13/12/2012 Newsround

Welcome to Newsround, I'm Ricky. And I'm Hayley, here's whats coming

up. What life is really like inside Syria. The ridiculous reasons some

people come up with for giving up their pets. And find out what the

Queen is talking about! It hasn't improved much, do you know... This

First to Syria, where we've been given a rare insight into how hard

life is for people living under the shadow of a war. Fighting between

government forces and people who want a new leader began nearly two

years ago. In that time, tens of thousands of Syrians have died, and

over 400,000 men, women and children have fled to nearby

countries. The city of Aleppo has seen some of the worst of the

fighting. It's now mostly under the control of those who are against

the government. Reporting from inside Syria has been heavily

restricted, but now the BBC has new pictures of just how hard the

situation has become. These children are living in an old

school building. Two years ago, they slept in their own beds. Now

they are sleeping on the floor, huddled together in their clothes.

For now, the gunfire has stopped. But surviving each day is still a

struggle. People are cold and hungry. At night, it's really dark

because there's no electricity. They only have the fires they can

In the morning, the first thing on many people's minds is finding

something to eat. Children and their families queue for hours in

the cold for food. Bread now costs ten times more than it did, and

there's hardly any of it to go around. Aleppo is a very old city,

but many of its buildings have been Streets are piled high with rubbish.

It's not been collected for months because nothing about life here is

normal. This man, who is called Ahmed, has lost his job and his

home. He spends the day up to his ankles in smelly, rotten waste,

looking for things he can sell so he can feed his children.

Life is really bad. There's no work and no money. Outside the city, the

fighting is still going on. No-one knows how long it will last. And

until it ends, children like these will be refugees in their own city.

Next up, fracking, that's the name for a technique used to extract gas

from underground, which could then in theory be used to help heat

Britain's homes. Today, the Government has given the go-ahead

for it to start up again in the UK. And that's controversial, because

only 18 months ago, the practice was stopped, after two small

earthquakes in Lancashire where drilling was taking place. The

company behind the drilling said it was most likely that those tremors

were caused by fracking, which works by using high-pressure liquid

to shatter underground rock, which then releases gas trapped inside.

The Government says it is introducing new controls to

minimise the risk of further tremors. But opinions on fracking

remain sharply divided. We think it is a risky process, risky for local

communities and the environment. It risks contamination, air pollution.

It is not likely to cut energy bills. We have had so many studies,

any number of studies, and all of them point to the same conclusion,

that it is safe if done in a safe way.

For most of us, living in a house or a flat is something we take for

granted. You've got loads of space, bedrooms, a bathroom and a kitchen.

But that isn't the case for some people, who because of money

problems have to live in temporary homes, like B&Bs or hostels. The

homelessness charity Shelter says the number of people its helpline

has helped who are either homeless or face losing their home has risen

by 80% in the last three years. Nel has been looking into this.

Home is one of the most important places in our lives, but what

happens when a family lose their home because they can't afford to

live there? Wel, the council tries to find somewhere for you to live.

Often that's in temporary accommodation, and it could be a

B&B or a hostel. A new government report reveals that the number of

homeless families with children in England living in bed and

breakfasts has risen by 51% in the past year, that's about 700 more

than last year. But more worryingly, those staying there for over the

Ashley lives with her mum and younger brother in a hostel. They

all share one room and have lived here for 18 months. Can you

remember what it was like before you came here? The Will was living

in a three-bedroom house, and it was comfortable, and we had our own

space. If you live here, you have to share the toilet with people you

do not know, people who was sick and ill. It is too small, isn't it?

You have got a very small shower. You and Ashley sleep on his bed.

did not know anything like this could happen, I have got a job,

which I enjoy very much. So are the Government here doing enough to

help kids like Ashley and her Families like Ashley's are facing

tough times, but there are charities and other organisations

that are supporting them. The Government say that they are doing

everything they can to help, but for Ashley and her family this

can't come soon enough. Sport now, and Chelsea eased their

way into the Club World Cup Final in Japan earlier with a comfortable

victory over Mexican side Monterrey. The Blues took the lead after 17

minutes with this goal from Juan Mata, and a Fernando Torres

deflected goal just after the break made it 2-0. Chelsea ended up 3-1

winners with this gift of an own goal and will play Brazilian side

Saying goodbye to a dog can be a heart-wrenching experience. Well,

for most people, but not everyone, it seems. Today, a dog rescue

charity has revealed a list of reasons people give for giving up

their dogs, ranging from the bonkers to the bizarre. Ore's got

Christmas can be the busiest time of the year for dogs homes. With

many given us the perfect present, they are often left unwanted ones

the tree has come down and the fairy lights are packed away. At

centres like this in Leeds, they are handed in, and it could be

because previous owners wanted to give them a better home or because

they could not afford to keep it. Too often they find their way here

for some ridiculous reasons. Reasons like they do not fit in

with our party lifestyle, he gets too excited on walks, and even he

is too thin. It is a bit frightening, the reasons they come

in. A lot of them ca dog is a fun item, and when reality sets in that

they are quite hard work, they come in. The Dogs Trust looks after

16,000 animals every year. Most of the animals we getting are four

very genuine reasons, a change of circumstances in the home,

relationships, work. Everyone here loves looking after the dogs, and

they make sure they have a good home when the doors are shut over

the festive period, but so that fewer come through their doors and

the future, they want people to remember that a dog is for life,

not just for Christmas. This little sounded was making! --

the little sound it was making! And finally the Queen and the Duke

of Edinburgh have been on a tour of the Bank of England today where

they've been checking out the vault where gold bars are kept. It's a

rare glimpse inside the Bank's vault. These gold bars weigh

thousands of tonnes and are worth billions of pounds. They viewed

some newly printed banknotes too, recognise the face, Your Majesty?

And she even had time for a joke about her signature. Hit hasn't