everything i've done in this room is not going to change the world. it's just an attempt to show people that it's wrong, that's all. that was tim muffett speaking to photojournalist sir don mccullin — more than a billion people around the world have begun celebrating the chinese lunar new year, and the year of the pig. at beijing's lama temple, people burned the first joss sticks of the year, in the hope of good luck. the pig is one of the 12 signs of the chinese zodiac, and symbolises good fortune and wealth. have we got good fortunately for weather? darren can telus? it has been a pig of a day in some places! foggy and quite cold in

york, slow changes coming in from the south—west, milder air heading oui’ the south—west, milder air heading our way. the cloud has produced outbreaks of rain, particularly for northern ireland. the closures wrapped around the area of low pressure anchored to the west of us, throwing in weather fronts thickening the cloud and bringing in some rain. moving away from northern ireland for a time, in scotland we had the best of the sunshine but even here it is fading. the north—east of scotland may stay dry, but more cloudy in the south—east of england. heavy rain coming into wales and north—west england, still quite chilly for eastern scotland and north—east england. much milderfor northern ireland, wales and the of england. we will all get some rain this evening, it could be heavy. clearing skies, still quite breezy, nothing too cold overnight although temperatures in rural scotland and northern ireland may be close to freezing. milder in the south—east of england and east anglia. the cloud will still be around at times

tomorrow, threatening to bring rain back in. towards the north—west of the uk, increasing numbers of showers for northern ireland and western scotland, a dry, breezy and mild day in between, temperatures around eight to ii celsius. this evening and overnight, rain comes into the south—east, the weather front bringing wetter weather front bringing wetter weather into the atlantic. we will start with rain across the east of the uk, robert b, on thursday. there may be snow over the high ground in scotland. it should move fairly quickly, then sunshine follows behind. some thunderstorms in the west, particularly western scotland. further east, a dry and quite sunny afternoon, temperatures a shade lower than we are seeing today, eventually. it gets very interesting towards the end of the week, the low pressure is strengthening and driving towards oui’ strengthening and driving towards our shores, meaning it will take up

the strength of the wind. overnight and into saturday it will be mild and into saturday it will be mild and windy, the strongest winds in england and wales 70 mph, or likely over the hills and coasts in the west. some rain at times for the whole country. a reminder of our main story this lunchtime... # four children have died in a house fire in stafford — police describe it as heartbreaking , a man was seenjumping out of a window with a baby , to escape the flames. that's all from the bbc news at one — so it's goodbye from me, and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc‘s news teams where you are. in the heart of antwerp, a stone's throw from the famous diamond district, a host where the of hollywood. good afternoon. it's 1.30pm and here's your latest sports news. the great lynsey vonn is competing at her last alpine skiing world championships. it's the first day of competition in sweden and the american, a former olympic champion,

who has won a record 82 world cup events, hasn't made the greatest of starts. she failed to make it to the bottom in the super g, crashing quite spectacularly hitting one of the gates and careering into the safety netting. the race was halted while medics checked her out, she maanged to make her own way down ut we now wait to see if she will race in the downhill on sunday, in what will be her final race that was so can patriot who actually won gold, reacting to that crash. she released a statement last week saying that she was going to quit the sport describing her body as broken beyond repair. —— mike here can patriot. —— her can patriot. there's a big blow for the england rugby union side, maro itoje has been ruled out of the next 2

six nations matches with a knee problem. the saracens lock suffered the medial ligament injury there's a big blow for the england rugby union side, maro itoje has the saracens lock suffered the medial ligament injury during their impressive win over ireland on saturday. he's expected to be out for 2—4 weeks, but will stay with the squad and could return for the final two matches of the championship. fellow saracen nick isiekwe has been called into the squad as cover. liverpool's lead over manchester city in the premier league is now three points after they drew i—i at west ham and managerjurgen klopp could be in trouble with the fa. his post—match interviews seemed to question the referee kevin friend's integrity, klopp accepted that their opening goal should have been disallowed for offside but says the referee would have realised his mistake and perhaps favoured west ham in his decision making. our goal was offside. i'm sure there referee knew that and in the second half, as well. i don't know if we had a 50—50 situation. it was always a free kick for the other team. it made life not easy but in the end, it was not a game we would win high, obviously, so it was brilliant. but we didn't.

so it's a fair point. england s women will warm up for this summer's world cup by playing four friendly internationals around the country. the road to france series starting in april will see england take on canada, spain, denmark and new zealand. four different venues. junior tickets for each game will be just £1. in manchester, walsall, swindon and brighton. the lionesses also head to america this month for the she believes cup against the usa, brazil and japan jose mourinho has accepted a one—year prison sentence

for tax fraud in spain. the former manchester united manager will not serve any time in jail after exchanging the sentence for a fine ofjust over £2 million. spanish prosecutors, who have also brought similar charges against cristiano ronaldo and lionel messi, say mourinho failed to declare revenues from image rights from 201! and 2012, when he was coach of real madrid. last year's man of steel and top try—scorer in super league ben barba has been banned from playing in australia after footage emerged of him in an alleged "physical altercation" with his partner. barba, who left saint helens at the end of last season, has already been sacked by his new club, north queensland cowboys, over allegations that he had assaulted his partner at a casino last month. the incident is also being investigated by police. the rfl has previously said they would block any return to to england for the 29 year old should he be banned

in australia. which he has been now. that is all the sport for you. i'll have more for you in the next hour. see you then. thank you very much indeed. let's return to our main story this afternoon. four children have died in a fire at a house in stafford. two adults and a fifth child are being treated in hospital, after the blaze in the highfields area of the town in the early hours of the morning. two adults and a child are being treated in hospital. a short time ago police, ambulance and fire services gave this briefing. staffordshi re staffordshire fire and rescue services received a call to a house fire on sycamore lane stafford at 22403”! this morning. three appliances and an aerial level platform were taken. on arrival,

ci’ews we re platform were taken. on arrival, crews were faced with a fully developed fire on the first floor of the end terraced property. one male and one female and a baby had escaped from the property prior to oui’ escaped from the property prior to our arrival. throughout a first—floor window. firefighters wearing breathing apparatus entered the in order to search for other family members. firefighters were faced with very difficult conditions inside the property due to the severity of the fire. i can sadly confirm that the bodies of four young children were located within the property by fire and rescue service personnel. fire investigation teams are currently working with colleagues from west midlands fire service and staffordshi re midlands fire service and staffordshire police in order to find out how the fire started and spread throughout the property. at this time, i cannot comment further upon the likely cause, however, we will keep you updated with further information as it becomes available. i know that this heartbreaking

tragic incident will have affected large parts of our community. and, as such, staffordshire fire and rescue service personnel will remain in the community to provide support and advice. if anybody requires further advice and support our contact details can be found on our website. again, our thoughts go out to the family and friends of those involved at this tragic incident. good afternoon. i'm the assistant officer for west midlands ambulance service. after receiving a 999 call this morning, around 2:40am, the trust control room quickly responded three double crewed ambulances, two paramedic officers, two doctors, and a hazardous area response team to the scene of the fire. two adults and the child were already out of the property when the crew arrived. they each received treatment by the

ambulance staff for nonlife threatening injuries. before being taken to the major trauma centre in stoke. tragically, four children we re stoke. tragically, four children were deceased a few short time after. this was an immensely difficult incident for all three services to respond to and my thanks go to my staff and all emergency personnel on the scene. obviously my thoughts and our thoughts remain with the family and friends and four children at this time. thank you. good afternoon. i'm chief inspector gemma ward, the neighbourhood policing command a full stafford borough. in the early hours of this morning officers attended a house fire along with colleagues from the ambulance and fire service, following a report of a serious fire. tragically, four young children have lost their lives in

the fire and i can confirm that the children were boys aged three, six and eightand children were boys aged three, six and eight and a girl aged four. a woman aged 2a and eight man aged 28 escape with a one—year—old boy. the man is being treated for burns and a woman for smoke inhalation. all three remain in hospital but the injuries are not deemed life—threatening. i want to reassure you all and of our community that we are working closely with colleagues from staffordshire fire and rescue service as investigative work into the cause of the fire begins. the emergency services there and the latest on that fire in stafford which has left for children dead. the united states is set for a night of significant political drama. donald trump will deliver his state of the union address in a joint—session of congress at around 2am uk time and it will be one of the most watched political events of the year

in the us. this speech has already been pushed back once because of the partial government shutdown, and is only going ahead because of a break in the shutdown but the democrats still haven't the united states is set for a night of significant political drama. to build a wall on the southern border. our correspondent jane o'brien looks ahead to what the mr trump's address will bring. there is a theme for 2019, division, because that is the new and heightened reality here in washington. as we know, the democrats took over the house so we are in the era of divided government and we have already seen that. the longer shutdown in us history, this building and many others across the country closed, and the ripple effects being felt across the country so what is donald trump going to do about that? he says is going to do about that? he says is going to do about that? he says is going to try to bring the country together but with emigration hanging over this whole thing tonight, it's very difficult to see how he's going to do that. he'll also touch on other things such as the infrastructure package promised last

year and infrastructure package promised last yearand in infrastructure package promised last year and in fact, let's take a look at some of the promises he made. the state of our union is strong because out state of our union is strong because our people are strong. applause but there is much more work to be done. we will continue our fight until isis is defeated. fast forward to december 2018 when president trump tweeted that the us would be pulling troops out of syria, saying isis had been defeated. and we have woi'i isis had been defeated. and we have won against isis. we have beaten them and we beat them badly. we have taken back the land. many officials dispute that statement that isis has lost much of its territory in the middle east and it still has a large presence in syria and iran, with an estimated 30,000 fighters. and at the start of this year, isis claimed

responsibility for a deadly explosion in the syrian city.|j responsibility for a deadly explosion in the syrian city. i am asking governors to address the fundamental flaws in the terrible iran nuclear deal. what fundamental flaws is he talking about? the dealers narrowly focused on iran's nuclear programme and doesn't include other possible threats. nuclear programme and doesn't include other possible threatslj nuclear programme and doesn't include other possible threats. i am announcing today that the united states will withdraw from the iran nuclear deal. yes, he kept his promise and he's made it part of a broader policy to counter what he calls iran is malign of terrorist activity, but pulling out of the deal is also damaged us credibility because in fact, iran was and still is sticking to its terms and has strained relations with america's european allies because they have negotiated the accord and are sticking with it, and critics argue ditching a carefully crafted arms control agreement makes the middle east less stable, not more. tonight

i'm calling on congress to produce a bill that generates at least $1.5 trillion for the new infrastructure investment that our country so desperately needs. infrastructure investment wasn't a new idea for donald trump. they talked about it relentlessly on the 2016 campaign trail and promised new bridges and roads and tunnels and airports in his inaugural address. the $1.5 trillion price tag in a state of the union however was new, but since then, he's done almost nothing to make it a reality. we are going to rebuild america's crumbling infrastructure. congressional legislation has been nonexistent while infrastructure investment is something traditionally both parties could agree on, but there seems to be little interest in bipartisan cooperation right now. it's actually enshrined in the constitution up from time to time the president shall meet with congress to update them on his administration and progress and lack thereof, and it's

also one of the most watched political events of the year. every single american network will be tuning into this. millions of people around the country will be watching. of course, it has the added pecans that we never quite know what donald trump is going to say until it actually says it. jane o'brien reporting there from washington. in a moment the business news. first, the headlines. four children have died during the night in a house fire in stafford. a fifth child and two adults are recovering in hospital. the prime minister heads to belfast to try to reassure people there she can reach a brexit deal that avoids a hard border with the republic. actor liam neeson comes under fire after telling a journalist he once wanted to kill a black person, after a close friend was raped by a black man. hello. in the business news.

canadian firm sunrise records has bought 100 stores from the collapsed music chain hmv — beating a rival bid from sports direct owner mike ashley. the move secures nearly 1,500 jobs, but 27 stores will still close, with 455 redundancies. the flagship oxford street store will close, as will stores in manchester's trafford centre, sheffields meadowhall and glasgow's brayhead. activity in the uk's dominant service sector stalled last month, with new orders dropping for the first time in two and half years. the figures, which include restaurants, shops and banks, are from the closely watched ihs markit purchasing managers index. it follows similarly slow figures from the manufacturing and construction sectors which could be a sign of a cooling economy. losses at supermarket delivery chain ocado rose to £114.14 million last year, compared with a loss of £9.8 million in the previous 12 months. sales were up 12%. but there was no news on the reported tieup

between ocado and m&s for the delivery firm to offer online shopping and delivery of m&s food items. a shopping centre in kirkcaldy, fife, has been auctioned off forjust £310,000, after going on sale with a reserve price ofjust £1. the postings mall, in which 1a of its 21 shops lie vacant, is being sold by pension fund columbia threadneedle next month. it follows a spate of retail closures in the town as shopping increasingly moves online. james child is head of retail & indutrial research at e6 pound reserve. before we move on to talking about the shopping centre, quick question about hmv because that story about its flagship store closing in oxford street has just come out in the last few minutes. what's your reaction to that? i think the overriding theme

here is that it's gone through its biggest doors to reduce its biggest rent and rates. hmv did have 127 stores. it's the biggest in its destinations, so it's going to reduce its footfall in many respects, but when you are cost—cutting you do have to go after the biggest areas, so a surprise in many respects but when you look at it logically makes sense. let's talk about their shopping centre because of this is the same theme. their shopping centre was made famous i guess because it was put up for auction with a reserve price ofjust £1. it sold for £310,000, still not a lot of money for a massive shopping centre. no, it's not a lot of money. i was following the auction myself this afternoon and i expected it to go well above that, three or £4 million perhaps. i think

the price reflected perhaps shows whoever the purchaser is, and we don't know that at the moment, maybe sees a different life passed a shopping centre and maybe they are thinking about what they might actually do with it in the future. what does this tell us about the future of shopping centres, do you think? is itjust this particular one? well, you know, the bigger prime super shiny shopping centres like westfield are always going to be secure against what is happening in the economy. the same goes at the other end when you have service led shopping centres, often filled with supermarkets, hairdressers and things people need, but at the moment we are seeing a lot of pressure on those shopping malls being squeezed. perhaps higher va ca ncy being squeezed. perhaps higher vacancy rates than the rest and where you have direct competition with some of those big shiny shopping centres. what do you think

is going to happen to the shopping mall up is going to happen to the shopping mallup in fife? is going to happen to the shopping mall up in fife? ifi is going to happen to the shopping mall up in fife? if i was to hazard a guess, i would say it's going to certainly move away from retail. maybe not 100%, but the new owner may well take some of the retail out and re—purpose it with residential. new homes. it could be a demolition job altogether if the land value is worth more than the £300,000 they paid for it. ok, james, thank you very much indeed. ok,james, thank you very much indeed. in other business news. retail sales saw a "welcome improvement" last month following a dismal performance in december. the british retail consortium says sales were up 2.2% last month, compared to the same time last year. but the brc warned the upturn was mainly due to shoppers hunting bargains in the sales. alphabet, the parent company of google has reported a 22% rise in fourth quarter sales fuelled by an increase in online advertising. but investors were worried by how much the company was spending on new products and services and shares fell by more than 3%

in after—hours trading. a british pizza parlour has won a long running battle with a us energy drinks firm in a row over their names. monsta pizza from buckinghamshire successfully fought off a claim by drinks giant monster over the right to use the name. monster energy said consumers could be confused by the names and the pizza chain should stop using it. but a court rejected that claim. a brief look at the markets now before we go. the london market is up before we go. the london market is up1.3%. no information on the tie—up between marks & spencer is ricardo. back to you. thank you very much indeed. do you think you're optimistic, hard working, and enthusiastic? if so, you could be — a pig! today marks the start of the lunar new year and according to the chinese zodiac calendar, 2019 is officially

the year of the pig. let's take a look at the history behind the celebration. so, a long time ago there was a monster called nian. every year he would come to the village, eat the livestock, destroy all the crops. he wouldn't be seen until the next year of chinese new year. there was an old man one year, he scared the monster away. the monster was scared of three things, the colour red, fire and loud noises. my favourite thing about chinese new year is we get red notes with money inside it, and it's called "lai see". i would like £1 million. i really don't care. i want to spend my money on candy! laughter. different foods in chinese new year mean different things. for example, a tangerine means good luck. these pastries represent gold and fortune, because they're both

grown in the ground. this is a watermelon seed, it represents long life. my favourite thing about chinese new year is playing games with my friends. happy chinese new year! now it's time for a look at the weather. darren, you are telling me you were born the year of the rat? no, you are the rat. what are you? i'm an appropriately named monkey. of course, you should have guessed that one. i'vejust had my lunch and i was accused of pigging out so there you are. it's been a really slow morning across many parts of northern and eastern england. here in york it's been a foggy morning, quite cold, as well. milder air coming

been a foggy morning, quite cold, as well. milderair coming in been a foggy morning, quite cold, as well. milder air coming in slowly from the atlantic and it is thickening up this cloud which has already brought some rain, especially across northern ireland. the cloud wrapped around that deep area of low pressure anchored to the rest of us is throwing ahead these weather fronts, which is rest of us is throwing ahead these weatherfronts, which is where rest of us is throwing ahead these weather fronts, which is where we are getting the rain. there may not be much rain at all in eastern parts of scotland. here we have seen the best of the sunshine early on today but even that is tending to fade away. should be decent enough across the far north—east of scotland, the northern isles, cloudy across the south—east of england where we have rain elsewhere. could be heavy in north—west england but moving away from northern ireland where it is very mild. less so in north—east england after that slow start. through this evening, it looks like we are going to get some rain which could be heavy for a while but it does tend to move through so their skies will clear in most areas. enough of a breeze to prevent it getting to chilly, mind you, although temperatures won't be far from freezing in rural scotland and northern ireland. much milderfor southern parts of england and east anglia where there is more cloud

overnight. it will still be around on wednesday and threatens to bring some rain from time to time. some uncertainty about that. we will find the wind living in more showers to northern ireland, especially for western scotland where it will be heavy but elsewhere, in between, dry weather and some sunshine. a breezy mild today. temperatures, 8—11. overnight, things get messy. we have got a weather front bringing the rain toward the south—east. it combines with that one coming in from the west so wet weather overnight. it should mean it's not too cold overnight and we will start with rain on thursday morning, perhaps some snow over the high ground in scotland. it should not be long before that clears away another sunshine comes in and we will see some showers arriving in the west, heavy and sundry in western scotland, eastern scotland, the midlands, eastern england. a dry and sunny afternoon with temperatures lower and it will feel cooler and fresher but uncertain in the sunshine. towards the end of the week, we need to keep a check on

this fellow here. this area of low pressure steam on our way deepening all the while, which means the wind is picking up too. we have got some mild driving its way us into saturday. but it will be windy and the strongest likely to be in england and wales. 70 mph gusts across western hills and coasts and for all of the uk, we will see some thickening cloud and rain at times. hello, you're watching afternoon live — i'm carrie gracie. today at 2... four children die in a house fire in stafford — police describe it as heartbreaking. a fifth child and two adults are being treated in hospital. tragically, for young children have lost their lives in the fire, and i can confirm that the children were boys aged three, six and eight, and a girlaged boys aged three, six and eight, and a girl aged four. the prime minister heads to belfast, promising a brexit deal that will command broad support and avoid a hard border with the republic of ireland.

the actor liam neeson sparks a race row after saying he wanted to kill a black man because someone close to him was raped.