:00:00. > :00:09.Powerful gales and heavy rainfall return - causing fresh disruption
:00:10. > :00:15.and misery for many across large parts of the UK. Flooding and
:00:16. > :00:24.landslides leave people stranded and tens of thousands of homes are still
:00:25. > :00:28.without power. Have the council built around since? The prime
:00:29. > :00:35.minister meets storm victims in Kent who complain too little's being done
:00:36. > :00:38.to help them. We need the council to get round with skips so people can
:00:39. > :00:41.get their furniture and carpets removed, we need to learn the
:00:42. > :00:44.lessons. Five Greenpeace activists imprisoned in Russia after a protest
:00:45. > :00:50.arrive back in Britain after being freed under amnesty.
:00:51. > :00:54.And England come late to the Ashes party with a much better performance
:00:55. > :01:15.on the second day of the fourth Test.
:01:16. > :01:20.Good afternoon. Powerful gales and heavy rain have returned to the UK,
:01:21. > :01:23.causing further disruption. Around 20,000 homes are without power, rail
:01:24. > :01:29.services have been disrupted and many roads are closed. The Met
:01:30. > :01:34.Office says gusts over 100 miles per hour have been recorded in north
:01:35. > :01:37.Wales. And there are still more than 40 flood warnings across the
:01:38. > :01:40.country. Today David Cameron said there needed to be a better response
:01:41. > :01:46.the next time properties are threatened by flooding. Judith
:01:47. > :01:52.Moritz is in Blackpool for us now. Yes, this is not the Blackpool that
:01:53. > :01:57.you see on the postcards. It's been so windy here today that the central
:01:58. > :02:00.pier next to me has been closed and the North West Ambulance Service,
:02:01. > :02:04.which has had more calls than usual, has been getting them from people
:02:05. > :02:09.who have said they have literally been blown off their feet. Slicing
:02:10. > :02:13.across the sea, gale force winds slammed into the black hole
:02:14. > :02:20.promenade today, blasting the beach and gusting into the town. Wind
:02:21. > :02:23.speeds of 85 mph were recorded in north-west England. The emergency
:02:24. > :02:29.services in the region saw a surge in weather-related callouts. We have
:02:30. > :02:37.been dealing with slates on roofs, and save chimneys. Signage on shop
:02:38. > :02:41.fronts. The South of England is still dealing with the effects of
:02:42. > :02:45.the storms earlier this week. The Prime Minister was in Kent this
:02:46. > :02:48.morning, visiting people who were flooded before Christmas. One angry
:02:49. > :02:53.resident who were still without power told Mr Cameron nothing had
:02:54. > :03:05.been done to help them. We need the electric! We tried to contact the
:03:06. > :03:07.council on Monday. Nothing. He said the priority should be to help
:03:08. > :03:14.people recover from the effect of the floods. We need the insurance
:03:15. > :03:17.companies to come round, we need the council to get round with skips so
:03:18. > :03:20.people can get their carpets and furniture removed, we need to get
:03:21. > :03:24.the power back on and then we need to learn the lessons. We are seeing
:03:25. > :03:30.these events take place more often. The high winds have more power lines
:03:31. > :03:35.down. In Northern Ireland 20,000 homes are to be reconnected
:03:36. > :03:40.overnight. This house caught fire when an electricity pole fell on the
:03:41. > :03:46.roof. On the rail network there has been delayed across the lines, and
:03:47. > :03:52.passengers across Victoria Station in London were in for long waits.
:03:53. > :03:59.There is no state here, standing for three hours, it died. I have been
:04:00. > :04:03.here since seven, I had to get a coach. The only coach I could get
:04:04. > :04:08.was seven in the morning to meet these at 12, so I have been here
:04:09. > :04:14.five hours. Network rail defended the way the system had been running.
:04:15. > :04:18.It would be ridiculous to get passengers on trains and leave them
:04:19. > :04:22.stuck and stranded and tainted the emergency services to ask them to
:04:23. > :04:25.help when everybody is so stretched. So it is the right thing to do what
:04:26. > :04:29.we did last night, what I'd read last week, to stop, check the
:04:30. > :04:37.network is safe before we let people run. The holidays have been a
:04:38. > :04:40.wash-out for this family in Surrey. They are spending the end of the
:04:41. > :04:44.year dealing with the damage. Even if the worst of the weather has now
:04:45. > :04:49.passed, for some this will be a Christmas they would rather forget.
:04:50. > :04:53.Whilst it is still a case of battening down the hatches here,
:04:54. > :04:57.things are improving. The Atlantic depression, which brought these
:04:58. > :05:02.gales, is moving away from the North of England and at around midnight or
:05:03. > :05:08.so, these winds should eventually start to drop and then remain calm
:05:09. > :05:12.overcoming days. -- over coming days. And the BBC website has
:05:13. > :05:19.details of all the latest weather news in your area.
:05:20. > :05:23.Five British activists from the environmental group Greenpeace,
:05:24. > :05:26.who'd been detained in Russia, have arrived back in the UK after being
:05:27. > :05:28.freed following an amnesty. They were among 30 campaigners arrested
:05:29. > :05:31.after protesting against oil drilling in the Arctic. Rajesh
:05:32. > :05:34.Mirchandani is at St Pancras Station in London, where the freed activists
:05:35. > :05:47.arrived this afternoon. His report contains some flash photography.
:05:48. > :05:51.Long but welcome to the ends. Edition environments of protesters
:05:52. > :05:55.arrived back on home soil after the Russian government dropped charges
:05:56. > :06:02.against them that allowed them to leave, freed but defiant. Our
:06:03. > :06:06.mission is to protect the Arctic and stop oil exploration going on there.
:06:07. > :06:15.We have never enjoyed quite so much media. But the loved ones, there is
:06:16. > :06:20.just relief. Great, absolutely fantastic. I'm really happy.
:06:21. > :06:34.Christmas is late but no less festive for the families reunited
:06:35. > :06:36.here. The protesters were among 30 arrested in this traumatic encounter
:06:37. > :06:43.with Russian authorities in September. After Greenpeace tried to
:06:44. > :06:48.stop oil drilling in Russian waters. They were charged with hooliganism
:06:49. > :06:55.and faced several years behind bars. Then, a few days ago, except theses
:06:56. > :06:59.wrote were granted after Russia's parliament approved an amnesty bill.
:07:00. > :07:04.That move also brought food and the members of the punk band Pussy Riot,
:07:05. > :07:17.jailed for singing protest songs in a country full -- Cathedral. Some
:07:18. > :07:21.wonder if Greenpeace was wise to go up against President Vladimir Putin.
:07:22. > :07:26.Others note the amnesty comes just weeks before Russia hosts the Winter
:07:27. > :07:29.Olympics. Back in London, the activists say they will continue
:07:30. > :07:33.their protests against Arctic oil drilling but they might reconsider
:07:34. > :07:40.future tax kicks. Right now, international politics takes second
:07:41. > :07:43.place to family reunions. The inquest into the death of a
:07:44. > :07:46.British doctor who died in prison in Syria has been opened and adjourned.
:07:47. > :07:48.Walthamstow Coroner's Court in east London heard how the Syrian
:07:49. > :07:55.authorities believe Abbas Khan killed himself. His family insist he
:07:56. > :07:57.was murdered. A former Lebanese government
:07:58. > :08:02.minister has been assassinated in Beirut. Mohamad Chatah was killed in
:08:03. > :08:06.a car bomb this morning - four others were killed and dozens
:08:07. > :08:08.injured. Mr Chatah was a staunch critic of the Syrian regime and the
:08:09. > :08:12.militant group Hezbollah which supports it. His allies have accused
:08:13. > :08:14.Hezbollah of planting the bomb - they've denied it. Our world affairs
:08:15. > :08:24.correspondent, Kim Ghattas has sent this report from Beirut.
:08:25. > :08:30.The festive season came to a violent end in Beirut just after 9:30am. In
:08:31. > :08:34.a country that has seen much of violence, the glitzy, renovated
:08:35. > :08:40.heart of the capital had been spared so far. Cars were set ablaze by the
:08:41. > :08:44.blast, windows of French restaurants and designer boutiques shattered.
:08:45. > :08:49.Teenagers enjoying the sun and posting pictures on social media
:08:50. > :08:57.moments before a car, parked behind them, exploded, wrecking their young
:08:58. > :09:01.lives. TRANSLATION: We were inside and felt glass breaking and coming
:09:02. > :09:04.in, then we heard the sound, and X lotion happened. We waited until it
:09:05. > :09:12.was over and then went out and saw this. The target was Mohammed
:09:13. > :09:16.Chatah, wants the ambassador to the US and the finance minister, a
:09:17. > :09:20.father of two. He was the voice of moderation in a polarised country.
:09:21. > :09:29.He was also an adviser to the former prime minister, Saad Hariri, who was
:09:30. > :09:32.also a critic of Hezbollah. The Lebanese Shia militant group has
:09:33. > :09:37.been sending fighters to Syria for months to support President Assad.
:09:38. > :09:43.Lebanon is deeply divided over the wall next door. Sunni militants from
:09:44. > :09:50.here have been crossing into Syria as well to help the rebels. At the
:09:51. > :09:56.sight of the bombing in Beirut, Mohammed Chatah's friends said his
:09:57. > :10:02.killing was a message. He was an advocate of Lebanon's neutrality in
:10:03. > :10:10.the war in Syria, and having an agreement to keep Lebanon away from
:10:11. > :10:15.the fray in Syria. Hezbollah has also paid the price for its role in
:10:16. > :10:19.Syria. Suicide means have targeted civilian areas in its stronghold in
:10:20. > :10:24.southern Beirut. Lebanon is also still haunted by a long string of
:10:25. > :10:28.unresolved assassinations. And in the past, the finger has been
:10:29. > :10:32.pointed in many directions, including at Syria. But who ever was
:10:33. > :10:38.behind this powerful car bomb this morning, one thing is certain.
:10:39. > :10:45.Lebanon's own fate is increasingly tied to the outcome of the war
:10:46. > :10:48.raging across the border in Syria. Police are investigating the death
:10:49. > :10:52.of a man at a house in Nottinghamshire. A woman found at
:10:53. > :10:57.the address in Bircotes is in a serious but stable condition in
:10:58. > :11:04.hospital. Two children in the house were unharmed. It's thought the man
:11:05. > :11:07.who died suffered shotgun injuries. Sport now and Cardiff City have
:11:08. > :11:11.sacked Malky Mackay, the manager who took them into the Premier League.
:11:12. > :11:14.The move comes a day after a 3-0 home defeat by Southampton - and
:11:15. > :11:20.follows a long running and very public row with Cardiff's owner
:11:21. > :11:25.Vincent Tan. Andy Swiss reports. It has been the most public and
:11:26. > :11:30.prolonged of sackings. But the Malky Mackay, yesterday's defeat proved
:11:31. > :11:33.the final whistle. Last week his billionaire boss Vincent Tan
:11:34. > :11:39.sentiment e-mail, attacking his management and telling him to resign
:11:40. > :11:44.or else he would fire him. That prompted protests against the owner
:11:45. > :11:49.and a brief reprieve. And yesterday, Malky Mackay admitted the strain was
:11:50. > :11:53.getting to him. It's not easy with a dirty laundry is being washed in
:11:54. > :11:57.public every week but there are certain things within my control and
:11:58. > :12:01.certain things without. This isn't the first Tom Vincent Tan has felt
:12:02. > :12:04.the fury of the fans. Last year he changed the club colours from blue
:12:05. > :12:08.to red. Now he has sacked the man who guided them into the Premier
:12:09. > :12:15.League. The supporters are again less than impressed. It's not about
:12:16. > :12:21.results. He is making the club looked like a circus. There was only
:12:22. > :12:28.going to be one winner, as soon see announced he had to resign, it was
:12:29. > :12:32.only going one way. So one of football's most fragile partnerships
:12:33. > :12:38.has finally snapped, leaving a ruthless owner, irony patient battle
:12:39. > :12:44.and the club in turmoil. -- a relegation battle.
:12:45. > :12:47.Cricket, and England have produced a better performance on the second day
:12:48. > :12:50.of the fourth Test in Melbourne. After being all out for 255,
:12:51. > :12:53.England's bowlers got them back into the game, restricting Australia to
:12:54. > :12:54.164 for nine at the close. Our Chief Sports Correspondent Dan Roan
:12:55. > :12:57.reports. A generation has passed since
:12:58. > :13:00.Australia's greatest fast bowler struck fear into English hearts but
:13:01. > :13:03.for the first hour of day two, it felt like the MCG had gone back in
:13:04. > :13:07.time. Mitchell Johnson evokes memories of Dennis Lillee both in
:13:08. > :13:10.face and in pace. Once again at his vicious best. Tim Bresnan didn't
:13:11. > :13:13.know what hit him. Now seven down, English hopes hinged on Kevin
:13:14. > :13:16.Pietersen, but having barely added to his overnight 67 came this - four
:13:17. > :13:20.hours of maturity undone in one moment of madness. With cricket
:13:21. > :13:24.suddenly resembling a blood sport, Johnson went hunting again. Stuart
:13:25. > :13:30.Broad's scalp ensuring a third five wicket haul of a defining series.
:13:31. > :13:33.England's tail had been blown away, all out for 255. That seemed
:13:34. > :13:38.inadequate but England's bowlers had other ideas as Warner and Watson
:13:39. > :13:43.fell before lunch. Suddenly Australia knew they were in a fight.
:13:44. > :13:45.Chris Rogers felled by Broad, and when Michael Clarke's judgement
:13:46. > :13:50.deserted him, the hosts were 62 for three - the Test in the balance.
:13:51. > :13:55.Rogers propped up the innings with a dogged 50 but England had remembered
:13:56. > :13:58.how they used to win Ashes series. Three more Australian wickets
:13:59. > :14:02.falling quickly as the tourists took control. Brad Haddin has been a
:14:03. > :14:05.thorn in England's side all series, again threatening to rescue his
:14:06. > :14:15.team, but he could do nothing about Bresnan and Broad's flurry of
:14:16. > :14:19.wickets. Australia, still 91 behind. England had fought back, if only the
:14:20. > :14:22.series were still alive. Days like that have been few and far between
:14:23. > :14:25.on this trip. We're just really hungry to get something out of this
:14:26. > :14:28.tour. I thought we dived around a lot, we chased everything, I thought
:14:29. > :14:31.Cooky set really good fields, we bowled to those fields, it was
:14:32. > :14:35.really complete performance. After England's best day on tour, they may
:14:36. > :14:39.now have the chance to seal what would be a morale-boosting
:14:40. > :14:42.consolation win. The Ashes are long gone, of course, but this still felt
:14:43. > :14:55.like an important first stage in England's road to recovery. There is
:14:56. > :14:57.more throughout the evening on the BBC News Channel. We're back with