this is bbc news broadcasting in the uk, on pbs in america and around the globe. our top stories... president biden approves emergency federal help for new york state — as the arctic freeze continues across the us and canada. two people are arrested after a woman is shot dead, at a pub in merseyside, in the north—west of england, on christmas eve. south korea's military has apologised for its failure to shoot down north korean drones which crossed into the south's airspace on monday. the south korean president said its surveillance systems would be strengthened. and we've a special report from lebanon, where a huge operation continues to clear deadly mines along

the boundary with israel. hello and welcome to bbc news. at least 60 people have been killed in winter storms across the united states. president biden has approved an emergency declaration allowing federal support for new york state, where the city of buffalo has borne the brunt of the arctic conditions. 27 bodies have been recovered there; and more are expected to be found in cars buried in the snow. blizzards have blocked roads and brought down power lines making it hard to get food and medicine. sean dilley reports. forfive days, blizzard conditions have disrupted life and travel across america. dozens of deaths have been reported, more are expected

in the coming days. emergency services are among those struggling with the weather. a quarter of a million homes and businesses are estimated to have been hit by power cuts on christmas eve and christmas day. the impact of the storm has stretched from canada to the mexican border. montana has experienced the coldest weather, with temperatures dropping to —45. the most impacted residents live here in buffalo, upstate new york, where half of all deaths have been reported. the state's governor says they are at war with mother nature. anyone who declares victory and says it's over, it is way too early to say this is at its completion. the severity is downplayed now and right now it's not as bad as it has been over the last couple of days but it's still a dangerous situation to be out. forecasters say conditions should improve in the days ahead, but until then authorities say people should only travel if it's totally essential.

sean dilley, bbc news. and we'll be getting an update on this story with cbs correspondentjarred hill a little later. severe flooding in the southern philippines has left thirteen people dead. tens of thousands of people have been forced from their homes and more than twenty people are missing. flash floods triggered by heavy rain were concentrated on the southern island of mindanao. damage to livestock is estimated at more than a million dollars. in the uk, two people have been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a young woman near liverpool on christmas eve. ellie edwards was killed and four others were injured during the attack in wallasey village area of merseyside. last night a 30—year—old man was held on suspicion of murder and attempted murder, and a 19—year—old woman was detained on suspicion of conspiracy to murder. our reporter dave guest is at the scene in wallasey this morning. dave, what's the latest on the investigation?

three days on from the terrible events of christmas eve, the police cordon remains in place, eerily, the lights are still on in the beer garden, there are drinks on the table and the big screen tv is on. it is as if time stood still when the shots rang outjust before midnight on christmas eve. elle edwards, a 26—year—old beautician, had been in the bar with her sister and friends enjoying a christmas drink, she was on her way home when the shots were fired and she was hit in the head and sadly died a short time later. four men were also injured, one remains critically ill injured, one remains critically ill in hospital. the police investigation has moved on very quickly, yesterday, there were two arace, a 30—year—old man from the tranmere area which is not far from here, arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder and a 19—year—old woman, here on the

wirral peninsula, she was arrested suspicion of conspiracy. the police are appealing for anyone who saw anything here, on that night, immediately before the shooting or afterwards to come forward. they are keen to hear details of a dark coloured mercedes car which left the car park at speed after the shooting and asking people with dash cam footage or any information to come forward. in meanwhile, the distraught family came to the scene to lay flowers in her memory. the police have stressed she was not deliberately targeted, but that is cold comfort to a family who have lost a much loved daughter and her friends in this area. what lost a much loved daughter and her friends in this area.— friends in this area. what has been the reaction _ friends in this area. what has been the reaction of _ friends in this area. what has been the reaction of the _ friends in this area. what has been the reaction of the community - friends in this area. what has been the reaction of the community and| the reaction of the community and the reaction of the community and the tributes paid? this the reaction of the community and the tributes paid?— the tributes paid? this is a relatively _ the tributes paid? this is a relatively small _ the tributes paid? this is a relatively small part - the tributes paid? this is a relatively small part of - the tributes paid? this is a - relatively small part of merseyside, a close community, and people have been coming here, leaving flowers over the past few days. local political leaders have been calling for people to come forward and help

of the town. there is a deep sense of the town. there is a deep sense of shock. it sounds corny to say we wouldn't expect that here, but they really wouldn't expect it here. it is a very popular pub. there has never been trouble here before. there were lots of young people drinking here on christmas eve, just enjoying themselves, and suddenly the shots were fired towards the door over there. the shots were fired towards the door overthere. she the shots were fired towards the door over there. she was on her way out when she got caught by those bullets. a great sense of shock stop there is a large police presence. the investigation will continue today and police are saying we believe the community may well hold the key to bringing those responsible to justice because of what they saw or heard. that is why they are asking them to come forward. ., ~ , ., they are asking them to come forward. ., ~' , ., , they are asking them to come forward. ., ~ ,, , . south korea's president has vowed to strengthen the country's military and surveillance capabilities after officials accused north korea of flying drones across their mutual border. let's go to seoul now and speak

to our correspondentjean mackenzie. good morning. what has been happening? i understand a drone got close to the capital? this happened esterda , close to the capital? this happened yesterday. five _ close to the capital? this happened yesterday, five drones _ close to the capital? this happened yesterday, five drones from - close to the capital? this happened yesterday, five drones from north i yesterday, five drones from north korea came over the border into south korean airspace without permission, something that south korea said was a violation of their airspace. fourflew to korea said was a violation of their airspace. four flew to the west, crucially, one of they managed to make it all the way down to the capital, just north of the capital, seoul. this is clearly concerning, it had the potential to run surveillance operations, could potentially be photographing areas of the capital that the south koreans want to keep secure. the south korean set up a series of helicopters and jets to try and shoot them down, after hours of trying to do so, they were not successful and lost sight of them. this caused concern to the public here. and it was an embarrassment for the government which was not able to shoot the drones down on the way that it wanted to. ? tell us

what the president has been saying in terms of dealing with anything like this. are preventing happening again? the military have come out and apologise for failing to shoot these down and saying that the reason they could not shoot them down was because they have the equipment and capability to shoot down larger drones, more serious drones that would be used for attacks but these were smaller, used for surveillance, and because they were so small, they were not able to shoot them down. clearly, it is embarrassing and it exposes a weak point in south korean defence. the president has come out today and said that he is going to review all the defence when it comes to drones and he is going to speed up the creation of a new specialist military unit which is going to deal with drones. it was already in the offing but they are going to speed it up and make sure it is established much quicker. what does it mean for relations _

established much quicker. what does it mean for relations between - established much quicker. what does it mean for relations between north i it mean for relations between north and south korea which are already strained? ., ., , , ., strained? relations between north and south korea _ strained? relations between north and south korea this _ strained? relations between north and south korea this year- strained? relations between north and south korea this year have - and south korea this year have really gone to the lowest they've beenin really gone to the lowest they've been in years, tensions on the peninsula have been rising back to levels we have not seen for five years now since 2017. north korea has been firing missiles this year, more than ever before. relations were already strained, this is another attempt by north korea to undermine the south security. last week, we saw it claim to test parts of the spy satellite which it wants to launch early next year. this could in theory give it the capability to be able to monitor south korea. sending drones which have surveillance capability is another way of saying or showing south koreans what they are capable of. thank you very much. taiwan's president, tsai ing—wen, has announced that all men will be required to serve one year's military service.

the announcement came after china carried out one of it's biggest incursions to date in the seas and skies around taiwan on sunday with fighter jests and warships deployed around the island. the taiwanese leader said the current compulsory period of four months was inadequate to meet what she called "the fast and ever—changing situation" —— a reference to the growing military pressure beijing is exerting on taiwan, which it regards as an integral part of china. an iranian footballer has claimed his family has been been prevented from leaving iran because he voiced support for the protests in the country. ali daei says his wife and daughter were trying tojoin him on holiday in dubai last week when their flight was rerouted to an iranian island in the gulf, and they were taken off the plane. earlier this month, iranian authorities shut down a jewellery shop and a restaurant owned by daei. as covid cases surge in china's capital, imported coronavirus tablets are being rushed to treatment centres. it comes as china said

it is scrapping quarantine for travellers from the 8th ofjanuary, marking the biggest shift from the country's zero—covid policy. china is struggling with the virus' ferocious spread in the wake of restrictions being lifted. earlier we heard from our reporter tom brada. this move dismantles the remnants of the covered zero which has been in place for almost three years. there are two big changes, they are removing the quarantine for inbound travellers and they are removing the cap for the number of flights which are allowed to come into china each day. i want to put this into context, they are removing the quarantine, at one point, people flying into china with have to quarantine in a hotel for three weeks, and recently that has been reduced to five days in a hotel plus three days at home, but from january the 8th, it will be reduced to zero on the same day that china is going

to officially reclassify covid—19 from a class a infectious disease to a class b infectious disease. that is how they are justifying the change in policy. it is interesting because the chinese zero covid—19 policy was seen as a big success at one point. because they were able to limit translate —— transmission of the virus when it was spreading without stopping and lots of the advanced economies in the world. it is a big but, it did serious damage to the chinese economy and it severely tested the patience of chinese citizens. japan's prime minister says his country will tighten restrictions on passengers arriving from mainland china in the light of the rising number of cases of covid nineteen there. travellers will be required to show a negative test taken on arrival — anyone who tests positive will have to quarantine for seven days. the new measures will come into effect on the thirtieth of december. the united nations has warned that they could stop delivering aid to afghanistan, if the taliban stands

by its decision to ban afghan women from working for humanitarian agencies. several major aid organisations are suspending their work in afghanistan, saying they �*could not effectively reach afghans in desperate need' without their female staff. the bbc�*s ellyn duncan reports. for women in afghanistan, the world seems to get smaller by the day. more rights and freedoms are gradually being removed, with the latest taliban decree targeting women in work. women have been banned specifically from working for aid agencies, accused by the taliban of breaking dress code, something the organisations deny. we have done everything according to the book. and still they come with this out of nowhere. and it's devastating. it's paralysing. all work, i think all organisations will in the end follow us in suspending work. several aid organisations have already suspended operations.

around 20 million people in afghanistan, half the entire population, rely on humanitarian assistance. by acting in unison, aid agencies may help to persuade the taliban that, this time, they have gone too far. to have access to women and children, you need to have female health staff. and so if you don't have female health staff, you won't have access to those people. so, essentially, it'sjust not possible for us to do ourjob if our female colleagues are not able to get out there. the united nations has added its voice to a chorus of international condemnation. a spokesperson called the move a red line for the entire humanitarian community and said they could stop delivering aid in the country unless the decision is reversed. and the uk foreign secretary accused the taliban of trying to erase women from society. but the taliban do not typically respond well to criticism. just last week,

they banned women from attending university, adding to the ban which already stops girls from going to secondary school. responding to international outcry, the taliban's higher education minister said they will not change their mind on girls�* education, even if they drop an atomic bomb on us. adding, we are ready for sanctions by the international community. there have been protests, but the taliban are resolute. when the taliban seized control of afghanistan last year, they insisted the regime would be softer than the rule of the 1990s, but the gradual erosion of women's rights suggest they are not afraid to go back on their promises. ellen duncan, bbc news. let's return to our top story — at least 60 people have died in the winter storms sweeping across the united states and canada. president biden has announced that extra support will be made available for new york state,

where the city of buffalo has seen the worst of the arctic conditions. meteorologists warn up to nine more inches of snow could fall in parts of the state today. let's get more on this now with jarred hill — a correspondent with the us network cbs. some extraordinary images coming from the us and canada. tell us more about the challenges of getting help to people in those conditions. if you look at the pictures in the video, it doesn't look real how much snow and ice are in these communities. just for context, this is not even the entirety of new york state, we are in new york city which is a different situation. 0ne state, we are in new york city which is a different situation. one of the difficulties is how much snow fail in a short amount of time but also with the really strong winds blew all the snow in one direction. 0ne —— some parts of the city where there are snow drifts covering cars and parts of buildings and that is

why there still is the driving ban in place throughout the city of buffalo. the federal government is stepping in here. federal and emergency management assistance is coming in to help with getting supplies to people who are stranded in their homes, getting supplies in place at the local communities to do the work. it is a tough situation for a lot of people in that region. is there any respite from the extreme weather?— is there any respite from the extreme weather? , ., , ., extreme weather? there is more snow exected to extreme weather? there is more snow exnected to happen — extreme weather? there is more snow expected to happen in _ extreme weather? there is more snow expected to happen in the _ extreme weather? there is more snow expected to happen in the area - expected to happen in the area today, potentially, one foot of snow falling again. but the temperatures are expected to rise starting tomorrow which will help melt some of it but not a lot, again, you have to remember how much fail. it is going to take it well for this to melt enough so people can start the process of digging out and getting back to normal.— back to normal. something which struck me was _ back to normal. something which struck me was that _ back to normal. something which struck me was that the _ back to normal. something which l struck me was that the emergency vehicles, snow ploughs were getting stuck. when you hear that, you know

it's really we stuck. when you hear that, you know it's reall, ., stuck. when you hear that, you know it's reallj . , ., it's really we have been hearing from some _ it's really we have been hearing from some of— it's really we have been hearing from some of the _ it's really we have been hearing from some of the officials, - it's really we have been hearing from some of the officials, the| it's really we have been hearing i from some of the officials, the city of buffalo is accustomed to snow, this is something we have not seen in upwards of 50 years.— in upwards of 50 years. thank you very much- _ it's been 25 years since world leaders agreed to ban the use of anti—personnel landmines — in what is known as the ottawa treaty. it's considered to be one of the world's most successful disarmament treaties, but every year thousands of people continue to be killed or injured by the devices. 0ur middle east correspondent, anna foster, reports from lebanon, where a huge de—mining operation continues every day. three, two, one, demolition. nine anti—personnel mines destroyed in a split second. for years, the ground here has been sick with them.

many were laid less than a metre apart by israeli forces during the conflict of 1982. every day, a team of de—miners carefully scans the land. they uncover the mines and make them safe. suaad is an expert now. when i found the mine, i call the supervisor to check it. and after that, and at the end of the day, i make an explosion. you say that in quite a relaxed way, you make an explosion? yeah, because it's four years, so it's a daily routine. it's dangerous work. the mines advisory group has been active in lebanon since 2001. here in this village alone, they've cleared nearly 800 devices. it's right next to the politically sensitive boundary with israel. that means special techniques

are needed to destroy the explosives without damaging the barrier. this is a clear, safe channel through the minefield. on this side, behind the white sticks, you have these new green shoots and they were planted right after the land was handed over only about a month ago now. but look how close it is to this. this is an active minefield, still contaminated land, still loaded with anti—personnel and anti—tank mines. and they plant their crops fast. lebanon's economic crisis makes them desperate for cleared land to grow food. translation: we were frustrated. i can't describe the feeling of not being able to use the land where we grew in the past. we had to stop because of mines. it was an awful feeling. worldwide, around 15 people a day are still injured by landmines.

translation: l was knocked i unconscious and when i woke up i could not see my fingers. they were gone. heider detonated one while planting trees in his garden. i still keep the photos from when i was injured. it was horrible back then. my hands were about to be amputated. they turned black. but thank god they are ok now. 80% of lebanon's mines have now been removed. but each year the funding to clear them decreases. and that makes it hard to predict how long it'll take before these people can walk on their land again. anna foster, bbc news, lebanon. the latest rail strike in the uk ended a short time ago — but passengers are still being warned to expect disruption. members of the rmt union are returning to work although many trains will not begin running until later today. 0ur transport correspondent katy austin has this report.

the strike at network rail, which has lasted since christmas eve, came to an end at 6:00 this morning. but the impact means it will take time for services to get going again today. staff are returning to work, so it is a much later start up for passenger services. so passengers should really check before they travel today to ensure that they don't turn up at a station and no trains be there. but we'll expect to run about 70% of normal services today. there's more industrial action to come. an overtime ban at train companies lasts for another week, meaning reduced services in some places, and walk—outs by the tssa union will affect a few operators over the next couple of days. then further 48 hour strikes by rmt members working at network rail and 1a train companies are planned next tuesday, wednesday, friday and saturday. in between those, a strike by train drivers in the aslef union is scheduled for thursday.

network rail says it has made a good offer, but the rmt argues it was conditional on ripping up working conditions. it's blamed the government for not making a settlement possible. but the department for transport said ministers had ensured a reasonable offer was made and urged the rmt to reconsider. today there's a break in the series of strikes by border force workers in the pcs union at six uk airports. but that action resumes tomorrow. katy austin, bbc news. the chef and tv star jamie oliver has called for all children living in households on universal credit to be given free school meals. the chef, who has long campaigned for children to have better access to healthy food, has told the bbc that investing in free school meals for children will improve their health. fashion designers in hong kong are embracing artificial intelligence to help them create cutting edge and modern clothing. the aida system is said to help

designers consider new prints and fabrics for their collections, saving valuable time and widening their appeal. emer mccarthy reports. science fiction meets high fashion. at this hong kong fashion show, more than 80 outfits by 1a different designers paraded down the runway, all with one thing in common, they were designed with the help of an artificial intelligence assistant. the rationale of developing aida is not to use ai replacing designers, what we are talking about is al is just a supporting tool for the fashion designers, so that is why we named aida as an assistant of fashion designers, just to help them, you know, to work together. designers can upload design sketches, materials and colour palettes to a virtual mood board in the system. the software algorithm then generates blueprints which designers can tweak and add their own unique flair too.

it can produce a dozen templates injust ten seconds. translation: our relationship is compatible to a romantic- relationship in that i seem to gradually get to know the assistant and she gradually got to know my own designs. in accordance with my lines, styles and databases, the system will suggest something to me that i may not have ever considered. i believe we are developing a long—term relationship. talk about dressing to impress! a television campaign aimed at encouraging people in the uk to save energy launches today. the rollout will accompany the government's existing �*it all adds up' project — highlighting how people can save money. the new adverts says more can be saved by turning boiler temperatures down to 60 degrees, turning appliances off at the plug and draught

proofing windows and doors. thank you for watching, you are watching bbc news. it was a cold and wintry scene across scotland on boxing day. for many parts of the uk today it will be mailed there because we have got atlantic when�*s strengthening and blowing wet weather from the west. we have seen some more snow in the colder air we have got in scotland. there is more cloud and rain looming in the atlantic for tomorrow. this is the cloud that has been bringing the wet weather in today. afternoon, more snow over the hills to the north of the central belt, turning to rain on the south, drying off later in the day. sunshine after the rain in northern ireland. cloud and rain in northern ireland. cloud and rain coming into england and wales. wales and the south—west could see heavy rain in the hills together

with strengthening winds. east anglia and the south—east staying dry until after dark. temperatures getting to 10 celsius. a little bit colder in northern scotland where there is a mix of rain, sleet and snow in the evening. it will become dry, a few showers very well. the wet weather in england and wales moves away but returns into the south and south—west later on. it is only a brief respite in between all the wet weather, it will not be as cold tonight as it was last night. we follow the wet weather in the south—west, heavy rain across wales over the hills, it moves across the whole of england and wales, across northern ireland up into the southern half of scotland. it made turn dry in the afternoon in england and wales, may be some late sunshine in wales and the south—west. it may well stay dry in the far north of scotland where temperatures are 6 degrees and 13 degrees in the south of england. it will be windy, ran the area of low pressure, it moves

away most of the wet weather but we are left with a run of strong winds on thursday. it will bring sunshine but also some frequent showers in western areas, some of the showers get blown into eastern parts. it could be cold enough for wintry nets over the in scotland. temperatures around six to 10 degrees on thursday. 0n around six to 10 degrees on thursday. on friday, more low pressure from the atlantic, it will also bring windy weather, we will have more rain. it continues a very unsettled of worked often windy theme as we head towards the new year.

this is bbc world news, the headlines. more than 60 people have been killed in winter storms across the united states. president biden has approved an emergency declaration allowing federal support for new york state, where blizzards have blocked roads and power lines. two people are arrested after a woman is shot dead at a pub in merseyside, in the north—west of england on christmas eve. she has been named as ellie edwards. south korea's military has apologised for its failure to shoot down north korean drones which crossed into the south's airspace on monday. the south korean president said its surveillance systems would be strengthened. china will scrap quarantine for travellers from the 8th ofjanuary, marking the biggest

shift from the country's zero—covid policy. the move comes as china struggles with the virus' ferocious spread