no—one told me there was a step. hello, this is breakfast, with rogerjohnson. searching for survivors. the rescue effort continues today after a tropical storm kills more than 180 people in the phillipines. dozens more have been injured and around 40,000 people have been forced to leave their homes. good morning. it's christmas eve, sunday the 24th of december. also this morning. political leaders pay tribute to those who help others in their annual christmas messages. travel trouble over christmas as rail lines close for more than 250 engineering works.

after warnings about a "busybody" approach to anti—social behaviour, the government issues new guidance for councils in england and wales. a very good morning. in sport, a late goal damages manchester united's slim title hopes. they draw 2—2 at leicester, leaving them 13 points behind runaway premier league leaders manchester city. and louise has the weather. it isa it is a rather grey, dell, damp story this christmas eve for england and wales but wet and windy further north and west. more details later. good morning. first, our main story. a relief operation is under way in the philippines, where almost 200 people are known to have died in flash flooding and mudslides. the president of the philippines will today visit communities devastated by tropical storm tembin. sarah corker reports. in the raging floodwaters, rescue efforts are frantic and dangerous. ropes are all these villagers have

to pull each other to safety. storm tembin tore through mindanao, the philippines‘ second largest island and home to 20 million people. flash floods and landslides have cut off entire communities and washed away homes. and with more than 100 people missing, the death toll may rise. the remote village of dalama has been buried. 0fficial help has been slow to arrive and volunteers use their bare hands to search for bodies. translation: there used to be 103 houses here, but when the flash flood happened everything was washed out. all their homes and livelihoods gone. tens of thousands of people have been forced from their homes. blocked roads and power cuts are hampering the rescue effort. the authorities say too many people ignored warnings to leave. the call for people to evacuate in good time, before the storm,

actually did not have an effect. the storm passed over some of the absolute poorest areas in the whole philippines, and people live in hard to reach areas. this disaster comes just a week after another tropical storm hit the central philippines. the resources of this disaster—prone nation are under strain. the un says it is ready to step in and help. sarah corker, bbc news. north korea has described the latest un sanctions imposed on the country as an "act of war". on friday, the united nations voted for measures that include limiting the country's petrol imports by up to 90%. the sanctions were in response to pyongyang's ballistic missile tests. four people are being treated in hospital after a serious collision involving five vehicles on the mao in 0xfordshire. it happened shortly before midnight

between junctions 10 of the northbound carriageway. the motorway reopened a short time ago. two other people were treated at the scene of the crash. britain's political leaders have used their annual christmas messages to pay tribute to those who help others. they also urge people to support those in need over the festive season. 0ur political correspondent eleanor garnier has more. wishing everyone a happy christmas, the prime minister thanked those who help others during the festive period, like volunteers at faith projects and international aid workers. theresa may highlighted the courage and dedication of the emergency services who went to the grenfell tower tragedy and terrorist attacks in manchester and london. and she thanked the country's armed forces. this christmas, as people across the uk celebrate this special time of year with family and friends, we will do so secure in the knowledge that the valiant hearts of our service men and women, many far away from their own loved

ones at this special time of year, are working to keep us safe. in his second christmas message as labour leader, jeremy corbyn called britain a compassionate nation, urging people to think of those who may be lonely at this time of year. many older citizens, to whom we owe so much, who should be spending this time withjoy, are alone. we think of others such as carers who look after loved ones and people with disabilities or dementia. and abroad, we think of those living in nations such as yemen, syria and libya, in fear of bombs and bullets, of injury and death. snp first minister nicola sturgeon paid tribute to those working over the holidays and visited a community cafe in glasgow to thank volunteers. this cafe and the volunteers here are among thousands of organisations and individuals throughout scotland who do so much for our local communities

all throughout the year, not just at christmas. the lib dem leader vince cable used his message to highlight the issue of homelessness. community has always been at the heart of liberalism. this is a time of year to make that commitment. that is why i am asking you to take out some time this christmas and help with a local charity near you. the party leaders‘ festive messages were shared on social media to wish voters a merry christmas but also remind people to spare a thought for those in need. eleanor garnier, bbc news. plans to scrap the army's crest and the slogan "be the best" have been halted by the defence secretary, gavin williamson. according to the mail on sunday, a leaked internal army document suggested the slogan was regarded as dated and elitist. the mod says mr williamson believes the army to be "the best of the best" and had put the proposals on hold.

rail passengers are being warned they could face disruption as network rail carries out its biggest ever christmas engineering programme. works are taking place across england, wales and scotland during the festive period. the travel editor of the independent, simon calder, is at london paddington station this morning. simon, it is largely quiet this morning but these works are notjust there but right across the country. yes, it is as traditional as mince pies and mariah carey, the annual shutdown for engineering works, as you say, the biggest ever project, 32,000 engineers working on 260 roderick ‘s including the line from here at one of britain's‘s busiest rail stations. 0n here at one of britain's‘s busiest rail stations. on a normal sunday, you get about 50,000 passengers travelling in and out from the west of england and south wales. today, there are none, just a trickle of tourists who are appalled to find

the express service to heathrow airport is not running. problems on the other side of the capital, the main line from liverpool street to east anglia, south of the river from canning street, charing cross and london bridge and elsewhere, the mainline north from southampton central and the west coast main line between preston and lancaster, all of those are closed at least until thursday and if you are on one of the 95% of the lines which are running today, bear in mind there is a strike on cross—country trains and services start running down from this afternoon, the last train southbound from edinburgh to london is at liz20pm. wright thank you for joining us. merry christmas. simon calder at paddington station, there. new guidance on how local authorities combat anti—social behaviour has been issued by the government, following concerns that some councils are misusing the measures. critics say so—called public spaces protection 0rders have been used inappropriately to target groups such as rough sleepers and dog—owners.

andy moore reports. some charities working with the homeless say the new powers can be used indiscriminately against rough sleepers. others say so—called public spaces protection 0rders, which can cover large areas, are being used to target groups like buskers or dog walkers. but councils argue they are working with their communities to crack down on serious problems. the manifesto group campaigns against what they call the over—regulation of ordinary life. it says hundreds of these orders have been issued, making a wide range of activities a criminal offence. the group claims, for example, that as part of a crackdown on begging, blackpool wanted to ban loitering around cash machines and shop entrances. doncaster wanted to ban groups through more people causing nuisance oi’ annoyance through more people causing nuisance or annoyance to people in the town centre. brighton wanted to stop anyone and sleeping in a car, caravan or tent in the town. fines of up to £100 can be issued for any breaches of these orders. the local government association says it will work constructively

with the government to introduce the new guidelines. public spaces protection 0rders are used for the really serious end of anti—social behaviour and councils don't choose to do this on their own. residents will come to us, businesses will come to us, and say there might be some aggressive begging, daytime drinking or even street racing. that is the sort of things that these orders are used for. the revised guidelines say councils must focus on specific problems rather than blanket bans of behaviour that are not in themselves anti—social. and they must make sure they consult the public before the regulations are introduced. andy moore, bbc news. london zoo will reopen today, after a fire left a number of animals dead and several members of staff needing medical attention. a nine—year—old aardvark died in the blaze and four meerkats are also believed to have been killed. an investigation is under way into the cause of the fire, which broke out in the zoo's children's area, before spreading to a shop.

tributes have been paid to the reality tv star leon bernicoff, who died yesterday at the age of 83, following a short illness. the retired teacher appeared on the channel 4 show gogglebox alongside his wife. the network said he would be remembered for his "unique personality and sharp wit". christians are gathering in the holy city of bethlehem to celebrate christmas. but tensions continue to run high in the region after president trump declared jerusalem the capital of israel earlier this month. 0ur middle east correspondent tom bateman is in bethlehem for us this morning. good morning. bethlehem, of course, the focus for many people today of the focus for many people today of the christian celebrations for christmas. absolutely, this is

manger square and let me give you a sense of the geography year because behind me, just behind the very large christmas tree is the church of the nativity, built above the spot where jesus was believed of the nativity, built above the spot wherejesus was believed to have been born and every year, not just for palestinian christians but for the many thousands of pilgrims and tourists that come here, is the focal point of their celebrations. already this morning, we have made oui’ already this morning, we have made our way through security into the square because there will be lots of dignitaries here today. i bumped into some irish to risks who said they had been looking forward to this for many months so it is a day of celebration. —— irish tourists. the traditional route is taken by one of the most senior roman catholic clergymen in the middle east, the archbishop makes his way from the old city ofjerusalem, six 01’ from the old city ofjerusalem, six or seven miles, a short distance to bethlehem but he has to make his way at three points through israel's separation barrier to get here. dignitaries will be followed by palestinian scout troops playing

christmas carols and traditional songs as they follow the processional route that was believed to have been taken by mary and joseph to reach the square and then the day culminates tonight in midnight mass, which is attended by the palestinian authority president mark munevar ‘s the palestinian authority president mark munevar's —— the palestinian authority president mark munevar ‘s —— mahmoud abbas. spirits among palestinians dampen busier by those events, deep concern and disappointment about the pronouncement of donald trump over jerusalem, which israelis have praised and z is simply in their view a recognition of reality. —— and z is simply. you touched on that. will that change the mood, what president trump has done?m certainly has done among palestinians. in the west bank, in eastjerusalem, there are around 50,000 palestinian eastjerusalem, there are around 50 , 000 palestinian christians eastjerusalem, there are around 50,000 palestinian christians and for them, these celebrations are very much damp and —— damp and by what has been said. we have seen the

last couple of weeks, almost daily clashes both in the west and gaza between palestinians and israeli troops. —— in the west bank and gaza. some have felt that the clashes have not been to the level that some had feared or predicted when president trump's announcement was mooted but it sets the tone for many people here who would otherwise be celebrating christmas with great gusto. thank you forjoining us. tom bateman, and happy christmas to you, live in bethlehem this morning. it is almost 8:15am. you're watching brea kfast it is almost 8:15am. you're watching breakfast from bbc news. here's louise with a look at this morning's weather. no prospect of a widespread white christmas this year, when was the last time that happened? take a guess. 1981 in perthshire? no, that was the snowiest christmas. when was the last time we had widespread lying snow recently? five or six

yea rs lying snow recently? five or six years ago. . . lying snow recently? five or six years ago... 1995? 2010! really? widespread, lying snow, 83% of weather stations recorded lying snow which was quite significant and i'm sure lots of children were very happy indeed. they will be a bit disappointed with this christmas forecast. we could technically get a white christmas, that is an observed snowfla ke white christmas, that is an observed snowflake anywhere across the country because we could see some snow in higher ground in scotland but it is going to be a pretty bland affair foremost but it is going to be a pretty bland affairforemost i'm but it is going to be a pretty bland affair foremost i'm afraid. but it is going to be a pretty bland affairforemost i'm afraid. great news for those travelling. it will be rather cloudy and mild but a ribbon of rain which will be a nuisance across the north and west of scotland, some rain heavy, 50 mph gusts of wind we have seen so far just to the south of the front but a mild start in eastern scotland, like the last couple of days, and the rain here not quite as excessive. as we go through the morning, it is

looking like this, pretty bland across england and wales. a bit of drizzle, perhaps, moving through wales and after a chilly start, temperatures will recover fairly prom ptly temperatures will recover fairly promptly across much of the south west. a cloudy, dull, mild, damp affair for christmas eve. west. a cloudy, dull, mild, damp affairfor christmas eve. the rain will be fringing the far north—west of northern ireland, already as you see we have rain into scotland which will stay with you. we could see as much a 16 millimetres before it clear through, significant levels of rain coming through and then as it pushes steadily south and east, it will move across northern ireland, push into the lake district and again, cloudy and drizzly conditions particularly across west facing slopes with a south—westerly breeze and top temperatures of ten or 12 degrees for many so another miles storey. we will start to see some changes as we move through christmas eve. the rain will continue to steadily push out of northern ireland. it will start to reinvigorate itself of it as it

moves through the irish sea and eventually we will see the wind picking up, gale force gusts through wales, some rain turning quite heavy across welsh racing coasts but further east grey and cloudy with showreel outbreaks for many on christmas day, windy even inland. behind it, a noticeable difference in the feel of things, starting to see cold air is spilling in which is why some of the rain will turn to sleet and snow and higher ground so technically a white christmas here, mild and cloudy further south. the rain really means business as it pushes its way steadily eastwards through christmas day night. that will clear its way eastwards into boxing day and then boxing day marks a real change to the story, wind swinging round to a north—westerly, colderfor all and swinging round to a north—westerly, colder for all and eventually wet weather pushing into the south—west, wales and eventually into the bulk of central and eastern england but look at the difference in temperatures, for all 5 degrees in the north, 6—8 generally across england and wales. that is it from

me. merry christmas. someone will be doing the weather tomorrow morning but have they given new christmas tales? i'm back but i'm ona new christmas tales? i'm back but i'm on a different shift, bbc world news, phil avery has the short straw i think. merry christmas. richard is here with the sport. it is all about manchester city, who are, well, you would not say the title race is over on christmas day... but more less! player so far clear. 13 points, beating bournemouth 4—0, 17 premier league wins ina bournemouth 4—0, 17 premier league wins in a row, setting all kinds of records, they are the first english tea m records, they are the first english team to score 100 goals in a calendar year since liverpool in 1982. their record of wins in a row is second in europe's top leagues, and a man who did that was pep guardiola with bayern munich. and a man who did that was pep guardiola with bayern munichm and a man who did that was pep guardiola with bayern munich. it was 19, wasn't it? so they are closing on that. yes, he has form.

manchester city 13 points clear at the top of the premier league on the day when their rivals all faltered. movement at the bottom of the table where the battle for survival is much tighter. nick parrott rounds up yesterday's action starting at the etihad. fernandinho. and aguero! 100 goals at the etihad stadium for sergio aguero, the latest landmark in this manchester city season. and it didn't stop there. city's record scorer took bournemouth to pieces. he set up raheem sterling, and bagged another himself for good measure. city ran out 4—0 winners. there has been speculation over the argentine's future, but his boss told the media afterwards that aguero's legend who will decide his own future. we have to do for the team, for the club, what is the best. when they are upset, i understand completely with football players, it's important they're respectful of their team—mates. the other is not a problem. city's winning streak, which started against bournemouth in august, is nowjust two short of the record

guardiola set at bayern munich. their lead grew to a massive 13 points. manchester united were held at leicester city. two strikes from dry matter saw them come from behind to lead against the boxes but despite going down to ten men, harry maguire came to leicester's rescue deep into injury time. there were no slip—ups for tottenham at burnley, as harry kane claimed the match ball at turf moor. arsenal drew with liverpool on friday night. so spurs edged closer to a place in the top four. newcastle came from behind to beat west ham 3—2, in a thrilling encounter at london stadium. ending a run of nine league games without a win saw them haul themselves out of the relegation zone. the pressure eased on stoke city manager mark hughes, as he saw his side beat west brom 4—1. as he saw his side beat west brom 3—1. it kept his club out of the relegation zone at the expense of alan pardew‘s team. there was a lot of outside pressure. i must say i've had fantastic support from peter and john coates. they've been in all this week,

and all they have been doing is reassuring me, reassuring the staff, reassuring the players. they're fully behind what we're doing, and that support is really important. swansea sacked boss paul clement last wednesday. they promoted leon britton to caretaker player—manager. he couldn't inspire them to victory at the liberty stadium over crystal palace, which would have lifted them off the bottom of the table, but they did come from behind to claim a point. next up for the swans is a trip to liverpool, for what could be a bruising encounter on boxing day. elsewhere sam alla rdyce continued his unbeaten run as everton manager with a 0—0 draw against chelsea. southampton's charlie austin could face retrospective action from the football association after an incident with huddersfield goalkeeperjonas lossl which left the keeper with a suspected broken nose during their 1—1 draw at st mary's. and brighton beat watford 1—0. in the scottish premiership, celtic

are eight points clear after beating second placed aberdeen 3—0. kilmarnock came from behind to beat rangers that the first time since every 2012. kris boyd scoring twice in three minutes against his former clu b to in three minutes against his former club to secure a 2—1victory. elsewhere, wins for hibs and partick thistle, motherwell drew 1—1 with dundee and it was goalless between stjohnstone and hearts. in rugby union's aviva premiership, champions exeter g sweatt 11 points clear at the top with a 35—14 victory over northampton saints at franklin ‘s gardens. it was saint ‘s first premiership match since sacking ofjim mallinder. will chudley opened the scoring for exeter with the best try of the match in the first half, exeter scored three more to seal a bonus point win which means they are 11 points clear at the top. elsewhere, wins for newcastle, sale and wasps. there's some injury news out of both the australian and england camps this morning ahead of the boxing day ashes test in melbourne. australia's fast bowler mitchell starc will miss out with a heel injury,

while england bowler craig 0verton also misses out because of a broken rib. the ashes of course have already been lost with england trailing 3—0 in the series. there's been plenty of talk about sledging but australian bastman david warner says their success has quietened the tourists down. it's test cricket, you know, it's hard—fought out there. sometimes you pick times when you want to go at people, and sometimes you go in your shell like a turtle. you know, we've probably shut them up a little bit at the moment. hopefully this gets them up and going, and firing some barbs, because i love that. i love whenever we're in a contest, and i feel like they were quite flat in wa, that's for sure. finally, do you everfeel like finally, do you ever feel like you are seeing double? this is the moment roy hodgson's lookalike met the crystal palace manager. the real hodgson was introduced to the swa nsea hodgson was introduced to the swansea steward who looks incredibly like the former england boss before

yesterday's 1—1 draw like the former england boss before yesterday's1—1 draw at the liberty stadium. roy has a face which says, you know how we see each other slightly differently, "i look nothing like him!" the former england manager was wearing the orange jacket, wasn't he? edwina currie has joined edwina currie hasjoined us to take a look at the papers. you must have had someone who looked like you. yes, there was a lady making a living as my double some years ago and it was strange because she was shorter than me and rather pretty but it is very creepy because we don't really know what we look like in the mirror, because it's not you. i remember going to a children in need event once and they produced several doubles including one that looked likejohn several doubles including one that looked like john major. laughter we will spare you that and move the papers. thanks for the sport, richard. great to see you. rhubarb gin. amazing. gin has become the cool

drink of the recent times. this is a story about a particular company thatis story about a particular company that is producing rhubarb gin. there are others, of course. but three yea rs are others, of course. but three years ago they were making about 4000 years ago they were making about a0 0 0 bottles years ago they were making about 4000 bottles per year and now they are expecting to sell 350,000 bottles of rhubarb gin this year, not just any kind, bottles of rhubarb gin this year, notjust any kind, this particular one. i think the rhubarb is being harvested in artificial lights, looking pretty dark, there, but the rhubarb triangle is around leeds, yorkshire. who knew? i guess you did if you live there but fantastic. gin has absolutely ta ken if you live there but fantastic. gin has absolutely taken off, it was a lwa ys has absolutely taken off, it was always mother's ruling and you did not touch it and it had all sorts of negative connotations but now it is the smartest rink on the planet, wonderful. very few types of gin and tonic and all of a sudden... now what you can't get is lord kerr. i am having a russian themed party coming up and vodka is quite difficult to get hold of and rather more expensive. you watch, it will

change. it goes in cycles. while richard was talking about the sport, i quickly skimmed this, rachel johnson in the mail on sunday, the sister of boris, daughter of sta nley. sister of boris, daughter of stanley. i do know what i'm tried to sate! she is going into big brother and there is a quote where she says that you only regret the things you don't do in life. as someone who has an strictly and the jungle, you will appreciate that. i do appreciate that sentiment. but i do have a feeling that she is saying, the headline is, well, it ought to me, "me, me, me". her dad was in the jungle and did very well, i was rooting for him, her brother is on the news a lot as foreign secretary and her other brother is in the house of commons, and education minister. i have a feeling she is trying to claim a space for herself. bidding a bit squeezed out? she says

her husband said that the jobs and are trying to be the new kardhashians. 0range matt ritchie will find this humiliating because the different reality programmes have different styles. strictly is about effort and skill and it looks gorgeous. it is not dangerous but it is very hard work for the participants. the jungle is is very hard work for the participants. thejungle is a mind game. it is about overcoming your fears, are you frightened of spiders or snakes or whatever. i was in that because i'm not afraid of anything very much, i did quite well. but i think big brother is about ritual humiliation and i think they will find a way of making her feel a bit uncomfortable. she will be a heroine to her children, that is for sure. we wish her well. you mentioned strictly and so did i, and bruno tonioli, he has been on desert island discs. i think it is on today

are on radio 4. it is a lovely interview. he is in several of the newspapers. this particular story in the sunday express, he laughs off the sunday express, he laughs off the strictly curse which is about people getting together. well, you do. i didn't, people getting together. well, you do. ididn't, i people getting together. well, you do. i didn't, i have to say but you do. i didn't, i have to say but you do because you spend hours and hours every day with your arms around somebody gorgeous. laughter in fairness, although you mention it, most people don't. most don't. most people are happily married. it, most people don't. most don't. most people are happily marriedlj like most people are happily married.” like the story about how bruno avoided the compulsory draft into the army in italy when he was a young man, which apparently he turned up in a fur coat. so they let him go. they said, "oh, you really are gay". he said, "yes". they said, "we will tell your mother". he said, "go ahead". i'm happy for him, he is

a lovely man, of all thejudges, he was the one that was really kind and would say to you, "are you all right?" when we did the big event in blackpool, for example, he was there the night before, with everybody, he said to me, "come and have a drink". i got said to me, "come and have a drink". igot drunk said to me, "come and have a drink". i got drunk with bruno tonioli! but i think i got drunk with bruno tonioli! but ithinki i got drunk with bruno tonioli! but i think i was safe. he seems like a nice man. he's lovely. desert island happy mac discs is on at 11:15am this morning on radio 4. 0n happy mac discs is on at 11:15am this morning on radio 4. on a slightly more serious note, blue planet ii was spectacular tv but for many people, it was the sea horse wrapped around a cotton bud which is the thing that i remember and the plastics issue has become a big one. according to the various charities involved in this like greenpeace and friends of the earth, they say it is really taking hold, that the whole issue of plastics which has been around for some time has now got everybody thinking very hard as a result of watching blue planet ii.

there's a town in devon which has decided to go plastic free. it makes you think, do i need a straw? 0f course i don't. do i need plastic? we try in our house to recycle as much as possible but we need everybody, we need the supermarket and everybody to start taking it seriously. we need to work together. thank you forjoining us. merry christmas. same to you. lovely to see. edwina currie who has been reviewing the papers this morning. stay with us, headlines coming up. hello, this is breakfast with rogerjohnson. here's a summary of this morning's main news.