this is bbc news. the headlines: japan confirms it will restart commercial whale hunting injuly — defying an international ban. the traditional boxing day sales get underway, with bigger discounts than normal expected as shops try to make up for weak trading in the lead up to christmas i'm live in oxford street as the boxing day sales get under way. £5 billion is expected to be spent today in store and online. the foreign secretary orders a review into the plight of persecuted christians around the world. there are people in very poor countries themselves very poor who can suffer terribly for no other reason than their faith. when that faith is christianity, that is not a reason to do nothing. we need to do something just as we would if they

we re something just as we would if they were muslim or buddhist and being persecuted for the same reason. following the eruption of mount etna in sicily, reports that ten people have been injured after an earthquake hit the area. and from aretha franklin to ken dodd and tessa jowell — in half an hour, we celebrate the lives of those we lost this year, that's in review 2018: we remember. good morning. japan has confirmed it will resume commercial whale hunting nextjuly, and is withdrawing from the international whaling commission. a government spokesman told reporters whaling would be restricted to japanese territorial waters and its exclusive economic zone. japan will be joining iceland and norway, openly defying the international ban

on commercial whaling. kim gittleson has the story. although japanese ships hunted whales for decades, the bloody business has been officially banned for nearly 30 years. ships like this one only catch and kill whales through what the japanese authorities claimed were research purposes. but japan has long wanted to commercially hunt species like the minke whale, which is protected by the international whaling commission, are not endangered. the country will resume commercial whaling byjuly 2019. it will be restricted to territorial waters and economic zones. ships will cease whaling in the antarctic ocean. japanese trawlers will only hunt whale species with healthy population numbers. the move brought

condemnation of the move. greenpeace said it was out of step and called on the japanese government to focus on the japanese government to focus on conservation. japan will officiallyjoin on conservation. japan will officially join iceland and on conservation. japan will officiallyjoin iceland and norway in resuming a business that has long been controversial. it's thought 18 million people will hit the shops today, with some analysts predicting bigger—than—usual discounts in the boxing day sales. retailers will be looking to make up for weak trading in the lead—up to christmas. research from barclaycard claims men will be the biggest spenders, shelling out 50% more than women. katy austin is on oxford street in central london for us this morning. ican i can see shops open behind you already. how busy is it? it is starting to warm up. oxford street

is home to hundreds of high street shops and department stories and customer buying habits have changed. the boxing day sales remain a huge men “— the boxing day sales remain a huge men —— moneyspinner. despite the hype around black friday weeks before christmas, last year customers spent double the amount boxing day compared to that. today we think nearly £5 billion will be spent by shoppers online and in—store is, with 18 million people coming onto the streets to grab a in person. next opened at six o'clock this morning. the recuse from earlier. 70% of people are expected to do their sales shop online. people told us why they come here in person to do their shop instead. basically i don't like to shop online. it is about the sizes. it is better to go and look at the sizes. you need to make sure what you are getting is right. you can get anything but you can't really tell. you can't really see properly online

so you can't really see properly online so it is best you come down. try them on and see how it looks. i am one of the people that shops online, totally. my wife just can't stand computers. this is where she wants to come. that is why i am here and that is why i got up this morning. some online retailers started their boxing day sales yesterday on christmas day. if you have been to the high street in the weeks before christmas you would have seen discounts in those shops earlier than yesterday, as shops try to tempt customers in. it has been a really tough year for the traditional high street that really struggles to compete with online. they will be hoping that today gives a much needed boost to the covers of those who had been struggling. it did look like the days in the run—up to christmas saw a welcome surge in

customers getting those last—minute presents. how much will people spent? according to barclaycard, an average people will spend £188 each today. and men will spend more than women. thank you. the foreign secretary, jeremy hunt, has ordered a review looking at the way britain could help persecuted christians around the world. the review, led by the bishop of truro, will look at government efforts to help some of the 215 million christians who faced discrimination and violence last year there are people in very poor countries, themselves very poor, who can suffer terribly for no other reason than their faith, and when that faith is christianity, that is not a reason to do nothing. we need to do something, just as we would if they were muslim or buddhist and being persecuted for the same reason. the french authorities say there's been another migrant boat rescue operation overnight. it comes after authorities on both sides of the channel picked up a0 migrants yesterday, who were trying to cross to britain. four boats were intercepted and a number of people

were discovered by british officials in folkstone. aid organisations in indonesia are urging people in the sunda strait area to move to higher ground amid fears of more tsunamis because of volcanic activity in the region. at least a29 people died and 150 are still missing after a giant wave struck beach front areas at the weekend. the bbc‘s sameer hashmi gave us this update from banten in western java. the rescue efforts have been going on for a four days since the tsunami struck indonesia. it has been affected by bad weather. with travelled with one team yesterday from one page to another. the biggest challenge they face is the bad weather. there has been a lot of rain and strong waves and it has been very windy, which has made the

job difficult. there are still quite a few people missing. over 100 people still missing. most of the people still missing. most of the people being rescued have been put in temporary camps across the region. and there is still a tsunami warning in place. this morning we heard three volcanic explosions and we move away from the beach. the reason is that the government authorities are not sure as to when and how the next tsunami will hit. that is why they have advised people to stay away from the beach area or the coast. i visited a couple a —— ofaid the coast. i visited a couple a —— of aid centres were agencies are collecting things like food, clothing and medicines, and trying to ta ke clothing and medicines, and trying to take them to people who have been displaced. a lot of international agencies have also come in. the red cross are trying to help on the ground. they are deploying more people. what happened in the first few days is the scale of devastation

was so few days is the scale of devastation was so high, the focus was on evacuating people to safer places. now they have turned their attention to providing them with relief. international donations are helping them. the latest on this enemy. —— the sooner army. a man's died after being hit by a police car in liverpool on christmas night. the victim — who has yet to be identified — was knocked down on scotland road shortly before seven o'clock. the merseyside force has reported the incident to the police watchdog, the iopc. the us border authorities say they will conduct medical checks on all children in their authority following the death of an eight—year—old guatemalan boy on monday. the cause of death is not yet confirmed. it's the second time this month a migrant child has died after being detained. journalist bob moore is covering the story for the washington post. we asked him whether the holding facilities used by the us government to lock up migrant families

were fit for purpose. no. especially this case where this young boy was held. he had originally been held in holding cells in el paso, a large city on the mexican border. that began on december the 18th. on december the 23rd, for some reason, he was transferred to a highway checkpoint in new mexico about 100 miles north of here. it would be a very tiny cell designed to hold a man or a woman for a couple of hours while their paperwork is processed. it was never designed to hold children or families for several days. reports from italy say ten people have been injured when an earthquake hit the area around mount etna in sicily. several buildings were damaged by the 4.8 magnitude quake which struck at three in the morning near the city of catania. the beauty and personal care market in the uk is booming, fuelled by sales of perfume,

aftershave and make up. it's grown by nearly a fifth over the past five years, and is worth more than £13 billion. it's thought to be largely down to online celebrities, known as influencers. radio 4's consumer reporter samantha fenwick has been finding out more. i do like to add a lot of highlighter. highlighter that is going to blind you, basically. that is what i like to go for. mitchell is a social media influencer. originally he was a make—up artist, but his dramatic look quickly got him attention, and now he has more than 800,000 followers on instagram. i think if you're going to slap it on at any time of year, christmas is the time to do it. as his followers have grown, so has his appeal to cosmetic brands. he gets sent loads of make—up and the companies hope he will use it in some of his online films. hi guys, so it is mitchell from the instagram page... the more followers you get, the more doors open, and to me, thatjust gives me more incentive and more motivation

to keep building a brand and keep on growing my social media. give me thatj lo glow. social media has taken a little guy like me and made him huge and all around the world kind of known, it is a really crazy feeling. there is a huge uplift in sales when a key influencer talks about our products and brands, we can see that product sell out within hours of the post. customers will come in, they will be showing us instagram stories or posts that they have seen for that product, so it is amazing how quick the uptake is. this is very different to five years ago, isn't it? the beauty industry was one of the first industries to lapse onto influencers. it was in the press, it was all around print media, and now everyone is investing in influencers online and in building those relationships. the thing with social media influencers is that they become your friend.

you might watch them for hours online doing make—up tutorials. the problem is you don't always know when they are being impartial, and research for radio 4 suggests 82% of shoppers aren't clear about when a social media influencer has been paid to promote products. before youtube, i didn't realise how to do my make—up and stuff. i thought this was really helpful, watching a make—up tutorial. i find it useful when they suggest products, you canjust go out and buy them. do you ever think about whether they are being paid to promote those products? i have not actually thought about that. it never occurred to me. i know some of them are being paid. when we look at it, we think oh, it's nice. we never really think about the background of it, we think it is nice and we would like to get it, yeah. this issue of trust is a matter of concern to the uk's advertising watchdog. this is all about trust and being upfront and clear. one of our key advertising rules is that none of us should have to play detective when we are working out whether what we are seeing is advertising.

we are doing a lot of work in this area. clamping down when influencers get it wrong. mitchell says he works hard to build up trust and not mislead his followers. but if you are unsure, then look out for the hash tag #ad or gifted at the bottom of posts. how do you feel? i feel amazing, i love it. samantha fenwick, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news: japan is to restart commercial whaling next year — conservation groups warn the move will have serious consequences. almost a third of people in britain are expected to head to the boxing day sales today, as retailers attempt to make up for weak pre—christmas trading. and the foreign secretary commissions a review into the plight of persecuted christians around the world, saying britain's efforts so fardo world, saying britain's efforts so far do not match the scale of the problem. sport and for a full round up, let's go to the bbc sport centre. here is mike bushell. good morning.

hgppy here is mike bushell. good morning. happy christmas. yes, happy christmas. good morning. the busiest day of the football year. premier league leaders liverpool are looking to protect their advantage at the top of the premier league. they are four points of manchester city in second. you're then klopp has urged his fans not to be scared of the journey ahead in the second half of the season. jurgen klopp. the two most times recently that liverpool have been top christmas they have not gone on to win the league. they have blown it. he says there is no fear. if you wa nt he says there is no fear. if you want guarantees, go for another sport. if you want to be sure that it will be in may something really special, but you don't want to see the way until that day, make a holiday. i don't know where the premier league is not broadcast it, but there may be some countries. go

there. like this, if you want to enjoy the right, try everything you can to be as successful as possible. welcome. let's go for it. that's all we can do. nothing else. no hiding place. fulham play wolves in the early kick—off. ole gunnar solskjaer‘s first home game as manchester united boss will be against struggling huddersfield. celtic will aim to stay top of the tree in the scottish premiership when they travel to aberdeen later. brendan rodgers' team are currently one point ahead at the top. if celtic fail to win, rangers could lea pfrog celtic fail to win, rangers could leapfrog them with victory over hibernian at ibrox. and bottom side dundee will be looking for a big three points when they meet livingston. in cricket, india took early control of the third test against australia in melbourne. the tourists decided to bat first.

australia only took two wickets. india made a couple of half centuries. at the close pujara was not out on 68. the series is tied at one test all. it has been a year dominated down under by the ball—tampering scandal. now cameron ba ncroft ball—tampering scandal. now cameron bancroft has revealed that david warner was the one to suggest he should tamper with the ball during australia's test match in south africa. in an interview with adam gilchrist, bancroft said he didn't know any better, he just wanted to fit in and felt valued. bancroft was caught on camera trying to manipulate the ball with sandpaper. he was given a nine—month ban, while warner and steve smith received 12 months expenses. back home, waiting patiently, the

seven—year—old, is making his comeback at the big boxing day race, the king george vi race at kempton. he beat a cue card in february. he is finally getting the chance to compete again and is rising been backin compete again and is rising been back in the spotlight. brian hughes is on board. the big favourites will be thistlecrack, it might bite and native river. the race gets under way just after three o'clock. finally, most footballers had to train on christmas day ahead of today's matters. but some still found time to party a little bit. the tunes were turned up in paul pogba's house. he shared this clip on social media. keeping up the fitness levels ahead of the game this afternoon. his manager will be hoping he has also saved some of his energy. cracking the move there.

that is all this board for now. you can keep up to date with those stories on the bbc sport website. i don't think the dancing was quite as good as that in our household. obviously it was in my household! absolutely. thank you. a group of endangered brown bears who were living in a small cage injapan, were rehomed in doncaster over the summer. they'd never seen soil or grass before, and had a pretty extraordinary journey traveling over 5,000 miles to yorkshire wildlife park. so the park wanted to make sure this christmas they got a proper treat. fiona lamdin has more. this is what life looks like now for riku and kai, two brown bears living in yorkshire. acres to explore and lakes to swim in. but, just four months ago, it was a very different story. they were two of four brown bears living in a japanese museum, in cages so small they could only take a few steps, and this had

been their home for almost 20 years. but relocating them across the world was quite some mission. the eldest bear is sedated by vets, and despite prods from his next—door neighbour, he remained asleep. huge sheets of ice, fans and watermelon kept the bears cool in 43—degree heat. two flights later, they arrived in the uk. i met them on their first day in yorkshire. they had never seen grass before, taken a bath, or eaten anything other than rice. so how are the bears finding this slightly chilly weather? well, luckily for us, japan had a very similar winter climate, so... it is four months on, and i'm going back to see how they're adapting to their new life. they will venture out, but only if there's food

at the end of it. and at the end, they're very happy to sleep the day away. they have been separate their whole lives. they have still been able to see and smell each other, but they have never made physical contact. and i don't think they can quite believe it themselves — my goodness, i can touch you. they have taught themselves how to swim out here, which is amazing. they have never had access to water. so this is our fruit chiller. and one of the biggest changes is their diet. the bears will now eat almost anything. they have each put on six stone. bears like eggs, do they? bears like eggs. they're omnivorous, so they'll eat anything, pretty much. sweet potato? they will have one of those each. they prefer steamed — they've got a bit precious. cauliflower? never tried the cauliflower, if you want to try it with a cauliflower. the fages chopped and steamed but

the real treat is next door. —— the vegeta bles the real treat is next door. —— the vegetables are chopped and steamed. so this is our meat prep room. and when they first came here, had they ever eaten fish before? never seen fish in their lives. and when we offered whole foods, like meat and fish, they generally just kicked it around the floor. they didn't really know what to do with it. if you have ever wondered what to give a brown bear for christmas, apparently this is it — christmas dinner, complete with all the trimmings, packed and ready for delivery. so this is a very different christmas they are having from last year, and it is devoured in a matter of minutes. for these bears, now settled into their home, the new year promises to be their happiest yet. ariana grande and take

that are among some of the stars who are celebrating a record—breaking year in the uk charts. ariana grande's thank u, next achieved the most streams in a week ever — 111.9 million times over seven days. data released by the official charts company revealed the artists who enjoyed the most success in 2018. veteran boyband take that had the fastest selling album of the year, with their reimagined greatest hits collection, odyssey. most of us will have spent christmas day surrounded by family and friends and loved ones, but premier league footballer trent alexander—arnold chose to spend his with strangers. the 20—year—old liverpool star volunteered for a local charity buying presents and dinner for families who have fallen on hard times. judith moritz went to meet him. between morning training and evening match prep, trent alexander—arnold could have been forgiven for spending yesterday afternoon at home, but instead, he chose to bring christmas

to a roomful of children who wouldn't otherwise have had much to celebrate. applause. hello. the liverpool defender bought them all sacks of presents. he takes his role as a charity ambassador very seriously, understanding that though he's just 20, he's already a role model. i probably am and the kids are probably looking up to me and i think that, yeah, once you understand that you're a role model, these sorts of things are something that you want to do more often, because people might want to follow in your footsteps and seeing me do these type of things, hopefully they'll do it in the future, and that's something that can only benefit the whole city. though there were a few everton fans in the room, the children were thrilled with their scouse santa. it felt amazing to actually meet a football player, and to get a present off a football player, just — i can't describe it, but it just feels amazing. sometimes i like talking

about everton, sometimes i like talking about liverpool. i just... you didn't mind meeting a liverpool player though? yeah, i'm — i'm completely fine with it. the player also paid forfamilies to eat christmas dinner. the whole thing co—ordinated by a charity called an hour for others, which encourages people to volunteer for the local community. is he's no different to anyone else, he'sjust a normal lad. it's a genuine thing, it's from his heart. he understands the importance of sticking together in hard times because he's lived in hard times himself, and he just wants to give back to his city. after injury, trent alexander—arnold is back to full fitness as liverpool face newcastle today. he didn't get much of a christmas break, but says putting a smile on young faces was more important. judith moritz, bbc news, liverpool. merry christmas. the seven—year—old girl whose phone call with president donald trump on christmas eve went viral has said she still believes in santa claus. mr trump threw doubt

on the existence of santa when he asked collman lloyd if she still believed in father christmas. are you still a believer in santa? because at seven, it's marginal, right? well, the girl on the other end of that call was collman lloyd from lexington, south carolina. according to the post and courier newspaper, probably like most seven year—olds, she didn't know what the word "marginal" meant. let's have a listen to her side of the conversation. probably put out some cookies, and then we're hanging out with our friends, so that's pretty much all. well, that is very good. well, you just have a good time. yes, sir. are you still a believer in santa? yes, sir. because at seven, it's marginal, right? yes, sir. you got to say hi to mr president. collman also told the paper she was glad to be able

to talk with the president. and yes, she left cookies and milk out for santa. now it's time for a look at the weather. we can cross the newsroom to carol. good morning. a fairly cloudy start. quite misty and murky. some drizzle. through the day it will start to dry up through the day it will start to dry upfor through the day it will start to dry up for many. we still have a weather front in the north—west of scotland producing some cloud and some rain. brighter breaks and north—east scotland, the central lowlands, parts of north—west and north—east england, north east wales and southern counties. temperatures today generally where they should be for the end of december. through this evening and overnight we have the weather front as a weakening feature. it will sink south. after a flight. feature. it will sink south. after a flight. some breaks and declared. patchy mist and fog forming. cold in

pa rt patchy mist and fog forming. cold in part of the south. tomorrow we start off on part of the south. tomorrow we start offona part of the south. tomorrow we start off on a cloudy note. through the course of the day it will brighten. more of us will seek sunshine tomorrow than we do today. temperatures between nine and 11. hello this is bbc news with me, joanna gosling. the headlines. japan confirms it will restart commercial whale hunting in july, defying an international ban. the traditional boxing day sales are under way, with shoppers expected to spend an estimated £3.9 billion. the foreign secretary orders a review into the plight of persecuted christians around the world and how much help they get from the uk. an earthquake around mount etna in sicily. several people have been injured and buildings damaged. now on bbc news — stephen hawking, aretha franklin, tessa jowell and ken dodd. just a few of those who left us this year and whose lives are celebrated in review 2018: we remember. oh, it's doddy.

hiya, doddy. # happiness, happiness. # the greatest gift that i possess. i always go up on the stage and think, "mind you, what a beautiful day." "what a beautiful day for doing this." what a beautiful day for bouncing up and down in a big barrel of blancmange. how tickled i am by all this goodwill. what about you, missus? have you been tickled by goodwill? there was a showbusiness ken dodd, a thinking ken dodd, and hopefully there's an amusing ken dodd. i hope so, anyway. # happiness! happiness! she sings there was television on, and there

was the group and freddie. they said, "what do you like more of spain?"