this is bbc world news today. i am ben bland. our top stories. flooding and mud slides kill more than 180 people as a storm sweeps across the southern fill apeeps. —— philippines. translation: i am the president right now and i haven't stopped being it. even if they sacked me by decree of the spanish government. as the california wild fire becomes the largest in state history, we meet the prison inmates helping to tackle the prison inmates helping to tackle the flames. in sport, barcelona beat real madrid 3-0 in sport, barcelona beat real madrid 3—0 in the first classic of the spanish football season. more than one hundred and eighty people are reported to have been

killed by a tropical storm in the philippines. two days of heavy rain have led to flash flooding and mudslides. andy moore reports. nearly 200 people have died after a tropical storm struck 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 short while ago i was speaking to

helen billets from the bbc weather centre to get an update on the path and where it's headed next. now it's heading to open waters and then we think towards parts of southern vietnam. so, in terms of the severity of it, is it building, is it subsiding or at a constant level as it moves it subsiding or at a constant level as it moves across it subsiding or at a constant level as it moves across the region? these sort of storms can happen any time of the year but we normally have peak from about may to october, slightly out of peak and far south. we have had substantial rainfall. it's moving to open waters which is where these storms an get energy from so it's likely to intensify in the short—term to a typhoon, probably through tomorrow. becoming a typhoon tomorrow evening across the philippines, vietnam time. but then we think before it makes la ndfall then we think before it makes landfall in vietnam it's likely to wea ken landfall in vietnam it's likely to weaken again dramatically, colder air, but the winds are expected

toing around 110 kilometres an hour, not just concerns for southern vietnam where we think it's going to hit during monday evening their time is the likelihood it will make la ndfall is the likelihood it will make landfall then, could have about 200 millimetres of rain and it's in a similararea to millimetres of rain and it's in a similar area to those affected so we could see further flash flooding, that happened about a month ago. clearly the ground is still saturated. the other fly in the ointment unfortunately is what will happen is as this moves away it enhances the north—east monsoon, it brings lots of rain across the philippines and parts of india and china and that could enhance rains, those areas, southern and central vietnam are most at risk of further heavy rain indeed. it is storm season. heavy rain indeed. it is storm season. the region sees storms like this fairly frequently at this time of year. in terms of the severity how does it compare, is it stronger than average? it's really about what

they would expect. if it becomes a typhoon temporarily, but that's obviously winds of 70 knots, that's about 120 kilometres an hour plus, that's a quite nasty storm. yes, it's expected to weaken but will still have strong winds, still will bea still have strong winds, still will be a tropical storm when it hits, it could do a lot of damage around the coast, structu rely, could do a lot of damage around the coast, stru ctu rely, of could do a lot of damage around the coast, structurely, of course, gives high tides as well, pushing large waves, coastal flooding high tides as well, pushing large waves, coastalflooding but rain still remains the main concern. you can find much more on this story on oui’ can find much more on this story on our website including a look at how countries can cope with such natural disasters. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. the sacked catalan leader, carles puigdemont, says he wants to return to catalonia and be sworn in again as the region's president. he urged the spanish government to

let him return for talks. the political instability isn't bringing down catalonia's christmas spirit. catalonia may be facing a crisis but it hasn't dampened the spirit of locals. translation: of course there will be christmas dinners and people will discuss politics but in the end the primary thing of the people, nothing will happen. so what next for catalonia? that's what everyone in the region is wondering after elections that once again gave pro—independence parties again gave pro—independence parties a majority. now the separatist leader has said he wants to return from self—imposed exile in belgium and continue as president. translation: i am the president right now and i haven't stopped being it. even if they sacked me by decree of the spanish government which has failed in catalonia.

he has called for dialogue with the spanish government. even if it falls short of independence. translation: i say let's talk, let's talk about everything. but above all, about what catalan's want. they have the largest individual vote, even though it's unlikely they can form a coalition. and if and when talks between madrid and the separatists do take place, it's not clear what would be different this time. of course the spanish government will say no to their proposal of a legal referendum so in less tha n proposal of a legal referendum so in less than however years we will be on the same situation that we were

before the election. as the crisis continues, it's the economy that's most at risk. tourism is suffering and already more than 3,000 companies are moving their legal headquarters out of catalonia. 32 people have been killed in a bus crash in rajasthan in india. officials say the driver lost control of the vehicle, which broke through a guard rail and fell thirty metres from a bridge. venezuela has expelled the brazilian ambassador to caracas — and a canadian diplomat — accusing them of interfering in internal matters and violating the rule of law. last week, brazil issued a statement accusing president nicolas maduro of harassing the opposition. and earlier this year canada imposed sanctions on a number of venezuelan officials. the conductor charles dutoit has denied accusations of sexual assault made against him, calling the allegations shocking, with no basis in truth. four women — three of them opera singers and one a classical musician — have accused him of sexual assault. the united nations has —

for the first time — begun flying vulnerable african refugees being held in libya into europe. more direct flights to italy are planned for the new year — for those deemed to be extremely vulnerable — including single mothers, unaccompanied children and people with disabilities. a military plane touching down in italy. 0n—board, 110 women and children, african migrants. refugees who travelled to libya, now flown directly to europe for the very first time. they are part of the protection work that unhcr does in libya. we have visited the detention centre 995 times this year and 1,200 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 broke in half off the libyan coast, rescued by chance by the libyan navy. this year and for the past four years in a row more than 3,000 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, of 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 managed to bring women 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 number from 2016, but measures to curb arrivals, like a repatriation scheme, ongoing in libya, are highly 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. still to come. deep sea alert. nato

commanders warn of russian submarines hunting a valuable target on the ocean floor. we saw a tidal wave approaching the beach and people started to run. suddenly it was complete chaos. the united states troops have been trying to overthrow the dictatorship of general noriega. it's failed in its principle objective, to capture general noriega and take him to the united states to face drugs charges. the russian flag was hoisted over what is now no longer the soviet union, but the commonwealth of independent states. day broke slowly over lockerbie.

christmas has returned to albania after a communist ban lasting more than 20 years. thousands went to midnight mass where there were anti—communist riots ten days ago. the headlines. tropical storm has left more than 180 people dead in the philippines. two days of heavy rain have led to flash flooding and mud slides. the sacked leader of catalan says he wa nts to the sacked leader of catalan says he wants to return to catalonia and be sworn in again as the region's president. a wildfire in california is now the largest ever recorded in the state. more than a thousand square kilometres have been affected by the thomas fire, which started in early december. a spokesman for the fire service says the flames are now 65 percent contained —

and one of the key resources has been the use of convicts on day release. james cook has their story 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. russian submarine activity has apparently reached a level not seen since the end of the cold war thirty years ago. that warning comes from senior nato officers. they're concerned that russia could target undersea cables linking europe to the united states. the cables provide important internet and communications links. joining us to discuss this is the deputy director general of the royal united services institute, malcolm

chalmers. does it seem russia is back on the scene as a formidable power to be reckoned with?” back on the scene as a formidable power to be reckoned with? i think that's right. in that sense it's not new, it's a trend we have seen over the last decade, very large increase in the russian defence budget which has allowed its forces on land and at sea to be much more active, to train more vigorously, to improve the effectiveness of their operations, compared with a decade ago and that's reflected in submarines surging into the north atla ntic submarines surging into the north atlantic at a rate that they haven't before for more than 20 years so starting to match nato in the levels of activity of their maritime forces. haven't we seen peaks and troughs, it just changes forces. haven't we seen peaks and troughs, itjust changes over years, there are surges of activity and thenit there are surges of activity and then it subsides, could this not just be another one of those high points and then it will taper off ain? points and then it will taper off

again? of course that's always possible. but i think more about russia returning to the normal level of activity for a force that wants to actually be seen as credible by nato. for a long period after the end of the cold war in the early 19905 end of the cold war in the early 1990s russia had a large fleet but hardly ever went to sea and therefore nato navies came to believe they really had not much capability to actually use them, but over the last decade that's changed. they've become more active and more serious and one of the consequences has been that nato navies, including the royal navy, are having to spend a lot more of their time tracking russian submarines to see what they're up to and as a result of that tracking one assumes that we have these multiplying reports of russian interests in undersea cables, to track a russian submarine ta kes a cables, to track a russian submarine takes a lot of effort from our submarines, but also surface ships

and aircraft. you mentioned the ca bles and aircraft. you mentioned the cables there. what would their interest be in targeting those cables? well, in the event of a large—scale conflict, cutting those cables would be very valuable in terms of disrupting the economies of western societies. targeting cables is nothing new. the uk destroyed german telegraph cables back at the end of world war i, but today we are much more dependent on those cables because of the central role of the internet in our economies. so in the event of a conflict this would be a capability which the russians could deploy along with all sorts of other capabilities, it doesn't mean they're going to attack them out of they're going to attack them out of the blue but it's one more element to keep nato on its toes. thank you. time to check in on the

sport. manchester city are 1a points clear in the premier league after beating bournemouth 3—0. sergio aguero scored twice, raheem sterling and dinilo with his first city goal were also on the score sheet. city have won 17 matches in a row. second goal was important, especially the last 25 minutes and they play, two strikers we found more space, but we have to learn. we have to improve to attack this kind of defence. we have to try it and i think that's going to happen. harry kane scored a hat trick as tottenham beat burnley 3—0 at turf moor.

the three goals means kane equals alan shearer‘s record of 36 league goals in a calendar year. it means spurs leapfrog burnley and arsenal into fifth place. he has one more chance to break shearer‘s record when spurs host southampton on 26th december. you are fighting for top four, that victory shows everyone that we are there. and yes, now we need to be solid and we need to be consistent in our performance. today was a point to platform to go up. newcastle united are out of the bottom three after beating west ham 3-2 at bottom three after beating west ham 3—2 at the london stadium. andre ayew had a penalty saved and they're one point above the relegation zone. christian atsu scored what proved to be the winning goal. in the other results. lionel messi and luis suarez scored

— as barcelona beat real madrid 3 goals to nil in la liga dealing a huge blow to real‘s title defence. cristiano ronaldo's side now trail their rivals by 1a points in the table. suarez struck in the 54th minute of el clasico — and messi added a penalty 10 minutes later. after madrid's dani carvajal received a direct red card — for stopping a goal—bound header by paulinho. messi also set up substitute alex vidal — to round off the win in stoppage time. the victory for barca team puts them 9 points clear at the top — ahead of atletico madrid. real remain in fourth place with a game in hand. in the day's other results: england wicket—keeper jonny bairstow

has defended captainjoe root after comments made by the former australia skipper ricky ponting. he said root looked like a little boy and had been a bit soft everyone's going to have an opinion and that's all well and good. i think he is doing a really good job as captain. i think the tactics he has shown with the ball has been really good and i think he will only grow and learn by doing it. england all—rounder ben stokes is returning home to the uk for what he called "family reasons", after a month—long spell with the new zealand side canterbury. hejoined them just after england had lost the first ashes test, sparking speculation he could be set for a recall, but he's still suspended following his arrest in september. he is best known for a photograph in

1984 which pictured him flying above earth with a jet pack. he also served as mission control communicator when the awhen neil armstrong stepped on the moon. it may be one of the world's longest rivalries and one that's worth billions in marketing — who lays claim to santa? his home has always been known as the north pole — but is it finland or greenland? well, that fight is now over. greenland has officially given up its claim to the big man and says this tiny village in the finnish region of lapland — is where he actually lives. he has a busy weekend ahead, hope he comes to visit you, bye. good evening. it will remain mild in

the run—up to christmas but even with mostly cloudy skies we still had sunshine that came through today. this was late in the day in durham. we had some fog as well and where we had clear skies through the day the gaps will be filled in by low level fog overnight and hill fog in southern and western areas and also under this rain band in the north and the west. that rain driving in across scotland and turning heavy and persistent, it's likely to last through the night and into tomorrow. behind it the north of it, it could turn chilly as well later in the night. for most we are in this south—westerly atlantic air flow which at any time of the year isa mild flow which at any time of the year is a mild direction. high pressure keeping things dry for the most part but drizzly. just damp, wind screen wipers on and off really. low level fog is possibility if you are up early travelling. at this time of year it can take mid—morning to

clear. a lot of dry and settled weather still on the cards. breaks in the cloud in the afternoon east of high ground but not so for northern ireland or scotland. not like we have seen today, instead we have that band of rain and a strong wind driving it in. we are concerned that we will see rain for the likes of the highlands and argyll that could lead to localised flooding. brightening up and turning chilly to north of that. with more breeze elsewhere more holes in the cloud across north—east wales, the midlands up to the north—east of england but again for the south in particular around coasts a lot of low cloud, drizzly rain and hill fog. christmas eve evening that rain persists to the north of anything intensifying again. by christmas day it's likely it will sink further south. there is some uncertainty on the detail of how far south that rain will come. you can see that strong westerly ahead of it maintaining cloudy and mild conditions but colder air behind.

so, with that colder air digging in behind as it starts to clear out of the way that weather system and that cold air sweeps southwards across the country, there is a potential that rain will turn to snow, especially in the north. through christmas night to boxing day we could see snow in the north and then showers following it. looks like a brighter but colder day for boxing day. there is more on the website. hello. this is bbc news. our latest headlines: more than 180 people have died in a tropical storm in the southern philippines. 0ne whole village has been buried. the sacked catalan leader carles puigdemont said he would like to be sworn in again after the regional elections last week. he is currently in exile after being charged with

rebellion. the california fire has 110w rebellion. the california fire has now been deemed the biggest in history. barcelona have beaten real madrid 3—0 in the first el clasico match of the season, all the goals came in the second half and barcelona are now 14 points ahead of the reigning champions in la liga.