this is bbc news broadcasting in the uk and around the globe. i'm annita mcveigh. our top stories... at least 60 people have been killed in winter storms across the united states and canada. president biden has approved emergency federal help for new york state, as the arctic freeze continues two people are arrested after a woman is shot dead, at a pub in merseyside, in the north—west of england, on christmas eve. as covid cases surge in china's capital, imported coronavirus tablets are being rushed to treatment centres. south korea's military has apologised for its failure to shoot down north korean drones which crossed into the south's airspace on monday.

hello and welcome to bbc news. at least 60 people have been killed in winter storms across the united states and canada. president biden has approved an emergency declaration allowing federal support for new york state. the city of buffalo has borne the brunt of the arctic conditions. — it lies in the great lakes region and near the canadian border — 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.

let's get more on this from meteorologist matthew cappucci, who joins us from new york city. remind us first of all why this extreme weather is happening and why the city of buffalo has been so badly affected in particular. this is something — badly affected in particular. this is something we _ badly affected in particular. ti 3 is something we saw coming and advance, but the bigger story is how to fix the pattern. last week, we talked about the bomb cycle, the low pressure system over the great lakes, sucking down cold air on temperatures of —40 other central us. the focus was on that, people forgot about the second act. as the storm pulled away to canada, cold air raced down parallel to the great lakes and picked up moisture and deposited those little strips of moisture at the end of the lake

ontario and snow belts like the city of buffalo. they saw 150 centimetres of buffalo. they saw 150 centimetres of snow, that was the second act. the storm is done for everyone else except these localised communities in the brunt of the impact. you except these localised communities in the brunt of the impact.- in the brunt of the impact. you say is done for — in the brunt of the impact. you say is done for everyone _ in the brunt of the impact. you say is done for everyone else, - in the brunt of the impact. you say is done for everyone else, can - in the brunt of the impact. you say is done for everyone else, can you | is done for everyone else, can you give us an overview of conditions? in the city of buffalo, it is starting to wind down but in terms of blizzards, blizzards in general are bad, you need three hours of wind, and visibility is down to 500 metres. what is happening in buffalo, they saw two or three days of hurricane force winds, visibility down to five metres, for an extended period of time, so you can't go outside. to see that for so long, the reality is people did not take it seriously because the city of buffalo is prone to heavy snow but the big issue was not only that, but

the big issue was not only that, but the crash on temperatures, reduced visibility and how quickly the snow was coming down. can visibility and how quickly the snow was coming down.— visibility and how quickly the snow was coming down. can you give us some context? _ was coming down. can you give us some context? how _ was coming down. can you give us some context? how unusual- was coming down. can you give us some context? how unusual is - was coming down. can you give us some context? how unusual is it | was coming down. can you give us| some context? how unusual is it to see extreme weather like this? to see extreme weather like this? trr see something like this, the city of buffalo average return of snow every winter, 500 centimetres, what is happening this time is an anomalous event and stands alone. the death toll unfortunately points out how bizarre this is. the unfortunate reality is how people died to have a good conversation about this. three orfour good conversation about this. three or four people died from heart attacks shovelling the snow. some people died from excess mortality, the emergency services could not reach them. but for the people perish because they ventured out into the storm got stranded. it is very sad to see but people should have been more prepared for this, especially as the warnings were there and advance.—

especially as the warnings were there and advance. thank you very much, us there and advance. thank you very much. us from _ there and advance. thank you very much, us from new— there and advance. thank you very much, us from new york. - here in the uk, merseyside police are questioning two people in connection with the fatal shooting of a woman at a pub in wallasey on christmas eve. a thirty—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of ellie edwards. a nineteen—year—old woman was detained on suspicion of conspiracy to murder. our correspondent fiona trott has this report. "a beautiful angel." that's how elle edwards has been described by colleagues. a beautician who was shot and killed whilst celebrating christmas here with family and friends. a man opened fire at the entrance. four others were injured. one is in a critical condition in hospital. at a time of year when relatives come together to celebrate, elle's family came here to express their condolence. the police say what they're going through is incomprehensible. the card from her parents reads, "to my beautiful elle, you are the light of my life. you will never be gone."

people living nearby have also paid their respects. they're struggling to understand how a family pub, just a short walk from their own front door, is now a crime scene. just astounded it's happened here. never heard of this in 50, 60 years. i think everyone's upset. it's just shocking that it's happened because we don't want guns in this community. i've just literally picked some stuff up for a neighbour because she's scared to leave her house. yesterday, the investigation moved quickly. first, forensic teams searched the local area, and community leaders issued a fresh appealfor information. then, by the evening, there was police activity across the city. these were two addresses in the tranmere area. merseyside police have said they don't believe elle edwards was deliberately targeted. it makes her death all the more difficult for her family to comprehend. fiona trott, bbc news, merseyside.

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 its biggest incursions to date in the seas and skies around taiwan on sunday with fighterjets and warships deployed around the island. the taiwanese leader said it was needed to counter the growing military pressure beijing is exerting on taiwan, which it regards as an integral part of china. translation: the current four-month military training service system - cannot provide sufficient troops or frequency of training to cope with the rapidly changing combat situation and satisfy the need for combat readiness. after two years of complete assessment and review, considering the demand for troops in the new strategic structure, we have decided to restore the one—year compulsory military service from 2024, applicable to male draftees born afterjanuary the 1st 2005.

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' rapid spread in the wake of restrictions being lifted. joining me now, ben cowling who is head of epidemiology and biostatistics at the school of public health at the university of hong kong. there has been criticism of the president because of these relaxations and accusations that the country is not prepared for the relaxation, hence tablets, other medication being rushed in from abroad. can you give us the state of play with regard to the response to this surge in cases?— play with regard to the response to this surge in cases? about two weeks auo, this surge in cases? about two weeks aao, the this surge in cases? about two weeks ago. the chinese _ this surge in cases? about two weeks ago, the chinese government - this surge in cases? about two weeksj ago, the chinese government decided they would move away from the very strict measures they had in place of

them, zero covid—19 measures, for them, zero covid—19 measures, for the last two weeks infections across mainland china have been on the rise to very high levels, actually, in some cities like beijing. because of the very abrupt change in policy, there was not a lot of preparation like getting hospitals rated, getting medications in place, and stockpiles and so on, today, there has been an announcement that travel measures are going to be relaxed on the 8th of january, that makes a lot of sense because travel measures are not needed. once you move away from zero covid—19 they can be relaxed immediately. i am zero covid—19 they can be relaxed immediately. iam more zero covid—19 they can be relaxed immediately. i am more concerned there has not been effort to slow down the virus across the country at the moment. down the virus across the country at the moment-— down the virus across the country at the moment. ,. ., ., the moment. new scene relaxed about the moment. new scene relaxed about the relaxation — the moment. new scene relaxed about the relaxation of _ the moment. new scene relaxed about the relaxation of travel _ the moment. new scene relaxed about the relaxation of travel measures, - the relaxation of travel measures, some people may ask why do that at a time when cases are so rife with in china? in time when cases are so rife with in china? , ., ., ., , .,, china? in terms of allowing people back into china _ china? in terms of allowing people back into china which _ china? in terms of allowing people back into china which a _ china? in terms of allowing people back into china which a lot - china? in terms of allowing people back into china which a lot of - back into china which a lot of people outside of china have been waiting for three years to get back in, it's been so difficult, there is

no need to maintain travel measures once you have decided not to do zero covid—19, it will not keep streams out of the country, they are not needed because there is already a lot of infections inside the country anyway. what we have seen very recently, i havejust seen anyway. what we have seen very recently, i have just seen on the news now, other countries are reacting by having some measures in place on people coming out of china. but in terms of the measures to get into china, there is no public health rationale for travel —related measures at this point in time. we have been reporting about japan and the measures it's introducing for people travelling from china to japan, is it sensible for other countries to have measures like that given the number of cases in china currently? i given the number of cases in china currentl ? ., ., ~' given the number of cases in china currentl ? ., ., ~ currently? i do not think those will make a lot — currently? i do not think those will make a lot of _ currently? i do not think those will make a lot of difference, - currently? i do not think those will make a lot of difference, if - currently? i do not think those will make a lot of difference, if you - make a lot of difference, if you remember one year ago, the uk put a ban on travellers from south africa to try and slow down the spread of the omicron variant, as we know, that has a minimal effect because

whatever new strains are coming, whether it was omicron one year ago or what happens in china now, they willjump somewhere else first, an indirect route, travel measures will not stop the international spread of the currently circulating strains are anything new. they may delay it back a few days or a week but i do not think that as a justification for drastic travel measures like the ones you mentioned injapan. thank ones you mentioned in japan. thank ou ve ones you mentioned in japan. thank you very much- _ 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. here is more from our correspondent in seoul. , ._ ., , in seoul. yesterday, five drones came over _ in seoul. yesterday, five drones came over the _ in seoul. yesterday, five drones came over the border _ in seoul. yesterday, five drones came over the border into - in seoul. yesterday, five dronesj came over the border into south korean airspace without permission, something that south korea said was a violation of their airspace. four

flew to the west, one of them made it all the way down to the capitol just north of the capital, seoul, so this is clearly concerning because it had the potential to run seoul valence operations, it could potentially photograph areas of the capital, the south koreans want to keep secure. the south korean sent up keep secure. the south korean sent up a series of helicopters and jets to shoot the drones down but after hours of trying, they were not successful and lost sight of them. this caused concern to the public here. it was an embarrassment for the government which was not able to shoot these drones down on the way that it wanted to. tell shoot these drones down on the way that it wanted to.— that it wanted to. tell us more about what _ that it wanted to. tell us more about what the _ that it wanted to. tell us more about what the south - that it wanted to. tell us more about what the south korean | about what the south korean president has been saying and dealing with anything like this are preventing anything like this happening again. the preventing anything like this happening again. preventing anything like this hauenina aaain. ., , ., happening again. the military have come out and _ happening again. the military have come out and apologise _ happening again. the military have come out and apologise for- happening again. the military have come out and apologise for failing | come out and apologise for failing to shoot these down by saying that the reason they could not shut them down was because they had the equipment and the capability to shoot down larger drones. the more serious drones that would be used

for attacks. these were much smaller used for surveillance and because of their small size, they did not have their small size, they did not have the capability to shut them down. clearly, it's embarrassing and it exposes a weak point in south korea's defences. the president has come out today and said that he is going to review all the defences when it comes to drones and he is going to speed up the creation of a new spell is just military unit. the european union has called for maximum restraint in kosovo as tensions between the government and serbia continue to intensify. the eu has urged all sides to contribute to a political solution. on monday, the commander of serbia's armed forces said troops were at their highest level of combat readiness. kosovo declared independence from serbia in 2008. 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. if we don't spend it here, it will kind of react elsewhere within the community and it definitely won't be as cheap. it definitely will not be as cheap. so i think if we're talking about the ethics, then this is the right place to do it. if we're talking about supporting teachers to be able to get better outcomes for their whole class, as a class, like passive smoking, if you've got a couple of kids coming in not fed, that affects plan a, plan b, plan c of the teacher's hour. it's like passive smoking, we're talking about all children being affected by some of the kids maybe being disruptive or sleeping or any other kind of carnage that goes along with the poverty of hunger. 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. we are joined now by david wright, chief operating officer of save the children — currently in dublin. thank you for talking to us. you at save the children _ thank you for talking to us. you at save the children have _ thank you for talking to us. you at save the children have posed - thank you for talking to us. you at save the children have posed all i save the children have posed all your operations in afghanistan. can your operations in afghanistan. can you explain why it is impossible to do the work you need to do without

female staff?— female staff? thank you for having me. as female staff? thank you for having me- as was _ female staff? thank you for having me. as was mentioned _ female staff? thank you for having me. as was mentioned during - female staff? thank you for having me. as was mentioned during the | me. as was mentioned during the report, we are dealing with the most vulnerable women and children in afghanistan in the most remote locations and it is culturally not appropriate to be providing services such as health services are education services to young mothers and their children if you do not have women on your staff. when we suspend their operations, it is not a choice for us, it is impossible for us to do work with mothers and children without women on the staff. do you think the un should stop delivering aid to the country, they may take that step. the delivering aid to the country, they may take that step.— delivering aid to the country, they may take that step. the un have been very suoportive _ may take that step. the un have been very suoportive of— may take that step. the un have been very supportive of our— may take that step. the un have been very supportive of our case _ may take that step. the un have been very supportive of our case because i very supportive of our case because we work closely, all of the ngos, this affects national ngos as well, thatis this affects national ngos as well, that is afghan charities, they do

most of the heavy lifting. it also applies to them. their work is also compromised. the un understands very well the fact that the humanitarian assistance system is based on the foundation of national ngos and international ngos and if we cannot do ourjob properly, the whole system cannot function. there is an important meeting in geneva later today organised by the un, the interagency standing committee, and we would hope to see the un called for an outright suspension. [30 we would hope to see the un called for an outright suspension.- for an outright suspension. do you think this is _ for an outright suspension. do you think this is going _ for an outright suspension. do you think this is going to _ for an outright suspension. do you think this is going to make - for an outright suspension. do you think this is going to make any - think this is going to make any difference to the taliban who have issued the edict stopping women from working for humanitarian agencies? is it going to make the slightest difference to their thinking? in some respects, they should be a simple problem to solve, the way i look at it, when it comes to afghan children, the objective of save the

children is the same as those of the taliban in that you would imagine they want the very best for their children of afghanistan and particularly the most vulnerable children. we should be on the same page. in addition, they are allowing women to work in the private sector enterprises, if you work for a software company or a restaurant or hotel, women can still go to work. they should not be any big ideological issue getting in the way of allowing women to work with organisations that provide life—saving activities. indie organisations that provide life-saving activities. we will wait to see if there _ life-saving activities. we will wait to see if there are _ life-saving activities. we will wait to see if there are any _ to see if there are any developments. thank you very much. chief operating officer of save the children. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, it is business as usual, arsenal at the top of the premier league, seven points clear after beating west ham.

a goal down at half—time, with newcastle now the nearest side to them after their victory over leicester. the win for arsenal coming three years since mikel arteta took charge. liverpool made a winning start or return to the premier league as well as they beat aston villa at villa park for their third successive victory as they chase down a champions league spot. could this be the man to help them get there? they have reached an agreement with eindhoven for the striker in the region of £37 million. he scored three goals for the netherlands at the world cup in qatar and is very much one of the most coveted strikers in world football at the moment. the los angeles chanters have made the nfl play—offs since 2018 after a 20 points to three victory over the indianapolis. he played a key role in the wind, completing 25 of 31 passes for 235 yards. they then ran

for two touchdowns and they kicked two field goals, the victory means they have clicked an afc wild card spot and is the appearance in the postseason under the head coach. australia are firing on all cylinders, this is the man to thank after the double century put them in control after day two of the second test against south africa. he retired in 200 after tea helping us religion lead of 197 runs with seven wickets remaining, steve smith helped himself to 85. australia lead one —— zero after the test in brisbane. pakistan made a38 in their first innings of their second test with new zealand. the captain with the huge 161 and the century also. new zealand were 67 for none. that is all the sport. we will be back with more later on.

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. our transport correspondent katy austin has this report. we can talk now to the travel journalist simon calder. he's at paddington station in central london, where national rail is showing multiple delays this morning. give us an overview of whether things are getting back to normal. clearly they are not there yet. this is the first train _ clearly they are not there yet. tn 3 is the first train supposed to be running since the four day our empty strike and unfortunately, here at paddington which is the hub for trains from the capital to the west of england and south wales, there have been no trains all morning! they were due to start about one hour ago, they were due to start about one hourago, but they were due to start about one hour ago, but overrunning engineering works outside the station behind me at the depot

called the north pole depot means there have been no trains whatsoever. there are thousands of people, i will be able to show you the crowds in just one people, i will be able to show you the crowds injust one moment, who had been gathering for the last two hours, and as a result of that, unfortunately, there is no sign when people are going to be able to get to their destinations. i've got some idea of what the crowds are looking like. thousands of people, no signs of any trains and i'm afraid this is being repeated elsewhere in the country because unfortunately, engineering works, strikes and general chaos are giving us a sense that there is not a working railway at all at the moment.— that there is not a working railway at all at the moment. thank you very much, at all at the moment. thank you very much. simon — at all at the moment. thank you very much, simon calder _ at all at the moment. thank you very much, simon calder at _ at all at the moment. thank you very much, simon calder at paddington i much, simon calder at paddington station. and we are now saying

goodbye to viewers on bbc world, but for viewers in the uk, we will carry on with some more news for you in just a moment. goodbye to our viewers on bbc world. it was a cold and wintry scene across scotla nd scotland on boxing day. it is turning while the white —— mail there because we have strengthening winds and wet weather. we are seeing 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. through the afternoon, more snow on the hills to the north of the central belt, turning back to rain in the south and drying off later in the day. some sunshine after the morning rain in northern ireland. cloud and rain coming into england and wales. wales and the settlers could see heavy rain, 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 mixture of rain, sleet and snow. it becomes dry here, if you showered for a while, the wet weather in england and wales moves away but returns in the south and south—west later on in the night. it is only a brief respite in between all this wet weather. it will not be as cool tonight as it was last night. we follow the weather in the south—west, heavy rain across wales over the hills, moves across the whole of england and wales, northern ireland, the southern half of scotland, it may turn dry in the afternoon across england and wales, may be some late sunshine in wales and the south—west. it may stay dry in the far north of scotland, temperature 6 degrees, 13 celsius in the south of england. windy with the wet weather, around the area of low pressure, it will move away most of the wet

weather, but we are left with a of strong winds on thursday. that will bring some 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 weather across the hills in scotland, temperature six to 10 degrees on thursday. on friday, another area of low pressure from the atlantic, it will bring windy weather, there will be more rain. it continues a very unsettled often which 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 north america. 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 after restrictions were lifted.