By Vass Tunde JuEN, 1 Verbal and Non-verbal Communication

1. Weather forecast
18 January 2013 Last updated at 00:12 GMT Snow forecast for much of the UK on Friday Much of the UK is braced for snow as the cold weather threatens to cause severe disruption. A red Met Office warning for snow was issued for parts of Wales on Friday. BBC Weather predicted snow after midnight in Wales and south-west England, spreading across central and southern England. Northern Ireland and eastern Scotland will also be affected. Up to 25cm of snow is expected on high ground with overnight temperatures expected to fall as low as -5C (23F). Blizzards and strong winds are set to make driving conditions difficult on the roads, and motorists are being warned that heavy snow in much of the UK will arrive before the morning rush-hour. The Met Office's red warning for snow, which is rare and means all non-essential travel should be avoided as severe disruption is very likely, applies to the southeastern side of the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains About 30 schools - mainly in Powys and Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) - have already decided to close on Friday, while Rhigos, Bwlch and Maerdy mountain roads closed at 22:00 GMT on Thursday. Predictions and warnings have been made regarding much of the country: Amber severe weather warnings, which mean be prepared for disruption and only travel if necessary, are in place across large parts of central, western and southern England and Wales, as well as Northern Ireland. Snow is expected in northern England later on Friday BBC weather said Northern Ireland would experience rain early on Friday, which would turn to snow during the course of the day, with between 10cm and 15cm expected in most areas and about 20cm over hills Travellers across England are warned of road and rail disruption ahead of "significant snow" and some trains will be cancelled or revised in south and south-west England as operators prepare for Friday's heavy snowfall

 London snow

is

braced

for

disruption,

while

authorities

in

Berkshire,

Oxfordshire,Bristol,Somerset and Kent are among those who have begun preparations for Cold weather payments are set to surge as a result of the freezing weather. The Department for Work and Pensions says icy conditions have already triggered cold weather payments to two million people, totalling 50m, over the last week alone.

2. Breaking News
Horse meat scandal: How horses slaughtered in Romania end up on British plates The horse meat crisis has laid bare the tangled global food supply chain that can see horse meat from Romania end up on the plates of British consumers.

For a struggling Romanian farmer, the sale of a horse to an abattoir can provide a welcome boost. But, 1,500 miles away, the discovery of that meat in frozen food products in British supermarkets has sparked the biggest food crisis in more than a decade. A disturbing picture has begun to emerge of the way horse meat has entered the complex modern food supply chain a chain in which meat travels thousands of miles across Europe for slaughter, processing and packaging before ending up on the plates of British consumers. In the case of the horse meat discovered in several household brands, the first link in the chain is to be found in Romanias rural hinterland. Here, horses are still used to pull carts and plough. Recent estimates put the number of horses still used for agricultural purposes in Romania as high as 760,000. Traditionally, when a farmer no longer required a horse, it would be sold for export to countries where horse was accepted as an alternative to beef, lamb or pork. More than 10,000 horses a year were exported from Romania this way. The majority ended up in Italy, where consumers have a preference for freshly slaughtered meat.

3. Sports

Rooney fights for his United future as 20m bid might tempt fed-up Ferguson to sell Wayne Rooney is facing a desperate fight to save his Manchester United career as manager Sir Alex Ferguson continues to harbour grave doubts about his fitness and attitude. Ferguson stunned football by dropping the England forward to the bench for Tuesday night's Champions League defeat against Real Madrid at Old Trafford. The United manager believes Rooney has failed to get on top of the weight and fitness issues that have dogged him since the start of the season and is fed up with waiting for an improvement. With Rooney, 27, entering the final two years of his contract this summer, Ferguson knows he has a decision to make about his future. As it stands, the Scot will not rule out selling him at the end of the season if the club can attract a bid of more than 20million. Sources in both camps have told Sportsmail that the relationship between the pair has been tense for some time and shows no signs of getting better. Senior players say privately that they can sense it at the training ground on a daily basis. Rooney acknowledges that he and Ferguson have not been on the best of terms for much of this season but disputes suggestions that he has not looked after himself. Super-rich Paris Saint-Germain have an interest in Rooney, while United's neighbours Manchester City would take the former Everton player in an instant if they thought their rivals would sell to them. City tried to buy Rooney in the autumn of 2010, prompting United to raise their wage ceiling to keep him. His former United and England team-mate Michael Owen told talkSPORT: 'It's got to be a big worry for Rooney. It's the biggest game of the season and the manager has shuffled his pack and not included him. 'A couple of years ago, if Wayne wasn't the first-choice striker, he would have played him in left midfield or in behind the striker. For him not to start is a real kick in the teeth.

4. Horoscope

Today's Scorpio Horoscope from Cafe Astrology It's quite likely that you feel supported and secure today, dear Scorpio, which gives you the sense that you can rise above difficulties and manage your life well. Your own personal energies tend to harmonize with outside circumstances, making it easy to get a whole lot accomplished. It's a good time for building up psychic strength and stamina. You are likely to exude an air of competence and resolve today. You can feel on the same page with a partner, and one-on-one relations thrive with more focus.

5. Political News
North Korea Says the Korean War Is Back On The military command of North Korea says that if South Korea and the United States don't cancel their joint military exercises by March 11, they can consider that whole 60-year-old armistice agreement totally over. The newest threat comes as China and the U.S. are reportedly drawing up new sanctions that they have negotiated together and will submit the U.N. Security Council to punish the DPRK for its nuclear weapons test last month. South Korea and the United States began a series of "war games" on March 1, an annual exercise that serves as reminder to the North about the united front they face from the two allies. It's also a helpful reminder that that Korea War has never technically ended. The DMZ that divides the peninsula enforces an armistice agreement that was signed in 1953. It was designed to create a cease-fire "until a final peaceful settlement is achieved," but that never happened and no formal peace treaty was ever agreed to. That's why the U.S. Eighth Army never left and two nations are in a near constant state of belligerence.

The joint training operations between the South and the U.S. are set to last until April 30, but this is not the first time the North has threatened to destroy one or both of its rivals. It's hard to imagine

that the shooting will start again soon, but there's no doubt that the rhetoric has never been harsher.