this increase in arrests were triggered by the election of president rodrigo duterte. president duterte gave approval for police to use lethal force with any suspects that resisted. with self-proclaimed vigilantes also committing murders, more than 20,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the past three years. as murders grew to be daily occurrences, this situation soon came to be called a war on drugs. one photo journalist has been recording the crime scenes. his name is rafi larma. in 2016, he took a picture of a woman cradling her dead husband. to start a d discussion n about reality of the war on drurugs. >> that's justice for our gogovernment. it's so convenienent. >> lerma continues to take pictures of families who have lost loved ones. >> he buried his son. in this episode, we investigate the war on drugs in the philippines. through the camera of rafi lerma. this is a slum in the tondo district of northwestern manila. it has one of the highest rates of drug-related murders in the city. this day he has scheduled a session with a family. the son was kill

isa ownership shows that rodrigo duterte is a problem with them and has called them at fake newsamerican owned. today we see that the prosecution have said that the buck stops with maria ressa and that is something that the team, the defence team has rejected, saying the management structure was flat and that she wasn't involved in the decision that led to the publishing of this article. the prosecution said after this trial today that they are confident that their evidence outweighs that of the defence and this trial continues on wednesday when the defence get the chance to present more witnesses. howard johnson with that report from manila. stay with us on bbc world news, still to come: recipes with a royal ingredient. christmas cooking with the duke and duchess of cambridge. saddam hussein is finished because he killed our people, our women, our children. the signatures took only a few minutes, but they brought a formal end to 3.5 years of conflict, conflict that has claimed more than 200,000 lives. before an audience of world leaders, the presidents of bosnia, serbia and croa

going on behind the scenes of the war on drugs and rodrigo duterte said...ressa, and they said they support freedom of speech and they believe this is a case of a private businessman who has been defamed in public and this is just simply a private case that needs to be resolved in the courts here. that was howard johnson speaking earlier to kasia madera. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: putin's 20 years in power. a special report on the changing face of russia. also on the programme: and — recipes with a royal ingredient. christmas cooking with the duke and duchess of cambridge. saddam hussein is finished because he killed our people, our women, our children. the signatures took only a few minutes, but they have brought a formal end to 3.5 years of conflict that has claimed more than 200,000 lives. before an audience of world leaders, the presidents of bosnia, serbia and croatia put their names to the peace agreement. the romanian border was sealed and silent today. romania has cut itself off from the outside world in order

that didn't go down well with fans of rodrigo duterte, who used social media to blast the band, tellinghere are some that are even calling this, howard, a test case in press freedom. yes, this is because maria ressa and the rappler team have been very strong in their criticism of the war on drugs here, and a lot of hard—hitting drugs here, and a lot of ha rd—hitting investigative work drugs here, and a lot of hard—hitting investigative work has gone on, and that has angered president roderigo duterte. he called them a fake news outlet. he also said there were —— they were american owned. there are 11 charges against rappler, including tax evasion. and also what we are seeing is the government saying this has got nothing to do with freedom of speech. we support freedom of speech, we believe this isjust a case of a private businessmen who has been defamed in public, and this is just has been defamed in public, and this isjust simply has been defamed in public, and this is just simply a private case that needs to be resolved in the court here. howard, as always, thank you for talking us th

filipino officials involved in the incarceration of a senator who has been critical of president rodrigo dutertem entering the united states. manila said it will impose restrictions on americans entering the country if washington pushes ahead with those sanctions. after a landslide primary victory, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu is looking ahead. he will need a big win in march to stay in office. his best hope of escaping prosecution charges is to gain a majority in parliament that is willing to grant him immunity. the march vote will be the third in israel in less than a year. more than 300 people were arrested in hong kong over the christmas holiday. store windowsshed while police responded with tear gas. authorities say those detained include children as young as 12. nearly 7000 people have been detained since protests began more than six months ago. hong kong is bracing for more disruption into the new year. global news 24 hours a day powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts in over 120 countries. i am mark crumpton. this is bloomberg. carol: the biggest u.s. marijuana c

close to davao city, the political for base of rodrigo roa duterte, the president of the country.in his home. his spokesperson says he was safe. it is also very close to where manny pacquiao hails from. the epicentre was about two or three miles away from there and we have seen a number of collapsed buildings, there being a number of search and rescue teams trying to get people out from underneath the rubble. what we have heard is the national disaster council has altered ordered all the authorities to get to work to help those affected by this natural disaster. the israeli authorities have told christians living in the gaza strip that they will not be able to travel to bethlehem in the west bank to celebrate christmas. there are about a thousand, mostly greek orthodox, christians living in the strip, which is controlled by the palestinian group hamas. israel has cited security concerns for its decision. hamas, israeli rights groups and church leaders have all condemned the move. around 2,000 properties are still without water in and around leighton linslade in bedfordshire, after

he has complimented vladimir putin, congratulated rodrigo duterte, fell in love with kim i could lauded erdogan. go on and on. maybe the president is jealous .hat they can do what they want these dictators are the antithesis of what america stands for. we let president trump act like the law doesn't apply to him, we move a little closer to them. benjamin franklin left the constitutional convention and said the founders have created a republic, if you can keep it. there are no guarantees. our system of government will persist only if we fight for it. the simple question for us is this. i we willing to fight for this democracy? forre we willing to fight this democracy act of i hope everyone searches their conscience. to my republican friends, imagine any democratic president sitting in the oval office. would your answer be the same? no one should be allowed to use the powers of the presidency to undermine our elections or cheat in a campaign, no matter who it is and no matter what their party. we all took an oath, not to defend a political party but to uphold the constitution of the unite