:00:04. > :00:09.Welcome to Newsround, I'm Ricky. And I'm Hayley, here's whats coming
:00:09. > :00:14.up. What life is really like inside Syria. The ridiculous reasons some
:00:14. > :00:24.people come up with for giving up their pets. And find out what the
:00:24. > :00:26.
:00:26. > :00:36.Queen is talking about! It hasn't improved much, do you know... This
:00:36. > :00:39.
:00:39. > :00:43.First to Syria, where we've been given a rare insight into how hard
:00:43. > :00:46.life is for people living under the shadow of a war. Fighting between
:00:46. > :00:51.government forces and people who want a new leader began nearly two
:00:51. > :00:54.years ago. In that time, tens of thousands of Syrians have died, and
:00:54. > :00:58.over 400,000 men, women and children have fled to nearby
:00:59. > :01:04.countries. The city of Aleppo has seen some of the worst of the
:01:04. > :01:07.fighting. It's now mostly under the control of those who are against
:01:07. > :01:10.the government. Reporting from inside Syria has been heavily
:01:10. > :01:20.restricted, but now the BBC has new pictures of just how hard the
:01:20. > :01:22.
:01:22. > :01:25.situation has become. These children are living in an old
:01:25. > :01:29.school building. Two years ago, they slept in their own beds. Now
:01:29. > :01:32.they are sleeping on the floor, huddled together in their clothes.
:01:32. > :01:36.For now, the gunfire has stopped. But surviving each day is still a
:01:36. > :01:40.struggle. People are cold and hungry. At night, it's really dark
:01:40. > :01:46.because there's no electricity. They only have the fires they can
:01:46. > :01:50.In the morning, the first thing on many people's minds is finding
:01:50. > :01:54.something to eat. Children and their families queue for hours in
:01:54. > :01:59.the cold for food. Bread now costs ten times more than it did, and
:01:59. > :02:08.there's hardly any of it to go around. Aleppo is a very old city,
:02:08. > :02:11.but many of its buildings have been Streets are piled high with rubbish.
:02:11. > :02:16.It's not been collected for months because nothing about life here is
:02:16. > :02:20.normal. This man, who is called Ahmed, has lost his job and his
:02:20. > :02:30.home. He spends the day up to his ankles in smelly, rotten waste,
:02:30. > :02:31.
:02:32. > :02:35.looking for things he can sell so he can feed his children.
:02:35. > :02:39.Life is really bad. There's no work and no money. Outside the city, the
:02:39. > :02:43.fighting is still going on. No-one knows how long it will last. And
:02:43. > :02:46.until it ends, children like these will be refugees in their own city.
:02:46. > :02:49.Next up, fracking, that's the name for a technique used to extract gas
:02:49. > :02:53.from underground, which could then in theory be used to help heat
:02:53. > :02:57.Britain's homes. Today, the Government has given the go-ahead
:02:57. > :02:59.for it to start up again in the UK. And that's controversial, because
:02:59. > :03:04.only 18 months ago, the practice was stopped, after two small
:03:04. > :03:07.earthquakes in Lancashire where drilling was taking place. The
:03:07. > :03:10.company behind the drilling said it was most likely that those tremors
:03:10. > :03:15.were caused by fracking, which works by using high-pressure liquid
:03:15. > :03:17.to shatter underground rock, which then releases gas trapped inside.
:03:17. > :03:20.The Government says it is introducing new controls to
:03:20. > :03:30.minimise the risk of further tremors. But opinions on fracking
:03:30. > :03:32.
:03:32. > :03:36.remain sharply divided. We think it is a risky process, risky for local
:03:36. > :03:41.communities and the environment. It risks contamination, air pollution.
:03:41. > :03:45.It is not likely to cut energy bills. We have had so many studies,
:03:45. > :03:51.any number of studies, and all of them point to the same conclusion,
:03:51. > :03:55.that it is safe if done in a safe way.
:03:55. > :03:58.For most of us, living in a house or a flat is something we take for
:03:58. > :04:01.granted. You've got loads of space, bedrooms, a bathroom and a kitchen.
:04:01. > :04:04.But that isn't the case for some people, who because of money
:04:04. > :04:07.problems have to live in temporary homes, like B&Bs or hostels. The
:04:07. > :04:10.homelessness charity Shelter says the number of people its helpline
:04:10. > :04:14.has helped who are either homeless or face losing their home has risen
:04:14. > :04:17.by 80% in the last three years. Nel has been looking into this.
:04:17. > :04:20.Home is one of the most important places in our lives, but what
:04:20. > :04:23.happens when a family lose their home because they can't afford to
:04:23. > :04:26.live there? Wel, the council tries to find somewhere for you to live.
:04:26. > :04:30.Often that's in temporary accommodation, and it could be a
:04:30. > :04:33.B&B or a hostel. A new government report reveals that the number of
:04:33. > :04:36.homeless families with children in England living in bed and
:04:36. > :04:40.breakfasts has risen by 51% in the past year, that's about 700 more
:04:40. > :04:50.than last year. But more worryingly, those staying there for over the
:04:50. > :04:51.
:04:52. > :04:56.Ashley lives with her mum and younger brother in a hostel. They
:04:56. > :05:01.all share one room and have lived here for 18 months. Can you
:05:01. > :05:06.remember what it was like before you came here? The Will was living
:05:06. > :05:10.in a three-bedroom house, and it was comfortable, and we had our own
:05:10. > :05:15.space. If you live here, you have to share the toilet with people you
:05:15. > :05:21.do not know, people who was sick and ill. It is too small, isn't it?
:05:21. > :05:26.You have got a very small shower. You and Ashley sleep on his bed.
:05:26. > :05:30.did not know anything like this could happen, I have got a job,
:05:30. > :05:40.which I enjoy very much. So are the Government here doing enough to
:05:40. > :05:49.
:05:49. > :05:51.help kids like Ashley and her Families like Ashley's are facing
:05:51. > :05:54.tough times, but there are charities and other organisations
:05:54. > :05:57.that are supporting them. The Government say that they are doing
:05:57. > :06:02.everything they can to help, but for Ashley and her family this
:06:02. > :06:05.can't come soon enough. Sport now, and Chelsea eased their
:06:05. > :06:10.way into the Club World Cup Final in Japan earlier with a comfortable
:06:10. > :06:13.victory over Mexican side Monterrey. The Blues took the lead after 17
:06:13. > :06:19.minutes with this goal from Juan Mata, and a Fernando Torres
:06:19. > :06:22.deflected goal just after the break made it 2-0. Chelsea ended up 3-1
:06:22. > :06:31.winners with this gift of an own goal and will play Brazilian side
:06:31. > :06:35.Saying goodbye to a dog can be a heart-wrenching experience. Well,
:06:35. > :06:38.for most people, but not everyone, it seems. Today, a dog rescue
:06:38. > :06:42.charity has revealed a list of reasons people give for giving up
:06:42. > :06:52.their dogs, ranging from the bonkers to the bizarre. Ore's got
:06:52. > :06:53.
:06:53. > :06:57.Christmas can be the busiest time of the year for dogs homes. With
:06:57. > :07:01.many given us the perfect present, they are often left unwanted ones
:07:01. > :07:05.the tree has come down and the fairy lights are packed away. At
:07:05. > :07:08.centres like this in Leeds, they are handed in, and it could be
:07:08. > :07:12.because previous owners wanted to give them a better home or because
:07:12. > :07:16.they could not afford to keep it. Too often they find their way here
:07:16. > :07:22.for some ridiculous reasons. Reasons like they do not fit in
:07:22. > :07:27.with our party lifestyle, he gets too excited on walks, and even he
:07:27. > :07:33.is too thin. It is a bit frightening, the reasons they come
:07:33. > :07:40.in. A lot of them ca dog is a fun item, and when reality sets in that
:07:40. > :07:44.they are quite hard work, they come in. The Dogs Trust looks after
:07:44. > :07:48.16,000 animals every year. Most of the animals we getting are four
:07:48. > :07:53.very genuine reasons, a change of circumstances in the home,
:07:53. > :07:57.relationships, work. Everyone here loves looking after the dogs, and
:07:57. > :08:00.they make sure they have a good home when the doors are shut over
:08:00. > :08:05.the festive period, but so that fewer come through their doors and
:08:05. > :08:14.the future, they want people to remember that a dog is for life,
:08:14. > :08:18.not just for Christmas. This little sounded was making! --
:08:18. > :08:21.the little sound it was making! And finally the Queen and the Duke
:08:21. > :08:24.of Edinburgh have been on a tour of the Bank of England today where
:08:24. > :08:27.they've been checking out the vault where gold bars are kept. It's a
:08:27. > :08:30.rare glimpse inside the Bank's vault. These gold bars weigh
:08:30. > :08:32.thousands of tonnes and are worth billions of pounds. They viewed
:08:32. > :08:39.some newly printed banknotes too, recognise the face, Your Majesty?
:08:39. > :08:47.And she even had time for a joke about her signature. Hit hasn't