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Debenhams warns on Christmas sales

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 31 Desember 2013 | 19.21

31 December 2013 Last updated at 06:10 ET

Shares in Debenhams have plunged after the department store warned of poor sales during the key Christmas period.

It said that it now expects its pre-tax profits for the six months to April 2014 to be £85m, down from £115m in the same period this year.

Analysts had been expecting pre-tax profits of £110m for that period.

"We did not experience the anticipated final surge in sales in the last week of the [Christmas sales] period," the retailer said.

Debenhams was due to release its trading statement - covering the 17 weeks to 28 December - on 17 January, but updated the market early.

'Difficult environment'

Shares in the department store chain fell 10.5% by mid-morning in the last trading day of the year.

Continue reading the main story

Michael Sharp, the chief executive of Debenhams, said: "As has been widely commented on in the media, the market was highly promotional in the run up to Christmas and we responded to these conditions to ensure our offer was competitive.

"However, this extremely difficult environment has inevitably had an impact on both our sales and profitability."

The firm said it had cut prices substantially in the run-up to Christmas and planned to offer higher markdowns in the January sales to move its stock.

It said online sales grew by 27% for the 17-week period, but delivery income from the growth in online shopping was lower than anticipated.

The company has been upgrading and modernising stores in recent years, as well as opening new ones. It has spent £25m on refurbishing its flagship store in central London.

It plans to open a further 14 stores in the next four years.


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Archbishop: Pope is 'person of year'

31 December 2013 Last updated at 06:44 ET

The Archbishop of Canterbury has said Pope Francis is an "extraordinary man" and his person of the year.

"He has changed the sense of direction and purpose of the Catholic Church with his personal example," the Most Reverend Justin Welby told the BBC.

He added that the Church of England was still working out how to dispose of £80,000 in shares which indirectly fund short-term loan companies, like Wonga.

When the investment emerged in July, the archbishop said he was embarrassed.

A review was conducted and the Church was now trying to dispose of those shares "without disposing of millions and millions of pounds of investment at a loss because they have a responsibility to pensioners", he said.

'Hugely effective'

The amount of Church money indirectly invested in Wonga was about £75,000 out of investments totalling £5.5bn, the archbishop said in July.

Pope Francis, who took over from Pope Benedict after his resignation in March, was named person of the year by Time magazine earlier this month.

The US publication said the Pope had pulled "the papacy out of the palace and into the streets".

Since his succession, Pope Francis has adopted a markedly less formal tone than his predecessor, underlining his reputation for simplicity and humility.

It has been suggested he plans to radically reform the Vatican bureaucracy and, in an unprecedented move, he has ordered a survey of lay Catholics' opinions on Church teachings on sexual ethics and family life.

'Loss of vision'

Archbishop Welby, who leads 80 million Christians in more than 160 countries, said he would not want to compare himself to the Pope whose reach was 20 times bigger than the entire Anglican communion.

"The Pope has been hugely effective. I would certainly put him as my person of the year," he said.

"Well, I'd probably have several, but if you want one, I'd put him there. He's extraordinary."

The comments were made during the archbishop's appearance on BBC Radio Four's Today programme, which was guest edited by Barclays chief executive Antony Jenkins.

Both spoke of the "similarities" between leadership of a bank and of the Church of England.

Asked about the banking industry, the archbishop said there had been a "progressive loss of vision" of what banks were for and its leaders urgently needed to move away from serving shareholders.

Mr Jenkins, who became Barclays boss last year, said he expected it would take five to 10 years to restore public trust in his bank.


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Record New Year's Honours for women

30 December 2013 Last updated at 20:02 ET
Angela Lansbury and Penelope Keith

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Lizo Mzimba reports on those that have been recognised for honours in 2014

Actresses Angela Lansbury and Penelope Keith become dames in the New Year's Honours list, which features more women than men for the first time.

Women - 611 of them - make up the majority (51%) of the list - the previous highest proportion was 47%.

Football boss Karren Brady and ex-Wimbledon champion Ann Jones become CBEs, while Gavin and Stacey co-creator Ruth Jones becomes an MBE.

Angel of the North sculptor Antony Gormley receives a knighthood.

Gormley, 63, said he was "very humbled, but also delighted," and accepted his honour as "a recognition" for the art form.

Continue reading the main story

Notable recipients

Companion of Honour:

  • Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (music)

Knight/Dame:

  • Antony Gormley (arts)
  • Keir Starmer (law)
  • Michael Codron (theatre)
  • Angela Lansbury (acting)
  • Penelope Keith (acting)

CBE:

  • Michael Crawford (charity)
  • Julie Bailey (Campaigner)
  • David Bernstein (football)
  • Nicholas Parsons (charity)
  • Karren Brady (entrepreneur)

OBE:

  • Lynda Bellingham (charity)
  • Sandie Toksvig (broadcasting)
  • Katherine Jenkins (music)
  • Rachel Yankey (football)

MBE:

  • Kevin McCloud (design)
  • Barry and Margaret Mizen (young people)
  • Pete Tong (music)
  • Ruth Jones (arts, pictured)

Composer and conductor Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, who is Master of the Queen's Music, becomes a Companion of Honour, while DJ Pete Tong receives an MBE.

Penelope Keith, 73, who became a household name as Margot Leadbetter in 1970s sitcom The Good Life, said of her honour: "It's a recognition for not only my 54 years being an actress but also for all the charities with which I'm associated and I think they'll be thrilled."

Murder, She Wrote actress Angela Lansbury, 88, receives hers for services to drama and to charitable work and philanthropy. She told the BBC: "I'm joining a marvellous group of women I greatly admire like Judi Dench and Maggie Smith.

"It's a lovely thing to be given that nod of approval by your own country and I really cherish it."

Apprentice star Karren Brady, 43, vice-chairman of West Ham Football Club and former Birmingham City managing director, gets a CBE for services to entrepreneurship and women in business. She said she felt "very privileged and very proud, particularly to be recognised for the work I do for other women in business".

Other prominent women include actress Lynda Bellingham, singer Katherine Jenkins and writer and broadcaster Sandi Toksvig, plus the founders of parenting website Netmums.com, Siobhan Freegard, Cathy Court and Sarah Russell, who all receive OBEs.

In science, Met Office chief scientist Prof Julia Slingo becomes a dame for her services to weather and climate science.

Knighthoods

Former director of public prosecutions Keir Starmer QC receives a knighthood for services to law and criminal justice, with film and theatre producer Michael Codron and former Bank of England deputy governor Paul Tucker also receiving the honour.

CBEs go to ballet dancer Carlos Acosta, former FA chairman David Bernstein, actor Michael Crawford, who played Frank Spencer in 1970s sitcom Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, and presenter Nicholas Parsons, host of the comedy radio game show Just A Minute.

Artist Derek Clarke, a member of the Royal Scottish Academy of Arts, whose career has spanned more than 70 years and who turns 101 on Tuesday, also receives an MBE.

Some 1,195 people have received an award and in total, 74% of awards in the New Year's Honours List are for people who are actively engaged in charitable or voluntary work within their local community.

Barry and Margaret Mizen, whose 16-year-old son Jimmy was murdered in London in May 2008, are created MBEs for services to young people. They set up the Jimmy Mizen Foundation to help young people play a positive role in their communities.

Mr Mizen said: "To us, it's about the hundreds and hundreds of people that support us, it's about all the work the rest of our family do, and it's in memory of a fine and decent young lad whose legacy will be one of peace and community cohesion."

Some other examples are:

  • Trevor Jarvis, Ambassador for Dementia with the Alzheimer's Society, who has used his own experiences to improve the lives of people affected by dementia.
  • Christina Selby, who founded Hats4Heroes in 2010 and has since sent nearly 10,000 knitted hats, each containing a chocolate bar, to the British forces in Afghanistan as a way of boosting morale.
  • Julie Bailey, who set up the campaign group Cure the NHS after being appalled by the care she witnessed her mother and others receive at Staffordshire General Hospital, and Helene Donnelly, a nurse at the hospital who became a whistleblower.

Ms Donnelly said: "I hope this [honour] is recognition for lots of other people trying to raise concerns and this is also for the positive change we're trying to encourage now."

Continue reading the main story

The Honours System

Commonly awarded ranks:

  • Knight or Dame
  • CBE - Commander of the Order of the British Empire
  • OBE - Officer of the Order of the British Empire
  • MBE - Member of the Order of the British Empire
  • BEM - British Empire Medal

The Order of Merit, which is awarded to individuals of great achievement in the fields of the arts, learning, literature and science goes to orchestra conductor Sir Simon Rattle and world-renowned heart surgeon Professor Sir Magdi Yacoub.

There can be only 24 OMs at any one time, making it highly-exclusive. Previous recipients include Florence Nightingale and Sir Winston Churchill, plus honorary members Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela.

Doctor Marcus Setchell, who delayed his retirement after being asked by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to oversee the birth of Prince George is made a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) - an honour in the personal gift of the Queen.

Awards for sport make up 4% of the total, with an OBE going to England and Arsenal Ladies footballer Rachel Yankey and former long-distance runner David Bedford, who was race director of the London Marathon for more than 20 years, while England women's rugby team captain Katy McLean gets an MBE.


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NI Haass talks end without agreement

31 December 2013 Last updated at 04:57 ET
Dr Richard Haass

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Dr Richard Haass says "significant progress" has been made

Months of talks to resolve some of the most divisive issues that have hampered the Northern Ireland peace process have broken up without agreement.

Northern Ireland's five main parties met through the night in a final effort to settle differences over parades, flags and the legacy of the Troubles.

Former US diplomat Dr Richard Haass, who chaired the talks, said a final agreement was "not there" but there had been "significant progress".

He called it a "basis" for change.

'Strong endorsement'

The BBC's Andy Martin in Belfast said that although a positive spin had been emphasised by all those involved in the talks, the current proposals would need significant modification to be collectively adopted by all five main parties. "This process is not dead, but it is far from finished," he said.

The proposed deal won broad support from Sinn Féin, the largest nationalist party, but others including the unionist DUP, said unresolved issues over parades and flags meant more work was needed before consensus could be reached.

Dr Haass said: "All the parties support significant parts of the agreement. At the same time, all have some concerns."

Continue reading the main story

Although he is flying home without a deal, Richard Haass believes his efforts haven't all been in vain.

The former US diplomat reckons he has made significant progress, especially on potential new institutions to deal with Northern Ireland's troubled past.

Dr Haass hopes the Stormont parties can move these matters forward in the months ahead.

That said, the Stormont politicians don't have a great track record in resolving tough issues without outside assistance.

So there's good reason for scepticism about their ability to deliver progress now Dr Haass and his talks co-chair Professor Meghan O'Sullivan have declared their involvement in these negotiations over.

"We very much hope that the parties reflect on this, discuss it with their leadership and then come back with a strong endorsement. Over the next week we will know a lot more."

He said progress had been made in all three of the negotiating areas, especially the past, while flags and symbols had proven to be the "toughest area of negotiations".

Dr Haass, who was brought to Northern Ireland with co-chair Prof Meghan O'Sullivan in July by the first and deputy first ministers, said all five parties had "given it their best" and were "prepared to continue" with the process.

"It would have been nice to have come out here tonight and say we have got all five parties completely signed on to the text," he said.

"We are not there but I believe there is a real prospect that we will get several of the parties to sign on the text in full.

"Several of the other parties will endorse significant parts of it, and together this will provide a basis for a serious ongoing political process."

'Disappointment'

The overnight negotiations, which began at 10:00 GMT on Sunday and carried on until 05:00 GMT, were on a seventh set of draft proposals put forward during the talks.

The three key issues have been:

  • The past - more than 3,500 people died in the Troubles, and in almost 3,300 cases no-one was prosecuted. Reaching agreement on how to investigate these killings and what to do about other people affected by the Troubles has so far proved impossible
  • Flags - this issue was highlighted last year when Belfast City Council's decision to fly the union flag from city hall and other council buildings only on 18 designated days sparked street protests
  • Parades - though many are not contentious, some unionist parades that pass through or close to nationalist areas have been controversial. A small number of nationalist parades have also proved contentious in the past

After the talks, Sinn Féin's Gerry Adams said his negotiating team believed there was a "basis for a deal in the proposals put forward".

He said the team would recommend it to the party's executive, though he said the proposed deal was "not perfect".

"I'm sure there will be a lot of disappointment out there as people come to terms with the fact that there doesn't appear at this point to be an agreement," he said.

The DUP's Jeffrey Donaldson said that while the "broad architecture" of the agreement was acceptable, "some of the language and detail is not what we would have chosen and in some cases we strongly disapprove of the language".

"We entered into this process to get the right deal for the people of Northern Ireland, but not any deal," he added.

"We do not have an agreement this evening but we are committed to continuing this work beyond now in dialogue with others to try and resolve the outstanding issues that need to be addressed," he said.

"We owe that to the people of Northern Ireland, especially to the innocent victims of terrorism who have suffered so much over the decades."

Alliance Party deputy leader Naomi Long said the talks had moved negotiations forward but there were still major challenges over the issues of parades and flags.

"We have seen a huge sea change in the level of political agreement which has exceeded public expectation, particularly in delivering for the victims and the reconciliation process," Mrs Long added.

'Honest debate'

SDLP leader Alasdair McDonnell said despite some concerns he anticipated his party would accept the agreement.

He said: "We would anticipate a general endorsement from the SDLP in due course, that's not to say we're entirely happy... but we do welcome it as far as it goes."

Mike Nesbitt, leader of the UUP, said he had an opinion on the document but was unwilling to disclose it until his party had examined the proposals.

Continue reading the main story

This is not a step back but rather a step not yet taken"

End Quote Eamon Gilmore Irish deputy prime minister

"We will have an honest debate and hopefully form a final opinion at the end of that debate," he said.

Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers expressed disappointment but said the failure to reach agreement did not spell an end to negotiations.

"I welcome the suggestion by Dr Haass that the parties should now lose no time in getting together to see how they can most constructively take things forward," she said.

"For our part, the UK government will look at how we can best facilitate this."

And Labour's Ivan Lewis, the shadow Northern Ireland secretary, said: "The failure to reach a final agreement is deeply disappointing. However, significant common ground has been identified which should be the basis for future progress."


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New coin designs for 2014 unveiled

31 December 2013 Last updated at 05:26 ET

Coins marking the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the 100th anniversary of the start of World War One will enter circulation in 2014.

The Royal Mint has released details of the new coin designs that will feature on the 50p, £1 and £2 coins.

The new coins will enter circulation gradually, so people will start to spot them in their change during the year.

Five billion coins are produced at the Mint's site in Llantrisant, south Wales, every year.

The regular designs currently found on UK coins will continue to be used, but some will be replaced with the new designs as they become unfit for use.

The new design of the £2 coin will feature the image of Lord Kitchener's call to arms.

This is the first Royal Mint coin of a series that will mark WW1 from its outbreak to the armistice.

The new designs for £1 coins will continue a series celebrating the floral emblems of the nations.

The shamrock and flax plant feature on the £1 of Northern Ireland, while the thistle and bluebell are portrayed on the Scottish £1 coin.

The success of coins marking the London 2012 Olympics has prompted the Mint to produce a coin to mark the Commonwealth Games in 2014 in Glasgow.

The 50p coin will feature two sports - athletics and cycling - as well as the Saltire of Scotland.

Shane Bissett, director of commemorative coins at The Royal Mint, said: "The Royal Mint has celebrated moments of national and cultural significance for more than 1,000 years.

"We wanted to reveal the coins to the British public and show the incredible works of art they can expect to see enter circulation this year. This will no doubt entice many to take a closer look at their change, collect their favourites and realise that many might be worth holding on to."


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Barclays: Winning trust to take years

31 December 2013 Last updated at 05:43 ET
Anthony Jenkins & Archbishop Welby

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Barclays boss Antony Jenkins says it will take five to 10 years to restore trust in banks, while Archbishop Welby says it will take a generation

Barclays chief executive Antony Jenkins says he expects it to be five to 10 years before he can restore public trust in the bank.

Mr Jenkins said that people in large organisations, "want to do the right thing - it's sometimes that they perceive the right thing differently".

Mr Jenkins was guest editor of the Today programme on Radio 4 on Tuesday.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby - also on the programme- said that change would take "a generation."

Mr Jenkins made the comments in a session with students at Brooke House Sixth Form College in East London, at an event organised by the charity Speakers for Schools, which was founded by BBC business editor Robert Peston.

Continue reading the main story

A picture was painted of an industry whose instincts is to bend or break the rules, when there's money to be made and no-one's looking."

End Quote

Archbishop Welby said that there had been a "progressive loss of vision of what banks are for".

He added that while many business leaders seemed to have realised the mistakes that had been made, some were clearly still "in denial", although he declined to name them.

He added that there was still refusal to accept the continued need for cultural transformation after the 2008 financial crisis from some in the banking sector.

"I came across senior members of the City who were still absolutely in denial about what happened in 2008," he said.

Speaking to the BBC's chief economics correspondent Hugh Pym, Archbishop Welby said that the failure to accept the need for change was still prevalent in remuneration, or pay practices, in the banking sector.

He said that it was a "generational" challenge.

When asked how far away banks were from serving society as a whole, rather than just the wishes of shareholders, the archbishop said that the challenge of leadership was to make clear the urgency of a "massive cultural change" away from serving shareholders.

Jenkins next to ATM

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Archbishop Welby and Mr Jenkins also appeared together on the Today programme, and spoke of the similarities between leadership of a bank and of the Church of England.

Mr Jenkins said that they shared views on "where banks need to go".

Helena Morrissey, chief executive of Newton Investment Management, was also invited onto the programme and asked about the role of business in the wider community.

She said that "responsibly managed" companies were more likely to perform well, and achieve a competitive advantage.

Mr Jenkins became Barclays boss in August 2012.

It has been a difficult year for banks, with growing compensation claims for mis-selling as well as investigations into rigging parts of the market.


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Schumacher's condition improves

31 December 2013 Last updated at 06:48 ET
Prof Jean-Francois Payen and female colleague

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Prof Jean-Francois Payen described Mr Schumacher's condition as "stable"

Former motor racing champion Michael Schumacher's condition has improved slightly after an operation to relieve pressure on his brain, his doctors have said.

A new scan taken overnight showed signs that he was "better than yesterday", but he was still "not out of danger", doctors said.

The seven-time Formula 1 champion suffered head injuries on Sunday in a skiing accident in the French Alps.

He was put in a medically-induced coma.

An initial scan on Monday night showed "an improved situation" and indicated a window of opportunity for a second operation, doctors said.

The family took the "difficult decision" to give consent for the procedure, and doctors operated on Schumacher for about two hours.

Continue reading the main story

Schumacher's skiing accident dominates German media coverage, with many painting an image of a fearless daredevil. "The fight of his life," tabloid Bild says in its front-page headline, adding: "Schumi was always in search of danger."

Some commentators, such as Stefan Frommann in daily Die Welt, wonder whether Schumacher's retirement from Formula 1 in 2012 has led him to live "more dangerously".

But in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Anno Hecker says those who accuse Schumacher of having gambled with his life "fear the truth - that they don't dare to do what Schumacher does: take a risk".

Many others, he adds, see "such winners not as gamblers, but as people who managed to do what they dreamed of: to get on, to find out their true potential".

A subsequent scan revealed a "slight improvement".

"We can't say he is out of danger but... we have gained a bit of time,'' said Dr Jean-Francois Payen. "The coming hours are crucial.

"All the family is very much aware that his state is still sensitive and anything can happen."

Doctors said it was impossible to give a prognosis for his condition for tomorrow, six months' or even a year's time.

'Extremely shocked'

Schumacher had been skiing off-piste with his teenage son when he fell and hit his head on a rock.

He was first evacuated to a hospital in the nearby town of Moutiers.

Prof Chabardes said the driver was in an "agitated condition" on arrival in Moutiers and his neurological condition "deteriorated rapidly".

He was taken from Moutiers to the larger facility in Grenoble.

Messages of support have come from around the world.

A spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she and her government were, like millions of Germans, "extremely shocked".

"We hope, with Michael Schumacher and with his family, that he can overcome and recover from his injuries," the spokesman said.

Former Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa, who recovered from life-threatening head injuries he suffered at the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix, wrote on Instagram: "I am praying for you my brother! I hope you have a quick recovery! God bless you, Michael."

On Monday some fans had gathered outside the hospital in Grenoble.

Nuravil Raimbekov, a student from Kyrgyzstan who is studying nearby, described Schumacher as an inspiration.

"I'm worried, of course... but I still hope, and I will pray for him," he said.

Schumacher is held in a great deal of affection in the area, says the BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Grenoble. He is seen as a kind and generous man who has done a lot for charity.

The former champion, who turns 45 on 3 January, retired from F1 for a second time in 2012.

He won seven world championships and secured 91 race victories during his 19-year career.

The driver won two titles with Benetton, in 1994 and 1995, before switching to Ferrari in 1996 and going on to win five straight titles from 2000.

He retired in 2006, and was seriously hurt in a motorcycling accident in Spain three years later, during which he suffered neck and spine injuries.

Schumacher managed to recover and made a comeback in F1 with Mercedes in 2010.

After three seasons which yielded just one podium finish, he quit the sport at the end of last year.


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PM urged to keep border controls

Written By Unknown on Senin, 30 Desember 2013 | 19.21

30 December 2013 Last updated at 05:55 ET

Ninety senior Conservative activists have urged David Cameron not to lift border controls on Bulgarian and Romanian migrants on 1 January.

In a letter to the PM, they argue he could use a clause in EU law to prevent a "hugely disruptive and destabilising wave of mass immigration".

It allows countries to continue with border controls if they have "serious labour market disturbances", they add.

They say the UK needs "space and time" to reduce long-term youth unemployment.

Conservative Justice Secretary Chris Grayling acknowledged there was "massive" public concern about the issue but suggested retaining the restrictions was not feasible as his party's Lib Dem coalition partners would not support the necessary measures in Parliament.

Temporary restrictions

Bulgarians and Romanians gained the right to visa-free travel to the UK in 2007, when their countries joined the EU.

Continue reading the main story

How are local authorities going to be able to support unrestricted new immigrant individuals and entire families without additional financial support or increased local taxation?"

End Quote Tory activists' Letter

Since then, temporary restrictions have been in place meaning Romanians and Bulgarians have been able to work in the UK only if they are self-employed, have a job offer, or are filling specialist posts for which no British worker can be found.

These restrictions will be dropped on 1 January, having been extended to the maximum period of seven years.

Mr Cameron has said the government "can't stop these full transitional controls coming to an end".

But the letter, written by Conservative Grassroots chairman Robert Woollard and "backed by local association chairmen, former chairmen and other senior activists", says they "respectfully disagree" with the government's position.

It says a "safeguard clause" written into the EU accession treaty for the two countries "allows for the re-imposition of temporary restrictive measures in any member state if it is 'undergoing or foresees serious labour market disturbances'.

"Long-term UK youth unemployment - at 21% - is the third highest within EU and OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] countries," it adds.

'Social unrest'

The letter says it is therefore logical for the UK "to unilaterally exercise its opt-out on immigration matters under the Lisbon Treaty and extend the original restrictions to 2018 to allow the UK economy the space and time to reverse the long-term high youth unemployment trend".

"You must be aware that this is an untenable political position given the widespread opposition of the British people," it continues.

"It is also an unsustainable economic position in view of the huge pressure already placed on public services at a time when the country is still facing acute challenges within the economy."

The letter says: "How are local authorities going to be able to support unrestricted new immigrant individuals and entire families without additional financial support or increased local taxation?

"The fiscal position is simply untenable, irrational and grossly unfair - and may lead to social unrest."

Mr Woollard adds: "As a matter of urgency we urge you to call a special sitting of Parliament and bring forward a vote on Nigel Mills MP's proposed amendment to the Immigration Bill at the soonest."

More than 60 MPs have signed the Tory MP's amendment to extend the controls until 2018. But earlier this month, Commons Leader Andrew Lansley announced the bill would not be debated until next year - after the controls expired.

David Cameron has said the idea of freedom of movement within the EU, one of its most important principles, needs to be reconsidered as "massive" population shifts in the past decade have put pressure on countries across Europe.

'Massive concern'

Mr Grayling told the BBC that immigration controls were just one aspect of the UK's relationship with the EU that the Conservatives would change if they were governing on their own, instead of in coalition.

"David Cameron has said very clearly he would like to see tougher rules in future and we have always said we would have implemented tougher rules in the past," he told Radio 4's Today.

The Lib Dems and Labour were "happy with what we have got", he claimed, and only a majority Conservative government would be able to address issues "causing massive concern to the people of this country".

"We do not have a majority... the Conservative Party would not be able to get through the House of Commons some of the things that we would like to do in changing our relationship with the European Union."

Ministers have refused to predict how many migrants might arrive from Romania and Bulgaria.

With eight other EU countries - including France, Germany and Spain - lifting restrictions at the same time, they say such forecasts are difficult.

The government is tightening the rules on benefit claims by EU citizens who come to the UK and on Monday, it also announced that overseas visitors and migrants were to face new charges for some NHS services in England.

Meanwhile, a senior Romanian official has said he expects between 2,000 and 3,000 members of the minority Roma community to come to the UK after 1 January.


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Power companies 'let customers down'

30 December 2013 Last updated at 06:57 ET

Some power companies "let their customers down badly" over Christmas, the environment secretary has said.

Owen Paterson's comments came as the Energy Networks Association said all of the houses that lost power during the Christmas storms had been reconnected.

At the height of the storms, on Christmas Eve, more than 150,000 properties were cut off.

Meanwhile, road and rail troubles persisted as the Met Office warned of more gales and heavy rain on Monday.

Transport problems on Monday included:

  • A landslip between Dorking and Horsham means there are no rail services between Gatwick Airport and London, with the route not open for "a fair period of time", Southern Railways said.
  • Pre-Christmas landslips in four separate locations have meant there are no rail services between Petersfield in Hampshire and Haslemere in Surrey.
  • Flooding in Wales has caused disruption to train services.
  • No trains running on the Isle of Wight due to flooding.
  • One lane closed on the M48 Severn Bridge due to strong winds.
  • A section of the M77 in Glasgow closed because of flooding.
  • Fallen trees caused the closure of the A36 in Hampshire and the A35 in Dorset. Both were later reopened.

The South East was worst-hit by the power failures, with tens of thousands of homes in north Wales and Cumbria also left without power because of the storms, which caused huge travel disruption and flooding in the run-up to Christmas.

Environment secretary, Owen Paterson

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Environment Secretary Owen Paterson: "Some of the companies did not perform"

About 600 homes still had no electricity at the start of Sunday but the last of them was reconnected on Sunday evening, the ENA said.

Mr Paterson told BBC Breakfast power companies should have been aware that the Environment Agency was warning of severe weather in the run-up to Christmas.

"Quite clearly some of the power companies let their customers down badly," he said.

"It seems obvious at this stage that they let too many of their staff go away for the Christmas holiday, they didn't have enough people manning the call centres and that wasn't acceptable."

'Typical' winter storm

Forecasters say the latest storm pushing in from the Atlantic will cross the UK from west to east on Monday.

Continue reading the main story

Travel news: Choose an area

The Met Office has issued an amber warning for rain in Strathclyde and south-west Scotland and Lothian Borders, telling the public to be prepared for the risk of flooding.

There is also a yellow warning - the lowest of the three - for wind in Wales, north-west and north-east England, Yorkshire and Humber, the East Midlands, south-west England and London and the South East.

Continue reading the main story

Weather information

From the BBC:

Elsewhere:

There are yellow warnings for rain in Wales, Northern Ireland, south-west England and much of Scotland.

BBC Weather forecaster Laura Gilchrist said that, although the Met Office had issued warnings, Monday's storm would "typical" for this time of year.

She said the rain was "not expected to cause further flooding in areas affected last week".

The Environment Agency has seven flood warnings in place in England where flooding is expected and 106 flood alerts, where people should be prepared for possible flooding.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has 20 flood warnings in place and nine flood alerts.

The unsettled weather looks set to continue into the new year after the Met Office issued a yellow warning for rain on New Year's Day, affecting southern England and western Scotland.

Mr Paterson said it was important that power companies and local councils had "adequate staff" to cope with any emergencies that might crop up.

He added: "We've made it very clear they have clear responsibilities to their customers and to their electors and we expect them to perform."

At the weekend, one of Britain's biggest power distributors, UK Power Networks, promised to increase compensation payments to customers who had lost power in the Christmas Eve storm.

The firm said it would will increase payments for 48 to 60-hour outages from £27 to £75 for those affected on Christmas Day.

Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Authority said it was talking to Gatwick Airport to establish whether it could have done more to help passengers who were stranded over Christmas after power problems at its north terminal affected check-ins.


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New deadly bomb strikes Russian city

30 December 2013 Last updated at 06:50 ET
Scene of second explosion

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The blast took place at a busy time on a busy route, as Daniel Sandford explains

At least 14 people have been killed in a suicide bombing on a trolleybus in the Russian city of Volgograd, investigators say.

The blast comes a day after 17 people died in another suicide attack at the central station in the city.

Security has been tightened at railway stations and airports across Russia.

Moscow is concerned militant groups could be ramping up violence in the run-up to the 2014 winter Olympic Games in the city of Sochi.

The Olympic venue is close to Russia's volatile north Caucasus region.

But a spokeswoman for the International Olympic Committee told Reuters news agency that the organisation had no doubt Russian authorities would provide adequate security for the games.

Busy market

The latest explosion took place near a busy market in Volgograd's Dzerzhinsky district.

Continue reading the main story
  • Struck by suspected suicide bombers three times in two months
  • Formerly known as Stalingrad, it was the scene of the bloodiest battle in World War II and has a deep symbolism for Russia
  • One of the biggest cities near the troubled North Caucasus region
  • A main transport hub between Moscow and Southern Russia

Maksim Akhmetov, a Russian TV reporter who was at the scene of the blast, said the trolleybus was packed with people going to work in the morning rush hour.

He described the scene as "terrible", adding that the bus was "ravaged" and that there were "bodies everywhere, blood on the snow".

The figures given for the number of dead and injured are still fluctuating, but investigators and the Russian Health Ministry told a press conference that 14 people had been killed.

At least 20 others were injured, and Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova said the patients were in "a bad condition with burns, with multiple injuries typical of blast-induced wounds."

She said the injured include a pregnant woman, two 16-year-olds and a baby aged about six months whose parents are assumed dead.

The regional governor has announced five days of mourning for all the victims.

The force of the explosion removed much of the bus's exterior and broke windows in nearby buildings.

"It is now possible to preliminarily say that the explosive device was set off by a suicide bomber - a man whose body fragments have been collected and sent for genetic testing," the Investigative Committee said in a statement.

City in shock

In response to this second blast in less than 24 hours, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered security measures to be tightened across Russia and in particular in Volgograd.

Local resident Polina Goncharova said the whole city was in shock.

"This is the first time in my life that I have experienced anything like this. I have been crying since I heard about the first bombing, and now the second one today," she told the BBC.

"I live not far from the areas where both bombings took place, and there are very few people on the streets. I am staying at home myself as I'm worried there will be more attacks."

Russian Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin

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Investigative Committee spokesman: "Bomb technicians are working at the scene"

The first blast rocked Volgograd-1 station at around 12:45 (08:45 GMT) on Sunday, at a time of year when millions of Russians are travelling to celebrate the New Year.

A nearby security camera facing the station caught the moment of the blast, showing a bright orange flash behind the station's main doors.

The explosion shattered windows and sent debris and plumes of smoke from the station entrance.

No group has yet said it was behind the blast.

Volgograd was also targeted in October, when a suspected female suicide bomber killed six people in an attack on a bus.

An Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus region has led to many attacks there in recent years. Insurgents have also attacked major Russian towns.

The attacks show that the bombers do not need to target Sochi directly to attract international attention - any part of Russia will do, says the BBC's Daniel Sandford in Moscow.

Volgograd lies about 900km (560 miles) south of Moscow, 650km north of the North Caucasus and 700km north-east of Sochi.

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Migrants to face NHS care charges

29 December 2013 Last updated at 19:56 ET

Migrants and overseas visitors are to face new charges for some NHS services in England, ministers say.

They include extended prescription fees, the introduction of charges for some emergency care and higher rates for optical and dental services.

However, GP and nurse consultations will remain free, and nobody will be turned away in an emergency.

Ministers say they are keen to clamp down on any abuse of the system, but doctors' leaders have voiced concerns.

The government had considered charging for GP consultations, but decided that easy initial access was important to prevent risks to public health such as HIV, TB and sexually transmitted infections.

Other types of primary care services that are being considered for charging include minor surgery that is carried out by a GP and physiotherapy that has been referred through a GP.

There are also plans to introduce a new system for identifying and recording patients who should be charged for NHS services.

Continue reading the main story
  • Free NHS care is offered to anyone living in the UK who has temporary or permanent permission to do so
  • Asylum seekers, non-European Economic Area nationals who do not have permission to live in the UK, British expats, and visitors usually have to pay for treatment
  • The UK has reciprocal agreements with most European nations and 28 other countries, and under these visitors are given free NHS care
  • The NHS should claim these costs back from the relevant governments - but research suggests just £73m a year is recouped out of more than £460m at present.

The government said the changes would allow the NHS to recoup money, and encourage only those who need urgent and emergency care to attend.

Health Minister Lord Howe said: "Having a universal health service free at the point of use rightly makes us the envy of the world, but we must make sure the system is fair to the hardworking British taxpayers who fund it.

"We know that we need to make changes across the NHS to better identify and charge visitors and migrants. Introducing charging at primary care is the first step to achieving this.

"We are already looking at taking action and next year we will set out our detailed plans to clamp down on the abuse of our NHS."

'Unintended drawbacks'

The British Medical Association said it was concerned the proposals would require doctors and GPs to spend more time on paperwork and that it could cost more in administration charges than what it would recuperate.

Dr Mark Porter, chairman of the BMA Council, said: "The government's current proposals could create unintended drawbacks for the NHS and patients.

"They are likely to create a complex patchwork of charging and access entitlements where some services remain free, such as GP appointments, while others will be chargeable, including A&E visits and other services provided via many GP practices, such as physiotherapy."

Dr Chaand Nagpaul, who leads the BMA's GP committee, added: "We cannot have a situation where any patient with a serious health need is deterred from visiting a GP, especially if their condition raises a potential public health risk."

Labour shadow health minister Lord Hunt accused ministers of "putting spin before substance".

"Labour is in favour of improving the recovery of costs from people with no entitlement to NHS treatment," he said.

"Rather than more grand-standing, the government needs to deliver practical, thought-through changes to make that happen.

"Instead this out-of-touch government is left asking doctors and nurses to act as surrogate immigration officials."

The announcement follows a Department of Health study which estimated that up to £500m could be recovered from overseas visitors' and migrants' use of the NHS every year through better charging.

However, academics have argued that the extent of deliberate health tourism - where people travel to the UK specifically to use the NHS - has been hugely overstated and is responsible for only a small part of NHS expenditure.

Many changes will start to be introduced over the coming year.

The government has already announced a £200-a-year levy on migrants from outside the European Economic Area staying for between six months and five years.

A cost-recovery unit will help hospitals claw back money they are owed by other governments for treating foreign nationals visiting the UK.


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Ferry fire suspects remain in custody

29 December 2013 Last updated at 21:15 ET

Police are continuing to question two men arrested after a fire broke out on a North Sea ferry, off the Yorkshire coast, on Saturday night.

RAF helicopters winched a passenger and five crew who were suffering from the effects of smoke inhalation off the MS King Seaways.

A 26-year-old man was later arrested on suspicion of arson and a 28-year-old man on suspicion of affray.

The DFDS Seaways ferry had 946 passengers and 127 crew on board.

The five crew members who fought the fire, and a pregnant passenger were taken to Scarborough Hospital.

All have since been discharged.

'Movie scene'

DFDS said the fire had started at about 22:45 GMT on Saturday - when the ferry was 30 miles off the coast as it sailed from North Shields to Ijmuiden, in the Netherlands - but was extinguished within 15 minutes.

It returned early on Sunday to North Shields, where passengers disembarked following police interviews.

Video shows ferry passengers heading for lifeboats

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One passenger filmed the moment people were told to head for the lifeboats

Insp Andrew Dixon of Humberside Police said the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) had called them at about 23:00 GMT and had said a passenger was "believed to have set fire to a cabin".

"As a result of this incident, the person suspected of causing the fire, or the person from the cabin where the fire occurred - be it deliberate or accidental - has been detained by ship staff," he added.

'Very damaged'

Passenger Julie Bell, from Washington, Tyne and Wear, said: "It was like a scene from a movie - a chaotic mess, horrible.

"It was terrifying and I won't be travelling by boat again. I think I will stay in the UK from now on, it's a lot safer."

A DFDS spokesman said the cabin that was burnt was "very damaged" and there had been some smoke damage to surrounding cabins, "but the ship's function has not been affected in any way and is safe to travel".

RAF footage

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Katie Gellatly, from Humber Coastguard, explains how the rescue unfolded

The company said it was doing "everything to help" passengers complete their journey from Tyneside.

It said it was organising free alternative travel arrangements with another ferry operator departing from Hull on Monday, with free accommodation on Sunday night on the MS King Seaways before a coach transfer to Hull.

"If passengers opt to cancel their travel arrangements and make alternative arrangements, they will be fully refunded with the option to re-book at a later date for no extra charge," the operator added.


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CBI: Firms must pay workers more

30 December 2013 Last updated at 05:56 ET

The head of the UK's main business lobby group has said too many people are "stuck" in minimum wage jobs, despite an upturn in the UK economy.

John Cridland, director general of the CBI, said businesses should deliver "better pay and more opportunities" for their employees.

He told the BBC: "If we get productivity going, we are creating more wealth, and we can share it."

Recovery should be sustainable before wages increased, he said.

Mr Cridland said: "It's nice for once to have a somewhat more upbeat message. The message is, if the economy is growing, we can have everybody swim upwards."

But he said lacking productivity was a "bit of a worry" in the UK economy and that it was important that skill shortages did not undermine recovery.

In his annual new year's message, Mr Cridland said despite economic growth, there were "still far too many people stuck in minimum wage jobs without routes to progression, and that's a serious challenge that businesses and the government must address."

Rebuilding trust

Mr Cridland said businesses must support employees in "every part of the country" to progress in their careers and help young people get their first jobs.

He called for a vocational system, similar to Ucas, to help raise awareness about other routes to higher skills.

Mr Cridland said: "If 2013 was the year that business trust took a hammering on a range of issues from corporate taxation to energy prices, then 2014 must be the year that business leaders take action to rebuild that trust."

His comments came as the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) warned 2014 had to be a "year of productivity" if earnings were to rise sustainably.

Mark Beatson, chief economist at the CIPD, said: "Employment growth looks set to continue at an impressive rate over the year to come. However, the downside is that UK productivity has yet to improve and remains below its pre-recession level."

He said the low productivity was behind falling real wages and the high cost of living in the UK.

Mr Beatson said: "Central to this [lacking productivity] is business and government acting together to improve the way people are managed, with more emphasis on working smarter and creating value. "

He said the "crisis of trust" in many organisations had to be tackled to boost productivity, alongside making more use of the "skills and talents of our workforce".


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Schumacher 'fighting for his life'

30 December 2013 Last updated at 07:13 ET
Three doctors at news conference

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Doctors told journalists that they could not predict what would happen

Michael Schumacher, the seven-time Formula 1 champion, is "fighting for his life" after a ski accident in the French Alps, his doctors say.

The driver remains in a critical condition in hospital in Grenoble with head injuries suffered on Sunday morning at the resort of Meribel.

"We cannot tell you what the outcome will be yet," the team treating him told a news conference on Monday morning.

His family are at his bedside.

Schumacher underwent surgery on arrival at the University Hospital in Grenoble.

He remains in a coma and the medical team treating him said that they are working "hour by hour".

"All we can do is wait," they added.

Helmet

Prof Jean-Francois Payen told reporters that if Schumacher had not been wearing a protective helmet "he wouldn't be here now".

"We had to operate urgently to release some pressure in his head," the anaesthetist said.

Neurosurgeon Stephan Chabardes said that a post-operative scan had shown "diffuse haemorrhagic legions" on both sides of Schumacher's brain.

The doctors refused to comment on his prognosis.

The 44-year-old German was skiing off-piste with his teenage son when he fell and hit his head on a rock.

Following the accident, Schumacher was evacuated to the hospital in the nearby town of Moutiers.

Prof Chabardes said the driver was in an "agitated condition" on arrival in Moutiers and his neurological condition "deteriorated rapidly".

He was taken from Moutiers to the larger facility in Grenoble.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

Catherine McMahon Consultant neurosurgeon


After an operation to reduce swelling of the brain, we would place a monitor inside the brain to measure the pressure.

The induced coma Michael Schumacher is in is to try to stabilise the pressure within the brain, to try to prevent secondary brain damage from occurring.

It's likely he will remain in an induced coma for several days, and really the outcome is very, very unclear at this stage.

The agitation suggests that his conscious level when he first came in was deteriorating.

Schumacher is being kept in a coma at a low temperature to facilitate his recovery, Prof Payen said.

The medical team said that the driver's relative youth and the fact that he was operated on without delay count in his favour.

'Good visibility'

Tim Wall, who produces a snow conditions report for La Tania, a neighbouring village to Meribel, told the BBC that skies were clear and visibility good in the area on Sunday.

"There was about 20cm of snow late on Saturday and overnight.

"On Sunday morning the snow was very light and the skies were clear - perfect skiing conditions."

But despite this and a similar snowfall earlier in the week, off-piste snow cover was patchy, he said.

"There have been quite high winds, so there are areas with good snow cover, but where it's exposed there's not much snow.

"There are lots of tree roots sticking out, and rocks. We kept to [more sheltered areas in] the trees and were very careful."

'Fighting spirit'
Continue reading the main story

Michael Schumacher

  • Born: 3 January 1969
  • First GP win: Belgium 1992
  • Last GP win: China 2006
  • Races started: 303
  • Wins: 91 (155 podium finishes)
  • Championships: 7 (1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004)

Schumacher, who turns 45 on 3 January, retired from F1 for a second time in 2012.

He won seven world championships and secured 91 race victories during his 19-year career.

Schumacher won two titles with Benetton, in 1994 and 1995, before switching to Ferrari in 1996 and going on to win five straight titles from 2000.

He retired in 2006, and was seriously hurt in a motorcycling accident in Spain three years later, during which he suffered neck and spine injuries.

But Schumacher managed to recover and made a comeback in F1 with Mercedes in 2010.

After three seasons which yielded just one podium finish, he quit the sport at the end of last year.

The Mercedes F1 team said their thoughts and prayers were with Schumacher and his family.

The team tweeted that the driver had "amazing fighting spirit".

British retired F1 driver David Coulthard said that "if anyone knows how to muster inner strength and determination then there's no doubt in my mind Michael Schumacher is the man to do it".

He told BBC News that Schumacher was "risk averse" as an F1 competitor, like other drivers - contrary to the popular image of the sport.

"It's all about finding the limits of your car, and staying within the limits," he said.


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'Debt crisis will affect millions'

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 29 Desember 2013 | 19.21

29 December 2013 Last updated at 06:45 ET

Millions of UK households will face "perilous" levels of debt when interest rates begin to rise, according to a think-tank focused on living standards.

The number of people using more than half their disposable income to repay debt could rise from 600,000 to a 1.1 million by 2018 if interest rates rise to 3%, said the Resolution Foundation.

If rates hit 5%, two million households would face huge repayments, it said.

Mortgages are the largest source of UK household debt.

The Resolution Foundation study used the latest five-year growth projections from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility.

"Even if we take a somewhat rosy view of how the economy will develop over the next few years the number of households severely exposed to debt looks as though it will double," said Matthew Whittaker, the senior economist at the Resolution Foundation.

"But the levels of debt built up by families in the pre-crisis years are such that even relatively modest changes in incomes and borrowing cost assumptions produce significantly worse outcomes."

The Resolution Foundation said the number of households in so-called "debt peril" - spending more than half their income to debt repayments - was 870,000 in 2007, just before the financial crisis.

If rates do not rise above 3% by 2018, then the Resolution Foundation suggests 1.1 million will be in "debt peril".

Unemployment rates

"On the most adverse, but still plausible, scenario looked at in the Resolution Foundation analysis the number of households in Britain who spend at least half their disposable income on repaying debts (and are therefore deemed to be in debt peril) could more than triple - from 600,000 in 2011 to 2 million by 2018," it said.

The predictions apply to all debt, including credit cards and other loans - but mortgages make up the largest slice of most debt in the UK.

The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold at a record low of 0.5% since March 2009.

Under the Bank's policy of forward guidance, brought in Governor Mark Carney, it has said it will not increase interest rates until the rate of unemployment has dropped below 7%.

The UK unemployment rate this month recently fell to 7.4% during the three months to October, the lowest level since early 2009, which led some economists to predict that the Bank may raise rates as soon as next year.

Recently, the Conservative-leaning think tank, the Centre for Social Justice, said the average UK household has debts of £54,000, including mortgages. This is nearly twice the level of a decade ago and much more must be done to help the UK's poorest families, it said.


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Let Syrian refugees into UK - Farage

28 December 2013 Last updated at 23:11 ET
Nigel Farage

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Nigel Farage says the UK should honour its obligations under international law

The UK should take in some refugees from Syria's civil war, UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage has said.

He told BBC News that Western countries should agree to take an allocation, but he did not specify numbers.

Mr Farage, who has led opposition to allowing open immigration from Romania and Bulgaria in the new year, said refugees were "a very different thing".

The UK government is refusing to accept Syrian refugees, saying it is better to offer financial help.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

There is a responsibility on all of us in the free West to try and help some of those people fleeing Syria, literally in fear of their lives"

End Quote Nigel Farage

BBC political correspondent Arif Ansari said Mr Farage's call was likely to surprise many.

Mr Farage said: "I think refugees are a very different thing to economic migration and I think this country should honour the 1951 declaration on refugee status that was agreed.

"It was agreed with the UN and even through the European Court, which sadly has changed its role.

"But the original ideas of defining what a refugee is were good ones and I think, actually, there is a responsibility on all of us in the free West to try and help some of those people fleeing Syria, literally in fear of their lives."

'Miserably failing'

He said it was time for "a proper debate" about "the difference between a refugee - who fears for his or her life - or somebody moving simply for economic benefit".

While Mr Farage did not put a figure on the estimated nine million Syrians displaced by war who should be allowed into the UK, Labour wants to accept 400 to 500.

On Saturday, the leaders of Britain's three main political parties issued a joint statement backing a UN appeal to raise £4bn to help Syrian refugees.

David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg said the fate of a Syrian generation "hangs in the balance" with four million children caught up in the civil conflict.

The leaders said the UK would add to the £523m it had already committed and urged other nations to do the same.

Continue reading the main story

Where Syrian refugees are

  • 838,000 in Lebanon
  • 567,000 in Jordan
  • 540,000 in Turkey
  • 207,000 in Iraq
  • 129,000 in Egypt
  • 6.5 million others displaced inside Syria

(Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees)

The UK says its aid is providing support including food, medical care and relief items for people in Syria and to refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq.

In a report released earlier this month, Amnesty International accused European Union leaders of "miserably failing" to provide a safe haven to Syrians.

Only 10 member states had offered to take in refugees and even then only 12,000, it complained.

Italy - like the UK - had offered no places at all, the organisation said.

More than 100,000 people are estimated to have been killed since the unrest began in Syria more than two years ago.


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NI parties holding further talks

29 December 2013 Last updated at 04:58 ET

Delegations from some of the Northern Ireland Executive parties will continue talks about the past, parades and flags on Sunday.

Talks aimed at solving some of the contentious issues ended on Saturday without agreement.

The DUP met with former US diplomat Richard Haass, who is chairing the talks, on Saturday night, as the party does not negotiate on a Sunday.

The five main parties will meet again early on Monday.

The DUP's Jeffrey Donaldson said he hoped a deal could be reached before Monday's deadline.

"There are a number of significant issues that need to be resolved, particularly on parades and dealing with the past and so we're determined to try and close the gap if we can," Mr Donaldson said.

'Final effort'

Dr Haass returned to Belfast on Saturday after efforts to reach a deal before Christmas had failed.

He said he was back "for one final effort to help reach agreement".

Dr Haass and his co-chair, Harvard professor Meghan O'Sullivan, are due to leave Northern Ireland before the new year.

Before Saturday's round-table talks began, Peter Robinson, Northern Ireland's first minister and leader of the DUP, said some elements of the proposals were "unworkable".

He said: "There's a large part of the document I could readily bring to the party, there are other elements that render the rest unworkable."

'Terrible embarrassment'

Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, from the main nationalist party Sinn Féin, said: "I just think that for Richard Haass and Meghan O'Sullivan to leave here without making an agreement would be a terrible embarrassment for politicians, for the process, and would clearly show a lack of leadership qualities in terms of facing up to these very difficult challenges."

Continue reading the main story
  • Master and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Oxford University
  • Special assistant to US President George HW Bush from 1989 to 1993
  • Principal adviser to US Secretary of State Colin Powell from 2001 to 2003
  • Also President George W Bush's special envoy to Northern Ireland from 2001 to 2003
  • Well acquainted with the political geography of Northern Ireland
  • President of independent think-tank Council on Foreign Relations since 2003.

Prior to Saturday's six-hour meeting Prof O'Sullivan had said: "By Monday we will know whether an agreement is to be had or not."

Dr Haass said the talks were "a final opportunity to come together in an agreement that we believe could and would change Northern Ireland for the better, both for individuals and for society writ large.

"We hope this opportunity is seized, as time does not work in anyone's favour.

"The last year has shown that flags and parades have the potential to further inflame an already divided society.

"Time also works against the ability to capture the past, as memory fades, as evidence is lost and lives end."

Asked if this was his final effort, Dr Haass used an American phrase: "You either fish or you cut bait." He said that time had come.

'Missing ingredient'

Dr Haass and Prof O'Sullivan were brought to Northern Ireland in July by the first and deputy first ministers.

They returned to the US for Christmas after talks broke up without agreement in the early hours on Christmas Eve.

"By noon on Monday we will have had 12 hours of plenary, it will be hard at that point, given everything that will have gone before, to argue that the missing ingredient is more time," Dr Haass said.

The parties were given a fifth draft of proposals from Dr Haass and Prof O'Sullivan on Friday night.


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Burial for Lebanon former minister

29 December 2013 Last updated at 05:38 ET
Mourners in Beirut for Mohamad Chatah

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Crowds of mourners have been gathering at a mosque in Beirut

The funeral of the Lebanese former minister and opposition figure Mohamad Chatah, who was killed by a car bomb on Friday, is taking place in Beirut.

Tight security was in place as his body was conveyed to a city centre mosque.

Mr Chatah, a Sunni Muslim, was a staunch critic of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Lebanon's Shia Hezbollah movement that backs him.

Lebanon has been hit by a wave of attacks linked to heightened Sunni-Shia tensions over the Syrian war.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Mr Chatah's killing deprives his political camp of a key strategist. It also sends a powerful, bloody message to Mr Hariri and the anti-Assad camp in Lebanon"

End Quote

No-one has claimed responsibility for Friday's bombing, which killed six other people and injured at least 50.

Correspondents say Mr Chatah, who served as an adviser to former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, was seen as a moderate in the polarised country.

'Heinous crime'

Mr Chatah will be buried by a mosque on the edge of Martyr's Square near Mr Hariri's father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, himself killed in a massive car bomb in 2005.

Continue reading the main story

Profile: Mohamad Chatah

  • Former Lebanese ambassador to US
  • Close aide to assassinated ex-PM Rafik Hariri
  • Finance minister in government of Rafik Hariri's son, Saad, until Jan 2011
  • Remained senior adviser to Saad Hariri

Mr Chatah's allies, who include Christians and Muslims, called for a big funeral turnout as a political statement, the BBC's Kim Ghattas in Beirut reports.

Saad Hariri implicitly accused Hezbollah of carrying out the bombing.

He blamed "those who are hiding from international justice and who have spread the regional fire to the [Lebanese] nation".

Hezbollah rejected the accusation, calling the bombing a "heinous crime, which comes in the context of a series of crimes and explosions aimed at sabotaging the country".

Syria also denied any involvement in the attack.

Mr Chatah was on his way to a meeting of the anti-Syrian March 14 bloc, led by Saad Hariri, when his convoy was hit.

The bomb went off at 09:00 (07:00 GMT) between the Starco Centre and Phoenicia Hotel, not far from the Lebanese parliament building.

The blast damaged several buildings and set several cars ablaze.

A 16-year-old who died in the attack will also be buried in Beirut on Sunday.


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'Suicide bomber' hits Russia station

29 December 2013 Last updated at 06:50 ET
Moment of blast

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Footage from a CCTV camera showed the moment of the blast

An explosion at a train station in the southern Russian city of Volgograd has killed at least 13 people, reports say.

A female suicide bomber was thought to be responsible for the blast, Russia's anti-terrorism committee said.

A suspected female suicide bomber killed at least six people when she attacked a bus in the city in October.

Moscow is concerned militant groups could be ramping up violence in the run up to the the 2014 winter Olympic Games in the city of Sochi in six weeks.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

In June, Doku Umarov, one of the leaders of the Islamist insurgency in the Russian Caucasus republics, called on his supporters to use "maximum force" to disrupt the "satanic" winter Olympics in Sochi.

It is too early to say whether the attack in Volgograd was by one of his supporters.

But it shows that - despite the metal detectors at railway stations, airports and shopping centres in Russia - bombers are still able to kill and wreak havoc.

It also shows that the attacks will not have to be on Sochi itself to attract attention.

An Islamist insurgency in the North Caucasus region has led to many attacks there in recent years. Insurgents have also attacked big Russian towns.

Volgograd lies about 900km (560 miles) south of Moscow, 650km north of the North Caucasus and 700km north-east of Sochi.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered law enforcement agencies to take "all necessary security measures" in the bomb's aftermath, said a Kremlin spokesman.

Security would be stepped up at train stations and airports, said a federal police spokesman.

'Act of terrorism'

Sunday's explosion rocked Volgograd-1 station at around 12:45 (08:45 GMT) at a time when millions of Russians are travelling to celebrate the New Year.

Interfax news agency quoted a source as saying the bomb was detonated near the metal detectors at the station entrance.

Continue reading the main story

Recent attacks inside Russia

  • 29 December 2013: Suspected female suicide bomber kills at least 13 in attack at Volgograd-1 train station
  • 27 December 2013: Car bomb kills three in the southern city of Pyatigorsk
  • 21 October 2013: Suspected female suicide bomber kills six in attack on bus in Volgograd

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the blast, which local officials said claimed at least 18 lives and left dozens more injured.

"Initial indications are that the blast was set off by a female suicide bomber," said the National Anti-Terror Committee said in a statement.

A nearby security camera facing the station caught the moment of the blast, showing a bright orange flash behind the station's main doors.

The explosion shattered windows and sent debris and plumes of smoke from the station entrance.

Ambulances rushed the injured to hospital, while motionless bodies were laid out in the station forecourt.

The incident was being treated as an act of terrorism, said Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin.

In July, Chechen insurgent leader Doku Umarov posted an online video urging militants to use "maximum force" to prevent the Games from going ahead.

On Friday, a car bomb killed three people in the southern Russian city of Pyatigorsk.

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Two held over North Sea ferry fire

29 December 2013 Last updated at 06:51 ET

Two men have been arrested after a fire on a North Sea ferry led to six people being airlifted to hospital.

A 26-year-old was arrested on suspicion of arson and a 28-year-old was arrested on suspicion of affray.

RAF helicopters winched two passengers and four crew off the MS King Seaways, which was sailing to Amsterdam, when it was 30 miles off Flamborough Head.

The DFDS ferry, which returned to North Shields early on Sunday, had 946 passengers and 127 crew on board.

The six people who required medical attention were taken to Scarborough Hospital and have now been discharged.

Meanwhile, passengers have been disembarking following police interviews.

The two arrests were announced by Northumbria Police.

Earlier, Insp Andrew Dixon of Humberside Police said the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) had called them at about 23:00 GMT and had said a passenger was "believed to have set fire to a cabin".

"As a result of this incident, the person suspected of causing the fire, or the person from the cabin where the fire occurred - be it deliberate or accidental - has been detained by ship staff," he added.

Jamie Petterson

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Ferry passenger Jamie Petterson: "Everyone was generally very calm"

Some 15 passengers and eight staff were checked on the ferry by a doctor, DFDS added in a statement.

It said the fire had started at about 22:45 GMT on Saturday but had been extinguished within 15 minutes.

Gert Jakobsen, a spokesman for ferry operator DFDS, said the ferry had been boarded by police and fire investigators, who spoke to crew members and passengers.

Continue reading the main story

The fire was on our floor but on the other side of the ship - when we climbed up to the communal area we could see the smoke. "

End Quote Steven Basford Passenger

He told the BBC that customers who were now unable to travel to Amsterdam would be refunded.

However he added that the company would endeavour to help people to complete the journey.

Mr Jakobsen said: "We will do everything to help our passengers. There will be a ferry leaving tonight, there will be some spaces on that [and] there will be some spaces offered on other ferry lines.

"We hope to help as many as we can."

Steven Basford, who had been travelling to Amsterdam with his partner to celebrate the new year, described his experience of the fire alarm.

"We were in our room at about 10.40pm last night when they raised the general fire or emergency alarm with seven high-pitched siren noises," he said.

The 28-year-old, from Northumberland, went on: "We were told to evacuate outside the ship and when we got outside they asked us to converge around the lifeboats.

"The fire was on our floor but on the other side of the ship. When we climbed up to the communal area we could see the smoke. It wasn't thick but it was definitely noticeable.

"People were generally pretty calm."

The MCA said it would survey the vessel for any lasting damage.

The MCA's Jo Rawlings told BBC News that conditions for the rescue had been "fairly calm".

Helicopters from RAF Leconfield and RAF Boulmer were sent to the scene.

The RAF crew had lifted those affected off the ferry within an hour.

DFDS runs a daily 17:00 GMT service from North Shields, arriving in Ijmuiden, the Netherlands, at 08:30 GMT (09:30 local time).

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