this is bbc news. i'm martine croxall. the headlines at 7pm. a tropical storm tears through the southern philippines, triggering flash floods and landslides. more than 200 people have died and dozens are missing. a man has appeared at york magistrates‘ court charged with the murder ofjodie willsher at an aldi supermarket in skipton. london zoo is closed after a fire early this morning, in which an aardvark and four meerkats are thought to have died. the zoo will reopen tomorrow. theresa may pays tribute to british troops at home and abroad in a christmas message. tighter regulations could be on the way for wood—burning stoves. in the new year, the government says it's launching a review to tackle air pollution caused by the stoves. and stay with us here on bbc news — we'll have the latest from today's premier league games in our sportsday programme at 7.30. good evening and

welcome to bbc news. nearly 200 people have died after a tropical storm struck the southern philippines. the country's second largest island mindanao bore the brunt of the storm, which caused flash floods and landslides. one entire village has been completely buried. andy moore reports. clinging to the neck of his rescuer, a young boy is carried across the floodwaters. there was little sign of official help here, just villagers doing their best to rescue each other with fragile ropes. in a country used to devastating storms, this took many by surprise. the authorities said too many people had ignored warnings to leave coastal areas and river banks. many of the casualties were on the main southern island, mindanao. this man said houses were getting flooded but people couldn't escape, so they got caught in the strong

currents and swept away. many places were hit by landslides. flimsy houses were buried beneath tonnes of debris. the red cross is helping coordinate the relief effort. we have already provided water and food, and we have been distributing non—food items, blankets, mosquito nets and hygiene kits for those who are in the evacuation centres to alleviate the suffering of many of the folks there. the philippines is battered by about 20 typhoons every year. this particular storm is not over yet. it's now heading towards the popular tourist island of palawan. as it passes over warm, tropical waters, its winds are set to grow again in strength. andy moore, bbc news. a man has appeared in court charged with the murder of a woman working

at an aldi supermarket in north yorkshire. neville hord, who's 44, was remanded in custody by magistrates in york. jodie willsher was stabbed to death in skipton on thursday. 0ur correspondent sarah walton sent this report. arriving at york magistrates‘ court, 44—year—old neville hord appeared in the dock charged with murder. he is accused of attacking 30—year—old jodie willsher at the aldi store in skipton where she was working on thursday afternoon. she suffered serious injuries and died in the store. there were no relatives in court this morning, and mr hord, dressed in a blue t—shirt and grey shorts, spoke only to confirm his name, age and address. he didn't enter a plea and was remanded in custody. in a statement, mrs willsher‘s husband malcolm said his wife always had an amazing smile on herface and was a doting mother and loving wife. at the store where mrs willsher worked, colleagues have described her as much

loved and popular. staff returned to the store tonight, but the store remains closed. people have been arriving to leave flowers and messages for mrs willsher, a popular member of staff. 0ne regular shopper delivered a card for the workers who lost a loved colleague. people who shop here shop regularly, and they know the staff. the staff are so good. the manager is always so helpful. it just hurts people. mr hord will next appear at leeds crown court on the 28th of december. sarah walton, bbc news, york. london zoo has been closed today after a fire in the early hours of the morning. a number of staff were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation and shock, as the blaze was brought under control by 70 firefighters. adina campbell reports. rising flames and large plumes of smoke were captured on social media just before dawn.

the fire started in the animal adventure cafe and then spread to a nearby shop. at its height, more than 70 firefighters dealt with the fire and brought it under control just after 9am. one person was taken to hospital and eight others were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation and minor injuries. this is quite a complex site, and we've had to put certain cordons in place for people's safety, because the building has been so seriously damaged. vets at the zoo confirmed that a nine—year—old aardvark called misha died in the fire. four missing meerkats are also thought to have been killed. we are all really upset by this incident, because this is one of our most loved animals in the zoo, misha and the meerkats are also held in great affection by all of us who work here and by those who love london zoo.

for those who turned up today, it wasn't the christmas visit they had hoped for. we travelled down from nottingham today. that must be disappointing. it is a bit, but as long as the animals are ok. we are very disappointed, we came from a long way, from brazil, to see it. and it's closed. and sad. poor animals. some of the staff who live on site here were called to the scene immediately and started moving the animals to safety. today, the zoo has been closed. it would normally have been a very busy day, being so close to christmas. tonight, staff have confirmed that the zoo will be open tomorrow. three quarters of the cafe and shop has been affected by the fire, as well as half the roof. the cause is still unclear. adina campbell, bbc news. the prime minister has paid tribute to the work of the armed forces in a special christmas message.

she thanked them for their work in combatting so—called islamic state and acts of terrorism here in the uk. i want to send a message of thanks to every member of our armed forces and your families, wherever you are in the world this christmas. earlier this year i joined the centenary commemoration for the battle of passchendaele. gathered in flanders, we remembered the hundreds of thousands of young men who gave their lives on that battlefield in the cause of freedom. through a century of great change since, the high standards and devotion to duty of our armed forces have remained constant. today, as we face new threats, your work continues to make the world a safer place. i saw that first hand this month in iraq, when i met british soldiers training and supporting the iraqi security forces as they fight against daesh. thanks to their efforts and the skill of the royal air force,

daesh no longer hold significant territory in iraq or syria, and a better future is in prospect for that region. in the caribbean, the royal navy supported by the other services brought disaster relief to those suffering in the wake of hurricane irma. twice this year, after acts of terrorism here at home, we deployed troops on the streets of the uk to help keep us safe. whenever you are called upon, regulars oi’ reserves, you always give of your best, and inspire us all with your service. the enormous debt we owe to our armed forces and veterans is enshrined in the military covenant, and the covenant also recognises that your achievements are made possible by the love and support of your families. partners and children are often called on to make huge sacrifices of their own, from a change of school orjob to coping with extended

periods of separation. that separation is especially difficult at christmas time, and we should all be immensely grateful for that sacrifice. at the passchendaele memorial service thisjuly, those gathered sang the ypres hymn 0 valiant hearts. this christmas, as people across the uk celebrate this special time of year with their families and friends, we will do so secure in the knowledge that the valiant hearts of our servicemen and women, many far away from their own loved ones at this special time of year, are working to keep us safe. thank you all for your service, and i wish you a very happy christmas. gogglebox star leon bernicoff has died aged 83 after a short illness, channel 4 said.

the retired teacher and his wife june were one of the first couples to join the show‘s cast when it launched in 2013. mr bernicoff died in hospital on saturday, channel 4 and production company studio lambert said in a statement. they paid tribute to the tv favourite's "unique personality and sharp wit". the transport secretary, chris grayling, says the government is consulting on a new system of road charging for heavy goods lorries. drivers would be charged per mile, in a move that replaced some existing taxes. there are no plans for a similar system for private cars. 0ur transport correspondent explains. they get a lot of complaints saying foreign hauliers come over, they won't have paid a lot of duty on their fuel. they go home and and contributing enough to the upkeep of the raids. lorries do a lot of damage to the roads. they are suggesting this could be a

fairer way of doing it and potentially charging per mile. hauliers argue it is an excuse to charge them more. i think the bigger question is if this is the tip of the iceberg. everyone is thinking perhaps if this goes well for lorries, maybe they will bring in toll roads for cars and vans. i can't see that happening. the government flatly denying they are looking up today. people watching this will remember tony blair trying to do that ten years ago. 2 million people signed a petition against it. there was outrage. it's a brave government that talks about toll roads for ordinary drivers. the government is also starting a consultation on which key a roads will be eligible for government funding. many a—roads around the country are run and maintained by local councils, even when they're

important parts of the nation's infrastructure. but the government is aiming to change that by providing money for improvements from a new central fund. that will be paid for with money raised from vehicle excise duty, improve thousands of miles of a—roads, and provide up to £100 million for each major new scheme such as road junctions, more dual carriageways and improved safety. this is typically all about bypasses for small towns where they have got an a—road going through the middle, lots of heavy lorries and it gets congested, lots of pollution, everyone says there needs to be a bypass — this is about making sure those bypasses can be delivered. it is important for regional connections, it's important for new housing but it's also important to make life better for the people who live on those roads. the plan is that by providing central government money, regions of england will be able to cut congestion, remove bottlenecks and boost economic growth. but critics say that the money would be better spent maintaining the current road network and improving public transport. the bbc understands the government is considering introducing tighter

regulations on wood—burning stoves. ministers are expected to launch a consultation in the new year on how to tackle increasing problems with air pollution caused by the popularity of wood burners in homes. let's hear how the industry has reacted to this. i'm joined by dennis milligan from the stove industry alliance. thank you forjoining us this evening. had you anticipated this? we've been working closely with defra to see how we can reduce emissions, so we welcome the consultation and it's something we are looking forward to. woodburning stoves have become quite a fashionable thing to have but what damage are they causing? the interesting thing is, as the sales in stoves have increased in our major cities, the pollution from woodburning has gone down. the

reason is that woodburning stoves are now very efficient in terms of how they burn the wood, and they reduce your emissions from an open fire or stove produced ten years ago. is it a better design? better design and better technology. particulars come from the incomplete combustion of wood and the stoves burn the wood better and produced you are emissions. concurred with an open fire particularly? yes -- compared with. what we have found in research is that in london 70% of the wood that is burned is burned on open fires. that is the worst way to burn wood because the omissions are greater. what more are you doing as an industry to try to combat this problem? the european wide legislation is due to come into force in 2020 to four woodburning

stoves. but the sia have decided to introduce those stoves now head of the legislation. we are looking ahead to the next cut we can make. 2022, the uk won't be in the eu any more. i understand that defra are bringing in the legislation through the repeal bill. they are saying it is going into effect. we've moved ahead and introducing the stoves now. this stoves are ready to meet the new lower limits for emissions. the benefit is that they will produce fewer emissions than an open fire said they are quite a significant drop in emission levels. if you've got a stove that is ten

yea rs old if you've got a stove that is ten years old what should you do? we are recommending you think about replacing it. we've been talking to defra and the concept of an upgrade scheme to help people make that transition. what we've learned under the clean air act is that enforcement doesn't really work. you shouldn't be burning wood on an open fire. we think through education and some help in terms of the cost is a significant way forward to bring down emissions. thank you. the headlines on bbc news. a tropical storm tears through the southern philippines, triggering flash floods and landslides. more than 200 people have died. a man has appeared at york magistrates‘ court charged with the murder of 30—year—old jodie willsher at an aldi supermarket in skipton. london zoo is closed after a majorfire this morning in which an aardvark and four meerkats are believed to have died. the zoo will reopen tomorrow.

the homeless charity crisis is warning of the growing problem of the "hidden homeless" — that‘s someone who sleeps in a train, car, bus or tent — rather than in a doorway on the street. it is estimated up to 9,000 people fall into that category — that‘s on top of more than 4,000 people known to be sleeping rough. the charity is urging the government to act, or face thousands more falling into the situation. chi chi izundu reports. my name is alex, i‘m 36 years old and six months ago, i was tent homeless. after the breakup of a relationship and with no friends or family nearby, alex felt rough sleeping was his only option. rather thanjust umming and aahing, just bought myself a tent and a sleeping bag that same day and three weeks later, i have got out of that situation. alex was a hidden rough sleeper, according to the homeless charity crisis, hiding his homelessness in a tent in a wooded area rather than just bedding down on the streets.

it is just putting in my mind that this is not long—term, it is not long—term, and it‘sjust a long overdue camping trip, which i kind ofjust explained to myself, made me get through it, really. in a new report, crisis suggests more than 9,000 hidden rough sleepers across the uk will spend christmas sleeping in cars, trains and buses, as well as tents, like alex. everyone walks past homeless people. you see it all the time. it‘s just — it‘s almost like just a part of day—to—day life they experience, people begging with cups and stuff, or with dogs, or bits of cardboard with writing on it, and you kind of acknowledge it and think "do you know what? that‘s never going to happen to me, never". the charity says hiding their homelessness often makes them invisible to outreach workers and could lead to further problems like depression and isolation. the feelings about being homeless, there is a massive stigma, and i kind of really didn‘t want to explain to friends and family that i‘m in that sort of area of need, and i‘m almost too

proud to ask for help. crisis is calling on the government to do more to help people who find themselves in this situation, so that they can get the help they need, like alex eventually did. five, six months ago that i was sleeping in my tent. 2018 is going to be a new year, and it is going to be my year. responding to the situation in england, the government says "we are committed to halving rough sleeping by 2022. we are providing over £1 billion through to 2020 to prevent homelessness and rough sleeping". the us president, donald trump, has praised the un security council for imposing new sanctions against north korea, in response to its recent missile tests. the security council voted unanimously to limit north korea‘s imports of petrol and oil by as much as 90%. mr trump said the vote proved the world "wants peace, not death". a former us marine has been charged

with planning to carry out a terrorist attack in san francisco over christmas everitt jameson revealed his plans to an undercover agent. he denies the allegations. senior nato officers have warned that russia submarine activity has reached a level not seen since the end of the cold war, 30 years ago. the commander of the alliance‘s submarine forces said the russians seemed to be focusing on undersea cables that link europe to the united states, on which trillions of dollars worth of trade is carried daily. edward lucas is the author of "the new cold war". i think it is worth remembering that the russian submarines have been at this ever since the end of the old cold war and any country which has a submarine—based nuclear deterrent needs to keep an eye on the other side‘s submarines and make sure they stay seated. the russians had gotten a lot better both of those things, part of the military build—up we have seen. it has got to the stage along with cyberattacks and other things

russia do that nato is alarmed about it and the political leadership of nato is happy to talk about it publicly. they used to pretend it was all right until a couple of years ago. california‘s deadly wildfire has now become the largest in the state‘s recorded history. the blaze which has been burning for more than two weeks has scorched an area greater than new york city, brussels and paris combined. among those tackling the flames are thousands of prisoners, some of whom have been given a new sense of purpose by the work, as our correspondent james cook reports. it‘s pretty challenging. sometimes we‘re right there, right next to the fire. compared to being in prison and being here, it's completely different. here you feel free. you're out in the world. the biggest change for me is mental, because i‘ve never pushed myself

as hard, ever in life. california has 4,000 inmate firefighters, men and women. cutting firebreaks is risky work, two have died this year. but there are rewards too in reduced sentences and a sense of purpose. after being in this programme, ifeel like i‘ve been rehabilitated and ifeel like i can go out there and achieve anything i want to because i‘ve done this. this is so hard. we were allowed inside this prison camp in malibu. there are no walls or fences here. violent or volatile prisoners are not allowed to join the programme. with a job like this, there is only time to think about the work. latoya najar is serving four years for causing the death of her seven—year—old son in a drunken car crash. the attraction for me

was because of my crime, i could come out here and do something positive. it‘s challenging mentally to get over something. i‘m never going to get over it, but to try to ease my mind and this has helped. with california facing more frequent and more destructive fires, some critics call this slave labour. but the project is voluntary, it may reduce re—offending and it provides some measure of redemption. everyone is like, "we love you firefighters." we all wave back and we wave to the kids. it‘s amazing, yes. the work may be exhausting, it may be dangerous, but in the words of one prisoner, "it‘s better than twiddling yourthumbs injail." james cook, bbc news, in southern california. the chimes of big ben have run out

for the first time since november. bongs. the bell will sound until new year‘s day. the extensive work begun in august will continue and is expected to last for four years. reindeer in lapland are being fitted with tracking devices — to try to stop so many succumbing to predators like wolves and bears. now reindeer farmers hope to find any that are attacked — and steer herds away from danger. peter maude reports. 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. now reindeerfarmers are turning to technology

to protect their herds. trackers 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 forests of lapland. 0nly rounded up twice every year. the farmers hope the trackers could help save thousands of reindeer lives. and give scientists and insight into where the herds go in their distant snow—covered forest homes. peter maude, bbc news. the first ever wild footage of the javan warty pig has been captured by british scientists from chester zoo. the species is under such threat from hunting and habitat loss that conservationists thought it might have already been driven to extinction.

victoria gill reports. the javan warty pig, described by some as one of the world‘s ugliest pigs. the last surveys of the remaining patches of their habitat showed such dramatic declines in these animals the researchers thought the species might now be extinct. this is a really good place, ithink. but when this team from chester zoo hid motion—activated cameras in the forest here, they were in for a pleasant surprise. we had no idea if they are still there and how many are left. we were looking through the video, we saw some monkeys, some forest, something, and then we had the warty pigs and it was like yeah! this is the first footage ever captured of javan warty pigs in the wild. it was really fantastic and really good footage — like, the photos showed the big warts, so it was really good. this small wildlife centre in west java has just a few of the animals in a captive breeding program. these animals are incredibly shy, which is why they were so hard to find.

but this captive population that have bred here at cikananga is an emergency population could be used to repopulate the wild if something does go wrong. at this point, we are really happy that they are still there so there is still hope and if we can design some effective conservation projects, then maybe we can keep them. for much of the forest wildlife here, habitat is disappearing rapidly. so while these particular creatures might not be java‘s most photogenic residents, scientists hope that rediscovering them might help in the fight to protect their home. victoria gill, bbc news, indonesia. the bbc news website says these are the ugliest pics in the world. i‘m not sure i agree. i think if you we re not sure i agree. i think if you were another warty pig you might find them quite attractive. let‘s ta ke let‘s take a look at the weather

forecast. it‘s mild for this time of year. i suspect the warty pigs might like this time of weather. there is chance of a bit of cold weather and snow but it‘s likely to be in the north. stay tuned because there are uncertainties in this forecast about how far south the weather will come. what a beautiful shot sent in from dehra a couple of hours ago. a beautiful setting sun. we‘ve had some sunshine, it has been mild and grey but where the sun has come out its been beautiful. the sunshine wasn‘t in abundance and cloud is more likely to cover the sky. rain has got —— rain for scotland and northern ireland. we are seeing for performing at lower levels in parts

of the midlands, east anglia and north—east england. we‘ve got is a westerly wind coming in of the atlantic. a mild direction for the uk. behind that is where the cold air is lying. it will be a rather grey start the christmas eve but where the low—level forklifts, we‘ll see brightness and sunshine coming through. around the irish sea coast it will remain drizzly. in northern ireland and scotland quite a contrast. it will be milder but cloudy and quite wet. we‘ll see about 40—60 millimetres of rain. it sta rts about 40—60 millimetres of rain. it starts to clear from the north later, things brightening up with showers. more of a breeze across the rest of the uk tomorrow. where we have the holes in clouds we could see 13 or 1a degrees but even 11—12 is above where it should be for the time of year. christmas eve night,

we‘ll see the rain still hanging around from northern ireland and scotland. by the time we get to christmas day it‘s starting to progress a bit further south. we can see the winds turning further north. the uncertainty is how quickly this will clear away and how much cold airwilldig in behind. will clear away and how much cold airwill dig in behind. perhaps will clear away and how much cold air will dig in behind. perhaps as we enter boxing day we can see some snow in the north. in fact a cold snap by the time we get a boxing day. be milder atlantic air is slipping away temporarily. that could bring some wintry weather. more especially across the north and perhaps eastern coastal counties. it will fill different on boxing day. 0nly 4—8dc. this will be an interesting system as well. it‘s got some snow on its northern edge.