irkutsk in central life for many sure. irkutsk in central life for ma ny atley sure.n brands, new buildings, smart cards, the middle class is growing, this far from moscow. this was the first of several regions to elect a communist governor. perhaps it is no surprise that communist politicians are beating pro— vladimir putin once in places like this. places where concerns about prices, taxes, and that ten —— pension reform are on the rise. it feels like russia's of matters now squeezing the people for funds and, as a result, even president putin's approval rating, which was once skyhigh, is starting to slide. vladimir putin's greater russia torque chimes with a nation that felt strong again, and stable. in the freezing heart of siberia the cracks in that message are starting to show. sarah rainsford, bbc news, irkutsk. the italian architect, renzo piano, has agreed to oversee construction of a new motorway bridge in the italian city of genoa, to replace the one that collapsed so catastrophically in august, killing 43 people. andy beatt reports. london has the shard, p

sarah rainsford, bbc news, irkutsk.d the worse but said it was miracle that she survived. lets take a look. new year's eve is fast approaching and one of the biggest celebrations takes place in new york where they've been rehearsing. confetti blew across the crowds in times square, but it was just a practice run for the big bash itself — and the confetti went everywhere. let's hope the strong winds subside before the real thing! now the weather with sarah keith—lucas. we have had some fairly quiet weather over the past few days. hello. we've had some fairly quiet weather over recent days, with high pressure mostly in charge. has been a little bit wet and windy across some northern parts of the uk, but this picture was taken on saturday afternoon by one of our weather watchers in sterling. and i think as we head through the next couple of days, the last few days of 2018, that mostly dry theme will continue. fairly cloudy, certainly mild. there will be a bit of rain, mostly across the northern half of the uk, particularly

in his known as the maniac of irkutsk. one of his many crimes. he brought to women to the spot in the 1990s, where he started his killing spree. he targeted women at night. the former police officer than axe out what it did next. he claims to be a cleanser, saying he was purging the city of women he saw as immoral. another 50 six killings. behind bars, he confessed to dozens more after being found guilty of 22. he covered his tracks well. he even helped investigate his crimes. translation: he was calm during the trial. he only got upset when he lost his stature is as police officer. witnesses describe mikhail popkov is a mad with an irresistible urge to kill. this latest conviction makes in the worst in russia. never showing any remorse. the american tyre company, goodyear, has become the latest multinational to pull outof venezuela, blaming dire economic conditions and the impact of us sanctions. our reporter kim gittleson has more ten thai years, that is what over 1000 goodyear workers will get as pa rt 1000 goodyear wor

sarah rainsford, bbc news, irkutsk.s in bbc sitcom terry and june and cult favourite absolutely fabulous — has died aged 93. she was a regular fixture on tv and radio for six decades, starring in carry on films, hancock's half hour, and even friends. at 92, she was made a dame. her agent said she died peacefully on friday night. this is bbc world news today. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come: beaten to it byjust two days... an army officer becomes the first briton — and the second person ever to trek unaided across antarctica. the most ambitious financial and political change ever attempted with the introduction of the euro. tomorrow in holland we are going to use money we picked up in belgium today and then we'll be in france and again, it'll be the same money. it's just got to be the way to go. george harrison, the former beatle, is recovering in hospital after being stabbed in his 0xfordshire home. a 33—year—old man from liverpool is being interviewed by police on suspicion of attempted murder. i think it

sarah rainsford, bbc news, irkutsk.memorating the d—day landings in france 75 years ago showed the wrong image. the design in fact showed us troops landing in what was dutch new guinea, today's indonesia, thousands of kilometres from france. the stamp was supposed to show the normandy landings and was due to be released as part of a best of british collection. a small spanish town has once again become the scene of a giant food fight, part of an annual celebration that dates back to roman times when social roles were reversed for a day. kathryn armstrong has more. all geared up and ready for battle. these men might look like extras on the set of a film but they are about to take part in an important tradition stretching back hundreds of years. and as far as traditions go, this is one of the messier ones. the battle of els enfarinats takes place every year in the small town of ibi in spain's alicante region as part of a religious festival. the main weapons of choice, flour, eggs and fire extinguishers. during the mock sk

sarah rainsford, bbc news, irkutsk.n conflict resolution to deal with football fans using its services. the scheme has been trialled since the start of the season, and is now being rolled out on a more permanent basis. the company says it chose pink because it's known to have a calming effect on crowds. royal mail has apologised after a stamp design it planned to issue, commemorating the d—day landings in france 75 years ago, showed the wrong image. the design in fact showed us troops landing in what was dutch new guinea, today's indonesia, thousands of kilometres from france. the stamp was supposed to show the normandy landings and was due to be released as part of a best of british collection. could release it as a best of dutch new guinea collection. time for a look at the weather with helen willetts. hello, it's brightening up from the north behind the weather front that has brought drizzle through the morning. behind the weather front, it looks like mostly dry weather will prevail, notjust today but indeed for much

sarah rainsford, bbc news, irkutsk.k solo unaided across antarctica. captain lou rudd finished his mammoth 925—mile journey yesterday after 56 days. he's only the second person in history to complete the expedition without any assistance. he undertook the challenge in memory of fellow explorer and close friend henry worsley, who died from exhaustion just 30 miles short of completing the record solo crossing in 2016. captain lou rudd joins us live on the phone from antarctica now. thank you very much for being with us on thank you very much for being with us on bbc news. first of all, congratulations. were you expecting to be able to do it in 56 days? good morning. no, iwasn't to be able to do it in 56 days? good morning. no, i wasn't at all. i've actually managed to complete it quite a bit faster than i expected. i set off with 75 days of food and equipment for the crossing, but managed to make it across in 56, so i'm elated. what was the hardest part? the early phase, actually. the beginning of the journey. part? the e

two years ago, 78 people died in irkutsk, poisoned by bootleg alcohol.ys, he'd rather not share. in central irkutsk, life for many actually looks pretty good these days, with western brands, new buildings, smart cars, the middle class has clearly grown, even this far from moscow. but this was the first of several regions to elect a communist governor. perhaps it's no surprise that communist politicians are beating pro—putin ones in places like this. places where concerns about prices, taxes, and, of course, that pension reform are on the rise. it feels like russia's government is now squeezing the people for funds and, as a result, even president putin's approval rating, that was once sky—high, is starting to slide. vladimir putin's great russia talk chimed with a nation that felt strong again and stable. in the freezing heart of siberia, the cracks in that message are starting to show. sarah rainsford, bbc news, irkutsk. breaking news to bring you about santander uk plc. we are hearing that it has been fined a huge amount for failings that it has been f

and she is not the only minor in irkutsk. hub of the conditions are idealfor mining bitcoins. there is a hydroelectric plant just idealfor mining bitcoins. there is a hydroelectric plantjust up the river here and there is the temperature itself, it can drop to -40 temperature itself, it can drop to —40 year and the depth of winter, perfect for all of those mining machines. that is why when yuri's karaoke bar was struggling, his family got into the currency mining ina big family got into the currency mining in a big way. they are cryptocurrency pioneers here, that includes yuri's mamma, valeria. for this business, you do not have to be a great specialist because it is an easy system. you only need computers, electricity and the internet. valeria's miner is here at the family farm. there are gaps in the family farm. there are gaps in the vacuum vole where clients and removed their machines when the value of bitcoins crashed, but valeria has not abandoned her dream. i want the money i have earned myself and i want a lot of money

mikhail popkov was found guilty of murdering another 56 women near irkutsk, in addition to the 22 killingshas already been jailed for. crossrail, currently britain's biggest engineering project, will need up to an extra £2 billion before it is finished, and its completion date is unlikely to meet a new deadline of august next year. the project will provide a new rail line running east—west through the heart of london. our transport correspondent tom burridge reports. it is a feat of british engineering — years to bore a tunnel underneath central london. but the new rail line, east to west, could cost up to £2 billion extra. the whole project was supposed to come in at around £15 billion. the chairman, sir terry morgan, forced out last week, and while trains sit idle, there is disagreement over when london's mayor knew the project was delayed. we've still got to fit out all the stations, we've still got to complete the tunnels, we've still got to do the testing, both static and dynamic. and while it's incredibly frustrating, which is why i've not hidden my anger and frustration since i was

tieing some of these issues together, this is a report from sarah rainsford in irkutsk.isa five time zones from my scale, this is a sprawling siberian city of harsh realities. where the number of people in poverty has been climbing for five years. people in poverty has been climbing forfive years. he people in poverty has been climbing for five years. he does not earn much so he was looking forward to his pension at 60, not to retire but for extra cash. now the pension age has been raised. the russian president argued this day cannot go on funding the system with more people now living longer. translation: we had protest what they lead to nothing. nobody paid any attention at all. people cannot imagine what we needed them for. in this country such resources. but here, men still die on average two yea rs before here, men still die on average two years before the new retirement age. at this shelter, or those who have fallen on hard times, staff say almost all have a drinking problem. in central city, life looks pretty good these days with western brands, new buildings, sma

no surprise then that many religious observers of the night irkutsk court decision while improving the majority ruling were just as critical about the pledge's lack of religious content. his relegation of god to a nonreligious term just as they were opposed to that reading. father richard john neuhaus, respect and founder of the religious journal announced, quote, that most americans agree a reference to god is a reference to god. the government's brief notwithstanding. have we come to the point he asks when references to god in public are permissible because nobody really believes what they say. the phrase under god recognized as the guidance of god international affairs he insisted. in other words coming approved of the decision to keep god in the pledge but he dislikes the argument that god was not really god. those for whom the post-1954 pledge as a political predominately patriotic purpose and those like justice reinhardt for whom it has an indisputably religious purpose are all correct. what the ninth circuit court of appeals did in 2010 was codified and legitimized the linkage o