And hope from one of the worlds hottest war zones. Against the odds, syrias National Football team nearly qualified for the world cup. And Richard Conway followed their campaign. They are the unlikely sporting heroes in a country ripped apart by conflict. Syria is in the midst of a bloody civil war. But the National Football team is trying to send a message it hopes can transcend political and religious differences. Im following the team as they compete for a place in footballs biggest tournament the world cup. Even some of those who fled syria in fear of their lives see the team as a symbol of national pride. The team has defied the odds by beating some of asias biggest and best. Now theyre on the road again, competing for so much more than just football glory. Its friday afternoon in damascus, and the weekend is under way. Prayers in the morning. And like so many places around the world, football in the afternoon. Its here i meet tarek jabban, assistant coach of syrias National Team.
Welcome to bbc news. The queen has paid tribute to manchester and london in her Christmas Day broadcast, for the way the cities have dealt with terror attacks this year. Looking back at 2017, she said their powerful identities shone through adversity. Earlier, she attended the traditional Christmas Day service at sandringham, along with other members of the royal family, including prince harry and his fiancee meghan markle. Heres our royal correspondent nicholas witchell. Its a day for family, with its own established pattern. For the royal family, that means a visit to church, led by the queen. And there, very much at home already, the royal familys soon to be newest member, meghan markle. Alert to everything that was going on, and waiting for her cue in terms of royal protocol. A neat curtsey, as the queen left by car. And then walking across to speak to members of the crowd who had been hoping to meet her, before lunch, and then the queens christmas broadcast. God save the queen. Th
Tackling the competing demands of religious groups, and the non believing majority. First, the new year brought with it some distressing news, including the deaths of six people, including british businessman richard cousins, in a seaplane accident in australia. The crash was reported extensively on bbc news, too much so for several viewers, including alan winn. He wrote to us on tuesday. Youve been sending us your comments on bbc news output over the christmas and new year period, and one concern thats been voiced was the contrast some perceived in the coverage of two fires that took place on december 29th one in an Apartment Building in the bronx, new york, which killed 12 people, and one in a restaurant in mumbai, where at least 15 people died. Imtiyaz ansari rang that day identifying a discrepancy in the news reporting of the two incidents. It obviously showed a great deal of the fire that took place in the bronx. Where 12 people had died. But the same incident of fire has taken pl
For instance, david parry wrote to us recently to ask about the bbc news website. And when Sarah Mullally was appointed the first female bishop of london last month, the news was mentioned only briefly on that nights evening bulletins, to the disgruntlement of gareth jones, as he explains here. This was an important story for the established church and for womens equality. Even if you had run this story earlier, surely it warranted a regular slot throughout the day, particularly at a time when the role of women in society is at the forefront of our thinking. Others, though, regret the proposal for more religious coverage with some suspicious that the bbc is proselytising. Sue nelson tweeted this week a tough task, then, to satisfy conflicting demands, and the main person responsible is Martin Bashir, whos just become the bbcs first religion editor. He became a household name when his interview with diana, princess of wales, for panorama in 1995 made international headlines. After other
Temperatures in parts of the us are predicted to fall to minus 29, as a record breaking freeze follows heavy snow caused by the so called bomb cyclone. Not quite so cold here. Stav has the details. Thank you, good morning to you. Well, it is turning much colder for all of us this weekend. But on the plus side we should see some sunshine, particularly tomorrow, but a return to overnight frost, as well. I will have all the details for you very shortly. Look forward to it. First, our main story a lawyer who represented victims of the serial sex offender john worboys says some of her clients whose cases werent taken to trial want to give evidence. The former black cab driver is being freed from jail after ten yea rs. He was convicted of 19 offences, although Police Believe he carried out more than 100 attacks. Lawyers say that a number of women were told that their testimony wasnt required to put worboys behind bars for a longer period of time. Tom burridge reports. The decision to release