the headlines: typhoon phanfone has caused major floods and destruction in the philippines. the storm, known as ursula in the philippines, has left tens of thousands stranded. they've had to spend the night in improvised shelters. at least six people are reported missing. pictures on social media show wrecked homes and roads littered with fallen trees. details have emerged of the insurgent attack in burkina faso that left dozens dead and the country observing two days of mourning. many on motorbikes, carried out the attacks which were repulsed by the armed forces. pope francis has called for the protection of migrants and refugees and an end to injustice in the world. in his christmas message, he also prayed for people in conflict zones. in her festive message to the commonwealth, queen elizabeth spoke of the value of reconciliation.

now on bbc news, one of the most striking films of 2019 from our world — the best pakistani transgender retirement home. in a country where it's expected that your extended family will look after you in old age, what do you do if they rejected you a long time ago? mobeen azhar reports from the city of lahore. and a warning this programme contains some adult themes. once upon a time in the pakistani city of lahore lived a super glam guru. ashee was the talk of the town, an after—hours artist. ashee is a khawaja sehra — someone who describes herself as neither male norfemale. in pakistan, commonly known as ‘third gender‘. but entertaining is the preserve of the young, and as the years went by, ashee realised more and more of her community faced destitution when they could no longer work.

this is the story of guru ashee‘s quest to change the future of the third gender people in old age. the history of the indian subcontinent is rich with stories of third gender people. during the mughal empire, from the 16th century, they were advisors to the ruling class and experts in the arts. the reality today is much less romantic. i am about to meet one of the most revered members of the community,

known affectionately as guru ashee. ‘guru' literally means ‘teacher‘ — they are the elders of the third gender community, and are like surrogate mothers. tonight, guru ashee has invited me, along with her ‘chela hs,‘ or students, to a private party. i'm fine. you look very nice. thanks!

guru ashee and her students are expected to get the party started. singing in own language. but there is more to it than that. there is a deeply held belief that those like ashee, third gender, can bring good fortune to the soon to be married. the business of dancing at weddings has taken a hit since pakistan has moved towards a more conservative reading of islam. upbeat music.

so tonight, as the money rains down, ashee makes the most of her role as master of ceremony. i loved doing that, it was really loud and brash tonight, and it was all the things that pakistan is famous for and all the reasons that i love this place, and it is rare that you see something like that. but these events are few and far between. this is a family that she has history with, she has danced for them for a long time, and they take care of her.

but realistically, how long is she going to be able to do that? away from the bright lights and music of lahore‘s party scene, guru ashee has been working on a project that she hopes will one day become her legacy. for the last eight years, she has been developing a retirement home for third gender people. it has everything you could need to stay well in old age — even a running machine. once complete, guru ashee hopes it will become home to a0 members of her community.

though there are no official figures for the third gender community, it is estimated to be close to 500,000 people. it is believed that almost 5% of them are hiv positive. if you are third gender, you are 50 times more likely to be living with hiv than someone from the general population. less than ten miles away is heera mandi, or the diamond market — one of lahore‘s worst—kept secrets.

almost everyone knows about this place but it's rarely referenced in polite conversation. it is where society's outcasts have lived together for generations. it is currently home to guru ashee and many of the people who will eventually move to the retirement home. madhu, who i met at the retirement home, has invited me to her place for the evening. she rarely ever takes the night off work so tonight, i'lljoin her while she waits for clients.

madhu's got her first client of the evening, but before they get to business, he has agreed to speak to me.

madhu told me all of her clients are men and identify as straight. they are either married or, like this guy, plan on marrying a woman soon. in a fiercely patriarchal society, these men make little distinction between women and those who identify as third gender. sex workers like madhu generally charge less than women and, for some clients, that makes all the difference. whilst madhu finishes up with her client, i spend some time with madhu's housemate nimo, who i also met at the retirement home.

sex workers have a shelf life. in the not—too—distant future, madhu is going to need help just to survive. madhu can't return to herfamily because they don't accept her as third gender.

in a nation where the extended family system is the default for care in old age, what happens when that system rejects who you are? khuram lives in the diamond market area. today, he is trying his best to fit in with the bearded men in prayer caps. but it wasn't always like this for khuram. in fact, khuram used to be saima. khuram works as a tailor, making clothes for the third gender

community — clothes he no longer wears himself. i want to understand why he now dresses as a man.

there is this real sense of sadness, and that's because he's not entirely being himself. he said it, he's not. khuram, that's who he was born, that's who he was assigned to be, and he was raised as a boy — and then there is saima, and saima is who he feels his spirit is. and he says straight out that he misses saima. he says saima comes out in the day a few times, in a bit of his speech or in a bit of his attitude, but he can't live and dress, and most importantly, probably, he can't love the way he wants to. good evening, everyone. you guys are listening to fm 91 with our very special guest,

guru ashee butt. tonight, on one of lahore‘s most popular radio stations, guru ashee is using her celebrity status to win over a national audience and draw attention to the plight of her people. she is really going for it.

to have references to things like hiv and to people rejecting members of their own family and social stigma — to have that on mainstream radio and to be starting those conversations in this country is pretty revolutionary, actually. the idea that being third gender is so unacceptable that it can't be tolerated is the cause of social isolation for many third gender people. now khuram is getting older, he's attempting to conform. he's turned his back on his third gender identity. he is now a fixture at his local mosque. sure, there is a spiritual

element, but it's also about the practicalities of being accepted back into the care and relative stability of his family.

here, it's just accepted that third gender people will lose their dignity, families and the promise of care in old age, just for being who they are. before i leave pakistan, i want to catch up with guru ashee. today at the retirement home, she is handing out food to lahore‘s third gender community.

guru ashee is changing long—established attitudes and demanding care in later life for the third gender. the retirement home isn'tjust a bricks and mortar. it's about building a new type of future, one that brings a chance

at dignity, care and love in old age to guru ashee and her community. hello there. christmas day brought us a fine settled spell of weather but it was short—lived and we are expecting more wet and rather windy weather to move through for boxing day. very gradually, those temperatures will lift. it will turn milder across the south, initially, and then to all areas as we head on into friday, and certainly over the weekend. here it is, next area of low pressure bringing the wetter and windier weather here, but still further north and east, it's going to be a largely dry start to boxing day. quite chilly in places. a touch of frost across central,

northern and eastern scotland. compare that to 7—10 degrees in the south and the west. so quite a contrast in weather conditions to start boxing day. chilly, fairly bright across the north and the east. the winds continue to pick up here. wetter and windier weather across the west will slowly spread northwards and eastwards. we could see a little bit of snow over the highest ground of the pennines and perhaps southern scotland later in the day. a bit of brightness moving in behind. one or two showers within the next batch of rain moving into the south—west. temperatures here will be in double figures. a blustery day for all but certainly windy further south and west that you are. so as we head for the evening period, that next batch of rain starts to move northwards and eastwards again. maybe some heavier bursts in it. it will be quite misty and murky as those temperatures continue to rise. 9—11 degrees in the south and west. six or 7 in the north—east.

so turning milder for all. this is the weather front bringing that next batch of rain, high—pressure beginning to establish itself over the near continent, and we are going to continue to draw up this south or south—westerly wind, with very mild air reaching all areas by the time we reach friday. so all areas will be milder on friday. a rather cloudy picture, with outbreaks of rain, across scotland, north—east england. slowly clearly northwards. it may remain quite cloudy and murky further south. a few glimmers of brightness here and there. but if the sunshine does come out, with highs of 12 or 13 degrees, it will feel very mild indeed. but even double—figure values there in central scotland. there's that area of high—pressure over the near continent, establishing itself, trying to keep these weather fronts at bay but they will try to squeeze in at times, parts of northern ireland, northern and western scotland as we head on into saturday. i think many places will be dry. variable cloud could see a bit of sunshine. perhaps some fogginess across the south—east to start saturday. and just some rain and stronger winds pushing into the far north—west but temperatures for most will be in double digits. like i mentioned, it stays mild throughout sunday and indeed into the start of next week. it could be mild into the run

up to new year's eve. but could turn quite windy across the north and the west.

welcome to bbc news. i'm mike embley. our top stories: a powerful typhoon tears through parts of the philippines, leaving tens of thousands stranded. after a deadly motorbike assault by islamist insurgents — burkina faso's defence chief calls for unity. seasonal messages from the pope and the queen — one calls for an end to injustice, the other reconciliation. the woman behind one of the world's best—known tv theme songs dies at the age of 72.