in his coronation year. hello, i'm samantha simmonds. ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky has said he is �*grateful�* to his air force for a missile attack that badly damaged a russian warship in the black sea. the ship was hit during an attack on the port in russian—occupied crimea. local officials say at least one person was killed. ukraine said the ship was destroyed. president zelensky wrote on telegram: �*the occupiers will not have a single peaceful place in ukraine'. james waterhouse reports from central ukraine for ukraine, this was

a high—value target. the russian novocherkassk landing ship struck by a guided missile. the force of the blast suggests it was full. moscow claims the ship was only damaged. kyiv says it was destroyed. it's going to need more than a lick of paint regardless. crimea has been firmly held by russia since 2014, but sights like this have become more common with ukraine striking deeper into the peninsula. the novocherkassk would've almost certainly been loaded with either soldiers, hardware or both. it being taken out will hamper russia's ability to supply troops further north, as well as further weaken its naval dominance in the black sea. translation: a huge job has been done. - a big assault carrier was destroyed, and it did become part of a fleet to which the moskva missile cruiser belongs. kyiv has successfully targeted russian vessels before, including the moskva, once the flagship of moscow's black sea fleet.

what attacks like these have yet to do is apply enough pressure on moscow for it to surrender ukrainian territory it has taken, but for ukraine, for president zelensky, it is a welcome announcement against a backdrop of waning western support. in feodosiya, fragments of the ship were scattered for hundreds of metres. ukraine has only been able to liberate a few kilometres of its territory. the impact of strikes like this isn't always realised immediately, but they have slightly weakened russia's control here. the problem for ukraine is time is not its friend. peter dickinson is the editor of the �*ukrainealert blog' — at the atlantic council's eurasia center. he explained why many might consider this attack a particularly significant one. it's a very significant attack. it's one of a series of similar strikes that reflect ukraine's growing ability to hit russia's black sea fleet.

this began in 2022 when the war was in its very early stages, but it's escalated significantly over the past six months or so, with a number of serious hits that either destroyed or seriously damaged russian warships and have forced russia to withdraw the vast majority of its battleships and submarines even from the home port of the black sea fleet in sevastopol to russian ports and primarily to the east of the black sea. and in fact, russia has even reportedly begun work on developing a new port in occupied georgian territory in the east of the black sea, which reflects how severe the blow has been to the russian sea power in the black seat. to the russian sea power in the black sea. so this is clearly part of a much bigger pattern and is showing ukraine's ability to force russia back from ukrainian coasts and to break the blockade of ukraine's own black sea ports. yeah, the uk defence minister says

20% of the russian black sea fleet has been destroyed in the past few months. so tell us a bit more about what we understand to be russia's military capabilities there. well, the russia fleet has been used to first and foremost blockade ukraine's ports. that blockade has now been effectively broken by ukraine's operations in the past six months. the russian black sea fleet has also played a big role in missile attacks on ukrainian civilian infrastructure across the country. last winter in particular, when russian warships were used to launch cruise missile attacks. that has been very notably less of an occurrence this winter largely because these ships have been forced back. and of course they play a major role logistically in helping to support the russian invasion and bring supplies across to occupied crimea and to southern ukraine. so again this is undermining the ability of russia

to maintain its invasion force, especially in the south of ukraine. and then of course there's the morale factor. it's a huge morale boost for ukraine to be seen to be striking the sorts of warships and causing this kind of damage, and from a russian perspective, russia is now losing the battle of the black sea to a country that doesn't have a navy. and if you can imagine, that's pretty demoralising. peter dickinson. israel's military chief has warned there will be no swift finish to the war in gaza. army chief herzi halevi told a news conference the war will last �*many more months�*. the hamas—run health ministry says 240 people have been killed in 2a hours. there are again fears that the conflict could spread across the region. the us says it has carried out what it calls �*necessary and proportionate�* air strikes against pro—iranian militias based in iraq. the us says they were in response to attacks on american bases in the region. the government in iraq condemned the strikes as an �*unacceptable attack on iraqi sovereignty�*. our correspondent shaimaa khalil is injerusalem.

standing in what used to be her home. "ourthings, mum, they�*re gone." israel�*s bombing of rafah in southern gaza has continued, leaving those who fled there at a loss of where to go. translation: israel claims | that there are safe residential areas, or secure zones, but this attack shows that that�*s a lie. israel�*s military operation has intensified in khan younis, also in the south. little amal was sleeping with her family. the bomb hit them and killed her uncle. "we were sleeping," she says, "then i heard a big bang. rocks landed on us." amal�*s baby sister is three days old. baby mariam is bearing the brunt of a conflict she was born into. as the military operation deepens into gaza, tensions have risen on israel�*s northern

border with lebanon. israel�*s defense minister, yoav gallant, has visited troops in the north after he said they�*d received cross—border fire from hezbollah, with the idf targeting some of the group�*s infrastructure. translation: hezbollah looks at what's happening in gaza - and understands very well what we did in gaza can also be done in beirut. hezbollah operatives were also targeted by the us in iraq. the pentagon said us forces carried out air strikes against what it called iran—sponsored militias in response to an attack on the erbil air base. israel�*s war in gaza is not close to being over, says the prime minister, and in its wake, otherfronts grow more tense in already volatile areas in the region. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, jerusalem. in the past hour an egyptian tv channel has broadcast an interview with palestinian president mahmoud

abbas. it�*s his first interview since the beginning of the war in gaza. live now to our middle east correspondent, sally nabil. what more has palestinian president mahmoud abbas been saying? really strong words in describing what is happening in gaza, for more of a disaster and beyond the genocide, the palestinians he said have never seen something like that before, even worse than the year of 1948 when israel was founded. he said more than 20,000 people have been killed in gaza but are between 7000 and 10,000 still buried and under the rubble and no one knows anything about them. he blamed the us big time here, referred to the us veto they have used, un security council lately that has disrupted a

un resolution calling for a ceasefire. he clearly said if the us once the assault to stop, it will stop because it is the only country that can pressure israel to do so. but apparently what is going on is supported by washington, that is his words. he also said the current israeli government is aiming to wipe out palestinian existence, notjust in gaza but also in the west bank and jerusalem and referred to current israeli attacks against palestinians in the west bank and jerusalem. he said the ultimate goal is to push people of gaza into the egyptian sinai peninsula. a lot of reports have been talking about that, the constant bombardment might push palestinian families to walk into the sinai peninsula, thanking egyptians for not allowing this to happen because the egyptians have been very reluctant to open the

borders for the residents of gaza to stay permanently in sinai because that according to egyptian statements will undermine the palestinian goals. he finds the israeli argument about the right to self—defence is illogical. he does not believe that israel is still keen on having the two state solution, just wants to wipe out the palestinian existence. what is more important here is that he said the palestinian authorities are ready to run gaza and has enough staff and people but that is a very controversial issue. given the huge lack of trust between the group that controls gaza, hamas, besides the israelis have not accepted that the palestinian authorities and mahmoud abbas can run gaza given perhaps the

lack of trust between members of the palestinian authority and residents of gaza. it is very complicated picture but we understand that he blames the americans and he holds them accountable for the ongoing fighting because, according to him, it is only the americans who can push the israelis to stop the war. and what about hamas candy 120 hostages they still hold, taken on october seven in the attacks on 0ctober seven in the attacks on israel, that he talk about the pressure he or others could exert on hamas? to pressure he or others could exert on hamas? ., . , pressure he or others could exert on hamas? ., ., , pressure he or others could exert on hamas? ., . , ., hamas? to release them? he did not refer specifically _ hamas? to release them? he did not refer specifically to _ hamas? to release them? he did not refer specifically to the _ hamas? to release them? he did not refer specifically to the israeli - refer specifically to the israeli hostage issue but was asked, blamed by the israelis for supporting terrorism as much as hamas do, he said i am against the killing of civilians, i cannot support what israel is doing in gaza and call

that the right to self defence. mahmoud abbas is an attack position. he cannot win over the trust of the people in gaza. the war is still going on and he can do much about it. ., ~ going on and he can do much about it. . ~ , ., the israeli army says it has arrested senior palestinian politician khalida jarrar, and other activists of her party, in the occupied west bank. (00v)she is a prominent figure in the occupied west bank. she is a prominent figure in the popular front for the liberation of palestine. her party is the second largest faction and the main opposition force to fatah within the plo.in 2006 she was elected as a representative to the palestinian assembly, and has long been an advocate of women�*s rights. the pflp is designated a terrorist organization by israel, the united states and the european union. russian opposition figure alexei navalny has confirmed he�*s been transferred to an arctic prison. he posted on x that he is in good spirits. considered vladimir putin�*s most vocal opponent, navalny has been imprisoned since 2021. the russian dissident has told

supporters not to worry about him, insisting he�*s relieved to have reached the siberian penal colony. but his chief of staff, leonid volkov, told the bbc, concern for mr navalny remained high. we are worried. we don�*t forget for a second that he is in the custody of the people who tried to kill him 3.5 years ago and that he is putin�*s very personal political prisoner. and this journey, this forced journey, is yet another proof. so, of course, we are worried. and the only protection, if any, that still exists for alexei navalny is the spotlight of publicity. putin has to be reminded that the world cares about navalny and that he can�*tjust hide him or kill him or whatever. this is very important for us. let�*s get some of the day�*s other news now. residents have fled their homes

in parts of central nigeria — after armed groups killed at least 113 people in a series of attacks on communities — in a region beset by religious and ethnic tensions. you are watching bbc news around the world and across the uk. an official in plateau state said attacks had taken place in at least 20 communities. dozens more people were left injured. the country�*s president described the attack as heinous and has promised to respond immediately. china�*s leader — xijinping — has been leading praise for chairman mao zedong — at a gathering to mark the anniversary of the birth of the former leader, 130 years ago. the event was attended by all of china�*s top leaders. to mark the occasion, special stamps were issued, and several tv dramas were broadcast. the low—cost us airline spirit has apologised after mistakingly putting a young boy — travelling alone for the first time — on the wrong flight. six—year—old casper ended up a four—hour drive from his intended

destination of fort myers in florida, where he was due to meet his grandmother. the airline has since offered to reimburse his grandmother for the cost of driving across the state to collect him. this is bbc news. the former vice—president of hong kong�*s disbanded opposition has accused the uk of hardening its stance towards those leaving the territory. isaac cheng said immigration caseworkers appeared "predisposed to discredit" claims. after several applications were rejected. a special visa scheme was established in 2021 for pro—democracy hong kongers escaping persecution. about 97% of applications have been successful. thames water has apologised after several homes in surrey were left without water today. areas near guildford and godalming were worst affected. the company said most properties have now had their water supply retored.

their water supply restored. the chancellor and local mp, jeremy hunt, said he was �*beside himself with frustration�*. europe�*s largest parking app operator has been hacked — with about 950 people in the uk having their personal data compromised. easypark group, which owns ring—go and park—mobile, said most of the customers affected were in europe and that names, contact information and parts of credit card numbers had been stolen. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre. hello from the bbc sport centre. manchester united are in action for the first time since british businessman sirjim ratcliffe agreed to buy a 25% stake in the old trafford club for about $1.3bn. (00v)marcus rashford was named in the starting lineup marcus rashford was named in the starting lineup against aston villa by erik ten hag as he sought to bounce back after their 2—0 loss away at west ham on saturday.

ratcliffe isn�*t at old trafford but is being represented by ineos director of sport sir dave brailsford. it�*s currently 0—0. 17 minutes gone. liverpool have moved to the top of the premier league for at least the next 48 hours after they overcame burnley 2—0 at turf moor. darwin nunez put liverpool ahead in the first half — his first goal in nine league matches — before diogojota sealed the win with a late strike after coming off the bench as a substitute, his 50th for the club in all competitions. burnley failed to register a single on target for the first shot on target for the first time since february 2021. the fourth game in ten games, after the game we cannot expect a top level, we have to get through this and we went through this, scored a wonderfulfirst goal, could have scored many more, burnley could have scored many more, burnley could have scored an equaliser, the chances

they had were much too big. for us, it is important we won the game and nobody got injured, that is the main information and for the moment it looks like that. luton town moved to within a point of safety after a dramatic 3—2 win at fellow strugglers sheffield united. the blades had led 2—1 after two second half goals in eight minutes, but own goals from jack robinson and ben slimane allowed luton to seal back—to—back premier league wins. nottingham forest have their first win under new manager nuno espirito santo. they came from behind to beat newcastle united 3—1 at stjames park. chris wood, who joined forest from newcastle in the summer, scored a hatrick. his first came just before half—time time, cancelling out an alexander isak penalty. he scored twice in the second half as forest caught newcastle on the break. bournemouth have beaten fulham 3—0 — they�*re up to tenth in the premier league. justin kluivert, dominic solanke from the penalty spot and luis sinisterra

scored the goals. the cherries are unbeaten in their last seven matches, picking up 19 points from a possible 21. the boxing day test in melbourne is under way, australia will be looking to seal the series against pakistan after winning the first test in perth. australia were put into bat and made 187 for three on a rain—affected first day at the mcg. marnus labuschagne is unbeaten on 1m. south africa are on top in the first test against india. they won the toss and made the most of it — kagiso rabada took five wickets. india reached 208 for eight before bad light stopped play. kl rahul is unbeaten on 70. novak djokovic turns 37 in may but his desire to keep adding to his record tally of grand slams shows no signs of diminishing. the 24—time major winner was speaking in saudi arabia ahead of his clash with carlos alcaraz

in a repeat of the 2023 wimbledon final. my goal is to try to push as long as i can and win grand slams and be a contender for a top spot in the world, trying to make more history in the sport. that�*s the drive, that�*s the motivation, and i�*m still feeling very good in my own body. you know, at this age, playing one of the best seasons that i�*ve had in my career in 2023, so i�*m going to keep going and see how far it gets me. and that�*s all the sport for now. head to the website and app for the latest. the post—christmas sales may be getting into full swing today, but research suggests shoppers will spend less than they did last year. major retailers such as m&s remained closed. theo leggett reports. christmas may be over,

but now it�*s time for the sales. everything is reduced up to 50%. here in kingston—upon—thames, the mood today was cheerful as curious shoppers sought out the best bargains. and across the country, it was a similar story. it's the first time in a long time that we've come out on boxing day shopping. we normally do this online. we were holding out for boxing day sales cos we always come without l about the kids and it's time for us. i just like the atmosphere because it brings a lot of people out, of the busyness of being in the city. that�*s why i like the experience of that. we're going to buy a few things in the sales. the shops are so busy, we can hardly get in, to be honest with you. i thought it was going to be more | sales, more staff, but it's less. i so i'm kind of a bit disappointed. it�*s just tradition, isn�*t it? yeah. ever since i was a kid, my dad would bring me out and go around the shops. boxing day itself used to be a huge sales event, but discount extravaganzas such as black friday have robbed it of some of its impact. marks & spencer, next and john lewis all chose to remain closed today,

yet boxing day is just the start. there�*s still plenty of time for people to think about going shopping before new year. retailers need shoppers to come out in force this week. it�*s a vital time of year for them, but the big question is with the cost of living still high and bills to pay, do consumers still have enough money to spend? early indications suggest that while shoppers did splash out more in the run—up to christmas than they did last year, trading was far from spectacular. there'll definitely a temptation - for people to buy at post—christmas, but unfortunately we've just got a lot less money to spend. - the cost of living crisis had a big i impact on how much we spent over the christmas period and could well do for the sales as well. _ research from vouchercodes suggests we�*ll spend more than £14 billion in the shops and online between christmas and the new year, but that�*s still well down on 2022. for retailers, the next few days will be crucial. boxing day itself may not be what it once was, but the sales as a whole still really matter.

what happens this week could lead retailers into a difficult winter or set them on track for a prosperous new year. nearly 7.5 million people in the uk watched the king�*s speech on christmas day. and for those who want more royal viewing a new documentary is now 0ur royal correspondent, daniela relph, has more. the coronation rehearsals inside westminster abbey, an important practice for all the family. wow, look at that! and a greeting from a grandfather and father, as well as a king about to be crowned. what struck me particularly is how extraordinarily affectionate they are. they're clearly a very close family. you know, of all the generations. and, in a sense, you felt you're part of a family occasion as well as, you know, a royal occasion and a national occasion. for the first time, the programme will show the intricate preparations and alterations that were made to the crowns used during the coronation.

and on the big day, after the service, cameras filmed the welcome back at buckingham palace. the programme is not a critical eye over the royal family�*s year. there is no mention of the duke and duchess of sussex, harry and meghan, nor prince andrew. it is instead a view of some of those moments we don�*t normally get to see. ijust love the way the sun comes through the cotinus. _ yes, it�*s marvellous, isn�*t it? for those who know them best, amidst the noise of coronation year, a reminder of something very personal. she is his rock, and i can't actually emphasise that enough. she's somebody who is completely loyal, and she isn't somebody who has huge highs and lows. he brings to her everything. i'm not talking about all of this, but, you know, he has such

a knowledge and interest in so many different things, which she wouldn't really have been open to if she hadn't met him. all access to the royal family is carefully managed, but here the curtain is slightly lifted on some of the more private moments of a very public year. i knew that would be... yes. daniela relph, bbc news. stay with us here on bbc news. hello there. i think you could call the boxing day weather the calm before the storm as things are set to turn very unsettled through tomorrow as storm gerrit, another named storm, hurtles across the country, bringing a mixture of rain, gales and heavy snow certainly across scotland. and it remains windy on thursday with further heavy showers at times. and this is storm gerrit winding itself up out in the atlantic, heading towards our shores as we move through this evening and overnight.

so the rain piling into southern and western areas, winds picking up, too. ahead of it, a cold night to come. subzero values with some frost and ice before the rain arrives, with increasing amounts of snow certainly to the hills here. so it�*ll be very cold to start wednesday here, milder further south. storm gerrit then fully in control of our weather on wednesday. lots of isobars on the charts, close together, hence the gales, outbreaks of heavy rain and some concerning amounts of snow falling over fairly modest hills across scotland through the morning and into the afternoon. up to 15 centimetres in places, maybe more than that. when you factor in the wind, we will see drifting and also blizzards. so some treacherous weather to come throughout the day on wednesday. heavy rain, strong winds elsewhere. maybe brightening up later in the day across some western areas, but i think most places staying cloudy. it will be very gusty, strong winds around the coast through the english channel, severe gales developing across north—east scotland and the northern isles later. gusts perhaps up to 75—80 mph here.

double figure values for most in the south, cold across scotland, but it won�*t feel like that because of the strength of the wind. as we head into thursday, we keep low pressure close by. lots of isobars on the chart again, so another windy, blustery day to come. plenty of showers rattling in from the south—west. some of these could be heavy at times across western areas. again, a risk of some gales. north—west england, western wales could see some disruption once again. a bit of sunshine here and there and some wintriness over the hills in scotland again. temperatures 9—12 degrees. so the weather on wednesday and thursday is likely to cause some disruption. a mixture of rain, snow and gales, so head online or check out the bbc weather app to see the details of all the weather warnings in place. and it remains unsettled for the rest of the week, the run—up to new year as well. could be that on saturday we see another spell of wet and windy weather with some mountain snow in the north.

now on bbc news — inside the saudi sporting machine. it�*s the country transforming the sporting landscape, from signing top stars to a revamped football league to an upheaval of professional golf and the staging of boxing�*s biggest fights. saudi arabia�*s investment in sport has gone into overdrive. the country�*s now set to host the 2034 world cup, too, but there�*s also controversy among

fears that one of the world�*s richest oil states is using sports to distract from its human rights record and its impact on the environment. i travelled tojeddah for a rare opportunity to speak to one of the key figures behind the country�*s remarkable sporting revolution. there seems no end to the number of sports you are investing in. are we at the high point now or are we just beginning the journey? there is a lot, as you said. 0ur ambition is to host the best events around the world in the kingdom for the people of the kingdom to see, but also to invite the world to the kingdom. we have — formula 1, i think, is one of them. fifa world cup, and the olympics. these are the highest events that any nation would love to host within their countries. within the 2030 vision, we have targets that we want to host the biggest events to attract the world through sports,

to be part of that, and to play a role in that.