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. serbia has put troops on high alert over rising tensions with kosovo. police name the victim of a stabbing on the dancefloor of a nightclub in birmingham as 23—year—old cody fisher. 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. and another unexplained death involving russian oligarchs. the sausage tycoon pavel antov has been found dead at an indian hotel.

hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk, on pbs in the us or around the world. 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. this is washington, dc and that's

the reflecting pool that isjust this is washington, dc and that's the reflecting pool that is just in front of the lincoln memorial. many of you will know it very well. just before the obelisk at the far end. so cold, and there have been sub zero temperatures, that people can today walk across it. and this is the scene at the other side of the country, los angeles airport, midday. you can see long lines at the airport. thousands of flights cancelled in recent days, a lot of people in the wrong place at trying to get home or tojoin people in the wrong place at trying to get home or to join families for new year. with all the latest, 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 over 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 on 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. we are told the extreme cold weather affecting north america is the sort

of storm we will see only once in a lifetime. orwill we? maybe this is the new normal. according to some observers we will need to get used to these sort of extremes. here's our climate editor justin rowlatt with an explainer on what kind of storm this was and what we can expect to see in the future. we have certainly seen dramatic weather in america as a result of the bomb cyclone. bomb cyclone is describing a rapidly deepening area of low pressure which draws in the moist air, which freezes, bringing snow and strong wind. these bomber cyclones are actually fairly common, we get them once or twice a year in the uk. so, is ourwarming we get them once or twice a year in the uk. so, is our warming climate a factor? the warmer the atmosphere is, the more moisture it can hold. so, when we get weather events like this, we are going to get much more precipitation falling, either as rain and, in this case

particularly, as snowfall. another key factor is the jet stream, the fast moving air that circles the arctic above our heads and shapes to weather systems we experience. it has been deep down in the us, bringing low pressure. some scientists believe the climate change is making thejet scientists believe the climate change is making the jet stream scientists believe the climate change is making thejet stream more prone to these dips but that is unclear. but this is an exception. winter is the fastest warming season in the us with fewer very cold days and it comes against a background of steadily increasing average world temperatures. just look at that. and if you go to the end of the graph, the last seven years are the hottest seven years ever recorded. 2022 is going to continue that trend, expected to be the fourth or fifth hottest year ever. the uk had a

dramatic year, rememberthe dramatic year, remember the wildfires dramatic year, rememberthe wildfires that followed scorching temperatures this summer? we expect 2022 to have been the hottest year ever 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 6% 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 that if it's troops cross 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 really not 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 massively counterproductive for serbia to do anything which would lead it to any sort of conflict or even 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 a 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 naturally, if you are an ethnic serb living in kosovo you consider yourself 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 the 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—issued plates. it is a matter of identity.

so if you're kosovo serb you take your orders from belgrade and not pristina. pretty much. whether you're in ethnic serb or kosovan. these are ordinary people who want to go about their business. none of this is good for anybody. 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 disputes is worrying. 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. serbia is a candidate in talks tojoin the european union.

brussels says it should harmonise foreign policy, including sanctions. 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 said so that serbia is taking russia's instructions to cause trouble in the western balkans and cause distractions from going on in your ukraine. the us house of representatives ways and means committee plans to release former president donald trump's redacted tax returns on friday, a committee spokesperson confirmed on tuesday. 0n the 21st, just before christmas, a vote of the committee was taken on the decision to release the tax returns. work has been done to redact sensitive information but this is going to give a clearer picture of what income tax the former president paid while he was president and the years running up to be president. there was a long, contested battle to get hold of

those tax receipts despite the former president saying he would release them. so on friday we'll get the full picture of what is contained in those tax returns. the ways and means committee have been able to get their hands on them. 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 reports. 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 4,000 and police say hundreds were still there when the attack happened. 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 cody 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 ongoing 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 better for travellers

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. sport, and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's hugh ferris. good evening. chelsea have won their first premier league match since mid—0ctober, beating bournemouth 2—0 at stamford bridge. chelsea had lost three league games in a row before the world cup break. but goals from kai havertz and mason mount ended that run. there was a hitch though. right—back reece james, who missed the world cup through injury, was forced off in his first game back with what looked like another knee problem. meanwhile manchester united are playing their first premier league game since the world cup, and since the acrimonious departure of cristiano ronaldo. it's against nottingham forest. i7 17 minutes of that game and it is

0-0. meanwhile, afterfailing to prevent relegation from the premier league last season and not starting this one particularly well, dean smith has been sacked by norwich. he's been the centre of a toxic atmosphere at recent games, with some fans demanding smith be replaced. they lost 2—1 at luton on monday and are currently fifth in the championship afterjust three wins in the last 13 league matches. lionel messi will return to his club psg on the first of january after leading argentina to the world cup. he'll miss two french league games between now and then, having had more time off than those other players involved in the final in qatar, when he scored two goals in helping his country win the trophy for a third time. psg boss christophe galtier will have france forward kylian mbappe avaliable for their match on wednesday against strasbourg. novak djokovic has arrived in adelaide ahead of the australian open. it comes almost 12 months after he was deported for refusing to be vaccinated against covid—i9.

the nine—time champion was initially banned from entering the country for three years after losing a legal battle. despite still being unvaccinated, the australian government confirmed last month that he would be granted a visa. the first grand slam of the year gets underway in melbourne on 16th january. tournament director craig tilley is hopeful fans will give him a warm welcome. i have a great deal of confidence in the australian public. i think we are very well educated as a sporting public, particularly when it comes to tennis. they love tennis, they love seeing greatness, they love seeing great tennis players in matches and i have a lot of confidence that the fans will react like we hope they would react and have respect for that. one of the greatest defensive players in nfl history, jj watt, has announced his retirement from the sport. the arizona cardinals defensive end posted on social media that his son's first home game on christmas day would be his last. watt won the league's defensive player of the year a joint record three times while with the houston texans,

part of a career that's all but guaranteed to see him voted into the nfl hall of fame. during his time in houston he also helped to raise nearly £40 million after hurricane harvey struck the region in 2017. manchester united have scored in the late premier league game. marcus rashford has tucked in after a corner was played back to him on the edge of the penalty area. manchester united leading nottingham forest 1-0. united leading nottingham forest i—0. that's united leading nottingham forest 1-0. that's it united leading nottingham forest i—0. that's it for now. marcus rashford keeps doing that. he's in good form. the un security council has denounced a ban by the country's taliban—led administration on women attending universities or working for humanitarian aid groups. in a statement released in the past half hour, the council members call for the full, equal and meaningful participation of women and girls. the statement says the restrictions imposed on female aid workers contradict commitments made by the taliban to the afghan people,

as well as the expectations of the international community. 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 chinese military pressure. president vladimir putin has banned the supply of oil to the countries taking part in the price cap on russian crude oil shipments. the ban comes into force at the start of february and will last five months. it's mr putin's widely—expected response to the $60 per barrel cap agreed earlier this month by the g7 powers, the european union, and australia. 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 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. it was found at his hotel in india. 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 indians 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 russia 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 had 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 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 it 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. polish authorities and the tv station organising the concert have been widely criticised in recent years for their stances on lgbt rights. last friday they announced she was headlining the event. our i spoke to our reporter bartosz kielak who explained why. well, since then she started receiving letters, she started receiving letters from herfans asking her not to perform at the new year's eve celebration organised by the polish national state broadcaster, citing the treatment of lgbt communities and the coverage they have been receiving from the broadcaster over the last few years. she's had a lot of praise on social media from those who support lgbtq communities, but there's been a lot

of criticism in poland. what are they saying? well, journalists and politicians supportive of the polish government, associated with the polish government, are saying that she did not raise similar concerns when she performed in 2018 in russia and, as we know, russia criminalises the sort of behaviour that they describe as promotion of homosexuality, they penalise being homosexual in many ways, and aspects of that. so the polish national broadcaster has in the past been criticised within the country for producing media and news coverage that was critical of what they call lgbtq lifestyle, in a similar way that they galvanised support for the ruling party criticising migrants and attacking refugees, they are doing that with the lgbtq community. we've just got 30 seconds left, is there anybody that is going to replace mel c, any news on that? very unlikely, you know? she was announced on the 23rd of december in the main news programme in the evening, she was the main headline act,

the only internationally known artist to perform, so now she has gone, the broadcaster is saying, "we are surprised by that, but at least tune in and watch anyway." 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 cold, 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 it's 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 area 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 quiet 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 vucic 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.