a busy day in scotland too with celtic manager neil lennon calling for focus from his side at st mirrenith an old firm derby against rangers looming on sunday. celtic are five points ahead of their second—placed rivals who face kilmarnock. celtic know a win will guarantee top spot ahead of the winter break. you can see all of the day's fixture's online and app.

st mirren got a late consolation, but it wasn't enough.scored both goals in the first half at tynecastle, volleying the first just six minutes in, with the second on the half—hour mark. that makes it back—to—back derby wins for the first time since the 19705. hearts remain at the bottom of the scottish premiership table. meanwhile, alfredo morelos got the only goal of the game as second place rangers beat kilmarnock1—0. declan gallagher's dramatic injury—time winner got motherwell a 2—1win at ten—man ross county, they stay third. wins too for aberdeen and stjohnstone. former manchester united and sweden striker zlatan ibrahimovic is in talks with ac milan about a return to the italian side. ibrahimovic is a free agent after leaving la galaxy. other clubs are interested in the 38—year—old, but confidence is growing in italy that ibrahimovic will return to the club where he spent two seasons from 2010. the seven—times champions league winners are enduring a poor season and are 11th in the table after losing their last match 5—0 at atalanta.

st mirren got a late consolation but it wasn't enough.s in the first half at tynecastle, volleying the first just six minutes in, with the second on the half hour mark. that makes it back to back derby wins for the first time since the 1970s. hearts remain at the bottom of the scottish premiership table. meanwhile, alfredo morelos got the only goal of the game as second place rangers beat kilmarnock1—0. declan gallagher's dramatic injury—time winner got motherwell a 2—1win at ten—man ross county, they stay third. wins too for aberdeen and stjohnstone. clan des 0bo has won the king george the sixth chase for the second successive year at kempton. ridden by sam twiston davies, the 11 to 2 shot beat off competition from the favourite surname to romp home by over 10 lengths. it's trainer paul nicholls' eleventh win in the boxing day race. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. rescuers have been looking for possible victims of four avalanches that have hit ski resorts in austria and swit

lennon's side beat st mirren 2—0 in the reverse fixture in october.ney to hobart yacht race. over 600 miles to tasmania, and blue skies when they left from sydney harbour overnight, with little smoke from the bushfires that have been raging in new south wales. 11 hours into the race and a third different leader too. last yea r‘s runners—up black jack are ahead. very calm winds at the minute with the winner probably crowned late tomorrow night or early saturday morning. england have taken another wicket in centurion — south africa now 198—6 on the opening day of the first test. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. that's bbc.co.uk/sport. that's all the sport for now. the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is a facing a vote today for his leadership of the likud party from long—time rival gideon saar. it's said to be the biggest challenge mr netanyahu has faced to his 20—year rule of likud. yesterday evening a rocket fired from the gaza strip, interrupted a party rally in the border town of ashkelon. the prime minister

st mirren got a late consolation but it wasn't enough.relos got the only goal of the game as second place rangers beat kilmarnock1—0. declan gallagher's dramatic injury—time winner got motherwell a 2—1win at ten man ross county, they stay third. wins too for aberdeen and stjohnstone. sam curran took four wickets and james anderson made an instant impact on his return to test cricket as england made a promising start to the first test in south africa. anderson, england's leading wicket taker, struck with the first ball of the day in centurion, as patrick gearey reports. in centurion, a nod to a man who has gone well beyond 100. a man who has gone well beyond 100. test match 150 forjimmy anderson. he's always had that knack. he spent four months fighting back from injury and won't care if the radar was out, as long as the batsman is. he set the tone and spoils with stuart. the catcher, ben stokes, the sports personality of the year, who spent some christmas visiting his father in hospital. the series is meant to mark the start of england's

callu m rangers after beating st mirren 2—1.his 14th of the season doubling their advantage. a couple of big welsh derbies in pro 14. the scarlets thrashed the 0spreys 44—0 and steffan evans with a couple of tries for the home side. 0spreys are bottom of the pro 14 conference and without a win since mid october. but they from the cricket, england 27-2 but they from the cricket, england 27—2 reply to south africa 284. that is everything from the bbc sport centre, more after 10am. thank you. having to leave a child in hospital is tough for any parent — particularly at this time of year. to ease the strain, a third of neo—natal units in the uk have signed up to a new mobile phone app — which allows nurses to provide family members with regular updates, throughout the day and night. katherine da costa reports. hey, mr! it's hard being a new mother. you've got all the hormones, but then having them in this unit as well, it is even more difficult. victoria's triplets were born nine weeks early at the princess anne hospital in southamp

st mirren beat kilmarnock1—0. pionship with leeds united beating birmingham city 5—4 to go top of the table. having given away the lead three times, a wes harding own goal this settled the match in the fifth minute of stoppage time. coupled with west brom's defeat at home to middlesbrough, leeds are top on goal difference. fulham's1—0 win over stoke takes them third. nottingham forest have gone fifth, beating bottom side wigan preston's defeat at home to reading sees them slip out of the playoff places, whilst at the bottom, barnsley‘s goalless draw at swansea means they're up to third bottom with only goal difference keeping them in the relegation zone. he was a target for manchester united in the january transfer window but one of the hottest strikers in european football is heading to germany. erling haaland is joining borussia dortmund after impressive for salzburg domestically and in the champions league. dortmund are rumoured to be ready to listen to offers injanuary for england wingerjadon sancho — and are l

the site of a journey, you look atjoe st mirren new reputation.ure of each usually delay cap. —— you look at who mourinho. pressure of each usually delay cap. -- you look at who mourinho. huge night for colchester united. they have never come here to take on manchester united before. they have already knocked out crystal palace and tottenham. i guess they can just get this a good night, they have nothing to lose. what an evening. a breakfrom nothing to lose. what an evening. a break from the league 2 season to come to old trafford, the theatre of dreams. and give it a go. there is no pressure on them, but they have version sells a bit of a reputation. united are the favourites, but on the back of their minds they will be warily, they know what colchester have achieved a ready the season. they will have to be on the ball and colchester could have a good go. manchester city travel to oxford tonight, 0xford had been under great run of form but lost at the weekend. before that they had been on a run of 18 unbeaten games. manchester city will be favour

ross county beat hibs 2—1 and st mirren are now bottom after a 3—0 reversal at home to motherwell.of the women's super league season but had to settle for a 1—1 draw at home to tottenham. kit graham scored the equaliser for the wsl‘s newcomers 17 minutes from time. spurs remain in 7th ahead of brighton's visit on sunday. a dearfriend. an icon of british sport. a man with a sense of humour as sharp as his bowling. just some of the many tributes to bob willis — the former england captain and fast bowler — who has died. he was 70. his greatest moment probably came in the third test of the 1981 ashes at headingley. botham's ashes — but it was willis' eight wickets that helped england win that game. he played 90 tests for his country — captaining them on 18 occasions, taking 325 wickets at on average ofjust over 25 — and that puts him fourth on the all time leading test wickets takers for england behind james anderson, stuart broad and sir ian botham. david gower replaced willis as captain, and told us how his stamina and skill made him one of the best fast bowlers in the business. anyo

celtic maintained their lead at the top of the scottish premiership with a 2—1win over st mirren, whilsttime since the 1970s. two goals from martin boyle sealing a 2—0 win over hearts, who remain bottom. in one of the biggest races of the national hunt season, the king george vi chase, clan des 0beaux made it back—to—back wins with a dominant victory at kempton. sam twiston—davies guided the seven—year—old, part—owned by sir alex ferguson, to victory by some 21 lengths. there's plenty more on the bbc sport website but that's all from me, sophie. that's it. you can get a first look at tomorrow's front pages on the bbc news channel in a moment. but from all of us here — goodnight. hello. this is bbc news. more on the news that gavin and stacey was the most—watched christmas day tv in more than a decade. an average of 11.6 million people watched it on bbc one last night. earlier i spoke to tv critic emma bullimore who says the audience will now be wondering if there are more gavin and stacey episodes to come. i'm so happy to be talking about properly brilliant figures because sometimes at c

elsewhere, there were wins for livingston, hamilton and st mirren, while aberdeen drew at hearts, asns with a superb defensive effort. two converted tries either side of the break — including this from nic white who won the race to the line in the first half — gave the hosts an early advantage. sarries were awarded a penalty try in the final moments of the game to finish 14—7 — a result that moves exeter back above northampton. the semifinal lineup for the pdc world darts championship is complete. the defending champion michael van gerwen confirmed his place with a hard—fought 5—2 win over darius labanauskas this evening. he'll face nathan aspinall who'd earlier beaten dimitri van den bergh in his quarterfinal. the last spot went to gerwyn price who beat glen durrant in the last few minutes — he'll face peter wright. there's more on that and all today's stories on the bbc sport website — but from me, goodnight. reeta. there's more throughout the evening on the bbc news channel. now, on bbc one, it's time for the news where you are. hello. this is bbc news. let's get more now on that

were wins for hamilton, motherwell and livingstone, whilst it was golless between stjohnstone and st mirrenff the second half of extra time. still 1—0 to liverpool. firmino scored the goal. and 15 minutes twoofr s between them and their second silverware this season. it is live on bbc one. but don‘t turn over yet. exeter have moved top of the rugby union‘s premiership. the chiefs edged a real thriller at welford road — beating leicester tigers 31 points to 22. it was leicester who led for most of the game. the defeat means they have just 4 points so far this season, and are in real trouble at the bottom. rhia chohan reports. you count fault the festive atmosphere, but the tigers needed to get their premiership act together. exeter had gone one over the line in the opening minute, but the tigers responded with some great work finding may. it continued. that sent the faithful into a frenzy. may got his second try and leicester went into the break with an eight—point lead. but if your defence is fatigued, that is not enough. exeter scored their second and leicester‘s quality play became a dist

ross county beat kilmarnock — also 1—0. whilst st mirren and livingstone shared a 3—3 draw.eek's defeat at munster by winning the reverse fixture 15—6 at allianz park. a tight game was eventually sparked into life by two of sarries internationals. the result moves them a point behind second placed munster in pool 4. bbc rugby reporter james burridge was there. an intense and compelling match between two european heavyweights. it sparked into life in the second half, there was a huge scrap on the touchline just beneath me half, there was a huge scrap on the touchlinejust beneath me here. involving pretty much every player, caused by something the munster medic apparently said to jamie george and then ensued a huge brawl between two sets of player. as a result, munster got a penalty but hanrahan result, munster got a penalty but hanra han missed the result, munster got a penalty but hanrahan missed the kick which seemed to spark saracens into life. in the next ten minutes they scored two tries, and terrific first from maitland after billy vunipola got his off—load, shrugging o

there were wins for st mirren, hibernian, livingston and hearts yesterday in the scottish premiershipceltic and rangers meet in the league cup final. steven gerrard is looking for his first major trophy as rangers boss, while celtic could win a tenth consecutive domestic trophy. not for me, it's for the team and the players, really. if we win it then it ticks another box for my career, which would be nice, but i'm hopeful, because it is on the team, the players, you know putting on a performance to get over the line. don't forget, you can go to the bbc sport website. more reaction to anthonyjoshua's sport website. more reaction to anthony joshua's fight sport website. more reaction to anthonyjoshua's fight in saudi arabia. that's all the sport for now. now on bbc news, it's time for the papers. hello and welcome to our look at the papers. with me are rosamund urwin, senior reporterfrom the sunday times and chief political commentator from the independent, john rentoul. i suppose you don't get much of a saturday night! you, at least, did get a saturday night?” saturday night! you, at l

today, st mirren drew with livingston, while there were wins for stjohnstone, ross county and aberdeenn academical. sam cosgrove got the crucial goal and it means hamilton slip to the bottom of the table. last season's runners—up leinster have qualified for the european champions cup quarterfinals with two games to spare by thrashing premiership leaders northampton saints for the second week running. 50—21 the final score. elsewhere glasgow lost to la rochelle, gloucester lost to a last minute connacht try, while champions saracens are still fighting in the pool stages thanks to a 15—6 win over munster. the game was pretty slow in the first half and i think there were —— they were more enthusiastic than we were, which was unlike us. so we talked about that at halftime and we came out and our intent went through the roof, our incitement went through the roof does make excitement, and we got out there —— oui’ excitement, and we got out there —— our excitement went through the roof and we got out there. defending champion mark allen has been knocked out of the scottish open in the semi fi

a busy day in scotland too with celtic manager neil lennon calling for focus from his side at st mirrenfive points ahead of their second—placed rivals who face kilmarnock. celtic know a win will guarantee top spot ahead of the winter break. you can see all of the day's fixture's online and app. thousands gathered in sydney overnight to see off the crews for the 74th sydney hobart yach race. the skies around sydney harbour were relatively clear of smoke from the bushfires, for the start. nine—time winners and defending champions wild 0ats 11 have taken the lead in the last hour too. nine hours gone. a65 miles still to go to tasmania. it's expected the best crews will take nearly two days to complete the race — compared to more than six when they first sailed it in 19a5. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. shoppers are expected to spend £200 million less in the boxing day sales this year with environmental concerns being the biggest reason for the drop. almost seven in ten consumers plan to spend less on so—called "fast fashion" because of the impact of

they won 2—1 at st mirren. —— two nell. can find more about the cricket on the bbc website. the uk treasury is set to overhaul its public spending rules to give a financial boost to the north of england and the midlands, according to a report in the times newspaper. it says decisions about transport infrastructure and business investment would have greater focus on helping the north reduce the productivity gap with the south. some of those areas, of course, turned from labour to the tories in this month's general election. earlier, i spoke to henri murison, director of the northern powerhouse partnership. i think it is welcome. the green book is one of a series of linked issues, the government don't prepare enough major projects in the north historically. when andy burnham was a minister, he was given crossrail. no one had prepared anything of a similar impact and reach. what this will do is link to other areas of change to happen in the north so the creation for transport in the north and the metro mayors who will develop

celtic maintained their lead at the top of the scottish premiership with a 2—1win over st mirren, whilstn back to back edinburgh derbies for the first time since the 19705 — two goals from martin boyle sealing a 2—0 win over hearts, who remain bottom. in one of the biggest races of the national hunt season — the king george vi chase — clan des 0beaux made it back—to—back wins with a dominant victory at kempton. sam twiston—davies guided the seven—year—old, part owned by sir alex ferguson, to victory by some 21 lengths. there's plenty more on the bbc sport website, including details of cardiff blues' win in the pro 1a rugby. but from me, goodnight. people in some parts the world have been watching the last solar eclipse of the year. it was visible across much of the middle east and south asia where people witnessed the annular solar eclipse. it is also known as a "ring of fire", where the moon doesn't completely cover the sun. there's more throughout the evening on the bbc news channel. we're back with the late news at 10.05pm. now on bbc one, it's time for the news where you are. goodbye

programme in scotland too where celtic boss neil lennon has demanded full focus from his side against st mirren points ahead of second placed rangers — who face kilmarnock. celtic know a win will assure them top spot ahead of the winter break. you can see all of the day's fixture's on the website and app. another boxing day sporting tradition is the sydney hobart yacht race. that got under way overnight when the skies around sydney harbour were relatively clear of smoke from the bushfires, for the start. race record holders comanchie have led most of the way so far. seven hours in now. 500 miles still to go to tasmania. it's expected the best crews will take nearly two days to complete the race with calmer winds forecast this year. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website, including the cricket and build up to the day's football. lots of festive quizzes to try out with the family too. that's bbc.co.uk/sport. deborahjames, or bowel babe, as she's known to anyone who has followed the podcast, you, me and the big c, has shared every step of her

they're five points clear of rivals rangers after beating st mirren 2—1. beat kilmarnock. wins too for hibs, aberdeen, st johnstone and motherwell. england will be hoping their batsmen can pick up where the bowlers left off on day two of the first test against south africa in a couple of hours. the hosts will resume on 277/9 thanks largely to wicketkeeper quinton de kock‘s knock off 95. having won the toss though, england will be pretty satisfied with their effort with the ball, sam curran the pick of the bowlers taking four wickets. play gets underway at 8:00. we probably would have liked to have both of them out before the close, but to have them nine down after 300, hoping we can get the last wicket quickly in the morning. i think if we get them under 300, we've been batting pretty nicely and got big scores in the warm—up games. we're pretty confident we can bat big and hopefully get a first innings lead. i think de kock played beautifully. would've been nice to get in early, but sometimes the batter plays nicely, and that's how cricket works. but all i

they're five clear of rivals rangers after beating st mirren 2—1. ngers beat kilmarnock. wins too for hibs, aberdeen, st johnstone and motherwell. he's one of the most charismatic footballers in the world. zlatan could be on his way back to europe. his old side ac milan are interested in the striker. he's 38 now but milan are having a wretched season and there's apparently growing confidence in italy that he could return to the san siro stadium. england will be hoping their batsmen can pick up where the bowlers left off on day two of the first test against south africa in a couple of hours. the hosts will resume on 277/9, thanks largely to wicketkeeper quinton de kock‘s knock off 95. having won the toss though, england will be pretty satisfied with their effort with the ball, sam curran the pick of the bowlers taking four wickets. play gets underway at 8:00. we probably would have liked to have both of them out before the close, but to have them nine down after 300, hoping we can get the last wicket quickly in the morning. i think if we get them unde

ross county beat kilmarnock — also i—o whilst st mirren and livingstone shared a 3—3 draw.r by winning the reverse fixture 15—6 at allianz park. a tight game was eventually sparked into life by two of sarries internationals. the result moves them a point behind second placed munster in pool 4. imran sidat watched this one. saracens defence of the champions cup has not gone to plan so far. they responded by bringing the big guns for the visit monster. i did not take the england captain long to get on the board. this penalty the only score in early exchanges. monster world dealt a pre—match below with injuries but they finally got the rewards they are pressure warranted when hanra han got the rewards they are pressure warranted when hanrahan kicked over to bring them level. it was turning into a to bring them level. it was turning intoa warof to bring them level. it was turning into a war of attrition with the kicking game proving to be decisive. hanrahan keeping his cool once again. the same could not be said about the rest of the players on the pitch, as jamie george's frus

st mirren are off the bottom.ibernian beat aberdeen 3—0, while livingston beat kilmarnock by the same scoreline. hearts lost 1—0 to motherwell, but have now appointed daniel stendel as their new manager. some sad news to bring you now and the former aston villa manager ron saunders has died at the age of 87. he guided villa to the first division title in 1981 and also won two league cups during his eight years at villa park. he also had spells in charge of birmingham and west brom. ding junhui has beaten fellow chinese player yan bing—tao by six frames to two to reach the final of the uk snooker championship in york. ding hasn't won a major title since 2011 but raced into the lead against yan, building a 3—0 lead. yan managed to fight back to trail 4—2, but that was as close as he got and ding wrapped up a 6—2 victory. he'll play the winner of the other semifinal between stephen maguire and mark allen. maguire leads that 4—0. that's all the sport for now. just a reminder, we are less than an hour away now from the

it's after a 1—0 defeat at motherwell, who climb to third st mirren are off the bottom.ile livingston beat kilmarnock by the same scoreline. the former aston villa manager ron saunders has died at the age of 87. he guided villa to the first division title in 1981 and also won two league cups during his eight years at villa park. he also had spells in charge of birmingham and west brom. it's been a big day of european champions cup rugby. premiership leaders northampton saints' were thrashed 43—16 at home to last season's runners—up leinster. director of rugby chris boyd said his side were given a reality check. munster meanwhile beat champions sacarens10—3 at thomond park — the only try of the game was scored by ireland's peter 0'mahony. the win means munster sit top of pool 4 and sarries chances of making the knockout stages are slim. there were also wins for glasgow and ulster. scotland's stephen maguire will play ding junhui of china in the uk snooker championship final in york tomorrow. maguire looks in great form and didn't allow northen ireland's mark allen a look—

ross county beat hibs 2—i and st mirren are now bottom after a 3—0 reversal at home to motherwell.ly confirmed the news this afternoon. he played 90 tests for his country, taking 325 wickets — leaving him fourth on the list of all time english wicket takers. david gower — the man who succeeded him as england captain — was among those to pay tribute. for someone like him who had to work really seriously hard to get something out of the game, if he ever saw anyone who was slacking or taking life easy, not putting in 100%, he would come down on them like a ton of bricks. he said high standards. and no doubt we will show him in vibrant form should pulling no punches. anthonyjoshua says he's not travelled to saudi arabia for entertainment — just to win back the three world titles he lost to andy ruinunior earlier this year. the two faced off at the pre fight press conference ahead of their eagerly awaited heavyweight rematch. joshua has been talking about the ‘challenger mindset‘ that he's needed to prepare for the fight. any heavyweight knows you need a challenger mindset. i have alway

celtic maintained their advantage with a 2—1win at st mirren.f the season made it 2—0 not longer after. a couple of big welsh derbies in the pro 1a on boxing day. cardiff beat dragons but the standout scoreline came in llaneli were scarlett‘s thrashed an injury hit 0spreys 411—0. steffan evans with a couple of tries for the home side. 0sprey‘s are bottom of their pro 1a pool — without a win since mid october. you're up to date from the bbc sport centre. there's more after 10.00. israel's prime minister benjamin neta nyahu has scored a decisive victory in a challenge to his leadership of the governing likud party. mr netanyahu will now lead israel into its third national election within a year, in march. but he is still facing bribery and corruption charges, which he denies. 0ur correspondent, barbara plett—usher is injerusalem for us. what is the scale of the victory expected? well, i think it was expected? well, i think it was expected that he would win and he did campaign very hard for a resounding victory because he wanted to put any dissent

a busy day in scotland too with celtic manager neil lennon calling for focus from his side at st mirrenahead of their second—placed rivals who face kilmarnock. celtic know a win will guarantee top spot ahead of the winter break. you can see all of the day's fixture's online and app. thousands gathered in sydney overnight to see off the crews for the 74th sydney hobart yacht race. the skies around sydney harbour were relatively clear of smoke from the bushfires, for the start. nine—time winners and defending champions wild oats 11 are in the lead — just. ten hours gone. a70 miles still to go to tasmania. it's expected the best crews will take nearly two days to complete the race — compared to more than six when they first sailed it in 19a5. you're up—to—date. we'll have more after 1pm. india s national human rights commission has asked police in the northern state of uttar pradesh to respond to allegations they violated protesters‘ civil rights during recent demonstrations against the controversial citizenship law. the legislation has been criticised as being anti—muslim. at least 2a peo

st mirren are off the bottom after beating hamilton accies.first win since early october by beating kilmarnock 3—nil. the old firm derby is a match that seldom needs anything else to make it extra special, but the first piece of silverware is up for grabs in scotland — and that mightjust do it. celtic and rangers meet in the scottish league cup final tomorrow at hampden park. for rangers — it would be a first major trophy in eight years. for celtic boss neil lennon — it's the only competition he hasn't yet won in scotland. it's not for me, but for the team and the players. if we win it, it ta kes and the players. if we win it, it takes another box for my career, which would be nice, but male focus is on the team. the players, you know, putting on —— my whole focus is on the team. our team selection will be different from what it was on wednesday night, maybe rangers will be the same. it is very difficult to predict how we derby is going to go because it has day. so, advantages, we had great experience of winning, great experience of playing he

today, st mirren drew with livingston while there were wins for stjohnstone, ross county and aberdeene win over hamilton academical. sam cosgrove got the cruciual goal, and it means hamilton are bottom. leinster have qualified for the european champions cup quarterfinals with two pool rounds to spare by thumping premiership leaders northampton 50—21. elsewhere, glasgow lost to la rochelle, gloucester lost out in a thriller at connacht, while title—holders saracens have kept their defence of the trophy alive with a 15—6 win over munster. the game was pretty slow in the first half. and i think they were more enthusiastic in that sort of game then we were. which is unlike us. so we talked about that at half—time and we came out and our intent half—time and we came out and our i nte nt we nt half—time and we came out and our intent went to the roof and our excitement through the roof and the enthusiasm was good thereafter. jack lisowski is currently taking on defending champion mark allen for a place in tomorrow's scottish open snooker final. 16 years on from his first ranking final, mark

a busy day in scotland too with celtic manager neil lennon calling for focus from his side at st mirrene five points ahead of their second placed rivals who face kilmarnock. celtic know a win will guarantee top spot ahead of the winter break. you can see all of the day's fixture's online and app. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website, including the cricket. south africa now 79—3. and there's build up to the day's football. lots of festive quizzes to try out with the family too. india s national human rights commission, has asked police in the northern state of uttar pradesh, to respond to allegations they violated protesters' civil rights during recent demonstrations against the controversial citizenship law. the legislation has been criticised as being anti—muslim. at least 2a people have been killed, and hundreds injured, in clashes in cities across the country, over the past two weeks. ari behn, the former son—in—law of norway's king, has died, aged a7. ari behn, the author of several novels and plays, married princess martha lo

. —— st mirren.ydney to hobart yacht race. over 600 miles to tasmania and blue skies when they left from sydney harbour overnight, with little smoke from the bushfires that have been raging in new south wales. 11 hours into the race and a third different leader too. last year's runners up black jack are ahead. very calm winds at the minute with the winner set to be crowned late tomorrow night or early saturday morning. in the last few moments, clan des 0bo has won the king george the sixth chase at kempton. ridden by sam twiston davies, the 11 to 2 shot beat off competition from the favourite to romp home by over 10 lengths. it's trainer paul nicholls' 11th win in this race. you can keep up to date with that on the bbc sport website. the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, is a facing a vote today, for his leadership of the likud party, from long—time rival, gideon saar. it's said to be the biggest challenge mr netanyahu has faced to his 20 year rule of likud. yesterday evening, a rocket fire

celtic play st mirren today, knowing a win will assure them top spot ahead of the winter break.rt website and app. lots of local derbies today as well. that is what they try to do with boxing day fixtures, make sure you don't have to travel too far. talking of sports fans and spouting —— sporting events, are you a fan of speedo ‘s? —— sporting events, are you a fan of speedo 's? they don't own any. but each to their own. that is what they say. of course other brands are available of budgie smugglers or whatever you want to call them. that isa whatever you want to call them. that is a brand as well! is it?! i did not no. other tightfitting swim air available if need be. they are going to dig myself out of this hole. i am not, actually, i'm going to be talking to a man. michael cullen spent the day walking more than 25 miles — wearing only a pair of speedos. the everton fan has been posting his journey on twitter. there he is! he began the walk in mid—december starting atjohn 0'groats, and is heading to lands end, which should take him about seven weeks. he wasn't without a little

celtic are five points clear at the moment ahead of a trip to ninth placed st mirren this afternoon,k. all the fixtures across all the leagues can be found on the bbc sport website. another boxing day tradition on the other side of the world is the gruelling sydney to hobart yacht race. the skies around sydney harbour were relatively clear of smoke from the bushfires for the start. home team and race record holder comanche has taken an early lead. 628 nautical miles it is to tasmania. it's expected to take them nearly two days to complete the race with calmer winds forecast this year. that probably means some of the smoke from the bushfires probably won't affect the sailors out at sea, about a0 nautical miles from the coast. we were just talking about the bushfires. it is good that these events the bushfires. it is good that these eve nts ca n the bushfires. it is good that these events can keep carrying on with such a contrast to what is happening on the mainland. unbelievable images. ben, thank you very much. see you in the next hour. smart toys and gadgets with internet or bluetoo

elsewhere, there were wins for ross county, stjohnstone, while st mirren and livingstone played out ao the top of the championship after coming from behind to beat birmingham city. charlie austin came off the bench to score twice in their 3—2 victory at st andrews. west brom are two points ahead of leeds who threw away a three—goal lead to draw with cardiff. saracens' champions cup win over munster was marred by a brawl involving almost 30 players. sarries head coach mark mccall claimed a comment to their hooker jamie george prompted the fight while munster say they don't know what caused it. the english side's15—6 victory means that their defence of the title is still alive and they can still make the quarterfinals. elsewhere, leinster are through to the quarterfinals in rugby union's european champions cup, becoming the first team to qualify for the knockout stages after only four games. leinster‘s success came at the expense of the premiership leaders, northampton, who were thrashed by 52—21. patrick gearey reports. doubling after dark is a famously lively experience, but it's easy

elsewhere there were wins for livingston, hamilton and st mirren while aberdeen drew at hearts, as didhester city are in action later against sheffield united. but in the early kick off, two goals in the space of four minutes saw chelsea stage a stunnig comeback to claim a 2—1victory over arsenal at the emirates. tammy abraham with the winner there, in what was a disappointing first home game for new gunners boss mikel arteta. the former world number one, andy murray, has pulled out of next month's australian open because of a pelvic injury. the three—time grand slam champion was aiming to play in his first grand slam singles event since melbourne 12 months ago. it means murray will not play a match until february at the earliest. exeter returned to the top of the english premiership with a comfortable victory over saracens. two converted tries either side of the break — including this from nic white who won the race to the line in the first half — gave the hosts an early advantage. sarries were awarded a penalty try in the final moments of the game to finish 14—7, a result that moves

a win at ninth placed st mirren will do that.lled for full focus from his side. all of the day's fixtures are available online and via the app. it's often described as the most gruelling ocean race in the world and overnight the 7ath sydney to hobart yacht race has begun. the skies around sydney harbour were relatively clear of smoke from the bushfires, for the start. home team and race record holder comanche has taken an early lead. 628 nautical miles it is to tasmania. it's expected the best crews will take nearly two days to complete the race with calmer winds forecast this year. going to stick with the aqua nautical theme. how do you find the idea of open water swimming? in the summer, 1a degrees is about the cold est i have summer, 1a degrees is about the coldest i have dipped in and that sends chills down your back. that is about 7 degrees colder than i have ever done. now if you over—did it on the food and drink yesterday, what better way to blow away the cobwebs than a refreshing dip in the north sea? 0ur reporter alison

st mirren were one—nil winners at hamilton accies.. both leinster and northampton were unbeaten in the champions cup, until today when leinster thrashed northampton 43—16. the first try for leinster came just two minutes in from james lowe, and it set the tone for the rest of the game. last season's runners up led at the break and dominated throughout the second half. their last try came from ed byrne om the 80th minute, giving them their seventh try of the match, and helping them to a score of 43—16. leinster now have a five—point lead over northampton at the top of pool one. and after coming from nine points behind against harlequins, all ulster needed was a penalty to go ahead. and with two minutes to go, they got one. john cooney put them back in the lead much to the delight of the crowd. it finished a close 25—24 win for ulster. seven—time champion ronnie o'sullivan has pulled out of january's masters snooker in london. it's understood his withdrawal is for personal reasons. meanwhile, ding jun—hui has beaten fellow chinese playe

they're still five points clear of rangers in second after winning 2—1 at st mirren.o. rangers can close the gap if they can beat celtic on sunday lunchtime. for the second successive year, clan des 0bo won the king george vi chase. not dissimilar to the premier league. a one horse race out front — winning by more than 20 lengths. his trainer said he could be considered for the cheltenham gold cup next. two welsh derbies in the pro 1a on boxing day. cardiff beat dragons but there was a massively one sided contest in the other as scarletts thrashed an injury—hit ospreys 411—0. steffan evans scored a couple of tries for the home side. osprey's are bottom of their pro 1a group and have lost their last ten matches. and after three days off, the darts is back at alexandra palace. world champions like michael van gerwen and gary anderson are in action this evening. but you suspect the biggest reception is going to be reserved for fallon sherrock. the only woman to ever win a match in the history of the event. she's now into the third round and will face chris dobey this aft

ross county beat kilmarnock also, 1—0 whilst st mirren and livingstone shared a 3—3 draw.n. saudi arabia's al—hilal are already through to the semis. right now, mexico's monterray are taking on al sadd of qatar. the winners of this will play liverpool in the last four. it's currently 0—0. every match of the tournament can be found on the bbc sport website and on the iplayer. saracens' made amends for last week's defeat at munster by winning the reverse fixture 15—6 at allianz park. a tight game was eventually sparked into life by two of sarries internationals. the result moves them a point behind second placed munster in pool a. imran sidat watched this one. saracens defence of the champions cup has not gone to plan so far. they responded by bringing back the big guns for munster. it did not ta ke big guns for munster. it did not take the england captain long to get on the board. this penalty the only score in the early exchanges. munster were dealt a pre—match blow with injury but he finally got the rewards their pressure warranted when hanrahan rewards their pressure war

there were wins for st mirren, hibernian, livingston, and hearts yesterday in the scottish premiershiprs manager while celtic could win a 10th consecutive domestic trophy. not for me, it is for the team and the players, really. it takes another box for my career, which would be nice, but i'm hopeful, because it is on the team, the players, you know putting on a pair performance to get over the line. let's get more on the big fight last night in saudi arabia. anthonyjoshua reclaiming his world titles from andy ruinunior. he says it's the second best fight of his career after his win over vladimir klitchsko. it wasn't the greatest spectacle, discipline was the key to his victory as he won on points after 12 rounds. there was times that a look in anti's eyes anai wanted to put my fist through his head, but then a thought myself, this is boxing, i need to win for myself, i need to show people that this is the sweet science of this board as well. so i had to box my game plan. and my coaches, they devised a great strategy and a trusted in them and i've followed it through. lam not i am not s

elsewhere there were wins for ross county, stjohnstone while st mirren and livingstone played out a 3oker jamie george prompted the fight while munster say they don't know what caused it. the english side's15—6 victory though means that their defence of the title is still alive and they can still make the quarterfinals. meanwhile, leinster have qualified for the quarterfinals of rugby union's champions cup. they thrashed english premiership leaders northampton saints by 50 points to 21. leinster ran in seven tries in total as they qualified with two matches to spare. elsewhere there were defeats for both glasgow and gloucester. dublin after dark is a lively experience but it is easy to lose yourself. it took 90 seconds before northampton wanted in their 1st surprise. 4 minutes later, that he was again. the 2nd try. a 15th straight champions cup when. is it for northampton to retreat but they are top of the premiership for a reason and for a few seconds they we re reason and for a few seconds they were smarter, stronger, faster, bigger but the try was a ripple against the try. going ov