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16/01/2015

Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Yesterday in Parliament, Weather and Thought for the Day.

3 hours

Last on

Fri 16 Jan 2015 06:00

Today's running order

0650

A tracking study has revealed the secrets of the world's highest bird migration, the Himalayan flight of the bar-headed goose. The geese have been recorded at heights of more than 7,000m (23,000ft). Some mountaineers claim that they have seen the birds fly over Mount Everest. This study has revealed that the geese hug the mountainous terrain as they fly in freezing temperatures, breathing air with very little oxygen. Dr Charles Bishop is zoologist at the School of Biological Sciences, Bangor University.

0710

David Cameron is in Washington and will have more meetings with President Obama on Friday. Ahead of the meeting Number 10 are announcing what they say is β€œan unprecedented level of co-operation” between USA and UK on preventing cyber-attacks on companies like the recent hack on Sony pictures. At the meeting, Cameron is expected to seek Obama's support for making sites like Twitter and Facebook co-operate more with British intelligence agencies. Rory Cellan-Jones is our technology correspondent.

0712

The authorities in Belgium have carried out a major anti-terrorist operation targeting suspected Islamist militants who had returned from Syria. Β In one raid in the eastern town of Verviers two suspects were killed and one arrested, after they opened fire on the police with automatic weapons. The federal prosecutor's office said the police suspected the men had been about to launch major terror attacks, possibly within hours, against police officers or stations. Β He said the suspects had been under surveillance for some time and there seemed to be no direct links with last weeks' attacks in Paris. Chris Morris is the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ correspondent in Belgium. Mark Eeckhaurt is a crime and terrorism journalist with the Dutch-language newspaper De Standaard.

0720

New draft guidelines for hospital A&E departments in England suggest there should be one nurse for every four cubicles. This is the latest in a series of guidelines NICE have produced in the past year or so on safe staffing in different healthcare settings, following a recommendation in the Francis Report. Professor Mark Baker is director of clinical practice at the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Peter Carter is chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing.

0730

The employment threat from the plunging oil price has produced the "the most serious jobs situation Scotland has faced in living memory" said Fergus Ewing, the Scottish government’s energy minister yesterday. Yesterday BP cut 300 jobs in its North Sea operations. Nick Butler is former head of strategy at BP. Sir Ian Wood recently headed a government review into North Sea oil.

0740

Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, better known as Fanny Hill, is widely regarded as the first erotic novel in the English language. Published in 1748, it was banned shortly afterwards for obscenity. Well now the star of Men Behaving Badly and Jonathan Creek, Caroline Quentin, is appearing in a stage adaptation which opens at the Bristol Old Vic next month. And she's been telling our arts correspondent Rebecca Jones why she thinks the play is particularly relevant today.

0750

The Army school attacked by the Taliban in Pakistan last month reopened this week, with some of the children who survived the attack returning to class. Considerable security was in place as the school reopened. Parts of it, including that auditorium where so many children died, remain sealed off and may never be used again. Mishal Husain has spoken to Pakistan Army spokesman General Asim Bajwa.

0810

David Cameron is in Washington and will have more meetings with President Obama on Friday. Ahead of the meeting Number 10 are announcing what they say is β€œan unprecedented level of co-operation” between USA and UK on preventing cyber-attacks on companies like the recent hack on Sony pictures. At the meeting, Cameron is expected to seek Obama's support for making sites like Twitter and Facebook co-operate more with British intelligence agencies. Political editor Nick Robinson has spoken to David Cameron. Howard Schmidt was, until 2012, cyber-security coordinator for the Obama administration.

0820

The fallout from the war in Syria - appeared to have reached a provincial Belgian town last night (see 0712), security forces killed two men who had returned from Syria and were suspected of preparing to carry out terrorist attacks. Pieter van Ostaeyen is an independent expert on Syrian jihadism.

0830

Lord Falconer’s Assisted Dying Bill is debated in the House of Lords for the second time on Friday. Most people in the UK, 73%, support the proposals in the Bill (according to YouGov), but many disabled people who disagree that assisted suicide should be made legal have arranged a demonstration outside the House of Lords to oppose any change in the law. They fear it would put lives at risk, as many disabled people with life-limiting conditions who consider themselves a burden could feel pressured or be coerced into ending their lives. Liz Carr is an actress and campaigner. Dr Jackie Davies is chair of Healthcare Professionals for Assisted Dying.

0840

More than 10,000 children have lost one or both parents to Ebola in West Africa's current outbreak, according to UNICEF. Almost 8000 of them are in Sierra Leone. Many are also Ebola survivors themselves, but because of the stigma and fear around the virus, they are often shunned by their communities. Britain has pledged Β£2.5 m to help set up special care centres for Ebola orphans and re-unite children with their extended families. The ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ's global health correspondent Tulip Mazumdar has been to the part British funded St George's orphanage in the capital Freetown.

0850

Does a walk free the mind? We heard yesterday that a brisk daily walk for 20 minutes has significant health benefits. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that a short walk each day could prevent an early death. Aside from the exercise, can walk help you to think clearly? There is no shortage of writers who have drawn inspiration from their daily stroll. Claire Tomalin is biographer of keen walkers Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Samuel Pepys and Jane Austen. Iain Sinclair is an author and filmmaker who does the same walk every morning to get into the right state of mind.

All subject to change.

Broadcast

  • Fri 16 Jan 2015 06:00