Main content
02/01/2015
Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
Last on
Fri 2 Jan 2015
06:00
Â鶹ÊÓƵAV Radio 4
Clips
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Deadly drug PMMA 'far more toxic than ecstasy'
Duration: 02:17
Today's running order
0710
Rail passengers will face fare increases of up to 2.5% from today. Some season tickets have risen more than 20% over the past five years. The increase comes into force shortly after severe disruption left thousands of passengers stranded over the Christmas period. Labour's shadow transport secretary Michael Dugher joins us from King's Cross Station.
0715
The Italian coastguard is trying to reach 400 migrants on board a ship drifting off the south eastern coast of Italy with no crew on board - the second ship to be found in that state this week. Correspondent James Reynolds reports.
0720
A six-part radio soap opera has been broadcast in the Middle East in the past few weeks. Inspired by The Archers it’s called We Are All Refugees and follows the life of a group of Syrian refugees at the Zaatari camp on the border with Syria. The drama covers themes like forced early marriage, domestic violence, water shortages, unemployment and the tensions of the two communities - Syrian and Jordanian - forced to live side by side. Charlotte Eager is a filmmaker and Newsweek journalist who co-produced the soap. Andy Boscoe, from Oxfam, has been a camp manager at Zaatari for the past 11 months.
0730
Changes in diet and lifestyle have a minimal impact on around two thirds of all cancer types according to research in the United States. Bert Vogelstein and Cristian Tomasetti from John Hopkins University analysed 31 different cancers and, writing in the journal Science this week, they say most of them are caused by chance cell mutations rather than any external factors. Cancer Research UK, which has done its own research, stresses that around 4 in every 10 cancer cases could be prevented by lifestyle changes. Dr Christian Tomasetti is assistant professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore.
0735
A cap on the cost of payday loans, enforced by the City regulator, takes effect from Friday. Lenders are now restricted to charging interest of up to 0.8% of the amount borrowed. The total cost has also been capped. But there are fears that some borrowers could go to unregulated loan sharks instead. Russell Hamblin-Boone is chief executive of the Consumer Finance Authority.
0745
Fans of the Back to the Future films will know that Marty McFly and Doc Brown travelled to the year 2015 in the 1989 sequel Back to the Future II. The film imagines a future of flying cars, robot-operated petrol stations, holographic movies and hoverboards getting us all from A to B. Now we’ve finally arrived in 2015, which technologies in the film turned out to be reality? And just how good are we at predicting the future anyway? Matt Novak is a writer and edits the Paleofuture blog for Gizmodo and joins us from LA.
0750
As the January 31st deadline for self-assessment tax returns looms, new figures have shown that more than one third of calls are not answered. Â Callers to key government tax and benefit helplines are waiting twice as long to get through as last year, latest official records show. Â A suggestion by HMRC that people can tweet tax queries to ask advice has been criticised by MPs. Stephen Hardwick is director of communications at HM Revenue and Customs.
0810
The Italian coast guard says another merchant ship with at least 400 migrants on board is heading for the Italian coast. The Ezadeen, sailing under the flag of Sierra Leone, had no crew on board and was going towards Puglia in the south-east of Italy.  The Icelandic coast guard confirmed to the Â鶹ÊÓƵAV that one of its vessels was assisting in efforts to board the ship. Almost 1,000 migrants were rescued from another ship found abandoned without any crew earlier in the week.
Are we seeing people traffickers adopting a new tactic of getting hundreds of migrants aboard ship, pointing them towards Italy and then abandoning them? And what pressure could the arrival of more migrants put on local authorities and NGOs already trying to care for those who arrived on the first ship? Mimma Antonacci is spokesperson for the Italian Red Cross in Lecce.
0815
Police in Suffolk say that three deaths over the Christmas period may have been caused by a dangerous batch of ecstasy. One man died on Christmas Eve and two others died yesterday, a fourth was taken to hospital in a serious condition. It’s thought the tablets taken had a large concentration of a drug called PMMA, which is similar to the main component of ecstasy. Harry Shapiro is from the charity Drugscope, which supports drug and alcohol professionals.
0820
2015 marks the centenary of Einstein’s theory of General Relativity. It’s the theory that turned Einstein into a global superstar, showing how light is at the centre of the very structure of space and time. The United Nations has designated 2015 the International Year of Light and Light-Based Technologies and there will be a series of events around the world celebrating Einstein’s seminal theory. Professor Ruth Gregory is a specialist in general relativity at Durham University. Professor Arthur Miller is professor of history and the philosophy of science at UCL.
0830
How important are our lifestyles when it comes to reducing our risk of getting cancer? A study in the United States is suggesting that two-thirds of cancers are caused by bad luck rather than lifestyle factors such as diet, or bad genes. The researchers at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore say more emphasis should now be placed on early detection of these cancers. Professor Karol Sikora is dean of the University of Buckingham's medical school.
0840
Rail passengers will face fare increases of up to 2.5% from today. Some season tickets have risen more than 20% over the past five years. The increase comes into force shortly after severe disruption left thousands of passengers stranded over the Christmas period. Patrick Mcloughlin is secretary of state for transport.
0845
China says it is facing a growing threat from militant Islam. It is in the midst of a year-long crackdown on what it describes as terrorism driven by religious extremism. The campaign is focussed on the western province of Xinjiang, home to China's Uigher ethnic minority who are predominantly Muslim. China editor Carrie Gracie reports.
0850
As the festive period draws to an end, many of us are waving goodbye to carloads of departing friends and relatives. But after bidding farewell to your house guests, is it ever acceptable to leave the same sheets on the bed until the next lot arrive? Janice Turner from the Times thinks so, she's invented a sliding scale, an 'internal calculator'... no more than two to three nights for a 'non-leaky small child', no more than one night for a 'lunking teenage boy' unless he's being succeeded by another lunking teenage boy. Aggie Mackenzie is a journalist and broadcaster best known for the series "How Clean is your House?" Mary Killen writes the Spectator's "Dear Mary" column which provides answers to social dilemmas.
All subject to change.
Rail passengers will face fare increases of up to 2.5% from today. Some season tickets have risen more than 20% over the past five years. The increase comes into force shortly after severe disruption left thousands of passengers stranded over the Christmas period. Labour's shadow transport secretary Michael Dugher joins us from King's Cross Station.
0715
The Italian coastguard is trying to reach 400 migrants on board a ship drifting off the south eastern coast of Italy with no crew on board - the second ship to be found in that state this week. Correspondent James Reynolds reports.
0720
A six-part radio soap opera has been broadcast in the Middle East in the past few weeks. Inspired by The Archers it’s called We Are All Refugees and follows the life of a group of Syrian refugees at the Zaatari camp on the border with Syria. The drama covers themes like forced early marriage, domestic violence, water shortages, unemployment and the tensions of the two communities - Syrian and Jordanian - forced to live side by side. Charlotte Eager is a filmmaker and Newsweek journalist who co-produced the soap. Andy Boscoe, from Oxfam, has been a camp manager at Zaatari for the past 11 months.
0730
Changes in diet and lifestyle have a minimal impact on around two thirds of all cancer types according to research in the United States. Bert Vogelstein and Cristian Tomasetti from John Hopkins University analysed 31 different cancers and, writing in the journal Science this week, they say most of them are caused by chance cell mutations rather than any external factors. Cancer Research UK, which has done its own research, stresses that around 4 in every 10 cancer cases could be prevented by lifestyle changes. Dr Christian Tomasetti is assistant professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore.
0735
A cap on the cost of payday loans, enforced by the City regulator, takes effect from Friday. Lenders are now restricted to charging interest of up to 0.8% of the amount borrowed. The total cost has also been capped. But there are fears that some borrowers could go to unregulated loan sharks instead. Russell Hamblin-Boone is chief executive of the Consumer Finance Authority.
0745
Fans of the Back to the Future films will know that Marty McFly and Doc Brown travelled to the year 2015 in the 1989 sequel Back to the Future II. The film imagines a future of flying cars, robot-operated petrol stations, holographic movies and hoverboards getting us all from A to B. Now we’ve finally arrived in 2015, which technologies in the film turned out to be reality? And just how good are we at predicting the future anyway? Matt Novak is a writer and edits the Paleofuture blog for Gizmodo and joins us from LA.
0750
As the January 31st deadline for self-assessment tax returns looms, new figures have shown that more than one third of calls are not answered. Â Callers to key government tax and benefit helplines are waiting twice as long to get through as last year, latest official records show. Â A suggestion by HMRC that people can tweet tax queries to ask advice has been criticised by MPs. Stephen Hardwick is director of communications at HM Revenue and Customs.
0810
The Italian coast guard says another merchant ship with at least 400 migrants on board is heading for the Italian coast. The Ezadeen, sailing under the flag of Sierra Leone, had no crew on board and was going towards Puglia in the south-east of Italy.  The Icelandic coast guard confirmed to the Â鶹ÊÓƵAV that one of its vessels was assisting in efforts to board the ship. Almost 1,000 migrants were rescued from another ship found abandoned without any crew earlier in the week.
Are we seeing people traffickers adopting a new tactic of getting hundreds of migrants aboard ship, pointing them towards Italy and then abandoning them? And what pressure could the arrival of more migrants put on local authorities and NGOs already trying to care for those who arrived on the first ship? Mimma Antonacci is spokesperson for the Italian Red Cross in Lecce.
0815
Police in Suffolk say that three deaths over the Christmas period may have been caused by a dangerous batch of ecstasy. One man died on Christmas Eve and two others died yesterday, a fourth was taken to hospital in a serious condition. It’s thought the tablets taken had a large concentration of a drug called PMMA, which is similar to the main component of ecstasy. Harry Shapiro is from the charity Drugscope, which supports drug and alcohol professionals.
0820
2015 marks the centenary of Einstein’s theory of General Relativity. It’s the theory that turned Einstein into a global superstar, showing how light is at the centre of the very structure of space and time. The United Nations has designated 2015 the International Year of Light and Light-Based Technologies and there will be a series of events around the world celebrating Einstein’s seminal theory. Professor Ruth Gregory is a specialist in general relativity at Durham University. Professor Arthur Miller is professor of history and the philosophy of science at UCL.
0830
How important are our lifestyles when it comes to reducing our risk of getting cancer? A study in the United States is suggesting that two-thirds of cancers are caused by bad luck rather than lifestyle factors such as diet, or bad genes. The researchers at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore say more emphasis should now be placed on early detection of these cancers. Professor Karol Sikora is dean of the University of Buckingham's medical school.
0840
Rail passengers will face fare increases of up to 2.5% from today. Some season tickets have risen more than 20% over the past five years. The increase comes into force shortly after severe disruption left thousands of passengers stranded over the Christmas period. Patrick Mcloughlin is secretary of state for transport.
0845
China says it is facing a growing threat from militant Islam. It is in the midst of a year-long crackdown on what it describes as terrorism driven by religious extremism. The campaign is focussed on the western province of Xinjiang, home to China's Uigher ethnic minority who are predominantly Muslim. China editor Carrie Gracie reports.
0850
As the festive period draws to an end, many of us are waving goodbye to carloads of departing friends and relatives. But after bidding farewell to your house guests, is it ever acceptable to leave the same sheets on the bed until the next lot arrive? Janice Turner from the Times thinks so, she's invented a sliding scale, an 'internal calculator'... no more than two to three nights for a 'non-leaky small child', no more than one night for a 'lunking teenage boy' unless he's being succeeded by another lunking teenage boy. Aggie Mackenzie is a journalist and broadcaster best known for the series "How Clean is your House?" Mary Killen writes the Spectator's "Dear Mary" column which provides answers to social dilemmas.
All subject to change.
Broadcast
- Fri 2 Jan 2015 06:00Â鶹ÊÓƵAV Radio 4