security council is nothing more than theatre and farce. we take a closer look at the refugee crisis unfolding in sudan, as fighting prompts the un to suspend food aid in parts of the country. 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. 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 raids continue. the israel defence 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.

us presidentjoe biden and israeli prime minister benjamin 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 israeli 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 7 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. a short while ago, i spoke to mara kronenfeld. she's the head of the un's palestinian aid agency in the us. thank you so much for being here and i'm sure you've been following but the un security council approving this week after days of debate a resolution into getting more

aid into gaza and it stopped short though of calling for a ceasefire. what do you make of that resolution? in your mind, does it go farenough? we welcome the resolution. the truth is, as of this morning in gaza, we have not seen anything change. we are hopeful that full—throated humanitarian access will be granted, that we will actually see it in practice. unfortunately, there is simply not enough aid and assistance going in as we speak and even if that humanitarian access was greatly stepped up, there are just realities on the ground that are limiting unrwa — the organisation i work with — limiting unrwa's ability and other humanitarian actors to get to people in need. the problem is is that the israeli military is not letting humanitarian actors go north and the strip. most actors like unrwa are only able to serve those who have been displaced and have fled

to the rafah area and right now, the area is 4—5 times more populated than normal. we have people sleeping in the streets under unsafe conditions and, frankly, we would welcome assistance as much as possible but how that's going to happen when war is waging and when, in fact, our own staff who are trying to deliver aid even in rafah, which is supposed to be a protected area, they are bombed. there were drone attacks that affected our staffjust inside the rafah border recently. i just want to circle back to the aid you've mentioned. we've seen images of these long lines of trucks waiting at that rafah border crossing on the egyptian side. so, what you're saying is that even now, after that resolution was passed calling for more aid to come in, you haven't seen any movement of those trucks?

as of this morning, my colleagues on the ground have not seen additional aid. but, again, even when that aid gets in, how one is able to distribute it outside of the area of rafah that, you know, essentially there are overi million people in right now, is very difficult. even within rafah, it is not safe. our humanitarian workers and any of those workers who are working under the united nations flag must be protected by international law and we have had 136 of our colleagues who've been killed. we have had 200 people killed while in 180 unrwa buildings that missiles were fired at, 56 of them directly. there is no safe place in gaza and how can one administer aid under these conditions safely? that is the problem.

we have to stop the killing first and foremost and unrwa is asking for and is advocating for a humanitarian ceasefire to do that. the world food programme says more than 2 million gazans are facing food shortages in the territory. how concerned are you about the risk of famine in gaza? extremely concerned. the combination of the besiegement and the limited ability for humanitarian actors to manoeuvre, as i've said, plus that we haven't seen full—throated humanitarian aid come in in the last couple of days, we — the strip is definitely at a risk for famine. right now, 90% of the population don't eat — in one whole day, they go without eating. 50% of the population are facing starvation, whether extreme or severe. a famine is very possible unless there is more aid and more ability to get that

aid to the people in need across the strip. we know that many families in gaza are sheltering outdoors. they are sleeping in makeshift shelters. winter is beginning. we've seen some images, even, of the rains coming. so, what role do you think the weather will play now for anybody that is sheltering in gaza? it is extremely, extremely dangerous. we have already seen a great increase in communicable diseases, including acute respiratory infection in young children. we know that sanitary conditions are not good. we know that sanitation in general, the whole system, is under immense stress. we expect more communicable diseases and a greater difficulty for a population that is suffering basically in what is a hell on earth right now. we've even heard of families who are burning plastic to stay warm. it'sjust unimaginable, sitting here in washington,

dc and thinking about what fellow human beings are experiencing in this day and age. mara kronenfeld. she is the head of the un's palestinian aid agency in the united states. thank you so much forjoining us. thank you. 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 israeli troops shot dead at least 137 palestinian civilians who were placed in a pit. the israeli army said it was unaware of the incident described. meanwhile, it's thought that more than 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. the pentagon is reporting two more attacks on commercial shipping routes in the red sea by houthi militants in yemen. it says an american naval ship shot down four drones. us central command also says attack drones targeted two tankers, hitting one. no injuries were reported. it follows an increasing number of shipping operators pledging to avoid the red sea following attacks on vessels. in russia, a former tv journalist has been blocked from challenging president vladimir putin in the upcoming presidential election. yekaterina duntsova was preparing to campaign on ending russia's war in ukraine. she said she wanted to make russia peaceful, friendly, and cooperative with the world. banning duntsova is the latest anti—democratic measure in a country notorious

for driving out opposition candidates before they can ever challenge president putin, who's all but guaranteed to win a fifth term. 0ur reporter, naomi choy smith, has this report from london. well, it was a short—lived presidential bid for former tv journalist turned politician yekaterina duntsova, who threw her hat in the ring just three days ago. she's one of 29 contenders who have filed to run for president in russia so far. the candidates are expected to gather thousands of signatures from supporters before they qualify to have their name on the ballot. now, duntsova will no longer have that chance after the russian electoral commission banned herfrom running, saying she had "mistakes" on her application. and telling duntsova on saturday, "you are a young woman and you have "everything ahead of you." now, duntsova had planned to run on a campaign of ending the war in ukraine and freeing russian political prisoners. those include kremlin critic who is serving

consecutive prison sentences alexei navalny. well, when asked about concerns for her own security and fears for her safety in running for president, duntsova did admit she had some fears and concerns, saying that any sane person taking the step would be afraid, but fear must not win. she also said that she believed russians were looking for an alternative to president putin at the ballot box. take a lesson. translation: many people write to me, "you gave us hope. - "if you manage to get registered, "we were definitely vote for you." they do not see any alternative and also consider boycotting the elections. well, duntsova's disqualification leaves no notable opposition candidate to challenge putin in the presidential elections in march. now, president putin, for his part, is seeking a sixth term in office. he's been in power, either as president or prime minister, since 1999 and the upcoming elections will mark the first

presidential ballot since russia launched its war in ukraine, nearly two years ago. to sudan now, where thousands have fled the eastern city of wad madani amid heavy fighting. the war between the army and the paramilitary rapid support forces has left sudan's second largest city in chaos, with crowds of people looking for refuge from the violence. wad madani was considered one of the few remaining safe areas in the country before the rsf seized control and established a base there earlier this month. many had already fled from the capital khartoum. the un reports that 300,000 people have been displaced in the fighting in wad madani — mostly by foot, and overall more than 7 million have been uprooted from their homes by the conflict. a un spokesperson described it as the world's largest displacement crisis. for more on the situation,

i spoke to analyst and former nonresident fellow at the tahrir institute for middle east policy, hamid khalafallah. we appreciate you taking the time to talk with us. i want to start with some of the events of this week. the paramilitary forces capturing wad madani, what did you make of that and do you think this could be a turning point now in this conflict? it is definitely a turning point. obviously, the significance of it stems from wad madani, south of khartoum, have not been part of the violence in the past eight months, around 500,000 citizens from khartoum sought refuge in wad madani actually after the conflict erupted in khartoum in april. so it is a city that hosts a lot of displaced people, but also a large population who have thought for quite some time they are in a safe

place, and it wasn't part of the conflict in any way. obviously khartoum, the capital for two militaries struggling, fighting over power, it makes sense that they would fight in khartoum, that also is the traditional kind of base for iraqi support forces so it also made sense that there was a lot of fighting going there. there was no kind of justifications to go there and try to capture the cities outside the territory which they have already kind of claimed and had control over. other than they are trying to try and capture the entire country. which is a very bad negative development, at the same time people were trying to contain this and find a solution, peaceful solution to

the ongoing war but this means that it's about to be a full on war that extends to the entire country. let's talk about the humanitarian situation there. you left sudan earlier this year, you said on social media that your father, who is still in sudan, has had to flee four separate times from the violence there. can you just described for us, what was it like to be a civilian in sudan and trying to survive there? so at this point, no one is safe anywhere. and the situation in wad madani like ijust described, it was a city full of displaced people who had to become displaced again and seek safety in other places. within the country, at a time where it's almost impossible for people to leave the country. without paying so much money and going through very

prolonged processes to get visas to cross over borders, and also it's quite hard to arrange transportation outside the country. so people are moving within the country, meanwhile nowhere is safe. it's now been more than eight months since this war broke out. we saw some shifting here, it looks like the sudanese army might be on the back foot, but do you see any end in sight here? what kind of incentive is there right now for either side to lay down their arms? well, there have been much greater windows for mediation and an agreement to be reached. unfortunately mediation incidents, they were quite fragmented, we've seen a lot of competition between different initiatives for the last eight months. after the capture of wad madani, it becomes even more difficult. as you said, what are the incentives for the forces now kind of having the upper

hand if i may say in this conflict at the moment, it's very hard to make them stop. however, i think the only opportunities that are still available is exerting pressure on support forces through their supporters in the region who have been, continued to provide them armed with soldiers and funds to continue this war for eight months now, and fending that off and stopping the support that's coming in, there is no way out of this. yeah, there have been some complaints or suspected comments about the united arab emirates being involved at least on the side of the rapid support forces. hameed, researcher and policy analyst specialising in sudan's constitution building, thank you so much.

in london, a man has been arrested on suspicion of theft and criminal damage after a piece of street art by banksy painted onto a road sign was taken shortly after being unveiled on friday. the artwork comprised images of three military drones on a traffic stop sign. our culture reporter noor nanji reports. this was the extraordinary moment when two men took down a banksy work in broad daylight, within an hour of the street artist confirming it was his. that prompted the local council to make an appeal for its return. banksy put this art here for the people of peckham. the local community want it back. the council represents the local community and we are going to get it back. we have already contacted the borough commander and we've also submitted a formal report to get it back, and also we notice that there is quite strong resolution footage

of the people taking it down, so we kind of hoped that they would bring it back. the metropolitan police say they have arrested a man on suspicion of theft and criminal damage. it says the man remains in custody and investigations are ongoing. anyone who may have information about the incident is being asked to call the police. the artwork was taken down from this spot at around lunchtime on friday, in full view of a crowd of assembled passers—by. a new traffic sign has since been put up for safety reasons. local businesses have also said they are disappointed that the work by the famous street artist is no longer there. the work showed a red stop sign with three military drones painted on it. it was widely interpreted as being a call for a ceasefire in gaza. estimates of what the artwork could be worth have been flooding in. i would think that, if it had certification from banksy, which it won't, because it's street art, although he has been known to give certification to some pieces of street art... with certification, i would say

between £a00,000 and £500,000. a local artist, meanwhile, took matters into her own hands, installing her own version of banksy�*s work. she said art should be accessible to everyone. noor nanji, bbc news. let's turn to some important news around the world. rebels in burundi have claimed responsibility for killing at least 20 people and wounding nine others along the country's western border with the democratic republic of congo. the dead include 12 children, two pregnant women and a police officer, according to a government spokesman. rebecca welch has made history by becoming the first female to referee a premier league match on saturday. she took charge of the game between fulham and burnley. the ao—year—old began her refereeing career 13 years ago, with university and sunday league games, before climbing through the ranks. following the pandemic, charities training guide dogs have faced a shortage of volunteers to raise puppies.

it's 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 a 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.

in the arctic circle, santa has set out for his big trip around the world. santa claus and his reindeer departed from lapland in finland to begin the long annual journey to deliver christmas gifts around the world. finland says santa claus�*s personal post office in napapiiri has received thousands of letters from children in 199 countries. he has a big to—do list. here in the us, norad begins tracking santa on christmas eve. 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. on 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, one or two for the north—west of both england and wales. the showers could come through wintry at times, 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. wendell pierce is one of the most accomplished actors in america today. you probably know him from the wire, suits, his role injack ryan. we flew down to new orleans to talk to him about what it

takes to become a great actor, but also his love of that city and his time there in hurricane katrina. wendell, it's so good to see you. so good to see you. welcome to new orleans. thank you. thank you for having me to your home town. last time we met was in la. i'm much happier that we're meeting here. yes, i know, it's beautiful. you suggested the world war ii museum. yeah, isuggested it because my dad fought in saipan during world war ii and it really made an impact on me, you know. he would talk about it briefly, and then he went through some things, some challenges afterwards that showed you how to deal with adversity. and so it taught me a lot. and so i like to come here as it expands. it really shows the sacrifices that people made, that the country made. it really shows you how to sturdy your character.