richard galpin, bbc news.rest, according to the public interest, according to the competition watchdog, which says allowing the company to go ahead with the deal would give the murdoch family too much influence over the public agenda. fox has been trying to buy the 61% of sky it does not currently own. our media editor joins us. what does this mean? the future of sky is unclear, the company will not exist, but who owns it will remain unclear. —— the company will exist. rupert murdoch, he bid for the 61% six or seven yea rs he bid for the 61% six or seven years ago and it was scuppered by the phone hacking scandal. now it has been stuck in regulatory framework. ofcom first said they we re framework. ofcom first said they were concerned about media plurality. the competition and markets authority has come to this conclusion, the murdochs are fit and proper to be broadcasters but giving them full control of sky and sky news, specifically, would give them too much influence over public debate. it is, frankly, weir

richard galpin, bbc news.re reports of a chlorine gas attack on a rebel—held area on the outskirts of damascus besieged by syrian government forces. residents of eastern ghouta reported smelling gas shortly after coming under attack. the area has been under sustained attack, with air strikes and ground attacks reportedly killing at least 85 civilians in recent weeks. for more on this i spoke to bbc middle east analyst alan johnston a little earlier. our colleagues in syria are getting these reports from early this morning, reports from eastern ghouta that there was a strong smell of chlorine hanging in the air after one of the attacks. people immediately had itchy eyes and problems breathing — classic symptoms of a gas attack. something like 50 people were affected but health workers said later that only a handful needed brief hospital treatment. only minor respiratory problems. a chlorine gas attack would be absolutely terrifying but the fact is that chlorine is not as dangerous nor harmful as other forms of

the bbc‘s richard galpin reports.ped—up military exercises staged jointly by the us and south korean armed forces were designed specifically to intimidate the leadership in pyongyang as tensions mounted over its nuclear weapons programme. but now, all this is to stop, at least until mid—march. that decision comes just days after the north korean leader, kim jong—un, announced he was willing to send a team to next months‘ winter olympics in south korea, and said he was open to the idea of high—level talks with the south, which have now been scheduled for next week. it seems the winter games which start on the 9th of february are creating a window during which tensions between all sides involved in this crisis could be lowered. it's also important for the games themselves not to be overshadowed by the fear of conflict on the korean peninsula. in another development this week designed to de—escalate the crisis, the two koreas have now reopened a telephone hotline in the demilitarized zone between the two countries. at th

richard galpin, bbc news.t a week of anti—austerity protests, tunisia is marking the anniversary of the revolution that sparked the arab spring in 2011. commemorating the overthrow of the old regime of president ben ali comes amidst social unrest over the past few days regarding tax rises and price hikes, some of which turned violent. from the capital tunis, mark lowen reports. there is a bittersweet mood as tunisians marked the seventh anniversary of their revolution, pride they brought in a democracy of a sort. but also frustration that the dreams in 2011 of a better life for all have faded. seven years on, from revolution until now, we think alongside with the tunisians themselves that politicians have done nothing. nine governments later, they had seen waves of social unrest, terror attacks, and a sharp drop in tourism. this week's protesting was sparked by austerity. around 800 people were arrested for protesting. the government has now announced a $70 million package of reforms to help poor families, hop

richard galpin, bbc news.y: there's been an explosion in the afghan capital, kabul, killing at least fifteen people. the interior ministry said a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device, but the target was unclear. the islamic state group has said it carried out the attack. the united states says it is suspending almost all security assistance to pakistan because it isn't doing enough to combat islamist militants groups. the state department said the payment freeze would remain in place until islamabad took action against the haqqani network and the afghan taliban. at least 14 people have died and more than 200 were injured after a train caught fire in south africa, following a collision with a truck. officials fear the death toll could rise. the accident happened near kroonstad city in free state province. the train had been travelling from port elizabeth tojohannesburg. in a moment, we'll be seeing the bad weather affecting parts of the us. first it's been very snowy in eastern canada as this moose disc

richard galpin reports.etween north and south korea, that atmosphere traditionally suspicious and hostile. but today something very different is afoot. a senior delegation of north korean officials heading to the south korean side for their first formal talks in two yea rs. their first formal talks in two years. the apparently warm greetings here are radical departures from the recent talk of war breaking out because of the north's rapid development of nuclear weapons. the leader of the north korean delegation said he had come in the hope that talks would be held in a sincere and faithful atmosphere. the korean people, he said, had high expectations. it is the winter olympics opening next month here in south korea which have provided the opportunity to reduce tensions in the region. and today north korea has confirmed the talks that it will send a team to the games. there is also a suggestion its athletes could enter the opening ceremony together with their south korean counterparts. in a further step to imp

richard galpin, bbc news.y lower the amount of sugar their children consume in snacks. public health england recommends children should consume a maximum of two low—calorie snacks a day. the advice is being given after it's emerged primary school children are consuming three times more sugar than the recommended limit, as our health correspondent, james gallagher, reports. half the sugar we eat and drink each year comes from snacks and sugary drinks. kids get through a mountain of sugary snacks each year, kate, ice cream, pop, juice, biscuits, sweets, chocolate —— cake. children need three times more sugar than official advice, just over half of it comes from snacking between meals. it is one reason more than a quarter of children have rotten teeth by the time they are five. this public health england campaign is warning snacking has got out of hand and it is increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer. we are very concerned about snacking. children have unhealthy diets, they are eating to

richard galpin reports. in the morning local time and suddenly the broadcast of this basketball match is interrupted. hooter. the us pacific command has detected a missile threat to hawaii. a missile may impact on land or sea within minutes. this is not a drill. if you are indoors, stay indoors. if you are outdoors, seek immediate shelter ina building. the chilling alert of what was apparently an imminent missile strike on hawaii was also sent out to everyone‘s mobile phones. when we got the alarm we were actually terrified, we were on the 36th floor of our hotel. and we didn‘t know what to do. i was just sleeping, my friend just woke me up. he says, hey, let's go, there's a bomb coming in hawaii. i didn't take it serious, but you know, i started running, eventually saw a place, a concrete building. people were just running on the street. but it turns out it was all a mistake. the us—pacific command confirming in a tweet there was no missile threat. this should not have happened. we are investigating the seq

richard galpin, bbc news.rent is the number of towns that are involved, all around the country, and the nature of the protests. what is the latest? in the past 2a hours, what we are hearing from the underground, the footage we are receiving through social media and other platforms and social media and other platforms and social media, in the past 2a hours, we have around 1a towns and cities, small towns like the one on the border with iraq, there have been unrest, and some of those small places, violent unrest, russia is between security forces and protesters. and in some areas, in a small town, people attacked the militia, some of the officers belonged to the ayatollah. so in fa ct, belonged to the ayatollah. so in fact, in small towns the people are more angry and the protests are attacking the bases of the security forces. you talk about anger, the regime is blaming foreign interests for making this spiral, as it has done. do the tweets we read from donald trump, which are in themselves quite angry, does th

our correspondent richard galpin has the latest.attended the scandal—ridden dinner continue. this is nadhim zahawi, minister for children and families. he says he left early because he felt uncomfortable and has condemned what he described as the horrific events reported by the financial times. and now the bbc has testimony that the alleged sexual harassment of women working as hostesses at the event last week was not something new. we spoke to a woman who worked at the event four years ago with her sister. we were made to line up in two lines heading onto the stage, and we walked out basically like pieces of meat, really, onto the stage. my sister met this older gentleman who had a daughter around her age, so she felt really safe with him but later in the evening after a few drinks, he grabbed herwaist and leaned in for a kiss. at that point, i witnessed it, went over and decided it was time to go. some of the men who say they were attending the charity event for the first time have also been speaking out. a leading businessman who

richard galpin, bbc news.onth compared with december 2016, helped by an unusually large rebate from the european union. it fell to £2.6 billion — the lowest net borrowing for any december since 2000. the uk received a £1.2 billion rebate from the eu due to a reduction in the bloc‘s budget and changes to contributions. doctors say the health and wellbeing of children in england is lagging behind that in scotland and wales. the royal college of paediatrics and child health says the government has failed to improve care in a number of "fundamental areas" such as by banning junk food advertising. the government insists it has "world—leading pla ns" in place for child health, as our health correspondent dominic hughes reports. being healthy when you are young makes a big difference to your chances of good health in later life. at an after—school gym session in manchester are sisters grace and mia. both of them enjoy the rewards a work—out gives them. fitter, confident. just happier with yourself, yeah. personally,

richard galpin reports. south korea, that atmosphere traditionally suspicious and hostile. but today something very different is afoot. a senior delegation of north korean officials heading to the south korean side for theirfirst formal talks in two years. the apparently warm greetings here are radical departures from the recent talk of war breaking out because of the north's rapid development of nuclear weapons. the leader of the north korean delegation said he had come in the hope that talks would be held in a sincere and faithful atmosphere. the korean people, he said, had high expectations. it is the winter olympics opening next month here in south korea which have provided the opportunity to reduce tensions in the region. and today north korea has confirmed the talks that it will send a team to the games. there is also a suggestion its athletes could enter the opening ceremony together with their south korean counterparts. in a further step to improve relations on the divided peninsula, the south korean

our correspondent richard galpin is here.e of that exchange in the house of commons. there certainly has been a lot of anger and there was a question tabled by labourmp and there was a question tabled by labour mp jess phillips and and there was a question tabled by labour mpjess phillips and it has come quickly. and the education minister has responded, saying that david mellor, not the former conservative politician, a different man, the chairof conservative politician, a different man, the chair of the presidents clu b man, the chair of the presidents club dinner is now stepping down as a nonexecutive member of the department of education. the minister said this was absolutely the right thing to do and as we were hearing in that report, the response from jess phillips has been very, the response has been very strong, saying that women were brought as bait for rich men and that she very much welcome the fact that david mellor was stepping down. apart from two children's hospitals which are sending back the donations, wpp, a

richard galpin reports.the russian military has been asserting itself on the world stage. playing a kieran, for example, in the syrian civil war. —— playing a key role. it has been spending heavily to develop sophisticated weapons, like missiles fired into syria from the caspian sea, a distance of almost 1000 miles. now, the head of the british army, general sir nick carter, is claiming russia's growing capability including in cyber warfare is eclipsing britain's armed forces, which are potentially facing further deep cuts. in a speech later today, is it better to say: —— he is expected to say. -- he is expected to say. if we go back to the planning round in 2012, when the army was reduced to 80,000, there was a promise made of an uplift to make sure that the army of 2020 was properly equipped and capable. and it seems to me that the government at the moment is threatening to reduce that. and i think that would be a big mistake. that fear of further budget cuts to the army and other services is probably what

richard galpin, bbc news.their work, checked where this leak was. repaired it. made sure everything is safe. that is what has taken so long. the area around charing cross was closed all morning from 2.00am this started. people turfed out of their beds from the hotel here. people tipped out of a nightclub and told to get back as a cordon was put in place. 1,500 people were evacuated in the early hours. this station being closed through rush—hour caused serious of problems for thousands of commuters this morning. 80,000 passengers come through here every day. now things are getting back to normal. the station reopened at about midday. there are a few delays expected into this afternoon. the train company warning that because trains weren't able to get in and follow the timetable earlier today there might be disruption into this afternoon. they say they are confident of getting things back on track by this evening's rush—hour so everything should be fine. dan johnson at charing cross. it's that time of year again

richard galpin has the latest.l—ridden dinner continue. this is nadhim zahawi, minister for children and families. he says he left early because he felt uncomfortable and has condemned what he described as the horrific events reported by the financial times. and now the bbc has testimony that the alleged sexual harassment of women working as hostesses at the event last week was not something new. we spoke to a woman who worked at the event four years ago with her sister. we were made to line up in two lines heading onto the stage, and we walked out basically like pieces of meat, really, onto the stage. my sister met this older gentleman who had a daughter around her age, so she felt really safe with him but later in the evening after a few drinks, he grabbed herwaist and leaned in for a kiss. at that point, i witnessed it, went over and decided it was time to go. some of the men who say they were attending the charity event for the first time have also been speaking out. a leading businessman who was invited by a f

the island of kodiak is close to the epicentre of the quake, and richard galpin is with me now. e of this quake. well, it is massive, they are saying 7.9, and initially 8.2, but 7.9 is a very big earthquake, and it occurred at a depth of about ten kilometres, comparatively shallow. so it is potentially very serious, but at the moment we really don't know. it was about 250 kilometres south—east of an island called kodiak, so out to sea, so it could take some time, if there is a tsunami, it could take some time. but a lot of alerts have gone out, the anchorage office of emergency management have talked about the danger for coastal areas of alaska and british columbia, as you are saying, sending out phone alerts to people, warning them that the threat to life or property is potentially extraordinary, telling people to move away, if they are living close to the coast. is there evidence that people are heeding the warnings? yes, we are getting evidence that on this island of kodiak, which lies off the south of alaska, there have been cars moving, trying to get away from there already,

richard galpin reports. it's the dead of night on the island of kodiak, just off mainland alaska. hello, kodiak. sergeant beaver here. just to remind people that this is not a drill, this is a tsunami warning, everyone get at least 100 feet above sea level. the mountain is safe but it's very backed up right now so you won't make it there in five minutes. the island of kodiak, home to almost 111,000 people, lies on the southern coast of alaska and is close to the epicentre of the earthquake. it's not long before roads are clogged with cars heading away from the coast in search of safety at higher ground. many have been taking shelter in this school. people are very calm here. kodiak residents are used to earthquakes, not of this magnitude. the emergency sirens are still going off but we haven't had any reports of anything happening. now the tsunami warnings for alaska and the west coasts of canada and the us have been lifted. the feared tsunami has not materialised. doctors say the health and wellbeing of children in england is lagging behind that in scotland and wales. the royal c

let's speak to our correspondent richard galpin. what more can you tell us?e police got there, the man was pronounced dead at the scene. police say they have not arrested anybody so far but their inquiries are continuing. of course there will be a postmortem and the man's family has now been informed. this incident comes literally weeks after reports by risen inspectors saying that wormwood scrubs jail was not safe enough, that there had been high levels of often serious violence and they were very critical, saying the outside areas were squalid, prisoners were locked up for very long periods of time, and they say in that report there had been a big increase in violence in the prison in 2017, more than 90 assaults on staff in the first six months of 2017. richard, thank you. the man accused of crashing a van into muslim worshippers outside a mosque in north london has said the driver was not caught on cctv because he is an illusionist. darren osborne, who's 48, denies murder and attempted murder, saying a man called dave was driving. he told woolwich crown co

richard galpin reports.as been asserting itself on the world stage. playing a key role, for example, in the syrian civil war. it has been spending heavily to develop sophisticated weapons, like missiles fired into syria from the caspian sea, a distance of almost 1,000 miles. now, the head of the british army, general sir nick carter, is claiming russia's growing capability including in cyber warfare is eclipsing britain's armed forces, which are potentially facing further deep cuts. in a speech later today, he is expected to say. if we go back to the planning round in 2012, when the army was reduced to 80,000, there was a promise made of an uplift to make sure that the army of 2020 was properly equipped and capable. and it seems to me that the government at the moment is threatening to reduce that. and i think that would be a big mistake. that fear of further budget cuts to the army and other services is probably what is driving today's announcement by the army chief. it is extremely unlikely british forces

richard galpin reports.ittle movement. but this morning traffic is now moving, albeit slowly here on the m7a, which has been one of the worst affected roads in scotland. although scotland's transport minister is still warning drivers to avoid the motorway if possible, as snow is continuing to fall. already today more school closures have been announced because of the weather. in the scottish borders region, all children now have the day off. there is no sign of the snow disappearing any time soon. another weather front is heading fast towards southern scotland and northern england, with forecasters predicting it will bring prolonged snowfall overnight. ina in a moment, the news that one, but first a look at the weather forecast. do excuse that camera! severe disruption overnight because of the snow in northern ireland, northern england and scotland. drivers were stranded on the m7a. this was melrose. more snowy showers coming on the north—westerly wind but in northern ireland, scotland and northern england i

this report by our correspondent richard galpin. to them, are becoming increasingly violent — buildings being burnt and shots fired. last night, at least nine people killed, including some members of the security forces. the focus of people's anger is this man, the country's supreme leader, ayatollah ali khamenei. the spark for the protests — rising food prices and unemployment running at 60% in some areas. people are actually fed up with political corruption. people are fed up with economic corruption. and they believe that the only way to pave the way to a meaningful change, a meaningful economic change, is through radical political reform. as the pent—up frustration with the country's leaders continues, people from different parts of the country have been contacting the bbc. translation: iranian people's demands on long postponed. none of the authorities gave platforms to these demands to be heard. people we re these demands to be heard. people were not heard during these years. translation: we can't be patient any more. i lost m