27/12/2013 BBC News at Ten

More disruption and misery after powerful gales and heavy rainfall

hit the UK for the second time this week. Flooding and landslides have

left people stranded and thousands of homes are still without power.

Have the council been around since? The Prime Minister made storm

victims in Kent who complained to the little is being done to help

them. We need the council to get around with Skip so people can get

carpets and furniture removed, we need to get the power back on and we

need to learn the lessons. Greenpeace in Russia following an

oil drilling protest arrived back in Britain after 100 days in jail.

And England come late to the Ashes party with a much better performance

on the second day of the fourth test.

Good evening. Powerful gales and heavy rain have returned to the UK,

leaving nearly 20,000 homes without power and many rail services

cancelled and roads closed again. The Met Office says gusts of over

100 miles an hour have been recorded in North Wales and there are still

more than 30 flood warnings across the country. Today, David Cameron

said there needed to be a better response the next time properties

are threatened. Slicing across the sea, gale force

winds slammed into the back hall Promenade today, blasting the beach

and gusting through the town. -- Blackpool Promenade. The emergency

services in north-west England saw a surge in weather-related callouts.

We have been dealing with roof tiles, slates which have become

loose, unsafe chimneys, signage on shop fronts. The South of England is

still dealing with the effects of the storms earlier this week. In

Maidstone, floodwaters have receded but not disappeared. In nearby

Yalding, the Prime Minister spent the morning visiting people who were

flooded before Christmas. One angry resident told Mr Cameron that

nothing had been done to them. We need electric. From Monday we have

been trying to contact the council, nothing. He said the priority should

be to help people recover from the effects of the floods. A lot of

things need to be fixed. We need the insurance companies to get around,

we need the council to get around with skips so people can get carpets

and furniture removed. We need to get the power back on and then we

need to learn the lessons. We are seeing these events take place more

often. The high winds have brought power lines down. In Northern

Ireland, 20,000 homes had to be reconnected overnight and this house

in Mayobridge caught fire when an electricity pole fell onto the roof.

There has been widespread disruption on the realm network. This

photograph is of crowds at Carlisle. Passengers at Victoria Station in

London were also in for long waits. There are no seats here, standing

for three hours is bad. I am tired, I have been since 7am. I tried to

get a coach and the only one I could get was 7am. I have been here five

hours already. Network Rail defended the way the system had been running.

It would be ridiculous to put passengers on trains and get them

stuck and stranded, and turn to the emergency services, when everybody

is so stretched at the moment. It is absolutely the right thing to do.

What I did last weekend and in the June storm was to check that the

network was safe before we let it run. The holidays have been a

wash-out for this family in Surrey. Their home flooded on Christmas Day

and they are spending the rest of the year dealing with the damage.

For some, this will be a Christmas they would rather forget. It has

been so windy in Blackpool today that the central pier was closed and

the ambulance service took calls from people who had literally been

knocked off their feet. But the good news in this region is that things

are set to improve. The high winds are forecast to die down after

midnight. As usual, the BBC website has

details of all of the weather for your area.

Four Greenpeace activists and a freelance journalist detained in

Russia three months ago after a protest against oil drilling in the

Arctic have been re-knighted with their families. They arrived in

London this afternoon -- reunited. This report contains some flash

photography. CHEERING

A long but welcome journey ends. British environmental campaigners

arrived back on home soil after the Russian government drops charges

against them and allow them to leave. They are free but defiant.

Our mission is to save the Arctic and stop oil exploration going on

there. We have never enjoyed quite so much media. Full of guns, there

is just relief. -- for loved ones. How is it to see your son? Great,

fantastic, really happy. This homecoming also means an end to more

than 100 days under arrest, and the full fury of the Russian

authorities. The protesters were among 30 arrested in this dramatic

encounter with Russian authorities in September. After Greenpeace tried

to stop oil drilling in Arctic waters. They were charged with

hooliganism and faced several years behind bars. Then, a few days ago,

exit visas were granted after Russia's parliament approved an

amnesty bill. That move also brought freedom for members of the punk

band, Pussy Riot, jailed for singing protest songs, and for the tycoon,

Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Someone do if Greenpeace was wise to go up against

President Putin. Others note it comes just weeks before Russia hosts

the Winter Olympics. In London, the activists say they will continue

their protests against Arctic oil drilling but they might reconsider

future tactics. Right now, international politics takes second

place to family reunions. A former Lebanese government

minister has been assassinated in Beirut. The hammer chatter was

killed in a car bomb this morning. -- Mohammed

he was a staunch critic of the Syrian regime. Our world affairs

correspondent has sent this rig bought.

The festive season came to a violent end in Beirut, just after 930 this

morning. In a country that has seen much violence, the glitzy renovated

heart of the capital had been spared so far. Cars were set ablaze,

windows of French restaurants and designer boutiques shattered.

Teenagers enjoying the sun and posting pictures, moments before a

car park behind them exploded, wrecking their young lives. We were

inside and we felt glass breaking and coming in. Then we heard the

sound. We waited until it was over, then we went out and saw this. The

target was this man, Mohamad Chatah, once an ambassador to the US and a

finance minister, a father of two, he was a voice of moderation in a

polarised country. He was also an adviser to the former Prime

Minister, Saad Hariri. Both were vocal critics of Syria's government

and Hezbollah. The Lebanese Shia militant group has been sending

fighters to Syria for months to support President Bashar al-Assad.

Libya is deeply divided over the war next door. Sunni militants have been

crossing into Syria as well to help the rebels. At the sight of the

bombing, Mohammed -- Mohamad Chatah's friends page tribute. --

paid tribute. He was an advocate of Lebanon is also still haunted by a

long string of unresolved assassinations. In the past, the

finger has been pointed in many directions, including at Syria.

Whoever was behind this powerful car bomb this morning, one thing is

certain: LeBron on's own fate is increasingly tied to the outcome of

the war raging across the border in Syria -- Lebanon on's own fate.

Walthamstow coroners Court in east London heard how the Syrian

authorities believe Abbas Khan killed himself. His family insist he

was murdered. A postmortem examination carried out in London

has yet to establish the cause of death. We turn to sports now and

Cardiff City have sacked Malky Mackay, their manager who took them

into the Premier League. It comes a day after a 3-0 home defeat by

Southampton and follows a long running public row with the owner,

Vincent Tan. It has been the most public and

prolonged of sackings. For Malky Mackay, yesterday's defeat proved

the final whistle. Last week is billionaire boss Vincent Tan sent

him an e-mail attacking his management and telling him to resign

or else he would fire him. That prompted protests against the owner

and a brief pre-. -- brief repressive. He admitted the strain

was getting to him. There are certain things within my control and

certain things with out. This is not the first time that Vincent Tan has

felt the fury of the fans. He changed the colours from blue to red

last year. Now he has sacked the man who guided them into the Premier

League and the supporters are less than impressed. It is not about

results. Things are going on behind the scenes, he is making the club

look like a farcical circus and I am fuming. There was only going to be

one winner. As soon as he announced he had to resign. One of football's

most fragile partnerships has finally snapped. Leaving a club in

turmoil. Play will resume shortly in the

fourth Ashes Test in Melbourne. England will hope to consolidate on

a good performance in the second day. England's bowlers got them back

into the game, restricting Australia to 164-9 at the close.

A generation has passed since Australia's greatest fast bowler

struck fear into English hearts, but it felt like the MCG had gone back

in time. Mitchell Johnson evokes memories of Dennis Lily interface

and pace. Tim Dresner did not know what had hit him. English hopes

hinge on Kevin Pietersen. Having barely added to his overnight 67

came this. One moment of madness. England's tale had been blown away.

It seemed inadequate but England's bowlers had other ideas. Suddenly

Australia knew they were in a fight. When Michael Clarke's judgement

deserted him, the hosts were 62-3. Chris Rogers propped up the innings

but England had remembered how they used to win Ashes series. Three

wickets fell quickly as the tourists took control. Brad had in has been a

thorn in the side all series, again threatening to rescue his side, but

he could do nothing about Bresnan and broad's flurry of late wickets.

England had fought back, if only the series was still alive. After

England's best day on tour, they may have the chance to secure a morale

used in consolation win. The Ashes are long gone -- a morale boosting

consolation win. You can see more