this is bbc world news i'm lewis vaughan jones. our top stories: president trump threatens to close the us—mexico border unless congress agrees to fund his wall. a roadside bomb has killed four people and injured 12 others on a tourist bus near the giza pyramids in egypt. the rising number of migrants trying to cross the english channel is declared a major incident by the british home secretary. satellite images reveal anak krakatau has lost over two—thirds of its height and volume since it exploded last week, killing more than 400 people. and monty python's michael palin and model twiggy are among the stars recognised in the new year's honours list. hello and welcome to bbc news.

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 has the latest 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. chris buckler, bbc news. within the past hour a powerful 6.9 magnitude earthquake has struck off the southern philippines — prompting a new tsunami alert. the quake hit about 200km kilometres east off davao city on mindanao island at a depth of about 60km. the pacific tsunami warning centre says tsunami waves are possible along the coasts of the philippines and indonesia. the earthquake comes just a week after a tsunami triggered by a volcanic eruption and landslides killed more than 400 people in indonesia. a tourist bus has hit a roadside bomb in egypt — killing three vietnamese tourists and a local tour guide.

the attack happened near the giza pyramids, on the outskirts of cairo. there were no immediate reports of any group saying it was behind the bombing. laura westbrook reports. this is the aftermath of the explosion. the force of the blast shattered windows, leaving just a blackened shell. 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. prime minister mostafa madbouly visited the injured in hospital. translation: we're 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 landmark, with buses filled with tourists

travelling there from cairo every day. tourism is a lifeline for egypt, and only recently started to recover. this latest attack will have many on edge as the country prepares for more christmas celebrations next month. laura westbrook, bbc news. there's plenty more on our website — including detailed analysis of that attack — and the impact it's likely to have on tourism in egypt. just go to bbc.com/news or you can download the bbc news app. let's get some of the day's other news: the un secretary—general, antonio guterres, has called for sunday's presidential election in the democratic republic of congo to be free of violence so voters can peacefully cast their ballots. on friday, protesters blocked roads in a number of eastern cities as unrest continued over the postponement of the election in three areas. the us environmental protection agency has said it will look

at relaxing the limits on dangerous emissions from coal and oil—burning power plants, saying the costs to the industry are too high. environmentalists fear looser rules will favour the coal industry at the expense of public health. the italian government is expected to call a confidence vote later, in a bid to approve its controversial 2019 budget. 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 take effect on january the 1st. a major incident‘s been declared over the rising number of migrants trying to cross the english channel in small boats. the british government believes it's only a matter of time before lives are lost. almost 80 migrants are known to have arrived in the past four days — the latest were intercepted on friday morning. 0ur correspondent duncan kennedy has been following the story. it's been another flat, calm day in the channel

here behind me, which is why we've 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've 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. duncan kennedy, bbc news, in dover. scientists say the volcanic eruption which triggered the tsunami in indonesia last week was so powerful that it destroyed two—thirds of the volcano's height and volume. the giant wave devastated

nearby coastal areas — killing more than 400 people. here's our science correspondent, jonathan amos. 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 and radar satellites have been able to pierce the ash and 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 reaching 340 metres high is now little more than 100 metres tall. something in the order of 160 million cubic metres of rock and ash have gone, says indonesia's center of volcanology and geological hazard mitigation. not all of this would have entered the sunda strait in one go, but it certainly explains the volume of seawater that must have been displaced to generate so destructive a set of waves at nearby coasts. jonathan amos, bbc news.

doctorjanine krippner is a volcanologist — she told me more about these satellite images — and what they show. it is impressive. 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 mt st helen's in 1980, that was a magnitude larger than this collapse. and is 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 a 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 other potential risk sites there are? they should still be aware of whatever news 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, evacuate. yes, this points to a kind of restriction on the warning system, 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 we just 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 that is what the tsunami warning systems are designed to do. to warn people of these more severe and more common tsunamis. but as far as these close to shore tsunami events 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 does the future look like? there is a lot of research going on into tsunami warning systems. i am honestly not sure about these close to shore systems, it is very difficult and technologically limited. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the babushkas of siberia who are hoping to make millions by mining for crytocurrency. the most ambitious financial and political change ever attempted

has got underway with the introduction of the euro. tomorrow in holland, we're going to use money we picked up in belgium today and then we'll be in france, and again, it'll be the same money. it's just got to be the way to go. george harrison, the former beatle, is recovering in hospital after being stabbed at his 0xfordshire home. a 33—year—old man from liverpool is being interviewed by police on suspicion of attempted murder. i think it looks good. just good? no, fantastic. that's better. this is bbc news, the latest headlines:

president 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. the monty python star michael palin has been knighted, and model twiggy has been made a dame, in the new year honours list. more than 1000 people have been recognised, including british divers who helped save a youth football team trapped inside a flooded cave in thailand. lizo mzimba has all the details. do you want me to what? you want me to go round the world? michael palin says he's immensely grateful to receive a knighthood for services to travel,

culture, and geography. i'm very surprised, because i've done lot of things in my life, and none of which i felt was totally worthy of such recognition. but maybe the cumulative effect is one of some kind of achievement. the world's top fashion cover girl was taking the german city by storm. leading fashion figure lesley lawson, better known as twiggy, has been honoured for her work in the arts, charity, and fashion. 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 you? 13. 13? brilliant. british divers involved in this year's thai cave rescue have received awards for 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, thank you for.

it's nice for the team to be recognised. must be the happiest englishman in the british isles tonight. in the world of sport, england rugby figure bill beaumont has received a knighthood. a knighthood too for recordbreaking batsman alistair cooke. —— alistair cook. following the world cup, england football manager gareth southgate becomes an 0be. captain harry kane, an mbe. and made an 0be, welsh tour de france winner geraint thomas. when it comes to creatures like otters, it's not always terribly 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 0be 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 that till the day i die, i'm going to 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 being honoured for exceptional work that's made a real difference. lizo mzimba, bbc news. siberia may be the last place you'd expect to find cutting—edge cryptocurrency mining, but conditions in the remote russian region are ideal. and when our moscow correspondent sarah rainsford travelled to irkutsk to find out more, she discovered some surprising characters involved in mining for bitcoins: russian babushkas. meet marine a, a babushka who reminds the bitcoins on a siberian port. —— marina. these are the

machines who make a noise and making money, she tells me. as those machines in mind for virtual currency, marina has been converting that the real currency. she has trouble all over europe on the money. translation: they said to be, marina, why don't you buy some mining machines? isaid 0k marina, why don't you buy some mining machines? i said ok i don't regret it. the machines pay for themselves on april nine months. and marina has been putting the hot air from the machines to good use. you can dry the washing year and make dry tomatoes, like in italy, she says. the dried pumpkin is very tasty too. and she is not the only minor in irkutsk. you might not

immediately think of siberia as a high—tech hub of the conditions are idealfor mining bitcoins. there is a hydroelectric plant just idealfor mining bitcoins. there is a hydroelectric plantjust up the river here and there is the temperature itself, it can drop to -40 temperature itself, it can drop to —40 year and the depth of winter, perfect for all of those mining machines. that is why when yuri's karaoke bar was struggling, his family got into the currency mining ina big family got into the currency mining in a big way. they are cryptocurrency pioneers here, that includes yuri's mamma, valeria. for this business, you do not have to be a great specialist because it is an easy system. you only need computers, electricity and the internet. valeria's miner is here at the family farm. there are gaps in the family farm. there are gaps in the vacuum vole where clients and removed their machines when the value of bitcoins crashed, but valeria has not abandoned her dream.

i want the money i have earned myself and i want a lot of money. when the bitcoin is worth 1 myself and i want a lot of money. when the bitcoin is worth1 million dollars, like my son say, that i will be able to leave my grandchildren are very large inheritance. it is a dream the of a new gold rush, this one one for virtual cash and the babushkas of siberia are leading the charge. —— this one. it was more than 100 years ago that the dick kerr ladies played their first game of football, going on to become the most successful women's football team ever, playing in front of record crowds. but it's likely you've never heard of them, because in the 1920s, women were banned by the football association. in this suffrage year, jayne mccubbin has to been find out more about their impact. why is that nobody knows their name?

you tell me, because they are the best that has ever been. this is the story of the dick kerr ladies and this, this is where the story starts. 100 years ago, this was a munitions factory in preston and home to a group of women who loved football. 0n home to a group of women who loved football. on christmas day in 1917, they played their first game at the preston north end ground, deepdale. 10,000 came to watch on their following quickly grew. they started it as following quickly grew. they started itasa following quickly grew. they started it as a patriotic thing to raise money for women soldiers during the first will walk, but on top of that, they became the best that there was as well. anywhere, in the world, ever. they played 833 games and lost only 28. they raised over £10 million for charity and today's money and not of this was just

novelty, they could really play. —— none of this. just look at the numbers watching here. this was football good enough to draw the crowds? absolutely, the biggest crowds? absolutely, the biggest crowd came to see them was on boxing day 1920, when 53,000 people turned up day 1920, when 53,000 people turned up to watch the goodison park, it everton, and there were between ten and 15,000 lot touts, who could not get in. in fact, over 900,000 people came to watch the dick kerr ladies play, the very year the fa decided to ban women's football. they express their very strong opinion that the game and football was not suitable for females and should not be encouraged, but the girls themselves thought it was good because they were getting bigger crowds than some of the men. these are the names that would almost certainly be forgotten, were it not for one woman's mission to keep their place in history. we should know their names, yeah. we talk

about paula radcliffe and jessica ennis—hill and we have sports personality of the year, i was watching the other week thinking we should have attended the century and it should be dick dick kerr ladies. the team continued to play defying the ban until 1965. in 71, the ban was lifted. today, a new team is linked to preston north end, but they can only dream of the success that the dick kerr ladies achieve back then, that we almost forgot. can you imagine 53,000 women's match today? got no. that begs the question, where women's football be today if the fa had not...|j genuinely believe that it would be ona par genuinely believe that it would be on a par with the men's game, if it had carried on going, yeah. scary thought. you do not think we were going to have to wait another hundred years, do you? not 100 years, i would hundred years, do you? not 100 years, iwould not hundred years, do you? not 100 years, i would not have thought, no. ido years, i would not have thought, no. i do not know how long will take,

but not 100 years. the boots worn most players, the medals they won. and that is the championship gold medal. these are the only treasures in my life. i pass them on to you. it is not my story, it is not anybody‘s story, it is their story, and their story needs to be told because it is about them. britain's royal mail has apologised after a stamp design it planned to issue commemorating the d—day landings in france 75 years ago showed the wrong image. the design in fact showed us troops land in what was dutch new guinea, or today's indonesia, thousands of kilometres away from france. you're watching bbc news. i'm @lvaughanjones. 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 is providing some 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 40mph, they 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. -- rain. 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, certainly across scotland, sunshine developing across northern ireland and northern england, and perhaps the midlands later in the day. should brighten up nicely. further south, 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. and then we move out of saturday into sunday, and we do it all again actually. 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. and that mild air returning once again from the south—west. sunday looks like this, some patchy rain, which mostly will clear during the morning, 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 nothern scotland, north—east england. those temperatures 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. and 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 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 3 days and at least 221 people have attempted the crossing since the start of november.