ali fortescue, bbc news.as been recaptured in south west china. tao tao, who was bred artificially to increase china's population of pandas, has been brought back to the liziping nature reserve to monitor his physical condition. nichola carroll has the story. recaptured in the wild. one of china's most famous giant pandas has been found again. a rare glimpse of conservation effort to save the endangered species in the mountains of china. his tracker collar scanned and id checked, tao tao is found to be in good health, weighing in at 115 kilograms. translation: it is all quite good. we didn't find any external parasites. he is very clean and very pretty. there's not much abrasion on his teeth. he was born in captivity in 2010. but he was raised by his mother without human contact in the hope it would improve his chances of survival and improve his fighting skills. his good physical condition indicates he is living a healthy and independent life in the wild. tao tao will continue to be monitored. but there does

ali fortescue, bbc news.est mexico. it's part of a project to protect the endangered 0live ridley turtle, whose numbers have fallen sharply in recent years. andy beatt reports. on this secluded beach in concepcion, bamba, the time has come to take the plunge. but not for these locals, for hundreds of endangered ba by turtles. the release of the olive ridley hatchlings is the culmination of a conservation project that hopes to boost the chances of this troubled species. it's two turtles each, and all at once, the rite of passage begins, with a short trudge into the sea. translation: we have released 2300 turtles today. we always release them at night and the afternoon normally, so the birds and everything have gone. we've seen the number of animals is going down in the ocean. nets and gulls are always killing them. sometimes, four orfive turtles are killed daily. each summer, 0live ridley turtles land on wahaca's pacific beaches to lay their eggs. but populations have dwindled through poaching. the eggs and th

ali fortescue, bbc news. end of its time as uk city of culture. £32 million have been spent on a year—long programme of cultural events — with much of the money coming from local business. the aim was to change perceptions of the city, so there were visits from the turner prize, the royal ballet and katy perry, to name a few. our own entertainment correspondent colin paterson has also been a regular visitor — and he couldn't resist going back one last time. hull started its year as city of culture with a bang, a musical firework display on january the first. the crowd told me just how thrilled they were. honestly, you put some money into that, makes london look like noddy. the opening event, made in hull, turned buildings into giant screens, showing the history of the city. come on, come to hull. they were off. at least one cultural event took place every day, and now, at the end of the year, people don't want it to be over. i have lived in hull for 73 years. has there ever been a year like this? no, never. p

our reporter ali fortescue went along to meet them.to see our penpals and i am really excited. it is an unlikely friendship, but with just one mile and 80 years between them, jasmine and her school friends are finally making the trip up to barchester care home to meet their penpals for the very first time. are you jasmine? that is very nice, isn't it? that is lovely. have you got something to give, james? did you do these? we have been writing to the residents here sincejuly now, and the children have been loving receiving replies as well as writing about events that have happened in their lives. more than 400 letters have been sent between the school and the care home, but as well as offering the chance to hand over a christmas card, it is an opportunity for the children to show off their musical talents. #jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way... i thought we would just sing the carols, not really speak to them and then go home, but it wasn't like that. we got to speak to all the residents. there is a big age gap but it doesn

ali fortescue, bbc news. 0n meet the author rebecca jones meets bestselling american thriller writer about. his first book, absolute power, became a bestseller and it was turned into a film starring and directed by clint eastwood. david baldacci has gone on to write 30 novels which have sold more than 100 million copies around the world. his latest is called the fix and it is his third book about the detective amos decker. he witnesses a seemingly senseless and random murder outside the headquarters of the fbi in washington dc. david baldacci, iwould like to start, if i may, by rewinding the clock back to your childhood when your mother gave you a notebook in which to write stories. had you always wanted to be a writer? well, i was a big reader back then. i was probably seven or eight years old and when i was a kid, i'd didn't shut up. i would tell tall tales all the time, usually to get myself out of trouble with school officials and other parents and my mother came and bought me a journal and she said, honey, you know all the stuff you have been talking about, why don't you try wri

correspondence, the children have been able to put faces to the people behind the letters. 0ur reporter, ali fortescueears between them, jasmine and 80 years between them, jasmine and her school friends are finally making the trip up to barchester ca re making the trip up to barchester care homes to meet their penpals for the very first time. that is very nice, isn‘t it? that is lovely. the very first time. that is very nice, isn't it? that is lovely. have you got something to give, james? we have been writing to the residence here sincejuly now, and the children have been loving receiving replies as well as writing about events which have happened in their lives. more than 400 letters have been sent between the school and the care home, but apart from the chance to hand over a christmas card, it is an opportunity for the children to show off their musical talents. #jingle bells, talents. # jingle bells, jingle talents. #jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way it... we would just sing the carols, and truly speak to them and then go home, but it wasn't like that. we got to speak to all the resid