:00:05. > :00:09.Hi there, Ricky here with Monday's top stories. Hope you're wrapped up
:00:09. > :00:13.warm wherever you are - it's cold out there! Thanks for this lovely
:00:13. > :00:23.picture! Here's what else we've got for this afternoon... We asked you
:00:23. > :00:26.
:00:26. > :00:31.on the website about this - here's what some of you have had to say.
:00:31. > :00:38.First, how many of you walked home from school or caught a bus on your
:00:38. > :00:41.own today? If you did, you are pretty rare. Apparently only one in
:00:41. > :00:45.four primary school kids in England is allowed to travel alone. In
:00:45. > :00:49.Germany, it is a bit different, with three-quarters of kids going
:00:49. > :00:55.to school on their own. Some charities say more needs to be done
:00:56. > :01:02.to make the roads safer around schools. Keeping them safe, they
:01:02. > :01:06.have got to cross a main road. But I use it to hang out with the kids
:01:06. > :01:11.and ask them about their day. lights take a very long time to
:01:11. > :01:15.change, and I would not let the children come by themselves.
:01:15. > :01:25.asked you what you thought about this, and this is what you have had
:01:25. > :01:40.
:01:40. > :01:45.Well, the snow is still coming down in many parts of the country. The
:01:45. > :01:49.north-east of the country has had the most, in some places, up to
:01:49. > :01:54.10cm. Forecasters say the cold weather is here to stay over the
:01:54. > :01:57.next couple of days. Children at schools in parts of
:01:57. > :02:00.China have been told to avoid going outside because of high levels of
:02:00. > :02:03.pollution in the air. People have been warned to protect their health
:02:03. > :02:07.and wear protective masks in the capital city of Beijing after three
:02:07. > :02:10.days of thick smog. Weather forecasters say that the cloud of
:02:10. > :02:16.haze will stay until Wednesday, when strong winds are expected to
:02:16. > :02:20.blow it away. A quick update on the tug boat off the coast of Devon
:02:20. > :02:22.that was hit by the ship it was towing late last night. The ship it
:02:22. > :02:25.towing late last night. The ship it was towing has sunk but efforts are
:02:25. > :02:30.still ongoing to try to stop the tug boat from spilling its diesel
:02:30. > :02:34.fuel into the sea. Next - the biggest gathering of
:02:34. > :02:36.people in the world has begun today on the banks of the Ganges in India.
:02:36. > :02:40.The opening day of the Kumbh Mela festival has already welcomed
:02:40. > :02:44.hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, who have been bathing in the river.
:02:44. > :02:49.Up to 10 million more people are expected to arrive by the end of
:02:49. > :02:53.the day. Here's Hayley with more. It's thought 100 million people
:02:53. > :02:56.will visit the Kumbh Mela festival over the next 55 days. The festival
:02:56. > :03:03.takes place once every 12 years and is being celebrated at Allahabad in
:03:03. > :03:06.India, where two rivers, the Ganges and Yamuna, meet. It's all because
:03:06. > :03:16.Hindus believe that bathing in the river will save their souls and
:03:16. > :03:17.
:03:17. > :03:22.protect them from harm, as the BBC's Yogita Limaye explains.
:03:22. > :03:25.Allahabad has been preparing for this festival for months. Since
:03:25. > :03:29.very early this morning, people have been coming down to the river
:03:29. > :03:33.to take a dip in it because they believe it is going to wash away
:03:33. > :03:37.their sins. More people are expected to come here overnight.
:03:37. > :03:42.There are lots of children here as well. With so many people gathering,
:03:42. > :03:48.there are concerns about safety. 14 a temporary hospitals have been set
:03:48. > :03:51.up, and 243 doctors are on standby in case anybody gets into trouble.
:03:51. > :03:53.The main attractions at the festival are the Hindu holy men,
:03:53. > :03:58.who have been leading processions alongside elephants, camels and
:03:58. > :04:03.music bands in the run-up to the celebrations. There are however
:04:03. > :04:06.health concerns - with warnings that the river is polluted.
:04:06. > :04:12.Traditionally pilgrims drink droplets of the Ganges water - some
:04:12. > :04:15.even fill water bottles to take home with them. In 2001, a record-
:04:15. > :04:18.breaking 60 million pilgrims took part in the last Kumbh Mela at
:04:18. > :04:26.Allahabad - and if these scenes are anything to go by, we could well be
:04:26. > :04:30.In tennis, British player Heather Watson is through the next round of
:04:30. > :04:32.the Australian Open. Watson looked like she was losing to Romania's
:04:32. > :04:38.Alexandra Cadantu after the dropping the first set, but came
:04:38. > :04:41.back to take the match. In the men's competition, Andy Murray has
:04:41. > :04:44.been preparing to play his first match at Melbourne later today.
:04:44. > :04:48.Just enough time to tell you to head to the Newsround website,