BBC news with David Austin.

President Obama has condemned what he called for barbaric murder of an American jounalist Luke Somers and a South African teacher Pierre Korkie. They were being held hostage by al-Qaeda militants in Yemen. The US military says the men were murdered by the captors during a rescue attempt. Frank Gardner has the details.

This is America's third failed hostage rescue mission in the Middl East in less than 6 months. In July, its special operation's commander had launched a raid on the IS hideouts near Iraq and Syria in a bid to free Luke Somers and other US and British hostages. They were too late, the man had been moved just days earlier. The same thing happened in November when Luke Somers's in Yemen. In this latest raid, brain intelligent was accurate, they correctly located where Luke Somers was being held. But once his captors were aware of they were being attacked,they killed both him and Pierre Korkie.

The US defense secretary Chuck Hagel says extra 1,000 American troops will stay in Afganistan for the first month of next year to boost the new NATO-led mission which is struggling to rich its plan's strength. Mr Hagel was speeking at the Afghan capital Cabul.

President Obama has provided the US military commanders the flexibility to manage any temporary fall-shortfalls that we might be experience for a few months as we allow for coalition troops to arrive in theater. This would mean that delay would draw, and up to 1,000 US troops. But president's authorization would not change, it would not change our troops missions or the long-term timeline for our withdraw.

Militants' loyals to the IS group in Iraqi are reported to have executed 16 members of a tribe in the province of Anbar in the western of the country. The leader of the Al-Bu Nimar tribe said the bodies of the victims were flung in an abandoned well in an area, North of the hown of Hit. In recent months, ISIS was believed to had executed hundreds of member of this particular tribe group which decided with the Iraqi government against the militants.

Typhoon Hagupit has crashed into eastern islands of the Phillipines, tearing down trees and power lines. Reports from the city of Tacloban where thousands were killed by typhoon Haiyan a year ago say the roofs of some buildings have been blown away and famlies are sheltering by cadle-lighting schools. Serso Legardia who is part of world vision's typhoon response team said that people were scared.

People hardly have left, because winds are still howling, you don't itch all hosh night there * threatening marching in our hides and nobody can really sleep. After we go out of the building, we know that we see that the 3 ? were ? dead. It's easy, it's almost like a ghost town outside.

This is the world news from the BBC.

Pope Francis has warned that Chrstians have been driven from the Middle East, the Pontiff said in an video messege to Catholics in Iraq that the IS militants do not want that there to be any Christians in the region. He added the big group which he called extremist and fudamentalist was also targeting others like the Yezidi community because their religion and ethnicity.

The president of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe has addressed thousands of delegates on the final day of congress in the governing ZANU-PF party in the capital Harare. The 90 year old used the occasion to denounce the former colonial power-Britain.

We together have the responsiblity to protect and defend this land. So we shall never again as he did becoming colonial NGG of those wanders who called themslves British. ZANU-PF confirmed his wife Grace as the new head of its women's wing, correspondent say she maybe been groomed to succeed her husband.

Greek police have fired tear gas to disperse protestors in the main square in the capital Athens. Demonstrators set rubbish bins on fire and throw patrol bombs at police. Earlier, about 6,000 people marched through the street to mark 6 years since police shot dead an unarmed teenager. The killing sparkle the country's worse riots for years.

The draw for next year's women's World Cup football tournament is taking place in the Canadian capital Ottawa. The event features an expanded field of 24 teams and will be played in 6 Canadian cities from June. In the group face, the title defender Japan will face 3 first-time qualifiers. The Olympic champions the United States have a tough first-round of matches, meeting Australia, Sweden and Nigeria.

BBC news.