a very good morning to you. it is thursday the 27th of december. a main story this morning: a main story this morning: anger over hospital parking charges as more than a third of nhs trusts in england put up their fees. some all of the money went back into patient care. —— some or all of the money. we are talking about retail this morning. plastic bags. we are looking at 5p morning. plastic bags. we are looking at sp to 10p, how much charges will go up by. more of that ina charges will go up by. more of that in a moment. ash erupting from the krakatoa volcano in indonesia forces flights to be rerouted, days after it triggered a deadly tsunami. a british entertainer on one of the world's largest cruise ships is missing after going overboard on christmas day. president trump defends his decision to pull us troops out of syria as he makes a surprise trip to iraq. good morning.

it was a dramatic day in the premier league — champions manchester city suffered another shock defeat — this time to leicester. which means liverpool go six points clear at the top. good morning. it is a misty, murky, damp start to the day for many of us. damp start to the day for many of us. through the we will see some sunshine. i will tell you where in 15 minutes. —— through the day. a very good morning to you all. this just seven o'clock. our top story: more than a third of nhs hospitals in england have raised the cost of parking over the past year, with some patients and staff now paying double the price. several trusts have defended the higher costs, saying some or all of the money went back into patient care or maintaining car parks. our correspondentjohn donnison has been looking at the figures. paying to park at hospitals is a bugbear of both patients, visitors, and staff. the press association gathered data from 124 nhs trusts across england,

43% of them admitted prices had gone up of the past year, for visitors or staff or both. the most expensive was royal surrey county hospital in guildford, charging £4 for a stay ofjust one hour. airedale nhs foundation trust in yorkshire saw the cost of a 2k hours a day more than double to £8. analysis of data published by nhs digital in october shows that nhs trusts made more than £226 million last yearfrom parking — including penalty fines. the royal college of nursing said its members were being overcharged for doing theirjobs. a department of health spokesperson said the government had been very clear that patients, their families, and hard—working staff should not be subject to unfair parking charges. those charges have been abolished in wales and most of scotland.

labour has pledged to get rid of them in england as well. john donnison, bbc news. the 5p fee for plastic carrier bags in england will be doubled to 10p under plans set out by the environment secretary. sean has got more on this. we are familiar with this but this will be more of the same. this is michael gove, environment secretary, with a consultation that is coming out today by what happened next with the world plastic bags in our shops. looking at some of the figures, we know that at the minute there is a fight the charge, it was introduced in england, a bit behind scotland and northern ireland came to doing is back in 2015. that was applicable for all retailers with at least 250 employees. it takes into account your big supermarkets. this is about extending that even further.

increasing the charge, 10p charge in england, again, for all businesses. that is a crucial bit. all businesses. we have heard that a lot of the smaller convenience stores are happy to support that. that will come into play byjanuary are happy to support that. that will come into play by january 20 20. it is interesting that they feel that they might need to increase those charges from 5p they might need to increase those charges from sp to 10p. 0ur customers doing enough, our supermarkets doing enough. we have seen the reduction from 15 billion carrier bags to 3 billion. we had a chat earlier about this. this is what she made of it all. what am confused about, the back campaign and the chardonnet has made massive differences, is we have so many other battles to fight with plastic —— and the charge on it. packaging and supermarkets, for instance, a ba na na and supermarkets, for instance, a banana with its own packaging, why do we need to put that there? i think we'll be back campaign has been brilliant and if you let richie porte it might have a marginal

difference, there are a much bigger battles to fight in terms of how we can reduce packaging in retail.m is interesting about those battles. we have heard this week about bags for life. that is not part of this consultation. 0ne figure that came out yesterday. each household uses 44 plastic bags for life every year. that is sort of not the point of a bag for life if you have 44 of them stuffed in your drawer. there are still big issues for retailers about changing habits and consumers as well, what we would use on what we don't. it is interesting to see that changes are being made. thank you. let's return to one of our top stories. all flights around an erupting volcano that triggered a tsunami in indonesia last week have been rerouted. authorities have raised the alert status at mount anak krakatau to the second highest level. let's speak to our correspondent, rebecca henshke. good morning to you. what is the very latest? well, the authorities

are monitoring this volcano, which appears to be increasing in terms of activity, lava erupting from the crater which sits on the sunda strait as the famous volcano kra katoa strait as the famous volcano krakatoa which strait as the famous volcano kra katoa which had strait as the famous volcano krakatoa which had one of the deadliest eruptions in history in the 1800s. they are watching the tremors, seeing increased activity, thatis tremors, seeing increased activity, that is why they have raised the alert level. they are telling people on either side of the straits, in java and sumatra, to get well away from the beaches, because there is a fear that there could be another tsunami, because the person army, they believe, was caused by underwater landslide that was triggered by this volcanic activity. thank you very much, rebecca henshke, we will keep our eyes on it. thank you. a search is taking place for a british cruise ship entertainer, who went overboard in the caribbean on christmas day. the us coastguard was alerted after 20—year—old arron hough failed to turn up for his shift on harmony

of the seas where he'd been performing in a musical. monika plaha reports. it's one of the world's largest cruise ships, longer than the eiffel tower, with the ability to carry 8000 passengers. one of them was 20—year—old dancer and musical theatre graduate arron hough, who was working on board the harmony of the seas before he went missing on christmas day. injuly, his talent agency tweeted that he would be joining the cast of grease the musical. harmony of the seas is currently sailing on a seven night itinerary, which departed from florida last sunday. the ship was 267 miles north—west of puerto rico at the time arron went overboard and is due to call at haiti before returning back to florida. a spokesperson for the ship's operator, the royal caribbean, said that after a review of the ship's camera footage arron was seen entering an area on deck

five at around 4:00am and wasn't not seen again. they say their team is providing support for arron‘s family and friends through this difficult time. the harmony of the seas will complete its scheduled itinerary as the us coastguard continue to lead the search. the foreign office say they are providing assistance to arron‘s family. monika plaha, bbc news. president trump has made a surprise visit to us troops based in iraq to defend his decision to pull american forces out of syria. mr trump said the us had no plans to pull out of iraq. the trip came days after defence secretary, james mattis quit over divisions about strategy in the region. president trump travelled with the first lady to iraq to spread some christmas cheer and thank troops for their service and sacrifice. we came to al asad this year, our eternal gratitude for everything

you do to keep america safe, strong, and free. last week, in a sudden surprise decision, he announced that american he announced that american forces would be leaving early, causing concern in washington and several corners of the world. but mr trump said he believed that a lot of people were going to come round to his way of thinking. he went on to insist that "it's time for us to start using our head". one person remains unconvinced as the outgoing defence secretary, james mattis, who resigned over the president's plans. mr trump says he is in no hurry to find a permanent successor to general mattis, a sign that he intends to push forward with what he believes is right. it's reported that the pentagon has been asked to draw up plans to severely reduce the number of american troops in afghanistan. many in the military feel there is still much work to be done there and in syria. and there has been widespread criticism of mr trump's suggestion that the so—called islamic state group have been defeated. even with those questions about his foreign policy, mr trump may well feel that that trip to iraq has been a brief break from the battles he is facing year in washington.

there are concerns about the economy, the stock market, and the partial government shutdown which left hundreds of thousands of federal workers over christmas either on unpaid leave or not knowing when they will be paid. mr trump insists he will only accept a funding deal if it gives him $5 billion for a border war with mexico. and democrats insist that is not going to happen. it has left many believing that this shutdown will last for some time to come. chris buckler, bbc news, washington. black and ethnic minority workers in the uk are paid £3.2 billion less than their white counterparts each year. that's according to a report by the resolution foundation, a think tank focusing on people on lower incomes. it used data from a survey of a 100,000 people over ten years. the government says it's brought

in new laws to help companies make sure their management is representative of their workforce. an american has become the first person to complete an unaided solo crossing of antarctica. 33—year—old colin 0'brady finished a race across the ice in 53 days, beating british army captain louis rudd. both men set out in november to complete the journey. the 921—mile trek took them across the coldest continent on earth in some of the most extreme conditions. well done to both of them. 12 minutes past seven. you are watching brea kfast. there are 1.8 million, single parent households in the uk, and for a long time it was believed that if a child was in one, it had a negative impact on their life. new research suggests otherwise. frankie mccamley has been to meet a group of single parents to hear how perceptions about

them have changed. a cup of tea and a friendly ear for these single mums in kent who get together regularly to share their concerns when it comes to bringing up concerns when it comes to bringing up children on their own. the women arejust a up children on their own. the women are just a handful of the 1.8 million single parent headed households in the uk, but for some the prospect of being a single pa rent the prospect of being a single parent was daunting. well, when i first became single, i thought that was it, how am i going to cope? halmai going to pay the bills?, going to pay the bills? —— how am i? it is clear that this group is determined to overcome any negative. he is studying sociology. he said can you believe this, i read in a study that said if you are from a single parent and you are a little black boyt you are not going to do well. he was so angry. i said what are you going to do about it? is that i am going to show them, i am going to do my best. and the

positives, they say, are priceless. they help me out what, they help me at home. i know that if any problems, they can come and tell me and they really are my little best friends. that has been the best part of being a single—parent, i think. and their experiences and be more common than previously thought. typically surveys suggest that one infour typically surveys suggest that one in fourfamilies typically surveys suggest that one in four families with children are headed by a single parent at any one time. this latest data suggest it is more likely to be one in three families. and despite the concerns these mums have, researchers did not find evidence of a negative impact on children who live in a single—parent household. in fact, the researchers believe that children are living or have lived in single—parent families score as highly or higher than those in two pa rent highly or higher than those in two parent families when it comes to things like life satisfaction, relationships, and family life, which some historians is a complete u—turn to what people thought in the past. i think a lot of people feel

uncomfortable when people behave unconventionally, as they see it, that they want everyone to have similar lives and this notion that it is normal to live in a long—lasting marriage and bring up secure children and have a really stereotypical happy family, and if people don't behave like that then there is something wrong and that is somehow if rates to social stability and conventional morale at his. but for these ladies, and many other men and women across the country, their single—parent family is the norm, and it will not stop them from living full and happy lives. frankie mccamley, bbc news. i'm joined now by rosie ferguson from the charity gingerbread, which supports single parents and andrew dutton who is a single father. good morning to you both. thank you for joining good morning to you both. thank you forjoining us. you are not surprised by these findings? we are

not. we say all the time that single—parent families are a mainstream part of life in the uk, one in three families experienced single parenthood yet we often have these stigmatised expectations that single parents are somehow other, but they are a normal part of everyday life and so many families live in single—parent households. you are a single parent, your son diego, is that right? that's right. let's talk about the positives of all of this, and you have a great relationship with him. how do you manage, there are logistics involved, aren't there? two i manage with support from my family, i have a very close support network, and he has his aunt, so it is the support of my family. and it does so in the report, doesn't it, that there are single parent households where

family and other support becomes very important. it is absolutely critical and although grandparents play a significant role in the up ringing of all children, with single—parent households that becomes even more important both practically and financially. and one in ten families, the research shows, single parent families, they co—habit with another adult who doesn't have caring responsibilities but might be a grandparent, an art 01’ but might be a grandparent, an art or another adult who might be part of that support structure —— aren't. we talk about old—fashioned prejudice with single parents, have you found people react to you in ways you would rather they didn't? —— aunt. ways you would rather they didn't? -- aunt. not really, the most common thing i come across is that people find it strange that it is me, because i am a doubt, because normally it would be the mum. that is the only thing that i ever get questioned about, but there is a good enough reason, it is because we did this for the greater good. and how does he react when people say

how does he react when people say how come your dad is looking after you? that how come your dad is looking after you ? that is how come your dad is looking after you? that is isn't it? well, to be fairi you? that is isn't it? well, to be fair i can't answer that question because it has never come up, he has never told me anything about that. but i am sure he would react in his cool and calm way. and people say he isa cool and calm way. and people say he is a bright young lad, which they do to you, how does that make you feel? amazed, i think, to you, how does that make you feel? amazed, ithink, because i consta ntly amazed, ithink, because i constantly am quite involved in what lam doing, constantly am quite involved in what i am doing, i am always questioning what i am doing right, and i can't believe that i have made this boy what he is, and that is the bit that i can't understand. as i say, i consta ntly i can't understand. as i say, i constantly question whether i am doing the right thing, and with the media telling you what is right and wrong all the time, you do question yourself. but it makes me feel great. is that a common theme, the sort of self—doubt which you just talked about? is that sort of common theme? yes, parenting is hard for all parents, and if you don't have someone to share that burdened with and discuss it through with, it can be even harder. i think often for

pa rents be even harder. i think often for parents they can feel like they are being made to feel all the time like they are doing a bad job. but i know they are doing a bad job. but i know the reward, parents tell us, when their children do succeed in their gcses, that is when a parent can really ta ke gcses, that is when a parent can really take that for themselves and feel really proud. and what is interesting in this report, they do often as well or better than their peers. exactly, so the research shows that in terms of their relationships with their peers, they reported well—being and their positive attitude towards family life, it is the same or in some cases better than those in couple families, so there is absolutely no evidence that living in a single—parent family has a detrimental impact on children's well—being of their happiness. detrimental impact on children's well—being of their happinessm some ways, andrew, would you say the stability you offer them, that is such a positive thing for a child, isn't it? stability is the key for any children in any relationship, it is the most important thing. what i

think he gains more if he has the stability of his grandparents, his auntie 's, his uncles, everyone, so it is notjust him in a house with me. he gets more of everyone else as well, which has helped develop him. listening to stories from his grandparents about me in the past. are they good stories? some of them are, some of them are. in terms of policy, as well, do you think there needs to be a sort of shift change in attitude to single parents? there does need to be a change in attitude, a change in recognition. single parent had also changes over time so in any six—year period, one in seven parent either re— couples or remarries, so family status is changing all the time, and policy and structures don't necessarily adapt to that. both the services that are available to single—parent families, whether that is holidays or leisure activities, through to the way that policy is made, we need to understand that families are

diverse and different and nothing is better or worse. would you like to see a change in attitude, in some ways ? see a change in attitude, in some ways? if that exists, then yes, it should change. i haven't encountered this attitude, i tend to not listen to it, and i can't talk about things i don't know about, but if it does exist out there, it should absolutely change. and he is a very independent young man, isn't he? here's too independent, two independent. thank you forjoining us. here is carol with a look at this morning's weather. how is doing? good morning, everyone. it is looking quite cloudy. in fact, for the next few days, there will be a lot of cloud around, thick enough for some drizzle. this morning it is misty and murky, we have got some patchy fog in lincolnshire, yorkshire, the home counties, to name but a few areas, and some of this is dense. high pressure firmly in charge of

our weather, a couple of weather fronts, they are weak affairs, and they are producing enough cloud to they are producing enough cloud to the old spot of drizzle here and there. so this morning you can see how cloudy it is. the fog should lift and it will start to brighten up lift and it will start to brighten up across lift and it will start to brighten up across southern counties of england. also at times across the north—east of england and the north—east of england and the north—east of england and the north—east of scotland. 0ccasional glimmers of sunshine in northern ireland and wales, but for most of us ireland and wales, but for most of us it is going to be, like yesterday, quite a cloudy day. temperature—wise, the average temperatures for the stage in december are about x in the north, eight in the south. so for many of us we are eight in the south. so for many of us we are either spot on a bit above, but it feels cooler in the south compared to yesterday. through the evening and overnight we still hang on to a fair bit of cloud. we will see some fog patches forming in southern england. some of those will be dense and slow to let tomorrow. at the same time, a weather front coming in from the west is going to be introducing thicker cloud and also some rain. not a particularly

cold nights, we are not anticipating any problems with frost. but tomorrow morning we will have some dense fog in the south. not as much as we thought this time yesterday, because as our weather fronts south and east it will wipe out that fog, and east it will wipe out that fog, and behind it we will see a brighten up and behind it we will see a brighten up across and behind it we will see a brighten up across scotland, northern ireland and also northern england. temperatures for all of us, we are in pretty good shape again, above average for this stage in december. now, for friday into saturday, high pressure is clinging on by the skin of its teeth. we have another weather front coming in and bringing rain, and as you can see from the isobars in the chart, we are going to have a breezy day than the last few. so we start saturday on a fairly cloudy note. here is our weather front ringing all this rain, turning increasingly like an patchy nature as we go through the course of the day, temperatures 11 to 13. that is good. as we head on into sunday, we still do have some patchy outbreaks of rain, still a fair bit of cloud around, but like the last few days and the next few days, we

are chasing hulsen that cloud to see where we are going to see some sunny spells. temperatures 11 to 12. finally, a quick look at new year's eve, or hogmanay, depending on which end of the country you are in. still a lot of settled weather, still a lot of cloud, some brighter breaks here and there, temperatures roughly nine to about 12. and the overnight weather is going to be fairly cloudy, a bit murky places, but still, for the end of year, it will be mild. thank you very much indeed. many of us will have received presents that are perhaps not quite right, so where do you stand if you take them back to the shops and ask for a refund? sean has got the details. are you happy with all of yours, louise? yes, very happy. good, then no need to pay attention for the

next few minutes. christmas shoppers are likely to have spent an estimated £1 billion on unwanted presents. many of those will end up being returned to the retailer for a refund or replacement. but what exactly are your rights? megan french is from the money saving expert website. good morning. we will not deal with the etiquette of having to approach yourfamily and the etiquette of having to approach your family and tell them you don't like what you have got, but in terms of the key thing you need to have, if you've got a gift and you think this isn't quite right for me, i just want to get the money, can you do it? so if you have a gift receipt it will make things a bit easier, because you can usually get an exchange there. you can pop it back to the shop. it is worth noting if you ask for the refund and the shops allow it, it might go back to the buyer's card, so watch out for that, if not you may need to face up and just say i need to return this gift.

so even if you have a gift receipt, you don't necessarily have to have the buyer's card with you to get the money back. well, it will depend on the shop, but you may get caught out by going back to their card, so you may decide to go for exchange only. so exchange only, your rights then are exchanging it for the equivalent, an item of clothing in your side, or whatever. will depend, each shop will have their own policy and it could depend on where the present has bought, as well. you are different rights if you buy in stores to online, and it will depend what rights they decide to offer with that gift receipt. and if you haven't got a receipt, you have got something, it is brand—new, it is in its packaging, you don't want it, can you do anything with it? well, you can head to the store, tell them i don't want to tell this person, is there anything you can do? they might do it as a goodwill gesture. if not, you may need to say to the person i am really sorry, it doesn't

fit. if they have bought in store, you have no legal right to just change your mind, so it will depend on the store's policy, unless it is faulty, and then you do have rights. you might want to see what the store is offering, but most extended to christmas, so you might be able to exchange it at least. people get used to all year round buying tons of stuff online, especially clothes, and sending them almost all back if they are not quite what you fancy, for free. why can't you do that in store ? for free. why can't you do that in store? it does trip people up, but if you buy online you have more rights to just change your mind, if you will. if something is faulty, it is totally different. but if you simply wanta is totally different. but if you simply want a different size, different colour, or you just don't like it, you can return it if you bought it online. your basic legal rights are you have 1a days after the item is delivered to decide if you want to cancel your order, and once you have cancelled, a further 14 to once you have cancelled, a further 1a to send those items back. the

only exceptions are for perishables, like food, or if it is personalised. but the important thing is you do have this legal right to change your mind online. i guess, louise, you can mind online. i guess, louise, you ca n always mind online. i guess, louise, you can always just flog it online on one of the auction websites. you are watching breakfast from bbc news. time now for a look at the newspapers. cary cooper is a professor of organisational psychology. lovely to see you, happy in between. a lot of the —— in the newspapers this morning. it is brexit free, you don't see any stories on brexit, which is interesting and useful. i will start with a story on the soaring tax on the sick which you get in the daily mirror. it is our main story here, it is about car parking charges. in scotla nd about car parking charges. in scotland and wales they don't have

it, but in england they do and it is only increase, 43% of trusts actually charge, and it is quite heavy. you know what is about it, of all that money, guess how much goes back into the nhs. how much? 15% only, back into the nhs. how much? 1596 only, can you believe it? that u psets only, can you believe it? that upsets me. the nhs is a wonderful institution which needs more money. it doesn't need more money from the people who are actually suffering. and it is visitors, patients, members of staff, and they have a list of what they are charging. for example... it names and shames the various trusts, and ijust think it is crazy. and in america this doesn't happen, does it? well, it depends what state you are in but on balance it doesn't happen. depends what state you are in but on balance it doesn't happenm depends what state you are in but on balance it doesn't happen. it is not that you get away from paying it. and you have an interesting story from the guardian, about post—natal depression in man. he why i am doing this, louise, it sounds like funny

story, why men suffer post—natal depression, but they do, and they suffer are probably more psychologically than physiologically. in other words, they are now becoming apparent, the kid is dependent on me, all those kinds of issues. the interesting thing this research has found is that when men suffer from post—natal depression, it actually affect their daughters later on in life. and they can suffer depression. in other words, the research is summed it up, depression and fathers is linked to an increased level of stress in the whole family, but it tends to affect women, the kids more than the man. but i think it raises a bigger issue about men generally, you know, about men do suffer depression, but hide it, they don't talk about their feelings, and i'm kind of worried about that. what do we do to get men to talk about it, and if men are kind of troubled by having a new family and thinking about, everyone is dependent on me, i am the main

breadwinner, they are not necessarily any more the main breadwinner, but anyway, necessarily any more the main breadwinner, butanyway, in necessarily any more the main breadwinner, but anyway, in many families they are, it is an issue about how we get men to talk about issues. also what is interesting is the impact it has on the wider family, as well. and it does, and particularly men having it on the widerfamily particularly men having it on the wider family than women, because women can talk about it more. study of more than 3000 families in bristol found that one in 20 fathers experienced post—natal depression. you are also talking about obesity, as well. and we were talking on the news about people from black and ethnic minorities being paid differently to their white colleagues, and this is a different impact about a year. yes, it is, and it is quite interesting because two out of every three adults is clinically obese. 0ne out of every three adults is clinically obese. one in three children are clinically obese. it is a problem. we all know it because it leads to diabetes, affect the nhs and everything else. going for a job, obese people get paid roughly £2000 a year less. but obese women,

and this really shocked me, obese women get paid £8,900 a year less than obese men. so there is a gender gap day, in terms of... it's amazing, isn't it? why would that be? i think it may have to do is, in the workplace, maybe certain employers, male employers, like more attractive, fit women in rolls, and don't promote women as much. so it is about probably promotion, as well. men more likely to be subject to barbed comments about their weight. tell me about this young man. neil pennington was a ballet style. back in the day. and for 13 years he met the great and the good, travelled all over the world, decided he did not want to live in hotels all the time, so he took a job in a pr agency, had a great time, met all

the great and the good and bad, angelina jolie, brad pitt, etc, 0k, fine, then he went to anotherjob. he went to a design agency. there he got bullied, had trouble with his boss, became homeless. so from the great andy became homeless, was living on the streets for a number of years, and then went to saint mungo is charity and learned how to help himself. —— and he became. for me what the story illustrates, now he is fine. mackie has a newjob. he has a newjob. —— now he has a good job. it shows you that from how the great uk collapse. it can be a great change. it can be quick. he was wealthy. it had enough money. all of a sudden he is homeless and on the streets. this means a lot to me. when i was in los angeles i was a

social worker for the homeless when i was doing my mba. and i saw people who were really very successful in a short period of time, the breakup of their marriage, bad job, short period of time, the breakup of their marriage, badjob, being bullied at work, straight downhill. rather sad. it is an energising story. is a christmas tree. he was helping got back on his feet, literally. thank you very much indeed. it is lovely to see. happy christmas. still to come: you are listening to twin sisters paula and fabiana chavez, accomplished pianists despite the fact they are both blind. they will be here to tell me about their project that aims to break down the obstacles faced by visually impaired music students. stay with us, headlines coming up. hello, this is breakfast with louise minchin. here's a summary of today's main stories from bbc news.

more than 40% of hospitals in england have raised parking fees over the past year. the figures came in response to freedom of information requests by the press association. some nhs trusts defended the higher charges, saying some or all of the money went back into patient care or maintaining car parks. but there's anger that patients, visitors and staff are paying more. the 5p fee for plastic carrier bags in england will be doubled to 10p, and will extend to all shops, under plans set out by the environment secretary. the change is contained in a government consultation aimed at further reducing the plastic used by consumers and could come into effect in january 2020. smaller retailers, who are exempt from the current levy, supply an estimated 3.6 billion single—use bags annually. all flights around an erupting volcano that triggered a tsunami in indonesia over the weekend have been rerouted. authorities in indonesia have also raised the alert status at mount anak krakatau

to the second highest level, after a series of eruptions spewed out lava. on saturday, tsunamis hit coastal towns on the islands of sumatra and java, which killed at least 430 people. hundreds more are still missing. this morning, the country's disaster management agency said a 3—mile exclusion zone had been imposed. indonesia is prone to tsunamis because it lies on the ring of fire, an area which sees frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. a search is continuing for a british cruise ship entertainer, who went overboard in the caribbean on christmas day. the us coastguard was alerted after 20—year—old arron hough failed to turn up for his shift on "harmony of the seas" where he'd been performing in a musical. royal caribbean, which operates the ship, said it was supporting mr hough's family. an american has become the first person to complete an unaided solo

crossing of antarctica. 33—year—old colin 0'brady finished a race across the ice in 53 days, beating british army captain louis rudd. both men set out in november to complete the journey. the 921—mile trek took them across the coldest continent on earth in some of the most extreme conditions. it does look extreme indeed, but very beautiful. it was a busy day yesterday in the world of sport. very beautiful. it was a busy day yesterday in the world of sportm absolutely does. boxing day means two things, chocolate and football. behind you two contrasting images. liverpool is still unbeaten. a victory over liverpool stretches

that. manchester city are not having a very happy christmas. they had another shock defeat to leicester. the top of the league looks very different now. six ahead of tottenham, who went second, and seven ahead of champions city. austin halewood rounds up the best of the action. and there goes the final whistle. a christmas to forget for pep guardiola. some had begun to think it was impossible, but the second defeat for manchester city in five days has blown the premier league wide open. the champions had plenty of chances at leicester, but there can often be magic in the air at the king power. it's come as far as ricardo, and what a hit. a goal that dropped city down to third, and with liverpool still undefeated, a turning point in the season? we played man city still in — what is it, eight days, a week? so, if i will be at man city, i would think it was only four. so that means absolutely nothing. so liverpool aren't getting ahead of themselves, but when your defenders start doing

this, things are going pretty well. a missile from dejan lovren lifting liverpool even further above manchester city. a four—goal demolition of newcastle means they are now firmly the team to beat, seven points ahead of the champions. but a new contender is emerging down south, tottenham thrashing bournemouth 5—0. 11 goals in just four days for spurs, another ruthless display taking them into second. while talk of the top four may still be premature, smiles were finally back at old trafford. 0le gunnar solskjaer managing his first home game, and just seven days into the job, the turnaround has been nothing short of remarkable. and then pogba! already the celebrations becoming familiar, his side playing with the talent they had all along. paul pogba apparently happy once again. finally, at old trafford, things could be starting to look up. elsewhere, everton thumped

burnley 5—1 at turf moor, brighton and arsenal played out a one all draw and chelsea won 2—1 at watford to move two points clear of the gunners in fourth. the games at fulham and crystal palace both ended in draws. in the scottish premiership, scott sinclair scored a hat—trick as leaders celtic beat aberdeen 11—3 in a thriller at pittodrie. the game was poised at 2—2 going into the final five minutes, before goals from 0dsonne edouard and sinclair sealed the win to extend their lead at the top to three points. elsewhere, rangers were held to a one all draw at home to hibs. there were also wins for hearts, kilmarnock and stjohnstone. clan des 0beaux was the surprise winner of the king george the sixth chase at kempton. the 16 to one shot ridden by harry cobden narrowly beat veteran thistlecrack in a dramatic finish — giving trainer paul nicholls his 10th win at the boxing day

showpiece. the gold cup winner native river came in third. before i go, let's see what happened when a footballing legend surprised a group of school children by dressing up as who else but santa claus? this is paris st—germain goalkeeper gianluigi buffon donning the big red suit and white beard — joined by psg players angel di maria and thiago silva spreading some christmas cheer — and presents for the youngsters. some of them might have been hoping for the real santa claus — but somehow i don't think they're too disappointed. they look absolutely thrilled. that is sweet. thank you very much. it is at 7:42 a.m.. you're watching bbc

brea kfast. at 7:42 a.m.. you're watching bbc breakfast. carol spin with you throughout christmas and is with us again this morning —— has been with you. good morning. good morning to you. good morning. good morning to you. the next few days, the forecast is similarto you. the next few days, the forecast is similar to the last two. it will be cloudy and becky, there will be drizzle. some of us will see sunshine. that is the case today. quite a lot of cloud around today but largely dry. having said that, some parts of the uk will have low cloud thick enough to produce some drizzle. we have some patchy mist and fog across parts of lincolnshire, yorkshire, and southern counties. high pressure is keeping things fairly stable. these weather fronts you can see a fairly weak. through the course of the day you will start to see some breaks develop in the cloud across north—east scotland, north—east england, and southern england. glimmers of brightness across wales and northern ireland. sunshine will be ata and northern ireland. sunshine will be at a premium for some of us. some will seek more than we saw yesterday. temperatures, 9—11.

temperature wise, at this stage in december, in the north, we would be looking at six and in the south eight. some of us it is bang on. many of us are above average. through this evening and overnight there will still be a fair bit of cloud around. some breaks in the cloud, patchy mist and fog forming, some of which in southern england will be dense. you can see a new weather front approaching from the west, introducing thicker cloud and some rain. temperature wise we are not anticipating problems with frost. tomorrow, don't forget the dense fog in some parts of southern england. as the cloud comes down it is preventing it from forming. and thenit is preventing it from forming. and then it is sinking south. it will brighten up across scotland, northern ireland, and northern england. for many parts of the uk we are in high single figures or a low of double figure. moving from friday into saturday, high pressure clinging on by the skin of its teeth. be breezy are they as you can tell from the number of isobars. a

couple of weather fronts coming our way. the first one crosses scotland, bringing some rain with it, patchy rain across northern ireland, the second band comes in behind it. as a wea k feature second band comes in behind it. as a weak feature you can see how it is fairly sporadic, but a fair bit of cloud around with the odd bright a break. temperatures not bad if you like it milder, 11—13. on sunday, still a lot of cloud around. some brea ks still a lot of cloud around. some breaks here and there. breezy across the north of the country. there will be patchy rain. 0nce the north of the country. there will be patchy rain. once again temperatures 11—13. for new year's eve, hogmanay, depending on where you are, still a lot of cloud around. it is like the needle has got stuck in the weather, with some brighter breaks, breezy across the far north with patchy light rain, and into the midnight hour it should also be dry, but it will be murky for some of us but not particularly cold. thank you very much indeed, we will

see you a little bit later. becoming an accomplished pianist requires dedication and commitment, so try to imagine achieving that when you are dealing with losing your sight. that is exactly what identical twin sisters paula and fabiana chavez have done. we will speak to them in just a couple of moments, good morning, both, it is good to see you. not only are they both incredibly accomplished, they have started a project with the aim of helping others learn an instrument without sight. ina minute in a minute we will hopefully see some of your playing. when did you both start playing the piano? well, we started playing the piano? well, we started playing the piano when we were 16, 15, 13? 13 yea rs piano when we were 16, 15, 13? 13 years old. we were young. it was a birthday present from our father, who was told that we were going to lose our site, and we were diagnosed with a rare disease. 0ur parents

we re very with a rare disease. 0ur parents were very worried about that situation, so our father decided to give us the piano as a present, and that was the beginning of our musical career. and we will play some of that in a minute. and you we re some of that in a minute. and you were fighting over the piano, so did you decide to play together? well, we had lots of arguments. it is my turn playing the piano, no, it is mine. so, well, let's decide to play together. why don't we play together? so that is why we decided together? so that is why we decided to play duets. let's have a look at some of the duets, because they are absolutely brilliant. they play. you two, when you play

the piano together, it is extraordinary, because you sort of seem almost to be completely in tune with each other, fabiana. tell us what is going on. well, that was a recording of debussy, the third movement of a suite. it is incredible. it was at st martin's in the fields on four december this year, and when we play together, it feels like we are playing only one of us. we feel a bond that is very

strange, because we are twins. we feel like playing the same person. paula, and it is really clear you have a sort of intuition with each other, as well. tell us a little bit about what you are trying to do, because you are trying to help other people whose site is affected get involved in music, aren't you? yes, thatis involved in music, aren't you? yes, that is very important for us, because we want to show other musicians who are losing their sight our experience, which can be useful for other musicians. so it is very important for us to show that we are using a different method for learning pieces. we read braille, and it is very important for us to show how we do that. so how... i

suppose it is not an easy answer, fabiana, but how do you remember these intensely complicated pieces? yes, well, it is quite difficult, because we listen to the audio description of the score, using software, and after that we have to memorise every single note, every single chord, and know all the elements of the cord. and after that, we have two... what we really do is to imagine the composition using the notation we used to read, before. and then imagine it. and you do it absolutely beautifully. many, many thanks for coming to see us. they are both front buenos aires, in argentina. this is where we say goodbye to viewers on bbc one you can continue watching breakfast on the bbc news channel, and we are back on bbc one tomorrow from 6:00am. bye for now. and if you haven't seen them play,

it is really worth having a look. 0livia colman, dominic west and lily collins — just some of the big—name actors starring in the bbc‘s new adaptation of les miserables, but not one of them is singing from the rooftops about it. the six—part drama leaves the songs from the musical to one side, and as breakfast'sjohn maguire has been finding out, the series goes back to basics and explores the story of love and revolution. action. taking les miserables from the page, and there are almost 1,500 of them, to the screen requires a huge number of people. it starts with the writer. andrew davies's cv includes house of cards, pride and prejudice and war and peace. i've kind of got a taste for some of these great big books now. so, on set, is he nervous about watching his words come to life?

yes, you can get a bit anxious hoping that they'll get it right. in fact, you're really hoping they'll do more than that, that they'll do something better than you even imagined, and a lot of the time that's happening here. the clothes help to tell the story. it is a costume drama, after all, and i'm shown items that are created new and then distressed to make them look old and worn, by relentlessly tough lives. you need hours. it really needs a long time to get this kind of texture into it. so i think they've done an amazing job. it's beautiful. much of this new adaptation has been filmed in belgium. from high—society paris to toulon prison, the locations help to transport the audience to the france of two centuries ago. so, with the story, the script, the actors, the director, and vitally the costumes in place, it comes time to choose the locations. what about this place — an original napoleonic jail. it's atmospheric, and it's certainly quite spooky.

of course, hair and make—up play a tra nsformative role. not a bad match at all — there you go. that's transformed you straightaway into a dandy. it didn't take much, did it? here you go. so you are the most famous movie make—up artist in the world. why? because of that picture with aidan turner. that one? i always get cut out of that one, don't i? we use facial hair to denote class distinction. it's the icing on the cake with the costumes. that is something you would get, like that. very dignified. so, from the beards to the barricades, les miserables is set to blow you away. the man behind that adaptation, screenwriter andrew davies, has had a career spanning 50 years

transforming some of our best—loved novels into prime—time television. andrew davies is famous for transforming our best loved novels into outstanding television drama. 0ver into outstanding television drama. over the last 50 years, he has created some of the most iconic moments on the small screen. he has a career like no other writer. he is the undisputed king of the prime—time tv bodice ripper. his award—winning work has been seen by millions across the globe. is andrew ingenious? he might be. you might think that, i couldn't possibly. he has built his reputation on being controversial, confrontational, and is always up for a challenge. controversial, confrontational, and is always up for a challengelj would is always up for a challenge.” would hold that spot for him once

every two years. now, at the age of 82, he is taking on victor hugo's famous masterpiece 'les miserables'. it is going to disappoint fans of the musical. nobody sings. andrew davies joins us now. lovely to see you, thank you for coming to see us. let's deal with the music, first of all. none, you just didn't have any of it. no, that's right. i thought perhaps people needed a rest from it. i know this is a view not everyone will agree with, but i think lovers of the musical can watch my adaptation and hum it to themselves, perhaps, when it comes to the appropriate bits. it is very interesting, isn't it, because it is one of those musicals that has kind of really got into people's heads. so you have left that behind and got back to the original novel. because there is so much more in the novel. i think people who only know the musical

will love to see how much more story there is. the whole of fantine's early life set out for you, she has a touching love story. you have seen the first episode, you know. and it isa the first episode, you know. and it is a sweet, isn't it? before all the bad things happen to her. my impression of having seen it, it is fantastic, but it is visceral as well. yes, i mean, hugo wanted to really punch home the injustices of society, where there is the rich and the poor and all that. very much a lot of stuff that is still going on today. and we hope people would pick up today. and we hope people would pick up some of that. so that was obviously very conscious in your mind, was it? yes. and there is a hero, there is an antihero. tell us about your take on them. yes, well,

jean valjean is such an extraordinary figure who goes from being an implacable enemy of society, he has been so brutalised by his experiences, he is totally... and then he has given this chance to bea and then he has given this chance to be a good man. and he sort of takes it, he relapses, he commits a crime against... steals from a little boy, which is the thing that haunts him throughout the whole story. and he is pursued by javert, throughout the whole story. and he is pursued byjavert, this implacable policeman who believes that a criminal is a criminal, and a man likejean that a criminal is a criminal, and a man like jean valjean that a criminal is a criminal, and a man likejean valjean can never change. and this kind of breaks him, really, when his philosophy doesn't work. and played of course by

dominic west, as jean work. and played of course by dominic west, asjean valjean. do you have who is playing them in your head, or how is it for you? no, it is funny, when i write it, i have a kind of picture in my head of the character, and then wait and see who is going to be cast. but with such powerful actors as dominick and david, as soon as they start doing it, i kind of forget about whatever it, i kind of forget about whatever it is it, i kind of forget about whatever itisi it, i kind of forget about whatever it is i had in my head. ijust believe that they are the guy. and your adaptation of 'les miserables' is one of the jewels of the crown of this year's bbc schedule. let's see why. you look like an angel. i am utterly at your mercy. i don't believe you. let me prove it. the ground we walk

on, we could fall through any time, and no—one would care. on, we could fall through any time, and no-one would care. but why should it always be like that? 0ccu rs should it always be like that? 0ccurs it is. should it always be like that? occurs it is. whatever you think, you can never win. jean valjean, is it possible that kindness and love can change a man? cosette, whatever will we do now? your little darling will we do now? your little darling will want for nothing in our loving care. are you a television watcher yourself? do you love television?” you a television watcher yourself? do you love television? i do, i watch everything, practically. and do you watch it in... because things are changing, i was looking at the television figures this week and then there is a real change from watching live television to streaming. how do you watch?” watching live television to streaming. how do you watch? i watch quite a bit of both. but... my wife

andi quite a bit of both. but... my wife and i are an elderly couple, we sit there with our dog, and we do tend to watch things at the time when they are on. and, you know, i still like to be on the bbc at 9pm on a sunday night, and i think there's a lot of people who like a good drama about that time. absolutely, and it isa about that time. absolutely, and it is a real pleasure to see you. thank you very much indeed. do you think people will be tempted to read the book after seeing this as well?” people will be tempted to read the book after seeing this as well? i am sure they will, actually. always, when there is a big adaptation that is popular, people buy the books. i don't know whether they are to get through them. i would get back to it. thank you very much forjoining us on it. thank you very much forjoining us on breakfast. les miserables begins on bbc one sunday 30 december at 9:00pm, and the documentary on andrew's career is on bbc four at 10:05pm and on the bbc iplayer. will you be watching? yes, i will. we will have the headlines in a

couple of moments. good morning. welcome to breakfast with louise minchin. 0ur headlines today: anger over hospital parking charges as more than a third of nhs trusts in england put up their fees. from sp to 10p. the price you pay for your plastic bags could soon be going up in england and this time notjust in the big supermarkets. i'll have the details shortly. ash erupting from the krakatoa volcano in indonesia forces flights to be rerouted days after it triggered a deadly tsunami. a british entertainer on one of the world's largest cruise ships is missing after going overboard on christmas day. president trump defends his decision to pull us troops out of syria as he makes a surprise trip to iraq. it was a dramatic day in the premier league. champions manchester city suffered another shock defeat, this time to leicester. this means liverpool go six

points clear at the top. good morning. a fairly cloudy day ahead and quite murky with fog patches. there will be some sunshine in the forecast and i will tell you where in 15 minutes. good morning. it's thursday 27th december. our top story: more than a third of nhs hospitals in england have raised the cost of parking over the past year, with some patients and staff now paying double the price. several trusts have defended the higher costs, saying some or all of the money went back into patient care or maintaining car parks. 0ur correspondentjohn donnison has been looking at the figures. paying to park at hospitals is a bugbear of both patients, visitors and staff. the press association gathered data from 124 nhs trusts across england. 43% of them admitted prices had gone

up over the past year, for visitors or staff or both. the most expensive was royal surrey county hospital in guildford, charging £4 for a stay of just one hour. airedale nhs foundation trust in yorkshire saw the cost of a 24 hour stay more than double to £8. analysis of data published by nhs digital in october shows that nhs trusts made more than £226 million last year from parking including penalty fines. the royal college of nursing said its members were being overcharged for doing theirjobs. a department of health spokesperson said the government had been very clear that patients, their families, and hard—working staff should not be subject to unfair parking charges. those charges have been abolished in wales and most of scotland. labour has pledged to get rid of them in england as well. john donnison, bbc news. some newsjust in.

11 migrants have been found overnight on the shore in folkestone after they crossed the channel in a small boat. the lifeboats from dover and littlestone were involved in a search, which began at 00:30 as well as the coastguard helicopter. more than 40 migrants have been brought ashore in the last two days. the 5p fee for plastic carrier bags in england will be doubled to 10p under plans set out by the environment secretary. sean has got more on this. we are we a re pretty we are pretty accustomed to 5p but this is being extended, isn't it?m then makes you wonder why it needs to be extended and you look at the

nub of carrier bags are used to use, 15 billion a year, the 5p charge came in, and suddenly we are using 3.5 billion. that is still a lot even though the reduction has been huge. if you look at the figures now, you can see that the plastic bag charges were introduced in england in 2015. england was a little bit behind the curve. scotland, wales and northern ireland had the changes in a good number of yea rs before had the changes in a good number of years before that. in england, that was for companies and retailers with at least 250 employees. they think that will change if this consultation goes ahead as planned by the environment secretary, the 10p charge in england for all businesses, including small shops as well, and in theory that would come into place by january 2020. well, and in theory that would come into place byjanuary 2020. the concentration is out there. we know that a lot of convenience stores are happy to go ahead with this because they participate already, many of them. there are questions about how far retailers should go. bags for life, the plastic bags for life, every household on average uses four each year, so where should retailers be in this story? the bag campaign

and the charge on it has seen many differences and we have so many battles to fight with plastic and issues of excess packaging in supermarkets. a banana with its own packaging, why do we need access is there? while the bag campaign has been brilliant and if you leverage it more, it could have a marginal difference, but there are bigger battles to fight in terms of how we can reduce packaging in retail. retail and another thing today, the education secretary, damien heinz, saying that schools should be looking to cut back completely single used plastics within the next three orfour years, so single used plastics within the next three or four years, so everything from containers to straws. some schools have managed to do it but it would be a big move and something pa rents would be a big move and something parents will see more of in 2019. thank you. a search is taking place for a british cruise ship entertainer, who went overboard in the caribbean on christmas day. the us coastguard was alerted after 20—year—old arron hough failed to turn up for his shift on harmony

of the seas, where he'd been performing in a musical. monika plaha reports. it's one of the world's largest cruise ships, longer than the eiffel tower, with the ability to carry 8000 passengers. one of them was 20—year—old dancer and musical theatre graduate arron hough, who was working on board the harmony of the seas before he went missing on christmas day. injuly, aaron's talent agency tweeted that he would bejoining the cast of grease: the musical. harmony of the seas is currently sailing on a seven night itinerary, which departed from florida last sunday. the ship was 267 miles north—west of aguadilla, puerto rico, at the time arron went overboard and is due to call at haiti before returning back to florida. a spokesperson for the ship's operator, the royal caribbean, said that after a review of the ship's camera footage arron was seen entering an area on deck five at around 4am

and wasn't seen again. they say their team is providing support for arron's family and friends through this difficult time. the harmony of the seas will complete its scheduled itinerary as the us coastguard continues to lead the search. the foreign office say they are providing assistance to arron's family. monika plaha, bbc news. all flights around an erupting volcano that triggered a tsunami in indonesia last week have been rerouted. authorities have raised the alert status at mount anak krakatoa to the second highest level. let's speak to our correspondent, rebecca henshke. what's the latest? there seems to be ongoing activity at this volcano. that's right. it has been erupting for months now but the authorities monitoring it are saying they are seeing increased tremors. they are also seeing lather exploding out of the volcano, which is causing these huge explosion

sounds that people are hearing on the coast. it is also sending volcanic ash out into the area. we are seeing a thin ash falling on houses and villages on the west coast. and also these huge clouds of ash going up into the air are of course very dangerous for aeroplanes. that is why all flights to the major islands of this archipelago have been re—routed to avoid it. what they are concerned about is if this volcanic activity is strong enough to trigger another tsunami like it did on saturday, killing more than 400 people. people are being told to stay well away from the beaches on both sides of the strait. thank you, rebecca. we have been looking at the pictures and you can see why. we will be talking about that with an expert shortly about what is going on there. president trump has made a surprise visit to us troops in iraq. he defended his decision to withdraw

us forces from syria which prompted his defence secretary, james mattis, to resign last week. 0ur washington correspondent, chris buckler, has more. president trump travelled with the first lady to iraq to spread some christmas cheer and to thank troops for their service and sacrifice. we came to al asad this year. 0ur eternal gratitude for everything you do to keep america safe, strong, and free. last week, in a sudden and surprise decision, he announced that american forces would be leaving early, causing concern in washington and several corners of the world. but mr trump said he believed that a lot of people were going to come round to his way of thinking. he went on to insist that "it's time for us to start using our head". one person who remains unconvinced is the outgoing defence secretary, james mattis, who resigned over the president's plans. mr trump says he is in no hurry to find a permanent successor to general mattis, a sign that he intends

to push forward with what he believes is right. it's reported that the pentagon has been asked to draw up plans to severely reduce the number of american troops in afghanistan. many in the military feel there is still much work left to be done there and in syria. and there has been widespread criticism of mr trump's suggestion that the so—called islamic state group have been defeated. even with those questions about his foreign policy, mr trump may well feel that that trip to iraq has been a brief break from the battles he is facing here in washington. there are concerns about the economy, the stock market, and the partial government shutdown which left hundreds of thousands of federal workers over christmas either on unpaid leave or not knowing when they will be paid. mr trump insists he will only accept a funding deal if it gives him $5 billion for a border war with mexico. and democrats insist that is not going to happen. it has left many believing that this shutdown will last for some time to come.

chris buckler, bbc news, washington. black and ethnic minority workers in the uk are paid £3.2 billion less than their white counterparts each year. that's according to a report by the resolution foundation, a think tank focusing on people on lower incomes. it used data from a survey of a 100,000 people over ten years. the government says it's brought in new laws to help companies make sure their management is representative of their workforce. an american has become the first person to complete an unaided solo crossing of antarctica. 33—year—old colin 0'brady finished a race across the ice in 53 days, beating british army captain louis rudd. both men set out in november to complete the journey. the 921—mile trek took them across the coldest continent on earth in some of the most extreme conditions. it is 8:12am. good morning. this is

brea kfast. it is 8:12am. good morning. this is breakfast. we are talking about one of the main stories this morning. as we've just been hearing, there's been increased activity around indonesia's anak krakatoa volcano, leading to flights being rerouted and the alert level raised. on saturday, tsunamis triggered by the volcano killed hundreds of people. so how significant is this latest development? mike burton is professor of volcanology at the university of manchester. hejoins us now. we have seen extraordinary pictures of the volcano. what can you tell us about what is going on? it looks as though the tsunami was triggered by a collapse, which has been widely reported. since then, the edifice of the volcano has been observed by radar satellite images and it is gradually collapsing. what you can see on the screen now is the old volcanic crater, the structure as it was. now most of it had collapsed under water and it looks completely

different. there have been some dramatic changes to the morphology. the reason we are getting these alerts about ash is primarily because the volcanic activity that was going on for the last several months, at the summit of the volcano, it is now submerged underwater. as the hot lava comes out and interacts with the sea water, you get enormous billowing clouds of gas and ash going up into the atmosphere. that can be extremely bad for air traffic obviously. also there could be a possibility of more tsunamis as well. there is always the possibility of that. as time goes by and this continues to collapse, in a fairly gentle way, that possibility sta rts fairly gentle way, that possibility starts to diminish. there is simply less volu m e starts to diminish. there is simply less volume in play that could produce such a landslide. is there a

new island being formed? originally anak krakatoa, which means child of krakatoa, it came from the large eruption which shook the world and killed 35,000 people back in the day. anak kra katoa killed 35,000 people back in the day. anak krakatoa started forming in1927, ina day. anak krakatoa started forming in 1927, in a similar manner to what it is doing now. it was very much originally a submarine eruption which was gradually building up and collapsing, building up and collapsing. it is not impossible that this situation could continue for a very long time now. as it sits underneath the waves, it will only stop erupting underwater once it has built up enough to be under the air above the water. goodness me. talk to us about mount etna, if you would, because there is volcanic activity happening there as well. there is. what happened a few days ago, over christmas, and new flank eruption. instead of being the craters which are almost always

active on mount etna, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, and you fish are opened, which increased the lava flow of not very dangerous dimensions in a remote area, not doing any harm. then yesterday there was a very big earthquake, magnitude 4.8, which was located on the south—east flank, further away from the fissure. it doesn't seem to have been related to magma directly but there is always the possibility of a low altitude fissure eruption occurring lower down the slopes, as occurred in 1669, when it went into the major cities below. does this mean, as far as you can tell, that there is a threat to life or to homes? the biggest threat would be from further earthquake activity in the first instance. i have been looking at the signs overnight, and they are very

carefully monitored by the local 0bservatory, and they have one of the densest seismic networks in the world there. there is no sign of any increase in seismicity. they would normally be several days of several earthquakes, and we haven't seen that, so it seems to be slowly tapering off but it could come back. can we go back to indonesia, and all of this, really, because it is part of this, really, because it is part of the workings of the planet we live on, that indonesia is critically vulnerable to volcanoes. it just has lots critically vulnerable to volcanoes. itjust has lots of them. there have been about 40 different volcano eruptions in the last 20 years, so it is an amazingly challenging place for local authority to manage the fa ct for local authority to manage the fact that local populations. and this is complicated because a volcanic eruption can produce the tsunami which produces the damage which we have tragically seen in indonesia. there are complex interacting hazards which produce a real challenge. fascinating to talk

to you as ever, mike burton. thank you for bringing your expertise to bbc breakfast. the other thing we have been talking about this morning is single parents. and changing attitudes. let's get this report. a cup of tea and a friendly ear for these single mums in kent who get together regularly to share their concerns when it comes to bringing up children on their own. the women are just a handful of the 1.8 million single parent—headed households in the uk, but for some the prospect of being a single parent was daunting. well, when i first became single, i thought that's it, see you later, life's over, how am i going to cope? i can't cope with this. how am i going to pay the bills? how am i going to look after my kids? it's clear that this group are determined to overcome any negative. my son was studying, doing his a levels,

and was studying sociology. he came one day and he said, "mum, can you believe this? ijust read in a study that said if you are from a single parent and you are a little black boy you are not going to do well. how dare they?" he was so angry, you know. i said, "so what are you going to do about it?" he said, "i'm going to show them. that i'm going to do my best." and the positives, they say, are priceless. they help me at work, they help me at home. i know that if i have any problems, they can come and tell me and they really are my little best friends. that's been the best part of being a single—parent, i think. and their experiences may be more common than previously thought. typically surveys suggest that one in four families with children are headed by a single parent at any one time. this latest data suggest that it's more likely to be one in three families. and despite the concerns these mums have, researchers did not find evidence of a negative impact on children who live in a single—parent household. in fact, the researchers believe that children who are living or have lived in single—parent families score as highly or higher than those in two—parent families when it comes

to things like life satisfaction, relationships, and family life, which some historians say is a complete u—turn to what people thought in the past. i think a lot of people feel uncomfortable when people behave unconventionally, as they see it. they want everyone to have really rather similar lives and this notion that it's normal to live in a long—lasting marriage and bring up secure children and have really stereotypical happy families. and if people don't behave like that then there is something wrong and that is somehow a threat to social stability and conventional morality. but for these ladies, and many other men and women across the country, their single—parent family is the norm, and it will not stop them from living full and happy lives. frankie mccamley, bbc news. it is 8:20am. carol can tell us all

about the weather. you have just made me happy showing me those pictures of the beach, to be honest. i love beaches and the weather watchers always do us proud. the forecast for the next few days are similarto forecast for the next few days are similar to the previous few days because it will be cloudy with some drizzle and occasionally we will see some sunshine but more of us will see sunshine today compared to yesterday. however, there is still a lot of cloud in the forecast, with high pressure clinging on across the shores and this week whether front is thick enough to bring some drizzle. some bright outbreaks develop, particularly across north—east scotland and later across north—east scotland and later across north—east england, and later to across southern england. in northern england and southern scotland, you will hang onto the cloud but here and that it will break up with glimmers of sunshine. breezy in the

north with temperatures of ten and 11 with the average in december being sex. further south we are looking at nine to 11, and the average is eight in the south of the country. moving through the evening and overnight, a fair bit of cloud around and still quite murky with patchy mist and fog as well, some of which will be dense across southern england. at the same time, whether front coming in from the west will introduce some rain across scotland, more cloud and patchy light rain across northern ireland, and with these temperatures, we are not anticipating problems with rust. tomorrow this whether front continue to ta ke tomorrow this whether front continue to take its rain across scotland. the southern edge of it will be mostly cloudy with drizzle coming out of it. as it sweeps south, it prevents the fog from forming for most of the country, but there will be some dense and patchy fog. in scotland, northern england and northern ireland behind it, we are looking at sunny spells. temperatures in good shape if you

like it milder, between nine and 12. as we move from friday into saturday, high pressure is very much with us. things are fairly stable or stagnant. a breezy day with some rain across the north of the country. the first whether front goes through and the second one comes behind it and the rain will not be heavy or persistent but something nonetheless. across the country we will see splashes of rain across the isle of man, northern england, wales and in the direction of the wash. some sunny breaks but not everywhere. temperatures are still in double figures. by sunday it is like the needle on the weather record has got stuck because we are seeing afair record has got stuck because we are seeing a fair bit of cloud and again we are chasing the breaks in the cloud for sunshine. thick enough for the odd bit of drizzle here and there. temperatures are mild, 11 to 13 across the board. and for hogmanay, new yea r‘s 13 across the board. and for hogmanay, new year's eve, a bit of cloud and some bright outbreaks and

a bit of sunshine with patchy light rain in the north and west, and temperatures nine to 11 or 12. if you are going out first footing at midnight, it will be cloudy and murky for some, but it will still be mild for this time of year. i love that you give us the midnight weather! very important. thank you so much and see you soon. thank you for keeping us company today. this is breakfast from bbc news and now it is time for a look at the newspapers this morning. cary cooper who is a professor of organizational psychology, he'll tell us what's caught his eye in a moment. this is a story about legal aid.” have got to talk about this story because of my daughter. people trying to access their kids, people under domestic abuse, they have got

to go to court and defend themselves and it is appalling. an 80% decline in legal aid over eight years. people will say they don't feel sorry for them but it is crazy. the government has cut representation for people who wantjustice in areas like housing debt, employment, clinical negligence, welfare payments, education. it is really bad. it was supposed to be done in 2012 to save money, the austerity bit. but now it is causing real problems with people having to defend themselves in court. that is a tough thing to do and presumably most of them will be doing it at a tough time in their lives as well. indeed. and this is an interesting one in the daily mail. we are talking about calories and the nanny state, and this is a mixture of things. this is a controversial one. people will say it is the nanny state. public health england have said we have an epidemic. 30% of ten

and 11—year—olds are now clinically obese, so how can we solve this problem? we obese, so how can we solve this problem ? we need obese, so how can we solve this problem? we need frenetic lives so we have these funny dinners that we buy, pre—packaged and everything else. now public health are consulting at the moment to say whether we should be putting a cap on the amount of calories that restau ra nts on the amount of calories that restaurants have as well as food in shops? liz truss is saying no. she is implying it is a nanny state thing and you don't want to do this. but if we lead these frenetic lives and we buy this kind of easy food to make at home and dump in the microwave, for the sake of our kids, shouldn't we try and reduce it? a pizza, normally 1400 calories. so we say the cap should be 1000. you can't produce a pizza about 1000. that could affect the way that restau ra nts that could affect the way that restaurants cook their food. that could affect the way that restaurants cook their foodm could. it would be nice if we all did home cooking and bought fresh

food but we don't. we need frenetic lives and i think this is useful. in a restaurant, they put it on the menu, and that could make a difference to some people. but maybe people think they can eat what they like at a restaurant. you are eating what you like, but you are toning down salt and sugar. that is basically it. it is a good news story. let's have some good news. british scientists, if you are i get cancer, say i have cancer, and i have got to have chemotherapy, it is pretty toxic with a lot of side effects and everything else. the scientists at the francis crick institute in london are saying that we should use our natural immune system cells. in other words, you would give me yours, for me. without any toxic effects. really? it will attack the tumours and cancerous

cells. this is going to be launched this year, 2019, and they are going to be doing lots of trials on it. if this works, it will be a real breakthrough. think of all the money we have spent giving money to charities for cancer research and we are still using chemotherapy, which in some cases it is very effective but in lots of cases, the side—effects are debilitating. this isa side—effects are debilitating. this is a great news story that british scientists are trialling something that may actually really kill the cancer without killing us. that may actually really kill the cancer without killing usm that may actually really kill the cancer without killing us. if that happened, that would be lovely. great news for so many people. this unnatural justice great news for so many people. this unnaturaljustice one, great news for so many people. this unnatural justice one, this great news for so many people. this unnaturaljustice one, this story. carers win the jackpot. -- this is natural justice. the carers win the jackpot. -- this is naturaljustice. the biggest group of people getting over £1 million on the national lottery are carers. isn't that great news? i wonder if thatis isn't that great news? i wonder if that is because they buy more

tickets. i think they buy them in groups. i beta tickets. i think they buy them in groups. i bet a lot of carers pitching, giving £1 each, but i like the idea that carers are getting it, not people who already have money, but people who get paid poorly and are but people who get paid poorly and a re really but people who get paid poorly and are really important to us. as i get older, these people are going to be important to me. jobs in care, social workers, they leapt important to me. jobs in care, social workers, they lea pt ahead important to me. jobs in care, social workers, they leapt ahead of drivers, who are typically the most lucky. at this one was a phone call taken by a radio host, ian lee, who helped a man. it is a talk radio, and the guy was on the phone and he has taken an overdose and he called him up and says i am taking my life and ian keeps talking to him for half an hour and ian keeps talking to him for halfan hourand and ian keeps talking to him for half an hour and gets as much information as possible, lets 999, and they get him in time and save his life. isn't that nice? now he is back at home and they have

corresponded with each other. good news. lovely to see you. thank you very much. this is bbc breakfast and we will have the headlines in a couple of moments. hello, this is breakfast with louise minchin. here's a summary of this morning's main news. more than 40% of hospitals in england have raised parking fees over the past year. the figures came in response to freedom of information requests by the press association. some nhs trusts defended the higher charges, saying some or all of the money went back into patient care or maintaining car parks.