a little "nut”r f—hu— finwur something a little fresher pushing towards scotland and northern ireland late in the day. temperatures between 11 and 13 degrees in the south. this is bbc news, our latest headlines. officials in afghanistan say 18 people have been killed by a gunmen who stormed a luxury hotel in kabul last night. 1a of them were foreign nationals. ukip‘s ruling committee has unanimously backed a vote of no confidence in leader henry bolton. the party members will now vote on whether they support or reject that decision.

a man has been arrested after an eight—year—old girl was stabbed to death in the west midlands. she's been named as mylee billingham. germany's social democratic party has voted to begin formal coalition talks with chancellor angela merkel‘s conservatives. now on bbc news — sportsday. hello and welcome to sportsday, with mejohn watson the headlines this evening. buttler‘s brilliance gives england something to celebrate on their tour down under. kyle edmund's on the march in melbourne into the quarterfinals of the australian open. and kane scores again but southampton stifle spurs in the race for the top four. all the latest from australia

to come, but we start with the day's football where tottenham lost ground on their top four rivals as they were held to a 1—1 draw with southampton who remain in the relegation zone. harry kane was on the scoresheet again but both sides will feel it's an opportunity missed, in their efforts at opposite ends of the table. james burford repoorts. greatness recognising greatness, football continues to pay its respects to cyrille regis. how southampton would take his goal—scoring ability now. in the relegation zone, saints will take any luck they can get and they certainly got a slice of good fortune early on. an own goal for the vincent sanchez gifting the home side an early lead. but that lasted barely three minutes. harry kane, rarely far from the headlines, heading home for tottenham's instant reply, premier league goal 99 for spurs. conditions are certainly

played a part and set pieces all the more important. southampton inches away from going back in front. the game will be particularly memorable for this young man, the 17—year—old making his premier league debut. he was not far off a first premier league goal, either. chances fell both ways in a frantic finale. kane, usually so reliable in the big moments, just missing out on a century of premier league strikes. a missed opportunity for both sides. james burford, bbc news. we must give credit to the opponent but it is true that our performance was not great and of course i'm not happy with it. what in particular? in possession, i think we need to move the ball quicker and create more. i think we made a lot of mistakes in positions and it's impossible to win the game when you make so many mistakes. the spirit and the commitment on the pitch from the beginning until the end was really good. obviously, against this team,

this type of side, you can win and you can lose in one action, everything can change but i think we carved out some chances, they did to but we were there in the game until the end. a big chance for liverpool to pull away further when they play swa nsea to pull away further when they play swansea tomorrow. england have salvage something from their tour of australia, after defeat in the ashes, they have won the one—day series with two matches to spare. they are now 3—0 up after a 16 run victory in the third odi in sydney. jos buttler‘s impressive century sealing the win. alex gulragani reports. under the guidance of eoin morgan, england's short form game continues to thrive, yet recently, the captain himself has struggled for runs. his, one of six wickets that fell with the score looking unfavourable for the tourists. jos buttler and chris woakes soon changed that as the pair dominated proceedings. the final over of the innings delivered a half—century for woa kes and all three figures for buttler. 303 the target for victory, one that aaron finch fancied chasing down,

showing authority in attack. but the real power on the field lies elsewhere. the umpires wanted to check their decision to give steve smith out. replays were somewhat inconclusive, but their opinion was the one that mattered, not smith's. his team still kept up the attack, marcus stoinis setting up a nervy end, but when he departed, england made sure their winning run would continue. at the australian open, more good news for the british number two kyle edmund who booked his place in the quarterfinals after beating andreas seppi overfour sets. in the quarterfinals after beating andreas seppi over four sets. in the absence of andy murray and johanna konta's early exit, hopes rest with edmund in melbourne. kyle edmund could barely stand after his last match in melbourne. now he has reached greater

heights than ever before. the mercury was at a merciful 26 degrees but early on it looked like andreas seppi could prove too hot to handle. 27 places separate them in the world rankings. on court, it was much closer, with the italian taking the first set on a tie—break. at 33, seppi has a decade's experience on edmund and at times, it showed. the briton was broken first but a change of footwear led to a change in fortunes as he went on to level the match. winning five games in a row saw edmund grow in confidence and seppi's stubborn resistance drained away. it took almost three hours to set up the biggest match of his career but edmund isn't getting carried away. you know, i have to believe i'm going to win and believe in my game and stuff so that is the way i've approached it, one match at a time and i will continue to do that. whatever happens next, edmund will climb the rankings and give hope that britain has found a successor to andy murray. nick parrott, bbc news. in today's scottish cup

fourth round action, the edinburgh derby went the way of hearts. they won 1—0 at tynecastle thanks to a scrappy 86th—minute goal, christophe berra's downward header was just touched on by substitute don cowie and despite a valiant hibs effort to keep the ball out, it spun over the line. the only other game in the cup today between fraserburgh and rangers was postponed due to a frozen pitch. the fifth round draw is on the bbc sport website. watford's marco silva has become the eighth premier league manager to be sacked this season. perhaps rather surprisingly, with watford tenth. the club blamed everton‘s unwarranted approach for his services in november as the part of the reason in their decsion. the spaniard javi gracia, who last managed russian club rubin kazan, is expected to replace him. results today have seen the holders saracens qualify for the quarterfinals of rugby union's european champions cup, with welsh side

scarlets earning a home tie in the last eight. wasps had hoped to qualify, but despite victory, missed out to la rochelle. maz farroki was watching. the final weekend of the champions cup is all about puzzling permutations. but through the damp and drizzle, part of wasps verza formula for qualification was clear, and emphatic win with four tries or more was the only thing i would do. straightforward maps, symbols go. they also needed us to be kept at bay in the other matches is pulled together made. one too many distractions for christian wade, it seems, his wayward pass a gift for ulster to draw level. but that school would be asked's only of the match. after promising so much, their european campaign ending in a damp squib as wasps continued to fly. in testing conditions, their forwards gave them the edge. the bonus point win secured only 15

minutes into the second half but their place in europe still in the balance. that is because they were relying on fellow premiership side ha rlequins relying on fellow premiership side harlequins to do them a favour at la rochelle. quins could not progress any further themselves and could not hold back the home side either. la rochelle running out 16—7 winners. the french side into the last eight, then, but no place for wasps in busy‘s european aggression. —— european equation. so this is the full list of ties. saracens, who played yesterday, made to wait to qualify as one of the three best second—placed sides, will face a dominant leinster side. scarlets with that home tie. europe's no 1 golfer tommy fleetwood stormed to victory in the abu dhabi championship to retain the title he won last year. fleetwood started the day two shots behind the overnight leaders but shot eight birdies in a 7—under 65, six of them on the back nine, to win the tournament. the 27—year—old finished two shots ahead of fellow englishman ross fisher,

while northern ireland's rory mcilroy was a further two shots back. it was just important that we carried on going forward. it's all well and good having a great year and it was the best year of my life but we wanted to keep pushing. like i say, i always want to know where my potential will take me but i wanted to keep pushing and make sure that we... that wejust, you know, kept improving and it was important to do that and this week feels like another step along the way, hopefully. mark allen and kyren wilson are locked together at 4—1; after the opening session of the masters final at alexandra palace. they've been neck and neck. wilson recorded the biggest break of the afternoon, 89 in the seventh frame to make it 4—3. but northern ireand's allen won the final frame of the session to make it 4—4. the final resumes at 7pm and will be live on bbc two and the bbc sport website. in netball, scotland beat

northen ireland 52—31 in their final world cup qualifying match in perth. both teams had already qualified for the 2019 world cup in liverpool ahead of the match. scotland's victory means they have topped their group. british skiier dave ryding clocked the fastest time of the day on his second run in the world cup slalom in kitzbuhel. the 31—year—old was 25th after his first run, having made a big mistake. but he was more than six seconds quicker on his second, moving him up to ninth place overall. that's all from sportsday. there'll be more sport here on bbc news throughout the evening. a warm welcome to the film

review on bbc news. to take us through this week's cinema releases is mark kermode. what have you been watching this week? very exciting week. we have the post, starring tom hanks and meryl streep. coco, the new animation from pixar. and the commuter, the new liam neeson action vehicle. and the post, it's aboutjournalism. i can't wait, i'm excited. did you like it? i really did, it's a newsroom thriller about the revelations of the pentagon papers, a report which basically said that successive us administrations had misled the country about the vietnam war. the film is largely set in 1971. tom hanks is ben bradley,

the editor of the washington post. he is eagerfor a scoop. meryl streep is katherine "kay" graham, the publisher and proprieter of the washington post. it's going to the us stock exchange, so its finances are slightly precarious. after the white house puts an injunction on the new york times, after they publish some of the pentagon papers, ben bradley wants to publish. but meryl streep says, hang on, there are reasons why we can't do this, not least of all that it might actually endanger the paper. here is a clip. do you have the papers? not yet. oh gosh, oh gosh, because you know the position that would put me in. you know, we have language in the prospectus. yeah, i know, i know that the backers can change their mind. i know what is at stake. you know, the only couple i knew that both kennedy

and lbj wanted to socialise with was you and your husband, and you own the damn paper. that's the way things worked. politicians and the press, they trusted each other so they could go to the same dinner party and drink cocktails and telljokes, while there was a war raging in vietnam. i don't know what we're talking about. i'm not protecting lyndon. no, you've got his defence secretary the man who commissioned the study, he's one of about a dozen party guests out on your... i'm not protecting him or any of them, i'm protecting the paper. the thing i like about this film is it has a number of intertwining stories. one is the story of kay graham finding her own voice. she's surrounded by men in boardrooms at the beginning. she doesn't really speak, she's slightly like a fish out of water. but during the course of this, she has to step up to the mark and decide what's the right thing to do. second thing is, it runs almost like a prequel to all the president's men. the end of this film runs right into the beginning of all the president's men, which is a film that

i was really, really affected by in the 1970s when it came out. i was a kid when i saw it, and loved it. there's great period detail, sequences in the printing presses of the washington post. we're looking at the hot metal machinery, the old linotype machines. i really love all that stuff. on a third level and most importantly, it's a really contemporary story. yes, it's set in 1971. yes, the period detail is great, the performances are great, meryl streep and tom hanks are fantastic, the whole ensemble cast is great. but this is a really contemporary story about, in this particular case, a corrupt president in the white house attempting to stop the press from expressing you know, the right of free speech. and you look at that, and you look at what's happening today, in the world in which the press is under attack, all the stuff about fake news. recently we had the so—called fake news awards. it's a film which is almost like a call to arms for the press, for an independent press. for a free press, to speak truth to power. and it's interesting that what spielberg has done is to take a period piece and tell the story straight, you know, it's not twisted in any way at all,

and tell it in a way which makes it seem urgently contemporary in terms of its gender politics, in terms of its newspaper politics, in terms of the way it talks about the necessity for a free speech and good reporting, good factual reporting, to keep a check on authorities. i mean, i — i've seen the film twice now, and would happily go back and see it a third time. and you don't need to be interested injournalism, or in the issues you've just raised, to like it as a film? i think that helps, and i certainly know some people who aren't interested in those things, and aren't interested in that particular bit of history, who have said, why would you go and see it? you see it because it is a personal drama about those two characters, but also something that leads you very much by the hand. it does assume from the beginning you might not know this stuff, so it gives you a primer. it starts you in a battlefield, and it leads you and tells you all you need to know. i would encourage anyone to go and see it, because i think it's a film that is timely, although it is a period piece. and i think you don't have to be specifically interested in that war or the pentagon papers orjournalism to find it a gripping drama. and the performances are just great.

ok, fantastic. an animated film is your second choice. and a really good one, coco, the new film from pixar, set on the mexican day of the dead festivities. so 12—year—old miguel longs to be a musician, but his family have banned music, because his great—grandfather years ago chose music over family. so therefore there was no more music in the family any more. on the magical day of the dead, fate takes a hand in the land of the dead. i thought this was terrifically entertaining, and also very, very touching fare. on the one hand, it has lovely animation and slapstick sequences, and all the sort of stuff you would expect from a pixar vehicle. more importantly, it has great songs, great music. but it's dealing with some very difficult subjects — it's dealing with dementia, it's dealing with memory, it's dealing with death and life, it's dealing with loss. it's dealing with the way people live on, as long as they live on in our memory. and also the way songs and music will linger in our minds sometimes, you know, if anybody has had any

experience of people with dementia, music somehow cuts through. cuts through, doesn't it? there are moments that will make you weep, moments that will make you laugh. in the end, it'll make you cheer. if you liked this film, you see it and you like it, and i really think you will do, there's another film from a few years ago, from 2014, called book of life, which got kind of overlooked. this does have a thematic depth. they make a nice companion. go and see coco and get book of life on dvd, because it's a different film, but there are great similarities and they are both terrific. ok, the commuter. the premise of the story is quite gripping. the commuter — does it deliver? it's a film with an interesting set—up. liam neeson is a ex—cop working as an insurance salesman. the beginning of the film, he loses hisjob, he's doing his commute. he needs money because he has to pay for his kids' tuition. suddenly, vera farmiga turns up and says, "i want you to find someone for me".

"i can't tell you who they are, or what they look like, but if you do it there will be a reward". here's a clip. someone on this train does not belong. all you have to do is find them. that's it. this person is carrying a bag. you don't know what it looks like, but inside that bag is something they have stolen. this person goes by the name of prynne. it's not a real name. they will be on this train until coldspring. you find them, you find the bag, the $100,000 is yours. don't leave the train before finding the bag. don't tell anyone about this offer. waita minute, waita minute. simple. i thought this was hypothetical. it'sjust one little thing. shouldn't be too hard for an ex—cop. how did you know? oh, that's me. you're being serious, right? you have until the next stop to decide. what kind of person are you?

ok, so it's an intriguing set—up. they're strangers on a train. she has this — find the person, can't tell you why, there will be reward. all hitchcockian thrillers — you set up those rules. the rules have to make sense, and you have to obey the rules. what happens, it has an interesting premise and set—up, and 20 minutes in it goes, "none of this makes sense, and actually, we don't care". it throws the rules out the window. why would he do it? that is thrown out. and itjust gets back into liam neeson walking around the train punching people. and the most frustrating thing is that when you see that clip, you think it's intriguing. why, what's going on? it's literally 20 minutes in, the film goes, "i don't care. i don't think these rules add up to anything. the whole scenario doesn't make a... shall wejust have him punching somebody?" and you get the first punching sequence, and then you go, ok, fine, it's taken the train. it's that film you've seen all those times before, except on a train.