this is bbc news broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world . i'm christian fraser. 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. serbia has put troops on high alert over rising tensions with kosovo. taiwan says all men will now be required to serve one year's military service — after china launches one of its biggest incursions into taiwanese airspace. police name the victim of a stabbing on the dance floor of a nightclub in birmingham as 23—year—old cody fisher and — another unexplained death involving russian oligarchs: the sausage tycoon pavel antov has

been found dead at an indian hotel. at least 62 people have been killed in winter storms sweeping across north america. us officials are calling it the �*blizzard of the century�* , with an extra nine inches of snow expected during the day in new york state , where the city of buffalo has borne the brunt of the arctic conditions. the storm has affected a vast area , from canada in the north —, down through the us , and reaching mexico. president biden has approved emergency measures , allowing financial support for new york state. this is the scene live you can see it is very great and cold but from people we have spoken

to it through the course of the day the weather added little better today allowing some of those rescue efforts to get under way. it stopped snowing and it is bitterly cold. i can show you some pictures from the other side of the country. it is los angeles airport but thousands of flights cancelled at around 11 in the morning. a lot of people in the wrong place trying to get back home to families so some of those flights now able to resume with the weather easing across the midwest states where the problems have been. our correspondent nada tawfik reports from new york. buried by record snowfall, buffalo has only begun to dig itself out. up until now, near white—out conditions and hurricane force winds created a life—threatening situation, paralysing emergency response efforts and trapping vehicles along the roadways. this once—in—a—lifetime blizzard has claimed the lives of at least 28 people here during the holiday weekend.

the fear now is that more fatalities will be uncovered by the melting snow. the situation is still dire. thousands are without power, and a driving ban remains in place. at grocery stores, reopening for the first time since the storm hit, people queued up to stock up on much—needed essentials and food. authorities pleaded with people to be careful as they slowly open up the city for the next several days. there's a lot of roads that are completely blocked right now, that have no access whatsoever. and people are trying to drive to these roads, or get into these neighbourhoods, and they can't. please, please, you heard the mayor beg, i'm begging, stay home. in other parts of the country, thawing out after the deep freeze has led to a new set of issues. in montana, which recorded temperatures as frigid as —45 celsius, the sudden warming

created flash flooding. in the small—town of fishtail, massive chunks of ice blocked roads and covered people's yards. that shift in temperature caused ice to melt to very quickly. and itjust released all of the ice off of the west rosebud, causing kind of like a tidal wave. this storm is truly unprecedented in scope, stretching from canada to mexico, affecting 60% of the us population. presidentjoe biden has promised the full force of the federal government to help those most affected, and while the bad weather has already started to ease, problems will likely persist for days. this is a holiday season no—one will soon forget. it should have been a time for cheer. instead, the bomb cyclone has brought misery. nada tawfik, bbc news, new york. the extreme cold weather affecting north america — would seem to go against the pattern of global warming ,

according to some observers. what is the true picture? here's our climate editorjustin rowlatt. we have seen some dramatic weather in the us as part of this bomb is like on the sub what is happening? a bomb cyclone is a term used to describe wrapping area of low pressure. this low pressure draws in moist air which rises as it rises it freezes bringing its snow and strong winds. these bombs snow correct cyclones are common. we get them once or twice a year in the uk. these are warming climate a factor? these are warming climate a factor? the more moisture it can hold. we get much more precipitation falling. in this case particular snowfall.

another key factor is the jet scream. that is the band of fast moving air tens of thousand feet above our head that shapes the weather systems we experience. as you can see, it is looping deep down into the us bringing low pressure with it. scientists believe climate change is making thejet with it. scientists believe climate change is making the jet stream with it. scientists believe climate change is making thejet stream more prone to these dips but the evidence is not clear on this. what is clear is not clear on this. what is clear is that this cold snap is not an exception. winter is the fastest warming season in the us with a few days. it comes against a background of steadily increasing world temperatures. look at that's unfolding there. if you go to the end of the graph, look at this. the last several years are the hottest seven years ever recorded and 2022 will continue that trend. it is expected to be the fourth or fifth hottest year ever. the uk had a more dramatic year. rememberthe

dramatic year. remember the wildfires dramatic year. rememberthe wildfires after the hot in the summer. we expect 2022 to be the hottest ever year it recorded in the uk? 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. but they are only six %, of 1.8 million people that live in kosovo, the rest, 92%, are ethnic albanians. in 2008, kosovo unilaterally declared independence from serbia. many countries — including russia and china — don't formally recognise it as a state. the latest tensions surround conflicting reports about a shooting incident. reports from belgrade allege ethnic serbs came under attack, that claim was rejected by authorities in pristina. 0ur balkans correspondent guy delauney has more details. belgrade is well aware if it's

troops crossed the border between serbia and kosovo they will come into contact with nato�*s k1; peacekeepers. that would not seem to be a sensible thing to happen for serbia. that's not really what they want. they are also relying on k1; right now and have been for a number of years to ensure the safety and security of the ethnic serb minority in kosovo. so it would be counterproductive for serbia to do anything which would lead it to any sort of conflict or disagreement with k4. they are very important actor as far as serbia is concerned. for people who are watching who don't understand the geography and history of kosovo. at the root of it, is it that the northern proper provinces which are occupied by serbs considered themselves part of the greater serbia and not part of kosovo? the matter is serbia does not recognise kosovo�*s unilateral declaration of independence

which kosovo made in 2008. as far as serbia is concerned kosovo is serbia and you will hear this stated, chanted and repeated by everybody from the leaders of serbia right down to football supporters at the world cup, for example. that is a statement of fact as far as they are concerned. so if you are and ethnic serb living in kosovo you consider a self not just an ethnic serb in kosovo but a serbian citizen. that is why we have this dispute about car number plates, people are scratching their heads over why fallout over car plates. the symbolism is important. kosovo wanted to assert its authority by ensuring ethnic serbs use kosovo number plates while ethnic serbs wanted to continue using their serbian plates. it is a matter of identity. so if you're kosovo serb you take your orders from belgrade and not pristina. pretty much. but i think what is

forgotten in all of this. whether you're in ethnic serb or kosovan. these are ordinary people who want to go about their business. right now there are tens of thousand ethnic serbs who live in kosovo having their lives massively disruptive and all the talks of tension and possible it dispute. those tensions existed well before the war in ukraine but there will be people around the world who wonder whether moscow is behind some of this. of course, they will. because serbia is still a strong friend of russia and refused to join eu sanctions against russia despite the eu repeatedly asking it to do so for something as serbia is a candidate in talks to join the european union. brussels says it should harmonise. it has declined to do so. people are asking if russia's hand is in all of this. the kosovo and government definitely

think so and i said so that serbia think so and said so that serbia is taken russia's instruction to cause trouble in the western boat to cause trouble in the western balkans and cause distractions from going on in your grade ukraine. from going on in your ukraine. here in the uk — a murder investigation has been launched in birmingham, after a 23—year—old man was stabbed to death in a nightclub. a short while ago, west midlands police named the victim as cody fisher. 0ur midlands correspondent phil mackie report. a few hours before tragedy struck, this was taken midway through a nine—hour rave staged at the crane nightclub in digbeth. it was scheduled to end at midnight. cody fisher was fatally stabbed just before the finish. the semiprofessional footballer was enjoying a night out with friends. his family said tonight, "they have broken our hearts. "i have lost my best friend. "my family and i are asking for privacy and respectfulness "at this heartbreaking time." the investigations have been going on inside and outside the club, which is based in an old factory in central birmingham.

the crane has a capacity of 4000 and police say hundreds were still there when the attack happened. the club issued the following statement: we are all 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. we do not feel it is right to hold our new year's eve event under these circumstances. this part of birmingham may not look particularly attractive, but it's at night time that it really comes to life. lots of these old factories and warehouses have been turned into clubs, bars and restaurants, so news of the stabbing will have a massive impact on the night—time economy. it's a tragic incident that really unfortunately brings home how important it is for the police and other partners to really get on top of knife crime in the city. it is dreadful when these incidents happen, because people need to feel that they are safe. they need to feel safe

and they need to be safe. and anything when somebody loses, tragically loses their life, unfortunately it does have a negative impact on the economy. a friend who played at the same football club as coady brought flowers this afternoon. questions are being asked about whether security had been tight enough on a night that should have been a celebration but ended in sorrow. phil mackie, bbc news, birmingham. 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 another transport and travel union — the tssa — means that only 70% of services are running. theo leggett has the latest. large crowds, plenty of frustrated travellers and very few trains. this was the scene this morning in brighton. it was a similar story at king's cross in london. and no betterfor passengers at manchester piccadilly.

and for those that did get on board, overcrowding often made life very uncomfortable. a strike by workers at network rail ended at 6am, but disruption lasted for hours afterwards. 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? and in some regions, there was further industrial action to contend with. that meant crosscountry had no services north of york, for example. it's fair to say that rail travellers here in london and across the country have had a challenging time of it today. services began operating late, some were delayed, some were cancelled. but it doesn't end there. there is still an overtime ban in force, some regional strikes and overrunning engineering work. and as for next week, that's a different story. members of the rmt union

at network rail and 14 train operators are planning two 48—hour walk—outs, from tuesday to wednesday, and from friday to saturday. and, in between, a strike by train drivers called by the aslef union, on the 5th of january. the strikes are happening because of a range of disputes between rail firms and the unions over pay, jobs and working practices. i don't think the rail industry, the train companies, the unions, realise what danger there is when we passengers get so completely fed up with the utter unreliability of services, that we find alternative options. but there is little sign of progress. and right now, the idea of trouble—free train journeys is starting to look like a fairy tale. here in the uk, two people are being questioned in connection with the fatal shooting of a 26—year old woman 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. ellie edwards died in hospital after being shot in the head at the lighthouse pub in wallasey village. 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. china has announced it is scrapping quarantine for travellers from the 8th of january, marking the biggest shift from the country's zero—covid policy. it comes as covid cases continue to surge in china's capital beijing.the authorities are rushing imported coronavirus tablets to treatment centres. earlier i spoke to former uk ambassador to north korea, john everard, about whether this step was inevitable and how it might help the chinese economy. 0nce china is that it was going to release the restrictions then it made no sense to maintain those restrictions on international travel. sure enough, the other shoe fell off. ~ ., ., ., .,

fell off. what would it mean to the chinese economy _ fell off. what would it mean to the chinese economy the _ fell off. what would it mean to the chinese economy the fact - fell off. what would it mean to the chinese economy the fact that - chinese economy the fact that people can come as cool as they please don't? can come as cool as they please dont? can come as cool as they please don't? , ,., .,, can come as cool as they please don't? , ,., , ., , don't? the big boost to the chinese economy will _ don't? the big boost to the chinese economy will be _ don't? the big boost to the chinese economy will be the _ economy will be the relaxation on domestic travel. up until the 8th of january, it was difficult to move from one city to another in china. that has not become a great deal easier. and straightaway people have taken advantage of new freedom to see friends, business associates, family in different cities. there has been a great deal of trouble. of course, the timing of these announcements are important for the chinese domestic travel industry. the chinese new year coming up on january 22, we will be greeting the year of the rabbit. that tradition is a time of mass movements of chinese people. there are the heavy sales of tickets and hotel rooms at that time. we sales of tickets and hotel rooms at that time. ~ ., ., ., ,

that time. we have gone from very ti . ht that time. we have gone from very tight 0-covid _ that time. we have gone from very tight 0-covid rules _ that time. we have gone from very tight 0-covid rules in _ that time. we have gone from very tight 0-covid rules in october- that time. we have gone from very tight 0-covid rules in october two | tight 0—covid rules in october two practically no coping rules at all do you think that was undermined the view of the leadership in beijing? i think the leadership has a lot of explaining to do. as various chinese on social media have asked if we were simply going to scrap all of these restrictions overnight as we just have than what was the point of all those years of lockdown? would it not have made a lot more sense to do what other countries have done? so have a period of lockdown and then vaccinate everyone and bit by bit ease the lockdown rules. i do think the chinese government has yet to provide a response to that question. to provide a response to that question-— to provide a response to that cuestion. . ., ,, ., question. can i ask you about the revious question. can i ask you about the previous story. — question. can i ask you about the previous story, the _ question. can i ask you about the previous story, the reactions - question. can i ask you about the previous story, the reactions of. question. can i ask you about the i previous story, the reactions of the chinese incursions around taiwan. the president has reacted to date by announcing a four month miniature service would be extended to a year. what do you think the reaction would be to that in time one question mark in taiwan i think it will be

grumbling. in taiwan i think it will be grumbling-— in taiwan i think it will be grumbling. in taiwan i think it will be aurumblin. ., in taiwan i think it will be iirumblin. ., , ., ., ., grumbling. nobody wants to have to serve in the — grumbling. nobody wants to have to serve in the military _ grumbling. nobody wants to have to serve in the military for— grumbling. nobody wants to have to serve in the military for eight - serve in the military for eight months longer than they thought they would. this gets in the way of life plans, carriers, families, everything. i think there is a building consensus in taiwan that the situation really is quite tense and that needs must. you would need the extra military training, the extra time in that military to counter the growing threat from china. , ., , , ., , ., china. tensions there, tensions also across the border _ china. tensions there, tensions also across the border in _ china. tensions there, tensions also across the border in south _ china. tensions there, tensions also across the border in south korea - china. tensions there, tensions also | across the border in south korea and north korea up. fortjones coming across from north korea over at the christmas period which they try to shoot down. is that unprecedented? what do you think is behind that? it is not unprecedented. there have been drawings before but not in such numbers and they haven't flown them and they haven't thrown them in such depth. was interesting is the north koreans are demonstrating they have

the capacity to deliver warheads, even not using missiles, where the south koreans have different systems. drones the high population areas in south korea, one of the joint stopped near seoul. the south koreans are horribly embarrassed. they fool failed to shoot the drones down and indeed crushed one of their aircraft in the attempt. i expect we will see a scrambled by the south korean government to deliver and sitejoint defence is perhaps like what ukraine has. police in india are investigating the deaths of two russian men, one of them a politician who had criticised the war in ukraine. pavel antov appears to have fallen from his hotel room window, while his friend, vladimir bidyonov was said to have had a heart attack two days earlier. 0ur europe regional editor paul moss explains. i don't like to use a cliche, but this is something out

of a very strange movie. pavel antov body was found on christmas day. the first thing to say is this is not a place where russian tourists tend to go. i've met plenty of russian tourists and they go to other places and taking sightseeing at the taj mahal. this apparently is where mr pavel antov had chosen to celebrate his 66 birthday. his body was found covered in blood under a third—floor window. this is just two days after his friend died of a heart attack. right. so what are the indian police saying about it? they are nothing suspicion about it. let me tell you a little bit about who mr pavel antov was. he was a businessman who made more than $100 million mostly out of making sausages. he was also a politician. he represented the

united russian party. the united russian party is a party normally loyal to vladimir putin but injune he caused a stir. he posted on social media a vivid description of a ukrainian family that died under russian bombardment. he said this cannot be called anything but terrorism. suddenly, he changed his mind and deleted his tweet and said it was a technical tweet. it was a technical error. sorry it wasn't a tweet a post on whatsapp. he deleted the tweet and said he supported the invasion of ukraine and dutily referred to as a special military operation. but that reversal because something of a stir and attention on the sausage businessman. the former spice girl singer mel c has pulled out of a new year's eve concert in poland after being made aware of issues that — in her words — "do not align with the communities she supports". she had been due to perform in the town of zakopane on saturday.

let's speak to our reporter bartosz kielak. 0n the 23rd the national and state broadcaster says she is going to appear. she is headlining the new year's eve concert. today she cancelled what has happened in between? . . cancelled what has happened in between? ,, . , between? since then she started receiving letters _ between? since then she started receiving letters from _ between? since then she started receiving letters from her - between? since then she startedj receiving letters from her friends receiving letters from herfriends asking her to not perform at the new year's eve celebration organised by the national state broadcaster citing the treatment of lgbt communities. and the common state received from the broadcasters in the past few years. she received from the broadcasters in the past few years.— the past few years. she has had raise on the past few years. she has had praise on social— the past few years. she has had praise on social media - the past few years. she has had praise on social media from - the past few years. she has had l praise on social media from those who support lgbt communities. there is criticism important what are they saying question markjournalists and and supporters of the polish government saying she did not raise certain concerns when she performed in russia and you know russia

penalises these lgbt community. so penalises these lgbt community. sr the polish national biker has been in the past been in country for producing news coverage which was critical of lgbt q lifestyle. in a similar way they galvanise support for the ruling party, criticising migraines and attacking refugees. they are doing that with the edge of the cheap communities. just have 30 seconds left- — the cheap communities. just have 30 seconds left. is _ the cheap communities. just have 30 seconds left. is there _ the cheap communities. just have 30 seconds left. is there anyone - the cheap communities. just have 30 seconds left. is there anyone that. seconds left. is there anyone that will replace metal seat?— will replace metal seat? unlikely. she was announced _ will replace metal seat? unlikely. she was announced on _ will replace metal seat? unlikely. she was announced on the - will replace metal seat? unlikely. she was announced on the 23rd . will replace metal seat? unlikely. | she was announced on the 23rd of december as the main headline act. the only internationally known artist to perform. so now the bacchus racing they are surprised by that but they would want them to tune in and watch anyway. we will see what happens _ tune in and watch anyway. we will see what happens thank _ tune in and watch anyway. we will see what happens thank you - tune in and watch anyway. we will see what happens thank you veryl tune in and watch anyway. we will - see what happens thank you very much for that first we have the headlines

very shortly on bbc news. do you stay with us we are heading to a short break. hello. it's been a wet day for many of us today but actually in one or two areas the skies are going to clear this evening. that's not the main message as far as the next few days are concerned. far from it. 0vercast, outbreaks of rain, strong winds, severe gales are possible, too, towards the end of the week. as a result of this daisy—chain of weather systems waiting in the atlantic heading in our direction, this is what we had today. low pressure sweeping through and giving wet and windy conditions and this is the next one arriving tomorrow. more rain and wind on the way for tomorrow. here we have the forecast for this evening. i think by late evening the bulk of the rain will clear out to the north sea, but the next weather system waiting in the wings in the southwest. skies clear in some areas and there will be a touch of frost

in eastern parts of scotland, nippy enough in newcastle and belfast. it remain mild in the southwest with these weather systems sweeping in. ten degrees, for example, in plymouth will be the overnight low and early morning temperature. here's the forecast for tomorrow. the low pressure, quite a pressure gradient here, and strong winds and gale force around coastal areas in excess of 50 miles an hour. blustery inland too, and you can see how through the day that weather front moves northwards. behind it the skies should brighten and there will be some showers but it will be blustery through the course of the afternoon. so, it certainly won't feel like 11 to 12 degrees. it could feel quite colder, actually. in the evening, that rain sweeps across scotland. could be a bit of winteriness across the hills and mountains and in the wake of this weather front across much of the country tomorrow evening is blustery with showers. the low pressure is with us on thursday and does drift away to the norwegian sea but it will remain blustery through the course of thursday.

wintry showers across the scottish hills, elsewhere sunny spells and showers. the temperatures between six and nine celsius. quite a chill on thursday particularly in the wind. on friday, a nasty air of low pressure is going to sweep in. heavy rain and strong winds in excess of 60 mph in coastal areas. 50 mph inland, so good gale blowing across many parts of the country come friday. on saturday, hopefully, it will quite down just a bit for new year's eve. bye bye.

this is bbc world news. the headlines: at least 62 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. serbia has put troops on high alert over rising tensions with kosovo. president vuchich said he would "take all measures" to protect his nation. ethnic serbs in northern kosovo have been demanding the release of a former serbian police officer. 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. a murder investigation has been launched in birmingham after a 23—year—old man was stabbed to death in a nightclub. police have named the victim as cody fisher.