this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at 11:00: heavy snow causes hundreds of schools to close across wales and southern england and more snow is on the way. millions of commuters face nightmare journeys — some places are hit with several inches of snow and drivers are told not to travel. it's very picturesque, i'm sure, but being here in the traffic stationary for nearly five hours now is not a huge amount of fun. dramatic footage has emerged of the dam collapse last week in brazil that left more than 300 people dead or missing. in a landmark verdict, the mother of a 3—year—old girl has become the first person in the uk to be found guilty of female genital mutilation. the search continues for the mother of a newborn baby girl found abandoned

in a london park on one of the coldest nights of winter. in sport, wales get off to a flying start in the six nations with a comeback victory in paris. and at 11:30, we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers 0wen bennett, who's head of politics at cityam, and the business journalist john crowley — stay with us for that. snow and ice are continuing to cause treacherous conditions throughout large parts of wales and southern england. two met office warnings covering much of the uk are in force, after a day in which more than 1,000 schools were closed.

many roads have been impassable and train services and flights have been delayed or cancelled. this was the scene earlier today in basingstoke in hampshire where people had to help push an ambulance out of the snow. in devon, hgv lorries became stuck on country roads — this is one of many being towed by a tractor. tonight, a section of the m3 motorway remains partially closed, after three lorries jacknifed in the wintry conditions. the advice to people in the area, is to stay at home. in a moment, we'll get the latest from robert hall, who's in one of the worst affected areas, cornwall, but first our correspondent duncan kennedy is in longparish in hampshire. we've been driving around hampshire

in berkshire all day and it's been snowing all day. we are here in long parish near andover were some of the major roads are open but many of the minor ones are blocked to ordinary cars. as you say, the m3 in hampshire has been blocked altogether, both directions, near winchester and were just heard on the last few minutes that the southbound carriageway has just reopened for a couple of lanes but it's still meant travel chaos for thousands of motorists. the m3 tonight at a desperate standstill. motorists try to get back to the weekend, some trapped for hours. both lanes were blocked after three lorries jackknifed. traffic had been slow in the run—up to rush—hour. the thickening vision halting vehicles completely. but it's notjust the m3. we drove across berkshire in hampshire and a series of smaller roads were also caught up in the

chaos. the skidding, endless. although many of the roads are open, it's the back roads, the b roads where the problem is. the greeters we re where the problem is. the greeters were out this morning but they haven't returned service know is falling on these services. ian had been on his last day of work, where else, but at the aa. he was desperate to get home to celebrate but he began his retirement stuck on the 8339 and he is still there. it's very picturesque, i'm sure, but being here in the traffic, stationary for nearly five hours now, is not a huge amount of fun. stationary for nearly five hours now, is not a huge amount of funm wasn't just commuters now, is not a huge amount of funm wasn'tjust commuters stuck in the snow. the emergency services were not spared either. 0ut snow. the emergency services were not spared either. out in all weathers but caught out by today's snow. in basingstoke, helpers pushed

this ambulance up the hill after a specialist rescue team also got stuck. 0ne specialist rescue team also got stuck. one more challenging moment on the day that they be returned to the south to freezing. images filmed by drivers trapped in one of the uk's most exposed stretches of road. short of fuel, short of food, the lights ofjamaica inn were a beacon to those who set off into the snow to reach them. the only way i can describe it is like armageddon. i haven't seen anything like this. there was lorries jackknifed, all up this road, there was lorries jackknifed. there was vehicles everywhere. well over 100 cold, hungry and exhausted travellers filled every available corner of the hotel. across the region, others defied the ice and snow to help those in greatest need. one of dartmoor‘s community nurses relied on park rangers to reach their patients. hello! hello, darling, how are you? i couldn't do without them.

no way could i do without them. i would just be sat here. the worst case scenario, i mean, we would walk. we have done that in the past. but, you know, you do have to get to these patients. do you want a bread roll with that, my love? no thank you. are you sure? the grip of winter has intensified hardship. bristol's emergency programme provides help to the city's rough sleepers. mostly, they bring sleeping bags to keep you warm. they bring hot drinks. they bring hot food. everything i need, they bring it, just to keep me alive. back at jamaica inn, the surprise guests have rescued abandoned vehicles and headed home. but staff here say they will be ready if they are needed again. well, it is still bitingly cold down in the south—west. there is more snow and ice forecast across more affected areas but things have improved, major routes are open, minor routes are possible but dangerous in places and regional airports say there could be back to

normal. we are hearing so much about people like the staff here who came to the aid of those in need, companies supplying bedding, individuals and families providing hot food and hot drinks and tractors to pull people out of the snowdrifts, all being hailed for bringing a bit of warmth to the winter chill. 0ne family has been stuck in stand—still traffic on the m3 for about four hours now. emma beswetherick is in the car with her children and is going to give us an update on the unfortunate situation they find themselves in tonight. hello,. what's going on? so we left click on about 530 and just heading to the new forest at the weekend and we actually phoned ahead our friends in the new forest to see what the situation was and they said it was fine but luckily we have a car full

of food and warm clothes and loads of food and warm clothes and loads of drink so even if we have to stay the night, we are fine, but we've been stuck for five hours now. any indication of when you will be able to move again? well, not really. all the cars are trying to use the hard shoulder to get ahead which means all the emergency vehicles are really struggling to get past. we said if you try to weave in and out of the cars and i managed to speak to one of the policemen who said they thought it was being cleared ahead but there was no indication of what time it would start to be able to move again. how are the kids? one fell asleep about half—an—hour ago but my eight—year—old son is struggling to fall asleep on the back, bless him. they've been really good. were you expecting it to be this bad? you must have been

listening to the forecast and you have a lot of provisions. exactly, but the provisions were the weekend because we are heading to a holiday cottage. because we phoned ahead and thought the roads were going to be fine. we did check but the accident happened after we left because it was absolutely fine to start with and then the snow started coming on the road was harder to see and we just reached a standstill and we haven't moved since. are you using the car engine to keep you warm? we keep on turning it on and off. going on the internet to see if we should be using the engine. we have quite a lot of petrol, we are going to be fine. just how are you feeling about it all? are you expecting to sort of sit out the rest of the night there? ijust sit out the rest of the night there? i just have absolutely sit out the rest of the night there? ijust have absolutely no idea because there is nobody to give us

any information. we are close to winchester and we have friends there who say we can go to stay there if we wa nt who say we can go to stay there if we want to do know how it will take to get there but it's probably to stay on the motorway and get down to new forest, even it takes three or four more hours. ijust don't know. can you see signs of cars being abandoned? 0r can you see signs of cars being abandoned? or is everybody‘s staying with our car? we've seen quite a few ca i’s with our car? we've seen quite a few cars abandoned on the side of the road and that's caused a lot of hassles for the emergency services because they can't get past. we seen a motorbike abandoned and quite a few people putting on coats and rucksacks and walking down the road that had no will where they are expecting to get to and how they will get back to their cars the next day. you say you have police and emergency service is trying to weave through the traffic. has there been anybody locally coming to see if

everybody is all right. we had quite a height walking story of the jamaica inn. to be honest, looking around, alli jamaica inn. to be honest, looking around, all i can see is trees and roads and cars so i don't see how anybody can really come and help us. we've seen five police cars in last five hours but all of them have really struggled to get past all the traffic so i don't know how anybody is going to come and help. that is quite a scary feeling, you are in the middle of nowhere. we are trying to treat it as an adventure for the kids in the back. if they get some sleep, they will probably wake up and all the excitement will be over. hopefully, hopefully. hopefully it will all clear up and you will get your holiday destination to stay warm but thank you for speaking to

us warm but thank you for speaking to us here on bbc news. no worries. thank you. well, with snow causing a second night of disruption on roads in parts of england, transport operators across the country are warning travellers to check ahead and leave plenty of time for journeys. earlier this evening, our weather presenter stav da naos told me about the severity of the conditions. so it's been the most significant snow of the season so far in regards to widespread snow in a very populated area because scotland has seen populated area because scotland has seen quite but it's no but this has been pretty disruptive. area has seen been pretty disruptive. area has seen 2— five centimetres of snow. with that unofficial reports from last night's snow and snow falling today, 15—20 centimetres so this is pretty disrupted. —— disrupted. the

snow radar starts as a 12 hour loop. you can see the bulk of heavy snow. it expanded a bit further towards the south—east. there have been plenty of snow showers. some settling there. in the last few hours, it's pepped up, and hampshire has been bearing the brunt of that. it is likely to continue on now for the rest of the evening. a warning has been issued, a yellow warning for this snow. the outer areas for her eyes. that area in the middle is the new warning which is catering for the very heavy disruptive snow. hampshire into surrey. it's now

going to continue until midnight. it's taking a while to clear and causing treacherous conditions. we are heading into the all—important weekend, people catch up on stuff, outdoors. i'm glad to say it's an improvement. by tomorrow morning, we have that ice risk across southern and eastern parts of england and scotland. showers easing from the south, more sunshine. crisp winter sunshine but cold with northerly winds. another weather system will be moving in from the atlantic. you'll snow to northern areas. the headlines on bbc news: heavy snow left hundreds struggling,

while thousands on the roads were trapped, delayed and had theirjourneys severely disrupted, and more snow is on the way. in a landmark ruling, the mother of a 3—year—old girl has become the first person in the uk to be found guilty of female genital mutilation. the search continues for the mother of a newborn baby girl found abandoned in a london park on one of the coldest nights of winter. a woman from east london has become the first person to be convicted of female genital mutilation in the uk. the old bailey heard that the accused, who's originally from uganda, cut her daughter, who was three at the time. the woman also believed she could silence the police and prosecutors by practicing withcraft. the girl's father was found not guilty. adina campbell is with me now.

it isa it is a crime that has been illegal in the uk for more than 30 years. today, a mother has been found guilty of cutting her three—year role daughter, the first conviction forfemale genital role daughter, the first conviction for female genital mutilation in the uk. at the heart of this case is a three—year—old girl who was caused serious injury as a result of her mother's actions. we can only imagine how much pain she suffered, and how terrified she was. during the trial at the old bailey, the jury the trial at the old bailey, the jury heard the 999 cole made by the girl's mother, who claimed her daughter had fallen onto a kitchen cupboard while trying to reach for biscuits. but the jury didn't believe her. the court also heard evidence about the mother's interest in witchcraft. during a police search, two ingredients used in

silencing spells were found in her freezer at home, next to the names of police officers, social workers and foster carers involved in this case, and the girl's interviews were also played to the jury. she was heard telling her foster carer that she had been cut by an old lady, someone she had been cut by an old lady, someone she referred to as a witch, while being held down by her mother. the girl was treated at this hospital in east london. when doctors saw her, she was lying on a towel soiled with blood. her injuries were severe, with three separate cuts on her genitalia. for legal reasons we can't name the girl's mother. she is 37 and originally from uganda. the girl's father, a 43—year—old man from ghana, was also on trial for the same offence, but cleared of all the charges against him. today's guilty verdict has resonated with those who have also suffered this type of abuse. this woman was cut when she

was six years old. translation: a lot of people are afraid because they attach it to a colour, they attach it to a religion, they attach it to different communities, and thatis it to different communities, and that is what we fight about. it is like, do not attach it to anything except child abuse. the girl's mother is now facing up to 1a years in prison. she will be sentenced next month. dramatic footage showing the moment a dam burst in brazil, releasing millions of tons of mining waste that engulfed nearby buildings, has been uncovered. 115 people are now known to have died in the disaster, which happened in the state of minas gerais last month. hundreds of people, are still missing. 0ur science editor david shukman reports from the site of the dam at brumadinho, in south—east brazil. first, a long cloud of dust. then a nightmare vision of an unrelenting torrent of sludge. the waste from decades of mining racing towards hundreds

of unsuspecting people down below. the catastrophe unfolded a week ago, but only now has this video come to light, adding to the sense of loss, and of outrage. and difficult for you. this red cross volunteer, henato silveira, leads me to the edge of the disaster zone. seis corpos. six bodies? he alone has found six bodies. any hope of reaching survivors in this endless sea of mud was quickly dashed. emergency workers are now scouting for any signs of bodies from the air, and they are picking their way over this horrific landscape. we spotted this search team with a sniffer dog in the distance. by the time the wall of mud reached this point, it had already overwhelmed the cafeteria where the miners were having lunch, and destroyed the offices of the mine itself, before arriving here, tearing through a hotel and holiday chalets, before surging on over that ridge in the distance and down

into the valley beyond, where it caused yet more destruction. and the question everyone here isjust stunned by is how, in a big, modern, growing economy, this could ever have been allowed to happen. investigators are now on the scene. the dam holding back the waste was owned by one of the world's largest mining companies. it was inspected only last year. we find a local man, leandro gil, praying for friends lost in the mud. "unfortu nately", he says, "someone just thought about himself. he didn't protect the dam properly. so, after years and years, that's now been revealed". a special mass, seven days since the disaster. there is grief and anger, and the demand for answers will only grow. david shukman, bbc news, in brazil. a baby girl has been found abandoned in a shopping bag in a park in near—freezing overnight temperatures.

the newborn was discovered in east ham in east london, when a woman walking her dog heard the baby crying. she was taken to hospital and is said to be in a stable condition. karen allen has more. this is the moment captured on security cameras when police cars raced in, and it dawns on concerned neighbours that something's up. in fa ct, neighbours that something's up. in fact, what has happened is this newborn baby girl has just been discovered abandoned in an east london park. given the winter chill, it's a wonder the infant survived at all. temperatures were way below freezing here. as dog walkers discovered her, wrapped in a blanket and gently placed in a plastic bag and gently placed in a plastic bag and set down next to this bench. she appears to have been there a while. my mum, she was walking the dog, and she heard a noise coming out from the bag. she rang me up because she was too scared to approach the bag, and i came.

i just found a baby in a bag, and we phoned the ambulances and police. it was very cold. yes, snowing shortly afterwards. the baby is being called roman after the street next to the park. it is a harsh beginning for a baby girl, but roman is now spending herfirst beginning for a baby girl, but roman is now spending her first full night in hospital, safe with medical teams. but as temperatures are set to plummet, police are growing increasingly concerned for the welfare of her mother. so too are residents, whojust wish welfare of her mother. so too are residents, who just wish they could have done more to help. you see that perhaps it is a vulnerable young person, and i would have been pleased that they had not on my door, because i would have welcomed that person. baby roman is reportedly doing well. what pushed her mother to such desperate lengths, one can only imagine. america has announced

it is suspending participation in a landmark nuclear deal reached during the cold war. the secretary of state, mike pompeo, says it is because russia has for several years been violating the terms of the intermediate—range nuclear forces treaty. the us decision will take effect from saturday and last six months, but will become permanent if negotiations with russia break down. 0ur north america editor jon sopel sent this update. well, it is a big move by the white house, although not surprising. they have been warning for some time that russia is not complying with the terms of the treaty. and so, if you look back, this is the treaty back in 1987 signed by ronald reagan and mikhail gorbachev that led to the removal of cruise missiles from places like green and con. now, other european nato members agree that russia is not complying, but they disagree somewhat with what america is doing. they want this next six months to be used to try to

salvage the agreement. the fear is that this could spark a new arms race between russia and the united states. it could even lead to the unravelling of other treaties. and i suppose, at the core of this, is a worry that the architecture, if you like, that has kept the peace since the second world war could be dismantled by an impatient american president and a defiant russian one. the off—licence chain 0ddbins has gone into administration for a second time. its stores will continue to trade while administrators seek a buyer. more than 500 jobs are at risk. 0ddbins's owners blamed tough trading conditions on the high street and uncertainty over brexit. tsb has blamed last year's it problems for a pre—tax loss of more than £105 million. the bank says 2018 was its most challenging year. about 80,000 customers switched their bank account away from tsb in 2018, 30,000 more than 2017, after some people went weeks without working services.

the bank also had to bear the cost of customer compensation and fraud. universities will be required to publish information on what they are doing to tackle the attainment gap between students from different ethnic backgrounds, the government has announced. official figures show that record numbers of ethnic minorities are attending university, but only 56% of black students achieve top grades, compared with 80% of their white peers. as part of a string of measures announced today, universities will be required to publish data on admissions and attainment, broken down by ethnicity, gender and socio—economic background. the national audit office says the three main health screening programmes in england for bowel, breast and cervical cancer failed to reach as many people last year as the government had hoped.

the nao also says nearly 100,000 women are waiting longer than they should for the results of cervical smear tests. here is our health correspondent catherine burns. do you like cakes? nicole went for her first do you like cakes? nicole went for herfirst smear test this do you like cakes? nicole went for her first smear test this time last year. she should have got her results through in a fortnight, but actually, she waited ten weeks. results through in a fortnight, but actually, she waited ten weekslj thought, you know, ifi actually, she waited ten weekslj thought, you know, if i haven't heard anything, no news must be good news. like, you sort of assume that, don't you. so i didn't really think much about it. ijust thought, oh well, if i don't know anything by now, it should all be ok. it wasn't 0k. afterfurther now, it should all be ok. it wasn't 0k. after further tests, she now, it should all be ok. it wasn't 0k. afterfurther tests, she found out she had cervical cancer. she had to have a hysterectomy when her youngest child was just a year old.

the national audit office has found that delays like nicole's are happening all too often. in march last year there were more than 150,000 samples piled up in laboratories are england waiting to be analysed. that month, only a third of women got their results within 1a third of women got their results within14 days. these delays are partly being blamed a lack of capacity and staff at laboratories, and there is hope that it is just a temporary problem. but the system is under huge pressure, and all this comes at a time when women are co nsta ntly comes at a time when women are constantly being told to make sure they go and get screened. constantly being told to make sure they go and get screenedlj constantly being told to make sure they go and get screened. i as a prime minister can stand here and say this. i know what it's like to go through a cervical smear test. it is not comfortable. sometimes, for some, it will be embarrassing. sometimes it is painful. but those few minutes, those few minutes, can save lives. this comes after major problems with screening programmes for cervical and breast cancer. last year it emerged that many women had

not been invited to screening. these programmes have targets for what percentage of people who are eligible actually get screened. the nao report found that all three major screening programmes in england failed to reach agreed standards. for bowel cancer it was an ems. there was a bigger gap for breast cancer, and cervical cancer was further from its target —— near miss. it is frustrating that a cervical cancer screening programme is effectively being let down. there has been a lack of that the investment in it, there is a complicated system which means that are smit, make shipping through the gaps. nicole says her smear test saved her life but she has questions about the impact of the delay. with about the impact of the delay. with a tumour have been so big? does make me wonder whether i would have had to have such a radical procedure. the government says are screening programmes are world—class, and that it is committed to making any necessary improvements. there have been tributes throughout the day to the comedian jeremy hardy, who has died at the age of 57.

he had been receving treatment for cancer. he won the comedy award at the edinburgh festival in 1988, but will be best remembered for his appearances on radio 4's sorry, i haven't a clue. lizo mzimba looks back at his life. actually i was the youngest of five children, and for that reason i felt a bit weird. i felt i wasn't wanted and i was a mistake. and i think that, having had four children, what my mother really wanted was a holiday. jeremy hardy's self—effacing style of humour was what made him a star. the finest comedy minds in britain — john 0liver, rory bremner and jeremy hardy. his career began as a stand—up in the 1980s and continued for decades on shows like mock the week. in the second world war, it was just a piece of cardboard that said, "this is mr wilkins. he is not a german spy". he was inspired, i saw he was very unfussy,

he was inspired, i saw he was very unfussy, very self—deprecating. he always said he wasn't very good at that. he was principled, always principled, compassionate, kind, but just so wonderfully funny. i think it's fair to say though that the bbc has never practised discrimination. they've always taken on any 0xbridge graduate, regardless of talent. despite jokes at its expense, he became a regular on bbc radio four panel shows like the news quiz and i'm sorry i haven't a clue. was your dad a king for a day? he must have been, to make a princess like you. was your dad a pancake chef? he must have been, to make a tosser like you. you talk about lambeth, a cooperative council... a lifelong socialist, his beliefs informed much of his comedy and he frequently campaigned too, on numerous issues. i remember him as a great friend — the otherjeremy. we did lots of events together. he was always giving his time to raise money so other people