this is bbc news. i'm shaun ley. the headlines at 12. freezing temperatures are continuing into the weekend after snow causes more travel chaos overnight. russian president vladimir putin has said that russia is withdrawing from the cold war—era intermediate—range nuclear forces treaty after a similar move by the united states. england's minister for schools says pupils should be banned from taking smartphones into school. floods in the north—east australian state of queensland have reached catastrophic levels. a french fumble and a welsh fightback last night — and there's more six nations action to come today. and in half an hour, click will take a look at how technology could play a role in donald trump's controversial border wall plans. mid—afternoon.

snow and ice is continuing to cause disruption across parts of the uk. in the south of england, dozens of motorists were left stranded for hours, as the wintry weather brought traffic to a standstill. highways england says, overnight, its gritters covered 80,000 miles of roads. kathryn stanczyczyn reports. a nightmare journey home. as the extreme weather continued last night in southern england, some parts of hampshire saw 7.5 inches of snow. it led to chaos on the m3, where motorists were trapped for hours — emergency services struggling to reach them. swirling blizzards made driving dangerous on many other routes as well, including the a339, where ian crowder got stuck travelling home after celebrating his last day in work before retirement. it's very picturesque, i'm sure,

but being here in the traffic that's stationary for nearly five hours now is not a huge amount of fun. sometimes, even the people sent to help struggled. here in basingstoke, willing volunteers pushed this ambulance up a hill when the specialist vehicle sent to rescue it also got stuck. at raf 0diham, a serious covering, but fortunately also the equipment to deal with it. 0vernight, the worst of the snowfall centred on the south—east. in kent, police were exceptionally busy dealing with accidents. highways england says gritters covered 80,000 miles of major routes throughout the night, but travel on many smaller roads will still be tricky. for some, that won't matter... whoo! ..as the weekend means there might actually be time to enjoy it. kathryn stanczyszyn, bbc news. the freezing temperatures caused widespread disruption

across the south east of england. this picture shows some damaged cars after a driver tried to take a lorry down a road in walderslade, kent — and in blue bell hill cars struggled to move in the snow. and these pictures, provided by viewers, give a flavour of the weather people have been enjoying — or enduring — over the last 2a hours. the met office is warning that tonight will be the coldest of the winter so far. scotland could see lows of —16 overnight into sunday. looks beautiful when it is like this, but still treacherous conditions. take care, particularly if you are at this evening. i spoke to hgv driver matt brooks who told us about the journey he had yesterday after he left his home in basingstoke at 3:30 in the afternoon. i was heading to bristol.

got about as far as newbury. not very far at all? no, i was stuck on that road forfive hours up and down the hills, in traffic. eventually, had to turn back — come back on the 303 and back on the m3 into basingstoke, which took another five and a half hours. a round trip of 9—10 hours? about that. in that whole time, i did not see a single gritter, no police on that whole route. i saw ambulances going through. that was about it. what was the mood? presumably, you were just static, did you get much chance to talk to others on the road? yes, the times that we were static, people were getting out of their cars. asking people if they knew what had gone on. but the mood was good.

cars that had broken down, or been abandoned, people were helping each other. there were a couple of land rovers that help me out when i was stuck on a hill. they pulled me and the truck up. everybody was joining together to help each other. you are a professional driver and presumably you would not go out into conditions like that without something warm, a hot drink, blankets, just in case you get stuck? yes, to be fair, the weather, there was no warning of this weather, itjust said light snow. suddenly it changed to heavy snow, it was almost like a michael fish moment. i am sure he will be delighted to be reminded of that! you said you did not see emergency vehicles. i suppose it is possible they were tied up elsewhere? i went all of the routes

they said that were in trouble and i did not see any other emergency vehicles apart from ambulances. we have two highways agency depots either side of basingstoke and we did not see gritters. this morning, i managed to dig my car out, made a five minute journey and, in thatjourney, one mile, i saw four gritters. you could have done with one of those yesterday. just one would have been great. story of a frustrated journey yesterday and i'm sure you know somebody who had as well. russian president vladimir putin has said that russia is withdrawing from the cold war—era intermediate—range nuclear forces treaty after a similar move by the united states. president putin insisted the door remained open for negotiations, but he instructed ministers not to initiate arms control talks.

he added that russia would start to develop a new mid—range hypersonic missile. but he cautioned against being drawn into an expensive arms race. let's speak to our moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg. is this a straightforward case of tit—for—tat? is this a straightforward case of tit-for-tat? i think russia sees it that way and certainly the message from moscow to the us administration is to put it simply anything you can do, russia can do, too. if you want a pull—out of the treaty, russia will pull out of the treaty. if you america wants to develop a new range of weapons, russia will develop a new range of weapons and president putin spoke of specific weapons moscow intends to develop. this new range of short and medium range hypersonic land—based weapons. also a land—based version of a cruise

missile that is normally see based, in russia. he did make it clear russia would not deploy short to medium range weapons in europe, or anywhere else in the world, unless america deployed them first. as you say, he made it clear russia does not want to be dragged in to inexpensive arms race. that is the last thing moscow wants in difficult economic circumstances for the country. thanks. 0lga ivshina from the bbc world service is here. it is one treaty among many arms control treaties, why does it matter as anything more than a symbolic gesture ? as anything more than a symbolic gesture? it is one of many but it is a key one. to get back to history, all this became obvious, how the world is close to the nuclear war in the caribbean crisis. these

missiles, the two leaders saw them and that is the danger because if someone sees those and that is the danger because if someone sees those missiles on their borders, they have a temptation to strike back with a nuclear missile first and that is why what followed was salt, one and two treaties, based on this treaty that both sides have withdrawn now. in other words you can regard it as the keystone on which many other arms control measures are built? yes it was a keystone which the nuclear deterrent called a was built. they understand there is no point to start a war because no one would win. steve cautioned about the other things president putin said in the course of his remarks today, but give us an idea of the significance of intermediate missiles. why are they

regarded as a class world powers are worried about? it is based on the fa ct, worried about? it is based on the fact, one said strikes and before the missiles land, the other side would strike and both sides did. mutual destruction? that only works with the long—range missiles because of the timing. the trouble with the intermediate range is the flight time is so quick, you might not be able to strike back and you are hit by the missile already. also it is ha rd to by the missile already. also it is hard to track the launch pad and it is very dangerous, which is why both countries, any country, gets nervous about intermediate range missiles getting close to borders. that is why they have a temptation to preliminary strike. we see both leaders sometimes act unexpectedly. that is why we can say today is sort of another state for the world. you

remind us of concepts we have not talked about much in recent years. there is talk about whether we are back into a cold war environment and certainly the tension between america and russia is there but presumably there is cause to be optimistic with the nato secretary general saint donald trump was right to pull out of the treaty first because he argued that was the only way of russia taking seriously some of the things nato has been saying. —— the secretary general said donald trump was right. recently, the us has managed to explain to nato and they supported the game. also china, because that treaty included only russia and the us and meanwhile china was extensively developing the missile treaty. it might be a positive step because if new talks

happen and include china, that may make the world more stable and secure. thanks. children should be banned from bringing smartphones into school according to the minister for school standards in england. the government is preparing to publish new guidance, which is expected to say children should be taught to limit the amount of time they spend online. here's our political correspondent chris mason. schools in england already have the power to ban phones from being brought onto the premises. but government policy is that it's the responsibility of head teachers to determine whether this is appropriate. nick gibb said that it was his own view that schools should ban their pupils from bringing smartphones into school. the government is due to publish new guidance for schools shortly. it's expected to say children should be taught to limit the amount of time they spend on the internet. mr gibb said that while there was nothing intrinsically damaging about spending time online, it reduced time for conversation, exercise, homework or play. the trade union the naht, which represents school leaders, and particularly those in primaries,

has expressed scepticism about the outright banning of phones in schools, saying it can drive use underground. chris mason, bbc news. earlier, i spoke to patsy kane, who's executive headteacher at the education and leadership trust, which has schools in manchester, and asked her what she made of mr gibb's comments. i can understand and agree with some points he is making. it is good for students and adults to limit their time and it would be a shame if it did affect the take—up of exercise, reading and so on. but i do not think that is necessarily the case. we see young people taking part in exercise, enjoying listening to music at another point in the day. and also, on the way to and from school, parents and students feel safer knowing

they have a mobile phone, that they can keep in touch or phone home if they need to. it is often the reason why parents give their children phones. albeit, obviously, some kids now have access to sophisticated smartphones. what about the usage in school time? how do you regulate that? how do you ensure the kids are not just texting under the desk? teachers have to be aware of everything going on in the classroom. it is a simple rule that if the teacher asks you to get your phone out with a purpose, they can get their phones out. they stay away in learning time if the teacher has not asked them to get them out. is there a value in children having these phones in the classroom? i imagine some adults might think it will inevitably be a distraction. we know how obsessed

we as adults are with phones. well, across many schools now, there is a focus on developing vocabulary and, if you want students to broaden their knowledge of new words, a quick check on a smartphone can give them easier access and allow them to introduce more wider vocabulary into their work. there are so many brilliant revision apps for science and maths that have video clips and tests online, so they can learn it and take a test. it gives the students that independence they really value. they can do as much learning as they want, and many of them will sit and do revision at lunchtime, on the bus, on the way home, and they have it at theirfingertips. there are some really valuable uses. they might video themselves doing a pe technique with a view to improving it.

they might practise speaking in a foreign language and listen back to it for their accent and fluency. there are positive uses. and some negative. i suppose that is the worry nick gibb alludes to, the concern people will use it for online bullying and things like that, and because it gives direct access to a child, it can potentially make them vulnerable. it would be naive to think if you ban them in school that might not happen out of school anyway, at evenings and weekends. i think it is an important part of the school approach to anti—bullying, it is part of the education that you can use the internet to be kind, support each other, stay in touch when you are not together at school, say the weekends, and can be used positively. to prevent bullying online,

is a big educational issue but if it does happen, it can happen anyway from home. according to newspapers, the chief medical officer is going to recommend, it is said, that people should not look at a screen for more than two hours at a time without a break. is that advice you would like to see and could be useful for parents, who often feel slightly adrift in this new world? it can be hard for parents, because some teenagers get very upset if someone tries to take their phone off them. but that is a useful guideline. that would help them if they are using it to revise. to stay fresh they need to take breaks and good to have a walk around the block. we have installed walking—mile circuits to encourage students to take a walk at lunchtime and break time. there is a range of strategies. the school can promote a healthier lifestyle.

a high courtjudge has used twitter to urge a mother who vanished with her three—year—old son to return home. the judge's plea was delivered in a tweet posted on thejudicial 0ffice twitter account using the hashtag ‘come home 0lly‘. mrjustice williams appealed directly to ellie yarrow—sanders to bring missing toddler 0lly sheridan home. he reassured her as to how she will be given a voice in court. it is thought to be the first time a judge has used twitter in this way. miss yarrow—sanders disappeared with her son injuly after becoming involved in family court litigation with her ex—partner. now on lots of household items, from electrical appliances and toys, to drinking glasses, you will see the letters "ce" printed on them. it's the eu safety symbol, but if there's a no deal brexit, it will have to change, and it could be costly for businesses.

the bbc has learnt that the government is about to announce plans for a replacement. our business correspondent rob young reports. kettles, heaters, toys, light bulbs. dozens of items in your average home are stamped with the letters "ce". the mark says a particular product meets legal requirements and has been tested to high standards. consumers have been told to buy goods with this symbol. it's been with us for more than two decades. the ce mark belongs to the european union, so if britain leaves the eu without a deal, items on sale, like these, will have to be stamped with something else to show consumers the products meet the rules. this is the new logo the government has drawn up. it stands for "uk conformity assessed". this is what it might look like on the back of a smartphone and on the label of a toy. so, if there's no deal, this is the mark we will have to look out for on products in the shops. a uk mark would provide confidence to consumers and to the authorities that these products placed on the market in the uk were meeting

uk regulatory requirements, so it provides flexibility for government, should there be divergence of regulations, to insist that manufacturers were committing to that uk regulatory practice in future. if the new logo is to be used, companies would have to change their packaging, advertising and an element of the product themselves. businesses warn it will mean higher costs, at least in the short—term. that's another reason many companies want the government to do some kind of brexit deal with the eu. rob young, bbc news. floods in the northeast australian state of queensland have reached what officials are calling catastrophic levels. the tropical monsoon rains have already destroyed buildings, forced evacuations, and swept away cars and livestock in a large area centred on the coastal city of townsville. saturday alone is expected to see up to 20cm of rain — equivalent to about a month's average rainfall.

phil mercer reports. for four days, parts of northern queensland have been battered by the heaviest monsoon rains in memory. the main reservoir in townsville is so full that vast amounts of water have had to be released, causing majorflooding. the city has been declared a disaster zone. many homes are submerged and streets turned into rivers. dozens of people have been rescued and thousands more moved to higher ground. when we use the words unprecedented and uncharted, we use this for a reason. we have not been in this scenario before. there has been a lot of rain that has been falling, especially over the townsville catchment, and some of these levels are unprecedented. there is a warning that the worst may yet be to come.

the heavy rain is expected to continue until at least monday. there is, though, some good news — the tropical monsoonal conditions are likely to bring much—needed relief to drought—affected parts of queensland to the west of townsville. phil mercer, bbc news. dramatic footage has emerged of the moment a dam burst in brazil, releasing millions of tonnes of mining waste that engulfed nearby buildings. at least 110 people are now known to have died in the disaster, hundreds are missing. 0ur science editor, david shukman, reports from the site of the dam. this is pretty well as close as we are allowed to get to the disaster site. you've got some local people here just trying to come to terms with what on earth happened, so let me try to explain to you how

this disaster unfolded. up in the hills beyond, that's where the dam itself was, holding back a great lake of sludge. it broke, as we know, and a torrent of heavy cement—like mud tore its way down one of these valleys just in the distance there, overwhelmed the cafeteria, where miners were having lunch, overwhelmed the offices of the mining company itself. then it swept into this area where we are now. right in the middle of this little area was a posada, a kind of small hotel with holiday chalets. that was all swamped by the mud. just close by here — this was basically a farming area, a little farmhouse, just absolutely wrecked by the power of the deluge of mud. what happened next is that the mud didn't just stay here, it was moving incredibly rapidly.

you can still hear the search and rescue helicopters buzzing around and occasionally we see rescue teams still at work. i say rescue — they are now in the business ofjust searching for bodies. 0ne team we sawjust now had a dog with them. they were trying to respond to wherever the dog was sniffing. the wall of mud destroyed this whole area and then carried on over the ridge you can see in the distance, and into a valley beyond, where it then tore through a village down below, causing yet more destruction. you the question that everybody is just bewildered by, stunned by here, is how brazil, which is a rapidly industrialising, said modern economy, how here this kind of disaster, whatever failings there were in safeguarding the dam were allowed to happen, caused so many deaths and so much destruction. all

along norway is on a drive to cut down on the amount of food that is left uneaten on plates in hotels and restaurants. and, as our environment analyst roger harrabin reports from trumso, they are also hitting on some cunning ruses to persuade us to take less, and eat less. in a restaurant, there's always food thrown away. this hotel in tromso is trying to halve its food waste, but how? let's start with these smoothie shots. these are made from yesterday's leftover fruit. then crafty tricks to nudge people into taking less, like skinny tweezers to stop you piling up the salmon, or little spoons to serve the herring. and look at this — a micro muesli. how cute is that? another idea — instead of guests taking a big melon slice and leaving some, the staff dice it so you take precisely what you want.

and in case you missed the message... many people load onto their plates, so they don't have to go multiple times. we were able to make people think about how they put food on their plate and how much they bring to the table to make sure they eat it all. another trick is to keep food looking fresh. as a serving dish empties, guests assume the remains are stale, so why not switch the food into a smaller dish? then again — so it still looks fresh and all gets eaten. ideas like this have cut food waste almost 10% in a yearfor this chain. the target is 20% by 2020 and then 50% by 2030, the same as the un target. the chef weighs the daily waste. so far, the policy has saved the hotel chain 26 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. and there's a bonus. we're also making money out of it,

which is a real positive side—effect positive side—effect by reducing food waste. so how do guests respond to this culinary nanny state? if i have tools given to me that i take less, then it helps me, i don't put on as much weight when i travel. i think it's a good thing. i feel it helps the environment but it also helps myself to not gain, what do i call it, weight that i don't need. there is no ban on loading up your plate here. take as much as you want. but you'd better not leave it. roger harrabin, bbc news, norway. now it's time for a look at the weather with helen willetts. we have seen a lot of snowfall and i am glad to say we will not see it as much throughout the day. ice is a

concern and it will continue as temperatures fall away this evening. showers peppering eastern and western coast but for inland areas, it is dry, sunshine, not warm, but with the sunshine and light wind, and without as much snowfall, i think it will be an improvement on friday. as we head through the night, temperatures fall away, plummeting to —5 in major towns and cities. —10, —i2 plummeting to —5 in major towns and cities. —10, —12 we could see over the snowfields but all change on sunday with a bright start, but rain, sleet and snow and mostly dry and fine in southern and central areas until late on but it is becoming milderfrom the areas until late on but it is becoming milder from the west as time goes by. hello this is bbc news. the headlines: freezing temperatures are continuing into the weekend after snow causes more travel chaos overnight. russian president vladimir putin has said that russia is withdrawing from the cold war—era

intermediate—range nuclear forces treaty after a similar move by the united states. england's minister for schools says pupils should be banned from taking plans to prevent censorship during debates at universities have been drawn up following a number of incidents where speakers were banned from campuses. floods in the north—east australian state of queensland have reached catastrophic levels. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre.