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wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now "bbc world news." here are the headlines -- >> at least six other people are still missing after devastating floods in the philippines -- at least 600 people are still missing after devastating flooding in the philippines. >> it political crisis after cordon it bombs across -- after court in a dupont across baghdad killed nearly 70 people. the nato-led air strikes that killed at soldiers. broadcasting to viewers on pbs in america and around the world, this is "newsday."

the red cross and the philippines says that 600 people are still missing after sunday's devastating storm that left floods then that landslides. the united nations has issued an appeal for $28 million of aid for the victims of the typhoon. more than 600,000 people have been affected by the disaster. lawrence is the mayor of one of the worst affected towns, who gathered the latest on the situation. >> right now, we are so busy attempting to help people at the evacuation centers that we have established all over the city. we have about 70,000 residents who are directly affected. right now, we have about 20,000

at least in these 17 rehabilitation centers. as we are helping the evacuees, we're all so to divert the funds because right now there are -- in our city alone, we have operations because we want to listen as possible resettle the people back to their homes, especially in the areas where they can rebuild their homes. but we have made it a priority, and we did not let the people to go back to the danger zones because there would still be danger to them. right now, we are very overwhelmed with support that people in our country, the city, and around the world are giving us, but it is the worst tragedy

and nightmare we have ever experienced. we're trying our very best to get to help people with their needs, especially the 20,000 evacuees. they need food, clothing, water, medicine, milk, hygiene kits, and so many things, but we do not want the evacuation centers to stay for a long time, so we are now concentrating on helping people so they have their homes back and move on with their lives. i>> that was the mayor speaking out earlier. the reporter in manila said the scale of a disaster is only just becoming to become clear. >> every day, bodies are being washed in from the sea, bodies appearing in the reverse.

really, every day, the devastation almost seems to get worse. a cover such a large area, and people who live in the local villages quite far away, and it is only now that we are getting the full scale of it. part of the problems of counting the numbers of dead and missing is some relatives, some people say that entire families have disappeared, entire families are unaccounted for. there was one island in particular that was completely destroyed. it would have been completely difficult for anyone to survive on the island. the authorities are trying to do their best, but they are completely overwhelmed perr. >> kate, there was an acknowledgement from the president they were not as prepared as they should have been.

how are they dealing with the criticism and could more have been done? >> i think they do feel that more could have been done. in other parts of the facilities, the government has really improved in terms of its disaster management. the philippines has a lot of disasters, floods and typhoons. there was a big typhoon in the north of the country, and many people, tens of thousands were moved to evacuation centers before the typhoon hit, which is not something that happened just a couple years ago. in some ways, it got better. at this particular storm, either they underestimated the severity of it, in an area where storms usually happen. exactly where the communications failed between the weather bureau and the national government, the local government, everybody is blame each other. the president has promised an inquiry into it to try to learn from it and make sure the scale of the loss of life does not

happen again. two earthquakes have hit new zealand's south island near the city of christchurch. the first had 5.9 magnitude. the second which struck out 17 minutes later was almost as strong. so far, reports only of minor injuries. the earthquakes are 10 months after one measuring 6.3 on the richter scale hit christchurch, killing 180 people. i have been speaking with a resident of christchurch, who described his experience. >> i was in a suburban street, just getting back to my car, and i did not know what was the one on to start. then i realized it was an earthquake. i looked around, trees waving, the power poles waving, everything going up and down. it was very striking, indeed. how are residence in the

area responding to the earthquake and has there been guidance from local authorities? >> i have just heard that there was an injury and one of the shopping malls. all of the shopping malls and public buildings have been evacuated, the airport as well, so there is some difficulty getting people off the airplane is at the moment that have landed there perry -- that have landed there. but basically, a lot of car stop when it happened, stop on the roads, not surprisingly. i was driving when an aftershock hit, and the car just rocked. it was not as bad as back in february, which was more violent, but this was a small aftershock now. this was much more of a rolling sort of thing.

>> that was a christchurch resident. violence has returned to the streets of baghdad after race series of coordinated bombings that killed as many as 70 people and wounded 200 people. >> one of the worst attacks in iraq this year, as a dangerous political standoff between the shia prime minister and the city is worsening. the vice president says the prime minister nouri al-maliki's arrest warrant issued against him has caused a national crisis. >> it was a reminder of the horrors of the past and that the warning of what may loom ahead. at the height of the morning rush hour, 14,000 across baghdad. the targets were commuters and the 18 -- anti-corruption agency, even a kindergarten. this, the imagery of iraq cast

backwards, of the people once again engulfed by violence. in this home, a sleeping family was blasted. >> my baby was sleeping in her bed. other countries are stable. why don't we have security and stability. >> no group has had admitted responsibility, but suspicion is falling on the sunni extremists of al qaeda in iran. baghdad pause sectarian boundaries dramatically widened. militias from the she a majority and the sunni minority terrorized civilians. today's attacks also targeted areas of baghdad where the two groups live and work together, a clear attempt to cost political instability and sectarian fear. it comes as the power-sharing agreement is unraveling, with

the demand by the shia prime minister nouri al-maliki for the rest of the city vice president -- of the sunni vice president on charges of running hit squads. he accuses the shia leaders of wanting to monopolize power. today, this warning from the government of the former prime minister. >> we have warned that long ago that terrorism will continue to be acting in iraq against the iraqi people unless the political landscape is corrected and the political process is correct it and becomes an inclusive political process. >> the attacks come just four days since the last american combat troops left iraq, after an assertion by their president of -- that even then sound like a hostage of fortune. >> all of that has led to this moment. iraq is not a perfect place.

it has many challenges ahead. but we are leaving behind a sovereign, stable, self-reliant iraq. >> the attacks were described as an attempt to be real progress, which called on iraqi politicians to come together. but that would take a will of compromise that has so far been absent. there is not a very real sense of foreboding in. -- there is now a very real sense of foreboding. if and cut u.s. military has admitted the response -- responsibility for the death of 24 soldiers last month. it was a combination of what the pentagon called an overarching lack of communication between the two sides. pakistan says the u.s. investigation into the incident a short on facts. we have this report from islamabad. >> it was an attack that shocked

pakistan. even more because it was perpetrated by an ally. 24 pakistani soldiers were killed in the aerial bombardment of the border post by nato forces. for the first time, washington admits those forces may series of mistakes. >> the loss of life and the lack of proper cooperation between u.s. and pakistani forces contributed to those losses and we express our deepest regret. we further expressed severe condolences to the pakistani people, the pakistani government, and most importantly to the families of the pakistani soldiers who were killed or wounded. >> this 23-year-old was one of the soldiers who lost his life as a result. his father says that nothing will make him for give the americans. >> if i had the means, i would set the whole of america on fire.

when your son is killed, you're only thoughts are to destroy the home of his killers. >> the attack caused the public perception of the u.s. to plunge. huge anti-american demonstrations were held and the government said it would stop its cooperation with washington. the key question is whether the acknowledgement by the americans they need mistakes -- they made mistakes will be enough to help diplomatic relations, because there are many in washington who feel it is impossible to win the war in afghanistan unless pakistan gets back on side. crucially, the was will be hoping that pakistan will reopen supply routes of coalition troops. the two main arteries of fuel and military vessels into pakistan was blocked after the attack. trucks were not allowed across the border, and the feeling is

that pakistan will make further concessions before it lets them through. but washington is still suggesting it did acting in self-defense with the attack, and that has angered people here. it has been a turbulent year for u.s.-pakistan relations, the levels of trust on both sides are poor. for some, that trust can never be rebuilt. you are watching "newsday" on bbc. south korea's top nuclear envoy is traveling to china for talks about the nuclear weapons program. >> cricket and combat, still a popular pastime in china after more than 1000 years. the president of kazakhstan has announced he intends to dismiss his son-in-law. at least 16 people died in

clashes with the police last week. >> this footage appears to have been filmed from the building overlooking the main square on december 16. it shows the riot police opening fire on protesters. at the video is accompanied by female voices. they are shooting, killing them, they say, as they kicked and beat the injured. the feature was posted on youtube and it is not possible to verify the source. speaking to journalists wednesday, the commander said a state of emergency has been declared. the video is being investigated. in an interview to radio free europe, cassocks stands ambassador to the united states described the footage -- has extend's ambassador to the net to states described the footage as shocking. >> i cannot say anything

specific about how this came to be, who made the video, etcetera, etcetera. this is for others to discuss. at the very top level, it has been insured that this and other similar faxed will be thoroughly investigated. >> the country's president has supported the contact of the police and says that acted within the law. this has been the deadliest on rest to have hit has expanded since its independence from the soviet union 20 years ago. the authorities have tried to restrict news coverage, but in the age of the internet id may be hard to stop information escaping cassocks stand -- kazakhstan. this is "newsday." >> these are the headlines --

600 people are still missing after devastating floods in the philippines. >> two powerful earthquakes have hit new zealand's south island near the city of christchurch. north korea says it has opened its borders to south koreans wishing to express their condolences for the death of its leader, kim jong il. south korea is preventing citizens from going. our correspondent is in the south korean capital, seoul. >> some government officials say they are not changing their stance. they have allowed it tw individual families to go to the north to express their condolences, and that is because they say those families themselves had with currie and condolences for memories of their rigid members of their family. they're saying there may be a small number of officials who have traveled with those families to north korea.

apart from that, no other south koreans have been allowed to go. president lee said it was very important they do not waver on this. they said it could cause internal division within south korea. this new statement coming by website based in japan with strong links to the north korean government, this invitation is putting a lot of pressure on the south korean government. staying with south korea, the country's top nuclear envoy has left for china to look for ways to start international the initiations on north korea's nuclear weapons programs. our correspondent is in beijing. he said the aim of this is to revive the six-party talks. >> the envoy arrived in beijing yesterday. the talks normally focus on the resumption of the six-party talks. they are aimed at getting north

korea to disarm and return -- in return for aid. obviously, it will be what comes next in north korea. there is real concern in the region following the death of kim jong il that we may see heightened tension on the peninsula, particularly in the coming months. china at is a key player in all of this. china is north korea's main backer. obviously, south korea will be wanting china to exert some of that influence on north korea. china, like other countries in the region, is trying to rebuild the relationship, build the relationship from a fresh with the new north korean leader. some good news for a few lucky spaniards? >> there has been a bit of joy, plenty of choice for some

austerity that hit spaniards. at the annual drawing for the world's richest lottery has dished out 2.5 billion euros to thousands of winners, some of whom live in a rural town and the northeast of spain. >> christmas has come early for the residence of this town, population 2000. it was here the winning jackpot ticket was sold, netting them 720 million euros between them. >> millionaires, millionaires! how lucky! we really needed it. we will celebrate big time. >> it gets its name not from the size of the individual top prize but the winnings. each ticket will pay out 400,000 euros. although if you live in this

town there is more than a fat chance that you are a millionaire. thousands of other numbers yield some kind of result. with this year's festive season blighted by austerity, mass unemployment, and the threat of recession, there is a keener interest than ever. four out of five spaniards spend money on the ticket. >> we don't have a house because the banks will not give us a mortgage. let's see if we can get the first or second prize and then we can buy a house. that on the date that the new spain conservative government took office, it will be hoping for votes of good fortune. a team of observers from the arab league has arrived in syria because of the increasing violence in the country. full deployment of the foreign ministers is intended to oversee

a peace plan that calls for the withdrawal of all troops from the streets and the release of all prisoners, but the violence goes on. in the latest incident, at least four civilians were killed. hamas, which governs gaza, has joined the plo. hamas has reached agreement from plo membership with the arrival, which is in power on the west bank. the deal follows three days of talks in cairo in advance of the palestinian reconciliation. republicans in the u.s. house of representatives said a vote on a deal to extend a payroll tax cut, their leader agreed to call a vote on the measure friday. the hope that it will save businesses. the bill was fought in the senate last -- the bill was passed in the senate last saturday but has exposed deep divisions among republicans. for most of us, it is a tiny insect, but for more than 1000

years, the cricket has held a firm placed in the hearts of many in china who have kept them as pets, trained them, even fed them. even with computer games and shopping, cricket fighting is still popular in china today. >> fighting crickets are little different. the spirits they show is what draws us to them. before battle, crickets need good training. they are weighed, and those of similar weight are paired up. they decide the order of combat.

we then prod them to get them into fighting mode. the record for the longest battle is 24 minutes. you lose if you are the first to turn away. >> i am 27 years old and come here to play every saturday. i have kept the credits as pets since childhood. -- i have kept the crickets as pets since childhood. i think fighting crickets brings you closer to nature and offers a break from the stress of city life. >> fighting crickets has been a tradition in china for over 1000 years, and i believe this practice will survive as long as it continues.

if you have ever been on a british train, you have almost certainly heard the announcement warning of the gap between the train as you get on or off and the platform. british transport police publicized some closed-circuit tv of his passenger, who is dropped. that may be the reason that she stumbled getting out of the train in the north of england, then falls into the gap and disappears down onto the track. luckily, she suffered no major injuries, just a few bruises and cuts. the police hope this will be a warning to people who drink too much and then try to take the train. >> mind the gap. >> you have been watching "newsday." >> the reminder of the main news -- the red cross in the philippines says 600 people are still missing after sunday's devastating storm that led to

the floods and mudslides in the country. bye-bye. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by -- the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank. >> union bank offers unique

insight and expertise in a range of industries. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.