0:00:05 > 0:00:09Tonight at Ten, manufacturing output in the UK reaches
0:00:09 > 0:00:12its highest level in a decade.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15Official figures for November show the sector grew for a seventh month
0:00:15 > 0:00:20in a row boosted by the weak pound and the state of the global economy.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23The global economy is growing.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27We're a small trading nation and that rising tide is also
0:00:27 > 0:00:29lifting the uk boat.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33But in contrast, the construction sector saw the biggest fall
0:00:33 > 0:00:36in output for the past five years - we'll have the details.
0:00:36 > 0:00:37Also tonight:
0:00:37 > 0:00:40After the mudslides in California at least 15 have died
0:00:40 > 0:00:44but rescuers find some survivors, including babies.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48We dug down and found a little baby, I don't know where it came from,
0:00:48 > 0:00:52we dug it out, got the mud out of its mouth, I hope it's ok
0:00:52 > 0:00:57they took it right ot the hospital.
0:00:58 > 0:01:03A special report from Jordan where thousands of injured Syrian
0:01:03 > 0:01:06children are facing long waits for treatment.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09The record number of orphaned seals found along the Cornish
0:01:09 > 0:01:15coastline over the past few weeks.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19And, the latest production secrets from the director who
0:01:19 > 0:01:22brought us Wallace and Grommit.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25And coming up on Sportsday on BBC News.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27The VAR experiment continues.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30Chelsea and Arsenal's EFL Cup semifinal is the second club match
0:01:30 > 0:01:37in England to use the new system.
0:01:52 > 0:01:53Good evening.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56Manufacturing output in the UK is growing at its fastest rate
0:01:56 > 0:01:59for a decade after recording a seventh consecutive month
0:01:59 > 0:02:00of growth in November.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03Performance has been boosted by the weak pound and by the revived
0:02:03 > 0:02:05state of the global economy.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09But in the same period construction output fell by the biggest margin
0:02:09 > 0:02:13for the past five years reflecting the subdued nature of the domestic
0:02:13 > 0:02:17economy, as our economics editor Kamal Ahmed explains.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23The sound of better economic news, and the manufacturers
0:02:23 > 0:02:26which are making the goods a faster-growing world is demanding.
0:02:26 > 0:02:31The weakness in the value of the pound makes everything
0:02:31 > 0:02:35Britain sells abroad more competitive, and firms that export
0:02:35 > 0:02:39are taking advantage.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42So this machine actually is a high-end wire EDM machine...
0:02:42 > 0:02:45Like Brandauer in Birmingham.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48Among other high-tech materials, it makes the switches for 90%
0:02:48 > 0:02:51of all the kettles in the world, billions of them.
0:02:51 > 0:02:53Its order books for household goods, the car sector
0:02:53 > 0:02:56and aerospace are bulging.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00We've always exported a huge percentage of what we make.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03Currently, that's around 70, 75%.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07Global growth of our customers and the manufacturing supply chain
0:03:07 > 0:03:09means growth for us.
0:03:09 > 0:03:13Our customers are doing well, and technology demands
0:03:13 > 0:03:16are ever-increasing, which means Brandauer,
0:03:16 > 0:03:19as a net result, will do well.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22It's been a ten year roller-coaster for Britain's makers.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26Manufacturing suffered badly in the financial crisis and has only
0:03:26 > 0:03:29slowly recovered since.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32But, in the last year, things have taken a turn
0:03:32 > 0:03:35for the better and output is now at its highest since April 2008.
0:03:35 > 0:03:41Behind these better figures is a big economic trend, global growth.
0:03:41 > 0:03:48For the first time since the financial crisis ten years ago,
0:03:48 > 0:03:52all the economic centres - the USA, China, Japan
0:03:52 > 0:03:57and the rest of Europe - are seeing stronger growth,
0:03:57 > 0:03:59and that rising tide is lifting Britain.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02Confidence is flowing back.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04It's not all good news.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08Construction figures are poor and there are still
0:04:08 > 0:04:10the problems of falling wages and the increase in prices.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13Many economists warn that Britain is not out of the economic woods,
0:04:13 > 0:04:16including a former adviser to the Chancellor.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20What we've seen in the UK relative to elsewhere
0:04:20 > 0:04:22is growth relatively stable.
0:04:22 > 0:04:27Now, that is still better than most predicted at the start of 2017,
0:04:27 > 0:04:32because the Brexit negotiation was expected to have a more
0:04:32 > 0:04:36dampening impact on growth, but the global environment has
0:04:36 > 0:04:39actually ended up being much stronger, and I think that has
0:04:39 > 0:04:41supported UK activity.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43The UK is still the laggard, though.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47Manufacturing is a bright point, but at just 10% of the UK economy
0:04:47 > 0:04:49it's not everything.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52The strength of Britain overall will only become clear when the full
0:04:52 > 0:04:55set of figures are published at the end of the month.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58Many economists believe they will now be more
0:04:58 > 0:05:00positive than expected.
0:05:00 > 0:05:07Kamal is here with us now.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09Manufacturing is one thing, clearly an important thing, but there's more
0:05:09 > 0:05:13to the economy?The economy is a complex mix of different trends,
0:05:13 > 0:05:18that's why my job is so interesting. But yes, this global growth story is
0:05:18 > 0:05:23based around very low interest rates which have met that. They were put
0:05:23 > 0:05:27in place to help the global economy through the financial crisis,
0:05:27 > 0:05:31meaning consumers and businesses are borrowing very cheap money, spending
0:05:31 > 0:05:36that and finally, the world is coming out of the financial crisis
0:05:36 > 0:05:40funk that it's been in for the best part of a decade which is helping
0:05:40 > 0:05:44Britain. That is only one part of the British economic story. We know
0:05:44 > 0:05:47that pay squeeze is still with us, higher prices are affecting the
0:05:47 > 0:05:51price of things like food in the shops and, of course, there's the
0:05:51 > 0:05:55Brexit negotiations. They're going to hang over everything about
0:05:55 > 0:05:58economic sentiment this year, how good they'll be, and tonight, Philip
0:05:58 > 0:06:03Hammond, the Chancellor, has really tried to kick start those
0:06:03 > 0:06:06negotiations towards whatever the new free trade deal may be with the
0:06:06 > 0:06:10European Union with a warning at a dinner in front of business leaders
0:06:10 > 0:06:15in Germany in Berlin where he said that the EU should start offering
0:06:15 > 0:06:20some solutions, they should stop talking about punishing the UK, It
0:06:20 > 0:06:24Takes Two to tango, he says. Come on EU put on the table what you want to
0:06:24 > 0:06:28see happen, trying to kick start on a very tight timetable. I think in
0:06:28 > 0:06:32Brussels, the response to that will be some raised eyebrows. Britain
0:06:32 > 0:06:37decided to leave the EU, the EU didn't decide to leave Britain, you
0:06:37 > 0:06:41broke it, you fix it. I think the key message all year will be from
0:06:41 > 0:06:44Europe, as we have always been hearing, Britain cannot have a
0:06:44 > 0:06:49better deal outside the EU than it had in the EU, we are not going to
0:06:49 > 0:06:55be able to have our cake and eat it. Thank you very much.
0:06:55 > 0:07:00In Southern California at least 15 have died in the mudslides
0:07:00 > 0:07:03as rescue efforts continue people still trapped.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07More than 50 people have been rescued already but many places
0:07:07 > 0:07:10are still inaccessible with major roads closed.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12For the latest, let's join our correpondent
0:07:12 > 0:07:16James Cook in Montecito.
0:07:16 > 0:07:21Huw, the latest is that more than a hundred homes, including ones behind
0:07:21 > 0:07:25me here have been destroyed, more than 300 have been damaged. That is
0:07:25 > 0:07:30before this entire area's even been fully surveyed. They are still, they
0:07:30 > 0:07:35say, trying to find survivors, but much of the focus now is on
0:07:35 > 0:07:37recovering bodies.
0:07:39 > 0:07:44On California's Pacific coast, ordeal by the elements continues.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47First, they endured the largest fire in the state's history.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49Next came torrential rain, more intense than anyone
0:07:49 > 0:07:52here could remember.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55Then, within minutes, destruction, caused by an unstoppable
0:07:55 > 0:07:58wall of mud and debris.
0:07:58 > 0:08:0214-year-old Lauren Cantin survived, but even she does not know how.
0:08:02 > 0:08:07Firefighters using rescue dogs heard her screams
0:08:07 > 0:08:10and worked for hours to pull her from the
0:08:10 > 0:08:10wreckage of her home.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17Her family's fate is unknown.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21Everyone here, it seems, has their own incredible story
0:08:21 > 0:08:23of a struggle to survive.
0:08:23 > 0:08:28Once the boulders and trees came through our house we climbed up
0:08:28 > 0:08:33onto the roof and waited until the creek went down a bit
0:08:33 > 0:08:37and then we climbed off the roof and got to our neighbour's garage.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39We just got pulled out of there by the firefighters now.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42But he's been out rescuing neighbours.
0:08:42 > 0:08:48We heard a little baby crying.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50We dug down and found a little baby.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54I don't know where it came from.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57We got it out, got the mud out of its mouth.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00I'm hoping it's OK.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02They took it right to the hospital.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06But it was just a baby, four feet down in the mud, under the rocks.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08I'm glad we got him.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12There was a young man that was washed away that
0:09:12 > 0:09:14ended up half a mile away from here on the freeway,
0:09:14 > 0:09:17and survived that.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19And has recall of actually being washed through houses
0:09:19 > 0:09:23and under vehicles, and survived that.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27These coastguard pictures show the rescue of a family of five.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31First a mother and her newborn baby are winched to safety.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35Then a little girl makes it onto the roof.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38Her seven-year-old brother is saved too.
0:09:38 > 0:09:43Terrifying moments, but they are the lucky ones.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45How do you describe it?
0:09:45 > 0:09:48It is devastating, what happened.
0:09:48 > 0:09:53The fire created a situation where the dirt was able to wash down.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57Had we still had all the vegetation on the hills it would not have been
0:09:57 > 0:09:59as much of an issue.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02We just feel very sorry for the people who have
0:10:02 > 0:10:03lost their homes and their lives.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05That's Coast Village Road, Montecito.
0:10:05 > 0:10:06Montecito.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09So why did this happen?
0:10:09 > 0:10:13The downpour soaked an area which had been scorched by wildfire,
0:10:13 > 0:10:16burning grass and shrubs which hold the soil in place
0:10:16 > 0:10:18and baking the earth, leaving it slick and hard.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21The water had nowhere to go but down, fast,
0:10:21 > 0:10:23into the town of Montecito with deadly, devastating effect.
0:10:23 > 0:10:31This is one of the most exclusive communities in the United States,
0:10:31 > 0:10:35home to stars including actor Rob Lowe and TV presenter
0:10:35 > 0:10:38Ellen DeGeneres.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42But no amount of money can stop a mudslide.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44There used to be a fence right here.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46That's my neighbour's house.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48Devastated.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51Oprah Winfrey posted this video as she assessed
0:10:51 > 0:10:53the damage in her garden.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55See how deep the mud is.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59The destruction was not confined to the coast.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04Further inland in Burbank, a suburb of Los Angeles,
0:11:04 > 0:11:08the cameras captured another mudslide in action.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16The power of this mudslide is graphically demonstrated here.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19The people in these homes, and there were some people
0:11:19 > 0:11:24who stayed in this area, it must have been terrifying
0:11:24 > 0:11:30as boulders like this and other debris swept down from the hills.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33Firefighters insist there is still some hope
0:11:33 > 0:11:36of finding survivors, but it is fading.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39The financial cost from this disaster will be immense.
0:11:39 > 0:11:44The human toll much higher.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50Questions are knew being asked about whether this community could have
0:11:50 > 0:11:54been better prepared. After the fires, everybody knew if there was
0:11:54 > 0:11:59heavy rain, then it would cause a problem, perhaps not as serious as
0:11:59 > 0:12:03this, but a problem nonetheless. There was an evacuation order given.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07It was not mandatory for this particular community, perhaps it
0:12:07 > 0:12:10should have been, perhaps people should have listened, but most of
0:12:10 > 0:12:15all, people are saying here, no-one expected the ferocity of this
0:12:15 > 0:12:21mudslide which has caused such, such trauma. Thanks for the update,
0:12:21 > 0:12:23James.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27The trial of the former football coach, Barry Bennell,
0:12:27 > 0:12:30on charges of child sexual offences has for the first time heard
0:12:30 > 0:12:32from an alleged victim.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35A man who claims he was sexually abused as a child has told the court
0:12:35 > 0:12:38that Bennell had what he called a 'power hold' over young
0:12:38 > 0:12:41boys who dreamt of being professional players.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45The defendant who's now known as Richard Jones denies 48 charges
0:12:45 > 0:12:47of child sexual abuse as our sports editor Dan Roan reports.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52Back in the 1980s, Barry Bennell worked with some of the most
0:12:52 > 0:12:54promising young footballers in the north-west of England.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56Youth team coach at Crewe Alexandra.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58He also had links with Manchester City.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02Today, Liverpool Crown Court was told the 64-year-old,
0:13:02 > 0:13:05who now calls himself Richard Jones, exploited young boys' dreams
0:13:05 > 0:13:09of becoming footballers in order to sexually abuse them.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13With Bennell watching on via video link, the jury was shown
0:13:13 > 0:13:17footage of the first complainant's police interview.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20He said he first met Bennell when he came to a training session
0:13:20 > 0:13:22as a scout for Manchester City.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26Now in his 40s, the alleged victim said he was abused up to 100 times
0:13:26 > 0:13:29along with other boys by Bennell, at his home above a shop
0:13:29 > 0:13:32he owned in the Derbyshire village of Furness Vale.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36He claimed Bennell had up to three boys share a bed with him.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39The complainant said none dared speak out for fear of jeopardising
0:13:39 > 0:13:42their football prospects.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45It was almost like an untold rule, he said.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53It's going to be frank and open and it will cover
0:13:53 > 0:13:55details of sexual abuse.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59The court was shown a recording of this BBC programme from November
0:13:59 > 0:14:032016 featuring other alleged victims which the complainant said left him
0:14:03 > 0:14:06in complete meltdown, prompting him to contact police
0:14:06 > 0:14:08for the first time.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11Appearing behind a screen in court, he was cross-examined
0:14:11 > 0:14:13by Eleanor Laws QC for the defence, and asked if his complaint
0:14:13 > 0:14:16was financially motivated.
0:14:16 > 0:14:21I am not in it for the money, he said.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23The court was read transcripts from Bennell's interview
0:14:23 > 0:14:26with the police, in which he denied ever abusing the complainant.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28I've had no sexual contact with him.
0:14:28 > 0:14:29He said.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32I remember thinking he was the one that got away with it.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34He wasn't one of my victims.
0:14:34 > 0:14:35It's impossible.
0:14:35 > 0:14:36The trial continues.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40Dan Roan, BBC News, Liverpool.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43Police in Stockport have found human remains in a back garden.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46Their search was instigated when a woman went to police
0:14:46 > 0:14:48at the weekend and told detectives she'd killed a man.
0:14:48 > 0:14:56Our North of England correspondent, Judith Moritz, is in Stockport.
0:14:56 > 0:15:02What is being said there this evening, Judith?Well, Huw, the
0:15:02 > 0:15:05police tell us on Saturday afternoon, a 63-year-old woman
0:15:05 > 0:15:08walked into a police station and confessed to officers that she'd
0:15:08 > 0:15:14killed a man some years ago and buried him in the garden. That
0:15:14 > 0:15:17sparked a forensic search and last night, detectives confirmed they
0:15:17 > 0:15:21have found human remains at the property behind me.
0:15:21 > 0:15:26Now, the BBC understands that the body recovered is that of a man
0:15:26 > 0:15:30named Kenneth Coombs and that the woman who went to the police and is
0:15:30 > 0:15:34now being questioned on suspicion of murder is his daughter Barbara.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38Neighbours have been asked by the police if they remember Mr Coombs,
0:15:38 > 0:15:43he would have been in his late 80s in 2005. Detectives say they are
0:15:43 > 0:15:46searching for information, their investigation is at an early stage
0:15:46 > 0:15:51but that a postmortem examination should help them to establish how
0:15:51 > 0:15:59and when Mr Coombs died.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01A brief look at some of the day's other news stories.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04Lawyers representing victims of the sex attacker John Worboys
0:16:04 > 0:16:06are urging the Parole Board to ban him from the Greater London
0:16:06 > 0:16:09area when he's freed from prison.
0:16:09 > 0:16:18Agency officials are due to meet tomorrow to discuss his release,
0:16:18 > 0:16:21but no final decision will be made on the conditions that he will face.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24Cancer patients at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford could face delays
0:16:24 > 0:16:26to their treatment due to a shortage of staff.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30That's the warning from a senior doctor in a leaked staff memo.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32The hospital trust said there are no formal plans
0:16:32 > 0:16:33to change cancer treatment.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36The head of Ofgem, the Energy regulator, has apologised to MPs
0:16:36 > 0:16:39for failing vulnerable consumers.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41He said he regretted not taking swifter action to cap
0:16:41 > 0:16:44standard variable tariffs.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47He said a new government cap would "go a long way
0:16:47 > 0:16:50towards fixing the market."
0:16:50 > 0:16:53The former Liberal Democrat leader, Tim Farron, has said he regrets
0:16:53 > 0:16:56saying that gay sex was not a sin.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58He made the statement during the 2017 general election
0:16:58 > 0:17:02campaign after which he resigned, saying he'd found it impossible
0:17:02 > 0:17:05to reconcile the demands of politics with his Christian faith.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08He says he was "foolish" to allow himself to be pressured into saying
0:17:08 > 0:17:14something which he didn't believe was right.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17President Trump has told South Korea that the US is open to talks
0:17:17 > 0:17:19with North Korea "at the appropriate time" and "under the
0:17:19 > 0:17:21right circumstances."
0:17:21 > 0:17:24The comments followed yesterday's negotiations between North
0:17:24 > 0:17:27and South Korea which resulted in the North saying it would take
0:17:27 > 0:17:31part in the Winter Olympics in the South next month.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34The White House said South Korea had thanked Mr Trump for his "leadership
0:17:34 > 0:17:35in making the talks possible."
0:17:35 > 0:17:38Our correspondent, Nick Bryant, is at the White House.
0:17:38 > 0:17:43Nick, this is quite a change, isn't it, in the space of a week or 10
0:17:43 > 0:17:47days?Only last week, Donald Trump was boasting that his nuclear button
0:17:47 > 0:17:51was bigger than Kim Jong-un's nuclear button. A few months ago he
0:17:51 > 0:17:56was trashing his Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, saying he was wasting
0:17:56 > 0:18:01his time pursuing diplomacy with Pyongyang. This new openness to talk
0:18:01 > 0:18:05really is a meaningful shift. The most conciliatory language we have
0:18:05 > 0:18:08heard from Donald Trump on North Korea since he took the oath of
0:18:08 > 0:18:13office 12 months ago. It follows the meeting on the Korean peninsula
0:18:13 > 0:18:19yesterday between the North and South corp row ya. There was good
0:18:19 > 0:18:23energy he shared at the White House an hour ago. He is claiming credit
0:18:23 > 0:18:28for that for his hardline stance on North Korea, the tough economic
0:18:28 > 0:18:35sanctions the pressure on China, the fire and fury rhetoric. The
0:18:35 > 0:18:38digitalised kraber rateling on wit Twitter. We will see a continuation
0:18:38 > 0:18:46of much of that. Don't be surprised if Donald Trump mocks Kim Jong-un as
0:18:46 > 0:18:50Little Rock Man. The White House saying it will ex-cert maximum
0:18:50 > 0:18:55pressure. The question is how North Korea will respond will it lead to a
0:18:55 > 0:19:00pause in nuclear and missile testing. If it doesn't it's hard to
0:19:00 > 0:19:03see direct talks taking place between Washington and pong cong.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07Nick thanks very much. Once again, Nick Bryant with the latest for us
0:19:07 > 0:19:12there at the White House.
0:19:12 > 0:19:19In Syria, at least 85 people have been killed in the past ten days
0:19:19 > 0:19:22in a besieged suburb of Damascus, which is under rebel control.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24The United Nations has condemned the recent upsurge in attacks
0:19:24 > 0:19:27on Eastern Ghouta by government forces, calling the situation
0:19:27 > 0:19:28"a human catastrophe."
0:19:28 > 0:19:30The area's been under siege for more than four-and-a-half years.
0:19:30 > 0:19:31Our chief international correspondent, Lyse Doucet,
0:19:31 > 0:19:33reports from Syria.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37This report contains some distressing images.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40The bombs fall every day now in Eastern Ghouta.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44Rescue teams rush in to bring survivors out.
0:19:44 > 0:19:51Frightened children, trapped inside, not knowing where to run or hide.
0:19:51 > 0:19:55This footage, filmed by the western backed White Helmets,
0:19:55 > 0:20:01in the neighbourhood of Hamoria.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04They are digging in the rubble with whatever tools they find,
0:20:04 > 0:20:05often it's just bare hands.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09The attacks by Syrian and Russian warplanes,
0:20:09 > 0:20:11on this last rebel-held enclave of Damascus, intensified weeks ago,
0:20:11 > 0:20:21scarring entire streets.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23The attacks don't go only one way.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25Rebel groups controlling this area, including hardline Islamists
0:20:25 > 0:20:29groups linked to Al-Qaeda, fired more than a dozen
0:20:29 > 0:20:32rockets into the heart of Damascus yesterday.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35This is the face of a war now approaching its eighth year.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39This is its sound.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43CRYING
0:20:43 > 0:20:46These children in Eastern Ghouta have known no other life.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50They survived the latest air strikes, blood being wiped away,
0:20:50 > 0:20:55not the pain, nor the fear.
0:20:55 > 0:20:59And it stocks the old too, already broken by years
0:20:59 > 0:21:05of a punishing siege.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09The history of Syria is written here amongst these stones.
0:21:09 > 0:21:10Three-year-old Samer was buried yesterday by his uncle,
0:21:10 > 0:21:15his father is badly injured.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17Many now say Syria's war is over.
0:21:17 > 0:21:18But it's not, not yet.
0:21:18 > 0:21:26Lyse Doucet, BBC News, Damascus.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29The children's charity Unicef says that attacks on hospitals and other
0:21:29 > 0:21:31health facilities have become commonplace in Syria,
0:21:31 > 0:21:34with less than half of the country's health facilities operating
0:21:34 > 0:21:36at full capacity.
0:21:36 > 0:21:42They're struggling to cope with the number of children
0:21:42 > 0:21:44seriously injured in the Syrian conflict, which is now
0:21:44 > 0:21:45entering its eighth year.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48BBC News at Ten has been following the story of two young
0:21:48 > 0:21:50girls, Rahaf and Qamar, who were badly burnt
0:21:50 > 0:21:53when a shell hit their home in Syria six years ago.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56They've both undergone operations in Jordan,
0:21:56 > 0:21:58where they now live.
0:21:58 > 0:22:03Our correspondent, Caroline Hawley, has been back to to Jordan to see
0:22:03 > 0:22:04how they're both getting on.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07Qamar barely remembers the day, six years ago, that changed
0:22:07 > 0:22:08the course of her life.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11She was only three when a shell hit the family home in Homs,
0:22:11 > 0:22:13slamming into the children's bedroom, setting fire
0:22:13 > 0:22:17to Qamar in her bed clothes.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20Qamar's hands were so damaged, she needed help to feed
0:22:20 > 0:22:23and dress herself.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25She was so distressed by her appearance, she couldn't
0:22:25 > 0:22:31look in the mirror.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34Her sister, Rahaf, was also badly burnt and when we first met
0:22:34 > 0:22:37the family, neither of the girls would go out of the house, but today
0:22:37 > 0:22:39they're on the way to school.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41It's taken immense strength and courage and countless operations
0:22:41 > 0:22:44to get to where they are now.
0:22:44 > 0:22:49This was the two of them in Syria before the war.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52When Qamar was four, we watched as she had surgery
0:22:52 > 0:22:54at a hospital run by the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres
0:22:54 > 0:23:00in Jordan, where the family fled to for treatment.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05Two years later, she had to wear this mask to help
0:23:05 > 0:23:09another skin graft heal.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14These days they spend much more time at school than in hospital.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16Syrian refugees come here in the afternoons
0:23:16 > 0:23:18and the girls love it.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46Qamar has had to get used to how other children react to her.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06Their teacher's worked hard to get their classmates to accept them.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08She admires Qamar's bravery.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36Her parents worry about the social stigma their daughters
0:24:36 > 0:24:39will face as they grow up, that life with their injuries
0:24:39 > 0:24:44will be harder as young women.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47When the children draw for us, Qamar's first picture
0:24:47 > 0:24:52is of her dream house and then she draws a mosque.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07But Rahaf has now been discharged from MSF's hospital,
0:25:07 > 0:25:12the doctors have done what they can.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15Qamar is waiting for more surgery, but with all the conflict
0:25:15 > 0:25:17around the Middle East, the hospital is inundated
0:25:17 > 0:25:19with new cases, and the waiting list is wrong.
0:25:19 > 0:25:26Caroline Hawley, BBC News, Amman.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28Millions of pounds' worth of jewellery have been
0:25:28 > 0:25:31stolen from the Ritz Hotel in Paris tonight.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33Armed robbers smashed the windows of the hotel
0:25:33 > 0:25:39where the jewellery was displayed.
0:25:39 > 0:25:47Three members of the gang were detained at the scene
0:25:47 > 0:25:49and police say two remain on the run.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51Conservation charities say they've been "overwhelmed" by the number
0:25:51 > 0:25:53of stranded seals found along the Cornish coast over
0:25:53 > 0:25:54the past few weeks.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57Record numbers of sick and abandoned pups have been discovered
0:25:57 > 0:25:59after a series of winter storms and high tides.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01Rescue centres say they are struggling to cope.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03Our correspondent, Jon Kay, reports.
0:26:03 > 0:26:04On a suburban estate...
0:26:04 > 0:26:06OK, shall we get them out?
0:26:06 > 0:26:09..a pop-up seal sanctuary.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12With the local rescue centres full, these orphaned pups are having to be
0:26:12 > 0:26:17housed in a garage near St Ives.
0:26:17 > 0:26:22Father and son, David and Dan, are fully trained and caring
0:26:22 > 0:26:25for the seals 24/7.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27Are you struggling to cope then?
0:26:27 > 0:26:31We're at the point where we really are.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34I mean, this sort of speaks for itself, really, having
0:26:34 > 0:26:35all of these guys here.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38You know, the rehab centres just don't have the space to handle this
0:26:38 > 0:26:41many pups in such a short amount of time.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45Every day, volunteers from the group are racing to the Cornish coast
0:26:45 > 0:26:49to rescue unprecedented numbers of sick and starving pups, orphaned
0:26:49 > 0:26:53and injured in winter storms.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56Here's the tube, in the corner of its mouth.
0:26:56 > 0:27:00Providing emergency food is the easy bit, finding them
0:27:00 > 0:27:03somewhere to recuperate is much more difficult.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05They've had nearly 300 call-outs already this winter.
0:27:05 > 0:27:09I think we've been out 55 times this year so far.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11What, since the 1st January?
0:27:11 > 0:27:14Since the 1st January this year, we've done 55 calls
0:27:14 > 0:27:15and we've rescued 25.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17The situation we find ourselves in is completely
0:27:17 > 0:27:18shocking, beyond belief.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22It's not just south-west England, elsewhere in the UK there have
0:27:22 > 0:27:25been similar increases.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27Don't be fooled by today's blue skies.
0:27:27 > 0:27:28Why this winter?
0:27:28 > 0:27:30Why's it so bad now?
0:27:30 > 0:27:34Because we've had a succession of storms, over really high tides,
0:27:34 > 0:27:37flooded all the beaches, washed all those seal pups
0:27:37 > 0:27:43out without enough food inside them to survive.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47Here at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary there are a couple of spaces
0:27:47 > 0:27:51tonight, so Dave and Dan can bring in two pups from their garage.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54But any more that are found might have to be taken hundreds of miles
0:27:54 > 0:27:59to other parts of the country until there is more room.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03Once these pups have recovered, they'll be sent back into the sea.
0:28:03 > 0:28:07But conservationists say if we're going to avoid
0:28:07 > 0:28:09an accommodation crisis next winter, we need to start planning now.
0:28:09 > 0:28:17Jon Kay, BBC News, Cornwall.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20The animation company that gave the world Wallace and Grommit
0:28:20 > 0:28:23and Shaun the Sheep, Aardman, and its Oscar-winning
0:28:23 > 0:28:25director, Nick Park, are about to release a new film,
0:28:25 > 0:28:27a prehistoric comedy called Early Man.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30It's been five years in the making and Nick Park has been
0:28:30 > 0:28:33showing our arts editor, Will Gompertz, exactly how he's
0:28:33 > 0:28:40made his creations come to life on the big screen.
0:28:40 > 0:28:45The initial idea was, you know, what if cavemen invented football?
0:28:45 > 0:28:51And, I hadn't seen a prehistoric underdog sports movie before.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54Come on, everyone.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57Let's show them what we've got.
0:28:57 > 0:29:01This is one of my first sketches.
0:29:01 > 0:29:03I loved sketching all the time, that's where the characters
0:29:03 > 0:29:05tend to come from.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08And are you thinking as you sketch in terms of plasticine?
0:29:08 > 0:29:13Yes, I do.
0:29:13 > 0:29:15I sort of think in 3D all the time.
0:29:15 > 0:29:18I'm always drawing as if they have dimension and I'm thinking about how
0:29:18 > 0:29:20they will interpret...
0:29:20 > 0:29:21How they'll translate into models.
0:29:21 > 0:29:25What strange magic is this?
0:29:25 > 0:29:31We try and prepare for every shot before the animator starts.
0:29:31 > 0:29:37We do quite often live-action videos.
0:29:37 > 0:29:40So Nick will act out almost the entire film in front of camera,
0:29:40 > 0:29:45and we go through that with him, and that's our starting point.
0:29:45 > 0:29:47We wanted, following Nick's initial brief, to keep it
0:29:47 > 0:29:50all looking very handmade.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53So all of these sections are made of plasticine,
0:29:53 > 0:29:57but the mechanics inside are made of lots of different materials.
0:29:57 > 0:30:00So underneath we have armatures, which we make all in-house.
0:30:00 > 0:30:03They look something a little bit like this.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06So we have sort of ball and socket joints in here
0:30:06 > 0:30:08and hinged joints and rotates, and then fundamentally
0:30:08 > 0:30:10that's what sort of sits inside our main characters.
0:30:10 > 0:30:12Just a little bit more!
0:30:12 > 0:30:27There are aspects of it, are there not, which hark back
0:30:27 > 0:30:29to your earliest days, back to Wallace and Gromit?
0:30:29 > 0:30:30Yeah, I know.
0:30:30 > 0:30:31I mean, it is.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34It is at the heart of it, it is these two characters.
0:30:34 > 0:30:36Dug is a caveman and his pet hog Hognob.
0:30:36 > 0:30:39I set out to try and be a bit different to Wallace
0:30:39 > 0:30:42and Gromit, but I guess there is a sort of default.
0:30:42 > 0:30:43You know, I can't help it.
0:30:43 > 0:30:47The eyes are close together and there is a sort of like a man
0:30:47 > 0:30:48and dog sort of relationship, I guess.
0:30:48 > 0:30:50I mean, a man and hog in this case.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53It's one thing trying to make it the film you want to make
0:30:53 > 0:30:55and to stay true to your vision.
0:30:55 > 0:31:02But you're hoping that it also does work for people out in the audience.
0:31:06 > 0:31:08Newsnight is coming up on BBC Two.
0:31:08 > 0:31:09Here's Emily Maitlis
0:31:09 > 0:31:12Tonight, could a tax on plastic convince you the Government's
0:31:12 > 0:31:13the party of the environment?
0:31:13 > 0:31:14The Tories are talking green, again.
0:31:14 > 0:31:15Will we buy it?
0:31:15 > 0:31:18Plus, the pictures of David Bowie you've never seen.
0:31:18 > 0:31:20Join me now on BBC Two.
0:31:20 > 0:31:22That's Newsnight with Emily.
0:31:22 > 0:31:24Here on BBC One, it's time for the news where you are.