Demba Ba: Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew is hoping he will stay - BBC Sport

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew says he is still hoping striker Demba Ba will remain at the club after January.

The Senegal striker's representatives held talks with Chelsea on Sunday, later described as unproductive.

Ba, 27, has a £7m-release clause in his Magpies contract which is due to become active again on 1 January.

Ba speculation frustrates Pardew

"I still think it's even whether he will stay or go. I'd like to think he will stay in this window. That will be his decision," Pardew told BBC Sport.

Newcastle have spent recent months attempting to negotiate a new contract with Ba which would remove the clause, and that deal remains on the table.

However, Pardew insisted the club would not do so indefinitely.

"The situation with that is that it's getting close to the point where we say 'no more', but the offer is still there.

"The contract is what it is, we are all aware of that, and for me as the manager I need it resolved as quickly as possible. That's the best situation for our fans and for the club."

Pardew has also hit out at the network of people representing Ba, who has 13 goals in 21 appearances this season.

"In some respects I feel a little bit sorry for Demba," added Pardew.

"There are people out there fuelling this who are not actually involved or want to be involved and that's the sort of world that we are in."

Ba was also involved in a dispute with Hoffenheim as he looked to secure a move to the Premier League during the 2011 January transfer window.

The German club eventually agreed to let their striker move to Stoke in a reported £6m deal, but Ba failed a medical, according to the Potters, before eventually securing a move to West Ham later that month.

The forward scored seven goals in 13 games, but invoked a release clause in his contract after the Hammers were relegated. The Magpies needed a player to fill the void left by Andy Carroll, who had earlier joined Liverpool for £35m, and signed Ba on a three-year deal in June 2011.

The Senagalese player scored 16 goals during his first full season as Newcastle finished fifth and qualified for the Europa League.

He is the club's top scorer this season and his departure would leave just Papiss Cisse and Shola Ameobi as the only senior strikers at the club. The pair have scored eight goals between them during the current campaign.

LIVE: President Obama statement on fiscal cliff negotiations - BBC News

31 December 2012 Last updated at 13:10 ET

LIVE: President Obama statement on fiscal cliff negotiations

US politicians seeking a deal to avoid steep tax rises and spending cuts known as the "fiscal cliff" are edging towards agreement, reports say.

Democrats are said to have offered to extend tax cuts on couples earning up to $450,000 (£277,000). But divisions remain over spending cuts.

President Barack Obama will speak at 13:30 (18:30 GMT), but is not expected to announce a deal.

Failure to reach agreement by 1 January could push the US back into recession.

Any deal needs to pass the 100-member Senate, which is controlled by Democrats, before heading to the House of Representatives, where Republicans hold the majority.

Mitch McConnell, leader of the the Senate's Republican minority, and Vice-President Joe Biden held "good" talks late into Sunday evening, a spokesman for Mr McConnell said.

Agreeing to a $450,000 threshold ($400,000 for couples) would be a notable compromise by Democrats, analysts say.

The party previously only wanted tax rate extensions for earnings under $200,000 (£123,000) for individuals and $250,000 (£154,000) for couples.

But after weeks of increasingly desperate horse trading and public pronouncements, the "contours" of a deal were said to be emerging just hours before the midnight deadline.

Inheritance tax rates and the continuation of unemployment benefits were also part of the deal-making, reports said, but disagreements remained over how to deal with the automatic spending cuts due to kick in on 1 January.

Fallback plan

The two parties have been fighting for months over how to deal with the combination of automatic spending cuts and the expiration of Bush-era tax reductions at the new year.

Without an agreement, higher taxes will rise for virtually every working American and across-the-board cuts in government spending will kick in from Tuesday.

Analysts say this could significantly reduce consumer spending, leading the US economy to fall off the "fiscal cliff".

If no agreement is reached on Monday, senators are expected to be given the chance to vote on a fallback plan proposed by President Obama.

That would renew tax cuts on earnings under $250,000 (£154,000) and extend unemployment benefits, but does not address the spending cuts.

The Senate convened on Monday morning, its first session on New Year's Eve in four decades, and the House followed shortly afterwards.

The Republican Speaker of the House, John Boehner, has insisted that the Senate act first.

The current stand-off has its roots in a failed 2011 attempt to tackle the government debt limit and budget deficit.

Republicans and Democrats agreed then to postpone difficult decisions on spending until the end of 2012.

Commentators say that even if a deal is reached, it will do little to reduce the original problem of the deficit and the government debt limit, raising the prospect of further political infighting early in the new year.

Parties divided

Mr McConnell and Mr Reid were locked in negotiations over the weekend.

Late on Sunday, Senate Republicans said they were dropping their proposal to slow the growth of Social Security payments. The plan - which would have led to lower benefits to pensioners and the disabled - had been fiercely resisted by Democrats.

There is also debate over where to set the threshold for tax rises. Democrats say the Bush-era tax cuts should be extended for all Americans except the richest.

Republicans - some of whom have pledged never to vote for increased taxes - say the deficit is a consequence of excessive government spending.

BBC Radio Cymru cuts hours and introduces English songs in music row - The Guardian

BBC Radio Cymru is to cut programming by two hours and introduce English music, after failing to agree a rights deal with Welsh-language musicians which means the station cannot play 30,000 popular songs.

The world's only full Welsh-language radio service has announced a series of cuts and changes to its programming if it fails to strike an 11th-hour royalties deal with Eos, the body representing more than 300 composers, authors and publishers in Wales.

The BBC said that from 1 January, it will cut will cut two hours from its air time – starting an hour later at 6.30am and finishing an hour earlier at 11pm – and will "expand" its daytime repertoire to try and plug the hole of not being able to play practically any Welsh music.

This will include playing popular classical and instrumental music, as well as a number of English language and international artists.

Other changes include cutting its new Welsh-music programme – C2 – by an hour.

"While Welsh-language music will continue to be the bedrock of our output, the current dispute will prevent us from playing most of our usual repertoire," said Sian Gwynedd, head of Welsh-language programmes and services at BBC Radio Cymru. "This will clearly have a noticeable impact on the service we can deliver, but I would like to emphasise that we are doing everything possible to protect the quality of our programming despite the difficult circumstances".

The BBC's current broadcasting rights deal is with the Performing Rights Society and expires on 1 January.

In September, an alliance of 331 Welsh artists transferred the rights for their songs to a new body, called Eos, which aims to drive a better royalties bargain in the next deal from 1 January.

The BBC claims that Eos is asking for 10 times the amount that is paid in the existing deal with PRS.

Eos claims that a PRS policy change in 2007 led to royalty payment cuts of up to 85% for Welsh artists and that it is trying to recoup that loss in the new deal.

"It is a shame that the BBC have chosen to damage the national radio service because they are unwilling to pay a fair price for Welsh music," said Gwilym Morus, chairman of Eos. "The last thing we want to see is any more harm done to Radio Cymru, our audience is the BBC audience. Unfortunately, I believe the BBC in London is showing a clear lack of respect towards their own staff in Wales and towards Welsh culture".

Rhodri Talfan Davies, the director of BBC Wales, has written a letter to the BBC Trust warning that BBC Radio Cymru will break the terms of its service licence from 1 January if it cannot reach a deal with Eos.

"We are doing everything humanly possible to reach a sensible and sustainable agreement with Eos," he said. "We hope an agreement can be reached as soon as possible".

Elan Closs Stephens, the BBC Trust member for Wales, said that "nobody wins from this action, least of all the Radio Cymru audience".

"This is the only full Welsh-language radio service in the world and not only does this action potentially harm the station and the BBC, but, more than anything, it harms the listeners. For the sake of the audience I hope that both parties can come back to the table and resolve this issue".

• This article was amended on 31 December 2012 to make clear that the changes to programming are at BBC Radio Cymru, not BBC Radio Wales as we originally reported.

• To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".

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Paralympians 'should have received more honours' - BBC News

30 December 2012 Last updated at 12:43 ET

Former sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe says members of the New Year honours committee made a "big mistake" in not recognising more Paralympic athletes.

He said Paralympians were not put on an equal footing with Olympic medallists and that was a "missed opportunity".

Wheelchair athlete David Weir, who was made a CBE after winning four gold medals, has suggested Paralympians have to work harder to earn recognition.

Cyclist Sarah Storey became a dame, the top award to a Paralympian this year.

Olympic cyclist Bradley Wiggins and sailor Ben Ainslie were knighted

Cycling and rowing performance directors Dave Brailsford and David Tanner were knighted for their services to both Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Four Olympians were made CBEs.

In total, 29 athletes from ParalympicsGB were recognised following their achievements in the summer.

'Inspire a generation'

Mr Sutcliffe told BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend: "If you remember, at the start of the year there was confusion over whether the Olympians and Paralympians would get honours; the committee said it was unlikely. We managed to get them to change their mind and have a separate category for Olympians and Paralympians."

Saying they had had made a "big mistake" in not awarding the highest honour to Paralympians like Weir, he said: "There was an opportunity to be consistent and if you look at his record over several Olympics I think the least he should have got is a knighthood.

"Because the whole purpose of the Games was to inspire a generation - and how better to inspire a generation of Paralympians than to give somebody a knighthood?"

Six-time Paralympic gold medallist Weir told the Daily Telegraph he would have been disappointed if Storey had not been made a dame, which she had deserved after winning 11 gold medals.

"It's a weird one, how they choose it. Sometimes it seems that Paralympians have to win lots and lots of medals to get a damehood or a knighthood.

"Kelly Holmes was made a dame when she won two gold medals, but it seems we have to get into double figures to get it. Sarah Storey should have been awarded this years ago, and I just feel that sometimes we are left out, perhaps because we are not in the public eye.

"It is a bit strange, but I am just honoured to get anything from the Queen for doing a sport I love."

On his Twitter account, Weir later emphasised that he was "extremely happy" with his CBE, and had been saying he was surprised that Storey had been overlooked in the past.

Dressage rider Lee Pearson OBE told The Independent on Sunday he was "disappointed" not to get a knighthood after winning his 10th gold medal at the Paralympics this summer.

Pearson said: "Obviously, 10 gold, one silver and one bronze just isn't enough. I'm disappointed because I do feel I've given a lot to Paralympic sport and equestrianism. I think 10 gold medals is quite an achievement."

Sophie Christiansen, who won three golds in the London Paralympics to add to her two gold medals from 2008, said she was delighted to have been made an OBE.

"It's amazing. Aged 25 to be recognised in such a way, I really am honoured so I'm not complaining."

Australia: Year of the women - BBC News

30 December 2012 Last updated at 22:02 ET By Nick Bryant BBC News, Sydney

Australian radio shock jock Alan Jones was in characteristically cranky mood on his breakfast show in late August.

His gripe of the day - that at a gathering of South Pacific leaders, the government of Prime Minister Julia Gillard had offered $320m ($336m;£206m) in aid to "expand women's leadership and economic and social opportunities in the region".

Mr Jones, who has built a reputation and a loyal radio following on his bullying outspokenness, quoted Julia Gillard as saying that "societies only reach their full potential if women are politically participating".

He, however, took a wholly different view. "Women are destroying the joint," he told his listeners, citing a female former police commissioner in Victoria, Sydney Mayor Clover Moore and the Australia prime minister herself.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Placards had been held aloft at anti-carbon tax rallies saying 'Ditch the Witch'"

End Quote

Not long after, social media delivered its verdict. "Got time on my hands tonight," tweeted Jane Caro, an advertising executive and social commentator, "so thought I'd spend it coming up with new ways of 'destroying the joint', being a woman and all. Ideas welcome."

Next came the hashtag #destroythejoint, which was the invention of Jill Tomlinson, a surgeon in Newcastle, New South Wales. "Bored by Alan Jones' comments on women destroying Australia?" she tweeted. "Join with @JaneCaro and suggest ways that women #destroy the joint."

Next came a Facebook page, Destroy the Joint, which now has more than 22,000 "likes". Jenna Price, a media academic in Sydney, was among the women who set it up. "It came from a sense of 'I can't believe that in the 21st Century a man is saying that kind of thing about women as a whole.' We needed sexism to stop right now."

'Juliar'

Mr Jones made headlines again in late September, when it emerged that he had told a dinner of Young Liberals in Sydney that Julia Gillard's recently deceased father had "died of shame".

At the dinner, a jacket made out of a hessian sack was also auctioned, a play on Mr Jones's much-criticised statement that the prime minister should be put in a "chaff bag" and dropped out at sea.

The Destroy the Joint campaign responded instantly. So strong was the social media pressure on advertisers on Jones's radio network, 2GB, that many withdrew their sponsorship. Mercedes-Benz took back his loan car. "We were putting feminism on the front page of every newspaper," says Jenna Price. "What we are talking about is how women are treated."

The journalist and author Anne Summers was driving from Sydney to Newcastle when she saw Alan Jones's original "Destroy the Joint" remarks being quoted on Twitter.

She was due that afternoon to deliver a lecture at the University of Newcastle, which ordinarily would probably have received little attention. But now her address entitled Her Rights at Work: The Political Persecution of Australia's First Female Prime Minister seemed perfectly timed.

It detailed the insults and slights against Julia Gillard since she took up the post in 2010. There was the use of the phrase "Juliar," which was also popularised, and perhaps also coined, by Alan Jones - male prime ministers had not been called "liars", claimed Ms Summers.

Placards had been held aloft at anti-carbon tax rallies saying "Ditch the Witch". Press reports regularly described the prime minister as "Julia", whereas John Howard and Paul Keating would rarely be referred to by their Christian names.

The internet was also littered with obscene and derogatory comments and pornographic imagery. Some of the most offensive came from Larry Pickering, a right-wing cartoonist, who always depicted Gillard naked, wearing a strap-on penis.

After Ms Summers posted the lecture on her website, it took off. It has now received more than 110,000 views.

"We had thought it enough to break down barriers and change laws and that everything would follow," says Anne Summers. "But this wasn't the case. There's still a lot of resistance to females in positions of power. Alan Jones exemplifies the hatred. It's taken a woman prime minister to reveal how bad things are."

'Not now, not ever'

The Destroy the Joint campaign and the Summers lecture helped create the milieu for what became the most talked-about political event of the year. During the 2010 federal election campaign, some of Julia Gillard's advisers had urged her to attack the conservative opposition leader Tony Abbott over sexist comments that he had made over the years.

She refrained, according to advisers, because she feared that Liberals would retaliate with accusations that she was involved in a union scandal in the 1990s. Now, though, she decided to attack - although the context, paradoxically, was the defence of Speaker of the House Peter Slipper, who had been found to have sent a puerile text message describing the female anatomy.

Julia Gillard accuses Tony Abbott of a long history of misogyny and sexism

"I will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man," said the prime minister, pointing at Mr Abbott. "I will not. And the government will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man. Not now, not ever."

Then she detailed a series of what she said were sexist remarks. "What the housewives of Australia need to understand as they do the ironing…" he had said, when campaigning against the government's carbon tax. "Thank you for that painting of women's roles in modern Australia," said Ms Gillard, derisively.

Ms Gillard's 15 minutes of invective brought her more than 15 minutes of global fame. Over the next 24 hours, the speech became a viral sensation, drawing admiring editorials in publications ranging from The Guardian to The Spectator, from the Daily Telegraph to the Daily Beast, from New Yorker to the feminist website Jezebel, which described Ms Gillard as "one badass mother----er". On YouTube, it has received more than two million hits.

"Initially she shied away from being an advocate for her sex," says Anne Summers. "Now she knows that its part of her job as the first female prime minister to deal with this stuff."

Male public figures who make chauvinistic comments about women are now immediately placed in the public stocks of social media. When Graeme Morris, John Howard's former chief of staff, called the popular ABC current affairs presenter Leigh Sales "a cow" after she had subjected Tony Abbott to a tough interview, he was forced to make an apology.

Former Australian rugby great David Campese also had to say sorry after complaining via Twitter that the Sydney Morning Herald had a "girl" covering rugby.

Television anchor Tracey Spicer also produced another online hit with an excoriating attack on some of the male TV executives she had encountered during her career. "I want two inches off your hair and two inches off your arse," one had shouted across the newsroom.

Australia's Year of the Woman comes with a surprising footnote. On the popular ABC debate programme QandA, a panellist observed that Julia Gillard wore unflattering jackets and had a "fat arse". But they were the comments not of a male chauvinist pig, but Australia's most internationally famous feminist, Germaine Greer.

Sunday's gossip column - transfers and rumours - BBC Sport

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Former England captain David Beckham, 37, is in talks with Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua over a one-year deal worth a reported £250,000 per week.

Full story: Sunday People 

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy plans to tell Real Madrid that 23-year-old winger Gareth Bale is valued at £60m.

Full story: Sunday Mirror 

Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard, 34, is to be offered the same wages as David Beckham to move to LA Galaxy and could earn around £4m a year with the American side.

Full story: The Sun 

Real Madrid and Paris ­St-Germain will open talks this week with Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole, 32, about a ­summer move.

Full story: The Mirror 

Real Madrid and PSG are willing to offer Cole a three-year contract

But Paris St-Germain manager Carlo Ancelotti says he "does not need" new players in January.

Full story: L'Equipe (in French) 

Real Madrid are reportedly planning a £22m summer move for Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea, 22.

Full story: The Sun 

Arsenal plan to hold more talks with Theo Walcott next month in an attempt to keep the 23-year-old at the club.

Full story: Sunday Mirror 

Liverpool are ready to go head-to-head with Newcastle for 21-year-old Valenciennes central defender Nicolas Isimat Mirin.

Full story: Metro 

Manchester City could move for England defender Ryan Shawcross, 25, in the January transfer window if he doesn't sign a new six-year deal offered to him by Stoke City.

Full story: Mail on Sunday 

Sir Alex Ferguson has told Manchester United's Portuguese midfielder Nani, 26, that he does have a future at Old Trafford despite being a target for Arsenal, Tottenham and Juventus.

Full story: The Mirror 

Spanish side Espanyol could be set to make a surprise move for Stoke City striker Michael Owen, 33, during the January transfer window.

Full story: Metro 

Brighton striker Craig Mackail-Smith is wanted by Norwich

Swansea boss Michael Laudrup has admitted he is interested in signing Celta Vigo striker Iago Aspas, 25, and has not ruled out the possibility of Danny Graham leaving the club.

Full story: South Wales Evening Post 

Sunderland and New York Red Bulls are rumoured to be in discussions over a loan move for former Everton midfielder Tim Cahill, 33, who joined the US club in July.

Full story: Sky Sports 

Norwich manager Chris Hughton will go back to sign £3m Brighton striker Craig Mackail-Smith, 28, after missing out on him in the summer.

Full story: Mail on Sunday 

Celtic are close to signing Israel defender Rami Gershon from Belgian club Standard Liege.

Full story: Sunday Mail 

OTHER GOSSIP

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers says the club need to give top scorer Luis Suarez, 25, hope of a Champions League challenge if they want to keep him at Anfield beyond the summer.

Full story: Mail on Sunday 

Blackburn have added 32-year old MK Dons boss Karl Robinson to their managerial wish-list.

Full story: The Mirror 

Wolves manager Stale Solbakken has warned defender Christophe Berra, 27, that his position at the club will be in doubt if he does not sign an extension to his contract.

Full story: Express and Star 

AND FINALLY

Referee Mick Russell's failure to send off Sheffield Wednesday's Jeremy Helan despite appearing to show him two yellow cards is to be investigated by The Professional Game Match Officials Limited.

Sunday Express 

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger spent part of the first half of his side's 7-3 win against Newcastle wrestling with the zip on his 'Michelin man'-style coat.

Full story: Metro 

QPR 0 - 3 Liverpool FT - BBC News

76:05

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Adel Taarabt by Glen Johnson. Direct free kick taken by Adel Taarabt.

75:01

The referee penalises Clint Hill for handball. Steven Gerrard delivers the ball from the free kick right-footed from right channel, save made by Soares Julio Cesar.

73:57

Daniel Agger takes a shot. Nedum Onuoha gets a block in. Corner taken by Luis Suarez, save by Soares Julio Cesar.

73:44

Short corner worked by Luis Suarez.

72:21

The referee blows for offside. Jose Reina takes the free kick.

71:32

Daniel Agger fouled by Jamie Mackie, the ref awards a free kick. Martin Skrtel restarts play with the free kick.

70:33 Substitution

Substitution (Liverpool) makes a substitution, with Jesus Fernandez Saez coming on for Sanchez Jose Enrique.

68:41

Stephane Mbia produces a right-footed shot from the edge of the box and misses to the right of the goal.

68:41

Effort from the edge of the area by Stephane Mbia goes wide of the right-hand post.

65:57

Stephane Mbia takes a shot. Save by Jose Reina.

65:14

Corner taken by Stewart Downing, Shaun Derry manages to make a clearance.

62:21

Esteban Granero fires a strike on goal direct from the free kick.

62:21 Substitution

Substitution Leiva Lucas comes on in place of Jordan Henderson.

62:21 Substitution

Substitution (QPR) makes a substitution, with Esteban Granero coming on for Samba Diakite.

62:21

Daniel Agger is adjudged to have handled the ball.

60:42

Adel Taarabt takes a shot. Save made by Jose Reina.

60:06

A cross is delivered by Armand Traore.

58:41

Samba Diakite takes a shot. Blocked by Daniel Agger.

58:51

Corner taken by Adel Taarabt.

58:41

Samba Diakite takes a shot. Daniel Agger gets a block in.

57:21

Unfair challenge on Daniel Agger by Jamie Mackie results in a free kick. Daniel Agger takes the direct free kick.

56:38

Martin Skrtel restarts play with the free kick.

56:38 Booking

Booking The referee cautions Stephane Mbia for unsporting behaviour.

55:40

The official flags Jamie Mackie offside. Jose Reina takes the indirect free kick.

53:32

Shot from deep inside the area by Jordan Henderson clears the bar.

53:32

Shot from deep inside the area by Jordan Henderson goes over the bar.

53:08

Corner taken short by Stewart Downing.

52:45

Luis Suarez delivers the ball, Nedum Onuoha manages to make a clearance.

50:18

Foul by Joe Allen on Adel Taarabt, free kick awarded. Direct free kick taken by Stephane Mbia.

50:01

Corner taken right-footed by Steven Gerrard from the left by-line, save made by Soares Julio Cesar.

49:43

Luis Suarez takes a shot. Soares Julio Cesar makes a brilliant save.

47:12

Sanchez Jose Enrique fouled by Shaun Wright-Phillips, the ref awards a free kick. Luis Suarez crosses the ball in from the free kick, Adel Taarabt manages to make a clearance.

45:01

The second half begins.

45:01 Substitution

Substitution Shaun Derry joins the action as a substitute, replacing Djibril Cisse.

45:00 +1:06 Half time

Half Time The whistle is blown to end the first half.

44:33

Adel Taarabt has an effort at goal from outside the penalty area which goes wide right of the goal.

41:57

The ball is swung over by Stewart Downing, clearance made by Nedum Onuoha.

41:33

Foul by Samba Diakite on Steven Gerrard, free kick awarded. Jordan Henderson restarts play with the free kick.

40:21

Shot by Steven Gerrard from outside the box goes over the net.

39:21

Adel Taarabt takes a shot. Save by Jose Reina.

39:03

The ball is swung over by Shaun Wright-Phillips, Glen Johnson makes a clearance.

38:37

Glen Johnson gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Armand Traore. Free kick taken by Adel Taarabt.

38:15

Djibril Cisse gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Daniel Agger. Free kick taken by Jose Reina.

36:54

Steven Gerrard takes a shot. Armand Traore gets a block in.

35:38

Raheem Sterling sends in a cross, save made by Soares Julio Cesar.

34:14

Luis Suarez takes a shot. Ryan Nelsen gets a block in.

31:44

Jordan Henderson has a shot on goal from outside the box which misses right.

31:28

Raheem Sterling decides to take a short corner.

31:23

The ball is delivered by Steven Gerrard, clearance by Shaun Wright-Phillips.

30:26

Adel Taarabt takes a shot. Comfortable save by Jose Reina.

29:44

Luis Suarez takes a shot. Blocked by Ryan Nelsen.

29:10

Steven Gerrard takes the outswinging corner, Clint Hill manages to make a clearance.

27:01

Assist by Steven Gerrard.

27:01 Goal scored

Goal - Daniel Agger - QPR 0 - 3 Liverpool Daniel Agger finds the back of the net with a headed goal from close in. QPR 0-3 Liverpool.

26:49

Short corner taken by Stewart Downing from the right by-line.

25:38

Steven Gerrard takes a shot. Save made by Soares Julio Cesar.

25:11

Short corner taken by Stewart Downing.

24:19

Stewart Downing takes a shot.

21:35

Shot on goal by Luis Suarez from just inside the area clears the crossbar.

21:02

Strike by Stephane Mbia from inside the six-yard box clear the bar.

20:07

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Stephane Mbia by Steven Gerrard. Strike on goal comes in from Adel Taarabt from the free kick.

19:08

Djibril Cisse is ruled offside. Free kick taken by Martin Skrtel.

17:15

Free kick awarded for a foul by Samba Diakite on Raheem Sterling. Free kick taken by Daniel Agger.

16:32

Adel Taarabt takes a shot.

15:23

The assist for the goal came from Stewart Downing.

15:23 Goal scored

Goal - Luis Suarez - QPR 0 - 2 Liverpool Goal scored by Luis Suarez from close range high into the middle of the goal. QPR 0-2 Liverpool.

9:51

The assist for the goal came from Jordan Henderson.

9:51 Goal scored

Goal - Luis Suarez - QPR 0 - 1 Liverpool Luis Suarez fires in a goal from inside the area to the bottom left corner of the goal. QPR 0-1 Liverpool.

3:20

Free kick awarded for a foul by Joe Allen on Adel Taarabt. Free kick taken by Stephane Mbia.

2:51

Joe Allen takes a shot.

2:36

Luis Suarez takes a shot. Soares Julio Cesar makes a save.

1:44

Glen Johnson delivers the ball, Clint Hill manages to make a clearance.

0:00

The referee gets the match started.

Ghana election: NPP challenges John Mahama's victory - BBC News

28 December 2012 Last updated at 12:16 ET

Ghana's main opposition party has filed a petition at the Supreme Court to challenge President John Mahama's victory in this month's election.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) rejected the results of the 7 December poll, alleging fraud.

The election commission said Mr Mahama had secured 50.7% of votes, enough to avoid a run-off against NPP candidate Nana Akufo-Addo with 47.7% of the vote

International election observers described the poll as free and fair.

Mr Akufo-Addo lost the 2008 presidential run-off by one percentage point, but accepted the result.

Ghana is regarded as one of Africa's most stable democracies.

'Mind-blowing' evidence

The NPP said it had waited to file its challenge in court until it had analysed the data from 26,000 polling stations.

Continue reading the main story

Presidential Election Results

• John Dramani Mahama, NDC - 50.70%, 5,574,761 votes
• Nana Akufo-Addo, NPP - 47.74%, 5,248,898 votes
• Disputed votes: 1,340,000

It said it had now found irregularities such as cases of over voting and instances when people not registered by the new biometric finger-printing system were able to vote.

The BBC's Sammy Darko in the capital, Accra, says the party has calculated that there were 1.34 million extra votes cast, which if withdrawn from the final tally would make Mr Akufo-Addo the winner.

"We are ready to concede that in an election that involves more than 11 million voters there might be mistakes," said Mr Akufo-Addo after the petition was filed at Supreme Court in Accra.

"But why are the arithmetic mistakes so very often in favour of the NDC presidential candidate, John Dramani Mahama?"

The NPP leader said it had not been an easy decision to go ahead with the challenge, but the evidence submitted was "mind-blowing and came as a shock even to sceptics in the party".

"This case is seeking to deepen our democracy by strengthening the institutions that are mandated by our constitution to superintend the electoral process," Mr Akufo-Addo said

"One, by ensuring that the electoral commission is accountable to the people of Ghana; and two, the Supreme Court is seen by all as the ultimate arbiter of electoral grievances and disputes."

Mr Mahama, from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party, was Ghana's vice-president until the unexpected death of President John Atta Mills in July catapulted him into office.

Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the NDC's secretary general, said the governing party did not believe the Supreme Court would rule against them as the elections had been the country's most transparent ever.

"We don't have any shred of doubt in our minds that President Mahama has been the choice," Mr Asiedu Nketia said.

Our correspondent says the case will not affect Mr Mahama's swearing-in ceremony on 7 January.

According to the constitution, the election commission's announced winner remains the legal leader until the Supreme Court rules otherwise.

The election challenge case is expected to be heard in three weeks, our reporter says.

Britain moving in 'right direction', says Cameron - BBC News

29 December 2012 Last updated at 19:01 ET

David Cameron has used his New Year's message to say the UK is "heading in the right direction".

The prime minister said 2012 was "tough" but people can look forward to 2013 with "realism and optimism".

In the video address released on Sunday, he admitted he had "no quick fixes" to the UK's economic problems.

But he said there has been "real progress" on cutting Britain's financial deficit, welfare reform and improving school standards.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

On all the big issues that matter to Britain, we are heading in the right direction and I have the evidence to prove it"

End Quote David Cameron British Prime Minister

Meanwhile, a leaked internal memo suggests senior Lib Dems have been urged to spread the message that the Conservatives cannot be trusted to help build a fairer society.

And Labour has responded to David Cameron's New Year message by saying the prime minister had "promised change" but "nothing is changing for the better".

In his message, Mr Cameron said "this is, quite simply, a government in a hurry", adding: "There's a reason for that."

He added: "Britain is in a global race to succeed today. It is a race with countries like China, India and Indonesia; a race for the jobs and opportunities of the future.

"So when people say we can slow down on cutting our debts, we are saying no. We can't win in this world with a great millstone of debt round our necks.

"When people say we've got to stop our welfare reforms because somehow it is cruel to expect people to work, we are saying 'no'. Getting people into good jobs is absolutely vital, not just for them, but for all of us.

'Right direction'

"And when there is a fight on our hands to change our schools, we are ready and willing to have it, because having a world-class education is the only way our children are going to get on in this world."

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

This prime minister is out of touch, he stands up for the wrong people and he's failing to deliver for working people"

End Quote Michael Dugher Labour party vice chairman

Mr Cameron said: "On all the big issues that matter to Britain, we are heading in the right direction and I have the evidence to prove it."

He said that the deficit was forecast to be a quarter smaller at the New Year than it was when the coalition government came to office; that there are almost half a million more people in work; and more than 1,000 new academy schools have opened.

He also hailed moves to take millions of low-paid workers out of income tax, freeze council tax bills and deliver the largest-ever increase in the state pension.

Mr Cameron avoided the issues of Britain's future in the European Union - which he is due to give a speech about in the coming weeks - and gay marriage, both of which have caused divisions within the Conservative Party.

Lib Dem memo

Instead, the prime minister said he looked back on 2012 as "an extraordinary year for our country", characterised by the Diamond Jubilee celebrations and the successful Olympics and Paralympics.

Meanwhile a leaked internal memo suggested Lib Dems are being encouraged to criticise their Tory coalition partners as well as the Labour opposition.

The memo from the party's head office to its MPs, peers and staff says they should criticise not just the Labour opposition but their Conservative coalition partners in the year ahead.

The memo suggests voters should be reminded that the Tories wanted to "look after the super rich".

And Michael Dugher, Labour's vice chairman, said the prime minister's message was "a case of more of the same".

He said: "Cameron promised change but nothing is changing for the better. Britain's economy is failing under his policies over the last year, with nearly one million young people out of work.

"Prices are still going up faster than wages and borrowing is going up not down, over 7% higher this year than last year.

"This prime minister is out of touch, he stands up for the wrong people and he's failing to deliver for working people."

Frank Ocean, Nina Simone and Stevie Wonder are among the greats who have ... - The Guardian

Alicia Keys got the spark for the title track of her new album at a very meta-moment – while reading about herself. "It came from this interview that I did, and the woman wrote something like, 'She's like a girl on fire'," says Keys in her New York studio. "And I was like, I love that. And I remember thinking, I'm writing a song called Girl on Fire, for sure."

The next question was, as she put it: what does a song called Girl on Fire sound like?

It might seem an obvious thing to consider, but figuring out the sounds that complement your ideas is one of the most important decisions in music. In the wake of her previous album, 2009's The Element of Freedom, which made its debut at No 2 on the Billboard 200 chart and failed to make No 1, a first for Keys, and given the fact that she was a new mother, she decided to take it slowly while working on new material, listening to some of the songs that inspire her. "I'd come in and listen to music," she says. "I was listening to some Frank Ocean, definitely some old stuff, like Nina Simone. Just whatever I thought on the day – an easy vibe, not to put too much pressure on it. And then maybe I had a rough idea, maybe something I'd started, or I'd write a little bit, or if I had an idea, I'd put the idea down. Maybe it was just piano and I'd sing some vocals for it; just see if I liked it."

One day, she was in the studio with two collaborators, the producers Jeff Bhasker and Salaam Remi, and she brought up the Girl on Fire concept. Together, they tried different chords and melodies, but "they just didn't spark anything".

Then Remi, who worked on hits by the Fugees and Amy Winehouse, moved to the computer. "He started going through his sample library and all these different crazy drums. And there were these loud, obnoxious, just destructive drums, and I was like, yeah! A girl on fire is loud and obnoxious and destructive and totally unrelenting and she's free, you know what I mean?" She'd found her sound; now she could start her song. "That's what a girl on fire sounds like."

For Keys, the search for songs started way back when she was seven, living with her mother in a tiny apartment on the West Side of Manhattan and singing I Wanna Dance With Somebody in the mirror. When friends of the family were giving away a piano – it wasn't much, just an upright from the 30s – they asked Keys's mum if she'd like to have it. She took it and Alicia started to play.

"When I was first learning songs, I'd have a favourite song and I'd take the chords and twist them around," she said. "I'd learn the chords and then play them backwards. That was my first experimenting with writing a song."

More than 20 years and five albums later, her method isn't all that different. You can see it even when Keys is just warming up at the piano in her studio, a neat and airy space that houses several vintage keyboards and offers expansive views over New York. She still gets ready to perform by moving through slow progressions and mutations of the chords, feeling her way toward the song.

The Girl on Fire lyrics are characteristically Keys, evocative but unspecific. Girl on Fire speaks to Keys's life, which has changed recently with marriage and a new son, Egypt. In her lyrics, her aim is to be personal while stopping shy of confessional, a technique she learned from listening to Marvin Gaye. "As a lyricist, you love to hear other great lyrics or other great concepts," she told me. "I really appreciate Frank Ocean's lyrical style, I appreciate the way that he can kind of draw you into this personal space, but it's still lyrical. It's almost poetic, in a way, but it's very personal at the same time."

On a recent day at her studio, she kicked into a rendition of the finished song: "She's just a girl and she's on fire: hotter than a fantasy, lonely like a highway." Like Keys's past work, the new material has a recognisable backbone of classic soul and R&B. And the simmering emotions of songs such as the quiet, longing ballad 101 have their origins in lots of listens to Prince's smouldering Beautiful Ones and Stevie Wonder's moody They Won't Go When I Go.

"I wouldn't listen to it for lyric inspiration," she said of the Wonder track, "but it's more for the tone, for the sound of the vocal, for the way the piano feels and how he's delivering it. It's dark and vulnerable but still beautiful and inspiring."

Central African Republic to hold talks with rebels - BBC News

28 December 2012 Last updated at 23:45 ET

The government of the Central African Republic and rebels have agreed to hold talks after weeks of clashes.

A regional delegation said no pre-conditions had been set for the talks which will be held in Libreville, capital of neighbouring Gabon.

Officials also said more troops from the Central African Multinational Force (Fomac) would be sent to CAR.

The announcements come after government troops and rebel fighters clashed in the central town of Bambari on Friday.

Rapid gains by the Seleka rebels have raised fears that CAR's capital Bangui could fall within a few days.

Officials from regional blocs including Eccas (the Economic Community of Central African States) confirmed the agreement to the BBC after a two-day mission in Bangui.

They said the talks should start "within the next few days".

Eccas also said that another contingent of soldiers from Fomac would be deployed, but did not specify how many or when the troops would arrive.

More than 500 soldiers from Fomac are already in CAR.

Continue reading the main story

Analysis

Most of the rebels have taken up arms against President Bozize's government before. But this time their campaign has been swift and they appear to have a chain of command that works. It also seems that these rebels have not been looting much - usually a sign that they are well kept and fed.

So where do they find their resources? Outside support for the rebel coalition cannot be ruled out. Neighbouring Chad has been fingered by some observers as a potential rebel supporter. Could Chad's President Idriss Deby want President Bozize replaced, even though Mr Deby helped him take power almost 10 years ago.

Though Chadian troops have been deployed to save Mr Bozize in the past, and they are again stationed outside Bangui as a buffer should rebels advance on the capital, Mr Deby's intentions seem unclear.

However, Mr Deby has always wanted a close ally to the south. The rebels are an unlikely alliance of splinter factions with different interests and may well split should they reach Bangui. Should that happen, it could plunge CAR into chaos - potentially sucking in Chad.

Fears over the deteriorating security situation led to the US evacuating its embassy in Bangui and the UN pull out non-essential staff.

The government and rebels blamed each other for the fresh fighting around Bambari early on Friday.

However, diplomatic sources said the army had tried and failed to retake the town from the rebels.

BBC West Africa correspondent Thomas Fessy says the failure to reclaim the town may have convinced the government that it couldn't set pre-conditions for talks.

Seleka - an alliance of three rebel groups - took Bambari last Sunday having earlier seized the rich diamond mining area around Bria.

CAR President Francois Bozize appealed on Thursday for France - the former colonial power - and the US to help stop the rebel advance.

However, the plea fell on deaf ears.

French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault reiterated on Friday that France would only intervene to protect its own nationals there.

Seleka accuses Mr Bozize of failing to honour a 2007 peace deal under which fighters who laid down their arms were meant to be paid.

The rebels have pledged to depose Mr Bozize unless he negotiates with them.

They began their campaign a month ago and have taken several towns in their push towards the capital.

India mourns Delhi rape victim with candlelit vigils - BBC News

29 December 2012 Last updated at 12:30 ET

Candlelit vigils have been held across India to mourn a woman who has died after being gang-raped in Delhi.

Thousands of people gathered in the Indian capital to express their grief and demand justice for the 23-year-old victim, who died earlier on Saturday.

Six men arrested in connection with the 16 December attack have now been charged with murder.

The victim's body is being flown back home from Singapore, where she had been taken for specialist treatment.

The rape triggered violent public protests over attitudes towards women in India.

Large areas of Delhi were sealed off and hundreds of armed police and riot troops deployed as news of the victim's death spread.

During Saturday, large crowds people gathered at sites where public gatherings were allowed.

These included the city's Jantar Mantar observatory, where people lit candles in the woman's memory.

"We are aware that this is not the first case, nor will it be the last case of gang-rape in India, but it is clear that we will not tolerate sex crimes any more," Rana, a lawyer, told the AFP news agency.

The victim's coffin, draped in a white flag, was taken to Singapore's Changi airport to be flown home, accompanied by her parents who were at her bedside when she died.

Over the past two weeks, the unnamed woman has became a symbol of the wider issue of how women are treated in India, says the BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi.

The Mount Elizabeth hospital in Singapore said the woman "passed away peacefully" early on Saturday.

Hospital chief executive Kelvin Loh said she had suffered severe organ failure following serious injuries to her body and brain.

India's Home Affairs minister, Ratanjit Pratap Narain Singh, said he was "heartbroken" by her death.

"I can only assure the family that the government will take whatever steps are needed to ensure that her killers get the harshest punishment in the quickest of time," he said.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he was "very saddened" by the woman's death, and that the angry public reaction was "perfectly understandable".

He called on politicians and the public to set aside "narrow sectional interest" and work together to make India "a demonstrably better and safer place for women to live in".

Death penalty

The woman - a medical student whose identity has not been released - and her friend had been to see a film when they boarded the bus in the Munirka area of Delhi, intending to travel to Dwarka in the south-west of the city.

Police said she was raped for nearly an hour, and both she and her companion were beaten with iron bars, then thrown out of the moving bus into the street.

The assault sparked angry protests about the general conditions for women in India, and about what is seen as an inadequate police response to rape allegations.

Officials have since announced a series of measures intended to make Delhi safer for women.

These include more police night patrols, checks on bus drivers and their assistants, and the banning of buses with tinted windows or curtains.

The government has also said that it will post the photos, names and addresses of convicted rapists on official websites to shame them.

It has set up two committees - one looking into speeding up trials of cases involving sexual assaults on women, and the other to examine the lapses that might have led to the incident in Delhi.

But the protesters say the government's pledge to seek life sentences for the attackers is not enough - many are calling for the death penalty.

Wind power deadline sees US firms rush to build turbines - BBC News

28 December 2012 Last updated at 22:14 ET By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent, BBC News

US energy companies are racing to install wind turbines before a federal tax credit expires at the end of this year.

Experts say that wind power has exceeded the construction of natural gas plants in recent months.

However the financial incentive for wind could be lost as congress struggles to avoid financial deadlock.

Even if the credit is extended it is expected that new installations will decline in 2013.

According to industry analysts, the federal government's production tax credit has played an important role in the expansion of wind energy across the US since it was first introduced in 1992.

Wind passes gas

At that point there was less than 1.5 gigawatts of power generating capacity provided by wind across the country. That figure has grown dramatically. This year has seen around 12 gigawatts of wind power capacity installed, outpacing even natural gas projects which have boomed on the back of cheap shale.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

There's a lot of rushing right now to get projects completed by the end of the year"

End Quote Rob Gramlich American Wind Energy Association

The government subsidy works out at 2.2 cents per kilowatt hour of power produced over ten years. This amounts to around $1m (£620,000) for every large turbine. However the deadline is absolute - to get the money the blades on new installations must be turning and generating power before the 31st of December.

"There's a lot of rushing right now to get projects completed by the end of the year," says Rob Gramlich, senior vice president at the American Wind Energy Association.

"It is not a great way to run a business with this policy-induced uncertainty."

The tax credit has proved contentious with some lawmakers criticising it as too generous. It lapsed previously in 1999, 2001 and 2003. Each time it lead to a collapse in new construction.

The American Wind Energy Association are hoping the tax credit will be passed as part of a compromise package of legislation to help the US avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. The say the most likely outcome is a short term extension of the subsidy.

"There's a good chance we could get this extension, it is very hard to predict, but the industry is not making bets on the Congress getting it done," says Mr Gramlich,

Even if there is an extension there is likely to be a significant curtailment of wind installations in 2013. Wind energy companies say they need longer time frames to negotiate deals to sell the power they generate.

Iberdrola Renewables is the second largest developer of wind power projects in the United States. The company is racing to finalise new wind installations in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

However the prospects for new turbines in 2013 are slim according to Paul Copleman, communications manager for Iberdrola.

"Even if the tax credit is extended, our new construction plans likely will be ramped back substantially in 2013 compared with the last few years. So much time has passed without certainty that a normal one-year extension would not be a game-changer for our 2013 build plans."

Some analysts argue that all subsidies to wind should end and the industry should stand on its own two feet. They say that the current arrangements mean that energy companies continue to make money even when there is a surplus of wind and the market price is negative.

Dan Kish is with the Institute for Energy Research, a body long critical of subsidies for renewables. He told BBC News the extension of the tax credit was expensive, unnecessary and destabilising to the electricity grid.

"Wind produces power at a fraction of its stated capacity, and is increasingly adding unnecessary costs to consumers, just as it is in the UK," he said

"They are creations of government and serve only to make their builders and owners wealthy at the expense of the public."

Follow Matt on Twitter.

Delhi gang-rape victim dies in hospital in Singapore - BBC News

28 December 2012 Last updated at 23:46 ET

A female student gang-raped on a bus in India's capital Delhi has died at a Singapore hospital, doctors say.

The 23-year-old had arrived in Singapore on Thursday after undergoing three operations in a Delhi hospital.

The attack earlier this month triggered violent public protests in India that left one police officer dead.

As news of the student's death spread across social media in India, police sealed off large parts of central Delhi and appealed for calm.

The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder tweeted that the centre of Delhi resembled a fortress, with armed police and riot troops maintaining a heavy presence.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he was "very saddened" and promised to channel "emotions and energies" into a course of action.

Six men have been arrested and two police officers have been suspended following the 16 December attack.

A statement from the hospital said the woman "passed away peacefully" early on Saturday with her family by her side.

"The patient had remained in an extremely critical condition since admission to Mount Elizabeth Hospital," hospital chief executive Kelvin Loh said.

India's High Commissioner to Singapore, TCA Raghavan: "We extend our condolences to the family"

"She had suffered from severe organ failure following serious injuries to her body and brain. She was courageous in fighting for her life for so long against the odds but the trauma to her body was too severe for her to overcome.

"We are humbled by the privilege of being tasked to care for her in her final struggle," Mr Loh said.

A team of eight specialists had tried to keep the patient stable, but her condition continued to deteriorate over the two days she was at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, he added.

Officials from the Indian High Commission were also present when the patient passed away. The Indian home minister said the government had decided to send the victim overseas on the recommendation of her doctors.

Arrangements are being made to take her body back to India, said Indian high commissioner to Singapore TCA Raghavan.

"The requisite formalities for sending the body are being completed. The deceased and family members to be flown out in a chartered aircraft later today," Mr Raghavan said.

In a statement issued in Delhi, Prime Minister Singh said: "It would be a true homage to her memory if we are able to channelise these emotions and energies into a constructive course of action.

"The need of the hour is a dispassionate debate and inquiry into the critical changes that are required in societal attitudes.

"Government is examining... the penal provisions that exist for such crimes and measures to enhance the safety and security of women. I hope that the entire political class and civil society will set aside narrow sectional interests... to help us all reach the end that we all desire - making India a demonstrably better and safer place for women to live in."

Rising anger

The victim and her friend had been to see a film when they boarded the bus in the Munirka area of Delhi, intending to travel to Dwarka in the south-west of the city.

Police said she was raped for nearly an hour, and both she and her companion were beaten with iron bars and thrown out of the moving bus and into the street.

On arrival at the hospital in Singapore, doctors said that as well as a "prior cardiac arrest, she also had infection of her lungs and abdomen, as well as significant brain injury".

The government has tried to halt rising public anger by announcing a series of measures intended to make Delhi safer for women.

These include more police night patrols, checks on bus drivers and their assistants, and the banning of buses with tinted windows or curtains.

The government has also said that it will post the photos, names and addresses of convicted rapists on official websites to shame them.

It has set up two committees - one looking into speeding up trials of cases involving sexual assaults on women, and the other to examine the lapses that might have led to the incident in Delhi.

But the protesters say the government's pledge to seek life sentences for the attackers is not enough - many are calling for the death penalty.

Since the Delhi incident, several cases have been highlighted of authorities failing to respond to reported rapes.

On Wednesday, a woman committed suicide in the state of Punjab, after having tried to report to police a rape which allegedly took place last month, local media reports said.

At least one police officer involved in the case has been sacked, according to local officials.

Are you in India? Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? Did you go on a protest after the attack on the female student? Please send us your comments using the form below.

Wikipedia's most searched articles of the year revealed - BBC News

28 December 2012 Last updated at 08:50 ET

A study of 2012's most read Wikipedia articles reveals striking differences in what proved popular across the different language versions of the online encyclopaedia.

Facebook topped the English edition while an entry for adult video actresses did best in Japan.

Hua Shan - a Chinese mountain featuring "the world's deadliest hiking trail" - topped the Dutch list.

By contrast, cul-de-sacs were the German site's most clicked entry.

The data was published by a Swedish software engineer Johan Gunnarsson as part of the Wikitrends project. His home land's most viewed article was a page dedicated to Sweden itself.

Sex and vampires

Lower entries on the lists also proved revealing.

While articles about Iran, its capital city Tehran and the country's New Year celebrations topped the Persian list, entries about sex, female circumcision and homosexuality also made its top 10.

An overview of Egypt topped the Arabic language version and was followed by a history of Muhammad Ali Pasha - the Ottoman army commander who became the country's ruler in 1805. He is viewed by many as the founder of the "modern" nation.

Continue reading the main story

English language most viewed

1. Facebook

2. Wiki

3. Deaths in 2012

4. One Direction

5. The Avengers

6. Fifty Shades of Grey

7. 2012 phenomenon

8. The Dark Knight Rises

9. Google

10. The Hunger Games

Sport featured prominently in the Indonesian edition with football, volleyball and basketball all coming within the top seven articles.

Italy appeared more obsessed with US television. Grey's Anatomy came out on top, and Gossip Girl and The Vampire Diaries followed shortly after.

The Russian version was led by an article about the country followed by one about YouTube. But entries for "porn site" and "unemployment" may provide greater insight into local users' lives.

Unusual results included the @ symbol making it into second place in the Spanish language edition, a type of Japanese holly topping the French list, and The European Regional Development Fund coming in third in Poland.

Canadian pop star Justin Bieber managed to make both the Danish and Norwegian top 10s, but was trumped by British boy band One Direction who appeared in the English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian, Swedish and Danish lists.

Thailand snaps

Elsewhere, Facebook's photo sharing service Instagram - which did not make any of Wikipedia's top 10s - has published its own round-up of 2012.

The firm has focused on locations rather than themes.

Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport came out on top with more than 100,000 photos taken there, followed by the city's Siam Paragon shopping mall.

Thailand only recently held an auction to award 3G mobile network licences, and has instead focused on providing free wi-fi connectivity. It already has more than 200,000 hotspots and the government has announced a target of covering 80% of the country by May.

The Next Web tech blog suggests local habits had also aided Instagram's local popularity.

"Many mobile internet users in the region didn't spend much-time (or any time at all) using PCs, so their mobile or tablet is their single portal to the web and always-on web access is something new to them," wrote Jon Russell.

The US took the next seven of the top 10 spots thanks to snaps taken at California's Disneyland, New York's Times Square; San Francisco's AT&T Park; and Los Angeles' International Airport, Dodger stadium, Staples Center and Santa Monica Pier.

Paris's Eiffel Tower was the only European location to make the list.

Sir Alex Ferguson says Alan Pardew's criticism is hypocritical - BBC Sport

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has accused Alan Pardew of hypocrisy after the Newcastle manager criticised his behaviour on Boxing Day.

Pardew said the Football Association should have punished Ferguson for confronting officials during Manchester United's 4-3 win at Old Trafford.

"Alan Pardew is the worst for haranguing referees. His whole staff [do it] every game," Ferguson said.

Pardew served a two-match ban for pushing a match official in August.

Continue reading the main story

"He shoves the referee and makes a joke of it, and he's got the cheek to criticise - it's unbelievable"

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson on Alan Pardew

Ferguson confronted referee Mike Dean, his assistant Jake Collin and the fourth official Neil Swarbrick at the start of the second half of the Premier League game at Old Trafford to protest over Newcastle's second goal.

Dean had ruled that Papiss Cisse was not interfering with play when Jonny Evans put through his own goal after 28 minutes, even though the Senegal international was in an offside position when Danny Simpson hit the initial shot.

Pardew was unhappy that the United manager, 70, avoided punishment over the confrontation because Dean did not mention the incident in his match report.

"I think Mike Dean might feel slightly disappointed he didn't do something about it," Pardew said after the game.

"I think the pressure that was on him was tough for a referee to take. I think there were a lot of things the FA could look at. But it seems they are looking at none."

Pardew was fined £20,000 and given a two-match touchline ban by the FA for pushing fourth official Peter Kirkup during Newcastle's 2-1 win over Tottenham on 18 August.

The Newcastle manager immediately apologised, talking of his shame at the "comical" incident, but Ferguson says Pardew now has no right to criticise the behaviour of others.

"I wasn't abusive of the referee - some managers push the linesman and make a joke of it," said the Scot.

"I'm not making a joke of it. I think [the goal] should've been disallowed, I really do. [Pardew] shoves the referee and makes a joke of it, and he's got the cheek to criticise - it's unbelievable.

"He forgets the help I gave him by the way.

"The press have had a field day out of it. They have addressed every possible avenue. The only one they have left out is Barack Obama. He is too busy.

"That is unfortunate. I carry that because I am the manager of the most famous club in the world. I am not like Newcastle, a wee club in the north east."

Ferguson said that he felt it was legitimate for him to question the decision of Dean to allow the goal.

"I called him over and said there was body contact," he said.

Ferguson should be punished - Wenger

"The rule book says if your opponent is interfering with the defender then he's offside. The interpretation from Mike Dean was that he wasn't interfering, but I think he was."

Ferguson said that he remained calm during the conversation, and that he was happy with the way Dean dealt with the incident.

"I think Mike Dean handled it well. He is an experienced referee - mature. There was no ranting and raving from me," he said,

"I was demonstrative but I'm always demonstrative. I'm an emotional guy."

TV cameras recorded the discussion between Ferguson and Dean as the teams came out for the second half, and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said that it did not set a good example to those watching.

"The message it sends out when you look at the pictures is not to behave like that," he said.

Asked at a news conference whether he was surprised the referee did not mention the incident in his match report, Wenger said: "Yes, but you should ask this question to Mike Dean."

Wenger received an apology from referees' chief Keith Hackett after Dean sent him off for kicking a water bottle in a game at Old Trafford that Arsenal lost 2-1 in 2009.

Obama to host fiscal cliff talks at White House - BBC News

28 December 2012 Last updated at 13:22 ET

US President Barack Obama has called congressional leaders to talks at the White House to try to stop the US falling over the "fiscal cliff".

Republicans and Democrats have only four days to reach an agreement before hundreds of billions of dollars of tax rises and spending cuts take effect.

Reports say Mr Obama will propose a smaller deal aiming to avert disaster.

Analysts say sliding over the "cliff" could tip the US into recession and set back the global economic recovery.

President Obama cut short his holiday in Hawaii to resume the negotiations, and is due to host the White House talks at 15:00 EST (20:00 GMT).

New optimism?

Reports ahead of the meeting suggested the president would propose a limited package including the renewal of most expiring tax cuts, and a delay or replacement of some spending cuts.

Unconfirmed details of the plan were accompanied by newly upbeat rhetoric from some senators.

"I'm getting a little more optimistic today. Sometimes it's darkest before the dawn and there are two good signs for optimism today," senior Democrat Chuck Schumer told NBC's Today show.

Republican Jon Kyl told Bloomberg News: "Everybody recognises we're either going to get something in the next few hours or not. There's no more posturing time left."

Mr Obama's plans to increase taxes on the wealthiest Americans have remained a point of division between the two parties since he won re-election in November.

The president was tax cuts renewed for those earning under $400,000 (£250,000), with tax rises on the richest 2% in order to rein in deficit spending.

But many Republicans oppose new taxes as a matter of principle, and are demanding cuts to what they see as deficit-inflating public spending, putting at risk healthcare and welfare benefit schemes popular with Democrats.

An alternative plan proposed by House Speaker John Mr Boehner - which would have seen taxes rise only on those earning over $1m - failed in the House of Representatives late last week.

Mitch McConnell: No "blank cheque" to avert the fiscal cliff

Speaking on Thursday, the Democratic majority leader in the Senate, Harry Reid, said he thought a deal was unlikely. Later, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said his colleagues were unwilling to sign a "blank cheque".

"Hopefully there is still time for an agreement of some kind that saves the taxpayers from a wholly preventable economic crisis."

In the Senate chamber on Thursday, Mr Reid said the requirement to get at least 60 of 100 votes to move to a vote on any legislation almost certainly doomed any new plan unless Republicans gave it strong backing.

"It looks like that [the fiscal cliff] is where we're headed," Mr Reid said.

Cuts and benefits

"It looks like that's where we're headed," Harry Reid said of the fiscal cliff

The term fiscal cliff refers to the combination of almost $600bn (£370bn) of tax rises and spending cuts due to come into force on 1 January if Congress does not pass new legislation.

Sweeping tax cuts passed during the presidency of George W Bush will expire, eventually affecting people of all income levels, and many businesses.

Other tax cuts and benefits to expire include:

• A 2010 payroll tax cut, the expiration of which would prompt immediate wage-packet cuts
• Benefits for the long-term unemployed
• Compensation for doctors treating patients on federal healthcare programmes
• Inheritance taxes are also likely to be affected if no deal is reached.

In addition, spending cuts mandated by a law passed to break a previous fiscal impasse in Congress will come into force, affecting both military and domestic budgets.

The cuts are expected to affect federal government departments and the defence sector, as well as hitting unemployment insurance and veterans' support.

How the Bush tax cuts were brought in
Tax year	1993-2000	2001	2002	2003-2008	2009-2012	2012 tax brackets	2013 scenarios
							Tax cuts expire	Tax cuts expire for top incomes
Source: Tax Foundation, IRS. Tax brackets shown for unmarried individuals
President	Bill Clinton	George W Bush			Barack Obama
Bottom rate	15%	10%	10%	10%	10%	Up to $8,700	15%	10%
		15%	15%	15%	15%	$8,700-$35,350		15%
	28%	27.5%	27%	25%	25%	$35,350- $85,650	28%	25%
	31%	30.5%	30%	28%	28%	$85,650- $178,650	31%	28%
	36%	35.5%	35%	33%	33%	$178,650-$388,350	36%	33% or 36%*
Top rate	39.6%	39.1%	38.6%	35%	35%	Over $388,350	39.6%	39.6%
*President Obama has previously called for the tax cut to expire for those earning over $250,000