this is bbc news. i'm annita mcveigh. the headlines: more than 500 people have been killed in a week in the rebel—held enclave of eastern ghouta in syria. the un will vote on a ceasefire resolution this evening. the red cross becomes the latest aid charity to become embroiled in scandal after revealing that 21 staff paid for sexual services whilst working for them. a man and woman have appeared in court charged with causing the death of two young brothers by dangerous driving in coventry. also in the next hour: britain is set for the coldest february week in five years as freezing air arrives from russia. dubbed the beast from the east, the cold snap will affect the whole of the uk with temperatures in some areas expected to drop to minus—eight. britain's curling team lows in the

olympics. and in half an hour here on bbc news, is seeing really believing? click investigates deep fakes and software used to swap faces in video. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the united nations security council is due to vote this evening on a resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in syria. it was due to be held yesterday, but was delayed by disagreements over the wording. the syrian government is continuing its bombardment of the rebel—held area of eastern ghouta, near the capital, damascus. activists say about 500 civilians have been killed in the last week. richard galpin‘s report contains distressing images.

the relentless bombing which began a week ago has shattered whole neighbourhoods in eastern ghouta. and shattered the lives of hundreds of people, many of them children. besides those who have been injured, at least 120 children have been killed since last sunday, according to human rights activists. the number of casualties are overwhelming hospitals, some of which themselves have been targeted in the air raids. and despite all this, the united nations security council in new york has still not been able to pass a resolution calling for a ceasefire because of objections from russia. i am extremely frustrated with the fact the security council, that we have not been able to adopt the resolution to alleviate the suffering of the syrian people. yes, i am very frustrated with that. the draft resolution calls for a 30 day ceasefire across the whole country, starting without delay.

the extremist organisations al-qaeda and the islamic state group are excluded from this. the aim of the ceasefire is to get urgently needed aid into eastern ghouta, including medical supplies, and to evacuate the injured. whether this bombing campaign continues or can be temporarily halted depends on another attempt at the un security council to hold a vote later today, with russia agreeing not to use its veto. pressure is coming from many quarters. what russia and what iran, and what syria have done recently is a humanitarian disgrace. we are there to get rid of isis and go home. we are not there for any other reason. we have largely accomplished our goal. but what those three countries have done to people, over the last short period of time, is a disgrace. with every hour, yet more people

are being killed in eastern ghouta. at least 29 reported dead so far today. the syrian regime and its ally, russia, say onlyjihadist militants and rebels are being targeted, but on the ground, there is evidence of many civilian casualties. the international committee of the red cross says more than 20 of its staff have been dismissed in the last three years for sexual misconduct. the disclosure is the result of an internal review of the swiss—based organisation which has more than 17,000 staff worldwide. 0ur diplomatic correspondent caroline hawley is following developments. it says that since 2000 and 1521 staff members were either dismissed 01’ staff members were either dismissed or resigned for paying for sexual services, this is banned by the

icrc, even in countries where prostitution is legal. 0f icrc, even in countries where prostitution is legal. of other two members of staff did not have their contracts renewed and ahead of the icrc said he was deeply saddened to report these incidents, he said he was concerned that cases should have been reported before that were not the cases were not properly handled. the icrc is the latest humanitarian organisation to reveal cases of misconduct in the wake of the 0xfam scandal. the international development secretary, penny mordaunt, has given aid agencies, 192 agencies who receive uk aid, given them until monday to spell out what steps they have taken to safeguard people, and to report individual cases to the right authorities, so there is a deadline there. the admission from the icrc comes as another aid charity, plan international, revealed six recent cases of sexual abuse and exploitation of children involving its staff, volunteers or partner organisations. it says five of the cases were reported to the authorities in the countries involved.

plan international said it's tightened its procedures to prevent abuse, as adina campbell reports. another charity mired in sexual misconduct making the front pages. this time, plan international uk, which works in more than 50 countries to improve children's rights and promote equality for girls. in its latest online blog it has confirmed six cases of sexual abuse and exploitation of children between july 2016 and june last year. 0ne involved a member of staff. the others were by volunteers or associates. plan international says the staff member was not from the uk and was dismissed without a reference. and it says it ended the contracts with the other volunteers and organisations involved.

the charity also says there were nine cases of sexual misconduct and harassment by staff against other adults which led to seven dismissals. in the past plan international uk has received millions of pounds of funding from the government. it is the latest major charity to admit cases of sexual misconduct and follows investigations into aid organisations including 0xfam and save the children. in an open letter the three charities and many others have now promised a series of urgent and immediate measures to protect the vulnerable. two people have appeared in court charged with causing the deaths of two brothers in coventry by dangerous driving. corey and casper platt—may, who were six and two, were on a family trip to a park when they were hit by a car on thursday. robert brown, who's 53 years old, and gwendoline harrison, who's a1, were remanded in custody. the us government is considering appointing a special envoy

to northern ireland in a bid to break the political impasse, and restore the power sharing government. during a meeting with the irish deputy prime minister in washington, the us secretary of state, rex tillerson, said they were considering a list of people for the role. northern ireland has been without devolved government for 13 months after a coalition led by the democratic unionist party and sinn fein collapsed. the european council president, donald tusk, says he'll be presenting draft guidelines on the future eu relationship with the uk next month, whether britain is ready or not. speaking at a meeting of the other 27 eu leaders, mr tusk, who is meeting theresa may on thursday in london, said the uk is still trying to "cherry pick" its future relationship with the eu. if the media reports are correct, i am afraid that the uk position today is based on pure illusion. it looks like the cake theory is still alive.

from the very start it has been a key principle of the eu 27 that there can be no cherry picking and no single market a la carte. a number of us companies have cut ties with the national rifle association as consumers call for a boycott of firms linked to the powerful gun lobby. they include the car rental companies hertz and enterprise holdings, both of which have stopped offering discounts for members of the association, in the wake of the florida school shooting. 0ur north america correspondent peter bowes reports. the aftermath to a school shooting that could prompt change in america. amidst the grieving, the mood has been different this time. within hours of a gunman killing 17 people, anger overflowed onto the streets. now it's social media where pressure is being exerted on the hugely powerful gun lobby. under the hashtag "boycott nra", activists are targeting firms that offer special benefits to members

of the national rifle association. and they include some of the most familiar corporate names. the car rental companies hertz and enterprise, which also owns alamo and national. they're ending discounts offered to members of the gun lobby group from next month. met life insurance and the software company symantec are taking similar action. there has been no word in response from the nra. it is unclear whether these actions will hurt an organisation that boasts 5 million members. during the week, its chief executive hit out at the protesters. their goal is to eliminate the second amendment and our firearms freedoms. so they can eradicate all individual freedoms. donald trump says he is open to new ideas but the one he seems to like best is giving guns to teachers. it's concealed. so this crazy man who walked in wouldn't even know who it is that has it. that's good. that's not bad, that's good. and a teacher would have shot

the hell out of him before he knew what happened. the debate over what to do next will be highly charged and intensely political. peter bowes, bbc news. britain is set for its coldest february week in five years, as freezing air, dubbed the beast from the east, arrives from russia. the cold snap will affect the whole of the uk from sunday night, with temperatures expected to drop to minus—eight in some areas. simonjones reports. the gritters are gearing up as britain braces itself for a big freeze. the so—called beast from the east is sweeping in from siberia. the met office, in conjunction with nhs england, has issued a level three cold weather alert for the whole of the country, the second most serious level. that means there is a 99% chance of severe weather, icy conditions or heavy snow, between now and thursday. there are additional yellow severe warnings for snow early next week

covering most of eastern britain. that could cause travel problems and power cuts. it is certainly not the first snow we will have this winter. but what makes this cold snap different is it is expected to affect the whole of the uk. temperatures could fall as low as minus 8, but it will feel much chillier because of the wind. there could be increased pressure on already stretched nhs services and councils are providing extra emergency beds for rough sleepers. in ipswich it is being done in partnership with the local housing association. the main aim is always to get people off the street and to stop people from dying in the cold weather. and to date we have been pretty successful. next thursday is the meteorological start of spring. but that appears to be on hold as winter continues to bite. earlier, councillor martin tett from the local government association said councils won'tjust be focusing

on roads, but will also be making sure homeless people have somewhere warm and safe to sleep. councils have been monitoring the weather forecasts and we have already had a pretty wet winter so far which is doing terrible damage to the roads but seeing the cold coming back is significant. we will be gearing up to make sure we will be gearing up to make sure we will be getting out, sorting the roads, gritting them, so we will be doing the main trunk roads, working our way through the smaller residential roads, and we're making sure that social services teams are on stand—by. lots of people focus on the roads, but one of the most difficult and dangerous things is when you have vulnerable, isolated people who rely on social care, and we need to make sure the teams are ready to look after them. many councils have a severe weather emergency protocol. they will be working closely with charities and volu nta ry working closely with charities and voluntary organisations to try and match roslea brewers with available accommodation. 0ne

match roslea brewers with available accommodation. one of the things we do not want is a potential threat of someone do not want is a potential threat of someone sleeping out in bad conditions. campaigners in london are urging authorities to improve knife crime prevention measures, after two more men were stabbed to death in the capital this week. it takes the number of people fatally wounded by knives so far this year to 16. caroline davies reports. four knife attacks, two deaths in seven hours in one area of london. knife crime is nothing new, but after years of dropping, it is going up across the uk. the highest rise was here in london, recorded by the met police. in the run—up to january for the last 12 months, they recorded 14,521 knife crime offences, nearly a0 every single day. so far in 2018, 16 people have been stabbed to death in the capital. on tuesday, it was 17—year—old abdikarim hassan and 20—year—old sadiq adan mohamed. london needs me alive.

the mayor of london launched a campaign last year to stop young londoners carrying knives. he has promised £15 million for the police to tackle knife crime. my thoughts and prayers are with their families. i'm afraid it's not the first time where i have sent condolences to the victims of knife crime. my worry is that it won't be the last time either. i have asked the prime minister and the home secretary to meet with the commissioner and myself to discuss a way forward, not to name blame, but to see if we can work together to grapple with this issue that is causing huge misery to londoners. yesterday, the head of the met, cressida dick, was in glasgow speaking to police there. scotland's murder rate has nearly halved in the last 13 years. could their model work in london? some are sceptical. meanwhile, campaigners in london say action needs to be taken now. violence isn't inevitable. we've had knife crime falling before and we need to start taking action quickly to have that happen again.

this isn't a quick fix. nobody can flick a switch and knife crime falls straightaway. it will take a little bit of time, but at the moment, we seem to be in an impasse and that is most frustrating, particularly when we see so many young people being stabbed and murdered. the race is now on to find some way to stop knife crime before even more young lives are lost. caroline davies, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news: syrian government attacks on the rebel—held enclave of eastern ghouta are said to have killed five hundred people this week. the un is still to vote on a ceasefire resolution. the international committee of the red cross becomes the latest aid charity to admit staff have been let go due to sexual misconduct. a man and a woman have been charged with causing death by dangerous driving following the death of two brothers — in coventry. and in sport: great brtain have made hstory at the winter olympics thanks

to billy morgan taking the bronze in the snowboard big air. that takes team gb to their hightest ever medal tally of five. there was disappiontment for great brtiain‘s women's curlers who missed out on a bronze. they lost 5—3 to japan in the bronze medal match — it is japan's first medal in the sport. and in the six nations aird are leading wales 15—13. england face scotland at 4.115 today. more at around 4.15 for you. police in calais have told the bbc they fear there'll be another camp in the region within 6 months, because of the rate at which migrants are returning to the area. french authorities cleared the so—called jungle camp in 2016, where up to 8,000 migrants were living, trying

to smuggle themselves onto lorries bound for the uk. at the moment, it's estimated that around 800 migrants are there, with 200 having arrived in just the past 2 weeks. the bbc‘s europe reporter, gavin lee, has visited the area again. the calaisjungle camp as it was — population 8,000, until it was closed by french authorities in 2016. this is thejungle now — empty, closed off with police watching. but there are migrants still in the area though. a few hundred metre from the old jungle, a group show us where they have set up camp, living among the rubble. ali is 20 and has been here for six months. 0n the morning when we wake up, every hour our blanket is wet, because the water is in. and also on the top is become white ice. how many people are sleeping in here with you? yeah, some...

with me three, but most of the people they are sleeping with four. 0n the morning we collect it. we roll it. we hide from the police. at the night, maybe if you come later you will see there is a lot of houses here. a lot of, i mean a lot of tents is here. do you end up fighting for your space, are people arguing about who has the best space? no, there is no best place in here. nearby on the street, charity groups hand out food. police officers look on, they're tolerating the migrants, but under orders to break up camps. they're monitoring the situation of a a fight broke out. four eritreans were shot and injured bya four eritreans were shot and injured by a suspected afghan people—smuggler. this is my place here.

in a forest clearing the cameroon quarter. one of men here has been in hiding for a year. so many people they from english—speaking countries. that is why everybody is here. you don't want to apply for asylum in france because? 0h, somebody like me i cannot apply for asylum in france, because i have been in a country like germany, which my fingerprints is there. you were rejected there. yes. do you know anybody who has made it to the uk recently? finally entered the uk last week. from cameroon? from ethiopia. how did he do it? through lorries. if one way is blocked, one way is open. we will create another strategy. they cannot stop immigration. the french president has promised to stop anotherjungle camp appearing. the british government is also spending £40 million to improve security at the border.

numbers are slowly growing again though and attempts to stowaway on lorries continue with authorities here suggesting that every week at least one migrant manages to make it across the water. a uk ticket holder has won nearly 78 million in the euromillions draw, after sharing the jackpot with a winner from spain. the jackpot has been growing since the turn of the year and was the third biggest in the draw‘s history. it's the time of year when snowdrops are appearing in our gardens, a welcome sign that, believe it or not, spring is on its way. but did you know that the current world record for the sale of a snowdrop bulb is £1,400? graham satchell has been to meet a couple of experts to find out

if you could have a goldmine in your garden. they are a cheery little flower, something which sort of helps remind you that spring is just round the corner. michael myers suffers from a little—known condition. gala nthamania. it has quite particular symptoms. i often refer to a thing called dirty knees syndrome. and that involves people getting down on their knees and looking at the minute details of snowdrops. galanthamania derives from tulip mania, which took place in holland in the 1630s. where tulips would exchange prices for the equivalent of the price of a house, maybe even more. and thankfully at the moment gala nthamania has not quite got that silly. franklin gardens, a national trust property in perth. head gardenerjimjermyn is a fellow sufferer. a true galanthaphile. once you have started down the road of collecting snowdrops, it becomes totally infectious. it becomes must have.

you just desire to have something better and better each time. what am i looking out for? something that stands out in the crowd. so you have hundreds of snowdrops that look very similar and then suddenly your eye can pick out one with a broadleaf or larger flower. good markings. it is all about the markings. if you find something more different, and you are excited about it, you need to seek out the owner of the land and ask if you might be able to collect a small part of the bulb from a clump. snowdrops are a magical burst of life in the depths of winter. and very common. surprising then that there might be a gold mine on your doorstep. you may be lucky enough to find a new variety in your own garden. the current world record for a single snowdrop isjust under £1,400. and i would not be surprised to see a new snowdrop go for £2000 in the nearfuture.

so get your knees muddy, look out for unusual green and yellow markings. there will definitely be a galanthaphile or two who will want to know. those snowdrops may battle to peak their heads through the snow. here is the weather with thomas. their heads through the snow. here is the weather with thomasm their heads through the snow. here is the weather with thomas. it feels cold right now, but believe it or not it is nowhere near as cold at the moment compared to what we are in for. the moment compared to what we are infor. a the moment compared to what we are in for. a lot of sunshine around today. this is where the cold air has reached — central and western parts of europe. just about around germany the temperatures are freezing by day. it is creeping into holland. the leading edge of this

cold air won't arrive until monday night into tuesday. the winds are easterly, so we are feeling the cold winds now. by early on sunday morning in the middle of big towns and cities, temperatures will be below freeze. around minus 5 in rural areas. sunday a lot of crisp sunshine. some areas have a bit of cloud from hull to newcastle and possibly edinburgh and aberdeen. these are the temperatures around ones, twos and threes, because of the wind it will feel colder. these are the maximum temperatures. most of the time it will be lower. the snow will arrive in eastern counties monday morning. so anywhere from east anglia through lincolnshire, the north—east, possibly eastern scotland, initially they will be light and through the afternoon you can see a trail of snow showers, the

wind will push them further inland. look at the day time temperatures, at lunchtime barely above freezing in most of the uk. so a wintry start for some of us, but not for everybody. and progressively later on tuesday into wednesday those snow showers across the uk will become more widespread and the temperatures will drop, the winds will strengthen and it will feel bitterly cold. in the middle of next week that cold air has swept out into the atlantic, we are well in that cold air mass and the snow showers will come and for some the snow could be disruptive. some areas could have quite a lot of snow. this is bbc news. our latest headlines: activists say 500 people have been killed by syrian government forces bombarding eastern ghouta, nearly a quarter of them children.

the red cross becomes the latest aid charity to become embroiled in scandal after revealing that 21 staff paid for sexual services whilst working for them. a man and a woman have been charged with causing death by dangerous driving following a crash which killed two young brothers in coventry. britain's women's curling team have lost to japan in the bronze medal match at the winter olympics in south korea. coming up, it's click. first, the united states has unveiled a raft of new sanctions aimed at north korea, a closed country we know little about. but a new exhibition opening in london is aiming to change that as tim allman explains. when you think of north korea, these are the sort of images that probably come to mind.

military parades, precision marching, a closed off, isolated country. a mystery to the rest of the world. that is why this exhibition is such an eye—opener. it is trying to provide some insight into what life is really like for the people in north korea. we don't understand north korea. we understand elements of it, but we tend to have a black and white viewpoint. so i think this is one of these elements that is going to improve our knowledge. there are propaganda posters, packaging for sweets and soft drinks and even packets of sugar. it is not all inward looking. a collection of stamps with princess diana made to commemorate the birth of prince william. i would be worried if somebody saw this and decided to defect to north korea.