this is bbc news i'm shaun ley. the headlines at seven. japan is to restart commercial whale hunting next summer — in defiance of a global ban. campaigners say they‘ re worried by the decision cos ifjapan, if you like, gets away with this, other countries may want to try and do the same thing and then more and more populations could be exposed to whaling. queues for the boxing day sales but the number of people on the high street today has fallen — for the third year in a row. president putin witnesses the final test of a hyper—sonic missile which he says can penetrate any missile defence system. a murder investigation is under way in leeds where a 30—year—old man was killed yesterday. sister windy beckett — the nun who became famous around the world as an art historian and broadcaster has died at the age of 88. coming up, we look back at the world cup in russia, brilliant ornament that had it all the glory of the

french of course, german tears, fabulous goals, and of course england's odyssey getting so close to the moscow final. that is reviewed 2018, football fever coming up reviewed 2018, football fever coming up at half past. good evening. there's been international criticism ofjapan's decision to resume commercial whale hunting. the government of australia described it as regrettable and new zealand said killing wales was unnecessary. japanjoins iceland and norway in defying the moratorium on commercial whaling, which was introduced in the 1980s . our science correspondent victoria gill's report contains some distressing images. they are now at the heart of an international dispute. it's all about the bloody business of commercial whaling.

business that japan says it will resume in the summer of 2019. translation: at the international whaling commission meeting in september, it became obvious that it is not possible for states with different views to exist side by side, which led to our decision to leave. the international whaling commission is the body that banned the hunting of whales in 1986 after many species were almost wiped out. but countries, including iceland and norway, still hunt primarily minke whales, which are not endangered. japan already catches between 200 and 1,200 wales every year under a programme of what it calls scientific research. the country's hunted whales for centuries and the meat was a key source of protein during desperately poor years immediately after world war ii. translation: people around my age remember the old times when we would eat whale meat. there are shops that sell it

and i sometimes buy some, but it's not like people are queueing up for it. officials though, still say that eating whales is part of japanese culture and it can be done sustainably. but this decision has sparked condemnation. conservationists say it could threaten populations of whales that have recovered since the ban. it's not just about what japan does, it's now about whether other countries will follow suit or whether other countries will also step outside of the whaling commission, because ifjapan, if you like, gets away with this, other countries might wantto do the same thing and then more and more populations could be exposed to whaling. so we are very concerned about the potential for an expansion, again, of whaling outside of any international control. japan says commercial whaling will be restricted to its own territorial waters and economic zones, so its ships will cease whaling in the antarctic ocean. despite the reassurances though, many are calling on the country to reconsider. victoria gill, bbc news.

earlier i spoke to lewis pugh, an endurance swimmer and ocean advocate — he's also a un patron of the oceans — who said it was dangerous for countries to break out of international agreements and to start setting their own rules. imean, two i mean, two things first of all i welcome their decision to stop killing these animals, that was a decision which has been long overdue, but it does vary, vary sad that japan has decided to leave the international whaling commission and to resume killing in their own waters, i think it's punch —— dangerous for countries to break out of global agreement to start setting their own rules. to be fair, we are following other countries like iceland and norway for example they have already done the. the issue though is that they will be hosting the rugby cup and the

olympic games in 2020, so while they have withdrawn from one conflict in the southern ocean, they have entered a potentially much bigger one because it's one thing having protesters down in antarctica, but it's another thing altogether having them around your stadiums. so japan has been spending lots of money to build up their brand and so i think this decision to hunt in their own waters before the world cup and olympics is going to harm them significantly. you would know the impact international protest can have on streets of major cities during televised sporting occasions that see the world over, said you'd think they misjudge the timing of this? i think they made a significant mistake on this issue. i think they're going to find during the world cup and during the olympic games as i said, huge protests it'll be interesting to see how they handle it. when you make of the argument that they have advanced many years on this, this is a matter

of its sovereign rights as an independent nation to hunt if he chooses in its own waters where they've accepted they will do it in antarctica, and it's part of the japanese culture to hunt wales and to eat that meet? let me just say that i'm not an expert onjapanese culture, but let me just say there are many surveys being done on the issue and for my reading of the surveys , issue and for my reading of the surveys, it's quite clear that most japanese people do not eat whale meat. and only a small proportion of the people strongly support whale hunting, culturally and economically, only a handful of small fishing towns around japan. so it's a political decision which is being made by japan it's a political decision which is being made byjapan to resume commercial whaling, and the other issue though is that these animals are varied migratory, they move from one country waters to another, and i suspect you'll find other countries

quickly saying japan, these are not yours to kill. on the decision that made and the general view around the world, that whale hunting is not something we want to do, why is it we make distinction between them and other marine creatures he happily hunt and consume? it's interesting i was listening to an interview by a islander a few days ago, and he was a describing hunting wales down in the southern ocean off south georgia and the 1960s, and he was describing these enormous wealth coming up and that that moment when they attempt to shoot the whale with a harpoon, and these are enormous animals, it is vary, vary difficult even though they are enormous, because they're partially underwater to kill them humanely with one shot. many, many times these whale were dragged along for long periods of time —— a time in agony, and i think certainly the

british public and notions —— nations of australia and new zealand in southern nations around the southern hemisphere, bilberry strongly backed commercial whaling is no longer humane and has never been humane and should now no longer been humane and should now no longer be practised. lewis there, we'll find out more how this story pans out. and we'll find out how this story , and many others , are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:40 and 11:30 this evening in the papers. our guestsjoining ben brown tonight are the political commentator, jo phillips, and nigel nelson, who's the political editor of the sunday mirror, and sunday people. thousands of bargain hunters have been hitting the high street for the annual boxing day sales — with some starting to queue from as early as midnight to bag a deal. but the number of in—store customers around the uk fell for the third year in a row — according to analysts — though shoppers are still expected to spend around four billion pounds today. joe miller reports. prices slashed, bargains galore...

it is yuletide ritual that stretches back decades and one that shoppers in cardiffjude in the early hours to perform. lured by the promise of bumper discounts, they turned out in their droves, from liverpool to belfast to gateshead. boxing day is great because you can decide what you want, from christmas presents, you can decide what will match them. boxing day is nice to come out and get some fresh air. millions more are expected to visit shopping centres across the country. but the starting gun for seasonal sales was fired a few weeks ago. black friday, an american import, is increasingly popular both online and in stores. the number of shoppers about this morning was 9% lower than black friday and 4%joe woods and boxing day last year. things were even worse in shopping centres, which saw almost 7% fewer customers.

retailing is a really tough environment at the moment, consumer confidence is really low and it has been over the best part of two years. what we need is some certainty, economic certainty and political certainty and then shoppers will start to feel more confident about spending more money. in london's west end it is a different story altogether. here, bargain hunters are out in force. 15% more than last year. and among them are many visitors from overseas. he had to take advantage of a weaker pound. one keen shopper from pakistan says he spent £2500 on oxford street. i come here, it is a very good price. everything is half price and the shopping is london's very best. getting customers through the door is not the only challenge, with warehouses full of stock retailers are forced to keep slashing prices and they will need the spendthrift christmas spirit to stretch well into the new year.

joe miller, bbc news. russian president, vladimir putin, says his country will deploy nuclear missiles, capable of flying at ten times the speed of sound, next year. it comes after he observed the final tests of a new missile known as avangard. moscow said the rocket was launched in the ural mountains and hit a target 6000 kilometres away in the russian far east. mr putin announced a series of new weapons in march, including avangard. he told a government meeting that the new missile can evade missile defence systems. translation: the new avangard missile system is invincible for today's and future air defence systems and missile defence systems. this is a big success, and a big victory. several people have been injured after an earthquake measuring four point eight magnitude 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. three more migrants have been rescued from a small boat as they tried to cross the english channel in the early hours of this morning. it follows the rescue yesterday of a0 migrants, including two children, mainly from iraq, iran and afghanistan. the home office has blamed organised crime. there has been a sharp rise in the number of migrants attempting to cross the channel from france since october. earlier i spoke to our correspondent in dover, emily unia for the latest. we know little bit, it was a french authorities who picked up the three men and they were iranian, and they

have now been passed over to the uk authorities and were actually in british waters when they were picked up british waters when they were picked up despite being picked up by the french, they're being processed and bake interview by immigration officials after having a medical assessment, so that is all in training now they are in addition to the 1:0 training now they are in addition to the a0 people who arrived yesterday. when we spoke yesterday, a significant number of trying to get in the previous night we're talking about the impact serbia's decision to grant iranian cities for a time, it has come to an and it had on the numbers, it is thought to be a big push factorfor this numbers, it is thought to be a big push factor for this particular number coming through the last month 01’ number coming through the last month orso? number coming through the last month or so? yes, that seems to be the reason, serbia lifted visa restrictions for iranians last year, trying to boost tourism but it ended up trying to boost tourism but it ended up with 10,000 overstaying their visas, and those people clearly have been trying to make their way across europe into the eu countries including the uk, bear in mind out in the past two days we had christmas holidays of your crossings from ships and ferries and also good

weather conditions of people probably are seizing opportunities. emily there, it's exactly 15 pin —— minutes. the headlines on bbc news... japan is to restart commercial whaling next year — conservation groups warn the move will have serious consequences. despite queues for the boxing day sales — the number of in—store shoppers falls for the third year in a row. president putin witnesses the final test of a hyper—sonic missile which he says can penetrate any missile defence system. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's good evening ben. it's getting better and brighter for liverpool, extending their lead at the top of the primarily to six points, after they want and manchester city lost at the halfway point, liverpool remained unbeaten after a four nil win over newcastle, with the goal,

despite daylight at the top, jurgen klopp is remaining grounded. we played manchester city and what is it, eight days or week, so if i would be there i would think it's only four, because we have to pay them and that we played between before that game with arsenal, so it means nothing, the only thing important is performance, level of performance which we obviously can't keepin performance which we obviously can't keep in the moment we have to keep it that's how it is. and for the moment it's obviously good. but that's all. contrasting those emotions with guardiola was on his city site taking the lead but lose the last two games beaten by leicester city after ricardo's find the strike slip to third seven points by liverpool. date punish every time mentally we are confident in front, and that situation, so

acce pt in front, and that situation, so accept the last few minutes they had, they had a better chance in second half was the same. we have many, but we were there, and that is to accept it and we have to realise we have to work harder and try to change immediately enough to get confidence back and go and make a good result. tottenham hotspur after a five milk thrashing a bournemouth scored 11 in the last two games, harry came from the net as well, that start to a premier league season. that start to a premier league season. elsewhere, evening kick—off in arsenal saw them finish one nil everinput in arsenal saw them finish one nil ever input by the pas pearly remaining a bottom three, they were goalless rescued la point climbing up goalless rescued la point climbing up the bottom at the expense of huntersville, pogba scored twice as they were beaten and 3—1 in the

first game in all trafford. wofford in chat just tell the first game in all trafford. wofford in chatjust tell the —— chelsea kick off in ten minutes. there was also a full programme of matches in the scottish primary chip quite a game, with the leaders celtic beating aberdeen a—3, scott sinclair got a hat trick his second on the brendan rodgers site with it 21 lead with 50 minutes to go, the home side leveled it to make it to all from the spot next to sam cosgrove. that was to be the first of four goals in seven minutes, celtic retook the lead forcing a player to get his third to make the point safe, aberdeen had time to get another, but they did hang denied them three points. that extends them to the top of the table with three points because second—place range drops points at home with a draw against

them, forcing johnson hearts and colonic. he is one the king george chase, trained by paul nicholls was a 16-1 chase, trained by paul nicholls was a 16—1 shot at the start of the race, the hordes beat that 2016 when are this'll crack in a close finish here is our correspondent cornelius. he wanted the tent —— tampa, midseason championship in 20 years with his horse partly owned sir alex ferguson to success five times with the star to each for seymour, the horse was moving better with the closing stages of the race, but who thought only 20, he was as cool as imagine holding on and not really committing the horse until the last dance win going away from bissell crack with his native brother and their place, you are the champion

trainer for their place, you are the champion trainerfor most of their place, you are the champion trainer for most of the early years for the dog —— a horse, but lost the title recently and is trying to rebuild his team and with this force he will be at the gold cup you can see that happening. of the other as it turned out to be a dramatic race, the favour was last of the seven finishes and waiting patiently well back before the race was brought down at the ninth. that's your sports for now find more of the stories on our website. i will have more coming up. then at the sportscenter and you want more, our view is on tomorrow afternoon here on the bbc news channel. breaking news this hour, president trump, you may recall there has been criticism of him for not visiting us troops over the festive period and he told visitors that he did in fact visit along with his wife the first lady

maligning a trump to iraq to see troops who are serving there. he has also been commenting on his decision to withdraw all us forces from syria which prompted the resignation of the defence secretaryjim mattis, he said he believes a lot of people are going to come around to my way of thinking. so he and the first lady both went to visit iraq and think us troops after an overnight flight from washington, and he also plans to visit us troops at the rob stein airbase in germany. rob stein. that's news and the white house. his movement for the military. seven people have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man was attacked in leeds. the 30—year—old was found with serious injuries and later died later in hospital. alasdair gill reports. christmas day was barely over when police were called hear to this street in leaves around 3:1aam this

morning, they found it 30 role look man lying in the street with serious injuries. he was taken to hospital where he later died, a murder investigation is now being launched. something that people will live on the street say isn't really out of character. i've lived right opposite where it happened. all that he was laying on my path, i've lived there long while and this is the first time we've had a something like this. obviously i heard women screaming it so i came and found out. the street remains cordoned off by police this afternoon and scenes of crime and forensic opposites are combing the local area looking for evidence, meanwhile seven people have been arrested on suspicion of murder. four of them are men and three of them are women, police are asking for anyone with information to come forward. a man has died after being hit by a police car

in liverpool last night. the victim was knocked down near the wallasey tunnel, just before seven o'clock yesterday evening. it's being reported that the police car was responding to an emergency call when it collided with the victim as he was crossing the road. the incident is now being investigated by the independent office for police conduct. scientists in cambridge have created a 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. sister wendy beckett — the nun whose passion for art made her an unexpected television star — has died at the age of 88. her broadcasting career began in the early 1990s and she went to appear in several bbc series. each time filming was over, sister windy returned to her life as a hermit at the carmelite monastery in norfolk — where she died this afternoon. david sillito looks back at her life the sculpture tells us that the angel gabriel was sent by god to a virgin in the town of nazareth. sister wendy beckett — a nun talking about paintings. who would have guessed that this would have been such a hit? god became man and it happened like this. there was never a rehearsal or written script. she simply stood and spoke.

and millions in britain, america and around the world sat and listened. and here we have the great mythological scene, but i really can't afford to spend time looking at it because i want to get on to this huge... she was 16 when she first joined the nuns. as a child she had been almost too clever. well, i never expected to be able to talk to anybody. but i took that for granted, that was how people were. they never found anybody they could talk to. at oxford, her tutor was jrr tolkien. she received a congratulatory first. not so much a degree, more a round of applause. she began writing art books, but the pressure of work and coping with epilepsy led her to seek almost total solitude. but then, during a rare excursion to a gallery, she was overheard talking about art. it was that that led to her tv career.

but she found the idea of fame and celebrity mortifying. herjoy was silence and solitude. even at mass, she sat alone in the belfry. well, that's where i'm going to be for eternity, i hope. tucked away in the belfry of the graveyard, thanking god for allowing me a life of such unimaginable happiness. lucky me. sister wendy beckett died this afternoon at the age of 88. bringing you more about the comments from donald trump, he said the airbases evening and he said his decision on syria was not assert

brought that the sounds he said he told his advisers but get out of syria but then persuaded to remain, before he finally decided to bring 2000 troops on, comedies that i'd be glad to of people are going to come around to my way of thinking, it's time for us to start using our head here and he and his first lady spent three hours there visiting troops who are stationed there for christmas, and he had further comments about his standoff with the democrats, which has led to the shutdown of much of the federal government forfive shutdown of much of the federal government for five days now because he wants $5 billion from taxpayers to build a border wall with mexico. he said the american public is demanding the wallet he says he's proud to shut down the government for border security, but he is trying to blame the democrats for that and says it's nancy pelosi and the house and opposition leader he says it's nancy who's calling the shots. right, let's take a look at the weather. on the

other side of the newsroom where he is in his place there by the christmas tree it's been, hello to you barrie happy christmas. happy christmas to you at home, if you're hoping for sunshine it for much—needed boxing date stroll, some did a lot better than others for many, we got stuck with cloud, but at least it was largely dry and that's a story for the next few days, largely dry but often quite cloudy, sunshine amounts really will bury as we go through tonight lots of the sticking with cloudy conditions, patchy rain across northwest scotland and the north east of scotland skies will clear a little bit and toward the south of england and wales, and we will cease clear skies developing through the night and battle allow temperatures to drop away, we could see a touch of frost on some parts of south towns and cities for 5 degrees fog patches here as well to start tomorrow but the majority tomorrow sta rts tomorrow but the majority tomorrow starts pretty cloudy,