good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. a bbc investigation has found that albanian drug gangs are offering to pay for migrants to cross the english channel, if they are prepared to work in the uk drugs industry when they arrive. gangs are using the migrant camps of northern france as a recruitment ground. there s been a sharp rise in the number of albanians crossing the channel in small boats this year. they now account for around a third of the almost 40,000 people who have landed on england s beaches this year. lucy williamson reports. for each boat, each migrant, there can be many smugglers albanian fixers, uk guarantors, kurdish criminal gangs. the journey starts in towns like laknas, now marked by absence. the shuttered houses and empty streets signs of an exodus this year. most were drawn by uk wages ten times higher than here. and each departure makes business in laknas even harder. as the price of crossing to the uk has dropped the suburbs around tirana ar
tonight at ten. the rise in albanians crossing the channel in small boats, lured by higher wages and gangs recruiting them for the drugs trade. the numbers have gone up sharply this year we report from albania on what s behind it. locals in this neighbourhood say 70% of the community has already left, and many of those living here now are thinking ofjoining them. also on the programme tonight. staff at twitter find out if they ve been sacked, as the firm s new owner, elon musk, drastically cuts costs. a series of rail strikes due to start tomorrow has been suspended, but the late notice means services tomorrow will be extremely limited. a major shift in money for the arts. the english national opera will move out of london, as blackpool illuminations wins funding for the first time. and the facial recognition technology that s helping to identify photos of holocaust victims and its survivors. on bbc london, the growing numbers of child trafficking victims disappearing from
trouble. plus, china nears a covid breaking point. an outbreak over stretches hospitals and pushes its precedent to take a new step in that country s fight against the virus, and how soon is soon? the committee investigating donald trump s taxes promises to release them any day. this is what we are watching at this hour. good morning, everyone. thank you for joining me. kate bolduan is off today. we begin this hour in western new york where a, quote, generational blizzard is pummeling the city of buffalo and all of erie county. the death toll has climbed to 25 and the county executive says that number is likely to grow. i just have to offer my deepest condolences to those that lost a loved one as a result of this horrible situation. i never thought i would face this. i thought the storm we faced in 2014 would have been the worst in which we had 14 deaths and this far surpassed it and there are probably more deaths that will be announced later today. the city of buffal
the virus latest strain powers a covid comeback. reporter: i m danya bacchus in los angeles where new restrictions could trigger a requirement to mask up. all-star spotlight. the wnba s biggest names gather while brittney griner s detention in russia takes centre court. and later, the stones still rolling after 60 years. the band this week marking the anniversary of their first performance. announcer: this is the cbs weekend news from new york with jericka duncan. good evening and thanks for joining us on this sunday. we begin tonight with new developments from that january 6th committee investigating the capitol attack and what many have called an attack on american democracy. so far, the committee has held six hearings. and this week, we could see the final two. the back-to-back hearings will focus on white nationalist groups and what former president donald trump was doing as he capitol was under siege. today we re learning new information following friday s c