good morning. welcome to breakfast, with naga munchetty. our headlines today... the owners of a spanish hotel where a british man and his two

children died say their drowning was a tragic accident. a powerful typhoon tears through parts of the philippines, leaving at least 16 dead and tens of thousands stranded. it is saving my life and prolonging my life and i cannot be more grateful for that. in 2018, you, me and the big c's deborah james thought it was her last christmas. we'll hear how a cancer treatment is helping her stay alive. good morning. england have chosen to bowl in the first test against south africa. a sickness bug has struck the england camp with three players left back at the team hotel in quaratine. after some christmas day sunshine, boxing day brings more clout and for some of you, wind and rain. whatever your plans, i have the forecast to get you through it. it's thursday, 26th december. our top story: the drowning of a man and his two children in a swimming pool

on the costa del sol was a "tragic accident", according to the resort owners. the three family members were found unresponsive on christmas eve at club la costa world near fuengirola. sean dilley reports. this was the scene of a christmas tragedy at one of spain's most popular tourist destinations. a nine—year—old british girl is thought to have found herself in trouble in this pool, before her 16—year—old brother and 52—year—old father jumped in to help her. why none of them emerged alive is the subject of a major investigation. a british tourist told the bbc she spoke to the children's mother. i noticed a woman was walking to where i was. she looked really distraught. when she came closer she was just saying, "help me, help me, please help me! my children are drowning." it was horrible. i didn't sleep, i can't even begin to tell you how distraught i feel. i don't want to imagine what the mum is going through. it's still not clear how three members of one family came to die here,

but the owners of club la costa world, which runs the resort, claims spanish police found nothing wrong with the hotel's facilities. they say... meanwhile, the foreign & commonwealth office says its offering its assistance to a british woman in spain. sean dilley, bbc news. a powerful typhoon has caused major disruption in parts of the central philippines. 16 people are thought to have died and 25,000 have been stranded since the storm hit the islands yesterday. catherine karelli reports. a far from peaceful christmas in the central philippines. typhoon phanfone has brought sustained winds of almost 200 kilometres an hour. terrifying local people... screaming.

..and leaving a trail of destruction. heavy rain has left many homes flooded. more than 16,000 people had to spend the night in improvised shelters and at least 100 families have been left homeless. the typhoon, which has damaged infrastructure, stopped many people visiting their families for christmas. filipinos are well used to tropical storms and typhoons, with around 20 hitting the island nation each year. the most deadly in recent times was typhoon haiyan in 2013, where a massive storm surge left more than 7000 people dead. and many of the areas worst hit back then have borne the brunt of this latest storm. catherine karelli, bbc news. thousands of people in australia have been forced from their homes for the holidays, as the country battles some

of its worst bushfires in years. 0ur correspondent phil mercer joins us now from bilpin, which is two hours north west of sydney. i was saying earlier, whenever i see scenes like that behind you it is a lwa ys scenes like that behind you it is always shocking, you are talking to someone always shocking, you are talking to someone early who was explaining it has been so scary for many people in these areas? i think the more you speak to people who have literally been on the front line of this crisis, the more the enormity of the disaster sinks in. simon was telling me some of the flames he was confronting were a0 metres high. he obviously felt scared for his life, as he was trying to help douse the flames, but he lost a0% of his farm. around here you have other businesses literally crushed by the weight of these fires. this is bilpin in the blue mountains of new

south wales. it is a high risk bushfire danger zone. simon told me there were fires burning to the north and the south and no rain is forecast for many, many weeks. the ground is bone dry, there has been a long—standing drought and hot temperatures and gusting winds which have fanned the flames. today has been cooler, but they are forecasting more hot and windy weather in the coming days, so more dangerous conditions are expected. it is not just dangerous conditions are expected. it is notjust a problem for new south wales, active fires in the australian state of victoria and south australia, so this is a nationwide crisis which shows no end in sight. thank you for keeping us up—to—date, phil mercer there. did you see it? millions tuned in last night for the return of gavin and stacey after ten years and it ended on a huge cliff—hanger. the christmas special has been a hit with the critics and fans

who are hoping for another series. but the show‘s writers, james corden and ruthjones, said there are currently no plans to bring it back as it's difficult to find time to write more. but the pair did get together to watch the programme go out last night. let's return to one of our main stories this morning. the owners of a hotel in southern spain, where a british father and his two children drowned yesterday, have described it as a "tragic accident". an investigation into what happened is underway. localjournalist gerard couzens joins us now from marbella. thank you for taking the time to talk to us today, what more do you know about what might have happened? the exact circumstances are still unclear, the reason as to why these people lost their lives. we know they drowned, the autopsy has concluded they drown, but exactly why, we still don't know. the resort hasissued why, we still don't know. the resort has issued a statement saying a full

investigation found no concerns relating to the pool in question or procedures in place. can you explain the result, the people that go there? it is a small complex on the other side of the main dual carriageway running between the resorts of fuengirola and me has on the costa del sol. it is apartments and it is very, very british popular at this time of year especially. a huge amount of the people staying there are british. localtourist authorities will be concerned in terms of how safety procedures are looked at. we are not speculating about what happened, but this will have some impact on the tourist industry? possibly. but the message from the hotel is very clear, they we re from the hotel is very clear, they were given permission to reopen the pool by the police yesterday. that

pool pool by the police yesterday. that pool, where this terrible tragedy occurred on christmas eve, is open for use again. the management are saying the police have given the pool a clean bill of health. have you been given any indication when we can expect a verdict on the cause of death? no, no. there is an ongoing police investigation which has been coordinated by an investigating judge at no timescale has been given. thank you very much for talking to us, gerard cousins, a freelance journalist joining for talking to us, gerard cousins, a freelance journalistjoining us for talking to us, gerard cousins, a freelance journalist joining us from bayer. the foreign commonwealth spokesperson has said they are offering assistance to a british woman following the incident in spain and the assumption is that is the mother of the nine—year—old daughter and the 16—year—old son who died and the wife of the father as well. here's matt with a look at this morning's weather.

it is getting warmer? it is, hope you have enjoyed your christmas. different outlook for boxing day, grey skies across the country and for some of you it is already wet and windy before the mild air kicks in. not mild everywhere, chilly across eastern areas. temperatures a few degrees above freezing for many. misty and foggy across lincolnshire and yorkshire. with the mild air in the west, he is the rain, wet start to boxing day in northern ireland, spreading to northern england, the midlands and the south—east corner. might be brighter for a midlands and the south—east corner. might be brighterfor a time midlands and the south—east corner. might be brighter for a time across parts of wales and the south—west, and as the rain heads towards eastern and northern parts of england and southern scotland, it should turn light and patchy this afternoon. the north—east of scotland, 0rkney, shetland and caithness, there will be boxing day sunshine and the lighter winds.

south—west england, touching gale force, the wind is a time today. it is across wales and northern ireland, rain at times into this evening and overnight. tony watt are late in the night across western scotla nd late in the night across western scotland but it means a mild night across the west. eastern air is still on the chilly side but we should be frost free into friday. there is the picture for friday, the weather front which produced a lot of patchy rain and drizzle and it is on the western side of that, the milder air. cold occasions towards the east put those milder conditions will win through for all as we head into the weekend. a wet and windy day for scotland across the north and the west. rain at times in northern ireland and a few glimpses of brightness and ease. grey, murky and to begin for england and wales. patchy rain and drizzle will continue. whilst it will be chilly for north—eastern parts of england and south—east scotland, more people

into double temperature figures. the far north and west of scotland could see some rain at times, maybe one or two showers in northern ireland but overall, a lot of dry weather around on saturday. after today and tomorrow's rain, england and wales, prolonged dry spell which stretches four or five days. most places dry on saturday as on sunday. better chances of sunshine across england and wales on sunday. sunshine at times to the east of scotland and to the of northern ireland. further northern west, still rain now and again. note the temperatures as we see at the weekend, all of us seeing temperatures in double figures. parts of northern scotland and northern ireland could hit around 1a 01’ northern ireland could hit around 1a or 15 degrees. as we head into next week, seeing out 2019, heading into 2020, bit of rain and winter at times across scotland and northern ireland, but for england and wales, dryer spells continue and temperatures in double figures for many. higher than we have seen over

christmas so far. back to you. i must say, your tie and your attire is getting a lot of christmas love from the side of the studio. deborah james, or ‘bowel babe', as she's known to anyone who has followed the podcast ‘you, me and the big c‘ — has shared every step of her cancer journey. this time last year, she didn't think she'd be celebrating another christmas, but she has been kept alive thanks to some new treatment and her medical team at the royal marsden hospital. she's been back to meet them — let's take a look. this time last year, i honestly thought i was celebrating my last christmas. my cancer had progressed.

the actual words from my oncologist were "i can't promise you it won't progress quickly". i'm deborah james. i have metastatic bowel cancer and i have been living with cancer for three years. i host the award—winning podcast you, me and the big c on bbc radio 5 live. hi! hello! welcome back! thank you! it's nice to see you. you're looking well. i was going to say it's nice to be here not as a patient. 0h, absolutely, absolutely! cyberknife is amazing. it has stopped the growth of two of my tumours that were in inoperable places — one was wrapped around an artery — and i couldn't be more grateful to have this treatment. we know that we've constantly got you in the right place, so we can give a higher dose more safely. it's a team effort. but ultimately, a team effort that is saving my life and prolonging my life and i couldn't be more grateful for that, so thank you for that. oh, you're very welcome. you're very welcome.

when did you start feeling like you've got a temperature? yesterday. over the last year, i have been taking some new, targeted drugs. i'm one of the first people actually in the uk to be on that combination. it has actually stabilised my cancer. i've had hundreds and hundreds of tests. you never get used to them. and you never get used to them. people like beth that help administer those drugs are very much part of my family. i trust you guys... good! ..and i know you are what you are doing... good. ..and it's a friendly face all of the time. yeah. so, like, never underestimate what you do, it's amazing, so thank you. oh, thank you, deborah. thank you very much. let me give you a hug. come here. i'm probably going to cry! don't cry. it's all right. the more we move on with cancer, the more we find out about it, there are more examples of people like me living, and that is because of new treatments, because of new ways that we are being treated. hello! and actually, that's something we should be celebrating. nice to see you. as part of your treatment, we tried to zap all your tumours. i love that — splat the tumours! splat the tumours, exactly.

this is the tiny probe, which is very thin. i've never seen this. i cannot believe this actually goes inside of me! yeah, it's thin and sharp. thank you for literally destroying, zapping, burning, ablating. you have used every tool in the box to help keep me alive and just thank you. you are very welcome. very welcome. so i'm now in a very weird place where i am living with cancer. but we all know that at some point, my luck might run out and the drugs might run out and actually, the cancer may be on the move again, and none of us know when that might be. and living with that dark dog of fear is really, really challenging and i don't have a solution for it. but i know that having an army of people who have your back helps. every single person plays a massive part in keeping me alive. my new year's resolution is to stay alive. and maybe run a marathon and maybe do strictly. giggles.

we're joined now by deborah's consultant, professor david cunningham, who can talk us through some of the new cancer treatments. her spirit is great, isn't it? good morning. she is an astonishing person, she has been an inspiration to all of us, other patients and the tea m to all of us, other patients and the team at the royal marsden. she has given so much over the past three yea rs. given so much over the past three years. you say she has given so much and she is obviously so grateful to you and your team and everyone who has been working to help keep her alive, to give her another christmas and more time with her family. alive, to give her another christmas and more time with herfamily. she has sent a message to play to you and hopefully you can hear this. merry christmas, david. thank you so

much for the work you and the team do at the royal marsden to give people like myself options and kicking the can as far down the road as we possibly can and you have given me the best christmas present, which is being with my family. thank you for everything you do. it must be so rewarding when you hear m essa 9 es be so rewarding when you hear messages like that? it is amazing, she has so much energy, she has given so much. and that recording exemplifies the person. she will do anything to help people and you know, at the royal marsden, she helps patients on a daily basis, people stop to talk to her. she has tried to demystify cancer and face theissues tried to demystify cancer and face the issues that people with this disease face day in, day out. you talk about her demystifying some of theissues talk about her demystifying some of the issues and in the video we

played earlier she was talking about some of the new treatments, can you ta ke some of the new treatments, can you take us through some of the advancements in technology that have enabled you to extend lives when people are told time is limited? yes, there has been great advances in the local treatment of cancer, cancer is directed at the primary tumour, or individual secondary cancers, such as tumour, or individual secondary cancers, such as you tumour, or individual secondary cancers, such as you have heard, cyberknife, a form of precision radiotherapy. there is robotic surgery. radiotherapy. there is robotic surgery. there has been treatments that allow us to control the disease ina that allow us to control the disease in a generalised way. it took 13 yea rs in a generalised way. it took 13 years to sequence the human genome since 2003. now we can sequence it in 2a—hour is. this has given us the

opportunity to find out what is driving the cancer cell and what will allow us the effort to interfere with those specific pathways. at the moment deborah is ona pathways. at the moment deborah is on a very specific cocktail of drugs that target is one of the pathways in hertumour that target is one of the pathways in her tumour cells. does it feel that progression or developments in cancer treatment and perhaps coming a step closer to a complete cure, do you think that has sped up in recent yea rs ? you think that has sped up in recent years? definitely. the genomic information, the digital technologies, they are allowing us to analyse the results more accurately. we are generating ideas in early detection using artificial intelligence to scan x—rays and mammography and so on. the progress we are making is really breathtaking. we have seen advancement in something we call bio

therapies. these are treatments that effectively utilise the body's own immune system to fight against the cancer. a good example, the antibodies, the cellular therapies, the tumour vaccines. so we are making real progress. do you think, in your lifetime, our lifetime, we will see a cure for cancer?” in your lifetime, our lifetime, we will see a cure for cancer? i don't know about my lifetime, but i think that we are already curing many patients with cancer. we are making cancer a chronic disease and other groups of patients. i don't think within the next ten years we will necessarily eradicate this disease, but i think it will be unrecognisable and that patients with this disease will have much less to fear once they have been given the diagnosis. hopefully the message will get through, thank you for your time this morning and for the what you are doing. thank you very much. and you can listen to

‘you, me and the big c‘ on the bbc sounds app. thank you forjoining us on boxing day today. we are talking cricket and we are talking illness as well. not talking hangovers by any means? three of the players have been left in quarantine. but james three of the players have been left in quarantine. butjames anderson is doing the business for england. what a start it's been in centurion. and very first ball of the match. first ball of the series. he got a wicket. dean elgar the man to go — caught byjos buttler. anderson playing his first test since the opening match of the ashes — having been struggling with a calf injury. 13—1 south africa, at the minute.

there's live text commentary and the cricket social on the bbc sport website. the boxing day sport in the uk is a little chillier but there's a tasty clash in the premier league as the top two go head to head this evening. liverpool can extend their lead to 13 points if they win at leicester city but faced with the prospect of playing today and again at the weekend, liverpool bossjurgen klopp isn't too happy. none of the managers has a problem with boxing day. none of us. but playing on the 26th and then the 28th is a crime. that's absolutely not ok, and yet we still have it. this year we have the 26th and the 29th and it's like a holiday. i understand all the others who are not moaning, but telling that itjust should not happen. it should not happen. no alex 0xlaide chamberlain for liverpool today — or against wolves on sunday for that matter. he's out with an ankle injury picked up during their club world cup final win last weekend. in the lunchtime game — it's tottenham against brighton. no son heung min for spurs — he's serving the first of a three game ban following his red card last time out against chelsea. tottenham did appeal that decision

but were unsuccessful. two managers taking charge of their first games later too. carlo ancelotti leads everton at home to burnley. mikel arteta is demanding passion from his arsenal side as they take on bournemouth. both 3pm kick offs. in scotland — the year ends with the old firm derby between celtic and rangers this weekend but before that — celtic can guarantee themselves top spot in the scottish premiership. a win at ninth placed st mirren will do that. celtic boss neil lennon says his side can't be thinking about sunday's game just yet and called for full focus from his side. all of the day's fixtures are available online and via the app. it's often described as the most gruelling ocean race in the world and overnight the 7ath sydney to hobart yacht race has begun. the skies around sydney harbour were relatively clear of smoke from the bushfires, for the start. home team and race record holder comanche has taken an early lead. 628 nautical miles it is to tasmania. it's expected the best crews will take nearly two days

to complete the race with calmer winds forecast this year. going to stick with the aqua nautical theme. how do you find the idea of open water swimming? in the summer, 1a degrees is about the cold est i have summer, 1a degrees is about the coldest i have dipped in and that sends chills down your back. that is about 7 degrees colder than i have ever done. now if you over—did it on the food and drink yesterday, what better way to blow away the cobwebs than a refreshing dip in the north sea? 0ur reporter alison freeman is in whitby, in north yorkshire today where a group of swimmers plan to do just that. morning alison. good morning. that is the famous

view everybody thinks of when they think about whitby. this is the very cold looking north sea which, in a few hours' time, over 100 swimmers will go in and do their bit for charity and also blow the cobwebs out, as you say. i am joined by chris, organiser of the event. why do so many people turn up the day after christmas day? i don't know, but they come out in their thousands to support us. i suppose getting rid of the excess of christmas day, and raise money for charity. it all goes to local charities? pretty much local charities, yes. you are some of the guys who will be going in later, quite a personal story for why you are doing at this year? to raise money for a charity for our friends who passed away earlier this year, stephen, battled leukaemia. he grew up with him? yes, from a very young age. tell me about the charity

that supported steven? it is called bright red it is in the north and they have five haematology nurses already funded, giving extra care and looking after people. one was on the ward stephen was on. you are going in as well, how do you feel about it at this moment in time? absolutely buzzing. buzzing, worried or nervous? excited. are you going on? no. is there no chance? what is your contingency later, what do you have to do when you go into the water. you have to get your head in and try not to be the first one out. try to be the first one in, so it looks like you have been in the longest. how do you get warm afterwards, that is what worries me the most. you can't. fish and chips,

dry clothes. thank you forjoining us. dry clothes. thank you forjoining us. in an hour and a half they will be going in and getting freezing. i am not, i am be going in and getting freezing. i am not, iam going be going in and getting freezing. i am not, i am going to get warm right now because it is cold enough standing here. alison, i don't blame you one jot. good standing here. alison, i don't blame you onejot. good luck to those taking the plunge. radio presenter, hattie pearson, is here to tell us what's caught her eye. you have just told you havejust told me you have just told me you you havejust told me you have you have just told me you have taken the plunge in some ridiculously cold weather? i have been to finland and they are crazy about saunas. i have beenin they are crazy about saunas. i have been ina they are crazy about saunas. i have been in a sauna as hot as you can handle and stain that is physically possible and then running into the baltic sea. it is quite clear to me now where the phrase, "it is baltic." it is freezing. you have to get straight out. you have been in

the salford quays as well? not recently, but it was in the summer so recently, but it was in the summer so not the same thing. it is boxing day and one of the things people get excited about is the sales. we have been talking about the real big price cuts, entice people into the stores ? price cuts, entice people into the stores? it has been widely reported to the papers that sales are generally down, £a billion is still being spent online and in—store, but is it down by over 12%. i think there is a few reasons for this. we have retail fatigue, there is a few reasons for this. we have retailfatigue, some people are calling it, after black friday. the retailers continue to discount heavily in november and last week when i was shopping, it was crazy to see how much stuff is still hugely in the sales. and then brexit and the election as well, i think has played a part. people generally wanting less stuff to people are not buying as much because we are tuning up buying as much because we are tuning up to the fact it is bad for the

environment and we don't want as many things in our home. for years i have just been getting things i need, rather than just having stuff. things i needed and wanted because my wellies had holes in, but to what i was bought and needed. how do you feel about regifting ?|j i was bought and needed. how do you feel about regifting? i am all for it. you will not get found out u nless it. you will not get found out unless he posted it saying i have got this present but i don't want it. it is a wise thing, we are tuning up to the fact it is bad for the environment. 0ne tuning up to the fact it is bad for the environment. one in five presences going to go in the bin of the unwanted gifts we are getting. british people receiving 119 million u nwa nted gifts. british people receiving 119 million unwanted gifts. 0n british people receiving 119 million unwanted gifts. on average it is two gifts per person, which is crazy. if you receive something anything, i don't like it, but actually my sister might or might ogle, give it to them. they are not going to know if it still has the label on it.

the only problem is if you have a big family christmas and they see you open it. i have done it in the past to my mum, i know you have spent money on it, i don't need it, ta ke spent money on it, i don't need it, take it back. i appreciate it is not that easy but i think whoever is giving you the gift, if you are honest, i really appreciate the thought, but i don't need it. don't waste the money either. exactly. tell me about this story. it is a... conservationist, damian aspinall, who has inherited a zoo in kent, and he is urging parents and people to not visit zoos and he is bringing to light some of the issues like they can conceal disease and

hybridisation within zoos as well. bit hypocritical, isn't it? that is kind of what the article is saying but in the same vein, he is saying the funds he is looking for are to put the animals back into the wild, he has returned a lot of animals to the wild, one of his arguments has 15 million euros, pounds, sorry, is spent in europe on looking after caging rhinos and elephants and if he were to put that money back into saving... it would go a long way. very interesting story. good having you on the sofa this morning. thank you. you on the sofa this morning. thank you happy you on the sofa this morning. thank you. happy boxing day. iwill you on the sofa this morning. thank you. happy boxing day. i will be back shortly with the headlines.

hello, this is breakfast with naga munchetty. here's a summary of this morning's main news. the owners of the resort on the costa del sol where a man and his two children drowned say it was tragic accident. the three family members were found unresponsive on christmas eve at club la costa world near fuengirola. reports suggest that a nine—year—old girl got into difficulties in the water and her father and brother tried to rescue her. a powerful typhoon has caused major disruption in parts of the central philippines. 16 people are thought to have died and 25,000 have been stranded since the storm hit the islands yesterday. winds of more than 120mph battered towns and villages. the authorities say they've yet to assess the full scale of the damage. more news on the news channel through the day. that is it from brea kfast. through the day. that is it from breakfast. have a lovely boxing day.

charlie and louise will be with you tomorrow. now, it's time for bbc radio 1 newsbeat‘s look back at the year. being 17 has never been easy. no longerfeeling like a child, but technically not yet an adult. in most countries, you can't drive, drink alcohol or vote. but whether it's just hanging out with friends... ..spending time with family... ..practising religion... ..going to school, going to work orjust having fun... three, two, one. ..17 is one of our most formative years. we are following five 17—year—olds in five different countries to see how they spend a typical saturday. the nightlife is amazing. from thailand to uganda... they are like, what?

lebanon to russia... what is it like being 17 and is it harder to be a teenager now than ever before? for lots of teenagers, saturdays are a day of rest. no school or work, time to catch up on much—needed sleep. but for ruth, saturday is just like any other day. work starts early. she lives in takoradi, about a five—hour drive along the coast from the ghanaian capital, accra, with her five—month—old daughter. ruth never knew her birth mother growing up and with nowhere else to go, moved here to live with a family friend when her father passed away three years ago.

around 1a people live with ruth in this compound in the village and, on cooking day, everyone mucks in to prepare, cook and bag chips ready to be sold. around 9am, it is time for ruth to leave. she will visit three markets today hoping to sell enough bags of chips to support her and her daughter. south—east of ghana, in the ugandan capital of kampala, joy has already been awake for hours. it is saturday, i'm going

to school, i have technical and physics today. joy leaves for school around 6am. and it can take about an hour to commute to the heavy kampala traffic. when you go through school, you are more likely to succeed in life. for example, i want to be an architect. there is no way i'm going to achieve that except if i do go to school. i do maths, physics and technical drawing and next year i will be finishing high school and i hope to go to university and study architecture. it starts from the top and goes to this outermost... technical drawing is the smallest class thatjoy has but there are still over 50 pupils. going to give you a rough example here. most people in my family, they are doing arts—related careers and i'm the only one doing this science—related career. i chose it for myself.

a,500 miles east, there's no lie—in for this girl either. she is the oldest of six and starts her weekend by helping her parents to look after her younger brothers and sisters.

# and all the roads that lead you there are winding # and all the lights that light the way our blinding...# things are off to a more lively start in lebanon. it is mid—morning and tiffany is off to the beach. lebanon is the perfect mix of europe, arab. it is the mix of everything. so, among me and my friends, we always talk in english, but sometimes, we speak french and arabic. it's really common to mix these three languages together. lebanon is one of the most religiously diverse countries in the middle east, with large muslim and christian populations. i'm a christian, personally. religion here is a really big part of our lives.

it is not enforced and it is not as strict as other places. we are serious about it, but it is not like in other cultures where you have to give your life to your religion. i have friends in dubai that cannot even go out with guys, but i can tell you that more than 50% of my friends are all guys. it isjust really open—minded. i like it. everyone thinks it is dangerous, but to be honest, i'd feel more comfortable personally walking on the streets at night here than in any other country. so, why do tiffany and her mates think lebanon gets a hard time? civil war between 1975 and 1990 defined the country for a whole generation. and further violence in 2006 means that, for many, it still has a reputation

as a troubled nation. i always wanted not my children do not go through this, but it seems we are never going to find peace in this region. but it is how close to syria and israel it is that many people find worrying now. in truth, lebanon has been largely peaceful for over a decade and the capital, beirut, is trying to claim back its reputation as the paris of the middle east. with the warm mediterranean sea all the way down the coast and a bustling nightlife, many visitors see it as a perfect mix of cultures. it hasn't been completely without trouble, though. the murder of british embassy worker rebecca dykes in 2017 made many foreigners in the country feel uneasy and there are some areas, particularly along the border with syria, where the british foreign office advise against all travel. one, two, three... i think that people that never came to visit lebanon has

a really bad idea about it because of what they watch on the news. but when people come here, their whole idea changes. i told you. i swear, i told i'd make you fall. it is late morning and the last 17—year—old to be up and about is katya in moscow. she has organised a gig this evening and her friends are the headline act. the band have travelled on the overnight train from st petersburg and are keen to see some of the moscow sights.

russia is the largest country on earth, home to 1a2 million people. and it has had a turbulent relationship with the west for a long time. for seven decades, it was a communist country and russians had very little contact with people outside. communism ended in 1991, but adapting to a capitalist society has not been an easy transition.

still now, fewer than a third of russians have a foreign passport and you don't have to look far to find negative stories about russia in the world's media. more is known about the substance involved in the suspected poisoning of a former russian spy and his daughter. vladimir putin has been the political face of russia, either as the president or prime minister, for nearly 20 years and that means for teenagers like katya, he is the only leader they have ever known. katya's day may onlyjust be starting, but forjoy, halfway through the school day, it is break time. i have school six days a week. i would love to do other things on certain days of course

because i would love to have that break but now the only break i have is sunday. busy day. sunday is the church day. if i could have a saturday to myself, hang out, that would be good. i have gotten used to it. it is not so bad. by mid afternoon, all across the world, it is lunchtime. and whether that is some fast food at the beach in lebanon, a burger king in moscow, street food in bangkok, or school lunch in kampala, everyone is tucking into something to eat. almost everyone. ruth is still selling. sadly, at the moment, the chips are not selling very well either.

her daughter stays at home with her adoptive mother well ruth is working. it is just under £3, it isjust under £3, 20, $3 80. she is earning more than the official absolute poverty line set by the

world bank. but she is still very poon world bank. but she is still very poor. around a quarter of the people in ghana live below the national poverty line. but garner is considered to be one of the most sta ble considered to be one of the most stable countries in west africa and was the first black african colony to declare independence in 1957. also a young country, but for the 25 million people living here, 57% are under—25. english is the official language but other african languages and the language ruth and herfamily speak are all common. wreath, business starts to up. —— eventually full ruth. despite sales, her takings today are still low. ruth is no longer with her daughter's father. she says he has never seen his daughter and in her community as it is not uncommon for people who have a child outside of marriage to suffer stigma.

three, two, one. as the sun sets, tiffa ny three, two, one. as the sun sets, tiffany and her mates moved to a restau ra nt tiffany and her mates moved to a restaurant overlooking the sea. for dinner, we had to bully, lebanese starters, and we got lebanese fish. in the middle east, we are definitely the most... i have met people, how the news, they show our country not how it is. they show violence. we are not violent at all. conversation soon moved on to how lebanon compares to other countries. the foundation of everything his

family here. that is very true. here people are still 25 and living with mum and dad. it is not a problem. they get married, they still usually live there until they get a house.|j had a talk with one of my friends recently about for the future, when we get married, have kids, would we like to live somewhere else, in the country, i pick in the country because we are used to... we were raised here, we know how things work. i think it is the best here. you can do everything, be having lunch in nature and you can do everything and everything is easy and fun. very western, i would say. open minded. i have met people from other countries who say, you know drake in lebanon, listen to music? when i moved here, they told me, are you going to have internet and ught? you going to have internet and light? are you going to live in a

tent? i am from australia, they couldn't believe it. as night. 8500 miles in bangkok, this girl is also spending saturday night with her friends.

for katya and her friends, nearly time for the gig. seeing her friends from seeing herfriends from st petersburg has made her reflect on how different life is for russians living outside of moscow.

by by the end of the school day, it is rush—hour again in kampala. joy and his best friend walking straight to band practice. the band is attached to the church. at the moment in the band, we are doing mostly covers, but i am working on some original music. over the years, but i am working on some original music. overthe years, uganda but i am working on some original music. over the years, uganda has changed. right now, there are more opportunities for women in school and workplaces. writing music is fun for me and i hate being bored, so i do all these things to keep active. the church and my spiritual life are very important to me. # i love the way you do all the

things for me # i love the way... # # i love the way... # # i love the way you handled the situation # i love the way you fight for me # i love the way you fight for me # i love the way you fight for me # i love the way you handle my situation... # around 85% of ugandans are christian and spending a lot of time in church is by no means unusualfor a lot of teenagers here. since its independence from britain in 1962, uganda has endured a military coup, a brutal military dictatorship, and a brutal military dictatorship, and a five year war that saw the current president take power in 1986. it means for many ugandans, including joy, means for many ugandans, including joy, he is the only leader they have

ever known. often called the pearl of africa, 1.3 million tourists visit uganda every year, many coming to see the wildlife and go on safari. in recent years, the country has been praised for its campaign against hiv and aids but it has received negative international press for taking a hardening stance against the lgbt community. nearly a000 miles away, music is very important to katya too. slightly different genre though. shouting

as katya's gig carries on, all over the world, saturday night is well under way. even though she is already allowed to ride a motorbike, this colour is hoping she will be allowed by her dad to get a car licence when she turns 18 —— this girl. an ambition joy licence when she turns 18 —— this girl. an ambitionjoy shares. licence when she turns 18 —— this girl. an ambition joy shares. when i'm 18, girl. an ambition joy shares. when i'm18, i will be able to drive. in ghana, ruth is hoping she will be able to carry on with her education.

as the night sets in, for most, saturday is almost over, but in lebanon, the night is still young. usually here in lebanon, the nightlife is amazing, so we won't get home before 2am, 3am, in the morning. this is how we wrap up the day, we take some drinks, sit down and relax by the beach, it is amazing. the people, the music, it is all really good. five teenagers, all on the brink of becoming adults, all on the brink of becoming adults, all from different places, all leading very different lives. but when it comes to priorities, teenagers around the world may be are not as different as it first appears. i would like to go and

study abroad, maybe visit other countries, but then, eventually, i would come back here and stay in uganda. my plan and i am pretty sure that most of my friends have this plan is going to college. here in lebanon, it is...

for some of you, already rather wet and windy. some of the wind and rain spreading its way north and east, turning lighter and pat you in northern ingrid, eastern england. heaviest bursts of rain for a time —— turning lighter in northern england. still a blustery day. further north and east, chilly. but much of scotland staying dry. best of the sunshine and lighter winds in the north—east of scotland, orkney, and shetland especially. overnight, patchy rain and drizzle in eastern areas, turning misty for some across england and wales, northern ireland, wales and... keeping the temperature is up in western areas. a little bit

chilly still in eastern parts. mild air not fully with you quite yet. goodbye for now.

this is bbc news. the headlines at 9:00... i'm lukwesa burak. a powerful typhoon tears through parts of the philippines, killing at least 16 people and leaving thousands homeless. firefighters continue to tackle out—of—control bushfires in australia — with a warning that more record—breaking temperatures could be on the way. israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu faces a political fight, as his likud party decides who will lead them into the country's third general election in a year. the owners of a spanish hotel where a british man and his two