hello, and welcome to bbc news. i'm lewis vaughan jones. president trump has threatened to close the border with mexico if the us congress refuses to fund his proposed wall. he was speaking after nearly a week of deadlock about the federal budget, which has caused a partial government shutdown. chris buckler reports from washington. securing the long border between mexico and america has become the priority for president trump. he wants $5 billion to build a huge barrier that's not so easy to climb. but he needs democrats to approve the funding for that long—promised border wall, and they're refusing, leading him to make a new threat. during a long series of tweets warning about the dangers of illegal

immigration, mrtrump said, "we will be forced to close the southern border entirely "if the obstructionist democrats do not give us the money "to finish the wall." the president and his opponents are in a stand—off that has already ended funding for about a quarter of government programmes. some national parks, federal buildings and even the national christmas tree have faced closure as a result of the shutdown, leaving hundreds of thousands of government workers either on unpaid leave or not knowing when they will get paid. we made an offer last saturday night, they told us that they'd get back to us by the end of the week, they got back to us last night and said, "we're leaving, that's it, no more discussions." so, the discussions have broken down, we do expect this to go on for a while, we do expect to manage it. a small number of politicians did return to washington immediately after the christmas break to discuss the shutdown. but despite some shouted objections, congress only ended up meeting for a matter of minutes.

the house stands adjourned until 10am on monday december 31, 2018. i was hoping the republicans were hearing what i was hearing back home from my constituents during the christmas holiday, which is, you know, you guys need to get back to washington and reopen the government. i mean, 800,000 federal workers don't know whether they're getting paid or not — that's a big deal. despite the practical difficulties, the white house insists the threat to close the border with mexico is real. and, if anything, the political divide many miles away from here in washington only seems to be growing. in egypt, a tourist bus has hit a roadside bomb, killing three vietnamese people and a local tour guide, and injuring a number of others near the giza pyramids, on the outskirts of cairo. there were no immediate reports of any group saying it was behind the attack. laura westbrook reports. this is the aftermath of the

explosion. the force of the blast shattered windows, leaving just a blackened shower. the bus, carrying mostly vietnamese tourists, had been travelling to the pyramids in giza. investigators at the scene said an improvised explosive device was hidden beside a wall, and went off as the bus drove past. the prime minister visited the injured in hospital. translation: we are in touch with the vietnamese authorities. we offer our deepest condolences to those who lost their lives in this incident. he also told local media the bus deviated from the planned route approved by security forces. the pyramids of giza are egypt's most famous landmarks, with buses filled with tourist travelling there from cairo every day. tourism is a lifeline for

each of, and only recently started to recover. —— egypt. this latest attack will have many on edge as the country prepares for more christmas celebrations next month. the sudanese security forces have fired tear gas at hundreds of demonstrators. this happened outside a mosque in the city of omdurman after friday prayers as anti—government protests continue. anger has increasingly been focused on president omar al—bashir. the opposition sudanese congress party said its leader was detained on friday evening. leading figures from the worlds of entertainment and sport, including michael palin, twiggy and alistair cook, are among those named in the new year honours list. more than 1,000 people have been recognised, including dozens of emergency workers who responded to the terror attacks in manchester and london in 2017. lizo mzimba has all the details. do you want me to what?

you want me to go round the world? he has been travelling the world for almost three decades, now michael palin has received an award for services to travel, culture, and geography. sleep well? i'm very surprised. i've done lot of things in my life.s none of which i felt was totally worthy of such recognition. maybe the cumulative effect is one of some kind of achievement. the world's top cover girl was taking the german city by storm. lesley lawson, better known as twiggy, has been a leading figure in the fashion world for more than half a century. she's been made a dame for her contributions to the arts and charity, as well is a continuing fashion work. this honour is huge for me. i didn't expect it. it was completely out of the blue, a shock. but the nicest shock in the world. who wouldn't want to be dame twiggy? how many of of you? 13? british cave divers involved

in the rescue of 12 children and their team coach trapped in flooded caves in thailand earlier this year have been recognised with a range of awards honouring their bravery and expertise. some of our team received letters a little while ago, we were asked if we would be prepared to accept some awards, which we very graciously said thank you for. it's nice for the team to be recognised. must be the happiest englishman in the british isles tonight, bill beaumont. in the world of sport, one—time england grand slam winning rugby captain, now chairman of world rugby, bill beaumont has received a knighthood. they knighthood too for recordbreaking batsman alistair cooke, following his retirement from international cricket. following the world cup, england football manager gareth southgate becomes an obe. captain harry kane an mbe. and made an obe, welsh tour de france winner geraint thomas.

when it comes to creatures like otters it is not always to be productive... in the world of entertainment, presenter chris packham becomes a cbe for his work in nature conservation. while westworld actress thandie newton becomes an obe for her film and charity work. as does downton abbey star jim carter for services to drama. as in previous years, the majority of honours have gone to people who aren't in the public eye and who never expected this kind of recognition. andrea aviet has been recognised for her work campaigning against domestic abuse. it will always be, until the day i die, that i will continue with this cause. but, definitely, getting an award like this means the world to me, because, you know, it just shows others. she's just one of the many people honoured for exceptional work that has made a real difference.

lizo mzimba, bbc news. the rising number of migrants trying to cross the english channel in small boats has been declared a major incident by the home secretary. more than 220 people have tried to cross since the start of november. in the latest incident, yesterday morning, 12 people were detained off the dover coast. our correspondent duncan kennedy has been following the story. it has been another flat and calm day in the english channel behind me, which is why we have seen yet more crossings. two more today, two boats with a total of 12 men on board. that brings the total to about 220 migrants who made this crossing just since november. which is why tonight the home secretary, sajid javid, has declared this a major incident. huddled in life jackets, these were some of today's arrivals off the coast of dover. two boats, with 12 more men, in what's becoming something of a surge in the numbers of migrants crossing the channel. they'd managed to make it, despite the presence of this border force cutter that we filmed off folkestone today.

the boat is currently the only one available to patrol this part of the channel. tony smith, who once ran border force, says it isn't enough to stop a disaster at sea. out on the channel, we do need more capacity to enable us notjust to spot these small boats but also to intercept them. and i think it needs an international effort, really, in collaboration with the french law enforcement agencies, to prevent them from coming in the first place. the government says that although this is the only border force cutter currently patrolling off the coast of kent, they don't want to put more resources into this, for fear of attracting more migrants. the argument being that if the migrants and smugglers in france get wind that it's safer to cross the channel, then they'll be tempted to make the crossing. tonight, the home secretary, sajid javid, declared these crossings a major incident and said he is considering whether to bring in another patrol vessel.

so, why is the government reacting now? well, in addition to today's 12 migrants, there were 23 people who crossed yesterday, and a0 more on christmas day, making a total of around 220 people since november. really what we need to do is to stop people making these journeys in the first place, so more patrol boats is part of the answer, but it's also having the resources on the ground we need and working in partnership with the french to identify the gangs and stop them making the crossings in the first place. but refugee groups say until any new measures are brought in, we have a duty to let migrants land safely. these people have an absolute right to claim asylum here, they know that — there's no such thing as an illegal asylum seeker, these people have a right to come and seek asylum here. we want the government to be making it easier

for them to do that, so they don't have to risk their lives. the intervention of the home secretary puts these channel crossings onto a higher level of government priority. but with the calm weather and a limited number of physical options to change things quickly, we're likely to see more migrants trying to make it to our shores. satellite images have revealed that the anak krakatau volcano in indonesia has lost two—thirds of its height since it exploded. more than 400 people were killed when the volcano's crater collapse triggered a devastating tsunami, which struck coastal towns on the islands of sumatra and java. more than a hundred and 50 people are still missing. jonathan amos reports. there is little doubt now that the cause of the tsunami was a sudden catastrophic failure of the western flank of anak krakatau. europe's sentinel—1 and radar satellites have been able to pierce cloud in the area to allow researchers to see what remains of the volcanic cone, and make some initial measurements — and the data is sobering. what was once a volcano which ran 340 metres high is little more

than 100m tall. mitigation. of seawater that must have been displaced to generate such a destructive set of waves on nearby coasts. jonathan amos, bbc news. drjanine krippner is a volcanologist at concord university in athens, west virginia. what are you make of the satellite |mages? —— what are you make of the satellite images? —— what do you make?m what are you make of the satellite images? -- what do you make? it is increasing. the majority of the point above the sea level is actually gone now, and that is clearly the cause of the tsunami that occurred. how unusual is it to

get that level, that scale of collapse? these collapse events are relatively rare. but they can be much larger. if we think of mount saint helen ‘s in 1980, that was a magnitude larger than this collapse. and as it still at risk? we have seen the images there, and the scale of what has gone, but is there more to go, as it were? is it still a risky area? there is still a risk. but with a smaller amount of material it is in much smaller risk 110w. material it is in much smaller risk now. does that mean people in the area need to not worry so much about that one, but obviously look elsewhere at what are the potential risks there are? they should still be aware of what is coming from the government, but people need to know that there might not be warnings of localised tsunamis like this. people have to be very aware of their

surroundings and if they see anything unusual in the ocean, either to eight. yes, this points to a kind of restriction on the warning systems, that you cannot get enough warning time if the event is so close to the shoreline. exactly. the normal tsunami warning systems are not designed for tsunamis triggered this close to shore. what is the answer, then? are wejust in a situation where we are stuck having to put up with these natural disasters that have these devastating consequences? we just don't have any scientific way of trying to reduce the risk? at the moment we are quite limited by the technology we have. most tsunamis are triggered further out at sea, so thatis are triggered further out at sea, so that is what the tsunami warning systems a re that is what the tsunami warning systems are designed to do. to warn people of these more severe and more common sin armies. but as far as these close to shore tsunami events 90, these close to shore tsunami events go, wejust have these close to shore tsunami events go, we just have to know what to do in case something happens. go, we just have to know what to do in case something happensm go, we just have to know what to do in case something happens. is there any kind of hope? is there more

investment? is their research going into specific areas? what is the future look like? there is a lot of research going on to tsunami warning systems. i am honestly not sure about these close to shore systems, it is very difficult and could not clot —— technologically limited. frustrating for all involved. thank you the time, janine. heavy rain and snow is affecting parts of the us. winter storm eboni has caused whiteout conditions in several states, halting post christmas road and air travel. meantime, heavy downpours from the northern gulf coast into the southern appalachians is expected to continue into next week. flooding is already affecting parts of the eastern us and additional rainfall in several cities could set new records. it is1:15a.m.. this is bbc news. the headlines: donald trump has threatened to close the us—mexico border unless congress provides the funding for his wall.

there's been an explosion on a tourist bus in egypt, close to the giza pyramids. four people have been killed and several others injured. one of the most familiar names in british retailing, hmv, has confirmed that it's calling in the administrators. it's the second time in five years that hmv has hit serious financial trouble, as our business correspondent rory cellan—jones reports. there's some flash photography coming up. from david bowie... ..to eltonjohn... ..to take that. they all chose the most famous name in high street music to launch an album. but that was then. now, hmv has collapsed into administration for the second time in five years. the main reason?

people are finding other ways to get music and movies. netflix or spotify. i don't ever buy anything. no, i don't buy any. i download everything. i like movies but i'm not bothered about having them on dvd all the time and stuff like that. so it won't be that bad for me, to be honest. hmv‘s current owners bought it out of administration five years ago. but today they said an extremely weak christmas and a poor outlook for music and dvd sales next year meant they couldn't go on trading. when it comes to physical sales, hmv is still a major force, with around a third of all music sales in the uk and about a quarter of the dvd and blu—ray market. but both are in decline and a big fall in recent months in sales of dvds seems to have pushed the firm over the edge. don't you get sick of it all? the rise of streaming services such as netflix and spotify means millions no longer choose to own dvds or cds, making the environment for a high street entertainment retailer ever harder. i don't think that's the whole story. i mean, obviously hmv have seen

a change in terms of sales as people move to digital access models. but actually, i think what we're seeing now is something akin to some malaise on the high street generally with high rent and rates and a very torrid christmas trading period this year. i bought my first records in hmv. it was kind of like a magical place. jimmy martin went on to work at hmv for 15 years and now helps run this store specialising in second—hand vinyl. he says there's still a place for music on the high street. i think it's all about making what is selling more desirable. i think there is a future for hmv. it's all second—hand product, the same way we do. i think there's a future for them to sort of diversifying and i think record shops can be as exciting as they were to me in 1985 when i first went into them. for now, the 125 stores remain open. the search is on for a buyer who believes that a business which has been through almost a century of change can still have a profitable future. rory cellan—jones, bbc news. the family of two british women

and a baby girl who died in a car crash on holiday in iceland have spoken of their "horrifying shock." the tourists were in a vehicle when it crashed through the railing of a bridge on thursday. the women are believed to be rajshree and khushboo laturia. the baby is understood to be rajshree's daughter shreeprabha, born this year. four other passengers remain critically injured in hospital. obesity costs the nhs billions of pounds every year. —— the italian government is expected to call a confidence vote over its budget. tensions were on show as members discussed measures on tackling the country's deficit. the document, which had to be changed in accordance to the european bloc‘s fiscal rules, needs to be approved by the end of the year to ta ke to be approved by the end of the year to take effect onjanuary to be approved by the end of the year to take effect on january the

first. a woman has been charged with the murder of two children at a home in margate, kent. samantha ford, 37, who lives at the address has been charged with two counts of murder. she has been remanded in custody to appear in court later today. at his largest, jack was nearly 3a stone, —— obesity costs the nhs billions of pounds every year. many people have followed medical advice and lost significant weight — potentially saving the nhs money in the long run. but some are left with folds of excess skin and getting nhs surgery depends on where you live, and some argue that treatment of this kind shouldn't be available on the nhs. our health editor hugh pym has the story. at his largest, jack was nearly 3a stone, living on a diet of takeaways. that was then, but this is now. he's lost 18 stone. that was after doctors told him he was at risk of dying young. but the dramatic weight loss has left him with another problem. so i have a lot of loose skin,

especially around the torso area. i think at my age, being only 22, it's something quite difficult to live with. jack told me he was in a dark place when things got out of hand with his diet and lifestyle. eating was a comfort, and it's a vicious cycle. you would eat to feel better. you'd feel better, you would eat again and then you'd feel bad and upset because you were getting bigger. he feels he did his bit by going on a rigorous diet to get his weight down. now he thinks his local nhs should do an operation to deal with his folds of skin. i've worked this hard to get myself out of a situation which could have cost the nhs a lot of money going forward. the mental aspect of having to deal with your body once you've worked this hard for it can be quite challenging. getting body contouring surgery after weight loss depends on where you live. in kent, jack's local area, it's not possible to have the operation routinely on the nhs. but in hampshire, local commissioners will pay for it. in wales and northern ireland it's not routinely funded.

but in scotland it is possible for some patients. the series of operations required can cost the nhs up to £24,000. but surgeons argue it is an essential part of the treatment of those who are tackling their own severe obesity. we must, must get away from the fact that people think this is cosmetic surgery. it could not be further from the truth. this is reconstruction and patients do benefit from having the surgery. nhs clinical commissioners said the surgery was available in some cases, but unfortunately, the nhs does not have unlimited resources. "some tough choices have to be made, which we appreciate can be difficult for some of our patients." forjack, it's a simple question of fairness. i'm not doing this for, you know, just the cosmetic. it's for me to be able to live a normal life. to go to the gym and have to tuck yourself in, like a shirt, you know, like you have to tuck yourself in to be able to work out. it's very difficult in social events when you're wearing a shirt,

because you have a fold. so it's notjust the cosmetic side, it's the kind of the mental aspect and the effect that that does have, especially being such a young person. hugh pym, bbc news. the labour mp fiona onasanya has signalled that she intends to stay in the house of commons, despite facing a possible jail sentence. she was convicted of perverting the course ofjustice last month, and then suspended by the labour party. writing in her local newspaper, fiona onasanya said constituents should "rest assured" that she will remain their mp. one of the world's rarest birds — a species of duck called the madagascar pochard — has been given a new home. a team of british conservationists, from the durrell wildlife conservation trust and the wildfowl and wetlands trust, have released a small group at a lake in the north of madagascar. as our science correspondent victoria gill reports, it's the first step in the recovery of the species. on the brink of extinction.

the madagascar pochard was thought to have been wiped out completely, but a tiny group of the birds was rediscovered just 12 years ago, at one remote lake. wetland habitats here have been so polluted and damaged that the birds were forced into a last untouched area. but as pristine as it looks, this final refuge is actually too deep and too cold for the pochards to thrive. they are clinging onto existence in a place that isn't really suited to them. the threats that they face across the rest of madagascar — which is why they've been wiped out so extensively — are vast and range from sedimentation, invasive species, pollution, poor agricultural practices. a whole suite of different things that combine to make the perfect storm that really make it hard for a species like the madagascar pochard to survive. so conservationists embarked on a painstaking rescue mission. after bringing a few birds into captivity to start a breeding programme, the researchers scoured

madagascar for the best possible site to bring them back to the wild. lake sofia, in the north of madagascar, will be the pochards' new home. and for the world's rarest birds, the team has developed an extra level of protection. well, it might be bit of a different climate here in gloucestershire compared to madagascar, but the team at the wetlands here have been able to develop this floating aviary. the idea is, it'll keep the birds safe and get them accustomed to their new lake. there they go, swimming off, swimming off... the doors to their floating aviary have now been opened and the pochards are venturing out to explore. it's a small — but significant — step, conservationists say, in saving one species from extinction and in protecting madagascar‘s threatened wetlands. victoria gill, bbc news. weather now with ben rich.

hello there. here comes your weather forecast for the rest of this year and i have to say, for many of us, it doesn't bring any huge changes. it's going to stay pretty mild through the next few days. mostly dry as well although northern parts of the uk are going to see some bursts of rain and some brisk winds at times as well and that's certainly the case during saturday. this little area of low pressure moving across northern scotland. providing wet weather through the first part of the day. some windy weather too and the wind for all of us coming from the south—west, bringing this mild air in our direction. so we start off saturday morning with outbreaks of rain in parts of scotland but the worst of it looks likely to have cleared away by the time it gets light. still a few hefty showers through the morning and also some gusty winds. the black arrows here show wind gusts in excess of 40mp, might get close to 50mph on high ground but northern ireland and england, perhaps the north midlands and wales will see some extra cloud, maybe the old spot of brain around. but the south, mainly dry and rather cloudy and murky to the day and as we had deeper into saturday,

many areas will brighten up, particularly across scotland, sunshine across northern ireland and northern england and perhaps the midlands later in the day. should brighten up nicely. further south, or more in the way of cloud and we keep that mild feel in the south, temperatures coming down as the weather gets on in the norther half of the uk. we move out of saturday to sunday and we do it all again. we bring more wind across northern areas of scotland and england, much of it clear by the end of the night, the further south you go mostly dry. mild air returning once again from the south—west. sunday looks like this, some patchy rain. it'll mostly clear, but could linger for a good part of the day across the northern isles and largely dry, a lot of cloud in the west. best of brightness for northern scotland, north—east england. those temperature is still pretty impressive for this time of year. into the last day of the year, monday, new year's eve, it's looking like another largely dry day. areas of cloud, mist and fog and patchy rain at times. again, those temperatures in double digits.

if you're out celebrating in the evening, this is the weather set—up. high pressure in charge, a weak frontal system in the north, so patchy rain and here we have the high pressure, still a lot of cloud trapped underneath it stood midnight, i'm expecting it should be dry but rather cloudy and a bit murky as well. this is bbc news, the headlines: president trump has repeated his threat to shut the us border with mexico unless congress agrees to fund his controversial plan to build a wall between the two countries. the dispute, prompted by illegal immigration, has caused the partial shutdown of the us government. a tourist bus in egypt has been hit by a roadside bomb

near the giza pyramids, killing three vietnamese tourists and a local guide. the authorities say 12 other people were injured. two of them are in a critical condition. the british home secretary has declared a "major incident" after a surge in the number of migrants trying to cross the english channel in small boats. 75 people have reached the uk in the past three days and at least 221 people have attempted the crossing since the start of november. three men have been found guilty of murdering five people, including a woman and her two sons, in an explosion at a shop in leicester.