phil "the power" taylor has breezed into the quarterfinals of the pdc world championship with a 4-0 of keegan brown. the 16—time world champion is playing in his farewell event and made light work of the 2014 world youth champion, dispatching him with a 106 check out to the approval of the ally pally crowd. he will play either former champion gary anderson or steve west in the last eight. taylor avoided being on the wrong end of an upset, but the likes of peter wright and adrian lewis have already fallen and today fifth seed mensur suljovic of austria has been knocked out. suljovic was beaten four sets to nil by the world youth champion dmitri van den bergh from belgium in the last 16 — van den bergh was in brilliant form and suljovic hardly had an opportunity. and in the last eight van den bergh will face one of the sport's rising stars, england's rob cross. the bbc understands that a heavyweight unification fight between britain's anthonyjoshua and joseph parker is close to being confirmed. joshua is seeking to add parker's wbo crown to his wba and ibf titles . the main stumbling blo

he stunned the seeded mark webster 3—2, to reach round two of the pdc world championship at alexandraer to get to the alexandra palace, then a preliminary match yesterday, before defeating former world champion webster. the crowd loved it to say the least! he will now face former champion gary anderson. i think they should call him the comeback kid! reminder of our top story. the sprinterjustin gatlin who won world 100 metre gold in london in the summer is facing allegations of doping was up in athletics agent alleged that the sprinter is using performance enhancing drug while his coach told undercover reporters he could secure and administered banned substances. gatlin has denied all allegations of wrongdoing and has sacked his coach. that's all from sportsday. we'll have more throughout the evening. a man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for throwing acid into the crowd at a packed east london nightclub. 16 people were seriously injured. we can go to wood green crown court 110w we can go to wood green crown court now where the chief superintendent in the case simon laurens i

the world number two peter wright has been knocked out of darts‘ pdc world championship in the secondng talents, 26—year—old welshmanjamie lewis winning by four sets to one at ally pally. he hit 13 180s on the way. that's all from sportsday. coming up in a moment, it's the papers. hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me arejosie cox, business editor at the independent, and tom bergin, business correspondent for reuters. here for the long haul — the i reports thatjeremy corbyn says he's ready to fight an election at any time, and will wait until 2022 if the government survives for a full term. the times claims that the metropolitan police is failing to protect vulnerable children. the financial times reports that companies have made a record amount from floating on stock exchanges, mainly because of deals in the us and china. the daily express runs with a story about people seeing their pension funds whittled away by hidden charges. the telegraph leads with a warning that patients are going blind while waiting for cataract operat

a match—winning one. hey‘ve had chances before in this series and not taken them. of the pdc world championshipeight. world number two peter wright has been knocked out in the second round. he was well beaten by one the sport's emerging talents, 26—year—old welshmanjamie lewis winning by four sets to one at ally pally. he hit thirteen 180s on the way. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in sportsday at half past ten. for decades conservationists in africa have struggled to preserve the continent's elephant population, using variety of techniques and methods to prevent poaching. now, an organisation that manages national parks across nine african countries is using military tactics to try to deal with the poachers. one of their big success stories has been in chad, at the zakouma national park, where 90% of elephants were lost over four decades. when african parks took over, there were fewer than 500 left. our correspondent alastair leithead travelled to the remote region where the elephant population is finally recovering. they were the herd heading for extinction. but the elep

gary anderson is into the second round of darts pdc world championship.0s along the way at ally pally. there were also wins for robert thornton and the dutchmanjan dekker on day three. australia will start in a dominant position on day four when the third ashes test resumes in perth in just over three hours time. they're 549 for four in theirfirst innings, a lead of 146, with captain, steve smith, still there on 229 and mitchell marsh unbeaten on 181. england must avoid defeat if they're to keep the series alive. we have got two more days to play. we have got two more days to play. we have got two more days to play. we have to get stuck in and play exceptional over the two days. it is going to be tough. 0f exceptional over the two days. it is going to be tough. of course, it will be tough! we had opportunities in the last game, the previous game, so we in the last game, the previous game, so we have had opportunities, we just have not been good enough, or they have been better if the tough moments and have taken the games away from us. there are two days

ever match in professional darts tomorrow night as he made it through to the final of the pdc world championshipn the semifinals at ally pally. he won his first title back in 1990 but this is taylor's last event before retirement. but he'll have to beat rob cross, the man who pulled off a major shock in the other semifinal to knock out the reigning champion and world number one michael van gerwen. van gerwen missed six darts to win, so the match went to a deciding leg which cross won to claim a 6—5 victory. it's the first time cross has played at the pdc championship. it will be quite a final for rob cross tomorrow night against his hero, phil "the power" taylor. that's all the sport for now. moroney website. i'll have more for you in the next hour. if you are finalising your new year's eve if you are finalising your new yea r‘s eve plans if you are finalising your new year's eve plans and want to check out the weather forecast, look no further than this. the strong winds from storm dylan may have peaked in northern ireland earlier today but we still have a weather warning for parts of southern

phil ‘the power‘ taylor has breezed into the quarter—finals of the pdc world championship with a a—0 nt and made light work of the 201a world youth champion, dispatching him with a 106 check out to the approval of the ally pally crowd. he will play former champion gary anderson in the last eight. tayla avoided being on the wrong side of an upset. the fifth seed, from austria, he has been knocked out. he was beaten by the world youth champion from belgium. he was in brilliant form. he plays rock cross in the last eight. the bbc understands that a heavyweight unification fight between anthony joshua and joseph parker is close to being confirmed. joshua is seeking to add the wbo crown to his other titles. the main stumbling block until now has been how the revenue will be split. parker was demanding a0%, they comprise appears to have been reached and will see the new zealander take between 30% and 35%. and that is the sport for now. thank you very much. let us look at the front pages of the morning newspapers. the times reports that the best—paid family doctors can earn up to £700,000 a

he beat jamie lewis in the semifinals of the pdc world championship. other semifinal to knock out the reigning champion and world number one michael van gerwen. van gerwen missed six darts to win, and the 20th seed came back to win it in the deciding leg of the 11th set at gone midnight. it's the first time cross has played at the pdc championship. i was looking on, the match went on past midnight, i didn't stay up to watch it. phil taylor was his hero and he could spoil the fairy tale. twitter was going crazy! thank you,. thank you're watching breakfast from bbc news. it's 7:25. time now for a look at the newspapers. historian mike finn is here to tell us what's caught their eye. good morning. we will speak to you ina minute. good morning. we will speak to you in a minute. the sunday times front pages is about the security minister ben wallace, the comments we've been reporting on internet firms not doing enough to tackle terrorism. the mail on sunday ran a story about the plan for a special volunteer force to man isolated ports around the country. and

he beat jamie lewis in the semifinals of the pdc world championship. ifinal to knock out the reigning champion and world number one michael van gerwen. van gerwen missed six darts to win, and the match went to a deciding leg which cross won to claim a 6—5 victory. it's the first time he's played at the pdc championship. in fact the first time this year that he has been playing professionally, and he finds himself in the final against his hero, phil taylor, in what will be his final professional match. it is the fairy tale. it is the fairy tale. it might not be. it will be either way, i guess. thank you very much. happy new year, everyone. stay with us, the headlines the way. —— are on the way. hello, this is breakfast with rogerjohnson. now, a summary of this morning's main news. winds of up to 80mph and a series of rail strikes are threatening to cause disruption as the uk prepares to see in the new year. members of the rmt union are staging a 24—hour walk—out, which will affect passengers on crosscountry and south western railways. services from londo

phil ‘the power‘ taylor coasted into the quarterfinals of the pdc world championship with a 4—0 victoryght work of the 2014 world youth champion, dispatching him with a 106 check—out to the approval of the ally pally crowd. he will play former champion gary anderson in the last eight. i will have more sport in the next hour. thank you. more on the fire that killed at least 12 people in an apartment building in the bronx in new york. we can speak to a cbs correspondent who is in the bronx this morning. thank you for being with us. what is the latest on this deadly fire? fire marshals are trying to figure out what caused the blaze which started after seven last night in the bronx. just a short walk from the famous bronx zoo. it started on the first floor and quickly spread. firefighters responded within three minutes. 12 people were killed, four critically injured. among the dead, three children and an infant. the cause is not known. typically in new york city, in cold weather months, the fire department goes to a great outreach effort to educate new yorkers about not trying to stay warm

ever match in professional darts tomorrow night as he made it through to the final of the pdc world championshipy pally. he won his first title back in 1990 but this is taylor's last event before retirement. but he'll have to beat rob cross, the man who pulled off a major shock in the other semifinal to knock out the reigning champion and world number one michael van gerwen. van gerwen missed six darts to win, but in one of the greatest matches ever seen at ally pally, the 20th seed came back to win it in the deciding leg of the 11th set at gone midnight. it's the first time cross has played at the pdc championship. a p pa re ntly apparently it is his first year in professional darts. nerves of steel! phil is his hero and he is meeting him in the final, not only the final... he could spoil the fairytale ending, couldn't he? not only the final but it is still taylor's last... it is the fairytale final. fantastic. 0ne taylor's last... it is the fairytale final. fantastic. one to watch. kat, thank you. it is 6:26 am. if you have been watching over the festive period, you will know that we have been

phil taylor's last ever pdc world darts championship. iring from a brilliant career spanning before retiring from a brilliant career spanning three decades. the power was tested in his first—round match against fellow englishman chris dobey but he went through three sets to one at alexandra palace. that is all for tonight, from all of us, good night. hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are kevin schofield, editor of politicshome and rachel shabi, journalist and broadcaster. lets give you a flavour of the papers as a whole. lets give you a flavour of the papers as a whole. the i leads on brexit, with trade talks due to take place in weeks, as negotiations move onto the second phase. the ft reports on a u—turn by ryanair, reversing a decision to recognise pilot unions for the first time, in the hope of avoiding strikes over christmas. the times reports on the fallout of a collapsed rape trial, after police failed to disclose evidence — it says some senior barristers suggest it's j

when he woke up — last week's uk championship winner came through by four frames to three against china's hang li to progress to the last 16. this year's pdc world london's alexandra palace tonight, with defending champion michael van gerwen on top form. ‘mighty mike' tookjust over half an hour to beat fellow dutchman christian kist. the world number one won by three sets to one. after a career that's spanned 30 years and after winning 16 world titles phil the power taylor will finally hang up his darts at the end of the championships. taylor's farewell is one of the stories which makes the 25th edition of the event one of the most intriguing yet. and the man himself admits it's a very different game to the one he started playing all those years ago. it's different, there's a lot more money in it, the crowds are more... busier. they pay their money, you've got to play well. players have changed. they are younger now than they used to be. when i started most we re they used to be. when i started most were middle—aged, now they are 16, 17, 18. it's very difficult to compete with these people. they are very cocky. then again you've got to be like t

phil taylor trying to get to the semifinals of the pdc world darts championship.er in melbourne, with the final day's play due to get under way in the next twenty minutes in the fourth ashes test. rain played a big part on day four. australia will resume on 103—2 in their second innings, trailing england by 61 runs. patrick gearey is in melbourne for us. good morning to you. as good as it is to see you, i'm sure lots of viewers are looking above your head at the sky. what's the forecast? as you can probably tell, it is a beautiful morning, pleased to report in melbourne. 40% chance of a shower sometime in the afternoon. nothing like the rain we had on day four which took the players off after three o'clock when showers turned into storms alarming england no further progress in the australian second innings. they managed to take two wickets, cameron bancroft and khawaja. the key batsmen are in, david vaughan and steve smith. that will be the key factor in winning the test match. the fact they have been taken off early, no chance of australia win the match. no chanc

five—time champion raymond van barneveld is into the second round of the pdc world darts championshipcklayer, and rising english star, richard north 3—0 at alexandra palace. north only turned professional at the beginning of the year, but there was to be no fairytale victory tonight. and the former wimbledon champion marion bartoli is making a return to the court. she says she's coming out of retirement and will return to the women's tour next year. bartoli, who is now 33, quit tennis four years ago, less than six weeks after winning her one and only grand slam title at the all england club, citing ongoing injury problems. the french woman, who reached a career—high world ranking of seventh intends to make her comeback at the miami open in march. that's all from sportsday. coming up in a moment, the papers. hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the the papers will be bringing us tomorrow. with me are the political commentator lance price and the public affairs consultant alex deane. tomorrow's front pages. starting with. .. the metro leads with the sentencing of acid attacker ar

another sensational performance from the qualifier, jamie lewis, at the pdc world darts championshipsinals after whitewashing darren webster 5—0. he had already beaten second seed peter wright to get to the quarterfinals and will now face either phil taylor or gary anderson in the last four. that's all from sportsday. there'll be more sport here on bbc news throughout the evening. goodbye for now. hello. it has been an improving picture for many of us this afternoon, plenty of sunshine round, and a few showers as well. this evening and overnight the next batch of rain pushes up from the south—west, turning to snort of the high ground of wales and certainly in northern ireland, but that will be transient, —— turning to snow over the high ground. further south, much milder temperatures, 5—7dc. this mild air across england and wales on saturday, and through sunday, where you can see the blue colours for scotland and northern ireland where it will tend to remain chilly. saturday, when the for all especially across the south and west, snow falling over the higher ground in scotland, and fu

at the pdc world darts championships, 16—time world champion phil the power taylor is back at the ochestmas morning can mean an early start in many households. but what about rising at 5am to start work in the dark, in freezing weather, for a wage which might not reach £8 an hour? that's what thousands of people will be doing on monday and britain's horse racing industry depends on them. but respect for the stable groom, has become a major issue in british racing in 2017, asjoe wilson reports. 6am, cotswold morning, creeping daylight in the yard reveals the unsung human heroes of christmas sport. for thousands of grooms like jacob and lily, christmas day will always be another working day. start off anywhere between 5:00 and 6:30. i muck out five horses. they don't know it's christmas time or anything like that, they still expect their food. we ride them out, and put christmas hats on and stuff. i don't know if they know, but they might enjoy it! obviously, yeah, we love the animals, and myself and lily, we obviously have a goal of eventually one day riding. my dream would be to be a p

gary anderson is into the second round of darts pdc world championship. round campaigns. with the winter olympics on the horizon, some of britain's athletes are continuing their preparations across europe. andrew musgrave took bronze in the 15 kilometre freestyle at the cross country world cup in italy. while britain's women's bobsleigh team finished 10th in the latest race in austria. the team have done well to even make it to these race meetings though having secured most of their funding this year through crowdfunding appeals. britain's olympic and world champion adam peaty has won his fair share of medals in his time, and it would appear he's got so many he's happy to give a few away.. after winning gold in the 100 metre breaststroke at the european short course championships. he took his gold medal over to a very lucky young girl in the crowd. this event's being held in copenhagen and clearly peaty has made one spectator very happy indeed. what will she do with it? wrap it up and put it under the tree? looking at those pictures, when was the last tim

phil ‘the power‘ taylor is into the quarter—finals of the pdc world championship after beating keeganting to leave on a high. that is all the sport now. a growing number of rural communities are relying on volunteers to keep certain services going. cuts in funding means that facilities that were traditionally run either by local authorities or private individuals are facing the prospect of disappearing. that means local people are offering to operate them unpaid. danny savage has visited one town in north yorkshire, where it‘s becoming more and more noticeable. deepin deep in the north yorkshire countryside as the market town of helmsley. a bus community. but look a bit closer and you will find a trend here for a reliance on volunteers. every local business has a different tree and they do it in the different theme. you will find it illustrated in the paris —— the parish church. but you're more trees? 30 or more trees. dozens of local businesses have offered to decorate it. what we got here, this is wonderful with the antiques roadshow, all the different experts, from bondgate antique

world number one, michael van gerwen, is through to the quarter—finals of the pdc world championship.itle. he'll face fellow dutchman raymond van barneveld in the last eight. but the world number two has been knocked out. peter "sna kebite" wright was well beaten by one of the sport's emerging talents. 26—year—old, welshman jamie, lewis winning by four sets to one at ally pally. what great hair! mine? no, the punk, the purple and green spikes! have you ever been? you have to go! let's do it. you could get away with it, naga. we will see what the editor thinks. i have tried. they are having none of it. a bobby on the beat used to be a common sight on our streets but a new report claims almost half of us haven't seen one in the last year. the research, covering england and wales, was commissioned by her majesty's inspectorate of constabulary. we asked some people out shopping what they thought. we need to see more police officers on the beat actually walking around and not driving their cars. it makes you feel safe because you know there is more of a presence. it also makes you a bit mo

the 16—time champion phil taylor is through to the semi—finals of the pdc world darts championship afterthe chances of him bowing out as world champion have increased considerably with this 5—3 victory at alexandra palace. he'll face qualifier jamie lewis in the semi—finals. reigning champion michael van gerwen plays rob cross in the other semi. could be a good, nice swansong for phil taylor. he could be a good, nice swansong for philtaylor. he focus, isn't he? well, that starts. despite the madness, that crazy pub atmosphere behind him, they all somehow managed to do it. that is why they argue it isa to do it. that is why they argue it is a proper sport. he was saying la st is a proper sport. he was saying last week, the professionalism has almost gone too far. he said it is like walking into a doctor's surgery now, because everybody is so focused and determined. so much at stake, so despite all the madness behind... that is just professional sport these days. the stakes are so high, there is so much money in it, everybody has to be serious about it. got your darts name. john, everybody

championships three years ago, as part of the 400—metre relay team. he broke his pelvis in a motorbike crash injanuary and although he‘s returned to training, he hasn‘t competed since. at the pdc worlde through a tricky encounter with 13th seed michael smith this afternoon. keegan brown and steve west are also through. there was a christmas feel to today‘s racing at ascot, with nicky henderson trained golden present winning the big race of the day. nico de boinville rode home the 17—to—two winner of the silver cup hanidcap chase, edging out the paul nicholls—trained frodon in the closing stages. now, christmas morning can mean an early start in many households. but what about rising at 5am to start work in the dark, in freezing weather, for a wage which might not reach £8 an hour? that‘s what thousands of people will be doing on monday and britain‘s horse racing industry depends on them. but respect for the stable groom, has become a major issue in british racing in 2017, asjoe wilson reports. 6am, cotswold morning, creeping daylight in the yard reveals the unsung human heroes of christmas sport. for thousands of grooms like jacob and lily, christmas day will always be another worki

phil taylor is playing his last pdc world darts championship, before retiring — and he got off to a winninggoing for a 17th world title. he beat chris dobey 3—1. can you find out all the latest on the darts, the snooker by going to the darts, the snooker by going to the bbc sport website there. bbc.co.uk/sport. i‘ll the bbc sport website there. bbc. co. uk/sport. i‘ll have the bbc sport website there. bbc.co.uk/sport. i‘ll have more for you, perhaps more woes of england as well, and hear from you, perhaps more woes of england as well, and hearfrom the you, perhaps more woes of england as well, and hear from the team you, perhaps more woes of england as well, and hearfrom the team in you, perhaps more woes of england as well, and hear from the team in the next hour. mike, thank you so much. 0fficials mike, thank you so much. officials in california say the biggest of the wildfires, which has driven tens of thousands from their homes, cover nearly 400 square miles. 0ur correspondent sent us this report from filimore. 12 days on and still it burns. more than 8,000 men and women are now battlin

phil "the power" taylor is into the third round of the pdc world darts championship at alexandra palacestin pipe four sets to nil. this will be the 16 time world champion‘s last appearance on the oche. he's retiring after the tournament. it would be typical of him to sign off with a win, wouldn't it? and finally, do you ever feel like you're seeing double? here's the moment roy hodgson‘s lookalike met crystal palace manager roy hodgson. the real roy was introduced to the swansea steward who looks incredibly like the former england boss before yesterday's one all draw at the liberty stadium. roy hodgson looks a bit bemused. roy hodgson looks a bit bemusedlj have roy hodgson looks a bit bemused.” have been told i look or sound like gary lineker. i'm not so sure about that. i would like to have his career 01’ that. i would like to have his career or his backbones. you just keep being humble. dog walkers and the parents of crying children might not be the first people who come to mind when you think of so—called asbos. but some councils are being criticised for unfairly targeting such group

phil "the power" taylor is into the third round of the pdc world darts championship at alexandra palacee the 16—time world champion‘s last appearance on the oche. he's retiring after the tournament. in the aviva premiership yesterday, there were wins for wasps, sale and exeter. while harlequins narrowly lost 11—10 away at newcastle. and there's no sitting back and relaxing for the quins players over the christmas break. the end of the year is one of the busiest times for the team who will be back training on boxing day ahead of their next game with northampton at twickenham stadium on saturday. sara orchard went to find out about a quins christmas. while most of us indulge, harlequins do this. they play a special home match at twickenham in front of 80,000 fans and this year it is against northampton saints, who have just sacked their director of rugby, jim mallinder. in times of strife, that they have probably found themselves in, the group rallies together a bit more so obviously, sad news to seejim leaving the club. i'm sure the players will be up club. i'm sure the players will be u

and finally, phil ‘the power‘ taylor has breezed through to the third round of the pdc world darts championshipill be the 16—time world champion‘s last appearance on the 0che as he retires after the tournament. that's all the sport for now. from me, have a good night. back to you. we'll have a full paper review at half—past, but let's have a quick look at some of tomorrow's front pages. the observer reports that children from poorfamilies are more likely to need emergency treatment for conditions like asthma and diabetes compared to their wealthier counterparts. the sunday times says that theresa may will abandon a manifesto pledge to overturn the ban on fox hunting in the new year. the mail on sunday details how the british army is spending millions of pounds of taxpayers' money to scrap its be the best motto because of fears it's elitist. britain's christmas food and drink exports are at all—time high, according to the sunday express, with brexit a main catalyst, the paper says. staying with brexit, the sunday telegraph reports how borisjohnson and michael gove have criticised hmrc for placin

phil ‘the power‘ taylor is into the third round of the pdc world darts championship at alexandra palaceament. and finally, do you ever feel like you are seeing double? here is the moment roy hodgson's lookalike met crystal palace manager roy hodgson. the real roy was introduced to the swansea steward, who looks incredibly like the former england boss, before yesterday's 1—1 draw at the liberty stadium. probably a slightly different accent, i would probably a slightly different accent, iwould imagine.|j probably a slightly different accent, iwould imagine. i have never seen you and accent, iwould imagine. i have never seen you and phil mitchell in the same room. or you and george clooney! stay with us. headlines coming up. hello. this is breakfast with rogerjohnson. good morning, here's a summary of today's main stories from bbc news. the president of the philippines is to visit victims of a tropical storm that's claimed almost 200 lives. a relief operation is under way following flash flooding and mudslides. a state of emergency has been declared in several locations across the region,

he‘s reached the semifinals of the pdc world championship after beating world number three seed gary back and make a review of what happened in the year, we have seen politics, news, sport, weather. we had science earlier. have our own special way of looking back at the year through the eyes of mike bushell. he has sampled 400 different sporting activities for breakfast, and this year has been particularly busy, from water polo to motocross to toe wrestling to even driving a red sofa. here are some of his best bits from 2017. i don‘t no if i caught a wrestling. from wide red sofa to another. all sorts of things you can practice. do you do this in your garage? i am on my feet! i am on my feet! don‘t forget to smile! are you 0k? are you ok? we have liftoff! i would like to think all good habits will rub off on you. sorry! don‘t worry. at the moment it seems like an ordinary six a side indoor game. all is that changes with a flick of a switch. iamona i am on a wooden plank. 100 feet in the air. take it easy! i think that went badly. yeah. so he started on a sofa but he ended ona bed. so

the pdc world darts championship began at london‘s alexandra palace last night, but this evening, 16—f an astonishing career that‘s resulted in 218 titles. 0ur reporter tim hague has been to meet him. when phil the power taylor won his first world title, margaret thatcher was the prime minister. we have a new era in the sport of darts! and it has been a long new era, as a further 15 world titles were won by taylor! after 28 yea rs further 15 world titles were won by taylor! after 28 years at the top he is calling it a day after the current world championship. i'm really looking forward to it and i am looking forward to finishing now. it's the right time for me. people keep saying you will be in tears. no, nota keep saying you will be in tears. no, not a chance. i've had a good career no, not a chance. i've had a good careerand i've no, not a chance. i've had a good career and i've really enjoyed it. can you win it this year? can i win it? yeah, of course i can. whoever plays me is going to have a rough time. it is fair to say that phil the power taylor has reenergised the sport of dar

there are plenty of characters that grace the stage at darts' pdc world championship, but one personalk—ons going viral in previous years. these were his latest moves for the ally pally crowd but it didn't help him to victory in his first round match against darren webster. and very intricate. you know what? you didn't make any difference to his darts because he was beaten by darren webster. so we won't be seeing any more of that. it was a cross between blow, body popping and lots of things. keeps us entertained. —— though. for many of us today marks the start of the christmas break, meaning millions will take to the roads and railways as the great christmas getaway begins. this evening is expected to be the busiest day period for holiday travel. 0ur reporter kathryn stanczyszyn is keeping an eye on the roads from the rac‘s headquarters in walsall. what is the situation today? they are gearing up for a busy day here at the nerve centre of the rac, the place where they manage all their patrols. this is the eastern team, knights team who swapped quite soon. but the eastern team has bee

the shocks continue at the pdc world darts championship at london's alexandra palace.a has been knocked out. suljovic was beaten four sets to nil by the world youth champion dmitri van den bergh from belgium in the last 16 — van den bergh was in brilliant form and suljovic hardly had an opportunity. and in the last eight, van den bergh will face one of the sport's rising stars, england's rob cross. the 20th seed beat scot john henderson 4 sets to one this afternoon. rafael nadal‘s ongoing knee injury has forced him to pull out of the brisbane international, the traditional warm up event for the australian open. roger federer does not have any injury worries and has been enjoying sun, sand and sea in melbourne.

the defending champion, michael van gerwen is in frightening form, at the pdc darts world championshipmike' would crumble, he was disappointed, as van gerwen won 4—0 to reach the third round. if you are wondering about that name, he was known as jammy dodger but it had to change the now he is the lethal biscuit. i don't do why he is lethal. 16—times champion phil ‘the power‘ taylor plays tonight — this is his last championship before he retires — and so to look back on his record—breaking career, hejoined me here in salford with a few of his celebrity friends as he prepared for his last shot at the world title, phil taylor came to our studios in salford for some practice on the 0chey with some of his most famous friends and fans. like robbie williams‘ dad, pete, who's used to the lights, often appearing on stage with his rockstar son. # i‘m walking along, singing a song, walking in a taylor wonderland...# pete was the first to accept phil‘s three dart challenge. butjust as he was about to sing, because he‘s winning, phil showed us why he has won 16 world titles. oh, yeah! i‘m a big dar

the shocks continue at the pdc world darts championship at london's alexandra palace.ic of austria has been knocked out suljovic was beaten four sets to nil by the world youth champion dmitri van den bergh from belgium in the last 16 — van den bergh was in brilliant form and suljovic hardly had an opportunity. and in the last eight van den bergh will face one of the sport's rising stars, england's rob cross. the 20th seed beat scot john henderson a sets to one this afternoon rafael nadal‘s ongoing knee injury has forced him to pull out of the brisbane international, the traditional warm up event for the australian open. the spaniard hasn't played since withdrawing from the world tour finals in london last month and pulled out of an exhibition event this weekend. however nadal is still hoping to be fit in time to play at the australian open. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. that's bbc.co.uk/sport and we'll have more for you in sportsday at 7.30. the increasing pressure on teenage boys and men in their 20s to

phil taylor is playing his last pdc world darts championship before retiring, and he got off to a winningdecades, and he is going for a 17th world title. he beat chris dobey 3—1. the legendary jump jockey sir ap mccoy came out of retirement last night to take on flat racing superstar frankie dettori in a charity event. the pair led teams in a relay show—jumping competition at the london international horse show, at olympia. they were raising money for the injured jockeys fund, and it was mccoys team who felt more at home. they beat dettori's flat racers over the jumps. a lot of rivalry, and it was the jumpers who came out on top. now, all week on breakfast, we are looking at the power of singing, and this morning we are considering its impact in sport. music was part of the first olympics in ancient greece, but over the last century it has been the welsh leading the tune, as they harmonise sport and music. i have been out with one of the choirs chosen to motivate the wales rugby team in their autumn international against new zealand. # you fill up my senses like a night in the forest. thi

another sensational performance from the qualifier, jamie lewis, at the pdc world darts championships after whitewashing darren webster 5—0. he had already beaten second seed peter wright to get to the quarterfinals and will now face either phil taylor or gary anderson in the last four. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. the head of the nhs says he is considering the continuing deployment of mobile alcohol recovery units or drunk tank to reduce admissions to a&e. 70% of admissions on friday and saturday nights are linked to excessive drinking. joining me now is professor simon moore from cardiff university, who is carrying out a study into the impact of different types of drunk tanks. do you think these specialised vehicles are really worth deploying to try to ease the pressure on a&e departments? i think they are a very good idea. the simple idea is, if you can take people who have drunk too much out of the unscheduled care system, it will free up resources for other patients. theirjourney through the health—care system will improve. so it is a goo

phil taylor is playing his last pdc world darts championship before retiring.d this morning, we‘re considering its impact in sport. it‘s been the welsh leading the tune as they harmonise sport and music. i‘ve been out with one of the choirs chosen to motivate the wales team in their recent match against new zealand. # you fill up my senses like a night in the forest... this is where it all begins, a lone voice on match day. byron young has been singing on his country since 1972. his one voice soon becomes part of many on the bus to the stadium, and then has the power of 150, when several hours before kick—off, his choirjoins the others chosen from around wales in the tunnel for a dress rehearsal. everybody in sync, everybody‘s got a voice, and that‘s the way they do it. it happens in football. you see it at liverpool, in the kop, the national anthems, you see people crying because of the opportunity to sing out what you‘re feeling inside. singing in sport has come such a long way since it was originally given a voice in the modern era by welshman called tom wil

five—time champion raymond van barneveld is into the second round of the pdc world darts championshiprion bartoli has announced her return to tennis. she retired straight after winning wimbledon four years ago but says she'll be back for the miami open in march. imean, i mean, that is my favourite story of the morning. favourite story of the week i think, marion bartoli, she won wimbledon and everyone said this is brilliant, maybe she will win more grand slams. she said she would stop there and i can't do any better, but four years later she wa nts to better, but four years later she wants to carry on. whenever we have spoken to her she seems so lovely. such a smiley, bubbly, bonkers person. so lovely! the year of the comeback in women's tennis! who else? serena williams. of course arena is back! thank you! we will look at the papers in a moment but first, carol with the weather. who did you upset to be put on that rainy ruth? i was beginning to wonder that myself! it is fairly drizzly here. this morning it was quite mild. there we re morning it was quite mild. there were one or two e

career that's spanned 30 years and after winning 16 world titles phil the power taylor will finally hang up his darts at the end of the pdc championships london. taylor's farewell is one of the stories which makes the 25th edition of the event one of the most intriguing yet. and the man himself admits it's a very different game to the one he started playing all those years ago. i'm really looking forward to it and i'm looking it's different, it's a lot more money, the crowds pay their money, you have to play well. the players area you have to play well. the players are a lot younger than they used to be. when i started most of them were middle—aged, now there are 16 or 17 and it's difficult to compete with these people. the aggressive and cocky but you have to be cocky and confident but it's enough for me 110w. confident but it's enough for me now. how did you stay at the top for so now. how did you stay at the top for so long? for me it was dedication. i didn't go to nightclubs, i stayed m, didn't go to nightclubs, i stayed in, had a pretty boring life but it paid off for me. it has been lucrative for me but i wanted to win titles and

pdc world darts xavi chip after beating gary anderson. it is his farewell tour. he will face the qualifier, jenny lewis in the semifinals. —— championship world titles after beating compatriot raymond van barneveld in a classic quarter—final. finishing 5 set to 4. five sets to four it ended and the dutchman will take on 20th seed rob cross next. there was one premiership rugby match this evening, and wasps won 31—25 away at bath. the visitors made a great start and were 19—0 up, but this score from gaby lovobalavu proved the difference in the end. wasps edging a bonus—point win to move ahead of saracens into second in the premiership. cardiff city slipped to a third consecutive defeat, losing 1—0 at home to preston in the championship. tom clarke got a last minute winner in a tight contest. preston are unbeaten in nine games and move to withn a point of the play—offs. millwall beat qpr 1—0 in the night's other game. jurgen klopp says it was not nice paying £75 million virgil van dijk, but there was little choice, he says. dutchman will become the world ‘s most expensive defender in a tra nsfer ‘s most expensive defender in a transfer wi

the pdc world darts championship got under way at london's alexandra palace last night, with defendingl be doing his best to beat him to the title, he begins what will be the last world championship of his career tonight. really looking forward to it and i am looking forward to finishing now. it is the right time for me. it's changed, the game is not the same any more. the schedule is too busy. to qualify, literally, now, it is like the snooker. you go from one to limitand like the snooker. you go from one to limit and the next. you are probably talking seven days a week and i can't do that at my age. ronnie 0'sullivan found a novel way to recharge at the scottish 0pen snooker yesterday. he took power naps during his match against china's hang li. he said he was "totally out for the count" at times. it did the trick — he won that match and another in the evening to reach the quarter—finals. he'll playjohn higgins tonight. that's take some confidence to fall asleep like that. i should have a nap in between sport stories. he is very relaxed in general at the moment. a relaxed attitude, h