this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm lucy hockings. 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. after china launches one of its biggest incursions into taiwanese airspace, taiwan says all men will now be required to serve one year's military service. here in the uk, two people are being questioned in connection with the fatal shooting of elle edwards in merseyside on christmas eve. britain's west midlands police begin a murder investigation after a man was stabbed on the dance floor

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. earlier our north america correspondent nada tawfik gave us this update. 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. —— they all still very much in this. the priority at the moment is as the emergency responders start to dig 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. if the possibly might be. 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 festive season 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? there is no doubt this 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 stuck 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 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. buffalo has borne the brunt of the storm, that is where things have been quite bad. we have live pictures from buffalo, look how wintry, cold and icy it still looks. as nada tawfik said, meteorologists predict more snow today, up to about nine inches, about 23 centimetres,

that it nine inches, about 23 centimetres, thatitis nine inches, about 23 centimetres, that it is expected to fall across new york state. i heard an interview with the state governor on the radio earlier, she said it was the blizzard of the century, she describes her stated her city is like a water, particularly with the vehicles trapped alongside the road, they are not sure how many more need to be rescued but they said one problem was trying to get emergency vehicles into these worst hit areas because they did not want them stuck in the snow either. still very cold, very wintry, more snow expected. 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. we arejoined now we are joined now by the deputy secretary—general of the taiwanese ruling democratic progressive party. what will it due to your military readiness, increasing the amount of time young men have to serve? the of conscription? we

time young men have to serve? the of conscription?— conscription? we have witnessed china recently _ conscription? we have witnessed china recently has _ conscription? we have witnessed china recently has done - conscription? we have witnessed china recently has done anotherl china recently has done another round of military exercises and the reactions have been very aggressive and hawkish. that is also a reason we want to show the world that we have determination to defend our country. so the president has announced we will extend the military service up to one year to show the world we have this determination, civil society has to prepare for the readiness to face these threats and we believe that these threats and we believe that the better prepared we are, the smaller the chance of expansion from across the strait, and the more united we are, the stronger and safer taiwan will be.— united we are, the stronger and safer taiwan will be. they shane had of these latest _ safer taiwan will be. they shane had of these latest war _ safer taiwan will be. they shane had of these latest war games _ safer taiwan will be. they shane had of these latest war games that -

safer taiwan will be. they shane had of these latest war games that it - safer taiwan will be. they shane had of these latest war games that it is l of these latest war games that it is a resolute response to the escalation of collusion and provocation from the taiwan and the united states. —— beijing has said. what is your reaction to those comments from beijing? comments from bei'ing? china says all these words — comments from beijing? china says all these words many _ comments from beijing? china says all these words many times - comments from beijing? china says all these words many times about l all these words many times about provocation from taiwan, but we have seenin provocation from taiwan, but we have seen in the past six years or longer, china has tried to change the status quo. china is a country is trying to provoke the regional countries like taiwan, like japan. the reaction is just like yesterday, they send over 71 fighter jets across taiwan's median line of the strait, and seven navy vessels too. we have witnessed china is changing the status quo and trying to provoke

the status quo and trying to provoke the regional countries. we have tried to maintain stability and peace in the past. imilli tried to maintain stability and peace in the past.— tried to maintain stability and peace in the past. will you accept us military _ peace in the past. will you accept us military assistance _ peace in the past. will you accept us military assistance when - peace in the past. will you accept us military assistance when you | peace in the past. will you accept. us military assistance when you host nancy pelosi in taipei? is virtual to an acceptance that you will see this reaction from china? —— is that also an acceptance? we this reaction from china? -- is that also an acceptance?— this reaction from china? -- is that also an acceptance? we see taiwan as also an acceptance? we see taiwan as a democratic — also an acceptance? we see taiwan as a democratic country, _ also an acceptance? we see taiwan as a democratic country, we _ also an acceptance? we see taiwan as a democratic country, we have - also an acceptance? we see taiwan as a democratic country, we have a - a democratic country, we have a right to make connections and make friends with the regional democratic countries. we believe taiwan should have the right to make friends with anyone. we are an independent country, we should not be threatened like this. in their view, they think taiwan is part of china, which is unacceptable by the majority of taiwanese people. the reactions to

me all the ruling party of taiwan or to the taiwanese people, i think thatis to the taiwanese people, i think that is the real provocation to democracy. we that is the real provocation to democracy-— that is the real provocation to democra .~ . , . democracy. we are seeing increasing tension between _ democracy. we are seeing increasing tension between china _ democracy. we are seeing increasing tension between china and _ democracy. we are seeing increasing tension between china and taiwan, l tension between china and taiwan, everybody�*s talking about it ramping up, where do you rate the risk in the year ahead of something more serious happening, a possible invasion of taiwan? the serious happening, a possible invasion of taiwan? the threat is increasing. _ invasion of taiwan? the threat is increasing, the _ invasion of taiwan? the threat is increasing, the scale _ invasion of taiwan? the threat is increasing, the scale of- invasion of taiwan? the threat is increasing, the scale of the - increasing, the scale of the military drills is getting larger, especially since xi jingping secured the ccp leadership, we expect in the next year before the 2024 presidential elections of taiwan that there will be more aggressive actions from china. we see that as a real threat to democracy, notjust

our democracy but we are trying to show the world that china is damaging the whole region, so that is a really worrying trend. a, damaging the whole region, so that is a really worrying trend.— is a really worrying trend. a final ruestion is a really worrying trend. a final question about _ is a really worrying trend. a final question about the _ is a really worrying trend. a final question about the mandatory i question about the mandatory military service being increased from four months to one year, this will obviously really affects many young men and theirfamilies. do will obviously really affects many young men and their families. do you expect there will be widespread acceptance of the change or will some reject it?— acceptance of the change or will some reject it? according to lots of different polling _ some reject it? according to lots of different polling numbers _ some reject it? according to lots of different polling numbers by - different polling numbers by different polling numbers by different organisations, over 70% of taiwanese people accept this reform and the majority of taiwanese people are willing to fight if there is a threat from china. i believe the taiwanese people have a very strong determination on defending ourselves. determination on defending ourselves-_ determination on defending ourselves. ., ~' , . determination on defending ourselves. ., ~ , . ., ourselves. thank you very much for “oininr ourselves. thank you very much for joining us. — ourselves. thank you very much for joining us. good — ourselves. thank you very much for

joining us, good to _ ourselves. thank you very much for joining us, good to get _ ourselves. thank you very much for joining us, good to get your- joining us, good to get your thoughts. two people are being questioned in connection with the fatal shooting of elle 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 ofa 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 are 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.

it comes after weeks of escalating rethoric between belgrade and pristina. 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. the president of the helsinki committee on human rights in serbia joins me now. how worried are you

about the escalating tensions and what could happen next? the escalation — what could happen next? the escalation is _ what could happen next? tue: escalation is going what could happen next? tte: escalation is going on what could happen next? "tte: escalation is going on and what could happen next? tte: escalation is going on and an hourly basis and it is difficult to say when it will., i think the western community is working hard. the difficulty is serbia accepting the german and french proposals. there is a function to delay or to obstruct the agreement on the site of serbia. 0f obstruct the agreement on the site of serbia. of course the other factor which is very important is the presence of russia and their efforts to (inaudible)

this is certainly unpredictable on how to handle the situation. ianthem how to handle the situation. when the government _ how to handle the situation. when the government and _ how to handle the situation. when the government and pristina - how to handle the situation. when the government and pristina says serbia is staring up ethnic tensions and russia supports that, do you agree? and russia supports that, do you auree? , and russia supports that, do you a. ree? , , . ., , and russia supports that, do you auree? , , , agree? yes, because the russian interest is — agree? yes, because the russian interest is to _ agree? yes, because the russian interest is to confront _ agree? yes, because the russian interest is to confront the - agree? yes, because the russian interest is to confront the worst, | interest is to confront the worst, the eu and the us, (inaudible) , and they want to (inaudible) behind the instability of a region already unstable for so long. what is happening now is trying to (inaudible) . | (inaudible) . i don't watch argument they have in their hands but according to what

we see in the public space, the military and the police, it does not look likely... 0ver military and the police, it does not look likely... over the next few days and weeks i hope that serbia will have to accept some kind of mediation. will have to accept some kind of mediation-— will have to accept some kind of mediation. ., ~ , ., ., ., , rail passengers in the uk are being warned they face more disruption, despite members of the rmt union returning to work today after the latest strike. an on—going overtime ban, engineering work and a walk out by members of the tssa union, means that only 70% of services are running. passengers are being urged to check train times before travelling. theo leggett has the latest. large crowds, plenty of would—be passengers and very few trains setting off. this was the scene at paddington station in london this morning. i completely support the strikes. i just... yeah, hope that it doesn't continue for too much longer and i hope

that they get what they need. some of them are due for it, all right. but to do it on a holiday time like this and that is spoiling everyone's holiday, isn't it? the national strike by rmt union members at network rail ended at 6am, but getting a railway back up and running takes time. the staff are returning to work, so it is a much later start up for passenger services. so passengers should really check before they travel today to ensure they don't turn up at a station and no trains be there. but we'll expect to run about 70% of normal services today. network rail�*s christmas strike may be at an end but the disruption certainly isn't over. we're seeing plenty of cancellations and delays. there's an overtime ban still in force across much of the network and some localised train strikes, as well. and next week, things are set to get even worse. some of the worst problems today are being felt by passengers at crosscountry.

the company says no services will be running north of york because of ongoing industrial action. meanwhile, two further 48—hour national strikes by rmt members, working at both network rail and 14 train companies, are due to take place next week — from tuesday to wednesday and from friday to saturday. and in between those, a national strike by train drivers, called by the aslef union, is scheduled for thursday 5th january. and these strikes are unlikely to be the last. disputes between unions and railfirms over money, jobs and working practices show no sign of being resolved. that leaves rail travellers facing the prospect of a bleak new year. theo leggett, bbc news. letjoin hugh let join hugh ferris letjoin hugh ferris at the bbc sport centre. what is up? not since the 1990s have chelsea

lost four matches in a row. but that could happen in the frist of the day's two premier league matches. —— in the first. later man united take on nottingham forest but before then chelsea play bournemouth having gone into the world cup break with three straight defeats, which has donein three straight defeats, which has done in a place. manager graham potter insists the break has been good for them. at, potter insists the break has been good for them-— potter insists the break has been good for them. a break can help, whether it _ good for them. a break can help, whether it is _ good for them. a break can help, whether it is an _ good for them. a break can help, whether it is an international - whether it is an international break, a different competition, we had the break and the guys that went away to the world cup, that is cleared away and everybody can come back and research and all the learning that has happened, you can consolidate and see how we go forward. �* ., ., , forward. after failing to prevent rele . ation forward. after failing to prevent relegation from _ forward. after failing to prevent relegation from the _ forward. after failing to prevent relegation from the premier- forward. after failing to prevent - relegation from the premier league last season and not starting this one particularly well, dean smith has been sacked by norwich. he has been the centre of a toxic atmosphere recently with some fans

insisting he be replaced. they lost 2-1 at insisting he be replaced. they lost 2—1 at luton on monday and are currently fifth in the table. david warner scored a double century in his 100th test to put australia in control against south africa after two days in melbourne. warner retired on exactly 200 after tea because he was cramping in the heat at the mcg. but he helped australia to a lead of 197 runs with seven wickets. steve smith helped himself to 85 as the home side finished on 386—3 on a day where south africa's anrich nortje avoided a serious injury after being knocked over by the host broadcaster's spidercam. australia lead the three—match series 1—0. new zealand are making good ground on pakistan's strong total, in their opening test. at the end of the second day in karachi, they're 165 without loss openers devon conway and tom latham well on the way to their centuries. pakistan aiming to bounce back from their recent 3—0 test series defeat at home by england. and england's re—arranged white ball

series in bangladesh is now confirmed to start on the 1st of march next year, starting with the first two one—day internationals in dhaka. it's part of three one—day matches, and three twenty20 internationals. dhaka will host the first two 0dis, and the final two t20 matches on 12th and 14th march. captainjos buttler led england to a 50—over series victory, the last time they toured bangladesh in 2016. the los angeles chargers have made the nfl playoffs for the first time since 201 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. that's all the sport for now.

studio: thank you so much. 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.

as many people in the northern hemisphere are dealing with very cold days and an energy crisis there is a campaign aimed at people in the uk saving energy. 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. you've been 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'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, 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 said the move is in response to growing pressure from beijing. here in the uk, two people are being questioned in connection with the fatal shooting of ellie edwards at a pub

in merseyside on christmas eve. four other people were injured in the incident.