this is bbc news. these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. snow, ice and fog are causing widespread travel disruption in parts of the uk with hundreds of motorists and air travellers stranded. four children are in a critical condition in hospital after being rescued from a frozen lake near birmingham in the uk. the greek mep eva kaili is reportedly one of four people who have been charged in an investigation into suspected bribery at the european parliament. a man accused of making the bomb which destroyed a plane over lockerbie 3a years ago, killing 270 people, will appear in court in the united states later. new figures show the british economy shrank by 0.3% between august and october with the uk expected to be

in recession by the end of the year. nasa's uncrewed orion capsule has splashed down in the pacific, ending a three—week test mission to prepare the way for the eventual return of astronauts to the moon. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. heavy snow and low temperatures are causing serious disruption for many uk travellers this morning, particularly in the south of england. national highways is urging people not to drive unless it is essential, while stansted and gatwick airports suspended many flights. the runway at stansted has now reopened.

met office yellow warnings are in place across many parts of the uk, with temperatures expected to remain well below freezing. aru na iyengar reports. if strikes and the cost of fuel wasn't enough, there's a new challenge this winter. snow, ice and fog affecting roads right across the uk. kent bore the brunt last night. this was the m20. and the going was slow on the m21 with large tree branches falling onto the carriageway. around london, parts of the m25 came to a standstill. national highways urged drivers in the south—east not to travel unless it was essential. ten centimetres of snow was forecast for the region. and in cornwall, people were advised against all but essential travel. looking to this week, the aa says driving conditions are treacherous, and that drivers need to adapt to winter conditions.

it gave this advice. the first thing any driver should do before they set out is make sure that they clean the entirety of their windscreen. we don't want people driving around like a tank commander with just a little letterbox peek through the windscreen. they need to make sure they clear all that ice and indeed any snow at all as well off their car. and then they need to drive to the conditions. at the airports, no hope of a safari getaway here. this was heathrow airport where flights have been cancelled or delayed. at stansted, all flights were suspended after it was forced to close its runway. passengers are being advised to check with their airline before travelling to the airport. expect delays also on the rail network. it's touch and go whether there will be a full service. newspaper deliveries may also be delayed.

it will be tough going all week on all forms of transport according to weather forecasters. aruna iyengar, bbc news. let's speak to our correspondent, howard johnson, who's at london's euston station. hello. what is the situation that today? hello. what is the situation that toda ? . , ., , today? travellers here have been inconvenienced _ today? travellers here have been inconvenienced by _ today? travellers here have been inconvenienced by these - today? travellers here have been inconvenienced by these delays l today? travellers here have been| inconvenienced by these delays to train services. many train services here have either been delayed or cancelled. on the big boards with the departure boards, lots of signs saying delays of up to 20 minutes by even longer in some instances. some trains have been cancelled. tomorrow and the next day, on wednesday, there are planned train strikes and many trains are also being affected. i spoke to a spokesperson today and he said there had been some

short—term cancellations due to weather and sickness but they are doing their best. they have brought in a new timetable this week and they had brought in more staff to try to basically appease some of the travellers who had been facing a lot of disruption to services to the north—west this year and up to edinburgh, glasgow. we also met some international travellers who had had flights travelled from gatwick airport yesterday. three austrian businessmen told me they are now on their way to birmingham where they are hopeful they can take an austrian airlines flight back to their country. they were also concerned if they did not go today they might get caught up in the train strikes tomorrow. that sounds like an incredibly _ train strikes tomorrow. that sounds like an incredibly difficult _ train strikes tomorrow. that sounds like an incredibly difficult journey i like an incredibly difficultjourney for those visitors. any sense that fewer people are using the station today, that they are trying to avoid travelling entirely? i today, that they are trying to avoid travelling entirely?— travelling entirely? i met one coule travelling entirely? i met one coume who — travelling entirely? i met one couple who are _ travelling entirely? i met one couple who are trying - travelling entirely? i met one couple who are trying to - travelling entirely? i met one i couple who are trying to head travelling entirely? i met one i couple who are trying to head to birmingham this morning. they said they had been trying to get down to

london three times and had basically suffered from cancellations and strikes that have been going on this year. they say they are obviously very concerned about being caught up in another round of strike action this week but they said fortunately the train was about to depart and i caught them just as they were leaving. i had noticed about 100 people waiting outside the signs, at the moment, the departure signs, looking anxious about onward travel. once there are delays because of staff all points are presently signals are frozen, network rail said they are working on that and they are using snowploughs to clear they are using snowploughs to clear the snow. when there are disruptions when they need to knock on disruptions and we are likely to see that going on through the day here. you very much. bbc weather presenter nick miller has been telling me what the uk can expect this week. it has been a very difficult start to monday morning. several elements of that really, whether it's the snow that

fell over the weekend, which has produced very icy conditions, the heavy snow that fell last night into the first part of today across parts of south—east and eastern england. widespread travel disruption. freezing fog patches more widely across parts of england, wales and northern ireland and just a bitterly cold start as well. we've been hearing braemar in aberdeenshire —15.7 celsius, the lowest temperature the uk has had since february last year. for wales and northern ireland, —9, so the coldest night in wales and northern ireland since january last year. all of those elements combining to make it a tough monday morning. is there more snow to come? we're not expecting widespread snow to come but there will still be areas affected by snow showers at times this week. we've got snow showers falling across parts of the northern and western isles of scotland. we'll notice the wind turning more to a northerly and picking up once again, tuesday into wednesday. that direction will favour parts of northern scotland, northern sea coastal counties of scotland and england

—— north sea coastal counties of scotland and england for further snow showers. it could bring some disruption, that's why the met office has a yellow warning in force in the period from tuesday to thursday. i am not saying other showers couldn't be possible elsewhere, they might be. but with the flow coming down from the north, much of the uk will be dry and sunny but continuing cold. yes. how long will this really cold spell, cold snap last for? it's throughout this week. there are western fringes of the uk which will getjust above freezing during the day. more northern and eastern parts of the uk will see daytime temperatures struggling to get much above freezing if at all. we are talking further widespread and at times hard frost overnight, all the way into the weekend. on the current forecast, there are signs that milder air will try to push in at the weekend.

looks like it will have some success. we we're sitting here, if we were this time next week, —— as we're sitting here, if we were this time next week, it could be considerably milder. but i have to say, that transition to milder air coming in could well bring further snow for a time before it turns to rain. so all eyes on that transition, which is expected to get under way this weekend. the weather conditions affected people coming back from abroad — edmund o'leary had his return flight cancelled twice yesterday, after the airline rebooked him and cancelled in the same afternoon. yesterday, i was hoping to fly back to london gatwick on british airways and my flight was cancelled. as i expected, as the evening progressed, and british airways rebooked me that me on another flight today. but guess what? the rebooked flight is also cancelled. two cancellations in a very

short space of time. have you been given any indication of when you might actually be able to get back? the short answer is no. the longer version of that? the longer version is, i hope to have some idea, maybe this afternoon, this evening. can i just say that british airways does come in for a lot of flak but i have to say that on this occasion, they have come up trumps? they have looked after people at malta airport very well. that was my next question. are you being communicated with well and looked after? yes, you are. i am staying at a nice aparthotel called adagio, somewhere on the island of malta. the accommodation is taken care

of by british airways. the communication side is a bit poor. you know, often i have no idea what is going on. in terms of right now, i am being looked after well. and what sort of impact is this having on your plans, work or otherwise, that you were expecting to be back for? i work for a national charity called choice support, as an employment specialist. i was due back for work in london this morning at nine o'clock. it is fair to say i will not be at work today. i may not be at work tomorrow.

i have to say that my manager has been very understanding and the company has been very good about my situation. are you feeling a bit frustrated about the situation, or are you pragmatic, saying there is poor weather and this happens? to be honest, i am trying not to get stressed out about it. it is what it is. you know, heavy snow falling in london. you know. but, can ijust say a huge thank you to the british airways? i would imagine contracted ground crew at malta airport. they were under immense pressure last night. to produce the goods in terms of sorting out accommodation and transport. there were some fraught scenes

they were excellent. the eu economy commissioner, paolo gentiloni, says a corruption and money laundering scandal at the european parliament is seriously damaging the institution's reputation. belgian prosecutors have charged four people and seized more than $600,000. the inquiry centres on suspicions that a gulf state, reportedly qatar, tried to bribe people at the european parliament. doha has rejected the accusations. let's get more on this from our correspondent in brussels, jess parker. here are the people who have been charged? tell us more about the background. charged? tell us more about the background-— background. there was basically . uite background. there was basically uuite an background. there was basically quite an explosive _ background. there was basically l quite an explosive announcement background. there was basically - quite an explosive announcement by belgian prosecutors on friday, where they said that full several months they said that full several months they had been investigating all had suspected a gulf country, they didn't name qatar, of influencing or trying to influence economic and political decisions of the european

parliament, done by paying large sums of money, they said, or offering large gifts to third party that holds significant positions in the european parliament. and we had an update last night as she mentioned, that four people had been charged. we were told originally and six people had been arrested. among those charged it is reported to be either, a greek socialist mep, quite a well—known figure in the european parliament, a very well—known figure in greek politics as well. these allegations which qatar, the foreign minister has released a statement strongly rejecting. we have also contacted the office of eva kalley and have not heard back. worth saying the nation of corruption, there were always whispers of that around here but to see something, quite so far in the open, there were

16 rates of properties on friday. as she mentioned, they seized 600,000 euros encashment mobile phones, devices were taken as well. fix, euros encashment mobile phones, devices were taken as well. a ma'or investigation — devices were taken as well. a ma'or investigation coming d devices were taken as well. a ma'or investigation coming out into i devices were taken as well. a ma'or investigation coming out into the“ investigation coming out into the open. a number of political groupings have called for an urgent debate on this, is it happening? so debate on this, is it happening? sr this week meps are gathering down in strasbourg, where of course this will be a major topic of conversation and debate i think they will be talking about what has happened, lobbying rules and how that might apply to third countries from outside the european union. we are as well expecting some kind of statement as well from the president of the european parliament. she stripped eva kalli, this greek mep, of her palisades when of 1a vice presidency european parliament has. this has been spilling out over a number of days. as meps gather down

in strasbourg, of course this will be something they are talking about something effectively debated this week as well is whether there should be is a free travel for qataris as well. i think better that goes ahead is also now in question.— is also now in question. thank you very much- _ is also now in question. thank you very much. jessica _ is also now in question. thank you very much. jessica parker- is also now in question. thank you very much. jessica parker in - very much. jessica parker in brussels. figures from the office for national statistics show the uk's economy shrank by 0.3% in the three months to october, despite growing in final month of the quarter. the chancellor, jeremy hunt, said there was a "tough road ahead." i don't know whether inflation has peaked or not but i think it is likely to get worse before it gets better. this is a very, very challenging situation. more than a third of the world's economy is predicted to be in recession this year or next. we had a plan that the obr sensible more than half inflation over the next year. if we stay the course, we can tackle that high inflation.

our economic correspondent andy verity gave us a little more background on this in normal times that would be really good growth. if you had every month the economy were becoming like the clappers. actually it is quite artificial. it is a month on month comparison. in september activity was artificially reduced by the fact we all had an extra day off for the queen's funeral and meant less work got done, fewer goods and services produced are that meant the economy was artificially suppressed in september and it flattens the comparison between october and december. unfortunately a bit of a false dawn if you think that means we are in recovery. the three month figure you have been quoting is a more reliable indicator. some really interesting nuggets. there are some figures on how much energy we were using electricity and gas. according to anecdotal evidence, it has dropped quite a lot in octoberfrom the previous year, about 4%. partly because of the higher prices and

thatis because of the higher prices and that is putting people off buying it and obviously as well because of the economic situation we are headed into. figs economic situation we are headed into. . , , ., , economic situation we are headed into. a , ., ., into. as people go through the cost of livini into. as people go through the cost of living crisis, _ into. as people go through the cost of living crisis, what _ into. as people go through the cost of living crisis, what can _ into. as people go through the cost of living crisis, what can these - of living crisis, what can these particular figures of living crisis, what can these particularfigures mean for them of living crisis, what can these particular figures mean for them and for that situation?— for that situation? well, economic irowth for that situation? well, economic growth and _ for that situation? well, economic growth and what _ for that situation? well, economic growth and what happens - for that situation? well, economic growth and what happens to - for that situation? well, economic i growth and what happens to people's personal incomes, we sometimes think of them is the same thing, the economy is growing and we will get better. that is not true that'll. after the global financial crisis, later people got better off because they smashed mortgage looks super loud. anyone on a tracker mortgage had more money to spend but everyone got better off in the recession and worse off in the recovery. in the ten years since the global financial crisis, they had been some of the weakest will economic growth in a long time because if you have that economic growth, you can hope it is distributed when people get better and better. in the period 1945 to

about 2005 we could rely on the fact that every year are real incomes would go up. people get outraged about real terms pay cuts. now they have almost become the norm. we can now speak to yael selfin — chief economist at kpmg in the uk and a fellow at the national institute of economic and social research. good to happy with us. give us your take on this because, put them in for us. figs take on this because, put them in for us. �* , , ., take on this because, put them in for us. a ,, ., take on this because, put them in forus. a ., , ., take on this because, put them in forus. ., , ., for us. as you have 'ust heard, some ofthat for us. as you have 'ust heard, some of that bounce — for us. as you have 'ust heard, some of that bounce back— for us. as you have just heard, some of that bounce back in _ for us. as you have just heard, some of that bounce back in the _ for us. as you have just heard, some of that bounce back in the figures i of that bounce back in the figures were just because of the reversal if you liked of the bank holiday is that we had early on. we had a little bit more of an uptake also because we had more past sales, there were more cars in stock. also we had slightly stronger output from national, the nhs, because related to the vaccines and testing.

overall, it is still very much relatively weak background week environment, and we are expecting the economy to contract over the coming months and we are still expecting the economy here to be in recession at this stage, that would last... will last potentially until the end potentially up to 2023. haiai the end potentially up to 2023. how badly exposed _ the end potentially up to 2023. how badly exposed to all of this are households that are really struggling with the cost of living crisis, lower income households? there are a number of issues around it. part of it is the fact we have a squeeze on incomes, we still have information relatively high and it will take time for inflation to go back to the 2% target. wages are not going up on average by the same rate. households have less money and we also have a very tight monetary

policy. interest rates have gone up quite a lot, the cost of servicing debt, especially mortgages, will gradually rise, even for those on fixed mortgages. all of that means households are going to find it much harder to cope in the coming months. i spoke to a guest earlier, he said that actually, and this was in response to the question, is anything more that government can do right now it is not currently doing to try to boost economic growth? he said they could actually give people involved in industrial action some or all of the pay increases they are looking for. is that not in itself an inflationary pressure?- looking for. is that not in itself an inflationary pressure? what is our view an inflationary pressure? what is your view on _ an inflationary pressure? what is your view on that? _ an inflationary pressure? what is your view on that? i _ an inflationary pressure? what is your view on that? i think i an inflationary pressure? what is your view on that? i think the i your view on that? i think the government is in a difficult position because debt is already relatively high, the deficit is really high. they had committed

relatively... quite a lot of money still to support households about subsidising energy costs. what they could have done is to become more targeted even with that money and use some of the money they are spending at the moment to shield households, to make it more targeted and that will help those who need it most more than they can at this moment, without spending more money. other than that, in terms of pay increases, it is very difficult. when you think about especially the public sector, a big chunk of the public sector, a big chunk of the public sector, the pay increases they had seen compared to other parts of the economy at this stage is relatively low. they are experiencing a bigger squeeze on income. it is a time when the government is trying to control spending. so that it does not borrow more. there is no easy solution

here. �* more. there is no easy solution here. . ., more. there is no easy solution here. �* ., ., more. there is no easy solution here. . ., ., , ,, , ., here. and how do the pressures on the uk economy — here. and how do the pressures on the uk economy compared - here. and how do the pressures on the uk economy compared to i here. and how do the pressures on i the uk economy compared to pressures on other economies in europe, for example? the chancellor here earlier today reflecting on global pressures. today reflecting on global pressures-_ today reflecting on global nressures. ., ., ,., pressures. there are global pressures _ pressures. there are global pressures in _ pressures. there are global pressures in the _ pressures. there are global pressures in the sense i pressures. there are global pressures in the sense that| pressures. there are global. pressures in the sense that we pressures. there are global- pressures in the sense that we are seeing higher energy costs across many economies but especially in europe. europe is more exposed to higher gas prices in particular. that is due to the conflict between ukraine and russia. then the other headwinds, significant headwind, is the rise in interest rates that we are seeing across most economies because of the higher inflation. but that increase in interest rates is more... it is deeper and higher in countries like the us and the uk. we have higher interest rates in europe

and we are likely to see higher interest rates than in europe. that means more pressure here in an economy that generally is very sensitive to mortgage costs. thank ou ve sensitive to mortgage costs. thank you very much _ sensitive to mortgage costs. thank you very much for _ sensitive to mortgage costs. thank you very much for your— sensitive to mortgage costs. thank you very much for your thoughts i you very much for your thoughts today. you very much for your thoughts toda . . ., you very much for your thoughts toda . ., ,, i. as severe weather grips parts of the uk, four children are in a critical condition in hospital after being pulled from a freezing lake near birmingham. the emergency services declared a major incident at babbs mill park nature reserve in solihull after reports that a number of children had gone through the ice. we can show you these pictures. emergency vehicle still on the scene. it's thought they were playing in the area. the west midlands fire service say as many as six youngsters might have fallen in, but they're not expecting to find any more survivors.

the alarm was raised around 2:30pm yesterday afternoon, with the first ambulance arriving within seven minutes. firefighters and police officers went into the water to help pull the children out. one police officer is being treated for mild hypothermia and is said to be making a recovery after being taken to hospital "as a precaution." rescue teams have been working through the night. here's phil mackie with the latest. as light faded during the afternoon, the emergency services used every piece of equipment available to try to find anyone still missing. the lake had frozen and a group of children had been playing on the ice when first one, then others, fell through and into the water. police, paramedics and firefighters were all called just after 2:30pm and did all they could to save them. they pulled four out of the water. after being rescued, the four children were immediately assessed and actively treated at the scene by ambulance staff. all four children who were rescued were taken on blue lights to hospital, each within an enhanced

care team travelling in the back of the ambulance, providing advanced life support. locals gathered to offer their support, including a local church who provided hot drinks for the rescuers. we were quite upset to see so many men working relentlessly and itjust, you know, we could come back and offer some hot drinks to them. and we feel really upset about what has happened. the operation's gone on through the night and they've had to bring specialist equipment up here because the initial calls to the police mentioned six children. they don't know if that number was right, but they have to carry on the search just in case there's still somebody in the water. sadly, they say if there is, this is now regarded as a recovery, not a rescue operation. despite the appalling conditions, the search continues. phil mackey, bbc news, kingshurst. we just want to show you this image

from the nature reserve, from the lake which there is four children were pulled from yesterday. this is the nature reserve in solihull near birmingham and these are the pictures coming to us live with the emergency services still on the scene. josh sandiford, reporter with the birmingham mail, told us earlier about the latest updates from the scene. it is a bitterly cold day here in solihull. it is pretty quiet compared to yesterday. more than two dozen emergency services vehicles yesterday, a huge amount of resource poured into what looked like a desperate rescue effort. this morning far quieter. i arrived around seven o'clock this morning and it was quite eerie with the television crew setting up. no emergency services i could see.

specialist rescue teams had been working throughout the night. there was nothing here when i got here this morning other than tv crews and a few police officers looking after the scene and guarding what is quite an extensive cordon. we are waiting on more information. i appreciate there may not have been an update on the four children taken to hospital. all we know is that four children were taken to hospital in a critical condition and we have not been given an update on the condition. at a press conference yesterday emergency services were unable to provide any additional updates. we also know there are fears that two more people could be missing after emergency services received an initial report that six people had got into trouble and we have to wait. it is all unconfirmed.

the four children in hospital are in critical condition and we are waiting on an update. so shocking for the community. very shocking. yesterday was unlike anything i had ever seen. we had dozens of residents and neighbours on driveways looking out, trying to process what appeared to be really tragic news. we saw the community coming together and it was featured in your package, a local church came out to provide hot drinks for emergency workers and local residents. it is something that will have shocked this quite unremarkable part of solihull to the core. people will be hoping for the best but fearing for the worst. the really important safety message coming from all of this, it bears repetition about taking care around bodies of water like lakes, rivers in this weather. absolutely. that was one of the key messages the emergency services

sought to get across yesterday at the press conference. it might look inviting in these temperatures but people of all ages need to be really, really careful. i think it will really bring it home today seeing these tragic reports. we can do now is wait an update and hope for the best. twitter is relaunching its subscription service today, offering to verify accounts for a monthly fee of $8, about £6.50, or $11 for people using apple devices. the initial launch last month was suspended after a number of fake accounts paid for verification. let's get more on this from our technology reporter alasdair keane. hello to you are and what guarantee is there this time that fake accounts won't be able to apply for verification?— verification? well, when this was launched in _ verification? well, when this was launched in november, - verification? well, when this was launched in november, there i verification? well, when this was i launched in november, there were some people creating accounts, there

was a pharmaceutical company, announcing that insulin would be free, obviously it wasn't, there was major brands saying their rivals were better, again, obviously it wasn't. this time, twitter have said that if people create their accounts and they pay for the blue tip, then when they go to change the account name, which they will be able to do, they will lose the blue tip temporarily until it is verified again that it is them. it comes with again that it is them. it comes with a number of features, notjust the blue tip, people who subscribe will see fewer adverts, they will have their tweets amplified more, if there is a reply they might shoot to there is a reply they might shoot to the top of the thread about them. they will also get higher quality and longer video as well. so, twitter putting out quite a few different features to try and attract people to take on this product. one of the biggest will be that they can edit their tweets. this is something that has raised some concern, that if people were able to tweet something, it might get retweeted and made a favourite

by people and then it might get changed, however, twitter going ahead and giving the edit as an option. as you say, costing $8, twitter blue, about £6 50 per month, unless you have got an iphone, if you are trying to do this on an ipad or any apple device it will cost you slightly more, which is partly because elon musk thinks it is unfair how much apple charges companies when they are on the app store that apple has. fiend companies when they are on the app store that apple has.— store that apple has. and there has been iuite store that apple has. and there has been quite a — store that apple has. and there has been quite a lot _ store that apple has. and there has been quite a lot to _ store that apple has. and there has been quite a lot to react _ store that apple has. and there has been quite a lot to react to - store that apple has. and there has been quite a lot to react to since i been quite a lot to react to since elon musk took over, what has been the reaction to this specifically? i have been looking on my own the reaction to this specifically? i have been looking on my own twitter account to see if it has come up as an option for me and so far it hasn't. twitter said it would come alive on monday, that probably means it is more east coast america, so there are still a few hours to go, and at that point we will see how it works in practice.— works in practice. thank you very much, alasdair _ works in practice. thank you very

much, alasdair keane. _ abu agila masud is set to appear in court later after being arrested over the lockerbie air crash in 1988. he's accused of being the man who made the bomb that made the airliner explode above a scottish village 34 years ago. our north america editor sarah smith reports. just a few days before christmas in 1988, the town of lockerbie was suddenly engulfed in flame. pan am flight 103 was flying from heathrow to new york, from heathrow to new york when over south—west scotland a massive explosion in the cargo hold brought it down in seconds. all 259 passengers and crew died, most of them american, as did 11 others when wreckage fell on their homes. it remains the most deadly terrorist attack in british history. this is the man the us authorities accuse of making the bomb, abu agila mas'ud, seen here in libya where he had beenjailed for unrelated crimes. two years ago, the us attorney general formally charged mas'ud with making the device which brought down flight 103.

the american and the scottish authorities have always stressed that they would never stop trying to bring other people to justice. it was five years ago that the fbi learned that abu agila mas'ud had confessed to a libyan official that he had built the lockerbie bomb. now he has finally been arrested and is being extradited to the united states. this man died on the plane. his sister welcomes the prospect of a court case in the us. to know now that one of those who is involved in the bombing is coming to the us to stand trial and face justice through our legal system, i think that it is something that we have been fighting for, for over three decades, so i think there is a sense of finally justice for our loved ones. the only man to have been convicted of the lockerbie bombing, abdelbaset al—megrahi,

was jailed in 2001, but released eight years later and allowed to return home to libya because he was dying of cancer. some of the victims' families still have doubts about his conviction and about the arrest of mas'ud. it fills my mind with questions, really. first of all, why has it taken so long? secondly, what is he doing in america? this was a crime committed on scottish, well, above scottish soil, but which came to land on scottish soil, therefore it's the responsibility of the scottish legal system. with the prospect of a new trial looming, the 34th anniversary of the bombing will be commemorated quietly in lockerbie in a few days' time. sara smith, bbc news, washington. the cbs correspondent in new yorkjarred hill explains why has this charge been brought now after all these years and what's next in the process. there is, according to american authorities, here that really does tie masud to this attack, a lot of it based on fairly new evidence that came in around 2017. us officials says masud admitted to building the bomb during an interview that he did with libyan authorities after he was arrested for his part in a different plane bombing. american officials say they also have travel records that allegedly link him to the lockerbie bombing as well, so, all of that comes into play here. it was a flight that was headed back to the united states. of the 259 people on board

who were killed, more than 190 of them were americans, and the us and scottish authorities have also been working and co—operating pretty closely with this as well. now is the legal process for someone who allegedly physically built the bomb that actually ended up killing those hundreds of people back in 1988. so, there is going to be the beginnings of a trial that will happen here in the united states, he's going to be going into court i believe today for the first time, and then the legal process will move forward, there are a lot of family members of some of the victims of that crush who are saying of that crash who are saying that this really is a positive step forward for closure and for justice for them. the palestinian health ministry says a teenage girl has been killed during clashes between palestinians and israeli police in the city ofjenin, in the occupied west bank. the girl has been identified as 16—year—old jana zakarna. a palestinian news agency said israeli officers shot her in the head while she stood on the roof of her house.

israel's army said it was looking into the incident. the israeli forces said they arrested three suspects during the raid onjenin and that palestinians had fired at them during the operation. ministers will escalate contingency planning for forthcoming strikes with a meeting this afternoon of the emergency cobra committee. they'll discuss the deployment of military personnel and civil servants who are being trained to support the border force at ports and airports. other members of the armed forces are learning how to drive ambulances. the next three weeks to the new year resemble an advent calendar of disruption as nurses, transport workers, postal workers, baggage handlers and others have scheduled strikes. our political correspondent jonathan blake told us more about the strikes and the government's attempts to minimise them. i think they believe it will make a difference but there's nobody

at westminster who is pretending it's going to be a winter anything like as normal, with the level of strikes that are planned at the moment, as you were just outlining, there is going to be near daily disruption to various different sectors of the economy and people's daily lives as a result over the next few weeks. and that is why the government is stepping up, it says, its contingency plans to minimise that disruption, officials and ministers will meet today, this afternoon, at the cabinet office, there will be ministry of defence staff as well as health ministers, transport, the home office will be represented as well, and they're talking about the plans we've been reporting for military personnel to step in for border force staff at ports and airports and also several hundred military personnel visiting nhs trusts to familiarise themselves with ambulances before they are called upon to step in and drive them if those strikes go ahead. so, all that and more is part of the government's attempt to limit

the impact of these strikes but there is only so much they can do, as you suggest, and that is why there is, well, one reason labour and others are calling on the government to go further, in meeting unions and discussing, in particular, pay and weather there is any room for manoeuvre in particular, pay and whether there is any room for manoeuvre around what the government has offered, which at the moment is entirely in line with the offers put forward and agreements reached by the independent pay review bodies which are responsible for recommending pay settlements for various public sector workers. the government can change those or reject them if it wants to but it hasn't in this instance. let's have a listen to the health secretary steve barclay who was giving his reasons why the government didn't want to enter pay negotiations with the nurses unions in bbc breakfast a short time ago. i don't want to be taking money away

from leering the election backlog, which is what we would have to do, we would have to take money away from patients waiting for operations to then front additional pay. and if everyone on the public sector were to get an increase in line with inflation, that would be costing £28 billion, at a time when the government has to get inflation under control, because that is the biggest factor in terms of people's cost of living. so, that is the argument from the government, that if you pay nhs staff more, then the money has to come from somewhere and it would have an impact elsewhere in the nhs. they also make the argument, and downing street in particular, very clear, that offering above inflation pay increases to public sector workers risks making the problem of inflation worse in the longer term over and above the fact that they argue it's unaffordable and unreasonable at this point. nevertheless, labour saying it's

unforgivable that ministers are not willing to discuss pay with nurses' unions and others at this point, with those strikes looming and trade unions continue to hold out, making among other arguments that their workers have had below inflation pay rises for many years, meaning that in real terms, their pay has gone down. police injersey have said it is likely to take weeks to complete a search of the block of flats destroyed in an explosion in the early hours of saturday. five people are known to have died. officers believe four others are missing. danjohnson reports from st helier. this difficult work went on overnight, even though hope was gone of finding anybody alive. it wasn't possible to survive the impact of this explosion. and last night, the death toll increased again. we have now found five fatalities, an increase of two. and our working assumption is that there are probably four more. but you would understand why

i can't be completely precise about that number. this is what shook the island's capital at 4am on saturday morning, a huge explosion that completely destroyed the block of flats. firefighters had been called on friday night when residents smelled gas. that's now being investigated. but the priority is the families of those who are still missing. it is a search operation that is focused on clearly making sure we understand exactly what happened and how it happened to the best of our ability, but also, importantly, dignity. dignity for islanders and people's loved ones. it almost sounded like thunder, but really close. and it was just one kind of loud rumble. it's been really difficult for people here to take in what's happened. yolande lives nearby and was woken up by the noise. can you believe it now, seeing what's left?

it's just heartbreaking, honestly. iinei... — there's nothing there, you know? and seeing all the other houses with their windows blown out and doors and things, itjust makes it real, you know? the families of those who are still missing have been promised that the search operation here will continue until everybody is accounted for. but they've been warned that that delicate recovery and identification operation will have to be done slowly, carefully, and that may mean that it takes weeks, not days. the wait now is for news of those who are still missing and then the answers to what caused this and whether it could have been prevented. danjohnson, bbc news, injersey. motor neurone disease charities have given a cautious welcome to a long—awaited announcement of how millions of pounds of funding grants will be allocated. the government promised £50 million

last year and has today revealed how nearly 30 million of it will be spent with a promise to "fast track" the remainder to other research projects. it follows intense campaigning from charities and those living with the condition, including the former rugby stars rob burrow and doddie weir. will batchelor reports. five sportsmen whose passion and commitment on the pitch has been surpassed by a new level of courage against the cruellest of opponents. from the former rugby league star rob burrow, sharing his own personal challenges of living with mnd, to his great friend kevin sinfield, raising awareness and funds through extreme physical challenges. and the charity set up by the rugby union legend doddie weir. he died last month, but his legacy lives on. last year, along with other mnd campaigners, rob burrow and the former footballer

stephen darby travelled to downing street and convinced the government to commit to investing £50 million overfive years to help find new therapies and eventually a cure. but more than 12 months on, campaigners said the money had still not materialised. this was something the health minister was challenged on last week. what does very, very shortly mean? because patience is running out. within days, not weeks. days, not weeks. now the government has finally announced where nearly £30 million of the 50 will be going, including £8 million for early phase clinical research, £12.5 million to support frontal temporal lobe dementia research, and £6 million overall to join relevant research programmes together. the department of health is inviting mnd researchers to apply for a share of the remainder. the secretary of state's plans do fall short of an mnd research institute, which is what we're really looking for. but we are cautiously optimistic. there are some details that we would like to talk to the secretary of state about at the earliest opportunity. and people with mnd don't have time to wait.

half of them will die within two years of diagnosis, and we need a treatment and cure for this devastating disease. mnd is currently a disease without a cure, but the hope is that this funding will pave the way for a breakthrough. will batchelor, bbc news. zimbabwe is experiencing some of the country's worst power shortages in years with power cuts lasting up to about 18 hours a day. the latest crisis is caused by the forced reduction of power generation at a power station after a drastic drop in water due to drought. the bbc�*s shingai nyoka reports from harare. darkness in the capital amidst extended outages. workers at this factory waited out for the few hours of power. it should be noisy in here, not as quiet as we are. because there is no electricity, we can't do anything. urgent fuel and gas storage tank

orders could be delayed. we want to see a very fast situation, and not tomorrow, but yesterday. electricity is a very essential item in our business. maybe the authorities should act timeously so that we don't sink. outages are normal here, but rarely are they this severe. the coal—powered plant behind me is one of four in zimbabwe, and they are at the heart of this energy crisis. they are supposed to be the backbone of the great, but because of age, they keep breaking down. now, this one is close to 70 years old and currently it's producing nothing. zimbabwe is producing about 600 of the 2000 mw it needs every day. the situation is worsened by receding water levels at kariba hydro dam due to successive droughts. this is the future. and the present. and the present, for sure.

victor's solar plant is feeding into the grid. he knows how long it takes to turn power projects. to turn around power projects. to plan and build a power plant takes about a decade. these are the large projects that will have meaningful impact to dent into the shortage that we are facing. the struggle to light a fire to warm up food, as the rain and darkness approach. do you think the government can fix this? they can't. the situation is going tough and tough every day. i don't know what we are going to do. water levels are rising again at kariba. a long overdue 300 thermal unit will be commissioned in weeks, and more imports are on the way, according to authorities. it won't end power outages, but people here hope the lights will be turned back on in time for christmas. shingai nyoka, bbc news,

harare, zimbabwe. authorities in guatemala were forced to briefly cancel flights into its main international airport near the capital on sunday, following the eruption of a volcano. the eruption, which began in september, intensified on saturday night. a change in wind direction allowed the airport to reopen later. emer mccarthy reports. the sheer power of the fuego volcano up close spewing ash into the night sky. in spanish, fuego means fire and it is not hard to see how one of central america's most active volcanoes earned its name. come morning, the clean—up was under way, with streets blanketed by thick ash. but for most, it was business as usual as many locals have a bag of essentials on hand so they can evacuate for up to three days at the drop of a hat.

translation: we've got our 72 hour backpacks readyjust in case - of an emergency but we look at it as if it is normal. authorities briefly cancelled flights into guatemala's main international airport and closed a major road with the a major road near the capital guatemala city. fuego erupts roughly every four to five years. in 2018 more than 200 people living on the volcano's slopes were buried in a mixture of volcanic ash, lava and mud. authorities say they were monitoring the latest eruption closely but that no—one had been evacuated. emer mccarthy, bbc news. iran has carried out a second public execution linked to the nearly three—month wave of anti—government protests. the judiciary says majid reza rahnavard was hanged in the city of mashhad. he was convicted of stabbing

and killing two members of the security forces. the first execution linked to the protests took place on thursday. it was roundly condemned by western countries. nasa's uncrewed orion capsule has splashed down in the pacific, ending a three—week test mission. the flight prepares the way for the return of astronauts to the moon. our science editor, rebecca morelle, reports. after a million—mile journey through space, our blue planet comes into view. it's time for the orion spacecraft to come home. with images taken from the capsule just after it entered the earth's atmosphere, orion has travelled faster and hotter than any space vehicle has done before. the spacecraft about to go subsonic. a series of parachutes open, rapidly slowing the capsule down. three good main chutes for orion. and there it is. high over the pacific, america's new ticket to ride to the moon and beyond now in view. then splashdown. the artemis mission is complete. from tranquility base to taurus—littrow to the tranquil

waters of the pacific, the latest chapter of nasa'sjourney to the moon comes to a close. we are adventurers, we are explorers. we always have a frontier. and that frontier is now to continue exploring the heavens. three, two, one. and liftoff of artemis i. the mission blasted off in november from the kennedy space center on the most powerful rocket nasa has ever built. and over the course of 26 days, it performed a close flyby of the moon twice, capturing stunning images along the way, revealing remarkable detail of the lunar surface. the capsule also flew far beyond, further than any spacecraft built for humans. no people were on board this time, it's a test flight. instead, mannequins covered in thousands of sensors recorded data from the voyage.

and this is vital because the next step is to get astronauts on board and eventually land them on the moon. when you take, just like a test campaign, you take a bunch of small steps that add up to something amazing like this. exploration is not going away. humans have been exploring the earth for as long as humans have been on the earth. and we're going to continue exploring deep space. the capsule is now being recovered and taken on board a navy ship to be assessed by the mission team. they'll be poring over data to see how the spacecraft has fared. preparations are already under way forfuture missions, with new crew capsules being built. we can have a look inside orion's capsule to see what it's going to be like for the astronauts when the rocket eventually does have a crew. at five meters wide, that's more than 15 feet, it is big. it can accommodate

four people inside. in fact, there's more than twice as much room as the apollo astronauts had for their missions to the moon in the 1960s and 70s. roger, on that. we leave as we came, and god willing, as we shall return. it's 50 years since astronauts were last on the moon with apollo 17. their footprints are still preserved in the dust. no—one thought it would take so long to return. but now others may soon be making their mark, as the moon is within humanity's sights once again. rebecca morelle, bbc news. ajapanese space start—up launched a spacecraft to the moon on sunday after several delays. it's a step towards what would be a first for the nation and for a private company. i—space inc's mission took off without incident from cape canaveral in florida, after being postponed twice due to inspections of its spacex falcon 9 rocket. the company says it expects the craft to land on the moon in late april.

let's get some of the day's other news. italy's new prime minister has paid tribute to a friend killed when a man opened fire at a cafe in rome. giorgia meloni said nicoletta golisano was one of three victims who died. four others were injured, one of whom remains in a serious condition. the attack is not thought to have been political and a man is in custody after he was overpowered by other people at the cafe. there have been more protests in peru by supporters of the ousted left— wing president pedro castillo. at least two people died and several others were injured. mr castillo was impeached by congress on wednesday, by congress on wednesday after only 16 months in power. the new president has announced that general elections will be held two years ahead of schedule in april 2024. king charles and the queen consort have revealed their official christmas card for this year. the image they've chosen, released by buckingham palace, shows the royal couple

at the braemar highland gathering in early september. it was taken just five days before her majesty queen elizabeth died. you're watching bbc news. hello again. some of us started the day with some snow to day but all of us started off on a cold night, it was the coldest night of the year so far, with temperatures below —15 in the highlands. this week you can expect further icy stretches... because we are pulling in all this cold air from the arctic. you can see it here as we go through the week, it is not until the weekend that we start to see an atlantic influence coming our way so it will not be quite as cold. we still have some freezing fog across parts of central england. it will be thick

enough for some snow flurries here and there. further snow showers across northern and western scotland but for many areas we will see some sunshine but wherever you are is going to feel cold. this evening and overnight the freezing fog and cloud and snow flurries push up into north—west england. significant snow comes in across the far north of scotland. in between, under clear skies, the temperature will fall away quite rapidly. tomorrow we start off with this freezing fog across northern england, there will be a lot of cloud across southern england and wales and further snow showers coming in across scotland. wherever you are, once again it is going to feel cold but i want to draw your attention to this next area of low pressure waiting in the wings. in the middle of the week we

will drag in this cold, northerly wind so we will have improved visibility but there will still be wintry showers. some of those will be heavy across the north of the country. with gusty winds across the northern isles, there will be blizzards, some of them drifting down towards the north—east of england. that low pressure could bring some snow to the moors but it might move further south and affect the channel islands instead, so it is something we are keeping a close eye on. at the weekend, with the atlantic influence, temperatures start to rise.

a this is bbc news. the headlines at 11:00. four children who were rescued from an icy lake near solihull remain in a critical condition in hospital. search operations continue to determine if there was anyone else in the water. snow, ice and fog are causing widespread travel disruption in parts of the uk with hundreds of motorists and air travellers stranded. new figures show the british economy shrank by 0.3% between august and october with the uk expected to be in recession by the end of the year. the greek mep, eva kaili, is reportedly one of four people who have been charged in an investigation into suspected bribery at the european parliament.

the government will hold an emergency cobra meeting later on how to deal with planned strikes in the nhs and rail network a man accused of making the bomb which destroyed a plane over lockerbie 34 years ago, killing 270 people, will appear in court in the united states later. and in the cricket, a historic series win for england in pakistan their first series victory in country in 22 years. as severe weather grips parts of the uk, four children are in a critical condition in hospital after being pulled from a freezing lake near birmingham. the emergency services declared a major incident at babbs mill park nature reserve in solihull

after reports that a number of children had gone through the ice. it's thought they were playing in the area. the west midlands fire service say as many as six youngsters might have fallen in, but they're not expecting to find any more survivors. the alarm was raised around 2:30 yesterday afternoon, with the first ambulance arriving within seven minutes. firefighters and police officers went into the water to help pull the children out. one police officer is being treated for mild hypothermia and is said to be making a recovery after being taken to hospital "as a precaution". here's phil mackie with the latest. as light faded during the afternoon, the emergency services used every piece of equipment available to try to find anyone still missing. the lake had frozen and a group of children had been playing on the ice when first one, then others, fell through and into the water. police, paramedics and firefighters were all called just after 2:30pm and did all they could to save them.

they pulled four out of the water. after being rescued, the four children were immediately assessed and actively treated at the scene by ambulance staff. all four children who were rescued were taken on blue lights to hospital, each within an enhanced care team travelling in the back of the ambulance, providing advanced life support. locals gathered to offer their support, including a local church who provided hot drinks for the rescuers. we were quite upset to see so many men working relentlessly and itjust, you know, we could come back and offer some hot drinks to them. and we feel really upset about what has happened. the operation's gone on through the night and they've had to bring specialist equipment up here because the initial calls to the police mentioned six children. they don't know if that number was right, but they have to carry on the search just in case there's still somebody in the water. sadly, they say if there is, this is now regarded as a recovery, not a rescue operation. despite the appalling conditions,

the search continues. heavy snow and low temperatures are causing serious disruption for travellers this morning, particularly in the south of england. national highways is urging people not to drive unless it is essential, while stansted and gatwick airports suspended many flights. the runway at stansted has now reopened. met office yellow warnings are in place across many parts of the uk, with temperatures expected to remain well below freezing. aru na iyengar reports. if strikes and the cost of fuel wasn't enough, there's a new challenge this winter. snow, ice and fog affecting roads right across the uk. kent bore the brunt last night. this was the m20. and the going was slow on the m21 with large tree branches falling onto the carriageway. around london, parts of the m25

came to a standstill. national highways urged drivers in the south—east not to travel unless it was essential. ten centimetres of snow was forecast for the region. and in cornwall, people were advised against all but essential travel. looking to this week, the aa says driving conditions are treacherous, and that drivers need to adapt to winter conditions. it gave this advice. the first thing any driver should do before they set out is make sure that they clean the entirety of their windscreen. we don't want people driving around like a tank commander with just a little letterbox peek through the windscreen. they need to make sure they clear all that ice and indeed any snow at all as well off their car. and then they need to drive to the conditions. at the airports, no hope of a safari getaway here. this was heathrow airport where flights have been cancelled or delayed. at stansted, all flights

were suspended after it was forced to close its runway. passengers are being advised to check with their airline before travelling to the airport. expect delays also on the rail network. it's touch and go whether there will be a full service. newspaper deliveries may also be delayed. it will be tough going all week on all forms of transport according to weather forecasters. let's speak to our correspondent, howard johnson, who's at euston station in central london. what is the latest? here at euston train station. _ what is the latest? here at euston train station, we _ what is the latest? here at euston train station, we are _ what is the latest? here at euston train station, we are seeing i what is the latest? here at euston train station, we are seeing trafficj train station, we are seeing traffic delays on the departures board. there are delays and some

cancellations. i talk to a spokesperson for west coast. he said that there have been some short notice cancellations due to weather and sickness and we are see people are concerned because of the planned strikes by the transport unions. there is a sense that things are moving, we have seen lots of people moving, we have seen lots of people moving, rush hour is over and it is very cold. it is called under our feet but we have also seen in the last hour, just oil unfurling their banners. they were prevented from moving to another train station in north london so they popped up here at euston station and began an impromptu protest. they are now moving towards camden and they are showing their message to the government, to inflate britain. it

is currently one celsius here. there are strike starting _ is currently one celsius here. there are strike starting tomorrow, i is currently one celsius here. there are strike starting tomorrow, a i is currently one celsius here. there are strike starting tomorrow, a lot| are strike starting tomorrow, a lot of disruption this week for travellers, what are they saying about how they feel about all this? there is fear that if the delays keep getting pushed back, as we are seeing, people may be later on in the day will feel the real consequences of that. at the moment, people are getting on to other train services, they are being slightly inconvenienced but as the service backs up, there might be concern that the may miss the last train home, in which case they will have to make plans as to what to do next, given that the strikes will happen as planned. tomorrow and wednesday and then again at the weekend. thank ou.

i'm joined now by alexandra loseke, who was kindly taken into a pub after she became stranded last night. welcome, are you still in the pub? yes, we are still being fed and watered here by the wonderful team at the pub. tell watered here by the wonderful team at the nub. , ., watered here by the wonderful team at the u-b. , ., i. watered here by the wonderful team at the nub. , ., i. watered here by the wonderful team at the nub. , ., ,. , at the pub. tell us how you ended up there? i underestimated _ at the pub. tell us how you ended up there? i underestimated what i at the pub. tell us how you ended up there? i underestimated what snowl there? i underestimated what snow does to this — there? i underestimated what snow does to this country! _ there? i underestimated what snow does to this country! i _ there? i underestimated what snow does to this country! i should i there? i underestimated what snow does to this country! i should say, l does to this country! i should say, i did see the weather forecast and i was making my way back from folkestone to lewes in east sussex. having grown up in germany, i thought a bit of snow wouldn't do much harm, but it did. when we went it was getting very heavy and the first cars were breaking down in

front of us. initially, we all stopped and helped other cars then we realised that it wasn't going to work. we got stranded with about 40 or 50 other cars. on the isle third 265. fullabandon or 50 other cars. on the isle third 265. full abandon the car and went to the nearest pub and stay there forfour to the nearest pub and stay there for four or five to the nearest pub and stay there forfour orfive hours. lots of people coming in with small children. at about 9:30pm we had to leave, we weren't allowed to stay. the roads were treacherous, it wasn't safe to drive but we heard about another pub, where i am now. we heard that they were taking in stranded people and we didn't know whether to believe it. we came here, to milejourney whether to believe it. we came here, to mile journey from the other pub.

sure enough, pauline and her team welcomed us with open arms and made pub food and drinks and said we can all stay. we have a few rooms if you are happy to share. if you are happy to sleep on the floor in front of the fire, do come and stay. they were amazing. there were lots of people with small children, they put out blankets and mattresses, makeshift beds and it was fantastic. they made room at the inn and i am glad they took you and so many others in. thank you. we are hearing that three boys aged eight to 11 have died after being pulled from that icy lake in solihull. we knew that for children

have been rescued... this is terrible news, i'm sorry. they had fallen into the icy water, there were reports that six people had been seen and emergency crews were looking around at lake, having had those initial reports. the emergency crews got there within seven minutes. very sadly we have heard that three of those boys have died. let's talk to the local mp. i am let's talk to the local mp. i am 'ust let's talk to the local mp. i am just hearing — let's talk to the local mp. i am just hearing the _ let's talk to the local mp. i am just hearing the news - let's talk to the local mp. i am just hearing the news now, i let's talk to the local mp. i am just hearing the news now, it l let's talk to the local mp. i am | just hearing the news now, it is let's talk to the local mp. i —n just hearing the news now, it is a great tragedy. the whole community is in shock, i was talking to residents and it is hard to put into

words what i am feeling. as a parent, the whole community is going to be feeling this. my heart goes out to the families of those young children. my thoughts and prayers are with them. part of me was hoping for some good news... it'sjust very sad. is for some good news... it's 'ust very sad. , . . sad. is it clear whether there were six neo n le sad. is it clear whether there were six people on _ sad. is it clear whether there were six people on the _ sad. is it clear whether there were six people on the ice? _ sad. is it clear whether there were six people on the ice? not - sad. is it clear whether there were six people on the ice? not as i sad. is it clear whether there were six people on the ice? not as far. sad. is it clear whether there were l six people on the ice? not as far as i know. i six people on the ice? not as far as i know- i am _ six people on the ice? not as far as i know. i am only— six people on the ice? not as far as i know. i am only aware _ six people on the ice? not as far as i know. i am only aware of- six people on the ice? not as far as i know. i am only aware of the i i know. i am only aware of the four that were pulled out, in critical condition. yesterday, clearly there was a lot of information in terms of social media etc. the police were asking for information. at the moment there are only for children that they have pulled out the ice. it sounds like the emergency services did a fantasticjob getting there very quickly. it is

services did a fantastic 'ob getting there very quickly.i there very quickly. it is so sad, but they were _ there very quickly. it is so sad, but they were amazing, i i there very quickly. it is so sad, | but they were amazing, i heard there very quickly. it is so sad, i but they were amazing, i heard that one police officerjumped into the lake to try and save the children. and that is very heroic. they were suffering from hypothermia. a member of the publics did the same thing. i was out there for one half hours, it is so cold. they have been out there all night, my heart goes out to them. ., ., ., ,, ., , ., them. you are talking to us from the area, them. you are talking to us from the area. have — them. you are talking to us from the area. have you _ them. you are talking to us from the area, have you been _ them. you are talking to us from the area, have you been talking - them. you are talking to us from the area, have you been talking to i area, have you been talking to people there? i area, have you been talking to people there?— area, have you been talking to people there? i have spoken to a number of _ people there? i have spoken to a number of residents, _ people there? i have spoken to a number of residents, some i people there? i have spoken to a number of residents, some who l people there? i have spoken to a i number of residents, some who saw the tragedy unfold yesterday as all the tragedy unfold yesterday as all the emergency services turned up, others have come to pay their respect. i think everyone is just in shock, i spoke to the prime minister about 20 minutes ago, he also gave

his thoughts and prayers to the community, offered his support. i think the whole community will be reflecting on this for many years to come, we need to find a way to help those families that are affected. this is a very close—knit community and i will be working with them. have you had any contact with the families? ., , ., , families? not yet. i was giving the emergency — families? not yet. i was giving the emergency services _ families? not yet. i was giving the emergency services the _ families? not yet. i was giving the emergency services the time i families? not yet. i was giving the emergency services the time and i emergency services the time and space to do theirjob. i will be reaching out, i know the local school has closed. i am just processing the information that we have received.— have received. they are so young, there will be _ have received. they are so young, there will be a _ have received. they are so young, there will be a lot _ have received. they are so young, there will be a lot of _ have received. they are so young, there will be a lot of young i have received. they are so young, j there will be a lot of young friends that will have to take this in. you mentioned the school is closed, is that because of this? it is mentioned the school is closed, is that because of this?— that because of this? it is a very close-knit _ that because of this? it is a very close-knit community, - that because of this? it is a very close-knit community, is i that because of this? it is a very close-knit community, is not. that because of this? it is a very| close-knit community, is not yet

close—knit community, is not yet clear if those children were from that school but i think they did the right thing. itjust goes to reflect how the whole community will be feeling, everyone i have spoken to, just reflecting on the fact those children went out. you don't expect this to happen... clearly they were critical when they came out and we just received a very sad news. thank ou. that just received a very sad news. thank yom that was _ just received a very sad news. thank you. that was the _ just received a very sad news. thank you. that was the local _ just received a very sad news. thank you. that was the local mp. - just received a very sad news. thank you. that was the local mp. we - you. that was the local mp. we are bringing you this terribly sad news that three other children who fell into the icy water in solihull have sadly they were three boys aged ten, 11 and eight. they died after being ii and eight. they died after being pulled from that lake. the emergency services went there after four

children were rescued, they rescued those children from the lake. they were in critical condition in hospital and we havejust were in critical condition in hospital and we have just heard that three of them have sadly died. we will bring you a conference in 15 minutes. the headlines on bbc news... west midlands police say three boys aged 11, 10 and eight have died after being pulled from an icy lake in solihull on sunday. snow, ice and fog are causing widespread travel disruption in parts of the uk with hundreds of motorists and air travellers stranded. new figures show the british economy shrank by nought—point—three per cent between august and october with the uk expected to be in recession by the end of the year.

i have never seen l have never seen snow i have never seen snow like it, i left colchester, as soon as i hit the moto mac 25, it was chaos. there were many different parts where we were many different parts where we were stranded we didn't see any emergency services, we couldn't get to the roads. they were trying to help people, we were trying to get home safely. we had members of the public trying to guide each other, trying to ensure that we don't hit

each other. unfortunately there were lots of different crashes on the m25. there were lorries, that had crashed... it was absolute chaos. there was one stretch of the motorway which was junction 25 to 24, motorway which was junction 25 to 2a, we were at a standstill for over three hours on that stretch of the m25 there is nothing, there is no where to go to the toilet or keep warm. you are trying to turn the car on but that is going to drain your petrol, you don't know how long you will be stranded. i have never experienced anything like it it was very frightening. it experienced anything like it it was very frightening-— very frightening. it must've been very frightening. it must've been very stressful — very frightening. it must've been very stressful driving _ very frightening. it must've been very stressful driving in - very frightening. it must've been very stressful driving in those - very stressful driving in those conditions, trying to make sure you could get through a situation when

you didn't know how long it was going to go on for. you you didn't know how long it was going to go on for.— going to go on for. you 'ust couldn-t fl going to go on for. you 'ust couldn't move, * going to go on for. you 'ust couldn't move, you i going to go on for. you just couldn't move, you would l going to go on for. you just i couldn't move, you would try going to go on for. you just - couldn't move, you would try and move, all the cars were wheel spinning, it was madness, there is not much more you can say. luckily, we made it home safely, i'm sure there are others that didn't make it. we saw a lot of abandoned cars that had a lot of damage to them on the motorway. just stay at home people! the motorway. just stay at home --eole! ~ ., , the motorway. just stay at home heolek ., , the motorway. just stay at home --eole!~ ., , people! who else was in the car with ou? i had people! who else was in the car with you? i had my _ people! who else was in the car with you? i had my sister _ people! who else was in the car with you? i had my sister and _ people! who else was in the car with you? i had my sister and my - people! who else was in the car with| you? i had my sister and my mother. my you? i had my sister and my mother. my mother is severely disabled, sitting i2 my mother is severely disabled, sitting 12 hours in a car was not very good for her. she wasn't able to take her medication, we had no

water. she really struggled. did you manage to stay warm enough? well. manage to stay warm enough? well, ou t manage to stay warm enough? well, out to manage to stay warm enough? well, you try to stay _ manage to stay warm enough? well, you try to stay warm, _ manage to stay warm enough? well, you try to stay warm, do _ manage to stay warm enough? well, you try to stay warm, do you - manage to stay warm enough? -ii you try to stay warm, do you leave the car running or... you don't want a card to overheat, you don't want to run out of fuel. there were times when we had to turn the car off and just sit there and hope that something would happen soon. it was very tiresome, very cold i still haven't had any sleep, i am so looking forward to my bed. you can keep up with all the latest news online. you will find details of today's travel disruptions. do get in touch with us on twitter if you have a story that you want to

share. figures from the office for national statistics show the uk's economy shrank by 0.3 % in the three months to october, despite growing in final month of the quarter. the chancellor, jeremy hunt, said there was a "tough road ahead". i don't know whether inflation has peaked or not but i think it is likely to get worse before it gets better. this is a very, very challenging situation. more than a third of the world's economy is predicted to be in recession this year or next. we have a plan that the obr say will more than half inflation over the next year. if we stay the course, we can tackle that high inflation. our economic correspondent andy verity says that although the official figures show that economic output rose in the month of october, there is little cause for celebration. in normal times that would be really good growth. if you had every month the economy were becoming like the clappers. actually it is quite artificial. because it's a month on month comparison. in september activity was artificially reduced by the fact

we all had an extra day off for the queen's funeral and that meant less work got done, fewer goods and services produced and that meant the economy was artificially suppressed in september, so that flatters the comparison between october and december. unfortunately, a bit of a false dawn if you think that means we are in recovery. the three month figure you have been quoting is a more reliable indicator, down 0.3% there are also some really interesting nuggets. there are some figures on how much energy we were using, electricity and gas. according to anecdotal evidence, it has dropped quite a lot in october from the previous year, about li%. partly because of the higher prices and that is putting people off buying it and obviously as well because of the economic situation we are headed into. ministers in london will escalate contingency planning for forthcoming strikes with a meeting this afternoon of the emergency cobra committee.

they'll discuss the deployment of military personnel and civil servants, who are being trained to support the border force at ports and airports. other members of the armed forces are learning how to drive ambulances. the next three weeks to the new year resemble an advent calendar of disruption as nurses, transport workers, postal workers, baggage handlers and others have scheduled strikes. our political correspondent, jonathan blake, told us more about the strikes and the government's attempts to minimize them. i think they believe it will make a difference but there's nobody at westminster who is pretending it's going to be a winter anything like as normal, with the level of strikes that are planned at the moment, as you were just outlining, there is going to be near daily disruption to various different sectors of the economy and people's daily lives as a result over the next few weeks. and that is why the government is stepping up, it says, its contingency plans to minimise that disruption, officials and ministers will meet today, this afternoon,

at the cabinet office, there will be ministry of defence staff as well as health ministers, transport, the home office will be represented as well, and they're talking about the plans we've been reporting for military personnel to step in for border force staff at ports and airports and also several hundred military personnel visiting nhs trusts to familiarise themselves with ambulances before they are called upon to step in and drive them if those strikes go ahead. so, all that and more is part of the government's attempt to limit the impact of these strikes but there is only so much they can do, as you suggest, and that is why there is, well, one reason labour and others are calling on the government to go further, in meeting unions and discussing, in particular, pay and weather there is any room for manoeuvre in particular, pay and whether there is any room for manoeuvre around what the government has offered, which at the moment is entirely in line with the offers

put forward and agreements reached by the independent pay review bodies which are responsible for recommending pay settlements for various public sector workers. the government can change those or reject them if it wants to but it hasn't in this instance. let's have a listen to the health secretary steve barclay who was giving his reasons why the government didn't want to enter pay negotiations with the nurses unions in bbc breakfast a short time ago. i don't want to be taking money away from leering the election backlog, which is what we would have to do, we would have to take money away from patients waiting for operations to then front additional pay. and if everyone on the public sector were to get an increase in line with inflation, that would be costing £28 billion, at a time when the government has to get inflation under control, because that is the biggest factor in terms of people's cost of living. so, that is the argument from the government, that if you pay nhs staff more,

then the money has to come from somewhere and it would have an impact elsewhere in the nhs. they also make the argument, and downing street in particular, very clear, that offering above inflation pay increases to public sector workers risks making the problem of inflation worse in the longer term over and above the fact that they argue it's unaffordable and unreasonable at this point. nevertheless, labour saying it's unforgivable that ministers are not willing to discuss pay with nurses' unions and others at this point, with those strikes looming and trade unions continue to hold out, making among other arguments that their workers have had below inflation pay rises for many years, meaning that in real terms, their pay has gone down. the police are holding a press

conference by the lake at babbs mill park in solihull. three boys were taken to hospital but a short while ago three of the four boys, sadly died. those boys were between eight and ii four boys, sadly died. those boys were between eight and 11 years old. i spoke to the local mp who spoke of a close—knit community who are going to be pulling together to support the families, who obviously are having to process this worst of all news. and he also paid tribute to the emergency services, we understand that they were there within seven minutes. one member of the emerging services went into the water as did a member of the public.

very difficult conditions there to try and rescue those children. that lake frozen in these extremely cold temperatures. we are expecting to hear from temperatures. we are expecting to hearfrom police temperatures. we are expecting to hear from police shortly. temperatures. we are expecting to hearfrom police shortly. we temperatures. we are expecting to hear from police shortly. we will bring you that news conference when it begins. now it's time for a look at the weather. hello again. some of us have seen quite a bit of snow this morning and this cold weather is set to continue as we go through the rest of this week. we've also got still got some freezing fog across parts of southern england, a lot of clarity with the odd snow flurry coming out of it, but for much of scotland, northern england, wales and south—west england, we will see some sunshine. snow showers across parts of northern ireland, western scotland, and also continuing across the northern isles. through this evening and overnight, this bank of cloud and freezing fog with some snow flurries moves up towards north west england. with significant snow comes in across scotland and it's going to be a cold night with a widespread frost

and the risk of ice first thing. in rural areas, ten bridges could fall away as low as —10 in the highlands. tomorrow we've got the snow coming south across scotland, we might see some across the north sea coastline as well, still the freezing fog across northern england and a lot of cloud in the south but another bitterly cold day wherever you are. hello this is bbc news. the headlines. west midlands police say three boys have died after being pulled from an icy lake in solihull. the boys , aged eight, ten and ii , were thought to have been playing on ice in babbs mill park in kingshurst. a six—year—old boy remains in critical condition in hospital. snow, ice and fog are causing widespread travel disruption in parts of the uk with hundreds of motorists and air travellers stranded. new figures show the british economy shrank by 0.3% between august and october with the uk expected to be in recession by the end of the year.

the greek mep, eva kaili, is reportedly one of four people who have been charged in an investigation into suspected bribery at the european parliament. the government will hold an emergency cobra meeting later on how to deal with planned strikes in the nhs and rail network. our news correspondent, nick garnett, joins me now with the latest on this story. nick joins nickjoins us from the lake in solihull where three boys sadly lost their life, the boys were aged eight, ten, and ii. a six—year—old boy is sadly in critical condition. nick, what can you tell us? in a few moments time _ nick, what can you tell us? in a few moments time a _ nick, what can you tell us? in a few moments time a news _ nick, what can you tell us? in a few moments time a news conference l nick, what can you tell us? in a few| moments time a news conference is going to be held by paramedics,

police and the fire service. we are on site here from very soon after the tragedy happened yesterday afternoon. they were called around 2:30pm yesterday afternoon, they were told to come to this area, to the nature park surrounded by houses, it is a very busy area. a member of the public was able to film some video from a block of flats which is just opposite me and it shows the scale of the police operation, the ambulance operation, and later when the fire and rescue teams turned up, as officers ran down to the water, there was a hole in the ice and and they were leave to try and do what they could find the boys below the surface. when they were brought out, their hearts had stopped, they were taken to hospital, resuscitation was carried out here at the scene and also at the hospital but it proved fruitless in the end for three of the boys, an eight—year—old, a ten—year—old, and

an ii—year—old. we don't know at this stage whether anyone else was in the lake, there was talk yesterday night of two more people being brought up who were missing at the time. they were... there was a rescue operation for a while but because of the temperatures of this water, it's almost freezing, there was very high risk soon afterwards, it became a recovery operation and not a rescue operation. this morning, we have seen police officers and fire and rescue offices waist deep in the water trying to find anything on the bottom. trying to find what happened. they had been walking up and down the lake, here. it is quite a deep lake in parts but at the edges it is only something like waist deep so they have been in there trying to do that. we have just been told that the news conference is going to be held by the emergency services has now been put back to 12:30pm, so injust

the emergency services has now been put back to 12:30pm, so in just over an hour's time we will hear from the officers who were involved in a search, but it is a tragic scene here. people around me have been laying flowers, and people who live in the houses nearby have been looking, watching down at the lake, seeing what they can see from there. the tragedy. seeing what they can see from there. the tragedy-— the tragedy. absolutely dreadful. the tragedy. absolutely dreadful. the worst of _ the tragedy. absolutely dreadful. the worst of news _ the tragedy. absolutely dreadful. the worst of news for _ the tragedy. absolutely dreadful. the worst of news for those - the tragedy. absolutely dreadful. i the worst of news for those families who have lost their children. we are going to be hearing more from the emergency services at 12:30pm. what have people been saying to you? emergency services at12:30pm. what have people been saying to— have people been saying to you? it's 'ust the have people been saying to you? it's just the shock- _ have people been saying to you? it's just the shock. people _ have people been saying to you? it's just the shock. people simply - have people been saying to you? it's just the shock. people simply didn't| just the shock. people simply didn't expect this to be happening, they knew people love children were playing by the waters edge, the children had gone out, it hadn't been that cold for very long so that

ice was very thin. yesterday, it snowed in the area which actually raised the temperatures and there was a thaw so the ice became much thinner than anybody thought and when the children were on it there was no hope for them. it was going to give way. people here were literally standing staring and looking around, as i say, there is two blocks of flats probably about ten story flats nearby, and from those flats you can see the images of the police operation and the scale of it. it was huge. there were dozens and dozens of officers, there is a police station just five minutes away from here and so officers were able to come down but the fire and rescue were a little bit later and they are the ones that have the dry suits, they are the ones that are trained in rescuing people from situations like this. so, huge difficulty for them when they arrive, they had to get in the water, it was still light when this was happening but two hours later, while the operation was still going on, it was dark. lights were brought

out and they had been training on the lake all night as officers stood and watched to see what was happening. they weren't going in the water last night overnight because it was too dark and too dangerous but today, as i say, they have been out there again. a team of four offices in a dry suits and yellow high vis jackets wading through the water, trying to find if anybody else was in the lake at the time. thank you, nick. nickjust describing their that very difficult operation by the emergency services after the boys went into that icy water yesterday. we are going to be hearing from the emergency services in a news conference at 12:30pm. we will bring that to you life. police injersey have said it's likely to take weeks to complete a search of the block of flats destroyed in an explosion in the early hours of saturday. five people are known to have died, officers believe four others are missing. danjohnson reports from st helier.

this difficult work went on overnight, even though hope was gone of finding anybody alive. it wasn't possible to survive the impact of this explosion. and last night, the death toll increased again. we have now found five fatalities, an increase of two. and our working assumption is that there are probably four more. but you would understand why i can't be completely precise about that number. this is what shook the island's capital at 4am on saturday morning, a huge explosion that completely destroyed the block of flats. firefighters had been called on friday night when residents smelled gas. that's now being investigated. but the priority is the families of those who are still missing. it is a search operation that is focused on clearly making sure we understand exactly what happened and how it happened

to the best of our ability, but also, importantly, dignity. dignity for islanders and people's loved ones. it almost sounded like thunder, but really close. and it was just one kind of loud rumble. it's been really difficult for people here to take in what's happened. yolande lives nearby and was woken up by the noise. can you believe it now, seeing what's left? it's just heartbreaking, honestly. ijust... — there's nothing there, you know? and seeing all the other houses with their windows blown out and doors and things, itjust makes it real, you know? the families of those who are still missing have been promised that the search operation here will continue until everybody is accounted for. but they've been warned that that delicate recovery and identification operation will have to be done slowly, carefully, and that may mean that it takes weeks, not days. the wait now is for news of those who are still missing and then the answers to what caused this

and whether it could have been prevented. danjohnson, bbc news, injersey. motor neurone disease charities have given a cautious welcome to a long—awaited announcement on how millions of pounds of funding grants will be allocated. the uk government promised £50 million last year — and has today revealed how nearly £30 million of it will be spent — with a promise to "fast track" the remainder to other research projects. it follows intense campaigning from charities and those living with the condition, including the former rugby stars, rob burrow and doddie weir. will batchelor reports. five sportsmen whose passion and commitment on the pitch has been surpassed by a new level of courage against the cruellest of opponents. from the former rugby league star, rob burrow, sharing his own personal challenges of living with mnd, to his great friend, kevin sinfield, raising awareness and funds through extreme physical challenges.

and the charity set up by the rugby union legend doddie weir. he died last month, but his legacy lives on. last year, along with other mnd campaigners, rob burrow and the former footballer, stephen darby, travelled to downing street and convinced the government to commit to investing £50 million overfive years to help find new therapies and eventually a cure. but more than 12 months on, campaigners said the money had still not materialised. this was something the health minister was challenged on last week. what does very, very shortly mean? because patience is running out. within days, not weeks. days, not weeks. now the government has finally announced where nearly £30 million of the 50 will be going, including £8 million for early phase clinical research, £12.5 million to support frontal temporal lobe dementia research, and £6 million overall to join relevant research programmes together. the department of health is inviting mnd researchers to apply for a share of the remainder.

the secretary of state's plans do fall short of an mnd research institute, which is what we're really looking for. but we are cautiously optimistic. there are some details that we would like to talk to the secretary of state about at the earliest opportunity. and people with mnd don't have time to wait. half of them will die within two years of diagnosis, and we need a treatment and cure for this devastating disease. mnd is currently a disease without a cure, but the hope is that this funding will pave the way for a breakthrough. will batchelor, bbc news. the palestinian health ministry says a teenage girl has been killed during clashes between palestinians and israeli police in the city ofjenin, in the occupied west bank. the girl has been identified as sixteen—year—old jana zakarna. a palestinian news agency said israeli officers shot her in the head while she stood on the roof of her house. israel's army said it was looking into the incident.

the israeli forces said they arrested three suspects during the raid onjenin and that palestinians had fired at them during the operation. nasa's uncrewed orion capsule has splashed down in the pacific, ending a three— week test mission. the flight prepares the way for the return of astronauts to the moon. our science editor, rebecca morelle, reports. after a million—mile journey through space, our blue planet comes into view. it's time for the orion spacecraft to come home. with images taken from the capsule just after it entered the earth's atmosphere, orion has travelled faster and hotter than any space vehicle has done before. the spacecraft about to go subsonic. a series of parachutes open, rapidly slowing the capsule down. three good main chutes for orion. and there it is. high over the pacific, america's new ticket to ride to the moon and beyond now in view.

then splashdown. the artemis mission is complete. from tranquility base to taurus—littrow to the tranquil waters of the pacific, the latest chapter of nasa'sjourney to the moon comes to a close. we are adventurers, we are explorers. we always have a frontier. and that frontier is now to continue exploring the heavens. three, two, one. and liftoff of artemis i. the mission blasted off in november from the kennedy space center on the most powerful rocket nasa has ever built. and over the course of 26 days, it performed a close flyby of the moon twice, capturing stunning images along the way, revealing remarkable detail of the lunar surface. the capsule also flew far beyond, further than any spacecraft built for humans. no people were on board this time, it's a test flight. instead, mannequins covered

in thousands of sensors recorded data from the voyage. and this is vital because the next step is to get astronauts on board and eventually land them on the moon. when you take, just like a test campaign, you take a bunch of small steps that add up to something amazing like this. exploration is not going away. humans have been exploring the earth for as long as humans have been on the earth. and we're going to continue exploring deep space. the capsule is now being recovered and taken on board a navy ship to be assessed by the mission team. they'll be poring over data to see how the spacecraft has fared. preparations are already under way forfuture missions, with new crew capsules being built. we can have a look inside orion's capsule to see what it's going to be like for the astronauts when the rocket eventually does have a crew. at five meters wide, that's more than 15 feet, it is big. it can accommodate four people inside. in fact, there's more than twice

as much room as the apollo astronauts had for their missions to the moon in the 1960s and 70s. roger, on that. we leave as we came, and god willing, as we shall return. it's 50 years since astronauts were last on the moon with apollo 17. their footprints are still preserved in the dust. no—one thought it would take so long to return. but now others may soon be making their mark, as the moon is within humanity's sights once again. rebecca morelle, bbc news. iran has carried out a secondary execution, the first execution link

to the protest took place on thursday. it has been strongly condemned by western countries. west midlands police say three boys aged 11, ten and eight have died after being pulled from an icy lake in solihull on sunday. snow, ice and fog are causing widespread travel disruption in parts of the uk with hundreds of motorists and air travellers stranded. new figures show the british economy shrank by 0.3% per cent between august and october with the uk expected to be in recession by the end of the year. health sector workers from three of the northern ireland's biggests unions are on a 24—hour strike today — the dispute is over pay and conditions and it's the first strike in the health service since 2019. our ireland correspondent, chris page, is with us today to tell us more. what impact is the strike having? well, this is, as you have said, the

first strike in the health service here for three years. members of three trade unions are out on strike. unison, the northern ireland public service alliance, and the gmb union. the staff who have walked out include nurses, administrative workers, technicians, the health trusts who run hospitals or health care services here have said they are working with the unions to minimise disruption. it is the case that trade union laws prevent there being any disruption to life—threatening treatment, so for example, scans, surgery, they are going ahead. but there is of course going ahead. but there is of course going to be an effect on the operation in the health service in northern ireland today, such as the scale of the strike action. it is over pay and conditions. the northern ireland civil service who are in effect running northern

ireland at the minute because there is no fully functioning devolved government at stormont, there hasn't been since february, last week they announced a pay uplift for health care staff of at least £1400 each, the unions rejected that and say thatis the unions rejected that and say that is not enough because whenever you consider the rising cost of living, that very high inflation rate at the moment, that planned increase actually amounts to a cut increase actually amounts to a cut in wages in real terms.— increase actually amounts to a cut in wages in real terms. thank you, chris. with the cold weather and longer nights, its peak time for using energy. last night the national grid eso, the electricity operator for the uk started to prepare some of its contingency plans to help support the network. and with temperatures in the minus figures at the moment, many families will be worrying about rising bills. here's a reminder of some of the best ways to save money on your energy bills this winter. rachel stonehouse reports. lucy and georgia are third year students in cardiff and worrying about energy bills is a daily issue in their shared house. our bill comes through and we are like, oh,

my gosh, we need to stop. so it has really stopped us from putting the heating on, using the oven as much, you know, everything we would normally do has to be thought about now. but living in a really cold house for a long time can affect our physical health and our mental health. so what can lucy and georgia do to keep costs down? here are the bbc�*s five tips which could save as much as £500 a year on a typical energy bill. if you rent, you might need to check with your landlord first. one, turn the thermostat down to 18 to 21 celsius when the heating is on. two, consider reducing your boiler flow temperature to 60 degrees. three, turn your radiator valves down. turning down the radiators, not having them on full blast when we have the heating on was a new idea to me. other things you can do to keep your costs down — draught proofing your doors and windows.

keep your showers to under four minutes if you can. and you can also get an energy efficient shower head which costs around £10 to buy. for a girl, it's not realistic to have a four minute shower! but in the times we're in now, i feel as though we are going to have to try and do that. for washing your hair in stuff like that, it's going to be varied. research shows that younger people and those in shared housing are less likely to have made energy saving changes to their homes. so, will lucy and georgia make any of these permanently? i think it's something we can probably keep up. but at the moment, we have been finding it a bit more difficult. i think those sorts of tips would be quite useful. rachel stonehouse, bbc news. abu agila masud is set to appear in court later after being arrested over the lockerbie air crash in 1988. he's accused of being the man who made the bomb that made the airliner explode above a scottish village 34 years ago.

our north america editor sarah smith reports. just a few days before christmas in 1988, the town of lockerbie was suddenly engulfed in flame. pan am flight 103 was flying from heathrow to new york when over south—west scotland, a massive explosion in the cargo hold brought it down in seconds. all 259 passengers and crew died, most of them american. as did 11 others when wreckage fell on their homes. it remains the most deadly terrorist attack in british history. this is the man the us authorities accuse of making the bomb, seen here in libya where he had beenjailed for bomb, seen here in libya where he had been jailed for unrelated crimes. two years ago the us attorney general formally charged this man with making the device which brought on the flight. the american and scottish authorities have always stressed that they would never stop trying to bring other people to justice. never stop trying to bring other people tojustice. it never stop trying to bring other people to justice. it was five years ago that the fbi learned that the

accused had confessed to a libyan official that he had built the lockerbie bomb. he has finally been arrested and is being extradited to the united states. the only man to have been convicted of the lockerbie bombing was jailed in 2001 but released eight years later and allowed to turn home to libya because he was dying of cancer. some of the victims families still have doubts about his conviction and about the arrest of massoud. it fills my mind with questions, really, festival, why has it taken so long? secondly, what is he doing in america? this was a crime committed on scottish up above scottish soil but which came to land on scottish soil, therefore, it is the responsibility of the scottish legal system. the responsibility of the scottish legal system-— the responsibility of the scottish leaals stem. ~ , . ., ., legal system. with the prospect of a new trial looming, _ legal system. with the prospect of a new trial looming, the _ legal system. with the prospect of a new trial looming, the 34th - new trial looming, the 34th anniversary of the bombing will be commemorated quietly in lockerbie in a few days' time. sarah smith, bbc

news, washington. the cbs correspondent in new york jarred hill explains why has this charge been brought now after all these years and what's next in the process. there is, according to american authorities some new evidence here which really does tie to this attack. a lot of this based on some fairly new evidence which came in 2017. us officials say he had admitted to building a bomb during an interview with libyan authorities after he was arrested for his part in a different plane bombing. american officials say they also have travel records that allegedly link him to the lockerbie bombing and all of that comes into play here. it was a flight that was headed back to the united states. of the 259 people on board who were killed, more than 190 of them were american. the us and scottish authorities have also been working in cooperation with this as well. now, the legal process for someone who allegedly, physically built the bomb. that actually ended up killing

those hundreds of people back in 1988. there is going to be the beginnings of a trial that will happen here in the united states, he is going to be going into court, believed today for the first time, and then the legal process will move forward. there are a lot of family members of some of the victims of that crash who are saying that this really is a positive step forward for closure and forjustice for them. the eu economy commissioner, paolo gentiloni, says a corruption and money laundering scandal at the european parliament is seriously damaging the institution's reputation. belgian prosecutors have charged four people and seized more than 600,000 dollars. the inquiry centres on suspicions that a gulf state, reportedly qatar, tried to bribe people at the european parliament. doha has rejected the accusations. brussels correspondent jessica parker told us more. there was basically quite an explosive announcement by belgian

prosecutors on friday, where they said that for several months they had been investigating, or had suspected, a gulf country, they didn't name qatar, of influencing or trying to influence the economic and political decisions of the european parliament done by paying large sums of money, they said, or offering large gifts to third parties that hold a significant position within the european parliament. then we had an update last night, as you mentioned there, that four people had been charged. we had been told originally around six people had been arrested. among those charged, it's reported to be eva kaili who is a sitting mep, a greek socialist mep, quite a well—known figure in the european parliament, a very well—known figure in greek politics as well. these allegations, which qatar, by the way, its foreign ministry has released a statement strongly rejecting. we have also contacted eva kaili's office for comment, i haven't heard back yet from them. but these allegations swirling around brussels. i think, were saying that the notion of corruption, there are always whispers of that around here, but to see something come out quite so far in the open. there were 16 raids on properties on friday, and as you mentioned, they seized 600,000 euros in cash,

mobile phones and devices were taken as well, a major investigation coming out into the open. king charles and the queen consort have revealed their official christmas card for this year.x the image they've chosen — released by buckingham palace — shows the royal couple at the braemar highland gathering in early september. it was taken just five days before her majesty queen elizabeth died. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol. hello again. some of us started the day with some snow today but all of us started off on a cold note. in fact, we had the coldest night of the year so far. temperatures falling below —15 degrees in the highlands. this week, you can expect further icy stretches, snow showers,

freezing fog at times and widespread frost. we are pulling in all of this cold airfrom the arctic, you can see it's bathed across our shores as we go through the week. it not till the weekend we start to see an atlantic influence coming our way so it won't be quite as cold. we still have a lot of cloud and some freezing fog across parts of central england, the edge of that will erode as we go through the day but it will be thick enough or some snow flurries here and there, further snow showers across northern and western scotland, before the rest of scotland, the west of northern england, wales and the south—west, we will see some sunshine. wherever you are, it is going to feel cold. as we head on through the evening and overnight, the freezing fog and all of this cloud and some snow flurries push up through the northwest west midlands, into north west england. significant snow comes in across the far north of scotland. in between the clear skies, the temperature will fall away quite rapidly. it's going to be cold, we will have a widespread first, once again the risk of ice on untreated surfaces. in some sheltered glens temperatures could fall away as low

as —10. tomorrow, we start off with this freezing fog across northern england, there will be a lot of cloud across the rest of southern england and wales and further snow showers coming in across scotland. at times potentially clipping the coastline of north—east england. wherever you are, once again, it is going to feel cold. i want to draw your attention to this next area of low pressure waiting in the wings. as we head into the mid week period, we are going to drag in this cold northerly wind there will be improved visibility but still wintry showers. across the north of the country some of those will be heavy. we will see the totals mount up and with gusty winds across the northern isles there will be a business, some of them dressing down towards the north—east of ingrid. with that low pressure could bring some snow to the malls and parts of southern limb but equally it might move further south and affect the channel islands and france. it's something we are keeping a close eye on. as we head through the rest of the working week, you can see it remains cold. at the weekend with

the atlantic influence, temperatures start to rise.

this is bbc news. this the headlines: west midlands police say three boys aged 11, ten and eight have died after being pulled from an icy lake in solihull on sunday. it isa it is a great tragedy, the whole community is in shock. i was talking to residents and it is hard to put into words what they are feeling. as a parent, the whole community will be feeling this. snow, ice and fog are causing widespread travel disruption in parts of the uk with hundreds of motorists and air travellers stranded. the government will hold an emergency cobra meeting later on how to deal with planned strikes in the nhs and rail network new figures show the british economy shrank by 0.3% between august and october

with the uk expected to be in recession by the end of the year. and in the cricket, a historic series win for england in pakistan their first series victory in country in 22 years. three boys aged eight, ten and 11 have died after being pulled from an icy lake in solihull. a fourth boy, aged six, remains in a critical condition in hospital. the emergency services declared a major incident at babbs mill park nature reserve in solihull after reports that a number of children had gone through the ice. it's thought they were playing in the area.

the alarm was raised around 2:30 yesterday afternoon, with the first ambulance arriving within seven minutes. firefighters and police officers went into the water to help pull the children out. one police officer is being treated for mild hypothermia and is said to be making a recovery after being taken to hospital "as a precaution". rescue teams have been working through the night. our news correspondent, nick garnettjoins me now incredibly shocking news, three out of four of the children, all work pulled out, all in cardiac arrest. there is some interference there on the line. we will try to fix

that. earlier, i spoke to the local mp, saqib bhatti soon after news had broken of the three child deaths in the icy lake tragedy. i am just hearing the news now, it is a great tragedy. the whole community is in shock, i was talking to residents and it is hard to put into words what i am feeling. as a parent... the whole community is going to be feeling this. my heart goes out to the families of those young children. my thoughts and prayers are with them. part of me was hoping for some good news... it's just very sad. is it clear whether there were six people on the ice? not as far as i know. i am only aware of the four that were pulled out, in critical condition. yesterday, clearly there was a lot of information in terms of social media etc.

the police were asking for information. at the moment there are only for children that they have pulled out the ice. it sounds like the emergency services did a fantasticjob getting there very quickly. it is so sad, but they were amazing, i heard that one police officerjumped into the lake to try and save the children. and that is very heroic. they were suffering from hypothermia. a member of the public did the same thing. i was out there for one and a half hours, it is so cold. they have been out there all night, my heart goes out to them. you are talking to us from the area, have you been talking to people there? i have spoken to a number of residents, some who saw the tragedy unfold yesterday as all

the emergency services turned up, others have come to pay their respect. i think everyone is just in shock, i spoke to the prime minister about 20 minutes ago, he also gave his thoughts and prayers to the community, offered his support. i think the whole community will be reflecting on this for many years to come, we need to find a way to help those families that are affected. this is a very close—knit community and i will be working with them. have you had any contact with the families? not yet. i was giving the emergency services the time and space to do theirjob. i will be reaching out, i know the local school has closed. i am just processing the information that we have received. they are so young, there will be

a lot of young friends that will have to take this in. you mentioned the school is closed, is that because of this? it is a very close—knit community, is not yet clear if those children were from that school but i think they did the right thing. itjust goes to reflect how the whole community will be feeling, everyone i have spoken to, just reflecting on the fact those children went out. you don't expect this to happen... clearly they were critical when they came out and we just received a very sad news. thank you.

our news correspondent, nick garnettjoins me now with the latest on this story. it is the lake in which the boys died. ., ,., , ., died. there are some divers and olice died. there are some divers and police officers _ died. there are some divers and police officers in _ died. there are some divers and police officers in the _ died. there are some divers and police officers in the lake, - died. there are some divers and police officers in the lake, in - died. there are some divers and| police officers in the lake, in very cold water. eight few minutes ago they brought out a boat from the fire and rescue team to break the ice so they could carry on their search. the ice was not as thick as everyone thought it was. it had been cold for a few days and yesterday morning, children have been playing around the edges for a few days, yesterday morning there was some snow and that raise the temperature and that there was a quick thaw. the children went and played on it, it

is a popular playing area. the children went down and were on the ice when it broke. there is a police station just five minutes away so as soon as the alarm was raised, fire and rescue teams, ambulance and police came rushing down. i saw video footage from a block of flats and it shows the scale of the operation. it shows police officers running down to the lake, it shows fire and rescue teams going down and getting in the water. one police officer is suffering from mild hypothermia. he tried with the others to find the boys and bring them out of the water. four boys were brought out, and eight, a ten—year—old, and a six—year—old as well. they were in critical condition, they were resuscitated

and taken to two hospitals. they were treated there overnight. they were treated there overnight. they were described as critically ill and about 40 minutes ago, the police confirmed that three of them had died as a result of being in that water. there have been reports that two other boys are missing and people had said there were six people had said there were six people on the ice. we don't know if thatis people on the ice. we don't know if that is the case, at 1230 we will hear more from the police. the fact there are police officers in the water, the fact they have been breaking the ice and the operation continues, suggest they are taking it seriously that two other people could be in the water. the problem is, it is now almost 24 hours, there is, it is now almost 24 hours, there is no chance of anyone surviving in those temperatures. the fire and

rescue team see it as a recovery operation and not a rescue operation. the local mp said it was a close—knit community, what have people been saying? close-knit community, what have people been saying?— close-knit community, what have people been saying? there are houses alon: the people been saying? there are houses along the edge. _ people been saying? there are houses along the edge, there _ people been saying? there are houses along the edge, there is _ people been saying? there are houses along the edge, there is a _ people been saying? there are houses along the edge, there is a road - along the edge, there is a road around the lake and there is a housing estate, lots of houses around. lots of people live here. people look at it as a beauty spot, not knowing what tragedy was about to happen. people are in utter shock. it is silent shock, there are people bringing flowers down, close ljy people bringing flowers down, close by to us. the local councillors have been down, people want to be left alone, people want to try and work out what's happened. this is a close—knit community because, in all likelihood, the boys were local.

that will break peoples hearts. the local school is closed, they put a message out saying they would not open. we don't know if the boys all went to that local school. they have decided to shut. it could be for a number of reasons, the police have closed many of the roads to the road to try and keep the scene clear for emergency services. at the moment, we will hear more at 1230 from the police and the fire and rescue service. as he mentioned we will be hearing from police and we will bring you that conference when it begins. heavy snow and low temperatures are causing serious disruption for travellers this morning, particularly in the south of england. national highways is urging people not to drive unless it is essential, while stansted and gatwick airports suspended many flights. the runway at stansted

has now reopened. met office yellow warnings are in place across many parts of the uk, with temperatures expected to remain well below freezing. aru na iyengar reports. if strikes and the cost of fuel wasn't enough, there's a new challenge this winter. snow, ice and fog affecting roads right across the uk. kent bore the brunt last night. this was the m20. and the going was slow on the m21 with large tree branches falling onto the carriageway. around london, parts of the m25 came to a standstill. national highways urged drivers in the south—east not to travel unless it was essential. ten centimetres of snow was forecast for the region. and in cornwall, people were advised against all but essential travel. looking to this week, the aa says driving conditions are treacherous, and that drivers need to adapt

to winter conditions. it gave this advice. the first thing any driver should do before they set out is make sure that they clean the entirety of their windscreen. we don't want people driving around like a tank commanders with just a little letterbox peek through the windscreen. they need to make sure they clear all that ice and indeed any snow at all as well off their car. and then they need to drive to the conditions. at the airports, no hope of a safari getaway here. this was heathrow airport where flights have been cancelled or delayed. at stansted, all flights were suspended after it was forced to close its runway. passengers are being advised to check with their airline before travelling to the airport. expect delays also on the rail network. it's touch and go whether there will be a full service. newspaper deliveries may also be delayed.

it will be tough going all week on all forms of transport according to weather forecasters. health sector workers from three of the northern ireland's biggests unions are on a 24—hour strike today, the dispute is over pay and conditions and it's the first strike in the health service since 2019. our ireland correspondent chris page told us more. this is the first strike in three years. the unison and gmb union the staff that have walked out, nurses, technicians, support workers. the

trusts say they are working with the unions to minimise disruptions. there are laws in place that prevent disruption to life—threatening treatments, they are going ahead. there is going to be an effect on the operation of the health service in northern ireland, such is the scale of the strike. it is over pay and conditions, the northern ireland civil service who are in effect running northern ireland at the moment because there isn't a functional government at the moment. they announced an uplift of health care staff of £1400. the union said that wasn't sufficient, if you consider the high inflation rate at the moment, that planned increase amounts to a cut in wages in real

terms. the headlines on bbc news. west midlands police say three boys aged eight, ten and eleven have died after being pulled from an icy lake in solihull on sunday. snow, ice and fog are causing widespread travel disruption in parts of the uk with hundreds of motorists and air travellers stranded. health sector workers from three of northern ireland's biggest unions are taking part in a 24—hour strike in a dispute sport and a full round—up from the bbc sport centre. good afternoon. england's cricketers have beaten pakistan in a thrilling second test match in multan and take an historic series win needing 157 to win on the fourth day, mark wood stormed in with three wickets to wrestle back the initiative. victory by 26 runs gave england back to back wins — having only one two tests in pakistan in their history before

this year. awin a win was difficult. it couldn't have gone any better for us these first few games, another great game to be a part of. and england's women have continued their great form on their tour of the west indies — after winning their one—day series, they've won the first t20 match comfortably, by eight wickets. set a target of 106 to win in antigua, they reached it with more than seven overs to spare, opener danni wyatt top scoring with an unbeaten 59 from 34 balls. england captain owen farrell says the rugby football union's decision to sack eddiejones as head coach was "unbelievably disappointing" farrell had been a key players during jones' seven years in charge, and captained england to the 2019 world cup final. he says that the run of poor results this year is as much down to the players as the coach

it doesn't happen because of one person. it is everyone, and eddie has been a big part of england rugby for a long, long time now and he has been one of the best coaches i have ever had, and for that i'm massively thankful. as players we look at ourselves and see what we can do, and it is disappointing it has ended early. the rfu, governing body in england — says they're prepared to be flexible, in the hope of allowing wasps and worcester to secure places in the second tier of english rugby next season the rfu had previously given today as a deadline for those interested in buying the former premiership clubs, who both went into administration this autumn. they expect to have a decision ahead of christmas, which may allow worcester and wasps to start next season in the rugby championsip. you're up to date. we'll have another round up at1:30pm.

iam i am stranded in the pub, it is nice. , ., , ., , nice. tell us how you ended up there. i underestimated - nice. tell us how you ended up there. i underestimated what l nice. tell us how you ended up - there. i underestimated what snow does to this _ there. i underestimated what snow does to this country, _ there. i underestimated what snow does to this country, i _ there. i underestimated what snow does to this country, i did - there. i underestimated what snow does to this country, i did see - there. i underestimated what snow does to this country, i did see the l does to this country, i did see the weather forecast and was making my way back with my husband from folkestone to lewes in lovely east sussex, having grown up in germany i thought a bit of snow won't do much harm but it did. it was getting really, really heavy and the first cars were breaking down in front of

us, initially we stopped and helped other cars and then we realised it wasn't going to work and we got stranded with about 40 or 50 other cars. just outside their wash. we went to the nearest pub and stay there for four or five hours, went to the nearest pub and stay there forfour orfive hours, lots of people kept coming in with children. at about 930 we had to leave the pub, we weren't allowed to stay in that pub. the roads were treacherous, it wasn't safe to drive, we heard about another pub, this is the bear in, they were opening their doors and taking people in. we came here, two miles from the other pub and sure enough,

pauline and her team here welcomed us with open arms. they have made food and drinks and said that we could stay. and they had some rooms, if you are happy to share, you can sleep on the floor. they were absolutely amazing! there were lots of people with small children and pauline put out some blankets and mattresses, makeshift beds and it was fantastic. another person had to spend the night on the m25, a journey took 12 hours. we night on the m25, a 'ourney took 12 hours. ~ ~' ., night on the m25, a 'ourney took 12 hours. ~ ~ ., , ., , hours. we know the snow can be dangerous. _ hours. we know the snow can be dangerous, i've _ hours. we know the snow can be dangerous, i've never— hours. we know the snow can be dangerous, i've never seen - hours. we know the snow can bej dangerous, i've never seen snow hours. we know the snow can be - dangerous, i've never seen snow like it. i left colchester, when down the

age 12, as soon as i hit the m25 it was chaos. there were many different parts where we were stranded, we didn't see any emergency services, it was more like we were trying to help each other, everyone was trying to get home safely. we had members of the public trying to guide each other, push the cars, trying to ensure we don't hit each other. there were lots of crashes on the m25 there were lorries that crashed, it was absolute chaos. there was one stretch of the motorway which was junction 25 to 24. we were at a standstill for over three hours with nothing. there is nothing there,

there is no where to get a drink, go to the toilet, to keep warm. you are just cold. you turn the car on to keep the heat but that will drain the petrol. i have never experienced anything like it. it the petrol. i have never experienced anything like it— anything like it. it must have been very stressful _ anything like it. it must have been very stressful driving _ anything like it. it must have been very stressful driving in _ anything like it. it must have been very stressful driving in those - very stressful driving in those conditions, trying to make sure when you don't know how long the situation would last. you couldn't move, situation would last. you couldn't move. you _ situation would last. you couldn't move, you would _ situation would last. you couldn't move, you would try _ situation would last. you couldn't move, you would try and - situation would last. you couldn't move, you would try and move i situation would last. you couldn't i move, you would try and move and situation would last. you couldn't - move, you would try and move and all the cars are spinning, there is no control. it was madness. there is not much more you can say, luckily, we made it home safely. i am sure there are others that didn't make it home. we saw lots of abandoned cars, that had quite a bit of damage to

them. just dear home! who that had quite a bit of damage to them. just dear home!— that had quite a bit of damage to them. just dear home! who else was in the car? — them. just dear home! who else was in the car? i — them. just dear home! who else was in the car? i had _ them. just dear home! who else was in the car? i had my— them. just dear home! who else was in the car? i had my sister— them. just dear home! who else was in the car? i had my sister and - in the car? i had my sister and mother- _ in the car? i had my sister and mother- my — in the car? i had my sister and mother. my mother— in the car? i had my sister and mother. my mother is - in the car? i had my sister and| mother. my mother is disabled in the car? i had my sister and - mother. my mother is disabled and sitting 12 hours in a car was not good for her. she was not able to take her medication, she really struggled. did take her medication, she really stru: led. , , ., ., take her medication, she really strunled. , , ., ., ., , struggled. did she manage to stay warm enough? — struggled. did she manage to stay warm enough? you _ struggled. did she manage to stay warm enough? you try _ struggled. did she manage to stay warm enough? you try to - struggled. did she manage to stay warm enough? you try to stay - struggled. did she manage to stay i warm enough? you try to stay warm, ou don't warm enough? you try to stay warm, you don't want — warm enough? you try to stay warm, you don't want the _ warm enough? you try to stay warm, you don't want the card _ warm enough? you try to stay warm, you don't want the card to _ warm enough? you try to stay warm, you don't want the card to overheat, | you don't want the card to overheat, you don't want the card to overheat, you don't want to overheat, you don't run out of fuel sometimes you just had to turn the car off and hope that something will happen soon and there would be some movement. it was very tiresome, i still haven't had any sleep.

you can keep up—to—date with the latest news on our website. figures from the office for national statistics show the uk's economy shrank by 0—point—3 per cent in the three months to october, despite growing in final month of the quarter. the chancellor, jeremy hunt, said there was a "tough road ahead". i don't know whether inflation has peaked or not but i think it is likely to get worse before it gets better. this is a very, very challenging situation. more than a third of the world's economy is predicted to be in recession this year or next. we have a plan that the obr say will more than half inflation over the next year. our economic correspondent

andy verity says that although the official figures show that economic output rose in the month of october, there is little cause for celebration. in normal times that would be really good growth. if you had every month the economy were becoming like the clappers. actually it is quite artificial. because it's a month on month comparison. in september activity was artificially reduced by the fact we all had an extra day off for the queen's funeral and that meant less work got done, fewer goods and services produced and that meant the economy was artificially suppressed in september, so that flatters the comparison between october and december. unfortunately, a bit of a false dawn if you think that means we are in recovery. the three month figure you have been quoting is a more reliable indicator, down 0.3% there are also some really interesting nuggets. there are some figures on how much energy we were using, electricity and gas. according to anecdotal evidence, it has dropped quite a lot in october from the previous year, about 4%. partly because of the higher prices and that is putting people off

buying it and obviously as well because of the economic situation we are headed into. bringing you a news conference now. i will take some questions. fin i will take some questions. on behalf of everybody in the community and on behalf of the police, i would like to pass on our deepest sympathies at this time. the tragic circumstances yesterday afternoon, so close to christmas time, our sympathy is with the families who have lost loved ones in this incident. i would also like to say that we are supporting families, we have specialist trained officers who are linking in with the families to offer them as much support as we possibly can. we have also linked in with the local schools which the children attended, the schools are

also offering support to pupils who may wish to receive support at this awful time. may wish to receive support at this awfultime. our officers may wish to receive support at this awful time. our officers were quick to respond at the scene yesterday afternoon and having worked closely with our colleagues from other emergency services, went into the lake to help rescue the children and to try and assist as quickly as we possibly could. we have worked closely with our colleagues in the fire service and the ambulance service and this has been a joint effort. it is incredibly sad that we do not have any better news for you today regarding yesterday's incident. that is all i have to say at this moment in time. i will pass to my colleague in the fire service and then we will than two questions. we are deeply saddened by the death

of three _ we are deeply saddened by the death of three boys who were rescued by firefighters yesterday here at the lake in _ firefighters yesterday here at the lake in solihull. the boys death are a tragedy— lake in solihull. the boys death are a tragedy beyond words and the thoughts and sympathies of everyone here at— thoughts and sympathies of everyone here at the _ thoughts and sympathies of everyone here at the fire service are with their— here at the fire service are with their families, friends and the wider— their families, friends and the wider community. yesterday's incident — wider community. yesterday's incident is _ wider community. yesterday's incident is a reminder to us all about— incident is a reminder to us all about the _ incident is a reminder to us all about the dangers of open water, especially— about the dangers of open water, especially during winter months. frozen— especially during winter months. frozen lakes, ponds, canals and reservoirs— frozen lakes, ponds, canals and reservoirs can look picturesque but they can _ reservoirs can look picturesque but they can he — reservoirs can look picturesque but they can be lethal. there is no greater— they can be lethal. there is no greater warning than yesterday's events — greater warning than yesterday's events. we ask parents and carers to remind _ events. we ask parents and carers to remind children of the dangers of ice. remind children of the dangers of ice please — remind children of the dangers of ice. please help us prevent this happening again. we will continue to work closely with our colleagues and provide _ work closely with our colleagues and provide any— work closely with our colleagues and provide any support that we can at the scene —

provide any support that we can at the scene. again, we extend our heartfelt — the scene. again, we extend our heartfelt sympathies to everyone that has — heartfelt sympathies to everyone that has been affected by these deaths — that has been affected by these deaths. . , ., , that has been affected by these deaths. . , ., ., ., deaths. can you give us information rearardin deaths. can you give us information regarding the _ deaths. can you give us information regarding the ongoing _ deaths. can you give us information regarding the ongoing work- deaths. can you give us information regarding the ongoing work are - deaths. can you give us information | regarding the ongoing work are there people _ regarding the ongoing work are there people accounted _ regarding the ongoing work are there people accounted for? _ regarding the ongoing work are there people accounted for?— people accounted for? yesterday evenina people accounted for? yesterday evening we _ people accounted for? yesterday evening we had _ people accounted for? yesterday evening we had a _ people accounted for? yesterday evening we had a number- people accounted for? yesterday evening we had a number of- people accounted for? yesterday - evening we had a number of different reports suggesting numbers of young people may have been on the lake. those reports don't match the children that were rescued from the lake. however, we have to be100% certain that there is nobody else in the water at this time. it is important to stress that we have had no contact with anybody suggesting that there is anybody else missing, until we are 100% certain we will be carrying on searches throughout the course of today. how long do you expect to be here without finding anything? this

how long do you expect to be here without finding anything?— how long do you expect to be here without finding anything? as long as it takes. we've _ without finding anything? as long as it takes. we've got _ without finding anything? as long as it takes. we've got specialist - without finding anything? as long as it takes. we've got specialist crews l it takes. we've got specialist crews and equipment in the water that allows us to see what is in the water so we will be here for as long as it takes, until we are absolutely certain there is no one left. iflan certain there is no one left. can ou tell certain there is no one left. can you tell us _ certain there is no one left. can you tell us any _ certain there is no one left. can you tell us any more about the three boys, about their relationship, with a family, with a friends? that boys, about their relationship, with a family, with a friends?— a family, with a friends? at this moment in _ a family, with a friends? at this moment in time, _ a family, with a friends? at this moment in time, at _ a family, with a friends? at this moment in time, at the - a family, with a friends? at this| moment in time, at the families requests, we are not going to go into these details. we are working very closely with the family, in support of them, when the family are ready to release the details we will let you know. you ready to release the details we will let you know-— ready to release the details we will let you know. you keep referring to famil , is let you know. you keep referring to family. is it — let you know. you keep referring to family. is it the _ let you know. you keep referring to family, is it the same _ let you know. you keep referring to family, is it the same family? - let you know. you keep referring to family, is it the same family? i'm l family, is it the same family? i'm not aroin family, is it the same family? i'm not going to _ family, is it the same family? i'm not going to be — family, is it the same family? i�*rn not going to be commenting on that at this moment in time. inaudible we have been in touch with the local

schools, again, at the family's request we are not going to go into too much detail around names all the schools that their children want to. i'm not going to comment on the family's wishes.— i'm not going to comment on the family's wishes. there are reports that one of _ family's wishes. there are reports that one of the _ family's wishes. there are reports that one of the children _ family's wishes. there are reports that one of the children you - family's wishes. there are reports l that one of the children you rescued his leg had gone through the ice. git this moment in time, their families this moment in time, theirfamilies i have asked us to not release any further details. as soon as the families are happy, we will be able to release more information. hagar families are happy, we will be able to release more information. how are the family? — to release more information. how are the family? as _ to release more information. how are the family? as you _ to release more information. how are the family? as you can _ to release more information. how are the family? as you can imagine, - to release more information. how are the family? as you can imagine, the i the family? as you can imagine, the famil are the family? as you can imagine, the family are absolutely _ the family? as you can imagine, the family are absolutely devastated. i the family? as you can imagine, the family are absolutely devastated. at this time of year, the run—up to christmas, so close to the event itself, also adds to that tragedy but as you can imagine, the families are absolutely devastated which is why we are doing our very best to support the families. obviously, we

are abiding by their requests at the moment as to how much information the families want us to make available to the media. we are doing everything we possibly can to support them, i'm sure you will understand that we are led by the family's wishes as to how much information we can say at the moment. information we can say at the moment-— information we can say at the moment. ., . ., , ., moment. police initially went into the water to _ moment. police initially went into the water to help _ moment. police initially went into the water to help the _ moment. police initially went into the water to help the children, . the water to help the children, whether members of the public as well? just how great were those people. mr; well? just how great were those people- m— well? just how great were those --eole.... g ,., , ., people. my understanding is that es, people. my understanding is that yes. police — people. my understanding is that yes, police officers _ people. my understanding is that yes, police officers went _ people. my understanding is that yes, police officers went into - people. my understanding is that yes, police officers went into the - yes, police officers went into the water and were joined yes, police officers went into the water and werejoined by members yes, police officers went into the water and were joined by members of other emergency services. some of the officers went in waist deep, one of my offices was trying to punch through the ice to rescue the children themselves. that officer, as a result of that, had some mild hypothermia yesterday, and i am pleased to say that he has been released from hospital and he is

absolutely fine. in relation to, i'm sure you will understand, we are still trying to work through all of the details that came into us last night. we've got quite a few witnesses that we need to speak to and we are currently still working through that at the moment. i would like to take this opportunity to make an appeal that if anybody has any information or saw any of the events that took place yesterday afternoon leading up to this tragic incident, if they could go on to our west midlands police website, there are contact details on how to get in touch with us, and then officers will be in touch in due course. we are still trying to piece together exactly what happened leading up to yesterday afternoon's events. asi as i say, yesterday's incident is tragic, — as i say, yesterday's incident is tragic, everybody— as i say, yesterday's incident is tragic, everybody in _ as i say, yesterday's incident is tragic, everybody in the - as i say, yesterday's incident is - tragic, everybody in the community will feel— tragic, everybody in the community will feel that — tragic, everybody in the community will feel that. they— tragic, everybody in the community will feel that. they did _ tragic, everybody in the community will feel that. they did everything l will feel that. they did everything they could —

will feel that. they did everything they could under— will feel that. they did everything they could under the _ will feel that. they did everything i they could under the circumstances to get— they could under the circumstances to get into — they could under the circumstances to get into the _ they could under the circumstances to get into the water, _ they could under the circumstances to get into the water, to _ they could under the circumstances to get into the water, to rescue - they could under the circumstances to get into the water, to rescue ati to get into the water, to rescue at the four— to get into the water, to rescue at the four boys _ to get into the water, to rescue at the four boys and _ to get into the water, to rescue at the four boys and to _ to get into the water, to rescue at the four boys and to bring - to get into the water, to rescue at the four boys and to bring them . to get into the water, to rescue at i the four boys and to bring them out to the _ the four boys and to bring them out to the ambulance _ the four boys and to bring them out to the ambulance service _ the four boys and to bring them out to the ambulance service so - the four boys and to bring them out to the ambulance service so that i to the ambulance service so that they could — to the ambulance service so that they could receive _ to the ambulance service so that they could receive treatment. - to the ambulance service so that| they could receive treatment. you will appreciate. _ they could receive treatment. you will appreciate, they _ they could receive treatment. you will appreciate, they are - they could receive treatment. you will appreciate, they are deeply . will appreciate, they are deeply disappointed _ will appreciate, they are deeply disappointed by— will appreciate, they are deeply disappointed by the _ will appreciate, they are deeply disappointed by the news - will appreciate, they are deeply disappointed by the news that i will appreciate, they are deeply i disappointed by the news that we have lreen— disappointed by the news that we have been told _ disappointed by the news that we have been told today. _ disappointed by the news that we have been told today. it- disappointed by the news that we have been told today.— disappointed by the news that we have been told today. it sounds like the response _ have been told today. it sounds like the response was _ have been told today. it sounds like the response was quick, _ have been told today. it sounds like the response was quick, but - the response was quick, but inevitably, it takes an amount of time for emergency services to get here, can you give us an indication of how long the children were in the water? that of how long the children were in the water? �* , ., water? at this moment in time, i don't have _ water? at this moment in time, i don't have the _ water? at this moment in time, i don't have the answer— water? at this moment in time, i don't have the answer to - water? at this moment in time, i don't have the answer to that - don't have the answer to that question, the officers and other emergency services arrived as quickly as we were informed. at that time, the call which came into us was at 2:34pm. it was within minutes of the reports coming in that we arrived at the scene, but the exact time of the children sing exposed in the water, i do not have that information at this time. when you are riaht information at this time. when you are right on — information at this time. when you are right on the _ information at this time. when you are right on the scene, _ information at this time. when you are right on the scene, how- information at this time. when you are right on the scene, how long i information at this time. when you l are right on the scene, how long did it take to locate the children and get them out? for

it take to locate the children and get them out?— it take to locate the children and get them out? for the fire service, we arrived — get them out? for the fire service, we arrived on _ get them out? for the fire service, we arrived on the _ get them out? for the fire service, we arrived on the scene _ get them out? for the fire service, we arrived on the scene quickly - we arrived on the scene quickly alongside — we arrived on the scene quickly alongside our colleagues at the police — alongside our colleagues at the police and amylin service, it is a large _ police and amylin service, it is a large lake — police and amylin service, it is a large lake and it took some time to identify— large lake and it took some time to identify exactly where the point of entry— identify exactly where the point of entry was, — identify exactly where the point of entry was, but as soon as that was established, firefighters entered the water alongside colleagues and members _ the water alongside colleagues and members of the public in order to try and _ members of the public in order to try and rescue the children as quickly— try and rescue the children as quickly as— try and rescue the children as quickly as possible. inaudible the officers went straight in without regard for their own safety. they enter the water in the normal trousers and shoes like what i'm wearing today. they went in just as i am. wearing today. they went in 'ust as i am. �* , , ., wearing today. they went in 'ust as iam. �* , , ., ,. g, i am. are very similar picture for the fire service, _ i am. are very similar picture for the fire service, our— i am. are very similar picture for the fire service, our initial- i am. are very similar picture for| the fire service, our initial crews made _ the fire service, our initial crews made their— the fire service, our initial crews made their way straight into the water— made their way straight into the water in — made their way straight into the water in the normal firefighting kit and when — water in the normal firefighting kit and when the specialist water rescue teams _ and when the specialist water rescue teams came along, they enter the water— teams came along, they enter the water with— teams came along, they enter the water with different levels of ppe. do you _ water with different levels of ppe. do you have any more information

on... on. . . inaudible booing there are no injuries to firefighters i'd be made aware of. l firefighters i'd be made aware of. i don't at this time. as those firefighters i'd be made aware of. u don't at this time. as those details come through, at this moment in time, i don't have that information. was a child that survives the first one to be pulled out of the lake? young at the family's request i'm not going to go into details as to their children's _ not going to go into details as to their children's condition. - not going to go into details s: tr: their children's condition. at the families request, we are not going to divulge which hospitals the children went to.— to divulge which hospitals the children went to. whether children accompanied _ children went to. whether children accompanied by — children went to. whether children accompanied by adults? _ children went to. whether children accompanied by adults? at - children went to. whether children accompanied by adults? at the - accompanied by adults? at the families request, _ accompanied by adults? at the families request, i'm _ accompanied by adults? at the families request, i'm not- accompanied by adults? at the j families request, i'm not going accompanied by adults? at the i families request, i'm not going to release any further information around that until they are happy for us to release any further details. there is no suggestion of any criminal investigation at the

moment. ., criminal investigation at the moment-— criminal investigation at the moment. ., ., . , ,, . moment. from a policing perspective, our main concern _ moment. from a policing perspective, our main concern is _ moment. from a policing perspective, our main concern is to _ moment. from a policing perspective, our main concern is to support - moment. from a policing perspective, our main concern is to support their. our main concern is to support their families at this tragic time. we are not currently looking at any criminal investigation. thank you. thank you- _ criminal investigation. thank you. thank you. thank _ criminal investigation. thank you. thank you. thank you. _ criminal investigation. thank you. thank you. thank you. police - criminal investigation. thank you. thank you. thank you. police and | thank you. thank you. police and fire speaking _ thank you. thank you. police and fire speaking to _ thank you. thank you. police and fire speaking to reporters - thank you. thank you. police and fire speaking to reporters and - fire speaking to reporters and taking great care not to reveal any details beyond the very basic information at the request of the families. the police officer intermittently referring to a family and families, so it is not clear at this point whether those children were from the same family but those three boys that have died, aged eight, ten, and 11, there is a six—year—old remaining in hospital. we have had no detail about those children, obviously the families are

completely devastated. we heard there, they do not want any detail to be put out at this point. we had something of the rescue efforts, heroic rescue efforts, from the first police and fire officers at the scene going into the water in the scene going into the water in the clothes that they were wearing. no special equipment, just went into the water immediately to do their best to get those children out of the water. they are continuing... specialist officers are now continuing to search the water because there were reports that there may have been more than four children on the ice. we heard that there has been no indication to confirm that there are any missing children, there have been no other reports of missing children, but nonetheless, they will continue that search for as long as it takes to make sure that there are no other children still on that lake. let's go to our news correspondent, nick. a very difficult, delicate briefing

to the media from the police and the fire service, giving very little detail beyond what we know that, sadly, those three young children have lost their lives.— have lost their lives. yes, it is very much _ have lost their lives. yes, it is very much still— have lost their lives. yes, it is very much still an _ have lost their lives. yes, it is very much still an up - have lost their lives. yes, it is very much still an up and - have lost their lives. yes, it is - very much still an up and operation thatis very much still an up and operation that is carrying on. there is very little to say beyond the news that we know, of the three boys that have died and the one boy, the six—year—old, that is still clinging to life at the hospital at the moment. we don't know whether or not this is one family, whether all the children were in one family. the police officer in the investigation kept referring to family rather than families, but wouldn't be drawn on it. this close to christmas, it is an absolute tragedy. richard harris is the superintendent with the police, he talked through how officers had tried to run down to

the ice, they had seen what was happening and literally, theyjumped on in the close that they were wearing, no protective gear, no boots, no wellington boots, they justjump straight in to try and do what they could. they were breaking theice what they could. they were breaking the ice with their bare hands to try and get to the children and pull them out. by the time they did that, specialist rescue teams from that fire and rescue service had been brought in. they had more equipment and were able to get through and find the boys, pull them out, and start resuscitation work along with the paramedics who were on scene. that resuscitation started here, the boys were then taken to two hospitals and they more resuscitation efforts were made there. they were described as critically ill overnight but the news this morning was that three of the boys had died leaving just one boy alive. the reports yesterday also suggested that two other children may have fallen into the water as well. the police were at

pains to say they have no reports of anybody else missing. they don't have anyone saying their children aren't home. and yet, they are still searching today. they are down in the water at the moment. about 100 metres behind me, in wet suits and dry suits to try and keep the cold out as they go up and down the lake. it's a large lake as well. well over half a mile long. they are going through all of that area, round the edges of the area at the moment, but they will continue to work deeper. they have got specialist cameras, as well, and heat—seeking cameras, to try and find any sign of anybody else who is underwater. they have been bringing in boats to crack the ice because in some parts of the lake there is still ice there despite the thaw that's been going on. yet, there is no, as they say, there are no reports of anyone missing but they want to be absolutely, 100% sure. so that police operation and fire and rescue teams are still carrying on, working

in the water and will do throughout the day. in the water and will do throughout the da . . ., in the water and will do throughout the da. ., ,, i. in the water and will do throughout theda. ., , . it's been almost 10 months since russian soldiers invaded ukraine, but despite hundreds—of—thousands of reservists being called up, russia is no longer advancing in any meaningful way on the battlefield. president putin insists that russian soldiers on the ground are — as he describes it — "fighting brilliantly" and he calls them "heroes". but there are some who refuse to fight. we've heard testimony from servicemen, relatives and activists which suggests that some of them have been subjected to mistreatment, threats and even violence to try to force them back to the front line. our russia editor, steve rosenberg, has been listening to some of their stories. the official view from the kremlin is that russians believe their war in ukraine is a noble cause. one they are ready to die for.

but after ten months of fighting, not all the soldiers think that. sergei has agreed to tell me about his son, stas, an army officer. we have changed their names to protect their identities. deployed to ukraine, his son refused to fight. he told me it was a difficult decision for him to take, i told him, better to take it. this is not our war. it's not a war of liberation. i will put that in writing, that i refuse to fight, he said. he and several others who refused had their guns taken off them and were put under armed guard. sergei travelled to the front line in ukraine to try to secure his son's release. eventually, stas was sent back to russia, and revealed the full drama of his detention, how russian soldiers had tried to force him to fight. they beat him and then they took him outside as if they were going to shoot him.

they made him lie on the ground and told him to count to ten. he refused, so they beat him over the head several times with a pistol. he told me his face was covered in blood and then they took him into a room and told him, you're coming with us otherwise we will kill you. but someone there said, i'll take him to work in the storeroom. and there are other stories. these mobilised russian troops were locked in a cellar after they said they won't go back into battle. basements turned into dungeons for those who don't want to fight. human rights activists say cases like these reflect the pressure russian soldiers are coming under in ukraine from their own commanders. | translation: it's a way of waiting j people go back into that bloodbath. but it's not possible to force people to fight in a war. the commanders know only violence and intimidation. they are used to it. why are some russian soldiers in ukraine refusing to go back to the front?

in some cases, it is a moral decision. but for many others, having experienced the horrors of the battlefield, it is simply an attempt to stay alive. later, i speak to the mother of a russian lieutenant. she says he contacted her from ukraine to tell her he had been put in a basement after disobeying orders to advance. he was with four other officers. they hadn't been seen for five months. translation: l was later told i that the building they were in was shelled and that all - five men were missing. they said no remains were found. it doesn't make sense, it's absurd. the way my son was treated wasn't only illegal, it was inhuman. - russia has inflicted enormous suffering on its neighbour. it's threatening its own people, too.

my son told me, i never thought my own country would treat me this way. people here don't understand how much danger we are in, not from the opposing side but from our side. for this war, the kremlin is demanding total support. steve rosenberg, bbc news, russia. west midlands police say three boys aged eight, ten and 11 have died after being pulled from an icy lake in solihull on sunday. snow, ice and fog are causing widespread travel disruption in parts of the uk with hundreds of motorists and air travellers stranded. health sector workers from three of northern ireland's biggest unions are taking part in a 24—hour strike in a dispute over pay and conditions. with the cold weather and longer nights, its peak

time for using energy. last night the national grid eso the electricity operator for the uk, started to prepare some of its contingency plans to help support the network. and with temperatures in the minus figures at the moment, many families will be worrying about rising bills. here's a reminder of some of the best ways to save money on your energy bills this winter. rachel stonehouse reports. lucy and georgia are third year students in cardiff and worrying about energy bills is a daily issue in their shared house. our bill comes through and we are like, oh, my gosh, we need to stop. so it has really stopped us from putting the heating on, using the oven as much, you know, everything we would normally do has to be thought about now. but living in a really cold house for a long time can affect our physical health and our mental health. so what can lucy and georgia do to keep costs down? here are the bbc�*s five tips which could save as much as £500 a year on a typical energy bill.

if you rent, you might need to check with your landlord first. one, turn the thermostat down to 18 to 21 celsius when the heating is on. two, consider reducing your boiler flow temperature to 60 degrees. three, turn your radiator valves down. turning down the radiators, not having them on full blast when we have the heating on was a new idea to me. other things you can do to keep your costs down — draught proofing your doors and windows. keep your showers to under four minutes if you can. and you can also get an energy efficient shower head which costs around £10 to buy. for a girl, it's not realistic to have a four minute shower! but in the times we're in now, i feel as though we are going to have to try and do that. for washing your hair in stuff like that, it's going to be varied. research shows that younger people and those in shared housing are less likely to have made energy saving

changes to their homes. so, will lucy and georgia make any of these permanently? i think it's something we can probably keep up. but at the moment, we have been finding it a bit more difficult. i think those sorts of tips would be quite useful. rachel stonehouse, bbc news. nasa's uncrewed orion capsule has splashed down in the pacific, ending a three— week test mission. the flight prepares the way for the return of astronauts to the moon. our science editor rebecca morelle reports. after a million—mile journey through space, our blue planet comes into view. it's time for the orion spacecraft to come home. with images taken from the capsule just after it entered the earth's atmosphere, orion has travelled faster and hotter than any space vehicle has done before. the spacecraft about to go subsonic. a series of parachutes open, rapidly slowing the capsule down. three good main chutes for orion. and there it is.

high over the pacific, america's new ticket to ride to the moon and beyond now in view. then splashdown. the artemis mission is complete. from tranquility base to taurus—littrow to the tranquil waters of the pacific, the latest chapter of nasa'sjourney to the moon comes to a close. we are adventurers, we are explorers. we always have a frontier. and that frontier is now to continue exploring the heavens. three, two, one. and liftoff of artemis i. the mission blasted off in november from the kennedy space center on the most powerful rocket nasa has ever built. and over the course of 26 days, it performed a close flyby of the moon twice, capturing stunning images along the way, revealing remarkable detail of the lunar surface. the capsule also flew far beyond, further than any spacecraft built for humans. no people were on board this time, it's a test flight.

instead, mannequins covered in thousands of sensors recorded data from the voyage. and this is vital because the next step is to get astronauts on board and eventually land them on the moon. when you take, just like a test campaign, you take a bunch of small steps that add up to something amazing like this. exploration is not going away. humans have been exploring the earth for as long as humans have been on the earth. and we're going to continue exploring deep space. the capsule is now being recovered and taken on board a navy ship to be assessed by the mission team. they'll be poring over data to see how the spacecraft has fared. preparations are already under way forfuture missions, with new crew capsules being built. we can have a look inside orion's

capsule to see what it's going to be like for the astronauts when the rocket eventually does have a crew. at five meters wide, that's more than 15 feet, it is big. it can accommodate four people inside. in fact, there's more than twice as much room as the apollo astronauts had for their missions to the moon in the 1960s and 70s. roger, on that. we leave as we came, and god willing, as we shall return. it's 50 years since astronauts were last on the moon with apollo 17. their footprints are still preserved in the dust. no—one thought it would take so long to return. but now others may soon be making their mark, as the moon is within humanity's sights once again. rebecca morelle, bbc news. tributes have been paid to the british ballerina, dame beryl grey, who has died at the age of 95. she made her debut with

the royal ballet aged just 14, and later worked with the great russian dancer, rudolf nureyev. tim allman looks back at her life and career. one thing everyone admits about the russians, their ballet is the world's finest and the bolshoi theatre is its peak. so special was beryl grey, so talented, she became the first british ballerina to perform with the bolshoi in moscow. tall, charismatic and elegant, she commanded the stage, impressing every audience with her precision and her style. after hanging up her own ballet shoes, she became the artistic director of london festival ballet, later the english national ballet, instilling in her pupils the same discipline and rigour she had always possessed. all the dancers could see what they were working for, where they were going. that was important. so, they had a sense of purpose. tributes flooded in on social media.

the royal ballet describing her as: and english national ballet said she was a dedicated ambassador and talked of her: dame beryl grey was born in london in 1927. legend has it she gave herfirst performance in a local pub at the age of three. she made her official debut as a teenager and would go on to work with some of the greatest names in ballet. she once said she had been very lucky, it had been a lovely life, and dancing was a very personal expression of happiness. england's world cup may be over but

the lions have a new mascot returning with them. the team had previously promised to adopt the straight if they won and have stuck to the plan to bring him home despite saturday's quarter final heartbreak. now it's time for a look at the weather with carol kirkwood. hello again. some of us started the day with some snow today but all of us started off on a cold note. in fact, we had the coldest night of the year so far. temperatures falling below —15 degrees in the highlands. this week, you can expect further icy stretches, snow showers, freezing fog at times and widespread frost. we are pulling in all of this cold airfrom the arctic, you can see it's bathed across our shores as we go through the week. it not till the weekend we start to see an atlantic influence coming our way so it won't be quite as cold. we still have a lot of cloud and some freezing fog across parts of central england, the edge of that will erode

as we go through the day but it will be thick enough for some snow flurries here and there, further snow showers across northern and western scotland, before the rest of scotland, the west of northern england, wales and the south—west, we will see some sunshine. wherever you are, it is going to feel cold. as we head on through the evening and overnight, the freezing fog and all of this cloud and some snow flurries push up through the northwest west midlands, into north west england. significant snow comes in across the far north of scotland. in between the clear skies, the temperature will fall away quite rapidly. it's going to be cold, we will have a widespread first, once again the risk of ice on untreated surfaces. in some sheltered glens temperatures could fall away as low as —10. tomorrow, we start off with this freezing fog across northern england, there will be a lot of cloud across the rest of southern england and wales and further snow showers coming in across scotland. at times potentially clipping the coastline of north—east england. wherever you are, once again, it is going to feel cold. i want to draw your attention to this next area of low pressure waiting in the wings. as we head into the mid week period,

we are going to drag in this cold northerly wind there will be improved visibility but still wintry showers. across the north of the country some of those will be heavy. we will see the totals mount up and with gusty winds across the northern isles there will be a business, some of them dressing down towards the north—east of ingrid. with that low pressure could bring some snow to the moors and parts of southern england but equally it might move further south and affect the channel islands and france. it's something we are keeping a close eye on. as we head through the rest of the working week, you can see it remains cold. at the weekend with the atlantic influence, temperatures start to rise.

today at one, three boys have died after falling into a frozen lake in solihull, in the west midlands. they were aged eight, 11 and 12. police continue to search for other possible victims. officers went in waist—deep. one of my officers was trying to punch through the ice to actually rescue the children themselves. a fourth boy, aged six, remains critically ill in hospital. we'll have the very latest. also this lunchtime: snow, ice and fog leave travellers stranded, hitting roads, rail and airports. the uk economy shrank by 0.3% to october, with the chancellor

warning things will get worse, before they get better.