hello, i'm lucy hockings. russia has launched one of its biggest aerial attacks on ukraine since the war began, killing at least 28 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. from kyiv, our ukraine correspondent james waterhouse reports. 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 half . past seven 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 strikes, the scale of the damage cover the size of the blast zone, the heat caused. you are more used to seeing damage caused by 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 a moscow routinely strikes cities it can't occupy, that is saying something. live now to our reporter, zhanna bezpiatchuk, in kyiv. the death toll keeps going up now standing at 28. what are officials

there, government officials saying about these attacks?— there, government officials saying about these attacks? saying it was one if the most _ about these attacks? saying it was one if the most massive _ about these attacks? saying it was one if the most massive of - about these attacks? saying it was one if the most massive of cracks. about these attacks? saying it was i one if the most massive of cracks -- one if the most massive of cracks —— attacks since the beginning of the russian full stereo evasion. just before the programme we got the update for kyiv. seven were killed and in the city centre of kyiv means some missiles launched by russia, managed to get to the heart of kyiv. it shows the intensity and magnitude of these attacks. we are still waiting for more reactions and analysis of what happened, but what we can say is, unfortunately, the ukrainian authorities, they warned that, they high probability of such

an attack across ukraine because russia with massive air strikes for a few months and it gave it the time to accumulate together different types of missiles. these particular attacks, for example when russia fights ukraine everything, almost all types of crews, ballistic and hypersonic missiles along with drones. , ., , , ~ drones. eight people being killed in zaporizhzhia _ drones. eight people being killed in zaporizhzhia and _ drones. eight people being killed in zaporizhzhia and i _ drones. eight people being killed in zaporizhzhia and i know _ drones. eight people being killed in zaporizhzhia and i know figures - drones. eight people being killed in zaporizhzhia and i know figures is i zaporizhzhia and i know figures is still coming in from other cities, but given the scale of the attacks, how many cities were targeted, is there profound sense of shock cross—country about what has happened to? it cross-country about what has happened to?— cross-country about what has happened to? cross-country about what has hauened to? , happened to? it may be quite weird for an outside _

happened to? it may be quite weird for an outside audience _ happened to? it may be quite weird for an outside audience to - happened to? it may be quite weird for an outside audience to hear, - for an outside audience to hear, but i can say there is a total shock because after almost two years of full—scale war, ukrainians the majority of the population do have their resilience and also the adaptations have been made by ukrainians. i think one simple example, close to the place where one missile hit in the city centre in kyiv today near the station, the market was working just as usual. less than one hour after the hit people came back to their workplaces and the treat was there. so that is on the one hand. but on the other hand if you look at a map of the missile drone attacks that had happened overnight and in the morning today, it is literally the entire country including the west of

the country including lviv the city in the west which used to be considered relatively safe. and other main cities in the east themselves and in central ukraine, but it is not like that any more, one of my colleagues said today that probably it was the loudest attack on the city that night. so all of main ukrainian cities were all damaged by these air strikes. d0 main ukrainian cities were all damaged by these air strikes. do you sta safe damaged by these air strikes. do you stay safe and — damaged by these air strikes. do you stay safe and thank— damaged by these air strikes. do you stay safe and thank you _ damaged by these air strikes. do you stay safe and thank you for _ damaged by these air strikes. do you stay safe and thank you forjoining i stay safe and thank you forjoining us from kyiv. to poland now where military sources say an object which enterered its airspace was likely to be a russian rocket. our poland correspondent adam easton gave us the latest from the capital warsaw. poland has been a nato member since the mid—�*90s. and nato has an article 5 which states that an attack on any one nato member will be repelled

by the whole of nato. were a russian missile to actually land in poland, by the letter of that article, then that could be considered, poland could apply to nato to say, we've come under attack from a non—nato country and we'd like you to defend us against attack. in practice, that's not likely to happen, of course, because it's probably regarded in this case and in two previous cases that these are stray missiles and not a deliberate attack against poland, a nato member. we have been sent a readout from a call between a us national security adviserjake sullivan and also the polish secretary of state in which mr sullivan expressed the us�*s support for poland and said, that they pledged technical assistance

and a his polish counterpart that president biden is following the issue closely. polish expressing appreciation for us port and saying that governments would remain in close contact. both, nato partners there. that readout coming in the past few minutes or so. 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 is 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 beyond 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. mia 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 says it has has struck hezbollah militants in southern lebanon in response to missile fired over the border. these pictures released by the israeli defence forces show them striking what they describe as hezbollah infrastructure near wadi hamul in lebanon.

israel says they hit a number of targets including launch sites and a military compound. here in the uk, tributes have been paid to a man who died after a car hit a group of people in sheffield. police say christian marriott had stopped to help an unconscious woman after a row between two groups. his family have paid tribute. saying: the "tragic and unfathomable" circumstances of his death "show the sort of man he was — going to help rather than to turn away." two men have been arrested on murder charges. 0ur correspondent 0livia richwald has the latest. 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 46—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 keates 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. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other

stories making 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 dollars. 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 footballer, jack grealish, has been broken into while he was playing in his side's 3—1 win against everton. according to local media, a million pounds worth ofjewellery and watches were stolen. no arrests have yet been made.

you're live with bbc news. sport and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre, here's sarah... hello from the bbc sport centre. the busy festive period in the english premier league has just one day off between christmas and new year. it's today and this is the picture at the top of the table after arsenal didn't take their chance to go back above liverpool on thursday night. it's making for a compelling title race with six points separating those top five teams and a lot of competition further down as well. when we lose a game, we are out of the title race, when we win a game, we are there, it's the same for our contenders, so it's possible we can address the fact that this year, anything can happen. this season it is a common thing for all the teams, they are struggling

to get the results. that means how tough it is to keep going, game by game. carlo ancelotti has extended his contract with real madrid, appearing to end speculation linking him with the brazil national team job. the italian now has a deal at the bernabeu until the end of the 2025/26 season, extending his second spell at the spanish club with whom he's won two champions leagues and the la liga title. ancelotti's deal was due to end next year, and in march the brazilian fa president said he was sure the former milan and chelsea boss would join them. australia's cricketers have sealed a series win over pakistan. they've beaten the tourists by 79 runs in melbourne, with captain pat cummins finishing with ten wickets in the match. he helped bowl pakistan out for 237 in their second innings as they chased 317 for victory. pakistan had looked well set to get close to that target at 219—5 at one stage,

but they then lost wickets quickly. so australia take an unassailable 2—0 lead in the three match series, with the third test starting in sydney on tuesday. now after almost a year out, rafa nadal will return to action at the brisbane international ahead of a year that may well be his last. nadal�*s last competitive match was injanuary at the australian open which he's preparing for here. after missing the other three slams in 2023 he's slipped out of the world's top 600 and says he's realistic about his chances of winning more titles in 202a. for me it is impossible to think about winning tournaments today, but what is really possible is to think to enjoy the comeback to the court. no, i don't expect much. nothing is impossible, but at the end, for me, just to be here is a victory and i hope i am going

to have the chance to enjoy, and the crowd too. an interesting australian open to come. and that's all the sport for now. donald trump's 2024 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. earlier i spoke to our correspondent in washington, shingai nyoka about when this could appear before the supreme court. it is a matter of urgency, because the super tuesday where some of these primaries will be held will be held in march, and so there really is a time crunch. so many questions about what is likely to happen. this is uncharted waters, this is the first time,

and i'm referring to that case in maine, where a state official has ruled that a presidential candidate cannot appear on the ballot. and so these are questions that the supreme court is likely to weigh in on. trump's lawyers have argued that congress is the one that should decide, but i think what's important is that several other states are still weighing in on the matter. and so this will really add to what is a politically charged atmosphere here. 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. sanchia berg reports. 20 years ago, asylum seekers climbing the eurostar fences desperate to get to the uk. images like these prompted the prime minister to consider radical measures. files released today at the national archives include

a document prepared for tony blair injanuary 2003. entitled asylum: the nuclear 0ption, it asked whether the government should break away from international norms, support safe havens in third countries, set up a detention centre on the isle of mull. these earlier files show what led up to the nuclear option for asylum — tony blair's frustration at the numbers of people seeking asylum in the uk. he wanted to bring them down and, in december 2002, he wrote, "we must search out even more radical measures." this is so similar to the debate that we're having now and the proposals — radical proposals — that are being pursued. and we were at that point, not publicly to the same degree, but similar proposals being discussed in earnest behind closed doors.

there are two big difference between these ideas and the rwanda scheme today. asylum seekers would still apply to britain, rather than a country like rwanda. and tony blair's most radical plans were never pursued. the number of asylum claims did fall, but the labour government underestimated how many illegal migrants would come once eight eastern european countries joined the eu in 200a. sanchia berg, bbc news. with summer in full swing in south africa, many are heading to the beach for the holidays — but there is some concern, with great white shark sightings on the rise, and a number of recent fatal attacks. the bbc has been to see the measures being taken to keep people and sharks apart in the water, whilst protecting both from harm. daniel de simone sent this report from cape town. protecting the public from sharks by scanning the waters of cape town. i'm checking for the

movement in the water. from here, i have to see whatever is coming, be it fish, sharks, dolphins or whales. here christmas is summertime and great white sharks have been seen this month for the first time in years. a sighting means an alert and the sea cleared of swimmers. men shout. each morning, the team seeks to create a safe bathing area off one beach. there have been fatal shark attacks in this bay in the past and that's what has led to this exclusion net being put in to keep sharks away. the team here are actually putting the net down to the sea bed and right across the bay to keep sharks away from swimmers. how close can the sharks come in in this bay we are in now? like, close. they come inshore, like waist deep already. they come in close. the nets are lifted each evening to avoid hurting or killing sea life.

up the coast at plettenberg bay the shark spotters were called in after two fatal attacks last year. hi, i'm kimon. kimon bisogno ran a pizza restaurant with her partner, diego. she was very bright, bright in personality, big smile on her face, playful and kind and with a big, big heart. she was killed by a great white shark, the second person to die in months. only then were shark spotting measures put in place. an action sometimes will make a difference and not action will never make a difference. if someone put up a sign and say, "beware of shark", then maybe she wouldn't probably be in after the first accident, you know? and that is just one action. a new kind of shark barrier is being built in cape town. it's recently been fitted on a private island in the bahamas. designed to mimic an underwater forest of kelp, which sharks dislike, it contains magnets

intended to repel them. sharks have a very sensitive organ around their eye and around their nose that allows them to feel electric and magnetic fields in the water. so when we present them with a very large magnet such as this one, we overwhelm that sense. it is very uncomfortable for them to come closer than one metre to this magnet. some places seek to tackle danger from sharks by killing them, but in cape town the approach is different. if you have the top predators taken away from the environment, then you create a domino effect to the ecosystem that is going to be detrimental. they overall do a really good job in keeping everything in balance. how to live with sharks is a life and death issue. daniel de simone, bbc news, cape town. the us military�*s robot space plane has blasted off from florida

on its seventh mission. it was carried into orbit by a space x 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. some reaction coming from this latest attack we have seen in ukraine taking place in cities across the country. 0fficials there saying 28 people have died. 0ne across the country. 0fficials there saying 28 people have died. one of the largest attacks ukraine has seen by russia since the war began. we have just had a statement in from president biden. to put this in context, yesterday was of the white house approved this final trench of us military aid to ukraine worth about $250 million. that is the last of the funding that they would be without pressure approval from congress talks have stalled there. so when we hear the statement from president biden, in which he says that, the american people can be proud of the lives we help to save

in what we have given ukraine in the defence of its people, freedom and independence. but unless congress takes urgent action in the new year they will not be able to continue sending weapons and vital defensive systems ukraine needs to protect its people. congress must step up without any further delay. that coming in from president biden. hello there. love it or hate it — new year's eve is just around the corner. and once again, it looks likely that the weather is going to play a leading role when pulling down the final curtain of this year, because this weekend we are likely to see further heavy rain. snow is likely even at lower levels in the north for a time. and once again, the winds are a feature. it's this area of low pressure that's drifting towards our shores and it will gradually move its way steadily east. ahead of it — brief ridge of high pressure that's going to allow for those temperatures in scotland to fall well below freezing.

a cold, icy, but hopefully sunny start to your new year's eve. that's where the best of the drier weather will be. cloud and rain gathers out to the west, some of it really heavy across north—west england, wales, south—west england, accompanied by gales, particularly on exposed coast. but central and south—eastern england will stay dry and bright and still relatively warm with 11—12 degrees celsuis. a colder story in scotland. and where that frontal system then bumps into that cold air, that's when we're likely to see the risk of significant snow for a time, and it may well cause some disruption even at lower levels. now, it will gradually turn back to rain as we start to see some milder air pushing in. but as i say, there could be some issues. keep abreast of the weather forecast and tune into your bbc local radio station. on sunday, the low pressure still centred up into the north west, slightly milder start for most of us, 2—9 degrees first thing on sunday morning. but that low sitting to the north—west will continue to push in a frequent rush

of showers for our new year's eve. so the showers out to the west and some of these will gradually feed their way steadily eastwards as we go through the afternoon. sheltered eastern areas, staying relatively dry and bright. most of the frequent showers out to the west, windy along channel coasts — temperatures between 8—10 degrees. some of these showers will push east as we go through the evening. frequent rash of showers into northern ireland and western scotland, but north—east scotland faring a little better than of late. dry — we should keep some sunshine and it should stay largely dry into the evening. now, as we move into new year's day, on the whole, a quieter story need keep an eye on this frontal system down to the south. but for many it will be slightly cooler and slightly quieter. but there's still going to be some rain around at times. take care.

# nothing compares. # nothing compares to you... the point at which i start crying is on the lines, "all the flowers that you planted, mama, in the backyard, all died when you went away." because as a young child, i had spent time living in the garden, only being allowed to enter the house to wash the floor every day.

# these are dangerous days. # to say what you feel is to dig your own grave. fight the real enemy. people say it derailed my career. but i think it re—railed my career, because i didn't want to be a pop star. # so happy christmas. # i love you, baby. # i can see... it's true i'm out of it most of the time, but i can write songs when i'm out of it. in fact, it's easier for me. # ..singing galway bay. # and the bells are ringing out for christmas day. #je t'aime. #je t'aime, oui, je t�*aime... the vatican and the bbc banned it just because of the heavy breathing without realising the beauty

of serge's text, which was "i love you, nor do i."