the us has accused iran of launching a drone attack that damaged an israeli—affiliated oil tanker, off the coast of india. a fire on board the ship was extinguished and no casualties were reported. iran has denied any involvement. christmas celebrations are "called off" in bethlehem. the usual tree is replaced by a nativity scene in the rubble. organisers had asked their congregations to forget the customary celebrations, while still upholding the spiritual aspects of christmas. now on bbc news, the travel show: winter wonderland adventures.

hello, and welcome to a special edition of the travel show — covered in ice, snow, and that special kind of magic, as much of the world prepares to celebrate christmas, and also the end of another year. we spent most of 2023 on the road, so it's a great opportunity to be at home to recharge and look back at some of our favourite winter adventures here on the programme. so without further ado, let's jump straight in and remember the time when ade headed to finnish lapland — not to meet santa claus, but a rapper who's keeping his language alive with music. huskies howl.

ade: finnish lapland is as close as it gets to a winter wonderland. more than one million tourists come here each year in search of the northern lights, santa, and his reindeer. the sami are the indigenous people who live in this part of the world — from northern norway, sweden, finland, and the far north part of russia. there's around 6,000 samis left in this part of finland, and here, they're known as the inari sami — because most of them live around lake inari, which is 250km north of the arctic circle. i've never been so far north. i'm here! after landing in the town of ivalo, just an hour—and—a—half flight from helsinki, i meet my first inari friend.

hello! hey! welcome to finland and ivalo. thank you! i'm ade. nice to meet you. nice to meet you, i'm johanna. nice to meet you — look at your outfit! oh, thank you! you look amazing. thank you. is this our transport? yeah, it's going to be our transport for this trip. and we've got so many things planned for you here. i'm looking forward to it. i'm loving that hat, that's the way forward. thank you, it's really warm, it's really warm. life here must be really tough. there's snow on the ground for seven months of the year, and the most practical way to move around is by snowmobile. so, this is the best way to get there? yeah — no, there's no other way to get there. they laugh. ok, so this is how i'm rolling. and you're going to teach me, are you? yeah. antti, nice to meet you. nice to meet you, ade. so, tell me about this machine, my friend. well, these are the things that revolutioned the life here, in one way, because in — well, we got them about 50—60

years ago to finland. and this, well, made things much more easier, actually, in here. so, what did you use before these? skis. skis? and reindeer. skis and reindeer. old school. they laugh. normally, when you're driving on a track, if you have your feet in here... ..and your hands on the bar. and if you want to go right, you pull from the right one, and, of course, left, to the left. well, brake, we have on the left side. yep. this is the panic button. so, if you lose control or something happens, then you just hit that one. so, i hit that button, and then, i go, "antti"! engine starts. then we're good to go. oh, it's so hard to believe that i'm on this snowmobile going across lake inari, in finland, and beneath me is thousands and thousands of gallons of water. it's just crazy! this place is so beautiful. whoo!

i wasn't expecting that. inari sami culture has been under pressure for decades. in the past, this community was marginalised, and their mother tongue was banned from schools. with only 400 inari sami speakers, the language is still threatened. but one man is coming to the rescue, using an unconventional method. rapping in inari. amoc, you are a hip—hop artist, and you rap in your native language, inari. yes, inari — sami language, yeah. i mean, tell me about it, because i love hip—hop, but the last place that i would expect to find a hip—hop artist is in lapland. yeah, the middle of nowhere, yeah?

rapping continues. many people think it's quite weird, doing hip—hop, gangster rap in the inari sami language, spoken by 400 people. so, that's the kind of way that i'm telling about this little minority in a minority. mm. i like the sound that, it's like a mystic, mystical thing that people don't know, really. there's only 400 inari sami speakers in the world. yeah. then, i mean, in that case, how old are they? what's the average age, are you...? well, of course, the most people who speak inari sami in their mother tongue, they are mostly more than 50 years old. a little bit old, older people. and those older people, are they into hip—hop and your rapping style? i don't think so. but there are this new generation also, because there's a lot of revitalising programmes.

rapping continues. ok, amoc, spit some bars for us — and i am pretty sure this will be the premiere on bbc, of anyone hearing someone rap in inari sami. so, we're looking forward to this. ok, so... brap, brap, brap! inari sami in da house! they laugh. that's wicked! that's wicked, i loved it. i felt it, i felt it! you were there. christa: ade getting some lessons in sami hip—hop, in finnish lapland there. well, growing up in australia wasn't perhaps the best training for me to brave the winter elements — but that didn't stop me from getting

to grips with some unusual instruments made from ice at a unique music festival in norway. stand by for a virtuoso performance, music—lovers. ooh, you're really feeling... see it in the air — it is cold here. and it's this cold, the icy conditions and the elevation that drew polar explorers like shackleton to train here before they went on their expeditions. and people still come here for that purpose today. word is, it'll reach a low of —24 degrees celsius tonight. so, i'd better rug up. but what makes this festival extra special is that the instruments are actually made on the day from nearby ice. among the line—up this year is everything from ice horns to ice drums and ice didgeridoos.

the concert�*s only hours away, and here you are, making the instruments. this has got to be an unusual thing for a musician. for me, it's not. no! she laughs. but for most musicians, it is. good—sounding ice is the most difficult part. you cannotjust go to your freezer, you cannot go to the nearest lake. it's with ice, as wine — there are good years and bad years. percussive tones. imitates wind blowing. so, why ice? what inspired this festival? well, it's nearly 20 years since the first time i tried ice, and i found the sound so fantastic, beautiful. with this water, we can drink it after a concert. or we canjust give it back to nature, where it belongs.

and also, the ice reminds me that we have, you know, you have to treat ice so gentle to not break it. and it's like we have — should treat nature. what's this instrument over here? this is an ice—ophone. an ice—ophone? yes. percussive tones. sound is lovely, isn't it? you like it? yeah. oh, it's lovely. any chance i could have a go? mm, very careful. very careful — i promise to be careful! i also promise to show no ability whatsoever. they laugh. you may as well give it to a kid. exactly. it works. this is great! so, as evening approaches,

the finishing touches are fast being made around the site. i really like it, cos it's kind of the sound of nature. so, it doesn't sound like anything else you've ever heard. so, people are really surprised when they hear it for the first time. we don't get to practise. so, the music, it gets made onstage in front of the audience, and that's really special. and i think people are like, "what? is this possible?" and, like, it's almost not possible, so it's pretty cool that we can do it. i guess there's a lot of folk music in it. it's very nordic, with the ice

and the snow, and the cold winters. just in the nick of time, all is ready — and we gather for an evening of ice music. ethereal vocalising. rhythmic vocalising. cheering. well, that was amazing! it was such a bonkers soundscape, and incredible to think that all of those strange sounds that were building into this big

crescendo were made from ice. i think it's also a really interesting way to experience the landscape of norway, freezing cold with a full moon overhead. having said that, it is freezing cold. i'm frozen through. it's time to head in. well, over the years, we've followed intrepid explorer karolis mieliauskas on several of his adventures around the globe — from the canals of sri lanka, to frozen lake baikal, in russia. but let's now remember the first time we met him, as he prepared to take on a treacherous i,000km motorbike ride across siberia to what claims to be the coldest town on earth. rather him than me. between yakutsk and oymyakon is i,000km.

so, itravel 200km per day. so remote, nothing around. just mountains, forest, taiga, and cold. this is the permafrost land. when i started on the first day, the yakutian siberian people who live there said, "please, don't do that. "karolis, you will lose your face on the first day. "the frostbite will eat you." even though i had helmet and, you know, some protections, motorcycling in winter on the road of bones doesn't promise a safe ride. normally, i travel alone. in this situation, i had two vehicles with me. one was for my support team, and another one served as a garage. i didn't want to have coffee in the middle of the day. i was driving for hours alone.

what is happening inside my head, i call it sometimes as an act of meditation. riding in such harsh conditions, so cold, i have to be only now and here, because if i give a chance to myself to think, "ok, there will be warmer, i'm hungry, i'll get food," and so on — then it becomes so cold, it is impossible to ride. i have to accept all this cold and completely relax. otherwise, it doesn't work. on the first day of my ride, i really had the feeling on the third day of my ride, i really had the feeling of, "oh, i'm home." there is no hotel at night. i received a simple tent with a little stove inside. that night was 48 degrees below. and inside the tent, we measured —13. bleep cold, you know! inside the tent, you want to relax. but then, we said, "ok, guys, let's get out to see to the night".

most of us were like, "i have never seen sky like this." actually feeling like you are in space somewhere. last 30km, it was so mentally tough for me. in one moment, i opened the throttle more, you know, 100—120kph, steering started to freeze. so, it means i see i cannot move it. i started to look for the straight lines, not to use it too much. and then, i arrived and i saw the sign "oymyakon", you know? and no thoughts — emptiness. "ok, i'm here." dog barks. when it's —55, the town looks pretty empty. and then, maybe one hour later, ah, it's done. ahh! the last thing left

is to have a swim in the river. ah! ok, to finish off our festive special, let's have a bit of theatrical fun. here in the uk, panto — short for pantomime — is always the big draw at this time of year. but there is a tiny village in the middle of rural norfolk with a population of around only 200 people that's been put on the map, thanks to its annual christmas show with not a pantomime dame or villain in sight. and a few years ago, i went along to join the cast for one night only. we'll see you again in 2024. but in the meantime, it's curtain up, strike up the band, and a very merry christmas and happy new year from all of us here at the travel show.

# let's roll out. # let the trumpets call. # all the people shout. # hurray! # and strike up the band. # hear the cymbals ring... with 2,000 pom—poms and one—and—a—half million rhinestones, this is a show to remember for the 110,000 people who come here during the festive season. now in its 43rd year, this family—run production was started as one man's vision. it's a journey to christmas eve, basically, in music, song and dance. but through its popularity, through the years, it's had to come forward. so, it's now starting november the 6th. it's basically a nonstop extravaganza of music, dance, and song. song crescendos. this year, over 3,000 west end and broadway artists auditioned to be part of the company of over 120 performers. and today, i'll bejoining

them for the big finale. but first, a crash course in learning my steps. clap to the front. one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, three, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, four, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. hands, hands, bow, stand left foot. one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight! whoo! and then, make your way back out. 0k. cool thank you so much for teaching me, i hope i don't cause you any disruption later. you were great! no worries, you'll be great. so, tell me, what's it like for you guys to perform in a show like this? cos it's a little bit different, isn't it? yeah, it's very different. it's not like any other show. i'm one of the singers in the show, and i did the show last year- and fell in love with it, so back this year. - it'sjust such a variety, isn't it? like, even as a singer, _ i do lots of musical theatre stuff, but this has got lots of classical i in there, as well, so it's reallyl nice to get that kind of mixture.

one thing that's incredible here is that we're celebrating christmas for two months every day. yeah! you'd think it'd get a little tedious, but it doesn't, because every show, we've got 1,400 people watching, and they're all there to celebrate christmas. and it's just amazing to do shows every day, twice a day. cheering. # i've been dreaming of christmas—time. # every day through the year. # trees shine in every window. # children all dream of reindeer hoofprints in the snow. # i've been longing for christmas—time.

# when hearts are warm. # and filled with joy. # there's love for all to share. # as gifts... this is susie. it's my secret changing room. she's going to help me get into my costume. ahh! # the best time of the year... whispering: i have to go onstage now. let's hope i remember my steps. applause.

she laughs excitedly. ah! ok, so... i didn't fall over, i didn't forget the steps,

and i didn't cause any kind of incident. so, as far as i'm concerned, job done. but i must say, being up there, looking out at the audience, all standing, clapping, enjoying themselves, everyone singing, it really was something a bit special. and i didn't fall over — yes! hello, there. it was quite a wintry scene earlier on saturday across northern parts of mainland scotland, but it's going to be typical festive fare, i think, over the coming few days.

windy weather, potentially disruptive weather on christmas eve, rain returning on christmas day, and then there's sunshine if you're going to be out and about on boxing day. now, we've had these weather fronts, an area of low pressure bringing the wet weather earlier on. that weather front is slipping its way southwards. but to the south of that, we've got some particularly mild air, and it could be one of the mildest, one of the warmest christmas eves on record. unlikely to beat the record set in scotland, but we're forecasting 15 degrees across some eastern parts of england. the record set there in 1997. we've got some cloud and patchy rain on that weather front moving slowly southwards. most of the rain, wales and then the south—west of england. it'll be followed to the north by some sunshine, but a whole host of showers, particularly in scotland, where it's going to be very windy. there will be some sunshine around, as well. so there's the 15 degrees forecast for some eastern parts of england. those temperatures could drop a bit, though, during the afternoon. and it will be a windy day. one area that's going to be

particularly windy, over and to the east of the pennines. gusty winds here. also gusty winds widely in scotland, with the strongest gusts of 70mph in northern parts of mainland scotland and also for orkney. those really strong winds do ease down overnight. that weather front is still around, bringing some rain in the south, and two weather fronts sort of merge onto the uk for christmas day, so expect a lot of cloud, expect some rain to develop more widely. some snow over the hills in northern parts of scotland, where the air is going to be colder here, but otherwise it's still mild, and particularly mild in the south—east, 14 degrees, though we've got some stronger winds here. those two weather fronts then slide their way away from the uk. for boxing day, we get more of a west— or north—westerly breeze. that's going to bring in a few wintry showers to northern and western scotland for a while. otherwise, a good deal of sunshine around, although the rain that's in the channel could come back into the south—west by the end of the day. temperatures are going to be a bit lower, but at least the winds will be lighter and there'll be more sunshine around.

into that chillier air, though, we've got more rain coming in from the south—west again, and that could turn into quite heavy rain across england and wales by wednesday morning. a really wet start here, a wet day in forecast. some rain heading northwards. as it does so, briefly some snow over the pennines and then developing over the southern uplands and north of the central belt. colder air in scotland, certainly, still mild air where it's heavy rain in the south. things get a bit complicated and rather awkward as we head from wednesday into thursday, because that area of low pressure is going to slide over the uk, the winds are going to strengthen. we've still got this spell of wet weather wrapped around it. but we're more likely to have some more snow in scotland and returning to higher parts of northern england, as well. cold wind blowing in here, colder air for northern areas of the uk. a little bit milder in the south, where we've got some sunshine but also some showers. let's look at the outlook, and this is the jet—stream pattern for the outlook. and it's going to fluctuate

to the south of the uk, keeping it colder, to the north of the uk keeping it milder. everything is going to slide in from the atlantic again, so essentially the outlook is still unsettled. areas of low pressure are heading our way, bringing spells of wet and windy weather with some chance of some snow, particularly over the hills in the north. goodbye.

you benjamin netanyahu benjamin neta nyahu dismisses translation: israel. is a sovereign country. our decisions are based

on our operational considerations. christmas celebrations are called off in bethlehem — the usual christmas tree — is replaced by a nativity scene in the rubble. the uk home secretary james cleverly has apologised afterjoking about spiking his wife's drink with a date rape drug. and the missing carol discovered after 90 years in yorkshire. we start with the war in gaza, where israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, has dismissed reports, that the us had convinced israel not to expand its military activity. he was speaking during a weekly cabinet meeting. on saturday, the wall streetjournal reported that president biden had

"urged the israeli prime minister — to halt a pre—emptive