this is bbc news. the headlines: japan announces it is to resume commercial whaling next year, and leave the organisation that aims to protect whales, in defiance of a global ban. retailers pin their hopes on boxing day sales, with bigger discounts expected, as shops try to make up for weak trading in the lead up to christmas. an earthquake around mount etna in sicily. several people have been injured and buildings damaged. a new way to see cancer. scientists develop a virtual reality sd model of the disease to help in the search for new treatments. and coming up, after a year of tensions between russia and the uk, newsbeat investigates what younger russians really think of their british counterparts. 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. a warning: there are images in this report that some viewers may find upsetting. 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, though not endangered. the japanese withdrawal from the international whaling commission means the country will resume commercial whaling byjuly 2019. according to a spokesperson, whale hunting will be restricted to japan's territorial waters and economic zones. ships will cease whaling in the antarctic ocean and they will only hunt species with healthy population numbers. the move brought condemnation from australia and conservationists. greenpeace said it was out of step and called on the japanese government to focus on conservation. in withdrawing from the agreement, japan will officially join norway and iceland in resuming a business that has long been controversial. joining me now is astrid fuchs, who's the programme lead at whale

and dolphin conservation. iam i am guessing your reaction will be shocked by this news. totally. the oversight that we were having over japanese whaling, even though we we re japanese whaling, even though we were unhappy with the before, this will be lost. we will not know how many whales they are catching or how they will report it. it is a big unknown and terrible knows and we are worried it will set a precedent and other countries might follow their lead and leave the commission. what countries are you thinking about, south korea? especially south korea who have expressed interest in the past. there is interest in consuming whale meat in south korea. at the moment they are not hunting

whales but it is allowed to sell types of whales caught at fisheries here and there is a big market. they might feel that there done a great and start commercial whaling of japan does that and they might leave the commission and start their own territorial waters. the claim from japan is this hunting would be sustainable, and would not lead to destruction of the whale population. yes. but the claim they have been making for a long time but you have to consider that all will populations these days are already under threat from man—made threats like pollution, overfishing and climate change and also we are far away from a situation where all will populations have recovered from industrial whaling. the claim that it will be sustainable is just a claim and it might spell doom for

some populations, for example endangered populations which are already under threat and the whalers cannot tell apart the different populations. they will not know if it is from a threatened population oi’ it is from a threatened population or in terms of conservation this is terrible news as well. it has been known for a while japan wanted the ban lifted so what do you think is behind this decision? it has been the frustration of many decades trying to lift the whaling ban and especially this year they officially tried for the first time with the really big onslaught that the whaling commission in september in brazil to overturn the ban ibm just commercial whaling and they were defeated, countries clearly stated they did not want to see a return of commercial whaling on a large scale. a few weeks later the convention which has oversight of the

endangered species found that japan's trade in whales they were catching with their scientific whaling programme, this trade locally in japan whaling programme, this trade locally injapan was illegal and so they had two big conventions telling them the international community that the logical step was to leave the body that regulates whaling and to do it as they please and as they had intended. the japanese say this is for scientific research. what does that mean and is that right? do you mean they claimed that science back their claim that they can go back their claim that they can go back to commercial whaling? yes. back their claim that they can go back to commercialwhaling? yes. no, it doesn't. a lot of the populations are still under threat and it has

been scientifically found that japan's scientific whaling was for commercial gain or log synovial t prevail and show the world what they rarely wa nt prevail and show the world what they rarely want to do witches aren't whales for profit. thank you. 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. our correspondent alison freeman is at the metro centre in gateshead. how is trading? so far so good, much busier than you might see on a normal saturday afternoon. the people who run the centre have told me they had people queuing outside

from about 3am. most of these people we re from about 3am. most of these people were waiting to get into the next sale which started around 6am. also a few of the other popular shops the saudibee a few of the other popular shops the saudi bee would open earlier having seen the number of people that had arrived here. we have been chatting with a few of the people out shopping and it seems people still wa nt to shopping and it seems people still want to engage with the shops. they wa nt to want to engage with the shops. they want to see for themselves what they are going to get. they told us perhaps they were getting the things they did not get for christmas. it has not been all good nose. house of fraser is going to close within the next month. the troubled chain is having some of its stores closed and the metrocentre is one of those. on the metrocentre is one of those. on the hole it is too early to say how well jobs the hole it is too early to say how welljobs are going to do here but so welljobs are going to do here but so far so good and they think it is looking pretty good so far. thank you. let's get more on this with consumer and retail expert kate hardcastle,

who joins us now from wakefield. although footfall will be high editors at a discounted rate for many retailers and far more discount than they want to be offering. it used to be called the golden quarter, from september to december, a time when you could make the most profit. now that is heavily discounted due to black friday in mid—november witches held on discounted rates through the christmas period and we are seeing larger discounts on boxing day. retailers do not want to sell at reduced rates. they would rather get profit and that is what makes businesses healthier. we keep hearing that online is booming at the expense of the high street retailers. what can they do about that in the high street? the idea that in the high street? the idea that online is all well and good is

a little bit fabricated. online business has its challenges particularly the returns read and we heard from fashion giant asos showing they are struggling with the whole down in consumer spending and consumers choosing experiences of material goods as well. plus the fa ct material goods as well. plus the fact consumers only have a limited amount of cash dispenser. our high streets and communities and places to be need to understand they have to be need to understand they have to offer a complete alternative to online, be people focused, easy—to—use and access and things like parking have to be available. men are going to be the biggest spenders, spending more than women, really? that does not surprise me because a lot of the things bought on boxing day tend to be around the tech world anyway, tvs tend to be a reasonable discount today, because

they tend to launch new models in april which means that they have had a point of this counting around december prior to the new models coming out. one of the big sellers is going to be smart speakers where you can make commands through your apps and mobile phones for detailed information to be read back to you. techis information to be read back to you. tech is big, fashion is big. a lot of this is going to be online. that is where the profit is going to be made. the footfall today is more about people wanting to get out and enjoy the ambulance and the social side of it. people who like shopping. you are a breed tell expert. will you be shopping today? iam expert. will you be shopping today? i am certainly not. i am happy to provide insight on the bargains but iam happy provide insight on the bargains but i am happy at home. i do not want to face the shops. i am in the all the

time as it is. it is great if you enjoy it and we want people to use their shops but the shops have to give so much more. customer service is key to how retailers can make a difference to how people will enjoy the experience in store. thank you. the authorities in italy say that around 10 people have sustained minor injuries after an earthquake measuring 4.8 hit an area surrounding mount etna on the island of sicily. more than 150 tremors have been felt since europe's most active volcano erupted on christmas eve. james reynolds reports from rome. ? the earthquake hit the slopes of mount etna at around 3:20am. it damaged nearby homes and buildings. in a nearby village, an 80—year—old man had to be rescued from his home. translation: my father in law

was under the rubble. it is a miracle, he's born—again. it's a miracle we're still alive. some decided to take shelter in their cars or in local gyms. anywhere just to be safe. people here are used to living with the constant fear of eruptions and earthquakes. mount etna dominates the island of sicily. it is the biggest active volcano in europe. in recent days, scientists recorded more than 100 tremors, causing the authorities to restrict flights to the regional airport in the city of catania. one official concludes, our country is unfortunately very fragile. 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. we can speak now to now to wilson chowdhry, who is from the british pakistani christian association. what do you think this will achieve? how important is it that this is tackled? the figures speak for themselves, 250 christians allegedly killed every month. from a christian charity, these figures. this report

will hopefully address matters such asissues will hopefully address matters such as issues regarding christians who are regarded as a country we wear persecution does not include christians. people seeking asylum. that word persecution can cover so many things. what are the issues? pakistan, what are the issues that face christians? christian women have a really untenable situation. 700 christian girls are forced into a islamic marriage every year. 1 billion christians working as sleeves in pakistan despite pakistan having adopted anti—slavery laws. we have attacks on churches, 11 attacks on churches in the last seven years with a discount of over 500 and an

injury count of over 3000. the moralising aspects of life of the question. this is not a new issue. why do we tend not to talk about it as much as we do others? is it a case, there is speculation that we are concerned political correctness is taking over? of course it is political correctness. i spoke to someone and i remember at the meeting someone came up with a wonderful idea of authoring the way we put our focus for christians who have been persecuted by calling for genocidal victims to be regarded as a priority for asylum in the west. it beggars belief that countries, wealthy countries, in the middle east, like dubai and capita, are unable to provide asylum to hindus. the only place christians can safely go with the west. a review by the

bishop of truro is one thing but what you're describing is a global issue. is there something the un is already but should be doing? the un seem to have a lackadaisical approach when it comes to assessing persecution for minorities. when i went regarding the 7000 pakistani christians who were the they were telling us that their position on pakistan itself was taken from the british foreign office policy. it beggars belief that to this day the un has not got its own principles and focuses in place and they are referring to countries such as britain, although we did have a vaunted position, perhaps this report could help the un make a more worthwhile assessment. your organisation helped fund a legal case, how important our cases like

that? the case has highlighted to the world how bad this persecution is in pakistan and how the intolerance as encompass the entire population of pakistan. about 90% of people in pakistan want her dead because she drank from the well and in retaliation to the bleating she got from muslim co—workers she said —— died foryou, got from muslim co—workers she said —— died for you, what did your lord do for you? people would see this as a debate but it became a blasphemy allegation that has led to her 10—year impersonation. her case has highlighted it but there are cases across the globe that would suggest something has to be done to protect christians. are we just talking christians? minorities are persecuted around the world. this affects not just christianity clearly. christians are like the

ca nary clearly. christians are like the canary in the mind, if they are being persecuted you know that other minorities are being persecuted. in india and pakistan. the sheer numbers would suggest christians need some form of priority and the fa ct need some form of priority and the fact they are unsafe in hindu nations and muslim nations and british nations when you think about the persecution of christian asylum seekers in thailand, would suggest to me that without a doubt the world needs to recognise christians need a safe haven. what are you hoping this review would achieve? it will change the stance of many western nations. already america seems to be moving in the right direction and hive blog migration from certain countries depending on the type of persecution. a commission recently asked for nigeria and pakistan to be included to that list and i think pakistan has been added to that list. it will hopefully change the

un position and make them realise persecution of christians does exist but in particular i would talk about un camps. christians are being persecuted within the un camps themselves and as a consequence very few of tnm and we have the victim who escaped from a shipping troll under a canvas, we have a video on oui’ under a canvas, we have a video on our website and he was unable to get un —based asylum on the greek mainland because they were telling him because of geographical restrictions he would have to return toa camp restrictions he would have to return to a camp where he was being persecuted. the un will definitely have to review their current processes . have to review their current processes. thank you. 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 hit the boxing day sales today, as retailers hope to make up for weak pre—christmas trading. several people have been injured and buildings collapsed,

after an earthquake close to the erupting mount etna in sicily. it's the busiest day of the footballing year, and leaders liverpool are hoping to protect their advantage at the top of the premier league. jurgen klopp's men are 4 points clear of manchester city, in second and the liverpool boss has urged his team's fans not to be scared of the journey ahead, in the second half of the season. the 2 most recent times liverpool have been top at christmas, they haven't gone on to win the league but klopp says there's no room for fear. if you want to have guarantees, go for another sport. if you want to be sure that it

will be something really special, and you don't want to see the way to that day, make it a holiday. i don't know where you will find that that it's not but find a little country somewhere. if you want to enjoy the ride, to try everything you can, to be as successful as possible, welcome. let's go for it. that's all we can do, nothing else. the early premier league kick off today comes from craven cottage where bottom side fulham take on wolves. both teams make one change from the weekend. fulham bring in aboubakar kamara for tom cairney, while highly—rated teenager morgan gibbs—white replaces ruben neves, for the visitors. commentary on bbc radio 5 live from 12:30pm. elsewhere today, manchester city are at leicester and will be looking to bounce back from that shock home

defeat to crystal palace, third—placed tottenham host bournemouth and ole gunnar solskjaer‘s first home game as manchester united boss will be against struggling huddersfield. highlights from all the premier league games will be on match of the day at 10:20pm on bbc one. celtic will be aiming to stay top of the scottish premiership, when they travel to aberdeen this afternoon. brendan rodgers's side are currently one point clear at the top but a win for the dons would take them level on points. if celtic fail to win, second—placed rangers could go above them with victory over hibernian at ibrox. australia opening batsman cameron bancroft has david warner was the one to suggest he should tamper with the ball, during australia's test match in south africa. bancroft was caught on camera trying to manipulate the ball, with sandpaper, and was later suspended for 9 months. now he's told former australia wicketkeeper adam gilchrist on fox sports that warner had asked him to manipulate the ball and he had readily agreed. bancroft says he did not know any better, and just wanted to fit

in, and feel valued. warner and australia test captain steve smith received 12 month suspensions. as for the current christmas test match, india closed the first day of their third test against australia on 215—2. the tourists had the better of the opening days play in melbourne. cheteshwar pujara 68 not out and virat kohli unbeaten on a7. after the two built, on an impressive 76 from the debutant opener, mayank agarwal. iam happy i am happy but i would want more. i would take 76. i would have liked to have go on and scored runs.

rarely has a horse been more suitably named than waiting patiently. the seven year old is making his comeback at boxing day's big race, the king george the sixth chase, at kempton. he's not raced since he beat cue card at ascot in february. but he's now got his chance to finally compete again. brian hughes will be on board, trying to guide him to victory, over the horse's first attempt at the three mile distance. the big favourites though will be former winners thistlecrack, and might bite, and the cheltenham gold cup hero, native river. the race gets underway just after 3pm. that's all the sport for now. you can keep up—to—date with all today's action on the bbc sport website. that's bbc.co.uk/sport we will have the team knows and a look ahead to the festive fixtures. scientists in cambridge have created a 3d digital model of a cancer. the tumour sample,

taken from a patient, can be studied using virtual reality. researchers hope it will provide new insights into how cancers spread. our medical correspondent fergus walsh reports. this is 21st—century pathology. on a conveyor belt is a wafer thin slice taken from a human tumour. multiple slices, each just one cell thick, are analysed to reveal all the characteristics of the cancer. then, the sample is reassembled digitally so it can be studied, using virtual reality. we are on the bleeding edge of nearly every technology. greg hannon, director of cancer research uk's cambridge institute, showed me round his virtual lab, where we are transformed into avatars. this giant multicoloured cloud of bubbles is the virtual tumour. the tissue sample it came from was the size of a pinhead. the purpose of this project is to understand how each of these

cell types influences each other. what messages do they send to each other and how does that influence their behaviour? this shows how the incredible diversity of cancer cell types interact in order to evade the body's defences. now that knowledge may ultimately help in the search for new treatments. at this point, we decided to go and explore the tumour in more detail. i think you can really start to appreciate its structure. i'm noticing something interesting here. we willjust move around. it looks to me like there are sets of tumour cells that are floating above the structures, almost as if they are streaming out. it is when those cells leave the duct to become invasive disease is when they become really dangerous. so here, are you capturing potentially the moment when this cancer begins to spread? yes.

i think that is what is really remarkable here because i think unless we're looking at the tumour in this detail, this resolution, in this many cells in this dimension, we would never be able to find such an event. researchers at the crick institute in london say that the virtual tumour will help explain how cancers interact with healthy cells and eventually spread. it is a huge step forward. it is so much more dynamic and real than what we've been able to do in the past by looking at very static analyses of what is happening in essentially two dimensions. this virtual pathology lab can be accessed by researchers anywhere in the world, helping scientists share knowledge in the fight against cancer. the seven—year—old american girl whose phone call with president trump on christmas eve went viral has insisted her belief in santa claus remains unshaken. mr trump caused outrage in the us, after he appeared to question the existence of father christmas

in a conversation with collman lloyd, just hours before santa was scheduled to begin his deliveries. are you still a believer in santa? because at seven, it's marginal, right? well, the girl on the other end of that call has been speaking about the conversation from her home in lexington, south carolina. according to the post and courier newspaper, collman lloyd admitted she was left confused by the president's use of the term marginal. 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 told the paper she was glad to have spoken with the president at christmas.

she also confirmed she had left cookies and milk out for santa, and when she woke the following morning, they were gone. no big changes on the way for the weather. it is going to stay my old across weather. it is going to stay my old a cross m ost weather. it is going to stay my old across most of the uk. this is what the afternoon looks like. eight or 9 degrees, some rain there but not an awful lot across western scotland. this evening and overnight, more or less the same. variable amounts of cloud. attempt made it down to round three degrees in towns or