First, our main story. Emergency services are expecting this weekend to be one of the busiest of the year as towns and city centres are packed with christmas revellers. Extra ambulance crews were brought in ahead of last night amid concerns that so called mad friday, the most popular day for works christmas parties, would see a surge of alcohol fuelled incidents. Michael cowan reports. It is one of the busiest nights of the year for our Emergency Services, so much so that londons Ambulance Service are bringing in an extra 30 crews. Were going to be incredibly busy this weekend, and we will take lots of 999 calls to patients that have suffered the effects of alcohol. That puts a massive strain on our system. It means that we will divert ambulance resources away from patients, perhaps an elderly patient on the floor with a broken hip or a baby with a broken arm, in order to attend those patients that present as immediately life threatened. The pubs are packed and the pints are poured, bu
The ashes are slipping away from england. Australia captain steve smith hits a double century, as his side takes complete control of the third test in perth. And in half an hours time, dateline london reflects on brexit talks and asks whether the election of a democrat in alabama it really is a blow to donald trump. Good morning and welcome to bbc news. A leading supporter of brexit has said the uk cannot become a colony of the eu during the expected two year transition period after britains withdrawal in march 2019. Jacob rees mogg made the comments after eu leaders yesterday agreed to move to the next phase of brexit discussions in the new year. They also suggested the uk would continue to participate of the European Court ofjustice during any transition phase. In the Single Market and remain under thejurisdiction of the European Court ofjustice during any transition phase. The date when the uk leaves the eu, march 29 2019 is now likely not to be set in law. Lets speak to our Politic
The ashes are slipping away from england. Australia captain steve smith hits a double century, as his side takes complete control of the third test in perth. And in half an hour here on bbc news, click investigates the weird world of quantum computing. Good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. A leading supporter of brexit has said the uk cannot become a colony of the eu during the expected two year transition period after britains withdrawal in march 2019. Jacob rees mogg made the comments after eu leaders yesterday agreed to move to the next phase of brexit discussions in the new year. They also suggested the uk would continue to participate in the Single Market and remain under thejurisdiction of the European Court ofjustice during any transition phase. The date when the uk leaves the eu, march 29 2019, is now likely not to be set in law. Lets speak to our Political Correspondent tom barton. He can update is a story as it is developing. Welcome back. First of all, what exactly is bugg
Over his governance has split the party down the middle. There is a desire that the vote should bring africas oldest Liberation Movement back together. I hope that on the conference floor people find one another, because it has not been easy over the last five years to come here. It is a hope against hope, maybe, but i hope that the life of the anc which is dying slowly, somehow surgery will be performed here today and that the patient will be saved. The anc has been losing support in the last few years, and the two candidates have very different ideas on how to arrest that decline. It has been such a bitter fight that whoever wins will have the difficult task of bringing the opposing faction on board but with a National Election in just two years, many say unless the party cleans up house, it could find itself out of power for the First Time Since the end of apartheid. Pumza fihlani, bbc news, johannesburg. Barry sherman, a billionaire who founded canadas largest drugs firm, and his w
And in half an hour here on bbc news we go through the lens, capturing Iconic Images of moments that shaped history. Barry sherman, a billionaire who founded canadas largest drugs firm, and his wife honey, have been found dead at their home in toronto. Police described the deaths as suspicious, but said they were not being treated as murder. Angus crawford reports. One of torontos richest suburbs, a house for sale. In the basement, a discovery, two bodies, a man and a woman. Barry sherman and his wife, honey, one of the richest couples in the country. Police cannot yet say what happened. The circumstances of their death lead us to believe that there may be suspicious circumstances. It is an investigative tool. Until we know exactly how they died, we treat it as suspicious, and once a determination has been made by the pathologist and the coroner, we move forward from there. Barry sherman, who was 75, is thought to be worth more than £2 billion. He made his money in pharmaceuticals, se