this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines at 10:00... 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 children drowned — say their deaths were a "tragic accident". england make a positive start in the first test against south africa — with james anderson taking a wicket with the first ball.

and coming up in half an hour — from the cricket world cup to a game—changing summer for women s sport. we look back at the biggest sporting moments this year. good morning, and welcome to bbc news. at least 16 people have been killed by a typhoon in the philippines, which has left a trail of devastation through the centre of the country. wind gusts reached 200 kilometres an hour, tearing roofs off houses, and leaving tens of thousands of people stranded at ports. the storm has been following a similar track to typhoon haiyan in 2013 — the most powerful to hit the area in decades. 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. in this majority catholic country, 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 7,000 people dead. and many of the areas worst hit back then, have borne the brunt of this latest storm. catherine karelli, bbc news. the chairman of the philippine red cross, spoke to the bbc, about how the country is coping. first of all, it's very difficult because it's christmas, people who are stranded, you have to support them and then you have to bring the goods over into several provinces. these are several, big islands that have been affected. coastal areas that are hard to come by and a lot of people have lost their homes and they need food. we are serving hot meals but it's not enough. things have been affected like power, there has been a complete blackout in certain areas

that will be sorted within the next two or three weeks. water has been interrupted intermittently in certain areas. so there is an awful lot of things to be done while the rescue phase is over, hopefully. we now have to come in with our support in terms of relief, in terms of food, water. we have a lot of first aid interventions and doctors will be supporting those who have lost their buildings and they will be providing beds, so people out there can be provided with aid from the hospital that collapsed, that lost its roof. we are also fighting the earthquake and also the recent typhoon in the provinces. we are not finished there. definitely, there is an awful lot to do by the philippine red cross

in addition to polio vaccinations and the like. 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. since september, almost 3,000 firefighters have been out every day in new south wales, tackling fires, some of which are the size of small european countries. 0ur correspondent, phil mercer, is in bilpin, about 75 kilometres north west of sydney. i asked him just how bad things are. i think australia is on a type of war footing when it comes to this bushfire crisis. we have squadrons of water bombing helicopters in the skies supporting thousands of boots on the ground and it is worth pointing out the military has been brought in to help with this enormous firefighting effort. this firefighting effort is increasingly

stretched. many of the firefighters we have in new south wales are volu nteers we have in new south wales are volunteers and some of those have been on the front line for weeks, weeks and weeks. this is a crisis that shows no sign of ending. this is the town of built into the north—west of sydney in the blue mountains. the weather now is quite nice, quite cool. these conditions are helping the firefighting efforts. they are building containment lines, these are fire trails. they also do something called back burning, they light a fire eating into the main fire front, depleting the amount of fuel for the fire when the weather turns and more hot and windy conditions are expected. we're not sure when the danger will return, but safe to say, there will be more dangerous days ahead. i am looking at the scene behind you, it is devastating, what can you tell us how residents are being supported and where they are being supported and where they are going once they have their

homes? the scene you can see behind me is clearly grotesque and it is repeated time and time again. we are ata repeated time and time again. we are at a business just a short time down the road. it is another orchard, very famous area for apples. the area and that particular business had been crushed by the fires. this used to be a packing shed for another orchard. 0n the other side of the track, there is a business owned by a man who moved to australia from lebanon, when he was four years old. he has lived in this area for 35 years on 40% of his orchard has been destroyed. he was telling me how he and his younger son were fighting the fires with the volu nteers son were fighting the fires with the volunteers and the water bombing helicopters. he was describing fla mes helicopters. he was describing fla m es a0 helicopters. he was describing flames a0 metres high. a0 metres high! it is extraordinary he confronted that. he is a farmer who has some firefighting skills and he says he was very lucky to escape,

because the wind changed direction very quickly and he thought he will say. but these flames were bearing down on him. clearly, he managed to escape but he says he almost didn't make it. i would imagine there are more and more of the stories as people come back to their homes. this road has only recently been reopened and residents are coming back now to find if they have still got the house or not. so a horrible christmas clearly, for many, many people. the drowning of a british 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. at least seven people have died, when a boat got into difficulties in lake van in eastern turkey. the boat was carrying migrants from afghanistan, pakistan and bangladesh. the lake is near the border with iran, from where people often cross into turkey on theirjourney towards europe. 6a others were rescued and taken to nearby hospitals and shelters. a murder investigation has begun in south—west london — after a man was shot dead on christmas eve. police were called to battersea church road, at around 9pm on tuesday, where they found the victim, believed to be in his 30s. no arrests have been made. the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, is a facing a vote today, for his leadership of the likud party, from long—time rival, gideon saar. it's said to be the biggest challenge mr netanyahu has faced to his 20 year rule of likud.

yesterday evening a rocket fired from the gaza strip, interrupted a party rally in the border town of ashkelon. the prime minister and his wife were escorted from the stage, after sirens went off. 0ur middle east correspondent, barbara plett usher, is injerusalem. she explained a little earlier, why benjamin neta nyahu is being challenged now. it is a good question because the prime minister has been in powerfor ten years and has been a very popular prime minister. he has been credited with economic success in israel and also security success and he has a right wing government and the majority do self identify as right wing, so why is he being challenged now. he has been weakened over the past year with corruption charges hanging over him. he was indicted on three counts of corruption just last month and there have been two election so far and he has been unable to form a coalition government.

he is clearly weakened and the challenge is coming from a former cabinet minister called gideon saar and he is saying, he is not saying mr netanyahu should resign because of the indictment, he is saying benjamin netanyahu has shown himself of incapable of keeping the right wing in power. there is going to be a third election in march, he will not be able to form a government then and runs the risk of being in opposition if it doesn't change its leader. that is the campaign argument of gideon saar. i don't think benjamin netanyahu is going to lose, most people think he will win but the question will be by how much. if he doesn't get at least two thirds of the vote, it will look as though his grip on the party has been weakened. what can you tell us about this attack last night? that was rockets fired from the gaza strip and that was the second time

in the last few months that mr netanyahu has been taken off stage at a campaign rally, which is close to gaza. the campaign was streamed live, so there was no effort to conceal the fact he was there, which is probably why the rocket was fired. nobody has claimed responsibility for it. it is not the kind of images mr netanyahu would want to have been shown just before this leadership contest. he did try to make the best of it, he came back and said the islamist the islamist movements in gaza, hamas and islamichhad don't want me to be prime minister. so he tried to make the best of it. but it is the kind of thing that causes his critics to say, he is not the mr security he claims to be, he needs to be tougher with the islamist groups in gaza. quickly, looking ahead to march and this indictment on corruption charges, are they seriously looking as if they are going to damage his chances, to damage his chances? where are we on that?

it is difficult actually to say because coalition politics mean you don't have a major party winning enough seats to form a majority government. it is all about if he gets political allies. broadly speaking, his main rival, the blue and white party, has an edge on him. he is lagging in the polls, but it is too close to call at the moment. the big question is whether that indictment will mean that he is not legally able to form a government. that question has not been answered yet. russia's opposition leader alexei navalny has been arrested during a raid on his offices. it came after police conducted fresh searches at his moscow—based anti—corru ption foundation. mr navalny, who's a vocal critic of president putin, has been regularly detained by the authorities. a spokeswoman said he did not put up resistance as he was led away.

shoppers are expected to spend £200 million less in the boxing day sales this year, with environmental concerns being the biggest reason for the drop. almost seven in ten consumers plan to spend less on so—called "fast fashion" because of the impact of its production on the environment. according to barclaycard, around four in ten uk adults will spend an average of £186 each today. the headlines on bbc news... 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. and, 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. let's get the sport now. we have each lunched on the first day between south africa and england. south africa reached 79 for three after a terrible start. we have been across it. kate, james anderson, back in the team and what a start it was? yes, it is his 150th cap today so it it was a momentous occasion. it couldn't have been more perfect. the bowler in me would have said he would like more of a nip away, it was probably a decent delivery by his standards and get a wicket. he gets dean elgar and

others in their wickets. a perfect start for england but it has levelled out a little bit after that i wasjoe root levelled out a little bit after that i was joe root vindicated levelled out a little bit after that i wasjoe root vindicated in his choice to win the toss and to field? when even the toss and bowl, there is pressure on the bowlers to take wickets and sometimes you can chase wickets and sometimes you can chase wickets and sometimes you can chase wickets and not go back to plans of what works for you. to say they have three wickets in the first session, they will be pleased with that. probably not bowled as well as they have liked, but the sessions come thick and fast but they have the opportunity to regroup at lunchtime and they will tighten their lines a bit more and create more pressure. no spinning option for england, jack leach may not have been selected a nyway leach may not have been selected anyway with illness. five seam attack, is that the right way for england to go in this attack? without being in the dressing room, it is hard to know why they have selected that, especially with

illness around an ben stokes' father, you don't know what the team could have been going into day. it isa could have been going into day. it is a strange one, but you havejoe root who can bowl, his off spin. notoriously, you get a bit of pace on the south african pitch. not as good a pitch in terms of pace, but it might try out and get quicker later on. maybe that is why they have gone with that selection. we shall see when play gets under way again in about 20 minutes. you can see kate on the cricket social as well as the bbc sports website and app. nine games in the premier league today. the big one is at eight o'clock when leaders liverpool travel to second placed leicester. win and liverpool will be 13 points clear at the top — a mammoth advantage at this stage of the season. it's a busy time of year though with most teams playing today and again at the weekend

and the festive schedule isn't sitting well with jurgen klopp. 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 it just should not happen. it should not happen. alex 0xlaide—chamberlain won't have to worry about tight turnaround. he's out until the new year with the ankle injury he picked up during the club world cup final win on saturday. the 12.30 kick—off sees spurs take on brighton. son hueng min will serve the first of a three game ban after getting sent off against chelsea. tottenham appealed the decision but were unsuccessful. a busy day in scotland too with celtic manager neil lennon calling for focus from his side at st mirren with an old firm derby against rangers looming on sunday. celtic are five points ahead of their second placed rivals who face kilmarnock. celtic know a win will guarantee top spot ahead of the winter break. you can see all of the day's fixture's online and app. that's all the sport for now.

you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website, including the cricket. south africa now 79—3. and there's build up to the day's football. lots of festive quizzes to try out with the family too. india s national human rights commission, has asked police in the northern state of uttar pradesh, to respond to allegations they violated protesters' civil rights during recent demonstrations against the controversial citizenship law. the legislation has been criticised as being anti—muslim. at least 2a people have been killed, and hundreds injured, in clashes in cities across the country, over the past two weeks. ari behn, the former son—in—law of norway's king, has died, aged a7.

ari behn, the author of several novels and plays, married princess martha louise in 2002 and the couple had three daughters together but divorced two years ago. his spokesman told norway's ntb agency that ari behn had taken his own life. lebanon is ending 2019 in its worst economic crisis for decades. growth has fallen to zero. many companies have been pushed into bankruptcy, others have laid off staff and slashed salaries. the prime minister, saad hariri, resigned in late october, because of anti—government protests, his replacement, hassan diab, appointed only last week, has promised to form a government to deal with the problems. but as martin patience reports, from the town of arsal, many people seem to be losing hope. it is back breaking work at the stone cutting factory in northern lebanon. these men are the lucky

few, who have a job. lebanon's economic crisis is hitting hard. 0rders have dried up, workers have been laid off. despair has set in. the economy is so bad, it's beyond imagination, says this work. it's the worst i have seen in almost 30 yea rs. for one man at the factory, it was too much. he had no work for a month and a half. and when his seven—year—old daughter asked for lunch money, he didn't have it. he hanged himself at the back of the house. who do you blame for your

husband's death. translation: i don't blame anyone, it was my husband who decided to put an end to his life, but it was poverty, it was economic situation that pushed him into it. i urge officials to change the situation as quickly as possible. so there will be no more victims in lebanon. this story might seem like an extreme case, but it is an indication of what is happening across this country. people here are feeling more and more desperate and many fear a complete economic collapse. this is a country, that in recent yea rs, collapse. this is a country, that in recent years, has held together against the odds. but lebanon is now facing its worst economic crisis

since the civil war. martin patience, bbc news, lebanon. deborahjames, 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 that changed 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. and you can listen to — ‘you, me and the big c‘ — on the bbc sounds app.

people across the world have been looking to the skies this morning — hoping to spot a rare solar eclipse. sadly, it wasn't visible here in the uk but much of the middle east and south asia witnessed the annular solar eclipse, which is also known as a "ring of fire," where the moon doesn't completely cover the sun. so, did you tune in to find out what was ‘occurrin‘ last night? millions sat down 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 n0 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.

now it's time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. after the sunshine yesterday, more cloud across the country and for some it has already been wet and windy. the rain spreading northwards and eastwards turning lighter and patchy in northern england. heavier spurts of rain in the west and east for a time but more downpours in wales and the south—west later. easing down relative to this money but still a blustery day. further north and east, chile but much of scotla nd north and east, chile but much of scotland will stay dry and the best of the sunshine and the lightest of the winds in the north—east of scotla nd the winds in the north—east of scotland across 0rkney, shetland and caithness especially. 0vernight, patchy rain and drizzle will affect eastern areas and turning misty and murky across england and wales. but in northern ireland, wales and the west of scotland will turn wetter and windy. keeping temperatures at

six to 11 degrees. the mild air not with you quite yet. this is bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. the headlines... 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 children drowned say their deaths were