xijinping was wrapping up macau.sary of macau�*s handover from portugal to chinese rule. there�*s been a flag—raising ceremony. it was also to inaugurate the new premier, the only candidate in the october leadership race, receiving 99% of votes from the 400�* person committee. we also understand the chinese leader is urging the chinese leader is urging the world�*s biggest gambling hub to play a bigger role in the international stage, calling on the territory to change and innovate — macau, the only place in china where gambling is legal. its economy is heavily dependent on the casino industry. as we head towards the end of the year, it�*s a good time to look back on what have been the hottest topics online. according to google, the cost of living and extreme weather were the most widely searched subjects in the asia—pacific region. elections were also popular in searches, as half of the world�*s population went to the polls. google�*s yolyn ang has been tracking all the latest search trends. we saw a variety of topi

xijinping basically overnight. xi jinping basically wants overnight. away from mass manufacturing and property to high—tech industries like ai, renewable, biotech. that is going to take years if not decades to achieve so really a long—term project but in the meantime let's not forget there is also the small matter of a second ronald trump presidency to contend with as well. as we head towards the end of the year, it's a good time to look back on what have been the hottest topics online. according to google, the cost of living and extreme weather were the most widely searched subjects in the asia—pacific region. elections were also popular in searches — as half of the world's population went to the polls. google's yolyn ang took me through top search trends this year. we saw a variety of searches across the different countries. in countries like australia actually the searches took a diy turn. how to repair the car on their own or how to tune a car. locals looking to search to find information to help them get —— get by and tune up things that were on t

making plans for his inauguration, including taking the unusual step of inviting chinese president xijinpingtend the ceremony. i was even thinking about inviting certain people to the inauguration. some people say, "wow, that's a little risky, isn't it? " laughter. maybe it is, we'll see. the president—elect has always been keen to celebrate a rising stock market but in a reminder of how unpredictable financial markets can be, they ended thursday's session in the red with the nasdaq retreating from wednesday's record high. to south korea, where president yoon suk yeol has defended his martial law decision. despite growing calls for him to stand down. another impeachment vote is scheduled for saturday. some members of the president's party are set to vote against their leader. businesses are feeling the heat as labour unions ramp up strikes, demanding his resignation. the korean metal union president, which has around 190,000 members, gave her thoughts. he has clearly said he will not resign, although other countries have called on him to resolve political differences peacefully. instead, he

president—elect donald trump has invited chinese leader xijinping to his inauguration according to reportsews. trump reportedly offered xi an invitation in november, shortly after securing victory in the presidential election. it remains unclear if the chinese president has accepted the invitation. trump will become the 47th us president during the ceremony in washington on 20 january. staying with us—china relations, and washington has increased tariffs on imports of chinese solar products as trade relations continue to deteriorate between the world's two biggest economies. the new taxes target chinese solar wafers and polysilicon, as the biden administration looks to protect the domestic clean—energy industry from cheaperforeign imports. the new measures will take effect at the start of 2025. asian economies are bracing for the impact of these latest tariffs, along with the new taxes that president—elect trump is set to impose. a new report by the asian development bank says the impact on the region in the short—term is minimal. albert park, chief economist at the adb, gave his reaction.

his making plans of inauguration, including inviting charities president xijinping to including invitingny. i president xi jinping to attend the ceremony.— the ceremony. i was thinking about inviting _ the ceremony. i was thinking about inviting certain - the ceremony. i was thinking about inviting certain people | about inviting certain people to the integration and people tell me it was risky, as it it is, we will see.— is, we will see. the president-elect - is, we will see. the j president-elect has is, we will see. the - president-elect has always is, we will see. the president—elect has always been keen to celebrate a rising stock market. but in a reminder just how unpredictable financial markets can be, they ended thursday's session in the red, with the nasdaq retreating from wednesday's record high. michelle fleury there. let's stay with this and talk about the trump rally. we have heard about this since the election. because the markets have been going up since he won the election stopped last night he took a breather. here are the numbers. on wall street, stocks closed lower as

during his meeting with president biden in lima this year, president xijinping said that there is no supports the irrational claim of the so—called cyberattacks from china." the statement went on to say, "the us needs to stop using cyber security to smear and slander china, and stop spreading all kinds of disinformation about the so—called chinese hacking threats." the ambulance service in wales has declared a critical incident — after an increase in demand caused significant delays. the nhs trust said that at one stage, hundreds of calls were waiting to be answered and ambulances were left queuing outside hospitals. the whole health and social care system does plan for winter because we know it's going to be pressured. but what we have seen in the last 24—48 hours is an acute accumulation of much of those pressures and perhaps more of it coming together than was initially foreseen. we've got plans in place across the nhs to manage surges in activity but the pressure we saw yesterday, across the whole of the urgent and emergency care pathway, led to that acute situation where we were

the chinese president, xijinping, said..., sir keir starmer, sent his "deepest condolences" sir keir starmer, sent his to the victims and families and paid tribute to the work of the emergency responders. and in the past hour, president biden has said he's "deeply saddened" by the korean crash, and he offered the united states�* assistance. yuna ku from the bbc�*s korea service says muan international airport remains busy as officials work to identify bodies. you can see so many people, especially hundreds of families of the bereaved and government officials to aid them, still inside the airport. as you can see from my back, there are emergency shelters set up inside the airport to support those families who are staying up all night inside the airport. they are staying inside the airport because they are still waiting for the government authorities to identify the casualties. only a few hours ago, the government announced that there are total 179 deaths among 181 passengers who were inside the plane. however, dozens of them s

acting president choi sang—mok said — chinese president xijinping said — here in the uk, foreign secretaryx — and german chancellor olaf scholz wrote — and if you want to find out more about this story you can head to the bbc news website were you can follow our live page for all the latest updates and developments. protestors have again taken to the streets of the georgian capital tbilisi with the swearing—in of the country's controversial new president, mikheil kavelashvili. there have been weeks of demonstrations against his governing georgian dream party and its victory in the recent disputed elections. the new president is a former manchester city footballer and also a hardline critic of the west. the four main opposition groups have rejected him over fears he will move georgia closer to russia, and they've boycotted parliament. they insist that the elections held in october were rigged. on saturday, thousands of protesters in georgia formed a human chain in the capital, tbilisi, to mark a month of daily pro—europe demonstrations. similar rallies have been held in other towns and citi

president xijinping told china — just ahead of celebrations there — that "no one can stop" unification. russia's president putin marking 25 years in power hailed the �*proud' achievements of his country — warning that russia "would only move forward" in 2025. sydney has welcomed in the new year it's biggest ever fireworks display lighting up the iconic habour bridge. the celebrations followed new zealand — one of the first countries to welcome in the new year — with this spectacular fireworks display the auckland sky tower. we'll bring you plenty more of the celebrations in the hours ahead — as 2024 ticks to an end. across the many time zones it will take us 26 hours for the entire world to welcome in 2025. it may be a more muted affair here in the uk, with bad weather forecast. large parts of the uk are under yellow weather warnings. edinburgh's traditional hogmanay celebrations have been cancelled because of the strong winds they're expecting, and newcastle and blackpool have called off their outdoor celebrations. our scotland correspondent, katrina renton is in edinburgh with more o

during his meeting with president biden in lima this year, president xijinping said that there is no"cyberattacks from china." the statement went on to say the us needs to stop using cyber security to smear and slander china and stop spreading all kinds of disinformation about the so—called chinese hacking threats. south korea has ordered a complete review of airline safety procedures in response to the country's worst ever plane crash. 179 people were killed when the plane landed at high speed, skidded off the runway, smashed into a concrete a wall, and burst into flames. the boeing 737—800 was arriving at muan international airport in the south of the country. the exact cause is unclear, though investigators are looking at a possible bird strike and landing gear failure. many of those on board were koreans travelling home after spending christmas in thailand. relatives are still at the airport waiting for news. some of them are furious about a lack of support and information. jean mackenzie reports. shouting the bereaved are at breaking point. these outbursts come every few minutes

moscow's ambassador to beijing says china's president — xijinping — will make a trip to russia next yearngly close allies in recent years — with china offering support to moscow in its military operation in ukraine. china's foreign ministry has yet to confirm the trip. a 49—year—old man is being held on suspicion of murder after two women died from suspected stab wounds. it happened in the bletchley area of milton keynes on christmas day. a teenage boy and a man were seriously injured in the same incident, and a dog was also killed. news correspondent zoe o'brien is at the scene and gave us this update on the investigation. it's a quiet and cold morning here on santa cruz avenue in bletchley, but we've already seen more police arrive in the last half an hour. they are, of course, now 36 hours into a double murder investigation. well, we know that they were called at 6:30pm just after 630 on christmas day to reports of a stabbing. sadly, at the scene, a 38—year—old woman and a 24—year—old woman were pronounced dead. and as you say, two males also injured. the teenage boy and a man in his

there was a hope in china that after keir starmer met xijinping, there would be a reset, they would be places where they have shared interests. but the problem now is that there will be furrowed brows in beijing, because they will see these allegations as britain saying that china is simply a threat. in the last hour, the foreign secretary has said a uk delegation has been sent to damascus to meet members of the group now controlling syria. it comes as it appears that bashar al—assad, who was forced out of power a week ago, has issued his first statement since he left the country, claiming he never planned to step down, but left syria at the request of russia. here's our russia editor steve rosenberg. where is bashar al—assad ? he hasn't been seen since he fled syria. today, a statement purporting to be from him appeared on the social media accounts of the former syrian president, dateline moscow. it's unclear who controls the accounts and whether assad wrote this: "my departure from syria was neither planned nor did it occur during the final hours of the battles. i remained in damascu

china's president xijinping arrived in macau on wednesday to mark a quarter century of beijing's rule expected to be named as the new uk ambassador to the united states. peter mandelson was a prominent figure during the new labour years, but he has not served in government since 2010. a google street view image of a man loading a large white plastic bag into the boot of his car has helped unravel a murder case in a northern spanish town. police say the google cameras happened to be recording the street at the exact moment the body of the victim was allegedly being removed. and there's a new record holder in town this christmas. a group of care home residents in the uk, many with dementia, have set a new guinness world record for being the world's oldest choir. the average age of the group of senior songbirds is 94 and they were crowned after performing at a christmas carol concert in stratford—upon—avon. that's all for now, stay with bbc news. hello there. some very blustery weather over the next few days and it is looking particularly windy wherever you are through the weekend. and a

president xijinping told china — just ahead of celebrations there — that "no one can stop" unification

chinese president xijinping said, "on behalf of the chinese government and people, i express my deepes to the victims." here in the uk, foreign secretary david lammy wrote on x — "deeply saddened by news of the plane crash overnight in south korea. my heartfelt condolences go out... to the people of south korea and thailand, and all those that have lost loved ones." and german chancellor olaf scholz wrote — "we have received the terrible news of a plane crash in south korea with many fatalities... our condolences go out to the families of those killed in the crash and we wish those injured a speedy recovery." live to our seoul correspondent, jean mackenzie. talk us through what the authorities have said about what could have caused this. there are still so many questions about this crash and so much that doesn't make sense. if you have seen the videos, you have this video of the plane landing on the runway at the speed without the wheels down and then it's kids along the runway until it overshoots the runway until it overshoots the runway until it overshoots the runway and crashes in

from entrepreneurs to state visits — here with china's president xijinping — the duke forged closer tiesew strain. a judgment from the semi—secret special immigration appeals commission has revealed that a man working for the chinese communist party's intelligence operations has been banned from the uk. he'd targeted the duke in an operation to influence him. in 2020, h6 became a close confidant with an unusual degree of trust, working with this man, the duke's adviser, dominic hampshire. he gave h6 the green light to act for the duke in talks with chinese investors. when the security services became suspicious and searched h6's phone, they found evidence he was a state agent — a conclusion that doesn't surprise experts. typically, they would go for members of the house of lords or prominent businesspeople or people who, you know, have a voice in the community. it's quite ambitious to target a member of the royal family and quite unwise for a member of the royal family to allow himself to be targeted. the court found that: there was a letter from dominic hampshire on the phone. he told h

president—elect donald trump has invited chinese president xijinping to attend his inauguration injanuaryer the election. it is not clear whether he has accepted the invitation. firefighters in southern california are writing to contain a 4000 acre wildfire. residents evacuated homes after more than a dozen buildings were damaged or burnt down and more than 2 million other residents also under a fire warning. doctors treating the brazilian president say he will undergo further surgery. president say he will undergo furthersurgery. he president say he will undergo further surgery. he had an emergency operation earlier this week to drain blood from his brain after suffering a haemorrhage. scientists say a humpback whale made one of the longest and most unusual migrations ever recorded. an astonishing journey from colombia to zanzibar, distance of more than 8000 miles. 0ur environment correspondent has the story. the wandering whale was first seen in the pacific ocean off colombia, popping up several years later in the indian ocean near zanzibar, an astonishing journey that's left scientists

it is remarkable that until i met president xijinping last month, there had been no face—to—face meeting leaders for six years. we cannot simply look the other way, we need to engage. to cooperate, to compete and challenge on growth, security concerns, on climate as well as addressing our differences and a frank way on issues like hong kong, human rights and sanctions for our parliamentarians. i am determined to do that and to keep talking because i believe that we are stronger when we do so. we have so much to be proud of in this country, when it comes to our role in the world today, i want to recapture that sense of pride, to stand tall once again, to meet peoples concerns, not with easy answers which don't serve anyone, but with leadership. to face up to the world as it is, shape it in our interests and deliver more growth, more security and stronger alliances. growth, more security and strongeralliances. i growth, more security and stronger alliances. i recall philip larkin's words about her late majesty, queen elizabeth. that she represented a constant good. a strong steel point in

chinese president xijinping said...starmer sent his "deepest condolences" to the victims and families and paid tribute to the work of the emergency responders. let's speak to tim atkinson. he is a former air accident investigator and aviation consultant. thank you very much for being with us. one of the theories seems to be some sort of bird strike. is that a credible theory, do you think? good evening- — theory, do you think? good evening. what _ theory, do you think? good evening. what we - theory, do you think? good evening. what we are - theory, do you think? good l evening. what we are looking theory, do you think? good - evening. what we are looking at here is very complex and, i dare say, perplexing situation, and certainly there is some evidence, some video evidence which suggest a bird strike occurred not long before the aircraft landed, as we saw in the video, and it would be very reasonable to associate the fact that the landing gear is “p fact that the landing gear is up when the aircraft comes down, the fla

embassy spokesperson said: during his meeting with president biden in lima this year, president xijinpingno evidence that supports the irrational claim of the so—called cyberattacks from china. the statement went on to say the us needs to stop using cyber security to smear and slander china, and stop spreading all kinds of disinformation about the so—called chinese hacking threats. the ambulance service in wales has declared a critical incident, after an increase in demand caused significant delays. the nhs trust said that at one stage, hundreds of calls were waiting to be answered and ambulances were left queuing outside hospitals. let's speak to our reporterjordan davies. give us more information on what happened. the welsh ambulance service have declared a critical incident and say it is a reflection of the sheer pressure on emergency services in wales at the moment, as we heard there, 340 calls at one point yesterday evening went unanswered because of the pressure on the service across the country. couple that with the country. couple that with the fact that almost half of all ambulan

moscow's ambassador to beijing says china's president xijinping will make a trip to russia next year.to moscow in its military operation in ukraine. china's foreign ministry has yet to confirm the trip. here in the uk, a 49—year—old man from milton keynes is being questioned by police after two women were stabbed to death on christmas day. the incident happened in the nearby town of bletchley. a man and a teenage boy were also injured in the attack. the streets of modern cities are becoming ever more crowded and, for some, ever more dangerous. thousands of cyclists are killed or injured every year, and the most vulnerable people can be children. in mexico city, a group of parents have decided to do something about it — as tim allman explains. the pushbike song. they call this a white bus. a little convoy of children and parents pedalling their way through the streets of the city. they are operating under the age old and does there is safety in numbers. translation: i noticed many families are arriving at my daughter's school by bike. many more families than usual. i thought we should

if i were xijinping i jinping will be the first? if i were xi jinping i would come.y not. as a chance for him to whisper in the air of donald trump _ whisper in the air of donald trump about what he wants from the knights needs, it is always been _ the knights needs, it is always been the — the knights needs, it is always been the suspicion frankly of democrats and the question of is he _ democrats and the question of is he serious about being tough on china — is he serious about being tough on china or— is he serious about being tough on china or if it isjust rhetorie _ on china or if it isjust rhetoric. if he was tough talking _ rhetoric. if he was tough talking in his first term until he was _ talking in his first term until he was not, until he found some deals— he was not, until he found some deals for— he was not, until he found some deals for his family and associates that could fall things _ associates that could fall things out for the american side — things out for the american side of— things out for the american side of relations. i am not a china — side

we saw keir starmer become the first prime minister to meet xijinping in six years.ertheless continue to take what the home secretary called yesterday a very strong approach to national security. a very strong approach to national securi . ., , a very strong approach to national securi . . , ., a very strong approach to national securi . ., , . ,, a very strong approach to national securi . . , ., ,, ., security. can i 'ust ask you about this security. can ijust ask you about this government _ security. can ijust ask you about this government announcement l security. can i just ask you about. this government announcement in security. can i just ask you about - this government announcement in the way councils are run in england and that changes? this way councils are run in england and that changes?— that changes? this will sound completes — that changes? this will sound completes a _ that changes? this will sound completes a technical - that changes? this will sound completes a technical but - that changes? this will sound completes a technical but it l that changes?