:00:21. > :00:25.Good afternoon. More than 50 areas across
:00:26. > :00:28.the UK could lose hundreds of millions of pounds if a new high
:00:29. > :00:32.speed rail link is built between London and the north of England. The
:00:33. > :00:34.BBC has obtained previously unseen figures from a government
:00:35. > :00:41.commissioned report, suggesting areas not served by HS2 will be
:00:42. > :00:50.worse off if it goes ahead. Tom Barton reports. It's the railway
:00:51. > :00:54.line that the Government boosts will boost Britain's economy by ?15
:00:55. > :00:58.billion, but the report in which the claim was made is facing accusations
:00:59. > :01:05.of playing down the economic effects of the line, but in some areas.
:01:06. > :01:09.While the report told us that the winners would be Greater Manchester,
:01:10. > :01:13.West Yorkshire and Greater London, it left out the fact that there
:01:14. > :01:19.would be losers, lieb Aberdeen, Cambridge and Bristol. What you
:01:20. > :01:22.should do is put that money into the really successful economies like
:01:23. > :01:26.Cambridge and make sure that we have the infrastructure to be able to
:01:27. > :01:31.continue the kind of contribution that we make to UK PLC.
:01:32. > :01:36.The Department for Transport say that the figures reflect the fact
:01:37. > :01:41.that HS2 will not serve all regions and adds that the project accounts
:01:42. > :01:45.for part of Government spending on transport infrastructure. .
:01:46. > :01:49.There a large chunk of money. Billions, ?56 billion going into
:01:50. > :01:53.better road infrastructure. For places like Cambridgeshire, a better
:01:54. > :02:02.infrastructure to ensure that other parts of the country benefit as well
:02:03. > :02:06.as the HS2, the north/south high-speed rail line.
:02:07. > :02:09.The campaign has so far been concentrated around the areas
:02:10. > :02:12.affected by its construction, but the figures could widen the
:02:13. > :02:19.opposition to parts of the country that the line will not go anywhere
:02:20. > :02:22.near. An international search has been
:02:23. > :02:25.launched to trace the family of a four-year-old girl found living on a
:02:26. > :02:29.Roma campsite in Greece. DNA tests have revealed that the child was not
:02:30. > :02:32.related to the couple she was living with in Farsala. Police believe she
:02:33. > :02:39.may have been a victim of abduction or child trafficking. From Athens,
:02:40. > :02:45.Mark Lowen reports. Four years old, possibly a victim of child
:02:46. > :02:50.trafficking. Maria, as she is known, was found by the police, after her
:02:51. > :02:54.colouring made her stand out. Tests showed that there were no links to
:02:55. > :02:57.the couple claiming to be her parents.
:02:58. > :03:01.There was no resemblance to the supposed parents. During questioning
:03:02. > :03:07.about the girl, they gave conflicting answers. They are
:03:08. > :03:10.constantly changing claims, consolidating beliefs that they were
:03:11. > :03:15.not her family. Very have been arrested on suspicion
:03:16. > :03:19.of abduction. One claiming that they had six children in a period of ten
:03:20. > :03:23.months. The little girl is under protection by the charity. She is
:03:24. > :03:27.scared but in good health. The fear is that she could have been a part
:03:28. > :03:32.of an international trafficking ring. A spokesperson foricate and
:03:33. > :03:37.Jerry McCann, said that this case has given them hope that their
:03:38. > :03:43.daughter may be found alive. The lawyer for the couple arrested told
:03:44. > :03:48.me that they did not abduct Maria but given to them by a woman who
:03:49. > :03:53.could not look after her. They are in a state, in the belief that their
:03:54. > :03:57.legitimately adopted child has been taken away. An appeal for
:03:58. > :04:01.information on Maria has prompted calls, some claiming to be her
:04:02. > :04:07.biological parents, but for now, exactly what happened to this little
:04:08. > :04:11.girl remain as mystery. Police say a 12-year-old boy could
:04:12. > :04:13.be responsible for a series of sex attacks around Manchester
:04:14. > :04:16.University. Officers have released this e-fit of the suspect. The
:04:17. > :04:23.attacks on women in their 20s and 30s happened in the past month. In
:04:24. > :04:26.Australia, an investigation is underway to see if a huge bushfire
:04:27. > :04:31.in New South Wales was started by a military training exercise. Around
:04:32. > :04:40.200 homes have been destroyed and dozens of fires now burning. From
:04:41. > :04:46.Sydney, Jon Donnison reports. New South Wales has not seen fires like
:04:47. > :04:51.this in more than a decade. The Blue Mountains, 50 miles to the west of
:04:52. > :04:55.Sydney are worst-affected. Today, the temperatures are cooler, giving
:04:56. > :04:59.the firefighters a window to get on top of things, but it is a race
:05:00. > :05:04.against time. With the mercury expected to rise in the coming days,
:05:05. > :05:07.but for many, it is already too late. Firefighters have been
:05:08. > :05:10.battling on the ground but also from the air.
:05:11. > :05:19.We have the best firefighters in the world.
:05:20. > :05:23.They are second to none. The... We can only be proud of what has
:05:24. > :05:28.unravelled in the last 24 hours. Australians are well-used to
:05:29. > :05:33.bushfires but not so early in the year. It is not summer yet, but the
:05:34. > :05:39.spring's record temperatures have left many fearful of what the next
:05:40. > :05:41.few months may bring. The Italian Navy is increasing
:05:42. > :05:44.patrols in the Mediterranean after hundreds of migrants drowned in
:05:45. > :05:47.recent weeks off the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa. Our
:05:48. > :05:56.correspondent Alan Johnson reports on the bid to stop the deadly
:05:57. > :06:02.journeys. A dangerous stretch of sea. Hundreds of drowned down there.
:06:03. > :06:06.So the pilots watch for more boats from Libya, overcrowded and
:06:07. > :06:11.unseaworthy, they are disasters waiting to happen.
:06:12. > :06:17.What really strikes you up here is how vast the Mediterranean is. You
:06:18. > :06:21.full y what a great expanse of sea there is between us here and the
:06:22. > :06:28.coast of North Africa. Some of those who risk their lives
:06:29. > :06:32.at sea, and have won their gamble, migrants from Africa and the Middle
:06:33. > :06:36.East who have made it, moving on now to mainland Italy, hoping that their
:06:37. > :06:48.dream of a new life in Europe is about to come true. As they watch,
:06:49. > :06:52.the survivors leave the helicopter -- survivors leave. The helicopters
:06:53. > :06:57.crew watch with memories. I saw many people in the water. I
:06:58. > :07:02.saw children, parents, they were picked up and taken to the ship.
:07:03. > :07:08.So many people see these waters as the route to a better life in a
:07:09. > :07:12.richer world. As long as they keep coming in their dangerous boats, no
:07:13. > :07:18.matter how many patrols there are, another disaster is always possible.
:07:19. > :07:23.It could happen at any moment.