the orphans of aleppo finally rescued from of their city, as the evacuations in syria resume. all 47 children who'd been trapped in an orphanage in a rebel held enclave have been evacuated — some are in a critical condition. and seven—year—old seven year old bana al abed — whose tweets about life in aleppo gained her a worldwide following — has also been rescued. we endured endless bombardment in aleppo. we managed to escape the destruction because our house was reduced to rubble. but tens of thousands of people are still trapped in aleppo. we'll have the latest on the evacuations. also this lunchtime. a wave of strikes by thousands of workers gets underway — hitting trains, post offices and airlines in the run—up to christmas. chaos at stormont as members walk out in a row over a no confidence vote in the first minister. all for footballing home all forfootballing home nations are

finally £80,000 by fifa for displaying remembrance day poppies. hello darlings, i'm zsa zsa. and zsa zsa gabor — who once boasted she was "famous for being famous" — has died aged 99. and coming up in support, can a year makes a triple sentry in chennai as india include a record—breaking test score on england. —— nair hits a triple century. good afternoon, and welcome to the bbc news at one. evacuations in syria are underway again from both east aleppo and government controlled villages. almost 50 orphans who'd been trapped in a rebel held enclave in eastern aleppo for months have finally been brought out to safety — some are in a critical condition from injuries or dehydration. and a seven year old girl bana al abed, who gained international attention after she began tweeting

about life in her home city is also among thousands more who have been able to leave. but tens of thousands are still trapped in the city. richard galpin reports. many in east aleppo, including children, waited outside yesterday in freezing conditions. hoping the buses would take them away from the hellish conditions of this, the re m na nts of hellish conditions of this, the remnants of the rebel stronghold. but it was only in the early hours of this morning that finally the evacuations resumed. after a new deal was struck between the warring factions. already today, more than 4000 people have got out. for these families, huge relief. medicine and food now available. amongst them was this seven year old girl, bana al

abed, whose plight has been followed by hundreds of millions around the world. helped by herfamily, she wrote a series of tweets, she feared they would all be killed. we endured endless bombardment in aleppo. we have managed to escape the destruction because our house was reduced to rubble. i would like to say thank you to all those who have been asking about our news. also able to escape today was this group of 40 orphans who had been trapped by the fighting, some critically injured. they are too had used the internet to make a last—ditch appeal for help. this video going viral. translation: please allow us to evacuate aleppo. we wish to leave so we can eat and drink. we love peace. but it is notjust the people of

east aleppo being taken to safety today. these buses are carrying hundreds of villagers who have been surrounded by rebel fighters in the nearby province of the glib. allowing these people to escape was a key pa rt allowing these people to escape was a key part of the agreement reached at the weekend. translation: this agreement is a humanitarian one. those evacuated include injured or sick individuals, as well as elderly people. today, there is hope that most of these civilians caught up in the fighting here will reach safety. but many thousands more weight to be evacuated, and the ceasefire is very fragile. richard galpin, bbc news. 0ur correspondentjames longman is in beirut. tu rkey‘s turkey's foreign minister has just said some 20,000 people have so far been evacuated from eastern aleppo but there are tens of thousands more who want to get out. that's right.

the numbers are rising very steadily today because the evacuation is moving so quickly. 20,000 have been able to leave, according to the turkish, but another 20,000 or so probably are still in east aleppo. we keep getting notifications every half—hour or so from the syrian 0bservatory for human rights, saying more buses have gone in to get them. this evacuation is certainly moving at pace. i think really the question is what happens next to these people, because even if they get out of east aleppo, which they seem to be able to do, they get to this holding station, which we saw in richard's report, where they are given food and medical care, but then what happens to people after that? most of them choose to go to the last rebel stronghold in syria, a big province in north—western syria. people can go there, they can join up with people that have previously left other parts of syria but then what do the russians decide to do, what do the syrians decide to do? we are still no closer to

knowing what happens to them. thank you. thousands of workers have begun a wave of strikes in the run—up to christmas affecting rail and postal services. 3,000 staff at hundreds of crown post offices are on strike today, tuesday and saturday in a dispute over pension changes, job security and closures. but the post office says fewer than 300 branches across the uk will be affected. up to 300,000 southern rail passengers face more misery as conductors begin two more days of strike action. here's our business correspondent, john moylan. postal workers brought a special delivery for the government today. 0utside delivery for the government today. outside the department for business, mail bags containing 70,000 postcards from the public, backing a campaign to fight closures of flagship post offices. we are defending postal services across the uk, the very future of high street post offices is under threat. we

know the government and the company are lining up to make further announcements in january to close and franchise more of our high street post offices. the timing of the day's strike is designed to put maximum pressure on the post office. this week is by far its busiest for handling parcels and letters, and christmas cheer would appear to be in short supply elsewhere as well, with a number of strikes. planes and trains are also at the heart of this christmas of discontent. southern rail passengers face more disruption as 400 conductors walk—out today and tomorrow. airline travellers will also face double trouble this week, as baggage handlers for swiss port are set to strike this friday and saturday. this will mainly affect regional airports. and talks got underway this morning to try and head off a strike over pay involving thousands of airlines of british cabin crew. —— british airways cabin crew. but why is it all happening now? the reality is that management

is not listening to them, they need to do something that shows they are serious about the issues that matter to them. the post offers claims it is business as usual, while dozens of city centre sites are closed, post—office insists its modernisation plans will go ahead. what we can't do of course is change a strategy which is about improving post office services for customers in an increasingly competitive marketplace, with changing lifestyles. the post office needs to change and is changing. some say that union laws should be tightened to prevent this disruption. government says it keeps these issues under review. norman smith is in westminster. downing street said people's lives are being disrupted ina people's lives are being disrupted in a completely unacceptable manner but is there much the government can do? there is a lot of talk and

pressure. people can't post the christmas parcels, worried about flights over christmas, now it has been announced that weetabix workers are going on strike. we have had tory mps demanding emergency legislation to curb the strike threats. some senior conservatives say it is all part of a political campaign to damage theresa may. she needs to fight back. the language as you suggest coming from number ten is pretty tough. but when the mist clears, i don't see any real appetite in government to intervene, and the reason is, if mrs may was to introduce new anti—strike laws, that would take months and months and months. so it is going to be no use whatsoever in terms of these disputes. more than that, there is a worry it could sour the atmosphere between the trade unions and employers, making it even harder to get a resolution. and the government has only just passed get a resolution. and the government has onlyjust passed fresh anti—strike laws which are meant to come into force next year. but there is another reason, and it is our old

friend brexit. you may wonder what has brussels got to do with christmas chaos? the reason is theresa may knows she is going to need all her strength and energy for the political and parliamentary tussles ahead over brexit. she absolutely does not want to get sucked into a fist fight with the trade unions and the labour movement. so the view in downing street is negotiation not legislation and confrontation is the way to get this sorted. norman smith in westminster, thank you. there've been chaotic scenes at the northern ireland assembly as politicians from most of the main political parties walked out of stormont. the first minister, arlene foster, had been about to make a statement over a controversial green energy scheme. but under norther ireland's rules, she's never allowed to operate without the support of her deputy, sinn fein's martin mcguinness. and that created turmoil this morning at stormont, from where our ireland correspondent chris buckler now reports. members, having been given notice by

both the... northern ireland's first minister arlene foster went to the storm on the assembly yesterday in an attempt to take control of what has become a financial mess. but proceedings began with chaotic scenes. 0pposition parties walked out and the first minister was left alone with her party, the dup, while outside their partners in power—sharing, sinn fein, could pressure for a full independent enquiry into a badly thought green energy scheme. we need to establish all the facts are many to know who benefited from this failed scheme. the first minister should stand aside to allow the investigation to ta ke aside to allow the investigation to take place. the controversial renewable heat incentive scheme originally worked like this. for every £1 of fuel a company uses, they are paid around £i every £1 of fuel a company uses, they are paid around £160, to encourage them to buy environmentally friendly boilers.

but because initially there were no caps all events, in the scheme's 20 year life it is expected to go £400 million over budget, money which storm want is responsible for. last week the former dup enterprise ministerjonathan bell accused officials from his own party of delaying crucial changes to try to stop the scheme running out of control. that is being denied by the dup, and he says has since been suspended either party but the scheme was badly flawed. a confidential report seen by the bbc suggests those errors have allowed some firms to abuse it by heating buildings just the profit. some firms to abuse it by heating buildingsjust the profit. northern ireland's first minister was the enterprise minister when the scheme was set up, which is why she is a politician under pressure. was set up, which is why she is a politician under pressurelj was set up, which is why she is a politician under pressure. i am sorry that the initial scheme did not control cost control measures and there were fundamental flaws in

this design. this is the deepest political regret of my time in this house. but storm on's other parties we re house. but storm on's other parties were not here to hear the first minister explain why she wants to try to sort this out. they had walked out the assembly again, a sign of the sheer political heat about this issue in northern ireland. mps have begun taking evidence in an enquiry into combating doping in sport. the culture media and sport committee are putting questions the tea m committee are putting questions the team sky, british cycling and the world anti—doping agency. richard conway is in westminster for us now. it has been a difficult morning the key members of british cycling. they have been called before the culture media and sport select committee to a nswer media and sport select committee to answer questions affectively revolving around two big issues. the first is about their medical package that was delivered to team sky back in 2011. team sky have been responsible for some of the big wins in british cycling over the years,

with sir bradley wiggins and chris froome amongst them. back in 2011, it has been reported that a package was delivered to them at the end of a race, and the contents of that package will yet to have been disclosed. uk anti—doping is currently conducting an investigation into that. speaking this morning to bon howdon, the president of british cycling, they said they were unable to speak about it because uk anti—doping had denied them permission to do so. that was disputed by the committee. some terse exchanges, and as you can hear now between bob howdon and damian collins, the chair of the committee, in the end what they have decided to do is eventually the right to the committee and give them information about what exactly was that package. but we are certainly not aware of any doping products that would be in there. it has not come across our viewpoint. i didn't say it was doping products, ijust wanted to see if you knew what was in it, because i find it extraordinary that you don't necessarily know what evidence british cycling has given

to you get with regards to this. service shane sutton, currently giving evidence, and the issue of therapeutic use exemption is, medical certificates within the sport, the ethical and moral use, thatis sport, the ethical and moral use, that is up for discussion as well. said dave brailsford will also be talking to mps as well, the head of tea m talking to mps as well, the head of team sky. the orphans of aleppo finally rescued from the ruins of their city as the evacuations resume but thousands remain trapped. and still to come. could this be the answer to the uk's housing crisis? plans are unveiled to build thousands of flat pack houses. coming—up in sport at half—past. leicester appeal jamie va rdy‘s red card from saturday's 3—3 draw at stoke. they're arguing he was knocked—off balance before making the dangerous tackle. britain's housing problem is well known — not enough homes, and many of them so expensive

they're beyond the reach of more and more people. one solution could be so—called "flat pack" houses — affordable homes that are quicker and cheaper to put up, and can even be taken apart and moved somewhere else. in fact, the companies behind a new £2.5 billion housing venture say that by the end of the decade, one in seven houses will be partly built in a factory, then put together on site. sophie long reports. britain's first factory made show house, remote type of the half million... british relationship with factory built houses is coloured by the prefact, then they were only available in magnolia and had a sheu available in magnolia and had a shelf life of ten years but technology has moved on since then, these houses in manchester were built ina these houses in manchester were built in a factory 70 miles away. now add cats say you can't tell the difference in quality between them

and conventional new housing but the prices aren't that dissimilar either. 0ne prices aren't that dissimilar either. one of the partners involved in this deal says that one production is substantially increased economies of scale will kick in, prices will fall, and the housing supply will rise and be more affordable. i think this is a game—changer, in the overall landscape. the housing deficit can only be addressed through an industrialised process 5 it is like the car manufacture, and until you are in that situation where you are producing volume, can you drive down costs a nd producing volume, can you drive down costs and truly achieve savings. last year the government set a target of building one million homes by 2020. that is roughly 200,000 homes a year. if these plans go ahead, thejoint homes a year. if these plans go ahead, the joint venture won'tjust be building more than 10% of the new homes the country needs every year but creating job, and living, breathing communities. but the housing charity shelter says britain's housing crisis is about more than cost modular housing could be part of the solution but it is

only a part. we have to have government stepping forward and providing more land at affordable prices otherwise it is trying to solve the blockage at the wrong end of the problem. the companies involved say they will start deliver affordable homes within the next two yea rs. a convicted paedophile has become the oldest person in britain ever to receive a prison sentence. ralph clarke is 101 years old and last week he was found guilty of carrying out a string of sexual offences against young children in the 1970's and 80's. today he was sentenced to 13 years in prison. from birmingham crown court, phil mackie reports. 0n the surface he is a frail old man, but ralph clarke was a serial sex offender who abused three very young children 40 years ago. after suffering in silence for decade, last year, they found the courage to tell the police, and to come to court to face the man who attacked them. he saw it as his god given

right. it wasn't. he has damaged so many lives. so many lives, in such a massive way. and he has no remorse. even now he can't see he has done wrong. he is evil. he deserves to be in prison. he deserves to die in prison. he deserves to rot in hell. they got me a hank you card, all i it says they are happy to be believed. that is all they wanted, was people to believe them and to listen to him in court and know he is lying. clark never showed any remorse, he shook his head. his victims were in tears as they saw him for one last time. ralph clarke used fear and intimidation to control the victims t and sexually abuse them. he took full advantage of their young age, and the

situation in order to carry out the offences. the judge said even though it was a deeply upsetting experience for the victim, he said the case sent out a message, he said that those who were sexually abused even in the distant past can rest assured that any complaint will be treated with sympathy and compassion and the victims who i spoke to after their left court said they before glad ralph clarke was going to jail. he should have been in prison 40 years ago. ago. people like him should never come out. never come out. we have been in our own prison for the la st have been in our own prison for the last 40 years. and he has lived his life. he can't be released on license until he has served half his sentence when he will be 108. so it is likely the man who abused three little children decades ago will die in jail. little children decades ago will die injail. the little children decades ago will die in jail. the oldest man ever sent to prison. the defence secretary michael fallon will make a statement in the house

of commons on this evening on reports that british—made cluster bombs may have been used by saudi forces in yemen. the weapon releases multiple smaller bombs over a wide area, and it's illegal to supply them under british law. 0ur security correspondent frank gardner reports. amid the horror of yemen's two—year—old war, there are some weapons that won't go away. along with landmine, the cluster bomb poses an extreme risk to civilians. bannedin poses an extreme risk to civilians. banned in britain since 2010, some of these bombs sold by the uk to said —— saudi arabia before the ban have been used in yemen the six has been difficult for the british government. saudi arabia is hugely important to the uk and to the british defence industry, butjust as relevant as that is considering what would be the consequence of restricting arms deliveries to saudi arabia. saudi air force tornado jets were fitted to carry cluster bomb, the

saudis say they don't use british cluster bombs as they have all expired. whitehall officials say the saudis have destroyed their british stocks, and yet, evidence of their use has been found on the ground in yemen. we know many years ago the british government sold cluster bombs, they are now illegal. what we are bombs, they are now illegal. what we a re clear bombs, they are now illegal. what we are clear about at amnesty, they are now turning up in yemen. we told the british government this in may this year, when our researchers discovered cluster bombs being used. we had the evidence. for the prime minister, theresa may, seen here meeting gulf rulers this month. this is an awkward issue, he government is pushing for closer ties with the gulf, the human rights activists and jeremy corbyn are calling for an arms embargo on saudi arabia. that is something that number ten will want to avoid at all costs. in the commons today, the

defence secretary is expected to make a statement, clarifying what the government knows about the use of british weapons in the yemen war. he is likely to face some pressing questions. football's international governing body has fined england, wales, scotland and northern ireland nearly £80,000 for displaying poppies during world cup qualifiers around armistice day in november. 0ur sports correspondent david 0rnstein is here — and that's because fifa says they are a political symbol? yes, you may remember in 2011, england wore a poppy on an armband ina england wore a poppy on an armband in a friendly against spain. so too scotland, but neither were punished, but since then fifa have tightened their rules round what they deem to be political, so the home nations had been warned, they knew they risked punishment. they hoped they reached a compromise but it hasn't happened n the case of england and scotland, england have been fined

round £35,000, scotland 16,00 pounds. for their meeting at wembley, over both the display of the poppy on an armband. also by supporters and the english fa has been punished for displays in the stadium. wales from their friendly against serbia have been fined round 16,00 pounds. northern ireland who played azerbaijan £15, 000, 16,00 pounds. northern ireland who played azerbaijan £15,000, for similar offencers fifa say there is only room for sport and nothing else when inside the stadium and on the pitch but we can expect appeals here. pitch but we can expect appeals here. the broadcaster and rabbi, lionel blue, has died, aged 86. he became a rabbi in 1960 and was a regular contributor to thought for the day on bbc radio 4. he revealed his sexuality relatively late in life — the first british rabbi to speak openly about his homosexuality since i couldn't find anyone to love who would love me, i decided to love god instead. i then began to see people in a different light. crushed in a late—night train, i saw

god's image in them, and they ceased to be pushy, crazed cattle, but souls journeying to paradise, like me. and when i offered one my seat, i saw how love had blossomed into loving kindness. the reverend lionel blue,0be who has died at the age of 86 the hungarian born actress and socialite, zsa zsa gabor, has died. her age was a closely guarded secret, but she was thought to have been 99. her husband announced her death yesterday evening. she made more than 70 films, but as one of the first socialites, she helped invent a new kind of fame from multiple marriages and conspicuous wealth. this report from nick higham contains some flashing images. zsa zsa gabor may have been a great beauty, but she was never a great actress. i know everything — i heard the verdict. it's dangerous for you to come here. i must take that risk, and so must you. her screen career was undistinguished, though it did include camp classics like the truly

terrible queen of outer space. if you must go, promise me you're going to come back to me. her greatest role was as herself, one of the first professional celebrities, famous for simply being famous. she was rich, she was gorgeous, she was outrageous and she ate men for breakfast. her last marriage, in 1986, was her eighth, or ninth, if you include an illegal ceremony conducted at sea. women don't even get married any more today. theyjust have love affairs. i was raised in a convent. they said you have to get married, legalised, which was dumb but now ijust leave myself to live in sin, it's wonderful. girls, don't get married. it's insanity. you have to become their servant! you have to look after their house and they cheat on you. who the hell needs that? in 1989, she was brieflyjailed for hitting a hollywood traffic cop twice her size. she was well into her 70s, though during the court case she was accused of doctoring her driving licence to disguise her age. by then, herfilm career had collapsed into self—parody. here she is with frankie howard. every time i see you,

i get lumps in my throat. but she never lost a certain innocence, nor her wit. as she once said, "i'm a marvellous housekeeper. "every time i leave a man, i keep his house". the corner shop has been at the centre of our communities for more than 70 years and despite the rise of supermarkets and a change in our shopping habits, the corner shop market is expected to increase by 17% to £44 billion over the next five years. babita sharma — herself the daughter of shopkeepers — investigates how the corner shop has managed to survive. with every corner shop across britain, there is a story. and that story reflects the changing face and fortunes of the country. that will be 97p, love. thank you. and don't bother about the 3p, you can owe it to me. britain has often been called a nation of shopkeepers, a nation built on entrepreneurial drive which dates back to the 1940s.

the corner shop was the social centre of two or three streets. people talked about things. they talked about interesting things. it was the social gathering of the area. it was better than the local bbc, it picked up all the news. the rise of supermarkets threatened the future of the corner shop market. but with a new wave of migration in britain in the 19605 came a new lifeline for the local shop. it's in our dna. we were born to do this. the principle for most indians were, now we are free of the colonials, we are going to be our own masters. we're not going to work for anyone else. it's a small emotional and political revolution for an indian mentality, to kind of push that through line all the way to becoming an entrepreneur and being your own boss. but life for shopkeepers was not easy, and corner shops were under threat from supermarkets nestling

in on the high streets, with discounted products and bargain deals. the corner shop had no choice but to diversify. from here you can see tesco anywhere, one of the supermarkets. 0n the other side you have sainsbury‘s. four, five years ago i really thought we would have to wind up and close and forget it, you know. but sweetmart now seem to have a winning formula. luring customers with bespoke offerings, from local organics to home—made curries. how come you come here and not some of the other supermarkets? it has got everything. looking around, i have never seen so many spices and vegetables. yeah. basically, if you want to create anything exotic and exciting for your dinner you would come here. with brexit now a reality, the corner shop may face its biggest threat for survival. but with the emergence of polish supermarkets and latvian delis, this unsung hero soldiers on. and you can see more of booze,

beans & bhajis: the story of the corner shop on bbc four tonight at 10pm. time for a look at the weather. here's louise lear. s, fifa say there is only room for sport and nothing else when inside the stadium and on the pitch but we can expect appeals here. it is not feeling like december. very mild so far, and bland really for most of us, in fact this weather watcher‘s picture illustrates the story again, a cloudy start, low cloud and following and a grey story, but things are set to change, it has to be said. so after a quiet start to the week, it is going to turn wet and windy with gales or severe gales sandwiched in between the two, we could for a time see brighter interludes as well. the reason being though, the high pressure that has been the driving force for so long, that is drifting further east into europe and it is opening the floodgates for a series of low pressures to