this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or 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. taiwan's president, tsai ing—wen, has announced that all men will be required to serve one year's military service — in response to growing pressure from beijing. two people are arrested after a woman is shot dead at a pub in merseyside, in the north—west of england, on christmas eve. in the wake of a polar explorer — the mission to restore the ship's cabin used by ernest shackleton.

hello and welcome. 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, in new york state, 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.

earlier, i spoke to matthew cappucci — a meteorologist based in washington. he told me that this extreme weather had been widely predicted but the severity has taken many by surprise. this is something we saw coming days in advance, but the bigger story is kind of how this fits in the pattern. so initially last week, we talked about that big us bomb cyclone, this low pressure system that was over the great lakes, that was sucking down frigid air, temperatures of —40 over the central us. everyone�*s focus was really on that and i think folks forgot about the second act. so as this storm pulled away into canada, cold air on the back side raced down, parallel to the great lakes, then picked up moisture from the great lakes and deposited those little strips of moisture down the wing of the lakes, ie at the end of lake erie and lake ontario and typically vulnerable snow belts, like buffalo and watertown, new york, saw about 150 plus centimetres of snow in some locales and was kind of the second act. so, for the most part, the storm's done for everyone else,

except these two very localised communities seeing the brunt of the impact. ok, so you say the storm is pretty much done for everyone else, just you give us an overview of conditions right now. so i think in buffalo, things are finally beginning to wind down but i've got to say, in terms of blizzards... you know, blizzards in general are bad, you have to have at least if three hours of winds about 55—60 km/h, or worse, and visibility is down to about 500—600 metres. for this, what's happening in buffalo, they saw about two or three days of winds gusting to hurricane force, visibility�*s down to five metres, for an extended period of time, which is a type of condition — you can't even go outside. so to see that for so long, the unfortunate reality is that people didn't take it seriously because buffalo is prone to heavy snow, but the big issue wasn't just the heavy snow, it was the crash in temperatures, the reduced visibility and how quickly that snow was coming down. can you give us some context? how unusual is it to see extreme weather like this?

to see something like this, you know, buffalo averages a tonne of snow every winter, sometimes upwards of 500 centimetres. what is happening this time is an anomalous event and one that really stands alone. i think the death toll, unfortunately, points to how bizarre and how rare this is. one of the unfortunate realities, though, is we have to talk about how people died to have a good conversation about this. three or four people died from heart attacks shovelling that snow. so you can see how much snow there was. a number of people people died from excess mortality, meaning emergency services couldn't reach them. but the bigger story, 14—15 people, at least, perished because they ventured out into the storm then got stranded. so it's very sad to see but this was something that folks should have been more prepared for this, especially because the warnings were there in advance. matthew cappucci. 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 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. for more on that, earlier, i spoke to ben blanchard, taiwan bureau chief for reuters, and i started by asking what's been the reaction in taiwain to the news of the extension of the military service.

well, it's been something that the president has been discussing with her top security officials for quite a while now, so it wasn't exactly a surprise. we knew that it was going to come before the end of the year. this is something that really has bipartisan support in taiwan. both the ruling party and the main opposition party have... do understand the need to strengthen taiwan's defences, especially in the face of china's stepped up military activites and what taiwan calls a real clear and present danger, a threat from china to the democracy that is taiwan. so bipartisan support. does it have widespread public support as well? well, again this is not... the military conscription in taiwan is something that has happened ever happened ever since 1949, since the defeated repulic of china government fled to taiwan, so this is something that the vast majority of taiwanese men have grown up with.

it's not a new system. the point i would make, in going back to one year, it is different to south korea, for example. so south korea obviously faces its own hostile neighbour in the face of north korea. in south korea, it's an 18 month conscription system. so going from four months back to one year, it's not as severe as south korea and, as i say, this is something that the, you know... the threat from china is something that everybody is very, very well aware of in taiwan and there is definitely a wide social consensus that taiwan does need to strengthen its defences. ben blanchard. let's turn now to the situation in former yugoslavia, where serbia has put troops on high alert over rising tensions with kosovo. president aleksandar vucic said he would "take all measures" to protect people and "preserve serbia". serbia's defence minister has been visiting an army base in raska, near the border with kosovo.

kosovo declared independence from serbia in 2008, but belgrade has refused to recognise it. the current escalation is believed to be unprecedented for recent years. i'm joined now by dr helena ivanov in belgrade, serbia. dr ivanov is associate fellow at the henry jackson society. thank you very much forjoining us. so what is the reason for this recent escalation of tension? well, the flare ups _ recent escalation of tension? well, the flare ups have _ recent escalation of tension? well, the flare ups have been _ recent escalation of tension? -ii the flare ups have been happening basically from the summer when a row began because of the car license plate problem, whereby kosovo requested all of those who had registered their car in serbia to reregister their car to kosovo registration plates. 0n reregister their car to kosovo registration plates. on top of that, a flare up regarding travel issue documents. the recent one that because the serbian government to raise their troops to the highest honour is the arrest of a kosovo former police officer who was recently arrested. the serbs are demanding his release and have abandoned all the kosovo

institutions. we have seen in the recent days the barricades have been erected across kosovo. now we are seeing the latest tension. find erected across kosovo. now we are seeing the latest tension. and when we talk about _ seeing the latest tension. and when we talk about high _ seeing the latest tension. and when we talk about high alert, _ seeing the latest tension. and when we talk about high alert, what - we talk about high alert, what exactly does that mean? that basically means _ exactly does that mean? that basically means that - exactly does that mean? twat basically means that should any further escalation happen, should require a prompt response, the troops are basically going to be ready. that means putting your troops on the highest alert. basically meaning they can have an immediate response should the need arise for it. ., , arise for it. considering the historic ties, _ arise for it. considering the historic ties, has _ arise for it. considering the historic ties, has there - arise for it. considering the | historic ties, has there been arise for it. considering the - historic ties, has there been any response from russia to all of this? at the moment, i believe when it comes to russia, definitely we can expect that russia will be siding diplomatically speaking with serbia obviously because russia has not recognised kosovo as an independent state among other countries that haven't done that either. however, i'm very doubtful that any further, deeper or more substantial involvement from russia will happen, primarily because i russia is occupied with the invasion it

started in february.- occupied with the invasion it started in february. your specific area of research _ started in february. your specific area of research focuses - started in february. your specific area of research focuses on - started in february. your specific area of research focuses on the l area of research focuses on the relationship between propaganda and violence. i wonder to what extent has propaganda played a role in this situation? . , ,., , has prepaganda played a role in this situation? . , , ., , 4, situation? i absolutely think the prepaganda _ situation? i absolutely think the prepaganda is — situation? i absolutely think the propaganda is crucial. _ situation? i absolutely think the propaganda is crucial. i - situation? i absolutely think the propaganda is crucial. i don't i situation? i absolutely think the l propaganda is crucial. i don'tjust mean the latest headlines that we could have seen which obviously are trying to spark tensions, and talking about basically the discourses and narratives that have been promoted throughout the 1990s but also in the aftermath of the war. i think across the former yugoslavia region we can see discourses that are definitely contributing to tensions limited to no effort has been made to really reconcile the differences and tensions we have seen in the past. also, it hasn't been an exception for politicians in the region to basically use nationalist card and play it any time they see it fit for their own personal gains. so unfortunately in the entire former yugoslavia region and particularly when it comes to kosovo, propaganda has been crucial in the last few decades. . , . , , .,

decades. finally and briefly, what are the possible _ decades. finally and briefly, what are the possible solutions, - decades. finally and briefly, what are the possible solutions, what l decades. finally and briefly, what i are the possible solutions, what can de—escalate these current tensions in your opinion? de-escalate these current tensions in your opinion?— de-escalate these current tensions in your opinion?— in your opinion? well, i think hopefully _ in your opinion? well, i think hopefully the _ in your opinion? well, i think hopefully the eu _ in your opinion? well, i think hopefully the eu and - in your opinion? well, i think hopefully the eu and k - in your opinion? well, i think hopefully the eu and k for i in your opinion? well, i think- hopefully the eu and k for forces will encourage both sides to sit down and negotiate. i think on one hand, the release of some of the people who have been in prison but the removing of the barricades would be the two crucial steps necessary for the de—escalation. i think the international community�* involvement will be crucial to get the two sides at a negotiating table and a deal thatis at a negotiating table and a deal that is acceptable to all.- that is acceptable to all. doctor helena ivanov, _ that is acceptable to all. doctor helena ivanov, thank _ that is acceptable to all. doctor helena ivanov, thank you. - 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 30—year—old man has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of ellie edwards. a 19—year—old woman was detained on suspicion of conspiracy to murder. 0ur 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. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here�*s gavin. hello. the premier league�*s back after it�*s world cup break.... chelsea and manchester united have games later. arsenal extended their lead at the top and liverpool returned with a win too. some further good news for fans too. they�*ve reached an agreement with dutch side psv eindhoven for striker cody gakpo — for a fee in the region of £37 million. gakpo 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 chargers have made the nfl playoffs for the first time since 2018, after a 20—3 victory over the indianapolis colts. quarterbackjustin herbert played a key role in the win, completing 25 of 31 passes for 235 yards. austin ekeler then ran for two touchdowns and cameron dicker kicked two field goals for them. the victory means they�*ve clinched an afc wild card spot. it�*s the chargers�* first appearance in the post—season under head coach brandon staley. 0ur season is not over, we have two more games against really, really good teams, and we need to search to play our best football so we can not only get into the play—offs but make a run to super bowl championship which is what our goal is. so, we�*ve got a lot of work to do, but i am certainly proud of everybody in that locker room because today was a great day for our team. in the nba, the brooklyn nets beat cleveland 125—117

to extend their winning streak to nine games. it was another big night for kevin durant — he and kyrie irving both scored 32 points. the victory edges brooklyn ahead of the cavs for third place in the eastern conference. after a difficult start to the season, they�*ve now won 14 of their last 15 games. durant had some celebrating to do after the game — he�*s now passed former san antonio spurs great tim duncan for 15th on the nba�*s all—time scoring list. to be able to pass the all—time great legend, like, somebody who shifted and changed the game, is something that i will call my folks about tonight and talk over and just reminisce on how we got here, you know. so, it�*s pretty cool to do stuff like that and i want to celebrate those small things and keep pressing forward, i know i�*ve got more to do. over in detroit, the los angeles clippers beat the pistons 1112—131 in overtime. the win leaves them

in fourth spot in the west. elsewhere, there were wins for new orleans, miami and san antonio. australia are firing on all cylinders — and opener david warner is the man to thank, after his stunning double century put them in control, after day two of the 2nd test against south africa. warner retired on 200 after tea — helping australia to a lead of 197 runs with seven wickets remaining in melbourne. steve smith helped himself to 85. australia lead the three—match series 1—0 after a six—wicket win in the first test in brisbane. and pakistan made a38 in theirfirst innings, of their second test with new zealand in karachi. captain babarazam with that huge 161, and agha salman also making his century. new zealand are short while ago on 165 without loss. 0peners devon conway and tom latham passing their 50s. that�*s all the sport for now. back with more later on. gavin, thank you very much.

ukraine�*s foreign minister dymytro kuleba has indicated that his government is aiming to have a peace summit by the end of february — on what would be the first anniversary of the russian invasion of the country. he suggested that the un�*s secretary general antonio guterres could be a possible mediator for peace talks with russia. let�*s talk to our correspondent in kyiv, hugo bachega. how likely is this summit to take place? it how likely is this summit to take lace? , , , . ., , place? it is interesting because in the interview. _ place? it is interesting because in the interview, he _ place? it is interesting because in the interview, he said _ place? it is interesting because in the interview, he said he - place? it is interesting because in the interview, he said he didn't i the interview, he said he didn�*t anticipate russia taking part. so i think that shows how challenging it is going to be for any kind of peace talks, peace negotiations to happen. he also said that russia must face a role in the mega— war crimes tribunal before any direct negotiations between ukraine and russia. i think an indication of that, an indication of the challenges came from moscow. we had reaction from the president putin�*s

spokesperson, who said russia never followed conditions set by others. i think this is also an indication of how russia is rejecting a ten point peace plan that has been announced by president zelensky, which includes not only this war crimes tribunal but also it requires russia to pull out from all territory that is now under occupation, something the russians have rejected and i think we heard from sergei lavrov, the foreign minister, who demanded ukraine to recognise as russian parts of the ukrainian territory that are now under occupation. that moscow claims to have annexed. so very different positions here. but dmytro kuleba saying that the ukrainian government wants to hold these peace summit with the possible mediation of the un

secretary—general, antonio guterres, in february, to coincide with the first anniversary of the war. find first anniversary of the war. and very briefly. _ first anniversary of the war. and very briefly, after _ first anniversary of the war. and very briefly, after yesterdaydrone attack inside russia, there must be concerns russian retaliation? yes. concerns russian retaliation? yes, because we _ concerns russian retaliation? yes, because we have _ concerns russian retaliation? yes, because we have seen _ concerns russian retaliation? yes, because we have seen this - concerns russian retaliation? ye: because we have seen this happening before, when russian targets come under attack deep inside russian territory, russia retaliate and response and we have seen that in the last few weeks. russia has launched missiles and drones targeting this country�*s essential infrastructure. i think the fear here is this could happen again for some last night, president zelensky told ukrainians to be prepared for more russian missile attacks. he was not referring to that explosion that happened in russia but i think the fear here is a response could come. 0k, hugo, thank you. hugo bachega in kyiv. the bbc has made a documentary about polar explorer ernest shackleton�*s cabin — which airs

on the 11th of january 2023. it features conservation specialist sven habermann�*s efforts to bring shackleton�*s cabin back to its original state. the famous explorer died of a heart attack in that very cabin in 1922. let�*s speak to conservationist sven habermann now. he�*s in galway in the republic of ireland. good to have you with us. the location of the cabin had been known for some time i understand, so how did you come to be working on it? hello, great, thank you for having me. the story, to make it a bit shorter, because it is quite a long story, was that the museum, the cabin belongs to it, the shackleton museum, and they asked me to have a look at this cabin whilst it was still in norway. i travelled there, had a look at it, because i couldn�*t believe it was the original one from 1922. after a thorough investigation and looking at it very, very in

great detail, it was actually the original cabin, which was quite a discovery. even though it was already known it was the original cabin but my view was it was very hard something could survive for 90 years outside and notjust rot, because it is actuallyjust a garden shed. but, of course, very, very famous one. mil shed. but, of course, very, very famous one-— famous one. all that time in | someone's back garden. you someone�*s back garden. you describe yourself as a shackleton fanatic, what has it been like to work on this project? it what has it been like to work on this project?— what has it been like to work on this ro'ect? . , ., ., ., ., this pro'ect? it was a great honour, of this project? it was a great honour, of course. this project? it was a great honour, of course- i— this project? it was a great honour, of course. i think _ this project? it was a great honour, of course. i think it _ this project? it was a great honour, of course. i think it was _ this project? it was a great honour, of course. i think it was a _ this project? it was a great honour, of course. i think it was a great - of course. i think it was a great example of... that an object is maybe notjust an object but has a lot more. it can represent so much more, emotions, part of history, and thatis more, emotions, part of history, and that is really the fascinating part of actually being an object conservative and working on these objects. this object grew very very close to me because the project took

several years. and, yeah, it is still something that�*s really with me. still something that's really with me. ., still something that's really with me, ., " , ., still something that's really with me. . ., still something that's really with me. . , ., ., me. thanks to your conservation efforts, it _ me. thanks to your conservation efforts, it will — me. thanks to your conservation efforts, it will continue - me. thanks to your conservation efforts, it will continue to - me. thanks to your conservation efforts, it will continue to tell i efforts, it will continue to tell its story first what happens to the cabin next, where is it now? currently, it is still in our workshop because the new shackleton museum in county kildare, very close to where shackleton was born, is being refurbished and it will be redeveloped and this cabin will be the centre of this exhibition. of the centre of this exhibition. of the new exhibition, which will open late next year. the new exhibition, which will open late next year-— late next year. sven it is good to talk to you. _ late next year. sven it is good to talk to you, thank _ late next year. sven it is good to talk to you, thank you _ late next year. sven it is good to talk to you, thank you for - late next year. sven it is good to talk to you, thank you for telling | talk to you, thank you for telling the story. sven habermann. fashion designers in hong kong are embracing artificial intelligence to help them create cutting—edge modern clothing. it�*s said to help designers consider new prints and fabrics for their collections. 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 — 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 to. 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! emer mccarthy, bbc news. just a reminder of our top story. 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 in new york state has borne the brunt of those arctic conditions. it lies in the great lakes region by the canadian border. 27 bodies have been recovered there. more are expected to be found in cars buried in the snow. you can keep up—to—date with all that news

and the other top stories on the bbc news website. you are watching bbc news. hello. a wet day today for many of us, and the run—up to the new year is indeed looking quite stormy at times, and of course it is not uncommon at this time of the year, especially around christmas and the new year, to have big weather systems spawned by a jet stream across the atlantic. you can see a whole trail of cloud here which is heading in our direction, multiple weather systems lining up and they will be coming in one after the other, literally day by day. here is the low pressure over us today, this is the one we are going to get tomorrow, and there are more weather systems behind that one, too. so, the picture around the end of the afternoon shows the heaviest of the rain in south—western parts of the country. it won�*t be raining absolutely everywhere and certainly not all the time. come the evening, skies will clear

across many western parts of the uk at least for a time before the next low pressure, the one i showed you on that pressure chart, sweeps into south—western and southern england as well as wales, and will be nudging into the midlands, too. but further north, clearer skies, lighter winds, and also a touch of frost in scotland. here is that low pressure, strong winds blowing to the south of this low, so that means galeforce winds around coastal areas, 50, maybe 60 miles an hour, inland — around 30 or a0. that is quite a strong wind. with the rain, it is not going to feel pleasant, even though the temperatures are going to be relatively high, sort of around 11 or 12 degrees across england or wales. a bit colder there in the north of scotland, the other side of the weather front, six degrees in stornoway. and, then, tomorrow evening that rain will make its journey further north and behind it we�*ve got a rash of blustery showers, and thursday is going to be a very blustery day because that low pressure pulls away to the north, into the norwegian sea and behind it we�*ve got strong winds, so a very changeable day, but some sunny spells,

frequent showers sweeping through, some of them wintry, across high ground in scotland, but on the whole a pretty usable day if you manage to dodge the showers, but it will feel colder in that wind. and then, end of the week, friday, we�*ve got a really nasty area of low pressure sweeping across the country, heavy rain, very strong winds, and possibly even severe gales around coastal areas, and really windy inland, too. you can see into the new year, it stays really unsettled, with temperatures in the south perhaps reaching 13 celsius. bye— bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines... 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. taiwan�*s president, tsai ing—wen, has announced that all men will be required to serve one year�*s military service. she says the move is in response to growing pressure from beijing. serbia has put troops on high alert over rising tensions with kosovo. president aleksandar vucic said he would take all measures to protect people and preserve his nation. 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 elle edwards.