you can't beat wham, in my opinion. now, just to get you in the festive mood, take a look at this — in the skies over the us state of utah. not santa's reindeer on an early visit, i'm afraid — these were actually deer being airlifted for an annual medical check. biologists capture around 1,200 of them every year and fit them with gps monitors, before re—releasing them back into the wild. the idea is to help the deer cope with encroaching urbanisation, disease, predators, wildfires and severe weather. talking of the weather, here is chris fawkes and we were reporting earlier on storm pia. storm pia has been causing disruption across the country. this truck toppled over on

the m6,the manchester orbital ring road, some disruption there, and problems at the airports, these are top gusts from storm pia. gusts into the 70s in parts of scotland and also over the tops of the pennines, so some very strong disruptive gusts of wind. the centre of storm pia is actually quite away from our shores and it will be bringing some damaging winds into denmark as we go through the next 12 hours or so. we've got these north—westerly winds which will continue to feeding, continue to be very blustery through the rest of this afternoon, gusts in the rest of this afternoon, gusts in the range of around 50—60 miles an hour, strong enough to cause some localised disruption and as well as those strong winds—macro plenty of showers packing and across north—western areas. temperatures for many others reaching double figures today, so on the mild side, but cold air looking across northern scotland where overnight tonight the show is pushing into shetland will turn increasingly to snow, so we are

talking about localised accumulations of snow, conditions turning quite nicely, even blizzards for a time here. elsewhere we have the shower is continuing to pile in on what will be another gusty night, gusty north—westerly winds for us. on into the forecast for tomorrow. outbreaks of rain working in from the north and west. there will be some sunny spells for many others. staying cold for shetland with further wintry showers working on here and temperatures barely getting above freezing. further southwards notice we have the temperature is running well into double figures, so real change to the feel of the weather i suspect. on into friday night and into saturday, a weather front starts to bump into some of the cold air that we have across northern scotland, so i don't think it's just going to be shetland that sees snow. we'll probably cease no doubt some low elevations across northern scotland for a time saturday morning, then milder air pushes in so any snow should turn back to rain. further southwards something a bit brighter and drier, there will be some sunny spells coming through the cloud and add temperatures for the most part around 12—13 , still quite cold

across the north—east of scotland. what about the big day? through christmas eve it stays quite blustery with further patches of rain across the north and the west. christmas day for most of us, we've got a relatively mild flow of air so it's more likely to be a great christmas than a white one but across northern scotland we may see across northern scotland we may see a fusion snow showers working in there. thanks, chris. and that's bbc news at one. now it's time to join our colleagues for the news where you are. from me and the team, have a very good afternoon.

ahead of playing arsenal at the weekend, liverpool managerjurgen klopp criticises the atmosphere in parts of anfield during his side's league cup win last night. and a night to rememberfor 16—year—old night to remember for 16—year—old look littler night to rememberfor 16—year—old look littler making his debut round two of the dutch championship after beating a player ranked over 70 places higher than him. —— parts championship. —— darts championship. welcome along. thank you forjoining us. take a breath. we start with a ruling that could have major ramifications for football and its governing bodies. the european court ofjustice has ruled against uefa and fifa for threatening to ban clubs from joining breakaway competitions like the controversial european super league. back in april

2021, there was widespread anger when news broke that 12 teams, including liverpool, manchester united, arsenal, chelsea, manchester city, tottenham had signed up to the breakaway competition. it led to the collapse of the plants within 72 hours, with uefa and fifa sing club tojoin of the plants within 72 hours, with uefa and fifa sing club to join the breakaway league would be banned from their competitions. real madrid and barcelona pursued the venture. today's ruling has found it is anti—competitive to stop them. that does not necessarily give them. that does not necessarily give the green light to a breakaway league. so much to unpack. and smithjoins us now. what's the european court ofjustice said today? one of the key reasons that the original idea for the european super league fell apart so quickly was that uefa and fifa said any club he joined the breakaway league would be banned from their competitions. today, as you say, the european court ofjustice basically said that was illegal. they said the fifa and

uefa rules making any new football project subject to their prior approval, such as the super league, and private in clubs and players from playing in those competitions are unlawful. so effectively what they have said is that uefa and fifa cannotjust ban the players and clubs who want to set up another competition without good reason. so much a strong feeling around us. what has the reaction been like? de: groot behind what has the reaction been like? lie: groot behind the idea for the european super league, a group called a swing —— a 22, said it is a big victory for them. they are already proposing plans for a new revamped european super league, a months competition including 64 clubs, the women's competition which would include 32 clubs across two leaks. barcelona, one of the biggest clubs in europe, say they are up for the idea. in the last hour or so, manchester united have issued a statement. manchester united were one of the six premier league clubs that originally were involved in the first proposal, their statements as they remain fully committed to

participation in uefa competitions stop in the last few minutes, we have also heard from the head of uefa. it have also heard from the head of uefa. , ., ., have also heard from the head of uefa. , . ., . uefa. it is fair to say that the ress uefa. it is fair to say that the press release _ uefa. it is fair to say that the press release issued - uefa. it is fair to say that the press release issued by - uefa. it is fair to say that the press release issued by the l uefa. it is fair to say that the l press release issued by the ec] uefa. it is fair to say that the - press release issued by the ec] and subsequent media generation does not fully reflect the court's findings. in fact, — fully reflect the court's findings. in fact, there is a stark contrast between — in fact, there is a stark contrast between the press statement and the judgment _ between the press statement and the judgment. the judgment is actually positive, _ judgment. the judgment is actually positive, as it embraces the key features— positive, as it embraces the key features of the european football pyramid — features of the european football pyramid. open competitions, sporting merit, _ pyramid. open competitions, sporting merit, and _ pyramid. open competitions, sporting merit, and solidarity. you pyramid. open competitions, sporting merit, and solidarity.— merit, and solidarity. you mentioned that breakaway _ merit, and solidarity. you mentioned that breakaway competition - merit, and solidarity. you mentioned that breakaway competition and - merit, and solidarity. you mentioned | that breakaway competition and these revamped plans that we have heard of today. how likely is any of this to actually happen going it is worth emphasising that are still a huge number of obstacles to any potential european super league. figs number of obstacles to any potential european super league.— number of obstacles to any potential

european super league. as we saw two ears auo, european super league. as we saw two years ago. the _ european super league. as we saw two years ago. the fans — european super league. as we saw two years ago, the fans are _ years ago, the fans are overwhelmingly against the idea. the football supporters association have issued a statement saying supporters, players and clubs have made it clear they do not want a stitched up competition, as they call it. the government you have set their new football regulator would stop clubs from joining any breakaway european super league. importantly, the european court says in its ruling does not mean a new breakaway league would be necessarily approved, but certainly this does potentially open the door to new competitions. and this does potentially open the door to new competitions.— to new competitions. and a swiss, thank ou to new competitions. and a swiss, thank you for— to new competitions. and a swiss, thank you for keeping _ to new competitions. and a swiss, thank you for keeping across - to new competitions. and a swiss, thank you for keeping across this | thank you for keeping across this for us. oursports thank you for keeping across this for us. our sports corresponded. there is much more on the bbc sport website. a developing story today. we will keep you across it here on bbc news. let's keep talking about football. the semifinal line—up for the efl cup is complete with middlesbrough facing chelsea and liverpool taking on fulham. both semis will take place over two legs the week beginning january 8th. liverpool booked their place in the last four after a 5—1win over west ham at anfield, as opur sports correspondent joe wilson reports.

the two manager spent to build up being nice to each other. is it the time of year? well, respect is always welcome. but could west ham challenge at anfield? dominic szoboszlai thought about his shot and then put it right there. perfect. 1—0 liverpool. very one—sided first half. wait until you see the second. curtisjones picked the space between the keeper's feet. cody gakpo's finish was just as precise. again, west ham gave him the chance to pick his moment. 3—0. the match was over when west ham finally got going. jarrod bowen, a reminder. they have some fine players. so do liverpool. mohammed salisu mod for the last half—hour. on a night like he scored. —— mahamat salac. whenjones scored liverpool's fifth, west ham seem to be in retreat. few semifinals are reached this easily. joe wilson, bbc news.

we saw him thumping his fist in the air there. after the game, liverpool manager jurgen klopp voiced his displeasure with a section of the home support at anfield, calling for a better atmosphere on saturday when his side play the premier league leaders arsenal in a huge game in the title race. in the first have a little bit when the boys played really exceptional, i was not overly happy, i have to say, with the atmosphere behind me. i don't know. i asked people, what do you want? we change a lot of things, we dominate west ham like crazy, we miss chances. if i had been any stand, i would be on my toes 1000%. —— been in the stand. luton town captain tom lockyer, who suffered a cardiac arrest during last saturday's game at bournemouth, has been discharged from hospital. the club says the 29—year—old has now had an implantable cardioverter defibrillator device fitted — and says his cardiac arrest at the weekend was different to when he collapsed in the championship play—off final in may because of an irregular heart rate.

luton say lockyear has now begun a period of rehabilitation, but his leadership will continue from the sidelines. in germany, harry kane is heading into his first bundesliga winter break with a big smile on his face. the england captain told reporters after beating wolfsburg that he is going to text all his friends in england a picture of him on the beach somewhere. on the pitch, he scored his 21st league goal of the season — in just 15 matches — to double bayern's lead against wolfsburg, and it proved to be the winner with bayern winning 2—1. it's also kane's 29th goal of the season in all competitions. england and sydney sixers all—rounder tom curran has been banned forfour games in australia's big bash league after being found guilty of intimidating an umpire. he was charged over an incident earlier this month before a game against hobart hurricanes. cricket australia has found that curran was involved in a disagreement with an umpire during the warm—up.

curran and his club deny the offence, and say they'll appeal. it was a night 16—year—old luke littler will never forget after he raced through to the second round of the pdc world darts championship. the crowd were singing, "you've got school in the morning," as littler — making his debut in the competition no less — put in a really impressive performance as he beat dutchman christian kist 3—0 at alexandra palace. he's the fourth—youngest player to compete in the competition and hit seven 180s. he'll play another englishman andrew gilding in the next round on thursday and says he can't wait. it isa it is a massive experience. i have watched the darts a few times, the crowd are always singing. i am glad they were on my side tonight. they helped me over the line even more. i knew my practice was going well, but i didn't think that i would take it

onto the stage. but i did, and i am just glad i won the bill. i won the first set to break christian. going into the third set, it was my darts, it was mine to lose. with the highest average on debut at the worlds, it was unbelievable. ijust wanted to win tonight, so anything else is an over achievement for myself. else is an over achievement for m self. ~ ., ., ~i else is an over achievement for m self. ~ ., ., ., , myself. we look forward to his next one on thursday. _ myself. we look forward to his next one on thursday. that's _ myself. we look forward to his next one on thursday. that's all - myself. we look forward to his next one on thursday. that's all from . myself. we look forward to his next| one on thursday. that's all from you for now. —— from me for now. hello, you're watching bbc news. we have some breaking news to bring you. an unexpected strike by tunnel workers has led to eurostar rail services being suspended, threatening the christmas holiday

plans for a number of travellers. the breaking news at the moment is that an unexpected strike by tunnel workers has led to eurostar rail services being suspended. we'll bring you more as and when we get it. more now on the government announcing that british sign language will be taught as a gcse in england from september 2025. it says the qualification will be open to all pupils, who will learn around a thousand signs, as well as some of the language's history. our reporter rachel mcadam has more. the curriculum for british sign language gcse has been published after 12 weeks of consultation with teachers, parents, and groups from the deaf and hearing communities. pupils in england will be able to study the subject from september 2025. susan daniels as chief executive of the national deaf

children's society, and she says that the gcse will celebrate the rich history and culture of british sign language. she also said that she is delighted that the course content has been published after ten years of campaigning. now, the british deaf association estimates that around 151,000 people in the uk use bsl, a british sign language, and 87,000 of those people are deaf themselves. but an adult education couege themselves. but an adult education college that teaches bsl did a survey in 2019, and that found that 94% of brits do not feel confident that they no more than two words in bsl. if i take myself as an example, the only thing i know how to say is hello, my name is rachel. i hope that was ok. bsl was officially recognised as a language in the uk last year, after the british sign baggage act was passed on the government for said it would consider introducing a gcse in bsl after a campaign by 17—year—old

danieljennings. daniel is