Serbia begins EU membership talks

21 January 2014 Last updated at 10:56 GMT

Serbia begins EU membership talks in Brussels

Serbia's prime minister (left) says his country must embrace tough reforms

Serbia has started formal accession talks with the EU with the goal of joining the 28-nation bloc.

Serbian PM Ivica Dacic said the EU "is not only the goal, but also the means by which we will modernise our system".

The membership negotiations are expected to take several years, as Serbia has to bring its laws and institutions into line with EU norms.

Greek Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos led the EU team in Brussels. Greece is now chairing EU meetings.

The BBC's Guy De Launey in Belgrade says the Serbian government is led by former ultra-nationalists who converted to the cause of EU membership before they came to power two years ago.

Reform drive

Aleksandar Vucic, leader of the largest party in the governing coalition, has been the driving force, our correspondent says.

He told the BBC that joining the EU was the only sure way to transform Serbia after two decades of conflict, international embargoes and economic woe.

"If we don't change ourselves, if we don't do something regarding rule of law, if we don't do many other changes in other social spheres - we won't be successful in the future," he said.

Serbia's membership negotiations are expected to take at least six years.

Serbia's agreement to normalise relations with Kosovo was the key which allowed membership talks to start. Kosovo broke away from Serbia in a conflict in 1999 and declared independence in 2008 - a move that was condemned by Belgrade.

But a Kosovo-Serbia deal was struck through EU mediation last year.

The EU Ambassador to Serbia, Michael Davenport, told the BBC that "Serbia has made a lot of progress over the last three or four years - putting much stronger emphasis on regional co-operation, and in particular trying to sort out the issue of Kosovo".

Netflix grows subscriptions in US

21 January 2014 Last updated at 10:51 GMT

Netflix grows subscriptions in US as pay-TV declines

Political drama House of Cards is a Netflix original series

The number of US households signing up to online video subscription services such as Netflix has grown by 4%, at the expense of premium pay-TV channels like HBO and Showtime.

Subscriptions to pay-TV channels fell by 6%, according to an NPD Group report on viewing behaviour between March 2012 and August 2013.

A third of American homes paid to watch premium TV channels in August 2013.

The number of homes signed up to streaming services had risen to 27%.

The study also found that seven out of 10 films and TV shows were watched through on-demand services - including subscription firms like Netflix and Amazon Prime, or as a feature from a cable provider like HBO Go - instead of being rented or bought from Apple's iTunes or Walmart's Vudu.

"It's fair to say that some of the shift that you're seeing is probably caused by Netflix," Russ Crupnick, a senior vice president of the NPD Group told the LA Times.

He added: "Some of this could be caused by the economy. It could be people looking at their cable bills and saying, 'I can't afford this.'"

However, while the figures show people have gravitated towards on-demand services to watch films and TV shows, the viewers questioned were not asked if they had dropped premium cable services as a result.

Other studies have found that Netflix is generally an addition to TV services and not a replacement.

Pay TV service Showtime said it added one million subscribers in the past year, reaching 23 million. HBO's figures remained flat at around 28 million, according to Variety.

However, the rising number of US homes means the services are effectively losing ground - because, as a percentage of total households, their subscriber base is narrowing.

The number of US Netflix subscribers reached 31.1 million at the end of the third quarter of 2013, which was up 24% from the year before, and the company is due to report its next set of figures on Wednesday.

NPD's State of SVOD (subscription video-on-demand) findings are based on analysis of 450,000 consumer transactions, and surveys of 7,500 people.

South Sudan president hits out at UN

21 January 2014 Last updated at 10:47 GMT

South Sudan President Salva Kiir hits out at UN

Salva Kiir also accused humanitarian group of aiding the rebels

Continue reading the main story

South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit has accused the UN peacekeeping mission of acting like a "parallel government" in his country.

The UN had only fallen short of naming the chief of UN mission "co-president", he said in a national TV address.

More than 70,000 civilians are seeking shelter at UN bases across the country following an outbreak of hostilities a month ago.

The UN says both government soldiers and rebels have committed atrocities.

What started out as a political fallout between Mr Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar on 15 December has escalated into full-scale conflict.

The BBC's Mark Lowen in a hospital in Bor: "Rebels shot patients in their beds"

Around 500,000 people have been displaced and the UN estimates that considerably more than 1,000 have been killed.

The UN is in the process of deploying an extra 5,500 peacekeepers to South Sudan to bring its forces up to 12,500.

In his speech, Mr Kiir also accused other humanitarian organisations of supporting Mr Machar.

His comments came after after his forces recaptured the town of Bor from rebel forces over the weekend.

The South Sudanese army also says it has recaptured the key town of Malakal after days of heavy fighting, though this is disputed by the rebels.

Talks to try to find a ceasefire are continuing in Ethiopia.

Fighting erupted in the South Sudan capital, Juba, in mid-December. It followed a political power struggle between President Salva Kiir and his ex-deputy Riek Machar. The squabble has taken on an ethnic dimension as politicians' political bases are often ethnic.

Sudan's arid north is mainly home to Arabic-speaking Muslims. But in South Sudan there is no dominant culture. The Dinkas and the Nuers are the largest of more than 200 ethnic groups, each with its own languages and traditional beliefs, alongside Christianity and Islam.

Both Sudan and the South are reliant on oil revenue, which accounts for 98% of South Sudan's budget. They have fiercely disagreed over how to divide the oil wealth of the former united state - at one time production was shutdown for more than a year. Some 75% of the oil lies in the South but all the pipelines run north

The two Sudans are very different geographically. The great divide is visible even from space, as this Nasa satellite image shows. The northern states are a blanket of desert, broken only by the fertile Nile corridor. South Sudan is covered by green swathes of grassland, swamps and tropical forest.

After gaining independence in 2011, South Sudan is the world's newest country - and one of its poorest. Figures from 2010 show some 69% of households now have access to clean water - up from 48% in 2006. However, just 2% of households have water on the premises.

Just 29% of children attend primary school in South Sudan - however this is also an improvement on the 16% recorded in 2006. About 32% of primary-age boys attend, while just 25% of girls do. Overall, 64% of children who begin primary school reach the last grade.

Almost 28% of children under the age of five in South Sudan are moderately or severely underweight - this compares with the 33% recorded in 2006. Unity state has the highest proportion of children suffering malnourishment (46%), while Central Equatoria has the lowest (17%).

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Banks not lending enough, say MPs

21 January 2014 Last updated at 10:43 GMT

Banks still not doing enough to support business, say MPs

The MPs said the government needed to do more to encourage banks to lend to businesses

Continue reading the main story

Small and medium-sized UK businesses are still struggling to access enough funding despite efforts by the government to boost lending, the Public Accounts Committee has said.

The MPs said net lending by banks using the Funding for Lending scheme had fallen £2.3bn since June 2012.

It added there was little understanding of where support was most needed most.

But the government said the report did not reflect reality and that credit conditions were improving

Funding for Lending is the scheme launched jointly by the Bank of England and the Treasury to boost lending to the real economy.

Under the scheme, banks and building societies were allowed to borrow money cheaply from the Bank of England, as long as they then loaned that money to individuals or businesses.

The scheme was recently modified to exclude individuals, as the Bank believed mortgage lending had picked up sufficiently and no longer needed special support.

'Best value'

"Small and medium-sized enterprises have a vital role to play in driving the UK's economic recovery... but many still struggle to access the finance they need," said Margaret Hodge, chair of the committee.

"[Government] departments manage their various schemes not as a coherent programme but simply as a series of ad hoc initiatives."

She said the Department for Business and the Treasury could not demonstrate that they were "achieving best value for taxpayers' money."

The report also criticised the government's Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme, which looks to help businesses that have been turned down for bank loans.

The number and value of loans provided by the scheme had fallen in each year between 2010 and 2013, the report said.

The committee said that the two government departments were unable to show that the schemes launched to boost lending had addressed the market failures they were designed to correct.

However, the government challenged the report's findings, saying they did "not reflect the reality, which is that credit conditions for small and medium enterprises are improving, new lending is being provided and small businesses are being offered cheaper loans rates".

The committee of MPs said the new British Business Bank, which is launching this year and will have £1bn of capital at its disposal, should help drive more lending to businesses.

The British Chamber of Commerce said it agreed with much in the report, but called on the government to go further in its plans for the Business Bank, so that "it is customer-facing, better capitalised from the outset, and has the ability to lend directly to businesses".

The committee's report comes a week after the Labour party called for greater competition in banking and for the break up of some the UK's largest banks.

Party leader Ed Miliband said the City had been "an incredibly poor servant of the real economy", adding that banks should be doing more to help businesses grow.

21 January 2014 Last updated at 06:05 GMT

Article written by Robert Peston Business editor

• More from Robert

An unholy pension hole

 

The Archbishop of Canterbury, who has taken upon himself the role of scourge of big opaque banks and profiteering payday loan companies, is today accused of ignoring a financial sleight of hand on his own doorstep.

John Ralfe, who would be seen by many as the bane of allegedly reckless pension funds, has written to Archbishop Welby to warn him that the deficit of the Clergy Pension Scheme may have been seriously understated.

Ralfe also complains that he was refused access to the data, and had to obtain it through a backdoor route, which he says is "not a good example of the Church's transparency and openness".

Black hole

The Clergy Pension Scheme has 16,400 members, including 5,800 pensioners, and its latest valuation showed a £293m deficit, which seems big, but was only modestly higher than the £263m deficit of 2009.

Ralfe points out that the increase in the scheme's hole would have been much higher - to a substantial £391m - if it had not been for a jump in the discount rate used for calculating the scheme's liabilities.

The important point is that the higher the discount rate, the smaller the liabilities. And the Clergy Pension Scheme increased this rate by 0.5% without - according to Ralfe - giving an explanation for why this was appropriate.

Cash-strapped

Ralfe calculates that if the deficit had been recognised at that higher £391m, cash-strapped dioceses and parishes would be forced to shell out £90m a year to provide vicars and other church officers with pensions, compared with the 2012 outlay of £69.4m.

He complains that at the synod in November, there was no discussion of the pension hole, because the official view was that the deficit had hardly increased and contributions would therefore rise by less than £3m.

Ralfe says: "If this £21m a year increase had been tabled at the Synod, it seems likely dioceses would have pushed to close the scheme... The Archbishops' advisory group reported in 2010 that only 18 of the 42 dioceses supported sticking with DB [final salary] pensions".

Home loans in 2013 'half their peak'

21 January 2014 Last updated at 10:26 GMT

Home loans in 2013 half their 2007 peak, says CML

Lending to home owners rose by 23% last year, but was still way below the 2007 peak

Continue reading the main story

The amount of money borrowed by home-owners last year was less than half that seen at the peak of the housing boom in 2007, mortgage lenders say.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said the total amount lent out last year was £177bn.

Although that represents a 23% rise on the figure for 2012, it is still a long way below the peak.

In 2007, Britain's banks and building societies lent out £363bn in the form of mortgages.

The figures suggest that the UK is a long way from another housing boom.

However, the amount lent out in December, £17bn, was nearly 50% more than in the same month last year.

"Mortgage lending was stronger than we expected in the closing months of 2013," said CML economist Bob Pannell.

"But lenders expect little if any boost to borrower demand this quarter," he said.

From this month, the government's Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) will no longer provide support for mortgage lending.

As a result, some experts believe there may be upward pressure on mortgage rates.

FLS enabled banks and building societies to borrow money at low rates, providing they lent it on to members of the public, or to businesses.

But from January, the scheme has only applied to business lending.

Relegation a rubbish idea - Cummins

21 January 2014 Last updated at 10:17

Bradford Bulls coach calls Super League relegation plans 'rubbish'

Plans to relegate two teams from Super League this season are "rubbish", according to Bradford Bulls coach Francis Cummins.

The Rugby Football League revealed plans for the top flight to be trimmed from 14 to 12 teams after the 2014 campaign last week.

Cummins told BBC Radio Leeds: "I think it's rubbish personally.

"My concern is we'll take our focus off promoting young players because teams will be worried about relegation."

He added: "Teams could take money out of their academy and put it into signing a player hoping they won't get relegated.

"I just don't think it's thought through. It needs to be worked towards but there has to be criteria because we haven't got the clubs to do it. There are no teams from underneath who could come up and be mid-table.

"I think it's more of an idea for the television companies than the sport as a whole."

Relegation was last used by Super League in 2009, with a licensing system replacing it thereafter.

The Bulls have endured a difficult pre-season with the club admitting they are in financial difficulties for the second time in two years, having spent two months in administration in 2012.

Despite the concerns off the field Cummins does not believe that simply avoiding relegation should be the club's target.

"Finishing third-bottom is certainly not a good goal for me. That's not what I'm aiming for," he said.

"The players and the staff, especially those who were made redundant and worked their notice, have been tremendous and if we can keep that spirit we can achieve whatever we want.

"It's not been a difficult spell for me because of the great attitude the players have shown. I would have forgiven people for wanting to go but nobody has."

Bradford start their season with a home match against Castleford on Sunday, 16 February.

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• Khan consortium seals Bulls deal 31 Aug 2012 Bradford
• Get Inspired: RUGBY LEAGUE 19 Jul 2013 Get Inspired

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M4 reopens after Newport tanker crash

21 January 2014 Last updated at 10:28 GMT

M4 reopens after tanker crash in Newport's Brynglas tunnels

Traffic on the M4 near Newport following a crash inside the Brynglas tunnels

A section of the M4 closed following a tanker crash in the Brynglas tunnels in Newport has been reopened.

The westbound carriageway was closed for almost four hours while the vehicles were recovered.

Motorists also reported delays of up to an hour on the A449 on the approach to the Coldra roundabout at junction 24, while congestion was said to be heavy on the A48 Southern Distributor Road.

The incident happened as the vehicles travelled towards Cardiff at 06:30 GMT.

One tanker was said to be carrying sand and there was no hazardous material involved.

A major deployment of fire and rescue crews was launched as a precaution but there were no reports of a blaze or serious injuries.

Firefighters from Maindee, Malpas, Dyffryn, Cwmbran, New Inn and Whitchurch were sent to the scene, as well as a number of specialist vehicles.

21 January 2014 Last updated at 10:21 GMT

Explosion rocks Beirut suburb

The explosion is said to have happened in a Hezbollah stronghold

A suspected bomb explosion has reportedly killed two people in a Hezbollah stronghold in a Shia-dominated southern suburb of Beirut.

Flames were seen pouring from the facade of a multi-storey building, with large plumes of smoke.

Local media quoted officials as saying it was caused by a suicide bomber.

There has been a spike in sectarian tension in Lebanon blamed on the conflict in neighbouring Syria.

Hezbollah forces have been fighting in support of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, while Lebanese Sunni Muslims tend to back the Syrian opposition.

Al-Manar said the blast occurred in Arid Street in Harat Hreik district. Large crowds gathered at the scene as Hezbollah's emergency services worked to extinguish the blaze.

It is the latest of several recent explosions in Lebanon. Five people were killed an many others injured by a bomb blast on 2 January in the same Beirut district.

Former minister Mohamad Chatah, a Sunni and a critic of Hezbollah, was killed with five others by a car bomb in December.

Flames were seen coming out of the building

.

Turkey PM in EU membership talks

21 January 2014 Last updated at 10:08 GMT

Turkey PM Erdogan in EU membership talks amid tensions

Mr Erdogan is fighting a big political battle at home

Turkey's PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan is in Brussels for talks on his country's EU membership bid, amid EU concerns over a purge of senior Turkish officials.

The negotiations are beset by problems.

EU politicians have voiced concern about the state of Turkey's democracy, including the independence of its courts and media freedom.

Several of Mr Erdogan's allies have been arrested over a corruption scandal. He blamed a "foreign plot" and sacked prosecutors and police chiefs.

The scandal has pitted Mr Erdogan against a former ally, US-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gulen, who has many supporters in the police and judiciary.

Mr Erdogan's trip to Brussels is his first in five years.

He will meet European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, who chairs EU summits, and EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

The BBC's James Reynolds in Istanbul says the Turkish government is fed up with the slow pace of membership talks and wants a formal timetable for accession.

Slow progress

Turkey's accession talks resumed in November, after being suspended for nearly three-and-a-half years. The negotiations were launched in 2005.

However, several EU countries, notably Germany, France and Austria, have deep reservations about Turkey joining the EU. Critics believe it is culturally far-removed from Europe, and that because of its sheer size it could change the nature of the EU.

Supporters say it would be a dynamic addition to the bloc.

There are 35 policy areas, or chapters, in which candidate-states must meet EU standards in order to join the 28-member bloc. So far Turkey and the EU have only opened 14 chapters, and just one has been provisionally closed.

Eight chapters remain frozen because of a long-running trade dispute between Turkey and Cyprus.

The EU's 2013 progress report on Turkey criticised "excessive force" used by police against demonstrators, along with other human rights violations.

Last week Turkey adopted a law making it a crime for doctors to provide emergency first aid without government authorisation.

Some medical professionals see it as a tool to prevent doctors and other medics from treating protesters injured in clashes with police. The US-based Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) says action was taken against medics during anti-government protests last June.

The PHR condemned the new law in a statement, saying "this kind of targeting of the medical community is not only repugnant, but puts everyone's health at risk".

Rennard in Lib Dem legal threat

21 January 2014 Last updated at 10:06 GMT

Rennard may take legal action over Lib Dem suspension

The Lib Dem peer has been suspended pending disciplinary proceedings

Lord Rennard is considering seeking a court injunction to lift his suspension by the Liberal Democrats.

The peer had his membership temporarily suspended after he refused to apologise over sexual harassment claims, saying it would be an admission of guilt.

A woman who says she was harassed by him has refused to rule out taking legal action against him.

And the BBC understands Lord Rennard is taking legal advice about whether the party has broken its own rules.

The Lib Dems suspended the peer from the party for 14 weeks while it investigates whether he has brought it into disrepute by refusing to apologise for causing distress to a number of women.

The BBC News Channel's Chief Political Correspondent Norman Smith said Lord Rennard is looking at whether the party followed "due process" in its handling of his case and could make a decision by the end of the day.

It increasingly looked like the saga could be "heading for the courts", he added, with the party questioning the peer's grounds for legal action.

'Listened to'

Lord Rennard of Wavertree resigned the party whip last year amid claims that he had made unwanted sexual advances to several women and touched them inappropriately.

The party's internal investigation, led by senior barrister Alistair Webster QC, concluded the claims could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt.

But it also said the evidence of the four women who lodged complaints was "broadly credible" and urged the peer to apologise.

Lord Rennard said he felt "regret" if he had unintentionally "hurt" any women but would not apologise for something he "had not done".

In a 2,600 word statement, he said he had suffered from "severe stress, anxiety and depression" as a result of the allegations.

Bridget Harris, one of those who made a complaint against Lord Rennard, told BBC Radio 4's The World Tonight programme that "of course" she would not rule out future legal action against the peer.

"We're taking the process one step at a time," the former aide to Nick Clegg, who has since quit the party, said.

"In terms of civil action, how can I possibly say that I, what I would or wouldn't do, depending on the circumstances."

She continued: "What I'm really interested in is getting back to the core point, which is: I'm very glad now that the party has recognised that, as women, and the complaints that we've made, we've been listened to.

"They've been acknowledged and the party leadership has been prepared to, essentially, back our position, which is that we are owed an apology and it isn't tenable for Lord Rennard to remain a member of the Lib Dems for as long as these allegations and this cloud hangs over him."

But speaking on BBC Newsnight, Lord Greaves said the party had divided into different factions that were now "chucking missiles at each other".

If the issues were not solved, he said, "it is going to produce faultlines and schisms in the party which will last for years".

And MEP Chris Davies, who has backed Lord Rennard, tweeted: "I hear that the Lib Dem leadership has rejected mediation in the Rennard case.

"Is this true? If so, what are these people doing?"

Although Lord Rennard has been suspended by the Liberal Democrats, he can still attend Parliament and vote in Lords debates as an independent peer.

Evans left out of GB Davis Cup team

21 January 2014 Last updated at 10:02

Davis Cup 2014: Dan Evans left out of GB team to face USA

By Piers Newbery BBC Sport

British number two Dan Evans has been left out of the Davis Cup squad to face the United States later this month.

Evans played in the last four Great Britain ties but has been replaced by Kyle Edmund, 19, who will vie with James Ward for the second singles slot.

Edmund is ranked 222 places below Evans but has more experience on clay.

Andy Murray looks likely to team up with Colin Fleming in the doubles for the tie, which takes place on clay in San Diego from 31 January.

Dom Inglot has been called up as a reserve for the first time.

Inglot is the British doubles number one and his selection as a backup comes as captain Leon Smith chooses to narrow his considerable doubles options heading into the tie, leaving out Ross Hutchins, Jamie Murray and Jonny Marray.

Asked on Monday whether he expected to play in the doubles rubber, Wimbledon champion Andy Murray said: "I don't want to give away any tactics or anything that may go into the match and selections and whatnot.

"But I've spoken to Leon about it. I've had the discussion with him and we'll see when we get there."

United States captain Jim Courier has selected world number 13 John Isner, world number 51 Sam Querrey and doubles world number ones Bob and Mike Bryan.

Evans, 23, played in the Great Britain victories over Russia and Croatia last year, winning one of his three live singles rubbers.

He also made a breakthrough by reaching the third round of the US Open in September after a successful summer, and began 2014 by qualifying for the ATP event in Doha.

However, he suffered a disappointing second-round exit in qualifying at the Australian Open and has little experience of playing on clay at the top level.

Edmund is ranked 222 places lower than Evans at 372 in the world, but the Yorkshireman is rising steadily and plays most of his tennis on clay.

He has already won a title on the surface in the US this year, the fourth tournament win of his career on the Futures Tour - the third level of professional tennis.

It will, however, be a huge step up in class and pressure if he is asked to play a live Davis Cup singles rubber, away from home, against Isner or Querrey.

Ward, 26, is ranked 165 and has never won an ATP match on clay, but he does have a winning record on the surface on the Challenger and Futures tours, and has an 8-5 Davis Cup singles record.

Inglot, 27, is rewarded for his good form over the past year with Treat Huey of the Philippines, which has seen the Englishman rise to 28 in the doubles rankings.

The pair reached their second successive Grand Slam quarter-final at the Australian Open.

"Leon's obviously still keeping his options open," said Inglot. "I'm obviously going to go there and help the team in any way I can.

"If it means just hitting big serves to Andy, or whoever's playing number two singles, then I'll do that. If he needs me to step in and play doubles then I'll be happy to do that as well.

"I'm pretty confident that we can do well as a team. I think Andy can win both singles and between the three of us, Andy, Colin and myself, we're all capable doubles players. Even against the Bryans we can go and win."

Team: Andy Murray, James Ward, Colin Fleming, Kyle Edmund. Reserve: Dom Inglot

Also related to this story

• Murray reaches last eight 20 Jan 2014 Tennis
• British tennis must grow - LTA boss Downey 15 Jan 2014 Tennis
• Hutchins wins on Grand Slam return 15 Jan 2014 Tennis
• Evans knocked out of Australian Open 09 Jan 2014 Tennis
• Murray guides GB to Davis Cup elite 15 Sep 2013 Tennis
• Australian Open on the BBC 20 Jun 2013 Tennis
• Singles and doubles draws 30 May 2013 Tennis
• Tennis order of play 30 May 2013 Tennis
• Get Inspired: TENNIS 19 Jul 2013 Get Inspired

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VIDEO: How toymakers aim to lift sales

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Toy Fair: Latest inventions aim to reverse sales fall

21 January 2014 Last updated at 09:59 GMT

A total of £3bn was spent on toys in the UK last year but that was 1% less than in 2012.

The BBC's Steph McGovern has been to the Toy Fair at London Olympia to find out how toymakers are hoping to make 2014 a bumper a year.

Kejriwal runs Delhi from mass sit-in

21 January 2014 Last updated at 09:49 GMT

India's Arvind Kejriwal runs Delhi from mass sit-in

Mr Kejriwal and cabinet ministers are continuing to conduct daily administrative business on the streets

Delhi's chief minister has vowed to step up his unprecedented street protest amid a row over who controls the city's police force.

Arvind Kejriwal and members of his cabinet spent the night in the open in the heart of the capital and are now conducting daily business on the road.

Police blocked roads as more protesters gathered to join Mr Kejriwal.

His anti-corruption Aam Aadmi Party caused a shock with its strong performance in recent state elections.

Correspondents say his actions have divided the public with some hailing this as a new form of democracy and public protest but others urging him to get off the streets in order to govern as he was voted to do.

Hundreds of policemen have now cordoned off the site of his demonstration and positioned water cannons on the road. Traffic has been thrown into chaos and at least four metro stations have been shut down.

"Since yesterday no food or water has been allowed to enter the protest site. What message the central government wants to convey? Many people want to come but they are stopped through barricades," Mr Kejriwal told reporters.

"Police [are] carrying people selectively in to the bus and beating them up. Is this called democracy?"

Nevertheless, Mr Kejriwal and his cabinet ministers are continuing to conduct daily administrative business on the streets.

Policing row

Mr Kejriwal took the helm as Delhi's chief minister last month on a ticket to fight corruption and conduct politics differently, calling his party a "new broom".

But he quickly became embroiled in a row over policing after one of his ministers accused officers of failing to crack down on an alleged drugs and prostitution ring - the police deny these claims.

Delhi's police force is run by the federal government and the impromptu protest began on Monday when Mr Kejriwal was prevented from going to the home minister's office to demand the suspension of several officers.

It started with an incident which threatened to become a diplomatic issue, pitching the Aam Aadmi Party, the police and members of Delhi's African community at loggerheads.

Last Wednesday Mr Kejriwal's Law Minister, Somnath Bharti, and various party supporters allegedly confronted four Ugandan women in a Delhi neighbourhood accusing them of prostitution.

Arvind Kejriwal spent the night on the road with his supporters

A row erupted when police refused to search a nearby house for evidence of a suspected drugs and prostitution ring because they did not have a warrant.

Mr Bharti and Aam Aadmi Party supporters were accused of threatening and intimidating the women, forcing their way into homes and making racist remarks - they deny these allegations.

Indian Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde says a judicial inquiry into the role of the police has been ordered and Mr Kejriwal "should wait for its result" before protesting.

But Mr Kejriwal says his protest encompasses more grievances than just that case.

His party has also condemned the police for their handling of other cases, such as the recent alleged gang-rape of a Danish woman in Delhi and the case of a woman who was reportedly killed over a demand for dowry by her in-laws.

Are you in Delhi? Have you witnessed the stand-off? You can send us your comments and experiences using the form below.

Di Resta makes touring car return

21 January 2014 Last updated at 09:46

Paul Di Resta makes Mercedes return after Force India exit

Paul Di Resta will drive in the German Touring Car Championship this season after rejoining Mercedes.

The Briton won the title in 2010 before moving to Formula 1, but lost his seat at Force India for 2014 to Mexican driver Sergio Perez, who had been discarded by McLaren.

With no other F1 seats available, the 27-year-old has opted to move on.

"Mercedes-Benz has given me a car I can use to fight for the title," he said. "I realise that it will not be easy."

More to follow

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• Get Inspired: MOTORSPORT 19 Jul 2013 Get Inspired

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Critics hail Hayley's Corrie exit

21 January 2014 Last updated at 09:47 GMT

Coronation Street: Hayley Cropper's final scenes hailed

Hayley chose to end her life in the company of devoted husband Roy

The final scenes of long-running Coronation Street character Hayley Cropper have been praised by critics as brave and emotionally charged.

The Telegraph called her exit "brave and moving", as she took her own life to end the pain of terminal cancer.

The Daily Mail's review praised the "sensitive acting" of actors David Nielsen, Hayley's devoted husband Roy, and outgoing star Julie Hesmondhalgh.

The press also touched upon the story's impact on the right to die debate.

Monday night's episodes culminated in Hayley carrying out her wish to die rather than suffer from pancreatic cancer.

She took her own life with a cocktail of drugs while Roy was by her side, and ensured that he took no direct part in hastening her death.

The character of Hayley, who has walked the cobbles of Coronation Street for 16 years, spent time saying her own farewells to close friends, keeping her decision a secret from everyone but her husband.

A peak audience of 10,2 million people tuned in to watch her final moments. The two-part story had an average audience of 9.6 million for the first episode at 19:30 and 9.4 million at 20:30.

Ben Lawrence, writing in the Telegraph, said the episodes were "something special".

Julie: "I can't watch farewell to Hayley"

Her death "was not handled with the customary swiftness that defies us to empathise - we were in that flat with Hayley and husband Roy living every tragic moment," he said.

With reference to the right to die debate encapsulated in the drama, Lawrence added: "With this storyline, handled with bravery and nuance, Coronation Street has made considerable progress in the debate."

The Independent's Ellen E Jones said the issue was explored "without compromising the emotional truth of two much-loved characters," adding Hayley's "decision to die looked neither easy nor unambiguously noble".

Lucy Mangan, writing in The Guardian, said the two episodes were "finely scripted" and featured "some of the best performances the cobbles have ever seen".

"Goodbye Hayley, and goodbye Julie Hesmondhalgh. And thank you for everything," she concluded.

She also looked back on the partnership between Roy and Hayley and their "years of loving, careful, delicate performances".

Hayley was the first transgendered character in British soap history, who found love with the socially awkward cafe owner and forged a steadfast alliance.

David Nielsen's performance was singled out by some critics, with Christopher Stevens in the Daily Mail saying he was "speechless with grief" but had "eloquent eyes".

The Telegraph's Lawrence said Nielsen's acting "beautifully captured the internal anguish of a quiet man".

Other actors from Coronation Street took to Twitter as the drama unfolded, with Catherine Tyldesley, who plays Eva Price, saying: "I've cried to the point of feeling sick".

Antony Cotton, whose character Sean Tully worked with Hayley at the street's underwear factory, said: "Wow. That was quite something. Powerful stuff. Exhausted watching it. Well done one and all".

Hesmondhalgh has spoken out in support of tackling the right to die issue through her soap exit, saying it was a "real privilege" to play and that she had "always really understood Hayley's decision.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast on Monday, she admitted the final scenes would be a "hard watch".

After being Coronation Street regular since 1998, the actress is now starring on stage at Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre in the play Blindsided.