In next years elections. His political rival is barred from standing. Counting votes in a light various president ial election liberias president ial election, where former footballer of the year is seeking the top job. And the former leader serving a long prison sentence for human rights abuses and corruption asks for forgiveness after receiving a president ial pardon. Im aware that the results produced by my government were well received by some, but i recognize that i let others down. To them i ask forgiveness from the bottom of my heart. And english footballer harry kane smashes a 22yearold record for most goals scored in a calendar year. Hello, and welcome to bbc world news. A group of russian electors have formally given their support to Vladimir Putin as a candidate in next years president ial election. Mr. Putin is seeking a fourth term in office and will run as an independent this time. He still needs 300,000 signatures before his nomination is confirmed. On monday, putins main rival , Opposition Leader alexei navalny, was barred from standing in the election, but it has opted a call for an Opposition Boycott and raised fears about the lack of political choice. Reporter it was a big gathering of big names athletes, musicians, and filmmakers all here to nominate their candidate for president. Absent, though, was the man himself. Vladimir putin is apparently so confident of winning this election he didnt turn up. That did not dampen the enthusiasm of his supporters, though. They voted unanimously to back mr. Putin for a fourth term. Our country has been transformed from a country that was destroyed and without future into a really powerful state. Reporter their candidate, meanwhile, was here with children invited to a new years party at the kremlin. This was Vladimir Putin the benevolent, thinking of the future of his country. Earlier, russians saw images of putin the powerful with his cabinet. Here, he told a boy that ruling a country like russia wasnt hard. But after 18 years of him doing just that, the kremlin is struggling to inject real energy into this reelection race to ensure that people come out to vote when everything is so predictable. This man is now planning to make their task even harder. Alexei navalny calls himself the only real rival to mr. Putin. But this week, the popular anticorruption campaigner was ruled out of the president ial race. He has a criminal conviction. He says it is politically motivated. Mr. Navalny it is not about me. It is about the fact that a candidate is needed to speak openly about everything that happens in our country now, who will describe our reality honestly absence of prospects, poverty. I did that, and that is why you dont want to let me take part in the election. Reporter so now mr. Navalny is calling for a boycott of the whole process to undermine its legitimacy. Mr. Putin wont be too worried unless the boycott and street protests grow. Otherwise, he is betting that his message of strength and stability and more images like these will secure him another six years in power. Bbc news, moscow. Sharanjit counting is underway in a Runoff Election to choose the next president of liberia. It is a straight fight between current Vice PresidentJoseph Boakai and worldrenowned footballer george weah. This report from the capital, monrovia. Reporter voting went peacefully with no reports of any incidents. Accompanied by his supporters, Vice PresidentJoseph Boakai cast his ballot. He sounded confident. Asked whether he would accept the results if you lost, that if he lost that if he lost, he responded with a qualified yes. Vice president boakai we are willing to work with whatever final result. Reporter for supporters of former football star george weah, it looked like a victory dance when he went to vote. The man who won in the first round sounded incandescently confident. Weah i am going to win. What happens will not happen again. Reporter initial indications are that the runoff was better organized than the first round. Materials arrived on time and there have been no accounts of no complaints so far of multiple voting. But turnout appeared low. It has been pretty quiet here at the high school in central monrovia. Election officials are middling around without much to do. They say he has been like this almost all the day. In the last half an hour, only one person has come here to cast his ballot. With the result expected this week, liberians are looking forward to the outcome. These elections will mark the first time in more than 70 years that this country has set the stage for a peaceful transfer of power from one elected president to another. Sharanjit peru is divided over the legacy of its former president alberto fujimori. Some people see him as the man from economic collapse and communism, but to others he was a ruthless autocrat who authorized death squad killings. He had been spending a 35your prison term for human rights abuses, but the current president granted him a pardon. In a video posted to facebook, fujimori said he is deeply grateful. Take a look. Mr. Fujimori this has had a strong impact on me. I have mixed feelings of extreme joy and at the same time sorrow. Im aware that the results produced by my government were well received by some, but i recognize that i have let others down. To them i ask forgiveness from the bottom of my heart. Sharanjit a Senior Editor on latin america at the economist joined me from lima short time ago, and i asked him what the mood is like there. It came as a huge surprise to people. Demonstrators took to the streets on Christmas Day in quite large numbers. I think there will be continuing protests, but just as important will be the reaction of political opinion here and international. Sharanjit as you mentioned, he is a very divisive figure, and many protesters believe the pardon was illegally brought about. What is the general opinion amongst people you are talking to . Michael it was always going to be controversial. He has been in jail for more than 10 years. In an found guilty exemplary protest of Human Rights Violations and corruption. But the circumstances in which the pardon came about are very suspicious to many peruvians, because it came three days after a vote in congress in which president kuczynski survived an attempt to impeach him thanks to tion of 10 fujimorista people, led by kenji, alberto fujimoris son. It looks too many peruvians like a quid pro quo and sorted one. And a rather sordid one. The government claimed it was worried by fujimoris deteriorating health and did not want him to die in jail. Sharanjit to what extent is the current government, particularly president kuczynski, is in a weakened state as a result of this . Michael he is in an extremely weakened state, no doubt about that. He only survived just as they attempted to impeach him, which was an act of political vengeance by the fujimorista majority. He has only a small group of supporters in the congress. He survived the vote by appealing to the country as a democrat who was being faced with a parliamentary coup by what he saw or what he portrayed as the undemocratic fujimoristas. People gave him the benefit of the doubt and supported him. Many of them now feel he the trade them he betrayed them by immediately returning around and pardoning alberto fujimori. Sharanjit a british woman has been sentenced to three years in an egyptian prison after being found guilty of smuggling drugs into the country. Laura plummer, who was 33 and from englands north, was arrested in october when she was found carrying 290 tablets of a painkiller in her suitcase. Reporter Laura Plummers family and friends say she is naive, not a criminal. But today, the 33yearold shop worker from hull is beginning a threeyear sentence in jail in egypt. Her mother and her egyptian partner have been at court to support her during the hearings this week. Laura plummer had been traveling to the red sea resort to visit omar in october when she was stopped by the authorities. In her suitcase were 290 tramadol tablets, a painkiller which is legal on prescription in britain but banned in egypt. She said the tablets were for her partner, who suffers from severe back pain. But she was arrested and has been held since then in a communal cell with up to 25 women. Her family at home in hull have described todays sentence as horrendous. Shes a phenomenal girl. She works in hull. She sells clothes, she comes home, watches telly and goes to bed for she doesnt drink, she doesnt smoke, she doesnt do anything. She lives to go to egypt, she people, she is in love with omar. We cant believe this is happening to us. We are absolutely devastated. Reporter Laura Plummer had been going on holiday to egypts red sea resorts for several years. To her supporters, she has been let down by the country she loved. This woman does not deserve to be incarcerated in an egyptian prison, and to be honest with you, as much as i respect the customs of egypt and the laws and the judiciary and everything else, this will put people off traveling on holiday to egypt in the future, and i think egyptian authorities need to be mindful of that. Reporter the egyptian legal system is complex. Laura plummer will appeal against the threeyear sentence , a jail term her family says is shocking and unjust. Sharanjit lets take a look at the other stories making the news today. The u. S. Has placed sanctions on 2 north korean officials because of the countrys nuclear program. The u. S. Treasury says both men were key leaders of the north korean Ballistic Missile program. The Un Security Council imposed new sanctions on north korea on friday in response to Ballistic Missile tests. North korea said the move was an act of war. A heavy snowstorm in russias far east has caused severe disruption. Authorities have opened mobile Warming Centers for pedestrians who were forced to walk after Public Transit ground to a halt. A pensioner is recovering in hospital after being blown off a balcony. The airport and Ferry Service to the mainland were closed. Have hungvans hundreds of neckties outside government headquarters on tuesday. It is after the Prime Minister said he was justified in doubling his own salary because that was part of his job. He sparked outrage by passing a measure raising his salary from 1800 to 3500 a month. Peruvian football officiall accused of taking bribes has been cleared by a jury in the u. S. He was accused of taking cash in exchange for distributing marketing and media rights to matches. 2 south american football officials were convicted by the same jury on friday. Stay with us on bbc world news. Still to come, australia rules the ashes. After winning the series, they are back to make english visitors work hard. We saw this enormous tidal wave approaching the beach, and people started to run, and suddenly it was complete chaos. The United States troops have been trying to overthrow the dictatorship of general manuel noriega. The pentagon said the operation has been 90 successful, but it failed in its principal objective, to capture general noriega and take him to the United States to face charges. The hammer and sickle was hastily taken away. The russian flag was hoisted over what is no longer the soviet union, but the commonwealth of independent states. Day broke slowly over lockerbie, with a cockpit nosedown in the soft dirt. You can see what happens when a plane eight stories high falls from 30,000 feet. Christmas has returned to albania after a communist ban lasting more than 20 years. Thousands went to Midnight Mass in a town where there were anticommunist riots 10 days ago. Sharanjit this is bbc world news. The latest headlines Vladimir Putins supporters nominate him to run as an independent candidate in next years election. His political rival is barred from standing. And now some action from the ashes. Australia opener david warner struck as england endured a tough time on opening day in melbourne. Warner dazzled with fine play in a onesided session against the england side that look flattened. The tourists fought back, and warner could have been dismissed only for tom curran to be denied his wicket when replay showed he had overstepped. Patrick is in melbourne for us and joins us live from there. Patrick, looking a lot sunnier than it is in london. Is australia looking to take home their advantage today . Patrick they very much are, and that because of who they have bat, theout to australian captain. The omens are not good for him. The last time he was out in a test match on this ground was all the way back in 2014. He scored 434 runs since the dismissal and is averaging 140 on this ground, even more than the great donald bradman, the best that there ever was. He is 65 not out and they will be desperate to get rid of him early on day 2. To their credit, they managed to dry up the run somewhat after the swashbuckling century and reprieve from david warner. Things are not going to get any easier for them on day 2. The temperature is expected to reach 35 degrees celsius. That is really high and not the kind of weather that you want to bowl in. Australia feel they can get in and out of this match on day 2. It will be a real endurance test for the england bowlers and fielders. Sharanjit sunny day having an impact. It has been a great day for the home crowd on boxing day, but there has been some criticism of the pitch at the melbourne cricket ground. Patrick certainly has. The page is called the dropin pitch. The service is used for football and other events. It is criticized for being too slow and flat. A man of melbourne himself, he called it flat as an ironing board. England bowler Jimmy Anderson suggested it was not the kind of thatce for the big crowds come through the gates. The consensus is that you have to bowl defensively and dry up the runs, and that does not lend itself to a thrilling spectacle. Whichever side wins, they will have to fight really hard and that victory will be earned in sweat. Sharanjit Patrick Greer he in melbourne, thank you for joining us. English footballer harry kane has set a new record of 39 goals in the premier league in a calendar year doing it in style with a hat trick at wembley. Kane headed in a free kick from Christian Eriksen to give a 10 lead over southampton and rake break alan shearers 22yearold record. A second goal followed just before halftime as he swept in across, and midway through the second half, song was the provider as kane completed his hat trick with the delicate chip. Haul to 56his gold. Earlier, the bbc spoke to Bradley Allen. He coached harry caine harry kane as a youngster and he witnessed harry kane make history at wembley. My colleague began by asking when he made of this new record. It is a remarkable achievement, and something that all Tottenham Hotspur supporters and people who have worked with harry on this incredible journey he is on, it is an outstanding 2017. Reporter have you spoken to him for has anyone heard from him since . Ive not had the opportunity, live thisch him afternoon in my immediate capacity, and to see harry developed, having worked with him as a 14, 16yearold come and go from strength to strength and become the goalscoring expert he now is, to break the alan shearer record, who himself was one of the finest of his generation in terms of goalscoring, this is just an unbelievable achievement. Reporter did you spot it early . Were the signs there . Harry showed glimpses. One of the biggest compliments i could give him is that he was just a fantastic learner. Just a small part that all the coaches have played along the way, head of the academy, deserves a lot of credit as well. We were patient with him. And since maurice has come to the club, he has allowed harry to really blossom and flourish as a footballer. Reporter can you explain what it is exactly that he does so well strength or speed or skill . What is it that makes him so good . Won any tips has or ideas he was given, and he would then be prepared to work on those aspects of his game and more. A fair a player of frank lamperts magnitude. Frank was one who got the maximum of the ability he had, and similarly with harry. He comes from a tremendously stable, very supportive family. A lovely and humble young man, and a real credit to himself and the people around him. Reporter how big is his future career, do you think . This achievement is exceptional, and supporters were really hoping that in future years with the new stadium on the horizon in 2018 that harry kane is going to be playing his best football at that venue. You have the world cup in russia next summer. To be truly regarded as one of the greats, harry would most definitely know that he would have to achieve and produce of at the biggest tournament. I think he will be looking forward to that, but first and foremost, he loves playing for Tottenham Hotspur. Sharanjit that was Bradley Allen speaking there. Former World ChampionLewis Hamilton apologized after sharing the video on instagram criticizing his nephew for wearing a dress. In the post, since deleted, he said, boys dont wear dresses. The post was the subject of an online backlash. Hamilton later made an apology. A man who almost died after suffering burns on 95 of his body has been saved by skin transplants from his twin brother. He had an accident at work which left him with deep burns. His twin brother donated half his skin to save him. We met the pair at a Rehabilitation Center in northern france. Sharanjit remarkable story there. Several people, including six children, remain in a serious condition in hospital after a fireworks explosion at the popular cuban carnival on christmas eve. An amateur video captured the incident, which injured 39 people in the central town. The centuriesold festival takes place every year and draws thousands of cubans and tourists. That is it for this bulletin. With the bbc