this is bbc news. the headlines at 6pm: the un security council is voting around now on a resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in syria. more than 500 people have been killed in a week in the rebel—held enclave of eastern ghouta. 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. the actress emma chambers — best known for playing alice in the vicar of dibley — has died aged 53. a man and woman appear in court charged with causing the death of two young brothers by dangerous driving in coventry. also in the next hour... spring is postponed as the uk prepares for the coldest february week in five years. the freezing air from russia means many areas can expect to see see snow on monday and tuesday. britain's women's curling team lose to japan in the bronze medal match at the winter olympics but overall team gb record their

best games ever. and in the six nations, scotland are facing england at murrayfield. we'll have that and the rest of the day's action in sportsday in half an hour. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the united nations security council is due to vote on a resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in syria. the vote 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. let's talk to our north america correspondent at the un in new york — nick bryant. ican i can see on one of the images on the screen in front of me lots of empty chairs still there, no sign of

that thought happening yet. what are the chances it will happen?m that thought happening yet. what are the chances it will happen? it was supposed to happen an hour ago at noonin supposed to happen an hour ago at noon in new york city, but as you see that anti—security council chamber, that anti—horseshoe table. if you look at the doors behind the security council table, that is where the action in the past hour has been taking place. there have been diplomats huddled in that corridor. there are consultation rooms there are a have been huddled in the corridor, presumably trying to haggle over the final wording of this draft resolution. which the russians are still blocking. they can use their veto, of course. there are five permanent members of the security council. they have vetoes and russia has used its repeatably, 11 times during the syrian conflict, to protect its ally, the assad regime. the sticking point right now is over when this unitarian ceasefire should come into effect.

in the original draft, it was going to come into effect 72 hours after a in new york city on other western powers are saying the process has dragged on so long that we should have gotte n dragged on so long that we should have gotten this days ago. the ceasefire has to come into immediate effect. the russian ambassador last night refused to go along with that wording, andi night refused to go along with that wording, and i believe that is still the sticking point, as they carry on these last gushy asians in corridors adjacent to the security council. —— these last the gushy asians. what does it say about the effectiveness of the organisation if they can't get this through? —— negotiations. the credibility of the security council is on the line here, and even the viability of the united nations. this would sign a death kneu nations. this would sign a death knell to the 19 nations if they can't reach agreement here. the unit of nations is full of aid workers, humanitarians who does want to get

those convoys in, want to deliver relief. they want the green light from the security council. the russians aren't allowing that remit to be turned on. thank you very much for that update. thank you very much for that update. the international committee of the red cross says more than twenty 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, has been following developments. it says that since 2000, 1521 staff members were either dismissed or resigned for paying for sexual services. this is banned, even in countries where prostitution is legal. a further two members of staff did not have their contracts renewed. the head of the icrc said he was deeply saddened to report these incidents. he said he was concerned that cases should have been reported but were not, or that cases were not properly handled. the icrc is the latest humanitarian

organisation to reveal cases of misconduct in the wake of the 0xfam. the international development secretary, penny mourdant, has given aid agencies, 192 agencies who receive uk aid, given them until monday to spell out exactly what steps they have taken to safeguard people they work with around the world, and also to report individual cases to the right authorities. 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 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. the actress emma chambers has died aged 53. the doncaster—born star was best known for playing alice tinker in the tv show the vicar of dibley alongside dawn french — as well as her role as honey thacker in the film notting hill. the broadcaster emma freud has paid tribute, saying: 0ur beautiful 0ur entertainment correspondent, lizo mzimba, joins me now. what more news is there about the circumstances of her death? very little. her agent has issued a statement saying we are very sad to announce the untimely death of

natural causes of the actress emma chambers. she created a wealth of characters and an immense body of work. she brought laughter and joy to many and will be greatly missed. at this difficult time, we ask that the privacy of her family and loved ones be respected. her agent also added that she died on wednesday evening. it says it all there. she broughtjoy to evening. it says it all there. she brought joy to so evening. it says it all there. she broughtjoy to so many people through two roles in particular. we are looking now at these images from the vigour of deadly. that's the one i associate of sweat. i love in that show, as i'm sure many others did. —— and the vicar of diddley. show, as i'm sure many others did. -- and the vicar of diddley. don french was the star of that show, but the show wouldn't have worked anywhere near as well without alice tinker, that character played by emma chambers. the episode ending with that wonderful sequence in every episode where dawn french explains a joke to her and she

doesn't get it. that kind of summed up doesn't get it. that kind of summed up that character, she was sweet and scatty but also loyal and lovable. people related to her so strongly. she was such an important part of that show. possibly inevitably when richard curtis, the writer of the vicar of diddley, did a film notting hill, he broke that wonderful part of honey, hugh grant's younger sister, in many ways almost exactly the same character as alice tinker, but that doesn't make it any less lova ble. but that doesn't make it any less lovable. it was a beautiful role. these two roles were the ones that people really do remember herfor. a lot of reactions on social media. from hugh grant. yes, he said, emma chambers was a hilarious and very warm arson. and of course they relate actress. very sad news. emma freud, the partner of richard curtis, said ourfriends, emma chambers, has died. we are very sad.

she was a great, great comedy performer and truly a fine actors. a tender, sweet, funny, unusual, loving human being. members of the public who watched her over the yea rs public who watched her over the years in those roles, because at the age of 53, very young to die. according to the statement from her agent, of natural causes. but still, the age of 53, a great degree of shock out there. people tweeting, how much they remember it, how much she made them laugh, how sad they are that she is no longer with us. and that such a young age. thank you very much. emma chambers, who has died aged 53. 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 41 — 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. 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 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. 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. united and delta airlines have joined car rental giants hertz and enterprise in ending discounts for nra members 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. it the grieving, the mood has been different this time. within hours of the gunman killing 17 people, anger overflowed onto the streets. now it is 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, 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 international. 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's chief executive hit out at the protesters. their goal is to eliminate the second amendment and our firearms freedoms. offer special benefits to members of the national rifle association. 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. the headlines on bbc news: un security council is meeting in a new attempt to get a resolution calling for a 30 day ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into syria. the international committee of the red cross becomes the latest aged charity to disclose sexual misconduct by members of staff with

21 people leaving theirjobs in the past three years. and the actress emma chambers, best known for playing alice in the vicar of diddley, has died aged 53. 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 —8 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 —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. petra salva is the director of rough sleepers at the homeless charity st mungo's and she joins me now via webcam from brighton. thanks very much for taking the time

to talk to us. you must be incredibly worried about the situation for rough sleepers as we head into this incredibly cold week. it is already cold. yes, from our perspective, rough sleeping is dangerous any time of the year, but of course when the temperatures dipped to what is below freezing, so extreme, it becomes an even more dangerous activity from these reasons. it is life—threatening in many cases. i max ehmer those managers, i understand, 17 outreach services across the south and south—west, including across london. you have any sense of the numbers of rough sleepers in those areas? —— st mungo's. across the country, it is estimated that 5,000 people could be sleeping rough at any given night. that is a government estimate.

london sees the highest population of rough sleeping in the country, with approximately 2000 people sweeping out. local councils across london have been providing extra beds and spaces where possible. 0ther beds and spaces where possible. other organisations pick up the extra capacity. when those places are full, we provide the ultimate safety net to make sure that we can get people out of the cold, which is incredibly vital. if someone needs somewhere to sleep in the works for the night, you will find a space evenif the night, you will find a space even if you are already pretty busy or close to fill? yes, that's right. asi or close to fill? yes, that's right. as i understand it, councils across the country now are already stretched, at capacity. they're trying to find additional space. what we do is we find any communal areas in our hostels, other accommodation, that we can open up. it is ultimately about saving lives,

about getting people into the warmth and to make sure there are people there that can look after individuals welfare. what can people do if they are concerned about someone do if they are concerned about someone who is sleeping rough? low two things. the first thing is i suppose we would urge anyone, any member of the public, if you were concerned about anyone you see in terms of health or well—being concerned about anyone you see in terms of health or well-being and it looks like an emergent, i would not hesitate to dial mane nine. 0therwise, hesitate to dial mane nine. otherwise, there is a national referral lines that people can use. it is particularly critical in areas of high concentration of rough sleeping. in rural areas. this can be used to connect people who are in the oral areas with services that can help. if you download the apple go onto the website, you can see a very quick way of making reports. —— download the app. that makes sure that local outreach teams get alerted as quickly as possible to the fact that someone is sleeping

rough. they can send people out to look for those sleeping out. we have not seen a cold spell like this one this coming week for quite some time. it highlights how dangerous it is for rough sleepers, for whatever reasons people might find themselves in that position. beyond this week, in the longer term, what more do you think needs to be done to try to get people off the streets? into better accommodation. like you said, it is not acceptable to have a situation where a sleeping is on the rise. it isa where a sleeping is on the rise. it is a 50% increase from last year. if not acceptable that people are out in the cold at this time of year, but it's not acceptable at any time of year. i think we need to do more. 0bviously of year. i think we need to do more. obviously the government has made a commitment to try to have rough sleeping over the next five to ten yea rs. sleeping over the next five to ten years. organisers ——

sleeping over the next five to ten years. 0rganisers —— organisations like ours are doing what we can more accommodation, but it is really about prevention, stopping people getting into that situation. there has to be more thought about going further upstream in preventing people from getting into that condition. 0nce people from getting into that condition. once people have hit the streets, it then becomes an urgent situation, and we need to try to avoid that at all costs and notjust when it gets cold. when it gets cold, it is life—threatening, simple as that. i see very much again. thank you. —— thank you very much. 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 n 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. 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, 200 having arrived injust the past 2 weeks. the bbc‘s europe reporter, gavin lee, has visited the area again. the calaisjungle migrant 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 on nearby. there are migrants still in the area. a few hundred metres from the old jungle a group of ethiopians show us where they've set up the latest camp, living amongst the rubble. ali is 20 and has been here for six months. in the morning when we wake up all the blankets are wet because of,

the water is in, you know. and also the top is white ice when we wake up in the morning. how many people are sleeping in here with you? with me, three. but most of the people are sleeping with four. in the morning we hide from the police. 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 got the best space? there is no best space in here. 0n the street below charity groups hand out food. police officers look on. they are tolerating the migrants gathered but under orders to break up any camps that show signs of permanence. they are monitoring the situation carefully after a recent fight broke out when four people were shot and injured. this is my place here.

in a forest clearing nearby, the cameroon quarter. one of these men has been in hiding for a year. some of these people are from english—speaking countries. that is why every body is here. you don't want to apply for asylum in france? i've been in germany. you were rejected for asylum in germany? do you know anyone who has made to uk recently? my friend entered the uk last week. from cameroon? no, from ethiopia. how did he do it? two lorries. if one—way is blocked one way is open. it is blocked now but we will create another strategy. they cannot stop immigration. the french president has promised to stop another camp appearing

by speeding up processing of asylum claims and deporting illegal migrants faster. the british government is spending £40 million to improve security at the border. numbers are slowly growing again. attempts to stow away on lorries bound for the uk continue with authority suggesting that every week at least one migrant managers, undetected, to make it across the water. the headlines in a couple of minutes. first, here is the weather forecast. in the short term, the weather is looking absolutely fine. lots of cold, crisp sunshine. the cold air has reached central and western parts of europe. in germany already today temperatures below freezing. that cold air is creeping

closer. it's going to reach us early next week. in the short—term, a lot of sunshine. a bit of cloud eastern coasts. nagusa and breadth of scotland. 0ther coasts. nagusa and breadth of scotland. other than that, very little change. first thing on sunday, temperatures in the middle of towns and cities below freezing. 0utside towns, around minus five degrees. very cold night. tomorrow, a lot of sunshine around, and that of cloud around easter in counties. negi the odd flurry of snow in eastern scotland. a chilly day, barely above freezing in some areas during the afternoon. it will fill colder because of the winds. for monday morning, we start to see those showers as acting easter in areas of the uk. —— affecting easter in areas.