23/12/2017 BBC Weekend News

Good evening.

A man has appeared in court charged

with the murder of a woman working

at an Aldi supermarket in North

Yorkshire.

Neville Hord, who's 44,

was remanded in custody

by magistrates in York.

Jodie Willsher was stabbed to death

in Skipton on Thursday.

Our correspondent Sarah

Walton sent this report.

Arriving at York Magistrates' Court,

44-year-old Neville Hord appeared in

the dock charged with murder. He is

accused of attacking 30-year-old

Jodie Willsher at the Aldi store in

Skipton where she was working on

Thursday afternoon. She received

serious injuries and died at the

scene. There were no relatives in

court this morning, and Neville

Hord, dressed in a blue T-shirt and

grey shorts, spoke only to confirm

his name, age and address. He didn't

enter a plea and was remanded in

custody. In a statement, Mrs

Wilshire's husband Malcolm said his

wife always had an amazing smile on

her face and was a doting mother and

loving wife. At the store where

Jodie Willsher work, colleagues have

described her as much loved and

popular. Staff returned to the store

tonight, but the store remains

closed. People have been arriving to

meet flowers and messages for Jodie

Willsher, a popular member of staff.

One regular shopper delivered a card

for the workers who lost a loved

colleague.

People who shop here shop

regularly, and they know the star.

The staff are so good. The manager

is always so helpful. -- they know

the staff. Neville Hord will next

appear at Leeds Crown Court on the

28th of December.

At least 200 people have died

after a tropical storm

struck the southern Philippines.

The country's second

largest island - Mindanao -

bore the brunt of the storm,

which caused flash

floods and landslides.

One entire village has

been completely buried.

Andy Moore reports.

Clinging to the neck

of his rescuer, a young

boy is carried across

the

floodwaters.

There was little sign

of official help here, just

villagers doing their best to rescue

each other with fragile ropes.

In a country used to

devastating storms,

this took many by surprise.

The authorities said

too many people had

ignored warnings to leave coastal

areas and river banks.

Many of the casualties

were on the main southern

island.

This man said houses were getting

flooded but people couldn't

escape, so they got

caught in the strong

currents and swept away.

Many places were hit by landslides.

Flimsy houses were buried

beneath tonnes of debris.

The Red Cross is helping

coordinate the relief

effort.

We have already provided water

and food, and we have been

distributing non-food items,

blankets, mosquito nets and hygiene

kits for those who

are in the evacuation

centres to alleviate

the

suffering of many

of the folks there.

The Philippines is battered

by about 20 typhoons every year.

This particular storm

is not over yet.

It's now heading towards the popular

tourist island of Palawan.

As it passes over warm, tropical

waters, its winds are set to grow

again in strength.

Andy Moore, BBC News.

The Transport Secretary,

Chris Grayling, says the Government

is consulting on a new system

of road charging for

heavy goods lorries.

Drivers would be charged per mile,

in a move that replaced

some existing taxes.

There are no plans for a similar

system for private cars.

Our transport correspondent, Richard

Westcott, is here.

What's the thinking behind this?

The Government argues it might make

things more fair, so they get a lot

of complaints from British hauliers

saying, foreign companies can come

over with a full tank of fuel and

they won't have paid a lot of duty

on it, work for a couple of days and

go home, and they are not

contributing enough to the upkeep of

the roads, because lorries do a lot

of damage to the road. They suggest

this could be a fairer way of doing

it - get rid of all the other taxes

and charge per mile. The hauliers

argue it is an excuse to charge

them. The bigger question is, is

this the tip of the iceberg? People

are thinking, if it goes well for

trucks, maybe they will bring in

toll roads for ordinary people, cars

and vans. I can't see that

happening, and the Government flatly

deny they are looking at that today.

People watching this will think that

ten years ago, Tony Blair tried to

do that, try to bring in toll roads

and nearly 2 million people signed a

petition against it. There were News

campaigns and outrage. It is a brave

Government that will talk about toll

roads for ordinary drivers.

London Zoo has been closed today

after a fire in the early

hours of the morning.

A number of staff were treated

at the scene for smoke

inhalation and shock,

as the blaze was brought under

control by 70 firefighters.

Adina Campbell reports.

Rising flames and large plumes of

smoke were captured on social media

just before dawn. The fire started

in the animal adventure cafe and

then spread to a nearby shop. At its

height more than 70 firefighters

dealt with the fire and brought it

under control just after 9am. One

person was taken to hospital and

eight others were treated at the

scene for smoke inhalation and minor

injuries.

This is quite a complex

site, and we've had to put certain

cordons in place for safety, because

the building has been so seriously

damaged.

Vets at the zoo confirmed

that a nine-year-old aardvark called

Misha died in the fire. Four missing

meerkats are also thought to have

been killed.

We are all really upset

by this incident, because this is

one of our most loved animals in the

zoo, Misha and the meerkats are also

held in great affection by all of us

who work here run by those who love

London zoo.

For those who turned up

today, it wasn't the Christmas visit

they had hoped for.

We travelled

down from Nottingham today.

That

must be disappointing.

It is a bit,

but as long as the animals are OK.

We are very disappointed, we came

from a long way, from Brazil, to see

it. And sad. Poor animals.

Some of

the staff who live on site here were

called to the scene immediately and

started moving the animals to

safety. Today, the zoo has been

closed. It would normally have been

a very busy day, being so close to

Christmas. Tonight, staff have

confirmed that the zoo will be open

tomorrow. Three quarters of the cafe

and shop has been affected by the

fire, as well as have the roof. The

cause is still unclear.

Leon Bernicoff, one

of the stars of the TV show

Gogglebox has died at the age of 83.

The retired teacher

and his wife June were one

of the first couples to join

the Channel 4 programme

when it launched in 2013.

The broadcaster said he died

in hospital after a short illness.

California's deadly wildfire has

now become the largest

in the state's recorded history.

The blaze, which has

been burning for more

than two weeks, has scorched

an area greater than New York City,

Brussels and Paris combined.

Among those tackling the flames

are thousands of prisoners,

some of whom have been given

a new sense of purpose by the work,

as our correspondent

James Cook reports.

It's pretty challenging.

Sometimes we're right there,

right next to the fire.

Compared to being in prison

and being here, it's

completely different.

Here you feel free.

You're out in the world.

The biggest change for me is mental,

because I've never pushed myself

as hard, ever in life.

California has 4,000 inmate

firefighters, men and women.

Cutting firebreaks is risky work -

two have died this year.

But there are rewards too in reduced

sentences and a sense of purpose.

After being in this programme,

I feel like I've been rehabilitated,

and I feel like I can go out

there and achieve anything

I want to because I've done this.

This is so hard.

We were allowed inside this

prison camp in Malibu.

There are no walls or fences here.

Violent or volatile

prisoners are not allowed

to join the programme.

With a job like this, there is only

time to think about the work.

Latoya Najar is serving four years

for causing the death

of her seven-year-old son

in a drunken car crash.

The attraction for me

was because of my crime,

I could come out here

and do something positive.

It's challenging mentally

to get over something.

I'm never going to get over it,

but to try to ease my mind

and this has helped.

With California facing more frequent

and more destructive fires,

some critics call this slave labour.

But the project is voluntary,

it may reduce re-offending and it

provides some measure of redemption.

Everyone is like, "We love

you firefighters."

We all wave back and

we wave to the kids.

It's amazing, yes.