what do you make of these puzzles? i think they're really good. many of our students wouldn't have heard of gchq prior to this challenge, and understanding that in actual fact they have the skill sets to be able to go into such areas is really good for them. has this made you think about a career in that world? definitely, yeah. i've always been into, like, problem solving, criticalthinking, like, what you've got to do to solve things. that made me look at that side in much more detail. it is making me more interested in what this could lead to. hundreds of schools will be taking part in this challenge today. anyone initially bamboozled should take heart. in this classroom, what to many seemed mission impossible became mission accomplished. tim muffett, bbc news.

no mystery about the weather today. this picturejust no mystery about the weather today. this picture just shouts out cold! we do have more sunshine around across much of the country today. this is a bit hazy and misty across southern areas. we stay in cold air over the next few days into the start of the next few days and we have frost and ice to come in scotland. that is where we have seen most of the snow showers across northern scotland and they will continue through the rest of the day. windy for a while. wintry showers into northern ireland and the north sea coast towards norfolk. in land area seen some sunshine per temperatures really struggling up to around one or 2 degrees. we may lose around one or 2 degrees. we may lose a lot of the showers down the east coast of england but returning to scotland later. most of the snow continues in northern scotland and icy conditions and a widespread, sharp frost and mr low cloud and southern parts of england moving away by the end of the night.

temperatures widely at —70 minus eight degrees. most of the country has a dry day with injury sunshine. most of the snow will be in northern scotland. the wind will not be as strong tomorrow. we'll still be cold, temperatures perhaps around two or three degrees. northerly wind is easing over the next day also. into the cold air we have this weather system coming in from the atlantic and that could bring some disruptive snow to parts of scotland. lower level seeing a couple of centimetres to the hills, more than that and particularly to the north and central belt, could be as much as 20 centimetres on friday. elsewhere across the uk some sunshine and maybe if you wintry showers and again there is temperature struggling up to around two to 4 degrees. some changes in the weekend, saturday we are still in the wedge of cold air so another cold day on saturday. southerly

winds starting to pick up ahead of this weather system. that then ploughs its way into the uk, into the cold air. so much so we will find ourselves in snow on friday. it should tend to turn back to rain and the winds are strengthening and it is a south—westerly wind. that will bring milder air across the uk on sunday and push away the cold weather we have had over the past couple of weeks. quite a difference in temperatures from saturday to sunday. don't forget, there will be snow in northern areas. then we see the milder air coming snow in northern areas. then we see the milderair coming in snow in northern areas. then we see the milder air coming in with temperatures 14 degrees. for the run—up to christmas, you can keep up—to—date on all bbc weather app. that's it, so goodbye from me. now on bbc one, let'sjoin our news teams where you are. have a very good afternoon.

good afternoon i'm rebecca wood, it's just after 130pm and here's your latest sports news. the battle to claim a place in the final of the world cup comes to a head tonight as france play morocco. the current holders are hoping for back to back finals, but first they have to beat the surprise team of the tournament — who have become the first african side to reach the semi—finals. 0ur reporter alex howell is out in doha... lots to play for tonight then alex? yes there really is, and morocco are the surprise package of this tournament. they managed to top their group in the world cup, coming out on top of belgium and croatia, who made it into the other semifinal. then they have beaten spain and portugal in the knockout stages. it's even more impressive when you think that their manager has only been in charge forjust over three months. he has got the players together, playing for each other. they have a clear idea of what they are doing, and he said

they are in the semifinal and they are the best supported nation. he has been speaking about why he has been so happy to see so many fans in ohio. we have the best fans in the world. now the world can begin to know what is a moroccan fan. we are more than 20,000 people minimum. we can come to support us, the world cup can give a picture of the fans of morocco. 50 give a picture of the fans of morocca— give a picture of the fans of morocco. ., , morocco. so whoever wins the semifinal _ morocco. so whoever wins the semifinal tonight, _ morocco. so whoever wins the semifinal tonight, they - morocco. so whoever wins the semifinal tonight, they know. morocco. so whoever wins the i semifinal tonight, they know who morocco. so whoever wins the - semifinal tonight, they know who is waiting for them. lionel messi and argentina, and messi is looking to cement his legacy. whoever wins

between the current world champion and the underdogs, morocco, is sure to make the world cup final an even bigger story. well all that comes after argentina's convincing 3—0 win over croatia last night. after the game lionel messi suggested sunday's final is likely to be his last appearance at the tournament. so far the world cup is the only silverware that's eluded him. the legacy of maradona is there, and messi doesn't need to win the world cup to prove that he has been one of the greatest players of all time. it would be so good to see a picture of messi with the world cup trophy. some people, not from my generation, let's say my dad, they have seen the best of maradona.

i think kids these days in argentina, they all wear messi shirts. it would be so good to have the opportunity to have messy have the opportunity to have messi winning something with his national team. a security guard at qatar's lusail stadium has died after suffering a serious fall at the venue following argentina's quarterfinal win over the netherlands on friday. kenyanjohn njau kibue died after three days in hospital. he's the second migrant worker reported to have died since the start of the world cup last month. the stadium will host sunday's final. in a statement the organisers say they "send their sincere condolences to his family, colleagues and friends." and that they are "investigating the circumstances leading to the fall as a matter of urgency". adding "they will continue to provide further information pending an investigation and will ensure his family receive all outstanding monies owed." and in hockey, great britain's men's

team began their f.i.h pro league campaign with an emphatic 3—0 victory over defending champions the netherlands in argentina the goals came in an ii—minute spell across the second and third quarters. zach wallace scored the first and third goalfor team gb either side of phil roper�*s strike. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. that's bbc.co.uk/sport let's return now to the news that at least four people died after a migrant boat ran into difficulties crossing the english channel in the early hours. the home secretary, suella braverman, told the commons it was a "sobering reminder" of why the government needed to stop small boat crossings these are the days that we dread. crossing the channel in unseaworthy vessels is a lethally dangerous

endeavor. it is for this reason, above all, that we are working so hard to destroy the business model of the people smugglers, evil organised criminals who treat human beings as cargo. as the prime minister told the house only yesterday, it is not or unkind to want to break the stranglehold of the criminal gangs who trade in human misery and who exploit our system and our laws. he was right. this morning's tragedy, like the loss of 27 people on one november day last year, is the most sobering reminder possible of why we have to end these crossings. we recently agreed the largest ever small boats deal with france with more boots on the ground patrolling their beaches, uk and french officers working

together in both countries. the calais group of northern european nations works to disrupt trafficking and smuggling all along the migration route and has set an ambition for a uk eu wide agreement on migration. the shadow home secreatery —yvette cooper — responded the the home secretary, saying there has been a failure in stopping criminal gangs. it was barely more than a year ago that 27 lives were lost when a boat went down. all of us have warned, all of us have feared, that it was just a matter of time before more lives were lost. it is of course why the uk, and france, both need to act, to stop these dangerous boat crossings. the brutal truth as well, is that criminal gangs have made money from those lives that were lost today. they have profited as

people have drowned. day after day, week after week, people have drowned. day after day, week afterweek, criminal people have drowned. day after day, week after week, criminal gangs are putting lives at risk for money, and the other brutal truth is, that far from stopping those criminal gangs, those gangs have grown and grown. the uk and french governments and authorities have failed to stop the criminal smog and travelling king gangs proliferating. they have created £1 million industry with lives at stake, and the action against those gangs has been too weak. there have been barely any prosecutions or convictions, with barely any inroads into the smuggler gangs. the barely any inroads into the smuggler iians, ,, ., ., barely any inroads into the smuggler hans. ,, . ., ., barely any inroads into the smuggler ianis. ,, ., ., ., ,, . gangs. the shadow home secretary there.

it's now time for the stories making the headlines in newsrooms across the uk people living in kingshurst near solihull are calling for improved safety measures around a lake in which three boys died. the children, aged 8,10 and 11, died after falling into icy waters in babbs mill park on sunday. a six year old boy remains in a critical condition in hospital. midland's today's reporter joan cummins is in kingshurst for us this lunchtime... good afternoon. i have to tell you that the peeple — good afternoon. i have to tell you that the people here _ good afternoon. i have to tell you that the people here have - good afternoon. i have to tell you that the people here have been . that the people here have been discussing safety measures down here. we have been told that, years ago, down at this natural park in the centre of the estate come of age to be a warden who would patrol it. we have seen pictures of the lake, and it is quite large. some people are saying that it is too much to

expect people to fence it. despite that, local councillors are saying that, local councillors are saying that this tragic accident has forced them to think about improving safety in the area. i've heard some suggestions from the community even to have a fence over it, and enough signage, absolutely, and maybe a couple of cameras as well to protect the area. we are going to have a meeting about this situation and try to push the council to take measures for that. i have to tell you that i have been down here since monday, after the tragic events unfolded. at that time, there was one single bunch of flowers that was laid on the tree behind me. now, as you can see, there is a carpet of flowers. there are soft toys, balloons, and it's the messages. when you read the messages to the families who have

lost their sons, it really is heart—warming. we are in the middle of an estate, and the people on this estate have been nothing but welcoming and kind to the emergency services. but also to the media, who are here, trying to understand exactly what went wrong. earlier today i have spoken to people who say that they have already raised £4000, say that they have already raised £a000, which they will be donating towards the families. you will remember that, towards the families. you will rememberthat, on towards the families. you will remember that, on sunday, we heard of desperate attempts by police officers who went into the water to try to punch their way through the ice, to rescue the boys. now we are being told that those very officers are back on duty today.— being told that those very officers are back on duty today. thank you, life near solihull. _ scientists say a new technique could solve the mystery of an unknown woman found dead in a bolton cellar forty years ago today. nicknamed mary ellen,

the discovery led to one of the uk's first—ever facial re—constructions. but four decades on she's still not been identified. now combining dna analysis with genealogy could potentially reveal who she really was. bbc radio manchester's jane wilkinson has been investigating the case. here's her exclusive report: they called her mary ellen. but who she really was and how she died remains a mystery. it's tremendously sad. she met her end in that cellar, dank cellar, in december. she died in the. her fully clothed, partially preserved body was found in a cellar on bromwich street in bolton in december 1982, but she was wrapped in a newspaper dating from 1966. police still believe she was a homeless woman who died alone while seeking shelter. there was no signs of trauma. there's no signs of any

what we would call third party involvement in the death. but a crime reporter who covered the case suspect she was murdered. i think she met an unfortunate end and she was put in there by somebody who, as i say up to now, has got away with murder. police found an eternity ring, rosary beads, even a fingerprint. despite the appeals, no one came forward to claim mary allen. so police turned to a pioneering new technique facial reconstruction, using measurements from the real skull. a forensic artist created a likeness of her face with modeling clay. we reconstruct the soft tissue over the skull with the skull providing the matrix upon which the face, in fact, hangs. despite huge publicity, the reconstruction, one of the first of its kind, failed to achieve a breakthrough. but now there's new hope of finally identifying the woman who died in such sad circumstances. it comes from investigative genetic genealogy, a new technique using dna matches to create a family tree. then uncovering connections to the unidentified body.

i think the quickest case that i've worked on was solved in just under 18 hours. the longest case took about two and a half months, although a lot of the unsolved cases we've been working on for years. in recent years, millions of people have registered their dna on ancestry databases, so a large pool of material is available. the technique is not currently used in the uk, mainly because of concerns about privacy and consent. but now the home office has set up a pilot study to see if it could work here, potentially solving the mystery of mary ellen and hundreds like her. what we don't know how solvable a case will be until we get the dna data back. i'm optimistic that we would be able to identify mary ellen. jane wilkinson, bbc north west today. bolton. tenants near halifax are facing eviction after being told their landlord wants to sell the land to a supermarket chain. families were given two months

to find new homes at a time when the property market is slowing down for the christmas and new year period — despite having lived there for up to fourteen years. they're struggling to find homes they can afford. beth parsons has this report. we've grown into the house. this has always been the children's home. it's all been ripped away from us, and we've got to start again. anna has raised her three children in their family home for 14 years, but last month she was left a voice mail saying her landlord had given her two months to move out. that's because they're in conversations with lidl about turning this area of land off stannington road in greetland into a new supermarket. houses that have been looking at three bedrooms, even two bedrooms. they're practically double what i'm paying. i've even told the kids that christmas might not happen

this year because you've got to find a higher bond. you've got to find a higher rent, self employed manager of a spa. so if i don't work, i don't get paid. what do you think would help the situation for you now? just more time. and this home is one of five effective properties in this area of halifax. around the corner is steve, who's rented his home for ten years. i've loved the place, really. i've been really close to the community and family that lived close to it and a lot of friends. i've been really sad to go. i really want to stay in this area, you know what i mean? but unfortunately around here i can't. the prices are so high and the timing isjust terrible, you know? to, we're all suffering. and there's not much available at this time of year, you know? i mean, it's it's devastating, really. we tried multiple times to contact the letting agent and the landlord, john horsfall, but they refused to comment.

lidl did come back to us and confirmed they are exploring options to bring a new store to calderdale but do not currently own the saddleworth road site. they said they're in conversation with the current owners, but the timeline given to the residents is not a requirement of lidl. i think considering the time of year, i think the end of march would be ample time for them. but all they want is that extra time to be able to find somewhere else so they can actually stay here over christmas, enjoy christmas, and then start looking after christmas and packing up to go then. and that's all we want. the answer from the landowner is to turn around and say, yeah, we'll give you till the end of march. that's all we want. beth parsons, bbc, north halifax. just five percent of black adults and 20 per cent of black children in england are regular swimmers, according to recent figures. the black swimming association has been working hard to reverse that trend — and now it's picked up a national lottery award for project of the year. miriam walker—khan has been finding out more. only 5% of adults from african,

caribbean and asian communities in england swim. the black swimming association was set up to change that and to make the sport more diverse. now, the work they are doing is award—winning. we started off as four strangers, essentially. who had one vision which was to diversify the aquatic sector and make sure that people like us are more water safe and know what to do when they are in an emergency the water. so to grow so quickly over the last two and a half years to receiving this award, is just fantastic. the aquatic sector wasn't doing enough and we believe that there wasn't a space available for these types of conversations, these types of perspectives to be heard. so what are the conversations that need to be had and what are the barriers or stereotypes that mean there are so few black and asian people who swim? myths of bone density, of being better at running so stick to on—land sport. cultural modesty issues, particularly for south asian women.

you know, these are serious and valid issues. it is not something we can go, never mind that, just get in the water. they are things that we need to unpack and help people move past to get in the water. and although swimming competitively and for fun is a huge part of the bsa's work, there is also a more serious element. according to the world health organisation, the risk of drowning is higher in ethnic minority communities. learning how to swim and being safe in the water is a life—saving skill. knowing what to do if you or a friend of yours are in water and in danger to save a life, knowing who to call, whether that is the coastguard or whether that is the fire service, depending on which part of the country are in can also contribute to saving a life. so all of this knowledge, we are trying to raise awareness of can make a difference between somebody coming home and somebody not coming home. when we get adults in the water and learning to swim, and we are talking about people

who have had serious trauma, like nearly drowning when they were younger, being too afraid to put their face in water whilst having a shower, it is just about water familiarisation, feeling comfortable in the environment and understanding what it feels like. and, eventually, they do end up in a place where they are learning to swim. it is clear that the bsa is changing people's lives, and the fact that the public voted for this award shows just how much their work is valued. miriam walker—khan, bbc news. cows belch huge amounts of methane — which contributes to global warming — but the problem can be massively reduced with just a pinch of dried seaweed in their feed, as paul murphy reports. as they munch through their winter feed, these lincoln reds are blissfully unaware

of the consequences. it is mainly when they burp that the planet gets more unwanted methane. a lot of people don't realise that methane is 85 times more harmful than c02, and a cow burps enough methane each year — equivalent to a car. methane levels in our atmosphere, seen here in red, are increasing by 1% every year. the gas absorbs heat from the sun and that causes global warming. luke has been working with scientists in scotland to develop a special type of seaweed that reacts in a cow's stomach to reduce emissions. it is creating huge interest in an industry increasingly conscious of its impact on the planet. farming is probably responsible for around 30 plus percent of the global greenhouse emissions, so, therefore, anything we can do to tackle those emissions is really important. 0bviously, livestock is a big part of that. just a sprinkling is enough to make these burping cattle more eco—friendly. that is what is amazing, something so small can have a massive impact. that is what is key, really.

we don't want to have tonnes and tonnes of this because, obviously, you want it to be sustainable in both ways. the idea is that we want to incorporate as minimal amount as possible to be able to reduce the emissions they burp. the former university of lincoln student is now trying to scale up his business. he is hoping to use what is called carbon offsetting to eventually offer the seaweed for free to livestock farmers. paul murphy, bbc news, lincoln. more news and sport coming up. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett another cold day for us today, still some cloud in southern parts but has been more sunshine around elsewhere. over the next few days we will continue to see some sunshine. it is going to be cold, frosty, and potentially icy. most of those snow showers

will continue to pile in across northern parts of scotland, where at the moment we still have strong winds. significant falls over the hills. a few wintry showers coming in to northern ireland, may be running into north—eastern parts of england. this is where we like to find some icy conditions. mist and fog for a while in the midlands, likely clearing by the end of the night, and with clear skies, temperatures will be down to —7 in glasgow. some winter sunshine though for many others, and a dry day as well, but a few wintry showers keep going in northern ireland, north—east england, down towards lincolnshire. most of the snow continues to fall in northern parts of scotland. it may not be as windy on thursday, but it is still going to be cold, those temperatures struggling to get to around two or three degrees. the northerly wind is easing, and into the cold air, we have this feature coming in from the atlantic. that is going to bring some disruptive weather to scotland. there will be quite a bit of snow, especially over hills north of the

central belt, and it will be quite icy as well. for northern ireland, for the rest of england and wales, there will be some sunshine, may be a few wintry showers, but also those temperatures struggling up to around 2a degrees. to around 2 to 4 degrees. in that snow it will be treacherous in some parts of scotland. heading into the weekend and we are still in cold air, but signs of change as the weekend goes on. we start to see a southerly wind picking up ahead of this weather system pushing in from the atlantic. it is reaching into colder air, so for a while there could be some snow overnight which should then turn back to rain. we get a south—westerly wind that will pick up, that brings in much milder air, and pushes away all that cold weather as well. quite a change in temperatures from saturday to sunday, but for a while there could be some snow before it turns to rain, and by the time we are into monday, temperatures could be as high as 14 degrees. it is a change from what we have seen over the past couple of weeks. you can keep up—to—date by looking at our bbc weather app. goodbye.

this is bbc news. the headlines... four people have died and 43 others have been rescued, after a boat carrying migrants got into difficulties in the channel. the uk and france both need to act, to stop these dangerous boat crossings. inflation has eased slightly, but the cost of living still remains close, to a ao—year high. industrial action across the uk continues to escalate this morning, as royal mail staffjoin rail workers on picket lines. at the world cup, high hopes for the atlas lions. morocco take on france, in the semifinals.