:00:19. > :00:22.Good evening. The Defence Secretary, Philip Hammond, has said the
:00:22. > :00:25.Algerian hostage crisis has been brought to an end, after Algerian
:00:25. > :00:31.special forces carried out a final assault at the remote gas plant in
:00:31. > :00:34.the Sahara. Mr Hammond confirmed there had been further loss of life
:00:34. > :00:39.and officials are trying to establish the fate of the remaining
:00:39. > :00:49.British hostages. Our diplomatic correspondent, Bridget Kendall, has
:00:49. > :00:52.
:00:52. > :00:57.In the bleak Sahara desert, the area around the gas plant remains
:00:57. > :01:01.cordoned off, but it seems a final assault by Algerian Special Forces
:01:01. > :01:08.has brought the stand-off to a dramatic end. In London, it was the
:01:08. > :01:12.Defence Secretary who confirmed it. The hostage situation has been
:01:12. > :01:16.brought to an end by a further assault by Algerian forces, which
:01:16. > :01:21.has resulted in further loss of life, and we are pressing the
:01:21. > :01:27.Algerians for details on the exact situation and the numbers that have
:01:28. > :01:33.been killed, and, if any, the numbers were skewed. Details are
:01:33. > :01:37.still murky and unconfirmed, but in at the sprawling complex, it seems
:01:38. > :01:43.the remaining hostage takers and their captives were hiding in one
:01:43. > :01:49.corner. Allegedly, the leader threatened to kill the hostages if
:01:49. > :01:52.his demands were not met. At that, the Algerian troops moved in,
:01:52. > :01:58.killing the militants, but the hostages, apparently, were already
:01:58. > :02:05.dead. The task now, as the Foreign Secretary made clear earlier, is to
:02:05. > :02:09.track down those still unaccounted for. As of now, there are fewer
:02:10. > :02:15.than 10 British nationals at risk or unaccounted for. That means that
:02:15. > :02:20.we must continue to prepare ourselves for bad news. At the site,
:02:20. > :02:25.Algerian troops are scouring the complex for mines, as well as any
:02:25. > :02:33.people still in hiding. For those already safe, the main emotion is
:02:33. > :02:38.jubilation. The guys who pick us up, the rescue guys, will wonderful,
:02:38. > :02:43.they would like long-lost friends. It will take longer for all of
:02:43. > :02:46.those involved to come to terms with the darker sides of this four-
:02:46. > :02:48.day hostage drama. Our political correspondent Ross Hawkins is
:02:48. > :02:57.outside the Cabinet Office, where the Government's emergency
:02:57. > :03:01.committee has been meeting. What is the latest? Within the last 20
:03:01. > :03:05.minutes, David Cameron has come off the telephone following a
:03:05. > :03:09.conversation with his opposite number in Algeria, having heard for
:03:09. > :03:12.himself many of the details which we heard there. They had a
:03:12. > :03:17.conversation yesterday in which the Algerian Prime Minister warned that
:03:17. > :03:20.they were looking at all possible roots to resolve this crisis. It
:03:21. > :03:24.looks very much as though the roots they chose were exclusively
:03:24. > :03:28.military. The military action we now know is over, but the
:03:28. > :03:32.diplomatic efforts are not. There are 100 or so people still working
:03:33. > :03:36.at the Foreign Office this evening. There is a consulate being set up
:03:36. > :03:40.on the ground nearby, the ambassador is there, as they try to
:03:40. > :03:46.find out what has become of those Britons are unaccounted for. And as
:03:46. > :03:49.you mentioned, Western is still meeting in the building behind me.
:03:49. > :03:53.-- COBRA is still meeting. A major search operation is under
:03:53. > :03:55.way after six climbers were caught in an avalanche near Glencoe in the
:03:55. > :04:00.Scottish Highlands. It happened this afternoon in an area known as
:04:00. > :04:06.Central Valley. Mountain rescue teams say there are fatalities, and
:04:06. > :04:09.one person has been taken to Travellers are facing further
:04:09. > :04:12.disruption because of the severe weather. More than 100 flights were
:04:12. > :04:15.cancelled at Heathrow Airport today - and there's expected to be more
:04:15. > :04:25.disruption tomorrow. The Met Office is warning of snow and ice for
:04:25. > :04:27.
:04:27. > :04:33.large parts of the UK. Philippa Thomas is at Heathrow. Yes, we can
:04:33. > :04:38.expect more delays tomorrow, after 115 cancellations today, and 400 on
:04:38. > :04:44.Friday. It is relatively calm at Heathrow right now, but there have
:04:44. > :04:48.been some very frustrated and weary passengers. Hundreds of people
:04:48. > :04:52.spent the night at Heathrow Airport after snow grounded around a third
:04:52. > :04:57.of yesterday's scheduled flights. British Airways apologised for the
:04:57. > :05:00.destruction, as passengers tried to get some sleep. -- for the
:05:00. > :05:04.disruption. The snow ploughs went to work early this morning to get
:05:05. > :05:09.the runways reopened, but Heathrow has already announced that it will
:05:09. > :05:12.be significantly reducing its flight scheduled tomorrow. It says
:05:13. > :05:18.there is a high probability of there is a high probability of
:05:18. > :05:21.around 2-6cm of snow, together with low visibility, and the number of
:05:21. > :05:27.cancellations might be increased by cancellations might be increased by
:05:27. > :05:37.weather conditions at other European airports. On many roads,
:05:37. > :05:38.
:05:38. > :05:46.drivers have been reduced to a crawl. Soft, fluffy snow has become
:05:46. > :05:50.frozen, turning to ice, with lots of sliding around on the side roads.
:05:50. > :05:57.The main roads are fairly well gritted, but the side roads are
:05:57. > :06:02.treacherous. The worst hit areas so far have been to the west. They
:06:02. > :06:07.have been gritting in Cardiff. Some parts of Wales have had 25cm of
:06:07. > :06:12.snow. And it is not over yet. More snow is expected to come up from
:06:12. > :06:18.France tomorrow, while the bitter cold continues. It will be very
:06:18. > :06:23.cold until the middle part of next week. Daytime temperatures just
:06:23. > :06:27.getting above freezing in a couple of lucky spots. Fans at Notts
:06:27. > :06:32.County came out in force this morning to help to clear the pitch,
:06:32. > :06:39.but a number of big matches were postponed. However, for some, this
:06:39. > :06:46.is the perfect Saturday, with shops and garden centres reporting a run
:06:46. > :06:50.on sledges and winter goods. The advice for travellers is to double
:06:50. > :06:56.check. Airlines should this evening be releasing information about
:06:56. > :06:59.The disgraced former cycling champion Lance Armstrong says he
:06:59. > :07:05.hopes he will one day be able to compete again, despite being given
:07:05. > :07:08.a lifetime ban from sport for doping. In the second part of a
:07:08. > :07:10.television interview with Oprah Winfrey, Armstrong said he didn't
:07:10. > :07:16.deserve the punishment, which he described as a death sentence.
:07:16. > :07:20.Here's our sports correspondent Andy Swiss. This report contains
:07:20. > :07:25.flash photography. Lance Armstrong's downfall has brought
:07:25. > :07:30.him shame, disgrace and a lifetime ban from all sport. But he says
:07:30. > :07:35.that is too welcome. He believes sport should give him a second
:07:35. > :07:40.chance. I deserved to be punished, I am not sure that I deserved the
:07:40. > :07:45.death penalty. If you're asking me, do I want to compete again? The
:07:45. > :07:50.answer is yes, I am a competitor. He has now told the word he cheated
:07:50. > :08:00.- far tougher, he said was telling his own son. It was the moment his
:08:00. > :08:08.
:08:08. > :08:18.composure finally cracked. I told him. I said... I said, do not
:08:18. > :08:20.
:08:20. > :08:24.defend me any more. Time and again in his career, Armstrong said he
:08:24. > :08:32.had never taken drugs, so how could he lied to so many people for so
:08:32. > :08:40.many years? Kashi guy who felt invincible, was told he was
:08:40. > :08:45.invincible, truly believed he was invincible. That's who that guy was.
:08:45. > :08:51.That guy is still there. I am not going to live. But after so much
:08:51. > :08:54.lying, many believe any return to sport would be unthinkable. He has
:08:54. > :09:01.had his chance, he has bullied other people, he has perverted the
:09:01. > :09:07.course of justice, suing people, he has done awful things, and I think
:09:07. > :09:11.he really has gone beyond the right to take part in sport now.
:09:11. > :09:17.Armstrong's interview leaves many questions unanswered, but what is
:09:17. > :09:20.certain is that his reputation lies In tennis, there were mixed
:09:20. > :09:23.fortunes for British players at the Australian Open. Laura Robson was
:09:23. > :09:26.beaten in the third round, but Andy Murray powered through to the last
:09:26. > :09:33.16 of the tournament, with a straight sets victory over
:09:33. > :09:36.Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis. Tim Hague reports. These Grand Slams
:09:36. > :09:40.can be thirsty work. Andy Murray can be thirsty work. Andy Murray
:09:40. > :09:47.was making plenty of errors in the first set, but even below his best
:09:47. > :09:52.he is better than most, and he won the opening set against Ricardas
:09:52. > :09:55.Berankis. While the drinking continued, so did the errors, but
:09:55. > :10:02.once again, Murray broke his opponent down to take the second
:10:02. > :10:10.set. And it was soon three. It was not his easiest afternoon, but most
:10:10. > :10:17.crucially, he is through. Could 18- year-old Laura Robson join him in
:10:17. > :10:20.the next round? A shoulder injury made her task much harder. The
:10:20. > :10:24.American one the first set, and made no mistake when given her