this is bbc news. the headlines: at least 50 people are now known to have died due to the severe arctic freeze that continues to affect the us and canada. one of the worst—hit areas is buffalo in new york state where the governor called the storm an "epic, once—in—a—lifetime event". two people are being questioned in connection with the shooting dead of a woman at a pub on merseyside in northern england on christmas eve. the victim has been named as 26—year—old ellie edwards. a 30—year—old man and a 19—year—old woman have been arrested. russia says at least three technical staff have been killed by falling debris following a ukrainian drone attack on an air force base. the russian defence ministry says the engels base in the southern saratov region was targetted by ukrainian

drones during the night. here in britain, most shops have been open again after being closed on christmas day, boxing day sales have previously been a popular date for for shoppers in search of bargains. but retail experts say they're expecting shoppers to spend less this year as the cost of living crisis continues and we see a change in shopping habits. katy austin reports. oxford street in central london filled up as the day went on, as shoppers hunted for bargains. have you come out for the sales? in liverpool shoppers were out early. in liverpool shoppers were out earl . in liverpool shoppers were out earl _ . ., , in liverpool shoppers were out early-_ cost - in liverpool shoppers were out early._ cost of. early. some clothes. cost of livin: , early. some clothes. cost of living. you _ early. some clothes. cost of living, you have _ early. some clothes. cost of living, you have to - early. some clothes. cost of living, you have to grab - early. some clothes. cost of living, you have to grab a i living, you have to grab a bargain _ living, you have to grab a bargain-— living, you have to grab a baraain. , , ., ., bargain. these days not all retailers — bargain. these days not all retailers start _ bargain. these days not all retailers start on _ bargain. these days not all retailers start on boxing i bargain. these days not all i retailers start on boxing day, some started sales before christmas and more customers start to buy online. but for

this big shopping centre in liverpool still a crucial week. boxing day gives the child to get rid of stock they didn't sell before christmas. it builds up through this week it's quite extraordinary numbers. it's quite extraordinary numbere— it's quite extraordinary numbers. cost of living pressures _ numbers. cost of living pressures are - numbers. cost of livingi pressures are expected numbers. cost of living i pressures are expected to numbers. cost of living - pressures are expected to put a damper this year but the manager of this store is optimistic. s0, and i don't think it's as busy as it used to be. it used to be a lot busier before. people had a lot more bags before. so quite a few discounts. what have ou so quite a few discounts. what have you found, _ so quite a few discounts. what have you found, anything - so quite a few discounts. harriet have you found, anything good? just socks so far. a company that tracks how many people are out at shopping destinations says compared to last year, when covid badly

affected trading, it's an optimistic picture, numbers are up. however, footfall hasn't recovered to what it was before the pandemic. it's 30% lower than it was on boxing day 2019, so it is significantly lower. but we mustn't forget that there is a train strike. and it's also attached obviously to the cost—of—living crisis, people are a bit more cautious. after a tricky year, retailers hope that the big discounts can draw in much—needed customers. now on bbc news, the travel show. hello and welcome to this very special edition of the show, coming to you from the spectacular valley of the kings here in luxor in egypt. if you were watching last week, you would have seen me unearthing the story of how tutankhamen�*s tomb was discovered here 100 years ago this year. well, it is such a breathtaking location we thought we would stick around for a while and bring you this, our best

bits of 2022. from the baking sun of here in egypt, let's switch to the snow of switzerland where back in march, carmen got to experience a horse race like no other. where the jockeys don't need saddles, they use skis. this is st moritz, in the swiss alps — it's the place, so they say, where the concept of the winter holiday was born. it also occupies a unique place in sporting history — it's where the bobsleigh was created. but skijoring is an even stranger sporting event than that.

the race is a wild mix of horses, skiing, all done over this frozen lake. before the main event, the skijoring, i caught up with valeria, who's been crowned overall winner here twice in past years. before the first race, i always said "wow, why i'm doing that", and after the race, i say "yeah, i know why". in 2009, i was the first woman to do skijoring. it was really special, because everyone was looking on me. "can she do it?" "is she strong enough?" "is she not scared?" and everything. but it was really nice because i had directly a third place in my first race. can you control the horse with the reins, and how different is it for the horse? we definitely can control them — we have to control them, because if there is something

next to you, you have to go left, or you have to go right, you have to stop the horse, if something happened. after the starting sound they normally say "ok, where is my boss, oh, ok, it's six metres behind me" and they sometimes really looking for you and try to connect you with — with the reins. and some horses, they love to do it, they say "wow, there is nobody on it, i go". so the big race is coming up and i've placed a small bet on valeria, so watch out for the lady in pink. she's not the favourite, but fingers crossed. cheering).

at one point, valeria was in the lead and looking good. cheering). come on, come on! go, go! for the riders, the sheer amount of snow and ice kicked up by the horses' grooves mean face protection is pretty important. by the final lap, you could see the horses beginning to tire, and she was desperately trying to hang on. so our rider came fourth, unfortunately, but it did look like a really tough race. they came around three times and gosh, these horses were going so fast —

it was really thrilling. carmen high up in the alps there in march. 0k, a different kind of sport we turn to now, we head off to senegal in west africa where emeline pulled on a wetsuit and joined a local group of women trying their hand at something tourists have been doing for decades. khadijoue is senegal�*s first professional female surfer. she works with a woman's organisation called black girl surf, to get the next generation into the water. all: we are black girl surf! we are black girl surf! woo! a lot of black people think they cannot go to the water for surfing and they can do it, everybody can surf, it doesn't

depend on your size, long, short, everybody can surf, everybody can surf. khadijoue is a real trailblazer here, she has fought her way into a male dominated sport, even her family were against her in the early days. my family, where i'm from, they never see a girl surfing and they thought it was for the boys. i said i have to go, i want to do surf it and be the only girl in senegal surfing and the only girl who can represent in senegal, africa and every black woman in the world. the girls here are 4—16 years and not afraid of the sea, i have been surfing on this beach for several years now and feel totally outclassed.

right, it's time to see what all the fuss is about. i have been practising, and i'm in good hands here. khadijoue has agreed to take me out and give me some tips. we have picked a time when the waves are slightly flatter but the main hazard is avoiding the sea urchin, which liejust a couple of metres under the surface. the attraction of the ride is the consistency, rather than the height, the opportunities come again and again, and you can see khadijoue and the girls make the most of them. for me, it's more of a mixed bag. wipe out.

0k, we are off to sri lanka now, and at the start of the year, our adventurer, karolis mieliauskas set off to paddle down a historic canal system, and to meet local people cleaning up the waterway on his journey. he's taken on some pretty crazy adventures for us before like driving an old soviet banger all the way to siberia, let's remind ourselves how he got on in sri lanka, adopting a slightly more sedate pace. adventure, and the very first step. a trip starts. 0op. whoa, whoa, whoa. i hope to do it over three days. 0k, first 100 metres is done.

as i start myjourney, i get a warm welcome from the people who live here. hello, hello. how are you? good? very good. i am going down the canal. bye bye, guys. see you. all the best. and what is the sign. "dear neighbours keep the canal clean." 0h. no good. i was expecting to see some rubbish. but not that bad. not that bad. looks like the rubbish comes from these houses.

tell me, please, you are cleaning, how many people like you here? six people who are cleaning. i think i can see one now, approaching. hello. that's nice that somebody is doing this. the results of a local company that has rubbish collection days on these waterways. it's run by a guy called fernando. 0ur cleaning project name is captain fernando cleaning project. we start the cleaning project in 2016, actually five years ago, so step by step, we came to a very good stage. asked if pollution is a big problem these days. you walk on this beach it's very polluted and if you go now on the canal,

lagoon, is very polluted. now people find that slowly, slowly changing. people just throw the rubbish into the canals, but now people start to think, little by little. a long time ago canals were used for transportation, now these days people use them to dump rubbish. easiest thing is not to throw rubbish into the canal, what we can do, educate the brothers and sisters so we can have a clean and healthy lifestyle. thank you very much for coming. if we are not using plastics we help out for a better world. let's make some noise. woo! thank you, fernando. thank you. ok, so coming up next on our look back at 2022, it's time to bring on the big guns, and the only true athlete of the team. in case

you didn't know, ade is a medal—winning paralympian, playing basketball for team gb. so who better then to try a new sport, cheese rolling in italy. we are in volterra, in italy. it's my first time visiting this beautiful town, so to get me into the vibe, i'm going to be taking part in the world—famous, palio dei caci, otherwise known as the cheese rolling race. a downhill obstacle course, racing cheese. oh, my days — look how steep this is! oh, my! i'm struggling just to control my chair. oh, no! ok, so maybe i need a masterclass. ade. nice to meet you. all right, let's see.

jeez, he's off at pace! pace! this is going to be carnage. the rules are simple — guide the cheese around the hay bales as quick as possible. the winner moves through the rounds till you're left with one champion. applause the cheese rolling is a pretty strange tradition. how did it begin? so you must be one

of the best, yes? so, you're the champion. you're the reigning champion, the best cheese roller in the whole of italy? si! champion! that's what i'm talking about! so, should i be wearing a helmet and some knee pads and gloves? no. no? ijust need tough skin, yeah? 0k! 0k, one last practice run. come on, come on, come on! come on! come on, come on, come on! laughs broke through the barrier! good? good! good, man. come on! right. well, the time has come. uno, due, tre...

vai! so this is our guy, davide. go, davide! shouts of encouragement cheering almost there! cheering and applause yes! so, i clearly didn't win the prized cheese, but i found the man that did. grazie! it's my first time trying this. that's actually really good! buono.

wow! right, sticking with the food theme, the uk is famous for its greasy spoon cafe's. places where you can get a calorie packed fried rex host washed down with a steaming mug of hot tea all at a price that won't break the bank. but as lucy discovered back in february, some of these places are struggling to survive. this cafe is a true family affair and it's been passed down between generations since 1900. we like to keep a good little vibe. it is like a second home for us. when you come in here you are coming into our home. a lot of regular people come back and they really sort of rely on you. if they didn't come into the cafe they may wouldn't talk to a lot

of people during the day, the older people especially. where the world is getting bigger, they can't know everybody. the little places like the cafe, it is like a little community but there are less and less bases like that. the cafe attracts customers from all walks of life even the odd celebrity. jaymie collins is a reality tv star and presenter who has been coming here for years. i feel that this is like traditional east end here, it's got heritage, it's got culture. if only these walls could speak i'm sure there's been a lot that's gone on here over the years. just that real family hub feel is very rare and this is the only place that i know actually that's got it. do ou think we are beginning to see less of this kind of places now? there are more challenges, everyday there are more challenges. everything is gone up and you have to put your price up a bit and it doesn't go wild with the customers. it takes a lot of money

to set up a cafe, not anybody can afford to do that. you need a little bit of backing behind. we enjoy ourselves as much as the customers do, probably more. every day anna and her mum maria took home—made food using locally sourced ingredients. but in an area that is rapidly changing and is more big brand chains move in the competition is getting tougher. all cities are becoming gentrified and i just think the soul is being lost and it's a case of the little guy helping the little guy, i think is so important that the with all these big businesses, especially at the minute to keep looking up to one another, little guys, because fundamental that it keeps the country going, isn't it? you have no idea how much i'm looking forward to eating the. i've seen it come past me a few times today. bring at all. this is a lot of food, i am going to try my hardest. i don't doubt for a second that the traditional british cafe will keep going strong.

lucy loving herfry up back in february. right, it's now time for our last look back and as i get to choose, this is a moment of pure self—indulgence. as a child growing up in the uk, they absolutely idolised the foot taller george best and i wasn't alone, even the legendary pele was a fan. so you can imagine my delight when i've found out that george's former home in belfast was opening up as an airbnb. i simplyjust had to go and stay there. it is wet and it is gloomy but this is where one of the world's greatest ever footballers, george best, honed his skills. here in northern ireland the saying goes "maradona good, pele better, george, best. he simply walked

the ball into the net! what a goal! united in the lead. he was a key part of the iconic manchester united team that in 1968 became the first english side to win the european cup. president of the european union football association handed it over. and it all began here in belfast craigie estate where fans now have the chance to stay at his childhood home. hello, you must be peter. i am, welcome to george best house, come on in. thank you very much. wow! an so, this is the main room. the bests would have lived in this house from 19118 so we have recently put the house back to as it would have been an 1961 when george first went over to manchester as a 15—year—old

in search of fame and fortune. how easy was it to source this kind of furniture? itjust came from a number of sources, local charity shops, antique dealers, etc. the house was bought by a local non—profit group called east side partnership and in its new retro furnished state is now available as a holiday rental. all the proceeds that we get from the use of this house are used to support other community projects in east belfast. tourists come here and tell me what has their reaction been like? the reactions have been fantastic, a lot of manchester united fans would stay here but also just local people who want the opportunity to see the house and stay in the house as well. well it's night time and it feels a bit intrusive but, anyway, this is obviously one of the bedrooms where

the family lived in, but not only am i staying in the same house, i'm actually going to be sleeping in the very room that he had as a child. it's a kind of medium—size room, the kind of room that any 12—year—old, 13—year—old boy would have, i guess. i wonder what he would have made of this. hopefully he would have found it quite funny. right, time for me to get some sleep. i'm not completely tired yet, i'd need some reading material and i think this should do the trick. good night. i tell you what, waking up in george best's old bedroom was one of the highlights of my year. it has been so good in 2022, finally

being able to hit the road again properly and i hope you manage to get away too. have a great new year and i will see you in 2023. hello. boxing day delivered a colder interlude, in fact, it was cold enough for wintry showers in places, but through the day on tuesday, mild air returns with outbreaks of rain spreading east. there will be some snow in northern parts, as that wet weather bumps into some relatively cold air. this speckled cloud on the satellite picture brought the showers of rain, sleet and snow

during boxing day. this shield of cloud behind me, bringing wet weather into northern ireland first thing. ahead of that, some icy conditions likely in parts of northern england and scotland. could be rather slippery on untreated roads and pavements and, as this wet weather slides into the cold air over the highest ground of northern england and southern scotland, we could see some snow for a time. that is likely to turn back to rain, though, as the milder air works in. this snow developing across the grampians and the highlands, well, is likely to stick around for a little bit longer because something a bit colder will cling on in the northern half of scotland. but elsewhere, northern england, wales, the southwest turning very, very wet indeed. east anglia and the southeast staying mainly dry for a good part of the day, brightening up in northern ireland through the afternoon. but it is going to be windy, especially in the southern half of the uk — temperatures ranging from 4 degrees there in aberdeen to 11 in plymouth. now, as we go through tuesday night, we'll see these outbreaks of heavy rain continuing to journey southwards and eastwards, lingering across the south of england, and then the rain returning into the southwest and the southern half of wales

by the end of the night. some rain will also linger for a time in the northern isles. but for the majority, it is going to stay frost—free, a milder night in prospect. and then for wednesday, well, we bring this next batch of heavy rain northwards and eastwards across the uk, accompanied by strong winds, particularly windy for some southern and western coasts. northern scotland will stay drier and little colder, but northern ireland seeing highs of 9—10 degrees, england and wales, 11—13, so it is going to feel mild, particularly in the south. thursday, a day of sunny spells and showers. for friday, here's another area of low pressure bringing heavy rain and potentially some really strong winds. we'll be keeping an eye on that weather system. and then, as we head into the weekend and the end of the year, it will stay relatively mild, there'll be rain at times and it will often be windy.

this is bbc news. i'm lucy grey. our top stories: the severe winter deep freeze continues in the united states and canada — at least 50 people have died. and moscow says at least three of its personnel are killed in a ukrainian drone attack on a russian airforce base. two people arrested after a woman is shot dead at a pub in merseyside in northern england on christmas eve. lost at sea. 180 rohingya refugees feared dead on a boat adrift in the indian ocean. and stepping up security ahead of the inauguration of brazil's president—elect lula de silva after a foiled bomb attack.