we have got ambitions to not well. we have got ambitions to not just be a bike park but a location for other projects to take a stand as well and use the woodland to its full benefit. all as well and use the woodland to its full benefit-— full benefit. all of which explains why hannah _ full benefit. all of which explains why hannah escott _ full benefit. all of which explains why hannah escott is _ full benefit. all of which explains why hannah escott is a _ full benefit. all of which explains why hannah escott is a very - full benefit. all of which explains l why hannah escott is a very worthy winner of the award as bbc sports personality of the year unsung hero for the west midlands. just a reminder of the top story, it is 1—1 between liverpool and arsenal at anfield which means arsenal will be top at christmas by a point. we will be back tomorrow evening at 6:30pm and 7:30pm but for now, that is all. good night. thousands of people in the uk won't be able to spend christmas in their own homes this year because of safety issues with the blocks of flats where they live. on average, one block a month has

been evacuated this year, because of concerns about fire safety or cladding panels. in the wake of the grenfell tower disaster in london, almost 4,000 tower blocks are under scrutiny. phil hendry reports. all wrapped up for christmas, and the hammers ring out. for residents of these south london flats, a white christmas takes the form of protective plastic sheeting, while their cladding panels are stripped and replaced. as first—time buyer sitara sorts out her presents, there's another presence that keeps on giving. talking about workmen stuff straight outside your bedroom window from first thing in the morning until the very end of the day. i can't even think about christmas, to be honest. i'm going to be probably leaving the flat for as long as possible. the building's management are apologetic, offering compensation and to buy back

many of the 270 flats. as we approach the seventh year since the grenfell tower fire, there are now nearly 4000 blocks of flats identified as having dangerous flammable cladding or having other fire safety defects. of those, only about 20% have been fixed so far. the future for this block in ipswich is uncertain. residents were evacuated earlier this year because of numerous cladding and fire safety issues. some, like emily, are spending christmas in temporary accommodation, paid for, for now, by the building's freeholder. the outcome looks as if i'm going to be essentially kicked off the property ladder. i was a first—time buyer so i had all of the privileges then, bought a dud flat, essentially. i think i've gone past frustration. it'sjust devastating, really. this year, ministers did finally manage to get 50 major developers to agree to fix their dangerous flats. but that's revealed another 1000

blocks that will need checking. for hundreds of thousands owning or living in flats with cladding problems, seasonal goodwill towards the government and building industry is in short supply. phil hendry, bbc news. 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 correspondentjames 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 kyiv 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. following the pandemic, charities training guide dogs have faced a shortage of volunteers to raise puppies, a story bbc news has been following over the last year. since we first reported on it, hundreds of people have applied to help foster guide dog puppies. our 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. oh, that's marvellous. marvellous. oh, now, rebel is on the good list, isn't he? he's on the very good list. and by summer 2024, it's hoped he'll 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're hoping he's 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, and 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's been six months 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'll never forget. he's such a big part of our family and we know,

we love him to bits, but knowing that he's going to change someone's life and the outcome that we're going to get from the end of it, that's what we've got 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've 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. british traditions, such as panto, hogmanay and cheese rolling could be in line for united nations protected status. the government is beginning a consultation on which activities should go on an official list of the uk's cultural highlights, when it signs up to a un convention. david sillito reports. pantomime is a uniquely british and enormously popular tradition. oh, hi. didn't see you there. 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.

david sillito, bbc news. now, are we in for a white christmas? darren bett has a look at the weather. hello there. we've got typical festive fare to come over the next few days. i'll show you that in a moment. today was another mild one, temperatures widely in double figures. there was even a bit of sunshine coming through the cloud as well. different story in scotland where we've had a wintry scene across northern parts of the mainland. the snow that was falling here has since turned to rain. and it's quite misty and murky, very wet at the moment. but the rain will ease off in scotland and northern ireland. the main rain band pushing down towards southern parts of england and across the northern isles. it'll be followed by some clearer spells for northern parts of the uk and a few showers. and it's going to be a mild start to sunday morning, christmas eve, but it's going to be a windy day for all of us on christmas eve, particularly so over and to the east of the pennines, could be quite difficult for driving high sided vehicles up and down the ai. very windy conditions also, widely in scotland with the strongest gusts 70 miles an hour in northern parts

of the mainland and across orkney. and those really strong winds will drive in lots of blustery showers across scotland. sunshine and showers will follow to northern ireland, northern england and eventually north wales and the north midlands as our main band of clouds sinks southwards, bringing rain for a while in wales and then more towards the south west of england in the afternoon. temperatures could actually reach 15 degrees across eastern parts of england, but those numbers do drop a little bit during the afternoon. cooler air is coming in behind that weather front there. that's bringing the rain and the cloud across southern areas. it's going to sit around overnight and will still be there into christmas morning. but we've got another weather system to the north and the two will combine to bring a lot of cloud, rain developing quite widely, some snow over the hills across northern scotland where the air is that bit colder, but otherwise, another mild day. temperatures could reach 14 degrees in the southeast with the blustery winds. now, those two weather systems will sweep away overnight. things will calm down as we head into boxing day. the winds will be lighter. it's still a bit blustery across the north and west of scotland

with a few wintry showers here just for a while. otherwise, a lot of dry weather, plenty of sunshine around. there is some rain in the channel, that'll push back towards the far south west of england. temperatures will be a little bit lower. so let's summarise the next few days. we've got the strong winds and mild weather for christmas eve that could bring some travel disruption, then rain develops for christmas day. if you're out on boxing day, it looks sunny.

live from london. this is bbc news. explosion. gaza's health ministry says 200 people have been killed and hundreds of others injured over 24 hours, as israel's bombardment continues.

bell tolls. a minute silence is held in prague to remember the victims of thursday's mass shooting. police say a man has been arrested on suspicion of theft and criminal damage, after the removal of a banksy art—installation in south—east london. a woman in the us with a rare double womb has given birth twice in two days, after a "one in the million" pregnancy. and — rebecca welch makes history — becoming the first female premier league referee. hello and welcome to bbc news. i'm lukwesa burak. we start in the middle east. gaza's health ministry says more then 200 people have been killed in the past 24 hours as israel's bombardment continues.