humanity has fallen. what is going on in the corridors of the un security council is nothing more than theatre and fast. —— theatre and farce. bell tolls. a minute's silence is held in prague to remember the victims of thursday's mass shooting. and 2024 will mark donald trump's return to the courtroom: we'll take a look at the former us president's upcoming cases. hello, i'm carl nasman. we start in the middle east, where the hamas—run health ministry in gaza has said that more than 200 palestinians have been killed in the past 2a hours as air strikes continue. the israel defense forces say that five of their soldiers have been killed in the gaza strip since friday. fighting has been raging, despite a un resolution demanding more access for humanitarian deliveries. the us abstained in that vote.

president biden and mr netanyahu spoke by phone on saturday. the white house said mr biden stressed the importance of protecting civilian lives in gaza. he also told reporters he did not demand a ceasefire. mr netanyahu said he reiterated that the war will continue until all the objectives are met. from jerusalem, our correspondent lucy williamson has more. explosions. in gaza, this is the new normal — drone strikes in the border town of rafah, emptying the local market. 17—year—old joe, filming on his phone, still clutching his bag of shopping and calling on god for protection. america has blocked un calls for a ceasefire. israel says it needs to keep fighting to keep up the pressure on hamas. 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. israel's army said this week it had killed tens of hamas fighters in an ambush near gaza city and that it's preparing to expand operations to new areas in the south. israel is keen to show it's making progress against hamas. its security forces say 700 palestinian fighters have been taken to israel for questioning, 200 of them in the last week, but palestinian groups are still firing rockets into israel and there's no sign of the hamas leaders israel blames for the seventh of october attacks.

strikes in khan younis yesterday reportedly killed around 50 people. gaza's hamas—run government says most of those killed in the war are women and children. mass funerals held daily at hospital morgues. translation: the mask of humanity has fallen. i what is going on in the corridors of the un security council is nothing more than theatre and farce, confirming the continued murder and extermination of civilians. this is a genocide. israelis were told this war would bring security. to gazans, it's bringing the opposite. lucy williamson, bbc news, jerusalem. hamas has accused the israeli army of carrying out summary executions in the gaza strip. in a statement, the group said it had received eyewitness accounts that the israeli army executed more than 137 palestinian civilians by placing them in large pits and shooting them.

the israeli army said it was unaware of the incident described, adding that hamas was a terrorist organisation that does not value truth. meanwhile, it's thought that over 120 people are still being held hostage in gaza by hamas. in tel aviv on saturday, thousands of people attended a rally, calling on israel's government to secure their immediate release. a palestinian official says egypt has presented a new plan for a two—week truce with an exchange of israeli hostages and palestinian detainees. earlier this week, hamas said that it would not release any more hostages until the end of the war. about 500,000 palestinian refugees are currently registered in lebanon. they were mostly displaced there in 1948 and 1967. for many of them, the current war in gaza is both a traumatic flashback and a worrying development for the future. lina sinjab reports from the shatila refugee camp.

a slum in the south of beirut. shatila camp is home to thousands of palestinian refugees. translation: 0ur| house was on a hill. it was very beautiful. dawood nasser is originally from nazareth. he arrived in lebanon with his family in 1948 when he was six. we walked from palestine to bintjbeil. like him, many arrived in 1948. up until may that year, britain had governed palestine under a un mandate on a promise to establish a national home there forjewish people. in the war that followed israel's declaration of statehood in may 1948, about 700,000 palestinians were expelled or forced from their homes. dawood's family members now live in lebanon, europe and gaza. this latest war has reopened old wounds and has pushed people to the extreme.

if you look at hiroshima, it is not as bad as what they did in gaza. they want to exterminate all palestinians, not only hamas. the bloodshed has been going on since 1948. the israeli defense forces say they are trying to minimise civilian casualties in gaza but here, there is a widespread sense of anger. many share dawood's views as now, over 20,000 people have been killed in gaza. nearly half of them are children. because of the sectarian divisions in lebanon and the palestinian involvement in the lebanese civil war in the mid �*70s, to this day, the lebanese government does not recognise any rights to palestinian refugees, not even property ownership, and poorly paid jobs are the only ones allowed for young people in this camp. the united nations agency unwra has been providing help here for decades.

security is very bad. sanitation, water is always a problem and unwra is struggling to provide these very basic services to the palestine refugees that should be standing on their own feet, 75 years later. this museum connects personal belongings of refugees. some people have even kept their old house keys, hoping one day to be back. but as war continues in gaza, the future for many looks bleak. netanyahu do not want a state of palestine, so what we can do? we are in need of a partner that will also say ok to the peace. today, people in the camp have taken to the streets to express solidarity to people in gaza. generation after generation here keeps palestine in their heart and mind. lina sinjab, bbc news, shatila camp, beirut.

in the czech republic, a minute of silence was held for the 14 people shot dead by a student at a university in the capital of prague. thursday's attack injured dozens of other. the czech prime minister described the "pain and sorrow" of an entire society just before christmas. the gunman killed himself after he was surrounded by police. from prague, sarah rainsford sent this report. bell tolls. a nation paused today to remember the victims of an attack people here can't make sense of but has brought pain and suffering. —— 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 lenka hlavkova,

a teacher, who was 49. there are shrines like this outside universities all over the country. here at the arts faculty that was attacked, some have personal connections to the victims. one of our — not friend but... neighbours. ..neighbours of our city died here. she was a professor, a music professor. so, it's very, very sad. sorry... unbelievable for us, this occasion. a friend of these women survived by locking herself into a classroom to hide. translation: she cowered under the table. _ i saw her yesterday and felt sorry for her. she was still shaking. yelling. images from a body camera show the police hunt for the gunman inside charles university. at this point, the 24—year—old was prowling the corridors above.

we're 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. this attack has not only brought horror here to prague, it is a national tragedy. there are still many questions to answer about how exactly it was possible and how to prevent anything like it in the future but for now, the focus is on mourning the dead and on remembering the injured. 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. as he makes another run for the white house, former us president donald trump's biggest challenge may not be on the campaign trail but the legal cases he's up against. the most recent development came from the us supreme court, which this week refused

to fast—track a decision on whether he can be tried for federal crimes stemming from his time in office. the ruling means his trial in washington, dc, which was expected to take place in march, is likely to be delayed. the former president faces four criminal cases in washington, dc, new york, florida and georgia. but a recent reuters poll showed that trump holds a huge lead over the field of republican presidential candidates nationally with 61% support. joining me now to discuss donald trump's legal woes is harry litman, former us attorney and deputy assistant attorney general. thank you forjoining us at this hour. let's start with the us supreme court's decision this week too, at least for now not far struck a decision on this measure of presidential immunity. how surprised were you that the supreme court kind of pushed this one aside and said we don't want to take this

up said we don't want to take this up right now? said we don't want to take this up right now?— said we don't want to take this up right now? when jack smith first brought — up right now? when jack smith first brought the _ up right now? when jack smith first brought the motion, - up right now? when jack smith first brought the motion, i - first brought the motion, i thought that the court might take it but what happened after that, the courtjust below the supreme court started moving very fast on it. so i think the supreme court may well have been thinking we willjust wait for a few weeks and we may have a fuller treatment from the court below. and then, it wouldn't indicate that they don't appreciate the importance of it, including the need to move quickly, just that they want to wait a few more weeks. but as you say, a few more weeks now means a few more weeks now means a few more weeks delay in the starting date of the trial and we begin to tick off the months, which is what donald trump most values. ~ ~' ., is what donald trump most values. ~ ~ ., ., , values. we know that his lawyers _ values. we know that his lawyers and _ values. we know that his lawyers and many - values. we know that his lawyers and many of - values. we know that his lawyers and many of the | values. we know that his - lawyers and many of the cases have been trying to delay filing motions to even push it back past the 2024 election. i want to ask you about this issue of presidential immunity. is this something that could be an important ruling if this does make it to the supreme

court? what kind of ruling with this be? historic in terms of dealing with something like a president and whether he would be liable for his actions while in office? ., be liable for his actions while in office?— in office? yeah, i mean, it would be _ in office? yeah, i mean, it would be historically - in office? yeah, i mean, it would be historically the i in office? yeah, i mean, it i would be historically the way because we've never had a president indicted for crimes. he saying he, as long as i was acting like a president somehow, you cannot convict me for any crimes and the prosecutors are saying look, among other things, you are not acting as a president. you are acting as a president. you are acting as a candidate and trying and really as an insurrectionist so, that means you don't get immunity, even if it exists in theory. it's going to be a landmark decision either way. my best guess is the supreme court will actually rule against donald trump but it's going to take a few months now perhaps. it’s it's going to take a few months now perhaps-— it's going to take a few months now perhaps. it's been a pretty busy couele — now perhaps. it's been a pretty busy couele of _ now perhaps. it's been a pretty busy couple of days _ now perhaps. it's been a pretty busy couple of days when - now perhaps. it's been a pretty busy couple of days when it - busy couple of days when it comes to these legal rulings. yes! ., , ., .,

comes to these legal rulings. yes! ., ., ., yes! there was another one in colorado. _ yes! there was another one in colorado, wasn't _ yes! there was another one in colorado, wasn't there, - yes! there was another one in colorado, wasn't there, with l colorado, wasn't there, with the state supreme court ruling to essentially bar donald trump from the ballot in that state. what did you make of it and especially the argument by some republicans who say these sorts of matters should be dealt with by the voters and that the courts may be overstepped here. the court said, the colorado supreme court said this is our constitution, ourfederal constitution, ourfederal constitution says, as you may know, a president has to be at least 35, has to be born in the state and says if someone has sworn an oath to the constitution and then engaged in insurrection, they are not any longer qualified to run for federal office.— federal office. there is the issue of— federal office. there is the issue of whether _ federal office. there is the issue of whether or - federal office. there is the issue of whether or not. federal office. there is the - issue of whether or not donald trump participated in any sort of insurrection. that is also still somewhat of an open question, isn't it?- still somewhat of an open question, isn't it? yes but i think the — question, isn't it? yes but i think the bigger _ question, isn't it? yes but i think the bigger open - question, isn't it? yes but i i think the bigger open question is who gets to determine that and what is an authoritative determination. that is going to

be vexing for the supreme court i think. �* , be vexing for the supreme court i think. 2 ., ~ ., be vexing for the supreme court i think. 2 . ~ ., a i think. let's take a quick look at — i think. let's take a quick look at the _ i think. let's take a quick look at the bigger - i think. let's take a quick look at the bigger picture here. many of us remember back in 2000 we had a presidential election that came down to the wire and in the end the supreme court had to weigh in to set of who one. it seemed the supreme court is getting involved again in electoral politics. what do you think that is about politics and the way our government is functioning right now? ., , now? the last thing the supreme court want _ now? the last thing the supreme court want to _ now? the last thing the supreme court want to do _ now? the last thing the supreme court want to do but _ now? the last thing the supreme court want to do but in _ now? the last thing the supreme court want to do but in the - court want to do but in the united states are many political questions to become legal questions. that is why i think they will want to get out of it quickly. i think the immunity case, they will have to rule on and then they will hope the process proceeds without them having to intervene. if important questions come to them the election turns on their kind of stuff, aren't they? that is

their role. it stuff, aren't they? that is their role.— stuff, aren't they? that is their role. it is going to be an interesting _ their role. it is going to be an interesting 2024, - their role. it is going to be an interesting 2024, isn'tl their role. it is going to be i an interesting 2024, isn't it? thank you so much for helping us understand some of this. we hope to have you on next year because this is going to be an interesting ride.— for the past several days, we've been following the story of glynn simmons, an oklahoma man who spent almost half—a—century in a us prison for a crime he didn't commit. at 22 years old, simmons was convicted of murder. he's now 70 and has just been declared formally innocent. the case is the us's longest wrongful imprisonment. earlier, i spoke with ngozi ndulue — a special advisor on race and wrongful conviction for the innocence project. 48 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. talk to us a bit about how something like this could happen to a man like glynn simmons and how common are cases like this? i

glynn simmons and how common are cases like this?— are cases like this? i think this seems _ are cases like this? i think this seems like _ are cases like this? i think this seems like an - this seems like an extraordinary case and it is because of the sheer length of time before being exonerated. unfortunately, we have seen several case like this where it is taken decades for people to be exonerated. what we can take from this is the we have a justice system that allows, supposed to ensure the right people are convicted, that there are opportunities for people who have been wrongfully convicted to actually get their freedom, the are issues that continue. issues that were problems with the justice system at the time that mr simmons was convicted and problems with the justice system today we still need to be working to remedy and make sure there are pathways to prevent new wrongful

convictions and ensure we can actually write the wrongs of the past. actually write the wrongs of the ast. , , actually write the wrongs of the past-— actually write the wrongs of the ast. _ ,, ., , the past. glynn simmons is of course an _ the past. glynn simmons is of course an african-american i the past. glynn simmons is of i course an african-american man course an african—american man living in the south of this country. what role does grace play in wrongful convictions like this one? we play in wrongful convictions like this one?— play in wrongful convictions like this one? we know race -la s a like this one? we know race plays a huge _ like this one? we know race plays a huge role _ like this one? we know race | plays a huge role throughout the criminal legal system. we should not be surprised racial justice systems show up in wrongful convictions throughout the country because we have things that is in the national registry of exoneration that black people are seven times more likely, innocent black people are seven times more likely to be wrongfully convicted than white people. that comes from a lot of different places. if we think about the way police misconduct is a leading factor in wrongful convictions and we know the ways policing is deployed differently in communities of colour. we know there are

issues of cross racial eyewitness identification. we know there are issues with inadequate legal representation, bias and use of forensic science. we see there are a number of places where racial bias can fit into the way a wrongful conviction is produced. 0ne way a wrongful conviction is produced. one thing i will note it was a death penalty case and we have seen with death penalty cases how pernicious racial bias is. starting from the charging base all the way through sentencing and post—conviction and who ends up being executed. we know the base of victim is predictive of who is going to get a death sentence and we have seen studies from philadelphia about just the facial features of the person facing the death penalty, when the victim was white, if a person was black and more dark skinned and had

more traditionally african—american features, they were more likely to be sent to death. �* , , ., were more likely to be sent to death. �* , ,, ., �* death. briefly, you don't mind. i want to ask _ death. briefly, you don't mind. i want to ask you, _ death. briefly, you don't mind. i want to ask you, this - death. briefly, you don't mind. i want to ask you, this is - death. briefly, you don't mind. i want to ask you, this is such i i want to ask you, this is such a momentous case, nearly 40 years in prison, we are short on time but what you think this exoneration could mean for anyone else that might have also wrongfully convicted? i think they should open folks eyes to the fact the right people serving very long sentences who should never have been there in the first place. i think that could make a difference with prosecutors offices that need to actually reassess and review cases to ensure people are not they are in prison currently who have not, who are serving sentences they should not be servicing. if you give us a pause in parole boards. and we should be

looking at the legislation across the country to actually say are we actually making sure people are not being wrongfully convicted and have pathways to write those wrongful convictions was one example is right now in new york. pushing for a wrongful conviction act that would give people who pled guilty, people often falsely confessed, give them a pathway to actually get the wrongful conviction overturned and that does not exist right now. i think the existence of somebody who has been in the system for so long for something they did not do should really spark change across the board. thank ou ve change across the board. thank you very much- _ change across the board. thank you very much. thank- change across the board. thank you very much. thank you. - for the first time in over a century, ukraine is going to celebrate christmas on december 25th after the government changed the date from the orthodox church observance of january 7 to "abandon the russian heritage of imposing

christmas celebrations". meanwhile near kyiv, a factory that produces hand—made christmas toys has resumed work after previously being occupired by russians at the beginning of the invasion. 0ur ukraine correspondent james waterhouse visited that factory. 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: | think that i 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 seventh 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. one more story for you before we go. a mother in the us state of alabama with a rare double womb has given birth to two babies in two days. kelsey hatcher delivered one daughter on tuesday and a second on wednesday after a total of 20 hours in labour at the university of alabama hospital. experts say it's

a one—in—a—million pregnancy. a double uterus affects 0.3% of women. in london, a man has been arrested on suspicion of theft and criminal damage after a piece of street art by the artist banksy was taken shortly after being unveiled. the red stop sign with three military drones on it was removed by a man with bolt cutters as witnesses filmed and took photos. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. we had some heavy rain in scotland on saturday, and as a result of that there are a number of flood warnings in force across the north of the country. we have had some disruption too. for most of the uk it was a very mild day, but not for everyone. massive contrasts in northern scotland as the mild air butted up against the cold. 10 degrees in braemar, ten miles down the road

in balmoral, just one. and with those lower temperatures across the far north and east, well, on saturday we did see some snowfall. so for some, a winter wonderland. however, since then the snow has been turning back to rain and our main concern as we get through christmas eve is the strength of the winds. they could disrupt some travel plans that you may have, so stay tuned. the winds then will pick up over the next few hours, becoming quite gusty across england and wales with outbreaks of rain here. rain could be heavy enough to cause one or two localised flooding issues across mid wales. some showery conditions across scotland and northern ireland. for most, temperatures in double figures as we start the day on sunday. cold air still just about clinging on across the far northeast. now, the strong winds will be affecting scotland through the day, particularly late on. they could bring some distruption here. and over to the east of the pennines, winds could gust 50—70 mph, potentially strong enough to blow over some high—sided vehicles, maybe knock down one or two trees. so there is a risk

of seeing some transport disruption during the day on sunday, christmas eve, so it is worth checking conditions before heading out on anyjourneys you may have planned. and the winds could get even stronger actually for a time during the evening across northern scotland. 0n into monday, christmas day, for the vast majority of the uk we are in mild air, so rather than it being a white christmas it is a grey christmas. a lot of cloud around, outbreaks of rain, quite heavy rain for a time. quite windy conditions, but colder air starts to move back into northern scotland and that could start to turn some of the rain to snow across some of the higher hills of northern scotland. so for a few of you, it could just about be a white christmas, but not for many. looking beyond that into boxing day, we get colder air moving back southwards across the uk. with that there will be a lot more in the way of sunshine, so that is one positive. it will feel quite a bit colder, mind you. and there will be some showers around, particularly across scotland. one or two for northern ireland,

so maybe a bit of sleet mixed in with some of these, maybe a bit of hill snow as well. bye for now.

voice-over: this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. hello and welcome to nobel minds with me, zeinab badawi, from the royal palace in stockholm.

we'll be hearing from this year's nobel laureates. also joining us are their royal highnesses, the crown princess victoria of sweden and prince daniel, as well as students from here in sweden. welcome to nobel minds and the second of our two programmes. laureates, this is the first time that some of you have been brought together in discussion on television. congratulations to you all. thank you. first, let's look at the chemistry prize with its scientific breakthroughs that have myriad uses that will benefit humankind. let's have a short video looking at what the prize for chemistry was made for. it's very strange.

the nano world is really, really bizarre.