this is bbc news. our top stories: the united nations begins flying refugees from libya to italy to help stop vulnerable people being trafficked to europe by sea. a man's been charged in the united states with planning a terrorist attack in san francisco over christmas. president trump welcomes the imposition of tough new sanctions on north korea, as china calls for talks to ease the crisis over pyongyang's nuclear programme. a deadly wildfire destroys more than 700 homes in california, becoming the largest blaze in the state's recorded history. also in the programme: thousands gather at the imperial palace injapan to wish emperor akihito a happy birthday. the united nations has begun flying refugees from libya to italy,

a move welcomed by the italian interior minister as historic. more direct flights for those deemed to be "extremely vulnerable" are planned in 2018, including single mothers, unaccompanied children and people with disabilities. many people are trafficked to libya and risk a perilousjourney to europe by sea. andrew plant reports. a military plane touching down easily. —— in italy. 0n—board 120 women and children. african migrants. refugees now flown directly to europe for the first time. they are part of the protection work that unhcr does in libya. we have visited the detention

centre. 1200 vulnerable refugees, we have had them released. tens of thousands of people fleeing their homes arrive in libya each year and attempt to cross the mediterranean to reach italy, their very first footsteps into europe. the risks are enormous. these people were pulled from the water last week when their boat work in half of the libyan coast, rescued by chance by the libyan may be. this year and for the past four years in a row or than 3000 people have died trying to make the crossing. those who survive often say their greatest fear is being sent back to libya to camps like these. complaints of abuse are widespread. the beatings and ill treatment. desperation forces many into the hands of human traffickers and into boats overloaded and unfit for the sea. italy has called this

an evacuation, the first they hope of many. these people, the most vulnerable. 50 more are due on a later plane. translation: we managed to intervene in a particularly difficult situation, like the libyan one, and brought the men and children to safety, welcoming the refugees and rescuing them from the people smugglers. european leaders met in brussels this week to discuss migration. more than 160,000 people have arrived in europe from africa this year. that's less than half the numberfrom this year. that's less than half the number from 2016, but measures to curb arrivals, like repatriations scheme on going in libya, are highly controversial. now italy plans to ta ke controversial. now italy plans to take the lead, taking up to 10,000 more people from libya in 2018 and is looking to the rest of europe to help to find them new homes. a former us marine has been arrested

for allegedly plotting to launch a terror attack on christmas day in a busy tourist area of san francisco. everitt aaron jameson was arrested by federal agents charged with planning an attack on one of the city's most popular tourist attractions, pier 39. the bbc‘s peter bowes in los angeles told me what more was known. this came to light after someone reported that he had been involved in some suspicious activity on facebook. he had been liking posts sympathetic to the so—called islamic state, he had also expressed some support for the attack in october in new york city, when a lorry was driven onto a bike path, and also the san bernardino shooting of a couple of years ago. so he was under surveillance by the fbi. he met with an agent who he believed to be a senior leaderfrom is and it was then that he revealed this plot,

to essentially attack on christmas day, one of the most popular tourist destinations in california, pier39 in san francisco. it's a very busy area with restaurants and shops. he had apparently said that it would be a perfect time to carry out this attack. his home was raided on wednesday, they took away some weapons, some ammunition, there was a will, this was apparently to be a suicide mission, and also a note in which he referred to president trump's acknowledgement ofjerusalem as the capital of israel. what more do we know of the 25—year—old suspect? he is a former marine, he was discharged for medical reasons, he hadn't disclosed that he was suffering from asthma. we know that he had been trained to use a wide range of weaponry and he is now facing these very serious charges. he has actually appeared in court.

through his lawyer he has denied the allegations, if he is eventually tried and if he is convicted he would face a large fine and more than 20 years in prison. a news update for you because the number of people known to have been killed by a tropical storm in the southern philippines has risen to nearly 90, according to local officials. dozens are also feared missing in mudslides. flooding caused by tropical storm tembin has affected large areas of the island of mindanao. dozens of homes in one village were buried when heavy rain triggered a mudslide. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. the price of bitcoin has plummeted by 30% in just one day, marking the worst week for the crypto—currency since 2013. it follows days of high—profile

security problems at two exchanges, as well as stark warnings from global regulators about the risks posed by crypto—currencies. a rebel group a rebelgroup in a rebel group in the congo has set up a rebel group in the congo has set up camps in the border with uganda and it has been blamed by a —— by peacekeepers for recent attacks in the drc. donald trump has signed a $1.5 trillion tax bill into law, before heading to his florida resort for christmas. the legislation cuts the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% and includes funds for missile defence. it's the biggest overhaul to the us tax system in decades. the united nations security council has passed biting new sanctions on north korea that will cut oil supplies vital for pyongyang's missile and nuclear programmes. with china's backing,

the council in new york voted unanimously to adopt the us—drafted resolution. the sanctions also force north koreans working overseas to return home, cutting off another revenue stream for kim jong—un‘s regime. the bbc‘s nada tawfik is at the un. this is the 10th security council resolution imposing sanctions on north korea. none before it has convinced kim jong—un to abandon his nuclear programme, but diplomats hope this resolution will bite hard enough to change the regime's calculus — or at the very least, restrict it's ability to carry out additional nuclear and missile tests. president trump specifically asked president xi of china to cut oil to pyongyang, believing it would be a pivotal step. according to the united states, north korea imported 11.5 million barrels of refined petroleum in 2016. this resolution now caps it

to 500,000 barrels a year — a nearly 90% cut to a vital lifeline of the regime. mr trump celebrated the adoption of new sanctions, tweeting "the world wants peace, not death". america's un ambassador nikki haley warned there would be repercussions pyongyang continued on its course. today's resolution achieves an 89% total reduction of the kim regime's ability to import gasoline, diesel and other refined products, and should the north korean regime conduct another nuclear or ballistic missile test, this resolution commits the security council to take even further action. the chinese ambassador, wu haitao, repeated beijing's calls for dialogue. translation: china urges dprk to take seriously the demands of the international community, abide by and implement the council resolutions, and refrain from conducting any further nuclear and missile tests. the resolution also requires

countries to expel north koreans working abroad within 2a months in an effort to cut off an important source of revenue. 15 north korean officials in the ministry which manages logistics for the army will now be added to the un blacklist. and, to counter sanctions evasion, the resolution requires countries to seize ships caught smuggling banned items. a deadly wildfire which has destroyed more than 700 homes in california is now the largest blaze in the state's recorded history, according to officials. the blaze broke out at the start of december and thousands of firefighters are still trying to get what remains of the fire under control. let's cross straight to our correspondent james cook for more. the news keeps coming and it seems to get worse and worse? it is getting bigger and bigger. that's certainly the case. the fire is now

more than 1100 square kilometres in area. it has scorched all of that area. it has scorched all of that area and just to give you some context that an area the size of new york city, paris and brussels combined. so it really has been a mammoth fire. the good news is that firefighters do now pretty much have a handle on this ways. they don't quite have it under control. they have containment lines around 65% of the fire and crucially they are confident that they are now protect in the coastal communities, such as sa nta in the coastal communities, such as santa barbara, which was so seriously threatened, especially last weekend when there was an epic firefight all weekend, in extraordinary wins, incredible gusts, towering flames and more than 8000 firefighters managed to battle the fire and push it out and save hundreds if not thousands of homes, although having said that more than

700 homes, two hotels and two residential apartment complexes have been destroyed and two lives lost. the weather of the last few weeks has been making the task for firefighters very difficult. what is the forecast for the next few days? u nfortu nately the forecast for the next few days? unfortunately it is still dry and there's still a lack of rain and that's been the case was at a long time here in this part of southern california. the fire has been burning just to the north of los angeles here and that area firefighters say hasn't had any rain, no measurable rainfall in some areas where the fire has been burning, for a round 280 days. that gives you a sense of how dry the ground is. on top of that there's been a few will build up over a longer period of time because the fire has been burning some areas that no one can remember historically as having been burned at all ever. records go back to 1932 and this fire is now the largest

fire. the most destructive in terms of numbers of homes destroyed, but the largest in the area since the records began in 1932. there will have been larger fires before then, but what's viking, looking at the records for the last 80 years or so, is that 1a of the largest wildfires by area in california have occurred this century. —— striking. so there's clearly a problem with a warming climate and also with the relu cta nce warming climate and also with the reluctance to carry out controlled burns and with the people in their urban environment moving out into the countryside and building homes in the countryside. these has all come together to create very dangerous conditions. thank you. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the hugely anticipated el clasico clash, as real madrid and fc barcelona meet for the first time since 0ctober‘s banned independence referendum. we saw this enormous tidal wave approaching the beach,

people started to run, and suddenly it was complete chaos. united states troops have been trying to overthrow the dictatorship of general manuel noriega. the pentagon said the operation was 90% successful but failed in its principal objective, to capture general noriega and take him to the us to face drugs charges. the hammer and sickle was hastily taken away. the russian flag was hoisted over what is no longer the soviet union but the commonwealth of independent states. day breaks slowly over lockerbie, over the cockpit of pan am's maid of the seas nosedown in the soft earth. you could see what happens when a plane eight storeys high, a football pitch wide, falls from 30,000 feet. christmas has returned to albania after a communist ban lasting more than 20 years. thousands went to midnight mass in the town of shkroda, where there were anti—communist riots ten days ago. this is bbc news.

the latest headlines: the united nations has begun flying refugees from libya to italy to help prevent vulnerable people being trafficked to europe by sea. a former us marine has been arrested by the fbi for allegedly planning a terror attack in san francisco over christmas. it's a growing problem in countries like the philippines — children put to work in front of webcams, forced to perform sex shows for paedophiles watching on the other side of the world. in 2013, a dutch organisation tried to find out how big the problem was by using the fake online profile of a 10—year—old filipina girl. they called her ‘sweetie'. more than 1,000 men offered her money to perform for them. now the team behind sweetie are launching a new project — this time, targeting individual

predators themselves, and the software's being offered to police forces across the world. angus crawford reports from the netherlands. 0nline, undercover, searching chat rooms, looking for predators. sweetie is back. always, it's about sex. and always about adults who want to talk about sex. look, he's british, like many others, and remember they are talking to what they think is an 11—year—old girl. remember this? i'm not real. the computer—generated model... back then, sweetie needed human operators to type her chats online. the new version is different. they're popping up. fully automated, she can now handle hundreds of conversations at the same time. so you could be getting the information on thousands of men? there is no end.

sweetie's avatar has been retired and replaced by two new ones, sometimes being shown to predators via webcam. but we can't show you, or they'd be no use anymore. they invite him into their house, which is the cybersex den... so, why is this new campaign? here's why. in the philippines, more and more children are being forced to sell sex to foreigners via webcam. five people were arrested and there were more than 600 foreign customers in the network. he has turned on his camera... sweetie first showed us the scale of the problem. now the team is going on the offensive against men like this. he's naked and he thinks — he knows — you'rejust 12. exactly. and he wants you... to be naked... to turn on your camera... be naked, as well. i think he will... ..take off his trousers. their details could be passed to the police.

and they'll get a nasty shock. an automatic message sent straight to their inbox. that will have a major impact on their behaviour. we know who you are. we know where you are. we know what you want. stop this! sweetie's job was to raise awareness, not catch criminals. this man, australian scott hanson, was one of the few to be prosecuted. but in many countries, this kind of evidence doesn't count. some police forces support the project, others don't. but the sweetie team go on, scouring chat rooms, turning the same technology used to exploit children back against the predators who seek them out. international medical volunteers are appealing to the syria government to allow seven children with treatable cancer to leave a rebel—held district in syria. they say the children will die

unless they're evacuated from eastern ghouta — a suburb of damascus under siege for the past four years. in recent weeks, president assad's forces have intensified their bombardment of the area. the fourth election in as many years in the spanish region of catalonia has once again confirmed its divisions. and the evidence of those divisions are likely to be highlighted later on saturday when the country's two big football teams meet, as real madrid take on barcelona. here's joe lynskey. cristiano ronaldo! they are the superstars who define their era. the players on each side of book will‘s greatest game. with lionel messi and reynaldo, fans tend to pick a side. but in spain now there are greater divisions. —— football pulls up this is the first el clasico since 0ctober‘s and independence

referendum. it comes just days since catalonia went to the polls again. and among the voters were barcelona's gerrard pique, a prize asset for barcelona and for spain. to be able to vote historically has not always been possible in this country, and nowadays we have to defend that always. this isn't a rivalry used to bringing sides together, but football sometimes can heal some of the wounds. this comes after an election that took place yesterday, the situation was very hot in both sides, more in catalonia, but after this week eve ryo ne catalonia, but after this week everyone feels a release now, and everybody wants to focus on sport. this will be common ground, for everybody, and of course barcelona will want to win this game because this is a big step for the league. with attention now on the league, real madrid have turned to british

roots. the greatest game requires the greatest stage, and they called blackpool's paul burgess the best groundsman on earth. being in spain, it's like a dream move anybody, being the groundsman, the football, the press officer, whatever, that it will be in great addition. it will bea will be in great addition. it will be a nice pitch, and the best team will win the game. it is barcelona enjoying football dominance at present, they lead real madrid by 11 league points. and though sport won't fix everything here, there are i°ys won't fix everything here, there are joys that both teams can share. 0n saturday the world's eyes turn to madrid to see the world's superstars. japan's emperor akihito has been greeting crowds who gathered at the imperial palace to wish him a happy 84th birthday. currently december 23rd is a national holiday, but that might change into a normal working day after his abdication in april 2019, when his son, crown prince naruhito, becomes the new emperor. his birthday will then turn

into the new national holiday. earlier i spoke tojeff kingston. he's director of asia studies at temple university and he told me more about the emperor's popularity. yes, i mean, the media today is full of stories about the emperor and his family. there is clearly a warm veneration of emperor akihito and i think people are already sort of missing him. they realise how important he has been to japan over the last 35 years. the last 25 years. he first talked about retirement a couple of years ago, but obviously, it was decided it was best to have a slow transition? yes, lifetime employment has a special meaning here. by the time he retires, it will be almost three years since he indicated his failing health would make it very difficult for him to carry out his duties. so it has taken the government a while to revise the law and to make preparations.

but in may 2019, there will be a new emperor. i suspect, however, they will figure out a way to honour the current emperor, and make his birthday into a national holiday. what are the differences between he and narahito, what are the differences between he and naruhito, would you say? i think the differences are far more profound with his own father, hirohito, who was rather aloof. i think that akihito has made it his business to address the unfinished business of the war. so he has been the chief emissary of reconciliation with asian countries which suffered under the japanese military‘s boot. and domestically, he has made himself a sort of first responder, showing great compassion for the vulnerable and the dislocated. i think that naruhito basically is similar to his father and i think he is well prepared to carry on the torch.

and even those who are not big fans of the monarchy injapan will see this as a fairly smooth transition, you think? i think so. i would think the current prime minister, shinzo abe, will celebrate quietly. he and akihito have had their differences over the wartime history and also about constitutional revision. jeff kingston, from japan. reindeer in lapland are being fitted with tracking devices to stop them becoming victim to wolves and bears. now reindeerfarmers are becoming victim to wolves and bears. now reindeer farmers are hoping to find any that are attacked and then steer them away from danger. they roam the remote snow—covered forests of northern finland. up to 300,000 reindeer living in herds led by the largest females. but life in the arctic circle comes with many dangers.

thousands are lost each year to predators like wolves, brown bears and wolverines too. now reindeerfarmers are turning to technology. trackers are fitted to the female leaders, sending signals across the arctic, making it easier to find any injured individuals, and to move the reindeer away from areas where they know there is a predator. reindeer are big business for farmers in finland, allowed to roam freely across the northern forest of lapland, only rounded up twice every year. the farmers hope the trackers could help save thousands of reindeer lives, and give scientists an insight — into where the herds go in their distant snow—covered forest homes. the headlines are next. hi, there.

it has been cloudy for the last few days, very mild as well. more of the same to come over the next few days in the run—up to the big day itself. staying mild, turning a bit windier, and a bit of rain across the north—west of the uk. particularly for western scotland. for the time being we've got a lot of cloud and high pressure to the south of the uk. these westerly winds bringing cloud off the atlantic. the weather front approaching scotland, bringing outbreaks of rain and wet weather to start the day across the northern isles. for many of us it's a dry, a cloudy and mild start. misty and murky around western coasts and hills, but probably not as murky as it has been over the past few days on account of the stronger winds. the winds pick up on saturday in the northern half of the uk and they will encourage a few breaks in the cloud every now and then. not many breaks for most of england and wales. it stays pretty dull and cloudy for most of the day. still murky over high ground of the moors in the south—west, across the hills of

wales and pennines too. temperature wise, 10—12 celsius, similar to the last few days. the rain working in through the afternoon in northern ireland. turning wet in scotland. in eastern areas, prospects of a few bright and sunny spells on account of the strong winds blowing holes in the cloud sheet. through saturday night, there will still be some pulses of rain coming and going across scotland. if anything it turns heavier in western areas and it will be persistent. another mild night. temperatures 9—10 celsius widely. for christmas eve and christmas day, this weather front becomes very slow—moving, often targeting western scotland, with pulses of heavy rain. those rainfall totals mounting up. we could see some localised surface flooding across western scotland in the run—up to the big day. so the potential for localised transport disruption here. christmas eve will be a breezier day. 0ften cloudy, still with spots of rain and drizzle in western areas. the stronger winds again encouraging a couple of cloud breaks every

now and then. temperatures, as you were —10—12 celsius. christmas day, we continue the theme of mild and cloudy weather. a bit windier. the band of rain moves in across northern ireland and scotland and into the far north—west of england and wales. if you go into the high mountains, above 500 metres elevation, you might see a bit of snow, but for the vast majority it is going to be a mild christmas day. but after christmas, keep in touch with the weather forecast because it turns colder and the chance of seeing heavy snow perhaps affecting parts of the pennines, which could cause disruption after christmas. that's your weather. this is bbc news. the headlines: the united nations has begun flying refugees from libya to italy to help prevent people from being trafficked to europe by sea. the move has been welcomed by the italian interior minister as historic. more direct flights for those deemed to be "extremely vulnerable" are planned in 2018. a man's been arrested in the us for allegedly plotting an attack

in san francisco over christmas. everitt aaron jameson, a former marine, is said to have revealed his plans to an undercover agent whom he believed to be from the islamic state group. president trump has welcomed the unanimous vote by the un security council to impose tough new sanctions against north korea. he said the move showed the world's desire for peace, not war. under the new sanctions, oil imports to north korea will be severely limited. now on bbc news, the travel show.