and what british traditions should be saved? morris dancing, panto and cheese rolling, all in the running for un protected status. and the charities training guide dogs facing a shortage of volunteers post pandemic — our correspondent has a special report. hello, i'm lauren taylor. a minute's silence has been held in prague to remember the victims of thursday's mass shooting. bells toll. the czech republic is holding a day of national mourning for those killed in the attack, with flags flown at half—mast. 1a people were shot dead at charles university by a student who then killed himself.

it's one of the deadliest attacks by a lone gunman in europe this century. police are still trying to establish a motive. our correspondent sarah rainsford is in prague. bells toll. a nation paused today, to remember the victims of an attack people here can't make sense of, that has brought pain and suffering. church bells rang out across the czech republic, to mark the moment. to honour those killed when a student attacked his own university, shooting in the corridors and classrooms. so far, we know three of the dead, including a teacher who was 49. here at the faculty attacks some have

person #58 connections to the victims. a friend of these women survived by locking herself into a classroom to hide. she cowered done the table. i saw her yesterday, i felt sorry for her, she was still shaking. images from a bodycamera show the police hunt for the gunman, inside charles university. at this point the 24—year—old was prowling the corridors above. we are told most of his victims were female, but we have no idea of his motive. in the end, he turned his gun on himself. many people were seriously injured, carried out of the building by police. so, iasked carried out of the building by police. so, i asked the interior minister, did he think mistakings had been made.— minister, did he think mistakings had been made. ~ , ., , had been made. when i see really the time line of— had been made. when i see really the time line of this _ had been made. when i see really the time line of this crime, _ had been made. when i see really the time line of this crime, i _ had been made. when i see really the time line of this crime, i really - time line of this crime, i really don't see any empty places where the police could work better than they did. , ., ., . ~ police could work better than they did. ,. ., . ~ .,, police could work better than they

did. ,. ., police could work better than they did. ., ., y did. this attack has not only brou . ht did. this attack has not only brought horror _ did. this attack has not only brought horror here - did. this attack has not only brought horror here to - did. this attack has not only i brought horror here to prague, did. this attack has not only - brought horror here to prague, it is a national tragedy, there are so many questions to answer about how exactly it was possible, and how to prevent anything like it in the future. the mass shooting is the worst this country has ever known. and it targeted young students and teachers who should have been returning home to their families now for christmas. sarah rainsford, bbc news, prague. israel has continued its bombardment of the gaza strip overnight, with reports of air strikes and ground attacks. these pictures are from khan younis, in southern gaza. large plumes of smoke rise in different parts of the city following air attacks. this comes after the united nations passed a resolution on the war on friday, the president of the un on the war on friday. the president of the un security council, jose de la gasca, has said this move represents a crucial step towards averting a humanitarian catastrophe. it was agreed after days of negotiations and delays. the resolution aims to increase the supplies of aid to the, but didn't call for an immediate end to the fighting. after the vote the un secretary—general, antonio guterres,

reiterated his call for a ceasefire. a humanitarian ceasefire is the only way to begin to meet the desperate needs of people in gaza and end their ongoing nightmare. i hope that today's security council resolution may help that finally to happen, but much more is needed immediately. looking at the longer term, i'm extremely disappointed by comments by senior israeli officials that put a two—state solution into question. as difficult as it might appear today, the two—state solution in line with un resolutions, international law and previous agreements is the only path to sustainable peace. let's take a look at some of the main points from that un security council resolution in terms of aid, they demand all sides

of the israel—gaza conflict allow deliveries into gaza at scale. the resolution does not call for an immediate ceasefire, instead calling to "create the conditions" for one but they do call for "the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages". i've been speaking tojuliette touma, spokesperson from unwra, about the work flow of humanitarian aid coming into gaza after the un resolution. look, what is really, really needed is a standard regular flow of humanitarian and commercial supplies into gaza. you see, before the war started, gaza got, received every day 500 trucks of commercial supplies and of humanitarian aid and of fuel. none of, in any of the days since the war started, has gaza received anything close to that amount, so until we get to that amount, at the very minimum, things are not going to change, so this is what needs to happen, and what needs to equally happen, and it is overdue, is a humanitarian ceasefire. it has been 11 very very long brutal weeks for the people of gaza.

it is time for this nightmare to come to an end. earlier, mark regev, the senior adviser to the israeli prime minister, gave his response to calls for a ceasefire in gaza. if you want a ceasefire, that, from israel's perspective, can only happen with the release of hostages. as you know, hamas continues to hold over 100 hostages. there's a chance, because they want that ceasefire, they need that ceasefire, they will agree to the hostages. but had we, to be frank, had we agreed to the un secretary—general�*s proposal over a month ago for this unilateral ceasefire, we would never have got the 110 hostages out that we did in november. hamas isn't going to release hostages because they've suddenly become humanitarians. they do so because they respond to the pressure and the israeli defense forces are applying that pressure. the pressure, though, president biden has described israel's bombing as indiscriminate.

is israel now prepared to accept that the tactics need to change within this war to make it less deadly for civilians? first of all, all along we've said that civilians are not the target of our operation. our enemy is hamas. and i've sat in meetings with senior american officials where we've actually shown very clearly how the israeli defense forces, how we select a site to be targeted, how we decide on the munitions, we look at collateral damage and try to minimize that and so forth. it's a very rigorous process of target selection that i think compares well with what you do in britain and what happens in the united states, other western armies. the munitions you're using, though, as i understand it, are mostly unguided. why are you not using more precision weapons, if that's what you say you want to do to minimize civilian casualties? we use both. but when we use munitions that are less precise, we do that from close launch using guide bomb techniques so as we can be as precise as it's humanly possible in what is ultimately

a difficult combat situation. but can i add the these calls from the secretary—general, and we just heard a spokesperson from from unwra, people who call for an immediate ceasefire, what are they ultimately saying? they're saying israel has to cease its operation against hamas and hamas stays in power in gaza. that's the bottom line. mobile internet services have been suspended in parts of indian—administered kashmir as troops conduct a search operation against separatists. it follows an ambush of two indian army vehicles on thursday in which five soldiers were killed. tensions are rising again in india's only muslim—majority region. our south asia correspondent anbarasan ethirajan has more. the indian security forces have been deployed in the poonch and rajouri districts of indian—administered kashmir following this ambush a couple of days ago, in which five indian soldiers were killed in a suspected attack by separatist rebels. so that has increased the tension.

and subsequently, the indian media is reporting that three people were found near the place where this attack took place in kashmir, and these people were allegedly taken by security forces for questioning. so that caused unrest among the population and to prevent any further untoward incidents the authorities say that they are now suspending internet because some videos were circulating on social media about the detention of these civilians by indian security forces. but so far there has been no comment, anyone from the indian security forces or from the administration of indian administered kashmir. so this all comes in the backdrop of increased rebel activity in the past few months in this region. see, india and pakistan, they both claim this region in full, but they control only in part. these two districts lie very close to the line of control, which is described as the de facto border between india and pakistan.

so the heightened tension comes amid public anger over what they see as unfair treatment by the indian authorities. today is expected to be one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year across the uk. of the busiest shopping weekends with many people still planning to make a last minute dash for christmas presents and food. the british retail consortium says many stores are pinning their hopes on this flurry of christmas spending to tide them over the first few months of the new year. today is expected to be one of the busiest shopping weekends live now to our correspondent yunus mulla, who is in manchester city centre. how's it looking where you are? i have to say manchester city centre has looked business yes, it could be the rain, but it could be those rising costs, that many people across the country are facing, certainly the local authority have told me today, they have noticed that people are being superconscious

about that, perhaps not going the extra mile when it comes to buying those presents, for loved ones, or friends, and choosing carefully. what they have done here, is christmas markets, they have proved incredibly popular, but they have gone and now the focus of course is on today and tomorrow. what's has the british retail consortium had to say? what they have said is there has been a rough few months, you know, the elevated cost of living, the rising mortgage costs, and what they have noticed is that has had an impact on foot fall and the number of shoppers coming here in manchester from across the country, really, and what they are hoping of course, is that people may have left it late, they want to get the last minute gifts, and today and tomorrow, trading will pick up, and that this perhaps could be the busiest weekend of the year. i have

had a quick look round and i can see the sale signs in many of the windows, that will cause some competition of course, and perhaps that will feed into the amount of shopping that people do, because of course people want those last minute bargains and they may be out here. now it's time for a look at today's sport. hello from the bbc sport centre. we start with the english premier league with six games on saturday, one of which is under way at the london stadium, it's manchester united in seventh who are playing at ninth placed west ham united. just one point separating the sides going into this game, with half an hour played it's goalless. it's a busy after that with burnley who are now bottom away at fulham, another team fighting for survival, luton town, play newcastle, nottingham forest begin life with new manager nuno espirito santo at home to bournmouth,

whilst tottenham can move into the top four if they beat an everton side who've won four league games in a row. the late game is the big one. whoever wins will be top of the premier league at christmas. the leaders arsenal are at liverpool, who are just one point behind them in the table. the londoners haven't won at anfield since 2012, when manager mikel arteta was playing for arsenal. they were 2—0 up there last season, before liverpool fought back to get a 2—2 draw. it's arguably the result that led to arsenal falling of in the title race, with manchester city off in the title race, with manchester city ultimately champions. but arteta believes things can turn out differently this season: yeah, we have done it, in old trafford, we have done it in stamford bridge and many other places we haven't, that is the next challenge, go there and win, and, you want to be at the top, you are going to have to go to those places and be dominant and win the games and be dominant and win the games and that is what we will try to do. massive game. great. great to have them, _ massive game. great. great to have

them, great — massive game. great. great to have them, great to meet them, we met obviously— them, great to meet them, we met obviously quite frequently, and, yeah _ obviously quite frequently, and, yeah it's — obviously quite frequently, and, yeah. it's good. but we have to mike sure we _ yeah. it's good. but we have to mike sure we make it a proper home game, a proper— sure we make it a proper home game, a proper anfield experience, that is all i want _ it's a big night for britain's anthonyjoshua as he gets ready to face 0tto valeen in a must—win heavyweight contest. joshua cut a lean and muscularfigure, weighing in at 17 stone 13 pounds. a win over sweden's valeen at the kingdom arena in riyadh could set up a long—awaited contest against deontay wilder who'll be fighting joseph parker on a blockbuster night of boxing. i'm not here to party and get caught up i'm not here to party and get caught up in the glamour, i want to perform well, put that pressure on myself, of course i am tense because i want to perform and win, i have that urge to perform and win, i have that urge to win and i want to hurt my opponent as well. pure focus on

saturday, that is where every cell of my body is fully focussed to doing what i of my body is fully focussed to doing what i know i can do. in the nba, the defending champions the denver nuggets, held off a late surge from the brooklyn nets to get a third straight win. as is so often the case when the nuggets play, centre nicola jokic, led the way. the serbian finished the game with 29 points and also added a further 11 rebounds. team—mate jamaal murray, however, outscored him on this occasion. this three pointer, part of his game high 32. he also had nine assists. the win was denver's 20th of the season and they currently sit third in the western conference, behind the minnesota timberwolves and oklahoma city thunder. meanwhile in philadelphia, there was an early scare for 76ers starjoel embeed, who appeared to hurt his ankle, in the first quarter. but despite showing visible signs of discomfort against the 2019 champions, the reigning mvp, turned in a performance, be—fitting one of the game's leading players. embeed finished with 31 points, ten rebounds and nine assists as the 76ers took the win.

i think he was ok, obviously he stayed in the game, and didn't change any part of his rotation, i don't think at all for the night, except at the very end, but, yeah, i mean, i imagine, you know, i am sure it will be sore tomorrow, we will have to monitor pretty closely before we get on the plane. in what's seen as a boost for donald trump, the us supreme court has refused to fast—track a decision on whether he can be tried for federal crimes or whether, on the contrary, he enjoys presidential immunity. the court's ruling means that mr trump's trial on charges that he tried to overturn the 2020 election, due this march, may well be delayed. the ex—president wants it postponed until after next november's presidential poll, in which he's running.

ukraine's military says it has shot down thre russian fighter—bombers in the south of the country. the ukrainian air force said the su—34jets, like these, were brought down around noon on friday, in the region around kherson, after action taken by an anti—aircraft missile unit. the kremlin has not commented on the claims. meanwhile the uk's ministry of defence has outlined a new issue facing both sides in the conflict, it says there are exceptional levels of rat and mice infestation around the front lines. it says the warm autumn has led to large numbers of rodents, and as the weather becomes colder, they're likely to seek shelter in vehicles and defensive positions. the update notes that a similar thing happened in the same area during the second world war, and the mice and rats pose a risk to military equipment by gnawing through cables. and the uk ministry of defence also says it has seen unverified reports that russian units are starting to suffer from increased sickness cases, which the troops are attributing to the pest problem.

for the first time in centuries, ukraine is going to celebrate christmas on the 25th of december. injuly, president zelensky signed into law a parliamentary bill that aimed to "abandon the russian heritage of imposing christmas celebrations". it followed the decision of the orthodox church of ukraine to move to the gregorian calendar, which changed the christmas day from 7th january to 25th december. from kyiv — our ukraine correspondent james waterhouse reports. bauble painting on the outskirts of kyiv. in a war which takes so much, there's no stopping christmas. some, though, are more experienced at making decorations than others. this woman has done this since 1978. "i like it. it's interesting for me. i enjoy it," she says.

this factory in the kiev region was one of three to supply the whole of the soviet union. it still creates pieces of christmas cheer, but on a much smaller scale. this time there's an unmistakable military theme. translation: i think that everyone who will take a look at a bauble - like this will hope for the victory of our nation sooner. despite the cold industrial exterior, there's still a warm magic inside. the meaning of christmas, despite everything, has not changed for ukrainians, but the way they celebrate it has. in a cultural shift fuelled by russia's aggression. fewer places know that aggression better than the town of bucha. a memorial stands on what was once a mass grave for 500 civilians killed by russian troops.

ukraine is moving christmas to 25th december to both distance itself from russia, which marks it on 7th ofjanuary, and align itself with the west. for father andriy, it's more than just a diary change. translation: unfortunately for many people in the world, _ ukraine is always viewed in the context of being a neighbour of russia. but i think that we are more a neighbour of europe. could you ever forgive russia for what it's done to ukraine? god forgives the sinner, but only those who repent. we don't see yet that the russians want to. so i think it's too early to talk about forgiveness. for ukraine, that would require russia to stop its invasion. there are no signs of that happening. james waterhouse, bbc news, bucha.

british traditions, such as panto, hogmanay and cheese rolling could be in line for united nations protected status. david sillito reports. pantomime is a uniquely british and enormously popular tradition. but should it go on a list of british cultural activities worthy of preservation? the british government will next year sign up to unesco's convention for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage which means the un body will provide guidance, oversight and recommendations on how to preserve designated cultural traditions. the government now wants to know what people think should actually go on the list. cheese rolling, for instance, is uniquely british but its popularity would suggest it is probably not in need of preservation. whereas many local crafts are in steep decline.

the question is which ones would merit being added to the list? france, greece and spain all have dry stone walling on their list. should it be on ours? belgium has added beer making. argentina and uruguay have tango. should we include a dance? maybe morris dancing or the highland fling. are they cultural treasures? the government would like to know. following the pandemic, charities training guide dogs have faced a shortage of volunteers to raise puppies, a story we've been following over the last year. since we first reported on it, hundreds of people have applied to help foster guide dog puppies. 0ur correspondent sean dilley, who has been helped by a guide dog himself, has been finding out how they're already changing lives for the better. hello! reintroducing rebel. that's marvellous, marvellous. now, rebel is on the good list, isn't he. he is on the very good list, and by summer 2024 it is hoped

he will be on the guide dogs ready to train list. he's an absolute little treasure, really. earlier this year, injune, we met the niblock family from suffolk. they had just welcomed retriever lab rebel. we are hoping he is rebel with a cause, though. hello you. they volunteered to raise a guide dog puppy after bbc breakfast shared my last working walk with guide dog sammy. sammy is more important to me, he always will be. they were among thousands who stepped forward, after we highlighted pandemic delays and a national shortage of volunteers, leaving many blind and visually impaired people like me without a guide dog. it has been six month since we last caught up with the niblocks. this visit to the cambridge christmas market with puppy raisers eve and jess looks fun, because it is fun. their young student is learning without realising it.

for rebel and the niblock family, a very merry christmas day is set, and it will be a christmas day they will never forget. he is such a big part of our family and we love him to bits, but knowing he is going to change someone's life, and you know, the outcome we are going to get at the end of it, that is what we have to concentrate on. the niblock family aren't the only ones whose christmas will be centred around guide dogs. each of the 700 people here at the charity's christmas carol event in manchester cathedral have their own stories. i used to go to bed on a night—time wishing that i wasn't going to wake up in the morning, because i just felt there was no life to live any more, and to go from that place to a place now, where i say i live my best blind life. today i have come here with my buddy dog, quince. he is fantastic. and very hairy!

he really helps me with my confidence. he's a life changer. for guide dog puppy rebel, more socialisation and training lies ahead. with the love and support of the niblock family, and maybe a smattering of seasonal magic, by this time next year guide dog rebel could make someone's christmas wish come true. sean dilley, bbc news. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. it's been quite a wintry scene across northern parts of scotland today. we had some snow falling this morning. that is continuing to turn back to rain. quite a bit of rain actually coming in over the hills of scotland and we're drawing in these milder winds, as well. there's still quite a temperature

contrast in scotland even this evening, where that colder air is still in the far north—east, but otherwise, as you can see, temperatures will be in double figures. we've got some heavy rain coming into scotland this evening. it does ease off overnight. the main rain band then sinks southwards down into england and wales. clearer skies following, but some blustery showers arriving in the north—west by the end of the night. for the most part, temperatures are going to be in double figures as we head into christmas eve morning. but christmas eve is going to be a windy day, particularly strong and gusty winds over and to the east of the pennines. high—sided vehicles could find it difficult travelling up the a1. gusty winds widely across scotland, but it's across the northern parts of the mainland and into 0rkney where the winds could be gusting 70mph. a lot of showers packing into scotland, some heavy squally showers. sunshine and showers for northern ireland, northern england, eventually into north wales and the north midlands as our band of cloud and patchy rain continues towards the south and the south—west, in particular. it could be one of the mildest christmas eves on record, although temperatures do drop away

a little bit during the afternoon from the north. that weather front is bringing some rain across southern areas during the day and these weather fronts start to come back towards the uk for christmas day itself, so expect a lot of cloud around. we're going to find some outbreaks of rain developing, maybe some snow over the hills in the north of scotland, a few wintry showers, as well, where things are a bit chillier here. otherwise, a blustery day with temperatures 1a, possibly even 15 degrees for a while in the south—east. those weather fronts and the rain then tend to clear away as we head from christmas day into boxing day. so a chillier start to boxing day, the winds will be lighter. we've got a few wintry showers in the north and west of scotland for a while, plenty of sunshine elsewhere. the rain that's in the channel comes back into the far south—west later on in the day. temperatures are going to be a bit lower at around seven to ten celsius. this is the summary for the festive period. we've got that windy weather that could bring some disruption on christmas eve, rain on christmas day, and then the sunshine for boxing day.

this is bbc news. the headlines: bell rings. the czech republic holds a minute s silence for the 1a people who died in thursday s mass shooting at a university in prague. church bells also rang out across the country

as a mark of respect, as they did in the rest of the european union and nato nations. the president of the un security council has said yesterday's vote on gaza is a crucial step towards averting a humanitarian catastrophe. the resolution aims to increase the supplies of aid to the territory, but does not call for a ceasefire. for the first time in centuries, ukraine will celebrate christmas not on 7th january, but on 25th december. earlier this year, president zelensky signed into law a parliamentary bill that aimed to "abandon the russian heritage of imposing christmas celebrations". the grandmother of alex batty has spoken of how she felt "utterly betrayed" by her daughter and ex—husband when they took the schoolboy abroad. in an interview with the sun, susan caruana said she feared she would never see her grandson again. 0ur reporter nickjohnson has more.

susan caruana waited six long years for this