this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at 3pm: more than 3000 homes in parts of wales and england are without power as the uk struggles with the bitter winter conditions. people in cardiff have been describing the situation. that's my car there, so that's not going anywhere and then all the local trains and buses are cancelled, people are just going around on sledges on the main road, it's quite entertaining. several flood warnings have been issued for parts of england due to high tides and strong winds. continued disruption is expected on roads and railways. the health secretary, jeremy hunt, says the prime minister's "honesty" in her brexit speech yesterday helped bring together remain and leave supporters. the use of video assistant referees throughout world football has been unanimously approved by the body that sets the global rules for the game. and coming up, click heads to the mobile world congress in barcelona to find out the latest

in the world of smartphones, that's in 30 minutes here on bbc news. good afternoon. hundreds of people in the north of england and in north and mid—wales, are without power — as the uk struggles with the continued effects of the week's bitter weather. motorists and rail passengers have been told to expect continued disruption, with scotland receiving the heaviest snowfall, and some of the lowest temperatures, in the uk. elsewhere it's expected to get milder. as the snow begins to melt, the environment agency has 12 flood warnings in place for parts of the north east and south west england.

0ur correspondent dan johnson reports. another day of britain taking a battering. after the snow come the high tides and the flood warnings. the sea has taken over the railway line. 0n the outskirts of cardiff, the snow is still hanging around. 400 homes across wales are without power, some people have now seen enough. very pretty and all that, but i must admit it is getting on my nerves now. it has affected me in not being able to get into work. idid not i did not expect it to be as bad as it's been but we are getting cabin fever now. the motorway across the pennines was deserted for more than a day because of heavy snow and high winds. leeds and manchester were finally reconnected earlier this morning. the traffic may be flowing here, but most of the roads across these hills are still blocked with snow

and there are strong winds in places too, potentially causing more snow drifts. further north, the a1 has reopened, the a66 is still blocked. over the border, just look what the trains are having to plough through in scotland. with even more snow expected to fall. rail travel is difficult across the uk. as well as snow and ice, services on northern and merseyrail are affected by strike action. thousands of flights have also been cancelled. teams are battling to keep runways open. in manchester, officers searching for a man who had gone missing, pulled a body from the canal. there are flood warnings in the south—west and the north—east. the long thaw minoru of come, but more problems are still to come. 0ur correspondent tomos morgan spoke to me a little earlierfrom cardiff,

where he said some roads were still blocked. it's a little bit busier here on the high street where we are, quite a few more cars venturing out but as you can see to my right, the residential roads are still badly affected by the snow and it's still quite impossible for a number around here. but some people i spoke to out trying to get their bread and milk centre is a real sense of community spirit, everyone is stuck and cannot really drive everywhere, people are using whatever local amenities are open much more than usual relay. so a sense of community. when it comes to transportation wales has been hit just like any other area of britain. severely by the weather. cardiff airport closed all day yesterday,

the trains, the majority of lines suspended yesterday, no word yet whether or not the bosses in the city will be operational todayjust yet. and you mentioned the yellow warning in place for ice, we understand it has just come to an end here but it's the snow peter and on and off and the wind picking up so on and off and the wind picking up so it's still freezing cold. what about the picture further north? yeah, further north in wales we know there are several hundred houses without power, there have been strong gusts of wind overnight, there was a yellow warning until midnight for wind and snow there. i think the majority of the snow has been hit in cardiff and the surrounding area down here. this is where if you remember the red alert was up until yesterday morning and thenit was up until yesterday morning and then it moved to amber and then yellow so it's the south area which

has been hit the worst. but the yellow warning stayed in place for snow and ice up until last night across the whole of wales and for ice as well across the whole of wales until just in ice as well across the whole of wales untiljust in the last hour. the whole of the country affected but i would say the south really affected much worse by the snow, the impact you can see it has had on transport systems around the south. 0ur correspondent catriona renton spoke to us a little earlier from glasgow central station. it's still far from a typical saturday here at glasgow central station but services are starting to run. still no trains between scotland and england but final checks are happening and it's hoped the west coast main line will be up and running later today and scotrail tell me they hope for a full train service tomorrow. looking ahead that looks good. on other travel, airports and on the roads, still take extra care and check before you travel, we do have forecasts for more snow here so of course untreated roads

are still icy. the scottish government have urged people to carry on the community spirit we have seen over the last few days and to keep helping each other out. the picture across the rest of the uk, as we heard, it is gradually improving but there are still warnings for icy roads so they remained treacherous. then the next thing, when the snow starts to melt and there are flood warnings in place for parts of the south west and north east of england. but with all this disruption we have had over the last few days around the uk of course it will take some time to get everything back on track. train operators say they are confident that a normal service will be resumed across scotland by monday morning. we've cancelled all nonessential works tonight to make sure that all oui’ works tonight to make sure that all our resources are out to make sure

we can clean as much of the railway as possible whether it's out at junctions and points or clearing platforms to make it safer people. we are hopeful of a near normal service tomorrow which will set everything up people going back to work on morning so very hopeful we can provide a really good service, monday. 0ur correspondent andy gill has been at sunderland football club, which is doing its bit for the community this weekend. we were just cheering of the disruption to travel and the railways, but obviously it's those who are vulnerable who are also being badly affected by this weather, how much longer are the expected to seek refuge at sunderland? the club have opened here at the stadium of light what they call a warm room for homeless people who might need it. somewhere to sleep, somewhere you can get some warm food, warm drink, you can take your pick in if you want. they are not allowing us in the film because of the vulnerability of people who might want to use the facility, they

are hoping to have the stadium open to homeless people who might need it until 9am. there are still two yellow warnings about the weather here in england, one for snow after midnight tonight and one for ice until 11 o'clock tomorrow morning so i'm treated roads, parts and psychopaths could have ice on them. we are also hearing the bad weather is affecting the health service, the cumbrian infirmary in carlisle has suspended visiting because of an outbreak of the virus. 15 flood warnings in place, two and the north—east of england. transport badly affected across england, lots of minor roads, little roads in the high grounds of cumbria and north yorkshire completely impassable because of snow drifts. the a66 is shot but the m62 reopened in the

early hours of this morning. as far as real goes 20 real companies tell us they are operating on a reduced service with cross—country and the virgin east coast reducing services between england and scotland but as we understand that the west coast mainline between england and scotla nd mainline between england and scotland is still running. 500 people in yorkshire are still without power although the authorities tell us they were hoping to get them back online about now. a thousand people in the north—west of england also without power. and a thousand people in the north west have had their power restored. we are also getting reports that down in somerset and number of people, about ten people have been rescued from snowdrifts in cards or from walking on exmoor and the authorities tell us that had those people not been rescued they would have died. goodness. thank you very much. and the guilt talking to us

from the stadium of light in sunderland. despite the chaos the snow has caused it's brought out the artist in many of our viewers across the uk. vermillion captured this magical shot of icicles frozen to a tree in the lake district. the owner of this car in harrow in north london would have had a lot of trouble trying to start the engine this morning. some of our pets don't seem to mind the wintry weather. more car trouble, this time in kent, thanks to kathykate for this picture. lakes around devon are freezing over. the heavy falls have given children the chance to build snowmen. storm emma made road conditions very difficult for drivers around gloucestershire. and morning amble captured just how bitterly cold it has been in worcestershire. and it's notjust the uk that's

in the grip of this severe weather. sub—zero temperatures are affecting swathes of europe. these pictures just in from the netherlands show people making the most of the bitter cold snap to go ice—skating on canals that have frozen solid in amsterdam and in delft. the dutch media is calling the wintry weather "the siberian bea r". you can keep up to date with the weather and travel situation wherever you are, by visiting the bbc news live page, that's at bbc.co.uk/news. you can also get live updates on the bbc news channel and your local radio station. the health secretary, jeremy hunt, has said the prime minister's brexit offer showed that it is possible to get "frictionless" trade with the european union

while leaving the single market and the customs union. theresa may's speech, which she made in london yesterday, has largely been welcomed by leave and remain supporters in the conservative party. mr hunt said the prime minister's vision should please all shades of opinion. the prime minister, and i think this is why the speech has worked in terms of bringing people together, is very honest about it. she says everyone is going to have to compromise, everyone will be able to find things that they can nit—pick but in reality for people who are passionate about brexit this is a package which gives the british parliament control over the destiny of the british people and therefore restores democratic control. but i think for the people on the remain side one of the biggest worries was that we would lose that close business relationship with the european union and here you have got a vision which goes as far as when it

comes to pharmaceuticals, chemicals, aerospace, becoming an associate member of european agencies and potentially becoming subject to some ecj rules in those areas. earlier i spoke to labour's hilary benn who chairs the brexit select committee and i asked him if the speech had provided any more clarity. i think we got a dose of realism. so no more will we hear, we are getting the same benefits and the easy trade negotiations. i think the prime minister was very frank and said we will have less good access to our largest market, the other 27 member states of the european union, than we have at the moment. i welcome what she said about seeking to remain a member of some of those agencies. because that is something that is right for business and many people

have called for. we also heard her say that there is going to be a lot of our regulations are going to remain the same and the thing that surprised me is i did not hear much in the speech about this ambitious managed divergence the prime minister had been talking about before. but i think the last thing i would say is that there is still not an answer to the problem of the border in northern ireland and for me the arguments that the prime minister set out point in the direction of the wisdom of remaining in a customs union with the other 27 member states which is something she has explicitly ruled out and continues to do so and i think that's a mistake. why? how would a trade deal look for you? the evidence is very clear. all free trade agreements in the world involves

checks on the border, on the select committee we have been taking evidence on that yet for northern ireland, for all the reasons we understand the government has set a very high threshold. no checks, no infrastructure. you cannot do that if you have a free trade agreement because free trade agreements involve some checks. so remaining in a customs union with the european union would help to solve part of a problem in northern ireland. it's also what the cbi has called for in a significant announcement that the director—general made injanuary and i am sorry to say that the government continues to fail to listen to those arguments. the headlines on bbc news: at least moo homes in parts of england and wales are without power as the uk continues to struggle with the bitter winter conditions. several flood warnings have been issued for parts of england due to high tides and strong winds. continued disruption is expected on

roads and railways. and jeremy hunt says the prime minister's honesty in her brexit speech yesterday helped bring together remain and leave supporters. in sport video assistant referees are expected to be used at the world cup. burnley white back to beat everton and end a run of ii premier league matches without a win, substitute chris wood heading the winner. elsewhere in swansea are 1-0 the winner. elsewhere in swansea are 1—0 up against west ham. and moussa dembele scored twice as celtic beating greenock morton then the scottish cup. 0n the other game aberdeen are up against kilmarnock. the body which sets the rules for world football has approved the use of video replay technology throughout the sport. the system has been used on a trial basis in several countries including some cup matches in england, but it has proved controversial.

earlier our sports correspondent richard conway told me what the decision could mean for football. it means in effect, it's a fundamental change in the officiating of the game. the laws of the game were codified over 150 years ago. one of the most significant moments in modern football history. we will see it in leagues and competitions, we will see it in the world cup at russia, that decision will be rubber—stamped at a meeting next month. will we see it in the english premier league? we have to wait on that. the clubs will meet later this year and i understand there is reticence at the moment given some of the teething problems the video assistant referee system has demonstrated so far. is it needed ? the premier league are not particularly confident in it at the moment and here fifa have said they are happy to use it,

does the game need it? if you look back to previous fifa leadership they were opposed to the use of technology in the game, they said it was a human game which needed human decisions and misstakes are part and parcel of what made the game so popular. but what we've seen in recent years is a number of key decisions being made mistakes, the rise of the sport, the popularity of it, the money involved has led to calls for technology to be used and when football looks around at other sports such as cricket, rugby and tennis they see the technology being utilised very effectively. football is of course a different game, it does not have that stop start element so making sure that the system works football, that the system works for football, that it does not necessarily take away from the natural ebb and flow of the sport is critical. the two your trial has seen a thousand games used and experiment upon and they now say there is enough evidence to show it

does work and it can be used effectively. scientists are trialling a new camera which could help with the early detection of one of the deadliest forms of cancer. almost 8,000 people died from oesophageal cancer in the uk last year. now doctors and physicists in cambridge have joined forces to develop a new camera that could pick out abnormal cells before they develop into cancer. 0ur science correspondent, richard westcott reports. right now this is how you find one of britain's deadliest cancers. 0esophageal cancer kills 21 people a day because it is so difficult to spot. using a camera with a normal white light on the end, the doctor's looking at the dark red patch. these physicists already use different coloured lasers to study electrons. now they are adapting the technique to look for early signs of disease. what happens is the tissue becomes cancerous is we get a change in the chemical composition,

and different chemicals have different colours, meaning that if we look at the cancer with a technique that allows us to capture information from all of the different colours of light that are being reflected, we can get a fuller picture of the disease state that is present. and this is how it might look. two thirds of our patients present with a cancer that is already spreading to the lymph glands, and after that it can go to distant organs like the liver. if we treat a cancer at that point at which it is still within the tissue of the tissue itself and has not spread anywhere, we can remove it all and cure it. that is is that what happened to jackie. they caught her disease in time, and now she is fine. i knew there was something wrong. people should not have heartburn for 20 odd years, actually it was 30 years. they will start trials of the new camera on patients in the next few weeks. if successful, it could also be used to spot other cancers before they become fatal.

the international monetary fund has joined international condemnation of president trump's plan to impose tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium. it says such a move will not only hurt other countries, but also the united states. stock markets have fallen since the announcement. 0ur washington correspondent chris buckler reports. steel is essential to america's economy. but inside the us for many years, it has been an industry in decline. president trump blames cheap imports. however, his solution of new tariffs has sparked fears of a trade war and led to increasingly heated language from many of america's trading partners, including china, mexico and canada. we are impressing upon the american administration, the unacceptable nature of these proposals that are going to hurt them every bit as much as they will hurt us and we are confident

that we are going to continue to be able to defend canadian industry. the president announced his plan for 25% tariffs for steel and 10% for aluminium at a meeting with industry executives but it came as a surprise to many. apparently, including some inside the white house where details of the policy are still being worked out. many companies who rely on imported metal, as well as some of the president's own republican supporters, are worried about the potential impact on the us economy, particularly with the growing threats of international retaliation. european leaders made a point of singling out the most american of products. translation: we will impose tariffs on harley—davidson, on bourbon, on bluejeans, levis blue jeans. this is, well, highly regrettable. we are not en route to start trade wars. we would like to have a reasonable relationship with the united states of america but we cannot simply bury our head in the sand. president trump himself doesn't

seem worried, tweeting, trade wars are good and easy to win. words probably not intended for the international community, but instead communities in the former industrial heartland of the us where some old steel mills lie derelict. it was here president trump found huge support with his america first message. however, it's the modern supply of steel that worries many businesses here as well as abroad. they are concerned. their costs will rise with tariffs and that could prove to be the hard truth of this protectionist policy. chris buckler, bbc news, washington. children with special educational needs and disabilities in england, who attend special schools, are travelling, on average, three times further than those in mainstream schools. in some cases they're making round trips of more than a0 miles. the government says it is committed to cutting

distances to ‘good' schools, but the education policy institute says it has neglected special schools. tim muffett reports. 6:30am and nicky is getting ready for the school run. 0scar was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder aged seven and is now suffering from suspected post—traumatic stress related to what happened in his mainstream school. so 0scar, who is 11, now has a daily schooljourney of 47 miles. each way. on a good run, an hour and 20. on a bad run, we have taken three hours. gretton is our nearest, most appropriate school for our child. families in our situation don't get a choice. it is 7:30 in the morning and george is about to get in his taxi to go the 11 miles to school. we're off on our 34.5 mile journey to school. we asked other families in similar

situations to share their school run with us. so yourjourney can sometimes take from an hour to two hours. the schooljourneys of children with special educational needs and disabilities have been analysed for a new report by the education policy institute. children in special schools travel, on average, almost three times further than pupils in mainstream education. in rural areas, one in 10 special needs pupils face a daily round trip of more than a0 miles. for some pupils, we may find that the distances they are now having to travel are insurmountable. there's 110,000 pupils nationally attending special schools so as we have debates around free schools, about faith schools, around grammar schools, we have ignored the 1,000 special schools that are in this country, and ensuring that pupils that need to access them are able to. by law, councils in england must pay for transport for children

who cannot walk to school because of their special educational need or disability. that might mean a mileage allowance, a taxi, or a minibus. elsewhere in the uk, local authorities have more discretion. and did they tell you why it was refused? but the disability charity contact says it has seen a huge increase in families seeking help. a lot of calls to the contact helpline are actually about local authorities not following the law properly, wrongly refusing free school transport for disabled children. they have not been considering their child's disability or special needs. the department of education told us that through government funding, local authorities are spending £600 million on transport for children with special educational needs. over the next three years, an extra £215 million will be available for school places and facilities. statutory guidance for local authorities is also under review.

many parents say theirjourneys are so long, there is no point in coming home before pick—up time. so now what i will do is hang around cambridge until pick—up time at 3:15. the local government association says councils work hard to provide suitable school transport for children with special needs. but it says current government funding does not reflect the demand being placed on councils. tim muffett, bbc news. let's get more on the all—important weather with susan. cannot promise you any particularly springlike weather in the week ahead but what i can tell you it that it will not be as cold as it's just gone. things will remain unsettled overnight tonight the risk of snow from the midlands and wales, heavy

showers possibly turning thundery into the south west of england, further snow across eastern scotland and perhaps the far north—east of england. milderfour and perhaps the far north—east of england. milder four southernmost counties, another frosty night and ice will be a big issue first thing on sunday. you see the change in our type of weather as the air comes up from the south, showers of rain across england and wales into southern scotland and northern ireland, snow confined to the highest ground but more snow showers extensively across northern and eastern scotland through sunday. temperatures to the south back up at around eight or 9 degrees. this is bbc news. our latest headlines: weather warnings for snow and icy roads remain in place across much of the uk. more than 3000 homes are without power in cornwall, devon, northern england and north and mid wales. several flood warnings have been issued for parts of england due to high tides and strong winds. motorists and rail passengers have been told to expect continued disruption on roads and railways.

following theresa may's speech yesterday, the health secretary, jeremy hunt, says the prime minister's brexit offer showed that it is possible to get