Welcome to bbc news. Aid workers and syrian volunteers have begun to evacuate dozens of critically ill patients from a rebel held suburb near damascus. The first of the critically ill patients were taken out of the Eastern Ghouta overnight by the International Committee of the red cross and syrian arab red crescent. But hundreds more are in need of treatment. Lina sinjab reports. A moment of relief for imji. The seven year old is suffering from haemophilia. She is amongst the first four patients to be evacuated from the besieged Eastern Ghouta region. But many are still waiting. Three month old karim was hit in a mortar strike during shelling by Government Forces in october. He was only one month old when he lost his left eye. His skull was broken and his mother is gone forever. A Worldwide Campaign started in his support. Civilians and World Leaders joined the call for his evacuation. He needs critical medical attention, so he doesnt lose the sight in his right eye. Translation karim is injured, he is going to lose his sight. Here in ghouta he cannot get treated. The doctor wants to perform an operation so that he doesnt lose the sight in his other eye. I want to thank everyone who has been working with us and supporting us in the campaign. I want to thank all of the International Organisations that are helping us. But it is not enough. My message is that i want to take him to be treated abroad. This is another child in desperate need of help. He is two years old and was injured earlier this month in an air strike. He also lost his mother. And needs Urgent Medical aid. Translation he is in a critical condition. In just one moment he lost half his face, his mother, and many members of his family. His psychological situation is also very bad. Hes not talking. He needs physical and psychological support. He may yet be rescued but there are many other patients still waiting. Nearly 200 children are in need of evacuation. But only a few may be lucky enough to survive. Robert mardini is the middle east regional director for the International Committee of the red cross earlier i asked him about the condition the patients are in. Of course they are exhausted and in dire need of medical treatment and we are happy to see this evacuation has taken place and we hope more people from ghouta will be able to exit to get the medical treatment in the coming days. This mustve been a hard won concession . Well it is needed and i think medical treatment should not be part of any political tit for tat. But life is such that this has happened and today were happy that this will take place and hope this is a new and positive dynamic that will enable more evacuations to happen in the coming days. The reality is though a number of people will have died whilst waiting for an evacuation. This is something that your organisation together with the un has been trying to achieve for some time. What changed, why did it happen now do you think . Well this is a political agreement that was negotiated between the parties in the conflict. We have been pushing repeatedly on all sides to have medical treatment inside ghouta and medical supplies flowing on a regular basis because it has been under siege for four years now. And there has been a steadily deteriorating humanitarian situation. And now there are aggravating factors, very intense fighting for one month now and also the cold that has started in syria. So everything is becoming more urgent and we hope that not only those who are in dire need of medical treatment will be allowed to get out but for the rest of the people in Eastern Ghouta and other localities, humanitarian aid is being transferred in to make their life easier. The head of the Un Humanitarian Task force for syria said last week the original list have been 500 civilians in desperate need of evacuation, that was some months ago and the list has been shrinking bluntly because they were dying. You must still be concerned that a large number of people in the city may not be at that stage yet but their health may yet deteriorate not least because the problems of getting adequate food and Water Supplies 7 well the 500 figure is certainly conservative. What we are reporting is a very dire humanitarian situation where everything is running low, food, medical supplies, electricity nonexistent, water is not there. And people are dying from preventable chronic diseases such as diabetes, renal failure, cancer and so forth. So there is a sense of urgency today and we hope this will help more evacuations. And an important point, hope and patience are also running low for the people here and we hope that this beginning of something positive will generate more tolerance in order to make things easier for the people there. Thousands of homes have been left without power and there are snow and ice warnings across the uk. The runway at Stansted Airport was closed for a while, as snow and ice was cleared. There are some yellow weather warnings around for snow and ice. The motorway at a standstill, always busy here but with five centimetres of snow you have chaos. Things even worse on the a14, this lorry spun out of control leaving drivers doubted. Stranded. As you can see we are stationary here on the a14, not going anywhere. Ive been here for five hours and so have these. Im on the a14 trying to go east bound to northampton. I set off at six oclock this morning and have been here for three hours. Nothing going in the other direction. Im canadian sam hughes to this kind of weather. In the end they were stuck for seven hours before the road was closed. They have big problems all day at the platform interchange. The snow has caused accidents and jackknifed lorries which has led to long delays not just jackknifed lorries which has led to long delays notjust here but elsewhere on the motorway network. And not just the elsewhere on the motorway network. And notjust the roads, Stansted Airport had to close twice to clear snow from the runway. Birmingham airport had to do the same for a short time. The weather kept the ground crews busy as saints need to be constantly de ice. A swathe of central and southern england worst affected, from gloucestershire to warwickshire, to the childrens. And it did notjust lead to hazardous driving conditions, but thousands of homes also lost power. That snow came in and settled on the overhead conductors and then with the cold wind chill as well but freezes into ice and takes down the conductors. And the same with tree branches which normally would not be near the lines. As snow started to melt a new danger flood warnings as streams became swollen and rivers start to rise. Leading to more hazards to negotiate and not everyone made it. And tonight another warning as temperatures have fallen, the snow and the slushy snow has begun to freeze. Well simon jones sent us this update earlier. Well sta nsted well Stansted Airport they had to shut the runway for almost an hour this morning weather cleared away the snow but the snow continued to fall. It had to be shut once again for almost 25 minutes at 1230 and that had a knock on effect. Ryanair passengers said they had boarded the aircraft but then had to wait for several hours before taking. Another problem has been de icing of planes on the runway. And there has also been problems at airports like newton where they have had to reduce significantly the number of flights allowed to land at the airport. Away from the airport it has been a tricky day on the roads and that could continue into this evening. What you have, roads that are already worked with snow and rain and overnight with temperatures due to fall again the risk is that that could turn to ice. So once again the police are asking people to be careful on the roads, to drive according to the conditions. Many people were disappointed earlier this week that they did not get a White Christmas. But today the snow has arrived and caused a lot of problems for many people trying to get around. Two people who died following a crash in sheffield have been named. Lorraine stephenson and pc dave fields were both killed after the cars they were travelling in collided on Christmas Day. Another man remains in a serious condition. The family of pc fields described him as a loving husband and dad and a dedicated officer. The family of the briton Laura Plummer who has beenjailed in egypt after prohibited painkillers were discovered in her luggage says she has been transferred to another prison. Earlier i spoke to our correspondent matthew thompson, who gave us an update on the latest. Well what we do know from speaking to the family and her lawyer is that she has been moved to an infamous prison in upper egypt. It is notorious both for its inmates, human Rights Groups say it contains a number of so called Islamic State fighters but most significantly for the squalor in which it is supposed to exist. The lawyer has said theyre trying to get laura moved to another more sanitary prison closer to cairo but it is not certain if that will be possible. That will add to the worries the family have about her mental condition in terms of withstanding the stress of her ordeal. Absolutely, on Christmas Day when the trial was meant to happen it had to be stopped in large part because of laura just not being in a fit state to continue. What is meant to have happened is that she has been following the proceedings of the trial through translation and she was in such a state that she misunderstood some of the translation and ended up actually confessing when she had no intention of doing that. So it sounds as if shes not in a great place and i do not think going to a squalid prison will do much to help. What about the prospects of an appeal, the family said they would pursue that . The family are hopeful and hope that they can get the three year sentence reduced on appeal. But part of the problem, the judge has not given the full judgment yet in the case yet so they do not quite know exactly what she has been charged with. Well the hopeful thing is trafficking offences can carry a sentence of 25 years, the fact that shes had a three year sentence is according to her lawyer at least an indication that she has been charged with more possession of illegal substances rather than trafficking. After all the street value of these tramadol tablets was Something Like £23. So that is the suggestion that the offence is perhaps less serious and therefore they hope an appeal can happen but it could be 60 days before that can be lodged. The former us president , barack obama, has warned against the irresponsible use of social media. In the first interview hes given since leaving office in january this year, mr obama said social media was simplifying complex issues, and reinforcing peoples biases. He was speaking to prince harry, guest editor of the today programme on radio 4. This report from our royal correspondent, Nicholas Witchell. Prince harry, first of all, you are very welcome to our studio. Good morning. Joining the today programme for the day had been a big learning curve, harry said. But he had enjoyed being the interviewer, rather than the interviewed. It was quite fun, especially interviewing president obama. His principal scoop had been to persuade barack obama to give his first interview since standing down as us president. The word trump was never mentioned, but may have been in mr obamas mind when he warned about the irresponsible use of social media. How do we harness this technology in a way that allows a multiplicity of voices, allows a diversity of views, but does not lead to a balkanisation of our society but rather continues to promote ways of finding Common Ground . Harry had also interviewed his father. The main focus had been on Climate Change the issue Prince Charles has championed for decades and for which he was sometimes derided. Maybe now, some years later, theyre beginning to realise that what i was trying to say may not have been quite as dotty as they thought. But, i mean, the issue really that has to go on being focused on, big time, i think, is this one around the whole issue of Climate Change, which, you know, now, whether we like it or not, is the biggest threat multiplier we face. And then at the end of the programme, it was time to face questions, rather than to ask them. First about his fiancee, meghan markle, and herfirst christmas at sandringham. She really enjoyed it. The family loved having her there. And, you know, theres always that family part of christmas, and always that work element, as well. And i think, together we had an amazing time, we had great fun staying with my brother and sister in law. Harrys commitment to issues he cares about, like the armed forces and Mental Health, had come through strongly. So how does he see his future . Part of my role and part of myjob is to shine a spotlight on issues that need that spotlight, whether its people, whether its causes, whether its issues, whatever it is. So i will continue to play my part in society and do myjob to the best of my abilities, so that i can wake up in the morning and feel energised and go to bed, hopefully, knowing that ive done the best that i can. Not so long ago, he admits to having doubts about a royal role. Clearly, no longer. Nicholas witchell, bbc news. The headlines on bbc news. The first of a group of critically ill syrian children are allowed to leave a rebel held area of damascus. Motorists are being warned that snow and ice are causing travel disruption in england and wales. Laura plummer the briton jailed Laura Plummer the britonjailed in egypt for drug offences has been moved to a different egyptian prison. The company that ran Grenfell Tower is handing back control of its other properties to the local council, saying it can no longer give tenants the service they expect. The kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation has responsibility for 9000 properties, as andy moore reports. Grenfell tower is owned by the local council, but it was run by one of the largest Tenant Management Organisations in the country. This body manages thousands of properties in the area. It was this Management Organisation that made the now controversial decision to refurbish Grenfell Tower in cladding suspected of fuelling the fire. Both it and the local council are now under investigation by the police, over possible corporate manslaughter charges. The organisation has now sent out a letter saying it would be in the best interests of all residents that the services which the Tenant Management Organisation currently provides are handed back to the council. The handover, which will start at the end of next month, means the royal borough of kensington and chelsea will take over repairs and day to day running. But a resident on the Grenfell Recovery Scrutiny Committee says the council isnt up to the job of running a large housing stock, when, he claims, it has failed to deal effectively with the aftermath of the fire. And theres also a fear the Tenant Management Organisation could escape criminal responsibility if it ceases to be a functioning company. The organisation said that wouldnt happen. The royal borough of kensington and chelsea said it saw this as a temporary measure and residents would ultimately decide how they wanted their homes managed. For the survivors of grenfell, who recently attended a memorial at st pauls cathedral, this comes as one more complication, after the rejection of a special panel to work with the Public Inquiry and reported delays in special christmas payments. Andy moore, bbc news. Workers are being warned to expect the squeeze on pay to continue into next year. The economic think tank, the resolution foundation, forecasts that average wages after inflation has been taken into account will continue to fall during the early part of 2018. It suggests the decline will eventually level off, before pay levels start to increase towards the end of the year. A short time ago i spoke to laura gardinerfrom the resolution foundation, who talked me through the findings. When we talk about pay rising or falling, we are usually talking about it in real terms, after we had ta ken account of inflation. What is going on next year, inflation, which is quite high at the moment, will start easing off quite soon. It will start not growing quite as quickly as it has been. But the cash value of pay will ease off at roughly the same pace. That means that pay after prices are taken into account, well pay, real pay staying around to zero over the course of 2018. Thats a lot lower than the 2 real growth we have been used to in the years before the financial crisis. You put a figure on that, the years before the financial crisis, how much worse off we are in real terms as compared to where we were before the financial crisis hit . It depends whether you are looking at Household Incomes or pay. We still have a weekly pay around £15 a week lower than it was before the financial crisis hit. That leaves you in some reckoning thousands of pounds worse off as a household per year, compared to before the financial crisis. Especially compared to where we would be if we had continued at the growth rate of the precrisis years and not gone into this long period of stagnation. One thing that is most striking about all of this, as you say, it will get deeper before it gets better. But the pay doesnt seem to be responding in the ways the economic theorists think it should. We have employers saying we cant find enough workers with the right skills and yet somehow that is not translating into decent pay rises for people who have those skills already in work at the moment. It is a conundrum with unemployment at such a low level, down at 4. 3 , lower than its been in 40 years. That pay isnt responding how some economists might expect. But the real long term driver of pay is whats called productivity. Thats the amount of output the economy is producing for each hour worked. Thats been flat for the best part of ten years. Thats the fundamental underlying reason why in the long term, pay is not growing as we would like. But there are bright spots on the horizon. In the latest data productivity ticked up a bit. If that is sustained into next year, we can start to be a bit more optimistic about the prospects for workers pay packet. The Worlds Largest known colony of a brilliant but shy species of shellfish has been discovered at the bottom of a loch. The rare reef in loch carron on the west coast of scotland had been wrecked by dredging but is now on its way to recovery after the Scottish Government banned fishing in the area. Our environment correspondent kevin keane reports. This was the devastation caused when a dredger dragged its gear through a rare flame shell reef in loch carron. Hundreds of disturbed and broken shells littered the floor. Divers have now found that this reef is the biggest of its kind in the world. It pretty much spans the sea bed of the 5. 5 kilometres tide swept channel. We believe it covers an area of about 194 hectors or two square kilometres. This is what the reef should look like, a carpeted sea bed below which the flame shells live. And an important nursery ground for scallops and other species. There has been some industry resistance to banning fishing through marine protected areas or mpas. At too many sensitive sites. But ministers said for loch carron it is the right thing. Flame shells are highly sensitive to damaging fishing activities. Scallop dredging, prawn trawling, and itjust does not make sense to tow across these fragile habitats. Ministers will now seek to ban fishing on loch carron permanently but it may take many decades for the damaged part of the reef to recover. At 6 30pm we have the national news. But first a look at the weather. We had a bit of excitement with the snow earlier today, no further snow expected in the short term and the hazards tonight will be ice forming a special across the southern part of the uk where we had that rain and sleet. Clear and cold this evening, very cold overnight. Especially around the hills, as low as 10 degrees. Also some freezing fog in Northern Ireland and some wintry showers across the highlands. Tomorrow morning starts off with some ice in places and in the afternoon, looking absolutely beautiful, crisp and cold. Just in the far south west a chance of some spots of rain. Other than that all the way from the south coast across the way from the south coast across the midlands and moving north it is looking absolutely beautiful. Temperatures barely above freezing in some places. The next spell of snow, and there is some slow potential beyond this period, that is into thursday night and early friday morning. The weather front coming in from the atlantic and bumping into the cold air. Tricky to say whether it will settle on the ground but almost certainly across the hills. But whether the towns and cities get lying snow is too early to say. The thinking is by friday afternoon most of that will turn to rain as we have milder atlantic gale coming through. Then the new year weekend, saturday, and increasing jet stream pushing the weather front in our direction. It will be very blustery especially around western coast. Temperatures up to 13 degrees potentially in the south. And then new years eve itself, looks like we mightjust new years eve itself, looks like we might just about be new years eve itself, looks like we mightjust about be between weather systems, there could be some clear spells around. And just a few passing showers. That is all for 110w. Passing showers. That is all for now. Goodbye. Theres disruption for many people around the uk, with snow and ice causing problems for travellers, and for households. On some major roads there have been dangerous conditions, with drivers left queuing for several hours. We are stationary here, on the a14, not going anywhere. Ive been here for five hours, and. So have these and the runway at Stansted Airport was closed twice, with some passengers spending hours on planes out on the tarmac well have the latest. Also today the former us president , barack obama, tells prince harry that irresponsible use of social media is spreading misinformation and reinforcing bias. Aid workers have started to move critically ill children from a rebel held suburb near the syrian capital, damascus. There you are one to four well played, Alastair Cook wonderful and a century from Alistair Cook puts england in the driving seat, good evening. Snow and ice are still causing disruption for many people in parts of the uk, with thousands of homes without power and dangerous conditions on the roads. The runway at Stansted Airport was closed twice during the day, with a number of flights cancelled, and there are currently yellow weather warnings for ice for parts of scotland, all of wales, the south and east of england, and the midlands so lets go live to kenilworth in warwickshire and our correspondent phil mackie. Yes, warwickshire has really had a quadruple whammy today. It has had snow, floods, and it is getting the ice and it has had power cuts. It has been a date notjust here but across the central swathe of england to do not what this brand new bmw driver has done, but to heed the warnings. Horn blasts. The motorway at a standstill. Its always busy here anyway, but throw in five centimetres of snow, and youve got chaos. On the a14, things were even worse. This lorry span out of control, leaving drivers stranded. Good morning. Its just gone past ten oclock in the morning. As you can see, were stationary here on the a14, not going anywhere. Ive been here for five hours, and. So have these my name is tara, im on the a14 trying to go eastbound to northampton. I set off from my house in hinckley at 6am this morning, ive been on the a14 for three hours now. As you can see, theres nothing going in the other direction. Im a bit cross, im canadian so im used to this kind of weather. I know you guys are not. In the end, they were stuck for seven hours before the road was cleared. There have been problems all day here at this interchange, which is where the m6, the m1 and the a14 alljoin. It is the snow that has caused accidents and jackknifed lorries which has led to long delays, notjust here but elsewhere on the motorway network. And it wasntjust the roads. Stansted airport had to close twice to clear snow from the runway. Birmingham airport had to do the same for a short while too. And the weather kept ground crews busy, as planes had to be constantly de iced. A swathe of central and southern england was worst affected, from gloucestershire, to warwickshire, to the chilterns. And it didntjust lead to hazardous driving conditions. Thousands of homes lost power, too. Obviously the snow came in, it settles on our overhead conductor. Then, with the cold wind chill, it freezes into ice and therefore that takes the conductors down. Likewise, its the same with tree branches. Normally they would not be near the line but theyve taken our conductors down. As the snow started to melt, there was a new danger. Flood warnings followed the thaw as streams became swollen and rivers started to rise. That meant more hazards to negotiate, and not everyone made it. And tonight, theres another warning as temperatures have fallen, snow and slush is beginning to freeze. Those temperatures have noticeably dropped in the last hour or so. There is a yellow warning for ice across large areas of england and wales. I think that is largely in areas where snow has already fallen. Western power have told us there we re western power have told us there were about 50,000 customers who lost power overnight. Nearly all of them have their power back on but the last few will not get their power restored until around midnight. Studio many thanks for the latest there in kenilworth, phil mackie there. The former us president , barack obama, in one of his few interviews since leaving office last january, has warned about the irresponsible use of social media. He said social media was, in some cases, distorting peoples understanding of complex issues, spreading misinformation, and reinforcing peoples bias. Mr obama was interviewed by prince harry, in his capacity as guest editor of radio 4s today programme, as our royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell reports. Prince harry, first of all. You are very welcome to our studio. Good morning. Coming injoining the today programme for the day had been a big learning curve, harry said, but he had enjoyed being the interviewer rather than the interviewed. It was quite fun, especially interviewing president obama. His principal scoop had been to persuade barack obama to give his first interview since standing down as us president. The word trump was never mentioned but may have been in mr obamas mind when he warned about the use of social media. All of us in leadership have to find ways in which we can recreate a common space on the internet. One of the dangers of the internet is that people can have entirely different realities. They can be just cocooned in the information that reinforces their current biases. Harry had also interviewed his father the main focus had been on Climate Change. The issue Prince Charles has championed for decades and for which he was sometimes derided. Maybe now, some years later, they are beginning to realise that what i was trying to say may not have been quite as dotty as they thought. I mean, the issue really that has to go one being focused on, big time, i think, is this one around the whole issue of Climate Change which now, whether we like it or not, is the biggest threat multiplier we face. And then, at the end of the programme, it was time to face questions rather than ask them. First about his fiancee, meghan markle, and herfirst christmas at sandringham. She really enjoyed it. We firmly loved having her there. And yeah, its. Theres always that family part of christmas. Work element as well and i think, you know, together we have an amazing time. Staying with my brother and sister in law. Harrys commitment to issues he cares about like the armed forces and Mental Health had come through strongly. So how does he see his future . Part of my role and part of myjob is to shine a spotlight on issues that need that spotlight, whether its people, whether its causes, whether its issues, whatever it is. So i will continue to play my part in society and do myjob to the best of my ability, so i can wake up in the morning and feel energised, and go to bed hopefully knowing ive done the best that i can. Not so long ago, harry admitted to having doubts about a royal role. Clearly no longer. Nicholas witchell, bbc news. Aid workers have begun started to move critically ill children from a rebel held suburb near the syrian capital, damascus. Four patients were taken out of ghouta overnight. Another 25 are expected to be moved in the coming days, although hundreds more are in urgent need of treatment. Some 400,000 residents have been under siege by Government Forces since 2013. From beirut, our correspondent martin patience reports. Seven year old imjy is preparing for a shortjourney, and it will almost certainly end up saving her life. She is suffering from haemophilia, but last night she was among four critically ill patients to be evacuated to damascus for life saving treatment. This is what shes leaving behind. Eastern ghouta is one of the last remaining rebel strongholds, fighting the government of bashar al assad. Its been bombed and besieged for four years, with fighting intensified in recent weeks. I think its a combination of everybodys efforts, that at this really low time in syria there is a ray of light, and its the children. Its the children who are missing growing up in syria we must sort them out, to give syria a chance of a prosperous and peaceful future. But food is hard to come by. Malnutrition is now widespread. Human Rights Groups accuse the Syrian Government of trying to starve the rebels into submission. This evacuation may have the appearances of a humanitarian gesture, but thats simply not the case. Weve been told by two sources that the Syrian Government only agreed to it as part of a prisoner exchange. The main rebel faction in Eastern Ghouta agreed to free 29 Syrian Government hostages, and in return the same number of critically ill patients are being allowed to receive Urgent Medical care. But the United Nations says hundreds of others need to be evacuated. Among them, three month old karim, who was injured by government shelling. He lost his left eye. His mother was killed. Despite a prominent social media campaign, he is not being allowed to leave Eastern Ghouta. Translation karim is injured, hes going to lose his sight. Here in the ghouta he cant get treated. The doctor wants to perform an operation, so that he doesnt lose the sight in his other eye. For some there is now hope, but for most help is not coming any time soon. Martin patience, bbc news, beirut. The firm that managed the Grenfell Tower block in west london will hand over responsibility for almost 10,000 properties to the local council by the end of january. Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation was heavily criticised after the Grenfell Tower fire, in which 71 people died. A consultation into the future management of the properties will take place soon. The two people who died following a crash in sheffield on Christmas Day have been named by South Yorkshire police. 61 year old Lorraine Stephenson was a passenger in a vehicle that collided with a police car. Pc dave fields was driving to an incident at the time. In a tribute the officers family said they were devastated and heartbroken. For decades, conservationists in africa have struggled to preserve the continents elephant population, using variety of techniques and methods to prevent poaching. Now, an organisation that manages National Parks across nine african countries is using military tactics to try to deal with the poachers. One of their big Success Stories has been in chad, at the Zakouma National park, where 90 of elephants were lost over four decades. When African Parks took over there were fewer than 500 left. Our correspondent Alastair Leithead travelled to the remote region where the elephant population is finally recovering. They were the herd heading for extinction. But the elephants of Zakouma National park have made a dramatic recovery. Translation before, there used to be elephant carcasses everywhere. So what has been the difference, since African Parks took over . Translation since African Parks arrived here, we no longer see carcasses of elephants in the park. Across the continent, a private, not for profit Conservation Group called African Parks believes it has the answer to saving africas disappearing wildlife. And its controversial. They are arming rangers and giving them military style training. In some places, its become a war against poachers. Adoum allam is a sniper with Fast Response unit mamba number two. His father was killed by poachers in this park. He jumped at the chance to join. Its a very dangerous job but i love doing it, he said. Its a good income. But its also personal. This was zakouma, ten years ago. Decades of poaching killed 90 of the parks elephants and many rangers as well. But, today, its a much healthier picture. They havent lost an elephant in two years or a ranger since 2012. And last year, the population started to grow again. There were more than 20,000 elephants in this parkjust 40 years ago, but now there arejust over 500. Whats encouraging, though, is that theyve now got babies, theyre reproducing, their numbers are starting to go up. And if the poachers can be kept at bay, the population is going to recover. This is the best way to counter raids from the heavily armed sudanese horsemen. The main perpetrators whove been poaching ivory here for centuries. But now, both sides have automatic weapons. And local communities are a key to success. Schools are being built, kids are learning about conservation. Villagers now often tip off the rangers, if poachers are seen nearby. African parks take on delegated management of protected areas in africa. Normally where Public Sector has failed, African Parks will step in and, with donorfunding, will then manage protected areas. But eventually it should pay for itself. Zakouma National Park is now attracting high end adventure tourists who cover one third of the parks budget. Other, marginal reserves in africa will never make money. Animals have to be worth more alive than dead, notjust to rich westerners, but to local people as well. Alastair leithead, bbc news, Zakouma National park, in chad. Russias deputy Prime Minister has stepped down from his role as chief organiser for next summers football world cup. Vitaly mutko said he has left his world cup role to concentrate on government work. Recently, he was banned from the olympics for life, after being accused of running a huge state directed doping programme. Mr mutko is contesting the ban. The latest cricket news, and england are in the driving seat in the fourth ashes test in melbourne. At the end of the second day, an Alistair Cook century left england on 192 for two, 135 behind australias first innings total. From melbourne, our correspondent Patrick Gearey reports. Mercury rising at the mcg. Health advice in such heat stay in the shade, conserve energy, and under no circumstances try and bowl at steve smith. Australias captain, not out in tests here for three years. So was this a mirage . Tom currans first test wicket, a rare and valuable one. Now this might look like a replay, but its not. Its Mitchell Marsh falling to chris woakes, in exactly the same way. The old reliables, stuart broad andjimmy anderson, did the rest. Australia all out for 327, only 83 more than theyd started the day with. Its half past one, the temperature is over 30 degrees and the england bowlers will be really pleased that theyre back in the shade of the pavilion. They have got their side back into this, now what can the batsmen do . Well, they made 35 before Mark Stoneman ran into the goat. Short for greatest of all time a nickname extended to nathan lyon. James vince went too, but england could cheer the revival of a reassuring presence. Alastair cooks first 50 of a frustrating series, with more than 11,000 test runs to his name, cook knows the value of luck. So rarely does steve smith let these escape. Cook was on 66. Questions have been asked about cooks appetite for batting, but look at the reaction when he went to his 100 in the last over of the day. His answer to those who doubted him. In the changing room the celebrations when he got that 100 were huge. You know, peoplejumping up and i think that is testament to the bloke he is. You know, he is a very calm character, hes not someone who gets particularly fazed or particularly down. I mean, he went through so much stuff with his captaincy, im not sure a bit of stick about scoring runs is going to bother him too much. This may be seen as too little, too late, an afterword to the ashes. But at least, at last, england have had their day in the sun. Patrick geary, bbc news, in melbourne. Theres more throughout the evening on the bbc news channel, and were back here on bbc one with the late news at 10 oclock, but now its time for the news where you are. Goodbye. Welcome back to bbc news, im sean lay. Tesco has apologised after some customers complained they had bought turkeys that were rotten or unfit for consumption. The traditional turkey was the centrepiece of tescos Christmas Ad Campaign this year, but the supermarkets social media feeds featured angry customers complaining their Christmas Meals had been ruined. The Supermarket Chain has apologised and promised to investigate. The Consumer Rights journalist megan french explained how customers could calculate the amount of compensation they might be due, and how to go about making any claim. Weve heard people saying their entire dinner was ruined perhaps because these part of it to make the gravy for example. It will be a case by case basis. It comes to being reasonable. Any evidence you can add to prove that. If you happened to take pictures of the christmas dinner for example, showing the trimmings you had, that kind of thing could help. Any receipt showing the rest of your christmas dinner. Dont be afraid to jot it all down and put it in writing to tesco to show what impact this had. You can go through the Online Customer services. If you found that easier. Document exactly what happened, if youve got family coming, say how far they travelled from. Some people can find complaining daunting. If you find it easier, sit down and write out the e mail, write it out on the website, whatever suits you. If youre going into the store dont be afraid to ta ke into the store dont be afraid to take notes so you remember all the things youve been affected by. Megan french talking earlier. Tesco say they will be offering customers a goodwill gesture of £75 and have issued a statement saying two journalists from the Reuters News Agency have been visited by their families and friends for the First Time Since they were arrested in myanmar two weeks ago. Wa lone and kyaw soe oo were charged with illegally obtaining information and intending to share with the foreign media. They appeared at a court in yangon, where their detention was extended for another fourteen days. The pair had been reporting on Burmese Military actions against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State and their arrests have been condemned as an assault on media freedom. Parts of the United States are receiving a full dose of winter, with some northern states in a deep freeze. Pennsylvania has declared a state of emergency after smashing its highest ever daily snowfall record by more than 30 centimetres. Georgina smyth reports. Winter white out. Trees buckling under the snow, streets choked with ice. All the hallmarks of winter and some, with a record breaking snow dump of 53 inches thats nearly 1. 3 metres in erie, pennsylvania. At four times the citys previous all time christmas record, it is the snowiest day on record for what is already one of americas snowiest cities. And the white stuff isnt making it easy for motorists. Outside the city, it forced the festive traffic to a standstill on Christmas Day. Officials have since declared a snow emergency, with some roads deemed dangerous and impassable. But for those at home with nowhere to go, there was only one thing to do. Head out and enjoy the winter magic. Scenes like this are likely to continue for several days, with the snow still falling thick and fast, erie could receive another foot of it in the next day. On the west coast, hopes for a White Christmas were granted when seattle had its first snow in nine years. Portland had its sixth since 1884. In boston, icy conditions sent a plane skidding down a taxiway. Heavy snowfall put a freeze on arrivals and departures at Logan International for close to an hour. Few ski resorts in the alps can completely depend on natural snowfall these days. But one resort in italy has developed a simple way to ensure snowy slopes throughout the season. Its better for the environment and saves money as bethany bell reports from south tyrol. The slopes are white, the tourists can ski. But very little of the snow on the ski slopes here is natural. Many resorts in the alps depend on artificial snow. The snow conditions are great today and the slope behind me is also used for world cup races. But skiing is a sport which takes a toll on the environment, making artificial snow uses up a lot of water and a lot of electricity, which means big energy bills. But skiing is also crucial to the local economy and this resort here has figured out a way of reducing the use of snow guns and Cutting Energy costs. This man came up with the idea to cover the entire resort with artificial snow very early in the season, in november, when the temperatures plunged to minus ten degrees. That way the snow lasts much longer, half a season or more. The snows regularly spread around to ensure it doesnt melt, a process known as snow grooming. With the grooming machine we saved about 20 of the gasoline, that means 20 less working hours on the machines. With the snow making, very saved more than between 20 and 30 of energy. The process guarantees skiing from december to easter. Some studies say the alps could lose significant snow cover by the end of the century. Does that concern the skiers here . I like to come here in the mountains, but i know that this type of tourism is not always sustainable. So i think that someone had to think to Something Different to for the mountain. Im not worried too much because i love skiing, so ijust think about it. Children enjoying the slopes. More sustainable ski resorts could mean therell be skiing for years to come. Our snow event is on its way on friday. To tell us what the weather will be like in the run up to that he is ben rich. If you are stepping outside tonight or tomorrow morning, prepare for slippery conditions because weve had some wintry weather today. Snow from our weather watcher close to aberdeen. As we headed into the evening, these guys have been mainly clear overhead. With those clear skies tonight well see a widespread frost and potentially icy stretches. The ice could form just about anywhere. Most especially where we keep a feed of wintry showers, northern scotland, Northern Ireland, down into the midlands. Where we had a lot of rain, sleet and snow towards the south and south east. Temperatures below freezing. Some spot in the countryside, particularly where there is snow cover, well get well below freezing. Thursday start off ona below freezing. Thursday start off on a cold note. There could be freezing fog patches across Northern Ireland and if they do form, could be very persistent. Stubborn to play right into the afternoon. Northern scotla nd right into the afternoon. Northern scotland will see wintry showers. Sunshine is the main story across scotland. Temperatures struggling to get above freezing and if the fob lingers across parts of Northern Ireland temperatures will struggle to get above freezing as well. For england and wales, fair amount of sunshine. Two, three, four, 5 degrees is your lot. A change into the far south west, more clout and some outbreaks of patchy rain. Quite a week weather system will bring dribs and drabs of rain. As we go through thursday night into the early hours of friday, a more active weather system will swing in from the atlantic. Itll bring rain, snow across Northern Ireland, wales, the midlands. Initially over high ground. Across Northern England and southern scotland the potential for snow accumulating two fairly low levels. A lot of uncertainty about how disruptive that will be. Well keep you posted. Friday called emma north but temperatures beginning to climb further south. It is that story of climbing temperatures that ta kes story of climbing temperatures that takes us into the weekend. Friday night will bring another frontal system, delivering some snow in northern areas. With south west winds developing, strong winds at that, theres temperatures will start to climb, especially in the south, where saturday will bring highs of 12 or 13 agrees. Here, temperatures climbing as we get into sunday. Not a bad day. A lot of dry weather and spells of sunshine. This is bbc news. The headlines at seven. Theres disruption for many people around the uk with snow and ice causing problems for travellers and for households. Were stationary here on the a14. Ive been here forfive hours and so have these. And the runway at Stansted Airport was closed twice, with some passengers spending hours on planes out on the tarmac. The first of a group of critically ill syrian children are allowed to leave a rebel held area of damascus. Laura plummer, the britonjailed in egypt for drug offences, has been moved to a different egyptian prison. Also in the next hour. Prince harry takes a turn editing the today programme on radio 4. He interviewed the former us president barack obama, who said irresponsible use of social media is spreading misinformation