the headlines: a philippine senator who's calling for the impeachment of president rodrigo duterte tells us she fears for her life, but won't be silenced. myanmar‘s leader, aung san suu kyi, calls an emergency meeting to discuss the rohingya crisis. i'm kasia madera in london. evacuations of trapped civilians in the syrian city of aleppo resume after three days of delays. and could these ice cores from the antarctic tell us something about the future of the climate on earth? live from london and singapore. this is bbc world news. it's newsday. good morning. it's 8am in singapore and the philippines where there's a new twist in the controversy surrounding president rodrigo duterte. a philippine senator, who's calling for the impeachment of president duterte, has told the bbc she fears for her life, but won't be silenced. leila de lima, a former justice minister, said she'd taken on extra security since she began criticising the president's war on drugs. greg dawson reports. it was the promise to rid the philippines of its drug trade that help president to do to powerjust six months ago.

there is new pressure on the philippines' outspoken president, rodrigo duterte. the country's independent human rights watchdog is to investigate mr duterte, after he claimed to have personally killed several drug suspects. it follows a request for the inquiry by the united nations. no surprise that mr duterte has responded angrily, calling the un stupid idiots. tom donkin reports. philippines president rodrigo duterte was swept to power injune ona duterte was swept to power injune on a promise to read his country of illegal drugs and those who trafficked them. his critics argue he has authorised police, vigilantes, and so—called death squads to shoot suspected users and dealers on site. by his own admission, the president himself says he has personally killed. earlier this week, the un cited that confession, calling for an independent human rights group in the philippines to act and investigate mr rodrigo duterte for murder. they agreed and will reopen an earlier investigation into the actions of the president. we are hoping with these new revelations and admi

from the philippines, the latest? from the philippines, the storm has caused significant damage. as of today, the national disaster management council as reported about 25,000 families have been affected by the typhoon and a lot of houses have been reduced to the ground. how prepared were people for the typhoon? as early as two days before it, of people had been evacuated. provincial have declared a state of imminent danger, that is why there have been mandatory evacuations, so it is good that people have learned a lot, especially during the typhoon in 2013, so we can say that even though the national government has been prepared and has been more proactive in providing alerts to the communities. has the typhoon our past? yes, it is now about to leave the philippine area and a lot of storm warnings and signals have already been downgraded. what next in terms of the recovery? as of now, the department of social welfare and development is giving out relief items to affected communities. eight a few hours from now, our assessment tea m a few hours from now, our assessment team will

jonathan head reports on the philippines' deadly war on drugs. the war on drugs is reaching all corners of the philippines. even here, in the jails. many of these men are already serving long sentences for drug use. in cells, so packed with bodies, it's hard to breathe. it says something about the extent of the drug problem here in the philippines that the police have had to come here and raid one of the biggest prisons around manila. there are clearly concerns about real drug problems here. the focus, as with so much of this campaign, are the people at the very bottom of the trade, not the people running it. at least here they can stay alive. but not here. the bodies of dealers and addicts are discovered every night in the slums of manila, killed either by the police or by shadowy hit squads. it started when this man, an outspoken crime fighting mayor was elected president in may. when he said he would kill drug dealers, he meant it. that's the lives of ten criminals really matter to me? if i am the one facing the grief, would 100 lives of this

it's just before dawn on the philippine island of palawan. even at this hour it's hot, but there's no sign here of the trouble brewing a few hundred miles out to sea. i'm about to take off on a trip the chinese government has tried to stop. just 140 nautical miles from the philippine coast we spot new land. this place is called mischief reef. until a year ago there was nothing here, just a submerged atoll. now look at it. millions of tons of material have been dredged up to build this huge new island. then as we close to 12 nautical miles, this. down below we can see a pair of chinese navy ships. our pilots are nervous. they want to turn away. we're a civilian aircraft flying over international waters and yet we're being repeatedly threatened. so what we're getting is the chinese sending out that message, foreign military aircraft, unidentified military aircraft, leave the area immediately. in chinese and english, our captain replied saying we are a civilian aircraft, not a military aircraft, but it didn't make any difference, they repeated t

it's just before dawn on the philippine island of palawan. even at this hour it's hot, but there's no sign here of the trouble brewing a few hundred miles out to sea. i'm about to take off on a trip the chinese government has tried to stop. this place is called mischief reef. until a year ago there was nothing here, just a submerged atoll. now look at it. millions of tons of material have been dredged up to build this huge new island. then as we close to 12 nautical miles, this.

let's talk about the philippines, and the new president. he is not that new any more, but relatively new. the papers are talking about the un human rights chief saying that they need to look into his past. the other story of 2016 which has dominated what we have been talking about has been the rise of strongman and in politics. —— strongmen and politics. this is perhaps the ultimate example, the most extreme strongman. i don't know if these are allegations any more, he has a p pa re ntly allegations any more, he has apparently said himself that while mayor of a town in the philippines, before he became president, he would ride around, basically rounding up and maybe shooting those who were involved in drug cartels. now, you know, we all want public policymakers to take a strong line... and be hands on. and be hands on, but this takes it to a com pletely hands on, but this takes it to a completely new level. and the un human rights chief is calling for an investigation. of course, the question is whether or not he could be impeached. app

the philippines is being shaken by a one man revolution. either you will kill me, or i'll kill you iditos. he's a tough talking former mayor, who's vowed to wipe out drug dealers. his war on drugs has unleashed assassins, like maria. when i got near this person, who owed a lot to my boss, i went up close and then shot him. every day, the bodies of suspected dealers are discovered. more than 3000 have been killed in three months. it's really tiring and scary, hiding all the time. you don't know if the person right in front of you will inform on you, or if he might be your killer. the police are raiding prisons and being forced to purge their own ranks. the war on drugs is really bloody, and messy. everyone knows that. this war is being fought in some of the poorest communities in the country. over the past two decades, the philippines has been swamped by the cheap and highly addictive drug, crystal meth. known here as shabu. it destroys lives, breaks families and feeds a powerful criminal underworld. filipinos are among the world's highest u

the philippine senator who wants president duterte impeached tells the bbc she fears for her life — but won't stop speaking out. and the original showbiz celebrity — hollywood actress, tabloid star and socialite zsa zsa gabor — has died at the age of 99. medical officials in the syrian city of aleppo say they've resumed the evacuation of people trapped in the rebel—held east. reports from the last few hours say five buses and an ambulance with about three—hundred—and—fifty people on board have been able to leave. evacuations had been on hold, after armed attacks on other buses being used in besieged government—held areas. here's our correspondent quentin somerville, and i should warn you, there are distressing images in his report. if only the ceasefire in aleppo hadn't collapsed, then this might never have needed to happen. they're doing the best they can here, but the al-quds hospital is barely functioning. these are not surgeons. there are none left in eastern aleppo, so nurses perform the operation. it's a caesarean. translation: the child has a birth defect. we immedi

it will rip through the heart of the philippines close towards manila. the wider white circles show the track once it makes landfall. we will of course keep you updated. but it's a significant storm and it will cause some issues. 200—300 millimetres per day, which will result in flooding and some landslide. gusts of up to 160 mph, certainly want to keep a close eye on. how unusual is this? sadly, it is the third storm to arrive during christmas day. the last one was in 1981 and before that 1947. these were both category two and as i say nock—ten looks likely to be more powerful. you can get more on all our stories on the website. you will find full background analysis plus video and audio content. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: who needs a sleigh? why this father christmas has decided water—skiing may be the best way to deliver presents. security forces in tunisia say they have arrested three members of a terrorist cell linked to the tunisian who killed 12 people by driving a lorry into a christmas market in berlin. the interior ministry

one country which really got tough on drugs this year was the philippines. its hard line new president campaigned for his election by promising to kill 100,000 drug dealers and criminals in his first six months in office. his controversial, tough tactics, which critics say turning a blind eye to extra judicial killings, led to an unprecedented rise in the murder rate. around 2,000 people we re murder rate. around 2,000 people were killed in just murder rate. around 2,000 people were killed injust the murder rate. around 2,000 people were killed in just the first two months of the crackdown. jonathan head reports on the philippines' deadly war on drugs. the war on drugs is reaching all corners of the philippines. even here, in the jails. many of these men are already serving long sentences for drug use. in cells, so packed with bodies, it's hard to breathe. it says something about the extent of the drug problem here in the philippines that the police have had to come here and raid one of the biggest prisons around manila. there are biggest prisons around mani

it's just before dawn on the philippine island of palawan. even at this hour it's hot, but there's no sign here of the trouble brewing a few hundred miles out to sea. i'm about to take off on a trip the chinese government has tried to stop. as we roll down the runway, we're all tense. no one has tried what we're about to do. we're now heading south—west towards a number of chinese—controlled atolls. these are places where the chinese have being doing massive land reclamation over the last year and a half. we really want to go for two reasons. one, to see exactly what the chinese are doing, and two, to test to see if the chinese would try to stop us because the whole of this area is, according to most countries, international airspace. just 140 nautical miles from the philippine coast, we spot new land. this place is called mischief reef. until a year ago, there was nothing here, just a submerged atoll. now look at it. millions of tons of material have been dredged up to build this huge new island. then as we close to 12 nautical miles, th

it's just before dawn on the philippine island of palawan. even at this hour it's hot, but there's no sign here of the trouble brewing a few hundred miles out to sea. i'm about to take off on a trip the chinese government has tried to stop. just 140 nautical miles from the philippine coast, we spot new land. this place is called mischief reef. until a year ago, there was nothing here, just a submerged atoll. now look at it. millions of tons of material have been dredged up to build this huge new island. then as we close to 12 nautical miles, this. down below we can see a pair of chinese navy ships. 0ur pilots are nervous. they want to turn away. we're a civilian aircraft flying over international waters and yet we're being repeatedly threatened. so what we're getting is the chinese sending out that message, foreign military aircraft, unidentified military aircraft, leave the area immediately. in chinese and english, our captain replied saying we are a civilian aircraft, not a military aircraft, but it didn't make any difference, they repeated

it's just before dawn on the philippine island of palawan. even at this hour it's hot, but there's no sign here of the trouble brewing a few hundred miles out to sea. i'm about to take off on a trip the chinese government has tried to stop. just 140 nautical miles from the philippine coast, we spot new land. this place is called mischief reef. until a year ago, there was nothing here, just a submerged atoll. now look at it. millions of tons of material have been dredged up to build this huge new island. then as we close to 12 nautical miles, this. down below we can see a pair of chinese navy ships. 0ur pilots are nervous. they want to turn away. we're a civilian aircraft flying over international waters and yet we're being repeatedly threatened. so what we're getting is the chinese sending out that message, foreign military aircraft, unidentified military aircraft, leave the area immediately. in chinese and english, our captain replied saying we are a civilian aircraft, not a military aircraft, but it didn't make any difference, they repeated

joy maluyo from the world vision charity in the philippines. the headlines on bbc news: tributes continue to the singer george michael, one of the biggest names in british music, who has died at the age of 53. russia recovers fragments of a military plane which crashed into the black sea with 92 people on board. bargain hunters turn out for boxing day sales but it's thought many have stayed home after already splurging on pre—christmas discounts. a british man is in a critical condition in hospital in antigua after being shot in the head. 37—year—old christopher tester from torquay was injured during an attempted robbery at his parent's restaurant on christmas day. he is being kept in an induced coma and friends have launched an appeal to fly him back to the uk for treatment. the colombian authorities investigating the plane crash last month in which 71 people died have concluded the aircraft ran out of fuel. the plane, which was carrying brazil's chapecoense football club, crashed near the city of medellin. six people survived. on a leak

there's new pressure on the philippines' president, rodrigo duterte. the independent human rights watchdog is to investigate his claim to the bbc that he personally killed several drug suspects. tom donkin reports. philippines president rodrigo duterte was swept to power injune on a promise to rid his country of illegal drugs and those who traffic them. his critics argue he has authorised police, vigila ntes, and so—called death squads to shoot suspected users and dealers on site. by his own admission, the president himself says he has personally killed. earlier this week, the un cited that confession, calling for an independent human rights group in the philippines to act and investigate mr duterte for murder. they've agreed and will reopen an earlier investigation into the actions of the president. we are hoping with these new revelations and admissions we can further the investigation and ultimately have charges. mr duterte has been unforgiving when discussing his methods. recently he admitted to the bbc that he himself had killed drug suspects wh

the senator from the philippines who wants president duterte impeached tells the bbc she fears for her life but won't stop speaking out. and the original showbiz celebrity, hollywood actress, tabloid star and socialite zsa zsa gabor has died at the age of 99. medical officials in the syrian city

at least four people are killed in the manila area as a powerful typhoon crosses the philippines‘ capital. bargain hunters turn out for boxing day sales but it's thought many have stayed home after already splurging on pre—christmas discounts. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the music world has been paying tribute to george michael, who died yesterday, from heart failure, at the age of 53. the singer sold more than 100 million albums in a career spanning nearly four decades. he rose to fame with the pop duo, wham, enjoying global success in the 80s,

the philippine star headline reads "duterte wants six executions daily". it's looking at the president's so—called war on drugs, reporting that he wants capital punishment restored. an emergency meeting between asean countries is being held to discuss the rohingya population. the independent shows protestors criticising nobel peace prize winner and myanmar‘s de facto leader aung san suu kyi for not doing enough over allegations of violent crimes against rohingyas. the financial times has a survey of economists who believe the us federal reserve will wait half a year before raising interests rates again. some say they're watching to see what president—elect donald trump will present in his economic package. the paper also reports on the 10,000 robots sold by japanese company softbank. the robots can perform roles in sales, marketing and customer service. buyers include companies nestle and eli lilly. the la times pays tribute to actress and socialite zsa zsa gabor, who has died at the age of 99. she made more than 60 films and none of us can name she

it will rip through the heart of the philippines close towards manila. the wider white circles show the uncertainty of the track once it makes landfall. we will of course keep you updated. but it's a significant storm and it will cause some issues. 200—300 millimetres per day, which will result in flooding and some landslides. gusts of up to 160 mph, certainly want to keep a close eye on. how unusual is this? sadly, it is the third storm to arrive during christmas day. the last one was in 1981 and before that 19117. these were both category two and as i say nock—ten looks likely to be more powerful. rick parfitt, guitarist with the band status quo, has died in spain at the age of 68. he was being treated in hospital for a severe infection. the musician was still recovering from a heart attack he'd had earlier this summer. david sillito looks back at his life and career. i have gotten to where i wanted to go, you know, to become a pop star or a rock star. to quo fans, he was easy to spot. he was the man with blond hair and was responsible for some of

typhoons have hit the philippines many times. were people able to be warned in time and get out as far as you know? the number of casualties show we were able to warn them in time. right now we have three confirmed dead, two who refused to leave, and they left too late, so they drowned. already at a difficult time. 0ne got hit by a fallen tree. so far they are the deaths we have recorded. we have 800,000 in evacuation centres, so that should give you a good idea. in the area on the coastal side, we have standing room only in the evacuation centres. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the tributes from fans and fellow artists alike for george michael following his death at the age of 53. the most ambitious financial and political change ever attempted has got underway with the introduction of the euro. tomorrow in holland, we're going to use money we picked up in belgium today and then france and again the same money, it's got to be the way to go. george harrison, the former beatle, is recovering in hospital after being stabb

at least four people are killed in the manila area, as a powerful typhoon crosses the philippines‘ capital. bargain hunters turn out for boxing day sales but it's thought many have stayed home after already splurging on pre—christmas discounts. we look back at the incredible british successes at the rio 2016 olympic and paralympic games. good evening and welcome to bbc news. the music world has been paying tribute to george michael, who died yesterday, from suspected heart failure, at the age of 53. the singer sold more than 100 million albums in a career spanning nearly four decades. he rose to fame with the pop duo, wham, enjoying global success in the 80s, before leaving to forge a successful solo career. but he struggled with the pressures of fame and press attention. his band—mate andrew ridgeley said he was "heartbroken at the loss of a beloved friend". 0ur arts editor will gompertz looks back at his life. # wham bam, i am a man #. wearing a bikerjacket and a white tee, george michael takes his first steps into the limelight as one half of wham. back then, he had big hair and a p

the philippine star has a call by the un human rights chief to philippine authorities to investigate president rodrigo duterte for murder, following his claims that he killed drug suspects when he was a mayor. the china daily looks at the smog problem sweeping beijing and the north of the country. it says researchers now suspect steelmakers are the major cause of the smog. the situation exacerbated by the rise in steel prices leading to increased steel production. how does earning £1 a second, or, say, $74 usd a minute sound? well, the mirror has done the sums and that's how much footballer carlos tevez stands to earn if he accepts a deal with chinese super league team shanghai shenhua. and "surreal" is the 2016 word of the year. the washington post has looked into the story. the word was searched by people online after moments of great shock and tragedy, with the single biggest spike on november 9, the day donald trump was made president—elect. it was the most searched word, apparently, according to the dictionary merriam—webster. joining us is iain anderson, founder of the int

good to see the philippines represented! we never get a list of who is coming but there were concerns the queen and the duke might not make it feeling the weather. i suppose we shouldn't be surprised because she does like the traditional sandringham. this is a special time of year, to be with the rest of their family, like many of us around the country, a time to be together and have those traditions. yesterday, the royal family had their formal evening traditions. yesterday, the royal family had theirformal evening meal where they exchanged presents. they compete fiercely to see who can give the cheapest and most humorous gift. we are expecting them to be here, the queen is usually driven from the house to the church. the duke of edinburgh normally walks up leading the rest of the family, depending on his health he may be driven. we will find out in a few hours. 95 this year, the duke. when the family arrived, are the crowds allowed closer to the church? the crowd will line the path leading up the crowd will line the path l

it will rip through the heart of the philippines close towards manila. the wider white circles show the track once it makes landfall. we will of course keep you updated. but it's a significant storm and it will cause some issues. 200—300 millimetres per day, which will result in flooding and some landslide. gusts of up to 160 mph, certainly want to keep a close eye on. how unusual is this? sadly it is the third storm to arrive during christmas day. the last one was in 1981 and before that 19117. these were both category two and as i say nock—ten looks likely to be more powerful. more than 100 skiers have been rescued after being trapped in cable cars above the mountains in italy. high winds caused one of the ski lifts to fail, leaving those heading back to the valley after a day on the slopes stuck swinging 30 metres in the air. caroline davies reports. lowered back to firm ground, after hours stuck hanging above it. these skiers in italy were rescued and winched to safety after strong winds stopped their cable cars. the breakdown happened in norther

typhoons have hit the philippines many times. were people able to be warned in time and get out as far as you know? the number of casualties show we were able to warn them in time. right now we have three confirmed dead, two who refused to leave, and they left too late, so they drowned. already at a difficult time. 0ne got hit by a fallen tree. so far they are the deaths we have recorded. we have 800,000 in evacuation centres, so that should give you a good idea. in the area on the coastal side, we have standing room only in the evacuation centres. transportation and getting aid to people is going to be difficult? definitely. a lot of the posts are littered all over the highways. there were some floods last night, and power is yet to be restored. some are predicting one week before we can restore power, but we should be able to provide support to clear the debris, the trees, the electrical posts, and we should be able to retain cellular phone service. as we go on every day, we will get better. i know we have been hit many times,

it will rip through the heart of the philippines close towards manila. the wider why the circles show the track once it makes landfall. we will of course keep you updated. but it's a significant storm and it will cause some issues. 200— 300 millimetres per day, which will result in flooding and some landslide. gusts of up to 160 mph, certainly want to keep a close eye on. how unusual is this? sadly it is the third storm to arrive during christmas day. the last one was in 1981 and before that 1947. these we re 1981 and before that 1947. these were both category two and as i say nock—ten looks likely to be more powerful. security forces in tunisia say they've arrested three members of a terrorist cell linked to anis amri, the tunisian who killed twelve people by driving a lorry into a christmas market in berlin. the interior ministry said one of those detained was amri's nephew. 24—year—old amri was shot dead by police in milan in the early hours of friday morning. bethany bell reports. this is anis amri, the man who is suspected of being behind th

it's just before dawn on the philippine island of palawan. even at this hour it's hot, but there's no sign here of the trouble brewing a few hundred miles out to sea. i'm about to take off on a trip the chinese government has tried to stop. just 140 nautical miles from the philippine coast we spot new land. this place is called mischief reef. until a year ago there was nothing here, just a submerged atoll. now look at it. millions of tons of material have been dredged up to build this huge new island. then as we close to 12 nautical miles, this. down below we can see a pair of chinese navy ships. our pilots are nervous. they want to turn away. we're a civilian aircraft flying over international waters and yet we're being repeatedly threatened. so what we're getting is the chinese sending out that message, foreign military aircraft, unidentified military aircraft, leave the area immediately. in chinese and english, our captain replied saying we are a civilian aircraft, not a military aircraft, but it didn't make any difference, they repeated t

in other news: a powerful typhoon, nock—ten, is continuing to batter the philippines with strong winds and heavy rain. the storm has struck two central provinces, causing power cuts and travel disruption. it's moving slowly westward and is expected to reach the country's most densely populated areas, including the capital manila, later on monday. the israeli prime minister has held talks with the us ambassador to the country after summoning him to explain why the united states cleared the way for a un security council resolution criticising israel. neither side made public what was discussed at the meeting. kick his thousands of protesters in the taiwanese capital, taipei, are taking part in a rally outside parliament in support of proposals to legalise same—sex marriage. if the plans are approved next year, taiwan would become the first part of asia to legalise same—sex marriage. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: christmas away from home — some of the people who didn't get to see their loved ones at this festive time. we saw this enormous tidal wave approaching the beach,

and the philippine star says president duterte has told his armed forces to respect human rights and the rule of law in all their operations. but the paper says he also stressed there is no stopping his bloody war against illegal drugs, which has drawn international criticism. now, babita, what stories are sparking discussions online? he was helping some passengers, one of my favourite singers. well, rico, do you remember the 1990s pop star richard marx? well, he is famous again, for helping subdue an airline passenger. the scuffle was aboard a flight between vietnam and south korea. luckily for all, the singer was right here waiting when the trouble broke out. japan is home to the world's biggest fish market, called tsukiji. it is legendary for tuna auctions, the source of all that great sushi, so much so that a plan to move the market has provoked controversial. now, a film has reignited a debate over its historic value. the movie's director, naotaro endo, told the bbc what makes the market just so unique. translation: when i first visited tsukiji, i was surprised. i knew so little

joy maluyo is from the world vision charity in the philippines. typhoon nock—ten has caused significant damage in luzon, especially in the bicol region. as of today, the national disaster risk reduction and management council has reported that about 25,000 families have been affected by the typhoon, and a lot of houses made of light materials have been reduced to the ground. as early as two days before the landfall, a lot of people have already been evacuated. provincial governments have declared a state of imminent danger, so that's why there have been mandatory evacuations. so it's good that people have learned a lot, especially during typhoon haiyan in 2013. so we can say that even the national government has been prepared and has been more proactive in providing alerts to the communities. as of now, the department of social welfare and development is giving out relief items to the affected communities. for world vision, a few hours from now, our assessment team will be heading to bicol region to check on the extent of damage caused by the ty

if that helps towards the philippines at the weekend, it is not good news. this draws the eye, doesn't it? wet with gale force winds if not severe gale force winds and considerable snow across an error ofjapan on thursday. speaking of snow and cold weather, it has been bitter across the middle east. temperatures are expected to recover somewhat in the coming nights. close to freezing overnight tonight. not quite as cold through thursday or friday, but the cold are still around. to africa, you can see these lumps of cloud in the mozambique channel. they could form into a storm as we could see two north east. areas of potential rain also affecting tanzania into the south of africa. in zimbabwe, look at these breezes as well. they are throwing dust into the sahara. that could end up in the canary islands. some transport issues as well, because all heading their way gradually westwards. this is the low pressure was talking about in the eastern mediterranean. heavy, destructive snow, strong to gale force winds and heavy rain. it is implemented through the central

a typhoon has hit the philippines, forcing tens of thousands to seek refuge in emergency shelters. typhoon nock—ten, with gusts of more than 160kph, at least 100mph, has killed several people and damaged homes. it's also caused flooding in coastal communities and disrupted air and sea travel. richard gordon is in manila. what are you up against? we have managed to free up a lot of people, we have given hot meals, we managed to help people evacuated into the evacuation centres. we have about 87,000 people in evacuation centres. now it's going down as the typhoon moves further and further away. we are now getting the data, the data is beginning to come in. how many houses in one town right on the pacific ocean, we don't know. nine out of ten homes have been destroyed we suspect. we are verifying all of that. we have people on the ground doing rapid assessment. by this afternoon we should have a good figure on how many more people we need to help in this area. it has affected 30 provinces. it has an area of 400 miles, or 400 kilometres, so we have our hands full. we have volunteers

at least four people are killed in the manila area as a powerful typhoon crosses the philippines‘ capital. bargain hunters turn out for boxing day sales but it's thought many have stayed home after already splurging on pre—christmas discounts. now on bbc news... this year the queen celebrated her 90th birthday. daniela relph looks back on the momentous occasion and other events in the royal calendar in review 2016: the royal year. brass band plays ‘happy birthday'. it was the year of a big birthday. the queen at 90. for some of her grandchildren and great—grandchildren, a trip to canada. the first official overseas visit for the family of four. the duke and duchess of cambridge were also in india. a reminder of royal visits past. and for prince harry, a new relationship highlighted the tricky balance between a private and public life. when you're the queen, you get two birthdays. the real one and the official one. april the 21st was the queen's actual 90th birthday, and she celebrated in windsor. there was, of course, a cake, baked by nadiya hussain, the winner of the great british

it will start affecting the philippines on christmas eve. it could be very damaging indeed with heavy rains, mudslides and coastal flooding. there is a storm surge heading its way inland. there is some wet weather and snowy weather for the north on friday. for the united states we have some rain and snow, but a potential blizzard developing for the christmas weekend and that clearly will cause some travel disruption. for the south we could have some thunderstorms. they are calling the storm at the moment europa. there is the potentialfor a storm off the coast of madagascar. some lifted dust could well be affecting travel for the ca nary islands in the next few days. further north it is rather cool and chilly across the middle east. it is bitterly cold. temperatures are starting to rise a little bit. you can see the cold air is back and in the north and the other issue we haveis the north and the other issue we have is snow. it has been giving real problems across syria. for turkey and lebanon, further storms around coastlines. the storm is h

a philippine senator, who's calling for president duterte to be impeached, has told the bbc she fears for her life. leila de lima, a former justice minister, said she'd taken on extra security since she began criticising the president's war on drugs, in which up to 5,000 people have been killed. now on bbc news, it's dateline london. hello and welcome to dateline london. the fall of aleppo — how significant a moment is this — and what comes next? plus, britain's ambassador to the european union reports that brexit and the trade negotiations could take ten years. is brexit delayed, brexit denied? our guests today are jef mcallister, who is an american writer and broadcaster. suzanne lynch of the irish times. abdel bari atwan, who writes on arab affairs. and alex deane, who is a conservative commentator. very good to see you. president assad's forces have taken over aleppo amid repeated and credible reports of appalling human rights abuses and much hand wringing about the west "doing something." what is the "something" that could or should have been done? what are the consequences o

american singerjames taylor has cancelled an upcoming concert in the philippines, to make a political stand against the extra judicial killings that have taken place since president rodrigo duterte came to power. mr taylor said the summary executions of suspected offenders were unacceptable. construction workers in peru got a surprise when they came across a crocodile on a worksite. the two—metre—long reptile was discovered in the city of puerto maldonado in the south—east of the country. it had apparently wandered over via a canal connecting the site to a local ranch. the crocodile was handed over to local forestry workers, who dropped it off at a zoo. let's go back to our main story, the manhunt for anis amri, the tunisian who is suspected of being behind the attack on the christmas market in berlin on monday. joseph cirincione is the president of the global security foundation ploughsha res fund. i asked him whether the german authorities could have done more to prevent this attack. terrorism of this kind is extremely difficult to prevent. was this individual... did he commit