the company said it would never intentionally shorten the life of any apple product — and said it would offer replacement batteries at a discounted price. the groundswell of anger from customers grew so the groundswell of anger from customers grew so large that apple had to respond. i do not think the issued an apology for what he did but the way they did it, not telling your customers what you were doing in the background is a real no—no especially when you are making a product that so many of us rely on day to day what we saw was every time apple did a update of the software when changes to the operating structure would occur, there would be a massive spike on

google people searching sly fun. —— slow iphone. it did not stick to long for these programmers to debunk what was going on. the apology is well received, the $30 for replacing the battery i think is going to be fantastic because iphone customers will be able to extend the life of the battery and i think other manufacturers will respond in kind as well. what's talk but more about that terrible fire in the bronx in new york. let's go to the scene and join john. bring us up to date in terms of what the authorities are saying about the casualty figures, the

numberof about the casualty figures, the number of people injured. still the catheter figure remains at 12, confirmed to be dead —— the casualty figure. we know a little bit more about their ages, a one—year—old and about their ages, a one—year—old and a two—year—old and a seven—year—old. the investigation is still a very active scene behind me, fire marshals are here trying to figure out exactly what sparked this blaze. we do know there was an open violation in the building, a p pa re ntly violation in the building, apparently the smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector on the first floor where defectives and it was an open violation against the building meaning it has two at some point fix it. it is unclear that it was fixed when the blaze broke out but the fire marshals are trying to figure out exactly how this fire started and try it spread so fast. and what are the people you have

been able to talk to saying about the speed of the response, the way in which those who are now homeless and being looked after and clearly very cold temperatures? the first to the response, the fire department was seen the response, the fire department was seen within three minutes so i have had very few if any complaints about the response. this is a very densely populated area he then the bronx and the fire department is just up the block and within three minutes. as for those who are displaced, this is a very typical building, a five story building housing 25 apartments which is uninhabitable at this point but the city is doing its part to make sure those who are displaced have a home. there is a city bus but over there in case someone needs to stay warm inside and i can report to you that the boss is empty right now which means people have found homes elsewhere. the red cross was here

helping that process unfold and also new york city has a right to shelter and asa new york city has a right to shelter and as a result people were taken to homeless shelters if they had no other place to go. thank you for that update. we will talk to you over the day. 12 people confirmed as having died in that fire including three children. the head of the nhs in england is considering making mobile alcohol recovery centres — known as drunk tanks — a permanent feature across england, to ease pressure on accident and emergency units and ambulance services. simon stevens said too many resources were being taken up by people who'd drunk too much alcohol ending up in hospital, particularly during the festive season. adina campbell reports. binge drinking at its worst — a big headache for police and a burden for the nhs. it is estimated up to 15% of attendances at emergency departments in the uk are alcohol—related.

at this time of year that number is significantly more with as many as 70% of attendances at a&e because of drinking. the uk's first mobile drunk tank was introduced in bristol three years ago and there are have been others in manchester, cardiff and newcastle. a supervised area in a city centre, it offers those who have had too much to drink a chance to be checked over by medical staff and sleep off the alcohol. keeping them away from a and e or a police cell. and now nhs england says it is considering routine use of the facility. we think that these facilities do have the potential to take the pressure off a&e departments. but we are interested in looking at them further and seeing the results over the winter before making a decision about rolling them out more widely. if there are patients that we can manage elsewhere, we find alternative services,

and this is one potential possibility. nhs england says it is monitoring new year celebrations to see whether the scheme should be extended to other areas. and it will make a decision early next year. it is the final day of trading for 2017 and the ftse 100 it is the final day of trading for 2017 and the ftse100 is expected to end the year on a record high. markets close officially at 12:30pm and let's speak to our business correspondence. not much trading left, talk us through what you might expect. based on the current trajectory we are heading for an all—time record high of the ftse. a

few minutes ago it was just over 7600, a lot of green on the boards today, heading for a record for not just year but all—time. i am showing you to individual stocks is, both up today but both have two very different yea rs today but both have two very different years and they catch the mood of what happened in the ftse 100. anglo—american is a mining giant over the world and downs most of its money and dollars or euros which is a stronger currency than the pound and that is why the overseas companies and the ftse has done very well over the last year. glaxosmithklin have had a bad here, they were down 15% or so and today having a good day, other thing up

and also helped by the fact they are ina lot and also helped by the fact they are in a lot of dollars and bring it back into pounds. the dowjones has had an unbelievable year of 26% for the major index, a lot of that is down to the donald trump tax bill which was enacted, the build—up for the tax cuts and then announced a study last week. 2017 as a whole, financial watchers look back and say good use, look at the green but what does it mean for real people? but then our pensions are invested? the vast majority of people will not benefit from this, they do not have huge share portfolios. you are right, some pension savings are unwittingly invested in these shares and they will have benefited over the last year but most people will

not have consciously got out and bought stocks like anglo—american glaxosmithklin so they will not see much of a difference. the ftse100 is up 7%. interest rates, if you put cash in your deposit account, anything over 0.5%, you would be pretty pleased so had to put it in a tracker, what it has done over the last year if you put £1000 into the ftse100 you would be £72 wealthier at the end of the year will stop not at the end of the year will stop not a huge amount of money and most people will not see the benefit from that but it is good that stocks are going up. if you are invested in that and have a pension fund which tracks that, the vast majority will not. thank you. the headlines on bbc news: there are warnings of delays

to road, rail and air travel and possible power cuts because of snow and ice. glasgow airport has now reopened —— after snow caused it to suspend all flights. at least 12 people are dead — including a baby — after a fire at an apartment block in new york's bronx district. apple apologises for deliberately slowing down ageing iphones — it says the move was intended to prolong the life of the phones. sport now and for a full round up from the bbc sport centre, here's reshmin. england's chances of victory in the fourth ashes test were hampered by rain in melbourne overnight — australia were still 61 behind and two wickets down when the players came off for the second and final time. after the close however, the main talking point centered

around pictures and insinuations in the australian media of a potential ball—tampering story involving james anderson. patrick gearey has the latest from the mcg. england denied by english conditions and melbourne. it only took two wickets before the rain came down, cheryl is turning to storms after 3pm and no more play. england will be consoled by the fact they are the only realistic side with a chance of winning and they will avoid the 5—0 whitewash. the ending is only lasted one ball before james anderson was out, alastair cook 244 not out, batting through the innings and defeated, the first irishman to do that than 20 years and delicate score any test match. england took to gillian wickets, and then they

got the crucial period of play, bombing to david warner and steve smith the best australian batsmen. the tactic was to dry up the runs and that was effective but neither of them were out so they will be there on the final day of play as there on the final day of play as the biggest obstacles to an england victory. there was one other line to emerge from the play, both sides had been warned about throwing the ball back deliberately into the pits to scuff it and generate reverse swing at some money are still in media made more serious accusations againstjames made more serious accusations against james anderson and made more serious accusations againstjames anderson and his treatment of the ball. england refugee is about his accusations and i asked trevor bayliss what he thought. as soon as i saw the headlines i rushed into the umpires and they said there was nothing to worry about, it was a beat up. and they said there was nothing to worry about, it was a beat uplj and they said there was nothing to worry about, it was a beat up. i am assured that beat up as australia and for made up and this was an

example of england bashing so an element of spice going into an intriguing final day. everton manager sam alla rdyce admitted today that his club are in desperate need of a new striker — his comments come in the midst of stories linking the club with a host of names, including the turkish forward, chenk tosun of besiktas. we will be actively looking for a front man in this window because i need more goals. if we are tojust maintain our position because we have started to struggle to create chances and scored goals in recent matches so it is still one of the major problems we have. novak djokovic says he is "terribly disappointed" to postpone his return to tennis on the advice of his medical team. the former world number was due to make his comeback at an exhibition match in abu dhabi this afternoon — and he will be

replaced at the event by none other than andy murray, who is also making his long—awaited comeback from a hip injury. djokovic hasn't played since pulling out of his wimbledon quarterfinal against tomas berdych with an elbow injury — and his participation in next month's australian open is now in doubt. muray will take on spain's roberto bautista agut in abu dhabi at 3pm uk time. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. a huge fire at an office and restaurant complex in india's financial capital mumbai has killed at least 14 people and injured several others. the blaze at the kamala mills

compound, is reported to have broken out in a restaurant and spread quickly. the complex housed a collection of derelict industrial buildings which had been transformed into a hub of upscale restaurants and offices. most of the victims are thought to be young women who were attending a birthday party. the fire broke out on a rooftop restau ra nt the fire broke out on a rooftop restaurant and spread within minutes toa barand restaurant and spread within minutes to a bar and then the entire building. most of the buildings when women attending a party. those who escaped described the terrifying moments as they desperately tried to get out. there was a stampede and someone get out. there was a stampede and someone pushed me... the bbc was at the restaurant and has this eyewitness account. we have someone screaming has this eyewitness account. we have someone screaming that there was a fire and everyone run. towards the fire and everyone run. towards the fire exit. within seconds before we

could gather what went wrong there was a stampede and everyone was trying to rush out but in less than three minutes after the fire started the whole area was engulfed in fire and before anyone including us could reach the staircase, it caught fire at the exit. the blaze was put out only in the morning, the structure com pletely only in the morning, the structure completely gutted. it was located any congested neighbourhood that once housed textile mills and is now filled with bars, restaurants and offices. some still located in the old factories, other than a glass towers. but many lack proper safety systems and emergency exits and an investigation has been ordered to determine what caused the fire. police say a woman found

murdered in north london had been stabbed and beaten. the body of iuliana tudos — who was 22 and from moscow — was discovered on wednesday in finsbury park, near her home. it's thought she might have been attacked on christmas eve. two men have been charged with terror offences by police investigating an alleged plot for an attack over christmas. farhad salah, from sheffield, and andi sami star, from chesterfield, have been charged with engaging in the preparation of an act of terrorism and will appear via video link at westminster magistrates' court today. 29 people and in need of medical assistance

have been transferred to damascus. the united nations says nearly 500 people and abs need of medical care, 18 children and six women were among those taken out in the last few days. the anti—landmine programme launched by princess diana is to getting extra funding to expand de—mining operations across the world. the government announced it would match the two hundred thousand pounds raised in a bbc radio appeal to tackle, what was described as the "hidden, indiscriminate killer". the money is on top of the one hundred million pound programme announced earlier this year by prince harry. wyre davies reports. although nearly 30 countries where de—mining operations have taken place have now been declared mine—free, there are still millions of mines littering existing and former war zones across the globe. small plastic antipersonnel mines in particular kill or maim thousands of unsuspecting civilians every year, long after they were originally laid. in april, the department

for international development made a three—year commitment worth £100 million to support de—mining programmes in parts of africa, south—east asia and the middle east. the programme was launched with the support of prince harry, whose late mother, princess diana, brought the issue to public attention in 1997, when she walked wearing body armour through a partially cleared mine field in angola. the international development secretary penny mordaunt has now announced plans to expand the uk's de—mining efforts to angola and has given a further £200,000 to the mines advisory group, which carries out this work. the funding matches the sum raised in a bbc appeal earlier this year. more coming up in the next half hour but let's catch up with the weather would have you are in the country. some heavy snow and places this

morning particularly in glasgow which saw a ten centimetres but the weather front associated with that is pushing into the north sea and there will be further showers across there will be further showers across the north of scotland and the north of england but milder farther south. heavy showers continuing and continuing to be quite windy. overnight, continuing to see showers across northern areas, some wintry andi across northern areas, some wintry and i weather system from the south—west bringing more rain and some snow to northern ireland for a while before returning back to rain with some ice across the north. temperatures up across the south, milder beerfor temperatures up across the south, milder beer for saturday, still critical in the north but across the south plenty of showers and strong winds and for scotland and then towards northern ireland, showers falling as snow over higher ground. it will be quite cool again, ten to 13 across the south and south—west.

this is bbc news. our latest headlines: heavy snow and icy conditions are expected to cause severe disruption to travel across parts of northern england and scotland. glasgow airport has reopened after temporarily suspending flights — however, it's advising passengers to check with their airlines. 12 people including three children have been killed when fire swept through a new york apartment building. another 15 people have been injured, some of them critically. the mayor of new york city said the fire was the deadliest in the city for at least 25 years. apple has apologised after facing criticism for admitting to deliberately slowing down some ageing iphone models. the company now says it will replace

batteries for less and will issue software in 2018 so customers can monitor their phone's battery health. and the nhs is considering making mobile alcohol recovery centres — known as drunk tanks — a permanent feature across england, to ease pressure on accident and emergency units and ambulance services. a growing number of rural communities are relying on volunteers to keep certain services going. cuts in funding means that facilities that were traditionally run either by local authorities or private individuals are facing the prospect of disappearing. that means local people are offering to operate them unpaid. danny savage has visited one town in north yorkshire, where it's becoming more and more noticeable. deep in the north yorkshire countryside is the market town of helmsley. a bustling community.

but look a bit closer and you will find a trend here for a reliance on volunteers. every local business has a different tree and they do it in a theme and this year it's the star theme. you will find it illustrated in the parish church. so 30 or more trees in here? 30 or more trees, yes. dozens of local businesses have volunteered to decorate it. what we've got here, this is wonderful with the antiques roadshow, with all the different experts, the specialities from bondgate antiques. there is more volunteering these days because of council cutbacks. as the economy has suffered and less funding becomes available, there has to be someone to make up the shortfall and we're lucky here in helmsley that people have done that, and taken on running several organisations in town. it'sjust a really lovely community feel here. helmsley is a community which relies heavily on volunteers and it is not alone. other towns in this, england's largest county, have taken over bus services and even petrol stations to stop

them from vanishing. the arts centre and the library are two amenities that wouldn't exist here if it wasn't for locals giving up their time for free. in the nearby walled garden, more people are doing their bit, making advent wreaths to raise money for an assisted learning project. yes, we have some garden staff that lead, yes, we have people who help direct in terms of maintenance and the police have been helping out with the wreaths today, but 75—80% of the work is done by volunteers. i've been a lot more confident. i've had a great big experience here. i've been able to make friends. and yes, we are all a family. and this is a rural town that also needs people to step up for vital roles on top of theor dayjob.

chris lazenby is a firefighter. good to go? yep, good to go. and in his civvies, he runs an art gallery. just myself, i run this gallery. there's ben, he's a builder, gav at the butcher's, a painter. we're all ready to go within a few minutes' notice, if needs be. the nearest station with a crew ready to go on station during the day is malton and depending on traffic, that could be 30 minutes away. this is just a snapshot of life in one country market town, but it shows the rise of vital volunteering which keeps communities functioning in 21st—century britain. now on bbc news, it's time for meet the author. jim naughtie talks to the bestselling author sophie kinsella about her book my not so perfect life.

sophie kinsella's new novel is called my my not so perfect life, which gives you a clue. it's about a woman in her 20s who leads an apparently glamorous life in london, although the truth is much more prosaic, and who has to move back home to the country when she is sacked, to work for her father. but the life she finds there isn't quite what she expected. sophie kinsella has written a string of worldwide bestsellers, including the confessions of a shopaholic series, picked up by hollywood. and if you're wondering — well, she doesn't mind the term "chick lit", but she much prefers what one book shop called her novels — "wit lit". welcome. you are talking in the book, introducing us

to a metropolitan life. it's not quite what it seems. do you think that that is the truth about the way that people live these days, particularly in london? i think that all of us are suckered into projecting the perfect life. i think that social media has not helped this tendency. which i think was always in us. you know, back in the day you would have your portrait painted, wouldn't you ? speak for yourself! well, 100 years ago. but i think my forebears would have aimed to look as rich and prosperous and happy and wonderful as they possibly could. then, the portrait would be hung on the wall and you could go about your everyday life. then, the portrait would be hung on the wall and you could go about your everyday life. i think now what we do is constantly throw out portraits of ourselves through social media, and also through our professional demeanour, just this sort of image. then we look at other people. although we know that it is invented, we sort

of believe it anyway. this book seems very much of the moment, in that this picture which is built up, say, on instagram, which really is a construction which is quite fake. she goes back and lives in a wee little one room place, although when she is out and about, she looks quite glamorous. this really is a bit of a problem for us, not for us all, but a problem of our time? i think it is. it is sort of accelerating. i mean, social media has exploded, certainly in my lifetime, from not existing to almost being a planet that we have discovered, and now we live on! we have colonised it and had to make it work for us as humans and i think it brings out the best and the worst. i love the connection but this measuring and judging is not good. you write about women with particular feelings, notjust women, but particularly for young girls, teenage girls, and so on. this world that they are introduced to, you talk about measuring, testing, living up to expectations. whether it is how you look,

your sexual experience, whatever — it is the sort of thing where, in your young life and my young life, didn't exist. absolutely didn't exist, you had your own teenage struggles. perhaps you would tell your diary about them, and maybe your close friend. we spent a lot of time with one person, whose voice you could hear, by the way. as humans, we respond to so many signals. voice, touch, eyes. and on social media, there is a barrier. there is a visual construct and this wretched "liking" which everyone becomes addicted to, and a validation that we have all got hooked on. it is not good. where can it end? it can only lead to addictive reliance on it. we should not give the idea that the book is a meditation on contemporary society! it is not. it is a story. but that is the theme, really. when you get an idea like that, does it gnaw away at you until you've written the book? yeah, i think that i go around the world with a sort of radar. whatever i see goes into my stories.

so, when i see people shopping too much, that goes in. and when i see people projecting lives and feeling anxious because they are not living up to some sort of measure of success, it goes into a story. but what i try to do, as you say, i try to make people laugh, whip over the pages, see what is coming next. it's not a thesis, the thesis is sort of there between the jokes. what do you think you have got that makes you a good storyteller? i think from what my readers say, they relate to my characters. they sort of see themselves in the characters, they see those flaws and foibles. they think, ah, i have done that. in everyday life. but what i do is push it to the nth degree, whether it is getting into ridiculous situations. i love a bit of farce, silly situations, and quite intricate plots. i'm a real geeky plotter. but you start off with somebody that you relate to. so go with them through the story.

it is the old story, isn't it, that if the reader doesn't care about the character, not necessarily total affection, but does not care in the sense that is not interested in... then, the thing is a dead duck? i completely agree. you can have an antiheroine, but you need someone that is interesting. all of my sophie kinsella novels i have written in the first person. that makes them quite intimate. there is a connection. what is the advantage of writing in the first person? i find an instant intimacy with the character. i know these characters so well, and i did used to write in the third person. there was a slight level of detachment. you are moving chess pieces around. now, it is like method acting. you are in one person's head? i live these plots, and actually my husband can tell when things are going badly for my character, they go badly for me! i weep, i laugh... you know, it is quite an emotionaljourney. and when you're in the throes of a story, once you have got the idea, you think that

you are there as a character who has begun to form in your mind? you just go at it, hammer and tongs? i do, i do. i'm a real planner in terms of plot. i love a plot, i love structure. i spend quite a lot of time working things out, turning points and getting it all clear in my mind. also working out what i want to say, because you can have an idea for a story but you're not sure what you are trying to say about the world. once i've got that, i'm impatient. i want to see how it turns out. what do you want to say about the world? i think all of my books want to say, look at us, we are human! aren't we ridiculous? look at the pickles we get ourselves into... it is about absurdity? it really is. and, by the way, we are all like this, but never mind. let's notjudge ourselves. are you one of those writers who goes around either literally with a notebook in the pocket, where you scribble down things. or, at least a notebook in your head, and you spot somebody in a coffee shop or somewhere and go right, i've got her...? i do, and i think i do it all the time.

i've got you, right now! well, good luck! i never have the right person for the right chapter. if i could go to a coffee shop and find the right character and put them in now, that would be very handy. it doesn't work like that? it never works. but you store them up, or store up a little facet of something you've heard, and it comes back to you later. do you think about your readers when you are doing this? you have a vast army of readers out there, do you ever think about it and what they want? i connect with them, and when i meet them, interestingly it is the same wherever i go. they have a sort of human... what do they ask you, what kind of questions do they ask? they want to know what is happening next with my characters. i know that they love to laugh, but to be honest, i don't visualise them when i am writing. i think that would freak me out. so i write the book that would please me as a reader. what would i love to read? i love a plot, some comedy and something to think about. what about endings? have you thought of... you know, a really tragic ending? well, i sometimes think, you know what?

i should do that sort of... because you haven't, have you? gut—wrenching. .. no, i haven't, i haven't done the gut—wrenching tragedy where you just think, "why? !" as you turn the page. so far i've not been ballsy enough to do it. maybe someday? bit of resolution. maybe one day. sophie kinsella, thank you very much. thank you. disruption across much of the uk. there are warnings of treacherous driving conditions in the worst—affected areas. why drunk tanks may become a regular feature in towns and cities to keep people out of a&e. and rain stops england's push for victory on the fourth day of the fourth ashes test. good afternoon.

weather warnings are in place for parts of northern england and scotland today, after heavy snow and blizzard conditions affected large parts of the uk. glasgow airport was closed for a few hours, with flights suspended, but has now reopened. the temperature plunged to —12c at loch glascarnoch in the scottish highlands overnight, and forecasters say driving conditions will remain difficult for the rest of the day. judith moritz reports. grounded at glasgow, flights out of the city ‘s airport were suspended after snow settle overnight. the airport reopened by mid—morning, but managers have apologised for the knock on destruction that was caused. temperatures plummeted in

scotland. heavy snow fell in glasgow city centre, and in the highlands the mercury fell to —12 celsius on what the met office described as the cold est what the met office described as the coldest night of the year. gritters have been covering the major routes, with everybody keeping an eye macron the forecast. conditions are co nsta ntly the forecast. conditions are constantly changing at this time of the year. even with the detailed forecasts we get, we always get it 100% right. in daylight, forecasts we get, we always get it 10096 right. in daylight, the gritting continued. mulder aways remained free—flowing. the snow has been falling steadily all morning across swathes of northern england. as predicted, it has been settling most in areas like this just outside huddersfield on the higher ground. in cumbria, hazardous conditions left some vehicles stranded on the motorway. there were also delays on other main roads. but with schools closed and many off work anyway for

the holidays, disruption has not been too bad. and there is plenty of opportunity for snow themed entertainment. let's talk to judith let's talk tojudith in huddersfield, where it looks beautiful. what does it mean for people trying to get out and about? well, it depends where you are. we usually report from this area in the winter because it is often the first place which get any kind of disruption. the trans—pennine route is the first to be affected. those roads have been closed, the usual suspects. the cat and fiddle section between buxton and macclesfield. near holmfirth. those trans—pennine routes were closed this morning. the m62, which you can see behind me, has been running all morning. it has been treacherous. the m6 in cumbria has also stayed open. it was reduced earlier on today. i believe

conditions were also very difficult. the role recovery services today have predicted problems. the aa said there would be 10 million car is on there would be 10 million car is on the road. —— cars. the rac is expected to do with one break down every seve n expected to do with one break down every seven seconds. by and large the main roads are moving. looking ahead, the met office are saying that the snow will ease. they are warning of icy conditions. the advice across the board is to take great care. judith, thank you. judith moritz in huddersfield. 12 people have been killed in a fire at an apartment building in the bronx district of new york. the city's mayor, bill de blasio, called it the worst fire of its kind in the city in 25 years. the victims, including a one—year—old child, died on various floors of the five—storey building, as jon ironmonger reports. it is new york's deadliest blaze for decades. fire broke out on the first floor

of the five—storey apartment building and spread rapidly, sparking panic among residents in a busy corner of the bronx district. fire crews arrived at the scene within three minutes, but it was too late for many of the residents. those who managed to escape described the chaos as people rushed to flee the smoke. the fire truck wasn't even here yet when all the smoke and stuff was coming out at first. they weren't even here yet. they started to get everybody out, but people were on the fire escape already trying to get down on their own. that's how fast it was moving. at least 12 people were rescued from the building, as firefighters plucked residents from this fire escape. outside in the bitter cold, locals huddled under blankets. speaking after the fire had been brought under control, new york mayor bill de blasio called it an unspeakable tragedy. in the middle of the holiday season is a time when families are together. tonight, here in the bronx,

there are families that have been torn apart. this is the worst fire tragedy we have seen in this city in at least a quarter of the century, based on the information we have now. the fire department said it was too early to comment on the cause of the blaze, and the search of the building is continuing. the mayor has warned the death toll could rise further. john ironmonger, bbc news. authorities in the indian city of mumbai have launched an inquiry, after a huge fire at an office and restaurant complex killed at least 14 people. the blaze erupted just after midnight in the popular kamala mills restaurant and shopping compound, and engulfed the structure within half an hour. most of the victims are thought to be young women who were attending a birthday party. two men have been charged with terrorism offences by police who had been investigating a suspected christmas attack plot. 31—year—old andi sami star, from chesterfield, and 22—year—old

farhad salah from sheffield, have been charged with engaging in the preparation of an act of terrorism. they'll appear by video—link before london's westminster magistrates' court on friday. the head of the nhs in england, simon stevens, says he's considering the routine deployment of mobile alcohol recovery units, nicknamed drunk tanks, to reduce hospital admissions. up to 70% of visits to a&e departments on friday and saturday nights, are linked to excess drinking. adina campbell reports. binge drinking at its worst — a big headache for police and a burden for the nhs. it's estimated up to 15% of attendances at emergency departments in the uk are alcohol—related. at this time of year that number is significantly more, with as many as 70% of attendances at a&e because of drinking.

the uk's first mobile drunk tank was introduced in bristol three years ago, and there are have been others in manchester, cardiff and newcastle. a supervised area in a city centre, it offers those who have had too much to drink a chance to be checked over by medical staff and sleep off the alcohol, keeping them away from a&e or a police cell — and now nhs england says it is considering routine use of the facility. we think that these facilities do have the potential to take the pressure off a&e departments. that's why they have been opened in some areas of the country. but we are interested in looking at them further and seeing the results over this winter before making a decision about rolling them out more widely. it's obviously important to reduce pressure in a&e. if there are patients that we can manage elsewhere, that we find alternative services for those individuals, and this is one potential possibility. nhs england says it is monitoring new year celebrations to see whether the scheme should be extended to other areas,

and it will make a decision early next year. adina campbell, bbc news. the ftse100 has ended the year with a new record high. the main index of shares listed in london ended 2017 at 7,689 — up 7.6% on last year. the mining sector saw the biggest gains this year, while utilities such as water and electricity were the weakest. a growing number of rural communities are relying on volunteers to keep certain services going. cuts in funding means that facilities that were traditionally run either by local authorities or private individuals are facing the prospect of disappearing. that means local people are offering to operate them unpaid. danny savage has visited one town in north yorkshire, where it's becoming more noticeable. deep in the north yorkshire countryside is the market town of helmsley. a bustling community.

but look a bit closer and you will find a trend here for a reliance on volunteers. every local business has a different tree and they do it in a theme and this year it's the star theme. you will find it illustrated in the parish church. so 30 or more trees in here? 30 or more trees, yes. dozens of local businesses have volunteered to decorate it. what we've got here, this is wonderful with the antiques roadshow, with all the different experts, the specialities from bondgate antiques. there is more volunteering these days because of council cutbacks. as the economy has suffered and less funding becomes available, there has to be someone to make up the shortfall and we're lucky here in helmsley that people have done that, and taken on running several organisations in town. it's just a really lovely community feel here. helmsley is a community which relies heavily on volunteers and it is not alone. other towns in this, england's largest county, have taken over bus services

and even petrol stations to stop them from vanishing. the arts centre and the library are two amenities that wouldn't exist here if it wasn't for locals giving up their time for free. in the nearby walled garden, more people are doing their bit, making advent wreaths to raise money for an assisted learning project. yes, we have some garden staff that lead, yes, we have people who help direct in terms of maintenance and the police have been helping out with the wreaths today, but 75—80% of the work is done by volunteers. i've been a lot more confident. i've had a great big experience here. i've been able to make friends. and yes, we are all a family. and this is a rural town that also needs people to step up for vital roles on top of their dayjob.

chris lazenby is a firefighter. good to go? yep, good to go. and in his civvies, he runs an art gallery. just myself, i run this gallery. there's ben, he's a builder, gav at the butcher's, a painter. we're all ready to go within a few minutes' notice, if needs be. the nearest station with a crew ready to go on station during the day is malton and depending on traffic, that could be 30 minutes away. this is just a snapshot of life in one country market town, but it shows the rise of vital volunteering which keeps communities functioning in 21st—century britain. danny savage, bbc news, helmsley. cricket, and england's attempts to win the fourth ashes test in melbourne have been frustrated by the rain. at stumps on day four, australia were 103—2

in their second innings, still trailing england's first innings total by 61 runs. with more from melbourne, here's patrick gearey. at last, for england some hope. a chance to cheer without lurking fear. to read and not weep. why isn't alastair cook on the front cover? that score remained correct. cook's third day of batting lasted one ball. he watched it, jimmy anderson hit it, cameron bancroft caught it. cook carried his bat unbeaten, a lesson in focus and patience. england needed to bowl in a similarfashion. waiting worked initially. they removed cameron bancroft, then produced enough movement to tempt usman khawaja. england were still nearly 100 ahead and making the best of a wearing ball. they, like australia, were warned about stuffing the ball on the pitch. but some on australian television made more serious accusations, to england's obvious irritation. as soon as i saw the headlines, i raced into the umpires. that was their words, actually — "nothing to worry about,

absolutely fine". england's next obstacle was australia's rock, steve smith. he reached the boundary only occasionally. england shut off the taps. but they couldn't dry everything up. showers turned to storms, play finished at three. england denied by very english conditions at the mcg. they are the only side with a realistic chance of winning this test. and the weather on the final day looks far clearer. but the continuing presence of the struggling captain steve smith at the crease is a dark cloud still looming over them. —— of the australian captain. patrick geary, bbc news, melbourne. there's more throughout the day on the bbc news channel. now on bbc one its time for the news where you are. goodbye. this is bbc news.

the headlines at one: heavy snow and freezing temperatures