23/12/2017 World News Today

This is BBC World News today. I am

Ben Bland. Our top stories. Flooding

and mud slides kill more than 180

people as a storm sweeps across the

southern fill apeeps.

-- Philippines.

TRANSLATION: I am the President

right now and I haven't stopped

being it. Even if they sacked me by

decree of the Spanish Government. As

the California wild fire becomes the

largest in state history, we meet

the prison inmates helping to tackle

the flames.

In sport, Barcelona beat Real Madrid

3-0 in the first classic of the

Spanish football season.

More than one hundred and eighty

people are reported to have been

killed by a Tropical Storm

in the Philippines.

Two days of heavy rain have led

to flash flooding and mudslides.

Andy Moore reports.

Nearly 200 people have died

after a tropical storm struck

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, Mindanao.

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.

A short while ago I was speaking to

Helen billets from the BBC weather

centre to get an update on the path

and where it's headed next.

Now it's

heading to open waters and then we

think towards parts of southern

Vietnam.

So, in terms of the

severity of it, is it building, is

it subsiding or at a constant level

as it moves across the region?

These

sort of storms can happen any time

of the year but we normally have

peak from about May to October,

slightly out of peak and far south.

We have had substantial rainfall.

It's moving to open waters which is

where these storms an get energy

from so it's likely to intensify in

the short-term to a typhoon,

probably through tomorrow. Becoming

a typhoon tomorrow evening across

the Philippines, Vietnam time. But

then we think before it makes

landfall in Vietnam it's likely to

weaken again dramatically, colder

air, but the winds are expected

toing around 110 kilometres an hour,

not just concerns for southern

Vietnam where we think it's going to

hit during Monday evening their time

is the likelihood it will make

landfall then, could have about 200

millimetres of rain and it's in a

similar area to those affected so we

could see further flash flooding,

that happened about a month ago.

Clearly the ground is still

saturated. The other fly in the

ointment unfortunately is what will

happen is as this moves away it

enhances the north-east monsoon, it

brings lots of rain across the

Philippines and parts of India and

China and that could enhance rains,

those areas, southern and central

Vietnam are most at risk of further

heavy rain indeed.

It is storm

season. The region sees storms like

this fairly frequently at this time

of year. In terms of the severity

how does it compare, is it stronger

than average?

It's really about what

they would expect. If it becomes a

typhoon temporarily, but that's

obviously winds of 70 knots, that's

about 120 kilometres an hour plus,

that's a quite nasty storm. Yes,

it's expected to weaken but will

still have strong winds, still will

be a tropical storm when it hits, it

could do a lot of damage around the

coast, structurely, of course, gives

high tides as well, pushing large

waves, coastal flooding but rain

still remains the main concern.

You

can find much more on this story on

our website including a look at how

countries can cope with such natural

disasters. Let's take a look at some

of the other stories making the

news.

The sacked Catalan leader,

Carles Puigdemont, says he wants

to return to Catalonia and be sworn

in again as the region's president.

He urged the Spanish Government to

let him return for talks. The

political instability isn't bringing

down Catalonia's Christmas spirit.

Catalonia may be facing a crisis but

it hasn't dampened the spirit of

locals.

TRANSLATION: Of course there will be

Christmas dinners and people will

discuss politics but in the end the

primary thing of the people, nothing

will happen.

So what next for Catalonia? That's

what everyone in the region is

wondering after elections that once

again gave pro-independence parties

a majority.

Now the separatist leader has said

he wants to return from self-imposed

exile in Belgium and continue as

President.

TRANSLATION: I am the President

right now and I haven't stopped

being it. Even if they sacked me by

decree of the Spanish Government

which has failed in Catalonia.

He has called for dialogue with the

Spanish Government. Even if it falls

short of independence.

TRANSLATION:

I say let's talk, let's

talk about everything. But above

all, about what Catalan's want.

They have the largest individual

vote, even though it's unlikely they

can form a coalition. And if and

when talks between Madrid and the

separatists do take place, it's not

clear what would be different this

time.

Of course the Spanish

Government will say no to their

proposal of a legal referendum so in

less than however years we will be

on the same situation that we were

before the election.

As the crisis

continues, it's the economy that's

most at risk. Tourism is suffering

and already more than 3,000

companies are moving their legal

headquarters out of Catalonia.

32 people have been killed in a bus

crash in Rajasthan in India.

Officials say the driver lost

control of the vehicle,

which broke through a guard rail

and fell thirty metres

from a bridge.

Venezuela has expelled the Brazilian

ambassador to Caracas -

and a Canadian diplomat -

accusing them of interfering

in internal matters

and violating the rule of law.

Last week, Brazil issued a statement

accusing President Nicolas Maduro

of harassing the opposition.

And earlier this year Canada imposed

sanctions on a number

of Venezuelan officials.

The conductor Charles Dutoit has

denied accusations of sexual

assault made against him,

calling the allegations shocking,

with no basis in truth.

Four women - three of them

opera singers and one

a classical musician -

have accused him of sexual assault.

The United Nations has -

for the first time -

begun flying vulnerable African

refugees being held

in Libya into Europe.

More direct flights to Italy

are planned for the new year -

for those deemed to be extremely

vulnerable - including single

mothers, unaccompanied children

and people with disabilities.

A military plane

touching down in Italy.

On-board, 110 women

and children, African migrants.

Refugees who travelled to Libya,

now flown directly to Europe

for the very first time.

They are part of the protection work

that UNHCR does in Libya.

We have visited the detention centre

995 times this year and 1,200

vulnerable refugees,

we have had them released.

Tens of thousands of people

fleeing their homes arrive in Libya

each year and attempt to cross

the Mediterranean to reach

Italy, their very first

footsteps into Europe.

The risks are enormous.

These people were pulled

from the water last week

when their boat broke in half off

the Libyan coast, rescued

by chance by the Libyan navy.

This year and for the past four

years in a row more than 3,000

people have died trying

to make the crossing.

Those who survive often

say their greatest fear

is being sent back to Libya

to camps like these.

Complaints of abuse are widespread,

of beatings and ill treatment.

Desperation forces many

into the hands of human traffickers

and into boats overloaded and unfit

for the sea.

Italy has called this an evacuation,

the first they hope of many.

These people, the most vulnerable.

50 more are due on a later plane.

TRANSLATION: We managed

to intervene in a particularly

difficult situation,

like the Libyan one,

and managed to bring women

and children to safety,

welcoming the refugees and rescuing

them from the people smugglers.

European leaders met in Brussels

this week to discuss migration.

More than 160,000 people

have arrived in Europe

from Africa this year.

That's less than half

the number from 2016,

but measures to curb arrivals,

like a repatriation scheme,

ongoing in Libya, are

highly controversial.

Now Italy plans to take the lead,

taking up to 10,000 more

people from Libya in 2018,

and is looking to the rest of Europe

to help to find them new homes.

Still to come. Deep sea alert. Nato

commanders warn of Russian

submarines hunting a valuable target

on the ocean floor.

We saw a tidal wave approaching the

beach and people started to run.

Suddenly it was complete chaos.

The

United States troops have been

trying to overthrow the dictatorship

of General Noriega. It's failed in

its principle objective, to capture

General Noriega and take him to the

United States to face drugs charges.

The Russian flag was hoisted over

what is now no longer the Soviet

Union, but the Commonwealth of

independent states.

Day broke slowly

over Lockerbie.

Christmas has returned to Albania

after a communist ban lasting more

than 20 years. Thousands went to

midnight mass where there were

anti-communist riots ten days ago.

The headlines. Tropical storm has

left more than 180 people dead in

the Philippines. Two days of heavy

rain have led to flash flooding and

mud slides.

The sacked leader of Catalan says he

wants to return to Catalonia and be

sworn in again as the region's

President.

A wildfire in California

is now the largest ever

recorded in the state.

More than a thousand square

kilometres have been

affected by the Thomas Fire,

which started in early December.

A spokesman for the Fire service

says the flames are now

65 percent contained -

and one of the key

resources has been the use

of convicts on day release.

James Cook has their story

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.

The work may be exhausting,

it may be dangerous,

but in the words of one prisoner,

"It's better than twiddling

your thumbs in jail."

James Cook, BBC News,

in Southern California.

Russian submarine activity has

apparently reached a level not seen

since the end of the Cold War

thirty years ago.

That warning comes from

Senior NATO officers.

They're concerned that Russia

could target undersea cables linking

Europe to the United States.

The cables provide important

internet and communications links.

Joining us to discuss this is the

deputy director general of the Royal

United services institute, Malcolm

Chalmers. Does it seem Russia is

back on the scene as a formidable

power to be reckoned with?

I think

that's right. In that sense it's not

new, it's a trend we have seen over

the last decade, very large increase

in the Russian defence budget which

has allowed its forces on land and

at sea to be much more active, to

train more vigorously, to improve

the effectiveness of their

operations, compared with a decade

ago and that's reflected in

submarines surging into the north

Atlantic at a rate that they haven't

before for more than 20 years so

starting to match Nato in the levels

of activity of their maritime

forces.

Haven't we seen peaks and

troughs, it just changes over years,

there are surges of activity and

then it subsides, could this not

just be another one of those high

points and then it will taper off

again?

Of course that's always

possible. But I think more about

Russia returning to the normal level

of activity for a force that wants

to actually be seen as credible by

Nato. For a long period after the

end of the Cold War in the early

1990s Russia had a large fleet but

hardly ever went to sea and

therefore Nato Navies came to

believe they really had not much

capability to actually use them, but

over the last decade that's changed.

They've become more active and more

serious and one of the consequences

has been that Nato Navies, including

the Royal Navy, are having to spend

a lot more of their time tracking

Russian submarines to see what

they're up to and as a result of

that tracking one assumes that we

have these multiplying reports of

Russian interests in undersea

cables, to track a Russian submarine

takes a lot of effort from our

submarines, but also surface ships

and aircraft.

You mentioned the

cables there.

What would their interest be in

targeting those cables?

Well, in the

event of a large-scale conflict,

cutting those cables would be very

valuable in terms of disrupting the

economies of western societies.

Targeting cables is nothing new. The

UK destroyed German Telegraph cables

back at the end of World War I, but

today we are much more dependent on

those cables because of the central

role of the internet in our

economies. So in the event of a

conflict this would be a capability

which the Russians could deploy

along with all sorts of other

capabilities, it doesn't mean

they're going to attack them out of

the blue but it's one more element

to keep Nato on its toes.

Thank you. Time to check in on the

sport.

Manchester City are 14 points clear

in the Premier League

after beating Bournemouth 3-0.

Sergio Aguero scored twice,

Raheem Sterling and Dinilo

with his first City goal were also

on the score

sheet.

City have won 17 matches in a row.

Second goal was important,

especially the last 25

minutes and they play,

two strikers we found more space,

but we have to learn.

We have to improve to attack

this kind of defence.

We have to try it and I think

that's going to happen.

Harry Kane scored a hat

trick as Tottenham beat

Burnley 3-0 at Turf Moor.

The three goals means Kane equals

Alan Shearer's record of 36 league

goals in a calendar year.

It means Spurs leapfrog Burnley

and Arsenal into fifth place.

He has one more chance to break

Shearer's record when Spurs host

Southampton on 26th December.

You

are fighting for top four, that

victory shows everyone that we are

there. And yes, now we need to be

solid and we need to be consistent

in our performance. Today was a

point to platform to go up.

Newcastle United are out of the

bottom three after beating West Ham

3-2 at the London stadium. Andre

Ayew had a penalty saved and they're

one point above the relegation zone.

Christian Atsu scored what proved to

be the winning goal. In the other

results.

Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez scored

- as Barcelona beat Real Madrid 3

goals to nil in La Liga dealing

a huge blow to Real's title defence.

Cristiano Ronaldo's side now

trail their rivals by 14

points in the table.

Suarez struck in the 54th

minute of El Clasico -

and Messi added a penalty

10 minutes later.

After Madrid's Dani Carvajal

received a direct red card -

for stopping a goal-bound

header by Paulinho.

Messi also set up substitute

Alex Vidal - to round off

the win in stoppage time.

The victory for Barca team puts them

9 points clear at the top -

ahead of Atletico Madrid.

Real remain in fourth place

with a game in hand.

In the day's other results:

England wicket-keeper Jonny Bairstow

has defended captain Joe Root

after comments made by the former

Australia skipper Ricky Ponting.

He said Root looked like a little

boy and had been a bit soft

Everyone's going to have an opinion

and that's all well and good. I

think he is doing a really good job

as captain. I think the tactics he

has shown with the ball has been

really good and I think he will only

grow and learn by doing it.

England all-rounder Ben Stokes

is returning home to the UK

for what he called "family reasons",

after a month-long spell with

the New Zealand side Canterbury.

He joined them just

after England had lost

the first Ashes Test,

sparking speculation

he could be set for a recall,

but he's still suspended

following his arrest in September.

He is best known for a photograph in

1984 which pictured him flying above

earth with a jet pack. He also

served as mission control

communicator when the awhen Neil

Armstrong stepped on the moon.

It may be one of the world's longest

rivalries and one that's worth

billions in marketing -

who lays claim to Santa?

His home has always been

known as the North Pole -

but is it Finland or Greenland?

Well, that fight is now over.

Greenland has officially given

up its claim to the Big Man and says

THIS tiny village in the Finnish

region of Lapland -

is where he actually lives.

He has a busy weekend ahead, hope he