a warm welcome to bbc news. my name's mike embley. our top stories: president trump and the first lady pay a surprise christmas visit to american troops in iraq, his first presidential trip to a combat zone since taking office. alert level raised as indonesia reroutes all flights around erupting anak kra katau volcano, days after it triggered a deadly tsunami. the american adventurer colin o'brady completes an historic solo antarctic crossing, 70 miles ahead of his british rival. could this be the quietest city in the world? south korea's k—city — built to test driver—less cars. president trump and the first lady have made a surprise visit to iraq to thank us troops for their service. nearly two years into his presidency, it's his first trip to see soldiers under his command in a conflict zone,

and just days after his announcement that american troops would be pulled out of neighbouring syria, a decision that prompted the resignation of two high—level advisers. back home in washington, government agencies are still in the grip of a partial shutdown. from there, the bbc‘s chris buckler. president trump travelled with the first lady to iraq, to spread some christmas cheer and to thank troops for their service and sacrifice. we came to al asad to share our eternal gratitude for everything you do to keep america safe, strong and free. but, standing with us soldiers on foreign soil, it was inevitable he would be asked about what many claim is his increasingly isolationist foreign policy. last week, in a sudden and surprise decision, he announced that american forces would be leaving syria, causing concern in washington and several corners of the world. but mr trump said he believed a lot of people were going to come around to his way of thinking.

he went on to insist that it's time for us to start using our head. one person who remains unconvinced is the outgoing defence secretary, jim mattis, who resigned over the president's plans. mr trump says he is in no hurry to find a permanent successor to general mattis, a sign that he intends to push forward with what he believes is right. it is reported that the pentagon has been asked to draw up plans to severely reduce the number of american troops in afghanistan. many in the military feel there is still much work left to be done there and in syria, and there has been widespread criticism of mr trump's suggestion that the so—called islamic state group have been defeated. this was the first trip by this commander—in—chief to see his soldiers in a combat zone. but mr trump has given every signal that he wants to be less involved in the middle east, a president who seemingly believes in "america first", and getting involved in other countries only as a last resort.

even with those questions about his foreign policy, mr trump may well feel that that trip to iraq has been a brief break from the battles he is facing here in washington. there are concerns about the economy, the stock market, and the partial government shutdown, which left hundreds of thousands of federal workers over christmas either on unpaid leave or not knowing when they will be paid. mr trump insists he will only accept the funding deal if it gives him $5 billion for a border wall with mexico, and democrats insist that isn't going to happen. it has left many believing that this shutdown will last for some time to come. chris buckler, bbc news, washington. there's plenty more on our website, including an analysis of president trump's foreign policy and what it means for america's allies. or you can download the bbc news app. indonesia has rerouted all flights around the erupting anak krakatau volcano.

it is still sending ash high into the air just days after it triggered a deadly tsunami. on saturday a crater on the volcanic island collapsed at high tide, sending waves up to 5 metres high into the coast on the sunda strait. at least 400 people died. our indonesia editor rebecca henschke is injakarta for us. what is the latest? authorities are monitoring the volcanic eruptions from this volcano at that rises from the sea in the sunda strait. they are looking at the tremors and have raised the status to be second highest level and increased the exclusion zone to five kilometres, telling people to get out off the area and note rests to enter the area. we believe no—one is inside

the dangers on. ——no tourists. communities on both sides, it in java and sumatra, told to stay away from the beaches due to fears of another tsunami. it is also affecting flights? it is a busy flight affecting flights? it is a busy flight path across the two main islands of indonesia. lots of people flying at this time of year between java and sumatra butjude to the fear of the volcanic ash going up metres into the ash if they are caught up in that, all flights are now being rerouted, well away from the volcano so that flights can land safely. at this stage no—one is flying around that area and officials are watching it very closely. this volcano, anak

krakatau, rises from the sea in the same place as the krakatau volcano whose eruption was the deadliest in recorded history and caused thousands of deaths due to the eruptions but also tsunami is in the area. how much eruptions but also tsunami is in the area. how much concern eruptions but also tsunami is in the area. how much concern is that about deadly waves? there is no working warning system. our people evacuated on high ground still there? everybody still on high alert? yes, they are definitely very frightened of the situation. they are hearing loud eruptions, the weather has been heavy rain and wind, adding to the difficult conditions. they are in evacuation areas all over the coast, people staying in mosques, tents

have been put up for people. a town was completely cut off by the tsunami and aid is only now starting to get that. there are make shipped bridges made of concrete blocks. people in difficult situations. houses reduced to rubble and only now getting the supplies they need for the coming days. thank you very much for that. let's get some of the day's other news: stock markets in the united states have bounced back, following steep falls on christmas eve. the dowjones rose nearly 5%. the markets were boosted by data showing strong us retail sales over the holiday season. share prices were also up by more than three percent in tokyo. the father of a young man who died in mysterious circumstances in northern bosnia has been released without charge after he was arrested at a protest on tuesday. david dragicevic, aged 21, was found dead last march his family say police are concealing the truth about his murder. the us coast guard has been

searching with a helicopter and cutterfor a british crew member who went overboard from a royal caribbean cruise ship, harmony of the seas, on christmas day. it's reported arron hough, who's 20, went overboard about 267 miles off puerto rico. president putin has claimed russia has acquired a new type of strategic weapon. he's beenr observing the final tests of what he called a a nuclear—ca pable hypersonic missile. mr putin claimed the weapon could penetrate any existing or next—generation missile defence system. the russian military says the avangard missile, launched in the ural mountains, hit a target 6,000 kilometres away in kamchatka. last week russia blamed the united states for the breakdown of international arms control. mr putin said the new avangard system was invincible. 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. within the next year, the avangard system will be deployed into service. a regiment will be created which will start its combat duty. sudan's interior minister has dismissed amnesty international‘s report that 37 demonstrators have been killed by security forces in nearly 8 days of anti—government protests. ahmed bilal osman told the online publication al araby aljadeed that 17 protestors died and 35 policemen had been injured. over the past week, police and plain—clothes security have used live ammunition and tear gas to break up numerous protests across the country. at first the demonstrations were against the rising cost of food and fuel but many are now calling for president omar el—bashir to step down. at least 20 people have been hurt

in italy where an earthquake has hit the area around mount etna in sicily. several buildings were damaged by the quake, magnitude 4.8, which struck in the early hours of the morning. it was the most powerful since the volcano erupted on monday. sunday's presidential election in the democratic republic of congo has been postponed in three areas until march. authorities are blaming security concerns and an outbreak of ebola. more than 60% of the population live in rural areas, and many doubt the new president will improve their lives. louise dewast reports from equateur province. these young men are transporting electoral material to remote villages so that people there can vote. the electoral commission faces a daunting task, 75,000 polling

stations in this country and they are already a week late. in equateur province, the only road across the ra i nfo rest province, the only road across the rainforest between the main city of panda car and surrounding villages is waterlogged and people struggle to navigate that the rain. some go buy food, others by bicycle. —— fought. we arrive at the polling stations in a village on the day it was meant to be voting day. there is no electoral material inside, no voting booth, no ballot boxes. translation: we hear on the grapevine that the election material will arrive but nothing has arrived yet. the villagers are best confused by the disorderly situation, at worst, and if elections do take place, many think the vote could be

rigged. joseph is a pineapple farmer. he says everyone has to fend for themselves. translation: here life is difficult, we do not have access to hospitals, roads. there is no medicine and no—one has any money. he feels abandoned but still, he wants to vote. translation: money. he feels abandoned but still, he wants to vote. translatiosz money. he feels abandoned but still, he wants to vote. translation: it is our right to vote. if we do not vote, this country will not work properly and we will begin to suffer again. joseph and his wife have seven children. they can only afford school for the eldest three. 400 people in this village are registered to vote, a tiny fraction

of the 40 million nationwide but this village is representative of thousands of others from north to south, east to west, where the population wants to vote but feel their fate is not population wants to vote but feel theirfate is not in their population wants to vote but feel their fate is not in their hands. an american explorer has become the first man to cross antarctica alone and unassisted. colin o'brady, who's 33, finished a race across the ice in 53 days, beating british army captain louis rudd. kim gittleson has the story. newsreel: antarctica is the new land of opportunity. go south, young man, goes up. for over 100 years antarctica's inhospitable landscape has both repelled and attracted, luring adventurers who want to conquer the seemingly unconquerable. colin o'brady‘s antarcticjourney began on november 3rd, when he was dropped off by a helicopter on the edge of the ronne ice shelf. it was the start of a nearly 900 mile or 1600 kilometre trek across the waste of the continent. his was a race against another

adventurer, the british explorer louis rudd, who was embarking on the trek in honour of his friend, henry worsley, who died in his solo attempt in 2016. colin o'brady progressed through extreme conditions, unaided by kites or by drops of food and fuel. to stay in touch, mr o'brady documented his journey on his instagram account, where he showed off the black tape he wore on his face to stave off frostbite and the heavy sled filled with provisions that he dragged for 12 hours each day. in an incredible feat, mr o'brady completed the last 80 miles, or 130 kilometres, of his trek by travelling for 32 hours straight — arriving at the ross ice shelf and accomplishing what he said was an impossible first. kim gittleson, bbc news. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: learning to save the planet — schools in england are being told to stop using single use plastic by 2022. the world of music has been paying

tribute to george michael, who's died from suspected heart failure at the age of 53. he sold well over 100 million albums in a career spanning more than three decades. the united states troops have been trying to overthrow the dictatorship of general manuel noriega. the pentagon said that it's failed in its principle objective to capture noriega and take him to the united states to face drugs charges. the hammer and sickle was hastily taken away. in its place, the russian flag was hoisted over what is now no longer the soviet union, but the commonwealth of independent states. day broke slowly over lockerbie, over the cockpit of pan am's maid of the seas, nose down in the soft earth. you could see what happens when a plane eight storeys high, a football pitch wide, falls from 30,000 feet. christmas has returned to albania after a communist ban lasting more than 20 years. thousands went to midnight mass in the town of shkodra,

where there were anti—communist riots ten days ago. this is bbc world news, the latest headlines: us president donald trump and first lady melania trump have made an unannounced christmas visit to us troops in iraq. ash erupting from the krakatoa volcano in indonesia forces flights to be rerouted, days after it triggered a deadly tsunami. schools in england are being told to eliminate unnecessary plastic. carrier bags, straws and food containers are to be replaced with sustainable alternatives. the british government is also consulting on plans to double the cost of buying a single—use plastic bag in shops across england. joanna jaworski has more. this is throwaway britain. 2018 had

seen many this is throwaway britain. 2018 had seen many people try to cut down on the use of plastics but will it continue next year? the education secretary said he wants schools to try to stop using single use plastic by 2022. that means cutting down on items like plastic bags, straws and food packaging. it has been despite —— inspired by one primary school who have swapped plastic wrap and boil in the kitchen and they use washable bea kers instead boil in the kitchen and they use washable beakers instead of straws. each year, more than 8 million tons of plastic into the sea. the majority of man—made plastics are not biodegradable. meaning, they will not rot. and not all plastics can be recycled. but some academics have warned that we need to be careful about what to replace

plastics with. glass and metal containers are heavier which means mourn energy is needed to transport them and that is going to lead to an increase of greenhouse gas emissions. the new year may be a new start but the fight against how to clea n start but the fight against how to clean up our planet continues. it's just weeks since the ‘camp fire' ripped through california, becoming the deadliest and most destructive in the state's history. at least 86 people were killed, many of them trapped in the town of paradise. as the community looks to recover and rebuild, the big question is how this level of devastation can be prevented in the future. james cook reports from paradise. radio: we have potential for a major incidents. request 15 additional engines... from the very first radio call, just before dawn, the danger was clear. go down into the community and evacuat it. the fire was burning in a canyon east of paradise, fanned by ferocious winds. within hours, the entire town, home to 27,000 people would be ablaze. this is what goes up and down and does the sowing. in paradise, they are still counting the cost. this is all that remains of this lori crowder‘s workshop, the home she shared with her husband has gone too. did you manage to get any precious things from your home or from here? clothes on our back. i grabbed my embroidery files,

but all my print files, all my records, everything is gone. so it is notjust the personal loss of your home but it is rebuilding a business as well, it's a big financial burden? mm—mm. but we will do it. we will do it. this is notjust a tragedy for paradise, it is a disaster for california. in the past 20 years, this state has seen 16 of its 20 largest wildfires on record. ten of the 20 deadliest and 15 of the most destructive in terms of property destroyed. so what's going on? president trump blames california forfailing to managing its forests. his administration suggests loggin is the answer. at this saw mill, they agree, saying environmental laws and a century of suppressing wildfires have left a dangerous landscape which must be thinned. i think the president has a point, that in some instances, the forest management

of california did not accomplish what it was supposed to accomplish. we are reducing the density and we're reducing the rate the fire can spread from crown to crown, up high, because that is when they get dangerous and that's when they cover a lot of ground. you'll see here these pine seedlings and saplings growing in afterthe fire... but this environmentalist disagrees. logging, he says, is not the answer. what logging does is itjust creates a lot of combustible/debris — branches and limbs on the forest floor, it spreads very combustible invasive grasses, like cheat grass. it basically reduces the canopy cover of the forest and so, instead of a cooling shade of the forest canapy, you get these very hot, dry windy conditions and that just makes fire spread fast. as long as we keep spending billions of dollars every year on backcountry

fire suppression logging, we are not using those resources to protect homes. people's appreciation for what firefighters do, for what the public safety folks do. this means a lot to everybody. california's fire chief is adamant wildfires are getting bigger and more dangerous and there will be many more thank you cards for one obvious reason. it is climate change. literally, firefighters are on the front lines of climate change in california and really in other parts of the west we are seeing it, these changes in temperatures, these changes in weather patterns, all of that is having a direct impact on fire conditions. man: tyres popping, cars are burning... for generations, california has been known as the golden state. woman: we're moving, we're moving... for some it remains heaven on earth but for how much longer? man: yes, people, it is blowing, it's hot... james cook, bbc news, paradise. a frenchman has set off to cross the atlantic ocean in a barrel—shaped orange capsule, using ocean currents alone to propel him.

jean—jacques savin, 71, left el hierro in spain's canary islands and hopes to reach the caribbean in as little as three months. he will drop markers along the way to help oceanographers study atlantic currents. it could be the ultimate way to get from a to b. completely autonomous cars promise to revolutionise our roads and bring about the death of driving. one country in the fast lane to the future is south korea, as andy beatt reports. listen carefully to the sound of progress will stop south korea's newest and quietest town with pristine streets of lined with shops, restaurants and apartments. —— progress. everything except people. k city, hours from seoul, the world's against testing ground for driverless cars. translation:

they produce a mass of valuable data, allowing developers at the cutting edge to improve their technology. recent decades have seen the country develop into one of the world's major economies, the leading automobile exporter. it is now hoped these silent streets built at a cost of $12 million, will spearhead advancesin of $12 million, will spearhead advances in what could become the transport of the future. while many vehicles already steer, brake or park by themselves, dream of a car that does all the driving is not only more convenient that potentially much safer. more than a million deaths are caused by traffic accidents every year. the overwhelming majority due to human error. but it hasn't been a smooth journey. around the world, self drive technology has been implicated ina number of

drive technology has been implicated in a number of high—profile crashes. a number of them fatal. the pressing need for this, real road environments, emulating city centre and suburban conditions like never before. with rail conditions, dummies of cyclists and pedestrians, speed bumps and even potholes. it faced two of the project still to come including simulations of severe weather such as rain, snow and fog, south korea's driving ambition is set to accelerate. miley cyrus has confirmed she has married the australian actor liam hemsworth. she shared images from the ceremony on social media, it's reported this was on sunday. the couple met nearly a decade ago on the set of the movie "the last song". reports suggest the wedding was at another property owned by miley cyrus, in franklin, tennessee. it was a small ceremony, we're told, with family and close friends. a reminder of our top story: president trump has used

a surprise christmas visit to us troops in iraq to defend his decision to pull american forces out of syria. he also declared that the us will no longer be the world's policeman. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter — i'm @bbc mike embley. hello there. it may not have been a white christmas but it wasn't a particularly bright christmas either for many of us. this was how it looked on boxing day in tenby in the south—west of wales. a lot of cloud around and through the day ahead again it will be often cloudy, but it should remain largely dry. we have high pressure still firmly in charge to the south. frontal systems dancing across the far north of the uk so a bit of patchy rain still clearing eastwards across scotland but for many more, it's a dry start and a relatively mild start, although notice, something a little bit cooler showing up across the south of england and south wales. could be at touch of frost here and that is because the skies have been clearing and after any early fog has cleared,

across the southern counties of england and the south of wales, that is where we have a decent chance of seeing some sunshine through the day. also, the north and east of scotland, parts of north—east england, maybe north—east wales and merseyside, these areas could see some sunshine. elsewhere, generally a lot of cloud, it may be the odd spot of drizzle, most will be dry and highs of 8—12. through thursday night, there could still be large areas of cloud and fog floating around but a bit of a change up to the north—west — we see thicker cloud, some outbreaks of rain moving across northern ireland and into western scotland by the end of the night. if the cloud does break for any length of time where you are, you might get a touch of frost but most of us won't.

so for friday, we'll see these outbreaks of rain trundling eastwards across scotland. much of the rain quite light and quite patchy. as it clears, the skies will clear too. for scotland and also northern ireland and northern england, maybe down into the midlands, something brighter, some sunshine by friday afternoon, with more cloud down towards the south. and then we get on into the weekend. high pressure still in charge, our familiar friend sitting just to the south. this frontal system actually likely to spin up into an area of low pressure which will pass just across the northern half of scotland. some outbreaks of pretty heavy rain here and then potentially some patchy rain also sliding into northern ireland and northern england as a day wears on. further south again, a lot of cloud but a lot of dry weather. a mild day on saturday — 10—12 degrees. for sunday, there could still be a little bit of patchy rain around but for most it is more of this largely dry but largely cloudy weather, some sunny breaks here and there and those temperatures still doing well for this time of year. 11, maybe 13 degrees in places. for new year's eve and of course new year's day, it is looking largely dry, pretty cloudy, but for most of us, it will be mild. this is bbc news, the headlines:

president trump and the first lady have made a surprise christmas visit to thank us troops in iraq. nearly two years into his presidency, it's his first trip to see soldiers under his command in a combat zone, and just days after two of his highest—level advisers resigned over his decision to pull american troops out of neighbouring syria. air traffic has been rerouted around the anak krakatau volcano in indonesia which is continuing to spew out ash nearly a week after it caused a tsunami which killed more than 400 people. the restriction zone around the volcano has been extended to five kilometres. a 33 year—old american man has become the first person to cross antarctica alone and unassisted. colin o'brady finished in fifty—three days, ahead of a british army captain, louis rudd, who had been racing him across the ice. now, as we near the end of 2018, events to mark 100 years

since the end of world war one have come to a close.