27/12/2017 BBC World News

This is BBC World News Today.

I'm Sharanjit Leyl.

Our top stories: respite at last

for some of the critically-ill

Syrian children, trapped

by a four-year government

siege of Ghouta.

The first evacuations

begin from the rebel-held

suburb near Damascus.

But hundreds more in need

of treatment remain.

Record snow falls on the US city

of Erie, burying homes

and cars under deep drifts.

It is a bit ridiculous but I keep

picking away at it.

Meanwhile in the UK,

snow and ice cause widespread

disruption to travel,

on the roads and in the air.

Barack Obama urges the responsible

use of social media,

in his first interview

since leaving office.

He's been speaking to Britain's

Prince Harry here on the BBC.

Hello and welcome

to World News Today.

Aid workers and Syrian volunteers

have begun to evacuate dozens

of critically-ill patients

from a rebel-held

suburb near Damascus.

Last week, international aid

agencies made an appeal

to President Assad to allow

the evacuation of seven

children with cancer.

The first of the patients were taken

out of Eastern Ghouta

overnight by the Red Cross

and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.

More patients should be evacuated

in the coming days as part of a deal

between the government and rebels.

But hundreds more are

in need of treatment.

The medical situation for people

living in eastern Ghouta

is desperate after four

years under siege.

Martin Patience reports from Beirut.

Seven-year-old Imjy is preparing

for a short journey,

and it will almost certainly end up

saving her life.

She is suffering from haemophilia,

but last night she was among four

critically-ill patients to be

evacuated to Damascus

for life-saving treatment.

This is what she's leaving behind.

Eastern Ghouta is one of the last

remaining rebel strongholds,

fighting the government

of Bashar al-Assad.

It's been bombed and besieged

for four years, with fighting

intensifing in recent weeks.

I think it's a combination

of everybody's efforts,

that at this really low time

in Syria there is a ray of light,

and it's the children.

It's the children who are missing

growing up in Syria -

we must sort them out,

to give Syria a chance

of a prosperous and peaceful future.

But food is hard to come by.

Malnutrition is now widespread.

Human rights groups accuse

the Syrian government

of trying to starve

the rebels into submission.

This evacuation may

have the appearances

of a humanitarian gesture,

but that's simply not the case.

We've been told by two sources

that the Syrian government only

agreed to it as part

of a prisoner exchange.

The main rebel faction

in Eastern Ghouta agreed to free 29

Syrian government hostages,

and in return the same number

of critically ill patients

are being allowed to receive

urgent medical care.

But the United Nations says hundreds

of others need to be evacuated.

Among them, three-month-old

Karim, who was injured

by government shelling.

His mother was killed.

Despite a prominent social media

campaign, he is not being allowed

to leave Eastern Ghouta.

TRANSLATION:

Karim is injured,

he's going to lose his sight.

Here in Ghouta he can't get treated.

The doctor wants to perform

an operation, so that he doesn't

lose the sight in his other eye.

For some there is now hope,

but for most, help is not

coming any time soon.

Martin Patience, BBC News, Beirut.

We spoke to a spokesperson from the

ICRS and

We spoke to a spokesperson from the

ICRS and we spoke about the

challenge that they are facing.

It

is very difficult as you can

imagine. In November it was clear

that the situation was deteriorating

and people were angry and

frustrated. Mothers had to leave and

look for food for their children on

a daily basis. Now the weather has

gone worse. With a lack of food and

medical supplies the situation is

practically impossible for the

people there. The current operation

being carried out by the Syrian red

Crescent and my colleagues, it is in

early stages and we realise it

cannot solve all the issues. We hope

it continues but first and foremost

people in Eastern Ghouta need access

to regular aid and they need

unimpeded supplies of basic items.

How much of a challenge is it to get

these patients out, in terms of

access to ambulances and aid convoys

etc?

Last night we've just started

this operation with colleagues from

the Syrian red Crescent and it's

been a long process and finally

agreement was reached by parties to

the agreement. We hope that in the

coming hours and days that we are

able to hold to the agreement that

has been reached so far and in the

coming weeks we hope we can do more.

The former US president Barack Obama

has issued a warning

about the irresponsible use

of social media.

In an interview with the BBC

by Britain's Prince Harry

Mr Obama said such actions

were distorting people's

understanding of complex issues.

He did not mention Donald Trump,

his successor, by name.

But he emphasised that people

in positions of leadership should

exercise care when posting messages.

Our Royal Correspondent,

Nicholas Witchell has the story.

Prince Harry, first of all.

You are very welcome to our studio.

Good morning.

Joining the Today programme

for the day had been

a big learning curve,

Harry said, but he had enjoyed

being the interviewer rather

than the interviewed.

It was quite fun, especially

interviewing President Obama.

His principal scoop had been

to persuade Barack Obama

to give his first interview

since standing down as US president.

The word "Trump" was never mentioned

but may have been in Mr Obama's mind

when he warned about the use

of social media.

All of us in leadership have to find

ways in which we can recreate

a common space on the Internet.

One of the dangers of the Internet

is that people can have entirely

different realities.

They can be just cocooned

in the information that

reinforces their current biases.

Harry had also interviewed his

father - the main focus had

been on climate change.

The issue Prince Charles has

championed for decades and for

which he was sometimes derided.

Maybe now, some years later,

they are beginning to realise that

what I was trying to say may not

have been quite as dotty

as they thought.

I mean, the issue really that has

to go on being focused on, big time,

I think, is this one around

the whole issue of climate change

which now, whether we like it

or not, is the biggest threat

multiplier we face.

And then, at the end

of the programme, it was time

to face questions rather

than ask them.

First about his fiancee,

Meghan Markle, and her first

Christmas at Sandringham.

She really enjoyed it.

The family loved having her there.

And yeah, it's...

There's always that

family part of Christmas.

There's always that work element

as well and I think, you know,

together we have an amazing time.

Great fun, staying with my

brother and sister in law.

Harry's commitment to issues

he cares about like the Armed Forces

and mental health had

come through strongly.

So how does he see his future?

Part of my role and part of my job

is to shine a spotlight on issues

that need that spotlight,

whether it's people,

whether its causes,

whether its issues, whatever it is.

So I will continue to play my part

in society and do my job

to the best of my ability,

so I can wake up in the morning

and feel energised, and go to bed

hopefully knowing I've done the best

that I can.

Not so long ago, Harry admitted

to having doubts about a royal role.

Clearly no longer.

Nicholas Witchell, BBC News.

Stay with us for some analysis

on how the interview

is going down in the US.

We'll be crossing live

to Orlando, Florida.

Let's take a look at some of

the other stories making the news.

An improvised explosive device has

gone off in a supermarket

in the Russian city of St

Petersburg.

The city governor's office says ten

people are in hospital, one

of whom is in a serious condition.

They say the incident

is being investigated as attempted

The Ukrainian authorities are

transferring more than 260 people

back to rebel held territory and in

return 74 prisoners being detained

by rebels are being freed.

A court in Bosnia has

sentenced a Croat woman -

known to her victims as

the "mistress of life and death" -

to 14 years in prison

for atrocities committed

during the Bosnian war in the 1990s.

Azra Basic, a former member

of the Bosnian-Croat forces,

was found guilty of war crimes,

including murder and the torture

of ethnic Serb civilians.

An arctic cold snap is bringing

sub-zero temperatures and heavy snow

to large parts of north-east

America and Canada.

Temperatures have been reported

as low minus 15 in Toronto.

While the US lakeside city of Erie,

in Pennsylvania, has had a record

1.5 metres of snow in 48 hours,

with more on the way.

DeMarco Morgan from CBS

News has the story.

Eight snow emergency is in effect in

Erie after a record 53 inches of

snow in less than 36 hours.

You

can't even tell how bad it is.

Snow

is piling up on the roads, burying

cars and bringing traffic to a halt.

All I could do was laugh, it's a bit

ridiculous. I keep picking away at

it.

As people try and dig out, more

snow is building up over the lakes.

More snow is coming. Emergency

management coordinators and says

that plough drivers are working

around the clock to clear the

streets.

They've been doing a

fantastic job with the elements,

it's hard to keep up with this

amount of snow.

It is a tough

commute.

I could only do about 20

mph.

Snow and ice led to about 40

accidents in the Zurich on Tuesday

and six people were killed in three

separate crashes. -- in Missouri.

The wind chill could reach 40 below

zero in some parts of the region

today.

The wind is the worst part,

you can't do anything.

Officials

aren't sure when they will be out of

a state of emergency but they are

asking everyone to stay inside until

crews clear the streets.

Snow and ice are also causing

disruption in many parts of the UK,

with thousands of homes

without power and dangerous

conditions on the roads.

The runway at Stansted Airport

was closed twice during the day

with a number of flights cancelled.

Phil Mackie reports

from Kenilworth, Warwickshire

in the English Midlands.

HORN BLASTS.

The motorway at a standstill.

It's always busy here anyway,

but throw in five centimetres

of snow and you've got chaos.

On the A14 things were even worse.

This lorry span out of control,

leaving drivers stranded.

Good morning.

It's just gone past ten

o'clock in the morning.

As you can see, we're stationary

here on the A14, not going anywhere.

I've been here for

five hours, and...

So have these!

My name is Tara, I'm

on the A14 trying to go

eastbound to Northampton.

I set off from my house in Hinckley

at 6am this morning,

I've been on the A14

for three hours now.

As you can see, there's nothing

going in the other direction.

I'm a bit cross, I'm Canadian so I'm

used to this kind of weather.

I know you guys are not.

In the end, they were stuck

for seven hours before

the road was cleared.

There have been problems all day

here at this interchange,

which is where the M6,

the M1 and the A14 all join.

It's the snow that has caused

accidents and jackknifed lorries

which has led to long delays,

not just here but elsewhere

on the motorway network.

And it wasn't just the roads.

Stansted Airport had to close twice

to clear snow from the runway.

Birmingham Airport had to do

the same for a short while too.

And the weather kept ground

crews busy, as planes had

to be constantly de-iced.

A swathe of central and southern

England was worst affected,

from Gloucestershire,

to Warwickshire, to the Chilterns.

And it didn't just lead

to hazardous driving conditions.

Thousands of homes lost power, too.

Obviously the snow came in, it

settles on our overhead conductor.

Then, with the cold wind chill,

it freezes into ice and therefore

that takes the conductors down.

Likewise, it's the same

with tree branches.

Normally they would not be

near the line but they've

taken our conductors down.

As the snow started to melt,

there was a new danger...

Flood warnings followed the thaw

as streams became swollen

and rivers started to rise.

That meant more hazards

to negotiate, and not

everyone made it...

And tonight, there's another warning

as temperatures have fallen, snow

and slush is beginning to freeze.

Coming up: Berto van Dijk -- Virgil

van Dijk moving to Liverpool in a

deal that makes him the world's most

expensive defender.

We saw this enormous tidal wave

approaching the beach and people

started to run. It was complete

chaos.

US troops have been trying to

overthrow the dictatorship of Manuel

Neuer Jaeger. The Pentagon said the

operation was 90% successful but

failed to capture General Noriega

and taking to the US to drug

charges.

The hammer and sickle were

taken away, the Russian flag was

hoisted over what is no longer the

Soviet Union but the Commonwealth of

Independent States.

They broke

slowly over Lockerbie, over the

cockpit of the Pan Am flight. You

can see what happens when a plane

falls from 35,000 feet.

Prisoners

return to Albania after a coming is

banned lasting many years. Thousands

went to midnight Mass where there

were anti-Communist riots ten days

ago.

Syrian volunteers have evacuated

the first group of critically-ill

children from a rebel-held

suburb near Damascus.

Snow has fallen on

the US city of Erie,

burying homes and cars

under deep drifts.

More now

on Barack Obama's first interview

since leaving office.

He spoke to Britain's Prince

Harry here on the BBC.

For some analysis of how is being

perceived I'm joined from Orlando by

Julia Manchester from the Hill. They

spoke about many different things

but the focus has been on the

president, the former President's

comments about social media,

specifically about misinformation.

How significant an issue is it and

even though Obama never mentioned

him, how much of those comments are

targeted at the current president?

It's very notable that he didn't

mention Trump. We've heard President

Obama say this in the past since

he's left office, constantly warning

about the dangers of social media

and people staying in their own

microcosm and not looking at outside

information. It is safe to say that

it was clearly focused on president

Trump. President Obama talked about

people staying in their own social

media niche, and he warned about the

danger of that. That is something

that President Trump has done in his

presidency, we see him constantly

tweeting about a programme in

America called Fox and Friends,

which is quite favourable to him,

constantly mentioning stories they

put up there. That is an example.

How many Americans have watched this

interview between the Prince and the

former president? What has the

reaction been committed there I say,

on social media and otherwise?

I

think Americans were very interested

given the upcoming royal wedding

with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.

Americans were interested in Obama's

comments, I think a lot of Americans

look to President Obama's comments

which seems to be geared towards

Trump as interesting. There is a bit

of a former Presidents club and

former Presidents tend not to talk

about the current president in

office. It is seen as a ticket -- it

is etiquette. George W Bush did not

say anything about Barack Obama even

though Obama man against his

platform in 2008. However this rule

seems to have been broken because so

many personal things have been set

between Obama and Trump.

You hinted

at it, this fixation with Meghan

Markle, Prince Harry's fiance. We

know that this is Obama's first

interview since leaving office but

how much interest is there from

Americans on Meghan Markle and

Prince Harry.

There obviously is,

Americans are fascinated with the

world family, it's something we

don't have and I think a lot of

Americans probably wish we had

something like that. However with

Meghan Markle it is interesting

because she is American. The

political side of things, before her

relationship with the Prince became

public she was very critical of

President Trump. She said in an

interview over a year ago that he

was Mr Jinnah stick and divisive.

She obviously won't be able to say

that -- saying he was a misogynist.

That is getting some attention in

the country.

Thank you for joining

us.

Mark Edwards has all the sport.

Well, we've got one game

on in the English Premier

League on Wednesday.

Newcastle welcoming Manchester City

to St James's Park.

Pep Guardiola's league leaders,

on the hunt for an unprecedented

18th straight win in the League.

They're currently 1-0 up,

courtesy of a Raheem Sterling

goal after half an hour.

A win for City would see

them go 15 points clear

of Manchester United at the top.

It is 1-0 with just over ten minutes

to play.

Meanwhile it's the Milan derby

in the quarter final

of the Coppa Italia at the San Siro.

AC Milan on an appalling run of form

with just 1 win in 6 matches

in Serie A while Inter

are challenging for the title.

There is no reprieve for AC Milan,

it is currently goalless with just

over 15 minutes left.

Liverpool have finally got their man

after announcing this evening that

Southampton's Virgil Van Dijk

is joining the club at the beginning

of the year in what will be a world

record deal for a defender

at £75 million.

The Dutch international was expected

to make the move to Anfield

last summer after he handed

in a transfer request.

But a move eventually collapsed

when Liverpool had to apologise

for making an alleged illegal

approach for the 26-year-old.

Vitaly Mutko has stepped down

from his role as chief

organiser for next summer's

World Cup

in Russia to concentrate

on government work.

It's been a turbulent month

for Russia's deputy prime minister,

he temporarily left his post

as the Russian Football Union

president just two days ago, this

comes off the back of his life ban

from the Olympics at the start

of December after having been

accused of running a huge

"state-directed" doping programme.

Finally, a bit of Christmas

cheer for England

as former captain Alastair Cook

made his first Ashes century

for almost seven years.

The visitors finishing on top

after day 2 of the fourth test.

Cook's knock helping

England close on 192-2,

after Stuart Broad had earlier

returned his best figures of 2017

taking 4-51 to spark

an Australia collapse.

Patrick Gearey was

in Melbourne for us.

This wasn't the day

we were expecting.

We thought we'd come to the MCG

to see Steve Smith get a huge score.

He hadn't been dismissed

at this ground in a Test

match in three years

so imagine the surprise

when he played one onto his stumps

after half an hour, giving

Tom Curran his first Test wicket.

Mitchell Marsh went next in the same

way to Chris Woakes and then

Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson,

England's most successful

bowling partnership

of all time, took charge.

Broad particularly bowling

with great skill for four wickets,

answering those asking

to have him dropped.

Australia lost their last seven

wickets for 83 runs.

Mark Stoneman was caught

and bowled by Nathan Lyon.

James Vince went to LBW

which he should have reviewed.

The evening session was all

about Alastair Cook,

getting his first 50 of the series,

he was dropped by Steve Smith on 66

and scored his century

in the last over of the day.

He finished alongside the Captain

Joe Root.

Australia, frustrated

in the sweltering heat.

It may be too little and too late

for the Ashes but England

have had their best day

of the series so far.

They are still fighting.

We created quite a lot

of pressure yesterday

and we were rewarded

with wickets today.

We were very patient yesterday.

When it reversed a bit things

could have gone differently for us.

Today we got lucky with a couple

of chop ons and a couple of wickets

that Australia were probably

disappointed

with but we are delighted with.

It's been a tough couple of weeks

but it makes playing and taking

wickets very rewarding.

That's the sport for now.

Police in Australia are searching

for the owner of a one-metre long

freshwater crocodile,

which was found wandering

the footpaths of Melbourne

on Christmas day.

Authorities are unsure

where the reptile came

from and are presuming it's a pet.

Alyse Edwards reports.

Working off Christmas dinner with an

evening stroll through the streets

of Melbourne. But this freshwater

crocodile's festive frolic did not

last for long.

9:20pm, I had a call

from the police saying there was a

crocodile walking through the

streets of Hoejbjerg.

Getting some

alone time can be difficult at this

time of year. This escapee was

cornered and he was caught.

I

attended and found five Victoria

police members with a freshwater

crocodile.

We presume it was a pet

at some stage. It's a long way from

any bodies of water.

You can legally

keep a crocodile is a pet in

Victoria and other parts of

Australia.

I saw it on Facebook, 50%

off and I thought, cool.

A crocodile

farm sold about 100 crocodiles as

Christmas presents this year. But

with no information about where this

runaway reptile came from it may be

a very lonely New Year unless the

owner snaps it up soon.

Very unusual choice of pet! We have

the headlines coming up. Stay with

us.