News Daily: Car sales down and questions over Worboys release

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UK car sales in downturn

After six years of growth, UK car sales have fallen. Preliminary figures for 2017 show about 2.5 million were registered - a decline of 5.6% from the previous year, with demand for diesel cars down by almost a fifth.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders says it expects another fall this year. But chief executive Mike Hawes points out that 2017's figures follow two record sales years for the industry.

BBC business reporter Theo Leggett says there's "frustration and consternation" among manufacturers and sellers over the decline in appetite for diesel vehicles. New models which fail to reach emissions standards will incur a one-off tax increase in April. So, is this the only problem, or is there more wrong with the previously buoyant UK car market?

MP: Why is Worboys being released?

Questions are being asked about the planned release of John Worboys, the former black-cab driver suspected of carrying out rapes and sexual assaults against more than 100 women. Labour MP Yvette Cooper, who chairs the Commons Home Affairs Committee, wants to know the reason for the Parole Board's decision. And, she asks, what were his victims told before the board made this information public?

Worboys was convicted in 2009 of 19 charges of drugging and sexually assaulting women in London between 2002 and 2008. He tricked them by pretending he had won the lottery and asking them to drink champagne, which he had spiked. Many other women have come forward to police since Worboys's conviction. One solicitor said Worboys would not be "walking free", but would be under a "very conscious monitoring system".

Trump book to come out early

Its title is Fire and Fury, and the excerpts released so far have provoked exactly that in the White House. Donald Trump's lawyers have tried to prevent publication of the book, by journalist Michael Wolff, which the US president has branded "phony" and "full of lies" about himself, his family and his administration. But Mr Wolff has responded by saying it will be available to buy today in the US, earlier than previously planned. In case you missed all the hoo-ha on Thursday about what's in the book, here's a reminder of 11 of the more eye-catching revelations/claims. And, why not read a profile of Mr Wolff?

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13 weird ways parents get children to sleep

By Sean Coughlan, education correspondent

These days in early January are claimed as the darkest for sleep deprivation. The modern barometer for such moments - the number of Google searches - shows "child won't sleep" as reaching a worldwide peak of searches at this time of year. You can just imagine those weary fingers tapping out the words, slumped over a mobile phone in the middle of the night, hoping for an answer.

Read the full article

What the papers say

There's fury over the planned release on parole of serial sex offender John Worboys. The Daily Telegraph says the system of justice is itself "in the dock", while The Sun proclaims: "That's not justice." The Daily Mail adds that police suspect Worboys carried out up to 500 attacks. Elsewhere, the Times reports that Donald Trump's former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, has questioned his ex-boss's mental health and fitness to serve as president. And the Guardian leads on Prime Minister Theresa May's apology to NHS patients in England who face delays for operations.

Daily digest

Meltdown and Spectre bugs All Mac devices affected, says Apple

Rhino poaching The strange figures behind a secret trade

'Latte levy' MPs demand 25p charge to stop cups being thrown away

Seven days quiz Why is Madrid's Epiphany parade controversial?

If you see one thing today

Could cycling bring unity to Colombia?

If you listen to one thing today

The man who made his own Moon

If you read one thing today

How losing a baby in Iraq changed me

Lookahead

10:30 French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Defence Minister Florence Parly host talks in Paris with UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.

19:55 Liverpool host Everton in the third round of the FA Cup, with Manchester United taking on Derby County (kick-off 20:00).

On this day

1981 Peter Sutcliffe, a 35-year-old lorry driver from Bradford, suspected of carrying out 13 murders across West Yorkshire over the previous five years, appears in court.

From elsewhere

A new Silk Road (New Yorker)

The complex allure of black buildings (CNN)

Young Dolph, the rapper dodging death (Guardian)

How (and when) to ask for a pay rise (Creative Review)