this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm lucy hockings. our top stories... president biden approves federal emergency support for new york state as winter storms are now known to have killed at least 60 people across the us and canada. iranian footballer ali daei has claimed his family has been been prevented from leaving iran because he voiced support for the protests in the country. serbia has put troops on high alert over rising tensions with kosovo. here in the uk, two people are arrested after a woman is shot dead, at a pub in merseyside on christmas eve. britain's west midlands police begin a murder investigation after a man was stabbed on the dancefloor in a birmingham nightclub.

at least 60 people have been killed in the winter storms that are sweeping across north america. the city of buffalo in new york state has borne the brunt of the arctic conditions. at least 27 people have died there. president biden has approved financial support for the state. let's talk to our north america correspondent nada tawfik. terrible time for people in buffalo. i have seen it described as the blizzard of the century, a monster storm, the worst weather people have ever experienced. what does today hold for people in new york state? exactly right, lucy, a number of people have said they have never seen anything quite like this. a winter advisory is still in effect

in buffalo, until the afternoon they expect another 13 centimetres of snow so while the worst is over they'll still very much in this. the priority at the moment is as the emergency responders start to take out buffalo from this immense amount of snow they are trying to get vehicles that have been trapped, emergency responders fear people could have been in there for days, they are trying to get roads passable, a driving ban is in effect but they hope that will be lifted. they are trying to restore power to the rest of those households who still remain without the key essential ability in their homes. still a very dire situation in buffalo. as i said, the priority of getting to the recovery effort, trying to reach and see if i possibly might be more fatalities, which is the greatest fear in buffalo now. already more than 20

people have died during this storm, trying to shovel themselves out and experiencing heart conditions all being trapped in vehicles. that is the situation in buffalo at the moment, and residents are trying to see whether basic grocery stores will be able to reopen, many residents saying that even having enough food in the home is becoming a scary issue. this enough food in the home is becoming a scary issue-— a scary issue. this festive season is such a busy — a scary issue. this festive season is such a busy period _ a scary issue. this festive season is such a busy period and - a scary issue. this festive season is such a busy period and with - a scary issue. this festive season is such a busy period and with so| is such a busy period and with so much disruption caused by the weather, what is happening in other states? is there a sense that things are slowly starting to return to normal? , ., ., , , normal? there is no doubt this will be a christmas _ normal? there is no doubt this will be a christmas season _ normal? there is no doubt this will be a christmas season nobody - normal? there is no doubt this will be a christmas season nobody will| be a christmas season nobody will forget. there are still thousands of flight cancellations today, particularly the carrier southwest airlines has been greatly affected. some people sound that sat —— found out struck during christmas, some have got home but disruptions

continue. we are seeing more mild temperatures, here in new york city it feels a lot better than a few days ago so as this deep freeze thaw is out across america, 60% of americans were affected, basic routines are getting back into place but as we heard in places, especially by the great lakes, those areas continue to be affected, emergency responders are warning people to take great care and in florida there were extremely cold temperatures, things are warning up, many people trying to grasp some of the harrowing —— harrowing scenes we have seen, families battling through the snow to get to shelters. remarkable pictures of iguanas falling from the trees in florida because it was so cold, but it is good to hear things are returning to

normal. thank you. 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 re—routed to an iranian island in the gulf, where they were taken off the plane. elsewhere in iran, the deaths of three boys who were killed amid protests in november in the town of izeh have been verified by bbc persia. joining me in the studio is our correspondent parham ghobadi. let's start with ali daei. what are the claims he is making? in his latest interview he said his daughter and his wife were on a plane bound for dubai but they re—routed the plane, forced the plane land on a nijland in the persian gulf and remove them from the flight. the iranians authorities

said his wife was banned from leaving iran, but ali daei asks a very reasonable question, if she was banned from leaving the country how did she pass passport control and get on the plane in the first place, he is asking whether she is a terrorist or something, saying they are treating her like that, forcing are treating her like that, forcing a plane to land. the reason the state media is giving is because his wife supported the protests and nationwide strikes, that the arabian government is extremely sensitive because they have a jewellery store and restaurant and they had said they will be closed for the three days where they —— where there were public strikes. he days where they -- where there were public strikes-— public strikes. he is very well-known _ public strikes. he is very well-known in _ public strikes. he is very well-known in iran - public strikes. he is very well-known in iran and l public strikes. he is very. well-known in iran and an public strikes. he is very _ well-known in iran and an amazing well—known in iran and an amazing footballer? well-known in iran and an amazing footballer? , ., ., ., ., ., well-known in iran and an amazing footballer?— footballer? cristiano ronaldo last ear 'ust footballer? cristiano ronaldo last yearjust managed _ footballer? cristiano ronaldo last yearjust managed to _ footballer? cristiano ronaldo last yearjust managed to break - footballer? cristiano ronaldo last yearjust managed to break its i yearjust managed to break its records for the number of goals scored, he has millions of followers

not only in iran that he is a footballing legend around the world. the government are saying they were banned from leaving the country and they promised that if they want to leave the country they would notify us, ali daei says that is a lie and they never gave such a promise. you have spent — they never gave such a promise. you have spent a — they never gave such a promise. you have spent a lot _ they never gave such a promise. you have spent a lot of your day speaking to people caught up in these protests, the latest is the teenagers who were killed, what do the family tell you? before coming to the studio i spoke to the cousin of 117—year—old protest who was killed, he was only 17 and he was shot three times with a live round in the head, chest and stomach. i just received his last instagram story he published before going to the protests and he said one day we will be free and happy, on that day i might not be alive and be with you, this was the last instagram

story he posted before being shot three times. that is not the only person under 18 killed on that day, the other one was a ten—year—old child whose car was sprayed with bullets and his father got three shots in the back, the boy was killed, his father has been hospitalised but did not know his son was killed, hejust learned hospitalised but did not know his son was killed, he just learned that and he did not manage to attend the ceremony be held for the 40th day after the child's's passing. last night footage of him emerged on social media, he was watching the ceremony and a hospital bed, unable to attend the ceremony. lucy: it is just devastating to watch that. in terms of the instagram story there was an acknowledgement from this young teenage protester that he might not survive. voters that say

about the commitment to what is happening in iran, they know this could happen to them and they are still prepared to go out?— could happen to them and they are still prepared to go out? talking to man of still prepared to go out? talking to many of these _ still prepared to go out? talking to many of these families, _ still prepared to go out? talking to many of these families, this - still prepared to go out? talking to many of these families, this is - still prepared to go out? talking to many of these families, this is the | many of these families, this is the atmosphere in iran, the youth do not see any hope for the future or any hope for change in the new future so they know the only way to change it is to take it to the streets.- is to take it to the streets. thank ou for is to take it to the streets. thank you for being _ is to take it to the streets. thank you for being with _ is to take it to the streets. thank you for being with us. _ a leading sports figure in belarus has been given a twelve year prison sentence, handed down in absentia, for encouraging a sporting boycott of the country. aliaxandra herasimenia and also her colleague, alexander 0peikin were accused of harming national security by their actions. i've been speaking to our europe regional editor paul moss. she is a swimming champion, she won

two freestyle silver medals in the 2012 olympics and a host of other medals, she has now retired and if she wanted to she could be living a very nice life as a retired trainer, in belarus sports figures have high status. but that'll change with the 2020 presidential elections in belarus. belarus elections tend to be dubious, there is a reason why president alexander lukashenko is often called the last dictator in europe. i covered the 2010 elections and interviewed candidates who were subsequently arrested and beaten by the police. in 2020 lukashenko was looking for a sixth term, he was declared the winner but all around the world people objected, they said the world people objected, they said the result was a fraud, thousands of people poured onto the streets in belarusian cities and at this point she got involved. she formed something called the belarusian

sport solidarity foundation consisting of thousands of athletes belarus who objected to the election result and they called for a boycott of sporting events in belarus. hose of sporting events in belarus. how successful was _ of sporting events in belarus. how successful was that? _ of sporting events in belarus. how successful was that? very - successful was that? very successful, _ successful was that? very successful, there - successful was that? very successful, there were . successful was that? very successful, there were a i successful was that? very - successful, there were a host of events which were meant to be taking place, where sport has a high profile, in belarus, they were cancelled. the world ice hockey championships, the world modern pentathlon championships, and an athletics event had to be cancelled. it's really irritated lukashenko, he thinks of himself as a sports fan plays ice hockey so i think it was always on the cards are alexandria and her colleague would end up in court. they are in exile in poland and lithuania now. the belarusian government change the law injuly so people like them could be tried in absentia, for calling for a boycott they were accused of harming

national security, quite a dramatic charge, they were given 12 year sentences and with typical sarcasm alexandria has lapped it off, she had said they can put me in prison in absentia or have me executed in absentia. two people are being questioned in connection with the fatal shooting of ellie edwards in merseyside on christmas eve. a 30—year—old man is being held on suspicion of murder and a 19—year—old woman is being detained on suspicion of conspiracy to murder. elle edwards died in hospital after being shot in the head at the lighthouse pub in wallasey village. 0ur correspondent fiona trott has been speaking to people there. "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. today people are returning to work for the first time after the christmas break. they say life is supposed to go on, but it's hard. we had a lovely build—up to christmas, everything was lovely,

we were all happy, and now we've come here and it'sjust a scary place to be. did you know elle? i did know elle, yeah, so... which makes itjust even more awful. michelle has lived here all her life and runs the local launderette. that whole family, every christmas is never, ever going to be the same forthem, is it? ever. such a shame. do you think the community can move on from this? i think it will always be there, won't it? | every time you go into that - lighthouse, every time you're sat there, you're going to think about it, aren't you? - i don't think you are safe anywhere, you know? we are here, we are in wallasey, it's a nice little community, a nice area. but we are not safe, are we, anywhere that we go now? do you really feel that? yeah, ifeel like it's not safe. after elle's family visited the scene yesterday, the investigation moved quickly. forensic teams have searched the local area and community leaders issued a fresh appealfor information. then, a few hours later,

police activity across the city. officers were seen here at addresses in tranmere, the area where two arrests were made. 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. a murder investigation is under way after a 23—year—old man was stabbed to death on the dance floor of a birmingham nightclub in england. the man was fatally injured at the crane in the digbeth area of the city. 0ur midlands correspondent phil mackie has more on this. well, they are desperate to talk to people who were here last night. there was a major boxing day event here at the crane, it lasted from three in the afternoon and it was scheduled to finish at midnight. the 23—year—old was stabbed just before the close, a dj from italy called marco carola was playing a set at the time. a lot of people have already been interviewed by the police but they still want to hear

from anybody who was here last night and may have something else to add. we had a statement from the crane nightclub in the last half hour or so, they say that they are deeply shocked and saddened that a man lost his life last night as our boxing day event came to a close. our thoughts with the victim and his family and friends. they say they're working closely with west midlands police. and also the statement from one of the djs who played a set earlier in the afternoon, dj steve lawler. he said, "i'm just hearing now that someone was murdered at the show last night, which is beyond unbelievable and so, so sad. my prayers and love go to this person's family and loved ones. i left after my set was done, and to wake up to this is so heartbreaking." as i said, the dj who was actually playing the set at the time, we think, was dj marco carola. he is due to be on stage in liverpool later today. the club has said it has cancelled its new year's eve events. west midlands police detectives obviously desperate to find out what happened. and we have seen them

coming and going from here in the past hour or so. obviously not just appealing for witnesses but studying cctv, and hopefully we will get some kind of update later on this afternoon. serbia has put troops on high alert over rising tensions with kosovo. this comes after weeks of escalating rhetoric. new roadblocks appeared on tuesday, in the majority—serb town of north mitrovica. kosovo is a small, landlocked country — which many serbs consider the birthplace of their nation. that's despite out of the 1.8 million people living in there — only 6% are serbian — 92% are albanian. in 2008, kosovo unilaterally declared independence from serbia. many countries — including russia and china — do not recognise it. the latest flare—up in tensions follows conflicting reports about a shooting incident in which no—one was hurt.

reports from belgrade alleged ethnic serbs came under attack, but the claim was rejected by authorities in pristina. let's speak now to bbc serbian reporter aleksandar miladinovic in belgrade. thank you forjoining us. 0ver thank you forjoining us. over the recent years, flare—ups have been incredibly common. this is described as a particularly tense situation, the worst in a while. why is that? this is the seventh time the serbian answer forces has gone into the state of combat readiness, the seventh time in five years we had seen this state of the serbian army and police. it has never gone further than this. we have seen situations similar to this and the reason for getting the armed forces into a state of combat readiness is a reason to protect the serbian minority in kosovo, as officials in belgrade explains. 0n the other side, the officials of kosovo say

they are not responsible for raising tensions, it is local criminals and gangs in the north of kosovo who run the barricades and raise the tensions supported by the officials. more particularly, what to authorities in belgrade think it's the biggest threat? is there a concern about a possible violent confrontation of some sort? this was a ear of confrontation of some sort? this was a year of very — confrontation of some sort? this was a year of very fly-tip _ confrontation of some sort? this was a year of very fly-tip rhetoric - a year of very fly—tip rhetoric between belgrade and pristina, between belgrade and pristina, between serbia and kosovo —— are very large rhetoric. belgrade claims the minority rights of serbs, especially in the north of kosovo, are threatened, that they are not allowed to organise themselves and publicly express and choose their representatives, on the other side the authorities of kosovo claim the highest standards in minority rights are implemented in kosovo and they rated this as the belgrade game to

cause instability in the country that belgrade does not officially recognise as independent. i5 that belgrade does not officially recognise as independent. is there any influence _ recognise as independent. is there any influence on _ recognise as independent. is there any influence on what _ recognise as independent. is there any influence on what is _ recognise as independent. is therej any influence on what is happening there as a result of pressure's actions in ukraine? we there as a result of pressure's actions in ukraine?— there as a result of pressure's actions in ukraine? we had seen a very extended _ actions in ukraine? we had seen a very extended presence _ actions in ukraine? we had seen a very extended presence of- very extended presence of international forces on the ground, there was a nato led mission that you preserve peace which is circulating around kosovo and being responsible for the security side. because authorities have accused belgrade of siding with russia in the war in ukraine in belgrade is officially using the same methods russia was using in ukraine and the officials of serbia deny that, they claim they are only protecting rights. claim they are only protecting riahts. ., ~' , claim they are only protecting riahts. ., ~ , , claim they are only protecting riahts. ., ~' , , ., claim they are only protecting riahts. ., ~ , , ., rights. how likely is it that could be a solution _ rights. how likely is it that could be a solution found _ rights. how likely is it that could be a solution found to _

rights. how likely is it that could be a solution found to defuse i rights. how likely is it that could i be a solution found to defuse some of this tension given how bad relations between belgrade and pristina? �* relations between belgrade and pristina? ~ ., , ., , pristina? apart from the tensions we have seen several— pristina? apart from the tensions we have seen several meetings - pristina? apart from the tensions we j have seen several meetings between the political leadership subservient and possible —— leaderships of serbia and kosovo but that was about putting out fires that were already open. in the second half of 2022 we have seen an eu proposal which details are still unknown and should lead to, as it said, a full normalisation of kosovo is serbia relations next year, but with tensions on the ground it is not clear how far all close we are to any of that. clear how far all close we are to any of that-— clear how far all close we are to any of that. thank you for “oining us from belgrade. * 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 jets 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. a month after a coroner concluded that two—year—old awaab ishak died from exposure to mould from his home in rochdale, in the north of england, campaigners say racism in the housing industry is putting more lives at risk. latest government figures show black and asian people in england are three times more likely to live in homes with damp. our community affairs correspondent adina campbell reports. we had two buckets for the bathroom — one to catch the water and one to flush the toilet with, because for some reason... nicole sinclair's kitchen ceiling has been leaking for more than five years. she moved into this tower block flat in west london with her ten—year—old daughter in 2012. and there are other serious problems. she's not allowed to go in the toilet without an umbrella or a rain mac on when the leaks are in the bathroom, bcause i don't know what that

substance is and i don't want it to touch her. the tower block is owned by ealing council, but she feels neglected. i drive past grenfell to go to work. we're talking about never forget, and you're letting tower blocks continue to fall into such disrepair that they become into this state, then no lessons have been learned. and no, you don't really care. ealing council says it's truly sorry that miss sinclair and her daughter are living in these appalling conditions and has been working for some time to resolve complex plumbing problems in the building. it says it will now urgently review options available and reassess her situation. two—year—old awaab ishak died after being exposed to mould at his family home in rochdale. the housing association responsible for the property has apologised for making assumptions about the family's lifestyle. victims of prejudice... their case and others were addressed by the housing secretary, michael gove, in parliament last month.

there have been other examples of individuals in both the private rented sector and the social rented sector who have been treated with significantly less respect than they deserve because of attitudes that are rooted in prejudice. and i think we all have a responsibility across this house to call that out when it occurs. often, families from minoritised communities feel more disrespected, less likely to be listened to, there are cultural assumptions made. pull that paint off, i it will come off, look. in bradford, sajida hussain says herfamily have health problems after moving into their mouldy housing association home six years ago. we're in the kids' room. both my daughters sleep in this bed. mould, water comes through, dropping through the ceiling. i the kids falling ill, . my daughter is always in and out of hospital- with antibiotics and everything.

incommunities housing association says the health and well—being of its customers is its most important priority, and has dealt with the root cause of damp and mould issues reported by ms hussain on several occasions, including installing extractorfans, topping up loft insulation and roof repairs. back in west london, nicole fears things won't change for her family any time soon. i've started at repairs and gone all the way up to the chief exec, i've left the chief exec and gone to our local mp, i've left the local mp and notified michael gove himself. what am i supposed to do, where do i go after this? there's nowhere for me to go. adina campbell, bbc news. a television campaign aimed at encouraging people in the uk to save energy launches today. the roll—out 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. the british 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.

jamie oliver on free school meals. i have the headlines coming up for you. 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's not uncommon 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'll be coming in one after the other after the other, literally day by day. here's the low pressure over us today. this is the one we're going to get tomorrow. and there's 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 actually 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. so here's that low pressure, strong winds blowing to the south of this low. so that means gale force winds around coastal areas — 50, maybe 60 miles an hour inland around 30 or40. that is quite a strong wind. with the rain, it's not going to feel pleasant, even though the temperatures are actually going to be relatively high, around sort of 11s or 12s across england and wales. a bit colder there in the north of scotland, the other side of the weather front, six degrees for 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, yes, some sunny spells, frequent showers sweeping through, some of them wintry across high ground in scotland. but on the whole, actually 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. and you can see into the new year it stays really unsettled with those temperatures in the south perhaps reaching 13 degrees celsius. bye— bye.

this is bbc world 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. the iranian footballer ali daei has claimed his family has been been prevented from leaving iran, because he voiced support for the protests in the country. he said his wife and daughter had been trying to fly from tehran. serbia has put troops on high alert over rising tensions with kosovo. president vucic said he would "take all measures" to protect 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 ellie edwards. four other people were injured in the incident.