:00:00. > :00:08.The government says it's considering calls to take
:00:09. > :00:10.in unaccompanied children who've arrived in Europe as refugees.
:00:11. > :00:14.Charities say Britain should take 3,000 of those who've made it out
:00:15. > :00:17.of war-torn countries like Syria and are at grave risk.
:00:18. > :00:19.Our teams across Europe who are welcoming refugees have been
:00:20. > :00:22.seeing tens of thousands of children coming through who have already
:00:23. > :00:24.suffered extremely harrowing experiences in the region or country
:00:25. > :00:31.they are coming from and are now all alone in Europe.
:00:32. > :00:35.The US east coast starts to recover from the weekend's snowstorms.
:00:36. > :00:37.More than 20 people were killed and millions affected.
:00:38. > :00:42.We've been stuck in the truck for 13 and a half hours.
:00:43. > :00:48.We haven't had any food since yesterday.
:00:49. > :00:53.After the doping scandal, a blow for world athletics as Adidas
:00:54. > :00:56.is set to end its sponsorship deal early.
:00:57. > :00:58.And the ground-breaking Antarctic study revealing how penguins
:00:59. > :01:27.The government says its considering calls from charities to respond
:01:28. > :01:29.to the numbers of unaccompanied child refugees in Europe and allow
:01:30. > :01:36.An estimated 26,000 children from Syria alone are thought to have
:01:37. > :01:38.fled conflict and managed to reach Europe but,
:01:39. > :01:41.without their families, are vulnerable and at risk.
:01:42. > :01:43.Today the International Development Secretary,
:01:44. > :01:46.Justine Greening, said a call for Britain to take in 3,000
:01:47. > :01:57.Our Political Correspondent, Iain Watson, reports.
:01:58. > :02:06.Are these the forgotten victims of Syria's civil War? Some children
:02:07. > :02:10.fleeing the conflict risk the hazardous trip to Europe, thousands
:02:11. > :02:16.of them arriving, some as recently as this week, with their papers but
:02:17. > :02:19.without their parents. Earlier this month a cross-party group of MPs
:02:20. > :02:23.urged the Prime Minister to go further in helping them by
:02:24. > :02:29.resettling 3000 refugee children in Britain. The government has been
:02:30. > :02:33.signalling that this is under serious consideration. We've been
:02:34. > :02:36.right at the forefront of helping children who have been affected by
:02:37. > :02:40.this crisis and we'll continue to look at how we can do that over the
:02:41. > :02:45.coming days and weeks. So how big is the scale of this crisis? Last year
:02:46. > :02:50.it was estimated at around 26,000 children arrived in Europe without
:02:51. > :02:54.their families, escaping from Syria, Afghanistan and some African
:02:55. > :03:04.countries. It's believed many disappear after they arrived. The
:03:05. > :03:06.call for the UK Government had taken 3000 unaccompanied children would be
:03:07. > :03:13.in addition to the 20,000 refugees the UK has already pledged to take
:03:14. > :03:16.direct from refugee camps. Children who have already suffered extremely
:03:17. > :03:19.harrowing experiences in the region of the country they have come from
:03:20. > :03:22.and are now all alone in Europe and these children are at risk of
:03:23. > :03:28.falling prey to people traffickers, prostitution. The Prime Minister
:03:29. > :03:32.visiting refugee camps in Lebanon last year. So far he has preferred
:03:33. > :03:36.to resettle honourable refugees from the region rather than from Europe
:03:37. > :03:41.to discourage others from making a perilous journey to the EU. I am
:03:42. > :03:44.told the Prime Minister hasn't yet made up his mind on whether to take
:03:45. > :03:50.more refugees. He knows he could be on the right of our referendum
:03:51. > :03:55.campaign were immigration is a major issue but the Labour leadership
:03:56. > :03:57.urged him to do more. They say if he helps his European partners tackle
:03:58. > :04:02.this crisis they could then give him a better deal to take to the British
:04:03. > :04:06.people. But he is under competing political pressure. Ukip say they
:04:07. > :04:11.want to help the most honourable but risks in taking children from Europe
:04:12. > :04:15.rather than refugee camps. Evidence is coming from Germany and other
:04:16. > :04:21.European countries that suggest that unfortunately children are being
:04:22. > :04:25.used as a Trojan horse the fourth family members to come at a later
:04:26. > :04:31.stage. That is why it is the show these children are assessed from the
:04:32. > :04:35.camps and it is an undertaking that we know they are genuinely children
:04:36. > :04:39.who have lost their parents or families. Whilst many are moved by
:04:40. > :04:42.the plight of refugees some politicians say the Prime Minister
:04:43. > :04:46.must also listen to wider concerns about immigration.
:04:47. > :04:55.A tricky one from a Prime Minister, how do you think you will resolve
:04:56. > :04:58.this? I am told not to expect any eminent announcements but it is
:04:59. > :05:02.tricky, he is under increasing political pressure not just from the
:05:03. > :05:06.charities but opposition politicians. The Lib Dem leader Tim
:05:07. > :05:09.Farron has said for some time he thinks Britain should do more to
:05:10. > :05:14.take in what he calls are fair share of child migrants from elsewhere in
:05:15. > :05:19.Europe. Jeremy Corbyn was visiting camps in Calais over the weekend and
:05:20. > :05:22.says anyone there with the British connection should have applications
:05:23. > :05:26.considered. That could be several thousand people. But the prime Mr is
:05:27. > :05:30.listening to other advice not least from local authorities who say they
:05:31. > :05:34.would struggle to find enough foster parents for child refugees. Above
:05:35. > :05:37.all else he is genuinely worried I am told about this idea of taking
:05:38. > :05:41.people from Europe rather than directly from camps and this could
:05:42. > :05:45.provide a further magnet for migration which could then form an
:05:46. > :05:49.unwelcome backdrop to an EU referendum campaign which could be
:05:50. > :05:53.just weeks away. But he is likely to offer more help refugees at a
:05:54. > :05:55.special conference on Syria taking place here in the UK in the next few
:05:56. > :05:58.weeks. Eastern parts of the United States
:05:59. > :06:01.may face days of disruption as they try to recover
:06:02. > :06:03.from the weekend's snowstorms, More than 20 people were killed,
:06:04. > :06:07.roads and rail lines blocked, and thousands of flights cancelled
:06:08. > :06:12.as airports were closed. 11 states were badly
:06:13. > :06:15.affected including New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey,
:06:16. > :06:17.as was the nations's capital, Our North America Editor Jon Sopel
:06:18. > :06:34.joins us from there now. They are calling it dig out DCD here
:06:35. > :06:40.in Washington, an army of officials and volunteers trying to get the
:06:41. > :06:43.streets ready so the capital can reopen for business. But after this
:06:44. > :06:51.historic storm where more than two feet of snow fell, that is unlikely
:06:52. > :06:57.to happen. This is how speeded up the face of a city and the region
:06:58. > :07:00.were changed in 24 hours as record-breaking levels of snow fell
:07:01. > :07:05.across the eastern seaboard affecting millions of people. As a
:07:06. > :07:09.state of emergency was declared the advice was to stay inside but some
:07:10. > :07:14.find themselves caught like the owners of these trucks and cars who
:07:15. > :07:19.spent the weekend stuck on a Pennsylvania motorway. We've got no
:07:20. > :07:24.food. We've got water. We haven't had any food since yesterday. In New
:07:25. > :07:28.York were yesterday of private vehicles were banned there has been
:07:29. > :07:33.some easing of the restrictions but not without being accompanied by a
:07:34. > :07:36.serious health warning. If you don't need to be on the roads you
:07:37. > :07:40.shouldn't be on the road because there are still dangerous spots,
:07:41. > :07:48.still spots with black ice and this is still about getting the emergency
:07:49. > :07:53.crew idea. More than 20 deaths have been associated with the storm, some
:07:54. > :07:58.from car crashes, others from heart attacks caused by shovelling snow. A
:07:59. > :08:01.mother and baby died of carbon monoxide poisoning after the exhaust
:08:02. > :08:06.block of the car they were sitting and became blocked with snow and
:08:07. > :08:10.ice. Today the big clean-up has started, at the White House and
:08:11. > :08:14.across Washington snowblowers and people with shovels are trying to
:08:15. > :08:18.clear streets and pavements. The transport network is paralysed. This
:08:19. > :08:23.is the International Airport at Washington, no planes yet coming in,
:08:24. > :08:26.only a few going out. At the city 's emergency centre they are warning
:08:27. > :08:33.that subzero temperatures tonight will bring fresh problems. Real hard
:08:34. > :08:36.icepack tomorrow which hinders what we are doing. That makes it harder
:08:37. > :08:43.for crews to get around and snowploughs to do what they have to
:08:44. > :08:47.do. It's a caution because of that, we will still be digging out from
:08:48. > :08:52.two feet of snow so we have made the decision to close schools tomorrow.
:08:53. > :08:57.Forget the official ban on sporting contests, unofficial ones were in
:08:58. > :09:02.full swing like this snowball fight. The city 's capital was the venue
:09:03. > :09:08.for mass sledging. Some held their own freestyle swimming gal is,
:09:09. > :09:12.rather then! And in Times Square it was the skiing and snowboarding
:09:13. > :09:21.contest which used everyone. Well, almost. The schools are going to
:09:22. > :09:25.remain shut tomorrow, also on Capitol Hill there will be no votes
:09:26. > :09:30.at all because of the difficulty of congressmen and women to get back to
:09:31. > :09:34.take part. We are also waiting to hear if the federal government will
:09:35. > :09:37.open at all tomorrow, so the storm may have passed, but the after
:09:38. > :09:42.effects not so much. The BBC has learned that Adidas
:09:43. > :09:45.is to terminate its sponsorship deal with athletics' world
:09:46. > :09:46.governing body, the IAAF, in the wake of the doping scandal
:09:47. > :09:49.engulfing the sport. Adidas has been the IAAF's biggest
:09:50. > :09:52.sponsor and is understood to have made its decision as a direct
:09:53. > :09:57.result of the scandal. Our Sports Editor Dan Roan
:09:58. > :10:11.is in the BBC Sports Centre How much of a blow is this? It's the
:10:12. > :10:16.last thing I think athletics governing body needed with its sport
:10:17. > :10:20.already in the grip of an unprecedented crisis. Last year the
:10:21. > :10:23.World Anti-Doping Agency found evidence of systemic state-sponsored
:10:24. > :10:27.cheating in Russia and earlier this month in a second damning report it
:10:28. > :10:31.said there had been a culture of corruption at the governing body the
:10:32. > :10:38.IAAF itself and this seems to have proven too much for the sponsors,
:10:39. > :10:44.and the disc. The BBC has learned that that they wrote to the IAAF
:10:45. > :10:48.earlier this week informing of their intention to terminate its
:10:49. > :10:53.sponsorship agreement. Adidas have an 11 year agreement, the biggest
:10:54. > :10:58.the IAAF had ever signed in 2008 and we believe anything it four years
:10:59. > :11:02.early could cost athletics tens of millions of pounds. It is understood
:11:03. > :11:06.Adidas believes the doping revelations could constitute a
:11:07. > :11:10.breach of contract. Another major blow for the IAAF and its British
:11:11. > :11:14.president Lord Coe as they desperately seek to recover after a
:11:15. > :11:20.desperate few months in this, an Olympic year. And Adidas remain the
:11:21. > :11:23.oldest sponsor of the fire but when it comes to athletic scandal it
:11:24. > :11:28.seems to have proven too much -- Goldust sponsor of Fifa.
:11:29. > :11:30.Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has said it
:11:31. > :11:32.would be "a mistake" for David Cameron to hold
:11:33. > :11:34.a referendum on Britain's membership of the EU as early
:11:35. > :11:38.There's been speculation a vote could take place then
:11:39. > :11:40.if the Prime Minister manages to agree a deal on EU reforms
:11:41. > :11:44.But Ms Sturgeon told the Andrew Marr Show on BBC One that
:11:45. > :11:47.that would confuse voters because of elections due to be held
:11:48. > :11:52.You might interpret it as being a bit selfish.
:11:53. > :11:57.The Welsh, Northern Irish and London elections are in May.
:11:58. > :12:00.I think to have a referendum campaign starting
:12:01. > :12:06.in parallel would be disrespectful to those important elections.
:12:07. > :12:08.The latest attacks in Iraq by the Sunni militants
:12:09. > :12:10.of the so-called Islamic State has set off a spiral
:12:11. > :12:16.Since the US-led invasion in 2003, Iraq's Shia Muslim majority have
:12:17. > :12:20.largely held the power, sidelining many Sunnis,
:12:21. > :12:26.This month an attack on a cafe in the town of Muqdadiyah killed
:12:27. > :12:29.nearly 30 people, many of them Shia, and was followed by deadly revenge
:12:30. > :12:39.Our correspondent Jim Muir reports from there.
:12:40. > :12:41.We travelled into Muqdadiyah with the main Shia armed faction
:12:42. > :12:51.This is the cafe wrecked by a double suicide bombing
:12:52. > :12:57.So-called Islamic State said it did it.
:12:58. > :13:00.Clearly the aim was to provoke trouble between Sunnis and Shia
:13:01. > :13:04.They come from rival branches of Islam whose differences
:13:05. > :13:09.are currently sharply dividing the whole region.
:13:10. > :13:12.It is in mixed areas like this that the future of Iraq
:13:13. > :13:17.If coexistence between Sunnis and Shia doesn't work here,
:13:18. > :13:23.the chances of it working elsewhere in Iraq don't look good.
:13:24. > :13:25.Just across the road, the results of an outburst
:13:26. > :13:30.A Sunni mosque partly reduced to rubble.
:13:31. > :13:32.At least four others were also attacked.
:13:33. > :13:35.Two journalists from a local TV station who tried to film
:13:36. > :13:44.Less than an hour's drive away, Sunni families were on the move
:13:45. > :13:49.but they are not fleeing, they are coming back.
:13:50. > :13:54.These people ran away to years ago when the militants took over.
:13:55. > :13:58.Now they feel safe enough to come back, encouraged by the government
:13:59. > :14:01.and the Shia factions which drove IS out.
:14:02. > :14:06.This woman says she and her family are glad to be back.
:14:07. > :14:10.TRANSLATION: I've got three kids, the two older ones remember our
:14:11. > :14:16.house here and are excited to be coming back to it.
:14:17. > :14:18.There was a big reception to welcome hundreds of Sunni families home.
:14:19. > :14:22.The head of the biggest Shia armed faction told them
:14:23. > :14:31.TRANSLATION: Victory has no meaning if the displaced don't come back.
:14:32. > :14:34.These people are Sunnis and they fled from IS which proves
:14:35. > :14:41.The extremist conspiracy to stir up sectarian trouble has failed.
:14:42. > :14:47.Fine words, but in Iraq it is actions that count.
:14:48. > :14:50.Iraq's future will only be assured when all those who were uprooted
:14:51. > :14:52.are back in their homes and there are more
:14:53. > :15:06.Investigations into nearly 60 allegations of unlawful killing made
:15:07. > :15:08.against British soldiers who served in Iraq have been dropped.
:15:09. > :15:11.The Ministry of Defence said the body set up to review
:15:12. > :15:13.accusations of abuse of Iraqi civilians had decided not to proceed
:15:14. > :15:16.Hundreds of others are still being investigated.
:15:17. > :15:19.Last week the Prime Minister ordered a clamp down on lawyers pursuing
:15:20. > :15:28.what he called "spurious" claims against veterans.
:15:29. > :15:31.Three dead whales have been washed up on a beach in Lincolnshire.
:15:32. > :15:34.The sperm whales were found near Skegness and are believed to be
:15:35. > :15:37.from the same pod as another whale which died a day earlier in Norfolk.
:15:38. > :15:40.Scientists have taken samples to try and establish what happened
:15:41. > :15:45.With all the sport, here's Lizzie Greenwood-Hughes at the BBC
:15:46. > :15:52.There are highlights of the day's football on Match of the Day 2
:15:53. > :15:54.after the news, or after Sportscene in Scotland.
:15:55. > :15:56.So if you don't want to know the scores,
:15:57. > :16:01.Arsenal missed out on going back to the top of the table,
:16:02. > :16:04.beaten 1-0 at home by Chelsea after playing most of the game
:16:05. > :16:09.Diego Costa, once again a thorn in Arsenal's side,
:16:10. > :16:12.prompting a sending-off and scoring the goal.
:16:13. > :16:14.Earlier, Swansea's new manager, Francesco Guidolin, got off
:16:15. > :16:17.to a winning start, beating Everton 2-1.
:16:18. > :16:21.And there were two red cards but no goals as Hamilton drew with Hearts
:16:22. > :16:26.Now, as England's cricketers fought to stay in contention in the fourth
:16:27. > :16:28.Test in South Africa, one of their former players
:16:29. > :16:32.was excelling in the Big Bash in Australia.
:16:33. > :16:34.It highlights the sport's contrasting formats,
:16:35. > :16:36.competing for attention, as our correspondent
:16:37. > :16:54.In this century and English tradition, third day of the test,
:16:55. > :16:59.technique, supple day, another Joe Root 50. In Australia the Big Bash,
:17:00. > :17:05.New Year cricket, Milburn stars lost the final of us truly is 2020
:17:06. > :17:10.competition but Kevin Pietersen walloped 74. The T20 World Cup is in
:17:11. > :17:15.March, Kevin Pietersen remains former England batsmen. He could be
:17:16. > :17:21.the X factor, the difference between England competing and potentially
:17:22. > :17:28.winning. I don't think it'll happen but I would pick him. Test matches
:17:29. > :17:36.offer different words for young fast bowler. Rabada took seven wickets as
:17:37. > :17:39.England were all out for 342, 133 runs behind. South Africa have
:17:40. > :17:44.already lost the series but Rabada is the future. So which England
:17:45. > :17:50.batsman did he must enjoy dismissing? Ben Stokes and Joe Root.
:17:51. > :17:58.Because they are England's players? Yeah, because of that and other
:17:59. > :18:02.reasons. Can you live eight? I don't like seeing them at the crease
:18:03. > :18:09.scoring runs, that is as much as I will say. South Africa will resume
:18:10. > :18:10.42-1 in the second innings, Test matches last longer than the Big
:18:11. > :18:13.Bash but are no less intense. Exeter and Northampton have
:18:14. > :18:15.completed the quarter-final line-up for rugby union's European Champions
:18:16. > :18:19.Cup after a day for the calculators. James Short scored a brace of tries
:18:20. > :18:22.in Exeter's 33-17 win While Ulster were the other
:18:23. > :18:27.team to miss out. It's the first time Exeter have
:18:28. > :18:31.reached the knock-out stages. And their reward is
:18:32. > :18:34.an away tie with Wasps. So, in the last eight line-up
:18:35. > :18:38.there are five English and three French teams but none
:18:39. > :18:42.from Scotland, Wales or Ireland. And England's netball team have
:18:43. > :18:44.lost their tri-series British scientists working
:18:45. > :18:53.on a ground-breaking project to monitor penguin life
:18:54. > :18:56.in the Antarctic have found evidence of how they are adapting
:18:57. > :18:59.in the face of climate change. Footage gathered using remote
:19:00. > :19:02.cameras shows penguin colonies being established in new areas,
:19:03. > :19:06.while other research suggests threats to some penguins' food
:19:07. > :19:10.sources and declining numbers. Our Science Correspondent,
:19:11. > :19:12.Victoria Gill, has had exclusive access to research sites
:19:13. > :19:14.on the Antarctic peninsula The only continent on earth with no
:19:15. > :19:28.native human population. This is our planet's
:19:29. > :19:31.great wilderness. These are gentoo penguins
:19:32. > :19:39.and this is a new colony. The birds started nesting
:19:40. > :19:42.here at Moot Point on the Antarctic peninsular just ten years ago
:19:43. > :19:46.and there are now 500 of them. That movement in their breeding
:19:47. > :19:50.sites is one of the signs of penguins adjusting to a changing
:19:51. > :19:53.climate and that is why these scientists want to make
:19:54. > :19:57.here their field station. They are installing a network
:19:58. > :20:00.of cameras to keep watch We can look at how many chicks
:20:01. > :20:07.survive or if they die off suddenly we can look at what happened
:20:08. > :20:09.just before that. Whereas if we turn up at the end
:20:10. > :20:13.of the season or next year, and we see colony failure,
:20:14. > :20:16.there is no way to pin down what the threat was,
:20:17. > :20:18.what the cause of that was. It's like CCTV, rewind it and see
:20:19. > :20:23.what happened immediately What those cameras reveal is a rare
:20:24. > :20:33.glimpse of Antarctic life. This footage is composed of a photo
:20:34. > :20:37.taken every hour over an entire year and for the scientists
:20:38. > :20:39.that is building up The team now has 40 cameras just
:20:40. > :20:45.like this one in penguin colonies throughout the Antarctic peninsular
:20:46. > :20:48.and it's only by having this constant monitoring presence
:20:49. > :20:52.generating all of that data that they can work out how threats
:20:53. > :20:55.like human activity and climate change are effecting this
:20:56. > :21:02.continent's unique wildlife. While the cameras show this
:21:03. > :21:04.environment in flux, the team is also working
:21:05. > :21:08.with scientists from the US This means a headcount
:21:09. > :21:12.in every colony they study, It is revealing some
:21:13. > :21:17.worrying trends. We are here at a colony of chinstrap
:21:18. > :21:20.penguins and this particular region, this particular species is seeing
:21:21. > :21:23.a decline over the last few decades. Those declines are likely associated
:21:24. > :21:27.with climate change and there may also be a link with competition
:21:28. > :21:29.from fisheries, as in humans obtaining the same food -
:21:30. > :21:32.krill - as these penguins The Antarctic peninsular is one
:21:33. > :21:40.of the fastest warming places on the planet and this project aims
:21:41. > :21:43.to reveal just how that change is impacting the wildlife that
:21:44. > :21:45.survives and thrives Victoria Gill, BBC News,
:21:46. > :21:54.Antarctica. You can see more on all of today's
:21:55. > :22:02.stories on the BBC News Channel. Stay with us on BBC One,
:22:03. > :22:05.it's time for the news