As their candidate for president. The russian leader wont even be attending that event some will see that as a sign that hes pretty confident. Theres now very little standing in the way of his re election in march. Virginia langeberg explains. He has spent almost 18 years in powerand is a manfamiliar with a grand entrance. However on this occasion, Vladimir Putin is expected to not even turn up to his own nomination event. Some have read that decision as a sign of confidence, but the kremlin says the president has a prior engagement. Today marks the official launch of Vladimir Putins president ial campaign. He runs as an independent and has until the end of january to collect 300,000 signatures to register his bid. There is little doubt he will be re elected. There are no strong rivals now that Anti Corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny has been formally disqualified. The Central Electoral Commission deemed him ineligible because of the corruption conviction which he says is politically motivated. Translation it is not about me, it is about the fact that a candidate is needed who will finally come to the election and 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. Following the ban, Alexei Navalny called on his supporters to boycott the election. Who says he will launch an appeal in the russian constitutional court. For a comfortable re election, meaning he will remain in powerfor another six years, until 202a. Hundreds of people have taken part in protests through the streets of lima for a second day, following the release of former leader Alberto Fujimori. He was serving a 25 yearjail sentence for human rights abuses, but was pardoned on medical grounds by perus president on sunday. Shuba krishnan reports. Gunshots, tear gas and mayhem. Protesters clashed with riot police through the streets of carews capital. For them, president kuczynski has agreed to release a mass murderer, a man responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent people during his governments war against left wing rebels in the 19905. Translation we are demanding the resignation of kuczynski and we wa nt the resignation of kuczynski and we want Alberto Fujimori sent back to jail. The announcement of Alberto Fujimoris release came days after kuczynski survived an Impeachment Vote in congress. Many believe the president made a deal with the opposition to release Alberto Fujimori in exchange for his political survival. Mr kuczynski denies the allegations. Translation this has been the most difficult decision of my life. This deals with the life and the health and the possibilities of life of an ex president who has been found guilty of access and great error. He was sentenced and has served 12 yea rs of was sentenced and has served 12 years of punishment. We cannot allow Alberto Fujimori to die in prison. Justice is not vengeance. Mr mack act to makes sun posted this photo, showing his father overcome with happiness when he realised he was free. 0n the streets of carew it is a different story, with many people angry that the former leader, convicted for human rights abuses, has been pardoned. Lets take a look at some of the other stories making the news. Authorities in the philippines have ordered a criminal investigation into a Shopping Mall fire in mindanao. The fire started after a storm hit davao and flooded parts of the city. At least 37 people died. The buildings administrators have denied suggestions that emergency exits were inadequate. Britains royal navy has detected an increase in the number of russian ships travelling through or near uk territorial waters over the holiday period. Since christmas eve, two vessels have passed close to uk waters and areas of national interest. Russian investigators are trying to work out what caused a bus to career into a pedestrian subway in moscow, killing at least four people. Victims include a woman in her thirties and a teenager. The driver told officials hed been trying to apply the brakes, but they didnt work. Faith 0rr reports. It is a task nobody would envy. These emergency workers are picking up the pieces after a bus crashed into an underpass. It killed several people and was only stopped by the roof of the tunnel. This was the terrifying moment the vehicle barrelled down the steps, hitting pedestrians. Officials say they are working to try to establish what caused the crash. Translation the bus was driving away from the square and due to unknown reasons, drove into a pedestrian underpass. An investigation is under way. Four people died and nine were hospitalised, two people refuse to go to hospital. The driver is in shock and investigators are working with him to try to figure out what happened. The driver has been detained by police but there is no suggestion this was terrorism. An inspection of the entire moscow bus fleet has now been ordered. However it happened, it is a tragedy that will leave a scar on the city into the year to come. A diplomatic row between venezuela and canada has intensified. Canada is banning venezuelas ambassador from returning to ottawa and expelling its charge daffaires. Canadas foreign minister has said its retaliation for the expulsion of its most senior diplomat from caracas over the weekend. Leonardo rocha, americas editor for bbc world service, gave us more analysis earlier. Canada and venezuela have been at odds for a few months. Canada has been supporting, to some extent, the opposition, which venezuela is protesting against, the lack of democracy and what they say are rights violations. What canada says, a strong statement. They said, canadians will not stand by as the government robs these people of their fundamental democratic and human rights. Also, two days ago, venezuela expelled the brazilian ambassador. What i believe is happening is venezuela is making a clear stand in giving a strong message to those who criticise the government of president nicolas maduro. We wont listen quietly, we will act. In the meantime, they are releasing 80 Political Prisoners and political activists. This comes at months before the president ial elections are expected to take place, in the first half of next year. How far do you think this will go diplomatically . In trade and economic terms with canada, they arent really important for venezuela. What really matters are relations with our allies. Mainly russia, cuba, other countries in the region that support venezuela like bolivia. And the United States, selling oil to the United States. All the economy is in trouble. Inflation is out of control. It is a message from the government of nicolas maduro. Venezuela is saying they are taking orders from the trump administration. They are making a clear stance that they will not take abuse. At the same time, they have a weakened opposition with many leaders injail or having escaped the country with the prospect of president nicolas maduro, probably in april or may next year, running for another six year term and securing and other term. People in liberia are going to the polls today to decide who is going to succeed Ellenjohnson Sirleaf as their president who has been in office since 2006. The second round race is between her Vice President and a former football star. Stay with us on bbc world news, still to come the worlds top wingsuit flyers in a jaw dropping bid for the world title. 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 had been 90 successful but its failed in its principal objective to capture general noriega and take him to the us to face drugs charges. The hammer and sickle was hastily taken away. The russian flag was hoisted over what is now no longer the soviet union, but the commonwealth of independent states. Day breaks slowly over lockerbie, over the cockpit of pan ams maid of the seas, nosedown in the soft earth. You could see what happens when a plane eight storeys high, a football pitch wide, 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 the town of shkroda where there were anti communist riots ten days ago. This is bbc news. The latest headlines Vladimir Putins election rival is barred from running as the president s supporters prepare to officially launch his campaign. Violence on the streets of peru following a decision to pardon the countrys former president. South Koreas Defense Ministry is launching a special team on north korea. Its an attempt at responding more effectively to increased threats from the countrys communist neighbour. North korea has made big strides in its nuclear and missile programmes in 2017 and is expected to continue on the same path in the new year. Our World Affairs correspondent paul adams has been to seoul to take a look at how the locals have been reacting to this new reality. Changing the guard in seoul. Ancient rituals in the heart of this modern city. In the past, the threat came from imperial rapacious japan but today the danger is just over the heels and this year it seemed to grow and grow. Month after month, north korea tested ever more fearsome missiles. The biggest thought to be capable of reaching almost anywhere in america. Rocket man is on a Suicide Mission for himself. The new man in the white house responded with insults and threats. We will have no choice but to totally destroyed north korea. And there were bigger and bigger displays of American Military might. The great armada of ships, air exercises involving the most advanced jets in the world, but nothing so far seems to work. The world failed to prevent north korea from becoming a nuclear state. At the border, curious visitors ca ptu red the border, curious visitors captured glimpses of life on the other side. Thanks to a steady trickle of defectors, south koreans have a rough idea of what goes on in the north but there is much that is unknown also. Translation looking through the telescope is very heartbreaking. It made me think about the recent soldier who defect that and how he must have felt. We founder a lot in 2017 about north koreas Ballistic Missile and nuclear capabilities. It is likely that next year we will find out even more but we still do not really know is what does kim jong un what all this technology for . Is in want to be treated with respect or does he have more aggressive intentions . South koreans are less afraid than kim jong un then you might imagine. When this man takes his impersonation of the north korean dictator to the streets of the capital, the reaction is hardly one of honour. Some guys say he is dangerous but we are not afraid. We are not afraid of kimjong un. Dangerous but we are not afraid. We are not afraid of kim jongun. But it is talk like that which infuriates the self declared hardliner and university infuriates the self declared ha rdliner and university professor. I think saying not to worry, in order to protect our sons and daughters, we need to take the hard course which is to prepare for the worse case scenario. Course which is to prepare for the worsecase scenario. If you are genuinely worried about the prospect of Nuclear Attack from the north, you might want to invest in one of this. A nuclear proof bunker which are about 50,000 you can have installed in your garden. Inside, everything you might need for an extended period of living underground at how likely is this doomsday scenario . Most people expect the provocations to continue but to stop well short of armageddon. The good news is that the north korean leadership is rational, circular and it wants to survive. It is manageable. Deterrence can fail but the bluster and rhetoric is not helpful, the fear mongering. For all the theoretical danger, most south koreans seem to agree. They know the north is on the verge of realising its nuclear ambitions. They wish it was not so but like the ivan are, the city seems unnaturally calm. Paul adams, bbc news. A short time ago i spoke with jacob shapiro, director of analysis for the Intelligence Firm geopolitical futures. If you look at every piece of rhetoric out of north korea, every statement, it is all about nuclear war or impending mass destruction. I think this is all an effort by north korea to make everyone extremely afraid of them and i think they have done a very good job of that. Ultimately, no, i do not think that north korea is about to launch a nuclear war on the world, and certainly theyre not going to let a little thing like further un sanctions drive them to that step. The assumption generally is that the north korean leadership is not suicidal, it does not want to start a war but it is clearly not going to give up its nukes either. How does this end do you think . Does the world just get used to a Nuclear Armed north korea . I think that is exactly the point. The north korean leaders are not only not suicidal, i also think theyre very rational and very logical. And the calculation that they have made is that nobody is going to come and take their Nuclear Weapons from them and that even if somebody comes and tries, they will be able to endure so, yeah, i think that ultimately the world is going to have to get used to a Nuclear North Korea. I will say htat im not sure that a world with a Nuclear North Korea it that different from a world with a non Nuclear North Korea. If north korea used Nuclear Weapons, the United States would obliterate it the next day. So ultyimately i think this is all a way for north korea to try and use lverage to get what they ultimately want, which is re unification of Korean Peninsula under their terms. It seems almost a bizarre thing to say, given the weapons involved and the millions of people already suffering and the million of people at risk, in a sense though, in this region, north korea is a side show, really, isnt it . I think it is a side show. I think it is used by foreign powers to play against each other. When the korean war broke out in 1950 it was really a conflict between the soviet union and the United States, and china got involved. Right now, some of the same dynamics are happening. You see the conflict between china and the United States playing out in north korea, you see russia trying to play around there in order to cause the United States problems and then the United States responding in kind by selling anti tank weapons to ukraine. And i think ultimately, when you think about the larger importance of this, it is that yhe us, increasingly more self absorbed, is pulling back from the region and were going to see japan and china competing more and more for regional power. And that may play out on the Korean Peninsula. How do you expect that competition to play out . Well, i think that competition is already playing out. If you look at chinas one belt one road initiative, you can find japanese investments in all those countries as well. If you look at all of the defence relationships that china is trying to establish, you see japan there as well, you see them also in central asia. I do not see this reaching a military conflict any time soon but i think around the periphery you will see different powers competing and i think ultimately they will try to constrain north korea to keep this problem in north korea. This is the worse for the chinese because if a major war does develop there, they have to worry about millions of north koreans streaming over the border and they dont want that. A Tropical Storm that was threatening Southern Vietnam has weakened and is expected to dissipate within forty eight hours. Almost a Million People have been told they may need to evacuate their homes forecasters are warning up to half a metre of rain could fall. In the state of Uttar Pradesh in india, each year around 2,000 women are killed over dowry demands. But an 80 year old grandmother has been waging a unique fight for gender equality. Parkashi tomar is indias oldest shooting champion. Heres her story. Not to be messed with. If youve enjoyed a day of festive excess eating and drinking a little too much perhaps the most exercise you want right now is reaching for the remote. So spare a thought for competitors in the wingsuit flying world cup. They spent most of their christmas jumping out of planes or balloons in china, atjinngu in yunnan province, as the bbcs tim allman explains. You know what they say what goes up must come down. A principle they understand all too well at the wingsuit flying world cup. Teams from around the globe competing in this extreme and hair raising sport. Translation i travelled more than 400 kilometres to see this. We arrived here early in the morning, just to watch the wingsuit flying show. Its spectacular you can say that again. A couple of skydivers perform a 360 Degree Rotating nosedive. While others piggybacked from their teammates. Not everybody was happy with how things turned out. Translation i