14/01/2013 Newsround

Hi there, Ricky here with Monday's top stories. Hope you're wrapped up

warm wherever you are - it's cold out there! Thanks for this lovely

picture! Here's what else we've got for this afternoon... We asked you

on the website about this - here's what some of you have had to say.

First, how many of you walked home from school or caught a bus on your

own today? If you did, you are pretty rare. Apparently only one in

four primary school kids in England is allowed to travel alone. In

Germany, it is a bit different, with three-quarters of kids going

to school on their own. Some charities say more needs to be done

to make the roads safer around schools. Keeping them safe, they

have got to cross a main road. But I use it to hang out with the kids

and ask them about their day. lights take a very long time to

change, and I would not let the children come by themselves.

asked you what you thought about this, and this is what you have had

Well, the snow is still coming down in many parts of the country. The

north-east of the country has had the most, in some places, up to

10cm. Forecasters say the cold weather is here to stay over the

next couple of days. Children at schools in parts of

China have been told to avoid going outside because of high levels of

pollution in the air. People have been warned to protect their health

and wear protective masks in the capital city of Beijing after three

days of thick smog. Weather forecasters say that the cloud of

haze will stay until Wednesday, when strong winds are expected to

blow it away. A quick update on the tug boat off the coast of Devon

that was hit by the ship it was towing late last night. The ship it

towing late last night. The ship it was towing has sunk but efforts are

still ongoing to try to stop the tug boat from spilling its diesel

fuel into the sea. Next - the biggest gathering of

people in the world has begun today on the banks of the Ganges in India.

The opening day of the Kumbh Mela festival has already welcomed

hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, who have been bathing in the river.

Up to 10 million more people are expected to arrive by the end of

the day. Here's Hayley with more. It's thought 100 million people

will visit the Kumbh Mela festival over the next 55 days. The festival

takes place once every 12 years and is being celebrated at Allahabad in

India, where two rivers, the Ganges and Yamuna, meet. It's all because

Hindus believe that bathing in the river will save their souls and

protect them from harm, as the BBC's Yogita Limaye explains.

Allahabad has been preparing for this festival for months. Since

very early this morning, people have been coming down to the river

to take a dip in it because they believe it is going to wash away

their sins. More people are expected to come here overnight.

There are lots of children here as well. With so many people gathering,

there are concerns about safety. 14 a temporary hospitals have been set

up, and 243 doctors are on standby in case anybody gets into trouble.

The main attractions at the festival are the Hindu holy men,

who have been leading processions alongside elephants, camels and

music bands in the run-up to the celebrations. There are however

health concerns - with warnings that the river is polluted.

Traditionally pilgrims drink droplets of the Ganges water - some

even fill water bottles to take home with them. In 2001, a record-

breaking 60 million pilgrims took part in the last Kumbh Mela at

Allahabad - and if these scenes are anything to go by, we could well be

In tennis, British player Heather Watson is through the next round of

the Australian Open. Watson looked like she was losing to Romania's

Alexandra Cadantu after the dropping the first set, but came

back to take the match. In the men's competition, Andy Murray has

been preparing to play his first match at Melbourne later today.

Just enough time to tell you to head to the Newsround website,