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The global economy is set for a recovery, but debt and protectionism could scupper it, say leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
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The BBC is taking over the cost of the World Service from the Foreign Office The BBC is due to outline its plans to close five of its World Service language services.
Staff are due to be informed of the redundancy details on Wednesday, and it is thought that about 650 jobs will be lost from a workforce of some 2,400.
The Macedonian, Albanian and Serbian services will be axed, as will English for the Caribbean and Portuguese for Africa, in a bid to save £46m a year.
Unions have called the move “ferocious” and condemned the “drastic cuts”.
Last October, the government announced the BBC would take over the cost of the World Service from the Foreign Office.
The service, which started broadcasting in 1932, currently costs £272m a year, and has an audience of 241 million worldwide across radio, television and online.
The BBC will make a statement on Wednesday about the latest wave of redundancies, to be phased over two years.
It is understood that two-thirds of the jobs will go in the first 12 months.
A reduction of programmes in another seven languages is also set to be announced.
The BBC World Service has confirmed it is closing five of its 32 language services, but that’s just the start.
More savings will be announced shortly, including cutbacks in other language services and the probable loss of about 650 jobs. It’s not a total surprise.
In October, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office – which still pays for the World Service – said its grant would be cut by 16%, under the government’s Spending Review. (The World Service is not yet funded by the TV licence fee – but will be from 2014).
The BBC said it also faced extra costs – including a large pension contribution – which meant there would be service closures and significant job losses.
Even so, a cut of a quarter of the staff, if confirmed, would be dramatic by any measure. Protests are already planned. The National Union of Journalists is planning a “vigil” outside the World Service headquarters and is urging committees of MPs to review the planned cuts.
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said it would hold a demonstration outside the World Service headquarters in central London on Wednesday.
It has also written to the chairman of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs committee, Richard Ottaway, and the chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, John Whittingdale, calling on them to review the plans.
The NUJ said that if early reports were correct, the “drastic cuts” would “severely damage the national interest of the UK”.
“These ferocious cuts to a valued national service are ultimately the responsibility of the coalition government, whose policies are destroying quality public services in the UK,” general secretary Jeremy Dear said.
BBC global news director Peter Horrocks said the closures were “not a reflection on the performance of individual services or programmes”.
“They are all extremely important to their audiences and to the BBC,” he said.
“It is simply that there is a need to make savings due to the scale of the cuts to the BBC World Service’s grant-in-aid funding from the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and we need to focus our efforts in the languages where there is the greatest need and where we have the strongest impact.”
On Monday, the BBC said it would cut about 200 websites and up to 360 posts from its online division as part of a plan to reduce its budget by £34m.
Among the websites set to close are teen services Switch and Blast, and the 606 football forum.
The corporation said the changes were intended to make its website more distinctive, and to reduce competition with commercial sites.
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Football fans have been reacting to the decision to withdraw assistant referee Sian Massey from a League Two fixture in Crew last night, following a sexism row which saw Sky Sports’ presenters Richard Keys disciplined and Andy Gray sacked.
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David Ferrer defeats an injury-stricken Rafael Nadal to set up a semi-final against Andy Murray at the Australian Open.
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The counter terrorism review was launched by the Home Office in July 2010 The government is set to publish its long-awaited proposed reforms to counter terrorism powers.
The review is expected to propose replacing control orders with a series of measures to monitor suspects.
Counter terrorism-related stop and search powers are also likely to be restricted.
The publication of the review, due on Wednesday, has been repeatedly delayed as coalition ministers have struggled to agree on the changes.
The Home Office launched the review in July 2010, saying it would be rapid and would be aimed at reconciling counter terrorism powers with civil liberties.
The parties agreed to scrap the power of police to hold a suspect without charge for 28 days – and the time limit has now reverted to the original 14 days, after ministers decided not to renew the legislation this month.
There are also expected to be changes to counter terrorism stop and searches, by only permitting their use in narrow and specific circumstances, such as during the 2012 London Olympic Games.
However, the coalition has struggled to reach a deal on the future of control orders – the controversial powers to restrict the movement of a small number of suspects who the government says cannot be prosecuted or deported where they are foreign nationals.
Security chiefs say the power is an essential tool in cases where there is intelligence that someone is involved in extremism but has not yet committed a crime, such as someone associating with known plotters.
The coalition ministers appear to have reached a deal to scrap control orders – but leaks in recent weeks have led critics to say the new system is little more than “control orders lite”.
The new restrictions are expected to include electronic tagging, a ban on overseas travel and visits to specific places or people.
The current regime of curfews of up to 16 hours is expected to be replaced by a more limited overnight home residency requirement.
Other control order restrictions expected to be ditched, include the power to move a suspect away from their home town.
The government is expected to say the changes will strike the right balance between security and liberties by being specific and proportionate to the threat.
It is unclear whether the package will be approved by Lord Macdonald QC, the former Director of Public Prosecutions, who has been overseeing the government’s review.
Writing in the London Evening Standard ahead of the review’s publication, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper indicated the opposition could support measures that it believed were in the national interest rather than coalition politics.
“This review should be a chance for the home secretary to lead a serious debate and build a new consensus,” she said.
“We must update policies and powers in response to ever-changing threats, looking too at new risks, prevention of radicalisation, handling intelligence and the framework of accountability.”
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All the action and reaction as David Cameron faces his weekly Commons questions session – followed by ministers on BBC cuts and control order changes.
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Shops lost sales in a crucial period The chancellor has blamed bad weather for a shock contraction in the UK economy, but how can snow have such a dramatic effect?
Tuesday’s official figures showed that the economy had taken quite a hit from the snow at the end of 2010.
Last year, it was discussed whether snow might actually be good for the economy. Why has it been so bad this time round?
That winter there was much talk of snow effects, but little sign of permanent impact on the official figures.
The figures on the construction sector, for example, showed it had a very difficult time in the first three months of 2010, which could be partly blamed on the weather, but then recovered extremely strongly in the following three months as builders caught up on delayed projects.
It is important to distinguish between a genuine dead loss for the economy and spending that is just being delayed.
The snow this winter appears to have had a greater effect than last winter.
Once again, the construction sector has taken a hit, which we can probably expect to be made up in 2011.
But other areas may not be made up. Last week’s retail sales figures showed a fall of more than 10% in sales at petrol stations in December, which reflects people leaving their cars at home as a result of difficult driving conditions.
Lots of people could not get into work as a result of the snow, but not all of them cost the economy anything.
Some freelance or casual workers will not have been paid for the days they did not work, and cafes, restaurants, taxi drivers and train operators will not make back all of the money that they lost as a result of people staying at home.
Some people work in sectors where a missed day cannot be made up with a bit of overtime or slightly delayed deliveries, but if you are a hairdresser, for example, then the people who were going to come in for a trim but cancelled because of snow are pretty likely to make another appointment.
It is also important not to forget the gains to the economy from snow. Utility companies had a bumper December as people were forced to turn up their heating to cope with the coldest December on record.
Also, last week’s retail sales figures showed significant growth in sales of winter clothing.
Halfords announced in a trading statement that its sales of car maintenance products had risen.
The big difference between this winter’s snow and last winter’s snow was the timing.
Several big shopping centres were forced to close in the weekend before Christmas, meaning that some people did not get their gifts until January, if at all.
Cafes and restaurants were among the businesses worst hit by the weather This is the crucial point. If you were planning to go out in the first week in December to buy a drill and actually you had to go and buy it in the second week, the economy would barely bat an eyelid.
But if you were going to buy it on 23 December and instead had to buy it on 27 December, it is a big deal.
The difference to the economy of having buying sprees at full-price pre-Christmas and at cut-price in the sales is significant and will not be made up later in the year.
Also, many people will have been planning pre-Christmas drinks and meals with friends and colleagues, which will have been cancelled or delayed.
Even the part of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) that calculates the official growth figures for the economy had to postpone its Christmas party because of the weather, and will not be holding it until April.
Last winter, the snow was timed much more favourably, coming mainly in January.
This year’s Christmas trading statements from big retailers were full of comments about the weather.
The boss of Tesco said that its performance had been “hindered” by the “disruptive effects of the severe winter weather conditions”, while Dixons said: “The adverse weather conditions reduced footfall in the run up to Christmas day.”
So while last year it could be argued that in the medium term the snow had not done the economy much harm, this year the effect has been much more damaging.
The ONS said that the snow had knocked 0.5% off the economic growth figures, which is a considerable amount of lost growth.
Some of that will be made back, perhaps by the construction sector as happened last time, and perhaps by bumper January sales shopping and delayed parties, but a significant proportion of it is probably lost to the economy for ever.
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Scientists solve the mystery of the seahorse’s strange and beautiful shape with slow-motion footage showing how it helps them to feed.
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Japanese car manufacturer Toyota is to recall nearly 1.7 million vehicles worldwide over concerns about a possible fuel leakage.
About 1.2 million models are being recalled in Japan and 421,000 overseas, including 140,000 of the Avensis models in Europe.
Japan’s transport ministry said slight cracks could appear in fuel pipes which could cause leakages if untreated.
No accidents have been reported because of the flaw, said Toyota.
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An epic battle between the government and Labour peers over plans to change the way MPs are elected could be nearing its end in the Lords.
Ministers aim to complete the committee stage of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill later.
But Labour is still resisting plans to cut the number of MPs and redraw constituency boundaries.
The bill, which MPs have approved, must become law by 16 February for a planned referendum to be held on 5 May.
The BBC understands talks are going on behind the scenes between coalition ministers and Labour peers over a possible compromise – with the government under pressure to give more leeway over plans to standardise the size of constituencies.
Wednesday’s debate will be the bill’s 14th Lords committee day – thought to be the most since 1971, when peers spent 18 days on the Industrial Relations Bill.
Under the AV system, voters rank candidates in their constituency in order of preference.
Anyone getting more than 50% of first-preference votes is elected.
If no-one gets 50% of votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and their backers’ second choices allocated to those remaining.
This process continues until one candidate has at least 50% of all votes in that round.
Vote reform: Where parties stand Q&A: Alternative Vote referendum
Three further provisional days have been scheduled for the committee stage next week, if no deal can be reached on Wednesday.
If Royal Assent is not received by 16 February, the referendum date could be in doubt – although ministers may seek to force the measure through the Lords by a series of “guillotine” motions.
This would be unprecedented and likely to result in widespread opposition in the House of Lords, which traditionally is self-regulating when it comes to debates.
Another option could be to find a way of reducing the statutory 10 weeks granted to the Electoral Commission to prepare for a referendum, to allow the bill to complete its passage, the BBC understands.
The bill’s report stage and third reading are still to come.
Ministers have accused Labour peers of time-wasting as they seek to separate the referendum on a move to the Alternative Vote (AV), which they support, from the bill’s plans to cut the number of MPs from 650 to 600.
Coalition ministers insist they are part of the same package of reforms.
Peers had already spent more than 98 hours debating the bill by Tuesday morning, including a two-day second reading in November and a 21-hour all-night sitting last week.
Tuesday’s debate lasted eight and a quarter hours, as peers dealt with 10 out of the remaining 50 groups of amendments.
But there were signs that Labour peers’ alleged delaying tactics had finally ended, as one amendment was dealt with in 34 minutes, the next in 11, another in 17, and the last in just four minutes.
Lib Dem Justice minister Lord McNally was, meanwhile, taken ill during the debate in the early hours of Tuesday. He was taken to hospital with what a ministerial colleague said was gastric flu.
The government has suffered two defeats in the Lords over the planned legislation, and ministers will have to decide whether to risk further delay by asking MPs to overturn them when the bill returns to the Commons.
The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Bill would schedule a referendum on bringing in the alternative vote (AV) system for Westminster elections on 5 May.
It also contains provisions for the number of MPs to be cut and for constituency boundaries to be re-drawn so that they are of roughly equal size.
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An unlikely sight has appeared off the the coast of Miami – a grand piano sitting on a sand bank.
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Wi-fi networks are springing up all around the UK Mobile operator O2 is launching free wireless in the UK, which it promises will be double the size of existing networks by 2013.
Initially the hotspots will be available in 450 O2-owned sites but will be expanded to other locations, including shops and restaurants.
Previously 02 had offered free wi-fi on some of its tariffs via BT Openzone and The Cloud.
The Cloud is rumoured to be close to sealing a buy-out deal with Sky.
O2 said access to the hotspots would be through a simple sign-up process and would be free to both 02 and non-02 customers.
For Jeremy Green, a principal analyst with Ovum, the move is a “step in the right direction” to sorting out 02’s capacity issues, brought about by high iPhone ownership and the increasing desire for data on the move.
“450 sites is not fantastic coverage and wi-fi isn’t something that smartphone users will be able to rely on but it is a gesture in the right direction,” he said.
He said it was “surprising” that O2 was prepared to offer it free to non-customers, something the firm is hoping to fund via advertising.
In a swipe at BT’s Fon network, which offers connections which piggyback on BT home broadband networks, O2 said that its service would offer “premium public hotspots, as opposed to using residential connections with limited bandwidth”.
BT’s Openzone and Fon networks are currently the biggest networks in the UK.
The second largest The Cloud claims to have around 22,000 hotspots.
BT recently launched an iPad app allowing its broadband customers to gain access to wi-fi hotspots around the country.
It already has Android and iPhone apps, which has proved popular, attracting 400,000 downloads.
Rival Virgin Media is also toying with the idea of creating a nationwide wi-fi network.
O2 wants to help kick-start more wi-fi usage.
“Only 20% of people who have access to free public wi-fi on 02 tariffs actively use it despite the majority of devices being wi-fi enabled,” said O2’s business development director Tim Sefton
“We know that wi-fi as a technology has great potential and can be a very fast service, however customers are discouraged by barriers which include complexity in activation, uncertainty of where wi-fi is free and the variable quality of the current experience,” he added.
Mr Green said that 02’s wi-fi network would have to go hand-in-hand with other network upgrades.
O2 said that it is continuing to invest in its existing network but Mr Sefton confessed to UK technology news site TechRadar that it would be “years rather than months before we’ll have a commercial 4G network”.
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Russia is launching a massive privatisation programme Russia will take centre stage at Davos later on Wednesday when Dmitry Medvedev opens the World Economic Forum.
The president’s trip has been overshadowed by a bomb blast earlier this week at a Moscow airport which killed 35 people.
Mr Medvedev shortened his trip, but did not cancel it.
His appearance before the global business elite is seen as a major opportunity to outline his country’s massive privatisation programme.
But investors risk being put off by domestic politics.
Vladivostok, which I visited for this month’s Russia Business Report, was seen as a commercial backwater for decades, but is now considered a potential opportunity.
It is on the threshold of the fast-growing economies of Asia – 9000 km from Moscow but just 1300 km from Beijing.
The mineral riches of nearby Siberia and oil pipelines both travel West to markets in Europe.
But now with growth in Asia burgeoning, the city has found renewed significance as Russia’s shipping gateway to the East.
“Cooperation between Russia and Asia is already very diverse and includes natural resources such as energy and ore,” says Alexander Abramov at the Far Eastern Centre for Economic Development.
Russia Business Report is a television programme for BBC World News. Every month we take a look at the latest trends in the Russian economy and business world.
Watch the next programme on Saturday, 29 January at 0330 GMT and 1830 GMT and on Sunday, 30 January at 1130 GMT and 1830 GMT.
“And of course, Russia will export everything the growing Chinese economy needs.”
As the country works to redefine its trade relationships, it is also trying to woo foreign capital to boost the economy.
Vladivostok’s proximity to markets in the East make it an ideal launchpad.
The Apec summit, a high profile meeting between Asia-Pacific leaders will take place here next year.
Russia is desperate to present itself as open, modern and innovative but what concerns foreign companies most of all is the country’s rule of law.
The recent second verdict against former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky was seen by many foreign investors as a reminder of the all-pervasive nature of politics in Russia.
Russians themselves are well aware that how the country wishes to be perceived often finds itself at odds with how it is actually viewed.
Even within the Kremlin, the chief economic advisor to the president has admitted to an image problem.
This year, with an ambitious privatisation programme to get underway, Russia needs to put its best foot forward.
Its central role at the World Economic Forum in Davos will give important insights into how it plans to do that.
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The service was launched after a gap of 41 years A direct train service linking Wrexham with London via Shropshire is to finish this week, less than three years after it was reinstated.
The service from north Wales to London Marylebone returned in April 2008 after a gap of 41 years.
The Wrexham and Shropshire train company blamed falling customers numbers in the economic downturn.
It said it would help 55 staff find alternative jobs when the service ends on Friday.
They were given the news on Tuesday evening.
The service had run five times a day but then dropped to four and was reduced to three last December.
Those who have used the service have been full of praise, and it scored a remarkable 99% satisfaction rating in an independent survey.
When it launched, the service stopped at 10 stations between Wrexham and London including Shrewsbury, Telford, Wolverhampton and Banbury.
I’m afraid that it was always likely.
Originally this was set up by a rival company to Chiltern, which runs most of the services on that line, and eventually they both became owned by Deutsche Bahn, the German state railway.
So it was no longer really viable for Deutsche Bahn to be running services that were rival to its main franchise services.
They were very nice trains. I did travel on it a couple of times.
It used to be real old-fashioned service, with friendly staff, nice food and a very different atmosphere from the sort of modern glass and aluminium boxes that we’re used to these days.
He was speaking to BBC Radio Wales
The Wrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone Railway Company began as a joint partnership between Renaissance Trains, which runs the Hull to London service, and Laing Rail.
It is now run by Chiltern, an offshoot of DB, the German state railway operator, and has been struggling to gain enough passengers to make it a going concern.
In a letter handed out to passengers at Wrexham General station on Wednesday morning, Wrexham and Shropshire chairman Adrian Shooter said the firm lost £2.8m in 2010.
He said: “We have done everything possible to try to reduce the losses.
“We have reached the conclusion that the business has no prospect of providing a return on investment.”
Mr Shooter said staff were being sought alternative jobs in the railway industry.
He added that Wrexham and Shropshire tickets for after this Friday would be accepted on appropriate Virgin Trains, Arriva Trains Wales, London Midland and Chiltern Railways services to and from London Euston and London Marylebone.
In a statement, the firm said that despite having attempted to increase passenger numbers, it had determined that the business has no prospect of reaching profitability and providing a return on investment.
It said: “Wrexham & Shropshire is not insolvent nor is it being placed in administration and all outstanding financial commitments will be met.
“Alternative employment opportunities within the railway industry are being sought for the 55 employees, and all staff wages and full redundancy entitlements will be paid.”
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Jonathan Trott hits 102 as England keep alive their hopes of winning the one-day series against Australia with a 21-run victory in Adelaide.
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