Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC News 20171227

Dijk willjoin liverpool when the transfer window re opens for £75 million a world record for a defender. And at 11 30 well bring you the paper review, with the independentsjosie cox and tom bergin from reuters. A very good evening to use and welcome to bbc news. The met office has issued 15 snow or ice warnings tonight, covering Northern Ireland, all of wales, and most areas of england and scotland. It follows a day of disruption in much of the uk with dangerous conditions on major roads and the rac warning that things could get worse. The runway at Stansted Airport was closed twice during the day with a number of flights cancelled. And thousands of homes have been left without power, as our correspondent phil mackie reports. Horn blasts. The motorway at a standstill. Its always busy here anyway, but throw in five centimetres of snow and youve got chaos. 0n 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 arent. In the end, they were stuck for seven hours before the road was cleared. 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, that 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. Its really been a difficult day. Here in warwickshire theyve had flooding, snow and power cuts. To get around, youve really needed a specialist vehicle. And tonight, theres another warning as temperatures have fallen, the snow and slush has begun to freeze. Phil mackie, bbc news, warwickshire. The met Office Warnings apply to most parts of the uk, including the south east of england, our correspondent wyre davies sent us this from hendon in north london. These are the kind of wintry weather conditions that might make scott and scandinavians scoff but it was not that a lot of snow fell in a particular place but huge swathes, central, southern england and wales we re central, southern england and wales were affected by subzero temperatures and it had an effect on transport roads, airports. Throughout much of the country, 15 whether Warnings Issued by the met 0ffice whether Warnings Issued by the met office and much of the uk will experience those sub zero temperatures. This is one of the main arteries out of london, the m1, and many drivers of egypt advised to ta ke and many drivers of egypt advised to take extreme caution and care. If you are out driving tonight and tomorrow morning. It will get better by the end of the week that the kettle if you are going on the roads tonight or if you are walking on those icy footpath. In syria, aid workers have started to move critically ill children from a rebel held suburb, near the 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 sent this report. 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 intensifing 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. A brief look at some of the days other other news stories the Ukrainian Government and russian backed rebels have completed the biggest Prisoner Exchange since the conflict began nearly four years ago. The red cross says more than 230 people have now crossed a checkpoint back to rebel held territory. 61 year old Lorraine Stephenson and 41 year old pc dave fields 61 year old Lorraine Stephenson and 41 year old pc dave fields have been named as the two people who died following a crash in sheffield on christmas day. The officers family said they were devastated and heartbroken by their loss. 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. 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 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 on 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. The family loved having her there. And yeah, its. Theres always that family part of christmas. Theres always that work element as well and i think, you know, together we have an amazing time. 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 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. 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. Our correspondent Matthew Thompson gave us more details about the transfer. What we do know from speaking to the family and her lawyer is that she has been moved to an infamous qena prison in upper egypt. It is one hours drive from luxor. 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. 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. The company that ran Grenfell Tower is handing back control saying it can all go give service is expected. It has responsibility for 19 hours and properties. Grenfell tower is owned by the local council but it was run by one of the largest tenant Management Organisations in the country. It manages thousands of properties in the area. It was this Management Organisation that made an hour controversial decision to refurbish with cladding suspected of killing the fire. Both it and the council are now under investigation by police of a possible corporate and slaughter charge. The organisation has sent out a letter saying. 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 in the rain fell Committee Says it is not up to the job of running it when it claims it has failed to deal effectively with the aftermath of the fire and it could escape criminal responsibility if it sees as to be of functioning company. The organisation says that would not happen. The royal borough of kensington and chelsea said it saw this as a temporary measure and residents will ultimately decide how they wanted their homes managed. The survivors of, who recently attended oriel at saint pauls cathedral. A memorial, this seems a rejection. Reported delays and special christmas payments. Our top stories on bbc. The met Office Issues 15 weather warnings as snow and ice cause problems in most parts of the uk. And the runway at Stansted Airport was closed twice, with some passengers spending hours on planes stuck on runways. The first of a group of critically ill syrian children, are allowed to leave a rebel held area of damascus. Sport now and a full round up from the bbc sport centre. Day and another record. Manchester citys lead at the top of the premier league is a massive 15 points, and their record breaking winning run now stands at 18 games after a 1 0 victory at newcastle. Raheem sterling got the games only goal on a night where city didnt have it all their own way against rafa benitez struggling side. City are nowjust one game away from the european record of 19 straight wins, set by pep Guardiolas Bayern munich in 2014. It was difficult to play when the other team does not want to play. So. After the last minute you play ina so. After the last minute you play in a rhythm and it is not easy because they scored 1 0 but we scored made enough chances to scored made enough chances to score three, four zero. Some controversy in the scottish premiership between hearts and hibs tonight. The Edinburgh Derby finished 0 0. However this is the moment hibs should have gone ahead. Theres currently no Goal Line Technology in scottish football but much to hibs manager neil lennons frustration, replays showed the ball had crossed the line. In tonights other matches there were wins for aberdeen and rangers. Also tonight there were wins for second placed aberdeen and rangers in third. The game at hamilton was called off while ross county and saintjohnstone drew 1 1. Liverpool have finally got their man after announcing this evening that Southamptons Virgil Van Dijk is joining the club at the beginning of the year in what will be a world record dealfor a defender at 75 million. The Dutch International was expected to make the move to anfield last summer after he handed in a transfer request. But a move eventually collapsed when liverpool had to apologise for making an alleged illegal approach for the 26 year old. Vitaly mutko has stepped down from his role as chief organiser for next summers world cup in russia to concentrate on government work. Its been a turbulent month for Russias Deputy prime minister, he temporarily left his post as the Russian Football Union president just two days ago. This comes off the back of his life ban from the olympics at the start of december after having been accused of running a huge state directed doping programme. Day three of the fourth ashes test is nearly upon us. Former captain Alastair Cook made his first ashes century for almost seven years to put england in a good position at the end of the second day. Cooks knock helping england close on 192 2, after stuart broad had earlier returned his best figures of 2017 taking four for 51 to spark an australia collapse. Heres patrick gearey. Mercury rising at the mcg. Health advice in such heat, stay in the shade, conserve energy, under no circumstances tried to bowl at steve smith. The australian captain knocked out in tests here for three years. Was this a mirage . Tom currans first test wicket a rare and valuable one. This might look like a replay but its not, its Mitchell Marsh falling to chris woakes in exactly the same way. The old reliable stuart broad and Jimmy Anderson did the rest, australia all out for 327 only 83 more than they started the day with. The temperature is over 30 degrees and englands bowlers will be pleased they are back in the shade of the pavilion. They have their side back into this, now what can the batsmen do . They made 35 before Mark Stoneman ran into the goat. Short for greatest of all time, a nickname extended to nathan lion. England could cheer the revival of a reassuring presence. Alastair cook, with more than 11,000 test runs to his name, knows the value of luck. So rarely does steve smith like these escape. Cook was 166. Questions have been asked about his appetite for batting but look at the reaction when he went to his hundred in the last over of the day. His answer to those who doubted him. People were jumping up and i people werejumping up and i think thatis people werejumping up and i think that is testament to the bloke he is. Heres a kind character, he is not someone who is phased in or down. He went through so much stuff with his captaincy i dont think a bid of ribbing about run scoring will bother him too much. This may be seen as too little too late, but at least, at last, england have had their day in the sun. Nglands job is to turn a good position into a match winning one. Heyve had chances before in this series and not taken them. Of the pdc world championship. World number two peter wright has been knocked out he faces fellow dutchman raymond in the final eight. World number two peter wright has been knocked out in the second round. He was well beaten by one the sports emerging talents, 26 year old welshmanjamie lewis winning by four sets to one at ally pally. He hit thirteen 180s on the way. Thats all the sport for now. Ill have more for you in sportsday at half past ten. 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 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. An arctic cold snap is bringing sub zero temperatures and heavy snow to large parts of North East America and canada. Temperatures have been reported as low minus fifteen in toronto. While the us Lakeside City of erie, in pennsylvania, has had a record one and a half metres of snow in 48 hours. With more on the way. Demarco morgan from cbs news has the story. A snow emergency is in effect in erie after a record 53 inches of snow in less than 36 hours. You cant even tell how bad it is. Snow is piling up on the roads, burying cars and bringing traffic to a halt. All i could do was laugh, its a bit ridiculous. I keep picking away at it. As people try and dig out, more snow is building up over the lakes. More snow is coming. Emergency management coordinators and says that plough drivers are working around the clock to clear the streets. Theyve been doing a fantastic job with the elements, its hard to keep up with this amount of snow. It is a tough commute. I could only do about 20 mph. Snow and ice led to about 40 accidents in missouri on tuesday and six people were killed in three separate crashes. The wind chill could reach 40 below zero in some parts of the region today. The wind is the worst part, you cant do anything. Officials arent sure when they will be out of a state of emergency but they are asking everyone to stay inside until crews clear the streets. The papers is coming up. Now so great look at the weather. Nothing australia as we have seen in north america, nothing like it. However some others had wintry weather today and where we still have now, things are likely to turn icy. Out and about through the early hours of tomorrow morning, bear in mind that widespread frost and the risk of ice particularly where there was rain and sleet and snow earlier. Also where we are still blowing wintry showers in across some and western areas. There could also be freezing fog patches through the first part of the morning across some parts of Northern Ireland. Any fog that does develop will be relu cta nt to fog that does develop will be reluctant to clear. However, through the days of the vast majority we expect beautiful blue skies and crisp sunshine. A scattering of wintry showers into northern scotla nd wintry showers into northern scotland and despite the sunshine, central and southern scotland is one 01 central and southern scotland is one or two degrees, your top temperature. Stubborn fog patches could linger through the afternoon in Northern Ireland. A fine day for most pa rt in Northern Ireland. A fine day for most part Northern England with wintry showers fading dig dry day to east anglia and the south east had three orfour, east anglia and the south east had three or four, five degrees the big across wales and the south west some thick cloud into the far south west. That reduces outbreaks of patchy rain. And will not come to very much and fizzle away. Will allow again another widespread hard frost with temperatures dropping below freezing. In the first part of friday, the next complication. Wet weather into Northern Ireland and wales that it is the potential some snow. During the day on friday even across Northern England and southern scotla nd across Northern England and southern scotland at lower levels you could see snowfall. A lot of uncertainty at this stage about how disruptive that will be and we will keep you posted. To the north, dry and cold, to the south west temperature is beginning to creep upwards. That ta kes beginning to creep upwards. That takes us into the weekend. Another frontal season early on saturday. Rain and hill snow in the north and thenit rain and hill snow in the north and then it is all about the south westerly wind. Strong wind blowing across the country however mild. Despite some showery rain there will be spells of sunshine as well. Temperatures in the south will return to double digit. Further north still on the cold side. That slightly milder weather should spread a little further north again some showery rain but a lot of dry weather and spells of sunshine as well. After frost and weather and spells of sunshine as well. Afterfrost and ive weather and spells of sunshine as well. After frost and ive tonight, things will be milder over the next few days. Hello. This is bbc news with clive myrie. Well be taking a look at tomorrow mornings papers in a moment, first the headlines heavy snow and ice have been causing disruption across the uk, with Hazardous Conditions on the roads, and thousands of homes left without power. The Environment Agency has issued 11 flood warnings, and more than 90 flood alerts in england and wales. The first of a group of critically ill syrian patients have been evacuated from a rebel held suburb near damascus. Aid groups had urged president assad to allow treatment for dozens of urgent cases, including 7 children with cancer. The family of the briton Laura Plummer, jailed in egypt for drug offences, says she has already been transferred to a notorious prison. Laura plummers lawyer told the bbc that hes planning to apply