hello, i'm lucy hockings. russia has launched one of its biggest aerial attacks on ukraine since the war began, killing at least 18 people in a wave of deadly explosions across the country. president zelensky says 114 of 158 missiles and drones fired were shot down by ukrainian defences. ukraine's air force says it has "never seen so many locations targeted simultaneously". cities hit include kyiv, lviv in the west, odesa in the south, and dnipro, kharkiv and zaporizhzhia in eastern ukraine. a maternity hospital and shopping mall were among buildings damaged and destroyed. meanwhile poland says an identified aerial object entered the nato country's airspace at hrubieszow overnight. a polish general says the object, which is likely to have been a russian missile,

spent less than three minutes over polish territory, before returning to ukrainian territory. we'll get reaction from poland in a moment. but first, our ukraine correspondent james waterhouse reports from kyiv. it is and always has been the whole of ukraine which is under attack. kyiv is still moscow's biggest prize. air defences have improved here, but this attack proved too much. translation: i was woken up at 7:30 by a horrible sound. _ it was so frightening. the missile was flying and everything was buzzing, so noisy. you are left in no doubt that this was a direct missile strike. the scale of the damage, the size of the blast zone, the heat caused. you're more used to seeing damage caused from falling debris when a missile is intercepted. but this reflects the scale of this russian attack. and scenes like this are being replicated right across ukraine.

a lucky escape in kharkiv in the north—east. this city is familiar with missile strikes, but not 20 in a single morning. a shopping centre in dnipro in the east, as well as a maternity hospital, were hit. it didn't stop there. this is the port city of odesa in the south, where a residential block was struck. even in lviv in the west, which is usually spared the worst of this invasion, wasn't immune this time. ukraine's air force says it has never seen so many missiles. in a war where moscow routinely strikes cities it can't occupy, that is saying something. we can speak to our poland correspondent adam easton. what has reaction been in poland to the fact that a russian rocket appears to have entered airspace?

that's right. we have had both the prime minister and the president meeting with the top armed forces generals in emergency meetings, and the one with the president has just finished and the defence minister and two armed forces generals have said that everything indicates to them at least amongst the scenarios they are analysing that this was a russian rocket which entered polish airspace from ukrainian territory. as you said, it was an polish airspace for less than three minutes from about a0 kilometres across the border, when it turned back, they believe. this is one of the most, one of the scenarios they think is the most likely, the words of the general, he said from a military point of view, the scenario i would recommend is that this rocket turned back and went back into ukraine. so there has been no reports of an explosion in poland. the search is still ongoing, there are about 200

police, military police in the area near the border in south—eastern poland where the radar detected this object flying into polish airspace. they are still looking, just in case. but at this stage, the military�*s top commanders said they believe the russian missile entered polish airspace and turned back after less than three minutes and went back into ukraine.— after less than three minutes and went back into ukraine. adam, thank ou. we went back into ukraine. adam, thank yom we will — went back into ukraine. adam, thank yom we will be _ went back into ukraine. adam, thank you. we will be live _ went back into ukraine. adam, thank you. we will be live in _ went back into ukraine. adam, thank you. we will be live in kyiv _ went back into ukraine. adam, thank you. we will be live in kyiv shortly i you. we will be live in kyiv shortly as well. to the middle east now. the united nations says an estimated 150,000 palestinians are being forced to flee areas of central gaza, as israeli forces advance on refugee camps there. an israeli air strike is reported to have killed 20 displaced people in rafah — a town that many people have fled to in recent days. meanwhile, talks to end the conflict are reported to have restarted in egypt. 0ur middle east correspondent yolande knell has sent this report — and a warning that it does contain distressing images. gathering in disbelief at the scene of another israeli strike. this is rafah, crowded

with displaced gazans. last night, the scenes here were frantic, with 20 people killed, including children. 0thers somehow making it out alive. amid all this suffering, ordinary palestinians ask when the war will stop. "the situation has gone byond all limits," says samad. "we're asking the world to protect us and stop the aggression. "we're helpless." 0ngoing fighting means little aid has been reaching gaza city. new pictures show the desperate looting when this convoy finally arrived. the vast majority of gazans have now been forced from their homes. people here have been setting up new makeshift camps as they've fled from advancing israeli troops. but new diplomatic efforts are taking shape, even as the war rages on. a hamas delegation is now in cairo after egypt, a key mediator with israel,

proposed a new ceasefire deal. crowd chants in israel there is pressure to find a way to bring home the 100—plus hostages still in gaza. those released during a truce last month say they endured harsh conditions while held captive by hamas fighters. this person now accuses all gazans of being complicit with the armed group, something many would deny. translation: it's families under hamas control. - you know, in retrospect i realised i was staying with a family. i was asking myself, "why am i at a family's house? "why are there children and a woman here?" israel says its aim in gaza remains to dismantle hamas's military and governing capabilities. but for now, palestinian civilians are paying a huge price — forced to flee from their homes with no safe place to go. yolande knell, bbc news, jerusalem. israel has expressed regret for what it called the "harm caused

to uninvolved individuals" who were caught in an israeli air strike on the maghazi refugee camp in gaza. the hamas—run health ministry says more than 70 people were killed in the attack on christmas eve. the israeli military says two fighterjets struck buildings close to hamas positions, which likely caused harm to civilians, despite efforts to avoid casualties. it said it was continuing to investigate the incident and would learn lessons. live now tojerusalem and our correspondent shaimaa khalil. cani can i start by asking about the talks that have restarted in cairo? a hammers delegation is there in each it, can be read into that? == 5; each it, can be read into that? -- a hamas delegation. _ each it, can be read into that? -- a hamas delegation. from _ each it, can be read into that? » —. hamas delegation. from what we each it, can be read into that? » 5. hamas delegation. from what we have read about the report, the observations do not mean that they have agreed to the deal, to the

3—phase deal but i think at least they are reacting to it. this tale is a three phase deal, there has been —— that has been preferred by each but also worked out by other key negotiators in this conflict. what it essentially spells out is, it can see a gradual release of all hostages in exchange for palestinian prisoners in israeli jails, but also this humanitarian causes, different periods of humanitarian pause that would lead to a ceasefire, but essentially would lead to the safe delivery but also to the distribution which has been such a massive issue in kazza, and also they talked about governance and what it would look like in gaza. they are proposing a governing body of technocrats, experts that would administer gazza. but look, this plan is up against the reality on

the ground right now and the reality on the camera now is israel is expanding its ground offensive. we have heard from witnesses from the idf themselves that they idf have been releasing pictures of their saint tunnel shafts in central gaza. we give you a picture of what is going on. we saw in the report of the pictures from rafah and the continued bombardment. and of course, is not budging on the rockets. rockets continuing to be fired into israel and places like ashkelon for example. reports of sirens sounding in tel aviv. so the reality on the ground is that these two sides are very entrenched in their positions. the fact the hamas delegation is in cairo means, yes, the talks about talks could be in place, but it's a big if, if these two sides agreed in principle, it is still going to be a very long and drawn process to agree on every

single detail proposed by the egyptians. single detail proposed by the eu tians. ~ single detail proposed by the egyptians-— single detail proposed by the eu tians. . ., ., ., , single detail proposed by the eu tians. . . . . , egyptians. with rafah already so overcrowded _ egyptians. with rafah already so overcrowded and _ egyptians. with rafah already so overcrowded and of _ egyptians. with rafah already so overcrowded and of youan - egyptians. with rafah already so overcrowded and of youan of- egyptians. with rafah already so - overcrowded and of youan of 150,000 people having to leave central gaza to try and find safety, where can they go? to try and find safety, where can the no? ~ . , , they go? well, that is the big question- _ they go? well, that is the big question- i — they go? well, that is the big question. ijust _ they go? well, that is the big question. i just want - they go? well, that is the big question. i just want to - they go? well, that is the big question. i just want to draw| question. i just want to draw attention to the numbers that we are talking about, because we keep talking about, because we keep talking about, because we keep talking about hundreds of thousands, a huge number of people. remember that many of the people that are now having to evacuate in central gaza have evacuated from northern gaza, so we're looking at 90,000 residents in central gaza and about 60,000 displaced people that have come from the north. all of them now are asked to go to a neighbouring area which is already overwhelmed with hundreds of thousands of displaced people. you only have to see the pictures when maghazi refugee camp was bombed however want at the hospital was, going on very little resources. the

other option is for them to go to rafah, and again, bombardment in rafah, and again, bombardment in rafah and khan younis continue so they're really running at of safe places to go. they're really running at of safe places to 9m— they're really running at of safe iacesto no. . ., ., , the family of "good samaritan" chris marriott, who died after a car hit a group of people in sheffield, say the circumstances of his death are "tragic and unfathomable". police say he was out for a walk on wednesday afternoon with his wife and two young sons, when he stopped to help an unconscious woman after a row between two groups. 0ur correspondent 0livia richwald has the latest from sheffield. this is college close, where chris marriott was hit and killed by a car as he went to the aid of an unconscious stranger he had come across on a family walk. and today people across sheffield have paid tribute to the a6—year—old father of two. his family have described him as a kind, caring and devoted man, a wonderful dad, husband, brother, and uncle, and a friend to many. his boss heather keats said the it manager had spent his life

trying to help others. chris's whole raison d'etre was to help others. he would sort of see anybody and be prepared to go and help. i think hejust had a heart for people. chris's family said he had a strong christian faith and the manner of his death shows just the kind of man he was. his church have said everyone here is deeply shocked. two men aged 23 and 55 remain in police custody and the woman chris marriott was trying to help remains in hospital in a life—threatening condition. the police have to described him as a "good samaritan" and they have appealed with anyone with information to get in touch. let's return now to ukraine — where russia has launched one of its biggest aerial attacks on the country since the war began, killing at least 18 people in a wave of deadly explosions.

live now to our reporter, zhanna bezpiatchuk, in kyiv. did to see you. can you give us a sense of the shock in the country at the scale and intensity of these attacks? , , ., , attacks? yes, it is true that this is really shocking _ attacks? yes, it is true that this is really shocking attack - attacks? yes, it is true that this is really shocking attack on - is really shocking attack on ukraine, all the main ukrainian cities were attacked by russia in a few days. i personally stayed in my home in kyiv, when you arejust —— you expected it should end soon, but it doesn't, it continues, it keeps going. an explosion after the other. of course, ukrainians do have this of course, ukrainians do have this kind of resilience to even such severe stress because it is not the

first time when the entire country comes under attack. but these particular missile and drone attacks, which is the early assessment, is really the most massive one since the beginning of the russian invasion. it's already noticeable because a few apartment blocks were cleared in the few ukrainian cities. this is what happens when russia taxi krmas mrs andrus. so for we know that is confirmed that at least 18 people were killed in different ukrainian cities during this night and the morning. the military hospital was hit. a shopping mall was hit in. an

apartment block was hit in the south of the country come in 0desa. bashment the south of the country, in 0desa. bashment the south of the country, in odesa. ., ~ i. ., ., , in odesa. thank you for “oining us from kyiv, — in odesa. thank you for “oining us from kyiv. stay h in odesa. thank you for “oining us from kyiv, stay safe. _ around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making the news. the chief inspector of prisons for england and wales has called for a fundamental re—orientation in the way the system is run. charlie taylor said the high availability of drugs in some prisons was a barrier to rehabilitation. and he said many inmates were failing to learn to read and not developing the skills they need for a life of work, rather than crime. the french tycoon francoise bettencourt meyers has become the first woman to amass a fortune of $100 billion. it comes after shares in l'0real, the beauty empire founded by her grandfather, rose to a record high. the home of the manchester city footballerjack grealish has been

broken into while he was playing in his side's 3—1win against everton. according to local media, £1 million worth ofjewellery and watches were stolen. no arrests have yet been made. you're live with bbc news. donald trump's 202a election campaign says it will file a legal challenge to a ruling by the state of maine to prevent him from contesting the republican primary there. maine is the second state to announce such a move, after colorado, with officials in both citing a clause in the constitution which bans those who have engaged in insurrection from taking political office. the us supreme court is likely to make the ultimate decision as to whether he can run for president. live now to thomas gift — director of the centre on us politics at the university college london. good to see you can you explain what

exactly this constitutional insurrection because is? great to be with ou, insurrection because is? great to be with you. lucy. _ insurrection because is? great to be with you. lucy. as — insurrection because is? great to be with you, lucy, as always. - with you, lucy, as always. essentially, section three says that individuals who have engaged in insurrection or rebellion are ineligible for running for president. essentially, defenders of donald trump are going to say that this ruling by the maine secretary of state is unconstitutional for a few reasons, one is the provision requires that congress do this and not individual states. second, the insurrection of clause applies explicitly to officers of the united states and the president arguably doesn't fall under that criteria. third, the constitution already sets out provision for executive appeasement, so the claim is that the 1ath amendment was never designed to substitute for that accountability mechanism. is accountability mechanism. is obviously urgency now, with it

appearing before the supreme court, we could see other states following suit, how does it work in terms of the timing?— suit, how does it work in terms of the timin: ? , ,, , the timing? practically, the supreme court has to — the timing? practically, the supreme court has to take _ the timing? practically, the supreme court has to take up _ the timing? practically, the supreme court has to take up this _ the timing? practically, the supreme court has to take up this case. - the timing? practically, the supreme court has to take up this case. the . court has to take up this case. the worst possible outcome would be to have a scattershot process where donald trump is allowed to stay on in others, now this confusion occurs against the backdrop of the primaries. if it is not ruled on, could create a layer of other complications, state republican parties could say they are going to circumvent the rulings by shipping from primaries to caucuses, that could trigger lawsuits by state governments to prevent that change. i could be appealed. there is a real urgency to get this resolved, which is what the supreme court will expedite its refusal to my best guess is that we'll probably get an answer at the latest by super tuesday, march the 5th, when colorado and several other states are planning to hold the primaries.

do you find it an interesting one for the supreme court was what you have trouble appointees but you also have trouble appointees but you also have judges who are originalists, they literally do believe in the constitution, so this presents a bit of a challenge for them. it constitution, so this presents a bit of a challenge for them.— of a challenge for them. it does. you can look— of a challenge for them. it does. you can look at _ of a challenge for them. it does. you can look at the _ of a challenge for them. it does. you can look at the numbers - of a challenge for them. it does. | you can look at the numbers and of a challenge for them. it does. - you can look at the numbers and say six to three conservative to liberal and three of those justices were appointed by donald trump. by default essentially he has the advantage. i think that he does, practically. if you get into the arguments about what the constitution says, what it means, i do think there are legitimate claims to be made on either side. i think if you want to look at one provision, it is this provision in the 1ath amendment that says that congress shall have power to enforce by appropriate legislation provisions of this article. what we saw in colorado and in maine is state supreme court and the secretary of state exercising this discretion, that's not congress. so i think that's why ultimately the

originalist interpretation will come down on the side of donald trump. but there is still uncertainty, you never know. but there is still uncertainty, you never know-— but there is still uncertainty, you never know. ., ., ~ never know. thomas, thank you so much. you can find much more on the us presidential election in a special section of our website. it's called "a really simple guide" and you'll find everything you need to understand how the process works — from getting chosen as a candidate, to the debates, and what it takes to win. in the uk — files released today show how tony blair's government considered radical policies to cut immigration in 2003 — including setting up a holding centre on the isle of mull. the papers — released by the national archives — show mr blair was increasingly frustrated by the failure to deter people from coming to the uk. other suggestions presented to him included safe havens overseas for those whose asylum claims were rejected. live now tojohn rentoul, the chief political commentator at the independent. this sounds quite familiar, when you hear of this frustration from tony

blair, what did you make of some of the proposal is? blair, what did you make of some of the preposal is?— the proposal is? absolutely. the idea of detention _ the proposal is? absolutely. the idea of detention camps - the proposal is? absolutely. the idea of detention camps in - the proposal is? absolutely. the i idea of detention camps in remote parts of the uk, scotland, the falkland islands, that's something that the current government has been thinking about. and offshore processing, that is something that tony blair thought about but never actually delivered. and he also considered defying the european convention on human rights. so in essence, all the things that the government is criticised by liberals for already prefigured by the blair government. for already prefigured by the blair government-— government. what did the blair government — government. what did the blair government eventually - government. what did the blair government eventually do, - government. what did the blair| government eventually do, want tougher measures today in on border controls and visas? then;r tougher measures today in on border controls and visas?— controls and visas? they 'ust tightened i controls and visas? they 'ust tightened up i controls and visas? they 'ust tightened up the i controls and visas? theyjust i tightened up the administration controls and visas? theyjust - tightened up the administration and they set up the customs control in calais at the other end of the

channel tunnel instead of the british end. and that proved to be enough to sort out the problem. you have to remember, tony blair was worried because he was getting 8000 applications for asylum a year and he thought that was out of control. we've seen a5,000 a year coming across the channel in small boats and that is in addition to other irregular arrivals. so the problem is much smaller, but you could see that tony blair was looking towards the same sort of solution is that this government has ended up on. there are going to be some other files that have been released, which are the ones that you find interesting?— are the ones that you find interesting? are the ones that you find interestint ? ~ . , interesting? well, i mean, i 'ust love all interesting? well, i mean, i 'ust teve an the fi interesting? well, i mean, i 'ust love all the post-it i interesting? well, i mean, i 'ust love all the post-it notes h interesting? well, i mean, ijust love all the post-it notes with i interesting? well, i mean, ijust. love all the post-it notes with red love all the post—it notes with red pyro scribbles on them. and of course, there is a stuff for me as a biographer of tony blair. i write his personal comments on them. —— but i like. there's nothing really

striking this time, but he wanted to move wimbledon fc to belfast before it eventually ended up in milton keynes. and he also talked about, well, he actually dangled the elgin marbles, the parthenon sculptures, he dangled them as an inducement to greece to get their vote for and an's bid for the olympics would stop another one that has proved tricky for rishi sunak as well. thank you so much forjoining us. the us military�*s robot space plane has blasted off from florida on its seventh mission. it was carried into orbit by a spacex falcon heavy rocket for the first time. the pentagon says the orbital vehicle will carry out a series of classified experiments during its mission. its last trip lasted more than 900 days. the recsei is a former arsenal and he told us why there is so much

secrecy that surrounds these missions. bill secrecy that surrounds these missions-— secrecy that surrounds these missions. �* , , ., , ., missions. all the missions remain classified, the _ missions. all the missions remain classified, the first _ missions. all the missions remain classified, the first fight - missions. all the missions remain classified, the first fight was - classified, the first fight was around 2010 so this is the seventh flight, as you mentioned, the fourth one for this particular vehicle. the mission remains classified. the fact it lodged from the falcon heavy suggests going into a higher orbit, a deep space regime, so higher levels of radiation, probably carrying out similar experiments, possibly testing new sensors, changing orbits, doing different manoeuvres, as you mentioned, nasa has a space experiment on board, so we don't really know too much, but we don't really know too much, but we can guess at some of these things. back to the middle east and the live pictures we have a look into gaza where we can see smoke rising, the military activity, the israeli offensive continuing. as we have been hearing from the un, an estimated 150,000 palestinians are on the move again. they have been

forced to flee central gaza. israeli forces are advancing on the refugee camps there. many of them heading to rafah which is already overcrowded, as we've been hearing. good afternoon. we're about to say goodbye to 2023, and if that for you involves travel plans, you need to keep abreast of the weather forecast, because as we head into the weekend, there's further heavy rain to come, and snow is likely even at lower levels in the far north for a time and a risk of gales, particularly down to the south. it's this area of low pressure. it arrives during saturday, sweeps its way eastwards during the early hours of sunday and leaves a trail of showers to follow. we have seen some showers around today, chiefly across northern ireland and northern england and some making their way through wales, towards the midlands and the south east as we speak. they will continue for a time,

but tend to fade a little as we go through the night, and we'll have some clearing skies. still some showers and strong winds into the far north—east of scotland, but here's the first signs of that heavy rain out to the west. milder weather here, but it could be a bitterly cold, frosty, icy start in sheltered rural areas of scotland. dry and sunny to begin with, but then that cloud and rain will sweep its way steadily north and east. gales starting to pick up into the south—west with a spell of very heavy rain into south—west england, wales and north—west england as we go through the afternoon. it's likely to stay dry through the east midlands, east anglia and south—east england. here 12 degrees the high. a cooler story with some wintry showers developing. as the temperatures fall away in scotland, at lower levels we could see further disruptive snow through saturday night into the early hours of new year's eve first thing on sunday morning. so here's that low. it will start to push away during sunday and then leave us in quite a showery regime.

perhaps new year's eve will be a slightly quieter story. there will be a rash of showers. there will be some strong, gusty winds down to the south, but those showers will tend to fade away as we go through the day. it certainly will be a slightly quieter story across much of scotland — six or seven degrees here. sunny spells and scattered showers with highs of eight to ten elsewhere. into new year's eve itself, if you are off out and about, it looks likely that it will be a cooler story with a few scattered showers around. the strongest of the winds as you see in the new year down to the south. then on new year's day and into tuesday, it will be a little bit quieter and a little bit cooler. take care.

now on bbc news, this cultural life: whoopi goldberg. whoopi goldberg is one of the very few people to have won all four of america's big entertainment awards... whoopi goldberg! ..emmy, grammy, 0scarand tony, for her work in film, theatre and television. lovely to meet you. thank you. please take a seat. brought up by a single mother in a new york housing project, she first made her name with a solo comedy show onstage before turning to dramatic acting roles, starting with her movie debut in the color purple. until you do right by me, everything you think about is going to crumble. since then,

she's made around 100 films, including ghost and sister act. she's hosted the academy awards several times and has forged a career as an outspoken and controversial television personality. the craziness of what's going on in this country at the moment. let's mic you up. in this episode of this cultural life, the radio a programme, she reveals her formative influences and experiences. just come on under the shirt. yeah, you sure? babe...|�*ve been doing this a long time. if you're an old lady, you don't mind. you're like, "thank you."

whoopi goldberg, welcome to this cultural life. thank you. on this cultural life, i ask my guests to reflect on the most significant influences and experiences that have shaped their own creativity. you were born and raised in chelsea in new york city in the late �*50s and the �*605? yes. what are your earliest cultural memories as a child? you're talking about a little kid, i'm a little kid? the most important thing to me was that the people around me, again, the people around me never said, "you can't do this." so you want to know what the inspiration was? it was my mother. cos my mother said, "if that's what you want to do, "sure, let's find out how to do it." what about school? what sort of pupil were you? i was not a great pupil. i was dyslexic. i am dyslexic... but didn't know at the time? at the time, no. they just thought i was just being lazy. my mum didn't think i wasjust being lazy, shejust didn't... she said, "i don't know what it is, but, you know, it's ok."

and so she didn't allow people to call me stupid